Of Hot Spots and Jackpots

Recently there has been this continuous wave of blog writers taking a sabbatical from their blog writing owing to reasons ranging from paucity of time to sheer laziness to mind blocks to attend to the push and pull of their regular lives. The blog world doesn't seem the same without my Favorite Blog writers around and their regular dose of inspired writing which got me here in the first place.

Since I have no standing on matters such as Time paucity, Sheer Laziness and attending to the push and pull of their daily chores, all of which I`m sure plague the lives of these blessed souls. I thought I would write something on Writers Block to help out their case a little.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I put forth my research on situations/ hot spots wherein the creative juices flow more fluidly.

1. The Washroom -

The toilet has probably been the Butt of many jokes since its invention mainly because of the bodily functions associated with it and tending to make people squeamish talking about it. The toilet has been an integral part of the human hygiene system and is certainly no flush in the pan.      

I`m fairly certain most of us get some of our most inspired ideas while taking a shower or while using the toilet. Deny it all you may while making constipated faces, but there is solid research to prove that the most inspired ideas that have seen daylight in the history of mankind were conceived in the washroom. Many ideas and innovations ranging from the Archimedes Principle to the invention of the modern day toilet which if you must know figures on the top 10 list of the greatest inventions in history, were all achieved in washrooms.

Consider the famous Eureka moment; there lay the great Greek thinker, philosopher and mathematician   Archimedes bathing himself when it struck him that objects could be made to float  on water when they displace their own fluid weight. It could have happened to him while eating or while sleeping, nay; it struck him at that exact moment and when he ran buck naked across the streets of Sycrause yelling Eureka, Eureka, history was indeed made.

This topic also came to me in the loo but for you to fully understand the potential of the washroom and its effect on the grey juices, check out the Baap of Toilet humor - Kalpak.   

2. Exams-

Every student's nightmare,

Every parent's cause for anxiety,

An invigilator's swear zone

But an absolute idea landmine.

Honestly tell me, haven't you felt most creative during the time before an important exam or an important deadline for that matter. Even staring at a blank wall or the ceiling gives you the most creative ideas in this magical time called Exam season. Come vacation time, even though you have all the time in the world and the same wall/ceiling to stare at, the ideas just don't seem to flow as rapidly or fluidly as they did during exam season.

This just goes on to prove that We don't get what we want, when we want it.

3. Nature -

A popular haunt of many a famous thinker, it provides the necessary change up in scenario promoting the flow of thoughts and often leading to breakthroughs in the thought process. Whether it is the individual effect of the Fresh Air, Sunlight, Water or Greenery or the combined product of the aforementioned it has proven instrumental in catalyzing the flow of thoughts and is generally said to bring about a positive outcome.

4. People - 

Human beings are observers by nature, that's one of the basic tenets of Anthropology. Observing the way others behave and copying them as children and writing about how someone eats cookies dipped in plain yoghurt as bloggers; stems from the same focal point - People.

Whether it is witnessing a shrieking 4 year old getting pushed into a swimming pool to quell his fear of water or how someone mistook the contents of a finger bowl at a restaurant to be lemonade, people are a perennial source of ideas and never cease to amaze us. Conversations, observations, chats (both real and virtual) , texts, tweets, TV shows, music, movies and practically anything along these lines often serves as good fodder for ideas.   

              

5. Getting out of the Comfort Zone - 

It is said achievements both big and small occur when one treads out of one's comfort zone. So if you are plagued with a block, try some out of the ordinary stuff like taking an unplanned holiday or eating an ice-cream at -19 C ; basically something that will not get you killed or seriously injured. The out of the ordinary experience makes for apt blog writing and lets face it, there's loads of fun to be had at the same time. 

This is sometimes crucial because it helps broaden perspective, gets us out the rut and eliminates fear of acceptance plus everyone could always do with a little change up right?

What other ways do you think there are to beat the Blues?  

    

                    

       

Not in my Wildest Dreams

If something happens once, it is said to be a random occurrence

If something happens twice, it is said to be a coincidence.

If something happens thrice, it is said to be a hattrick of sorts

If something happens seven times, be rest assured that you have pulled off the awesome.

The awesome is what transpired this bygone weekend.

The sequence of events that unfolded this weekend(for lack of a better word) were as follows:-

a) The father had flown in here on work and I was getting to meet him after almost 8 months. Me shrieking like a 4 year old was not just because I was going to meet my father but also because I was going to say 'how you doin?' to the goodies he had graciously agreed to bring along with him. Enough credence cannot be given to the excitement one gets when one is informed to expect Sweets, Savories and other goodies from the homeland.

b) Meeting him felt so good, it was just like old times, him doing the interrogation with his endless list of inquiries and me being as clueless as being suddenly made to take a test in advanced Mandarin(Chinese). Jokes apart, getting a hug from him at the station was worth more to me than what is described below.

c) He does his trademark gig, pulls a fast one on me by announcing casually that we are taking a weekend trip to Switzerland.

Would you blame me if I went

   

I asked him to pinch me hard, which he dutifully did; just to make sure I was hearing him right.

c) Sure enough, next morning, off we went to Switzerland. Taking a ride on the Autobahn and blitzing away consistently at more than 170 km/h. We set foot onto Swiss soil sooner than expected. 

My weekend(again, for lack of better vocabulary) in pictures.   

  

Quite pleasant ain't it? :P

I`m just too tongue tied looking at this pic, please come up with a caption for this pic and knock me hard on my head when you do .

   

One of the many breathtaking views that was on offer

No better way to sign off than Food

I couldn't bring myself to leave the place and was almost in tears when Daddy dearest said it was time to bid adieu and go back to Germany. 

I experienced what this little girl did, the greatest moment of them all, laughing and crying at the same time and in freaking Switzerland. 

TSCHAU 

   

Betrothals, Babies and Bleh

RANT ALERT

Off late, I`ve been getting mails, facebook messages, phone calls(mostly in the wee hours of the morning *curses the time difference*) and texts in the dozens informing me that someone is either getting married, engaged, committed or popping out babies.

Just imagine, when someone(read : Bestie) calls you at 3 AM to tell you :-

a) That a schoolmate has given birth to triplets while cutting your gasped reply to 'TRIPLETS???' short by

b) Informing you that another guy buddy who used to play cricket with you in his Half Knickers and Hawai chappal is getting married in 10 days.

For heavens sake I shrieked and said - I thought he was just 20 , Bestie says - turns out he was.

c) That notwithstanding, a third schoolmate whose chats often remind me of the good old kiddy days was conned into visiting his ailing grandfather on his "DEATHBED" and married off in a matter of 3 days.     

Had anyone else dared calling me at that ungodly hour with news bits like these; 5 bygone generations of their family would have been royally blessed and showered with my ability to spew out swear words faster than a high end garden sprinkler that would have surely made them toss and turn in their graves.  

What is it about November huh, is it like a Year End Sale?

Take your pick; Babies, Husbands, Wives, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, Boy/Girl Toys ---> Flat 70 % off.

HURRY,Offer Valid till stocks Last, 

*Conditions Apply.

On a more realistic note, the following picture adequately sums up what I`m going through right now.

       

SLEEPYHEADS

The withering leaves, chilly evenings and the morning frost on car windows are all indicative of the fact that winter is well and truly approaching. As a proud lazy head , I exercise my fundamental right to laze around, eat and sleep at any which time I deem right and rather aggressively, which by the way also makes me an efficient Lazy head. It is this very quality that has powered the research for this post.

Gentlemen and Rough ladies, I present to you this winter, my observations on Hibernators.

1. The Snoring Beauties :

This vintage category of hibernators have been famous since the time sliced bread was declared a breakthrough discovery. Infamous for disturbing the sleep, peace and mood of their co-hibernators they have quietly made a mark for themselves in the history books with the likes of Winston Churchill, Liz Taylor, Theodore Roosevelt among their ranks. The record for the world's loudest snore is held by a gentleman in the UK whose snores supposedly touched 92 dB which, if you must know is higher than government mandated noise levels for closed room offices in most parts of the western world.     

The crests and troughs of their Snoring come in different frequencies, wavelengths and intensities to the keen observer while to the layman it is nothing but a bothersome hindrance to his bed time. The snoring also has a rhythm and a tempo to it which is uniquely characteristic of the snorer in question and also depends on the position and orientation of the snorer. Though traditionally this category has been a Gentleman's bastion but ever since Gender equality and the Feminist Revolution swept the world it is heartening to note that an army of snoring beauties are not far behind their male counterparts. 

2. The Sleep Talkers :  

They come a close second to the Snoring beauties in terms of popular sleep habits in Hibernators. Known and dismissed by many as incoherent and psychotic mumbling during bed time, sleep talking is said to stem from a deep rooted need to be heard to (We know why husbands and boyfriends mumble in their sleep) and hyper active brain which commands their voice boxes to give valiant speeches in their sleep; the courage for which might not be possible to muster in consciousness. 

Second hand reports indicate that Yours truly allegedly comes under this category and is said to have spoken in 4 regional Indian languages apart from German and Dutch in a single night's performance. Although the evidence is highly disputable and circumstantial as the reporters could have been dreaming or half asleep all along and it is really difficult to judge.

3. The Kickers : 

Second runner up's in the hibernation world, these wannabe footballers and kick boxers are known to practice their art form in bed. From varying intensities and angles they use their feet to generate forces and momentum to mark their territory on the bed pushing anyone and anything irrespective of size, shape or stature out of their beds. 

Beware when sleeping next to a swimmer or a track athlete who kicks in his/her sleep, you're either in for a rough night of very little sleep or if you are intelligent enough, you'll find a cozy couch to crash on for the night. Cutting to the chase, save yourself before its too late and you are cursed to a life of Insomnia.  

4. The Wall Clocks :

They are a slightly rare bunch of sleepers to notice unless you experience them first hand. A Wall clock sleeper is one who sleeps in a straight or sideways position at the beginning of one's bed time but with every passing hour he/she changes position like the hour hand of the wall clock to end up waking up on the vertically opposite end of the bed. Their ability to change the sleeping orientation aided by additional skills such as rolling, self aligning and spreading their hands a La SRK comes naturally to them and also gets refined over time and experience.

5. The Quilt Pullers :

This is the most infamously sought after category of sleepers after the snorers. Here you are drifting away to Slumberland and pop goes the quilt suddenly, leaving you shivering like someone suffering from a bout of Fits in the middle of the night. They are usually the culprits when long quilts are at play and are tricky customers to handle. They keep committing the same crime over and over throughout the night without even changing their M.O (Modus Operandi) which leaves you with no option but to pull the quilt away from them with your eyes half shut which believe me can get really difficult if a critical part of the quilt is under a bulky co-sleeper.           

6. Light Sleepers : 

They are one half of the more commonly known traditional sleeping stereotypes. 

Light sleepers are those poor souls (me included) who's sleep gets hindered by the smallest of things be it the slightly noisy flickering of a street light to the bawling of a toddler two blocks away. They are sensitive to alarms, watches, cell phone beeps and even the switching on/off of the night lamp. They can usually be found sleeping at anytime during the day but in short phases after which they are woken up by one distraction or the other.

7. Heavy Sleepers : 

Sleep comes to them irrespective of a thunderstorm happening outside their windows or the world coming to an end because of a horrendous Nuclear war, they will happily continue doing their business. 

It is in reality a Herculean task to wake such people up from their deep slumber, tried and tested techniques like tapping their shoulders, shaking them or calling out their names is of no help at all; unconventional techniques like getting the doggy or the cat to lick their faces or letting the bright sunshine glare their eyes after pulling out the quilt from their grasp so that they cannot shield themselves anymore, work like a charm.              

What kind of Sleeper are you?