Personality Trait Website

Now this is the third time I am typing this post as some or the other error keeps showing up after I try posting this topic. :) Here goes 3rd take,

Another interesting Personality Trait website,

http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

The website basically contains a lot of pictures with a one liner on top. The idea is to connect the one liner to the picture which is of closest resemblence of your vision to the one liner. After a series of connecting pictures to one liners, you would get a description of your personality trait. :)

Interesting :)

Dusty Days

It's the third day since Kuwait played host to the dusts storms (well not dust storms but dusty conditions). The country was basically covered with dust since the last 3 days, The cars parked by the buildings looked like they have not been driven for a year or so. As said in the radio today morning, there were 70 ( I don't think she said 17) accidents (major and minor accidents). The major accident was the one early in the morning in the Gazelle Bridge, wherein a truck rammed into another vehicle and security personnel had to cut through the truck to free the driver. Hospitals all over Kuwait are also said to be filled with people affected by the dusty conditions (Asthma and Bronchitis being the main conditions). Kuwait airways also is said to have diverted more than 7 of its flights as a result of poor visibility.

If you guys saw the last two blog pictures (i.e. the pulsar bike and the Joop perfume) you can see the extent of the dusty conditions. The Joop advertisement picture was taken day before yesterday while the bike picture was taken last week.

Coming to office today saw labourers cleaning up the streets and cutting the scenaric plants strategically located around Kuwait. Do they have to work under these dusty conditions? Its still dusty outside and whatever they do to clean it up will be undone in a matter of minutes. The effort they put in is wasted not to mention the future health risks they ignore. Someone ought to put s0me sense into employers who send them to work in these dusty conditions. Atleast if they were provided a safety mask would be good enough. I am also pretty much sure that there would be a good bunch of people who work in offices who won't show up for work today.

The dust storms should be over in a few days. The kids will begin their summer vacations (3 months, how I miss them :) ) in a few days. All preceeding the hottest three months of the year in Kuwait i.e. June July and August.

Pulsar in Kuwait

Although I saw many Indian bikes on the road, was not able to catch a pic of any of them. Few days back on heavy traffic got this pulsar in front of me driving with full confidence. :) Although I would love to have a pulsar in India, In Kuwait it would be nothing less than a suzuki Hayabousa :) yesterday while checking out the Suzuki showroom, Saw the Maruthi Swifts in India as Suzuki swifts in Kuwait and the Hayabousa bike for 4,000 KD.

Here's a pic,




Hmm Hayabousa, suddenly feeling an anfinity towards it. :) Should I or should I not?:) hehehe

Joop Perfume

Yesterday went to look out for perfumes in Mubarakiya, Perfumes over there are the cheapest around. The number of perfumes shops replaced by grocery shops were much higher than last time. Barely saw more than 4 perfume shops onthe same lane where there used to be some 20 sperfume shops. But anyway went to one and within ten minutes of deciding took a Joop perfume. If you do watch MBC channels, You would see their ad once in a while. It has kinda a soft fruity flavour to it.

That was an ad I took of a bus

Cinabon

Yesterday got cake from Cinabon,Of all the cakes I tasted inn my life, Cinabon's coffee based cake beats them all :). Here are the pics taken,

It sure tastes better than it looks :) and it sure is expensive for a piece of cake, 1.400 KD!!!

:) but its worth the pay :)

Prevent Laptop Theft

Reading through the Economic times (Indian financial Newspaper), got this interesting piece of information concerning laptops

http://www.lojackforlaptops.com

http://www.pcphonehome.com/

http://www.ztrace.com/

Using Anti-Theft Software's from the above websites, actually helps retrieve you laptop if they are stolen, success rate been more than 70% as one website said. The article went on to say that more than 7.5 million laptops were stolen last year in the United States alone. The software's costs between 20 to 50 dollars

All that said, I don't think people are like prone to losing their laptops like losing their pencils. If the same was true I guess those guys need to attend Responsibility and Safety seminars :). I guess, the software would come in handy for those people whose job profile requires them to spend most of their time traveling or for people living in dangerous locations where stealing laptops at gunpoint is a common sight.

But at the end, taking precautions and using common sense is all that is needed to prevent a laptop theft. (unless at gunpoint!! :) )

Nintendo Wii

What started out to deciding to buy the Xbox 360 is changing fast to the looks of the nintendo Wii. Will be going soon to check it out as soon as I am free and subsequently follow the rule of buying.. which is.. see it 3 different times and if you still like it buy it :)..

Wii here I come :)

Amnesty

Interesting...

The government of Kuwait as per the usual practice every year , grants amnesty for a certain period of time to those individuals in Kuwait, who have either stayed beyond their residence permit or have entered the country illegally. Well everyone in Kuwait knows a large number of individuals come to Kuwait to look for a better life. But alas, the life does not end up the way they expected and they are stuck behind the country as a result of either not been able to afford their tickets back(90% of the reasons) or have expired residence permits which would cause a problem if they would try to leave in normal circumstances.

There are many such individuals in Kuwait, half of whom were promised of a better future in comparison to their native countries and the other half just desperate for a chance in life.

The government in providing amnesty to such individuals thereby giving them chance to leave the country without been fined or persecuted is a good thing.

But there is just one problem!!!, The amnesty period comes at the time when you got all the flights in the middle of rush season with the fare been the highest for the year. People who would want to go back to their native countries are first going to face problems getting a ticket, and second not been in a position to pay for their ticket.

So would the amnesty provided fulfill its purpose?

If nothing else is done, I don't think so.

Accident!!!

Prado was hit from behind yesterday.

Fortunately it happened while I was waiting at the signal to take a U Turn. Poor guy behind must have mistakenly pressed on his accelerator and bang. At first when I felt it, I was like shits not again!!! ( I thought I banged the car in front ) Then realized that it was the guy behind who banged into me. For a minute I was like great, Not even one year since I drove the vehicle and my bad luck :). Well as expected, I get out of the vehicle to give the faulting driver a piece of my mind and watch a pale looking old man behind a kinda new Camry. He looked more like some driver for a Kuwaiti (I felt so because of the scare in his face, he looked more worried not about me but on what's gona happen to him later) anyway my heart was in no mood to fire him, Went on and checked the extent of the damage and walla not a scratch on my vehicle. Thanks to the hook behind my vehicle, the pale old man's car who banged me got damaged pretty bad and the Prado never suffered a single scratch. Seeing the kinda comical situation, I looked at the old man and shout "Hey your car is damaged"!!! Kinda funny, I was more worried for his car (after I knew nothing happened to mine of course) :)

Well the signal turned green by the time all this happened and I didn't want to prolong when my vehicle suffered no damage. and went on my way home. :)

I hope the old guy did'nt continue to have a bad day..... :)

Job Hopping :)

Every country talks about their employment problems be it a developed country like the United States or an underdeveloped economy like Africa. But in Kuwait, at least among the Indian people I know, employment is not an issue anymore. I know a lot of guys who love to challenge authority to get what they desire (working conditions and remunerations). This seems to be a good shift from the day and age where Indians were struggling to find jobs and had to struggle hard. Although the fact still remains that a number of Indians are still struggling to get jobs, it is only astonishing to find a rising number actually enjoy job hopping for better prospects :).

Can job hopping be a good thing? Well I know guys who are proud job jumpers and those boasting of not staying for more than a few months in the same company. Mind you, these are not guys who are kicked out of their jobs, but guys who have the capability to play their employers in their court. The BPO industry in India further gave rise to this trend with the industry recording one of the highest attrition rates.

Job attrition affects all levels of the business organization and is not linked to just any one job category. The level of expatriate population has increased in the past few years. But I doubt if this will sustain in the near future. The mentality and options of employees are slowly changing, better options in home countries and elsewhere pulls them out. Many of my friends left the country for better prospects. I suspect, others will be soon follow.

In general, the tide of change has begun; now employees with more options and better understanding of markets are challenging employer’s importance. Employees have reached the point where they won’t take disrespect and non -professional attitudes from employers lightly.


Times are changing :)

Dunkin Donuts

Sis just loved it

Climate Change

The Heattttttttttttttttttttttttt

Kuwait getting way too hot alreadyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

and its not yet June :)

Game Consoles

Okay Okay....
We got the gaming console war going on, or should I say half done. The Xbox360, PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.

After spending a significant amount of my life researching about the three consoles, This is my conclusion.

Xbox360

Came almost a year before the Ps3, took over the reigning market dominance of the Sony Game console Ps2. It's got excellent visual display and with a new software just recently released, it can play out Hdmi video (High Definition Media Interface - the best video definition available in the world today) to your flat screen.

Verdict
Worth the money, for an average to less than 24/5 gamer, this should do it. It comes cheaper than the Ps3 and has a lot more game titles out as of now. The graphics are simply amazing.


Ps3

Ps3’s predecessor the Ps2 had the distinction of the largest number of video consoles produced in its days. Ps3 never did follow suit, with its late delivery. But saying that, the Ps3 is technologically more advanced than the Xbox 360, and highly expensive too.

Verdict
Came 2 late, came expensive, no real games to push to maximize the gaming consoles potential which subsequently makes it a more expensive Xbox 360 :) There are features but nothing that you would really use :), The graphics beats all the other game consoles.


Nintendo Wii

When the Xbox 360 and Ps3 were bragging of their capabilities to produce the most visualizing graphics plus the amount of power in their gaming machines. The Nintendo Wii doesn’t even come close. But that's not why I never compared it to the Xbox360 and Ps3. The Wii is a new concept altogether with a remote control that acts as a motion sensor. Whether it’s hitting the tennis ball across the court or having a sword fight with the enemy. It's the game console that's thought out of the box, which is to go one step ahead and get interactive

Verdict
Okay you don't have the most amazing graphics drooling your TV, nor do u have the fastest computer put in your Wii, nor do you have the other 10 or so features that Xbox 360 and Ps3 have. But what you do have is a game that is interactive, a game the whole family i.e. from the kids to your grandparents totally immersed in it. You would find UTube videos of guys showing how they played on Wii and lost weight!!! Gaming has never been more fun. With the prices among the other gaming console been the cheapest, It’s not a bad buy :)

International Calls

I will never finish my loans... ask me why.. I say thanx to the international telephone system in Kuwait. I meam paying 350 fils per minute for a call to India is crap. I mean even from India its cheaper to call International.

This is cause I would say no competition or proberly fixed gameplay. I would rather go for an illegal international caller. But alas, convinience is not my option nor the fact that searching for guys who are lately been hunted down by the the telecommmunications Ministry any easy.

So that's one of my loans, my mobile bills.. average is 60 Kd for a month. Rather high for a guy who used to survive with 500 rupees card in my college days :)

For me well I can manage and continue to survive somehow...I just feel sad for those who can't afford to make a call to their loved ones atleast once a month. Esp. those who left their family behind and come to make whatever merge earnings they can. Its just not fairr.

I hope the Kuwait Telecom Industry starts playing on level ground as per international standards sooner. Again ITS JUST NOT FAIR!!!

Coffee Industry

What do you think of the premium coffee that you sip at Starbucks or the likes of those premium coffee outlets (Costa Coffee, Gloria Jeans, Second Cup and Caribou among others). Do you think that the price you pay for it is worth it?

Well my personnal opinion is well, in a place like Kuwait where the summer season is like ur breakfast and lunch (dinner been winter + weird climates), Coffee Shops are a blessing and its worth the pay.

Well that been settled, what do you think of coffee growers? Do you want to be a coffee grower? Well if you have done a little research, you would never want to be a coffee grower. Majority of the coffee growers are located in Brazil, Vietnam and Columbia and are in fact one of the poorest people around. Sounds funny nah when you actually think Starbucks charge 3 dollars (whew) for a cup of coffee. But while starbucks makes 3 dollars, we got the coffee growers paid 25 cents for the same cup of coffee beans. Now isn't that unfair!!! I mean the coffee growers struggle throughout the year on the coffee plantations and all they get is around 9% of the revenue generated!!! I know there are costs for the roasting and the transportation process and all but still!!!

Thats when the coffee fair trade came along. Under the agreement the buyers of coffee's who are the big multinationals such as Nestle, Kraft, Proctor and Gamble etc are required to pay a substantial amount (more than a dollar) for the coffee they purchase from coffee growers.

Starbucks says it all over their site that they were involved with helping the community and they are with the coffee fair trade community. But the fact is that it was under the pressure of activists for coffee growers who threatened to hold demonstrations on their outlets all over the world that compiled Startbucks to join the coffee fair trade.

Now whenever I think of ordering another cup of cold coffee, I think twice. But then go ahead and order it anyway. Starbucks making profits is not a bad thing. Everyone wants profits otherwise why do business, but being fair in business is also a kind of social responsibilty, Starbucks was forced by the plight of coffee growers. So as long as we got a system wherin we can keep a check on injustice and tackle it in time, You can just go ahead and drink the coffee cup you always wanted on that hot summer afternoon!!!

Have you ever left your bike parked out for long?

Well I know I have, But the prize goes to the guy who parked it below,

Now isn'nt that something!!

Haha

Vavavoom Store in Avenues

This is the second continous week of hearing the "vavavoom store" advertisement on the radio. Its supposed to be a really big fashion store in the Avenues which not only caters to women fashion needs but also to men!!!.. I mena like pedicure and manicure for men!!! Bahh.. are men really turning out to be the metrosexual beings (men who concern themselves at fashion). I for sure know men need to look neat and polished.. but paedicure and manicure??

Anyway Radio host Dr. Laboosh has got it covered everyday on the radio and the life she brings to the advertisement is simply amazing, The first time u hear it ...okie fine. second time ...../okie still fine... but u hear it every morning for two weeeks!!!! thats a limit. Right now I would prefer hearing any ad except the va va voom ad. I guess the doc would have got some big promotion pakage for making them look good the whole two weeks!!! :)

I wonder how many people out there actually feels the same way:)

A-380 in India

Heard of the Airbus A-380's??? If you wondering what it is.....

That's the biggest passenger plane commisioned at present, and the first A-380 in India which is owned by Kingfisher Airlines made its stopover in Delhi Airport today, The news clipping can be found at

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/06jumbo.htm



Cool.....Can't wait to get in one of those, bet it won't rattle like the no frills airlines :)

Update: The first Indian A380 would land in India in 2011 by Kingfisher Airline, The above was just a publicity flight.

Link for Saudi Citizenship News

The link from where I got the news about the Saudi Citizenship on offer..


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Saudi_Arabia_to_grant_citizenship_to_expats/articleshowcnews/2006402.cms

Saudi Citizenship!!!

It seems Saudi Arabia is giving away citizenships to residents who match up as per their standards (Phd's and Specialized jobs related individuals). Reading it made me interested for a minute, but then after thinking about it... Who would want to actually change their citizenship to a Saudi one. It looks more like a good try at buying the brains to run the economy. It reminds me of Qatar nationalizing african and other nations citizens as their own to run in the the Doha games. I know people who would love to have a US or Canadian citizenship, but for a Saudi or a Qatari citizenship,...hmmm... its goto be the flow of money for majority of the cases. My support stands for those who although have been working in another country all their lives, stil retain the citizenship of their original countries. I mean at the end , if you are a Saudi or a Qatari, a change in the paperwork doesnt make u the other.

Birds acting strange

Since the last few days, the birds around Kuwait.. am talking about the small ones which you would usually see around the palm trees and grass lawns.. well these birds seem to be always flying in front of my vehicle..It has been three days now since I am dodging these birds now and then. Hope I dont accidently strike them while driving.

Looks like the birds got a major problem in flying directions or could it be the effects of the BIRD FLU or the HEAT or the changing climates of Kuwait turning them mad :)!!!

1st day of the month :)

Was just thinking….What’s so special about the 1st of every month!

Pointers

Good point
I get to withdraw cash (Salary)
Oh I feel Richhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I get to help someone out who is in need of cash

Not so good points
I got to pay the guy who washes my car
I got to pay the guy in office whose fridge I ransack every other day
I got to pay my car loans
I got to pay my other loans
I got to pay my mobile bills
I get to fill my vehicle to full tank
I get screwed if the guy I helped doesn’t repay back bahhhhhh

Hmm summing it up, first day of the month ain’t that great a day for me is it??? :) ;)

Lulu Supermarket in Kuwait

Finally Lulu supermarket has opened in Kuwait and was it a grand affair!

Well the affair was grand of course, looking at the scale of operations and the prices been offered for their products. It always used to be like, when you hear 'Lulu' my mind goes to Dubai, but now anymore I guess.

Well to talk about it, I guess all the mallu's must have been there atleast once now, since it opened about a month back :) The place is huge, got items from the likes of food items to electronics to perfume shops to gym equipments to Costa Coffee to exchanges to jewellery shops to departmental stores. Max showroom, from where I get most of my shirts are also just a block away from Lulu.

The salesmen at Lulu seem to okay okay, they attend to you when called, I found one sales guy a little prejudice, in a way like he was attending to only the guys in dishdada's and was half bothered when my dad was enquiring about some item. Well that problem was fixed when I started firing away questions about the TV. I don't think I was agressive but I guess he got the point. That brings me to the point that although there are many salesmen all around the place, the salesmen had very little knowledge about electronics (This opinion is based on blank information I derived from 3 employees when asked about TV's and home theaters. they didnt have a clue of the stuff I was looking for in a TV and home theater. But saying this... I can't really blame the sales guys, but in fact the management of Lulu could have trained the guys in the department so they would be able to explain features of different TV's or Home Theaters to the customers better rather than just say, "SONY IS THE BEST" "SONY IS THE BEST" :) But overall the sales guys were attentive in comparison to th Alghanim Electronic Showroom guys.

Alghanim electronic showroom guys have one thing that Lulu salesmen don't have... which is knowledge about the products they sell. But then saying that they have their own weak point which is that they never come forward to help the customer. Its always the customer who got to bring them to explain a product (Most of the times I was in Alghanim this was the case:)).

Well right now the competition is on. We got Alghanim, City Center and Sultan Center, all extra marketing their products and giving incentives to customers to shop at their departments. But looking at the way things are going and the fact that Carrefour, which would open shortly and sell products even cheaper, Lulu and Carrefour in my opinion would soon eat into the market share :). In my opinion, the worst affected would be Sultan Center.

By the way I brought an Samsung LCD from Lulu, It was 270 KD whereas the same LCD from Alghanim was 33o Kd!!! This is with the warranty and the fact that Lulu themselves would come and pick up the LCD if there is any problem(one year period).

Now...you make your choice :)

New Widget

Guys,

Have just added a new Chat box on the right hand side of the page, Pretty much acts like a chat window :), if u have a blogsite pls let it be known in the url message while chatting :)

Thanks

Work Vacation :)

Okay yahh thanks for reminding me guys.... its been some time since I blogged down, was caught up with work and stuff.....I like to term it as the work vacation (Vacation taken for work)

Well today's topic...hmm... can't think of anything.. oh well...

Things that happened during the time I neva blogged...

• Just found out that I have wasta like anybody else.... well atleast with the coffee guy in office.. nothing better than a good cup of coffee to start your day rite..:)
  
  
• I had checked out the swimming pool complex 4 times in a week before I had changed to the new flat, but since i have shifted to my new place (thats since three weeks ago), I have never been able to check out the sports complex even once!!!
  
• The Climate in Kuwait is getting hmm.. chaotic... you have cloudy, sunny, dusty and rainly seasons all in a week,

• Figured how to connect the lappy to the LCD and enjoyed some time playing games on the big screen,

• After something like 4 years, I get English channels on our LCD, I never had that in my old place, not that i was really concerned but its like i never even had Kuwait TV 2 (national free channel) till now. Isnt that a wonder!!!,

• Remember the earlier blog I wrote about reducing, well I think I am reducing alright, and that's without using the sport facilities,

• I actually actually love veggies.. more like green leaves with cucumber and tomatoes and mayonise in my sandwich.. or for a treat put in some meat. Well the sandwich doesnt sound extraordinary but I guess its mom's way of making it that makes it extra-ordinary ;),

• Baskin Robins milkshakes which consist of two to three scoops of your choice of icecream flavours along with a dash of milk is way better than a cold cup of coffee at Starbucks (Comparison unit being Coffee and Chocolate mix)

• Second Cup and Caribou brand of premium coffee chains actually have delivery services. I don't think Starbucks would have, will try them today :). By the way I had ordered from Caribou yesterday and the cold chocolate drink I had was as good as the ones we get in Starbucks.

• BMW vehicle service station can be comparable to local service station (Bad Service). Of course if u make a hue and cry about it to BMW headquarters, the response can be very positive (free service). (Source:248am.com) Thought: I should have done the same for my Dell lappy

• Today in Kuwait, ITS YET ANOTHER DAY!!! :)

Service Call.. a little too late :)

Got a call from the Toyota service representative today, asking about the online booking I had did for servicing the Prado, She said I had to do the full service and not just the oil and filter change. By the way the oil and filter change was 8 bucks :) and the fiull service as I was told was 150 KD!!! Oh man since I got the second hand vehicle it has been only 5,000 kms and I already have to do a full service.!!! Well I was trying to tell her I din't know the history of the vehicle but it was supposed to have been fully serviced before I had got it from the Authorised AlSayer dealer. Well the lady goes on to say that the car should be fully serviced at either 70,000 kms or 80,000 kms and because she said that she had no record of the major service in the service history...I had to get my car on the major service. so as a result I agreed and fixed a service date. I went on to call up my dad and tell him the news, He gets suprised it was not serviced by the dealer in the first place. Well after the chit chat with dad I decided to call her up again and to find out for sure if the vehicle was not serviced. But this time got another guy on the line this time and explain to him of the situation. He in fact tells me that I didn't need to do the major service as its completely serviced before being sold by the Al Sayer authorised dealer. I asked him to cancel my appointment and he goes like "you can just forget about it and when they call to remind you to come for service to tell them the reason then" :) Well its a good thing to forget as I get to save 150 bucks :) and an unnecessary vehicle service.

Well just to be sure, I would have to get some contact to check up the vehicle and make sure it was really fully serviced before being given to me in the first place :).

Vehicle Service Day

So with this in mind got up early in the morning (Yes I can) and make a rush to the Toyota service center at 6:50. I think, I reached at around 7:15am or so and saw the service guys were all there. I mean the service guys all ready for the work!!! That was pretty shocking and couldn’t believe these guys start so early in the morning. I just came early so as to make sure I get though the service rush. At the time there was only one vehicle been serviced and mine was the second. I went ahead to the reception and with the formalities got the vehicle serviced. It barely took 10 minutes and I was out of the place and heading to Office. Coming to think of it, I took more time traveling to the Toyota service station than servicing my vehicle. A great job which was well done. My next service won’t be short as I later found out. It would take 4-5 hours. The road back to the office was packed with vehicles from all directions. Coming to think of it, all this while staying in the city, I never really got the feeling of road rush for longer than half hour. It was a good start considering my new home wouldn’t be in the city anymore. But that all said I ended up in office earlier than usual and back to work.

Time for Vehicle Service

Damm…Went over the required service mileage by over 50 Kms for the Prado. Did a check with colleagues if it was okay to go beyond the required service time, and these were the comments I got:

First Guy: “The lady calling from Toyota asked me why I never came for service at 8000 Kms, and said that she would book my appointment next as soon as possible.” (This guys had a Prado which was driven close to 10,000kms when the call was made to him)

Second Guy: Its okay to go beyond the required service kilometers but its SAFER to get it serviced by the NEXT TWO REQUIRED SERVICE KMS!!!

Third Guy = ME: Am going as soon as I can to get it serviced!!! No unwanted risk’s for me and warranty is based on proper service been performed (I thought of all this later of course)

With all this in mind I was wondering how long the service would take, Went on to the Al Sayar Toyota website and found a surprising new feature…an online booking system where we could book the preferred date and time for servicing individual’s vehicle. Went ahead and booked for a 7:30am slot. After the booking it was mentioned that a customer service representative would get back to me. But considering the time right now is 11:30pm and the service date being tomorrow early morning, I figured the call wouldn’t be required. So it’s the bed for me now, got to get up early.

Starbucks at Alghanim Showroom, Shuwaik

Last Thursday went shopping for Sofa's for the new place we would shift too and went to Alghanim's showroom in Shuwaik, Yah the same one which has the big car showroom, with the furniture and electronics showroom connected. They also have a starbucks branch in between the three showrooms. After long had come to starbucks and sis and parents were there. Parents wanted something hot. That was something I never tried in any coffee shop before. It was always the cold coffee's for me. Well I ended up getting help from the waiter there and ordered a Caffe Latte and a Caramel Macchiato for my folks. while my sis and me tried out the Frappuccino Ice Bleanded Cream and Frappuccino Ice Blended Tea (Rasberry flavoured). It tasted just like any rasberry juice mix :)) with a small tint of tea flavor to it. Got this leaflet from the branch which showed the most favorite of starbuck's drinks offered.

I like the coffee at starbucks, With the high price it commands, It is still number one in Kuwait!. Got to give the credits to the guys over there.

Americanpie 5 - The Longest Yard, Review

Americanpie - The Naked Yard was the fifth of the series of the famous Americanpie movies, Well one word for it... Hilarious!! Altough I was not able to get my hands on the 4rth part of the series that did'nt stop me from watching the naked yard :)

The movie was a commedy, which was hilarious throughout. It would be totally inappropriate to watch with others around (I mean with kids or parents.. Beware). The movie's storyline continues the same trend as the other past series(jokes based directly or indirectly to the sexual nature of humans (certainly not all I suppose)) which reflected around the fact that the act is to be accomplished at the end through whateva means. Be it playing along or finding out that the act is actually a natural step to true love. Hmmm.. saying that...raises a few questions. How can you quantify true love? Is it by been there for the other person? or giving the other person a good time? or is it understanding the other person? or is it working towards been able to provide the other person with his or her dreams or is it a combination of some or all of them? :) What all quantifies true love???.... Something for u guys to ponder over :)

Coming back to the movie, as with the other past series of Americanpie which recieved a huge fan following, the review of the movie would stick to a thumbs up review!!!

New Setup :)

Finally done finalizing for a new place to stay in. Will be pushing out of Sharq in a few days, Should say the new place is one level better than the present place of stay.

Not so good points for the new place

Location far from place of work

No more jogging in the beach side ever (well i did go a few times :))

No more beaches

No more late nights at Souk Sharq / Sultan Center

I have to start paying a portion of Rent!!!!!

Good points for the new place

Next to al the Car Showrooms

Next to biggest mall in Kuwait "Avenues"(just opened 2 days back)

Bigger House

Finally can get a 42" LCD

Finally a OWN room thats only mine :)

FREE swimming pool

FREE Squash Court

FREE Tennis Court

FREE Basketball Court

Guys!!! expect me getting thin in a few months, considering work does'nt stop me from using the FREE facilities!!!!!

Discrimination for Flats

Since we got had to shift out of our old flat (It was going to be demolished) by april end, we were busy searching for new flats in and around Kuwait City area. The other day my folks went to Hawally and cehcked out a few flats and while at one of the flats the "Bangladeshi" haris told my dad that "Indians and Pakistani's" are not allowed to take up residence in the building. Talk about discrimination!!! Well, Dad gave him a piece of his mind but alas the Bangladeshi haris was only doing what his "BOSS" wanted him to do. Anyway he was not the first one of them.. they were actually a few of them who actually had the same views. Considering the area was not the best in Kuwait with a lot of rude kids with no manners around, and the attitude of the people around that particular area, It was best decided to not stay there :)

Still can't believe what happened. Discrimination still exists... big time. Without a change to attitudes, there will never be constructive overall development to a human being. I believe only one thing comes out of discrimination, which is lack of respect for another human being which ends up with lack of respect for the discriminator :)

Let the decisions be made, and the consequences be felt........ WITHOUT ANY KIND OF DISCRIMINATION :)

Blahh

The door knob to my bedroom door was broken, well it happened a long time back when I tried opening the door, the knob just broke offf.. Whats that.. yah its my power hands that did it :) (One of the not needed powers that came upon me at the wrong time :)) Well the mistake here was not the fact that I broke it but the fact that I was not bothered to fix it sooner.

By sooner I meant before this happened:)

That was my Favorite Gap Shirt I had got from the states (Big Time Sale)

Moral: Something you can do today.. Just Do It TODAY!
Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

KFC - Mighty Zinger

KFC has got a new hamburger in stands known as the Mighty Zinger, Basically its a two in one zinger burger, Absolutely loved the stuff. I noticed the KFC outlet (Shouk Sharq) was rushing with customers for a change. :) The ones that I saw were ordering just the Mightly Zinger. :)

Here's a pic,

Mighty Zinger Thumbs Up!!! :)

Mint Aero

The other day went to Sultan Center (Shouk Sharq) for getting an Aero Bar (Yah just for that) and ended up with a pleasant suprise, I knew the Aero bar had a new look (cover) but a new flavor too... MINT!!!. Here's a peek

Well the mint flavor was just awesome!!!(for me atleast). For the public, I would say you guys would either HATE the flavor or you would just LOVE it :)


I give it a thumbs up review :)


Note: The bad part about it is that the flavored Aero is imported directly form UK, and is priced at 500 fils. There are other flavors too, like the caramel and hmm.. forgot the others. Mint beats them all :) You wouldn't find the same in Co-Operatives though. At least I could'nt :)


Try it out.

Review - Sony Ericsson W800i Mobile

It has been 1 year since I brought this mobile, Costed 155KD then, got it from a dealer much before it came to the retailers. When the mobile did come to the retailers some tens days after it costed 150KD (Alghanim). So it's like the 5 bucks which I paid could be classified as being a first user's value (in Kuwait)

Anyway getting to the review, the mobile as shown above has served me well (although I really never took care of it, I would say more like I had abused it, noticed from the scratches all over the mobile) But all that said and done, the mobile has managed to withstanbd my abusive handling and still serves me well.

The mobile features a 2 Mega pixel carama, has a 512mb memory card provided with it (that stores to around 150 songs) and has bluetooth and infra red. All of these services I have tried and tested and and served me well even after like the mobile fell 5 to 6 times off my hand. Another feature I had tried was the capability to control your computer or laptop using the bluetooth feature, First time I tried it was pretty exciting. Its proberly good for those situations where you would be presenting a power point presentation to a group of people through a projector using the laptop and could control the slides using the mobile :). I am sure half of you guys having the latest mobile have'nt tried this feature out :)

In fact I am so pleased with the mobile that I don't mind buying a new W800i to replace the damaged one I have. But keeping to my self imposed rule, I would be using it for another 4 years before I would change.

Sony W800i Thumbs Up!!!

Free online storage sites

Did you ever feel the need to buy another hard drive or an external drive so that you could save your music files or anything you needed. Well.. if you never knew, there are free online storage sites available. Here are six of them

1. box.net
2. DropBoks
3. eSnips
4. MediaMax
5. OmniDrive
6. openomy

I wouldnt suggest storing personal information although all of them provide security features.

For a complete analysis of the various storage websites you could check up on this link

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2098943,00.asp

Note: Yah my source of information was from extremetech.com

Dubai vs Abu Dhabi

Dubai
Its the Party Place ..Pronto
It's where you would find people you know living around (Plus and Minus Points for that),
Its the worst place to be driving with the congestion,
Don't expect to find a taxi when you need one,
You get anything that comes on your mind in Dubai!!.. I mean anything.

VS

Abu Dhabi
Parties... Whats that!!!
Taxis : Cars = 2:1 (good thing for visitors)
Whats that you thought..no you cant get that in Abu Dhabi
... can't think of anything for the place

Overall Dubai is the more liberalized place of the two which has its good and bad points. Abu Dhabi on the other hand is more strictly following the Islamic norm and I can say which is a good thing and a not so good thing too. :) I heard in Sharjah its worse. Where does Kuwait stand in comparison? Well I think its in between :)

Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi was where my test was to be held, fairly a two hours drive from the hotel where I was stayin in Dubai(I could not get a free hotel because of the arms fair that was taking place in Abu Dhabi and all the hotels (at least the good ones) were booked one month in advance :). Anyway Dubai was a great place to stay.

Got to stay in a hotel named Avari(Its supposed to be some high end hotel(4 star) with branches in Pakistan and other countries(Source: office collegue). The hotel was booked for the 22nd and I reached Dubai at 12am 22nd early morning(Courtesy:Jazeera Airways). Then the blunder, I forgot that hotel's usually have a check in time and Avari Hotel had a checkin time for 22nd at 12pm!!! Well since I thought money was not a problem I told them go ahead and book me another room. Turned out that there was no other room left..blahhhh. With nowhere to go, I did what I thought I was good at ..thats finding a solution! well the only solution that came out was that I had to take up the last SUITE room which costed like 3 times my booked room pay. Thats when i realised I did have a money problem hehe. Then the magic of the CREDIT CARD. :) But just about then I thought why not call up my friends instead of paying up for a suite for which I really would'nt need, and try my luck, If not then, no choice but an oversized suite for me.

Luckly got a friend whose parent's had shifted back to India a long time back. He was more than willing to let me stay at his place for the nite. The nite went chatting and the next mornign went with the playstation games. Suddenly got back my interest in video games. this is after my last game console being the SEGA(Oh how I loved the machine)

Well then remembered I had an exam the next day so had to get back to the hotel and proberly start studing, yah I said "proberly" because the time I reached the hotel, I was on the TV glued to the Satellite Movies (Maybe more coz I actually dont have satellite at home, Funny nah! but I have only Mallu channels back in Kuwait). Actually thinking about it, I neva had much time to watch TV since I started working and more like since I got my driver's licence(Freedom licence for me) :)

Well I ended up reaching the exam late the next morning, traffic was something new. Now i realised where the word traffic came from, yah its from Dubai's congested roads. Till then I thought okie Dubai to Abu dhabi is the worst(Yah that's then). But after my exam and coming back from Abu Dhabi to Dubai I knew what could be worser!!! 3.5 hours!!!!! and thinking it would be a nice rather than catching the bus and come in these private seven seaters proved to be an idea from the wrong side of the brain. Not only was the vehicle cramped up but the AC was switched off just before the vehicle started moving(very smart move by driver). Well the only consoling fact was that I would have reached much later or proberly missed my flight if I had caught the bus back to Dubai. The fact that the seven seater van driven by a Patan as they were called were cheap which was 10 Dhirams compared to the 50 Dhirams I paid for a private taxi(Camry model) from Dubai to Abu Dhabi (included wasting 45 minutes waiting for co-passengers).

Well the building's alongside King Zayed road was amazing, nothing in comparison to that from Kuwait, got to saw Burj Dubai tower under construction . It's supposed to be the tallest building in the world once its completed :)

Once I made it to Dubai, made a quick stopover at the hotel freshened up and taxied to the airport and met up with a friend of my sisters who was in the airport waitin for my sister's arrival. YESS my sister was coming when I was leaving. Considering the 5 days of holidays would be boring in the country she hopped into Dubai to meet up with her friends.

Well soon after my sister arrived, I was dropped off to my terminal by the top Dubai Driver Awardee (my award) i.e. my sister's friend. Well and I was back to my Jazeera flight and in no time back to Kuwait. Reaching Kwuait I realised something.... I was gona be 4 days at home all ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yipeeeeeee

and so starts my 4 days of Bachelorhood(I refer it to independence)....

2 days in Dubai!!!!!

Well it was supposed to be an exam trip, well yes.. it did turn out to be just an exam trip after all. The day of leaving that's on Wednesday turned out that I had load's of work to finish before it would be ethically right to go. Well the day went pretty fast considering I was trying to complete everything I had in 10 hours. I actually was able to complete the work and right after went home and did the fastest packing I had ever done which was like in 5 minutes. Stuffed the clothes I had to wear for two days and my personnel stuffs. After that made a run to the airport( I always end up running to the airport everytime I leave). Well this was my first Jazeera Flight and guess wat I found it extremely comfortable and pleasent, :) Well it was a little cramped up.. but in comparison to other planes I had travelled in were more or less the same. The good thing about Jazeera was the fact that it had leather seats. The journey was ....well... one of the few I did without watching TV and well forgetting earplugs for my Sony mobile made the trip kinda unentertaining. Other than that the trip was pleasent and I was even offered chewing gum by the middle aged lady sitting next to me. (Sounds funny i know...chewing gum from a middle aged lady!!). By the way was'nt chewing gum or for that matter food or liquid items banned from flight? ??? Well I guess the rules are chaged now.

Well I am blogging from the Dubai Airport which currently provides free wireless services( This was not available the last timeI had visited Dubai which was like 3 months back i guess. (Yah maybe coz I neva tried :)) : )) But am so glad its here..In Kuwait International Airport we too have the Zajil I guess providing free wireless access. But that would always seem to have some problem or the other everytime I would try to access it :)

Well right now goto make a move. will blog about my experiences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and how the two places are very different while every other guy including me from Kuwait would thinking they were like synonyms...

Dart Board

Had got my first dart board from a friend which was left inside my vehicle thinking that proberly I would hang it up once I would shift to my new flat/place. But with every other day passing, I became less convinced on wheather waiting to hang the dart board would be such a great idea. No sooner than that though... I got the dart board fixed behind my door and started aiming at it.. Welll

Welll.. thats not exactly a set of great shots, althought two of them made it to the board. It could have been worse i guess :).. Well I believe dart board's for one need's a little practise on.. to get the throw right. After a few rounds of practise.......

Well that was much better....Hopefully by the end of the week i should get all my shots in the smaller circles. :)

Its a nice timepass, this is the first thing I do when i reach home nowadays...

T60

Well today I get the T60 or more precisly the IBM t60 laptop for use at Office (Since my old t43 goes into a hang every , Just a few minutes with it and I already feel I should have got this earlier, The lappy is fast.. very fast, its a core 2 duo, witha 1GB ram and an ATI Graphics card(just wish i could get games into this). It's kinda making me feel like working more today :).

Subsequent to this latest development, I upgrade my opinions about Knight Rider knowledge about IT :)

This week I would be blogging less as I would be trying to study(for real) for an exam I would be taking in Abu Dhabi next thursday.

Hope I get through this time though hehe :)

oops..Knight rider found out!

okie okie. this is for the nite rider (He saw my blog first time today).. oops no its knight rider? well whateva :). This post is to let knight rider know thanx for making my blog so interesting and enjoyable for ppl to read :) Not that what I said about knight rider being anything other than the facts, but then one point I like to take back, Knight rider does know the roads in Kuwait better than me. :) hmm yah thats about it, only in that :) His IT stills are in the process of been tested still, but based on the new lappy I get today, I might just upgrade his status on that.

Knight rider has just upgraded his car to version 1, that's with the new CD player installed. Now Salmiya is gona be an open discoteque with Knight Rider around.

Coming soon

Picture of Knight rider photographed on the beach wearing a bikini.....

Note:

Comments posted by Knight rider are to be considered as a set of intelligent jokes:)

Sandwich Holiday

Got information from the radio on the way to work that Monday the 24th of February would be a public holiday. Since 25th and 26th of February that is Sunday and Monday are the official holidays on the occasion of Independence and the fact that the previous day ..that is Saterday everyone would either bunk or would officially not work in office, the cabinet of Kuwait has announced a holiday on Saterday 24th of february as well. :)

Isn't that convinient :) but considering that the next batch of holidays is coming in much later during the year, It can not be a bad thing.

But then it doesn't really make a difference to me, two days is all we I would get. I would shock myself if i don't show up in office in those two days :)

By the way the 24th February holiday is termed as a sandwich holiday... Nice term :)

U Shop We Ship

"U shop we ship", now what's that? (for those who don't know)....

Ever entered a US based online shopping site, checked out the item u wanted to buy and go forward with the purchase and then later at just the last part of the purchase, you get to know that the item would be shipped to US based residential address only!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't that just bad, Esp. if you can't get such an item on any other online store.

Welll then, now here's where "U shop we ship" herein referred as "USWS" comes in. The website http://www.ushopweship.com/ is based on providing services to those individuals with such issues. The website needs you to register, with a registration fee of 25 dollars of course and wala, you would get an email with details on the location of your US mailing address and your USWS code. Armed with the US address, you would be able to order anything online which would be shipped to your US mailing address (the address you would give and which is one of the many USWS collection locations) and USWS would forward the freight(purchased goods) to our address(in Kuwait or where ever). Now isn't that great. I should have proberly used this service to buy my dell laptop instead from a dell representative in Kuwait :)

Yah the charges for courier are like KD 2 per pound for transportation to Kuwait. So it's like you got to figure out the real cheap stuff or stuff you wouldn't get in Kuwait to buy.

Some good items worth the buy would be,

1. Books
2. External Hard Drives
3. Branded Clothes and accessories
4. Laptops
5. Gadgets
6. Corvette!! Yeah rite :)

Note:
1. There is a list of prohibited items which won't get through this service. You could find details for such in the website.
2. Another company providing identical service is Aramax, http://www.aramex.com/ (I have not checked it as yet plus heard it take's day's for the stuff to reach)

Did I just advertise a service or give my thought's? Advertise or thought's, hmm advertise or thought's? Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer:
I have not yet used services from USWS, but have read positive review's from individual's who have used their service's from Kuwait. I do hope to use USWS service's in the future, once I make by second buy list :).

Moving Out

We guys had got the notice from our building Haris that the building would be demolished and a new one would be constructed in its place. As a result of the owner’s intention we vacate, we were able to attain the 6 months free rent policy. As of now I live with my parents and they are glad with the free rent for the 6 month period. But then the difficult part comes when within 6 months we got to shift to a new location. Various options having been said.. we might just end up looking for an affordable place in City itself. I basically take 4 minutes to reach office from home. Hate to think anywhere else where I would have to relocate:

Disadvantages of moving from present location.
1. Will start to hate driving, with at least half an hour of travel one way to office from anywhere else in Kuwait (At present its 3 minutes).

2. Got to get up early for work!!!!

3. Everything I know and want is in City!!!

4. Higher fuel expenditure

5. Beach being more than just a few walking steps!!

6. Dependent on Sultan Center in Souk Sharq for snacks after midnite

7. Would be paying the same rent for a much smaller flat!!Duhhh

8. Would probably end up having to fight for parking spots.

9. No more cheap bowling centers close by

10. No more cheap gyms close by(not that I go but stillll)

11. Strategic locations lost - mobile shops, car accessories shops, co-operative, automatic car wash, Hawally computer shops (7 minutes) etc. all of which are less than 2 minutes drive.

Positive point!
1. It could be worse :)

Favorite Drink

This is presently my favorite drink... its a combination of fruitjuice and milk.. its just soooo DeLiCioUsssssssssssssssssssssssssssss and healthy. You guys goto try it out.

Poem

Just got this great poem from my sweetz the other day.. wanted to blog it as I found it really nice. The wordings go like this..

Sweeheart I Love you,

You'll never know how much...

Your voice, Your smile,

The gentle way you hold me,

That let me know, You care...

The look in your eyes, let me know,

you'll always be there...

All I've got, to give is my heart,

And you've right from the start...

So, I'm yours, for all times,

What else can i say...

Except MY Darling,

I love you more each day.

End

That was nice right? :) I love u too sweetz :)

XPS 1210

Thursday went to Zak Solutions service center in Shuwaik, told the guy I had opened up my laptop annd found out that my Ram was the problem. Then gave him the defective Ram and told him I wanted a replacement. Told him i dont want to leave my laptop there and he's like it maybe coz of the slot. I told him its not so! Well this time the guy ran out of excuses and after making a few phone calls he gets me another Ram module (dunno if it's a new piece) but whateva at least he got me a working piece. I dont think I will be going to the place again in my life. I told him that i had come 5 times to get my laptop problem fixed and it was a shame they couldn't figure out it was the Ram module that was the problem. Worse than that was the fact that I (customer) took the place of the the service guy and fixed my(customer) laptop. Only question remaining to answer is "Why do we need to have dell sponsored service guys if they cant fix or for that sake figure their own product problems?" :)

Here's a picture of my Laptop all fixed and decked up :)

Dell Laptop XPS 1210

Guess what, Just after posting the blog complaining about the irresponsible service provided by Dealers of Dell ..Zak Solutions. I think I have finally fixed the problem once and for all. It actually worked for a whole nite left on without a single blue screen of death showing up.

What i did,
Well.. the laptop's specification was 2 gb Ram, I did a check on the Ram , removed one of them and left the other one running.. after a long three hour, the computer got the blue screen again. so I replaced the ram inside with the one I removed previously and wala it worked fine. It fact for the first time in its laptop life it worked for the whole nite. I sat up till 3am trying to load the laptop to its max. It finally took it all without the blue screen showing up. Am so relieved now. I just hope that when I go ask for a Ram replacement to Zak Solutions, they should'nt make an issue.

Today would be testing the laptop. Just praying that its doesnt show the blue screen again eva.

Note:
When ur buying something like a high end laptop make sure u learn its components and take the initiative to get it fixed by your efforts. Because no one else will.

Tag Heuer AquaRacer

Now that's the last item left in my BUY LIST, I suspect the cost for this comes somewhere in the range of 600 to 800 KD!!! :)........ Someday InshaAla

Buying Dell Laptop 1210 ...Experience

Getting a Laptop was one of the items in my initial buy list, Now.. choosing the right laptop was pretty difficult, from expensive ones like those of Toshiba to hardware options like Dell whose brand names are more popular. It took me around 3 months to decide on which laptop to get for myself. Thought of all the options and made up my mind for a Dell Premium Laptop more specifically the XPS 1210. It had all the things I had ever wanted in a laptop, camera built in, a 7400 Geforce card for games, 2gb ram, memory card reader, sim card reader, two head ports, and a12.1 inch screen. While I fixed my mind of the laptop, my office colleague was also going to buy the same laptop. He knew a cheaper place who got it from the dealer of Dell in Kuwait, So I was like… saving a few bucks wont do any harm (Only if I knew better1). We went to the shop, got the laptop, got it for around 10 KD cheaper I think, The laptop costs a cool 600KD. For that moment I was the happiest guy in the world. But that was short-lived. By the time I reach home and start working on it, starts the worst computer problems I ever had in my entire life. Anything I try to do, whether it’s to open programs or surf the net I used to get the blue screen (I later researched and came to know its more commonly known as the blue screen of Death. It’s a situation where one just can’t do anything but restart the machine. Since those days I used to be busy, I used to go during the weekends to get it fixed. Oh yah forgot to mention that another feature I liked about the laptop was that it had a three year warranty with it (Only if I knew better2).

Zak Solution Software Service (Location 1-Hawally)
First I went to Zak Solutions Service Center in Hawally, there I met this really smart guy (not really) who said its some problem with the software, He said he would restore the system to original settings and said that I would loose whatever I had saved. Since I wanted the laptop fixed at any point I agreed (I should have known better3). The guy reinstalls the software’s and I go packing home.. and then again on working on the laptop.. Within two hours I get the same blue screen of death problem. Was I Pissed off now???? Pissed off was not the word I wanted to describe the smart guy who fixed my laptop. Next Thursday I was back to the service center, met the same smart guy again, told him and repeated the same problem, Now the smart guy takes the laptop inside and does some work ( It did look like) and brings it back to me saying it wont happen again. I was seriously praying it would be all okay now and was hopeful the smart guy in Hawally knew what he was doing. It took me another two hours on reaching home to realize that the smart guy couldn’t do shit. So, next Thursday I go again, meet the smart guy again, tell him the same problem again (yah he forgets ppl fast) this time I guess he ran out of excuses and luckily I meet another employee who says the blue screen is proberly because of some faulty Ram or Hard Drive hardware and that I should visit the Zak Solutions hardware service center in Shuwaik. This point made me really think that now my troubles would be over (If I knew better4)

Zak Solutions Hardware Service (Location 2-Shuwaik)
Okie so next Thursday came, This time I made a move to the Shuwaik Service center, There I meet a even smarter guy (yeah u know better) who gives me a receipt and tells me to come after three days. Third day I come and he tells me the problem was Windows Explorer 7. At this point I was like, screwed, Millions of people use Explorer 7, My dad’s dell laptop uses Internet explorer 7 my home desktop PC I use Internet Explorer 7 and this smarter guy say that the problem is Internet Explorer 7. I tried explaining to the guy of its wide usage without problems, even with my friend who had the same kind of laptop. But he wouldn’t budge, I guess he was just paid to warm his ass in his seat and repeat the problem as stated in my receipt. I ended up with the belief that okie fine if the problem doesn’t come again then its okay. (But I should have known better again) I didn’t know what to do to this smarter guy, I mean how lame can a person get!!! I ended up having the same problem when I reached home.

Then again for the free Thursday, I am back to the same smarter guy there. This time I clearly tell him that the problem was not Internet Explorer 7, and show him the problem. I can’t do more than show can I?. He as usual prepares a receipt and tells me to come after three days, In the United States the same dell premium system is guaranteed to be fixed within 24 hours. I guess this is not the United States, Its Kuwait. Anyway, This time he calls me after three days and tells me that I have to reinstall the whole software and I was like I don’t think that would solve the problem. As usual he thought he knew the problem like the back of his hand and said it would be fixed this time. This time I had an argument over the phone (Imagine the amount of time and money I wasted to get to know that these guys don’t know shit). Add to that, the smarter guy says I got to pay 15 KD for reinstallation!!! (three years warrantee on system and here I am paying for repairs for problems I had no part of) I guess this was one of the very few times I actually shouted at a guy. I thought I should take it more rationally and no point in fighting if I wanted to get my laptop fixed. I wanted him to agree to refund me the money if the problem comes again, for which he said a blank NO. I was like fine fix it and I prayed hoping this time it works fine.

It finally worked fine. This time I was actually working towards trying to make the problem appear again at home. Next day I realized I shouldn’t have worked so hard because it started showing the same problems. Right now I am at a point I lost hope with the service guys and that fixing the laptop through some external competent professionals would save me time, effort and money rather than going to Zak Solutions for help. Till now of all bad services I have ever had (few actually). Zak Solutions in Kuwait reaches new heights.

Right now I am checking out my laptop with friends who know better, Hope my dell laptop gets fixed this year. I believe for any company, that all products of a company won’t be defect free, but if defects should be there, It should be promptly taken care of and by COMPETENT dealers. Dell is a great brand, they have the right products, the right prices but the dell branch in Kuwait is nothing less than incompetent to deal with the services that come with Dell USA.

It has been maybe 6 months since I brought the laptop, but have not used it for more than 10 to 15 hours on it because of problems relating to

1. Causes the blue screen Error (99% of times I used)
2. Work Life Constraints.

Right now my advice to people buying laptops.

“Neva buy a Dell laptop from the dealer in Kuwait”. This line would be the smartest decision I said in the blog today.

Reference
(Only if I knew better) was used repeatedly for which morals I realized in buying a DELL product was:

1 = Neva bargain with a high specification product for a few Kuwaiti Dinars, It’s almost surely not worth the bargain.

2 = Warranty is a good thing. But if you are been warranted by people who don’t know how to fix a defective product, You got yourself a big problem.

3 = Always keep a backup of your Documents, because atleast that cant go wrong.

4 = Having trouble with incompetent people never ever disappears.

MaRy N SuRyA

After a break am back to blogging, Well getting back to my topic Mary and Surya, these are two witty, intelligent, strong, cute characters that work with me in office. Well lets start with Mary, I know her since more than a year now (I think at least I know) From the first day she came into the office where she was so innocent to the coming days where her colors changed like those of chameleons.

Today we talk about just 3 incidents among the many forgotten incidents

MARY

First Incident
The most infamous of days was when she was supposed to give us a treat in Ruby Tuesday off gulf road. I got a confession to make before going further… I am bad at roads ways…really badd…but then by the time this paragraph is done I will prove to u who could be worse off…heheheh…I just knew it was located next to the Kuwait towers….But back to Mary’s and Orwin’s Birthday treat, It was fixed on a Thursday morning at Ruby Tuesday which was located close to the Kuwait towers off the Gulf road. On the memorable day, Mary and Nelson (Nite rider) were with me in the vehicle and since I was bad at roads I asked if they had any idea of the directions. I only knew it was close to Kuwait Towers. Mary saying she comes through that side of the road every day since the last three months to office gave me the confidence of the direction I was taking (For that moment at least!). Yes, night rider was also with me with advices and technical know how’s of the roads in Kuwait (it’s his best skill set yet). He also supposedly knew the way but not as good as Mary. Luckily we guys left pretty early that day and although we never really got lost… the only real help or direction advice from Mary coming in the WISE and really HELPFUL words “I think we guys are far from the place” :). But then thanks to mine and only my sense of judgment we made it to Ruby Tuesday that day. In between all this our nite rider was very vocal about my knowledge of roadways which really didn’t matter coz he was as good at directions as Mary was or worse that day hehe.

Well the moral of the above paragraph,
Don’t ask Mary for directions.
Don’t ask Nite Rider anything about IT(reference - previous blog) and
Don’t ask Nite rider about directions too.

Second Incident
This was the time when Mary within a few months of joining had taken a vacation to India. The coincidence was that both of us had taken our vacations during the same period. But the difference is that during the vacations, I get a call from her saying that her marriage is FIXED. Hehehe mann that was like a big surprise for all of us in office including me. Actually the fastest marriage I have known till date. But in one way I am happy to God for this. At least now her hubby (Bibin) can teach her directions in Kuwait :) hehehe. I was one of the lucky ones to see their marriage pics and videos, Everything was good including for the fact that Mary was advertising for Alukas Jewellery Showroom(I think it was Alukas, rite Mary?). But I suppose Mary is planning to open a jewelry shop in Kuwait very sooooon. Whats that Mary… in Salmiya I hear..oh neva mind. Hehehe

Mary is a fun person, A totally totally totally totally hardworking and dedicated person from the first day I met her, She claims she knows the directions in Kuwait and still claims she knows the way to her house from office, She also prefer everyone calls her by her nickname RAMBO (due to her ability to crush nation’s armies with her bare hands), she is also famous for her ability to bring wonderful homemade cake (Not proved she made it yet, and yah the same bare hands she can crush armies with), Her hobbies include experimental skin treatments and straightening procedures(hair).

Third Incident
What did u say Mary, …..Sleeping _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Dash) LOL

Right now Mary practices delegating authority to Surya, which would bring me to my thoughts of SURYA...

SURYA
Okay Surya came to the company as a trainee, kinda like on an internship, doing her masters in Australia. No..She doesn’t resemble the animal kangaroo but she does replicate the penguin, u can say cute (according to her penguins are) depending on how you view penguins. But her most preferred nick would be Betty Boop (cartoon character link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Boop):) She is otherwise also popularly known as Rambo’s Sidekick. Her choice of weaponry includes missile launchers, Knifes, Stones, Penknife, Nail Cutters, polish removers, PPM’s and feasibility study books(sponsored by our office) etc.

Then yah her definition of cute is boys who act cute which I think is 70% equal to cute guys…oh what’s that Surya…oh 90% okie okie..I revise that to 90% equal to cute guys. :) Today is her last day in Office and she has confined to us that she already misses everyone in the department. Okay that line never happened as yet but I am expecting that soon. Esp. after writing all this :) hehe. She’s supposedly a big fan on youtube and would spend most of her internet hours on the site. This is other than the time she spends in office and home serving the Orkut Community and keeping up their servers. Her hobbies include Eating, Orkuting, Eating, Youtube, Eating, Partying and again Eating.

Goto get back to work….oh people

I like to warn the viewers reading my blogs not to take their (Mary’s and Surya’s) comments to the statements I made seriously. They are bound to make such statements in the capacity of Critics, Proof for statements as such should be weighted with facts. In their case they don't have any :)

Note: Respective pictures of Mary and Surya would be posted as soon as modifications to bring them to original and natural characteristics are completed …

Sweety Corner
My sweetz made a comment the other day that I don’t tell the true things about how I feel for her, examples such as I would die for her and go to the end of the earth for her and that I can’t live one day without her and I will beat up all goondas for her :)) etc. Well sweets, here I said it hehe..okie fine… I neva said it but u said it so why should I say it again hehe :).

Actually what I would like to say to you my sweetheart is that “I LOVE U A LOT AND WILL ALWAYS DOO NO MATTER WHATEVA HAPPENS”. :) now that’s my thought. It doesn’t go into scenario examples but its gets to the point nah sweeetz :).

My Day at the Ice Rink

It was during the last public holiday I went for a day of ice skating with my sisters along their friend. Its not like it was the first time I had gone there … I think it was twice before, Once during a friend’s birthday party which was organized there and the other time with other friends, but both these times were during my school years. The only thing different from then is now I am a lot chubbier and less flexible than the Debin of those days. But then what the heck, Ice skating is supposed to one of those sports (eg. swimming) wherein if you had done it before it stays in your blood. Welllllll, Atleast I thought it was in my blood, till I stepped in the rink anyway,

Stepping in the rink made me realize something, I still never knew shit how to skate, Add to the anxiety was my inherent fear of kids (yeah.. I mean the kids 1/5th my size) showing off their skills really close to you especially and more especially when they realize you can’t skate for heaven’s sake. Good for us that day we never had anyone else in the kids rink (yah the whole kids rink for ourselves). We guys attended the afternoon 2:30pm to 4pm session, Basically it’s a 1.5 hour session charged at Kd 2 per individual. The day was actually more fun than playing pool and bowling for me (we actually move our bodies here) and by the end of the day I was skating better off from when I started, Wellllll, Atleast I thought that way!!!! till at the last 10 minutes of the session I did a fall… a pretty good dive forward on the Ice ;) Nothing much happened except on my confidence front!!! But that is what makes ice skating fun I guess. Speaking about falling, I actually was the last one to fall. Debee fell (ten minutes before she was like ‘quote’ “I don’t mind falling”) and made a small crack to her right wrist arm. She’s on the sling now since two weeks. Doc said it can be removed by next week. Diana also made a fall, or should I say gracious fall and getting back on her feet pretty fast.

Ice skating was fun. Hope to go there again soon. Just goto wait for debees arm to get all alright.
Insha ala next week…

Scoop: I plan to invite Night Rider among my other friends… Next time should be even more fun :)

Oh, today my gf.(soni) complained I neva wrote about her and went on to go on an indefinite strike (nature of stike no idea, when it will end also no idea). To prevent anything disastrous happening to her…. and ultimately myself :)) hehehe I like to write what’s happening on her side. Today she went for a rock concert (lucky her:))and had a nice time. :)) . Yesterday she had gone for the Hindi movie salaam e ishq which she liked a lot. I doubt if it wasn’t for John Abraham would she still like it :)) and 2moro going for her friends wedding :))..happening gf. I got nah!! Hehehe…

Making a move…
[2moro’s Blog Topic will be about Mary and Surya...more details 2moro...hehehehe]

2nd Blog

Funny just yesterday I thought of blogging my first blog and then I get it.. Work and more work... hehe neva saw it coming but guess I will be pretty loaded up for the week. Yah, as usual I always goto get stuck up on a Sunday when i am supposed to be attending the mass at Church. Thinking starting next week of making sure I attend the mass on Sunday morning's before office starts. That way i dont fail on my obligation to God :).

Today was the day I talk about my friends.. well well.. i am no superstar or boyband member to be having a huge friends base but then got all kinds of friends... the bad ones, the cunning ones, the users, the I am so smart ones, good ones, geniune ones and friendly ones... I just stick more to the last three catagories. For me to know what kinda friend u got..u just need max 3 meetings. I believe in the fact that the small things that a person do reflect his personality to a large extent..c'ant think of any examples rite now. maybe later. Today wanna show u one of my lets say recent friend's I call him the Nite Rider!(remember the serial with the black car where the baywatch actor(forgot his name...was it dustin? acts in... yah the electronics loaded gadget car ridding the world of evil doers) Well thats just the fictitious serial... the real nite rider dude is in Kuwait more specific staying in Salmiya by the name Nelson.. If u do notice this guy (which u would neva do coz he drives like the nite rider!!!) pls do ask for his autograph!!! but pls pls not anything relating to I.T. !!! LOL (Thats a joke only select inviduals understand :) sorrie about that)

Snooop.....Here's a pic of the Nite Rider before he did the disappearing act..

My long time friends are Navaneeth and Haby since school days.. Navaneet just stays a few buildings away from my suite and well we kinda meet up every other day to hang around. Haby's in Bangalore in India slogging his workable life out there havng office trips everyother month.. (but the little fun there beats the fun u can have ur whole life in Kuwait). Heres a pic of us shot during my college days. It was shot in GK Vale, Bangalore if I remember rite..

Haby in the left and Navaneeth in the right (Both Bachelors at the moment!!!!! & !!!!!)
Actually got a few school friends around the place scattered all over Kuwait, but most of them are back home or in the US /UK / Australia.. but then every now and then someone keeps hopping to Kuwait.

Rite now just wish my someone special hops over the country. :)

Thats about it. Breaks over..getting back to work.

@2moro's topic hmmm... Ice Skating in Kuwait....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

FiRsT BLoG DaY

And here goes my first blog in life,

It would only be fair to start with a proper introduction. Name’s Debin settled at present in Kuwait (can never be sure how long I can take it) with my parents having been working here all their workable life :). Got two sisters, one is working and the other still in college. Being the eldest among the siblings.. ppl say I should be the spoilt brat!! but hmm. I don’t think so…hey reallyyy!!!! The only one person who wouldn’t veto that would be my Gf. :). But for that matter she wouldn’t veto anything I wanted to prove ;). (I suppose half my future blogs in life would be coming from her standpoint haha).

Right now my life revolves around working…sleeping…more working and more sleeping. But since today the 27th of January 2007, I have decided to make a RESOLUTION (okay I know its not Jan 1st) to change the way I see things. Well I thought blogs are a fun way to express views of things around u :).

Saying that, I should begin blogging down from 2moro :)…

Cya take care

Pretty lame start for the first blog rite J !!!!!
[2moro’s Blog Topic – My Friends]