What’s your favorite season and why?

/ riainthecity / 3 Comments

Took this somewhere near Kingston, Ontario and by the way no filters have been used. The only thing that has been touched up in this photo are the borders.

Staying in Singapore I have not experienced Autumn for the longest time but Hooray! for Canada 😉 Fall is a beautiful season and to me it signifies hope. It’s mother nature’s way of telling us that things will always get better and the old has to make way for the new. However, it gets a lot worse before it gets better a.k.a winter :p

It was so cold today that i had to literally thaw myself in front of the heater! I felt like a frozen turkey. UGH! how I hate the cold!

Is social media taking over your life?

/ riainthecity / 9 Comments

This is what my morning routine is like…

… and I can’t help but notice that this is an all too common story. With the plethora of technology and social networking sites available these days, technology has more or less taken over our lives!

Do you remember what life was like before Twitter or Facebook?

My first experience with social networking was via Friendster back in 2004, which for the record doesn’t even exist anymore! And then came along Orkut, Facebook, Twitter and finally Google Plus. The only one that I personally like is Twitter. Facebook was fun at first but then i grew up and it lost its charm and to be honest I have no interest in visiting farms!

Don’t get me wrong, I think social media is wonderful because it gives power to the ordinary man to be heard and yadayadaya but that was before celebrities started getting twitter and my whole timeline got filled with crap about them! Honestly, WHO THE HELL CARES!? Apparently, a lot of people!

I’ve met some really wonderful people through twitter and I am really glad that I joined it! However, you can’t let social media take over your life! Just yesterday I was reading a blog by someone you could call a moderately famous blogger and they stated that people are breaking up over social media. That is something my 18 year old self could have totally related to but my 24 year old self fails to comprehend it. What the…

Moreover, people complain that others gossip about them based on what they have said on Facebook/Twitter. Either don’t say it or just don’t care about what others have to say because people say a lot of things. I’ve never been the one to hide my feelings and I am usually very open about how I feel, if I feel like telling my friends I love them then I will just do it on Facebook or wherever. People can think whatever the hell they want but telling people that you want to hump them on their Facebook wall is what I would classify as going a little overboard but HEY! to each their own. If you feel like doing it, just do it, as long as you are not implicating others or hurting others. As I always say, screw morality and society because if you can’t be nice and understanding towards other human beings then what good is a sense of morality and righteousness?

So leave me a comment letting me know what your morning rituals are like and if social networking is a part of it!

Childhood Crushes

/ riainthecity / 12 Comments

This post is in response to Tinkerbelle‘s post labelled Childhood Crushes on Brooke and McKenzie. If you already don’t read their blogs then you totally should!

When it comes to childhood crushes, I have got a few tales to tell. My first ever crush was on a Pakistani Singer/Philanthropist, Shehzad Roy. I was still rather young when he first came to the music scene.

I used to sit in front of the TV and belt out my own renditions of his songs. Ok I kid I kid, I wasn’t that little, it was probably more like this…

I was a tween not yet a teen (I am not a girl not yet a woman lalalalalalala) I used to belt out his songs whilst pretending to be playing an imaginary guitar! Even memorized all of his songs! Ah! Those were the days 😛

I was madly and deeply infatuated! My cousins used to tell me that I was crazy and that at this rate I was going to go mad!

At first, it was all fine and dandy and I only bought his posters but then he became like my very own version of crack and i started buying his CDs, all the magazines with his interviews and even religiously cutting out clippings from newspapers. I couldn’t even go two days without listening to his songs. The height of my obsession was when a girl at school claimed that she had his number and I actually paid her money to get the number, but alas! it didn’t work. And what happened after that?

I grew up!

However, back in 2009 I joined twitter and was browsing through accounts to follow and came across his account and thus began my RE-obsession with my first ever crush. Time to fish out those posters and put them up on my wall again 😛

His most amazing work to date is his Zindagi Foundation, which is a non profit organization that aims to provide quality education for underprivileged children. Cynics may say that, “Oh but others have already tried providing education for the underprivileged, it’s not going to change anything in Pakistan, so what’s the big deal?” But if all of us thought that way then no one will ever dare to dream and make a change!

So, Yes! 16 years and I still got a crush on my first ever crush! And to me that just shows loyalty rather than being pathetic!

How about you? Any crushes you just can’t get over? And do you smile like a creep aka me every time you see them?

Are you a cat person? No? Ah! A dog person then!

/ riainthecity / 5 Comments

I find it funny how people readily assume that if you aren’t a dog person then you must be a cat person. How about neither?

My neighbour is a cat lover and has more than a few cats at home. Our first meeting took place because of cats. Yup! how unfortunate! One poor feline was stuck on my balcony and my neighbor saw it while smoking on her balcony. Being a cat lover she couldn’t bear to see a feline in distress and jumped to her rescue and came knocking on my door, with her two cats in tow.

I was sleeping at that time and didn’t really want to open my door but she knocked constantly for 10 minutes. Yes, i timed it -_- When I finally opened the door she rushed into my apartment without even asking for my permission and brought the cat in. She then thrust the cat into my arms and asked me if  I am a dog person and when I said no, this is what she said…

I was just speechless!

Ever heard of shades of grey? Maybe i am just a hamster person. Why isn’t that term used? Or maybe i am a bug person? And to all of you who have been asking me, the only cat I like for now is the Nyan Cat and that’s that!

Justin Bieber is the father of Mariah Yeater’s child!

/ riainthecity / 7 Comments

Ok now that i have your attention can i just say how much I HATE IT when people use misleading titles to get traffic on their blog or YouTube?

This is what happens to me, every time I click on a link that has nothing to do with the title!

It is frustrating! and more often than not these sites have really boring content! So if you are one of those people, can you please stop doing that and post some interesting content? You do not have to talk about celebrities to catch my attention! Although that is high on the list 😉

The ‘Me too! Me too!’ syndrome – do you suffer from it?

/ riainthecity / 10 Comments

Ever had a friend, who always went “me too! me too!” whenever you said you had done something or something had happened to you? Or are you that friend?

Well, in any case it’s so bloody annoying when you are telling someone something interesting and they go me too! me too! Once, in a while it’s fine but how can it be that whatever happens to me happens to you too? Wait! are you me? Am i you? Now i am just confused!

I had the misfortune of having such a ‘friend’ in university and I use the word ‘had’ because I have cut all contact with her since I graduated and no it’s not just because of the fact that she suffered from the ‘me too! me too!’ syndrome or rather made me suffer due to it! but because of other reasons which i shall not elaborate here.

Anyways, so this particular person seemed to say nothing else apart from me too! me too! whenever I told her that something had happened to me. For instance, once at US customs a security personnel asked me if I am spanish because of my surname and when i told her she said… yes you guessed it… ME TOO! ME TOO! I mean what the heck? really? i mean your surname is so obviously indian like Patel! (that wasn’t her surname though!)

Being the nice understanding person that I am (ahem ahem!) I let it go but it just got worse. Somehow everything that happened between my boyfriend and I also seemed to happen between her boyfriend and her. How is that even possible? Every time? Really?

I presume, that if i had not cut contact with her, eventually this would’ve happened…

Not being able to make time for everyone

/ riainthecity / 2 Comments

The picture above, albeit a bad drawing, depicts almost everyone in the world today. Admit it, at one point or another we have all wished that there were more hours in the day and that is all fine and dandy.

What irks me are people who constantly complain about a lack of time and still fail to utilize their time in a productive way and take on more assignments than they can handle! Come on you know who you are! Once in a while i can understand you are really busy and you have things to do and can’t take out time for everything but you can’t let that happen all the time. If you are a working adult and can’t find time for your family, it’s really high time you struck a balance.

We all want to hang out with our friends but if you are constantly choosing your friends over your family then i really don’t know what to say to you except GET REAL! Life isn’t a bed of roses. If you want to write a book and can’t find the time for it then either make time or quit complaining about it all the time! Because honestly once or twice is fine but it pisses people off all the time!

Usually, I don’t really say all this to anyone but some of us could really use some tough loving and once you strike a balance you will really be happier.

I also updated my ‘Books that tickle my fancy’ section. So do check that out and as always, book recommendations are really welcome! 🙂

Change – love it or hate it?

/ riainthecity / 4 Comments

“Nothing endures but change.”- Heraclitus

I have a love hate relationship with change! Personally, i enjoy change but it can be so daunting sometimes.

On a side note, what the hell was Katie Holmes wearing on Rachael Ray’s show? No offence, but isn’t she a tad too young to be wearing that grandma outfit? I can’t find a picture of her from the show so i can’t post it up. She is cute but she doesn’t dress the part. Oh well! By the way try typing in grandma smok on google search and the first suggested search string that comes up is grandma smoking weed. The pictures aren’t that funny though.

Now on to the topic of change. For those of you who know me you will know that i have recently graduated and have been looking for work. Firstly the change from student life to working life is scary as hell! Yes i have done internships but that seemed so easy (come to think of it, looking for internships wasn’t ever easy). But you get my point, and since the economy has gone to the pooper the transition is even more daunting for most of us.

Since, i am having such a hard time with it, I can only imagine what other recent graduates must be going through. Therefore, over the next couple of days i will be going through things like how to write your resume or rather how to sell it and also cover letters and a streamlined application process. I am not making any money out of it and those are just things that i am learning myself too and I would like to share them with others.

Furthermore, I am also contemplating whether or not i should go to grad school next year. So far the only masters that seems in line with my career objectives is an MBA and you need some work experience for that. I might enroll myself in some modules just to get a feel of things though. Are any of you looking into grad school? If yes what is it that you look for in a school. Let me know because i am really confused right now!

In other news, i have dropped 5 kgs in the last one month and some of my friends have asked me for a diet plan but the thing is there really isn’t a diet plan just a healthy diet and a little bit of exercise! and by little i mean very little like 15 minutes a day but anyways i will still be coming up with a plan! And no i have not given up on chocolates!

I have been working on NaNoWrimo as well and i have finally hit 15000 words! i hope to reach at least 18000 tonight if not more. What i have decided to do is to write down whatever comes to my mind and then organize it later. It seems to be working so far.

What about you guys? Let me know about your progress! Do you like changing? How did you make the transition between student and work life?

Did you guys pin on your poppies for Remembrance day? Share your pictures!

 

 

[Credits: Google Images]

Freebies!

/ riainthecity / 4 Comments

Freebies are universally loved but hard to get. So, if you are looking for some awesome freebies do check this out (BreeForWomen) and be sure to follow them and show them some love! I know the people who run Bree and it will be updated more often soon.

For NaNoWriMo, I have reached 7000 words, i am a bit behind schedule but i am facing what one might call an inability to swim. It’s not even a writer’s block. There is a metaphorical river and i need to cross it and between you and me, i don’t know how to swim (literally)!

For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, get the freebee because if you smell good you write good. Er well kind of 😉

I want to rant about the Kardashians because they are such pointless celebrities but i really have to reach 15000 words by tonight so I will do that tomorrow!

Taking part in NaNoWriMo? let me know how is it coming along and whether you are also facing any difficulties and how you are dealing with them! Let’s help each other out! 🙂

Day 4 of NaNoWriMo and other updates

/ riainthecity / Leave a comment

It’s already 6:11pm and i haven’t gotten any writing done! Argh! but lo and behold i’ve finally decided on a theme for the book and i believe that will give my writing a sort of a direction. I’ve always preferred books which have a lesson in them. I mean pointless writing is all fine and dandy but you will reach a writer’s block at some point or another and pointless writing won’t help you then. I may be wrong but that’s just how i feel.

So if you are planning to write, my advice to you will be to find a theme for the book. Please be aware that genre and theme are two separate things and just having a genre in mind may not be that helpful. However i am not saying that you should find a theme straightaway, just start writing and the theme will come to you sooner or later.

On a side note, my sister brought smarties for me! yay! I am a 4 year old in a body of a 24 years old.

[Credits: quote by Alin, Photo by me]