Desultory dreams for 2010

It's 12.36am. Too early to sleep. Nothing half decent on TV, as usual. I can't read more than a sentence, thanks to a clogged nose and watery eyes. What better pastime than dreaming up some awesome plans for the shiny new year that lies ahead?!

Let's start with running. I have grand running goals this year. I aim to run 1300-1500 miles. I'm already 25 miles behind, thanks to aforementioned nose and eyes. I want to run the Seattle half marathon in June and the San Francisco half marathon in July. If not both, at least one of them. And I want to run a full marathon before winter. All this if and when I get past this cold attack and manage to begin running this year. Moving on to fitness, I've lost 10 pounds since I started running. I guess I could lose 4 or 5 more pounds before I begin to look like an emaciated goat. But I'm more keen on building some muscle strength and toning up, which will also help increase my running speed. Not to mention all the avant-garde attires my mom keeps suggesting I wear for my wedding and its hundred related events. When that will happen seems totally irrelevant to these conversations I have with her! I'm not complaining. Hell, No!

Now that we've done away with the vanity-induced goals, let's talk about reading. My reading suffered for two long years during business school, save the winter breaks when I tried to make up for an entire year of literary sloth. It's getting back on track, but with such little momentum that my reading list threatens to require more than a lifetime to get through. So a minimum of 2-3 books a month is in order. I also want to read more non-fiction this year, mainly economics. Chide me if the "Buried in..." part of the sidebar on this blog remains unchanged for too long, will you?

Travel! I've visited at least one city/tourist attraction in 25 of the 50 states in the US. I want to visit the remaining half in the next 2-3 years if I end up living here. I guess Alaska, Oregon and Seattle are definitely on the cards for 2010. So is a trip to Europe. I'm sure that's not all, but let's leave some room for impulse travel, which really is the norm.

On to newer unexplored territories. I've postponed investing in the stock market for years now because of my b-school plans. My investment prowess remains stunted at Indian mutual funds that offer a tax shield, that too only the ones that were doing well in 2006. There's a lot to learn on the investing front. I guess I will take the plunge sometime in the second half of 2010, after I've taught myself a few things about the markets and their inefficiencies. Any market gurus reading this blog? Maybe you could give me some tips?

Before you write me off as an idler who has no professional aspirations, let me assure you, I do have many of those. But they are no fun to talk about really. So let's just leave them out of this space, shall we?

"Hmmm lofty...", you say. I hear you. These might remain dreams. I say this not as a disclaimer so that I can chicken out of my plans later. More so because, despite all my meticulous planning, life has this queer way of creeping up and surprising the hell out of me sometimes. But what the heck, might as well dream big while I'm at it, right?