The Animal(s) Within

"You sure you're Pisces, and not a Leo?"

A while back I had someone ask me this, and truth be told, this person was not the first. People would usually smirk at the fact my Zodiac, according to the Julius calendar, is Pisces. I mean if you read what is prescribed as the characteristics of a Pisces (shy? dislikes crowds? reserved? etc etc), and if you've met me, you'd possibly understand the smirking and even join in. I am, however, saddened sometimes that people just don't see the Pisces in me. I mean, I see it, but to be honest, I don't let everyone see that side of me.  So why am I 'one way' with one group and 'another' with a totally different crowd? I believe its because of the 'animals' within..my multiple animal personality...:) 

By the way, disclaimer alert, the following 'theory' is totally from me; if you choose to agree, you are a either a genius, or a loony ( based on the premise of 'great minds think alike and fools seldom differ' fame) 

Since the Julius calendar says Pisces, I proclaim myself the dolphin - a mammal that's intelligent, playful and social. The Chinese Zodiac says Metal Pig cause I was born in 1971. According to this zodiac, I am hardworking ( now I never saw that coming, I mean pig and hard work don't seem to belong in the same sentence..:D)  giving, helpful, oblivious to ill intent till its too late ( explains roasted pigs), trustworthy and too trusting cause I give people more credit than they deserve, am outspoken and confident (explains why I can snort at the world :D ) The Metal bit comes into play when the Pig decides to build walls; this piggy will build ones made from impenetrable metal..:D 

Until late last year, I believed that I was 'influenced' by only 2 'animals' but when I visited Myanmar, I finally found the Leo/ Lion connection. So now I have got 3 'animals' showcasing themselves within me.   

According to the Buddhist in Myanmar, the animal assigned to you is dependent on the day you were born. I was born on a Tuesday, so my guardian is Leo the Lion..:) That explained why people assumed I am a Leo. Other than being ferocious, authoritative, dominant, territorial, a lion personality is also consistent, strong, wise, honourable, intuitive, just and protective. 

The lion's the protector, the pig's the worker and the dolphin is the playful brat..;) So how do the animals in me function? Well, the lion comes out to protect the hardworking pig, from being bullied and the dolphin, which only makes its appearance, bringing along with it my Inner Child, when it feels safe enough to play. Which 'animal' you come across will solely depend I guess on what my instincts, or as Oprah would say, my gut feeling, or what my 'Aha' moment says about you. Upon reflection, yeah, most of you would have met the lion, or the pig, but with the lion not very far behind. The dolphin, I'd say, would be the most elusive of the lot and yeah, the lion will be there, close enough to do necessary 'damage' with the metal pig, pitching in with impregnable wall construction and all. 

To test my 'theory', I got SP, my smartie friend, to partake in my 'experiment'. Before this he used the poor sloth (which is, as I type, drawing up a class action suit against SP for using its characteristics to describe his 'human' flaws. I mean its bad to call an animal HUMAN, worse still when its saddled with the human flaws too!) to describe the darker and slower side of  himself. I told him about my theory and being a sporting chap, he was like OK...( I could see the sloth doing cartwheels, yes,  yes,  very slowly but very surely :D) 

After much Googgling, he discovered that he is a Water Ox, Ram and Lion...and according to the Vedic astrology (which is based on time of birth; SP's the typical researcher...has to cover all bases), he is 'deer headed' too. ( According to his search I don't have a Vedic based animal...I have 10 Gods watching over me...I must be quite the handful in celestial terms!..:)

SP decided to go with the Ox, Ram and Deer ( the Lion's on K.I.V cause he can't seem to fathom its role other than the fact it would happily gobble up  the ox, ram and deer..I just believe that the Ox kicked the Lion in the balls and now its hiding behind his 'pride'..:D) In his words..I am very typical representative of character descriptions given by these zodiac systems...and proceeds to list them out with stubborn starting off the list...Yup, I mean both an Ox and a Ram, being stubborn would definitely be one..:D OK, OK, for a researcher, being stubborn, or tenacious, is indeed a necessity. However, despite the coincidences, and being as pragmatic (which is in the list) as he is, I don't think he's going to be swearing by it any time soon. At least now he'll have three, no four, animals to pick on and the sloth's off the hook..:)

So are you game to see which animals form part of your psyche? :) 

OK, the lion's growling, telling me to sleep but the pig is saying, finish the blog while the dolphin is saying, I want to stay up late and play Lex on FB. Hmmm, the human in me says,  I'll let the 10 Gods handle this one...B-)

Delhi Belly and Alphabet Shots..;)

I should be careful how I describe my meals. :P

I guess I did a relatively good job talking about 'chewing the fat' on my lamb chop last Thursday, that a friend of mine, SP, way over there in Delhi, India, being all 'enticed by the lamb chop' decided to go out and get himself a tandoori minced lamb kebab. Only, instead of burping from satisfaction, this poor chap ended up with the runs, otherwise known as the Delhi Belly. To the rest of the world, its similar to Montezuma's Revenge = not fun, and what made it worse was, it was a long weekend, and he was under 'outhouse' arrest!

SP, being relatively new to Delhi, was subjected to the city's notorious street vendor's 'rite of passage'; apparently all new comers, or travellers ( consider yourselves warned!) will experience it at least once, or twice, or annually, depending on how 'lucky' you are. Over 'kanji' or gruel, the man was beating himself up for tempting fate (still wondering if I should feel guilty for being so descriptive with my lamb chop). I mean, when we decide to get adventurous with street food, we kind of anticipate the risks (that's why I NEVER travel WITHOUT my charcoal tablets). So when I asked why this was any different, he responded that apparently tis the season . I was like , "there's a season for food poisoning"??

Oh, a little background on SP. He's a smartie...lecturer, researcher, scientific book editor (therefore not surprising, one of the reasons why my Lexulous rating on FB is in the outhouse too) and a certifiable mango lover..;)

So when SP goes, 'tis the season' , me, being me, 'antennas' go up and I go 'pray tell'..;)

Apparently, weeks before, when Delhi was experiencing super dry weather, he and his buddies feasted on street vendor gourmet and came away unscathed. However, last week, Delhi was already in the midst of the monsoon and when that happens the risks of food poisoning will go through the roof.

Two ways food can get contaminated. One, when sewage seeps into the municipal water supply, and two, when it is extremely humid (due to the monsoon), aerosols become transport vessels for bacteria and viruses. [Until that day, to me, aerosol is what comes out of a can and is normally used to kill roaches or cause a hole in the ozone layer. Now I know another version of aerosols.] By the way, aerosols are EVERYWHERE. So even if you are cooking in the cleanest, most hygienic kitchen in Delhi, yup, you guessed it, you could end up with food poisoning.

The monsoon in Delhi is unfortunately a double-edged sword. While it brings a lot of  much needed relief to farmers and chilly nights to the perspiring residents, it is also when the Reaper goes on double duty cause illnesses are rife. To stress his point, SP goes on to write that the Hepatitis E virus is endemic in Delhi and how every year it takes the lives of a few hundred souls in the city.

HEPATITIS E???  How many HEPs are there???  

I have protection against Hep A and Hep B. Believe me, that was one too many injections over a period of one year because I HATE injections and taking medicines. Now there's Hep E?

In my reply this is what I wrote (quote)

"Why don't you guys come up with a one jab for all the Heps and call it the Alphabet Shot?  You could market it along side alphabet  soup as healthy options. Suggest it at your next seminar and see what comes back. If they throw shoes at you, I hope they are  branded, relatively new and your size. However, if they like the name, I hope for an acknowledgement, you guys keep the patent, copyright etc etc etc.."

Though he thought Alphabet Shot was a catchy name, this was his response (quote)

"Its a nice thought on the Hep vaccine idea. Well, it is always the effort to combine multiple vaccines into a single  shot, but it always does not work that way. Because one, the difference in the organisms involved makes it difficult,  and two, the way our immune system responds to them determines the course of vaccination. As for Hep virus series, A, B, C, D, and E are well known, but there are also F, and G, which are not so well known yet. And all these  viruses are distinctly different from each other. Vaccines for A&B are available (girl's already protected.:)), E may hit the market soon. The vaccine for C remains a distant dream.... And if you can control B, then you also control  D, since without a person being infected with B, D can do you no harm. ... Is that enough science geek from me for  the small question of yours......"

Yes, SP, crystal clear - this layman/woman got it.  By the way, this is SP's area of study, so I am quoting an expert...:) So people, especially all you travellers and biology teachers reading this, take note, there are SO MANY HEPs OUT THERE.

If you haven't gotten your immunisation against HEP A and HEP B, do stand in line for it along with the FLU shot and whatever other shot, like typhoid and whatever else they think you should have before you set out on that great adventure. Those of you attempting street vendor fare wherever you are, do it with a handful of charcoal tablets, at least. To all you aspiring scientist, its clear, the Alphabet Shot (like the One Ring from LOTR) may just be the holy grail of Hep vaccination!! Get cracking on it people, it may just be the next Nobel Prize winning idea and a relief to people like me who HATE injections :D

*Note - Whenever I quote SP in my blog, the label will read 'Shy and Som(e) Sense'. [The man has NO idea what he's agreed to..;)]