Just checking out ...

Google keeps inventing ways to keep up with the times, some changes are welcome as they are for the better, while some have us wishing for the old stuff . The new template design which has been around for a few weeks now has me excited, but I do miss the flexibility of some of the other design elements. Some of the fonts have been eliminated, but the color themes are a lot better. This is just a check on some of the settings.

Firsts in our lives- 1

We experience so many different things in a lifetime. There is always a first time for each experience. Some of these firsts become memorable and stay with a person forever.

One of the first stories I had heard in this regard was the one involving my sister. She was a baby, just a few months old, when a doctor paid a home visit to give her the DPT shot. It hurt and she remembered that first experience with the bearded doctor. The next month, he came again for the next shot. The moment she lay eyes on him, she started to bawl. He was so surprised that she had remembered his beard and associated an unpleasant experience with it.

My first roller coaster ride was an experience I will never forget. It was the Steel Eel, at the Sea World. I had insisted I wanted to go for it. And what an experience it was! It was the worst feeling one can have at the last minute when the car began the descent after slowly climbing up to a height of about 150 feet. The feeling of doom at the sheer hopelessness of having gotten into a situation that only time can get you out of, is not a pleasant one. The strong straps holding you in place will not let you go anywhere. Believe me, I tried to jump off when I saw impending doom ahead of me.

Let me narrate a pleasant experience in the midst of these unpleasant ones. There is a theme park nearby here, which is located near the sea, so the sea breeze is always there to add to the beautiful ambience. There is a ride there called the Aviator, which has seats at the end of a huge circle, that gets lifted up to a height of about 60 feet and goes round and round several times before the seats are lowered back to the ground. That was such an awesome experience. I had seen some people leave their footwear on the ground before the ride began. I followed suit. That was the good decision. To feel the breeze through the toes on bare feet and the hair was just divine. It was as close as I could get, to flying.

Recently, a friend wrote about the first drink he had and how it was memorable for him because it was offered to him in the presence of his parents. That reminded me of a time when I was about 17. It was Christmas time. We were visiting our neighbors who celebrated Christmas. We had had a good dinner, and my father had a bottle of chocolate mint liquor that he had just gotten from one of his trips abroad. It was decided to open that bottle and have it with dessert. Our neighbor opened his cabinet and got the dessert wine glasses out. One was poured for me too. My mother was not happy even with her own glass (she never liked alcohol), and absolutely not happy that one was poured for me. She was assured it was only dessert wine and not a problem at all. A toast was raised and everyone took a sip and praised the liquor. I thought my throat was on fire. I managed a couple of sips, and then all of us teenagers decided to go to the adjacent terrace to chat. On getting there, I slowly poured out the contents of my glass on to the parapet below. I was good at pouring things out of windows anyways. I used to pour out the glass of milk that I was forced to drink every morning which I hated. A neighbor told on me and I was given a long talk about how people did not get milk and how I should not abuse the things I got. I had stopped doing it, but the experience was with me. Nobody suspected anything and I got away with it. That was my first brush with wines. I am not fond of them to this day, except for the chocolate mint liquor kind. :)