Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Don't worry, this is nothing too serious. Just thought I'd write a little account, in case anyone's interested in the topic.

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A couple of months ago, I notice that my wrists are aching almost everyday. Sometimes my palm or my forearm is sore, sometimes it's a slight numb sensation or my hands feel weaker than normal. My mind automatically thinks of carpal tunnel (CTS), or Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).

But I must be too young for that. I haven't been using computers for that long..., have I?. I do the math - been addicted to email since I was 17. That's 10 years. And I type pretty fast.

I ask my staff doctor about it and he refers me to websites on the topic. Although I've already set up my workstation ergonomically, I read through that part of it anyway and make a few minor adjustments. I learn some new stretches and do them whenever I remember. I try to take more breaks too, but I get so caught up in work...



Hm... this funky mouse looks interesting.
And I'll download the trial version of this software, too.




I've heard of this keyboard alternative to QWERTY, but I thought you had to buy a whole new keyboard. Silly me! Of course you can just change the settings on your Windows!

The more I look at the Perific mouse, the more I want it. So many cool ways to use it!

I try the RSIGuard software trial version on my home computer. This autoclick feature is great! I personalise the settings more and more to take advantage of all the subtle features. Hotkeys I can program to automatically type commonly-used text, a breaktimer with stretching videos, ...

Since I don't want to slow down my typing speed at work, I decide to learn the Dvorak keyboard at home first. Hey, this is easier than I thought it would be! And I'm somehow managing to retain both keyboard layouts, although it always takes me a few seconds Monday mornings to reaqcuaint myself.

After the trial period is up, I purchase the software. Money well spent. I want it on my office computer now, and I gotta get me that mouse. I'd better get myself officially diagnosed so that my employers can pay for them.

At my first appointment, the orthorpaedician explains what causes CTS. The nerves going into my hand all run through a tunnel in my wrists. When I type or click my mouse, they rub against each other and the tunnel, and get inflamed and irritated causing pain, numbness, and weakness.

He sends me for a nerve conduction test, which involves one electrode being stuck to my upper forearm and one to the fleshy part of my palm under my thumb. The technician sends a small current through and I see my thumb jerk. He runs more currents through at small increments of voltage. As the voltage in the bursts of current increases, the current feels more uncomfortable. It's an odd feeling to have someone else making your muscles move. Then the technician warns me that he's going to do a rapid series of ten bursts. I brace myself. Not really that painful, but I'm definitely glad that's over! The results show that my nerves conduct absolutely normally. Alright! No permanent damage! Yet anyway.

Okay now what? There's another test that will diagnose early CTS. The doctor explains that he can inject some cortisone, an anti-inflammatory into my wrist. If itmakes the pain go away, then we know it's Carpal Tunnel. Yikes!! Sounds painful!

He says he'll research what else can be done and recommends I get a wrist brace. Already tried that. It didn't help with the CTS and it made it impossible to use a pen to sign my name to my numerous refusal letters each day.

(Gotta go to bed. To be continued with a description of the needle. Would it be as bad as I feared?...)

I'm movin' to London, baby!!

On Thursday, I finally got my PCF (Posting Confirmation Form) which means that my posting to London has received its final approval from the Higher Ups! Woohoo!!! Now I can buy my plane ticket, get my new dip passport, etc etc.

On a slightly unrelated note, on Thursday night I sprained my ankle pretty badly coming down the stairs in my house. I somehow thought the second last step was the last, stepped down and heard a loud snap as I fell. It hurt SO bad and all I could think about as I fought against the pain was, "Oh no! What if this somehow screws up my posting to London!!" which isn't the most logical concern to have at that moment but I guess that's what intense pain does to ya.

It just shows how unbelievably lucky I feel to have gotten this posting that I'm subconsciously afraid that it's too good to be true. I guess I won't fully believe it until I've landed in London in August. For now, I'll just enjoy the anticipation. :D

P.S. I thought for sure the ankle had to be broken but a later x-ray revealed otherwise, to my great relief. By the way, here's a great website that I am referring to in my recovery. It gives a useful plan on how to rehabilitate an ankle sprain.

Kerala Trip: Last stop, Trivandrum

We were having such a good time in Varkala that we decided to go to Trivandrum just for our last night before I caught an early flight back to Delhi. We took a quick train there that was super-cheap. We only had to buy tickets for it 30 minutes in advance. It was much more convenient than the bus option which only has a couple of direct buses in the morning, or you have to change buses.



We stayed in a cheap hotel that I definitely do NOT recommend. Avoid Hotel Ganesh, even though it was recommended by my version of the Lonely Planet (although hopefully not in the newer version). It was a complete hole. Because we were there on a festival day (i.e. a holiday), then the rooms weren't cleaned because the cleaning staff was off. But even if they had been cleaned, it would have been a total hole. Even the hotel manager knew it because he told me to pick the price I wanted to pay for the room! I said 200Rs and we settled on 250Rs with tax, but it was too much to pay. I asked for clean sheets and instead of making the bed with them, he just lay them on top of the bed and pillow (i.e. he didn't even give a clean pillowcase). The room stank of smoke, the toilet was gross, and the walls were filthy. Yuck! I didn't sleep very well that night because I was afraid of getting bed bugs.

Anyway, that's all I have to say about Trivandrum. I was happy to get up early the next morning and catch my autorickshaw to the airport to get the heck out of there.

Kerala Trip: Varkala Beach

After the romantic backwaters of Allepey, we spoiled ourselves by heading to Varkala Beach for about 3 days. We stayed at this great inexpensive hotel on the cliff of this deserted beach. A deserted beach is definitely the way to go if you don't want to be stared at by sleazy locals. Although one of the employees who claimed to be a "lifeguard" for the Ayurvedic Spa Resort Hotel next door was still an unwelcome staring presence. Although this is a beautiful beach, there are strong winds and a crazy undertow so we just had fun playing in the shallow part of the water, rather than actually going swimming. To give you an idea of the undertow, I would stand in the shallow water, wait for a big wave to come and as the wave was going out again, it would pull all the sand out from beneath my feet nearly knocking me off balance!

The sound of the waves lapping against the shore, the cool refreshing salty sea air blowing against the cliff and swaying the palm trees at the top... My whole body just felt so incredibly relaxed the whole time I was there.

And the air was actually clean! Plus, there were no horns!! Kerala is the only place in India where I've experienced either of these two things. Not that all of Kerala is like this of course, it is still India, but the backwaters and Varkala Beach did have these luxuries.

People doing yoga on the touristy beach that was a 20 minute walk down the coast. The touristy beach had a bunch of shops and restaurants but was less peaceful.

Did I mention the sand was a beautiful white sand perfect for building sand castles or other designs in?

Sandy & Art referred us to this hotel and it was perfect. Cheap, very clean, on a cliff of a deserted beach, and conveniently next to an ayurvedic spa resort hotel with a delicious relaxing restaurant and internet café next door. So we got to take advantage of their facilities without paying the high room rates. If you go there, try the coconut rice - it was so delicious that I had it every night!

K.R. House
(South Cliff)
Perumkulam Road, Near Mini Industrial Estate
Mob:9349741998
Ramachandran_krhouse@yahoo.co.in
Run by Mr. Ramachandran (an honest, no nonsense man)

Kerala Trip: The backwaters of Allepey

We took a bus back to Cochin so that we could transfer to a bus to Allepey arriving pretty late.

We stayed at this guest house that was recommended by my friends, Sandy & Art. It had large rooms, was clean and convenient. We just stayed there overnight so that we could rent the houseboat the next day. Sandy & Art really enjoyed the authentic Keralan breakfast they served there, but we discovered too late that you have to ask for this the night before. It's a very informal meal that the cook makes for the hotel staff, so it's not really intended for the guests. But if you go there, I suggest you make a special request because I regretted not getting it.

KTC Guest House
West of KSRTC Bus Station (only 200m away)
Allepey (also known as Alappuzha)
Phone: 0477-2254275
Mobile: 0-9846315553
www.ktchouseboat.com
ktchouse@yahoo.co.in
300Rs/room/night was the deal we got.
They arranged a houseboat for us - they originally wanted 5000Rs for it, but we bargained them down to 4100Rs. Sandy and Art got it for 3000Rs but it may have been during a slower season. The 4100Rs included everything except the beer (i.e. mineral water, food, staff, etc). And we gave a tip at the end because the boat guys were so good.

The only thing to see in Allepey is the backwaters of Kerala which are well worth it. You can take a day trip on a small boat like a canoe but with a canopy and someone to paddle you around or you can rent a houseboat.

This is an example of the common "canoes" that the locals who live in the backwaters use to get around. We saw a few vendors of fruits and vegetables going from house to house on these canoes.

This is the one-bedroom houseboat that we rented for 22 hours. It came with a staff of three - one man at the front of the boat to pole the boat along and another at the back, as well as an excellent cook. The boat had a small kitchen in the back, a bathroom with running water (well at least until the water runs out) and a small dining area.

This was our view from little dining table that we sat at. The whole backwaters experience was amazingly beautiful and calm. The air was actually clean (which is the first time I've experienced that in India) and there were no car horns! (Although right after I said that on the trip, we heard one boat horn from one of the monster-sized boats - but it was only once!)

Here's me trying to pole the boat along. It's harder than it looks and that pole is a lot longer than it looks! It's buoyant too, so if you're not careful, it can jump right up out of your hands.

Here's our dining table where we served delicious Keralan meals, full of fragrant coconut curries and coconut rice! The Keralan food was a lot lighter and healthier than the North Indian food I'm accustomed to (which is what we have in Canada).

Since there was only one bedroom, then I volunteered to sleep out in the open under this mosquito net. Funnily enough, I didn't actually see any mosquitoes on the water, but we did have the mosquito coil going all the time and used bug spray. I'm not on anti-malarial pills, so I was extra careful.

Me!

The boat on the left is in the process of being built. The boats are made partly of bamboo and coir, which is fibre from coconut shells.

Here's one of the bigger houseboats. They can get up to 8 bedrooms, I hear, which sounds pretty monstrous! I definitely recommend staying on a small one. I also recommend getting one that is poled rather than one that has a yucky polluting noisy motor that majorly disturbs the peace and tranquility of the backwaters. Surprisingly, we saw one of these big boats with two men poling it with really long poles - looked difficult!

In the evening, the ship was tied to a coconut tree to dock us for the night. We got out of the boat and took a stroll along this path which is the only pathway connecting various homes along this stretch of land. We passed by people doing their daily activities, like hanging their laundry, tending to their garden, their chickens and goats, we even passed by little shops including one that provided long-distance phone services to all of India for one rupee!

We talked to one family who were very friendly.
Pamela: What do you do for a living?
The Keralan Man: Government Service.
Pamela and Brian: Oh, grammar studies! That sounds interesting!
Me whispering: Um... he said government service. He's a public servant.

Then the Keralan man introduced us to his mother, who was this old lady smaller than me who didn't have all her teeth, but was very smiley anyway!

Here's a cashew nut tree! Isn't that cool?

Kerala Trip: The hill station of Munnar

After two nights in Cochin, we took a bus to Munnar, a hill station surrounded by Tata tea estates and various spice plantations.

Cottages nestled amongst the tea plantation.

This was the view from our homestay. See the ladies picking the tea leaves? According to the host at our homestay, women are better for this work picking "two leaves and a bud" which he repeated over and over again. What a character!

A soccer game that we stumbled onto with a very ratty soccer ball and the players in barefeet. Brian decided to join into the fun.

Pamela and her boyfriend, Brian


Don't the tea shrubs make a picturesque tapestry for the hill? If grown in the wild, then the tea shrubs would become tea trees, but they are pruned to keep the short and producing good tea leaves.

In Munnar, we stayed at a homestay hosted by Joseph Iype - he also runs a Tourist Information Service in town which is the place to get tourist advice according to the Lonely Planet (a mention which he is very proud of). The homestay is right in the middle of the tea plantations, instead of in the ugly little town of Munnar. The view is beautiful! Joseph is quite the character and always has tea and biscuits ready in his living room. Just beware that he can treat you like a kid sometimes (like many people in India do) and he seems to get a little grumpy at night.

Zina Cottage
(most autorickshaw drivers know where it is)
600Rs/night for a double, 900Rs/night for a triple.

Kerala Trip: First stop, Cochin

Last week I finally got to visit what is supposed to be the best state in India - Kerala. And after seeing it, I can see why it's everyone's favourite. It was absolutely beautiful, plus I got to hang out with my sister which made it even better!


A Chinese fishing net. Anyone know why they hang them up like this or how they use them.


Look, a blue church!


There's an area called Jewtown with a small synagogue in it. The synagogue was unusual with a surprisingly large number of lanterns inside, but we couldn't take pictures. There actually used to be a small Jewish kingdom in Kerala but now most of the Jewish population has migrated back to Israel.


One of the Kathakali dancers applying his make-up before the show. They started a full hour before the show using all natural dyes mixed with coconut oil. The white extensions are just paper applied with paste.


Kathakali dance - This is the death scene finale where the hero on the left has finally defeated the monster on the right.


My sister, Pamela! She and her boyfriend, Brian, are teaching English in Taiwan and decided to spend 3 weeks of their vacation in India.

If anyone is going to Cochin, I would recommend this hotel to stay at:
Henri's Anchorage
1/926 C, (Rids Dale Branch Rd.)
K.L. Bernard Master Rd 50 yards from Village Office
Near Santa Cruz Ground
Fort Cochin
Phone: 0484-2215397
Mobile: 9846823002
henris_anchorage@hotmail.com
500-600Rs/night
It was very clean and new. The owner, Henri, is very friendly and used to sail boats, hence the name. It is just a short walk from the main tourist area.

Unidentified Flying Vegetables!!!

Okay, so they're not flying. Whatever. But can you identify them? I'd love to learn the names in English for these Indian vegetables, if such names actually exist. I found them while wandering through the local wholesale outdoor market where the vegetable-wallahs and fruit-wallahs come to fill their carts.

Hair Henna

Since I'm in India, I decided to go for a traditional Indian hair treatment - henna. Many Indian women put henna in their hair because they believe it conditions the hair by making it shinier and fuller. It also temporarily dyes any grey hairs red, but it should only be used if you have just a few grey hairs. Some men with full white beards use it and end up with this ridiculous bright orange beard - I'm not sure if this is the look they're going for, or they just didn't predict the results.

Indians tend to use henna only in the summer. Why in the summer, you ask? Because the henna cools down your head making you feel very cold. I, being a foolish foreigner, decided I didn't want to wait until the summer and I ignored my colleagues' warnings that I would catch a cold. For the low low price of 120Rs (about $3), a lady came to my house to slop the henna concoction (mixed with an egg to keep it from drying your your hair) all over my head. I had been afraid that it would drip making a mess, so I had taken the precaution to wear old clothes and sit out on the balcony while she was doing this. But there was definitely no need for this as the henna sealed my hair like a hybrid of cement and glue.

I had to leave it on until the henna completely dried so I sat out in the sun with my book to enjoy the Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the sun was not strong enough to warm up my very cold head, so I had to wrap myself in a blanket and inch my chair further and further across the balcony to catch the sun's rays. (Eventually I even moved my chair to the front lawn being so desperate to stay warm.)


Here's what I would look like with very short hair. What do you think? Should I chop it all off one day? Keep in mind that my hair may not stick nicely to my head - it could just stick straight out making me look like a boy.

A whopping 4 hours later, my hair was pretty much dry (and solid), so I hopped into the shower to wash it all out and see if I had any reddish sheen. Here are the results:


Do you see it? A definite red shine?? Okay fine. So nobody can tell the difference except me. My hair is just too darned black. Well, it was fun anyway.

Monkeys in the neighbourhood

Look who I found while walking down my street.

In India, monkeys are considered a dangerous pest. Once, Saroj left the door to her kitchen open and monkeys came in knocking everything over. A big fat monkey once jumped from my balcony onto the roof of my car making a big fat dent. There was a pipe exposed on the side of my house while they were fixing something and a monkey came and was yanking on it, trying to break it.

So cute yet so mischievous.