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Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts

… and no I don’t think it sucks =P

It;s 5:01 a.m as I start this post and I’ve had a REALLY long few days .. been working from 10 a.m to 10 p.m as of yesterday on the documentary shoot and some client meetings; rushed home to get ready and head over for an Xmas party at a friends’ apartment by 11 p.m; got back around 4 a.m and I’m still awake !

So now that I’ve filled you in and you can appreciate my state of mind … I was blog hopping around the neighbourhood when I came across a tweet to 10 Reasons Why Your Blog Sucks by Edward Khoo.  The reasons come about pretty obvious when you read them but the perception described comes about in a really harsh manner.  If someone had to feel so angry or disgruntled after reading my blog – I would come away feeling pretty shyte ! I won’t put it all here but will give you a summary instead.

10 Reasons Why Some Blogs Suck =(

  1. You use syndicated content. You cut & paste articles from sites across the net onto your blog.  You can, but you shouldn’t. Without unique content your blog is nothing.
  2. Your blog is boring.  Write about topics that your reader, not topics that interest you.
  3. Your blog revolves around your person. Stop talking about yourself already. Readers don’t know you personally, and couldn’t care less about your ramblings. Tell them Facts or stories, not boring personal stuff
  4. Oh no, not your favorite music on auto-play!  Don’t add music to your site. Half the people won’t like it and the other half will find it’s a distraction.
  5. You use clip art
  6. No search boxes or archives.
  7. Bad Grammar, typos, misspelled words, and poor punctuation.
  8. Spinning Articles.  You write the same things others do that belong to your niche.
  9. Irregular posting.
  10. Your blog looks like 12023532989 other blogs.

Why My Blog Does NOT Suck

  1. I don’t use syndicated content. I swear ! Last time I checked, I hadn’t copy-pasted anything other than my scribbles from my word docs to Live Writer once I got it downloaded.
  2. My blog is NOT boring ! At least no one has said so or sent me ‘yawn’ comments.  I like to think I’ve got a variety of topics on hand ranging from Music; some Blogging Tips; Poetry new blog discoveries; and some deep & meaningful reflections as well.
  3. My blog revolves around my person.  Why ? Because I am more likely to relate to things that interest me – impact me – and hence better able to convey those thoughts to my readers.
  4. I don’t have any music on auto-play.  I have blogged about some of my favourite music and the Magic Of Melodies by using links and video streams but none are on auto play. 
  5. I use any and all sorts of videos and images that I feel will enhance my sporadic thoughts and help you relate to whatever it is that I am writing about. And that includes clip art.  I don’t own a personal database of over a billion images representing all walks of the universe.  That’s what the Gods of Google are there for.  However I’ve been lucky enough to capture some real Mumbai Moments as well as some great shots on my camping trip with my own camera so that should count for something !
  6. I have a search box on the top right corner of my blog !  I also have a really cool tool-bar (that took me forever to find) at the bottom of this page.  And even if the feature was not available – there’s always the CTRL F feature right there on your keyboard !
  7. Did yuo konw taht as long as teh frist and lsat letetrs of a wrod are palced coerrclty tehn you can from the snectnece wihtuot any turolbe.  I got an A in English through my schooling years.  I am quite a stickler for good grammar so not only do I use spell-checks when writing posts – I have also added certain words such as ‘woohoo’ to the dictionary just so that I have less errors during the spell-checks =P  Being a blogger is about being able to express yourself at leisure, or even whilst on the move – and hence small errors every now and then is still acceptable. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt!
  8. I don’t spin articles – at least not intentionally.  I write about anything and everything (although I probably will never be able to write about ‘everything’) and considering there are over thousands of similar articles and posts across the blogosphere – there are bound to be similarity to my posts as compared to those who write with no fixed agenda.
  9. My blog has been around for about 1.5 year and 152 sporadic thoughts old.  There were 28 posts between July ‘08 – Dec ‘08; and as of today excluding this post – 124 posts between Jan ‘09 and Dec ‘09 which is about 10 posts per month and 2-3 posts per week.  I’d like to think that makes a pretty regular blogger.  Ofcourse I could always try to write more .. but I can’t because I really can’t find the time to always be able to make a note of ‘everything’ that could perhaps be the most interesting content one would ever read.  I blog when I can – about whatever it is that I can – because I just ‘can’.
  10. Some people actually like my blog and that’s good enough for me. I don’t blog because I’m trying to become an expert in my niche - I don’t even have a niche !  I’ve managed to receive awards from fellow bloggers – and  it was a total dazed blur of awards for me when I got 3 in September.  A few people out there thought my blog worthy of an award in the form of a JPG image which is pretty cool =) In fact one went on to call me an Awesome Girl too :)  My newbie blogger ego got the better of me at the start of the year and I nominated myself for the Bloggers Choice Awards (just for fun) and I’m proud to announce I got 18 votes – out of how many thousands I don’t know – for Best Blog About Stuff !
  11. Various Blog Communities have given me some sort of decent ranking – even though I never asked to be ranked.  Don’t most of us belong to various blog communities or have been reading blogs for a while and hence got encouraged to write ?? because that’s how I got into blogging.  Besides the ranking status or Cyber Highway Traffic (as I like to call it) sort of gives one an idea of how other bloggers perceive their blogs.  I am not an expert – I’m not trying to be one – but I’d definitely like to know how I stand in the overall realm of things in blogosphere.
  12. Lastly I’m not writing this post because I think my blog is ‘the bomb’ – that’s Bombchells department =) It’s not because I think that my blog is a Bitch Fab blog – that title totally goes to the Fab Bitch herself :) But the main reason that my blog doesn’t suck is because it’s MY blog and it’s all about My Sporadic Reflections =)

Sometimes I give myself admirable advice, but I am incapable of taking it. Mary Wortley Montagu

 

I came across this quote a few days ago and had even applied it to my FaceBook status update.  I found myself agreeing to this quote quite  a lot.  Even funnier so was that I was almost ‘admitting’ to all out there on FB world that apparently I’m incapable of taking some of my own ‘good’ advice.  Even more ironic is the fact that there are quite a few people within my social circle who tend to talk to me about any personal / work related hang-ups, or issues; or come to me to vent as such.

 

As an individual, I am very laid back.  I take things as they are – for face value – and avoid passing judgement on the actions or words of an individual until I can verify my doubts myself.  I am an open book to those who care to read into the chapters, pages and paragraphs that me the person that I am today.  For those who are cursory readers and are just shifting to pass time; they find themselves drawn back every now and then – after enjoying their experience of discovering me.

 

The men and women that I know – I feel - can comfortably have a conversation with me about just any topic under the sun.  My openness to people and attitude stems from the fact that in the past 27 years; my first breath was taken in a London, UK hospital; during my developing years I attended 3 different schools (junior, middle & high school) all of which were of different teaching styles (British, Indian & International syllabus!) in Dubai, UAE; went to university in Montreal, Canada, ; started my career in London, UK and have spent the last 1.5 years in Mumbai, India. 

 

I am a Hindu Punjabi girl, born to a Punjabi father & Marwadi mother; hold a British passport and nationality; lived in 4 different countries and continents; travelled & visited 13 countries and 54 cities across continents.  I speak, read & write French and Arabic better than Hindi (which I can only speak BTW although I did try to learn it during one of my summer vacations)

 

During the years of 18 and 25 I have lived away from home, away from my parents, and in two different continents – university and my career.  I moved to India recently (emotional black mail from my mom) to look at a bigger market for my career; enjoy living back at home and just getting spoiled after slogging my ass off the last few years; and for the sake of avoiding conflicts – as far as my mother goes – me living at home – gives her and my maternal relatives the chance to ‘get me married’ !

 

I have truly grown up as a multi-cultural individual.  This makes me different.  Sometimes a stand-out from the crowd.  I’m a brown person in the land of my roots and origins of ancestors; and any local within a 20 foot radius of me would be able to point-me-out and tell you that I was a ‘foreigner’, ‘not really Indian’, ‘NRI’.  I swear – it’s like a giant invisible stamp that everyone but I can see ! LOL

 

Maybe it’s the clothes.  Or the accent.  Quite likely it could be my accent.  As soon as I open my mouth to speak Hindi – it’s this quasi Indian with a twang of Brit & Canadian coming out – getting genders mixed up. Although I must admit, when I’m at my angriest best – my Hindi is pretty much on the ball and about 100% accurate – especially with the swear words hehe.  Most recently I was told it could be the style of my hair-cuts (I tend to experiment – not drastically but enough to draw some attention hehe)

 

The point of all this background waffle is for you to just get a bit of an understanding of how and where I grew up.  I’ll leave it to your imagination to just try and figure out the adventures I must have grown up with =)  

 

Please feel free to take a break and just think about my life and what it must have been like growing up.  Also this looks like it’s going to be a long post – so a great time for bathroom / coffee / stretch break !

Now that you’ve had a few minutes to digest all that I’ve had to say … you can probably see why my friends come to me for advice or just to have a tete-a-tete or a pure out-and-out bitching session.  One of my mates MD from London calls me ‘Doc’ .. I think it suits me sometimes ! (although I would never be able to be a surgical doctor – couldn’t cut someone up !)

 

So how does all of this relate to the quote that I like ?? 

Basically – I am the type of person who looks at breaking down a problem; looking at it from both perspectives and I’ll play devils’ advocate – I won’t just say something just because you want to hear it – that’s not what friends do.   When talking to a friend about their problems – this works well and shows them another perspective to the issue and helps them assess their own feelings again.

 

Now if I have to solve my ‘own problems’ – wow that’s another story altogether.  Due to my methodology described above – and if I’m unable to get in touch of my own handful of problem solvers (I love these guys & gals to bits!) – then I’m left to my own devices which means I am often unable or even incapable of taking my own advice !!

 

How it works is that – I will end up having a conversation all by myself – and like a tennis volley – will banter through both parties thoughts and vocalise this to myself.  Instead of me necessarily bringing the point up with the person that I’m having a problem with – I would have debated and hashed it out by myself – and thus also have managed to refrain from creating any bad blood between that person and I.


Sometimes this works wonders for me.  It’s easier especially when you can be assured that the other person is never actually going to understand your view point because they are mentally just not ready to accept anything beyond their personal experiences and understanding.   Sometimes obviously this is not the best way to deal with things especially here in Mumbai at least – the locals love a good gossip – so really this just gives that person an added reason to splash some gossip on you or the issue between the two of you. 

 

I may not care about it – but then I get told off by my more sensible friends such as PK that I shouldn’t give anyone reason to gossip about me anyway.  But I honestly just don’t care.  That  person is quite unlikely to be in my TOP 10 Friend List right if they were gossiping about me !!??!!


At other times – especially when the issue or problem for me is more tilted towards any sort of ‘emotion’ and any emotion pertaining towards a man that I might be interested in – and I mean ‘really’ interested and not one of those ‘oh he’s quite hot men’; then I am a complete and absolute chicken-shit ! 

 

It’s not that I can’t go up to men and talk to them or lay out my intentions and even emotions.  I can do that.  It’s just sometimes – well most recently this happened – where I was just not able to take my  own advice.  I don’t know how or why !  It was like I just wanted to avoid all the tension and drama involved with battling out emotions !


Most men are just not ready to accept and deal with someone else’s emotion towards them because they haven’t had time to assess their own emotional stability levels from whatever scars that remain from past relationships; or whatever burried insecurity issues they might be withholding.

 

Although eventually I did pick up the phone and call the man that was causing me to go through an emotional roller coaster ride – I made sure that PK was on the other line with me just keeping my conversation in check.   The final issue was resolved over MSN (hey I  never said it had to be done on the phone or in person hehe and this guy lives overseas); and PK (bless her!) was on the phone with me still – telling me – stay calm, it’s a stupid reason but stay calm !! and then she says ‘just tell him how you feel, let it out of your system and end the conversation’

And that’s exactly what I did.  So now my self-advice to myself is having an internal debate on the fact that the man in question has not really acknowledged what I’ve had to say to him; we have spoken again a few times but it’s not come up; his reasons could be a plenty – between his business and some personal commitments – perhaps he hasn’t got the time; maybe he has thought about it and doesn’t quite know what to do about it; maybe he thinks I’m completely loopy; or maybe he didn’t even realise what I told him since our whole conversation was really about an arguement we’d both had.  Do I call him and ask him about it; do I write to him and ask him ? Should I bother bringing it up ?  Or just not bother at all ?  Maybe I’ll just wait a few weeks and give him some breathing space to deal with our fight and what we discussed as well.  But then is that waiting too long ?


Personally I rather get it out of my system right now and call him and tell him.  But …… but …. I might fumble my words on the phone !  And I don’t know when the hell he would check his email.  Actually he would check it – but his response is most likely to be on an MSN conversation or on text message.  He’s a complex character – maybe he needs just a bit more time.  I did send him a DVD of his brother’s wedding – he’d messaged me a few days ago to let me know he received it and would watch it when he got a chance.  Still not heard back about that either – then again haven’t had internet connection for two days now.

 

Now do you see what I mean ?? I can play devils’ bloody advocate quite well and hence at this very moment – am quite incapable of taking my own advice =(

The other day, I went to watch a movie – the above title in fact – 'Body of Lies' with Leonardo Dicaprio (Ferris) and Russell Crowe (Hoffman). Normally I like to know which movie I'm going to watch however this was quite an unplanned visit and this was the movie that was playing at the time we got to the cinema.

The movie is about the how the CIA operates when surveying terrorist activists around the globe, the superior use of satellite devices; the factors that an undercover operative witnesses and how their attitudes towards situations affect their work … all of this, of course high lighting that the terrorists are all Muslims. Quite prominent in all US released news and film.

Now before I delve any further – let's get one thing straight. Some people might be offended when reading this (or might not at all – I hope) and I don't know what kind of reaction you would have.

This is one of the few movies I feel that captures the real life battles of egos, authority, policies and procedures and is a pretty accurate visual interpretation of what actually happens in the 'real world'. It almost defies all the words printed by the press; the blatant racism and accusation that states Muslims are terrorists.

Movies related to the war in Iraq have been a pretty tough sell in the U.S. thus far. I guess it's not that surprising; no one wants to go to the movies to get depressed when they can get enough of that from simply watching the news. However with this movie, at least I came out feeling that 'finally' someone has gone on to show two sides of the story as opposed to just the one side where the US comes out on top. It really isn't always the case and I just don't feel like that's an accurate depiction of what is actually taking place.

Since the movie is concerned with issues of information, misinformation and disinformation, rather than weaponry and technology, at least one third of the yarn consists of brief phone conversations between Ferris and Hoffman, who's often seen around his pool or in his yard, playing with his children, while getting crucial info and making on the spot vital decisions that might affect the lives of Ferris and others.

There's Ferris who's out in the field trying to infiltrate an Al-Qaeda network – traveling between Jordan and Iraq – always communicating with Hoffman on his cell phone whilst Hoffman keeps a track of Ferris by way of satellites. There is an internal battle between Ferris and Hoffman where one sees how the head of CIA operations, Hoffman is concerned that national security is not breached – at any cost … whilst Ferris has to comply with orders, the humanitarian in him comes out in scenes where he would like to 'do the right thing' whilst not defying orders at the same time.

Ferris partners with Hani Salaam, Head of Intelligence in Jordan, to infiltrate the network – and much to his own dismay, Hoffman doesn't believe in sharing information with Salaam. In its own way, just that triangle between these characters shows how in real life, the people appointed to guard national security, are judgmental in their thoughts and outlook towards even those who are trying to work alongside them. Hoffman wants Ferris to go behind Salaams' back and Salaam has made it clear that if he feels he's being deceived then Ferris has to leave the country and he can't guarantee his safety.

What one will also find in this movie is the difference in attitude and approach in dealing with people … Salaam manages to get a mole into the terrorist network and his methodology of doing so is almost simple and basic in nature – but the full effect of that humanitarian method is highlighted at the end of the movie when Ferris is captured and on the brink of being killed. If we move along the other side of the ocean, we see Hoffmans' almost callous attitude towards people – if he has no use for them – he doesn't care of their outcome – he just wants results.

One must understand that terrorist acts are not conducted by people such as you or me – but more by a smaller segment of people who quite literally believe that their way of life is the best way of life. This applies to all cultures, castes, nationalities, religions – it is not something that applies to any one culture or religion. For some people, terrorism includes antisocial behavior by their own countrymen, and for some unless there's a bomb blowing up – it doesn't count as a terrorist act. We must learn to work together with people from all backgrounds if we want to achieve some sort of harmony … if we mistrust those around us – they are at some point – bound to reciprocate the same feelings – and then we complain that we are being judged !

In today's world – we are all an amalgamation of cultures regardless of our skin colour and background. No country is 'unique' anymore that it only has descendents of their own … People travel, people move, people make homes all over the world, and their children grow up in an environment that doesn't belong to them – but they make that new environment their home. There are some 'foreigners' in our 'home countries' that treat that country more as home than they do to their own native land. We as people actually care about those around us and will go out of our way to see all go right. Unfortunately those people are not at high levels of position to necessarily make a difference to the world. With the news and media creating such a ruckus on 'who is a terrorist' and 'weapons of mass destruction' – the higher ups are just abusing their position of authority to create a disillusioned world.

In a way, this movie offers a cynical yet unfamiliar perspective on how the war of terrorism is conducted, both as a matter of routine and as a highly risky, endless cat-and-mouth chase, which inevitably involves risking the lives of officers and civilians, all over the world. Maybe the movie was meant to reinforce the fact that the U.S. is completely helpless when it comes to intelligence in the Middle East, and that terrorism is part of a vicious cycle.

I don't even know where to begin .. and here I am trying to pen down my thoughts.

There's so much history and background to be given for one to even understand where my current thoughts are coming from. I'm not quite sure if I should go into the background or just get on with my current thoughts.

Now that makes me think – is it necessary for one to know of the background, history and thought process behind a statement for one to fully understand what the other person is actually saying or trying to communicate across ? It's probably true – however it's almost impossible to always know the processes that an individual uses to actually communicate a thought.

So does that imply that none of us are actually able to fully comprehend what another person is trying to say to us ? There are numerous people out there who tend to fragment their thoughts when putting it into actual speech … unless they are talking to like-minded people, there's a high chance that those around wouldn't actually understand what the hell that person was trying to say. It's almost like reading these thoughts right now …

You don't actually know what I want to communicate … why did I start this note ? what was the purpose ? If I told you that I wrote the first 3 paragraphs day before yesterday and just picked up from the previous paragraph today as I'm sitting here at work waiting for a colleague as I'm hitching a ride today .. wouldn't you wonder what the hell was I thinking when I actually started writing the note ?

Something actually happened last night when I went out – I'll probably write about it later at some point when I'm more calm about it .. but last night … Oh my god ! I just wanted to get inside the head of the person and yank at the part of the brain that was actually trying to communicate with me in the most unconventional way !

I think I'll stop now … It'll just get too confusing …. But when we meet in person one day – maybe you'll understand.
Yes ! You read the title correctly … =)

Now, you must be wondering – 'what' is a 'theobroma brownie' and 'how' can a 'brownie' be an 'orgasmic experience' ?? For those of you who have no clue what a 'Theobroma' brownie is – allow me to explain.

I presently live in Mumbai and have been here for just over a year. During my time here, and being the dessert lover that I am, I have taken it upon myself to be able to find 'good dessert' around the city to satisfy any of my cravings. The best part about eating here is that you always get baked products straight from the oven. The coffee deserves a couple of brownie points too.

Theobroma which means "food of the gods" lives upto its name as the apt word that comes to mind to describe the food is "heavenly."

A bit of background on Theobroma's - a tiny dessert café – tucked away towards the end of a popular shopping haunt known as Colaba Causeway in the heart of South Mumbai. One might even miss it if you aren't actually looking out for it. However, every time I have gone there, morning, noon or night – the place is buzzing with activity. I believe it's run by a Parsi lady as I met quite a sweet aunty behind the counter and all the staff were listening to her instructions.

I was having quite a tiring week after having squinted at excel sheets all day, every day for 8 hours at a stretch and decided that I needed a dose of dessert to perk my mood up. I turned up at Theobroma's and after debating out the chocolate levels in each brownie with that nice aunty I mentioned earlier – I ordered 6 Chocolate Overload Brownies ! Before you think that they were all for me (although I would have eaten them myself !) – I had very nicely considered my colleagues at work and thought to bring them some brownies back as well.

So here I was in the back of my car, with a box of brownies next to me – and despite it being only 10:30 a.m. – the sweet tooth got the better of me and I was ready to bite into this delightfully fluffy brownie … From the moment of that first bite, my eyes swooned shut and all I could do was just savor the various flavours that were creating tingling sensations around my mouth ! This swooning behavior with a few occasional whimpering sighs of pleasure continued until the last bite and it took much resistance not to eat another brownie.

As you can imagine, the rest of the morning and afternoon flew by, and I'd even had a smile on my face =) Towards tea-time, two colleagues and I sat down for what was our late lunch and nursed away our hunger pangs with some noodles. One of the ladies, had never heard of Theobroma's – and it gave me great pleasure in describing to her – the ultimate brownie experience. I had by now gotten her a piece of brownie and asked her to close her eyes and just enjoy the taste and the experience of her first chocolate orgasm ! It was just utterly delightful to watch someone eat a dessert for the first time and ENJOY it as much as you do ! So I'm a bit OTT on the dessert section of any menu – but in my world, why eat dinner when you can eat dessert ?

Amidst tons of giggles and sighs of pleasure – my colleague asked me 'How old are you?' and I replied '26 turning 27 soon' to which she looked up at me, and with a smile, told me 'You are a wise young woman to be able to discover this' !

Ladies won't you agree with me on this theory … Since most women find it hard to achieve an orgasm or are unable to experience the Big O with their partners – if there was a guaranteed way – for you to feel the pleasure that an orgasm can bring – each and every time – wouldn't You opt for the brownie =P

I think this would be an appropriate title considering my first-hand experience playing hide-and-seek with a Humpback Whale in the deep waters of Mauritius !!

I had been out on a catamaran cruise around the West coast of Mauritius with clients when our captain received a call that there had been a whale sighting just a little ahead of where we were cruising. Our catamaran sped through the waters and soon enough I managed to catch sight of the tail of the whale ....


I can't begin to even describe just how exhilarating it felt to be able to see .. I mean actually 'see' a live whale right before my eyes ... here was this mammoth size mammal that was at one point towards the brink of extinction that has since slightly recovered due to the introduction of a whaling moratoriums in 1996.

So here's this amazing mammal quite literally swimming circles around four catamarans and a speed boat ....until finally the whale has managed to surface in between the four catamarans giving all us wide-eyed passengers the ultimate photo opportunity !

"The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching (throwing two thirds or more of their bodies out of the water and splashing down on their backs) and slapping the water."



Since it was my first ever whale sighting here are a few things I noticed about this whale ...this one probably wasn't a full grown whale (but then again - as if I would know this !!), it had a relatively stocky body, with very obvious whitish bumps near the head.

The curious creature that I am - I turned to the google for all my answers ... I just wanted to know everything there was to know about these mammals :) So the knobs which I saw are actually on the head and lower jaw and are known as 'tubercles', which are actually 'hair follicles' and are a characteristic of the species.

Consider this ... thanks to Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic - we, as a population are increasingly aware of the various species of animals and marine life that are currently existent ... and I can bet that a relatively high percentage of those who watch these channels would want to actually 'see' these magnificent creatures up, close and personal.

Now most of us will at some time or the other, be able to take a land / jungle safari and therefore be able to perhaps do a 'walk with the big cats' or do a drive through and look at the other wildlife on land. However, to be amongst the larger marine mammals ... that's another story altogether ! Yes, we can experience the underwater world by snorkeling, and those more adventurous will go scuba diving ... and yet the fear of the unknown world of sharks and whales is enough to make even that percentile of the population think twice before taking a dive into the deep blue !

I feel honoured that I have had the opportunity to cruise alongside this gentle giant of the seas and watch it at it's playful best :)