Amazing

The moment I heard this song, I became a fan. So meaningful, reminds us of our journey in life. Aerosmith – hats off to ye.

I kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
There were times in my life
When I was goin' insane
Tryin' to walk through
The pain
When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of a livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I
Would die

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a Permanent Vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk
I was out on the street,
Just a tryin' to survive

How to do business

Capital Suggestion

I came across this in a forwarded mail. Searching with the keywords ‘Capital suggestion, Dr Farrukh Saleem’ will take you to thousands of blogs or Google pages with the subject. I have not established the credibility of the article. Those who wish to read on may do so.

Capital suggestion By Dr Farrukh Saleem

12/9/2007

Here's what is happening in India:

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the  Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to  spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese.

In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000  points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries became a $ 100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.

In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks  ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is  Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India's richest but the second richest.

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storied building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance. The eighth  floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home.

In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination. Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries. In 2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan.

Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than is Delhi.

Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are  Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent  of IBM employees are Indians.

For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.

For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India now has more  than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire).

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left his  two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market  rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion).

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have  the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't?

INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS

And also to mention: They think of Construction of own nation, unlike other nations who are just concerned with destruction of others...

Simple answer to why the Indians fare better than the Pakistanis - They don't focus on religion all the time and neither do they spend time and  money in devising ways to kill their own and everyone else over religion.

The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist.

Valentines Day

Another version of how it all started.

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Source : A forwarded e-mail.

Boom Boom, yeah… I passed.

So, have you guessed what this post is about yet? As you may have gleaned, I did indeed pass my driving test. WOOOO HOOOOOOO! Was a bag of nerves all day, but the moment I got in the car, I became strangely calm. I managed to pass my driving test despite old ladies, couple of school kids and a lone dog conspiring to step out in front of my car at the most inopportune moments during the test itself. Thank God, I did it!

Why does passing this test feel so important to me? Probably because I started driving in India and had picked up a lot of bad habits as per the European standards. Well, now I have managed to eliminate those and adapt myself to the European standards.

I had a bit of freak out about the whole thing this morning as I was convinced that I would fail again by only one bad mark! But thankfully, that wasn't the case. I did manage to rack up five mistakes but they were all in Grade 2 (minor ones), and nothing too serious, more down to nerves than anything. I did have a bit of a brain melt with the questions at the start, was somewhat slow and took a moment to figure out where the back window demister switch was, though I was pointing straight at it.

I believe it was not just my motoring skills that enabled me to acquire a European licence. I couldn’t have done it without God’s grace. Now I need to drive without acquiring penalty points. A huge thanks to Anju my wife who kept encouraging me and my instructor Stephen Norton of Alert Motoring School without whose patient training and instruction, I would have failed.

Now I can drive on the motorways, hire a car in foreign parts and generally cause mayhem on the road.... :)

I have some tips for those who are about to take a test:

1. Don't rush it. Get as much practice as you can and only apply for your test when you feel confident that you are safe. If you're worried about the theory test, ask friends and family to test you to familiarise yourself with the questions and have a go at the probable test questions on rules of the road, and go through the road signs a couple of times.
2. Book the first available driving test of the day (Unless you indicate that you are available to take a cancelled slot). If you take your test early in the morning you will have less time to worry about it.
3. Don’t tell your friends the test date. If everyone knows you are going for the test, you create the additional stress of trying to live up to your friends expectations. It's OK to let your parents know, I am sure they will give you all the support you need.
4. Don’t listen to ‘horror stories’. There are many stories about failed tests. Some may even be true. Just concentrate on your performance.
5. Get the timing right. Take the test at the right time. Try to book the test so it does not coincide with other stressful events (just prior to school exams or in the middle of wedding preparations etc).
6. Go to the right test centre. No good going to a test centre were your friends have all failed. This will only lose you confidence. Go to the centre were they all pass! (Kidding..)
7. In your last two lessons, ask your instructor to concentrate on the manoeuvres you find most difficult.
8. Do a practice run or a ‘Mock Test’. The instructor should be very realistic and the student must take it reasonably serious. (I wanted to do one with Stephen, but he was all booked up so I didn’t get a chance at it).
9. Practice in your head It's been proven that you can improve your ability to perform coordinated tasks by imagining doing them.
10. Examiners are only human. Your test is one of possibly eight on the examiners sheet that day. Don’t try to please him/her.
11. You do not need to be perfect. Concentrate on the essentials. If you make a mistake, keep calm and concentrate on your driving. The mistake may not result in failure.
12. Don’t worry about silence in the car. It can be daunting sitting beside a stranger, who seems to just grunt: 'turn right, turn left'. Avoid thinking the examiner doesn’t like you. If there is a little chit-chat, be happy, but don’t expect it.
13. You will pass. Both instructor and pupil must be convinced that the result will be a pass. An attitude ‘lets have a go at it’ may produce a pass, but is exhausting on the nerves.
14. Don’t take pills to calm your nerves. This only slows your reaction and performance.
15. Get a good night's sleep before the test.

12 THINGS TO DO ON THE DAY OF YOUR TEST

1. Think positively. As soon as you get up in the morning, tell yourself that you are going to get through the day calmly.
2. Make sure you eat a good breakfast. Even though you may be nervous and have lost your appetite eating breakfast is very important. Research has shown that your brain needs food to concentrate, so give yourself some food for thought!
3. Dress comfortably Make yourself feel good.
4. Arrive in plenty of time You should be present in the test centre at least ten minutes before the appointed time of your test. If you are late the test will be cancelled, and the fee will be forfeited.
5. Drink Water just before you enter the test centre - but not much. Just enough to relax. Drinking water helps you relax and provides oxygen to the brain. This helps you stay focused. But don’t drink too much of water or you might feel the need to make use of the toilet.
6. Just before the test Relax by taking a few slow deep breaths. Clench and then relax your muscles to relieve tension.
7. Remember that some nervousness is normal and that it can improve your performance.
8. Listen carefully to the examiner's instructions Act on them in good time, and ask for them to be repeated if necessary.
9. Give the examiner a beautifully smooth drive, one that both of you can enjoy. The examiner just wants to see what you would normally do - nothing that you do not already know.
10. If you make a decision that you think could be misjudged by the examiner, explain your reasons while you drive.
11. If you come across a new situation Hold back and assess it carefully before you decide to proceed - and be prepared to change your decision if necessary.
12. Say your prayers if you believe in God.

Do everything you can to get to the highest standard possible before going in to take your test – extra lessons, lots of practice and time spent reading the road as a passenger will all help you raise your game and feel more confident about your test.

By the evening before your test your instructor will have taught you all he can and believe you’re ready to pass. You are ready to pass. All you need to do is believe in yourself and by this time tomorrow you’ll be the proud owner of your very own driving licence! All the time, money and stress will have been worth it.

If I could do it -then anyone could do it. I remember Renjith, Aswin, Aloshi and Chinnan holding on to their lives when I started to drive back in India. :)

Ramblings of a Lazy Mind

Wishing all my readers a belated Happy New year. Hmm, I must be the last person on earth to wish someone a happy new year. Well,

I’ve been so lazy about this blog recently. I promise I will do a proper update soon and then try and keep it a little more regularly.

There’s so many things I want to write about so I’ll try and get them sorted in my head and scribble them down. As for now, all my thoughts are concentrated on my Irish Driving Test tomorrow. I am cent percent confident, but the tester needs to feel confident that I could do it. Fingers crossed……

Wish me luck please.