Ode to Tiger Balm

Oh glorious Tiger Balm, not until this morning did I appreciate your powers. Many years ago, my brother had this weird little jar of stuff that he thought was pretty cool. I had no idea what it was, what it did, or where he had gotten it from. Usually stuff my bro had was pretty cool, so I trusted his track record on this stuff. Although I never really found out what it was for, it remained interesting. Since my childhood, Tiger Balm has hidden out somewhere in the distant shelves of my mind.

My mental inventory was recalled and the memory of Tiger Balm was blown free of it's dust a couple of weeks ago while still in Mumbai. As I was at the Big Bazaar, I noticed a huge display of different types of none other than the magical balm with the tiger moniker.

As you can tell by the product description, this stuff has a wide range of uses:

Tiger Balm Soft

The younger generation who loves aromatherapy will appreciate Tiger Balm Soft. This topical analgesic ointment with a light lavender fragrance and soft texture works fast and effectively to relieve headaches, stuffy nose, insect bites, itchiness, muscular aches and pains, sprains and flatulence.

Pack Size: 25gm and 50gm

Yes, they have finally come out with a topical product that cures flatulence. I am still trying to figure out how they back up their claims on this one. I have applied some this morning on my temples to battle a hangover headache, but so far there is no progress on the flatulence.

Bubble Boy Comes Home

So I didn't mention that everyone at work christened me "Bubble Boy" as I was clearly the biggest germophobe on the project. I always had sanitary wipes with me and went through a fair amount of hand sanitizer. My diet was also very restricted, with guidelines like the following:

• Only cooked food


• No cold cuts or cut fruit


• No water, ice, or frozen drinks like smoothies


• Limited amounts of fish and seafood


• Dry is always better than sloppy


• Limited amout of veggies with lots of crevices like broccoli

Despite being the but of many jokes, I was the only one on my team who didn't get sick. I would say that over the month I was in Mumbai, about 1/3 of the entire team had to miss at least one day of work because they were throwing up, throwing down, or both. Aside from some uneasiness from reading in the car on the way to work I was in pretty good shape.


My computer is now reset to Central time, although my biological clock may take a while to catch up. I'll write some additional thoughts later, but now I need to go catch some sleep.