Do you know who my daughter hates the most?Alexander Fleming! Wondering what did the 18th century scientist had to do with the millennial?.

Few years back a simple sore throat resuled in multiple doc visits .After juggling between multiple Ortho,General Physician and Paediatrician it was concluded as ‘Rheumatic fever’ and she needs to be on Penidure (penicillin) 💉every 21 days for 5 years.

Thus penicillin became part of our life ,so as hospital visits and the associated challenges.

Started with searching for availability of injection. Penidure is not in general stocked by pharmacist and big hospitals doesn’t sell for out -patients.

Since penicillin can cause allergic reactions it can’t be given in a clinic and had to be administered in a hospital. Every time we go to a bigge, need to get a paediatric consultation and then injection which was not sustainable.Cost of the injection is very negligible compared to OPD fee!

Finally found a nearby hospital and we thought things were going fine until the nurse over there quit.Though trained not every nurse is comfortable administering an IM injection.It has to be a single jab,else will result in multiple pricks which is really painful.

Since my daughter was also comfortable with her we moved hospitals whenever she changed her job.

Another challenge was the test dose.Every new batch had to be tested which results in extra pain, Had to procure a batch which can be used to at least 1+ years.

In addition to the physical pain,it was an emotional roller coaster.Every visit will have a reward ranging from lollipop,Gums to pizzas and burgers. Initially it was easier to convince her.We used to tell her just a few more. As she entered into her teens it was challenging to convince her for the hospital visits and we had to explain why we are doing what we are doing.

👨‍👧Papa could not stand his princess going through this ,so I had to be the strong person.

Then came the pandemic 😷and it was all the more important not to miss the shots.(You may be thinking ,hey don’t you know the difference between bacteria and virus???).With stringent CAB rules,I wasn’t allowed inside day care and she had to handle on her own.

As the pandemic was/is at its peak,it was really risky for us to visit a hospital every 3weeks. Thanks to my sister’s General Physician recommendation switched over to penicillin tablets for the last 3 months.

With this the pain of shots ended.Still had the challenge of ensuring tablet is taken everyday since the tab works for 24 hours only and can’t be missed. There is no “Good morning” -only “Tab morning”😀

And finally we are here…Today marks the end of 5 year penicillin saga!Thank you my dear for being a strong girl and getting through this.

Thanks to all my friends,family, docs and nurses (of course Alexander Fleming!) who supported us in this journey.

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What’s the big deal about getting a shot?If you had asked me this question 2 years ago,my answer would have been -no big deal!

In this pandemic your only hope (other than divine intervention!) is getting yourself vaccinated. So I decided to get myself vaccinated

After doing some googling ,discussion with friends ,reading forwarded messages on which one to take , side effects ,efficacy etc, my planning started.

When I was eligible ,I could walk in to a nearby clinic for my first dose.Luckily was back to normal after couple of days -had the usual side effects.

May be I overdid ,that I ended up taking an alternate vaccine and not the one I planned for!(I got to know after a week!!)

Then the fun started when my second dose was due.I did hopping around clinics near my neighbourhood and none of them had stock.

In few days I had done enough calls and search to publish a dictionary of clinics near by ,their availability etc. and finally got an appointment in a clinic a bit far away from my home which was worth the visit!

Thanks to google maps (not at the fault of maps though), I reached my destination after lots of rounds in narrow lanes. I was asked to go to the near by branch. I parked my car on the main road and decided to walk.

The clinic was sparkling like a glass ,excellent service.After the waiting period I came out with great satisfaction that I am fully vaccinated but to see my car 🚙missing!!!😥

Believe me,the road was pretty wide,and I didn’t notice no parking sign.Got to know that my car was towed away, The area was pretty new to me and I had no clue about what to do next. Thanks to an auto rickshaw driver who dropped me to the nearest Traffic police station.

First time in my driving career of 2 decades got a ticket!Worst part was that the officer wasn’t available. I was already like a zombie after a long day.Trusting the assistant who promised me to send the receipt (which he did) I paid the fine and drove back home.

Though it was an eventful day, planning for a vaccination and ending up in police station, it’s worth the cause.

If you have an opportunity and eligible do take the shot and reduce the burden on the front line workers who are working relentlessly to save us.

#stay home #stay safe #getvaccinated

While the pandemic had changed everything,many months of WFH and running around (within the house) took a toll on my knees.

My home office being in second floor made it difficult to answer the door for maid,endless Amazon and other online service delivery!

Visit to the Doctors office confirmed ‘early osteo Ortho’ and was informed to avoid staircase’ which was nearly impossible.

I was contemplating why to live in a duplex house??My better half quoted a saying in my mother tongue meaning ‘Why burn a house for a bed bug’ and thus my search for a home elevator started.

After researching various types zeroed in on Vaccum lift which can be installed without a pit in an already constructed home.

And then the fun began….

The Taj mahal (that’s our nick name for the multiple capsules) arrived after a long wait of 3 to 4 months ..

Sales pitch was that the lift would be operational in a week ,which actually took more than a month due to various reasons.

The worst part was that We were trying to bring the capsules from the garage and figured out that it doesn’t fit our main entrance door .Such a basic requirement mis-match .Sales team had no co-ordination with the installation team.(Imagining Dilbert would have drawn a nice cartoon!)

After buying such an expensive equipment there was no going back.That’s when our Carpenter’s Jug-gad came handy.

We had to break our window and weld it back.

Next step was dia-cutting which almost took a day

I still treasure those small little cylindrical pieces. And then to plaster the area before installation which we were not informed before .That’s when my husband took the role of a frustrated customer and things started to fall in place .

Plastering and drying took few days and finally the installation began.

After Lots of trial run was finally handed over,But still our journey wasn’t over .

The area which was cut had to be covered by a panel for which we had to go through another vendor.

Thanks to the support engineers (they come to check periodically and uupdate known issues in the software/board) our Taj Mahal is up and running and attracting visitors too!!

Way back in 2013, we relocated for a while from the garden city Bangalore (India) to Dallas due to my spouse’s job assignment. After being in IT industry for 15+years, I thought getting a job after landing there would be a cake walk!

My first assumption was ,that my profile is good enough to land a job! Plano is a land of application developers, health care and Telecomm industry (at least at that time). No one bothered about my kernel and operating system skills.

After 4 months of frustrating search, registering in various job portals and W2 consultants nothing seemed to see ray of light.

Finally 5th month I landed up as project manager for a major telecom company.I experienced what it takes to work as a consultant than a badged employee. I couldn’t survive there for more than 6months and my search journey started again.

Meanwhile ,had the chance to attend F2F interview for the search giant. I had the best interview experience ever though I couldn’t clear the final rounds. On a lighter note ,If I had made it, my spouse was ready to be the ‘house husband’!

Ex-colleagues and contacts I thought who would support did not.One day out of blue ,through my spouse’s colleague got connected to Paddy (figured out later that we were living in the same housing community in Bangalore!) and landed up in a job again!Thanks to him I had a wonderful experience until we relocated back to Bangalore.

Whoever is looking out for an opportunity, don’t loose hope. Expect the unexpected! Somewhere , someone will help you.

Last but not least .I was fortunate enough to join back my previous company when we relocated back to Bangalore.

Finally the D-day is here!

This two weeks have been filled with experiences. When I started penning down was wondering “Is Virus Masculine or Feminine?’ As per Wiktionary ( Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/virus) virus is neutral gender. But like me the French people are debating whether its “La covid 19” or “Le covid 19” (Source: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/25/808589)

Nevertheless, I would go by neutral.

Corona is totally Inclusive and doesn’t discriminate! Anyone can get! My word of caution ,if you fall sick get medical attention within first 3 days to avoid complications. Though there would be initial panic , channelize your energy on things you can control and engage yourself.

Talk to friends and family , get enough rest and take medication as needed.

While I don’t have a brave heart, I had no other option but to learn and administer a blood thinner subcutaneous injection(similar to Insulin) on my own thanks to YouTube tutorials.

Speaking of engaging myself, added ZEE5 and Hotstar to my list of OTT(over-the-top) platforms this week. Though couldn’t find anything interesting in ZEE5, added CHHAPAAK to my hotstar watchlist.

Watched Kangana Ranault’s ‘Pangaa’. If you like absolute no logic, time pass movie watch Akshay kumar’s ‘Laxmi’.

I also tried some off screen -pencil sketching ,though it was a disaster.

If you are nature enthusiast , watch some tutorials. I learnt how to make “moss ball”- a Japanese Garden Art called “KOKEDAMA”

Last but not least, there is no better stress buster than good food prepared with love and care. Thanks to all my friends and better half for the yummy food and taking care of me for last 2 weeks.

May this Festival of Lights bring happiness, prosperity and wellness to everyone.Happy Diwali and stay safe!

After 7 days of routine steaming ,gargling, antibiotics, with lots of Netflixing ,Priming, YouTubing ,a bit of work 😀 ,reading am back again and recovering well.

Some of my recommendations:(Statuary warning -these are my personal opinion-please read the reviews and ratings carefully before watching)

Netflix

Holidate

Emily in Paris

Serious men

Instant family

The switch

Miss india -Telugu ,a bit boring though

Off beat-Love guaranteed

Prime 

Time travel -no nonsense Tamil comedy ,though a bit slow

Puttham Pudu Kalai -movie based on lock down -5 different stories ,first 3 are good

my story -Malayalam ,songs are good

Watching Home coming -2,reading Vishu’s Vault and documentary-Social Dilemma-pitfalls of Social media

Too much for a week??Taking a break to be with my evening companion(on non rainy days)

More to come..till then

#stay safe #stay healthy 

I added myself to India /Karnataka/Bangalore’s pandemic count on 31st oct.My first reaction was Why me?even after iterations of 5why techniques and root cause analysis in my mind,I could not figure out my source of infection,Hence I decided to accept and move on. while the disease itself may not cause you much stress,the calls from officials (though they are doing their job!) and the spam calls makes you overwhelming.Thanks to my community friends and family who are trying to make this as a smooth sail for us (of course with lots of tips and Whatsup forwards and loads of love ❤️!),
Here I am in my home office which is my home for next 2 weeks.#Day3

Mantralayam “abode of Guru/Saint Raghavendra Swami” -though I am penning down a bit late this was one of our early trip. Mantralayam is a pilgrim town in banks of river Tungabhadra, state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Pic Courtesy:Internet

Guru Raghavendra lived during the 17th Century and this the place where he attained salvation. This place is considered to be sacred for all his disciples/followers.

Matralayam is accessible from Bus or Train. Most of trains from Bangalore to Mumbai cross via Mantralayam. Station name is “Mantralayam Road.

We took an night train, landed there early morning. Since the station is remote, need to take a cab or auto to reach the town. There are lot of hotels near the temple and advanced booking  is not required.

We visited the temple in the morning and headed back to Bangalore same day by night train. However there are other temples and tourist spots to visit if you plan to stay more than a day.

Srirangapatna!- this was actually our #1 when we decided our #108 goal.

This town in South Indian State of Karnataka is significant for religious, cultural and historic significance.  We visited Srirangapatna on our en-route from Bangalore to Ooty via Mysore. This town is 15 Km from Mysore and gets its name from famous Ranganatha Swamy temple. Town is enclosed by river Cauvery which make the town very beautiful.

We started late afternoon from Bangalore and reached in the evening. Thanks to our GPS had to do a bit of run around to the temple parking lot- otherwise it’s straight forward to get here .

This temple was built during 9th century by Ganga dynasty and later on improvised by Vijayanagar and Hoysala kings.Hence architecture of this temple has a mix of Vijayanagar and Hoysala architectures.This temple is also identified as National Protected Monument.

 

Tower or Gopuram of this temple is one of the 10 tallest temple towers in India.

Some random clicks…

 

Since Srirangapatna was the capital of Mysore city during the time Mogul emperors Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan ruled Mysore there are also other places of historic significance. If you have time you can also visit , Daria Daulat-“Summer Palace” of Tipu Sultan, Jumma Masjid, Gumbaz, Palace. Tipu Sultan also died in the Srirangapatna fort during the pre-independence war with British.

After overnight stay in Mysore , next day morning we visited  “Nanjangudu” . While Srirangapatna is a famous pilgrim place for Lord Vishnu, Nanjangudu is famous for Lord Shiva’s Shrikanteswara temple. River Kapila- tributary of Cauvery runs through Nanjangudu. This is another 9th century temple based on Dravidian architecture.

Like any other temple in South India you are greeted by Elephants in front of the temple. You can offer fruits, coconut and elephants will bless you in return.

   

This “Kasi/Varanasi of the South” is very vast with many towers, mantapas which would require at least half day to explore. Since this was our en-route stop we spent an hour and started to our final destination Ooty.

See you soon in another exciting destination…