Last month was wild. November goals, then a wedding in the family. It’s not done yet; I am flying to Kochi in two days and have lots of catching up to do with work.

I have no idea how I will manage. At the moment, I just want to watch a comfort show and sleep all day. It’s weird coming from a guy who likes to work 24/7. But I feel I have reached my limits now.

I will remain homebound and relax during Christmas/New Year. If we are friends, I am happy to have you over at my home, but please don’t ask me to come out.

It’s been over a month since I wrote Vikra’s Café, and I’d really love a good rant. So thanks for your next five minutes.

Soooo

WHAT’SUPPPPPPPP!!!!!

Amidst all the beautiful chaos in my life, I made time for Pushpa 2, and it was disappointing. I didn’t expect it to be great. Pushpa was an average film to me. But Pushpa 2 was too bad. The story had too many elements that weren’t aligned with each other, some stereotypes that filmmakers should have left 20 years ago, and it’s too predictable. Allu Arjun’s acting was great; I’ll give him that.

This is how I am as a film buff:

Also I have spent some time randomly reading Reddit debates on Pushpa 2. As a neutral person with hardly any interest in fanism, it’s super fun to see people debate, argue, and even abuse - Telugu trolling is something else, I tell you.

Wedding was beautiful

It’s been over a decade since I was involved in a wedding in and out. Things like attending all events, doing little chores (although I didn’t do a lot), etc.

I was in a different kind of bubble. I have been speaking to families and cousins. I don’t know how to put this; I felt more relaxed even with only 4-5 hours of sleep a day. My work hours and device time were down by 70%. It was fun, to say the least.

I couldn’t take many pictures during the engagement, haldi, and wedding; so I stubbornly clicked a few as soon as I got into the hall on the reception day:

The expenses went over the roof.

I hardly overspend on anything and usually buy only things I need. It’s just that everything came together at once.

The wedding shopping, a phone, a fitness tracker, Kochi trip. I better be watchful till the end of January.

Looking at December expenses be like:

I found my new favourite anime!

I am watching this super cool sports-based anime. Every character I look at reminds me of someone from the teams I have played with or against in cricket.

It was surprising to realize I hardly watched sports-related shows, movies, or anime, considering how closely I’m associated with it.

Ted Lasso and The Test are on top of my mind. I should watch Formula 1 and The Last Dance.

Btw, I am talking about Haikyuu. It has only four seasons, with 25 20-minute episodes each. It’s available in Japanese on Netflix. You can reply to this email for the English dubbed version. I’ll send the link to you.

My new motto

I can’t speak for everyone, but the environment I grew up in encouraged me to choose safer options, where the probability of failing is near zero.

As I grew up, I always considered, “What would others think?” “How would others see me?” or “this shouldn’t look like a failure” in my actions. Although I still did what I wanted to, I didn’t allow myself to get naked enough - and that shut down a lot of criticism and character development.

Among all other things, it affected my risk appetite. Looking back, I should have been a little bolder - both personally and professionally.

I don’t know if I am finding myself or creating a new version, but I want to get excited when I see hard obstacles.

Moving out

Moving out has been on my mind for some time now. Probably a year or so. But I think it’s time to make a move. Pun intended.

My place is beautiful. It’s fairly large for three people. My parents are calm, safe, and kind souls to live with. It’s peaceful, especially in the mornings. I hardly get any sound of the traffic. Plus super clean air.

But…

I don’t know how to say this politely, so I will say it with zero filters: “The environment is too slow for my ambitions.”

I am buried in comfort. I should probably lead this life 10 years later. Right now, I should meet new people doing cool things. There are millions of people better than me and I want to learn from them; do better.

I won’t be leaving Hyderabad, but I will mostly move to the happening spots. They’re 30-35 km away from my space. I’ll do this in 2025’s first half.

I have more things to say, but probably this is a good time to park.

I will write more often (okay, I’ll try.)

But you tell me. How have you been? Send me a long list of things you’ve been doing in detail; I’d love to read and chat with you. It’s been a while. We should catch up.

See ya!

Love,
Vikra.