My perfect weekend

For someone who works seven days a week, the concept of a ‘weekend’ does not exist. I’m usually hosting events,  working at the radio station, shooting or travelling around the world for various occasions, so I don’t get much free time to myself.

However, I do get cosy once in a while — it’s mostly the times between my travels — but there are moments. Whether I’m travelling or at home, my idea of ‘chilling’ involves hanging around in my room, going for a swim, playing some video games, or working out at the gym. I’m not someone who takes a break and calls my friends to go have a good time. I enjoy working during my free time. I don’t believe in wasting time and I’m always looking out for new things to try and do. Looking at nature and doing absolutely nothing is just not my style!

I have two very close friends that I love hanging out with, but unfortunately they moved to Mumbai. But even when they were in the City, we would just hang out and do productive things like brainstorm for new ideas and create new content. And when I really want a break, I shut everything down and go on a long vacation. This happens only once in six months or more — that’s when I know that I need to reboot.

Recently, after working six months like a mad man, my sister and mother planned a Europe trip. I was already there for a shoot and they joined me after. It was a great time; we did regular tourist stuff — a visit to Milan, hung out at Amsterdam, went up to the Eiffel Tower, took a city tour around Paris and more. We made a lot of new friends there and it was quite refreshing. But, as usual, I missed work, so coming back was such a relief!

Generally, when you ask someone what they like to do, they immediately tell you that it’s either reading a book, painting, or something they are good at. But I haven’t found my ‘favourite thing’ to do yet. I did experiment with what I thought I might like — tried my hand at painting and realised that I am a terrible artist. I even tried to read a book, a motivational one, but I couldn’t go past the third page. I didn’t think a person who is always fuelled up needed anymore ‘gyaan’!

But I do enjoy spending time with my three-year-old cat, Red. Being around him makes me feel calm and gives me the peace of mind I need. We usually hang out in the garden, where he drinks water from his little bowl and enjoys his food. That moment, that experience, makes me feel like nothing else in the world matters. So it turns out that’s the detoxing I needed, not reading or painting.

I guess one can say that I make up my weekends and vacations as and when they happen. If it’s a place I’ve never been to before, I make sure that I allot some time to explore it. Since I’m a city-person, I enjoy nightclubs, the architecture, monuments and landscapes. Going to a coffee shop in a city is more important to me than going to a lake or river. It’s also a good thing that I’m an extrovert; I love meeting new people in the places I visit and I generally hang out with them during my trips. After all, the best things in life are not planned or reserved, so I take it as it comes and go with the flow.

The idea of a weekend is to relax and free your mind, and I do that on a daily basis. The drive I have from home to the radio station, that fifteen minutes of music and zoning out, is my weekend and my free time. I couldn’t have asked for a better life!

A few of my favourite things

Watching ‘Family Guy’
Playstation
Practising and rehearsing weird voices
The colours black and blue
Chinese food

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Anila Kurian / Saturday – September 05th, 2015