Glass lenses are different from plastic lenses

It's a problem that probably started with a lack of sleep, but eventually, I wasn't able to wear spectacles with plastic lenses. Kept trying lenses of lower power but I'd still feel strain on the muscles around my eyes. Twelve ophthalmologists said it could be astigmatism or the wrong power lens, they gave me eye drops, different prescriptions, but none of it helped.

Eventually, my brother prescribed me a mild sedative which seemed to restore my sleep cycle. I also purchased spectacles with glass lenses which to my surprise, didn't strain my eyes at all.

The ophthalmologists told me there's no difference between plastic and glass lenses. But I'm sure there is, because using a glass lens cured my two year problem of eye strain in one day.

Getting enough of sleep at night

One really needs to get the requisite eight hours of sleep at night. Not getting that sleep prevents your eye muscles from getting the necessary rest (and this can lead to eye strain building up and becoming chronic) and a lot of other health problems.

I've faced this problem where I'd suddenly wake up at 4am and then wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. And then I'd feel very sleepy at my workplace, but had to work, so wouldn't be able to sleep. This "sleep debt" kept building up for many months and caused me health problems.

Recently, I was advised the use of castor oil for application on hair. I tried it, and noticed that it also gave a very calming effect. It made me feel more sleepy. Now I no longer wake up suddenly at 4am. I get a full night's sleep. Moreover, ever since I've started using castor oil, I've never got a cold (flu). So I continue using it everyday for three days at a time or so and then I don't use it for a day, just to break the pattern. 

Castor oil doesn't have any bad odour (if you're using the one from Jyothi chemicals. I found that another brand had a bad smell), so you can wear it the whole day. Make sure it reaches your scalp. Wash it off just before going to bed but if you have to go to bed with it (it happens if you had to apply the oil late at night and washing your head with water will take away the sleepiness for about an hour), place a newspaper sheet on the pillow.

You'll get castor oil at the chemist's shop. There's a medicinal variety (which you can drink if you want to clear out your entire digestive system) and a non-medicinal one (which you shouldn't drink; it may be poisonous). Take the non-medicinal one for applying on your head. Sweet dreams! :)

Update: November 2013: Although the castor oil helps a bit, for the problem I described above what you really need is your sleep cycle to break. My sleep cycle broke when I was prescribed 0.25g of Anxit. A single tablet helped restore my sleep cycle, and I've been getting sufficient sleep since.

Mandated volunteering needs an overhaul

Picture this: You're seventy years old, in an old age home, your children have deserted you. In come a bunch of excited volunteers who have been told that you are lonely. They smile, dance, sing songs for you, ask you to play a guitar, give you some nice things to eat and they go away, never to come back. Next weekend another group.
By talking to them, you've found out that they have a compulsory few community service hours to complete as part of what their volunteering team in their company decided to do. You know they don't care about you. The same way that your own children didn't care. You end up feeling even more lonely and you can't ask these volunteers to go away either. It would be rude to ask them not to invade your privacy. Poor things; they came here thinking they were doing something good.

Another one: You're a little child in an orphanage. Your parents either abandoned you or died. You know nobody really cares about you. A bunch of volunteers walk in, conduct a 'nice' event for you, make you sing and dance with them. They take photos, give you cake, chocolates, toys, stationery and then walk away, never to return. You feel abandoned again, and you don't really know how to store all the toys they gave, as your room is already full of useless toys given by every new bunch of volunteers who came every now-and-then for the last few years.

These are just two of the multitude of examples of how a person feels when a bunch of over-enthusiastic volunteers do something for them, thinking that they've done something good, but are completely unaware of the psychological damage they've inflicted. 

An institution, a corporate or even individuals, when they set out to volunteer, it is a natural feeling to want to show others what they've done for charity. They rarely realize the amount of learning, dedication and hard-work that's necessary to actually be able to help society. Good news is, that this learning can actually happen. During my time as a volunteer, I've sought guidance from people who have had years of experience in helping society. They've guided me to others who were equally good at guiding us. I've learnt so much from them and have been able to volunteer much better. There are experts out there whom we have to consult. If you're a volunteer, or you want to organize volunteering, please don't do it for the sake of a brand image. Do it because you really want to help society. More importantly, rather than setting out on the journey alone, take the help of experts. I promise you, you're going to love it!

I will be posting more on this, based on the comments I receive. There is a lot to say, a lot to discuss. But I need to know if people really care. Volunteering is not easy. The last time I tried discussing the topic with a volunteer, she said she just preferred the casual, carefree approach toward volunteering. I still do see hope of people realizing what they need to actually do to be a volunteer...

Road humps in Bangalore

Bangalore city seems to have an affinity toward creating road humps everywhere. On the narrower roads, you won't be able to drive for fifteen seconds without hitting a road-hump. I wonder what kind of planning goes into creating a road hump.

To get an answer, I went up to the assistant of a corporator, and he says that people indiscriminately create road humps because some people tend to drive too fast on the narrow roads.
Err...so what? As long as pedestrians aren't walking in the middle of the road that shouldn't be a problem. Wonder what the geniuses who built the footpaths were thinking when they designed it to be un-walkable. If speeding/rash motorists are a danger to other drivers, then aren't there are policemen on patrol who can take them to task? Then why do people need to create so many road humps? That too on the main roads instead of on the side roads!

The corporator's assistant assured me that if I wanted any mindlessly created road-hump removed, I just had to file an application at his office and he'd get it removed. Dear sir, aren't you also driving on the same roads? Why don't you get it removed when you see it? Ah I forget...corruption and red-tape.

Hope there's something we can do.