And it happened!

"I hope the Pacific is as blue as I have always seen in my dreams." ~ Shawshank Redemption.

With the ceiling fan as a constant companion from the past 17 days, this ending line from Shawshank Redemption seems to make a lot of sense.

I had registered for the midnight marathon, Bangalore and started practicing. Was planning to take tips from Shubs. I had also given my name to participate in the cultural event of our company's anniversary. It started like any other working day. The colleague with whom we carpool had to fly to Delhi for a conference. So, the remaining two of us decided to go in a bike. i was pillion riding and suddenly, we were thrown out of the bike. i have never got up from the time i hit the ground.
My colleague who was riding, suffered a fracture in her hand and stitches on her head. She had to undergo surgery on her hand, while i fractured my ankle and pelvic bone and I am bedridden. A gentleman called Vishwanathan from Infosys helped me reach the hospital and contacted my husband. He carried me physically from the auto as there was no stretcher in the nursing home that I was first admitted to. God bless him! On the other hand, my mobile phone got stolen from the accident site as my bag was left behind in the confusion. My laptop and purse were safe as another gentleman managed to save it from the people who were taking it away and handed it to my office. I choose to believe in the goodness of strangers and ignore those selfish morons who tried to steal even when two women were lying helpless with blood.

Well, such is life. It comes with a plan of its own. S was to fly to the US in two days time. He had to cancel it. I had the marathon, the salsa dance, the product release and what not. Now, my only plan is to walk again.

Time stopped for me on November 11th. The days just bled into each other with no major change. Only thing that seemed to change was the table calendar. The pain was excruciating as I could not even turn to my left or the right. But then, my old and retired parents flew in. The brother and wife came from Tamil Nadu and the husband took care of me night and day and  I am trying my best for them.

Like a child I have to relearn everything. To sit up, to turn, to lie on my stomach, to walk again.

On a lighter note, S is living his marriage vows and he is doing pretty well and not making me become a weapon of mass destruction by washing and giving me sponge baths. I'd be too embarrassed if I had died as nobody hit us. The front tyre of the Scooty punctured. There is a window in my bedroom, but i cannot sit up and look outside as of now. So, i am keeping tab of the ceiling fan and i say sweetly,"honey, the fan needs cleaning." :-)

movies, serials and some such

I boasted about watching movies every other day, and then I could not watch any for over a month. Tsk tsk, not doing it again. However, I finished all seasons of the series, Lost. I am a few years late, but I made up for it in 2 months straight, sometimes watching the whole day and night too :-)

My favourite series is still The Big Bang Theory.

Coming back to the movies, watched this German movie, Das Experiment . Based on the Stanford Prison Experiment, it was gripping. It could be sickening to some people. About 20 people are hired for 2 weeks and kept in a mock prison. Some of them are made to act as prisoners and some of them as prison guards. They are asked not to resort to violence and given the option to opt out any time, by surrendering their payment. A scribe and a pilot enrolls and the movie is about the turn of events.

Also, loved Music of the Heart starring Meryl Streep. Based on a true story, it is about a music teacher, a single mom at that and her struggle to teach the violin to inner city Harlem kids. There were many touching scenes. If it was in Hindi, I am sure it would have flopped. There was a scene where she tries to get a grip of her life. She fires the electrician and all the workers at her new apartment. In the same tone, she fires her boyfriend saying her kids need stability and since he cannot be committed, he is fired from her life. Amazing performance by Meryl Streep. I am sure, to some of you, it would look like I am reviewing Sholay, which everybody has watched on T.V  again ...and again:-) but I am sharing this because it was really heart warming to see this movie. To a parent of a black boy who accused the white people for giving them false hopes, she said she took up the job because she needed it, and she should come and look at her son play the violin in  the class once, to see the enthusiasm on his face. A woman like any of us, vulnerable with insecurities and yet she finds the emotional wherewithal to weave magic in the lives of the kids.

For all new house owners:things to remember when you do your interiors

I stay in Bangalore and this is based on my experience. It may or may not apply to you. One more thing about interiors is that, you could spend from 1.5 lakhs to what-have-yous? You don't have to go for really high-end ones, but do ponder over the fact that you cannot be buying furnitures or re-doing woodworks every other year. It will cost more in the long run. So, go for a good one while you are at it. Pull out the Mutual funds, beg, borrow, do not steal. :-) Banks offer you loans along with the home loan these days and it is much cheaper than Personal loans. I like minimalism and I went just for the basics to make my house functional.
Area: Super built up: 1615 sq ft. Apartment

Get a good interior designer. If you know a good carpenter, that also works. Benefits of an Interior design company is that you don't have to monitor every detail everyday. They take care of the carpenters themselves, and they share design ideas with you. Having said this, it is your house. Reasearch as much as possible. Be pro-active. Visit the site at least once a week and monitor the work even if you hire an Interior Design company.

Always negotiate the price. The woodworks will be charged per sq ft based on the type that you want.

Kitchen: You can go for modular kitchen or get it done. Research on the ply boards to be used. You don't have to buy them, but at least you won't get cheated. Common Interior designers do not use good brands like Kitply. Ask for hot water resistant ply boards, not just water and termites resistant ones. Trust me, they'll fight back on this, or ask for a lot more mullah. You can go for pre-laminated boards; factory made ones, or laminated ones. I will give you the details if you want. You will be guided by your designer on this. Things that you may have to take care are:

• Check if your kitchen area already has a granite slab. Nowadays, most builders do not give it. If they do, check where are the supporting rods underneath the slab. When you have to cut the granite to fix your hob and chimney, you cannot cut it right where the rods are. I had to make design changes based on this and had to move a shelf on top of the hob for symmetry. Check where the plug point for the hob is. Remember to mark it. Your Interior design guys could miss it. Mine just did. They had to go to another apartment, measure with a scale and get it cut after they had covered the area with ply.

• Research for the suction capacity of the chimney. For a normal household with non-veg cooking 750 to 1000 m3/hr is good enough. You can install chimney by 2 ways either using duct mode or by recycling mode. I went for Duct mode. It requires some carpentry work, whereas recycling mode will save you from such modifications but it requires periodic charcoal filter replacement. Ensure the duct doesn’t have many turns and is as straight as possible. 10 ft is the ideal length for the duct. Plan where do you want to keep the gas cylinders. Pipe gases will take some time to reach Bangalore. I used copper wiring and kept the gas cylinders in the utility area. This will avoid any catastrophe in case of a leakage, and I save storage area in the kitchen. Gilma, Faber, Kaff, IFB are popular brands. Go for one with good service. Do not go only for looks, but also for utility (hob and chimney). How easy is it to clean? You will be frying, spilling milk etc.

Tiles: Knock each and every tile and see if there are air bubbles. They tend to break if there are air bubbles.

Wardrobes: Vineer, laminate. Vineer is more expensive than laminate. Options are: Outside Vineer, inside paint, Outside veneer, inside laminate, laminate inside-outside, laminate outside, inside paint etc. You can replace the laminate after some years. Vineering, you have to paint it. It gives the shine and natural polished look, but laminate is good enough too. If you have laminate inside or outside, touch with your palm and feel the laminate for air bubbles. If there are, ask your carpenter to remove it, else it will tear in a few years.

Most important thing is to ensure your carpenters or Interior design guys cover your tiles before the woodwork starts and do not break them. The polish and paints stain and it is a pain to clean. Also, if you are in an apartment, it may be very difficult to get the same type of tiles that the builder has provided if they are broken.

Didn’t know this post would get this long, will add more points later. Or you could add your points too. Hope somebody pays me for this. :-)