Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Making the most of Load shedding

“Damn! Here it goes… I wish KESC dooms…”. My 20 year old bro screams banging his hands around the PC as it blinks off without as much as a warning. “That would mean no electricity dude…” I replied with a wit that I keep for such moments to tease my little bro…

“Come out of your stinking den and have a cup of tea “ said I chuckling….

It was 5 in the evening and time for me to have my evening walk but before that it was time to have a cup of tea on the terrace watching the birds and doing some thinking.
I unlike my bros and so many of his kind, was never extremely pissed when the light went out especially when it was evening or night time… With all the light shut out it was beautiful outside. Our neighborhood got quite and lively both at once… kids would come out of the houses and females would some out to sit on benches or generally come together to kills the idol time without the blaring TV and his twin brother PC that was an addiction sane people had hard time getting over… Surely without these two devices life was frozen… unthinkable completely handicapped… in my bros words “totally doomed”… but for me it was a time to reunite to come together and to be peaceful enough to hear our heart beats, breathing and a chance to enjoy nature… We used to go onto the galleries… It was beautiful to see the Moon light that was not visible with the street and house lights and if it was a full moon u could see your shadow too…. It was beautiful and relaxing and worth something truly gracious, my due apologies to all those kids who were forced to leave their study because of it but lets see the brighter side of this curse…. Think once again before you curse next time the light goes out.

First of all it helps us get better organized during the day! “What the ----! She is crazy…”you might tell me but seriously I have a point….As you plan your day by breaking it into hours with light and hours without light all u need to do is keep more of the tasks that can be done without electricity for the hours when there is a break down… and the rest of the time for tasks that would need PC, TV, washing machine, water pump, electric grinders, sewing machines, bla bla bla….
Why not organize that drawer you had kept pending for months now or clean a section of a room that has always missed being in the list of things to do.

Time Management never could come as handy as when living in Karachi. Use this time to plan the next week goals and activities or tomorrows plan. Keep tasks like things to be hand washed for these hours so that when the electricity comes you can have an undisturbed time to work on the PC or watch your favorite movie or TV show and wont need to leave in the middle of something interesting or important.

Second it definitely helps us develop a healthy life style by freeing up some time and space for things other than TVPC…(By no means i am against these two devices but i feel everything has a time and space and with these two claiming our attentions most of the time we simply have to realize we are not using them in great proportions. We can use some time to read the book that can never be taken out as you kept shifting between PC and TV and back to PC like a pendulum…. I know in case of my my bro its not unusual to see him bouncing from one to other like a ball without any resistance….Load shedding is the only friction that stops the bouncing back and forth… I swear…. It helps us cope up with the TV PC syndrome that whether we like it or not makes us nothing more than a coach potato…. Seriously wanna bet on that….

Breaks! Do we really think about how our bodies curse us when we keep going on chatting or working long hours without as much as change of posture… or blinking our eyes. Load shedding enables you to take breaks which otherwise we denied our tired bodies.
It also is an ideal time to try that new work out u learned but never got a chance to practice with those two… claiming every minute of your attention.

The hours can provide you with best scenario to have a candle lit dinner with your sweet heart or play small pranks on your little ones to lighten the atmosphere… kids could really have fun time listening to scary stories of monsters and ghosts during the night or feel great about having a dad like you as you told them your heroic acts from childhood, to play games as you sit cuddled up around in the lounge and leave your respective dens to which you are glued otherwise and have some family time… have conversations ranging from topics of what’s happening in politics to the education plans r a career change you alone were thinking….telling jokes asking riddles and getting closer to each other, which in this busy times has become difficult if not impossible.

It is a good time to make your creative side plunge out as you pick up those brushes and try some painting or make some handicrafts or try that project sitting in the corner waiting desperately for your time and attention. You can use the time to improve your writing skills, prepare for your GRE tests or do some writing and composing.

It can be a good time to oil your hair, make some home made masks and apply it as you lie down peacefully, or take a long hot bath to rest your tired body…

Use it as meditation hour to clear your head from the daily stresses and worries and awake your subconscious to help you think better and create solutions your weary busy mind was unable to think otherwise with so much going on around. It could be an ideal time to brainstorm ideas you need for the next project due.

In evenings it can provide you with a break and a sound invitation to go out for a walk if your neighborhood is quite and peaceful, visit your neighbors and friends or go upstairs to your terrace to enjoy the cool evening breeze as you sip your favorite cup of tea alone or with family.

Man is never happy in any situation… but a man always has the ability to be happy in almost any situation.

Load shedding undoubtly one of the most troubling facts and parcel of our lives that we cannot easily scratch and throw out but neither less we all are intelligent enough to use it to our best advantage only if we are in to be a slight bit creative and positive about it.

I sincerely hope the hours of power failure be less and few or completely gone in the coming future but while they don’t, lets make the most of the lifestyle we are prone to live with. Happy Curse Free Load Shedding….

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