Trials and Tribulations by Fire

Found some time to write about this finally! Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition that affect the wrist of people who perform repetitive tasks such as typing, driving, or writing. Most often, computer users are known to suffer from this condition. Last week, I experienced a debilitating pain in both my wrists and thought I was coming down with Arthritis. But, Google threw up some interesting: CTS! Presumably, it had everything to do with the way I was using my wrists and the way I was typing on my keyboard. Well, I surely had not thought of ergonomics while posting on my blog or writing my first book, or even doing my freelance work. Life is tough. So, the only remedy that the website claimed was foolproof was rest, lots of it. I had to keep my wrists stable and as much as possible straight. Is it possible for a writer to keep her wrists straight? Nah! I try my best to use my hands alternately; I even tried driving with my left hand and succeeded. The best experim...

  Never fancied Chinese food. But went along quite happily with the team to eat  not-so-exciting Chinese food at Mainland China's (MC) OMR branch.  I consider myself a foodie and ensure my taste buds do not die off due to lack of different tastes. The husband and I are not exactly connoisseurs of good food, but do eat out often and relish well prepared food. I had half a mind to take hubby out to MC, but after today's fare, I am not too keen to do that.  The food is strictly ok, nothing to write home about. I have had better Chinese food in road-side stalls. I tasted all the starters and trust me, they tasted the same. I am a vegetarian and did not feel it was worth so much money. The buffet costs INR 600/- and the food leaves a lot to crave for.  What I didn't like about the starters: they left a bitter aftertaste of corn flour and Ajinomoto. I was wondering if there was any other spice other than corn flour and MSG. Bah!  If I had a c...

Just finished watching English Vinglish, Sridevi's comeback movie, that released on Oct 5, 2012. The movie was released simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil. A dubbed Telugu version was also released on the same day. The movie stars Sridevi as a protagonist. In all, the movie is a sensitive portrayal of the people who feel less confident because of their inability to speak or follow English properly. Gauri Shinde has captured the trauma a middle class housewife undergoes who is unable to speak or converse well in English. Sridevi plays Shashi Godbole, an entrepreneur who runs a successful catering business, but is not given her due because of her inability to understand and speak English. She feels small and let down by even her teenage daughter. Shashi is married to a suave Satish who feels at home when he is cracking jokes at her expense and does nothing to control the arrogant and snooty Sapna (the daughter). Shashi's on, Sagar, is a cute boy, sensitive for his age. T...

The name Ashwin Sanghi didn't ring any bell when I picked up ' Chanakya's Chant ' from a library. I read the synopsis and got hooked on to the book. I got the book home and read the first few pages with a mix of skepticism and mistrust. I finished the book in a few hours. I felt exhausted and exhilarated. I kept pondering about the story, did some research on the author, Shawn Haigins aka Ashwin Sanghi, located his Web profile and left him a note. That was a few months ago. I am a fan of Ashwin's writing now. I located ' The Rozabal Line ' and bought a copy. When I came upon the opportunity to review his next book, ' The Krishna Key ' I was super thrilled and jumped at it. I have the copy with me and loved reading every page. After reading two pages, I put down the book and gathered my thoughts. I was kind of distracted with mundane stuff and I wanted to engage all my faculties while reading the book. I sat down with the book again when I was ...