RACONTEUR-ESQUE SCRIBBLINGS

It's been two months and two weeks since a 15 kg bag and badly shaped stairs on a bus became the reason for a reasonably good walker to end up hobbling wherever she went. While she was initially assured that it was just a sprain and all that she needed was rest, the physical signs indicated otherwise. While seeking a third opinion, a closer scrutiny of the x-ray showed a line that shouldn't be there. The doctor put on his serious face and said, "Your bone is cracked" That was three weeks into the injury, after she had hobbled around the streets of a foreign country, flew over 6000 km, and then hobbled around the factory of her work place for almost two weeks. Once again, she was prescribed rest, some anti-swelling tablets, and was taught how to do a mean figure-8 bandage.  Turns out the first doctor was *almost right, the second doctor needs a new pair of glasses, and the third doctor, well... I don't really know. The foot is almost back to normal now, although...

Someone has gone and copied one of the most versatile food ingredient - the humble, but absolutely awesome chicken egg. You give them a peek at your design, and *3 days later you see a copycat in the market, mass produced and sold at *98% cheaper than you ever meant it to be. They add melamine and nitrates into milk to kill children. They rocked the Olympics opening ceremony when they had the chance, though. And now, eggs... A few days ago, a housewife brought some eggs to the consumer association after finding something quite amiss with them while cooking, and they were found to be fakes. Now the **whole country is quite worried if they had accidentally consumed the fake eggs (allegedly made of chemicals) without noticing it. I know for a fact that I might probably dismiss the fact that the egg didn't smell like an egg, or had the wrong consistency as just a 'batch problem' if I wasn't aware of the fake eggs story. Who would even think of such a thing as a fake egg? ...

Conversations hardly revolve around airport security, but if they did, and if someone actually wanted to know my thoughts on it a few months ago, I would have vehemently declared that the Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (or LAGs) ban killed the Backpacker's dream. See, airport security hangs on to such a delicate thread that no one in their right mind wants to disrupt that balance and be forever banned from setting their foot in new lands seeking adventure. And because I do not really travel that much (I'll be contradicting this statement pretty soon), I have only a very vague idea on the actual rules and regulations regarding LAGs. They are my travel based nightmares. For that reason wherever I go, ALL toiletries end up in my check in luggage. Occassionally I'd carry an empty water bottle to refill (some airports have water dispensers at the boarding gate area which is awesome) But even then, a few years ago, while I was on my way back from Japan with an empty bottle in my ca...

Around 4 years and 1 month ago, I was handed a heartache on a platter in the form of a laptop. To make matters worse, I actually paid for it. It was the very first laptop/computer I ever bought on my own, and I grudgingly have to admit now that I might have been taken on a small ride (they changed the OS from XP to Vista with only 503 MB of memory) without knowing it until at least a year later A few weeks ago, the laptop suddenly died while I was using it. After fretting for awhile and finally allowing it to 'cool down' it revived and started working again as though nothing had happened. Good news? Maybe. Or maybe not. Then last night, it went berserk again. My sister was using it for something and she complained that the screen showed her that 'a fatal error has occurred'. She also said that before her laptop died late last year, it had behaved in such a way. Inevitably, the heartache on a platter may have reached the end of it's road. Undeniably, the idea of g...

I stupidly went and sprained my ankle all over again, and it's all because I was trying to maneouver a 15 kg bag down some steps of a bus. Actually it happened too quickly for me to realise what had actually happened. All I knew was one minute I was walking down the steps, and the next had me doubled up in pain on the curb, head bent down while I held my ankle and took in a long deep breath. Now, I'll leave the details of my injury to your imagination or perhaps to a later post. All I'll say is that my left foot has swollen to scary proportions, shows no sign of improvement and looks like it doesn't belong to me, but to the Michelin Man instead.  A reluctant visit to the doctor last night left me extremely frustrated - as all she did was give me a referral letter to get my foot X-rayed after she did the 'push against my hand' test (which I passed with flying colours, or so I think based on the fact that I could bend my foot to push her palm - and on my own, I...

Somewhere in the late afternoon today, I crossed over an invisible threshold and firmly set my feet amongst a group known as 'the thirty-somethings', a group where several members who have been there for a few years say is waaay better than the depressing twenties. Last night, I found myself watching the final scene of a certain episode of How I Met Your Mother in a continuous loop. For some reason, the idea of 'taking the leap', in that episode had a strange hold on me the very first time I saw it. Perhaps taking the leap is what we should all do with our lives every now and then. Screw the plan (if there is any in the first place), and just have faith and listen to what the world is trying to tell you. The song used in the scene is pretty awesome too. I also realised that the principal character in the show celebrated his 31st birthday that day, and figured that it'll be a rather fitting video to share. Maybe it is time to take the leap.

The aroma of the spices waft around and give one of those rapper hand gestures to your nose which reels in shock while you're opening the packaging. It says cake on it, and you picture the cakes you're usually used to. Not this time though.  An attempt to sample  the 'local' sweets of a faraway land, led us to purchase some 'cakes' and sweets while we were in the city of Colombo the day before our flight back to Malaysia. And of course a couple of weeks after sitting in the fridge (the whole family was down with some strange sort of stomach and digestive tract related illness after the holiday, sadly), we open the boxes of the cakes, and  assault our taste buds with cakes that are extremely sweet and spicy (Cinnamon, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cloves,among others for those who are curious) all at the same time.  While the rest of the family members seem to enjoy the cakes, I can't bring myself to enjoy them as I usually would enjoy cakes (and trust me, I am a fan o...