Rebecca with America part 5 (Some funny moments)

Some funny moments from the beginning till the end of journey.

-When we landed at Abu Dhabi airport and we were heading towards the waiting lounge, my brother spotted Bobby Deol going. I ran after him, trying hard not to act like some desperate Pakistani. :D I went to him and asked him if he could make a picture with me. How will you feel when you get a displeased answer of how are you L He could have asked me the same question out of courtesy but he didn’t. He sounded so I-don’t-give-a-shoot that he made me actually doubt on myself ‘do I look like some desperate to you?’ Anyway. He was still very young and fresh and handsome and his voice is of course very manly. I was to upload that picture on Facebook but I seemed like an over excited girl with a wide teeth smile. Moral of the story, DON’T EVER RUN AFTER ANY CELEBRITY.

-When we reached at the Paris airport, the airport didn’t attract me as much as the washrooms did. :D Pink, orange, yellow and red colors looked too beautiful to even use the washroom. The wash basins were agrestic enough to put me in confusion ‘do they even have water here to clean hands?’ It was like a snooker table. I tried to move my hands everywhere and figure out the where the water comes from and luckily the water tap finally turned on out of nowhere. NOWHERE.

-A tip from my side, whenever you don’t understand what foreigners are saying because they speak English that crosses your mind, always reply ‘oh yeah okay’ with a smile. I always did this whenever I failed to understand shopkeepers’ words. Trust me it always works. Nothing goes wrong in the end. Once I went to this shopkeeper lady and enquired about the watches. I didn’t get a single word of her reply. I came back and sent my brother again to ask her the same question because I would have sounded some stupid to go back to her and ask the same question again. *face palm*.

-Whenever I had to go somewhere I used to start preparations early because in the beginning the thought of load shedding used to click my mind always *I should iron my clothes first otherwise light will go off*, *I should straighten my hair immediately before electricity goes off* Sigh! Until I became habitual of living an American life, my trip was over already.

-One thing I felt really upset about is in Pakistan my name ‘Rebecca’ has got a huge importance. People tell me how unique my name is every time they hear my name. But in America, name Rebecca is very common. Everywhere I went I used to come across this name mostly. Be it a shop, designer, movie or whatever. I felt really small there after so many Rebeccas. L

On my return journey to Pakistan, I kept on using the TV from LA till Dubai. I watched movies, shows, played games and listened music. When we landed at Dubai airport I realized my TV screen has got hanged. I wished nobody catches me. Dikha di na apni asal auqat. :D

We came across Sahir Lodhi at Karachi International airport. He is not Bobby Deol so you better understand what I am trying to say. :D


USA has its own charms. There is no dust there, rules and regulations are followed properly and society is disciplined. There are some small cities that target Muslim population there. Today it’s just the small cities, tomorrow it can be highly populated cities as well. I have my own plans here in Pakistan. I have set my mind accordingly. I will never want to leave this country. People tell me it’s a stupid decision not considering the biggest opportunity that is already there waiting for you but let me tell you it is us who suppose the opportunity is for us, actually it’s someone else’s chance to avail when you don’t really want to grab that opportunity. You make your ways, not that the ways are made for you.

Happy Pakistan! Happy Blogging! J

Rebecca with America part 4 ( Food in LA)

FOOD

I am a foodie and now not only I just enjoy eating but lately I have developed my interest in cooking as well. Cooking makes me feel really productive. Anyway. To foodies I know there is nothing more thrilling than trying new food items and so in America, I also used to get excited every time I got a chance to try new food.

Pakistanis are in hunt of only Pakistani food in any foreign country they travel to because we Pakistanis like desi spicy food. Without spices there is no life in cooking. In fact, desi people don’t enjoy their meal until their nose starts running and eyes getting all teary. *sniff sniff*. The other problem that is faced by Muslims in non-Muslim countries is every time you have to make sure if you are dining out, you must not order any pork or bacon or anything that is haram. Now this really is a big trouble because not every restaurant there serves chicken recipes.

Starting from where the food struggle began: the plane. God saves us from the meal they serve in airplanes! No matter how expensive and good the airline is, food they serve is never ever tasty. Not even for once, mistakenly. Travelling USA all the way from Pakistan is a really long journey and it becomes terrible when your stomach cringes of hunger. I only preferred juices and desserts every time they served us the brunch. Sometimes even the sweet doesn’t taste good. So overall the entire plane journey is very torturing.

After landing in LA, it was almost 12 in the midnight and I especially was so hungry but I didn’t think it would be okay to tell my uncle that I was hungry. When we reached home, it was nice of him to offer us some pizza and doughnuts. I could have eaten a whole box of pizza and more than one doughnuts because first of all both of them were so very yummy and secondly I was very hungry obviously. The doughnuts were from Yum Yum donuts. Throughout my trip I wanted to eat those doughnuts one more time but I felt shy of asking anyone there to buy me doughnuts. This wish of mine was left an unfulfilled wish. Now if I talk about Pizza there, Gina’s pizza and California Pizza Kitchen known as CPK’s pizzas were the best, also the pasta. Besides American food we got to eat Chinese, Persian and Mexican food out of which Mexican was THE WORST FOOD. The more I fled from this food, the more I had to eat it. Whenever any of my family members had to take us for Mexican food, I couldn’t resist them. Mexican cuisine included Tacos, Nachos, and Burritos and there are so many food items that I don’t know about their names but they sure tasted really unpleasant to me.

Chinese food there was the real Chinese food. Not like the one we eat here in Pakistan. Persian food was more or less same as that of Pakistani food so that one was my favorite too.There is a restaurant there which is very famous for selling an extra ordinary tasty burger. We tried that too but it just didn’t satisfy me as much as I heard from people. The burger was good but not thaaaat good.  

Chick-fil-A!! This was one of my favorites although I didn’t get to eat much of its food just the French fries and an Oreo shake and I am a big fan of Chick-fil-A because of both these things. The best thing about dining in restaurants is the waiters don’t let your glass stay empty. They refill your drink until you tell them to stop. We were allowed to refill our glasses as many times as we want but they don’t charge us for the refills we do. Coming to desi food i.e. Pakistani and Indian food. There was a Pakistani restaurant that served really yummy food. Spicy biryani, tasty nihari, mouth-watering qorma and many other items so whenever any gathering takes place in someone’s home, they order food from that restaurant and I can tell you out of all the foods we enjoyed this restaurant’s food or you can just say that the hotel was being run through us only. :D

Artesia is place, basically a mini India with Indian shops and restaurants where 95 percent Indian community is found. Evening snacks like Gol Gappa, Chhola Chaat, Bhel puri, Chhola Bhatura are served very delicious there. All kinds of sweets, icecream and falooda, rasmalai etc. Pakora samosas are considered must with evening tea.
Potato chips, biscuits, toffess and even the ice cream did not match the Pakistani taste. They were totally different which I did not enjoy. God knows which taste is the real one.
In the end I must say cakes there are very pretty and tasty. J

Rebecca with America Part 3

Paul Getty Museum:

Museums are cool plus sometimes boring as well. This museum did not fail to surprise me with its architecture, the things they got there inside and the environment. Paul Getty was a collector of art and antiquities and so this whole museum has got only his collection from very olden times, say 1600s or even older than that. Every piece of art had its description written beside it which I tried to understand but there was no way I could get it into my mind. The paintings about the prophets, religions, holy books, antique furniture etc. were really eye catching. The only thing I was worried about was I was going with all men only, my uncles, my brother and father. I did not really get bore as I thought I would be but I sure was stuck between my brother and father in back seat of car. :/  and the good thing about this place is my pictures here came really nice ;)
They have different kinds of plants there. One of them was hydrophobic, which does not take water and it seemed insane to me. 

Disney Land:
Now this is the place everyone adoressss! There are very few places which are loved by both older and younger people and Disney land is one of them. It’s a whole new world in there where I could not help imagining myself living in those princessy castles and leading a life of fantasy. There were some very cute rides leaving very beautiful surprises for you inside. It takes about two days to visit both the parks of Disney land but we managed to see both the parks in one day with not going on all the rides. We left for this place at 8 o’ clock in the morning and spent a whole tiring day till 10 pm. The sun there was so hot all day and the worst part was the waiting lines on each ride were for about either 45 minutes or even 90 minutes or more than that so we had to wait in lines under this bad scorching heat of sun and after waiting for such big time, we only get to enjoy the ride of hardly 5 minutes. The best part of this place was the electrical parade which happens in the night time. Oh my God! I cannot describe how beauuuutiful it was to watch all the Disney characters dressed in their colorful lighted outfits. I bet if you go there you might never would want to come back from there. Disney Land gave us a farewell with the most amazing fireworks I had ever experienced in my life. I thought this was going to be the only place I enjoyed throughout my trip unless I went Universal Studios.

Universal Studios:
This place is like a dream come true where you get to see everything behind the scenes and you realize how deceptive the TV is, yet everything looks so damn real. The first small world I was excited to go in was the Harry Potter land. There were so many thrilling rides and everything there was made so so so real that I would have died to live there in Hogwarts. So there this was a ride called Harry Potter and the forbidden journey. It sounded so exciting to me and the ride had recently started in that time. What happened next was I never expected from myself. I never ever close my eyes no matter how scary the 3D rides are but this! Oh, my God! They literally made you feel like you are flying in the air on your broom with Potter and his friends. I squinted my eyes throughout the ride. I did not enjoy the ride with my eyes totally open. I let my cap slip a little so that the brim comes before my eyes and I can tell everyone that I couldn’t see anything because of the fast motion of the seats, my cap slipped down. Smart huh! :D Mostly the rides there were 3D and worth the fun. One more awesome experience I had there was the Jurassic Falls ride. The ride was slow and steady and beautiful all the way but when ended…Dude! I dare you to go on that ride. :D


                               


Griffith Observatory Park:
This is a perfect place if you want to witness a beautiful sunset. I had never experienced such beautiful sunset in my life. The view of Hollywood sign and seeing the closing of the day is all you would ask at that time. Griffith Observatory is all about Science and Physics and Chemistry and all the subjects that you might have hated in schools. There a show takes place every night where they show and tell you how the world came into being, how much efforts did it take to a number of scientists to explore the world and how the world is still expanding. They made us show the Jupiter planet through their some very complex telescope. There sure was a circular yellowish-orange thing up there in the sky but God knows if it really was Jupiter.
There were so many things there that brought back horrible memories of my school and college. Worst of them was seeing not-so-fun Periodic Table.

We paid a two days visit to Dallas as well. I would say Dallas is the American Islamabad. Not much crowd, no street lights because people want their privacy and no traffic and total silence. Dallas was fun but not as much as LA. J

Rebecca with America part 2 (Places of LA)

 SOME OF THE PLACES I HAVE BEEN TO.

LA has not got much places to visit for those who are residents here but it is two times more interesting for the tourists again. 

Swap Meet:
A market that when I went there I realized it’s the American Sunday Bazar, second version of Sunday Bazar in Karachi, Pakistan. You find second hand things there in comparatively cheaper prices which are easily affordable. Not only this, but the outer as well as inner appearance also made me thought it is actually the Sunday Bazar. I used to love shopping in Sunday market because no matter how useless the thing is but you find it attractive when it is sold in cheap rates. I thought I would enjoy this Swap Meet too but I realized either I have just grown up that I don’t enjoy cheap shopping anymore or the stuff there was not much appealing. So I bought just a bag pack for my school which are ordinarily found in Latifabad as well. :D

Hollywood:
My first exciting place to visit in America. I was so excited to see the famous Hollywood sign up there and I just wished if I could ever go there. I had always wanted to walk on the Walk of Fame where you could read the names of well-known Hollywood celebrities but that street was so crowded that I actually saw just the name of Bugs Bunny and no one else’s. The real thing that was most enjoyable in Hollywood was Madame Tussaud’s. There they have wax statues of random Hollywood stars for you to strike pose and take pictures with them. There were so many wax statues but I chose only few for the pictures whom I knew because there was no fun in taking pictures with the ones whom I didn’t know. To me it’s like the ones who take autographs of the TV stars they don’t know about. Rihanna was one of the statues whom I took picture with and realized she came into my dream once randomly and was speaking in Sindhi out of nowhere. Weird!

Beaches:
Beaches there in LA are so beautiful and so fresh that even someone with aqua phobia would fall in love with the waters. I have been to a number of beaches there some of them are, Fishermen village, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes and Laguna Beach. My favorite one was Palos Verdes. The fresh breeze there makes you feel like you want to spend the rest of your life sitting there watching the waves of water pushing each other and hiding in one another. Palos Verdes had this top cliff which if you climb then it is probably going to be the best view you would ever want to see. You won’t be able to differentiate between the water and sky from there.
I wasn’t into beaches before but such pretty views are worth capturing. 

Downtown:

Downtown LA is where all the tall buildings are and where most of the people have their jobs and offices and businesses. It’s that area of the city where mostly blacks are homeless and drunk, where people are not classy and where robberies happen. So yeah it’s not just the Pakistan that is not safe but every well developed and well organized country has this flaw.
So actually you cannot call it the safest area. I paid a visit there with my cousins in night time and night there is so sparkling with all the twinkling lights. There is this very elegant library called The Old Book Store. Since I have lately become a book lover, I was literally in love with that library and the architecture. The organization of books, the colored paintings, those antique chairs and benches everything was just so appealing to me. It’s the perfect place for the ones who are insanely in love with books and want a very calm and friendly environment. Trust me, you will get there all you desire for. Though the prices of books there were out of my reach but if only I had enough time, I could have done reading at least a book. 

Sky space:
Here comes one of my most favorite parts of the trip, Sky space!!! It’s a building where people go on 70^th floor and enjoy the beautiful view of LA from there. It looks so pretty in the night especially because of all the lighted LA. Scenes like these are hard to write in words but I wish everyone who loves travelling should put this place down in their travel list. I sat there watching the moon and moon staring at me back. I wondered so many thoughts sitting right there and gazing the artificial lights and natural light of moon. I saw far far away thinking about where this city ends where the darkness strikes, where the world ends and what my people back in Pakistan must be doing and who possibly must be missing me :D Basically at this point you will find yourself amazed at the beauty of LA and your never ending thoughts.
There was a glass slide too from 70th floor to 69^th. I so wanted to do that slide but what stopped me was my cousin reminding me ‘but it’s a glass slide. It’s a glass!!’ again and again. This telling her held me back and made me scared even though I was not, partly. That is the time I still regret till today for not going on that slide. I realized we are going to die anyway one day, stopping yourself from the thing you love is like dying every day in regrets.

Rebecca with America.

‘America’, the word itself sounds so beautiful and appealing that people think it is a country where people live an alluring and comfortable lifestyle. Lesser do people know about the real America, those who acquire important knowledge, those who live here and those who hate America of course. The real America is paying tax with every single candy, giving up your comfort for survival and still gain just less than half of the salary and worst of all not having water in public washrooms. Gross! Every coin has two sides, America is one of those countries that you will love and hate at the same moment.
 I experienced America for a month, enjoying the beautiful county Los Angeles. LA has no night life but it still manages to stay beautiful showing off its breath taking mountain views from far away. LA has got the worst daylight you will ever witness. The sun here happily tans you taking no long.
My life there in America had been full of adventure, good and bad. I am recalling all those moments by writing. J

The journey from Green flag to Red and Blue.

I was so excited when I heard we, I and my family got the visa after waiting for about three months after our interview. When every morning I used to wake up and asked my mom if the visa arrived? The answer in no always made me lose all my hopes. I thought all my shopping will go in vain and that I will never be able to enjoy my new clothes at some new place. Because when you make your mind on something and that doesn’t happen, you are heart-broken of course. Also, I was worried if I would miss my school and so it happened of which I was afraid but thanks to my teachers that cooperated with me and were lenient enough to let me enjoy my trip with no tensions or work load at my back.
Previously, I used to complain to my parents that I have never travelled in an airplane. Now that it just happened, it kept happening that I started feeling nauseous thinking about the plane every time. We travelled from Karachi to Abu Dhabi to Paris. Yes Paris! But couldn’t see the Eiffel Tower sadly. Okay that doesn’t end here. From Paris to Boston and from there we were supposed to take a flight that landed directly in LA and so we sent our luggage in that flight too but I don’t exactly know what just happened but we missed our flight because of some misprinting in our boarding passes. That was the time I thought we would spend our whole night at airport like some roadside beggars. :D but luckily we got the tickets which instead of going to LA, was going to Dallas first and then LA but again this flight got delayed and we got the boarding passes for another flight that went to New York first and then LA FINALLY.

It seemed to me like we were on an American airports spree or something. The journey in airplane is always pathetic. I had carried my laptop and a book if in case I thought I get bore but none of them was likely to end my boredom in plane because you literally hate everything when you are travelling in such packed and tiny seat where you can’t even straighten your legs and wish to punch and hit and kick the crew members for no reason and to make it even worse they serve you the most tasteless food on Earth. Sometimes the meal served in airplane is just inconceivable. You cannot figure out what that food is in front of you. Okay how about taking some nap? Nah. Nap is not in the dictionary of travelling in aero plane. Overall, it was a really tiring journey with five pathetic take offs and five landings. When we landed in LA I couldn’t believe that I have finally made it till here until we realized our luggage has not arrived. Yes, another tragedy. We spent our whole night sleeping in uncomfortable clothes and the next half day in those same ugly clothes. When our luggage was finally home, I had tears of joy just like the first time when I heard about the good news of my niece’s birth. JUST KIDDING. (    About the bags)

The revival of Pakistan's film industry (Review of Actor in law)

Review of Actor-In-Law.

By Rebecca Ursani.

This evening I went to watch this movie expecting it to be a comic movie only but it was way too above my expectations. This Lollywood movie directed by Nabeel Qureshi with Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat and Om Puri in lead roles did a very nice job. This movie actually highlighted the main problems Pakistan is going through. The story is about an ordinary guy whose only dream is to become an actor and he is really passionate about it but his father is likely to mock him all the time for not becoming a lawyer like he is and thinking about achieving some very stupid profession like acting. In the beginning Fahad, despite of giving so many auditions finds himself rejected. After some time he happens to fight a case for the rights of poor people and luckily wins the case and thinks of himself as a capable actor. 

The days go on and he becomes famous for fighting for public interest and winning the cases constantly. On the other hand, Mehwish Hayat is a journalist and belongs to Parsi community and she is the one who records Fahad while he is fighting some case and gets him on TV channels. Meanwhile Om Puri is gone on Hajj pilgrimage, Fahad enjoys his constant victory. On Om Puri’s return he finds out about his son’s drama he had been playing after him and kicks him out of his home disappointingly. When Mehwish figures out about Fahad’s reality, she records a video in his defense, saying that nobody cares about what he did for public interest but now as his real face is exposed, everyone has stepped against him. In the end Fahad’s case is fought by his own father and surprisingly the win the case and Fahad is released of accusation. The story ends with Fahad proposing Mehwish.

All the weaknesses of our society have been showed in this movie. How a woman is bound to live according to the men in his life and how a woman cannot speak for her own right because of IZZAT of her family, the load shedding which has become like a life partner of our lives now sadly, how politicians react before and after the elections and so on. 

 I personally liked Fahad a lot in this movie. Mehwish was better in this movie than Jawani Phir Nahi Ani. The music was good but not extraordinary. Picturization and production was really well too. I actually enjoyed this movie a lot that I had to write a review on this. 

You are never you.

I am me, I love myself, I can’t change, this is the way I am, love me or leave me, accept me the way I am is just talking big. None of the sentences does anyone really mean while stating. It is just either they are over confident about themselves or do not trust themselves at all.


We are most of the time struggling with our own selves as to what we actually are, what personality we possess and what do we aim for. Those who cannot recognize themselves, opt for abandoning their homes and all their property and belongings just to find who they really are or rather prefer spending time in isolation to figure out who are they and what they want. This is total madness. Because there is no way you can identify yourself. The one who is living your life is you, the one who performs daily life activities depending upon moods is you, the one who is dealing with different people and numerous problems of your life with different methods depending upon the situation is you and nobody else. You keep changing in your life at every mode, every day and every step.
 
People find difficulty in choosing the way of their life, the way they want to treat people and the way they want to be treated, pretending to like someone when they are not really fancying them, acting to be one who they do not want to be because oh! they have to please their favorite person, appearing to be in agreement with the decisions their loved ones take knowing that they will never get along with those decisions. An average person plays different roles in life like a parent, sibling, friend merely but, it is very lesser observed that we play so many more roles beside these such as a happy man, grumpy mood, selfish mode and other such uncanny roles. Like a sky appears to be in different shades when the sun goes into hibernation, human being also goes through certain pigmentation upon his life. 

As we grow up and step out experiencing adventures of the world and witnessing God’s creativity, we undergo changes in our self as the water never stops its motion and is glistened when the light is reflected upon it, similarly we vary constantly unknowingly. 

Personality can never be incarcerated; it flies and grows like a dragon. 

Support me- Clean our surroundings.

Avoid littering!

By Rebecca Ursani.

               

Why do you keep your home clean of dust and rubbish? Because you love your home and live in it. Why do you not keep your country or your home town clean, are you not the resident of it?

We call ourselves the educated and honourable citizens but do not act like one. Let me tell you why. We think our government is responsible for the present condition of our country but we do not bother to look at our own shortcomings. We keep blaming the local government and other citizens for not keeping the environment clean but do not take some time and think over what are our deeds actually. Yes, the local government is responsible for not taking its duty seriously but let me remind you that we are all equally responsible for the squalidness because we are the ones who are littering around, not the government. Spreading of contagious disease, increment of pollution are the results of our own negligence.

Throwing the garbage around, spitting the betel wherever it seems appropriate, putting the trash intentionally just beside the dustbin and on the places where it is forbidden are such naïve acts and denote how irresponsible one could ever be regarding the cleanliness. We cannot just wring hands and wait until the local government takes any step. Along with the local government it is the citizens’ responsibility too to keep the surroundings clean. If we cannot clean the areas we can at least try not to dump waste on the roadsides. Imagine a waste threw by you and when the life of that waste is over, it goes to God and complains that you just kicked it somewhere it does not belong.

They say the first impression is the last impression and this is what exactly happens when someone out of your area visits you. When they enter your area the first impression about you is your zone where you live. If your area is not tidy and the waste is oozing from the trash bin then unfortunately your guests might feel sorry travelling to your home. Either forbid your guests from coming your home which is a bad option of course or keep your region clean which is an easy option only if you are willing.

There have been several campaigns running by the young citizens to clean some areas of Hyderabad to which they deserve some appreciating awards or at least a pat on their backs. While the young citizens are doing their jobs, they are praised by the elders but when time comes to older citizens to go on a cleaning mission they think it is a disgust to them. Every person’s job is to keep the environment unpolluted if not then at least when you have something to throw, look for a dustbin and dump in it. No matter if you are travelling. Just wait for your arrival at your destiny and then seek for a trash bin. If you are waiting for others to do this first then I tell you I am the one who does not go the wrappers throwing around. I always keep the waste with me until I find a dustbin.

So when are you playing your role?

How to raise a child.

Veiled but real

 By Rebecca Ursani

Raising a child is not only about giving birth, growing them up, providing them with all the luxuries, basic necessities and good education and get them married. Bringing up the child is no less than an art. It’s a job that not everyone parent can do smoothly. 

When you bring your baby in this world and welcome him/her in your life, you make a self-promise and to your child as well that you will do your best to give your kid a good and a blissful life and that you will prove yourselves as the ideal parents so that when your child grows up he or she realizes how lucky it is to have parents like you. Unfortunately, some of the parents fail to come up with their own expectations. 

What a grown up actually demands?
 

Parents of course are very much concerned about their kids and their life and future but somewhere at some point they lack the support they are supposed to give their child. An infant is the attention seeker the whole time and luckily gets successful in becoming the center of attention but when it grows up, parents have no time to listen to their hearts. They don’t give an effort to know what is bothering their kid and think their child is thinking on some very futile matter. A grown up kid needs someone in its family who understand his/her problems and with whom he/she can share feelings and the matters that are bothering him/her. What happens is when they doesn’t get any good response or when they have no one to hear them from their family, they seek for someone outside their family on whom they can count and a shoulder to cry on. The results of being ignorant towards their child can lead him/her to depression and committing some serious self-destruction.

Let your child express its ideas. 

It is mostly experienced by the younger ones in the family that they are not supposed to involve themselves in the family matters or some serious sort of issues. They are forbidden to speak and share their ideas in the matters they think can be solved to a little extent. They are considered trifling and stupid enough to raise their voice in the elderly matters. If you don’t let your child speak in their own home then they will never be able to speak up in their social life and would never be able to step forward in their life confidently. 

Don’t pamper your child.

It is good that you take care of your child’s every need and it is even better that you guide them whenever they go off the target. But it is not commendable that you fulfill their every illicit need and support them whenever they stumble. Loving them unconditionally and giving your whole time to your kid does not necessarily mean you are not going to leave your child alone anywhere. Despite the fact that you adore them, they will never be able to polish themselves on their own. When they will step into their practical life, they will feel like a dummy gazing at the long way to head. They will not know how to recover from a small wound, how to cope up with the problems actively and how not to rely on anyone.

Do not impose your decisions on your grown-ups.

It is true that parents are worried and bother about their children at every stage of life but it is not appreciable to impose their ideas and decisions over their children because if they do so, their child might just act upon their decision but he/she will never be able to accept it with the bottom of its heart which means he/she will never be wholly interested in what his/her parents have chosen for them. Be it the education, job, marriage or whatever. Because if anything wrong happens with them they will surely blame their parents for not letting them decide their own path.
Let your child explore the world.

Take some time out of your busy routine and make your child knowledgeable about almost everything. Answer their questions patiently and properly and get their minds clear regarding the problems that are vague in their mind. Take them to the places they have always wanted to see or get them informed everything about the place. This is the way their minds will get sharp and their observation will be getting better and better.


P.S. I am not a parent and the above suggestions are written just by observing. J Good luck to the parents to be! 

Help our Earth- Reduce Global Warming.

Live Smartly!

By Zain Hyder Shah

Before coming to the main point, it is very much important to learn how we are the reason of the massive destructions on Earth. History defines that before industrial revolution the life of human beings and the life of other species on Earth were healthy and smart. 

Have we ever thought why the natural occurring disaster like flood and storm have increased? Why people die by heat stroke? I do not think many people among us were aware about the heat stroke before the deaths happened in Pakistan by heat wave in 2015. Let’s take a close look on this.

The Earth is a planet which is covered by a thin layer of atmosphere and the greenhouse gases. Because of the atmospheric layer the Earth varies its temperature. It can never be so much cold or so much hot. It is an eco-friendly environment where human beings and other species can live without facing atmospheric troubles. Yes but this theory was much more relevant before the rise of industrial revolution. Before 1800 the Earth sphere was covered with the green plants, glaciers and it was safe from pollution.

The industrial revolution made things easy here. But few of us are aware that how much destructive it became after 20th century. The rise of Greenhouse gases is the main reason behind the devastating increase of global warming. Now I will tell you how we are responsible to produce these gases which are the reason of global warming.

 According to the new research by scientists 87 percent emission of carbon dioxide come from burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and industrial process such as cement manufacturing. Human create majority of methane emission by intensive livestock farming, landfills waste and bio fuels. The main reason behind global warming is the emission of fluorinated gases namely (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride) are almost created by the humans and are used in industrial processes. The HFCs are used inside home appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners. Emission from these products are caused by gas leakage during the manufacturing process and if disposal of gas is not done properly then HFC continues to leak out of it. Deforestation is also a main reason behind the rise of global warming,

Since 2000, 15 top warmest year of Earth had been recorded. 2015 broke all the records by largest margins. If we continue living like we are, we can actually destroy our plant completely and our offspring will suffer by extremely harmful diseases. Scientists claimed the rise of greenhouse gases can completely shatter the lives on Earth by coming year of 2024, and it will be a dangerous place for us. You would probably be thinking how we can reduce it, here are some ways which can actually reduce the global warming.

 

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Buying products with minimal packaging will help to reduce waste. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. 

2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning

Adding insulation to your walls and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home. Turn down the heat while you’re sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Install a programmable thermostat because setting it just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

3. Replace Your Light Bulbs

Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. If every family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.

4. Drive Less and Drive Smart

Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore the York Region Transit system and check out options for carpooling to work or school.

When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products

Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.

6. Use Less Hot Water

Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 15 years old. Buy low-flow shower heads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households.

7. Use the "Off" Switch

Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, stereo and computer when you're not using them. It’s also a good idea to turn off the water when you’re not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing.

8. Plant a Tree         

If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

 

9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company

Many utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.

10. Encourage Others to Conserve

Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbours and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.

                                               Help the Lives, Help our planet Earth!

Life of Colors!

Unnoticed but colorful.

By Rebecca Ursani

There are certain things in our life that go unnoticed. In fact, every least of all thing in this world is not useless, they are useful in way or the other. One of those things that we experience in our daily life but do not give it much importance at time, is the colors.
This might sound a little useless and lame to you but if you scrutinize everything your life is revolving around, you will be a better observer and a successful person.

As there are many aspects and different angles of every object, colors also have good and not appealing aspects. Let me tell you how and how many. Colors are something everyone is familiar with, not even an infant can ignore the colorful objects. Colors are attractive and unattractive at same time. 

If we start counting the colors, we will not reach the end of the list of colors because there are uncountable beautiful colors. As colors are thought to be stunning to some people, the same colors horrify some people. Chromo phobia is the fear of colors in which people are afraid of certain colors and avoid to see those colors. For instance, red color reflects the image of blood or danger, yellow is thought to be the sign of danger by getting stung by a bee or burning in scorching heat under the light of yellow sun, black color involves the sign of mourning and death to someone and on and on.

Now, colors in chromo phobia have also a special value that every color’s fear is known by a particular name, for orange, chrysophobia, for black, melano phobia, for yellow, xantho phobia, for red it is erythro phobia and so on. If we talk about flowers, every flower is given the importance according to its respective color. Red is the flower of love, pink is the color of appreciation, white is the color of spirituality and yellow flower if the sign of friendship. However, not all people believe on the significance of colored flowers. 

How about talking about clothes? Clothes, especially by women are wore accordingly and also are matched with the seasons and weather. Light colors are preferred in the summer seasons like light blue, pink, lemon yellow etc. and dark colors are wore in the winter seasons. At times age is also affected by the colors. Aged people do not fancy to wear vibrant colors and are limited to the light and elegant shades. Parallel to that, the young people are livelier and want to try every color on them or just the dark colors as per their choices.

Clothes are often wore according to the moods also. If you are upset you would most likely to wear black, when you are happy you would want to look like a happening person by putting on darker shades, if you want to seeking attention then you would prefer red and if you are feeling like all relaxed and pretty, you would wear beautiful pink.

 Colors are actually used according to the situations also to express the feelings. For mourning someone’s death, black is used, for expressing love and gratitude, red is used, for showing peace white is used and so on. Different religions have also the different values of different colors. For example, red in Hinduism is the color of happiness and purity whereas, for Buddhist devout, red is the color of danger and fire.

Islam is known as the Green religion for it is said that it was the favorite color of the last prophet (P.B.U.H) and that is why it is avoided by a number of families. They are not supposed to use any object that is green. Along with green, there are many other colors which are forbidden for many people with different beliefs. In Hinduism, blue is the color of bravery and manliness because their lords are seen with the blue faces always. While in Judaism, blue is the color of spirituality. Blue is mostly used in Judaism religion for that reminds the people of blue sky and their god above the sky. 

When talking about religions, why leave the nationality behind? Yes, the national flags’ colors are also the symbol of one or the other thing. For instance, American flag colors represent the white for purity, blue for justice and red for hardiness. The Pakistan flag’s green color represents the religion of Islam and the white stripe shows the other religions in minorities. The flag of India has got three colors which reflect the orange color for courage and sacrifice, white for purity and green for prosperity.

The cherry on the top is that colors are also used in idioms to describe your situation i.e. golden opportunity, the green light, have the blues, in the red, white lie and so many more.

When seeing anything colorful makes the mood cheerful and  joyous and that is the reason rainbow also has seven different colors in it to show that there will be no rain after this, no more destruction and no more wetness. Talking about colors bringing joy, Holi festival celebrated by Hindus is most commonly known as the festival of colors which brings people close to each other and make them ridiculously colorful. The reason of enjoying Holi with various colors is the victory of good or evil in the history of Hindu religion.


Ever wondered so many aspects of colors?

Have a colorful life! J

The Reflection of our Society.

Oh weep!
By Zain Hyder Shah

The grief made me deaf;
oh! how can I handle those weeps;
Why are you crying?
Because I am not able to fill the basic needs;
Yes my family weeps;
Oh! look there go and beg;
No I don't want to be thief;
Hey listen please;
Give me your hand;
Help me please;
Hey wait a bit ;
First I have to see my ease;
I will die;
Its okay, they will not ask;
why?
But I will die, Help me please;
No body care for your deeds;
I am in pain, see my old skin;
Don't look at me like this;
Your tears are not worthy; please!
Oh I am missing you God;
Come in their hearts please.

Explore yourself!

Never say no for what you believe in!

By Zain Hyder Shah

 Life gives chance to all of us some people take it and others just let them go because they seek for superior chances. Well we all are born with unique characters and skills. The reason behind our failure is not fate. The biggest reason is our less interest in doing creative things which can also polish our inner skills. For an example I want to quote a common quote "Destiny decides your success" No! It is wrong only your willingness and hard work can take you to the peak of success. I am not fond of this quote and mostly successful people will also subscribe my thoughts.

Unfortunately in third world countries there are not much opportunities, we should not lose any opportunity which will be a forward step of our career. My observation tells me that the less interest of teenager in reading literature and not indulging in practical can be the reason of failure. When we read books it unlocks the creative and exploring parts of brain. When we start reading different literature we start exploring and finding ourselves in the mirror of knowledge.

We all talk a lot about our deprivation, dirty minds of societies and the politics. In those talks we normally criticize others for our bad financial and economical state but we never think that the biggest reason and the biggest person who should have to be criticized is our own self which let others to choose our destiny.

When we grow up we follow every instructions of our parents, we like to obey them even many of us never chose their career and future it has been decided by our parents. Our elders know better about everything, this sentence is a full stop of your exploring ideas. We never seek our own satisfaction because we do not read, we do not explore and we do not seek ourselves.

Are we really preparing to meet the challenges of practical world? I think we are just waiting for some miracles to happen. This is the only reason behind our deprivation on the way to success that we only follow the thoughts of others. We like to just runaway from the situation. We have learned it from our old cultures. I have observed we are not running after knowledge we are running after cheaters. We are not aware by the fact that even magicians work a lot to learn the skills and magic it just not happens in seconds.

Elders are our guide not our feet! They can guide us but the chance of exploring yourself should have to be only yours. You can find better livelihood for yourselves, if you are doing mistakes that's okay. One day your those mistakes can be your biggest lessons of successful life.

If you really want to do something for the society then you can do it by getting rid of older thoughts. Change is a rule of nature so like change should be the rule of our culture and of thoughts too!

Once you start reading and exploring your world you can feel that everything around you has suddenly changed. Even your eyes will start to see different views of everything. You feel like you are observing everything with different thoughts and that's the time when the time will push you to the paths of success!

You just need to see things with a different angle, with a new lens in your eyes. Like you always want something new in your wardrobe, you should start wanting new thoughts so you can be able to polish your skills and explore yourself! When you start changing yourself in a positive manner the society will start following you.

Ordinary feelings of love!

Lover’s diary.

By Zain Hyder Shah

 

Moments in life are surrounded by different kind of feelings. Moments become special when a person feels happy, excited and emotional. Every passing year keeps a memory in one’s brain and heart. It is a natural phenomenon to indulge in people you feel attractive. It is very easy to fall in love with people who share same nature and likeness.

 You must have heard the saying “opposite attracts” well it does and when you start your relation with friendship there are many possibilities that it ends with breaking up because of expectations and hurt , some friendships turn in to the relationships and the bond of two bodies which later becomes one soul will stay forever. Well, love is not a feeling which remains for only a particular person. Lovers are your friends, partners, parents and strangers also there is a love with nature.

Sometimes a cup of coffee on the beach and your favourite book can make your day. You actually endure the sensitivity inside heart which keeps you attached with beauty for everything you love to happen. Everyone has different meaning to see and realize the beauty, introverts mostly fall for the beauty of inside which is kindness and honesty, extroverts crave for the beauty of skin and physical appearances.

Sometimes your boredom keeps you away from excitement. Another time can be spent with the fantasy in your mind, the desire which really keep you busy in dreaming and making the sequences of your bright scenes of future. Here, thoughts play an important and effective role. Thoughts are very powerful. They can take you to the sky in jiffy and you can feel high with the imaginations of your mind-blowing passion. Love is not only a thought, it is also a supreme feeling of honesty. It includes immense feeling of care for someone who is very close to you and to your body. 

Love is not only a word, it’s a diversity of different human emotions which keeps you attached with your lovers. Love is an ecstasy, which let your brain to be on the peak of feeling high with arousal effects on brain and heart. 

The true determination of your honesty towards a particular person and his/her beliefs is a complete love. It’s all about being loved and how to love the feeling of love.