Mowing over movie-ing
#36 - the Queen's done the same job for 70 years!
Hi there,
The first half has been competitive. Most shots on target, a few goals. Team Adi has got the upper hand, but only just. Team GCSEs has some formidable players on the bench, who will be eager to turn the tables in the latter 45 minutes. It’s up to Adi’s team to keep working to the full-time whistle.
11 down, 13 to go in Mission GCSEs. A quieter week with the monster English Literature that I was most stressed on Wednesday about and then a double of Chemistry and Computer Science 2 to cap off the half term. Overall, no shockers so far so hope all the luck in the world lasts.
My weekend has been occupied with cricket, although I couldn’t play any games thanks to my teeth. I watched a re-enactment of India’s historic underdog win in the 1983 World Cup, the subject of today’s Ray of Sunlight and also cleared out half of my ironing bag (read, overflowing bottom of a cupboard that looks like a bin) whilst watching the Indian Premier League final.
Highlight of the week: doing a meditation in the middle of my CS exam. I had ample time and there was a question I was stuck on. Also, I didn’t quite feel ‘in the zone’, almost as if my metaphorical feathers were ruffled. Closing my eyes, scanning my body, and listening to the turn of pages and clicks of pens1 brought an air of calm over me before I finished the paper.
I think it’s fair to say I deserve a break after the last 2 weeks, we all do. My plan was to watch a whole film, sometime I’d not done in a very long time (since we last went to the cinema). Originally, I had imagined completely forgetting about the exams by playing a day-long adult cricket match. Sadly, parents’ mandate made that idea vanish. Instead, I sat down to watch ‘83’, a biographical film taking us through the extraordinary journey the Indian cricket team took in the 1983 World Cup, from having lost all but one match in the first 2 editions (that to East Africa) to triumphing against the 2-time world champions West Indies. It’s on Netflix in case I’ve whet your appetite.
Since it was the weekend, ahead of a ‘hot week’ at the hospital, with an eye on the ominous forecast ahead, Dad decided that it was time to give the front lawn a most-deserved haircut, a clean shave to remove all the weeds that stuck out. While Mum asked my sister (a film buff, who, by this point, was also watching) and me to pause the movie and go help him out - the job can be done a lot quicker with an assistant(s).
I was frustrated: I was looking forward all day to sitting down and cruising through the film uninterrupted. Pausing a film half-way is one of my pet hates. After all, it seemed like I deserved it. Hence, I was uncharacteristically stubborn saying that I wouldn’t budge. My sister understood my position and said she would help out.
Except when he went outside to get set up, she didn’t. I ask her if she’s going out. She says, “No”. Then, as if some wisdom spell had been cast over me, I got up and said, “Well I’m not leaving him alone”, paused the film and strode out.
We got going and a few rain droplets hit my (trimmed) hair. “Quickly, quickly.” Fortunately, even the rain gods were impressed by my virtuous actions and hit pause.
Why tell you this nice little story of self-promotion? I thought to myself, “If I was watching this all unfold from afar, not in my shoes, what would I say? What would I say I should do?”
Me de-personalising and taking myself out of the situation allowed me to consider whether I was being rational or rather letting emotions take the better of me. The core question I asked myself was “What is the right thing to do?” The selfish thing to do was to abandon my dad who, whilst may have been ok with me not coming, is likely to be unimpressed if anything goes wrong or if it rained. The appropriate thing to do was to realise that the film isn’t going anywhere and to go and give my dad a hand.
We finish our job and my dad wants tea. But, there’s some small weeds and grass that split over scattered along the driveway. Do I leave it there, to be swept away by the wind or dampened in the rain? What is the right thing to do? I picked up the long-handled dustpan and brush, neatly wafted them inside and dumped them into the bin. Job done.
The golden part: when you are in a similar situation, do the thing that future you will be more proud of. In a maybe cringy but personal way, I am proud of the mature way in which I responded yesterday, twice. It meant I could finish the movie with my head held up high (figuratively and literally - not sure you can see the TV with your head glued to the floor), knowing that I’d done the right thing.
Now, Dad, where’s my £5?…
Another instance of this last week was when I saw an email from Lewis from Physics Online (great videos and website by the way) saying “Hardest Physics Question Ever”? My thought process: well, it’s not for me. It’s an A-Level question so let’s ignore it. But, surely, the nerd Adi would learn the foundational Physics behind the question and then try to understand it.
It is almost like what children do when they are younger: "What would Superman do? What would Mickey do?” Acting like your heroes, or in more adult-speak, like your ‘higher self’. Fake it till you make it, eh?
Podcast of the week 🎙️
The BBC World Service’s Documentary Podcast: The Royal Diplomat
Britain is gearing up, in royal fashion, to celebrate Her Majesty’s The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Why not learn more about this icon of the 21st century?
Article of the week 📰
Couple in India sue son for not giving them a grandchild
Wars, inflation, COVID, climate change. Nah, I’m not interested, I just need to pass on my genes #firstworldproblems
Quote of the week 💬
“The self-confidence one builds from achieving difficult things and accomplishing goals is the most beautiful thing of all.” - Madonna
Keep doing the right things, and the right things will happen to you.
Adi
I noticed the other day that although an exam room is meant to be silent, there is very rarely a moment of complete absence of sound. If you close your eyes and just listen out, there is a constant murmur.