Laughing one's life away

I started yesterday in splits of laughter (see the earlier post), and all through the day I kept giggling to myself, thinking at the shock I got when I looked out of the kitchen window to see that snowman with the "Happy Birthday" sign!

Annikki made a delicious pineapple / peach cake, but we only got to eat it around 10 pm.

Pentti, Pailin and Unnop dropped in just at that time and got a piece of the cake.





They came to see Annikki's garden lights. The lights were truly magnificent.



Pailin got to sit in the snow wigwam!



Annikki showed them the main tools she used to create her snow garden. The shovel and a lot of shoulder power!



And it was way past my bedtime when our really wonderful guests left after having a heart-to-heart chat with Annikki.



It was a really great birthday with the snowman, the 200 or more emails, greeting cards, online greeting cards, telephone greetings with even Ildikó and Ilari singing in Tune greetings over the phone, and our very dear friend Eino Kaitera taking time to give me a call, Skype greetings from many many countries, and even personal visitors at this remote location.

And, the last two people that I got to talk to were grandchildren Asha and Samu - and that was what really made it such a wonderful day for me.

Thank you all for making it such unique occasion. I feel absolutely honoured to have such a wide range of loving family and friends in every corner of the world.

Pailin launches yet another great product

Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog

Here is stomach-breaking news.

Annikki and i were privileged to taste the latest of the products to find their way into the Pailin menu.

You may be familiar with the Thai Sweet Chilli Kebab Wrap. It is a really convenient and delicious food.

However, the Sweet Chilli Sauce goes best with roast chicken.

This product really gets your juices going.

There are some secrets in this product which make it a new real and major addition to Thai cusine. I am not at liberty to divulge those details, but I understand why this product will really hit the headlines.









I raved over it. When I took one home for Annikki, she thought it was just great.

Annikki! What a woman!

When I woke up this morning and came down for my first cup of tea, I glanced out of the kitchen window, and this is what I saw:



She toiled 6 hours yesterday to create the winter garden that I showed in my previous post. And all for me!

What a wonderful birthday greeting and present - much more than money can buy!

Snowman's snow

Annikki has been waiting for a long time this winter for a day like today. Plenty of fresh snow - it snowed yesterday, a warmish day, and a resulting sticky snow.

I went to see Nageshwari and Kiran, to pick up a computer donated by an Indian engineer, who has returned to India, for a needy student.

Nageshwari and Kiran are Mysoreans. Nageshwari had made some delicious masala dosais and coconut chutney for me! I scoffed four of them.

I took the computer to give to the student, did some important chores en route and when I returned home by 8 pm, I looked out of the kitchen window and found this staring object back at me!



I rushed out to see what had been happening outside. It was evident that I was not the only surprised individual.



Our cat, Iitu, was also surveying the new constructions that had sprung up in our absence!

I tried various combinations on our terrible digital camera to get the true spirit of Annikki's handiwork. Unfortunately it was not possible to do justice to her superb creativity!

Annikki and our neighbour, who also enjoys garden lights and creations, were exchanging notes!

I managed to get this rather strange shot.



And this shot captured the true beauty of the corner of the Kampitie pond corner with the underwater lighting of the pond, the Finnish "kota" (a Laplander's wigwam but made out of snow without any frame or mould) and the snowman who is waving to Annikki's mother, who sits above it looking out of the kitchen window!



With the gruelling schedule that Annikki keeps, looking after the house, looking after her mother, writing articles on social and political issues, changing the insides of the house every other day, I do not know how she has this boundless energy to create stuff out of her "snowman's snow".

Time for a sauna to warm the insides.

Microsoft bugs Google

I do not want to start a typical Microsoft vs Apple battle here, but the focus of Microsoft disruption strategy seems to have shifted from Apple to its largest rival of today, Google.

Sadly, Google is fighting back with its hands tied behind its back, and the do-good goody shoes attitude could result in the downfall of this giant.

The latest was yesterday when the Google Mail programme "gmail" in most parts of the world and "googlemail" in the UK, suffered a major world outage which lasted several minutes.

Reason - the "inability" of the Microsoft "Windows" operating system to handle a simple delay in Australia of the change of the time change from Summer time to Winter time!

This article "Microsoft bug cripples Google quantum-based spam filtering" by Adam Turner appeared in the Australia "The Sydney Herald" on April 1, 2006.

Google's quantum-based spam filtering launch was thrown into chaos today due to Microsoft Windows's inability to cope with Australia's daylight savings changes.

Google's long-awaited quantum-based spam filtering project went online today, continuing the internet giant's tradition of launching new features, such as Gmail, on April 1.

More...

Daylight savings was extended in Australia this year, ending this weekend, to allow for Melbourne's Commonwealth Games - but Windows lacks the flexibility to handle such changes. As such, the analysis of Australian inboxes from Windows users saw the system attempt to process 25 hours worth of data.

The resulting quantum fluctuations created a feedback loop which engulfed London's Supercomputing Methods Experimental Group (SMEG) research centre where the project is based.

More.....

Was this article an April Fool's plant?

If I had not suffered the gmail outage at exactly the Australian midnight hour, I would have thought so.

The gmail programme was unable to do anything, even though I am not running the Windows platform, so the bug was a cross-system one.

Kudos to Google for solving the problem in about 14 minutes (from my personal experience). The dialog kept asking me to try again "in a few seconds", but it was a full 14 minutes before the sytem was restored. If life critical operations based on gmail had to be undertaken at that exact moment of time, there would have been chaos, as 14 minutes is far more than can be borne in such situations!

If, in fact, this chaos was created by the incompetence of people in Microsoft, I think we, along with Google, should have a Class Action suit against Microsoft for disruption of the international computing network because of bad system design.

Anyone interested in joining me on this?

Midi and Mini - What a Flap!

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

I am not talking about skirt lengths!

The Thai Pailin Restaurant (Kenttätie 9, Kasarmi Area) have tested two new products on Annikki and me yesterday - the Midi Flap and the Mini Flap.

It is rather nice to be food tasting test pigs for a good restaurant!

The Midi Pizza Flap







The Mini Pizza Flap
















After the success of their full size Pizza Flap, they have come up with these two products for the not so hungry and the fast-food Pizza addicts with not so much money in their pockets.

And, it is not an unhealthy fast food!

Fast food giant, Macdonald's could take some lessons from this enterprising small restaurant.

It is possible to choose the fillings in these Flaps to your personal taste.

The Mini Flap is ideal for parties. Keep them warm in a hot case and serve them up with an accompanying salad bowl.

Great work - Unnop and Pailin.

Puzzle Time

Last week's puzzle was very very easy - the Duck and the Rabbit were spotted by almost everyone. Susanna was the first to get back to me by email, and then we had over 200 who saw the two animals.

Many had complained that the cow of the previous week was not very clear. Once they saw the marked picture, it became obvious that the eye can be very deceiving. Most retracted their complaint!

This week's is very very simple. Asha already got it - 10 seconds.

What two animals can be seen in this drawing.



Have fun.

(Just realised that Puzzle Time is 24 hours ahead of schedule!)

Hilja with her hat

The other day, when I checked Hilja in the morning, I found her half off the bed as she had made every effort to get hold of a decorative hat hanging on the wall - which she was then clutching in her hands.

I put her back to bed.

When I told Annikki, she removed the hat from the room. Too dangerous as Hilja cannot stay on her feet, without support, for very long.

Today, Annikki was having some fun with her mother, Hilja.

Hilja loves hats so when Annikki put one on the table, Hilja had to have it on her head!

Hilja with her floral hat and apron

Annikki decided to take off her apron.

We have this picture of Hilja and her floral hat.


Hilja with her floral hat.

Mother and daughter certainly enjoy these games!

Anneli visits Oulu

Hilja, Annikki's mother's 86th birthday was on the 14th of March. Daughter, Anneli, Annikki's younger sister, who lives just outside Helsinki could not come up on the day.

She had to attend a conference in Oulu University on Friday, so she arrived in Oulu on Thursday evening to spend the weekend at home with her mother.

On Saturday, she visited their sister, Aino, in their new home, which she with her persistence, was instrumental in organising.



Later in the evening Anneli and Annikki celebrated their mother's birthday by making a cake for her.



Anneli has taken up a very creative hobby of knitting colourful woollen socks. Here is a selection of some her designs.



The black and white striped one is mine to use when I work in the cellar. Thanks, Anneli.

Vamsi puts the Best Buy camera to test

(Cross-posted in the Best Buy and CHAFF Blogs.)

Many of you will remember how Vamsi got a real bargain of a 7.2 megapixel camera for jut Euro 199.

This one beat the one we got for Paneer, but as Paneer was time-bound, he got the Best Buy of that day!

Vamsi has been kind enough to share some of the absolutely great photographs he got when he went to Iso-Syöte, the downhill ski centre an hour and a half from Oulu, with his colleagues from the Technical Faculty at Oulu University.

I share below some of the great photography of a master photographer in the making.

I was looking fortward to the action photo taken while Vamsi was skiing down the slope with the camera strapped to his chest! :-)

Majestic view from the top of the hill
with the top of a pair of ski's in the foreground.
Great composition.


This snow formation is truly a masterpiece.


This just that you techies know the problems faced
in Finland for transmission of signals!

Anyone like to hazard a guess how they clean up the masts and the dishes?

Keep those photos coming, Vamsi, AND Paneer.

Oldest resident of Oulu passes away

Valde Tenhula was born in 1900 in a small village just south of Oulu, Kärsämänkylä in Temmes.

At the age of 22 he left for the US but returned in 1929 after 7 years in that country.

He has lived and worked in and around Oulu ever since. He had distinguished service in the Finnish Army, being a decorated war veteran.

We used to see him at the Hirosen Old People's Home almost every time we went to drop off or collect Annikki's mother.

But he was shifted to the Tuira Old People's Home some time ago.

His last moments of his 105 years in this world were spent at the Tuira Old People's Home, where Mika worked, when he was a teenager, looking after old people.

Valde Tenhula was the oldest registered resident of Oulu.

May his sould rest in peace.

Puzzle - New puzzles after last week's answers

Last week's puzzles. The first was very easy. The other, extremely difficult.

Every one got the first one correct - both the lines are of the same length.

Only Hashim of the Goreme Pizzeria, Oulu, got the second one right.

Nobody eles came even close!



Yes, it is a cow.

This week's puzzle is very very easy.



What all can you see in this drawing?

We launch our NEW BEST BUY BLOG

(Cross-posted in our CHAFF BLOG.)

Please visit our new Blog - BEST BUYS in OULU which presents you BEST BUYS in Food, Toietries, Cameras, Radios, TVs, Computers, and anything else we find.

Annikki & Jacob

Maliyakal Web Sites Updated

RAJA MANTRA PRAVINA DEWAN BAHADUR

MALIYAKAL KURIYAN (MYSORE) MATTHAN

I have been a bit lazy regarding the updating of the Maliyakal family web sites.

Thanks to a major input from Suresh (Rev. Chandy Kuruvilla) in Lucknow, India, and a simultaneous update from Sarasu (Sarasu Isaac) in the Virginia, USA, I did a major update of all the Maliyakal web pages. I still lack much data to be able to call this a comprehensive site of our family.

But that depends on the inputs that you can provide me - such as birthdates, family notes, etc.

• Maliyakal Ravoor Matthan Kurien, alias Maliyakal K. Aaschan, alias Kurien Assan, the founder of the House of Maliyakal




1. Kuriyan "Mysore" Matthan (1877 - 1951)


2. Dr. Kurian Kuruvilla


3. K. George


4. Mariamma


5. K. Kurian


6. Elizabeth


7. Susan


8. K. Jacob


9. Sara

An article by Prof. M. M. Ninan has been brought to my attention which states that according to Thomma Parvom, the first convert by Apostle St. Thomas on his second visit to Kerala was from Maliyakal who became Thomas Maliyakal the Ramban.

I have seen this article many years ago as it was released at the time of the 50th Indian Independence celebration (1997). There has been much debate about many of the statements made and is still a matter of considerable debate.

The page which is entitled STORY OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE AND THE ST.THOMAS CHURHES OF INDIA; A SHORT HISTORY and is by Prof. M. M. Ninan. Hope you find it enlightening and many thanks to both Abu and Sarasu for reminding me of this.

Amazing - Baluchachen is 73 today

I just sent an erroneous message to my dear cousin wishing him 75 - whereas the young lad is just 73!

Baluchachen, December 1999

Baluchachen is the oldest surving Matthan cousin in the Dewan Kuriyan Matthan family. (We sadly lost his very dear elder sister, Amminikochamma, 3 years ago.)

Baluchachen is the elder son of my late godfather, George Matthan Sr. He is one of the most talented of our cousins and also one of the most modest, quiet personalities that you can find. But humour runs deep in this individual.


The bored little boy on the ground is Baluchachen

Baluchachen was very much a member of our family when he came to live in Bombay in the late 50s. He stayed with us for a short while in Meher Mansions, Cooperage Road, and then moved to the Y.M.C.A. hostel which was just behind our house. He was a regular Sunday lunch visitor.


Baluchachen is standing on the extreme right.
I am sitting on the floor on the extreme right.
My late father's 60th birthday celebration in Mumbai November 1970.

His most memorable statement, that I laugh at almost everytime I think of him, was when I asked him what he had given up for "Lent". His answer was so fast and off the tongue that it did not sink in for a few minutes.

He said: "Church!"

All of us at the dining table rolled over with laughter, and even my more late conservative dad (at the dining table) could not contain himself. My late mother laughed over this joke for many many weeks.

Unfortunately, we could not attend his wedding as my late sister, Nalini, got married on the very same day, in Kerala. Baluchachen and Nirmalakochamma got married in Bangalore. Nirmalakochamma became one of our family members and has been one ever since she joined Baluchachen in Bombay.

Probably the most frivolous thing that Baluchachen did in his younger days was join us as the lead singer in a rendition of The Platters hit "Only You" at "Grace Home" in Basavangudi. The event was a family party, a usually very formal affair in those days, in our grandparents home. Ajeet led the way with his mouthorgan and Anand, Ranjit and myself formed the rest of the group. Our dear grandmother thoroughly enjoyed that version of a "pop" song.

Happy birthday, dear cousin -and we miss you very much.

One more line to all Maliyakals. Thanks to Suresh (Rev Kuruvilla Chandy, who lives in Lucknow), the web page of Maliyakal Dr. Kurian Kuruvilla is being updated this weekend. Thanks Suresh.

Puzzletime and answers....

This week's puzzles are Easy Peasy Ones, as demanded by the younger crowd.



Which line is longer, the top one or the bottom one?

And what do you see in this picture below.



Answers to last week's puzzles

Everyone got the answer to the first puzzle. The lines are ALL parallel.

This is an optical illusion created by the spacing between the dark and light squares that creates the impression of sloped lines.

The second puzzle had everyone but two people totally off the mark.

David Okele, our friend from Kenya, tried hard and did some good lateral thinking, but it was not good enough.

He suggested that the farmer's daughter quietly pick up a white pebble from the ground before putting her hand into the bag and then pull it out.

Good thinking, but she could be exposed as a cheat.

The answer which Shalu, in Chennai, India, came up with is the best example of lateral thinking.

The farmer's dsaughter puts her hand into the bag, picks a pebble. When she takes her hand out of the bag, she drops the pebble to mix it with the millions on the ground.

She apologises profusely and then asks the moneylender to pick out and show the colour of the one in the bag, which of course, will be black. This means, to the audience, that the one she picked out must have been WHITE, freeing her father of the debt and she does not have to marry the moneylender!

The moneylender cannot say otherwise, as if he does, he will be proved to have cheated.

Well done Shalu!

New owners, new location, Thai Sweet Chili

(Cross-posted in the CHAFF Blog.)

The Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store which started in the Oulu City Market about 4 years ago, moved to Rautatienkatu about 3 years ago and then moved to Torikatu, opposite the Labour Unemployment Centre, has now changed hands and moved to a new location on Asemakatu.

New location of Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store

The store is situated inside a popular flea market and antique shop called Pikku Liinu run by Paula Kangas, which has been around for quite a few years.


Flea market and antique store,
Pikku Liinu owned by Paula Kangas

Before that it was the location of one of the most popular computer hardware stores in Oulu called Kommentokeskus.

My former partner in business Jari Kaitera, now the Managing Director in a major RFID company in Helsnki, started his career in that shop, so it has many good memories for me.

The Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store is owned by a couple, Markku Miettinen (a Finn) and his wife, Pat (a Thai). They will live part of the year in Oulu and part of the year in Thailand. I have known Markku for several years, probably about 4 and was associated with him some time ago before he left for Thailand.


Thai Sweet Chilli Grocery Store

I wish this new enterprise of Markku and Pat all the very best and hope we can now get some of the good Thai grocery products at reasonable prices rather than having to depend on Stockman.

A new Oulu concept from Hanna and Jarmo...

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

A few weeks ago, our local newspaper wrote about a small bookstore in Oulu which also had a few tables where you could enjoy a hot refreshment with a "pulla" (Finnish sweet bread or pastry) and also spend some time browsing a few books from their selection.

I took a trip to the Coffee Shop, today, at the corner of Pakkahuonekatu and Aleksantarinkatu and met with the delightful owners Hanna and Jarmo Stoor.

Jarmo is an author and has published three books. Both are friendly and like to talk to their customers.

Hanna and Jarmo Stoor of Nispero Kirjakahvila

Known as Nispero Kirjakahvila (The Nispero Book Coffee Shop), it is located in quite a strategic place and will have a good number of visitors as spring, summer and autumn appear on the horizon.


Nispero Kirjakahvila location in Oulu

In winter, the warmth of the owners will not need the books to draw their customers. As as they speak English, foreigners will not have much problem blending in with the locals.

Thanks for introducing such a good idea to Oulu.

You think you are safe...

(Cross-posted on the Chaff Blog.)

Kamutaza Tembo, my good graphic artist friend from Zambia, is an exceptionally safe driver. He waits patiently at crossroads to make sure everything is clear. I used to get mad with him as a normal journey by car which I would do in 10 minutes, he would take 20!

At about 08:30 this morning I got a panic call from him. He declared that his car was smashed. He reassured me that he was OK. He asked me to inform his employers that he would not be in to work in the morning.

I rushed to the scene, but he was not there. The Police Van was still there and one wrecked brand new car.

I called Kamu on his cell phone, and he asked me to meet him at our friend's garage. He was checking in at his work place to inform them that they needed to make alternate arrangements.

He managed to reach the garage with the car under its own power.






Reijo took one look at the car and told him the car was a write off. No way of putting it right.

The front had been smashed in on the right hand side and the back a little to the left. the whole body was askew and the doors, etc. could only be opened by forcing them.

What had happened was that Kamu was in the correct slow lane on a main road in Oulu. The car in front of him was intending to turn right, but as there were pedestrians on a crossing, he waited for them to go through.

Kamu, just behind him, stopped behind this car, waiting to go straight on.

The car behind him also stopped, but the driver was apparently impatient. After a very short wait behind Kamu, he decided to pull out into the next lane so as to overtake Kamu and the other car.

A bus, at quite a high speed, coming in the same lane as Kamu, obviously saw the line of pedestrians which was holding up the traffic in the slow lane, and hence, not noticing the intention of the car to pull out, also pulled out of the slow lane, and at a high speed.

The bus hit the car on the tail, which sent that car smashing into the back of Kamu's car at an angle. The force propelled Kamu's car into the back of the other stationary car.

Kamu had watched the whole episode unfolding in his rear view mirror. There was nothing he could do, so he just grabbed the steering wheel tight and hung on. The back of his seat was thrown backwards out of its hinges, but as Kamu was hanging tight to the steering wheel and he had his safety belt on, he was not thrown either fowards or backwards.

The bus driver took more than 50 mteres to come to a stop. He immediately phoned the Police, who were there in a few minutes. The bus driver was trying to pin the blame on the driver who was pulling out from behind Kamu.

When Kamu asked the Police who was going to pay to have his car towed and fixed, the Police sort of indicated that it would have to be the car driver on whom the bus driver was trying to pin the blame.

Kamu put the record straight by clearly giving evidence against the bus driver.

After inspecting the car, I drove Kamu to the Insurance Office. The lady asked Kamu to phone through the details on a hotline, but as it appeared to be overloaded, she helped Kamu fill out the form which she kindly faxed to the Claims Department.

Hopefully Kamu will get a replacement car in a few days.

Thankfully, Kamu was not hurt - and for that we can thank his presence of mind to hang tight to his steering wheel as the impact took place.

A great Poetry and Art site

My blog sites do not get many comments, as these are not really "Comment" Sites.

I do enjoy comments when they are left, even if they are derogatory and anonymous.

A few days ago, this site had a visitor who left a trail to his own site.

I found that site to be truly wonderful. I think it is worth more than just a casual visit.

I am not a true poetry fan, and I am also not very much into modernistic art.

Thank you PoetryMan for sharing your wonderful poetry and artistic talent with us.

Wish the author would give more contrast in his text design. It is quite impossible to read the dark blue link text against a black background.

I am putting a link to this site in the column alongside, so check it out frequently if you are interested in Poetry and Art.

Two problems this week....

First, the answer to the puzzles posed last Saturday.

The first picture was a Dalmation dog, black and white, in a black and white background. Solved almost immediately by everyone. Too EASY! Most people saw the tail first and then identified the dog.

The second probalem about how many were black dots in the picture, was that there were NO black dots. It was an optical illusion which caused the black dots to appear in the white dots.

If you have time try this with different colours - it is great fun. Is it possible to create a multicolour effect of dots?

Puzzles for this week

The first puzzle this week is a very easy one, especially for the kids.

In the picture below are lines sloping or parallel?



The second puzzle is an old Indian one which was brought to my attention by K. George, who was Technical Director of MRF Ltd. till his retirement.

This is one that requires lateral thinking.

Here is the problem:

What should this farmer's daughter do?

Many years ago, in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter.

So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

All the villagers were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles.

As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. Now, imagine you were standing in the field.

What would you have done if you were the girl?

If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis produces three possibilities:

1. The girl could refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl could show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
4. The girl could request to reverse the conditions put on the stone draw.

Ponder over the story.

The above story is used with the hope that it will make you appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.

Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend this Girl do?

Answer next week!

Samu's birthday

Joanna emailed us that Samu had been wondering whether he was getting any birthday presents other than the one he got from Tony's parents.

Samu wearing the No.9 Newcastle United shirt

They took him out to dinner. When they got home they gave him all his presents, which included, thanks to Joanna, the No. 9 shirt from Newcastle United printed with Samu's own name. This was a present Joanna chose for Samu as from Annikki and me.



Besides being a sports fan, Samu is also a book worm. Joanna got him a whole heap of books (cannot make out whether it is 9 or 10 in the pile?). Samu hasn't stoopped telling me about them, especially the one about hieroglyphics!

On the right is the castle that Samu made. In front of him, besdes the great chocolate cake that Joanna makes, and all of us love (despite the consequnces), are two packets of chocolates that Joanna's friend dropped in at the restaurant to give Samu!

Samu is not the only bookworm in the family. Daniel loves books and the not-yet-2 year old had his book about animals on Samu's birthday. He can recognise all the letters, both small and caps!



Daniel is a bit of a joker, as Joanna depicts very graphically in this picture.



Isn't it great to have three wonderful grandchildren - the only regret, they are so far away. We are waiting eagerly for granddaughter Asha to get here for a holiday in just over a month and Samu and Daniel to return to Finland in just over 3 months!

Hopefully, time flies!

No Smoking Day

Cross-posted in the CHAFF BLOG

This is a part of my history I tell whenever people tell me that it is difficult to give up smoking.

No, it isn't.

I took up smoking when I was just 13 years old.

After Choir practice at the St. Thomas Cathedral, on the way home, late evening (about 7:30 pm - that was late those days), as I waited for the bus at Flora Fountain in the heart of the great metropolis, Bombay, I would drag on a cigarette and follow that up with a peppermint, before I got home.

I was hooked. For the next 30 years I smoked like a chimney reaching 80 cigarettes per day - and that to the roasted ultra strong variety - CHARMINARs, the most popular brand in India.

Smoking Kills

Along with cigarettes, I also became a coffee addict as well as a heavy drinker, killing a bottle of rum and several bottles of lager beer, every day. I was never drunk and could even drive the car as alcohol apparently had no effect on my brain.

Or so I thought.

I had been blessed with a super duper memory where I could recall the date, time, place and exact details of any incident that had taken place in my life.

One day, I walked into my office in Bangalore and, for the life of me, I could not recall where I had placed a very important paper.

I sat down and thought long and hard. I was travelling to Hyderabad the same night.

I found the paper, eventually, and caught the bus.

All through that journey this incident haunted me. Why did it happen?

Then it suddenly dawned on me - I had been destroying my brain with the heavy intake of alcohol.

As I got off the bus at Hyderabad, I vowed never to touch the stuff again.

I had done that several times, but this time I knew I had to keep to this promise.

Just as I got off the bus I knew I had to have a cigarette and then a cup of coffee.

As I was about to light up the "Charm", it dawned on me that the cigarette was also connected to my alcohol intake, as a cigarette always resulted in me wanting to drink a cup of coffee or have a glass of beer, which later in the evening became a reason to have a glass of rum!

I put the cigarette away and drank only a glass of water.

I knew this break had to be absolutely clean.

Could I do it?

Now it is over 23 years since this and I have not touched a cigarette, had about a dozen cups of coffee at very very rare occasions and indulged in some very very rare intake of alcohol, after about 10 years since I gave up.

At the most I have the alcohol that Annikki may add to one of her cakes or I may partake in a glass of non-alcoholic beer if I really feel I have to join someone in a drink.

By running my web sites and my blogs, I have slowly but surely recreated much of the brain damage that was done due to my alcohol abuse. I would say that about 90% has been restored, but my fast recollection ability has been lost forever.

Did I like the cigarettes, coffee and alcohol - YES, I DID.

Do I regret having had to give them up - NO!

So, as today is NO SMOKING DAY, all I can tell you is that if I could give up these habits, so can you. You will be better for it.

Here are three great pieces of art made by my dear friend from Zambia, Kamutaza Tembo, about the danger of cigarettes as also the danger of drinking and driving.

What I suggest is that you DON'T DRINK!



I am not intending to moralise here, but it is better to give up these habits before some lasting damage takes place in your brain, your lungs or your mouth, etc.

If you think not, well enjoy your habit while you can!

Happy Birthday Samu

Grandma had a special light festival in the Kampitie garden to celebrate grandson, Samu's 9th birthday.

It is truly beautiful with nine different colour lights on the snow bridge and the dancing Northern lights in the green house.

The first picture shows eight of the lights on the snow bridge with a truly magnificent Golden Pond in the background.



The second picture shows the Northern Lights in the Greenhouse against the beautiful evening sky of Oulu.



Both Grandma and Grandpa got the feeling it was Samu's birthday.

We want to thank Joanna for getting Samu a present from us - a Number 9 shirt of Newcastle United with Samu's name on it.

We are eating Pulla, (a special sweet bread in Finland), to celebrate Samu's birthday.

And here is the poem we sent Samu for his birthday:

"Thought you might like to be
surprised with an e-mail message
from someone who thinks about you
more than you could ever imagine!

If you ever need a little reminder
of how special you are, please keep
these words in your heart, because
they will always be there for you.

Never forget how wonderful you are
and how much you are loved.

You, Samu, are the special kind
of person who will always rise above.

No one is better at brightening up the
day than you are, and you are thanked
for the way you inspire so many smiles
over the miles between us."

- C. McCarty

Happy birthday dear friend!