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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

After Effects of Earthquakes

Fires, broken down transport systems, blackouts, shortage of food and water and even nuclear meltdowns must have come to your mind seeing the title. Indeed those are among the most tragic of after effects, but much have been said about them I've got pretty much nothing more to add. However I can reveal you some slightly different after effects of earthquakes, which you had no idea existed even I'm sure.

First, it can get rid of writer's (blogger's?) block, which is merely a fancy name for being too lazy to write or blog. Don't know how? Look at me. Okay you can't exactly look at me from over there, but you know what I mean. Good ol' yours truly has been not writing for so long that pretty much all my readers, who by the way account for an astounding 12 people, had forgotten me. But this earthquake was such a shock - figuratively as well as literally - it has somehow awaken the writer within, so to speak, and I hope that I'll be able to churn out posts at a rate faster than the rate Pakistan lose wickets when they are in a collapse hereafter for the sake of this elite bunch of readers which include you, my dear reader. Okay that sentence is stretching things way too far and is wrong on so many accounts, for a) there is not so much a 'writer' within me, b) you aren't really in any kind of elite bunch just because you read this blog and c) I'm pretty sure I won't be churning out posts at that rate anytime soon. I just hope I'd be able to blog regularly.

That's the "good" part and now let's move on to the bad, which I might even call ugly as in the expression "The good, the bad and the ugly". But I digress. Getting back on topic, this goddamn earthquake has also given me the mother of all blocked noses which I'm sure you all will agree that indeed is a tragedy. Let me explain. For a couple or so weeks before the earthquake I had a runny nose and teary reddened eyes mainly because of pollen allergies. Which is a bitch, but it was manageable. But then on the day of the tragic quake the transportation was a mess and I had no option but to walk back home, a walk of about 12 kilometers. A walk that long in itself is bad enough, but having to do so at night with very strong winds in a temperature of about 4 degrees is just, well, worse. Naturally the next day I woke up with a bad cold but luckily it was Saturday and then the following Monday we got an off day from work because transportation was not back to normal even then, so I managed to manage my cold by staying warm. But then afterwards I had to go to work, and after a week or so yesterday it was SO bad that I had to stay home breathing through my mouth. Imagine if somebody filled your nose to the brim with soil and then pressed it hard too for good measure. That's how I felt for the last two days, no kidding.

8 comments:

  1. Other than for the blocked nose, hope you're okay. I was actually wondering about you when you had posted so I knew you were fine.

    Take care, putha! :)

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  2. Sabby, long time!

    Yeah other than the nose I'm doing fine, thanks! Hope you're doing well too, wherever you are.

    I will take care, aunty!
    :P

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  3. Hmm... let me dissect this.

    "a) there is not so much a 'writer' within me,"

    Even published writers feel like that from time to time. It's the "Are we really any good?" or the "OMG I am a hack!" kind of fear. "Hack" being a term for writers who wrote for the sake of sensationalism or who were paid to write biased pieces. So all writers freak out on a constant regular basis that they might not be so good. Artists freak out that they put the wrong colour in the wrong place, sculptors that they have chipped something important off and mucked it all up and so on...

    "b) you aren't really in any kind of elite bunch just because you read this blog"

    We're in a special group I'd say being that readers of your blog constitute a group but that the word "elite" possibly should be retired in case of mistaken meaning.

    But nevertheless we're in a group because we are your regular readers (and yes, I have only just found your blog so I am not sure I count) and the point is when you write, your regular readers return and lo and behold you get comments. (I don't get comments - do you see comments on my site? Nooo. But people comment on yours, regularly.)

    So don't sell yourself short. What you have to say is interesting to your 12 plus regular readers. It's a small fan club but it still is one.

    "c) I'm pretty sure I won't be churning out posts at that rate anytime soon. I just hope I'd be able to blog regularly."

    Join the club. It's something we all hope for. Some of us have to make ourselves sit down and do it.

    By the way, boil coriander seeds and ginger in water, strain, toss in sugar and drink - homemade kotthamalli. It might help.

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  4. Oh my God, I've never ever had anyone analysing my posts so much! But thanks, it's nice to know what a proper writer think of me, or rather of what I write.

    Okay, to be honest, I was being a little modest. I know I'm not great but I also think I can write something that people are interested in, at least from time to time. And I was just trying to be funny (bad humor?) about the 12 readers. I never knew how many I had.

    About blogging, I have a few simple self-imposed rules which I try to adhere to as much as I can. First, I try my best to keep things positive on my blog. This is pretty much rantings about my life and then just about anything that might interest me. So, especially when it comes to posts about me I try not to whine, not to tell everyone about my problems all the time. What's the point, everyone's got problems anyway.

    Secondly, barring few exceptions I usually talk about the lighter side of life. I don't usually go into politics, current affairs and such since, well there are gazillion blogs which do that anyway. This blog is simply a slice of my life.

    So yeah, that's just about it.

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  5. Welcome back to blogging. Sort of missed you while you were bing lazy!

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  6. Thanks mate! It's good to know you were being missed. Hope to blog more frequently.

    By the way, hope your sister is fine.

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  7. Hello Sach, Thank you for stopping by ! So... you're in Japan ? Oh my !.. I don't really know what to say, except that I'm glad the blocked nose is the only main concern you're facing right now. Your family back in Sri Lanka must have been so terribly worried about you...does the threat of radiation leaks perplex you at all ?

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  8. Maya, no problem at all. It's refreshing blog and caught my eye.

    Well, yeah I am here in Japan and things are okay. Family back home was worried a bit but they're cool and so yeah, life goes on.

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