Of Twister and unyielding limbs

Twister is an old favorite in our home. The game is fun to play, and funnier to watch. We have pictures of friends and family, including my dear mother in various contorted positions in desperate attempts to stay on the twister mat and thereby, in the game. I remember catching hilarious(to the spectators, not necessarily to the subject) falls and tumbles on camera as well. 

When our friends suggested playing twister during the New year's party, I was quick to raise my hand. The three of us - Pari, DH and I were invited to play a game together. 3 moves in, I pulled my thigh muscle and retired immediately due to the intense pain. I felt embarrassed for quitting so soon and tried to massage my thigh to ease the pain, which felt unbearable and had me gasping for breath. I somehow waited for the DH to finish the game(which he eventually won against my gutsy kid) and return to help me. In the 3 minutes that lapsed, I had started feeling dizzy. The host offered a pain spray which we gratefully accepted and made our way to the bedroom for application. The next I know is the DH holding me and calling out my name loud, to wake me up from what felt like deep sleep. I had passed out from the pain on the way to the bedroom! On gaining consciousness,  I lay down in the bed for a while, still feeling faint, and my ears ringing so strongly that I could barely hear anything else. It took a good 20 min for the pain to subside and for me to become alert again. 

Effectively, the first thing I did this year was to faint before friends, family and a dozen strangers. 

Does every post need one - 'Title'?

I wake up, tired and listless after an almost 3 hour long struggle against sleeping wakefulness or wakeful sleeping, whichever way you choose to look at it. I have been delirious, oscillating seamlessly between my house in Allahabad, and my flat in Joka. I spend sometime in my dream, talking to my mom, she asking me to get ready for a family event, my sister already dressed up in a saree. I wonder aloud, why are these kids so crazy about donning a saree? These are the same girls who would grow up to be women scorning at sarees, complaining how difficult it is to move around in one, when they are married and wearing saree is more of a social obligation than a choice. Sis gets miffed and walks out of the room. And I continue to tell my mom how I was just dreaming of her and the family event, and she smiles and confirms that it wasn't a dream. I really need to get ready for the event, and quickly since I have overslept already. Just as I feel reassured, for some weird reason, I force open my eyes, and find myself on my bed in Joka. Alright, so I have been hallucinating, and should jump out of the bed immediately to avoid further confusion. That doesn't happen. I go back to sleep and get transported to the family event in Allahabad again. This vicious circle, sleep->hallucinate->realize that it is a dream->try to wake up->go back to sleep->continues for the next 2 hours or so till I really get worked up and finally get out of the bed.

What is the first thing that you do after you wake up? I look in the mirror. As far as I can remember, I have always had a dressing table placed bang opposite to my bed, both in Allahabad, and in Bangalore. Here in Joka, the mirror is in the next room, but I am so used to looking at myself as the first thing after I wake up, that I actually sleep walk to the mirror. Today, I can see my skin glowing, not to the best of its ability, but definitely better than what it was in the morning. Which if you ask me, is not a good sign. My skin glows when I have a temperature. And the more sick I get, the more it glows. Believe me, kidding am I not! In fact, I have had some not-so-compassionate friends visit me during viral bouts, and comment that I didn't meet up their visual expectations of a sick person. The fever seriously makes me glow. Now why didn't I get fever on the day of my wedding, the world would have saved on a half-a-ton of makeup.

Whatever, I pop a crocin based on my interpretation of the symptoms. In any case I do not have a thermometer here. The husband wanted to buy me one when I was shopping for my stay here. I put forth an argument he couldn't refute -- 'I am going there to study, not to fall sick.' Now who can hold water against such razor sharp logic. And when a girl has such observation, intuition and a telltale skin, why waste on a thermometer?

If you can't make any sense out of this post, please do not blame your intellect, and don't as much as doubt my. I am, in all likeliness, still delirious..

Joka Diary - 1

Today was the first day of regular studies, and I am already buried under a truckload of pending tasks. I guess that makes it just a regular day in Joka, nothing really worth writing home about. What made it special for me was the splitting headache I had post-lunch. Given the frequency of my head-aches and the important part they play in my life, the first one here is definitely worth a mention. I am rather used to them, and have my Dispirins and Saridons all in the right place. What really hurt today was not having a 4 yr old to fuss over me with her doctor set, asking to be snubbed. And an extremely caring, loving and somewhat old man trying his best to make me comfortable, simultaneously attempting to root cause my headache and getting on my frayed nerves in the process. I can be cruel, especially during migraine attacks. And I guess this loneliness serves me right.. I have totally earned it. Now that the head has taken a drinks break from throbbing, let me try getting some sleep before it makes a hasty retreat. Good night!

Something about moms..

Pari has been going to a daycare from her montessori for the last 3 months. The school maid drops her there at 12.45 and I usually pick her in the evening around 6 pm. The moment I reach, Pari gets super happy and excited and starts running around the hall in circles. The running is mostly accompanied by dancing and singing as well. It takes almost 10 minutes for her to tire out, which is when the maids there hold her fast, put on her shoes and hand her over to me with bag and baggage. I am probably the first mom to reach, and all the other children, most younger to Pari are still there waiting for their parents to come and collect them. The babies are too young for school yet, and so they spend the entire day in the daycare. Some of them just walk/crawl to me and expect me to take them along. And that is when I feel embarrassed by Pari's mindless celebrations and cocky announcements-'My mumma has come..'. Gratifying as it may be, to see the child celebrating my arrival so much, I secretly wish that she would quietly walk out without rubbing it on the other children. But Pari being herself, does exactly the same thing every day, and the novelty of mumma coming to pick her from creche doesn't look like wearing off any time soon. If anything, her ability to run in circles without getting giddy is only improving.

Last Monday, my mom called up in the evening. I was unwell since the weekend, so she enquired about my health and then made a sudden announcement. She had got tickets booked in 'Tatkal' and was boarding a train to Bangalore on Wednesday, and that she would be here by Friday. I felt my heart do a quick running in circles, dancing and singing, the Pari way. It is still giddy with joy, and will take much more than 10minutes to tire out.

There is something about Moms.. ain't it?

Back from the dead!

Well.. almost! The annual fever fest is currently on in the Jain household, yours truly taking the lead this time though every one in the family would eventually get to savour his/her fair share of illness as we take turns. Last time, we even dragged the poor maid in it. Just to put things in perspective, last time it was pani puri at Calcutta chat house that did the trick while this time it was the ordered-in chicken from the adjacent TFC('exactly next to Calcutta chat house') that bought the virus in. Not that it will deter us from eating again at either of the places, the husband is a sworn TFC lover and their fried chicken will continue to make its way to our plates. We are incorrigible, plain and simple! And my old man has a strange strong logic, for every illness that we get from eating out, he lists me 100 other instances when we got sick after eating at home. And so we continue eating out, twice a week, and keep falling sick, twice an year, each time before our CMH membership expires. So much for the trade off.

Anyways, I am almost through with it, just one more day of medication left. The husband is somewhere in the middle, but in a much better state than me. As soon as he displayed the symptoms, I administered him exactly same medication as mine and saved him the trouble of roasting through 103 degrees before being diagnosed and prescribed. In fact, I had insisted that we buy some extra medicines when the doctor had precribed only a week's dosage. I could see it coming and you can't ignore a girl's intuition. The sad part is that the little one has also joined in, she woke up with a temperature today. It is going to be a long long week...

Need Help!

This has been a terrible year for me in terms of health. So much that I have started dreading the day my company hands me the pink slip stating 'Medically unfit', on the sheer basis of the number of sick leaves that I have availed so far. Its only the 7th month, and I have nearly exhausted my quota for the year. Try comparing that with 2 sick leaves through the whole of last year. To set the records straight, I don't take off from work at the drop of a hat, which means I do not if I can stand unsupported for 10 minutes together, sufficient time for me to get dressed and get going. In case I cannot garner enough strength to carry the laptop, I work from home. The only exception to the said rule is made when the child or her father are unwell. However, this year, it has been the husband's turn to play the nurse, and take off from work to ferry me to the hospital twice a week. Its been futile so far, the only effect I see is probably the new section coming up in the Manipal Hospital, in all likeliness, funded by the money we have shelled out over the last few months.
I have been diagnosed with Autoimmune Urticaria, which, going by the statistics on the internet is a pretty common ailment. The doctors tell me it is due to my own antibodies acting against me, and has me breaking into hives every other day. The more painful part is the swelling that occurs in different parts of the body like the head, hands,lips or cheeks, which has me looking extremely weird for days together. Unfortunately, I do not know anybody who has had any experience of this sort. Do any of you know about this? I solicit advice, experiences, treatment.. anything. This is what my sidebar looks like.

With so many hits, I do feel hopeful!