as always i like to mark my birthday/the middle of the year with an update on how well i am doing in accomplishing my goals for the year and take a look at what the second half of the year will bring.

admittedly i have not done a great job of staying on track with the goals i set at the beginning of the year, but in many ways the year has not played out as i had hoped and so i’ve had to make a few pivots along the way. as such this update will be a little more disjointed than usual, and hopefully by the end of the year i will feel more settled than i do now.

so let’s kick things off with my original goals for the year —

2025 goals.

get myself to london. the best laid plans, and all that. while it doesn’t look like this is in the cards for me in 2025, never say never. i got to see ellie for the briefest time in nyc in april so there’s at least that, and hopefully i can make it across the pond next year.

run one 5k and one 10k. i am signed up for a 5k in queens in two weeks, and depending on how the next few months go there is a 10k in november that i am considering. *technically* i completed the rylee’s run 5k in early june but i walked the whole thing so i’m not counting it.

a specific hike or park visit. i still don’t know what i want this to be yet, so stay tuned.

host more at my apartment. i’ve done this a bit, having maggie and molly over for a few impromptu dinners, but not to the extent i had initially hoped. i won’t be doing much during the summer as it’s too hot, but once the weather cools i’d like to host something in the fall.

daily writing practice. again, the best laid plans. i started off the year strong, taking my notebook with me to india and making a point to write at least a few quick bullet points at the end of each day, but toward the end of the trip i stopped and didn’t pick it back up for a while. i’m slowly working on making it a habit again, so let’s see how i do in the coming months.

one new york thing a month. this one is hard to measure because i didn’t put specific parameters in place, but i think i’ve made it to at least one new-to-me sight or restaurant or experience each month. i attended my first creative mornings club and my first silent reading club meetup, i went to gov ball, i’ve tried a few new restaurants around the neighborhood. i’m signed up to volunteer with a new organization later this month, and i have a few more things penciled in for the rest of the year.

stretch goals:

attend shakespeare in the park. the bulk of the performances are in mid-august when i will be in memphis, but i am still hopeful i can get to one of the late august / early september ones. fingers crossed.

see hamilton with maggie. we’ll get there one day. we will.

other things i was looking forward to.

katie walsh got married! and it was so fun! it was a perfect weekend of reunions and celebrations and being around so many people i love dearly, and i am so happy i was able to be there.

a katie milligan return to nyc! her original plan to visit over easter didn’t work out but she and andrew did make it to the city for one day on their way up to maine, and i spent the loveliest afternoon and evening with them. we went to the natural history museum, we had dinner with farhan at emporio, and we had many drinks at rin tin tin. we packed a lot into those 8 hours, and it was great.

my 25-year high school reunion. based on how things are stacking up for the fall i’m on the fence about whether or not i’ll be able to make it to chattanooga for my reunion. we’ll see what happens these next few months.

a fall trip with lauren and jen. sadly this one might also need to be scrapped for me, unless i miraculously land a full-time job in the next month or so. never say never, but i might have to sit out this time around.

other fun things that have popped up.

a week with otto and zoë. sanjeet and benjamin were gone for a week in february and asked me to stay with the pups while they were away. it was a cold and snowy week and i happily curled up on the couch and read while the dogs snoozed next to me.

a visit to chicago. i spent a lovely 12 days in chicago in march, catching up with alex and sarah and meeting many of their friends and taking over their lives for a bit of time.

an impromptu visit from pranay. i got a message from pranay in mid-march that he was coming to the states in april to visit friends in philly and dc and if i was in town he would tack on a stop in nyc. it worked out to a little under 48 hours but it was great to see him in person for the first time in 8.5 years.

mayanka’s college graduation. mayanka graduated from rpi in may so i tagged along upstate with abi, anu, vignesh, and harsha to celebrate.

lots of time with blanche. my friend angela had a lot of work travel this spring, which meant i got to spend a lot of time with her dog blanche. blanche is old and mostly blind and kind of a hoot, and it’s fun to live my best upper east side life every once in a while.

a trip to the outer banks to celebrate jane. jane finished grad school in the spring, and we did a beach trip to the outer banks to celebrate her and it was a lot of fun.

a few more things i’m looking forward to:

• july — ice cream 5k with maggie, molly, and abi; volunteering a few days with 826nyc
• august — a quick visit back to memphis to facilitate a staff retreat for one of my favorite nonprofits
• september — possibly [hopefully] a mama swami visit to nyc
• october — [nothing at the moment — stay tuned]
• november — hopefully volunteering at nyc marathon and working the mayoral election
• december — it’s always st jude marathon weekend, and even more so this year because maggie will be participating as well!

wild to believe we are already halfway through 2025, but i for one am looking forward to seeing what the next half of the year brings.

xx