Month: September 2021

Mr. Procastination Roshan

- Roshan

What is something you have been procrastinating on doing for a while?

I am very bad at following through on things that I have wanted to do, whether it is a personal project or even at work. For instance I had learned about the Keto Diet and the effects that it has had on a few people at work but I only just started it this month. And this is despite me really wanting to try it out. My biggest excuse was the fact that I drink a lot of coffee and I needed my coffee to be very sweet. Hello – almost a month now and I have not been adding sugar at all. So I guess I could have started this a long time ago.

So to get you an idea that was in 2018 that I first learned about it after seeing a colleague who I hadn’t seen in over 4 months. Then a higher up at the office also stated that he had been doing it and we noticed that he had lost some belly fat and he even recommended me to do it. Skip past to 2019 August and after I saw a doctor for a broken toe, I asked him what he thought about me going on the Keto diet. He said go for it after taking my blood test results. I still didn’t do it.

Fast forward to this January and I asked my doctor again and again he said to go for it. And yet I only started it this month. Well atleast I started it this month but I should have started it a long time ago. Now I want to try some other things and I will keep you posted.

Prompt from September Journaling Prompts 2020 at The TwinSight

Things You Do To Cope When You’re Upset

- Roshan

How do you cope when you’re upset?

I have a few things that I do. One, I lock myself in my room at home and avoid the outside world. I refuse to take phone calls and I don’t want to meet anyone either. I would like to surround myself with things that I like to do and love to have around me. I’d play my favourite music and try to watch some comedy skit or stand up comedy clip on Youtube.

That will usually put me in good mood and reduce some of the frowns. If there is a movie that I can enjoy and watch I would put that on. I would order my favourite food and enjoy that with a drink. Speaking of drinks, my favourite booze will go a long way to changing my upset nature. As long as I don’t drink too much!

Ofcourse if I still had my dog she would put me in a good mood. Dogs are magic that way. When you come back home upset, seeing the dog so happy to see you, wagging her tail and wanting pets and to cuddle with you. That would change anyone’s mood to a happy one. Also if you have a loving wife who wants to ease your troubles, that would be great. Maybe you can talk about it over a glass of wine and then enjoy dinner.

Prompt from September Journaling Prompts 2020 at The TwinSight

September 2020 VS September 2021

- Roshan

Compare this September to last September. You can compare what you did to what you’re doing, how you felt to how you’re feeling, or any aspect of the months that feel similar or dissimilar. 

Well, I am doing the same thing as I did last September. Remember, remember the 5th of September! Sorry for that little ditty. But yes mostly I was doing the same thing that I was doing last year. As a senior trainer for a large, multinational BPO, my main job is to focus on new hire training and ongoing training for the associates at our organization and for the client process that I work for. Last year I started training new hires from June (Hyderabad first and then Cochin) and with just a few gaps in between I did that till the end of November.

It was long hours per day and working a few hours on some Saturdays or Sundays because I also had to do admin work on the client tool, which only I have the admin access for. This needs me to be really careful and as it is very easy to mess up. It is the same thing that I am doing this September as well. However I have tried so far to not work those extra hours and it has worked so far. I was deputized to help out the Chennai office by remotely conducting three batches of 10 day training each in August & begining of September.

So August & September I have had some difference in the number of extra hours that I have worked. In that it is very minimum and I’d like to keep it that way. Next week I may have to work on a Saturday as well due to some silly reasons that the management can’t fix. That could happen maybe 2 or a maximum of 3 times before November end. I guess that is different.

Prompt from September Journal Prompts, Affirmations, and Journaling Printables at Carrie Elle Dot Com

What Does It Mean To Be A Good Neighbour?

- Roshan

What does it mean to be a good neighbour?

I think a good neighbor should be friendly but not over friendly. You shouldn’t barge in on your neighbours lives or homes and you should respect their privacy. You should wave and smile and greet them when you see them but their waves and smiles back aren’t an invitation for you to go and hog their couch for the next 2 hours.

Buy or make food after you check and see their dietary preferences. The last thing you want is to make them feel guilty for food going to waste. Especially food that they spend time preparing. And don’t over do it either. Once or twice a month is fine but anything more than that is overkill and they may not be the kind of people who make a lot of things themselves and now they feel like they owe you something.

Be supportive and encouraging but you are not family. Help without asking or expecting anything back. Don’t be too affectionate towards their children – they are not your own or your nieces/nephews – but treat them like you would want their parents to treat your kids.

Prompt from 30 Days Of September Writing Prompts at The SitsGirls

Arsenal 3 Tottenham Hotspurs 1

- Roshan

Arsenal’s revival gathered pace as Tottenham’s recent decline continued in an entertaining north London derby at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners propped up the table after three games while Spurs were top under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo – how things have changed as a rampant Arsenal ripped their shambolic rivals to shreds in a brilliant first half. Emile Smith Rowe started the celebrations for the Arsenal fans when he arrived unmarked to sweep home Bukayo Saka’s cross after 12 minutes before the scorer turned provider as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the second midway through the half.

Spurs were producing a horror show and nothing summed it up better than Arsenal’s third after 34 minutes. Harry Kane fell over the ball in a Spurs attack then missed two tackles on Saka as he raced back into his own penalty area to try to rescue the situation. Saka compounded the agony with a calm finish. Inevitably, Spurs improved after the break, Kane bringing a good save from Aaron Ramsdale and wasting a good chance, before Son Heung-min pulled one back. Ramsdale spared Arsenal any late anxiety with another superb stop, touching Lucas Moura’s shot on to the bar as Mikel Arteta’s side closed out a richly deserved win.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has staked his Arsenal future on a long-term plan but admits he will not get quick results and has called for patience. But there was evidence for optimism here despite those three opening league defeats. The Gunners’ latest win was based on the brilliance and exuberance of Saka, Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard, aged 20, 21 and 22 respectively. Aubameyang, whose own form and commitment have been questioned as he struggled, set the tone and lit the fuse on an explosive atmosphere inside the Emirates by chasing down Spurs’ defenders in the opening moments.

Beach Times With The Cousins

- Roshan

I am not a good swimmer even if I have taken classes for while when I was 18. That was in a pool at the rooftop of the Abad Plaza hotel. I had booked a 2 month excercise, steaming, swimming and sauna for 3-4 months at the insistence of my parents and since there was a great deal of teens, I took it up. I enjoyed the steam room (it was a small room so you went in alone) and the sauna but I loved the swimming a lot.

Before that all my swimming was done in the Periyar River and the Fort Kochi beach. Well not so much swimming at the beach, more like walking in and getting wet and enjoying splashing water around. Also a few times we have been to the beach in Trivandrum as well. But in the Periyar river we would go swimming as lot. It has been ages ofcourse but I still remember the fun we had. Ofcourse it was us boys swimming but the girls would get knee deep and have their own fun as well.

I remember a couple of incidents we had at the Trivandrum beach. During one summer vacation (or was it Christmas) we were all at Trivandrum and staying at my mum’s eldest brother’s rented home. My cousins and I went to the beach almost every day and we also played frisbee at the beach. This one afternoon one of my cousins swung the frisbee hard and straight at the head of some man who was out with his family. We went over to apologize and he took it well. That was probably in 1991.

Second time was at Periyar river and I had borrowed my older cousin’s sports shorts which were too big for me, so I had to use a belt. A bunch of us went to the river to play and throw a beach ball. There were a bunch of young college girls from some other state in town for a trip. They were standing at the edge of the banks and us boys (I was 15 at the time) went closer to the banks to *ahem* pose for them. While we were standing around, I suddenly saw something floating near us and it looked familiar.

Yes! To my embarrassment it was my shorts! The girls didn’t notice but I did. I made my cousins stand in front of me so no one would see me put on the shorts and tighten the belt again. Travesty averted, we played some more and then went home.

CREAMY CHICKEN SALAD WITH APPLES

- Roshan

This chicken salad is packed with sweet and crunchy apples, tart dried cranberries, and a light and creamy homemade dressing. You’ll need about 3 cups chopped cooked chicken for this recipe, so if you’re not using rotisserie chicken, you’ll want to cook some chicken first. I used two chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total).  Cook them in a skillet with a little oil over medium heat until they were golden brown on each side and cooked to an internal temperature of 165ºF. Let them cool and chop them into small pieces. Chop one apple into small pieces (about 1.5 cups) & inely dice about ¼ cup red onion. Add the chopped chicken, diced apple, diced red onion, and ¼ cup dried cranberries to a bowl.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 cups chopped cooked chicken ($7.97)
  • 1 apple (1.5 cups chopped) ($0.76)
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion ($0.20)
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries ($0.22)
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.53)
  • 1/3 cup plain yogurt ($0.35)
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.18)
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.10)
  • 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Chop the cooked chicken and the apple into small pieces. Finely dice the red onion.
  • Place the chicken, apple, onion, and dried cranberries in a large bowl.
  • Combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir until smooth.
  • Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients in the bowl and stir until everything is coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Greenland (2020 Movie)

- Roshan

Greenland is a 2020 American disaster thriller film directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Chris Sparling. The film stars Gerard Butler (who also produced), Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glenn, David Denman, and Hope Davis, and follows a family who must fight for survival as a planet-destroying comet races to Earth. Originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States, Greenland was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released domestically by STXfilms, through video on demand on December 18, 2020, and then played on HBO Max and Amazon Prime. It was still released theatrically in other territories, beginning with Belgium on July 29, 2020. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $52.3 million worldwide with a production budget of $35 million.

Star Light Star Bright First Star I See Tonight

- Roshan

Look to the stars. First star you see tonight; what would you wish for?

If you have read my blog for a while, I think it should be clear what I would wish for. I am an atheist & humanist and I am also a lover of scifi and Star Trek in particular. I would wish for everyone to have a safe, comfortable, completely healthy, luxurious in some ways, existence. I have said it before but I will say it again that my wish is for every human to have a nice, big and luxurious home with all the comforts and safety that we could desire. As well as for all their pets – all cats and dogs (and yeah throw in some other pets too) deserve to have a nice comfy home with their human family to feed and love them.

One of the things that people love to do is travel. Imagine if this way, with my wish, you can travel so easily between place or cities or even countries and take your pets with you! No need to leave the dog or cat back home with someone coming to feed them or leave them at a pet care/lodge or at a family members place. Or restrict travel to other countries just because you don’t want to leave the pets behind. No siree – the husband & wife can easily travel and take the kids and pets with them.

And ofcourse as I would repeat, the quest to explore the stars is the ultimate goal. So I also wish that we live in a Star Trek style world where it is pretty easy to get a ship, pack the kids and the dogs and cats and me & the wife can travel to various planets and moons. Just like other humans can too and we can make friends with some benevolent alien races and keep away from the nasty, evil ones. That is all I wish for.

Prompt from SEPTEMBER BLOG AND JOURNAL PROMPTS From Living A Sunshine Life

A Get Out Of Jail Free Card

- Roshan

If you had an actual get out of jail free card, what would you do with it?

Hmmm, I would have to really think about this. Would I commit a crime and then get arrested only to pull out this get out of jail free card? Do a little voyeurism at the all women’s college dormitory? Steal a few crore rupees from the big banks?

I think the very best thing I could do is go and slap – I mean literally slap – and kick some sense into some of these bloody politicians and religious leaders and you know, make their lives a living hell as I have not only slapped them but also kicked them in the groin and they have to get treatment to get the pain out.

And that time I am sure that I will be arrested and before the manhandling and jail sentencing can even begin – whoosh, I pull out my get out of jail card and the cops will have to let me go. I will smile and laugh my way back home.

Prompt from 31 Blog Post Ideas for September @ A Grande Life

Share A Favorite Breakfast Recipe

- Roshan

IMG20210912105351

One of the breakfast options that I really have liked during the past couple of weeks is this that you see up here. This is button mushrooms that cut in half and cooked in butter, with some chicken salami that I also cooked in the same pan. Now the slightly spicy chicken salami that I bought was ofcourse tasty enough as a cold cut but when you cook it along with the mushrooms it takes on a whole new life of it’s own and the taste is enhanced.

So those two added together is delicious on it’s own but then I added a couple chunks of cheddar cheese and added it to the bowl. I didn’t want it to be melted but straight from the fridge and when I add it to the hot mushrooms and salami, it does become a little warm but does not melt. This breakfast in a bowl on a Sunday morning is just hmmmm with a cup of black coffee.

Arsenal 3 Wimbledon 0

- Roshan

Arsenal beat League One AFC Wimbledon to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and make it three wins in a row in all competitions. Alexandre Lacazette was making his first start since April and scored a penalty after Nesta Guinness-Walker fouled Gabriel Martinelli. Emile Smith Rowe converted from Lacazette’s pass and Eddie Nketiah’s lovely flicked backheel from Cedric Soares’ cross sealed the win. Arsenal host Leeds in round four.

The Gunners should have beaten the Dons by more after hitting the woodwork twice. Visiting goalkeeper Nik Tzanev tipped the ball onto his own bar in the first half, and Nuno Tavares later headed off the post. The Gunners named a strong team, with Nketiah the only member of the starting XI not to play in the Premier League this season. AFC Wimbledon did not manage a shot on target in the game. At Arsenal since 2017, Alexandre Lacazette seems to be heading towards an end of the adventure for the Gunners. Discussions for a contract extension are not moving in the right direction and the chances of the Frenchman leaving London in the coming months are high.

Diego Simeone & Atletico de Madrid are still interested and positioned on Alexandre Lacazette. The Colchoneros are naturally among the favorites to recover the former Lyonnais. Contact with its representatives has never been broken. And according to sources, Atletico has already validated the opening of a site for the arrival of a new number 9 next summer. Free from any contract, Alexandre Lacazette is naturally on the short-list and a priority file for the reigning Spanish champion.

How My Blog Is Different Than Others?

- Roshan

How your blog is different than others?

My blog is different from other blogs because……none of them are posted by me. Ok dad jokes aside, let me try and tell you.

My blog is different because I blog about anything and everything that I like, love, hate or interests me. You will find the most varied of subjects in my blog that you may not find in other blogs. Ok – you will never find them. I have so many categories, much, much more than any that I have ever seen in any other blog. And that is because I don’t limit my blog to particular things or niches. I dunno how it happened, but it happened. When I started blogging, way back in 2002, it was supposed to be a journal of things that has happened and things that I did, especially since I was staying in a new city.

I moved back in less than a year and my blogging still became like a journal of what I did, some of my thoughts of events, what I saw on tv or listened to. Eventually I started writing more and more about my feelings, my dad out, so many more things. I kept adding category after category once I started this blog back in 2007 and it just kept going. In fact, in the past year I have added two new categories. Isn’t that weird? But I realize that it’s  because my interests are varied and I write mainly about what interests me. Therefore the various categories since I am interested in a lot of things.

I also try to be as honest as I can on my blog. I don’t hold back – well maybe I might tone down the language a bit, even though I have thrown in a few choice words many times. Yet it is still very tame when I compare it with what I say when I get angry or think. I also try to post as much positive things as I can and keep it varied.

Prompt from 121 LIFESTYLE BLOG POSTS IDEAS TO WRITE ABOUT IN 2021

Why do you need a blog planner?

- Roshan

I do not really keep a planner and I honestly do not recommend keeping one yourself. Unless you are planning to write about certain topics that you get paid to do – in that case by all means, do keep a planner with notes or bulletpoints jotted down on a small notepad/scribblepad or even on Word/Notepad on your own pc/laptop. What I usually do is, if I get a few ideas about the topics that I want to blog about, I create them on WordPress and save them as drafts because I know that I will come back to them later. This way I don’t forget said topics and also I have my set of blog posts all mapped out for the next couple of days.

The main reason why I say that a planner isn’t something I recommend is because it looses spontaneity. When I do plan these things it seems a bit forced for me and I kinda lose a bit of the excitement as I already knew a couple of days ahead what I was going to write about. Now the exception is for paid/sponsored posts which either I have the list of topics (depending on what the client wants, it can be a set of 5 to 10 per month) already emailed to me, so I do know in advance what it is I will be blogging about.

However the stuff that I write just for me because it is what I enjoy writing about, am passionate about or what interests and intrigues me is always more spontaneous. The best thing is to get the idea or think about ideas or search for ideas and the moment one clicks, I go to my blog’s tab and open up a new post blog – the button that says “Add New” – and I start typing. Depending on how easy it is to write about it, I may spend from 20 minutes to a whole day on it.