Sleep Apnea

Oh man, it's that time of the day

Thinking of sleep is making me lose my mind.

Who needs sleep anyway?

Some people can sleep, 

while others can't 

maybe I'm one of those,

Others,

I thought about it, 

probably today is a 'good day'

I'm determined, 

I'm hopeful, 

I'll get my fair share of shut-eye. 

I did my math,

If I sleep now I can get four solid hours.

Perhaps, I should count the sheeps from two hundred, in reverse.

That's what all the expert gurus told me. 

They can't be wrong, 

They know everything!

Two hundredth sheep went over the hurdle,

One hundred ninety-ninth sheep went over the hurdle,

One hundred ninety-eighth sheep went over the hur-

Wait, now, this is stupid!

Why can't I just fall asleep like a normal person?

Maybe, that is the problem,

I'm not normal

maybe - I'm special,

One hundred ninety-seventh sheep went over the hurdle,

One hundred ninety-sixth sheep went over the hurdle

Maybe, I should have a glass of warm milk,

Or hot camomile tea,

No, let's just give it some more time.

One hundred ninety-fifth sheep went over the hurdle..

one.. hundred.. ninety-fourth.. sheep went over..... the hur--dle

Oh wow, this seems to be working!

That's it! finally, some sleep

Let's go!

one hundred.. ninety-fourth..sleep went to the super..market-

buzz buzz buzz

buzz, what the f- buzz

What's going on!!

oh no! No no!

It's time to wake up!

I Got Hacked!

I have great friends. I love them simply because they are better than me. And I try to keep in touch with most of them using social media. Most of my social media accounts were created almost during the time when they were accessible to the public. I used my old Yahoo email account to create them and forgot all about it. I realized that my Yahoo mail account was hacked couple of years ago and I couldn't access it simply because it is hackers' friendly. I can't remember the last time I accessed that account and it had some sort of sentimental value because it is the first account I created, probably in 2001.

Then today, 11th of March 2023, I was caught off guard by an Instagram message, which I assumed, was sent by my life-long friend from school. So the guy pretending to be my friend asked me to send a message that would be sent to me from Facebook to retrieve his account. Well now you know where this story is going right? Yes well, when I responded to this imposter, my Instagram account was immediately hacked. I was actually worried that this knucklehead would use my profile to get through to my friends and some how steal from them. I was heartbroken because I use my Instagram as a digital album to remember moments and this mother-lover managed to take that away from me. Thevuni and I did whatever we could to retrieve my account. Actually since she was the very objective one at that time, she managed to find a solution. And I'm going to share some of the options you have if this happens to you,

1. Understand the situation - Usually when you are hacked, the hacker would change email and the password or if you have an old email like I did, then you realize that you can't access your own email. In this scenario against all odds - you should know that you can still find a way get your account back. Simply understand your situation and trust that you can get it back.
2. Instagram will help you - Use the Instagram log in interface to type your user name and try to get a security code if either your email or phone number is still available. If that doesn't work, then you can go to Get Support option. This option allow you to submit a working email address and then a selfie-video to identify or recognize your face with the recent pictures you've posted on Instagram (I sincerely hope you have your own pictures on your Instagram account!). Then you'll receive a email message from Instagram stating that they received the video and will help you soon.
3. Redemption song - Well Instagram says that they would take few business days but for me those guys helped me in couple of hours sending me a link to change the password and then a security code to log in to the account. These are the steps you need to follow,

• Select the Reset password link given
• Enter your new password
• Select the backup codes link instead of entering a 6-digit code
• Enter this 8-digit security code to log back in

Well that's about it folks, now that I've found my way back into my Instagram profile, I made sure that the security is tight. I enhanced the security level and made sure that I provided a working email account this time. And after all that drama in the morning, I managed to have a small Burgher nap to settle down, listening to the thunder and white-noise - the best combo to keep away the hackers! well.. may be not!

Food4Thought | Discovering Jaffna's Best Alternative Food Joint in Colombo

I live in the suburbs of Colombo and travelling to Jaffna takes over 6-7 hours. With the existing fuel quota it is not easy to travel freely according to your preference. And opting for public transport can be considered but then it is a serious decision to make, specially for people like me who makes travel arrangements keeping food as the primary objective. I may sound like a great pessimist but what I'm trying to say is that if you are a person living in Colombo - looking out for Jaffna food then go no further than Wellawatta. Yaarl Eat House serves you a variety of Jaffna food ensuring that the authenticity is well preserved. 

I usually order pittu, parata, omlette and 'crab curry' - which takes a bit extra time to munch because you start to savor the flavors it gives you. Going for the option for crab curry can make you think twice because you may feel its a bit messy or there are no utensils to break the shells or in my case whether I'd spill curry on my shirt. If there's great food non of these things actually matter, specially when its close by.

They also serve other dishes such as Jaffna cuttlefish curry, Jaffna mutton curry, sprat devilled, rice options, koththu options and string hoppers. 

It is not glamorous, maybe its not for everyone but when it comes to food and the authenticity is quite amazing. I always get the feel of Jaffna when get to Yaarl Eat house with the ambience they've created with the set up, background music and most importantly the food they serve on a banana leaf!

Location - Yaarl Eat House

Food4Thought | Jaffna Snack Attack!!

Look at his face! He thinks he's so special, I don't like him!

He's so arrogant! Such an ass!

Well.. these are common phrases that we use, when we watch Virat Kohli play a cricket match. This also explains our sentiment towards all Indians for some reason. We as Sri Lankans have a sense of animosity towards Indians specially when watching cricket matches. 

But I feel like the few lucky ones who had the opportunity to travel to India few times and meet Indians. This exposure provided the space to create great friendships over the years with Indians. Now, I can safely say that I managed to get rid of my animosity and appreciate the Indians. Because who are we kidding, we are more Indian than we think!

When you analyze the course of history, you may observe that we have been influenced by Indians with technology, fashion, language, culture, education, literature, politics and most importantly food. I can talk about Indian food all day because its that damn good. But today I'm going to stick to 'Murukku', a snack with its origins in Tamil Nadu, which gets its name from the Tamil word for 'twist'. To make this snack, a semi-solid dough primarily made from rice is passed through a murukku-maker and then it is deep-fried.

My friend Sugi told me the inspiring story of Ebiron, the place that sells exceptional murukku you can find in Sri Lanka - the absolute best! He told me that few years ago, an old lady (owner of Ebiron) used to sell homemade murukku and variety of snacks by the main road in Jaffna. The important thing to observe was that she would be sold out within couple of hours every single day. The popularity and quality led to expand her business faster than her competition. Apparently now, she has provided employment opportunities for over 100 individuals and has two shopping malls in the Northern province.

You may attempt to make murukku on your own or if that doesn't work, maybe you might opt to find some brand that is available in the super market but my friends it is nothing compared to what Ebiron has to offer. It is very fresh, easy on the teeth (not hard and chewy), spices used are very well balanced, not oily and most importantly 1/3rd of the cost compared to what is available in the market (500g was bought at Rs. 280/- in December 2022). 

Try it and let me know your thoughts! 

P.S. Also talk to Sugi he can explain the story better!

Location:

 Visiting Ebiron outlet in Jaffna

Food4Thought | Underrated Queen of the Hills 'Matale'

Matale is a very special place to me. I had the opportunity to work with Thevuni for about a year and a half (during 2017-2018) in different parts of Matale, trying to elevate the capacities of community leaders in 5 chosen locations within the district. 

As far as I'm concerned, Matale has a lot to offer in terms of places to visit in comparison to the other two districts in the central province. We did our fair share of taking a hike in the mountains and visiting lakes and water falls, these places were not considered commercial sites therefore, it was in the most natural state. 

Well... I'm not going to talk about my work  or the hikes we did but I'm going to talk about the place that made us survive for a year and half to do all these things that I mentioned. This gem of a place is a wonderful discovery as it had so many food options to choose from Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, etc. Most of the time we get to 'Ape Bojun' - starving with the ability to eat the entire buffet but we never even gotten close to it at all, it is good to be ambitious though!

Almost every dish we tried was pretty amazing, specially the Sri Lankan cuisine and the Sri Lankan sweets they had to offer. The sesame products are my favorite! 

Most importantly the friendly and polite nature of the staff made us visit this place on a daily basis, just to sustain the relationship and most importantly for the prioritized service. 

Last year we both went back to this place after 4 years and the manager still remembered us, he greeted us with a million dollar smile and started his familiar chat. 

If you go pass Matale do not miss Ape Bojun! It will be your loss!

Location - Ape Bojun

#food #travel #foodie