Snooze..snooze ...alarm clock
Sunday, March 01, 2009 Labels: Home 19 commentsAnother morning, another day. I love to get that extra 10 minutes of sleep. I am sure no one likes to get out of the bed. During my childhood days, I did not use any fancy alarm clock at home. Guess who woke me up every morning? No rewards for the right guess here. It was always my mom, who used to give me a big shake all over my body, which sometimes shattered my wildest dreams. However, waking me was a piece of cake for my mom compared to what she had to go through to wake up my lovely sister!
There were times I witnessed the repeat of Kumbhakarna awakening. However, during other occasions, to wake up my sister, all it took was one person, my elder brother. He is the only 'early bird' in my house who, even now, has the habit of getting up early in the morning. He used a lot novel techniques like pouring ice cold water in the sleepy ears, snatching the blanket, opening the window screens, and a lot more. Of course, like a soldier in Iraq, he had to weather a lot of counter offensive. Whether an alarm clock was needed or not, a first aid kit was a must. While all of this happened, I used to quietly snug in a corner and just watch the battle;) and moreover my brother got that extra kick and pleasure in waking up my sister. So he did not bother me as much.
As we grew up, we started relying more and more on our mom for the early morning alarms. During exam days, we woke up promptly on the first call. Otherwise, we just asked her to come back in 10 minutes time (manual snooze...). There were times my mom had to give us prompts every 10 minute interval for nearly 2 - 3 hours! As I moved out of home, I started using portable alarms and here in the US, I use an alarm which has a pretty cool feature called 'Snooze'. For those, unfamiliar with the 'Snooze', it lets you prolong the wake up buzz by a preset time, usually 10 minutes. I owe a lot to the guy who invented this feature in an alarm. Even these days, I use this feature extensively during the morning buzz.
During my college days in Michigan, I got into the habit of snoozing anywhere from an hour to 2 hours. My hands involuntarily hit the snooze button on the alarm. My poor roommate, who used to sleep on the upper bed of the bunker probably woke up every 10 minute, while I was happily snoozing. I used it to such an extent, one day my roommate politely requested me to set the alarm at least somewhat closer to the time I actually intended to wake up! Thankfully, he was not like my brother. Else he would have poured cold water in my ears!
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Raja!It was a nice and funny post !I think rajendra will enjoy it more;)Even these days i luv to sleep more but for aditya's early morning school...:(
I luv this snooze mode and ofcourse rajendra hates it :-))))
As usual ur cartoon is too good..keep blogging!
Ur cartoon is fantastic.Ur narrations r funny n realistic.For guys of present generation snozzing is required not in minutes.But in hours.
My case is totally different.If I put up an alarm for 5 in the morning, I get a tension n think tht I may miss 2 get up.I wake up every 10 mins n see the time.The result is tht I never sleep n get up at 4.30 n put off the alarm.
This is more during night journeys in the train.If I hv to get up at 4.30 I never sleep but act before others tht I m sleeping.
For me the sleeper ticket is a waste.In spite of tht I book a sleeper ticket, just for tht extra ordinary experience.
I cannot come near Ramu's family with respect to sleeping.U hv mentioned abt ur elder brother waking up every body.He can sleep even in Tirupathi darsan queue.
All 3 of u r grt in this.
The degree u got in U.S is M.S.
I think it means Master of Sleeps.
Dear Raja, Nothing has changed with Padma, except the victim of her sleep/snooze everything.Its me now :( The alarm keeps ringing every morning & Padma cares a damn about it. The alarm irritates me. If that was not enough,the simultaneous snoring of Padma does the job. I get furious & shake her awake. In the process & am left blinking at the ceiling :(
Thanks for your blog. I have heard of Ravi's herioic deeds from him.( For the simple reason that he is very proud about it & thrills him during every narration. He does'nt miss to laugh villaineously during the narration)
You have put it so well. Superb cartoon... Keep blogging
raja i still remember ur mom shouting paattu vadyar vanduttar elundirudi. nataraja bagavathar saying somberi innum thoongarala.padma getting and rushing for face washing and brushing. and sittin in front of paattu vadyar in a sllepy mood
I wish suhasini had a brother like Ravi!!
I think readers r more interested in commenting abt my sleep than commenting on ur blog;-)
Padma...yes, I too realized that readers are more interested in your sleep..no wonder Ravi had that special kick in disturbing your sleep and not mine!
Rajendra ..I can understand your situation. these days you stay 5 days a week in Mumbai right;)
Kumar..your comments are so hilarious. Yes, Ravi can also sleep in any setting. He is able to sleep in the red tin bus from mysore to coimbatore, how can he not sleep in tirupathi queue.
Appa..I will let padma right a separate blog about her 'paatu vadhiyaar kodumai's - Torturing the Guru, the sleepy disciple!'
Kichi..guess my roommates name (the one sitting on the upper bunk in the cartoon), Ravi!
Also, younger brothers retreat to defensive mode in the presence attacking sisters!
Look at the irony, these days both Padma and Suha are the first ones to wake up to get the kids ready for school!
This is kaliyugam raja!so we have to pay back immediately;-) aditya 's school bus comes at 6.30 am .so ve to wake up at 5.00 :(
Its d same case with my huby too:) I could even call him d 'automatic-snoozer':D He knows dat at every 5 mins there will be a 'manual snooze' either from his mom or me,hence automatically he starts his chanting(otherwise called as d auto snooze) '2 mins plsssss' & happily continues to sleep for hrs together:D
Hey Raja, Lovely caricatures. Was Ravi the bully in your house? It was me in my house. Really fun to catch up with you all. You know, we lived in your house A-14, for a coupla years somewhere during 1998 - 2001.
Put up some pics of the house if you have any.
Heh Kothai..welcome to my blog..
Thanks for the comments. Yes I know you lived in the legendary A-14! must have been a pleasant experience i suppose :)
If you are in Orkut, you can see a lot of my family pictures it.
bcos of the extra kick those days for Padma gets up even today early say atleast 7 am.Even today i am ready to repeat it.
I remember the days in coimbatore, your mom kick you and shout "Dei ellundirida somperi". I also remember you and karthik went to bakery in TVS 50 leaving me running behind.
You mentioned in my scrap for flattering comments you pay me..gud, but memories are more powerful than your dollars :-) and no substitute for it. So i need more memories Raja
Great memories !!!! great effort
Raja...I do remember very well waking up with your alarm sound finishing up the class and come back home and find you still in bed snoozing!
Swami. You had the most effective alarm for me during the weekends. Waking me with Pongal, Vadai, & Chutney prepared early in the morning.
Great cartoon Raja..Really hilarious and the snooze button is still a boon to me. Somebody said , it could be for hours , I second that :)
Thanks Vidya..and don't forget to pick one of these alarms with 'Snooze' feature before you head back to India!