My 2011 Highlights

It is hard to believe this year has almost come to an end so soon. Feels like we were anxiously awaiting its arrival in that, I remember how I spent the time between 11pm and 12am 2011 so well. Quite a lot has happened this year that I have decided to share some of my personal highlights.
Je suis un étudiant français. That right there translates to "I am a French Student". Yes, I am still on the journey to become a french speaker cause it is one of the languages that I love with a passion. French people sound so sexy with their accents when speaking English and I want to be one of those.
The Royal Wedding. I have to talk about this because I was amongst those who anxiously waited for the day with bated breath. I remember asking my brother if he would go see them since he lives around the the Westminster abbey and he told me, “there’s nothing special about them. They also wipe their own shit!” It was a beautiful ceremony and it made me believe that true love for some exists and that a commoner can also marry a royal as long as you are patient and believe in the relationship.
Lunch With Friends. Me and my closest friends started having once in a while lunch dates which we have started looking forward to. We pick a restaurant, meet their and then show the food what we are made of. It is a good way to stay connected to each other and also catch up since we are all at different stages in life and working.
Facebook Pages. I made a blog post about an interactive Facebook page for a reality TV show that I joined. The show is on hiatus at the moment and I miss the page. Being on it taught me so much about people and how they will always stick to their opinion, beliefs and give unwavering support to someone they love however flawed. And that; however much we may disagree, we have a TV show in common which we all love.
Beautifully Fierce. Out of the blue and with encouragement from my friends, I went ahead to create a blog about Fashion and Beauty which I look at as an outlet for a hobby that I love. I am so pleased with it despite the small number of followers which I can over look seeing that it is new. I went ahead to create both a twitter account and Facebook page for it as social media is not only influential, it is everything these days. I love the fact that my friends and others like it.
Friends With Babies. Most of my closest friends became first time mothers this year. I am so happy and proud of them naturally. Motherhood is an awesome experience…well not about the labor process but everything that comes after that. Three of them had boys and one had a girl whose name coincidentally starts with “A” which is the letter I had chosen for all my future babies. PS: I already have the names picked out with a few back ups if anyone I know uses one of my chosen ones.
First Anniversaries. This blog  and my blackberry are a year old. I started this blog when 2010 was coming to an end and got the blackberry around the same time. I am proud of this blog and I thank everyone that is following it because it means a lot. I never thought it would grow in followers as much as it has when I started it but people surprised me and for that I am very appreciative. I love my blackberry to bits in spite of all my friends’ suggestions that I upgrade to android technology. What they don’t know is that if I do; I wouldn’t be a blackberry boss…would I?
Friendship death. I had to let go of a friendship that meant so much to me this year. Sometimes, you have to do what you think is right even if it makes you seem shallow to others. It is quite impossible to maintain a friendship with someone who you keep hearing negative talk about from your own family and not make a decision. I do miss the friendship but blood is thicker than water as they say and I have to stick with my family no matter what.
All In My Head. There was a boy I used to talk with frequently and thought we were gong somewhere with it. Unfortunately, it was all in my head and probably a castle in the air on my part so…I am without a doubt very alone, single and NOT frightened. We deal with the cards we’re dealt with in this life.
Reading And Loving It. My reading has been great this year, in fact it has improved. I can’t complain because it has kept me occupied a couple of times. It is good to maintain a reading culture and habit for so many reasons; not only do you improve on your vocabulary, you are also introduced to quite a number of new words you’d hardly come across.
I don’t remember making a resolutions lists at the beginning of this year which makes this a little hard. Inasmuch as it would be nice to know if I have accomplished what I set out to do- I am happy with what has happened so far.  

On that note, I would like to wish y'all a great 2012 and May God continue to bless us with his infinite blessings, Love, health and happiness in the forthcoming year.

The Power Of Association

One of my best friends sent me this quote and as I went through it; I reflected on the people I surround myself with both family and friends. There are friendships that I let go of during the course of the year and as I did that: I realized that the fewer friends you have, the better. It is said that,”The friends we keep define who we are as a person”…well, I didn’t want to be defined by such people because who they are is not the person that I am.
I am proud of the set of friends that I keep and maintain now because they are good people. They have been there for me in more ways than they could ever know. It is partly due to them I am who I am at the moment and I am happy about it and I appreciate them more. Here goes the quote….

"The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.
Consider this: Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who is not going anywhere With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl, but if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.
"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses." The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad. Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends"…Colin Powell

Happy Holidays!

You know what I love about this time of year? The holiday spirit, knowing that the year is coming to a close and that people are in a celebratory mood. You know it is Christmas time when the trees come out in all their splendor at the beginning of the month. I love looking at the ornaments on the trees, tinsel and all the pomp and circumstance that comes with it, some people can be so creative.

 

I took these pictures from a place I spend half of my time and they had brought out the decorated tree in all its splendor and a Santa Claus came to keep it company the next day.

As you all know, I am a Muslim and we hardly celebrate Christmas and all but that doesn't forbid me from wishing y'all a good time in the spirit of this season. Happy Happy Holiday Season.

One Of My Favourite Songs.

Jang Hyuk

As you all know, I am super obsessed with Korean dramas. Recently, I watched one called The Slave Hunters where a royal turns rogue to hunt down escapee slaves and return them to their masters because the brother to the slave girl he loved killed his family, tried to kill him too and ran away with his sister. The siblings were slaves to the Prince’s family and being in love with a slave was forbidden.
It is one of the most heart-breaking, sad Korean dramas I have seen so far from beginning to end. The story line is simply delicious and the action is bad ass. It has the best fight sequences I have witnessed so far in a drama series.
I have to say, I am utterly in love with the sound track to this drama series. It is as sad as the drama with the most beautiful words you’d like to hear. The soundtrack is purely in Korean but thanks to You-Tube and subscribers who have the time to translate, it is easy to know what the song is all about.
I check out the video to the official soundtrack every time I go to you-tube. So I am sharing it with you.



Ps: Press the speech box on the video for the annotations/subtitles.

Most ANNOYING Telecom Company!

I subscribe to the most annoying telecom company for data services. You will not believe the number of times I have called their customer care in frustration and angst to let loose on their personnel. I am not proud of myself because I am at my weakest when angry. There are a number of times where my sanity kicks in and my good side shows up to feel bad for the personnel that will pick my call but it doesn’t last when I think of how they are robbing me blind yet I pay for their services to keep them in the market. My blood boils anew because these services providers are so frustrating for so many reasons;

Poor customer care. If there is one thing I hate, it is being treated like a nincompoop by the  customer care personnel of these telecom companies. First of all; their customer care numbers are always engaged or unavailable, they take forever to switch you to a personnel that is if you are very successful with the call. When you speak to a personnel about your problem with their network and service, they reply to you in a condescending tone with rudimentary solutions as if you are an illiterate! Most of the time they don’t even have a solution to the problem.

Lack of automated confirmation texts. The easy access numbers they put in place to help the clients are inefficient and quite ineffective because they don’t send you an automated confirmation message after the subscription. They take forever to send you a confirmation message. I had to wait 6 hours for one after subscribing to no avail that I ended up calling their customer care number once again to ask if my subscription was active and for how long.

Poor network monitoring. Apparently, it is now the duty of the client to monitor their network when using the internet. You are supposed to know your time of subscription(even if you didn’t get a confirmation message) and terminate the connection once your hours are used up.

Credit thieves. They take over and above the initial subscription fee if you have unused credit left on the card. They don’t terminate the connection  nor send you a message to let you know your subscription is over. They would rather take all that you had left on the card. Why take the remaining credit, do they not think there are other things to do with that money other than paying for their services?

Over crowded Network. I have a lot friends who use this telecom company as their service provider of choice and a times I wonder how they deal with all these issues on a regular basis. Whenever I call up any of my friends on this network, I try for two fruitless days due to their network issues. If the call is not being disconnected midway, they tell you how the number for the person is unavailable.  If I who uses their services once in awhile can be so frustrated in such a short time, how about them who are full time subscribers?

Their slogan is “WE CARE” which I find very inadequate for the services that they provide. They don’t care at all because if they did, they would not be robbing their customers in such a stealth manner and providing them with poor services!

To my knowledge, “Customer is king” wherever you go but to them you might as well be a servant who pays for them to mistreat you!