Wish you a Happy 2023

The 2nd half of the last month was really crazy! There were too many things happening, and I had to prioritise my commitments.

We had our house painted. It was long overdue. The last time we did was probably 15 years ago.

The entire painting and subsequent clearing work took about 10 days. During that time, the house was in a mess. 

It was also a good opportunity to get a lot of junk out of the house. I couldn't believe, we had accumulated quite a lot of them all these years!

Around the same time, coincidentally, the apartment association organised an e-waste clearance programme. So, we got rid of many electronic stuff, like old mobile phones, chargers, wires, batteries, etc.

Just before painting, I was down with a bout of cold and cough. To make myself feel better, I did steam inhalation, and gargling with betadine, and had Ayurvedic cough syrups. Whatever one does, a viral infection just has to run its course. And, it saps one's energy!

One big event last month that captured the world's attention was the Football World Cup in Qatar. I was rooting for France. They came up to the final. But undoubtedly, Argentina played better. Two teams that won the hearts were Croatia and Morocco.

Another year has gone by. The first full year since 2019 without worrying too much about Covid.

However, we are back to taking precautions all over again, thanks to that late surge in the number of cases in China, and the government there lifting the ban on outward and inward travel. 

Though health experts are assuring us that herd immunity and vaccination have made us reasonably secure against the virus, no one wants to take any chances. 

So, masks and sanitizers are back. Not that governments here have made masks mandatory. But I can see a lot of people being quite cautious.

Let's hope the coming year will be better than the preceding years. 

Wish you, and everyone near and dear to you, peace, happiness, and prosperity!