All Together Again: Celebrating the Light of Diwali 2025

23-Oct-2025

We are past Diwali 2025 and it was almost after two years everyone was together at Bangkok including my dad my son so it was a good time last five days were very busy with roaming around some shopping and some good food and another good part is Myra got her first Apple accessories which is iPad 11 which she was asking me or I would say bugging me for the last few months but she promised that she will not take anything for next two years and also will not ask for another birthday gift when she turn 13 next year. As they get younger, we are getting older. 

Anvay has already flown back to hostel for classes and he will be back in Dec for winter break. My dad is going to stay till Nov 17. It was really good to see all in one place. 

Myra is busy with her Y8 studies, she got some motivation by getting selected into the Student Council this year and overall think she is putting some focus on studies. However, more work is required to be done. 

Anvay needs to figure out what next, and I can clearly see there is no clarity and he is equally confuse as us. I guess, next few months will go in thinking that as gets closer to finishing his B.Tech.  I really don't know much happening in his life as he seems to keep to himself (may be with me). May be he feels, I am judging but I am not actually as I am on his side. 

Pallavi is ok but struggling with lot of health issues. I guess, she needs to get busy for getting it better and so far we are struggling to find anything. 

My work has been a bit stressful lately, and I feel like I’ve lost some direction. With lot of THAI meetings returning to work on the new client and a few personality clashes, things have become a bit challenging. I need to find some motivation or fix it, because I don’t think I can keep going like this for long.  I sometimes feel like I need my own space — my own kingdom — but I’m not sure I’m ready for it yet, and that uncertainty keeps me tied to this job. It’s a good job, but somehow, it feels like I need something more.

My father is 81 this year and it's good to see that he is able to maintain his physical well being. His life though full of changes. He moved to live with my brother when Pallavi and Myra moved to Bangkok. This year, my brother wife got cancer issues, so she preferred to stay at her parents. It makes sense, but that means my dad has to stay alone for a while. 

My brother’s problems are far from over, as his wife is still undergoing treatment and facing a few more surgeries. I hope everything turns out well, but it’s hard to know for sure. His financial situation was starting to look better, but this treatment has put additional strain on him. We’re helping him repay his loans gradually to ease the burden of heavy EMIs, but it’s a slow process that takes time. He has, unfortunately, lost nearly 15 years of his prime — years when he could have lived more comfortably, enjoyed life, and saved for retirement. Now, as I see it, he can manage as long as he continues working, but retirement will likely be difficult. His children may have to share some of the burden and start working earlier to support the family. It’s a self-inflicted wound — one he may not have realized would carry such long-term consequences. I just hope he finds his solace and stays honest with the reality he faces now.

Looking forward to the weekend!

~vA

Dehradun Trip and Endometrial Adenocarcinoma

02-Aug-2025

Last month, I was in #India with my son, wife and daughter as school/college #holidays. I returned to #Bangkok on the 13th Jul 2025 after spending two weeks there. My wife and daughter are staying a bit longer and will be coming back on the 16th Aug.

It was a short but busy trip for me. I managed to take care of most of the things I had planned on the personal and administrative front—got the rental agreement renewed, completed my KYC, and renewed my driving license. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resolve the FASTag issue due to poor customer service from ICICI Bank.

The key highlight of the trip was our visit to #Dehradun, where my sister has now permanently shifted. Everyone joined in—my brother’s family, my cousin Monty’s family—a gang of 17 people, most of the kids now grown up. We visited the zoo, had a lot of fun chatting, sharing stories, and clicking photos. The next day, before heading back, we went to #Sahastradhara for a dip in the river and later took a cable car ride up the mountain. The kids had a great time doing adventure activities like rope climbing and bull riding. Everyone really enjoyed the outing.

That said, I also had a bit of a blunder while coming back—I forgot my laptop at my sister’s place. I had to turn back halfway and ended up staying an extra night. I still don’t know how it happened. Usually, I check all my luggage multiple times, but somehow, I missed it this time. A definite lesson in slowing down a bit.

On a more difficult note, it seems like the troubles haven’t eased up for my brother Nitin. Last week, his wife fell seriously ill and had to undergo surgery for appendicitis. During the procedure, the doctors also recommended a biopsy. The results came in yesterday, and we were told that she has #Endometrial Adenocarcinoma, likely at stage two. I found out about it late in the evening—it was a heavy moment for all of us.

I was really shocked to hear the news. Everyone in the family was deeply saddened, especially since no one saw this coming. Given the financial stress and other challenges my brother has been facing over the past year—issues we’re still trying to work through—it feels like a fresh wave of problems is hitting him, and in some ways, all of us.

We’re still figuring out how to support him through this, but the most important thing right now is for his wife to remain patient and maintain a positive mindset as she begins her recovery. We're all hoping for the best.

~vA

Surviving a 7.7 Tremor in Bangkok

04-Apr-2025

It was a busy Friday and everything was routine. I met Rishu in the morning to handover him some local currency and then got busy with office stuff. Around 1.20pm BKK, started to feel a bit dizzy and realized quickly that we are hit by an #earthquake. The tremor suddenly got heavy with the building tilting to some angle causing widespread panic. Bangkok is not very prone to earthquake, so it took some time to realize that it's really happening. 

We decided to walk down 20th floor and by the time we reached on the ground it was settled. We had no idea that it was a major large earthquake of 7.7 - 8.2 scale. I think we just got lucky, as we took around 5 mins to walk down the building and it was literally shaking for first few floors, and we had to hold the handrails. 

What a day? We couldn't go up for next 3 to 4 hours. My daughter fortunately didn't get hurt at school and reached back before the traffic chaos kicked in. It was a worst nightmare. We came up later in the evening and packed a small bag with our passports and essentials in case it struck again. 

I heard stories later where people got stuck in the traffic and how many cracks developed at people houses. It was a bit of chaos and Bangkok city is not very familiar with this kind of stuff. Her love for high rise is unique and I am sure this was jolted a bit. 

Rest for the next time and hope we nothing like that anyone has to face again. 

~vA

2024: Year in Review

30-Dec-2024

2025 is just two days away. Time just keeps on moving and every year in December when you start to look back at the year about to be past, it looks it moved very fast. Twelve months gone in a blink. The post is more of a reflection. 

The biggest event of 2024 was the financial fiasco done by my brother. It was a difficult situation and with everyone support it is looking much better towards the end of year. My brother has finally got a job which doesn't pay what he was expected but enough to pay for EMIs. His daily needs or monthly expenses are still supported mostly by my father and me. It's a classic case of why debt on credit cards and personal loans is not good and how you should stay in your limits. Less is good always. 

We definitely had more visitors in 2024 when compared to 2023. Pallavi's mom and dad was here at start of year from Jan to early Mar. This was followed by Pallavi's mama and mammi in May. Lastly, it was my nephews Shivam and Sarthak in Dec. Anvay is not visitor, but he comes here only once a year in Dec to first week of Jan 25. 

Anvay is busy and he has many things to cover like studies, illuminate work and personal relationships which are getting bit more serious as the day progresses. I am happy that he is progressive and getting the much-needed exposure at this age. I think he needs to set his priorities clear, be more detailed oriented and focus on what will be his goal in next 3-5 years. There should be no compromise to studies and all decisions should align towards that. Getting a clarity now will help him focus his energies in the right direction. He definitely needs to avoid distractions and get more assertive.

Myra is in Y7B now and she has well-adjusted in the school. We are not very happy with the school though; however, we seem to have limited choices in this area here at Bangkok. We as parents are bit worried what she will do as she doesn't seem to be very fond of core subjects. Well, guess we have to wait as she has to deal with puberty moods, studies and school at the same time. 

Pallavi resigned in Sep 24 from the existing work she was doing and now after few months, she is back with thoughts on where she can focus. I can understand her pain and constant struggle. My movements have always created troubles for her. This can be very frustrating as you have to start again and find your path. There is no messiah to help. She will probably be better off doing something small that can sustain with her health and also doesn't require may hours of engagement. It's a trade-off in terms of rewards but getting a full-time work in Thailand is very challenging due to language and work permit constraints. 

I had a mixed bag and relative to 2023 it was a normal year. There were lots of expectations post promotion last year, however, seems I am still doing similar things as in the past. The only thing that increased is the areas of work. I need to map out a clear strategy to move further and up, otherwise, it will be very challenging to continue like this. I don't think I am adding great value, and similar stuff leading to more procrastination. It was getting better but seems it came back in December with a vengeance. The targets on signing, revenue and utilization come with the new role and add a lot of stress. First year 2024 with those numbers and I didn't meet signings. Not sure how 2025 will be any different. I need to really look at my work strategy if I wish to grow further in next 3-4 years. 

A good change for 2024 was Vietnam which came as a good surprise, but the background story is that I tried to catch it with full hands and dedicated my time to it. Growing it will be a huge challenge, and I don't have a clear direction or strategy to do it. Additional two cities added to the visited list Hanoi and Ho Chin Minh city. 

Worth mentioning Indian theme annual party was fun with our dance performance, probably first of a kind. 

My investments or trading are no better and same problems as in the past still persist. I am not sure why it is so hard to follow some rules which I only listed for myself. Trading, guitar and swimming still list as open items for years. Lack of determination seems to be the reason at least for the last two. I usually go with zero resolutions as can't follow them through. Better to keep low expectations and surprise yourself. It's not a recommended path.

Well, a happy new year to all of us and hope 2025 will be better. 

~vA