From darkness to light

The view from my hospital bed, 44S 36

Bholenath

At Kailash, upstairs

#God is watching over her, as always

That's one of her favourite resting spots

® Hand X-Ray

The machine couldn't even shoot UV Rays, let alone X-Rays :-P

Hand X-Ray

What's missing?? ;-)

Nurse falls ill

BREAKING NEWS:
Shane's Nurse falls ill.

Around 6:30am, the nurse on duty took some blood from me and was filling it in the tubes. (I'm reacting to every pain relief pill at the moment.) We were talking about the earthquake, when suddenly she froze, and held the table, head down, eyes closed. I shouted to her, "Sarah, Sarah, are U ok?" Softly she replied, "I'm dizzy." She slowly knelt down and sat on the floor. I reached back and hit the "Staff Assist" button then started fanning her. Nurses came within seconds. They took her BP etc. Her complexion went from white to WHITE. Sweating like anything. Porters wheelchaired her down to ED. Last I heard, she was waiting to be seen by the Docs downstairs. (Few of the nurses have a theory that she's pregnant). Pray she's alright.

-- Sent from my mobile device

Shane

Let's play, Guess the Monash Meal!

Clockwise from left to right.
Is it:
A. Steamed carrots, lasagne with cream sauce, mashed potato
B. Steamed carrots, gratinated fish, mashed potato
C. Steamed carrots, creamed tuna bake, mashed potato
D. Steamed carrots, mashed potato, mashed potato

The correct answer is B. Although A, C and D would've also been acceptable ;-) Can any human being eat that?? Well, apparently YES. Oh, and fyi, I didn't order it. Every morning, when I go for my shower (which I prefer over an assisted sponge bath. Trust me, movies aren't real.) the affectionally-known 'kitchen lady' takes my menu when I'm never here. But the other choices were pretty average anyway: Chicken Masala (Hello!! Don't insult me) and Potato Pie & Button Mushrooms. Let me get this straight: I have never, and I mean NEVER enjoyed hospital food. I must've sampled every possible combination Monash has to offer. I know its food and that we should "eat to live not live to eat", and people in Africa don't get food.. I don't want 5-Star meals fit for a king, but these meals aren't fit for even the king's dhobi-wala*. Yeah, good ol' Mum brings me home-cooked meals daily. She does way too much for me. Tonight, its Puri and pumpkin findi-style. God Bless You Mum! :-D

*a launderer, who collects your clothes, takes it to the local river, beats it on rocks, rinses AND irons your attire for 10 cents a piece. You may find that you're missing the odd shirt or five, but at that price in this global recession, its worth it.

My Nurse is a Terminator

Why I think my Nurse is a Terminator:

1. She walks like a robot.
2. She doesn't smile.
3. She doesn't seem to breathe.
4. Her tone is very monotonous.
5. Before she enters our room, she stands at the entrance and "scans"
the room from left to right. Its f**king scary.
6. She writes super-fast.
7. I'll buzz her to ask for something, she'll come up to my bed, pull
the curtain, I'll tell her what I need, she turns around, walks off,
then returns promptly within 2 mins on the dot without saying a word.
8. She doesn't blink.
9. She's asian and actually says, "I be back."

--
Sent from my mobile device

Shane

Spider-Man 3

There's not a lot you can do while admitted in hospital. So I'm gonna review the movies I watched during my stay here. Starting off with Spider-Man 3, this installment of the Spidey-Series has everything, and maybe a bit too much of everything. Its a big movie, but not big enough for both Sandman and Venom. Otherwise, the acting is superb, except for Harry Osbourne's (played by James Franco) "happy" moments. You know what I'm talking about. My biggest gripe is the composer. I'm sorry I forgot your name Sir. Danny Elfman scored the previous two installments and blended it beautifully with the on-screen action. This new guy came up with a bunch of new themes, but it seems that he had to redo a lot of his work at a later stage due to producers saying, "we need more of the old themes." Apparently Danny collaborated with the new guy to give the score some familiarity. Hollywood. Anyway, the action's amazing. The CGI is "wicked-cool" and I want a Black Spidey suit. Yeah, I know I don't have the body for it, but that is one very, very slick outfit. Good values, great effects, disappointing soundtrack. 7/10

Saawariya

I haven't been able to sleep since 4am. The nurse came, took my obs and left. I turned on the tv to see what was on. Am shocked and amazed to see Saawaria on Showtime right now. Been wanting to see it for ages. So far, its good. Production quality is nothing short of amazing. But why this movie, today, now? Someone upstairs is surely keeping me entertained..

Edit: Ok, so I've seen the whole flick. Its worthy of being seen at least once, if not for at least Rani Mukherji's acting. I won't bother with a synopsis here. Wiki it. But this was the first Bollywood movie to be produced and released by a major Hollywood studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment. Saawariya "looks" great. Visually its stunning. Cool colours, amazing lighting. Its more "style over substance" though, which is probably why it was a worldwide flop. But hey, its on Blu-Ray. Worth a look.

Cyberdyne Systems Model 3000

This li'l terminator is what the fluid goes through. At a rate of 198mL/hr, plus with all the juice, milk and water I'm drinking on top of that, one can imagine how often I'm runnin' to the dunny daily. My kidneys are working overtime. Too bad the li'l buggers aren't getting paid :-P

Let the fluids begin

So this is what I get infused with during a crisis. Its saline with sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrochloride and glucose. Or for those playing at home, salt water, baking soda and sugar. The actual compounds consist of:
- 7.3mL 20% NaCl
- 10.0mL 8.4% NaHCO3
- 5% Glucose
in 1 litre of saline. This specific combination is intravenously given at a rate of 3mL/kg/hr. Its supposed to rehydrate the body as (in my case anyway) I get extremely dehydrated during the initial stages of a crisis. It also restores the body's sodium content, theoretically "reversing" the sickling. Typically, if I'm in for a week, and each bag lasts 6 hours, then I'll go through almost 30 litres of fluid a week.

Sickle-cell crisis

It ain't easy living with a blood disorder. But I know for a fact that if I were living in Fiji, I would've been dead a long time ago. This Tuesday, I got my first sickle-cell crisis for the year. Right knee, hip and chest. Doc cannulated on elbow of left arm. Haven't moved or bent that arm since Tues arvo. Got here by 3pm, was seen in less than 15 mins, and up to Ward 44 South Bed 57 for my stay. God, I so missed this place :-P

Snowy

She's such a poser.

Its all in the mind

I was talking to the lady next door. She's been diagnosed with lung
cancer, and her chemotherapy starts this afternoon. But going against
everyone, she's still smoking. She spends over $150 a week on smokes
and isn't trying to cut it down. She said something very interesting:
"Everytime I see those Quit ads or I hear people talking about how
they used to smoke and stopped, I go and light up again. Its not gonna
change. Its showing my kids what they shouldn't do..."

She just stepped out for one. Has about 14 over lunch. Its
extreme..the old guy across the room looked at the nurse and said,
"Its all in the mind."

Its so easy to start a habit, but after a while, to change it becomes
very difficult. So powerful is this mind. Imagine what we can do with
it :-)

--
Sent from my mobile device

Shane

Fearless Leaders

Uncles Ratna and Ramesh at the Unity Birthday meeting yesterday. Busy year ahead...

Extra Large Dosa

There's this new "Idli" joint near Caroline Springs that just opened last week. Its a family-run business and their hospitality is very homely. Ironically, we didn't have any idli's but I did have two Sambar Vadai's and this - an extra large masala dosa. By far, I have to rate it the BEST I've had in Melbourne. Beats Paradise and Namaskar any day. We need to get them to relocate around this side of town..

Youth Study Circle

Today's Altar was made by Shradha. You could feel pure Love just by looking at it. Different. Today's Study Circle was based on Mind Control. Interesting topic. What is the mind? Mind is a bundle of thoughts.

Boys' Night Out

Before Mafia. Before cherades. Before Truth or Dare. Before the "Dance". This is what we got up to. We Love our Wii ;-)

Backstreet Brothers

Same guys, but now they have a Record deal :-P

Distorted Boys

From left: Ashwin, Ritesh, Shymal, Kaushik, Rhuben

Peter and the Ewe

Mate, are you sure you've never fired one of these things before?

Jesus uses Intel?

How cool is that?!

Who Are We?

:-)
Saw that in an alleyway in the CBD. Place smelt of piss but the words are profound.

Son's 21st Birthday Cake

This wasn't just any cake.. Choc flakes, cream, cookie crumble and strawberries. Wow.

Let The Games Begin!

A picture speaks a thousand words. Or in this case, 62 Wii titles!

Wii-Wii

Moni's holiday in Kolkata = 4 weeks of Wii for me. Getting addicted..

"Honey, where are my pants?"

A gentleman walked into Macca's during Melbourne's recent heatwave. I knew it was hot, but hot enough that you order a Big Mac in your jocks???

He's everywhere

While location scouting with Babsy one hot summer afternoon for the weekend with Hari Subramanian, we ended up at Swinburne Uni, Hawthorn. The lecture theatre inside looked fine. Had all the necessary requirements. Babsy was just unsure whether the seating capacity of 220 would suffice. We stood outside when he asked me. I turned around (Emotional energy type. Can't keep still) when I literally, saw the sign. God, You really are everywhere huh?

My fellow Rishi Brothers

Rishi Kapoor and Bob, aka Manoj and Vinoj. I've known these guys for over a decade. Back when Manoj had hair :-P Almost 6 years ago, the three of us created a masterpiece: 3 characters, who thought they were better than Bhagavan and could beat Him at His own game. A story, some wild and crazy comic timing and voilà, 'The 3 Rishi's' were born. The story was adapted from the lesser-known best-seller "Tapovanam" and made into a live sketch that captivated our one and only audience. Quick one-liners, terrible wigs, and a dance sequence which included a wardrobe malfunction by yours truly all added to a once-in-a-lifetime performance. We've tried to do a sequel but like many blockbusters waiting to be remade, we simply haven't found the right script. Hey Mr. Spielberg, are you free after Transformers 2? Its gotta be the sheutzeun!

Surya peeps through

I see the light.

And more trees

Like the angles in this one :)

More trees..

Took this shot while sitting at the bench waiting for Divya and Saps to finish with my cam.

Hanging Rock 2

Nature is stunningly beautiful, isn't it?

Picnic @ Hanging Rock

While my other camera was going through Quality Control effectively deleting pics without my knowledge or consent, I took a few randoms from here..

Maha Shivarathri

Was going through some of the Lord Shiva pics on this phone when I came across a shot I took in Feb '06. I looked and was amazed at how beautifully the Sun lit it up.

Good morning!

One of the first things I see everyday. Hey, it keeps me alive (to a certain point). These are part of the Terms and Conditions of my contract I signed when taking up this body. Could be worse. That Green 'n White capsule you see? Its not a capsule - its a fuckin' horse pill. That thing takes an entire glass of water to go down. Then there's the li'l yellow one I've had since I was 5. Its like a granule of dhal. Tastes NOTHING like dhal though.. The round white one, I was told that'll make me big and strong as a kid. Have you seen how tall I am?? And finally, the two white caplets. They're recent additions and supposed to help with pain. I reckon I got jibbed: they taste like sugar..

That's some good sh*t

"Honestly Inspector, I don't know what you're talking about. Someone must've put it there..in my..backyard.."

Lighting by Surya Dev Ltd.

While watching Dostana, I couldn't help but notice how beautifully the Sun lit up my lounge room. Great work Surya Dev. Keep it up. ;-) Thanks for providing us with heat and light (although you could've taken it easy last week yaar...)

Watermelon Eating Competition

Hungry for more? From left: Uncle Hemant, Suku and Shiv.

The Family Fest started off with the Watermelon Eating Competition, first held last year. The Competition was so popular then, we thought of making it an annual event. Last year's reigning champion was Uncle Hemant. Contact him to find out how much he ate. (Hint: the guy can EAT!!) But this year, Bro. Suku managed to devour a quarter slice in a record breaking 54 seconds! Now, it might not sound like a lot of time, but bear this in mind: in Round 1, he ate a full plate of sliced watermelons along with the other contestants. These guys had very full stomachs..it was kinda sickening to watch actually. Water going up their noses, faces covered with melon bits. ;-) But hey, you can't say no to free watermelon ok?

Bloody Big Log

Not much to add here really..

Where's the cream?

A few weeks ago we went location scouting at Braeside Park. The Annual Sai Family Fest (fancy word for Sai Picnic) was coming up and we walked around the park planning for the Quiz that kinda didn't happen. A lot of our native flora had their scientific names alongside. But I have to ask, where's the White Cream? All we saw was brown grass..

Leave of Absence

Its been a while since I've posted anything. Heatwave, last weekend's
workshop, heatwave.. Things seem to be settling down though.. Let the
updating begin!

--
Sent from my mobile device

Shane

Day 1... Post-mortem

It didn't happen. I need motivation. Went on Day 2 but I'm so lazy
that I'm not gonna even bother..

--
Sent from my mobile device

Shane

N.Y. Resolution in Action

At the start of every year, I always make a new resolution, and early
on during the year, it fizzles out. This time, things are gonna be
different (how often have I heard myself say that before..). Tomorrow
morning, I'm gonna start going for a walk at a time when I'd usually
be fast asleep. No cross-country running, weight-training or
long-distance jogging. Just walking. If I can't at least do THAT, then
I'm not only a demon, but a lazy demon. Thankfully I won't be doing it
alone. Mon's also gonna do her bit starting tomorrow. The only thing
is, it was 39 degrees today, and tonight only dropping down to 22,
quite warm for a morning walk.. There you go - haven't even started
and I'm already complaining. This should be interesting...

--
Sent from my mobile device

Shane

Hopper-Man Returns

This one's a bit difficult to see, but Moni's in the queue getting roti was it? Hopper-Man turned around and for a while was distracted. There was a Bollywood moment where Mon was in front of the table and he turned around and the two looked at each other. Haule Haule Ho Jayega Pyar.. ;-)

Gulab Jamun & Vanilla Ice Cream

Topped off hoppers night with dessert. Great combo :-P

Hopper-Man 3

He took one 5-min break during the 3 hours we were there. What a champ.

Hopper-Man 2

He's in the zone.

Hopper-Man

If anyone should be knighted, it should be this guy. This spy-shot isn't clear enough, but you can see The Hopper-Man doing his thing. At least this time he had a decent costume on. Last time..ah, let's not ruin the moment.

Gary the Grasshopper Part 5

With fervour, li'l Gary got off the clothes peg and ventured..into the wild..

Hoppers!!

So I've only been twice in my life to Palms. Sue me. But each time I've walked away a very full and satisfied man. Last week, I stuffed myself even though I was full. Hey, nothing comes in-between Hopper-Time. Nothing. Whoever came up with this concept should be knighted. Its bloody amazing! They're made from the same ingredients as dosa, just cooked in a very unique way. The dried-coconut chutney is...OMG *drools*

Healthy eating...

If Big-D and Dr. Raveendran in Coimbatore saw me eating this, I dunno what would be worse: the lecture or the consequence. Really felt like pizza today. The fork just happened to be there - I can't eat pizza with cutlery. Jeez, who would've thought that one day I was such a health-freak that for an entire year, I didn't TOUCH junk food. What happened to me???

Gary the Grasshopper Part 4

"To infinity...and BEYOND!!!"

Gary the Grasshopper Part 3

Gary was about to embark on his adventure: towards the unknown. He didn't know what lay ahead. But he believed..

Ghajini

This guy does one flick a year, and it shows. (I never knew Reading Cinemas was pronounced "Redding". Sorry, I'm not from Berrick...) For instance, the sound that Aamir makes when he's hunting down the villian gives you an idea of this whacked-out character he personifies. Music by the Maestro A.R. Rahman isn't "Slumdog" but way better than recent Bollywood 'Casio-Keyboard Compositions'. Incidentally, this was H. Sridhar's last project before he passed away. You will be surely missed...

There are romance/revenge movies, and then some..
Movie: 8.5/10
Songs: 6/10
Crazy Factor: 9.9/10