Glad to be up here (5 things - Week 95)

Well, that was an eventful week. So much has happened/is happening that I don't know where to begin. I finally overcame my fear of having roadside food. After the Jaundice attack of Nov 2013, there was a conscious decision from my side to stop having roadside food, as we can't sure of the source from which they are gathering the water they use. I kept the thought of questionable water fountains to one side and really enjoyed the bhel chat that I had on Wednesday. And there's no complaints of any kind, up until this moment.

Another thing I was reacquainted with this week was Information overload. Having been trained in the ways of absorbing such situations over the course of my engineering degree, I was subsequently involved in the process of de-learning the said techniques over the past four years. So, I hope you will be sympathetic to me when I make it known to you that I was subject to this apparent torture of Information overload.

At some point in time, the concept of information overload must have been dealt with care. It was a signal of danger, the execution of which might push a person over the edge. After all, there is a limit to the amount of matter that a person can mentally digest. Then, as the amount of information a person is supposed to know grew, grew the need to fill the vessels that much faster - by vessel I mean our empty heads.

With the penetration of technology in our daily life, the concept of Information overload has gained another perspective. If earlier you had to force someone into Information overload by making them sit for hours in a classroom, the tech products we use these days have made us willing subjects for the same procedure.

Even though Google brings only ten links in the first page when you search for something, the concept of getting lost in the various links on the multitude of pages must not be an alien concept to you. You start your journey searching for "How to make dumplings" and after an hour or so, you might be trying to understand the reasons behind the strained relationships between China and Japan.

In case you are wondering what kind of Information overload I was subjected to, I'll say that it was of the good kind. We had an exercise this week, in which each of us had to speak about a topic of our choice for five minutes or so. In the course of various discourses, I was glad to be at the receiving end of many a nugget of information - stuff that I couldn't wait to share with you over here. A feeling which brought back to me the original purpose of this blog - sharing what I learned this week.

So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Hope you are ready for a classic "5 things I learned this week".

Shall we begin then??

***

1. Time bank

This was a concept shared by a friend of mine as he spoke. When you are born, you are given an account in an universal bank, which keeps track of the amount of time you have left in this life. There is no question of credit from any source, and there's a perennial debiting procedure going on. And you can never know what's your exact balance. The worst bank in the universe, right?

Well, we can't do much, but go with the flow. Everyone is subject to the same rules. We should just make sure that every second is used in the best possible manner.

2. Respect

The concept of respect is pretty much known to everyone. We have been told since we were little that we have to respect our elders, our seniors, our friends. But this friend of mine, who spoke today, had the opinion that there should not be any eligibility criteria in giving respect. No matter who is in front of you, it wouldn't hurt you one bit to give them respect.

3. Water flows from the sea to the river. Wait. Whaaaat!!??

Mind blowing right. Well, I knew that there's this theory of big bang, which resulted in the present universe. And that the universe is constantly expanding even now due that explosion which took place eons ago. What I didn't know was what would happen once the effects of the explosion would fizzle out. This friend of my mine came to speak about the same, and he shared the opinion of certain eminent scientists who feels that once the energy of the initial explosion is completely decimated, there would come a point in time, when time would start flowing back. That means that in that universe, I would be born by the procedure of death in this universe, and I would die by the procedure of birth in this universe. Weird, huh??

4. The science behind the customs

One of the best things about having non-south Indian food is the customary presence of a sweet dish at the end of the meal. And yesterday, one of my friends here had chosen to speak on the topic of the science behind Indian customs. I am planning to put through his entire content as a separate post, as it demands at least that much. Anyways, the reason about giving sweets at the end is to slow down the digestion process. And that is why we are usually asked not to eat it at the beginning of the meal.

5. Memories flash by

I've have to take credit for this one. I was lying on bed, feeling a little bit nostalgic about college days, when I realized that, no matter what, I couldn't make my mind play out the past in one continuous stream of images. It always has to be shown in flashes. An event which took hours to happen in the past, will be revisited by you now in a mere fraction of a second. Guess what they show in the movies are not real after all.

***

I haven't done an epilogue in ages, and today is good as any day to restart. I gave my speech today, and it was interesting to me because I got a feeling of how this conversation of ours is playing out in your mind. I chose the topic of "nothing" and chewed on ten minutes of my colleagues time with that. So, basically, it was like what I do here in the blog. I was able to view firsthand the reactions that I get from people. And I am happy to note that it is what I expect more often that not. Thank you for being such a wonderful audience.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

Resolutions (5 things - Week 94)

3 pm on this Saturday afternoon has myself sitting here on the bed. Yes, I’m one of those to whom a bed is not just a place to sleep in. It is someplace where I spend more than one third of my day, and hence, I prefer to bring some variety into the proceedings.

Anyways, as I was saying, I’m sitting here and searching for a topic to ponder about for today. I found some and now I’m going to let you choose from the following three options.

A. Food items from Delhi that I miss – because I had aloo paratta this morning and it has made me nostalgic.

B. Five words from English – because I am too lazy to go out and find some new stuff to write about.

C. Resolutions which have petered out – because I think it is a nice topic to talk about.

So, as you have decided, Option C is the way forward. I like the way you chose what I wanted to right about. And we will wait no longer and we’ll go straight into five not-necessarily New Year resolutions of mine which didn’t see February.

***

1. Personal gym

I’ve had friends going to the gym since I was in school. And I can say with pride that I didn’t bow into peer pressure. I chose to keep away and be my skinny, unhealthy self. But when I saw a senior at work bulk up over two months, prior to his marriage, in order to look good on the big day [and maybe for the night that followed that day], I realized that maybe I would have to do the same. So, as part of my New Year resolution of 2013, I decided to buy myself some weights and practice with them at home. Now, you might be thinking why I didn’t join any gym. I was too lazy to go through all those repetitions that the trainers force you to. I wanted to be control my exertions and be able to stop when I want.

And as I found out, I stopped soon enough.

2. Learning French

It’s very useful to learn a foreign language, said someone. And study German if you are going to because most of the good engineering companies are based in Germany, and it’ll give you an advantage. So, I decided to go and study the French language. Even though I was ready to invest my time into it, I wasn’t sure of investing financially, especially because the rates were so damn high.

So, I found some site on the internet which made you meet with people from around the world who wanted to learn some language, and in return they would teach you the one they know. I listed that I wanted to learn French, and listed English, Hindi and Malayalam as languages I knew.

One fine day, I got a mail. So, this lady from Canada who knows French wants to learn Malayalam. And more interesting was that she sent me the mail with snippets of it written in Malayalam. She had more than a basic control over the language.

We tried to make the mutual study work, but our time zones meant that either one of us had to way up early or stay up late. So we dropped the idea.

3. Writing something everyday

This was a middle of the year thing. One fine day, I decided that to force myself into writing, I’ll try to write something daily and publish it. You can see the ruins of forced semi-literature at http://thedailylore.blogspot.com/.

4. Watching Mindless TV serials

I meant stop watching mindless TV serials. Well, this was taken late last year. And thankfully, since I didn't stop watching them, I have one more point to add in this list.

5. Reading something everyday

You are supposed to pick up good habits from your better halves. So, I tried to pick this habit of all this year. And sadly, I can’t make sure that I read at least one chapter from a book every day, before I go to sleep. I need to binge read a book. I can’t consume it in installments.

I wonder how she does it though.

***

So, that's all for this week then. 

Have a great weekend!! 

'til next week.

Excuses (5 things - Week 93)

When a decision was made to port the outlet for my literary outpouring to another portal, I decided to put some serious thought into it. That was mostly because my last blog was named "The pasture of lunacy". Not the most inviting one, but for the sake of having a noticeable difference in title with respect to other blogs, I had gone ahead with something I subsequently regretted.

I know it's hard to believe that a substantial amount of time was spent on thinking up "Excuse me please", when the time came to christen the new blog. And you are right, it was more of a hunch naming. Mostly inspired from a famous Malayalam movie dialogue, the title was meant to indicate an act of seeking attention.

But over the weeks, I've found that the title is also symbolic of the many excuses that I give here. "Was busy with work at office", "was traveling for most parts of the week", "was so engrossed in falling in love that I forgot that I had to write a blog post", etc etc. The one for this week is that "I forgot I had to travel over the weekend, so I'm late for posting this".

Excuses of this kind have resulted in many changes here. The latest one saw the posting time delayed by 24 hours, to the midnight on Saturday. 

The funny thing about today is that I still haven't decided on what five things I'll be writing about. There had been this huge itch to scrap the "5 things" thing, but it's something I've shunned out cos it's the soul of the blog.

OK. After some quite thinking of 30 odd seconds, I've decided to enlighten you with five sentences, five quotes from the book laying on my lap

.

I have always been lucky in a way that I've always had people who nudged me towards excellent books. In fourth standard, the local librarian introduced me to the captivating stories of Enid Blyton. In eighth standard, my friend recommended me to read this book called "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone". And one month back, my brother took this book of the shelf and gave it to me and told me that this was nothing short of inspirational. And I agree.

So, for the "5 things" of this week, we'll be taking in the beauty of Paulo Coelho words from the "Manuscript found in Accra".

Shall we begin then??

***

1. "We do not agree about dates or about the best way to worship God, but in every other respect we live together in peace."

2. "What is knowledge? It isn't the absolute truth about life and death, but the thing that helps us to live and confront the challenges of day to day life...... It's the knowledge thatti lives in the hearts of men and women of good will."

3. "But even in cases of unrequited love, there is always hope that one day it'll be requited."

4. "Defeat comes when we fail to get something we very much want...... Defeat end when we launch into another battle. Failure has no end; it's a lifetime choice."

5. "We were born alone and we will die alone. But, while we are on this planet, we must accept and glorify our act of faith through other people. Community is life; and from it comes our capacity for survival."

***

So, that's all for this week then. 
Have a great weekend!! 
'til next week.

To the BANK!!! (5 things - Week 92)

After working three and a half years as an Electrical engineer, and three and a half months as an Embedded Engineer, I completed my switch to being an Officer with the Bank last week. And I mostly had people asking me "Why??" and "Will you be happy there??". It brought back memories of the time when I resigned my last job to pursue something similarly crazy. I had no intention to make that a thing by repeating it again this year, but the opportunity that presented before me was too good to forgo. And I chose it only after a very deliberate, unwritten dissertation.

I don't feel the need or the responsibility to defend my decision against the scrutiny of the public. Nor does the public have any right in demanding an explanation from me. I only had to convince three sets of people that this was the way forward for me. First was myself and her. Second was our family. And third, and most importantly, I had to convince the interview board, comprising of the top brass from SBI, that having me in their ranks was going to be fruitful for both of us. And as you can see, my arguments supporting my decision were convincing enough to land me the third career stream of my life.

All this has me placed at the Althara Branch of SBI in Thiruvananthapuram district for the next four months or so. And I have been working there for the past four days. Working might not be the right word for it though. Without my ID validation [to be completed by next Monday] and my basic training [to be completed by the end of the month], what I am currently doing is being a sponge. I am just taking in as much information regarding the working of the bank as I can.

Basically, I was a spectator watching from the customer side of the counter. Now, I'm watching the same story from the other side of the counter. It'll take me sometime to get accustomed to the requirements and rigours of the daily. But from whatever experiences that I've had, I love the job. It could be the new-ishness, which will rub off, but I doubt whether it is that.

It might seem like bragging, but I'm someone who loves helping people - those who have had real world interactions with me would concur. And since this job involves a lot of customer interaction, it is something I believe I will enjoy doing. I've already had the opportunity to assist people with opening of their accounts, helping them with their pension accounts, and hearing their grievances and directing them towards the concerned official. I know that this is not my job at the bank, but this first hand client interaction is something I think I'll always enjoy.

Then again, there are a few things we have to keep in mind while interacting with the customer, especially when they are as varied as the variety you'll get at a public bank. For this week's "5 things", we'll go through five basic skills that are to be sharpened for being a good servant to the public.

Shall we begin then??

***

1. Smile

First and foremost, greet everyone with a smile. No better way to start a conversation. If not for anything else, as someone mentioned to me, most people usually find it hard to get mad at a person who just smiled at them. 

2. Courtesy

Courtesy can be shown in various ways. Offering a seat, a pen; being courteous enough to respect each and everyone of them with the title 'Sir' or 'Madam'; speaking in a language comfortable to them; treating every customer equally; etc etc.

3. Willingness

A willingness to help, no matter what your position is. If you can't help directly, then it has to be made sure that proper directions are given so that help will be provided. If possible, do follow ups too.

4. Accountability

If you can help, then it's your duty to make sure that you act to help. The weight of accountability is something you have to be aware of.

5. Resourcefulness

So, you are supposed to help, you feel accountable to help, but for some unknown reason you can't. You have to be resourceful in these cases. Handle the customer as required so that they don't feel burdened, while making sure that proper help is provided as soon as can be. And as long as it is not illegal, go out of your way to help them.

***

All that I said above has been put into a single quote by this great man. Live by this quote, giving cent percent always, and you can work without guilt, no matter what the result is.

***

So, coming back to the initial topic, what do I do when people ask me why I joined the banking sector at this stage of my career?? I simply smile and say it is the right choice.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

Heart Attacks (5 things - Week 91)

I love the week between 25th December and 1st January in any year. There's Christmas in that week; there's the beginning of a brand new year in that week; there's also my birthday in there. It is that time of the year, when it's the norm to be glad and jolly. And keeping in toe with the standards of narration in this conversation of ours, in this festive period. we will talking about Myocardial infraction aka Heart attacks.

The reason this topic was chosen during this time of the year will have to wait. Before that, we'll go through some general information regarding this topic.

Shall we begin then??

***

1. What is a heart attack?

The heart muscle requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to nourish it. The coronary arteries provide the heart with this critical blood supply. If you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as they should. Fatty matter, calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries to form plaques of different sizes. The plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.

When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks (plaque rupture), platelets (disc-shaped particles in the blood that aid clotting) come to the area, and blood clots form around the plaque. If a blood clot totally blocks the artery, the heart muscle becomes "starved" for oxygen. Within a short time, death of heart muscle cells occurs, causing permanent damage. This is a heart attack.

2. What are the symptoms of heart attack??

Many people aren't sure what's wrong when they are having symptoms of a heart attack. Some of the most common warning symptoms of a heart attack for both men and women are:

Chest pain or discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest. The discomfort usually lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. It can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. It also can feel like heartburn or indigestion.

Upper body discomfort. You may feel pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, shoulders, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach (above the belly button).

Shortness of breath. This may be your only symptom, or it may occur before or along with chest pain or discomfort. It can occur when you are resting or doing a little bit of physical activity.

3. How to survive a heart attack alone??

Should you experience a heart attack – regardless of whether you’re alone or in the presence of others – the very first thing to do is to call for emergency medical help. You need specialized treatment to be delivered to you as quickly as possible in order to save your heart muscle.

Large studies have also shown that taking an aspirin – the most commonly taken blood thinning medication in the world – during a heart attack improves survival.

Most cases of heart attack are caused by a blood clot forming in one of the blood vessels responsible for supplying blood to the heart. Taking an aspirin during a heart attack may help as it prevents the clot from getting bigger, giving the body a chance to break down the blood clot. If you have aspirin at home, and you know that you are not allergic to it, then you could consider taking it while waiting for the emergency medical services to arrive.

4. How to administer CPR??

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, is an emergency procedure performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing.

CPR alone is unlikely to restart the heart. Its main purpose is to restore partial flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and heart. The objective is to delay tissue death and to extend the brief window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage. Administration of an electric shock to the subject's heart, termed defibrillation, is usually needed in order to restore a viable or "perfusing" heart rhythm.

How to perform CPR is given here and here.

5. How are future heart attacks prevented??

Having had a heart attack or treatment does not mean you will never have another heart attack; it can happen again. If necessary, bypass surgery may be performed in the days following the heart attack to restore the heart muscle's supply of blood.

The goal after your heart attack is to keep your heart healthy and reduce your risks of having another heart attack. Your best bet to ward off future attacks are to take your medications, change your lifestyle, and see you doctor for regular heart checkups.

***

The reason this topic was chosen was because two of my relatives experienced this in two vastly different ways.

The first case was nothing short of a miracle. He was taken to the hospital because he was experiencing stomach pain since the day before. An ECG was taken and it was found that he had had an heart attack more than 17 hours ago. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was alive.

The second case kept begging for a miracle to happen. He had laid down to sleep, but was making unusual sounds. When he didn't respond, he was immediately taken to the hospital. But his heart had stopped beating for almost 20 minutes by then. Doctors were able to bring back a heart beat and he was put in the ventilator. The doctors feared that brain death had occurred. Still he was kept in the ventilator for four days - because his son was reluctant to sign the document to bring him out. His son waited for a miracle to happen as long as he could.

In this moment, I pray that his soul rest in peace, and may God give his family the strength to get through this tough period.

***

'til next week.