BachelorPython presents lifestyle of single and FIREd – Episode 2
Those who know the context…Read on…. Those who don’t, maybe read my last week's post first
Now rest of my post-FIRE day
8:45 to 9 AM - Neck and spine exercises. All these years of sitting in front of laptop for hours did not do any favours to my neck, shoulders and back.
9:00 to 9:30 AM – Breakfast. Usually, it is some combination of omelette, granola, dry fruits, slice of healthy banana bread, fruit juice. Trying to make up for all those years of eating oily paratha, sambar Vada and whatnot
9:30 to 10 AM - I watch some old timey cartoons. Tom & Jerry, Duck-tales, He Man, Aladdin etc…. reminds me of simpler times and puts me in a good mood
10 to 10:30 AM - Chores. Stuff like straightening up my room, sorting my dirty clothes for washing, removing cobwebs/dust etc. While living as a bachelor away from my hometown, I never employed help as there was never enough work to warrant a maid. I cooked my meals. Washing 7-8 utensils a day was not a big deal. I had a washing machine and got my clothes ironed in nearby laundry. So having a maid just for sweeping felt unnecessary. Here in my home town, my parents have maid but I clean my rooms upstairs. I don’t like strangers in my personal space. Put it to you this way…if a woman wants access to my boudoir, a clean room is just not adequate compensation ;)
10:30 to 11 AM - Internet. I check mails, some news sites, blogs etc. I am reducing my social media interactions and also trying to limit it to this half hour only…. I use FB for remembering birthdays, Twitter for customer complaints, Instagram for photo storage…. Passive consumption is the keyword rather than active participation. And am so glad that I don’t have to use LinkedIn ever again!
11 to 12:30 PM - Cooking. I avoid eating out. Think about any eating out experience. You have to wear acceptable clothes, experience traffic, wait for your table at the restaurant, place your order and wait some more while you watch other people stuff their faces. And when the food arrives there could be so many issues …. undercooked/overcooked, too much oil, not spicy enough, not warm enough, not fresh enough…and the exorbitant bill is the final disappointing cherry on the top. Maybe my experiences are such because I am a pernickety eater and lived in Bangalore; a city where you can get every dish in the world…but never the best version of the dish; only aggressively mediocre and overpriced.
Not a big fan of getting food delivered either. Food does not travel well except for pizza and biryani. And can’t have those as I am trying to eat healthy
So cooking is the better option. It also helps that I find cooking very therapeutic. Things looks rosy when I have a knife in my hand…. That came out wrong
12:30 to 1 PM - Lunch. I eat alone. Why? I don’t know…maybe for the same reason I shit alone. Whether the food is going into my body or coming out of it, having company does not make either experience better…. but that’s me. You do you. No judgements :)…Food is important to me. If I have company while I am eating…. invariably they feel the need to fill the silence by saying something…. which is usually unappetizing and if I am eating an exquisite dish…ruins the dining experience. What’s worse…. they expect me to participate. Yuk! No thanks!
1 to 1:15 PM - Post-lunch walk. Walking barefoot on my garden lawn admiring flowers, fruits, fornicating birds
1:15 to 1:45 PM - YouTube. Some Colbert, Kurzgesagt, Agadmator, CrashCourse, SNL, TED….so much to see
1:45 to 3:30 PM – Reading. Now there are various categories here
New Books - Books published in last 20 years. For example, just finished Sapiens by Harari and Defending Jacob by Landay. I add a book to my reading list only when it is adjudged really, really, really good but still my backlog is over a dozen books; in this category only
Unread old classics - Like Nehru’s Discovery of India. It was on my list forever but could not get around to read it. I tried to console myself that since I watched Bharat – Ek Khoj diligently on Doordarshan, it’s the same thing. But no more. Discovery of India is next on list along with a few other
Encore - Basically books I read once but want to read again. For example, Foucault’s Pendulum by Eco…read it in my early twenties…loved it, sure, but the book is so rich and complex that I am not sure if I appreciated it enough. So have to read it again. Watchmen by Alan Moore is another example. (Those who look down on graphic novels...Kingdom Come by Waid & Ross…Read now and thank me later!)
Point is …lot to read!
3:30 to 4 PM – Nappy time. Saw the whole siesta culture in Cordoba a decade back and was really impressed. Happy to finally practice it
4 to 4:30 PM - Post afternoon snack. Some seasonal fruits or wholewheat toast with green tea
4:30 to 5 PM - I exercise 5 times a week. Now you will ask ‘BachelorPython, you sexy beast, how do you manage to do it so regularly at this age?’ To that I answer ‘Well, first of all, no need to objectify me. Second, the trick is to rotate exercises. One day High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), next day Yoga, next day dancing. Keeps you interested and motivated’
But that is not the whole story. From 4:30 to 5, I need to listen to some thumping music and get my blood pumping. Latin, Hip-hop, Metal tracks does the trick. But what really gets me going… Ila Arun songs from 90’s. I don’t try to analyse why
5 to 6 PM - At 40, I am not looking to put on muscles. Rather, I am trying to maintain a lean physique. So that my knees will have a lighter body to support in old age. So HIIT suits me fine. I don’t need special equipment, can do it at home and am done in 45 min. Then 15 min soak in lukewarm water in my bathtub. Closest I come to feeling like a vamp from 70’s Bollywood
6 to 6:30 PM – Go to my terrace and watch sunset
6:30 to 7:30 PM – Dinner prep. Something light. Pasta Arrabiatta, Falafel etc. Following calorie deficit diet. Thumb rule is I should be slightly hungry even after finishing dinner.
7:30 to 8 PM – Dinner
8 to 8:30 PM – Post dinner walk in the neighbourhood. Maybe buy some vegetable for tomorrow
8:30 to 9 PM- Spend time with parents. Helping mom in clearing difficult CandyCrush levels, explaining Paytm bill payment to dad for the 157th time, telling both of them that my sister must be living a life of debauchery in Toronto and appropriate response should be to cut her off from the will…you know…. the usual stuff.
9 to 9:30 PM – Meditation. Used to do this pre-FIRE sporadically. Now doing it regularly as I am trying to be a nicer person. Sharp eyed observers in the subreddit must have noticed reduction in salty comments from me in the last few months. To be honest…It’s not that I have stopped having those thoughts…I am just not posting them. But I am trying, folks. Expect a gentler Python in coming months
9:30 to 11:30 PM - Movies/Series – Similar categories as books
New content: On OTT platforms, every week so much new content is added that one can easily get FOMO. It’s almost like Hydra; finish one series from watchlist and two more will take its place. Currently watching Ozark Season 4.
Hatim-al-Tai’s First Riddle: If you remember story of Hatim…the first riddle for which Hatim needs to find answer is ‘What I saw once, I long for second time’(Ek baar dekha hai, baar baar dekhne ki hawas hai…for those who prefer the 1990 movie adaptation Hatim Tai, starring Jeetendra)…basically movies I need to watch again and again. Legendary stuff like The Godfather Part 2, Andaz Apna Apna, Gunda
Comfort TV: Seinfeld, Scrubs, Community, 30 Rock…can rewatch any episode any time.
11:30 to 12 AM – Experts suggests that one should not watch disturbing, horrifying content just before going to sleep. So, I avoid family movies/TV shows. There have been times when I had dreamed that a kid is running towards me shouting ‘Poppaaaaa’….and I woke up screaming drenched in sweat. And can’t sleep well afterwards either as every few minutes I have to check under the bed…for children :(
So, what do I do 30 min before sleeping? Listen to old timey songs…songs with words like Nargis-e-mastana (intoxicating eyes of the beloved), Joostajoo (longing), Gulbadan (Body as delicate as flower)
12 AM: Lights out.
That’s more or less my day. Of course, there are a few things I do couple of times a month….Visiting old books sellers, accompanying mom to her shopping excursions, eating out, visiting friends, massages (without ‘happy ending’…just saying)
Also, will soon start learning guitar and a new language; 30 min each every day. Will have to find time slots somewhere. Also interested in growing a few Bonsai plants. That should not take more than 5-10 min per day. Let’s see
Final thoughts
My dad had retired 12 years ago and it was on the day of his retirement I thought about the possibility of his death in near future seriously for the first time. Even though I had always acknowledged death as inevitable, it was still a disquieting feeling. And when the covid started, I realized… forget my parents…I could die before them! And that was a real eye-opener. Suddenly the number ‘90’ I had entered in my retirement calculator excel sheet felt like a giant joke.
And even if I lived up to 90, it is not as if that day is way off in the future. It feels like just a few weeks ago I was throwing my graduation cap up in the air on convocation day. From that day to this day… 17 years went just like that (imagine me snapping my fingers) and those are not coming back. And whatever the number of years remaining…. That’s all I will ever have… since reincarnation is not yet scientifically proven. (And even if reincarnation is real, based on what religious books say about the things I have done in my past…. I will come back as a dung beetle)
So, everything is NOW. I can no longer put off stuff saying ‘There’s still time’. Want to learn a new language? That’s now. Master an instrument? That’s now. Threesome with 6 ft tall Swedish twins? That’s...might be on the bucket list of some people...no judgements. THE POINT IS…. maintaining status quo is very tempting but if you don’t want to become an old person filled with regret waiting to die, then you must take a leap. And nothing breaks inertia more than the sight of grim reaper on the horizon, approaching you with ever changing speed.
Python out!