28 May 2023

Update on my dizziness (and running)

So, if you are still following the anthology of my dizzy spells, the latest and greatest is here… Went for a 5K run. After an initial half mile, it came back again. There was a constant sense of slight imbalance. Very slight one, though. I had decided prior to starting that I was not going to stop and leave it up to my brain/body to learn and adjust quickly.

In general, the sense of imbalance has gone down a lot and other than during running, I am not sensing it much.

And since it has receded, the doctor’s advice has been to stop any deeper level tests (like blood flow at the back of the neck, arteries etc etc). All primary and secondary (blood, EKG/ECG, motor response…) tests have come negative. The two key things we are banking on are (*) I never feel like throwing up and (*) the symptoms are going away.

One thing we now know is this : the similar episode in May 2020 could not have been BPPV. It was very much like this time around and this was not BPPV either. Since it was Covid time then and I could not go to the hospital, we will never know what had happened. Just like this time!!

Meanwhile, I will keep running. I suspect, the symptoms will fully go away.

We will hopefully make further progress in conclusive diagnosis the next time this comes back.

Category: Running | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 May 2023

Surprise!!

I was walking in Alpharetta downtown one evening. Generally watching people and peeking into the stores by the street. Something caught my eye in one of the stores. Backed up a few steps. If you can see at the back end of the wall on the right side – there is a painting of a girl. I thought that looked like something Sharmila had done. I asked her and she confirmed!!

I did not know there were Alpharetta downtown shops selling her paintings. Turns out there was another one in the store!

Category: Downtown Activities | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 May 2023

Ride to Talking Rock

This is a very small town in north Georgia – with a population of a whopping 91 (2021 census). They have done a great job after Covid in converting an old train rake into a Brewery. There was live music, beer and hotdogs aplenty. I think I saw the entire town population there!!

Category: Motorbiking | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 May 2023

What is a good use case for this?

Strolling down the aisles of Walgreens, waiting for my medication to be ready, this caught my eye. Tests to see if you have marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy in your system…

My question: Who uses this?

Surely the cops are not going – “Let’s pick up some of those tests on our way to the beat”. Parents aren’t forcing the kids to take these tests. Are people taking these before going for drug tests for jobs and all that?

Who buys these from Walgreens?

Any ideas?

Category: Travelogs, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 May 2023

Rewind-Pause: Memories of the incredible Sampath family

Ranga, Meera – do you remember this? I think summer of 1986? You folks were moving from Delhi to Kolkata and the container with all your stuff took its own sweet time to find itself to your place. Dover Lane, right?

I remember the incredible South Indian food auntie used to make everyday and the English and Bengali crossword puzzles uncle used to sit down with every morning’s newspaper.

And when Ranga and I would go out to run errands for your parents, all the neighbors would be addressing Ranga as “Rongorajon, Rongorajon!!”

Next time I am in India, I have to make time to visit them in Chennai!!

Category: Time Travel | LEAVE A COMMENT