Running after one's bus..

For all those who have declared that weight-loss does not exist in my dictionary and that plumpness runs in the family-
For all those who measured my body mass index and put me in the 'mildly obese' category-
For all those who assumed that my weight is a monotonically increasing function of time -
And for my mom, who used to feel extremely happy of my achievement, whenever I said "I have NOT piled on any more weight" -

I weighed 70.2 kilos as on 04th September 2005, measured at around 2pm. That’s a solid 5 kilos lesser than previously set personal record of 75.6K when I was in S’pore.

It would be too easy to assume that this is due to the decreased intake of unfamiliar food in a foreign country. But I have been feasting on the vegetarian delicacies that French food has to offer, especially the liberal helpings of various types of fromage(cheese) and desserts.

Dieting is always out of question for a life-long glutton like me.

Even the attempts to move my mass around in the badminton court twice a week, cannot explain this effect well enough.

It has to be my new found passion in running to catch the bus!

‘Late-comerosis’ has been my disease all these years, and I unwilling supported the notion that “Punctuality is the art of waiting for others, who are late”. But today, it has led me to the discovery of a new sport which has all qualities of speed, endurance, thrill, strategic time management, humour and of course weight-loss.

It started in my first week in France, when I missed a bus to office, without knowing that it’s the last bus in the morning. After a series of misadventures, I reached office during lunchtime, 3.5 hours after starting from the hotel, alerting a number of my colleagues who took great efforts to get in touch with my hotel.

I tried to change. But since I could not wake up any earlier, I had to run faster, and for a longer distance to catch the bus. This was also the case in the evening, as my office is situated a good 435 running steps away from the bus stop.

Eventually I grew to like this jog-a-run to the bus, and didn’t mind spending some extra minutes at home or office than any sane person should. I could be seen Forrest Gumping my way to the bus stop, quite predictably on most of the days.

My friends traveling with me from Aix, often laughed when they found me sprinting towards the bus, and stagger into the bus puffing and panting. One even suffered a minor heart attack, when he found me WAITING for the bus one day! I may not be able to beat an athlete in terms of speed. But if the choice is between catching the last bus, and spending the night in office, I can easily surprise a few slow minds.

Having tried unsuccessfully the more dangerous sports of 'foot-board-traveler' , and 'jumping-on-and-off' moving buses in India, I suggest this game to all procrastinating souls, as a safe and exciting way to a healthy lifestyle.