learnings

It is always so amazing when I am satisfied with a day's session only to find that students liked another. I love this element of surprise when my students like a particular topic about which I would not have thought so. Perspective.  It is so important for a teacher to be open minded so as to enjoy these moments and to give what the students need than what we want to impart.

 Once in a way my rhinitis goes the extra mile to keep me sneezing or snivelling. It would spring up when I am mentally or physically exhausted and it would obviously be in the midst of my work schedule.  So it would always be a dilemma to take them ed or not. I would delay and inevitably look for someone in the family to prod me to take the med. These meds leave me numb and drowsy. Yet I took one last night.  I woke up with that familiar dullness. As I ploughed through the day I realised that I did not enjoy my brain being addled by the chemical. But I did not want the irritability of snivelling and sneezing. Either would affect my class.  After class I slept for a short while. I woke up hungry. I ate. And now with a full stomach and the sleepiness reduced I muse which path I would take the next time.  

 I looked at my pencil absentmindedly.  It looks weatherbeaten,tired and chewed up. Reminded me of Freudian's 'oral' stage of development. usually biting, eating chewing,smoking, drinking issues are all related to this stage.  No blame game here on our caretakers as freudian theories have been trashed.  Still I wonder what my mom's mental / emotional health was during those first ten months of nursing me.... 

 The topic was Neurobiology of romantic love. As usual I kept reminding the college grads to question, discuss,comment and opine.  Every year sees a few more opening up. Interestingly Am yet to see and have a full-fledged discussion. being a mixed batch the students are concerned about what 'will they think' . Also amusing to note how children 'justify' that the examples or questions they ask belongs to someone else's experience.   Sigh. The AI revolution is upon us and yet dating is a taboo.  

 I aced the exam. I have a great teacher. My behaviour was not surprising. I was lazing around as a student. Exam date was announced. My competitive juices began to flow. I began revising with all seriousness. I realised  that I had not understood most of the grammar components. Yet I now wanted to challenge myself. So went ahead with the exam.  So far I had just studied. Now I am learning. A bit of a challenge still but I am enjoying the process.

 For this particular batch of students I was asked to 'buy' Zoom pro account. To buy for amere 15 days... well the 'frugal me' thought otherwise. I have been using Google meet regularly since lockdown now. I am happy with Google Meet. I send feedback regularly in the hope that the company would improve.  I particularly love the 'blurred background' one can have. There are two levels of blurs that on ecan choose. So the effort of running around the house to see a quiet corner or to find a proper neat wall is done away with. And our image does not dance or have the wavy edge like in zoom ( even when we add good resolution display) One night before my first class, I googled to find out on viewing my students while presenting. There are several and I found this one that works for me. So thank you to the teacher who had put it up. I did not add the google grid extension as mentioned because it asked for my PAN!! I experimented this way. 1. Open your PowerPoint. Click

 Often I wonder why do we need such days. But having such days adds emphasis. It is like 'I know' and such days make me 'aware'.  This morning I woke up happier than usual- hangover of meeting my collegemates after almost a year. I practised some self care. Had this morning 'herbal water' ( karingali in kerala); applied a face pack; moisturized myself head to toe; dressed up a bit and ordered a lunch for mom. Had a leisure lunch with spouse. It has been so uplifting for body and mind. Perfect Valentine's day so far...

 It is a constant source of wonder for me when I post my queries on google only to find that there are thousands of others who are facing the same issue. I would like to thank those countless netizens for posting solutions step by step.   Recently I had left my Surface Laptop on charge. I forgot to switch off. My bad. In the morning I could not power it on. The first nano second I panicked. An expensive, most practical gift from my son-  It brought me to tears. A few nano seconds later I googled. Voila. I got my solution.  1. Hold the Power button for 15 seconds. Usually this works but this time it did not work for me.  2. Hold the power button and Volume Up button simultaneously for 15-30 seconds. This 'unfreezes' the laptop. This worked for me. Oh I jigged in joy. I am more cautious now. I do not forget to unplug. It is best not to charge unless we get the low battery prompt. It is also best for battery life and laptop to never leave it on charge for the night.   

A recent visit to my hometown and chats with some friends and relatives had me appreciate the ration card system.   Now we have a SMART RATION CARD. We can use this card anywhere across the country to get our ration. For those who are not aware of this system, in India, we have ration card for different income groups. Each income group is awarded grocery from the government free of cost ( for families registered as below poverty line) and for other income groups we receive sugar,pulses at a very nominal price. I have always availed this as I love gifting the sugar to those who would be otherwise purchasing at a slightly higher rate from the usual retail shops. Time slots are given for the respective card holders.  Out of laziness and the impatience of waiting in a queue most of us request our domestic help to buy on our behalf. This was running smoothly till the government tightened security measures. Now that we have a smart card we need to do a biometric to buy our ration. If we cann

 Recently I had used OYO to book a hotel room. I was impressed when I got through a customer service rep who helped me out. He asked me to advance an amount of Rs.225. I received the acknowledgment for the same.  My travel plans changed and I cancelled the room asap.  I received a message saying that I would be refunded Rs.126 against the advance amount of Rs. 225/- . Puzzled I tried their number innumerable times. I was asked to dial a number which gets cut off when we press the required extension number. I could not reach any human who could explain why Rs.99 was deducted. The customer reps who talk to us while booking handle ONLY booking services.   I understand this aspect. But why is there no human regarding cancelling. Finally one smart rep (after several pleas) mentioned that the Rs99 was against a membership (OYO club ) which was NEVER mentioned to me. I was never asked if I wanted to become a member. The amount is small. But this is about INFORMED CONSENT. So is this howOYO ma

This evening (Feb 9th) as I finished my evening walk I saw this street play being enacted. I chatted with the official standing beside me. He was from the TN Labour dept. Tamil nadu announced its decision to observe feb 9th as Bonded Labour Abolition Day. We are the first state to do so. The law against Bonded Labour came into force in 1976. It is shocking that bonded labour still exists in most states of India. The play had poignant music and dialogue.  How much we take our liberty, our privileges for granted? Imagine no freedom to just be!    

 Human behaviour is fascinating. Of course nature and nurture play 'the' role. Amongst various factors that shape our lives are the values we adopt.  Often I see people sticking to values they had adopted at a different phase of life. They feel sticking to them is a matter of pride. This ensues in bitterness around and yet they are not willing to let go. Here I saw a fixed mindset. The common word we use for this would be ego- ego mania. Values will change as we go through life. Some values lessen or increase in the usage. So when do we know we have to change: 1.When relationships around us are getting hampered;-Here the simple test is to note if people around us are happy and communicating with us. Are we able to just pick up the thread and talk without any added frills.  2. If your value comes in the way you are viewing the others- are all around you appear to be negative and evil?  We do not always need a natural disaster, pandemic or death for us to express the love we have

 We make decisions almost every moment. It is wise to understand and be aware of the decisions we make. 1. Why am I making the decision?Review the situation or circumstances.  2. I want to change my decision- review the situation/ circumstances. Would it be bothersome or cumbersome to others?  Is it fair? Am I inconveniencing others?  Following such basic rules differentiates a Yoda from the proverbial witch.