Author: akshay

Yesterday, after I slept*
(*-almost slept)

10 o'clock, one of my friends calls me and comes to my room for converting a set of videos in his laptop. While I'm on it a senior from a neighbouring room comes in and asks me to go get a rice bath from chat street. After successfully delegating it, I continue the conversion work and then I get a call from generals secretary, his friend needed two garlic from mess store. While returning from the store, I got caught by the final years studying and they aren't satisfied with my first year aptitude. Left there and reached room to complete the conversions and slept at 12.

And then! Close to 3 o'clock I get a phone call from previous prefects asking me to get the bill from the newspaper guy today.

And I'm up.

For breakfast, the cook needed tomatoes. I ordered the vegetable guy at 7.10 and waited. Waited. Waited. 7.30 and I understood it wouldn't be wise to wait longer, called manjunath. He and uday went for tomatoes at 7.40, came back at 7.50. In short the bisi Bele bath was late by 20 minutes.

Then, I got ready to go college. But manjunath had to go for surgery posting. So I bunked posting.

At 10.15 went to sbi to activate the new atm card. The pin hadn't reached the bank. Gave application to activate e-banking and went college.
Exchanged key with manjunath on the way.

Had a friend's chappathi for lunch, didn't go back hostel.
Manjunath and me got into pharmacology lab after that.
And suddenly we got upto 5 phone calls. The electrician who had said he'd come next day didn't leave the hostel instead went to the gs telling nobody was accompanying him. Thus gs called suhas who was in bank. And he called us.
At the same time manjunath had given mess keys to Vinay to give uday. And Vinay had gone out, so uday didn't get the key.
We got out of pharmac lab in between went hostel, and it was all alright. Electrician had left uday had the key. Went back to class.

On the way back to hostel, I found mahadevappa sir walking. He talked to me all the way till hostel about how to do research.

Dinner with chicken. No egg because of late delivery.  Everything extra because of people leaving.

Gave only 4 packets of milk and even that was extra.

And slept in seconds.

Woke up to the alarm.
The 17 rupee 3G smart internet recharge had expired at midnight. Got a 128 recharge online at 8 o'clock.

Main cook left after making breakfast because her dad has a heart operation. Tomato bath once again.

Since there is a plumber work today and since that requires an additional prefect be present, I'm bunking today too, along with manjunath.

Anyhow that internet recharge will pay off.

–

The plumber came only in the afternoon. Manjunath worked with him.

Had not asked the substitute cook to put exact amount of rice. And there was shortage in the night. Made somanna do it by bribing him 30 rupees.

The commercial gas bill hadn't come yet.

Tripathi came back, and Federer is playing a match. Awesome night.

–

In between, magically my atm card came through speed post. Luckily it was security who received it and I had called him just two minutes before that and he had noticed my number and he saw the same in the address (the name was concealed) and he delivered it directly to me.

Should activate the card tomorrow.

Today I'm on my first official duty 😛
Dosa in the morning.
And the girls took another gas cylinder taking the count to two.

College trip has been finalized. I got the 5000 I put in mess back, and I paid 4600 for the trip, all in 5 minutes.

Tried to open laptop in the mess. Attracts too many problems.

Electrician came to remove the non working exhaust fan.

Very sleepy.

–
Note on next day: the shrinking posts can only mean one thing, I'm no loner bothered/excited about prefect duty.

Obama winning election yesterday was a reminder that hard work pays off, that hope is never futile and that opportunity strikes those who are prepared for it.

Everyone was sleeping when I woke up today. Switched on the tv from standby and watched election news. Hope and change, more about it later.

So, chithrana by laxmanna. The main cook was absent because she went Bangalore with her child for health care. And this guy found all the leaves stuff he needs from the hostel compound itself. The security bought lemon powder instead of lemon and it was just fine.

Went college today because manja is sitting back today. Amazingly he didn't loose anything from even the practical class by sitting at mess.
Tomorrow, I'll bunk. Day after again him. Then again me. Then again him. And so on till we go away for trip.

Came back early from micro lab and went to book gas cylinder. Ha, the girls. They didn't have cylinder today also. Sources say they booked it only today. And thus they had to beg us today for a cylinder. Like they were asked to write a request letter. And god knows where we kept that after receiving it.
That's why we went to book it soon, with two cylinders left liquid and one deposited at LH.
And the gas agency manager wasn't at the agency. So we came back to go again later and get it booked.
Warden had come. Talked to him about how gas is burning like gasoline. And he said the right thing: "There's nothing we can do about it. Want to cancel dinner for a month?"

Light moments like those have made us feel very relaxed today.

And I took Zigu's cycle and flied like an eagle would do when freed from captivity.

Like I said, change is hard. And hope is what enables us to go through it. And in the end, change is good.

Went to bring banana afterwards, 260 of them. I sat sideways in what proved to be a very risky ride. The bike swayed for a while. Then Manju could balance.

Chicken was enough. Banana too.

Tea, but no drink.

Sleep.

The security was sleeping when I woke up. Amazingly, everything was in store today. Nothing bought from outside. Scrubber still not delivered.

Suhas stayed at mess today waiting to draw cheque from warden. But he didn't get it today.
And just as I was about to leave for posting, got a call from ladies hostel prefect asking us to return their gas cylinder. Sent it via their security and went away.

Reached back only at 8 for supplying banana. It was just enough. But these days, the heart beat isn't rising very much while serving. Pallya had become empty by 8:30. Still survived unscathed.

Then, finished that sugarcane which I got the day before on the road from a lorry coming against which jumped into a pothole right next to me.

Waiting to wish an old friend on his birthday.

And today, is a great day for amazing friendships.

In the morning, it's not as cold as the first day, these days.
Anyhow I've returned Aquib's fest hoodie.
It was rotti in the morning. Attendance was maximum.
Sunday. It's feast for noon. After breakfast Uday and Manja were running around Mysore for things.

While I sat at the kitchen:
"sir, onion should be big otherwise can't peel, cut"
While they went market:
"sir, onion should be small, otherwise it collapses into uselessness"
In the fight between big onion and small onion indecision prevailed until the senior most sharath sir quips in like Gulliver in Lilliput to settle for status quo.

Then, gulab jamun arrived. But ice cream delivery number ceased to exist which was a blessing in double disguise. We bought costly small packets and that didn't last for everyone. But in the process we found a shop closer to hostel where we get cheaper ice cream too.

Chicken was in excess. But fruit salad was less even after we bought 150% of initial amount bananas on workers' advice.

Then, I saw ice age 3, matrix reloaded, titanic and rowdy rathore all in parts.

And was sleepy, slept for 3 hours after tea. Well that's because I slept late last night because of the porting issue. Sunday holiday, so the first recharge has still been not done.

Supper was just enough. Only hostel general secretary and a few of my friends had to go empty stomach.

And then, I went chat street, filled mine with a falooda. And here I'm.

Unlike yesterday, eventhough I was slightly aware at 5 o'clock, I woke up only when the alarm rang at 6.
Remembered that I had left the workers' attendance book in Fadnis room last night and woke him up early in the morning.
In the mess, milk and curd were just arriving.

Everything was bought from bandipalaya yesterday.
The cook comes in.
"Everything is here, I'll have no trouble today"
"saaaaaar, kodambari soup [or something that sounds like it] illa sir"

Thus uday had to go market.
But from today everything for tomorrow will be made ready today itself.

And me and manja bought some 40 coconuts from day market.

And since it was Saturday suhas managed the rest of the day by himself.

I went sbi, opened an account, ran to college, went blue lagoon, and came back and slept at 6.30.

When I opened my eyes it was 9.
And apparently the banana distribution was slow in mine and uday's absence.

Tea was done while I was watching Chelsea Madrid last minute draw.

And then my phone got ported from Docomo to Aircel.
So, this post might be a bit late.

Since I want to make it a habit to wake up early (one of the reasons I wanted to be prefect early on in the year) I will do the breakfast duty today. And as always I've woken up 40 minutes before when I should have. Thus this paragraph.

–

Ha, it's 10 in the night of what's been a long day.
Got cashed out in the morning. Bought all immediate things.

I don't remember 90% of the things that happened today, yet I have about 100 things to tell.

Suhas and manja went to cash the cheque. Stood in queue at sbi for half an hour then got to know it doesn't accept sbm cheques. Went sbm main branch since college extension was closed. Stood in queue. Understood that more than 20,000 can't be taken off another branch.
Finally they went sbm stood in queue and got the cash.
Booked the domestic gas cylinder straight away, to avoid gas trouble. And it got delivered in the evening. Somanna, me and manja were playing football with empty cylinders.
Then, vegetables for immediate relief. And the workers needed Sabina. We kept them waiting waiting waiting while the vegetables and chicken came. Finally they washed plates with wheat flour.
Afterwards, suhas, uday, naveen and manju went bandipalaya – the one stop solution for all kitchen worries while I watched the cooking of the chicken in the kitchen.
In between the poojari came to give his list of offerings to God which had to be ready by 6. And luckily the sweet swathi came to the rescue by offering her kind help in bringing them :*
Even though manjunath returned for the same by that time. The pooja was done without any problem.
Then, since workers were reluctant to come early morning tomorrows idli has no sambar.
And I'm very sleepy gotta wake up tomorrow too.

Despite the inclination towards staying out of hostel every moment possible, I took up mess prefect-ship this November of 2012, partly due to my mother tongue, partly because I desperately want to be organized.

Ever since Nilam hit the east coast yesterday it's raining like malarial fever. Yet I woke up without any alarm at 5 am.

Since it's the first day, all of us – suhas, uday, manjunath and me were at the adigemane by 6.30

And the grinder stone is stuck because the rope tying it has fastened its hold. Cut it out like a surgeon does to the intestine, and fix it again.

Thakkali bath.
And then we understood why items like bisi bele bath, even though despised by everyone to the same utmost extent, continue to be in the menu. The main cook has taken a leave for 3 days and among all others left, nobody knows how to cook anything better than tomato bath.

And breakfast was ready 20 minutes late.

Preparation of lunch started immediately. As decided, till the cheque is sanctioned, vegetables whatever is in stock will have to squeeze through till tomorrow.

Luckily or not, today happens to be a holiday owing to the anniversary of the creation of the state. "National" holiday like some of them say. But the infamous gas trouble has no holiday. Gas as in cooking gas. While the whole nation is curbing the number of cylinders one can have, our consumption keeps on increasing. So does the amount we have to pay for each cylinder. And our personal ATM accounts went plummeting down.

Sandwich sweet from Bombay tiffins and thus the lunch.

Dinner payasa was cancelled because there were worms in the raw material.

And some eggs had to be thrown out because of bad quality. So we were giving out them very miserly. But guess what happened, in the end there were a lot of excess and nobody wanted to eat at all.

Then, after witnessing previous prefects fighting with a worker about whether or not she was given one installment of her salary, I proceeded to making my favourite night tea. The old security who used to make it taught the new security how to make it and I watched over the process reassuring that if something goes wrong there are people around to help – the reassurance that makes a team of two better than two individuals.

I wanted to be a pilot once, because I thought it was the busiest multitasking job. Should thank my partial color blindness for distracting me from it because inside the Medical Officer inside the Out-Patient Department holds that record.

He was attending phone calls, sending commands, instructing PGs, attesting certificates, examining patients and in between all that teaching us third term students – how pain in abdomen is the most common case sent to surgery OPD, how Upper Urinary Tract Infection appears as radiating pain from loin to groin, how carcinoma breast is immediately admitted, how difficulty in defecation is mostly due to fistula in ano (and we saw per rectal examination on the first day), how his guess of Helicobacter pylori infection was right about a PA, how inguinal lymph nodes swell in lower UTI…

I texted my sister right after the class "excited like non-anesthetized nerves from a freshly cut limb"

And then Operation theatre on Wednesday after Gandhi Jayanthi.
Saw appendicectomy and hernioplasty. Skipped pharmacology class at 11 to see the latter through.
How sutures are made, how to cut with the tip of the scissors (like my dad always used to say "surgeon’s tip"), how to support the scissors with the other hand so that the cut can be precise, the ovary, the spermatic cord, the iliac artery that was spared from being pierced, the mesh used to contain hernia within, the sac of hernia, the appendix, the windows in the mesogastrium (or whatever that’s called), everything, spinal anesthesia, normal anesthesia, fistulectomy, and a complicated surgery on the other table.