Simply Riaz... Simply Myself...

"மச்சி treat டா..." எங்கயோ கேட்டா மாதிரி இருக்கா? கண்டிப்பா இயந்திர வாழ்க்கை வாழும் ஒவ்வொரு நபரும் கேட்டிருக்க கூடிய வாக்கியம் தான் இது. ஸ்கூல், காலேஜ்-ல ஆரம்பிச்சு அலுவலகம் நண்பர்கள், என்? வீட்டில் மனைவி உறவினர்களிடமும் கேட்டிருக்க வாய்ப்பு உண்டு. இந்த treat கலாச்சாரம் இனிக்கு நமக்கிடையே பரவலாக ஊடுருவி விட்டுள்ளது. எக்ஸாம்-ல பாஸ் ஆனா treat, fail ஆனாலும் treat... ஏதாவது figure paatthu கண்ணடிச்சாலும் treat, செருப்பால அடிச்சாலும் treat... பிறந்த நாள், அலுவலகத்தில் promotion, நிச்சயதார்த்தம், கல்யாணம், என அடுக்கி கொண்டே போகலாம். இவர்களிடத்தில் எல்லாம் காசு நெறைய கொட்டி கிடக்கிறது போல?
காசு நெறைய இருந்தா கண்டிப்பா செலவு பண்ணுங்க வேண்டாம்னு சொல்லல. ஆனா இத ஒரு கலாச்சாரமா ஆக்கி நடுத்தர குடும்பங்களில் இருந்து வந்து கஷ்டப்படும் நண்பர்களை தூண்டிவிட்டு கஷ்டப்படுத்தி வேடிக்கை பாக்காதீங்க! தேவையில்லாம ego உருவாக்கி அவங்க கஷ்டப்பட்டு சேர்த்து வைக்கும் காச வீண் ஆக்காதீங்க. உண்மையான நட்புக்கு அடித்தளம் அன்பும் கருணையும் தான். நட்பை விலை கொடுத்து தான் வாங்க வேண்டுமா? கொஞ்சம் சிந்தித்து பாருங்கள். வாழ்க்கையில் எல்லாத்தையும் சாதித்து விட்டீர்களா? உங்கள் பெற்றோருக்கு செய்ய வேண்டிய கடமை எல்லாம் செய்து விட்டீர்களா? உங்களில் எத்தனை பேர் பெற்றோர் பிறந்த நாளுக்கு செலவு செய்து gift வாங்கி கொடுத்துள்ளீர்கள்?
You have to start living your life based on your priorities. You have to realise that friendship and love comes free. So the next time someone asks you for a treat or you ask someone for a treat, think first on your priorities or your friend's priorities in life. When you plan to gift someone, shower your love and affection through a token gift that you can really afford and doesn't affect your life's priorities. The gift should carry your love and not money. Always remember that a true friend will never have any expectations.
Its also a common culture nowadays in colleges and offices to collect small amounts from everyone and then buy a gift for someone. This is also a good practice but again the end product should be a wise investment. Its also good to ask the concerned person what he needs urgently or what he prefers as a gift. This way both sides are happy and satisfied, you for having given something that your friend really needed and your friend on getting what he actualy needed rather than some fancy gift. Sometimes when you run into budget problems, its best to get shopping vouchers from whatever money you have collected and present it to your friend. This will help your friend to prioritise and buy whatever he feels necessary at that time. Before I close off, remember this as a best practice: If you see something and feel like buying it, please wait for 24 hours... if you still feel that its really worth buying or its realy useful to you, yes, then go ahead... Happy Savings!

In this busy age of urbanization and commercialization, there are very few places in the world still untouched by all this hungama. Langkawi island in Northern Malaysia is one such place. I had a chance to visit this beautiful natural island with my parents and friends. Raw nature's beauty, adventurous, romantic, calm, serene... there is a lot to say about this place. Langkawi is about 1 hr from Singapore by air. Road and ferry transport is also available (takes abt 14 hours). The best way to navigate around the island is by car. You can hire your own car for about 180 Malaysian ringitts per day. Several hotels from budget to luxury welcome you in Langkawi. I happened to stay at Berjaya beach resorts (damn good) & Bay view hotel (good). There are several other smaller islands around Langkawi which needs to be explored as well. You shouldnt miss out the Island hopping tour (you get to see the island where Hrithik & Amisha were left behind in the hindi movie Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai) and the 2 hour Mangrove cruise which is also damn good. Its a haven for visitors with a liking for water adventure sports. If you are romantic, then dont miss the sunset at Eagle Square. For those who are a no-no for any food other than Indian food, you have the Pappadam restaurant (near Langkawi Underwater world).. food ok lah.. but service was horrible. If you are into shopping, then go to Kuah town. And finally dont miss out on the thrilling cable car ride from Mt.Chinchang to Mt.Raya... on the way you can get down and take a walk on the hanging bridge (if you have seen the tamil movie Billa where Ajith does a stunt sequence on the bridge). The cable car operation stops if the weather is windy or cloudy. So better plan your trip accordingly. It would be great if you plan your trip for 3 full days so that you can enjoy nature to its fullest and return home with a relaxed mind! And if you dont want to drive and wanna just relax in the backseat, then I would recommend one Mr.Jabbar who was our chauffeur cum guide on both trips. He is really good at his work and became a good friend to all of us. His rates are also decent. He can be contacted at +60193049436. You can tell him that I recommended him and he will surely help you out :-) So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and enjoy the natural holiday!

Last week I had a guest at home. A guy from Pakistan who was a friend of my colleague at office. He was here in Singapore on a short business trip and needed a place to stay for a week. So we offerred our humble abode on our friend's request... It was a wonderful experience with him around and we learnt quite a few things about Pakistani people and culture. நம்ம கேப்டன் சொல்ற அளவுக்கு மோசமான மக்கள் கண்டிப்பா இல்ல! He was a very sweet, polite, kind & helping guy. In fact, he is getting married on 15 Nov. We discussed a lot about food, culture, etc. Learnt that Pakistanis shared our culture of strong bonding with the family and parents. They were mostly joint families and தனி குடும்பம் is a rarity there. It was funny when he said rasam is very hot. They are not used to hot food! He left today morning back to home. Hope I get to meet him again. Maybe think of a trip to Pakistan and see the truth myself rather than believing our politicians and movie stars.

Hi All! Coming back here after a long long time... Actually due to a reason... Wanted to share with you all a recent horrible experience which I had. Especially to friends in the IT world and all those people with jobs requiring them to sit throughout the day...

I sufferred from a slip disc just 2 months ago. For those who dont understand medical lingo, I will try to give you a simple explanation as much as I can...Your spinal cord is supported by many discs (basically bones). One of my discs, the lowest one on my back.. doctors cal it L5.. it got weakened (literally dead) over a period of time. And finally one day, when I tried to bend down and pick something, it just snapped out of its place and got dislocated! The pain was so horrible and I was unable to walk or sit for almost a week! Lying down was the only solace. After the ortho confirmed it as a disc slip, I took daily physio therapy sessions and finally the pain subsided.

Now the reasons on why my disc weakened as heard from the ortho:
1. Long hours of continuous sitting.
2. Wrong posture of sitting.
3. Failure to strengthen abs & back muscles while doing gym workouts, running, jogging, etcNow the most worrying fact according to the ortho is that this problem is very common nowadays among IT professionals and people whose job requires them to sit through the day.

So how to avoid this from happening?
1. Avoid long sitting. Sit no more than 20 mins at a stretch. Take a break. Just stand up, stretch for a couple of seconds and then continue. At longer intervals, take a short walk.
2. Correct ur posture. Your chair also plays an important role. There are many websites that educate you on correct sitting postures.
3. If you are working out at the gym, go for running, jogging, etc, make sure you do some excercises to strengthen your abdomen & back muscles.

Now I have to keep excercising my back and abs daily in order to prevent the slip from happening again. Because once the disc is weak and dead, there is no other alternative :-( If you have any kind of back pain, even if its very light pain, please do not ignore... I would strongly advise you to consult an ortho immediately and take preventive actions ASAP. I used to ignore the back pains that I used to get earlier and now I suffer. I pray to God that He keep us all safe from such pains and give us happiness!

Well.. Well... Well... Here I am. So what the heck? What am I doing in Singapore? I sit down and think of that now. Its been three years.. or should I say, three long years? Came here first in July 2006. Was new to the outside world at that time having spent most of my 23 years of existence within the confines and comfort of home in Chennai. A sweet doting mother, a strict yet lovable father and a cute li'l sister...
Left all that joy behind and now toiling hard in a foreign country. All this for what? For money? For luxury? For comfort? For power? For position? For career? I dont know. And I am sure I am not the only one thinking like this. Hundreds and thousands of youngsters venture out into the world unknown to them in quest of something they can never define.
The whole world has turned materialistic. Competition rules. Everything has a price. Sometimes even love has to pay. Sad thing thats happening to this once wonderful world! 'Love thy neighbour' has become a saying of the past. Only money speaks everywhere. Blood relatiosnships have become a thing that has meant to be severed. The whole world is going in a direction which nobody would have imagined some 300 years ago! So do you think you can answer my question? Why am I here?