This past weekend has been one of the best ever,a weekend that I will remember for a long long time to come for various reasons.
It was my best friend Maddy's 30th birthday on Monday and her husband B,and a couple of her colleagues planned on throwing her a surprise party on Saturday.B being the sweet guy that he is, decided that the festivities would be incomplete without me(thats what I chose to believe anyway!) and convinced me to fly over to Virginia.All I had to do was to say yes.The sweet man even took care of my flight reservations leaving me with nothing to do except making sure that I would not blabber everything to Maddy during one of our daily conversations.
The party itself was a major hit and she was really surprised by all of it as her friends had done an excellent job of decorating the place and making all the required arrangements whilst B managed to pry her away from the home scene on the pretext of shopping.But the best part for me would have to be the moment she laid eyes on me when she let out this loud blood curling scream,dropped all the shopping bags on the floor and ran into my arms and we hugged each other tight, screaming all the while with excitement!My trip was made worth my while by that one moment.And of course when I met her wonderful little angel of a daughter.She is such an adorable little sweetheart who makes my heart melt into a puddle everytime calls me "Dhodamma" (Aunty or Mausi in Kannada).This little darling is the closest I will ever get to a niece so this bonding with her meant a lot to me.
And the icing on the cake was of course when I met our very own DotThoughts. She and I met at this mall near Maddy's place before I went to the party and I had a really nice time with her.The time we spent was short but nonetheless I am so glad I got to see Dottie.She is just as warm and wonderful as her blog is,very bubbly and animated and lot of fun to talk to.She looks so much younger than she actually is!She was kind enough to offer to drop me to Maddy's place which was a good 10 miles in the opposite direction as her house was.Oh and she also introduced me to the Bratz Doll, a hideous concept for a doll which I still cannot get over.
It was one helluva memorable weekend...
Edited to add : This has nothing to do with the past weekend but it does fall in line with title of the post and it had slipped my mind to write about it though I meant to.So I met another fellow blogger last year and this is none other than Ms.La Vida Loca.
It was winter and the weather that day was treacherous with snow storms and heavy rains.And our Ms.Loca managed to brave the rough weather and drive all by herself in a new city which was very impressive.We met for lunch and spent a good 3 hours chatting and it was so much fun getting to know her and her quirky side.When she mentioned that she was planning to spend the night on the couch at her husband's friends' apartment,I just had to invite her home and ask her to spend the night at our place.We have been in regular touch since then and its been really nice knowing this quirky girl with a really quirky sense of humor.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I have a dream
Has it ever happened to you that you dream of something very scary but when you try and recollect what the fuss was all about in the morning,it seems so silly and banal?Well, it happens to me all the time.But the scariest aspect of a dream atleast as far as I am concerned is the fact that it recurs over and over again and this does a number on my brain.I am at a loss for answers when I try and analyze the dreams themselves and also the reason as to why they come back again and again to haunt me.
I have two dreams that keep coming back.One of them is where I am trying to make a phone call but its too dark and I cannot see the numbers all too clearly.This is probably a manifestation of the darkness because of my eyes being closed when I am asleep and dreaming.But the scary part is that even when I can see the dial well enough,I always end up dialing the wrong number.Always.I dial and re-dial like a hundred times over but in each instance I would have gotten the number wrong.
The other dream is where I am in college and its exam time and I suddenly realize that I an completely unprepared and I do not even know what topics I need to study.I am able to somehow manage English and Science but when it comes to Math,I am in a really hopeless situation.I have 2 days to prepare for the Math exam but the topics are so complicated that it is impossible for me to figure it out all by myself.So I decide I need some help and I try to call a friend on mine.And thats when I am unable to make the damned call.
Even as I type this post,the whole thing seems a tad silly but at that point of time when I am actually dreaming this stuff, it is the single most frightening experience ever.The panic and helplessness feels so real.And the fact that it is recurs over and over again makes it all the more frustrating and surreal.
While I am at it,I have been asked to reveal 10 of my deepest, darkest secrets or at least 10 things you don't know about me by the very beautiful Silvara. Well, lets see:
1] When I eat rotis with subji,I normally need a very large quantity of subji; for a regular person,the quantity of the side dish that I need for 1 roti would probably be good for atleast 2-3 rotis.
2] I have a bad case of "starting problem".Be it a new project or new technology or a new restaurant or a new dish or a new outfit or a new friend or a conversation even,I have a hard time with the initiation part.
3] I have never been able to do anything ahead of time especially when it comes to preparing for an exam or cooking for guests.I somehow manage to push it to the very minute and then I start to panic.But in the end I have managed to somehow pull it off.
4] My hand bag must have a comb/hair brush, chapstick and a packet of facial tissue irrespective of whether or not I have my wallet even.
5] I can get very competitive.
6] I used to make small children cry when I was a kid.Only those that were annoying or those that spoke in a manner that was way too much for their age though.
7] I cannot bring myself to throw away food.Especially if it something that has been sitting in the refrigerator for over a week.
8] I get very disturbed at the sight of neatly arranged dots or anything round and resembling a dot like for example daal spread out neatly on plate in one layer.I guess it has to do with this Kananda I saw as a kid which had Kalpana playing the female lead.She is very proud of her good looks and suddenly one day she gets this measles-like diseases that causes black round marks all over her face.Ugggghhhhhhhh.
9] I have always wanted and will continue to yearn for an elder brother and a pet dog.
10] I used to play a lot of cricket as a kid and I was one of the best batsmen there ever was.Until it was ok for boys and girls to play together without feeling shy or conscious,I was always in demand while teams were being formed.
It has been really long since I did one of these tags! I shall pass it on to DotThoughts, SnippetsNScribbles, Divya and my new found blogger buddies Imp's mom,cluelesschick and Abha.
I have two dreams that keep coming back.One of them is where I am trying to make a phone call but its too dark and I cannot see the numbers all too clearly.This is probably a manifestation of the darkness because of my eyes being closed when I am asleep and dreaming.But the scary part is that even when I can see the dial well enough,I always end up dialing the wrong number.Always.I dial and re-dial like a hundred times over but in each instance I would have gotten the number wrong.
The other dream is where I am in college and its exam time and I suddenly realize that I an completely unprepared and I do not even know what topics I need to study.I am able to somehow manage English and Science but when it comes to Math,I am in a really hopeless situation.I have 2 days to prepare for the Math exam but the topics are so complicated that it is impossible for me to figure it out all by myself.So I decide I need some help and I try to call a friend on mine.And thats when I am unable to make the damned call.
Even as I type this post,the whole thing seems a tad silly but at that point of time when I am actually dreaming this stuff, it is the single most frightening experience ever.The panic and helplessness feels so real.And the fact that it is recurs over and over again makes it all the more frustrating and surreal.
While I am at it,I have been asked to reveal 10 of my deepest, darkest secrets or at least 10 things you don't know about me by the very beautiful Silvara. Well, lets see:
1] When I eat rotis with subji,I normally need a very large quantity of subji; for a regular person,the quantity of the side dish that I need for 1 roti would probably be good for atleast 2-3 rotis.
2] I have a bad case of "starting problem".Be it a new project or new technology or a new restaurant or a new dish or a new outfit or a new friend or a conversation even,I have a hard time with the initiation part.
3] I have never been able to do anything ahead of time especially when it comes to preparing for an exam or cooking for guests.I somehow manage to push it to the very minute and then I start to panic.But in the end I have managed to somehow pull it off.
4] My hand bag must have a comb/hair brush, chapstick and a packet of facial tissue irrespective of whether or not I have my wallet even.
5] I can get very competitive.
6] I used to make small children cry when I was a kid.Only those that were annoying or those that spoke in a manner that was way too much for their age though.
7] I cannot bring myself to throw away food.Especially if it something that has been sitting in the refrigerator for over a week.
8] I get very disturbed at the sight of neatly arranged dots or anything round and resembling a dot like for example daal spread out neatly on plate in one layer.I guess it has to do with this Kananda I saw as a kid which had Kalpana playing the female lead.She is very proud of her good looks and suddenly one day she gets this measles-like diseases that causes black round marks all over her face.Ugggghhhhhhhh.
9] I have always wanted and will continue to yearn for an elder brother and a pet dog.
10] I used to play a lot of cricket as a kid and I was one of the best batsmen there ever was.Until it was ok for boys and girls to play together without feeling shy or conscious,I was always in demand while teams were being formed.
It has been really long since I did one of these tags! I shall pass it on to DotThoughts, SnippetsNScribbles, Divya and my new found blogger buddies Imp's mom,cluelesschick and Abha.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Pain pain go away...
And my back woes continue.
It all started early last year when we shifted houses twice in very quick succession.The first time around M and I misjudged the amount of work that needed to be done in terms of packing, cleaning, moving and unpacking and ended up doing everything by ourselves.This took its toll on my back and I was in pretty bad shape.Unfortunately,we did not quite like the new place and decided to move almost immediately.But this time around,we did not have packing to do as most of our stuff was still in the respective boxes and we hired movers.But the damage had been done.I could not stand for too long nor could I walk for too long.The pain was its worst during early mornings when I could no longer sleep and would have to sit up and walk around just to alleviate the soreness and agony.
I went to our family physician who went through the usual routine of OTC pain medication followed by a round of steroids.Nothing worked.He then did an MRI and found no issues.So he recommended physical therapy.There was no improvement in my condition.So I went to an orthopedic surgeon.He put me through the same rigmarole only this time he found two bulges in my discs in the lower back.But the treatment did not change my condition in any way.Finally I went to another highly recommended orthopedic surgeon who of course came to the very same conclusion as the previous guy.But this guy went one step further and asked me get steroid faucet joint injections.So 8 injections were administered,4 on either side of my spine.This was supposed to negate the pain during which time I was asked to do physical therapy in order to strengthen my back.Turns out that this was completely useless as it did absolutely nothing for me.
So I started physical therapy and the first session went off well and the lady did a very detailed and accurate assessment of my condition.When I was about to leave,she told me very hesitantly that she was on vacation from he next day and so my next session would be with a different therapist.I was so mad.I mean is she knew she was going to be away why on earth did she have to do my assessment in the first place?Anyways,the nest session was with this therapist Chris who totally sucked.She is the kind that wants to talk all the time,not only to you but to all the other patients.She constantly interfered in the treatment of the other patients while she neglected her own.And when it came to my treatment,she somehow never knew what to do.She had to consult the other therapists for directions all the time.I finally got fed up and asked for a change of therapist.I was then assigned to the director of that facility,a young guy called CJ.I soon discovered that while CJ is good technically,he has about 6 patients at any given time slot.He has no time to even listen to what I have to say about my condition.But since he is the director after all,who am I to second guess his work and so I kept at it.
Its been almost 3 sessions and we have done the same 3 exercises and the worst part is that none of them are stretching exercises which are so essential for any back strengthening routine.I try to give him specific details about my problem but the guy refuses to listen.I just don't know what to do.These sessions don't come cheap and my back continues to agonize me.I know for a fact that I am not getting anything out of the physical therapy but I don't know how to make that guy listen to me.Everytime I try to pin him down he gets away with some mumbo jumbo for which I have no answer.I feel I should just quit and do the exercises on my own since I know most of them and have done them before at the earlier physical therapy center.But running away from the problem without facing it head-on also seems cowardly.
I wish I knew how to deal with that guy and get my point of view heard.
Sigh.
It all started early last year when we shifted houses twice in very quick succession.The first time around M and I misjudged the amount of work that needed to be done in terms of packing, cleaning, moving and unpacking and ended up doing everything by ourselves.This took its toll on my back and I was in pretty bad shape.Unfortunately,we did not quite like the new place and decided to move almost immediately.But this time around,we did not have packing to do as most of our stuff was still in the respective boxes and we hired movers.But the damage had been done.I could not stand for too long nor could I walk for too long.The pain was its worst during early mornings when I could no longer sleep and would have to sit up and walk around just to alleviate the soreness and agony.
I went to our family physician who went through the usual routine of OTC pain medication followed by a round of steroids.Nothing worked.He then did an MRI and found no issues.So he recommended physical therapy.There was no improvement in my condition.So I went to an orthopedic surgeon.He put me through the same rigmarole only this time he found two bulges in my discs in the lower back.But the treatment did not change my condition in any way.Finally I went to another highly recommended orthopedic surgeon who of course came to the very same conclusion as the previous guy.But this guy went one step further and asked me get steroid faucet joint injections.So 8 injections were administered,4 on either side of my spine.This was supposed to negate the pain during which time I was asked to do physical therapy in order to strengthen my back.Turns out that this was completely useless as it did absolutely nothing for me.
So I started physical therapy and the first session went off well and the lady did a very detailed and accurate assessment of my condition.When I was about to leave,she told me very hesitantly that she was on vacation from he next day and so my next session would be with a different therapist.I was so mad.I mean is she knew she was going to be away why on earth did she have to do my assessment in the first place?Anyways,the nest session was with this therapist Chris who totally sucked.She is the kind that wants to talk all the time,not only to you but to all the other patients.She constantly interfered in the treatment of the other patients while she neglected her own.And when it came to my treatment,she somehow never knew what to do.She had to consult the other therapists for directions all the time.I finally got fed up and asked for a change of therapist.I was then assigned to the director of that facility,a young guy called CJ.I soon discovered that while CJ is good technically,he has about 6 patients at any given time slot.He has no time to even listen to what I have to say about my condition.But since he is the director after all,who am I to second guess his work and so I kept at it.
Its been almost 3 sessions and we have done the same 3 exercises and the worst part is that none of them are stretching exercises which are so essential for any back strengthening routine.I try to give him specific details about my problem but the guy refuses to listen.I just don't know what to do.These sessions don't come cheap and my back continues to agonize me.I know for a fact that I am not getting anything out of the physical therapy but I don't know how to make that guy listen to me.Everytime I try to pin him down he gets away with some mumbo jumbo for which I have no answer.I feel I should just quit and do the exercises on my own since I know most of them and have done them before at the earlier physical therapy center.But running away from the problem without facing it head-on also seems cowardly.
I wish I knew how to deal with that guy and get my point of view heard.
Sigh.
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