As the Bible says, for every season there is a time and now that it is Spring (or almost Spring) I’m already feeling the urge to purge. My family gets mortified when I start looking around for things to throw away and are scared to leave me alone in the house – alone and free to prowl around and find things that shouldn’t be where they are, things that have long outlived their shelf life, objects that are part of a whole that has long since disappeared and generally things that are redundant and cluttering up my space.
Today was one of those days when everyone just had to be out of the house. Hubby Dear decided to take a long trek out into the countryside and Prima Donna and Ms Papaya were out on a weekend break glamping. So that left me with a good six hours to get my claws into all the stuff that needed to be seen to.
Actually I had been tackling this urge to purge by cleaning up things that wouldn’t elicit any response such as cleaning the curtains. Obviously when looked grey and dusty, they had to be washed. But there is one set of curtains that couldn’t be washed at home so I decided to take out the vacuum cleaner and give it a good clean but sadly, the vacuum cleaner itself needed to be cleaned.
So now begins another exercise in house maintenance. I do hope this gets done faster than the JIO extender which actually got sorted in 5 minutes but took a concentrated shaming campaign on my Insta account to get them to listen to me.
Sometimes
Social Media does have its uses.
I’ve just begun a WhatsUp conversation with DYSON but have to wait another 24 hours before checking out if their solution as given in a YouTube instruction video does the trick. But between you and me, I think it isn’t that simple because the main problem is getting the lever for the cannister to open. That seems to be jammed.
So watch this space to find out how this campaign pans out….
Because of the sheer variety of things available, one is not spoilt for choice but spoilt by choice. My recent experience in buying a chair for my computer just proved my long held theory that shopping these days has become more difficult than ever.
In the good old days when one if one wanted a chair, one went to the shop, looked around, tried a chair out for comfort and then bought it. If it was too large, it was delivered to your place but if it was easy enough to take home, one just put it in the car and drove home with it. These days, however, buying a computer chair, like buying everything else , has become a big production.
First up is the eternal question, do you really want the chair?
What kind of a chair do I want?
What is my budget?
Do I want a branded product?
Do I want to buy it on line or from a store.
Buying a chair is a major project because I do have space in my house for extra stuff. As it is, being a multi generational house, The stuff in my house spans different generations and different style periods. I have books, head gear, walking sticks, brass pots and the like from the late 19th century ( yes, inherited from great, great grandparents) to stuff from the 20th Century ( belonging to my in-laws and Hubby Dear and me) till lap tops and electrical gadgets belonging to Prima Donna and Ms Papaya. I like to call this complete mish-mash of styles eclectic though Prima Donna has long since dismissed my home as a live in antique shop.
So you see the importance of getting things just right!
Why do I need a computer chair?
As with all homes, we have multiple chairs for various uses –
3 four legged plastic stools for use in the kitchen
6 elaborately carved Jacobean dining chairs with natural cane
6 rickety large Jacobean arm chairs
2 over stuffed single seaters upholstered arm chairs to match the sofa
1 old computer chair
1 old bentwood cafe chair
1 modern arm chair for a desk
Obviously, none of these chairs match but in my opinion, they manage to serve their purpose and somehow get along together.
And with so many chairs, I should be able to use one of them when I use my computer . Alas! none of them are suitable for me.
Blogging is my passion and i love the freeom it offers me of writing what I want, when I want and putting it out in the Universe without having to worry about editors’ deadlines, politically correct views, marketing content and other such barriers to creativity.
For a long while I couldn’t write because my workspace was inaccessible for the most part of the day . Now it would have made sense to work on a laptop but somehow I can’t get used to one. Strangely I don’t mind working on a phone screen but I simply can’t work on a tablet or laptop. But writing on an iPhone also has its difficulties ( particularly fat fingers that tend to mistype!). So I moved my desktop to a small alcove and pulled out the bentwood cafe chair to complete my cute little workspace.
This arrangement worked for a few months till the chair became too hard and uncomfortable to sit for a long time.
The time had come for me to get yet another chair.
A good chair is of paramount importance because poor posture has its own problems. So for the past two months I was in the process of identifying the perfect chair.
The Hunt for the Perfect Chair
Thus began the hunt for the perfect computer chair.
Budget friendly
Ergonomic
Attractive
Good customer service
Today there are several manufacturers of computer chairs with multiple options – chairs for gaming , chairs for executives , chairs for offices , chairs for computers , chairs that revolve , chairs that recline, chairs with cushioning, chairs with mesh, chairs with colour options , chairs for different heights, chairs that adjust, chairs of steel, chairs of plastic. The combinations and permutations are simply mind boggling.
Most of these chairs are sold online with little or no presence in real shops. But even if all the specifications are mentioned in great detail, laypersons like me find it hard to make a choice on just these factors. So it took me a month to sift through all the information available on various web sites and finally homed in on the chair I finally chose : CELLBELL Leo .
Before settling on this chair, I had done a thorough market survey of the chairs available in the shops. Since none of them fit my requirements, I did a market survey online.
The companies that popped up on most reviewing sites were:
Wakefit : Expensive, Didn’t like the design
Green Soul: Expensive, ugly, Manufactured in Gurugram
Sleep Company : Manufactured in Bangalore
Cell Bell : Nice design, budget friendly, manufacturing near Mumbai
Dr. Luxur – Expensive , ugly
Baybee Drogo : Expensive, ugly
Da Urban : Expensive, ugly
So I chose Cell Bell.
The paymet was easy and the delilvery was efficient.
But the problem was the assembly. I could have done it myself but tought it better to get a technician and paid extra.
I gave specific instructions NOT to send the technician in the week I was out of town but naturally , they sent the technician on the DAY tTHAT I WAS OUT.
The technician was not only from out of town but also faily dimwitted. Despite sending him the pin of my address, he had to be told how to read the map and make his way to my house. Then he waited for half an hour at the bus stop waiting for the wrong bus. When he finally reached home,he fired the house help and then ‘discovered’ that there weren’t any screws so left the chair back in the box.
A week later when I got home I contacted CELL BELL which was another difficult task because most online companies have AI assistants who interface with the customers. It takes almost a week before you can figure out how to contact a human being.
And then, after all this rigmarole, my chair is still not fitted properly because two screws to attach the head rest are missing!!!!!!
Give me the old fashioned shopping method any day.
The more I journey through life , the more I’m convinced that my stars for travel aren’t always aligned.
.
Since last November I’ve been making almost monthly trips to Pune and each trip has had some hiccup – either the driver doesn’t show up , the rickshaw gets lost in the dark or I pull out the wrong ticket for the ticket checker !
Today I thought I had things under control having bought my return ticket before embarking on my train ride to Pune. I thought that would obviate the stress of finding time , getting network and booking a ticket from Pune . So even though I was waitlisted, I paid for my ticket and hoped for the best.
I arrived at the station well before departure ( the train left at 7.15 while I was at the platform at 6.35. However the TC wasn’t anywhere to be seen so I jumped into C3 with the hope that I’d get a seat in a coach that entered Mumbai first .
I heaved a sigh of relief when I was told that my seat was confirmed but in the EV coach . For a minute k thought it was the Luggage coach having grown up with hearing about people booking their luggage in the EVK.
It turns out the the EV is the prestigious Vista Dome coach that is the pride of the Indian Railways.
But ( there always is a but ) I’d have to get off at Lonavala which was an hour away and then run down the length of the train and board the last coach – all in 2 minutes!
The butterflies in my tummy began to rumble so I decided to quieten them with some coffee . I walked to the Buddet Car and had two hot bread cutlets and a coffee.
The Buffet Car .
The train was packed so I decided to walk through till I got to the coach closest to the EV .
At the best of times walking through a moving train is not a great idea and as I went to C1 I wondered if I was doing the right thing because the vestibule area was literally packed with people . Luckily they were all helpful and my bag was passed on from person to person till I caught up with in the coach and wheeled it through till the next vestibular road block .
At the end of C1 I met a young man who was also going to the EV coach but had got into the wrong coach and was waiting to get off at Lonavala . I told him that I’d rather walk ahead through all the people so that the platform run would be shorter .
The young man decided to come with me which was a real blessing because he helped with the vestibular crossings that were getting more and more congested.
Eventually we reached a dead end but were advised by the pass holder passengers to make a run for it at Lonavala because the platfoek was crowded .
My guardian Angel was definitely working overtime because the young man took my bag and ran with it while I trundled along . He already had a back pack and a duffel as he was planning a holiday with his pals in Mumbai so it was indeed chivalrous of him to lug my bag as well .
With seconds to spare we made it to the EV coach where I could finally enjoy the luxury of the Indian Railways .
Pleated blinds Down the tracks
Two lessons learnt – always check the PNR status before boarding because the Railways do not send any notifications.
But more importantly, you always meet someone who will help you along the way.
Twenty- five Seven 