back!

I'm back from my trip! Well, actually I got back at the beginning of the month, but have been busy catching up with stuff...work-wise and house guest-wise, so it's been a pretty hectic time. The trip was superb...I will post a few photos here later on. The bast part was of course being in the hills in Mussoorie for a few days, which was a really nice place to chill for a few days.

a different setting

I know this is not your usual coffee drinking spot, but then nothing in Dubai is usual and normal. Everything is larger than life, exaggerated, grander, and more fantastical. This is in the Ibn Batutta Mall in Dubai, in the Persia Court where there is also a Hediard Cafe behind the Starbucks. It's certainly a great place, although so very incongruous, for a cup of coffee. I find it very interesting to see modern signs in such an old setting, but then everything is new in this city, things are just made to look old that's all.

Finally, a little respite...

As the weather is turning better once again, it is time to think about getting some new outdoor furniture covers so that one can fully enjoy the nice weather. The barbecue area needs a bit of an update as well and hopefully we will be able to find some nice extras to add there as well. One of the best things about the fall and winter here is that the evenings become pleasant and it is wonderful to be able to enjoy that time of the day, after so many months of long hot days.

sorting out the photos

Since I now have so many photographs taken over the past 8 months, I have begun to go through them and start deleting some of the repeats, similar ones, or simply bad ones. As I was going through them, I found this shot, which I had completely forgotten about. I really liked this series of shots that I took, since they are so simple and minimal, in the color or non-color rather, the composition etc. It is quite different from what I thought I would photograph, so am happy with the result.

getting trendy

Lately I have been noticing a very strong trend towards all sorts of embellishments that teenagers and young adults are going in for. Everything from body jewelry, tattoos, airbrushing and so on is very popular these days it seems. Fashion is extremely cyclical and lately the cycles have been getting shorter and shorter, quite similar even though they are are still variations of the original trend. Open any popular fashion magazine and you will understand what I mean. Younger people today are greatly influenced by what they see around them and on the television and are creating their won style of clothing and jewelry to define them.

The downsizing trend

US consumers are changing the way they shop and live. In a recent survey done by DisplaySearch, it was found that US consumers are switching to smaller size televisions, along with smaller cars. While the number of LCD TVs shipped last year increased by 52%, the bulk of this increase was made up of smaller size TVs of the 19, 21 and 32 inch sizes. Samsung still remains the number one flat screen TV manufacturer, followed by Sony. It will be interesting to see the effect of these changes in the long term, not only on the economy but also on the environment as every small change will definitely have an impact of that aspect as well.

freeing up memory

I've been running dangerously low in memory in my laptop lately and have had to delete some of the programs that I no longer use to free up some space. I spent some time researching add on memory, micro sd and so on, and have come to the conclusion that I actually need a new laptop. I've had this one for 3 years, which in the life of a laptop is quite a bit. The way I work and use the laptop has changed quite a bit too in the past few years and so I need to re-figure what all I use it for and buy one with the correct specifications. I do hope it's not going to mess up my settings for connections that I have here and when I travel, since that will be a major hassle.

Driving by

Here's a picture that I took last month, but only recently uploaded to my Flickr page. I've been taking lots of shots while in the car and a decent number of them are pretty good and interesting. It's been so hot lately, that I've been avoiding going out into the heat too much and taking a shot from the comfort of one's car is so, so easy. Not every shot is worth keeping of course, but one does get lucky...as I have found!

Enjoy!

summer woes

Summer time is the worst time of the year for the skin. Besides battling sunburn, its acne that is on everyone's minds thanks to the high humidity levels. A certain amount of humidity is really great for the skin, but too much can wreck havoc on ones skin if one is not careful enough. One has to have a good skin care regimen to tackle acne, and one has to catch it as it starts. Only then one can have a nice peaceful summer! There are so many options available for acne treatments, but one must try them out for oneself and see what suits ones skin, instead of just relying on what the magazine's say. Good luck!

this past month

The past month has been unbelievably busy and I can't imagine just how fast it has gone by. It was just the start of July the other day and now August is here. Work wise the time has been really great, as I've had lots of assignments, and have been kept really busy. It's also been a good time for reading and I finished four books this past month. I had set myself the task of reading at least 2 books every month and so I am really happy that I managed to read double that amount. Two of the books were very serious stuff, about the Bush administration and the other two were more lighthearted, one about the wives of Henry VIII and another about a British writer's year in France. Great stuff, all of them.

The marketing behind the product

I constantly am amazed at how much difference there is in the way the different products are marketed by companies. Since electronics are deemed to be a masculine area, these ads are always edgy and manly, while for things like bedroom sets, the format is usually more feminine. That is how the marketing and consumer worlds function, but what I find interesting is that they almost have a sort of sociology undercurrent going on. Interestingly, more and more companies are realizing this bias and changing the way they make their ads, and focusing some of their ads more towards women.

not overlooked any more

The thing about photography is that it makes you notice all the things that you never even gave a second glance to earlier. I've always been an observant person but was really surprised to discover that I was actually not as observant as I could be. Since I've started taking photographs, I'm always looking out for things to photograph and so have started noticing all the little things and details that I missed earlier. It's certainly been quite a fun experience.

summer tribulations

Summer is meant to be a fun time, away from school and sometimes work, but for a lot of teenagers, the problem of acne gets exacerbated due to the weather conditions and probably also due to eating a lot more junk food. There are a variety of acne treatments available in the market and come summer, there is a huge surge in the advertisements surrounding these products. The thing with acne is that there are so many causes, that it's often hard to pinpoint and separate just one cause. Trial and error is one of the most common ways of deciphering what works and what doesn't.

Party planning

Party planning has got a huge boost thanks to all the tools one can find on the Internet. I use Hallmark Smilebox for all my cards since I am able to add photographs to the cards and email them to friends and family. Today, when searching on the Internet, I found a site called MyPunchbowl where you can plan a party, right from selecting the date, creating a menu, offering a potluck list and even being able to send photographs to the party invites as well. I signed up for this site, but have yet to use it as yet. I will probably test it out just to see how it works, especially the look of the party invites and if I will be able to add photos to the invites or not.

Summer's lists

I am so amazed at the amount of money people spend to follow the trends. With the number of celebrity magazines constantly increasing, the trend of looking slim and trim at all times is not going to be going away anytime soon. The list of new kinds of diet foods, diet pills, slimming underwear and so on are always going to be top sellers I think, since we all have a fascination of looking as good as we possibly can at all times. I think that's an unbearable amount of pressure, but no one is caving and instead the trend is only getting bigger, with everyone watching celebrities losing their baby weight faster and faster.

A new passion

The past six months have been an incredible ride thanks to my new hobby of taking photographs! Sometimes I find it quite unbelievable that I am actually spending so much time doing this, but the fact is that it has been such an enjoyable and a thoroughly eye-opening experience, that I can't imagine why I didn't get into it before. I love to explore new areas, a lot of times just for the sake of getting to take photographs, which is quite a change from my normal self.

Here's a shot I took some time back on my morning walk.

Shuffling vacations

We try to take different kinds of vacations each time we travel. Even though I love going to the beach and the mountains, if we were to do that every time, it would get boring really quickly. So, the trick is to alternate between hectic city vacations, historical jaunts, peaceful sojourns and party filled Vegas vacations. It certainly makes life a lot more interesting I feel. A lot of people invest in a cottage by the lake or on the beach and then get tied down to only going there, which I think is a total waste. The whole world is out there waiting to be explored, so don't go to the same place again and again. I agree, there is a certain charm in going for repeat vacations, since one really gets a higher level of comfort with a certain place, but combine those with new spots as well. It'll be totally worth it, I assure you.

early, early

I love heading outdoors early in the morning for some fresh air, a new perspective and some quiet time. It really is a great way to get a head start on the day. One day I left home slightly earlier than normal was was greeted with this sight. The light was incredible, the blue sky unbelievable (especially since we've had so many dust storms lately) and I was so glad I had my camera with me. Every minute the light changes at dawn, so it is really important to capture the moment quickly.

Enjoy!

Getting that xbox 360

Everyone knows that one of the best gifts to give a teenager is an xbox 360! It's just something that everyone wants, regardless of where they live, how good or bad they've been and whether they actually know how to play it. It simply is a must have item for the majority of teenagers and well, many adults as well, across the world. I, however, am not one of them! So, when I needed to buy a super-awesome present for a special teenager, I asked my all knowing neighbor and this is the answer she gave me. So off I went to my computer to find the best prices and the best places to buy it from and it turns out that buy.com is where one gets the most awesome prices. Problem solved!

Walmart changes its logo

Walmart announced that it has redone its logo, after a two year customer based transformation has been taking place at its US stores. The company's US stores will be getting the new updated look as it redoes most of its stores by the fall, but customers are already seeing the new logo in the company's new TV ads and print commercials. This is not the first time that Walmart has changed its logo, the company has freshened up its logo several times, with the last one happening in 1992. Besides the new logo, the company is also using its name without the hyphen in between as it earlier did, and has softened the letters and made them more customer friendly, instead of the old ones which were too bold and sharp.