45 degrees

Hello….

Yup still on the blog-break.

It will re-start right after this post.

This post is a ‘couldn’t help but post’ post.

It is a cry for help.

I know most of you must be thinking[judging by the title ie] that I'm writing to talk about the horrible weather out here.

Yeah well the weather is terrible but I have a more pressing problem for which I need a solution.

And who else can I turn to but all of you kind people!!!!!!

Usually I'd phone a friend but since the problem is just about that, so I have no go but to ask you for help. 

I’m not much of a phone person but once or twice or thrice or four or five times a week I get a few calls from family/friends/relatives/acquaintances/ex-colleagues/old neighbours/church members who want latest updates on what’s going on this side of town.

That’s right, they all call me on their own free will.

Mostly they call whenever they think they are unlikely to be disturbed. Like, when they know they have a bit of free time before the next meeting or during their lunch hour or when their boss is out for the next 2 hours. Because you see, once the call is made, it is a known fact  that both parties will not get off the phone for the next 40 minutes at the very least. Only a fire or a fire drill can have the power to interrupt. Actually until a few days back we didn’t think a fire drill could affect the length of our conversation but we were forced to face the bitter truth;-o.

In short I’m so interesting that the other party can’t bear to keep the phone down.

In short they call me when they are free. And expect to be occupied for the next hour.

But that doesn’t mean I am free, right??????

Ofcourse I'm not free. You all are aware, I hold an important position in a non-profit organisation where work never ends. In my field one work leads to another. Even before I finish a job and dream about stretching my tired arms 2 more jobs are jostling to catch my eye. And if it’s not a job it’s about maintaining peace among the members in my team. Oh yes a volatile bunch I tell u. And if it’s not the team there are external factors knocking on my door, I meant figuratively ofcourse.

Right and all of you know I’m sooo busy that I took a blog break I had no wish to take. See if that’s not proof then what else is????

So as I was saying, the problem is that I hate to tell them I’m busy. I simply can’t be mean to a nice person who called me to ask how I was and want the minutes on what’s going on in my life. And I also want to know what they’ve been upto. So I try hard to fit the call inspite of my busy schedule.

I promise myself my work will not suffer.

So I place the cordless close to the ear, sort of tilt my head sideways in a 45 degrees angle, wedge the instrument between head and neck and talk.

And do my work.

And chatter away.

And do my work.

Everything is good initially.

But after 15-20 minutes it begins to hurt.

My neck, it begins to hurt.

Then I have to stop half-way the work I am doing, hold the phone with my hand for sometime and converse.

Time is ticking.

Work is pending.

Deadlines have to be met.

When the head and neck finish their rotating exercises I put the cordless back in place. But after 15 minutes the shoulder and neck starts hurting again.

You get my problem right.

Sometimes I put it on speaker but the person on the other side gets uncomfortable as soon they realise they are on speaker. And also I cannot move around freely if it is on speaker because they can’t hear me as clearly if I turn away even for a second and that moment is lost.

Momentum is everything in these situations. An ill-placed pause, a funny tapping noise from inside the phone, an unexpected doorbell ring can make the news-giver clam up and the moment is then lost forever.

Damn, damn damn then keeps echoing in the head the whole day.

Residing in the Gulf and if one is a homemaker, it is an isolated life. One is forced to stay indoors for many reasons. The blistering heat being one of them. The lack of a DL could be another. Nobody wants to hire you the biggest. Like I said, the reasons are many. So these telephone calls are actually blessings in disguise. They distract us from our mundane routine and make us aware of the problems which the rest of the population face. We forget our worries for the moment to focus on a comrade’s concerns. We get an opportunity to offer our valuable advice and many a time help them see a new perspective. We feel worthy. The reverse works too. By the end of a conversation there is a lightness in the heart, a lift in the spirits and bonus the house is sparkling clean the scheduled work for the day is completed and one never felt like one was working all the while.

Which brings me back to my problem. I’m getting a pain in the neck holding the cordless in the crick of my neck and I want a solution.

Now according to me a Bluetooth is the answer; the wireless technology seems like the perfect solution to all my problems.

So I request the better-half to get me a Bluetooth. He was ok with the idea until he found out I wanted it for the landline. Well ofcourse I want it for the landline. Local calls are free only on the landline, why else will I ask for one???? He looked at me funny. Like as if I live with my head up in the clouds. Like as if I don’t know what’s going on around me. Like how this woman would have survived out in the real world if I hadn’t married her.

I on the other hand am thinking more practically. More realistically. I’m thinking maybe he doesn't have the answer. He’s like that you know…hates to admit he doesn’t have the solution to everything. He launches into some technical jargon to explain rattle me. In the beginning it used to be terribly confusing. But after 13 yrs I can see through it all. I smile at him kindly and pat him to indicate I understand. 

I have more important things to do.....

Like googling for neck exercises. 

Like finding time to write a post when I’m so unbelievably busy.

And actively searching for a solution before I reach this stage[It's not my fault if I come across funny pics like these when I'm researching for solutions]-->

You understand right, and will help, won’t You?????