Skiing, Nose and Work

So it's been some time since I last wrote something. It is not due to blogger's block though, which is the same as writer's block but only happens to bloggers, but the sharper minds out there must have figured it out already. It is a term coined by that drummer, RD, or at least I heard it first from him in an email exchange. He likes it, doesn't he - not having blogger's block, but coining terms I mean. By the way, why is it called 'coin a term'? I mean it's not like you toss a coin and it showers you with terms appropriate for describing what's in your mind or something. And who coined the term 'coin a term', really? But I digress. The point is, I couldn't blog of late because first I was away, then I got the worst cold a man has ever endured in the history of mankind, and then I was busy. Not 'boru busy' but for real.

Let me tell you more.

As I once told you here, we were planning on going a ski trip again and the plans were set in motion the last Saturday. Five of us paradise islanders who live here rented a car, hopped in at 4.30 in the morning and were set off for the skiing place some four hours and 300 kilometers away. We trusted the wheel with the most reliable hands that were there, let's call him J, and put K, the guy who's been there, done that in the front seat because we thought wisdom comes with age. It wasn't the case, we found pretty soon. K was supposed to be doing the 'navigating duties', because then it's easy for J instead of him having to look at the screen and drive too. But K who was in the front seat constantly forgot his duties due to a combination of the iPhone in his hand and the inability to concentrate that comes with age. He was quickly demoted to the back seat, driver was changed and J was given the 'navi duties'. Mistake again; we forgot J was a leftie - not in a political sense - and he constantly messed up left and right, just like the JVP who claims to be lefties but totally act the other way around. Anyway, with all these hassles we managed to be there in time, put on our gear and were on the top of the mountain in no time.

Now, I said in that post mentioned above that I thought I had got the hang of this whole skiing business. Alas, it wasn't the case, I realized pretty soon. Yes the weather was bad, there was some drizzle but even if it wasn't so, it would have made a little difference. I'm sure I must have looked like a comedy show or something. I even suspect that the Japs behind me might have had bets on how long I would stay on my feet. Anybody who had bet any more than 10 would have lost badly. And by ten I mean ten seconds. However, in a combination of sliding - on feet a little and on my back a lot, and rolling, somehow I managed to end up at the bottom of the mountain, some three hours later. That was the end of skiing for me - for this year at least. I mean, why can't they ski on a... flat land or something? The next day I let the other more able people to do their skiing and went here and there sightseeing in our comfy car with one another guy who thought it'd be cool to break his leg the first time he tried skiing. Check out some pics here on my photo blog.

Upon returning, I did the stupidest thing. After two days in cold weather and getting wet, I was on the brink of a bad cold but without thinking I took a shower at midnight. Crap. The next day I woke up with the above said worst ever cold, with a totally blocked nose. So blocked it was, I seriously considered sticking the vacuum cleaner to my nose and do a complete nose cleansing, like once Maks mentioned somewhere, but I can't find that post. But unlike these crazy women, us men have our limits so I stuck to more conventional methods of tissues and medicine. Two boxes of tissues, one complete nasal sprayer, shitload of Kottamalli - that is Coriander for you non Sinhala speaking people - and five days later, I'm still recovering.

So I had to take the Tuesday off because of the said cold and since nobody needs a vacation more than the person who just had one. But then to compensate for that I had to work my ass off up until today. Oh yeah, now today, Saturday, I'm at work. By which I mean I'm sitting at a desk in my office, blogging. That's hard work you know.