Arrgghh! etc

My driving is driving me crazy. I feel like a particularly slow student who can never understand a particular formula.

I can drive forward fine, I am actually beginning to enjoy our early morning rides. But I've been trying to learn how to back and park, and I am doing everything wrong! I have a major directional problem. I can never remember right and left. I have to actually think 'right hand, left hand' whenever a patient tells me he has a lump on his right neck, because I'd otherwise start feeling his left neck for the lump. And when I give directions to autorickshaw/taxi drivers, I always tell them the wrong side. Now when I try to reverse, I go in the opposite direction, always! It's driving me mad! I feel like giving up.

My other recent problem is that I forget things. I would get up to do something and find that I have already done it. I usually don't lose things, I am usually meticulous with where I put stuff so I pride myself in not being one of those harebrained ladies. But age is catching up with me and fast.

Lately I find myself hunting high and low for things I know I kept somewhere. Most of the times, I'd find it neatly tucked away. A neighbour asked to borrow our ration card today, and that made me discover I have no idea where the heck it is. I'll hunt some more, and when I don't find it, H will tell me off a little. And I'll go apply for a duplicate, and once I get the copy, I'll probably find the original safely filed away somewhere. I just know I'm doomed for a miserable old age.

The SAD syndrome

I hate the rain. I don’t mind the occasional drizzle that cools the earth and cleanses the mind. But the constant downpour of wet, cold rain can make anyone develop some syndrome or the other.

When we were kids, rain never bothered me. It meant mostly splashing in puddles, secretly blocking the water drain on the rooftop and my brother and me having water fights. For mom, it meant wet kids, wet clothes, muddy floors. Now that I am old, with my innate practicality in full bloom, it means canceled outings, wet laundry, wet floors and wet everything. 

Nothing can persuade me to get out in this weather. I would like to spend my days reading, or watching the TV or browsing the internet. I get out to work only because I have to. Going to church, to friends or families houses are way down on my list right now. For one, there’s a cousin who just delivered her first baby, and it nags me day and night to go see the little kiddo and the mother. But I keep putting it off because of the rain. The joys of hunting at secondhand markets, the pleasures of bargain sales are dampened by the incessant rain. Nothing tempts, except hot tea and the cozy bed.

God knows that rain is a blessing. Most obviously for the farmers, and even for the whiners like me. It makes me feel slightly guilty that I complain so much about something that is so necessary for  life. And if it was sunny for days on end, I'd probably be one with the worst heat-stroke. But then again, the wet-cold state of affairs does do something to me. It makes me irritable, melancholic and a little crazy. Some smart alec went and described a condition - Seasonal Affective Disorder, aptly SAD for short. This is probably not even a proper syndrome, more likely just a manifestation of a worse mood in moody people brought on by bad weather. But it does make one feel better. 'Oh, there's such a syndrome that describes my symptoms exactly. I'm not just grumpy, I actually have a syndrome!'.And you are no longer a psychotic going around the bend, but just another poor old sod with a fancy syndrome.

Update

So what happened during my five month long hiatus? Nothing much really. I still work at the same job, and do mostly the same thing everyday.

Ruatfeli did turn 1 though. She's now 1 year old and 3 months old. Here's a picture of her with all the presents her well-wishers gave her.

She continues to thrive and amaze us, but refuses to walk....on her own at least. Maybe we should enjoy her dependency on us a little longer, because once she can walk, she will be running  and we'd probably be spending all our time chasing her. There is a lovely 8 year old neighbour whose parents say began her walk only at 1 year 8 months. That gives us a lot of reassurance. Who cares if there are precocious little babies who can walk at 7 months?

In the meantime, I've gone back to learning how to drive a car. This is really my 4th attempt, and my  final attempt. When I mention that I'm taking lessons to mom, her reply is "Again?!". Anyway, I roped in a kindly neighbour to teach me, and he is patient and persevering, and I'm learning a lot of things I didn't get to before. I've mastered the starting and the stopping, and can change gears without hitting anything. But I am somehow inclined to veer towards the opposite direction when I reverse. I  manage to pass other cars on blind turns, and almost hit a car only once. I've developed a new-found respect for all drivers, including taxi-drivers. I'm hopeful that I would finally drive alone in traffic before year end. So finger's crossed that I don't hit you or anyone else!