Food & Beverage, Rant, Travel, Work

Weirdest Birthday Ever

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This year, I had the weirdest birthday ever. Normally, my birthday is spent with a close family lunch and a wider family dinner. This year, however, I had to travel to Bangkok for work & since this was my last week in this particular company, I didn’t say no.

I went on the company trip and planned my family to visit me on the weekend before my birthday and stay till the day after my birthday, but because of the Covid-19 situation, their trip had to be cancelled. On top of that, my birthday was a Thai holiday, so I was staring at spending my birthday alone.

I started the day waking up late and having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.

English breakfast + Samosa

I saw a couple of movies, and then was surprised by the Hotel staff with a birthday cake. The cake was delicious and heavy, so I skipped lunch.

Weirdest Birthday
Cake!

In the evening, I took a long walk to Benjakiti Park, took the Skytrain From Asok to Phrom Phong station and spent some time at the Emquartier mall. After roaming round the Glass Quartier, the Waterfall Quartier, I headed for dinner at the Helix Quartier.

The Helix Quartier PC: รีวิวท่องเที่ยวทั่วไทย

The Helix Quartier is a beautifully designed section of the mall. As the name says, it has a gently sloping walkway in the shape of a Helix without a clear distinction between different floors, with restaurants lining both sides of the walkway. I found a nice Korean Organic Chicken and Rice place and had a hearty meal.

Organic Korean Chicken and Rice

After dinner, I went back to the hotel, alone, watched some TV and fell asleep, thus bringing to end, the weirdest birthday ever.

Rant

Lockdown Day 54 – Freedom!

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Last week, the lockdown rules were slightly relaxed in Gurgaon and it is now allowed to go out and do some things. Freedom at last!

I had been waiting to see my ENT, so I used this chance to step out of my apartment for the first time in almost 2 months.

It was a surreal experience driving after so many days; I had a continuous feeling of guilt, as if I was doing something wrong.

Some Beverages

I returned back home soon enough, but at least it gave me a chance to stock on some beverages. There were very limited brands available, but I wasn’t complaining.

Rant

Lockdown Day 33

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Today is Day 33 of the lockdown. In these 33 days I haven’t gone out of my apartment complex gate once. And it is starting to affect me in some weird and unexpected ways.

  • I do not miss socialising at all. In fact, I welcome this time away from unnecessary socialising.
  • I am having very vivid dreams and remembering them for a change. Normally I hardly have dreams and don’t remember them later.
  • I miss going to Ambience Mall, drinking coffee ☕️ at Barista, eating at Pizza 🍕 Express and just roaming around the mall. It is unlikely malls will open even after the lockdown is relaxed and I am not sure how the mall or the business inside will survive this.
  • I miss drinking fresh beer 🍻 at pubs. Again, not sure when this will happen again.
  • I miss eating out at restaurants. My thoughts especially drift towards Toninos at Two Horizon Center on Golf Course road
  • I miss driving my car 🚗 , while listening to BBC World Service.
  • I miss ordering stuff from Amazon, waiting for the delivery and unboxing the items.
  • I miss going to the park and walking🚶‍♂️ around.
  • I miss going to the nursery to buy new plants 🌱 and fertiliser.
  • I miss going to Galleria, sitting opposite the fountain and sipping Coca Cola.

As per the current situation, restrictions should start lifting in 11 more days, but I have a feeling that’s not going to be the case and things won’t start going back to normal for a long time.

Gardening

Home Garden – Zinnia

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The Narrowleaf Zinnia is a seasonal flowering plant. I got this one early in March and it bloomed recently, with a few other flowers on the way.

Zinnia
My Narrowleaf Zinnia

This is a perennial plant which blooms late spring and stays in bloom for a few weeks (I hope it stays this way over the summers).

Bloom!

This plant requires almost no maintenance except occasional fertilizing.

I keep this in direct sunlight.

I water it between twice a week during peak winters and every day during peak summers. I fertilize it every 2 months or depending on when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Rant

Lockdown Day 16

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Today is day 16 of my lockdown (Day 11 of the official government lockdown).

During this time, I haven’t used my car, gone out of my apartment complex, or seen many human beings (which is good). I have gone out of my flat less than 5 times, to collect essentials, which are now being delivered at the society gate.

Lockdown
Rare View

On the bright side, the air is clean, weather is starting to heat up and the flowers are blooming.

On the negative side, I am definitely getting some cabin fever now and my allergies have flared up. Hope for all this to go back to relatively normal soon.

Gardening

Home Garden – Flaming Katy

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The Flaming Katy is a very hardy flowering plant. I recently started with a pink coloured one and then got a red one followed by a yellow one. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Flaming Katy
White-Pink Katy

This is a perennial plant which blooms late winters and early spring and stays in bloom for weeks at end (Mine are still going strong after 2 months now).
The colours are vibrant and look very beautiful.

Red Katy

These plants require almost no maintenance except occasional fertilizing.

Red-Yellow Katy

I keep the Flaming Katy in direct sunlight.

I water them between twice a week during peak winters and every day during peak summers. I fertilize them every 2 months or depending on when they show signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – My Shrubs

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I inherited some small/sickly shrubs from my parents when they moved to to a different city. I re-potted them into a bigger pot and it grew tenfold in a span of a few weeks and bloomed.

This, below, is a Crown of Thorns. Very hardy shrubs, they don’t care where you put them, how much sunshine they get or how frequently you water them.

shrubs
The mother shrub

The best part is, you can cut off any of the branches and pot them and they grow into full-sized plants. Some of them are part of my plant wall (bottom row).

The flowers are in perpetual bloom all year round.

Bathroom Desert Rose

The 2 above are on different bathroom window sills.

These plants require absolutely no maintenance.

The first one is kept in partial shade, the other 2 get direct sunlight via windows 3-4 hours in the summers.

I water them once a week or less. Although they don’t require any fertiliser, I fertilise them every 2 months, which encourages leaf growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Rant

Locked Down

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So, the entire country has been locked down for 3 weeks. No one can go outside. People who do go outside, face this.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdDGUvLoJvI&w=560&h=315]

Today is the 6th day of being cooped up with family. Patience is running thin and tempers are high; however, things are stabilizing slowly.

Between office work & household chores, there’s no time for boredom and the days are passing by quickly.

Today while cooking, I found this old friend, which should make the next few days a bit easier.

Old and forgotten friend

Kudos to delivery guys who are keeping us well stocked and fed. Shame on people who are deliberately hiding their travel history or flouting self-isolation requirements by socializing. I hope they are thrown into jail where they get infected again and this time rot in isolation.

Gardening

Home Garden – Fenugreek

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I grew the common Fenugreek from seeds that my daughter brought from school. I planted them around an inch deep of moist soil and within days, they sprouted.

Fenugreek
Common Fenugreek

The first few inches of the plant are a bit soft/weak and require some support. The top part is quite rigid and self sufficient.

This plant requires almost no maintenance.

I keep this in direct sunlight.

This plant is a vociferous water drinker and its leaves start drooping if you even miss 1 watering session. I water it between twice a week during peak winters and every day during peak summers. I fertilize it every 2 months or depending on when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – My Palms & Dragon Tree

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My Palms are perhaps my most favourite plants of all. As a guy who loves the beach and tropical climates, I find that the Palms bring a bit of the tropical paradise in my home.

Palm
My favourite Palm

This Parlor Palm above is my favourite. It is in good health, growing steadily. I love watching its leaves sway gently in the breeze from my window.

Another Parlor Palm and a Dragon Tree

Shown above is another Parlor Palm on a different balcony along with a Dragon Tree.

These plants require some maintenance, basically only troweling the top soil once in a while, clipping off brown leaves. Although these plants are meant to be kept indoors, I prefer to keep them on my balconies, partly because of space concerns and especially because I love their leaves swaying in the wind.

The first one is kept in partial shade, the other 2 get direct sunlight 3-4 hours in the summers.

I water them between once or twice a week during peak winters and alternate days/everyday during peak summers. I fertilise them every 2 months or depending on when they show signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.