Engineering my life

It's here. Moving week! First things first, in case you missed it, we're moving to New York y'all!! The uncertainty (refer to last post) did continue a littttle longer than we anticipated (we only officially signed our lease last week 😂) and we were definitely thrown some curveballs but the beginning of our adventure is in sight! Given that New York was our first choice and Detroit was our last, we were obviously super grateful to officially know that we weren't going to be spending the next 8 months in Detroit. Unless you live in Detroit, in which case, I actually hear it's gotten pretty nice. So why New York? Thanks for asking! We made this choice for a multitude of reasons, really. I'll bullet-point it for you to make this easy to follow because we all work hard enough as it is. 1). NYC is a city that I, personally, have always wanted to always live in for its food, culture, food, vibrant energy, food, and entertainment. Did I ...

I know. I KNOW. You're probably wondering "Wait, she still has a blog?" I'm probably one of the most inconsistent bloggers out there. So inconsistent I can't believe I just called myself a blogger. But as I'm about to start a new, exciting chapter in my life, I figure this is a good time as any to start this shindig back up. Because the truth is, I love to look back at my old posts and relive the times and memories through those (often not so well-written) words. So, basically this is my 2019, very public equivalent of a personal diary. Welcome! So what is this new chapter all about, you ask? Well, the past few months have been a whirlwind in the Srivastava-Tilly household, you guys. I guess 2019, in general, has been one of those years. It started off on an exciting, open-ended, completely terrifying note with me quitting my consulting job at the end of 2018 to try and rediscover what I wanted from my career. At the same time, Joe accepted a rotational jo...

I haven't blogged anything for a while (mostly because I keep forgetting I have a blog) but I figure this is a good time as any to revisit! I've been in Europe for about two weeks now. I came to present at a conference (Thermodynamics 2015) in Copenhagen, Denmark and then decided to do some exploring after because why not? So here's what's been up! I arrived in Copenhagen on September 13th and instantly realized I had packed very poorly. It was super windy and cold and all I had packed were tank tops, shorts and two light jackets/cardigans. It's not that I hadn't checked the weather. It's that in the warmth of North Carolina's sunny days, 65 degrees just hadn't seemed that cold. Anyway, jet lagged and all (I had flown from California), it took a few days to get my sleeping schedule in order. My friends, Mariah and Laura, were also presenting at the same conference so we spent the first few days mostly just attending conference events and having oc...

As human beings, I think most of us struggle with just letting things be. We overthink. We create complications for ourselves and then wonder why life couldn't be more simple. We look for happiness from external sources, failing to realize that true happiness comes from within us. We expect others to respect us, while constantly making decisions without respecting ourselves. We complain about situations without trying to actively come up with solutions.  Maybe it's time we stopped. I'm slowly beginning to learn that life is as simple or complicated as we want it to be. If you're not happy about something, change it. Or at least try. It's not always going to be a quick fix but more often than not, there's always something you can actively DO about the situation you're in. If you're in a complicated relationship or situation, get out. Now. Because you're better than that. If you're spending more time focusing on the negatives in y...

"Do more of what makes you happy." I read the above quote recently and it made me think about happiness. More, specifically, about what makes  me  happy. Different people have different passions that bring them joy; it can be your job, your hobby, pursuit of an idea or a goal, your family or friends, or even yourself.  But, perhaps the first step towards constant happiness is recognizing what makes you happy. So, I began to contemplate moments in my life when I felt the most joyful. And one moment, in particular, stood out the most. This is that moment. It was the end of the first day of my Himalayan trek. I had been trekking for about 9 hours and was completely and utterly exhausted. The altitude had me gasping for air for the better part of the trek and my legs were killing me by the time we got to the homestay where my guide, Stanzin, and I would be spending the night. We were greeted graciously by our Ladakhi hosts with cups of hot tea and I still remembe...

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" - Nelson Mandela It seems fitting to start this post off with a quote by Nelson Mandela because I've spent the last couple of weeks in South Africa. And boy, has it been one huge learning experience! I truly feel incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity not just because I've always wanted to visit Africa and because I love traveling (although I'd be lying if I said this wasn't one of my best traveling experiences). But this trip eventually ended up being something a lot more for me. I've always had a rather idealistic outlook on life. Everything was always black and white and since I was a kid, I had this ridiculous idea that life would be all smooth sailing. I would call it optimism but looking back at it, it was definitely closer to naiveté because I had absolutely no clue what I was talking about. And then life happened. Just like everyone else, ...

It’s been about a week since I’ve been back home and I figured this would be a good time to pen down some final thoughts about my experience in Jaipur. The entire trip was fantastic. From interacting with the kids to the delicious food to the wonderful volunteers, I really couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Let me start off by talking about the people I met on this trip. Amita and Pranay are the people who run Sankalp. They’re a married couple who have been doing this for the past 6 years. They really took great care of us and went out of their way to make us feel at home. I was in India for Christmas and New Year’s and they put up a Christmas tree for us and decorated the living room with lots of lights. It was a small, but really touching gesture because this was about the time when most people were starting to feel homesick. We even had a cake (which apparently tasted like chlorine) on Christmas Day. For NYE, they set up a bonfire on the terrace, along with lots of u...