We, the Joseph family didn't know where we'd be spending Christmas until the very last moment. With late planning, and circumstances changing faster than the speed of light, we didn't know whether we'd spend it here in Calcutta, or if we'd manage to book late tickets so that we could have some family time with Grandparents, cousins etc.
But things worked out so well by God's grace, all the tickets were booked and confirmed without much hassle (how was that possible in the holiday season?!)
Being someone who has only just gathered up the courage to make mile-long walks after months of not leaving the house compound on foot due to fear of exhaustion, I found the prospect exciting. Fun with cousins in the middle of tea and cardamom plantations would test my physical stamina and pump clean fresh-tea-and-cardomom-filled air into my TB fluid filled lungs making it a truly rejuvinating experience. Just what I need.
And it's just what I got! Though we had to wake up early (at 3am) in the morning in Calcutta to reach Chennai in the afternoon, then meet my grandparents and watch a movie there, then go to bed late because we couldn't get home on time 11pm and wake up early (4am) again, to take 7 hour train-journey to Mysore, then take a 4 hour jeep ride to our cousins place, to we were all still fired up for a game of basketball that evening, and enjoy a post dinner caroling session after that. Such was the excitement!
Spending quality time with family is something I haven't been able to do for a long time, let alone with the extended family. So, the five month vacation at home with parents climaxing to a 3 day fun-time with the extended family was just what I needed.
Fun treks around the plantations, last-minute-gift shopping, the gorgeous food (courtesy Chitie) singing Christmas carols, pushing eachother to sing solos, pulling eachother's legs, talking and sharing lives and praying together made it so unforgettable.
We were worried if the trip would weary us out, because of all the travelling with so less time spent together. We had prayed hard that the trip would be rejuvenating and not tiresome, and praise God it was! ... err.. rejuvenating.
Can't wait for the next grand family get-together!
Friday, January 01, 2010
Saturday, October 31, 2009
An Ode to my Family
It's been three months since dad (metaphorically) picked me up from my sick-bed in Shalom and flew me across the gangetic plain to our new home in Calcutta. A lot has changed in three months; we were all new to Calcutta, half-scared, with me being sick and all, everything was so alien then. In three months, we've sorta settled down here, in our new place; mom's hindi is getting better, and David (my brother) has come over to flavor the home with some much needed wit and slapstick.
Three months, and I have lost a lot of weight (there wasn't much to lose in the beginning anyway) I've grown a beard, and I've read a quite a few books. I've changed to the Dvorak keyboard layout, for no reason other than to alleviate boredom, and am slowly getting better at it.
But what I cherish the most of the three months is the support from my family that I've taken for granted. Staying at home all the time, with the inability to do anything productive could make an average person quite irritable. Mom and Dad, silently bearing my sarcasm and blank stares cared for me with love I've always taken for granted. David, with his concern for my health and well-being is also appreciated, though most of the time I push him away.
And of course, there are friends, who call, email, skype and chat to cheer me up. Thank you so much.
Well, it isn't supposed to be a thank you speech, but I really owe all of you a big one.
Obviously, I'm still not completely well, so I still need your support and prayers!
Three months, and I have lost a lot of weight (there wasn't much to lose in the beginning anyway) I've grown a beard, and I've read a quite a few books. I've changed to the Dvorak keyboard layout, for no reason other than to alleviate boredom, and am slowly getting better at it.
But what I cherish the most of the three months is the support from my family that I've taken for granted. Staying at home all the time, with the inability to do anything productive could make an average person quite irritable. Mom and Dad, silently bearing my sarcasm and blank stares cared for me with love I've always taken for granted. David, with his concern for my health and well-being is also appreciated, though most of the time I push him away.
And of course, there are friends, who call, email, skype and chat to cheer me up. Thank you so much.
Well, it isn't supposed to be a thank you speech, but I really owe all of you a big one.
Obviously, I'm still not completely well, so I still need your support and prayers!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Update 2
It's a Sunday today, and I spent the entire morning in front of the comp. Not something a good Christian boy like myself should be doing, but we thought it better I stay at home, as predictably I start getting a fever around 10 in the morning.
Sadly, there isn't anything interesting I can post here, because of the current state of house arrest I'm in. (not to mention the daily 4 hour nap to get rid of the fever) Now, I've gotten so used to the high temperatures, I don't even know I have a fever (101F) that mom has to stick a thermometer in my mouth, give loud exclamations forcing me to bed!
The only other pre-occupation that I have (excluding youtube videos and DD Sports) is ruminating about the future! There have been so many good suggestions from many loved ones, but somehow, I feel the need to have an interest in something in order to get into it. From an idealist point of view, why work for your entire life in an area you aren't interested in at all? The catch to this point is, you need to have interest in something if you want to take that stand. What do people like myself do? Well, thats where things stand now... for those interested, thanks for reading!
Sadly, there isn't anything interesting I can post here, because of the current state of house arrest I'm in. (not to mention the daily 4 hour nap to get rid of the fever) Now, I've gotten so used to the high temperatures, I don't even know I have a fever (101F) that mom has to stick a thermometer in my mouth, give loud exclamations forcing me to bed!
The only other pre-occupation that I have (excluding youtube videos and DD Sports) is ruminating about the future! There have been so many good suggestions from many loved ones, but somehow, I feel the need to have an interest in something in order to get into it. From an idealist point of view, why work for your entire life in an area you aren't interested in at all? The catch to this point is, you need to have interest in something if you want to take that stand. What do people like myself do? Well, thats where things stand now... for those interested, thanks for reading!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Update:
The previous post ranted about people talking about me losing weight when I make sure I do all I could to become bigger. Here's the reason for the mystery.
The day after I wrote that post, I fell to heavy fever, which I figured was a normal viral. Taking it lightly, I went to work the entire week on pain-killers. But the fever didn't go down even after the strong antibiotic dose I had taken completed its course.
I had to forgo a business tour, (I was supposed to leave for Allahabad that weekend) because of the continuing fever, and had decided to stay over at work the following Monday, judging that food and laundry will be taken care of, along with everything else.
It was only after 2 more days of weakness and fever did we do an x-ray and realize it was because of Tuberculosis! (Now that's why I've been losing weight!) Now the X-ray itself is a sight to see. Three fourths of my right lung was missing! Apparently it was all covered in fluid!
An admission to a private hospital and a minor operation involving the Doc plugging a rubber tube through my back and into my lung draining two litres of TB fluid (apparently a hospital record) was something I had to go through before I got to fly home to Calcutta, where I am right now.
I will be here (in Calcutta) for an indefinite amount of time until I'm ready to get back to Delhi.
During this time, I will also be thinking of alternate careers. Anybody with an idea, please please put it in the comments. (not compulsory, but it would be great if you could specify the company/organization or college I might be interested in working or studying in)
The day after I wrote that post, I fell to heavy fever, which I figured was a normal viral. Taking it lightly, I went to work the entire week on pain-killers. But the fever didn't go down even after the strong antibiotic dose I had taken completed its course.
I had to forgo a business tour, (I was supposed to leave for Allahabad that weekend) because of the continuing fever, and had decided to stay over at work the following Monday, judging that food and laundry will be taken care of, along with everything else.
It was only after 2 more days of weakness and fever did we do an x-ray and realize it was because of Tuberculosis! (Now that's why I've been losing weight!) Now the X-ray itself is a sight to see. Three fourths of my right lung was missing! Apparently it was all covered in fluid!
An admission to a private hospital and a minor operation involving the Doc plugging a rubber tube through my back and into my lung draining two litres of TB fluid (apparently a hospital record) was something I had to go through before I got to fly home to Calcutta, where I am right now.
I will be here (in Calcutta) for an indefinite amount of time until I'm ready to get back to Delhi.
During this time, I will also be thinking of alternate careers. Anybody with an idea, please please put it in the comments. (not compulsory, but it would be great if you could specify the company/organization or college I might be interested in working or studying in)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Weighty issues
"Arrey Bhai Kaise ho? Theek toh ho, na? Pehle se bahut Kamzor lagte ho!" (Hey brother, how are you? You're okay, right? You look so much weaker than before!)
It was the second time I heard a statement on that issue today. Which sort of worries me. The last time I went home (which was not that long ago) I had lost around 6 kilos. Obviously due to the heat, stress, loneliness and indiscipline in eating, sleeping and hygiene. But I thought all of that was fixed when I went home for a break, where I had a recharge. Of course I did not put back all of the 6 kilos I had lost, but my weight had begun to increase again, setting my precedent for the new stretch of six months in Delhi.
It hasn't even been a month yet, but I guess I already have started on my downward weight slide.
The crazy thing is, from all the berating I got at home, I have actually made conscious decisions to eat sleep and exercise religiously. Heavy weight-training workouts everyday, good food, lots of fluids, and good sleep doesn't seem to help.
I take supplements, almonds, dates, and anything to help build me up, but my body still threatens to disappear into thin air one of these days.
Well, I've done my best. At least, in spite of all the weight-loss, I can still walk three kilometers in the hot sun without water and not feel tired. (Not that I do that on purpose to find out) I can still work throughout a stressful day only to get tired when it's time to shut down shop.
That's all I need for the moment. If a weak doped look is what I have to carry around, so be it. If God feeds the sparrows, I'm sure He'll find some time for me too!
It was the second time I heard a statement on that issue today. Which sort of worries me. The last time I went home (which was not that long ago) I had lost around 6 kilos. Obviously due to the heat, stress, loneliness and indiscipline in eating, sleeping and hygiene. But I thought all of that was fixed when I went home for a break, where I had a recharge. Of course I did not put back all of the 6 kilos I had lost, but my weight had begun to increase again, setting my precedent for the new stretch of six months in Delhi.
It hasn't even been a month yet, but I guess I already have started on my downward weight slide.
The crazy thing is, from all the berating I got at home, I have actually made conscious decisions to eat sleep and exercise religiously. Heavy weight-training workouts everyday, good food, lots of fluids, and good sleep doesn't seem to help.
I take supplements, almonds, dates, and anything to help build me up, but my body still threatens to disappear into thin air one of these days.
Well, I've done my best. At least, in spite of all the weight-loss, I can still walk three kilometers in the hot sun without water and not feel tired. (Not that I do that on purpose to find out) I can still work throughout a stressful day only to get tired when it's time to shut down shop.
That's all I need for the moment. If a weak doped look is what I have to carry around, so be it. If God feeds the sparrows, I'm sure He'll find some time for me too!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Change
Observing the ever-changing weather in Delhi suddenly brought to mind a strange thought. A thought that our children would learn about the seasons and times of the year in history books, (or websites) and not in biology. And that the reason for change in the seasons then, would depend on Account-closing times.
Brings to mind about a change in me own self. There was a time when I walked out of my Std X final exam with such glee thinking that I would never ever in my life need to have anything to do with Hindi again. Most of the torture and failure I endured through half of my school-years was due to that ------ language.
In Std V, I was forced to take Hindi over Tamil, (my own mothertongue) as a second language in school because if my dad got transferred to another state, I'd have to study a new language all over again. Besides, the level of Tamil was much higher than that of Hindi.
Interestingly, my father never got transferred till I finished Std X, after which I didn't need to study a second language.
I hated the language all those five years of school. The amount of mugging up I had done was something amazing, esp for a student who hatted mugging up. We never spoke a word of Hindi to eachother. Most (or rather, all) of it was just to rote-learn paragraphs upon paragraphs about poets, their poems, character sketches and grammar terms. I can bet that 70% of my classmates who did Hindi along with me cannot hold a sensible conversation for 10 seconds.
The boy who left the exam hall all those years ago has changed a lot. I right now live in Delhi, the land of the hindi-speakers, and can speak enough of the language to get myself around. Recently, I reached my first mile-stone in the language. I mediated a discussion-cum-training program for a batch of 15 hindi speakers (who don't know English at all) in HIV/AIDS for three whole hours. I still don't have any fascination for the language, but the hatred I had toward the language has gone, and I actually want to learn more because there are so many conversations I'd love to have with such interesting people around me.
If I knew at Std X, that I would one day work in Delhi among Hindi-speakers, I would have thought the worst of myself. But now, I'm quite happy where I am.
I'm still trying to get my mind around this change in me I once thought could never happen!
Brings to mind about a change in me own self. There was a time when I walked out of my Std X final exam with such glee thinking that I would never ever in my life need to have anything to do with Hindi again. Most of the torture and failure I endured through half of my school-years was due to that ------ language.
In Std V, I was forced to take Hindi over Tamil, (my own mothertongue) as a second language in school because if my dad got transferred to another state, I'd have to study a new language all over again. Besides, the level of Tamil was much higher than that of Hindi.
Interestingly, my father never got transferred till I finished Std X, after which I didn't need to study a second language.
I hated the language all those five years of school. The amount of mugging up I had done was something amazing, esp for a student who hatted mugging up. We never spoke a word of Hindi to eachother. Most (or rather, all) of it was just to rote-learn paragraphs upon paragraphs about poets, their poems, character sketches and grammar terms. I can bet that 70% of my classmates who did Hindi along with me cannot hold a sensible conversation for 10 seconds.
The boy who left the exam hall all those years ago has changed a lot. I right now live in Delhi, the land of the hindi-speakers, and can speak enough of the language to get myself around. Recently, I reached my first mile-stone in the language. I mediated a discussion-cum-training program for a batch of 15 hindi speakers (who don't know English at all) in HIV/AIDS for three whole hours. I still don't have any fascination for the language, but the hatred I had toward the language has gone, and I actually want to learn more because there are so many conversations I'd love to have with such interesting people around me.
If I knew at Std X, that I would one day work in Delhi among Hindi-speakers, I would have thought the worst of myself. But now, I'm quite happy where I am.
I'm still trying to get my mind around this change in me I once thought could never happen!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Failed to register Sim Card
Does this error message pop up every now and then on your newly acquired mobile? Here's how you fix it! Take a piece of paper, fold it up and stuff it between your battery and the sim-card holder (if your phone is a nokia 3120 classic or has a similar holder of course) it is not a soft-ware or a firm-ware problem. Just a stupid loose connection which is an accidental legacy nokia has left i think even the e series phones.
I get the feeling this post is going to increase my blog readership!
I get the feeling this post is going to increase my blog readership!
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