Thursday, November 26, 2015

Preparing for the long haul.

The next month is gonna see us travelling quite a bit and hence, in preparation, there were a lot of things to be done. The first is my mom's quarterly medical review by her doctor at Kochi. As a prelude to it, I'd tied up for the nursing staff from the nearby hospital to collect her blood samples this morning. The sample collection team had arrived half an hour earlier than the appointed time but mom seemed to be ready for such an eventuality! And unlike last time, she could give her sample of urine also.

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The results were mailed to me by about 12 o'clock. Thankfully, the readings were within acceptable limits and the one result on the 'peripheral smear' will be delivered tomorrow. It's a big load off my head especially after her recent illness and the antibiotic course seems to have done the needful.

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Ramesh, the gardener, had also arrived by morning to do up the small patch of the lawn and the potted plants in the courtyard. The grass looks nicely trimmed now after the removal of the unwieldy weeds that have been begging for removal for quite a while now. He attributed his long absence to a spate of new work that he's taken on.

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Meanwhile, a quick trip to the nearby hairdresser was undertaken. The ever smiling Ejaz hadn't arrived because of a problem in his eye and my hair was cut by another guy named Ajith. The end result was not much to my satisfaction but the sad input was that Ejaz was moving away shortly to another outfit, about 20 kms from here. He's got a better offer, it seems!

Hair cutting saloons of old have come a long way. These days, they call themselves, 'Hairdressers' and carry out massages of various kinds, pedicure etc, in other words 'grooming' in addition to hair cutting - in fact, the gentlemen of today do not mind splurging on themselves to sport good, neat looks! I must say that it's a good and welcome trend. 'Amigos', where I frequent, is swanky, fully air conditioned with an array of about eight cubicles for the various activities. Its owner, the shy Kunjumon, has begun this business after a short stint in west Asia.

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My onward reservation to Thiruvananthapuram by the Jana Shatabdi, the day after, was confirmed a trifle before 12. The return on Sunday, by the Garib Rath, will be confirmed by tomorrow says Paulson, my man, Friday. He's been of a great help. I'll have to leave Maman's house comparatively early on Sunday morning, as I see it. Meanwhile, there's homework to catch up with, in preparation of my inaugural ceremony at Kollam on Saturday!


Tailpiece.

There seems to be at least three sets of guests arriving here at 'The Quarterdeck' during my absence, over the weekend. Well, they'll keep mom and Lekha busy besides giving them company!  

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