July 13, 2012

Friday, the 13th

Are you superstitious? Do you fear the number 13? Was there any special incident / accident which you may have faced on a Friday, 13th?

To start with, let me tell you - I am a firm believer of superstitions. Born into an Iyer (South-Indian) household where traditions and principles rule the roost, superstitions are followed as an integral part. And I am proud of my beliefs. I feel thrilled & curious to investigate the reason for a superstition's existence.

But I don't go overboard. :)

There are people I know who are superstitious in every step they take. And yet others who laugh at others' beliefs. I believe everyone has a personal choice whether to follow rules or not, and we should respect that than ridicule it.

I wrote this post for my earlier blog 5 years ago. Today early morning, I went back to this post and enjoyed reading it. Totally a nostalgic moment... !

Pardon me my amateur writing ;) Read on...

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Does this date ring a bell in your mind? Well, if it doesn't then lets find out through a hint. Imagine that you get up today, all fresh and raring to go, ready to face any challenge, take on the world come what may......but unexpectedly, things fall out of place every time you thought - "Today's a wonderful day!!!".

Like for example, while you are about to the leave the house some one ends up sneezing behind your back, the moment you step out of the house, a black cat crosses your path, by the time you see the cat and admire its beauty, you have already walked under a construction ladder by mistake and most importantly you realise suddenly that, all through the earlier activities, your left eye hasnt stopped twitching even for a moment. :)

Your thought must have transited from "What a wonderful day!!" to "What a bad day!!". If not, then it must have definitely transited when you missed your bus to the office, and couldn't take the train because they got canceled as a result of the surprising heavy downpour today (Mind you, it has not been raining at all for the past 3-4 days and Mother Nature thought - Which other day than today!!!). That's when you also realise that you needed to be in office on time today because you had to attend a very important meeting. You reach the office 2 hours late because of this confusion only to realise that your boss is searching for you (Man, you better have a good explanation for coming late - obviously you cant tell him that you "MISSED" the bus).

Well, that was a starter to what today must have looked like 'cause today's the day any layman would fear. And even if you are not superstitious when things go topsy-turvy around you, you definitely remember the date and blame it on the calendar. :)

I didn't have a bad day as such but yes the moment I set my eyes on the morning paper flashing articles on 'Friday - the 13th....', I knew I had to feel conscious. Leaving my house 5 mins later than the usual time cost me a few more rupees to reach the bus-stop after the start location (you must have guessed that I was on the verge of missing it). But I think I was the winner in the race against time and made it to my destination before the bus reached there (whew...that was close). Once I was in the bus, my usual routine of reading the newspaper started, catching up on all the events around the world as well as the gossip of the celebrities.

It was not too long before I realised that I need to close the window beside me because it had started raining. I went for it using my left hand as my right hand was busy holding the current page of the newspaper, my mobile phone and my headphones. As I started pulling the window towards my end, I should have realised my thumb was going in for a toss. I rammed the window so hard that my thumb was squashed between the window and the sill. Didnt take long to feel the excruciating pain pass through the finger to my arm. The instantaneous formation of a green clot was proof of that. :) Let me also tell you that experiencing the pain knowing that you can't shriek or scream in a bus full of people is even more easy.

The day at work was no different. Immediate tasks wanting closure were hovering over my head. And there was no sign of completion. I should admit I had almost started cursing the date and the Gregorian calendar when I thought - "Maybe it's not the fault of my stars, probably it's the way I'm thinking. We conclude that every small thing that goes wrong today is because of the date."

I shook my head and said - "It's not the date that is unlucky. I am just too hung up with the superstition that was stopping me from thinking normally." I cross-checked my pending tasks again and with the help of my colleagues, I was able to complete them.

My team leader, impressed with the work asked us to leave early for the day, and here I am writing this update for the day. Have to start a new day tomorrow and please no comparisons there saying it's Saturday, the 14th. :)

And hey, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" released today, now that can't be unlucky right?
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Oh yes... I didn't miss that Harry Potter movie ;))

So tell me, do you have any good / bad experiences with this date ?
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