THE GIFT OF MUSIC

There she was!! Again.. the same beautiful Chinese girl .She worked with me for  two days.Smart and beautiful she was..and even when the ward went crazy..she did manage to cope  with the pace unlike other student nurses. Don't know why , on the last day of her posting to our hospital she came to me hugged me and handed a small little gift..thanked me and stated that it was a traditional Chinese instrument that she plays..and I was like jolted out....because this little gesture of her made me feel good..I felt noticed and wanted...after a long time.At times in our lives we feel down.. nobody around us to actually notice us differently.. God  surprises us in a special way to make us feel he is around looking at us every second of our lives .I don't think I will ever forget her .. because it's very rare that you get a surprise.. an unexpected gift that too when it's not your Birthday..Oh she is a gem for sure..I smiled and  slipped that special gift into my pocket and went on with my work..

 I came home I opened my weird triangular shaped gift and found this incredibly beautiful musical instrument.Using my rarely used common sense I figured it was a flute with many holes and I like a kid just whistled all the way through,thinking what was this called..

Googled and googled and finally got it...it was an OCARINA!!!!! :) ooooo macarena...I finally found it...

Researched a bit and found-

Ocarinas like flutes are wind instruments usually made from ceramic or clay. Has a particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures.And it was known as Gemshorn before.

They say it is the easiest of all wind instrument to play.And getting a tone is as simple as blowing a whistle provided you get your fingers right.

I  am really excited about this instrument that I had never ever seen in my life. Surfed and found few sites to get basic Ocarina lessons..don't know how far that will go..but it always good to try ,isn't it?

And as I try to play this beautiful instrument..my housemate enters the house ,standing at the door looking at the ceiling ,she wonders why is the fire alarm ringing in a different tone today..and seeing her scared face..we both burst into laughter.. but I thought I was pretty good at whistling :P..anyways ..no worries..Practice makes perfect so am going to try playing...provided the fire brigade doesn't show up at my door some day. :P...

What doesn't kill you,makes you stronger....

He looked like an Action hero..a real jock..tall,strong arms and a sturdy guy.His whole body inked,engraved and airbrushed..beautiful artwork it was.He had Ganesha on his right thigh and Buddha on his tum.What caught my eye was the tattoo on his forearm that said "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".After looking after another junkie for 2 days ,I smirked at him and thought, O Lord I am gonna have a tough time with this thug today.But later as I spoke to him,I learnt he was one of the best patients I ever have taken care of.Gentle ,polite and a real patient "patient" :P

Me having a special interest in art and aesthetics just anxiously asked him about his skin designs..He replied,"every tattoo on my body has a story,darl."

He told me that Ganesha was engraved after his visit to Mumbai during the Ganesh festival,and so were his stories about Buddha and the Chinese Girl..And then I asked him the story behind the best emblem he had on his body ,the one on his forearm. And he said that this quote is true in his case and that he had suffered a lot in his life.Many traumatic experiences,negative people around him,lonely life ,unending sickness,a cup full of tablets that keeps him alive,and many more distressing difficulties that made him what he was today..a rough and tough man.And the only thing he says ..he is happy..very happy.I looked at him and smiled as I went through his treatment plans.
This man had taught me something beautiful ...
* You cannot change the past,but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.
*The choice you make today will surely affect your tomorrow.
*To get out of a difficulty,go through it.
*Bad things happen so that we can end the chapter and start a new one.
*What come may,face it and then make your feet lighter and swing back with a better force.

 Say this to yourselves," I believe that everything I go through is just a new lesson..can't pause feeling lonely even if I am alone..I am gonna bounce back and be a better me..am gonna stand taller and dream of a colorful life because I am a fighter.... :)yo!!!

Hmm as I finish with a Heparin jab on his thigh all through the poor Chinese lady's nose :P, he walks to the window turning his back to me ,stands like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky and there I see a massive tattoo covering his back..and it said angels and demons....eeeeeww :/ 
Holy cow !! ..save me...I really am not interested to know any more of his real life encounters..those stories will surely scare the hell outta me...no more stories hun!!
Sorry!!!  :P

No time to stand and stare........

What is this life if full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare..

No time to stand beneath the boughs,

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see the woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars,like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

and watch her feet,how they dance.

no time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich the smiles her mouth began.

A poor life this is if ,full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

                                               -William Henry Davis.

Old and frail she is.Her beautiful eyes says it all...As she walks down the corridor ...knocks herself to one of the doors and  she stops,..... standing still for few seconds.I saw her pause and anxiously asked her whether she was fine...and there flows these beautiful words of this sonnet that was written long long ago..As she walks with me to her room her hand clasps mine ...and she says,"Remember my words..when you are ninety." I smiled and thought...am I ever gonna live till 90?I don't want to.. :p 

She is beautiful,hale and hearty and at this age she has a massive tumor in her bladder. Adjacent to her bed is a young girl who does nothing except crying coz she feels terrible after her surgery..and she is a bag of problems..a broken brain,defective ears,sutured tum ,and she is in pain.Next room  are my two handsome boys.And I am already having a crush on one of the two blokes who is more than four times my age :P Aww... he is super cute..reminds me of Uncle Scrooge from Duck Tales..He is so fidgety so restless..always obsessed with something or the other.He doesn't like his buzzer kept on his left side.He likes being messy when he eats.I asked him,"Hey ,how are you feeling today?" And he replies,"Not that good." "What is it that's bothering you?"I asked..and he cutely replies like a 3year old kid.."its my wee wee " :P 

The other chap is a quiet man who stares at the wall in front of him...without blinking his eyes...he is just the opposite to my Uncle Scrooge...And this is it..

Right..I have a good bunch of sickies to handle and its gonna be super fun..As I get my plans ready for the day I wonder ,t is so different,so weird to see...a 90 year old who doesn't actually want to live anymore leads a life with less pain and at the same time a young girl who hasn't even started living...is missing so many wonders of her life..On one end there's my Scroogie so jittery and spooky and at the other there's Mr.Statue...phew..
I am pretty sure each one of them has a story and that might be the reason why they are like this.How smart our God is?Honestly speaking he knows everything and doesn't ponder over difficult situations in the cosmos,because God is the Author of our lives.
And then I remember that  I gotta do a bladder scan on Scroogie and yippee there is wee wee in his bladder..I tell him that ..to make him more jumpy..and the toothless fella smiles at me and gives me a huge thumbs up!! Ah what a moment !!! But I can't just stand and stare........

CHERRY ON THE TOP!!!!

I just moved to this new place and I thought of exploring the locality.As me and my friends strolled down the street we came across these beautiful red trees all along the street that was giving the place a beautiful charm.As the sun rolled it's waves onto these trees ,we noticed something nice and red glow on these trees.And one of us has been a resident here for a pretty long time said those are plums and we were like... wow!!! Orchards on the street??Hard to believe, isn't it? It looked like an orchard full in autumn flavor.Being small trees it was pretty easy for us to pick a few plums. And many ripe ones fallen on the footpath getting smushed under our feet.These were small red to dark purple berries that tasted like plums but had the shape of a peach.Plums in India are round and bigger in size. I thought of researching what these fruits were (God knows were these berries poisonous :P) even though I was tempted to "taste" quite a few..:P

I learnt-

These were plum trees that were planted along the parking strips.Plum is a close relative of peaches,apricots and cherries.These trees usually have green foliage during winters and they bloom into their sweet- smelling blossoms in the spring and then gradually the foliage becomes red and then we have abundant harvest of fruit in midsummer ...Red juicy plums..yum yum!!

Prunes
Plums are very nutritious.It is oval or round and is fleshy inside with a big seed.Its sweet when ripe and kinda sour when raw.Plums when dry are called prunes. I always thought prunes belonged to the grape family ( I was being smart ) .Prunes are well known for their rich antioxidants resource and laxative properties.It is rich in fiber, isatin and sorbitol which makes it good enough to improve the smooth functioning of the digestive system.The best remedy to cure constipation. So those with problems in the loo try this out..

Plums
People do make jams .juices and wines by fermenting ripe plums and I think it would taste awesome...and we Indians  tried a new thing ...Pickles!!!!!  And it tastes super yum!!! Believe me.. :)
It is rich in vitamin C and Vitamin A that helps in enriching our immunity and helps in maintaining healthy skin ,eye sight respectively.Also it is rich in minerals like potassium and iron that is good  for blood and heart.

Warning
Plums contain oxalic acid that can cause kidney stones if taken in excess but there's nothing to worry..they can be eaten in lots... provided you drink plenty of water daily..

So now I am happy to know that those cherries weren't poisonous..so how about I relish my lunch with a topping of our home made plum pickle!!! slurp slurp.. :P

FEELING BLUE...

Feeling lonely ,I wondered how I might lift my low spirits.
 Facing day to day unpleasant circumstances is a job in itself. Every person feels his/her problem is the biggest problem in the world even if it equals to nothing.Worrying about something that actually means nothing.Getting tensed about the future.Pleading ,convincing ourselves everything will be alright.And to top it no one around to share what we are going through. Everyone at one point of time experience the odd bout of loneliness.Loneliness is a kind of disconnection from our real selves. It in a way kills people causing severe problems both physically and mentally. It takes away the meaning of life and leaves the question "why am I here and what actually am I doing ?"
As I wonder ...my room becomes dark..and I look out of my window and notice the dark clouds as if its gonna rain ...and a fine breeze blowing...and within no time I see the clouds disappear and the skies turn blue..
I thought there it is...the answer... Life's storm blows in and out..can't just pause and worry about being alone.. As the saying goes, "God promises a safe landing-but not necessarily a calm passage" So beat the loneliness..Do not care about your feelings..just remember that it will pass..and how do we overcome ..and keep loneliness a bay??

-Don't isolate:       talk out and if there's nobody to listen..chat online...talk to your dog or your   plants(funny eh?)

-Keep busy:       read ..sing..dance..knit..paint..cook...just be busy :P

-Be kind to yourself:      love yourself..pray meditate..pamper your skin..go for a massage..nurture and self-care.

-Get educated:   Know yourself and make your problem less mysterious..

- Above all learn from experiences:    don't think of those negative things,situations or people who make you feel equal to nothing..because you are special..and you are precious and wanted..and you the God's creation beautiful  and awesome!!!
RELAX!!! U R SUPER AWESOME!!