Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Swine-flu alert: Wash your eyes before and after reading this!

It has been an awesome week and an even more awesome weekend. The week, as it is, was awesome not because I achieved something great at work or anything, just that I didn’t mess up anything big time.

My week goes something like this – Monday and Tuesday – I think and re-think about how I spent the weekend gone by, what I shopped for or what movie I saw or where I roamed around or what I ate and think about blogging about it. Wednesday – I start making plans for the next weekend; after all it is now only 3 days away. Thursday and Friday – I work hard to implement the plans – calling up friends, convincing them, booking tickets, arranging accommodation (if need be)… Phew!!! God, I wish I were as organized in my work!

Throughout last week, I had an additional fear too – the fear of the flu. Agreed it is a pandemic, agreed it is fatal, and agreed it is tough to control the spread of the virus in a country like India where it is crowded everywhere – but the media didn’t have to blow it up so much. For 5 days all I could hear, see and read was swine-flu related deaths. If I didn’t open any newspaper’s website (just to stay from all the swine-flu news), my super-intelligent friends would send me mails after mails telling me how many times I should wash my hand everyday and how I should use a tissue paper while sneezing/coughing (!!!) like I didn’t know that already! And what is with all these masks? My office had made it mandatory for the cafeteria folks to put on masks. On Friday, I was munching on a sandwich early in the morning and choked on it and started coughing to relieve myself. A member of the cleaning staff asked me to put on a mask while coughing. I just choked on some food, for crying out loud!!! What the hell… As Vadivel would say “Nalla kelapparaingayya beedhiya”…

For the weekend, I and 3 of my friends had gone to Yelagiri hills - a not very-well-known hill station in Vellore district – about 4 hours drive from Chennai/Bangalore, not as spectacularly high as Ooty or Kodaikanal, not as many places to see, but it is the nearest getaway for people who love being in the hills. The best part was the trekking trip on Sunday. It was an 8km (up and down) trek to a temple on top of a hill and offers a nice view of the villages and farms downhill. The worst part of it was the steps – whoever asked people to build steps (with slippery rocks) all the way to the temple! It made the trek very boring – it was as if I was climbing the steps to Marudamalai temple. But yeah, it also made me realize how unfit I have become. For the amount of trekking I used to do when I was in Coimbatore, this one should have been a walk in the park for me. But sadly I was panting barely half a kilometer into the forest. One person I am sure who would have actually had it easy would be my Paati (grandma). At 87, she is still the most energetic and active person I have seen! Touchwood (I don’t know why my hand went to touch my head almost involuntarily when I said touchwood!)

After the trip, I had to bunk office yesterday to think and re-think about the weekend and today I am blogging about it. So my work for the day is done! This week, I don’t have to plan for the next weekend because I am going to Coimbatore. So the plan is just to eat and sleep – during the rest of the week and the coming weekend. Until then, chao!

18 comments:

  1. The amount of trekking you used to do in Coimbatore?? hehehe:D

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  2. hi,
    blog is ok but not that fabulous as all the others.. or maybe we are gettin used to description of ur daily stuffs...

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  3. @Gayathri
    What would you know, girl? I used to bunk college and go to CIRS with Raj Anna for trekking along with Ajitji ;-)

    @Anonymous
    Maybe you are getting used to my daily routine, but you see, I can only write about what I know. By the way, please do not post comments anonymously!

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  4. Trekking sounds too much fun, but it is too sad that I've never been able to trek, with all my friend too worried abt the climate and the skin..Now a days am happy looking/reading at other's trekking experience :)

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  5. @Swetha
    There is a Google group for trekkers (I am sure there is one for each city). You could try enrolling in some such group and you'd have company. You would only have to pay a minimum amount (for the food and stuff). It'd be fun if you go in a large group. Check it out if you are really interested. :-) All the best!

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  6. hmm... give me ur manager's email id pls...

    I think, it would make his work easy at the end of appraisal.. :)

    Luv/ME

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  7. @Dhinu
    And you me your manager's... Tit-for-tat! ;-)

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  8. Weekend trekking...one day bunk...idhellam konjam over illa ?

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  9. @Chan
    Over dhaan... Enna panna? I needed something exciting going on. That's why!

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  10. About the swine flu... must say it is one helluva media hype!

    Touchwood... gethu... I do the same thing...hi5!!

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  11. Good! so u got the excitement you needed... :-)

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  12. @Sriram
    Thank you, thank you!

    @Chan
    Yep... The trip lifted my spirits and almost broke my knees ;-)

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  13. Nice post..

    I love trekking..

    I know how almost abt everyone has got masks on...

    Make website india

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  14. Sandhya,

    How ? How ? How on earth do you find time to do all this stuff inspite of working in IT ?

    Have a nice weekend,
    K.Kiran.

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  15. "Wash your eyes before and after reading this!"..lolzzzzz.....u gotta great sense of humor!!!!

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  16. @workhard
    Tahnks for visiting!

    @Kiran
    These weekend trips are the only good things going on in my life. In fact, these are the things that keep me going. So, I have to make time out for these.

    @VJ
    Thank u, man! :-) I am flattered!

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