Ask Me

All my life I've had people ask me the strangest questions."Where can I get the bus to take me to Tardeo?" ( from a friend whose servant needs to visit the GP)

"How cold will it be in Sikkim in January?" (from another friend who is planning her daughter's destination wedding)

"What is the difference between Sashimi and a California Roll?" (from someone who is taking you to a Japanese restaurant for your's and his first time)

"What is the biblical quotation written on the walls of the UN building in NY?" ( I kid you not, Hubby Dear asked me this question from his Boss  in Amsterdam. And Boss wanted the answer for his daughter's history project!!!!!)

"What was the price of petrol in 1971?" ( from an Uncle who wants to compare inflation then and now)

"When is Madhu Kaku's birthday?" ( from my hubby who wants to wish his aunt on her 90th birthday)

"How do you spell compliments? With an 'e' or an 'i'?" ( from the hubby's secretary who wants to inscribe a corporate gift)

"Do you remember who was our college principal ? " ( this particular question is my mother-in-law's pet question simply because we attended the same college 20 years apart!)

And the topics are as random as the questions. Before you get me wrong – I am not a genius. I just have a very good memory and even better recall. Besides, my innate curiosity  makes me  read every single written word that comes my way, right from medical prescriptions, ingredients listed on packages, the fine print on travel documents and even a slip of paper that is blown onto my lap while waiting at the bus stop. I also have desire to know why things happen.

Now random facts are good to know if you want to win General Knowledge competitions but since I didn't come even close to applying to " Kaun Banega Cororepati" or its counterparts, I find that stuffing my head

Now these are random questions that I am asked to answer on a daily basis. Sometimes I am even asked half asleep " Do you know the name of the tablet that Altaf recommended for jet lag?"

Becoming Google-eyed

Long before Google was conceived I depended on the school library. This was my greatest resource. I also depended on geographic atlases, daily newspapers, letters from penpals, magazine subscriptions and word of mouth.

Well this was in the days before GOOGLE which has become the God of All Knowlege. In fact Richard L. Brandt his book " The Google Guys " compares Larry Page and Sergei Brin to the  librarians of ancient Alexandria who wanted to be their library to be the largest repository of knowledge in the world.

However , Google is only as good as the resource you rely on for your information. Knowing where to look is as important .

Where to go?

The best resources for choosing a holiday destination are TRIP ADVISOR and TRIVAGO.   Apart from the customer reviews which are quite useful, I also actually compare the recommendations with hotels/sites/restaurants that I am familiar with. To illustrate, if the best hotel (in my estimation) in my city is the Taj Mahal Hotel, then I compare the hotels recommended by Trip Advisor or Trivago with that.

[bctt tweet="After all, one man's meat is another man's poison." username="via unishta"] So what will do for me will not do for someone else. Besides there are other things to be taken into consideration apart from finances like personal preferences and  cultural expectations.

Food expectations

As a diehard foodie, lots of people ask me food related questions. I also love exploring new cuisines and find that Recipe.com , Epicurious and foodnetwork are almost always the best resources. Daughter No2. who is a more discerning food recommends The Smitten Kitchen which I also use when I want to cook to impress.

And when it comes to  scouting new restaurants I always make a quick search on  Zomato and Zagat

Human Resources

But while all these resources just serve to make us Google-eyed, I cannot fail to rely on my other great sources of information :

• My father whose memories of past family history, interpretation of historical events and funny stories that crack me up.
• My mother whose recipes are almost always the cornerstone of our daily conversations
• Daughter No.1 and Anna Shetty who keep me abreast with all the latest happenings in the corporate world and medicine.
• My friends who keep me abreast with spirituality, philosophy, yoga, diets and the latest fashions
• L from the club who tells me all the ins and outs of society gossip
• My servants who tell me what's happening in the building and who is doing what with whom
• My different whatsapp groups that send me inane jokes, annoying information, fake news and more.

 

 

 I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6

Day 2 (6 Aug/Sun) – Share about a resource/s you have or use