Twenty- five Seven

Is your Blog in LOCKDOWN mode?

May 5, 2021

Oh where, tell me where ,have my bonnie bloggers gone?

It was too good to be true. The virus that we thought we had vanuished and with it the dreaded Lockdown is back.

This time it is worse because we now know what to expect. Hours stretching out into days and the possibility of even months. Where once we welcomed working from home, today it has become a drudgery.

And like many businesses, it seems that the many blogs that I used to follow have also gone into lockdown mode.

All seemed well till the month of April when many bloggers were committed to participating in the Ato Z Blogging Challenge, brain child of Arlee Bird ( Tossing it Out) and hosted by #BlogchatterA2Z for bloggers to share their blog posts in an Indian Time Zone. I had a wonderful time opening up my newly acquired laptop,mobile phone app or even my trusty old Desk top ( which I sadly confess is the one I’m most comfortable with), and seeing who had visited my blog and what their reaction to my posts were.

Undeniably this was narcissitic of me, but after a long time getting over the shock of my old URL pointing to a Blue Site ( thanks Jacqui for introducing me to this new word) I was trying to get back into the blogging world and thought this was a good opportunity for me to get back. And it turned out to be a good decision because I once again connected with some of the bloggers I’d connected with during my previous participations in the Challenge and also re-visited some of the blogs I enjoy following.

Reflections of A to Z 2021

I never thought that I would join the challenge during the second year of the pandemic. That is largely because I never thought the pandemic would last that long. But it did. Even though I had my doubts I would last it out, I was happywhen I did manage it. Not only did I complete the challenge but I even managed to visit some blogs and post comments.

Thanks to Frederique of The Quilting Patch, I got my fix of doing insanely intricate and beautiful craft projects. Yes, at one time I loved chanelling my energies and creativity through handicrafts and needlework but sadly now I find crafting blogs easier to visit.

During last year’s challenge I came across delightful short stories by Keith of Keith’s Ramblings. This year he concentrated on unusual musical instruments and I was astounded to find that there really was an instrument called Zither. I always thought it was made up by Dr. Seuss.

Jacqui Murray was another blogger whose blog I like visiting and continued this year too.

This year I discovered a few new ones like Iain Kelly, who was introducing the characters of his Trilogy in the month of April.

I bumped into many interesting bloggers like Wordsmith Kaur, Meena Chatty, Mad’s Kitchen, Miss Andi,Vishakha Tiwari, Kim L Hine. Even though I have no weddings to arrange, I learnt a lot about wedding planning, the macabre toughts underlying classic fairy tales, life in the 80’s and many more.

I’m afraid I can’t list all the bloggers whose posts I enjoyed nor can I thank each one personally for making this interaction so meaningful but honestly, this challenge was one of the better parts of the lockdown.

The best part, however, is the challenge of using new apps, practicing my old skills and sharpening my computer skills.

But where have all the bloggers gone?

Understandably, there is bogging burnout especially for serious participants who visited several blogs on a daily basis and posted more meaningful comments other than WOW ! Awseome! or just pressed the LIKE button. Don’t get me wrong, I’m guilty of these misdemenours too. It is difficult finding time in these Covid days to not only visit other blogs but also sustain a meaningful engagement for ALL 30 days of the month.

After all, serious bloggers do have blogging schedules and have fixed days and times where they attend to their blogs. Even fulltime bloggers. Because life is not all about blogging. And there are times when I have to blog in secret, away from those prying eyes at home who hate my blog and the time I devote to it.

Quite recently, even Ms. Papaya has joined the brigade of ‘those who hate my blog and my blogging’.

I’m sure many of us bloggers have faced this resentment for time spent on blogging. After all, this is ( for the most of us) just an extension of a passion for writing. For some, it is a source of income and people find it hard to understand how one can make money by having fun !

There are many people who spend hours before a screen either carryong out video calls, designing or accounting or doing something related to work. While many are passionate about their work (read jobs that pay good money), there are many for whom their passions have also become just jobs aka A BORING ACTIVITY.

So naturally these people hate bloggers who seem to be having fun while typing away or drawing away or doing antyhing creative that gives them joy just for the sake of it.

Besides, with the VIRUS still on the rampage and news channels broadcasting 24/7 in every language how doomsday isn’t far away, one is hardly in the mood to go back to yet another screen just to blog.

Which is why, I feel that many bloggers have also gone into lockdown mode.

Many have migrated to shorter and more fun formats of sharing ideas such as Insta(gram). Many have gone to Facebook to share their stories. After all not every reader is a friend and if your blog is very personal you would naturally want your friends to know exactly what you are doing.

I’m a bit behind on Social media trends and the Little People are still too small to keep me up-to-date on such technological advances, but with Twitter permanently banning Kangana Ranaut and FB having access to all our information, many people have migrated to other platforms where only the select few have access to their innermost thoughts.

So, I’m asking all my blogger friends who I used to see so regularly in the blogosphere, where have you gone? I know Corinne has disbanded the Write Tribe on Facebook and I don’t want to download yet another social media group so I miss my friends from that group. I have followed them individually but many aren’t on WordPress so their blogs don’t show up on my Reader feed. Also, I think my devices are also quite temperamental so very often my follows just go off my radar.

But I miss you my old friends Shilpa, Shalini, Parul, Natasha, Esha Vinitha and hope you are all doing well.

Take care and ciao

p.s. Apologies to the Scottish balladeers who sang this song and which we had to learn in our English missionary schools without having the foggiest of England or Scotland or lads and lassies.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Scottish_Song/O_where,_tell_me_where
The Merry Month of May

May 1, 2021
I can’t believe another month has whizzed by and we are welcoming the merry month of May.

Alas! There’s nothing much to be merry about this coming month with our country still reeling under the virus attack and predictions of worse to come.

However, I still have a lot to be grateful for in the month of April.

First and foremost, I am grateful that not only I but my loved ones too are alive. Hearing the horror stories of how the virus is hitting closer to home, every day I thank the Lord for keeping us safe.

One of the ways of keeping the virus at bay is to eat healthy. Eating healthy builds up immunity and I am grateful that we can still get good wholesome food that keeps the immunity up.

We seem to have learned from the lockdowns last year and this year there are still more than grocery stores that operate under downed shutters. The modus operandi is to place an order on WhatsApp, pay digitally and collect the consignment at your lobby below or at the gate. This works out well for everyone as you can even order takeaways if you feel like a break from routine cooking.

As a matter of fact, most foods come with nutritional information printed on th packagingto help you make a clear choice between its nutritive value or its attractive packaging.

We celebrated three birthdays this month. Two were at home and one remotely. Besides these three ( two of which were celebrating nonagenarians), we also sent wishes to 5 more dear ones overseas. I am really grateful for this.

Suddenly the vaccine seemed to have done the bunk and after three attempts at getting our second dose, I am grateful that finally we struck lucky at the fourth attempt. And this was something truly to be grateful for because after that the vaccination campaign seems to have gone completely awry.
May is the month for mangoes but in our house we start them in April with Hubby Dear’s birthday early in the month. And I am grateful to Akshay Bhai for providing us with the much loved fruit as he always does year on year. I was a bit apprehensive about his showing up this year thanks to CoVid but show up he did with a great supply of mangoes.

And last but not least, I actually completed my A to Z Challenge this year. As usual I was over ambitious and wanted to follow participants in two groups but eventually just barely bumbled my way through the #BlogchatterA2Z.

So while it seems there isn’t much to be grateful for, I actually have a lot to thank the Universe for.

May all of you stay home. May all of you stay blssed.

Ciao
F is for face shields, face masks, and fear

April 7, 2021

How could one of us get it?

Fear was the predominant driver of human behaviour during CoVid.

As the numbers began to rise, the fear in people’s eyes was real. I remember when the first family in our building got CoVid, the news sent shockwaves. How could one of us get it? we all wondered.

When a family in our building was diagnosed with coVid, the floor was sealed off and a special lift was dedicated to the hapless family. Messages of solidarity were sent to the entire family by all the residents of the building. But I remember when the lift I was travelling in stopped on their floor, my heart raced fast and I held my breath lest I breathe in any droplets lurking outside.

I did wear the face shield which was more bulky and cumbersome than practical. I found it a real fiddle to wear the mask and the shield and go to the bank. I had to put on my reading glasses which meant I had to remove the shield. What could I do with the face shield?

So after a week or two, I gave up wearing the face shield.

No Entry without Mask

But the mask was non-negotiable. Shops, establishments, clubs, hospitals, restaurants and even public transport banned people from entering without masks.

This threat worked because soon everyone began wearing masks.

Initially we wore surgical masks and then the latest gift item became the face mask. Some were colour co-ordinated and purely ornamental while the majority were actually useful in keeping away the virus.

People actually became face mask experts and could discuss the merits of the different styles and materials. At weddings ( which had already shrunk to 50 attendees) some of the guests were handed face masks along with the invitation.

At the sole wedding I attended during the lockdown, a waiter was walking around with a placard saying “Wear your mask!” That was quite difficult considering that all of us were on a mission of congratulating the bridal couple, quickly grabbing a drink and a bite before we left for home.

The one advantage of the mask was that you could manage without lipstick and make up. But on the other hand, it also made it difficult to recognise most people.

So what mask do you wear?

An N95? A surgical mask? A 5 layered mask? A mask with valve?

Do send in your comments and see you tomorrow.

Ciao