Annoy with Meow!

Who don’t like cats and their cute purr? Long time back we had cats as our pet and it used to be fun watching them playing around. But that’s a different story for another day. For last few weeks we were experience quite annoy because of the cat’s purr – Meow! The cats are cutest animal and their purr is of course somehow pleasant, but the matter is when they cross the limit and hangs around frequently on the wall and make noise in a way disturbing, not us, but our pet dog, Maya.  Generally it is believed and witnessed by many that cats and dogs don’t go together and ours is no more different.

The cat in the image is the main culprit interrupts the peaceful slumber of our pet dog often by its curse. Purr! Actually she/he isn’t grown enough to become a cat, because I saw her/him as a kitten less than a month back, perhaps he/she should be in her pretty teen now to be naughtier. : D It all began from the day my grandma fed the cat with fish heads, after cutting off the heads and cleaning fishes before progress with cooking. Generally we don’t encourage cats and after owning a dog we stopped petting any other and not only because our dog hate cats, it’s also not easy to detach once become friendly. It is an experience we leant through many occasions of losing pet dogs and cats, to keep us away.

This black and white kitty is so daring animal and doesn’t seem to fear about our barking dog and come around bravely with meow, how many times we shoo away! Other day, the cat quietly came under our couch while we eating fish curry and mom was shook for a moment seeing the cat there, which was a look strange for her rather the usual sight of our fluffy white dog. It came in, when our dog was sleeping inside and didn’t move out easily until we put forceful shoo. Apart this there are two more cats – one with black and white with orange and other was a tabby cat, but they aren’t annoying like this BW though they come around our home often. Even while writing this post it’s making purr from the compound wall to let our dog bark.

You might know the boldness of this cat from the photos above, which was shot from closer distance through the back door and in one of it; it was giving pose for us, looking at the mobile camera.

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS - for the firs time.

Little gates and letter/milk boxes

Few weeks’ back I was at KK Nagar and come across few streets where I find couple of gates of houses adjoining one another. What interest me to capture these little gates were the letter and milk boxes hanging from each other.

Both were ground plus first floor and the house above was painted in bright orange and light green combo. The houses on this street where built in a row and this house has a twofold gate with three boxes – one red letter box and two blue milk boxes.

(both images captured on mobile and can be enlarged click on it)

Like the red letter box, the blue milk box is also slowing becoming my favorite thing and I find more gates with milk boxes these days than the red letter boxes. Apart the blue milk box, in the gate above, I also liked the simple design of the gate which seems patterned in fishes! 

Seven Spotted Cockroach

First I spotted this kind of bug in the Theosophical Society in the neighborhood (Adyar), around a muddy terrain and fallen leaves. About half a decade later, I was surprise to see this bug inside our compound wall and again around the fallen (dry) leaves of Neam and an unknown tree of the neighbor. I spotted the bug few months back and days after showering, the bug was wandering around the dry leaves for its prey.  And last week it decided to stick to the compound wall sometime for me to shoot.

P.S. Thanks DI (Destination Infinity) for letting me know the real name of the bug in comment, which I referred early as white spotted black bug.

My New Powered Wheelchair – Disappointments and Comforts!

I was looking forward for a new wheelchair from the time I started to experience back pain (from the beginning of this year) and that’s mainly because of the pelvic misalignment and mild scoliosis in spine that we find through a diagnosis in April. Without delay we approached a leading wheelchair manufacturer in Chennai to get a comfort wheelchair that perhaps decreases my back pain and prevent further spinal curvature. You might get more detail about the alignment and discomfort from my earlier post here. 

We placed an order on May 20 after discussing with him (the wheelchair manufacturer) at home; who came on our invite and as we know him already and being the manufacturer of my old power wheelchair, I thought he perhaps know my condition well and do his best to provide me the comfort I seek. Following his websites and the models he posted there, I thought of picking one from that that suits my need. But only listening to him at home reveals that those are models just to give an idea about the wheelchairs they manufacture to those unknown and he manufacture a wheelchair only on order.

He sent me a quotation listing down the facilities on the powered wheelchair including the specs I requested, with a notification on delivery within 45- 60 days. Though I was quite disappoint with the days his delivery marks, I console later that my normal powered/electric wheelchair took 30 days to deliver about 8 years back, the deluxe perhaps take that much. But what really happened was I got the wheelchair only after 100 days. We started inquiring about the wheelchair from the minimum days to delivery, in hope he deliver as soon as possible since my condition wasn’t comforting. But he keeps extending his delivery period from week to week on a constant basis of our inquiry.

He delivered the wheelchair on the day 101! To say the truth I was frustrated at the look of the wheelchair, which stood like a robot with big boot and being taller than expected I was somehow taken aback. I had no idea how he going to design my wheelchair. Because he hadn’t showed me exactly how the wheelchair would come up and also I hadn’t thought to ask him about the wheelchair height (from the ground to seat) as I didn’t find great difference in height when checking the wheelchair models in his website. Though the seat height is just about 4” more than the old wheelchair there’s great difference when putting me to seat. Perhaps it could become normal as we used to but right moment it matters lot!

I have nothing to complain much about seating in this new wheelchair, which has a bucket seat to sooth my back and very comfortable sitting to relax with reclining backrest and elevating footrest and handling! The wheelchair is much powerful than the previous one, where I used to drive in 3 of the total speed of 5. But in this I get the speed of riding on 3 in 1 apart the top speed of about 10-12 km/hr in 5 speeds. Though I feel comfort and increase in my level of confidence with the power of the new wheelchair, I somehow dislike on the look. The base and bottom of the wheelchair look disdain and the color of green isn’t likable and rather being thematic it outshines oddly.

I am a person don’t want to be noticed unnecessarily in public and the same goes to my wheelchair and I want it to look decent and though it wasn’t appealing much, I wish it was grayish instead being green. This wheelchair doesn’t come out exactly what I anticipated but it need to be rectify a lot to be more comfort and we have also stressed him to reduce the height of seat as main cause. I don’t feel any discomfort with the height but my parents do find hard to put me on seat. I took the wheelchair to road couple of times to check its ability and to see how comfortable it was on the long run. And few days back I took it to the doctor clinic, across the main road (LB road, Adyar) to check for my cold. The wheelchair is said to run 15 km per charge, but I guess it should be giving less than 10 km. Hope to test it more after the rectifying process, where the wheelchair will be brought back to the company. 

My Bicycle Diary (Part II)

Part I here

There’s nothing like pedaling the bicycle as fast as I can, though my maximum speed is almost below normal there’s a feel of achieving something that when exists from my own strength and energy is unequal to anything. I think not only cycling, but anything that has a personal touch and contribution from same is always special.  Even though we have or get assistance from others on any job/work but when it comes to things we are passionate or close to be, doing it on self is something satisfactory that no one could repudiate.  Sometime I feel lack of power to pedal the cycle and those times what help me (to move ahead) were the ramps built in front of many houses and my uncle having his own workshop with ramp in front of it to make way cars enter the garage. I used to bring the cycle above the ramp and pedal fast along with the force to cover certain distance and repeat it from some others ramps.

Cycling is one of the best parts of my active life then and the only vehicle I drove on my own using my ability. I got great control over the handlebar by propelling the cycle helped me to drive Scooty (a sort of Scooter), but rather independently I ride it with the help of my dad who used to support from pillion when the bike need to halt, as I can’t balance its weight on foot. But those are a decade and a half old story. I have drove bicycle for more than 6 years but I wasn’t powerful unlike when I started to pedal bicycle and as I lose power subsequently and walking becomes difficult I quit cycling. The memories of cycling are always evergreen, although I couldn’t remember all of it, certain incidents and phases continue to exist. Thanks to Aarumugam (six face) and if he hadn’t spent time teaching us cycling we couldn’t have got the opportunity to learn quickly since every other was busy with their lives.

Not that riding cycle alone is fun but also going for a ride with your friend or favourite person who could pedal fast. I don’t remember my father or mother following our cycle journeys; it was the employs of the workshop run by the uncle whom we interact mostly and it was a time I was drop out of school for a year and I used to spent all the time with them and it was Arul (a young employ at workshop) used to take me for speed rides in cycle which I find so thrilling. Sitting sideways on the centre bar and holding the handlebar it was fun to kick start a ride and it is a way I used to go around with my neighbourhood friend who has enough ability to pedal me along. Many a time there used to be clash between me and my brother over driving cycle and sometime I along with the friend put him wander (street-by-street) by driving fast and let them chase away. But many a time he has been supportive to me and pushed the cycle for me to drive fast.

I have also drove hire cycles few times and though I had a wish to try different cycles and when my brother refuses to give me a change I took for this. I remember I liked and feel easy to drive the Anjali cycle (a bicycle which was famous then following the Tamil flick Anjali); it has a long and narrow seat with back support and could accommodate 2 kids at a time. The hire fee used to be Rs.1 per hour but I leave the cycle before the time, even though the shop keeper doesn’t seem to be accurate I fear what he may say. When we shifted to our grandpa’s house for a year, while we reconstruction our home, and being close to my school I got to cycle along with my classmate for some time and the street of our grandpa’s used to be crowded so we mostly end up lifting the cycle to terrace to make little rounds. It used to be a large terrace with all sides wall; it feels safe to ride on. 

The bicycle we used has been a worth product (BSA Champ) and worked for long years, which has been used by our other two cousin when my brother brought another for him. My first bicycle ride (not pedalling) I remember was with my father. He took me to home from grandpa’s making me stand on the bar holding his shoulder in one arm. I really hate sitting on the bar as it make feel discomfort, I always wish for a baby seat (a small seat on the bar connecting handlebar and seat) which has been in my friend’s father cycle. The days that are close to my heart and final rides of me on a bicycle were with my grandpa. Sometime if no one comes to pick me from school, which is near his home, he would come in his bicycle and put me seated on the carrier and the school bag in the handlebar he make a great balance despite his difficulty in climbing and pedalling. I would cherish those moments forever and it bothers me much when I see him fighting with Parkinson latterly.

End