The world around us

I’ve really not been able to post regularly here and I apologize for that. The past few months have been hectic in terms of being away from home, a bit of travel, lots of catching up with the family and so on. Blogging, therefore, took a bit of a backseat and although I was able to post intermittently, it really wasn’t the same thing. You know how it is, blogging needs to be consistent for both its writers and readers. That’s when it all falls into place and becomes worthwhile.

The hardest time to be organized is during an emergency, where a thousand things are flying through your mind and you have to decide what needs to be done and in what order. In medical emergencies, it is even more important to be quick and have all your records organized and one of the best ways of doing this is to store your health records electronically with an online health company such as EMT Alert, who will take care of storing your medical records and give you access through an EMT Alert medical id card which has a life number. EMT Alert is a Tempe, Arizona based company and is one of the leading electronic medical record management companies in the industry and has worked with the leading hospitals and doctors offices. All personal health records are stored at their database, which can be accessed in time of emergencies by emergency medical technicians and doctors. It’s a great way to be assured that you medical history will be available to those taking care of you when you really need it, no matter where you are.

How about a gift this fathers day that is really usable? A lot of gifts are bought just for the sake of buying, since they are the expected thing to be done, but it is possible to buy something that the recipient will appreciate and really use. The answer is a gift basket of fruits, chocolates, cheesecakes etc as these are all items that everyone consumers and likes, and is sure to be a hit. I’ve always thought buying gifts for men were a tricky business, but a gift basket makes it seem all so uncomplicated. It’s easy enough to go online and check out the best ones available and in just a couple of clicks, you’re all set.

The Fruit Company is one of the best known gift basket companies in the US and has been in business since 1942, so they really know their business and exactly what consumers want. They have a huge selection of Fresh Fruit gift baskets ranging from Epicurean to Oregon’s Cascade to Northwest Gourmet and many more. Now this really is a gift all Dad’s will appreciate. So, forget about the regular boring stuff that you normally buy for such an occasion, gifts that end up in the back of the closet and are never seen again.

Our trip to Kerala was really superb. I haven’t got around to sorting all the photos as yet and I can’t believe it’s all over so quickly. I had been looking forward to this trip for simply ages and enjoyed it so much that it went by so fast. The trip was also really great fun since there were so many of us traveling together…11 of us+1 helper and 1 driver. Family trips are great fun I find, we had taken a family road trip (just 6 of us then) on the East coast of the US several years back, but this was much, much larger in scale. And more fun as well!

Taking photos while I’m traveling has become quite a major priority for me. I never used to take pictures just of the sights, it was always of us with the sights, but now I find that its a great way to maintain one’s memory of the trip for years to come, without being embarrassed about how one looked way back then! That’s a good enough reason, right! I took this shot below on my trip to Mussoorie in September.

Enjoy!

I think I wrote earlier about how I injured my knee while on vacation. Well, I ignored it while I was there and on my return saw it grotesquely swollen decided to get some magnetic therapy. I’ve heard very good things of magnet therapy, and a lot of people I know swear by magnetic bracelets, but I had never experience it myself. Well, it was a good time to try it out and I found that I felt a lot better by the third day. It’s definitely not a scam sort of thing, there is a power in the magnet that does work, by attracting the iron in the blood and increasing blood circulation and so on. All in all, it was a treatment I would highly recommend.

Now that I’ve decided to buy a new laptop, the next item on my list is a digital camera. I love the one I have right now, a Casio, which is super easy to use, very slim so that it fits into my pocket and extremely user-friendly. The thing that is making me want to change this camera is that it is only 5 mega pixels, and I feel that I need something that will allow me to enlarge my pictures to at least 8x11, without having lost any quality.

I have printed out several of my photos and the ones that require more sharpness or have lots of black in them, end up looking too grainy. So besides the research on a new laptop, I’ve also been spending time visiting camera shops and chit-chatting with photography experts about what a good transition camera would be. I say transition, since I do not want a professional or DSLR camera, at least for now. Hoping to get some resolution on this now.

Now that the lovely weather is here, I’m planning to change things around in the house. The summers are just so hot and long, that they seem to sap out all energy from you, till you don’t even want to think about doing any work or anything physical at all. Now, my plan of action is to get some new shades, some new bamboo shades to be more specific. I think they will work really well to combat the heat of the summer and since the winters are so pleasant, they will give a great tropical island look to the house. It’ll feel like vacation all the time! Not a bad idea, right?

Here’s a shot from my trip to Mussoorie in September. It was so nice to be in the hills again, and breathe in the fresh air, feel the cool breeze and take in amazing sights like this. I took about 300 photos in the 4 days we were there and this is one of my favorite ones from the trip. I love the morning sunshine on the roofs and the plains beyond are so clear. A few hours later they would be covered in a slight haze, so it is essential to get out early to get clear photos.

Ever since I hurt my knee walking in the hills in September, I have realized I must be more careful about the kind of shoes I buy. If I had something like these Dansko shoes, it probably would have been easier on my knee and I would not have had to have a swollen knee for the 15 days that I was limping around. Since I’ve never had any such problem before, I really didn’t think twice and just ignored the pain for the first 2-3 days, which was what made it a lot worse. Wearing the right pair of shoes, means that one’s body is more prepared to take on physical activity and that safeguards us from injury.