Someone said, “You can’t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future”

Inundated. I have my work at full steam – and sometimes they get the better of me. Organizing and coordinating the different parts of a media & communications job can be fun. And challenging. I am learning to adjust to the lead times involved in this work and the different time zones!

But why did my blog suffer? I had time to brush my teeth. Take bath. Daily. Eat food. Why did my blog suffer? It was not fair. But I give credit to all of you who have been patient and very encouraging. I am thankful.

Time management has not always been my forte. My idea of time management is to not sleep. But my body does not agree with my theory. How much ever I try, it always gets the better of me. It just would not let me have my way. I don’t know how it does it but it always keeps me in bed for five hours every day. And if I push it too far, bam! In bed you go for a week! If someone knows how to beat that, let me know.

What did I learn about time management?

• Use a calendar. Paper or online.
• List your tasks/appointments.
• Prioritize them. You could either number them or mark them in some way so you can clearly see the important tasks. Those are the ones you want to get done first.
• Cancel tasks. There is always a “not-to-do-list” where there is a to-do list.
• Start. Sometimes, this can be the toughest part. There may be planning that is required or information that needs to be gathered. It is important to start somewhere. It sets you in motion. You can build momentum as you move on.
• Strike them off, once it is done. Move on to the next task.

Side notes:
– It is important to know when to stop. You could go on forever doing a homepage or cleaning the bathroom. It is easier when you realize that you will have to update the homepage tomorrow or the bathroom needs to be clean and sanitized, not polished and slippery! You could always spend more time on tasks once you have finished the other things on your list.

- Don’t beat yourself because you were not able to finish the task list. Learn to carry forward and finish it the next day.

- Some tasks are not meant to be finished in a single day. Break them into parts and split them over days.

How do you manage your time? Would love to know.

When I started writing this, I thought English was the largest spoken language. But Chinese Mandarin is. English is ranked third. English is the official language in 53 countries. And I kinda get the feeling that it is one of the most abused languages in the world too. (Abused may be too harsh a term but you get the idea!) :)

If you find it difficult to write something, what do you do? Do you stop? Do you give up? Do you tell yourself, “This is not my cup of tea!”. I have friends who have thoughts I have never heard before, ideas that are unique, stories that would make people laugh. But those stories get limited to our circle of friends. They wouldn’t start a blog or write a web page because they fear their language. They think it is not good enough. (And I keep telling them, who cares! They should just write.)

Here are some tips that have helped me in my writing. They may not be the life-changing stuff you expect. But I believe if you apply these in your writing, you should be able to see some improvement.

1. Keep it simple. If you use complex words, it does not make you hip. Using hard-to-pronounce words or words-that-make-me-look-up-a-dictionary-too-often is not really stylish. It puts me off sometimes. It does not mean that you don’t have to learn new words and use them at the appropriate time either. E.g. I came across the word ectoplasm used in a movie review – “When I was small, this movie would have scared the living ectoplasm out of me”. That was a new word for me. I would have just said, “it would have scared the living daylights out of me”. :)
2. Spell it correct. Always use the right spelling. Use the spell-check feature on any text editor you use (unless of course you use Notepad!). Even browsers and online text editors come with this facility. Why is spelling so important? To give your writing a professional outlook. Your writing style may be casual, even targeted at people who couldn’t give two hoots for spellings but it definitely makes you look good. Typos, as they are popularly known nowadays, can be avoided using technology. So why not?
3. SMS is for mobile phones. But not for online writing and that includes blogs, facebook, twitter etc. Avoid SMS jargons. E.g. “I luv wrtn tis way ten so i dun hv 2 wry abt splngs.” Unless you want to give your reader a headache, you don’t want to write like that. (I don’t agree to use them even in mobile texting.) Twitter sometimes forces you to use them because of the 140 character limit. But even then, please keep such usage to the bare minimum. Maybe one word. Definitely not more than two words.
4. Don’t repeat words. Not too often at least. E.g. “I could say what I want to say when I want to say it.” There is nothing wrong with that statement. But you could just say, “I can say what I want, when I want to”. This is important because if you keep repeating your words, the text would drag and become boring. To keep your readers tuned in, be crisp and to the point.
5. Try get the grammar right. This is the tough part. I really don’t know how to make this easy. Reading helps. Read anything you get – newspapers, magazines, online articles, bumper stickers. Listen lots. I used to love listening to the radio when I was younger. That helped me develop my language. Television can help you there too (assuming you watch English programming). Speaking helps. The more you speak, the more comfortable you become with the language. Ask a close friend who is good at the language to correct you when you make a mistake. And when they correct you, be willing to swallow your pride and accept that correction.  You may also want to check out the Grammar Girl’s podcasts too.
6. Write first. Edit later. You don’t have to get it right the first time. Neither the second or third time. Just keep writing. You can polish your work later. I always start with a framework – a list of things I want to cover in the article and then add the bacon and cheese. I think only Mozart was able to write masterpieces the first time he wrote it. So if you get an idea, just start writing. You can edit it later.
7. Definitely Edit. Having said my previous point, it would be sin not to review your work before you publish it. Someone once told me he reads what he has written at least three times before he publishes it. He catches most of what he can change in those three reads. You owe it to yourself and your reader to give it your best. If it is important work, ask your wife, friend, colleague to review it for you. They have the advantage of giving your work a fresh eye that could catch mistakes you overlooked.
8. Write. And write. I am happy that the greatest writers in the world are not literary geniuses nor do they hold doctorates in literature. They are people like me and that tells me I have a chance. I believe that you only need a desire to communicate your passion to the world and do it.

If you haven’t started writing yet, will you pick up that pen (or open your word processor)?

Did you find these tips useful? Do you have any tips you would like to share. Share them in the comments below.

Pictures courtesy:
Black book & pen: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1176000 (typofi)
Bottle & Cork: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/632972 (sritenou)
Coffee cups: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1214847 (Pintaric)
Reading glasses: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1232904 (mihow)
Typewriter: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/966154 (abcdz2000)
Pencil Eraser: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1123441 (nkzs)
Paper with writing: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/441337 (hopee)

Would you unfollow Barack Obama’s (so-called) Twitter account, now that you realize it has always been somebody else updating the account for him?

Would you decide not to get yourself a Mac because Apple so insists on you getting their own hardware and software in the name of total user experience?

Would you continue your credit card because they charged you annual fees and reverted it back only because you called them?

Would you spend three days on a train to travel across the country? Would you still do it if airline prices were not so prohibitive?

Would you trust a business without a website?

Would you stop your doorstep newspaper delivery because you get all your news online?

Would you choose a product/service because they have a bigger/active presence among today’s social media platforms?

Would you switch from Microsoft Office to Online Office platforms because they say they will be ready? Would you switch if you think they were ready?

Would our choices remain the same tomorrow?

Here are some videos I watched and loved this week:

1. The Soda Pop Store

This was one of my favorites. The Soda Pop Store (Galcos) in LA is unique. It sells sodas. And it does not sell Pepsi or Coke. It sells 500 different varities of soda pop from around the world. To be able to do something you love and have the freedom to do it and make money off it too! And mind you, he has built and is sustaining his own eco-system. Both different, small-scale soda pop suppliers from around the world, end customers and restaurants. A definite inspiration.

2. Procrastination

You should see this video if you think you are so busy that you keep stalling from doing the important stuff. What does it mean to procrastinate? I will tell you that another day. ;)

3. Taylor Mason – The World’s Worst Blues Song

Taylor Mason is a comedian, ventriloquist and musician. He has amazing talent with puppets. In fact, he is the only guy I have seen who can talk interchangeably for six puppets (including himself :)). But one of my favorites with him is his music. He plays the blues. This one’s called the ‘happy blues’!

Do you have favorite videos? Share them in the comments section below.

C’mon, who are we kidding? There are many of us who have used our cellphones while driving. I have used mine (for talking and not texting).  For most of us, we either think we are very good drivers or such accidents couldn’t happen to us. But history has proved many wrong and we wouldn’t want to push our luck that far. As Bill Gallagher said (of course in a different context), “Life’s too short to make all your own mistakes, better to learn from the mistakes of others”.

The video was made in the UK by the Gwent police department in South Wales. They teamed up with filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes to produce the PSA (Public Service Announcement). The film seemed to have raised quite an uproar ’cause of its ‘bloody’ details. But if you compare this with the violence our kids are exposed to in today’s video games, what is the big deal?

Here is another video made by CarandDriver.com studying the reaction times of a texting driver and a drunk driver. The results are quite interesting!

So if you are driving today and you need to use your cellphone, pull over first. At least for the sake of the others on the road. Thanks!

How to Advance Your Career Without Selling Your Soul by by Joe Hodas
http://adage.com/talentworks/article.php?article_id=140010

20 Top Blog Posts on Public Relations
http://adnews.us/?p=2185

Visions of Earth 2009 – Photos on National Geographic
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions-of-earth/visions-earth-2009

Will Motorola get it back with the Droid? (Strategy of New Chief at Motorola Appears Poised to Pay Off at NYTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/technology/companies/29moto.html

What tech vendors really think: The customer is a cow
http://infoworld.com/t/user-problems/what-tech-vendors-really-think-customer-cow-950

Oct 17 is going to be a big day in India. The festival of lights, Diwali or Deepavali is going to be celebrated.

(Note: Diwali is not India’s Independence day. Our Independence Day falls on August 15th.)

Diwali is an important festival for the Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. But it is a festival that is celebrated by the entire country. In places like Bombay (Mumbai), where I grew up, everyone joined in. Buildings were lined with diyas (oil-fueled-tiny-clay lamps), children got together to have fun with fireworks, sweets were distributed among friends and relatives. It is generally a fun time and schools and offices had holidays.

But over the years, I have grown weary of the firecrackers. They are the noise-making fireworks. Just a lot of noise. In fact, I remember last year, Chennai sounded like a city at war around Diwali.

The picture above is taken at a store in Chennai and those are fireworks on sale. If you enlarge the image, you will see how creative firework companies get when naming their products. There’s actually a box that is called “Dog Fight” in there. I definitely don’t want to hear how that sounds!

And since these fireworks are burst on the road, they make a mess of the place, with burnt paper and whatever stuff is used to make these pollutants.

July 4th Fireworks Display in Austin, Texas (2008)

To solve this problem (I am not sure how many see it as a problem in India), I would recommend the system I have seen in the US. (Again, I am not sure if this is a prescribed system there..but I think it would work.) A common place where people could gather and watch a stunning fireworks display. The fire power could either be pooled in together and arranged as a major fireworks display (like the 4th of July celebration) or we could have smaller groups spread across the city doing the same thing.

Of course, this would bring questions about pollution and related issues like RSPM (respirable suspended particulate matter). But that is something the government can look into and I hope they do.

Request: If you are going to burst firecrackers this year, the least you can do is clean up the mess you make, the morning after. Thank you.

Can we try make this year’s Diwali a real festival of lights and not noise? What do you think?

1. Do not change currency at the airport.
   If you are traveling to another country, it is always recommended to not change your currency at the airport. Generally, these places charge higher transaction charges and don’t give you the current exchange rate. If you have to change currency at the airport, make sure you keep it to the bare minimum, enough maybe to cover your taxi fare or a cup of coffee.I recommend using a currency exchange trader. In these parts of the world (Asia and Middle East), I have used UAEXchange and they did give me a fair deal.
2. Check online for current rates.
   This should give you your starting point. I use x-rates.com or oanda.com. Oanda.com has a good feature where you can get exchange rates for any particular day of the year. They also claim support for 164 currencies.
3. Check multiple currency traders/banks.
   Don’t believe the first trader you meet. If you have the time, get a couple of rates from different traders or banks. You should be able to know what is a good rate after your second or third trader or bank. This will also help you understand who has the lowest transaction charges. There are traders who do not charge any transaction charge. I think it depends on the country you are visiting.
4. Ask for recommendations.
   Recommendations are always a good thing. If you know anyone who has lived in that city for a while, they would be the best person to ask. You could also ask the hotel staff (they would generally recommend the hotel services), cab driver, cafe waiter etc. Warning: Don’t make it too obvious that you have a lot of money to be changed. You could get mugged, depending on where you are.
5. Bargain.
   Yes, you read that right. Always ask for a better price. The traders are never giving you their best price. So asking for a better deal is not a cheap thing to do.

Region-Specific Tip: If you are traveling to the Middle East and if you are carrying dollars, remember that the dollar has a fixed exchange rate. This is because the dirham (UAE currency) or any other Middle East currency (e.g. Saudi Riyal, Qatari Riyal etc.) is pegged to the US Dollar, which means that there is very little change in the exchange rate.

Do you have any tips? Share them here.

It has been a while since I wrote here. So to start with – here’s wishing all of you a happy and blessed new year.

It has been hectic at office and church – hence the lag. Right now, I am on my way to Goa, sitting in the Bangalore airport. My flight is at 1.30 p.m. Got a Tata Indicom WiFi Connection – 1 hour for Rs. 50/-. Pretty decent speeds and I am able to access my office mails here too (via VPN). For those of you who came here looking for that information – you need to access the WiFi Hotspot and you can pay online using credit cards or net banking. It’s quite easy to set up but I don’t know about security.

Purpose of my Goa trip – 3 day church meeting. Will try post pictures of the trip. Here’s what Bangalore airport looks like from where I am sitting right now (11.55 am). The Cafe Coffee Day has a Cyber Cafe written on the display but when I inquired with them, they don’t seem to have any Internet access at all!

Well, I am no expert! But here’s my experience from the couple of days spent in Dubai. So if you are visiting Dubai for the first time, this can be your quick guide to the city (definitely, not comprehensive).

The three things that you must check out are:

• Shopping Malls
• Places to see
• and Food (of course!!)

Shopping Malls: Dubai is supposed to be the shopper’s paradise. You can get anything you want there – branded or fake, chinese or american..you name it, you will find it. If you are looking for good bargains on electronics, watches or gold, try Mina Bazaar. A full set of streets lined with shops, where you have work on the bargain. Hypermarkets are very popular. Carrefour and Lulu are huge and you will find some good deals there too, if you don’t mind the crowd. Spinneys and Mercato are nice too if you want a peaceful shopping experience.

Make sure you visit the Dubai Duty Free shops at the Dubai airport. In fact you should get all your chocolates, alcohol and smoke from there. There are two advantages here -

1. Your check-in luggage will be lighter
2. Dubai Duty Free have good deals

The Mall of Emirates is also a popular hangout. It also has an indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai. Another place I visited is the City Centre Mall. Both these malls have Carrefour.

Places to see:
I was recommended to visit Sheikh Zayed Road. And it is definitely worth one. It has all of Dubai’s sky scrapers, including the soon-to-be tallest building of the world, Burj Dubai. There is the seven star hotel, Burj Al Arab. I don’t know if you can go in but it is worth the sight from outside, especially after dark. There is a beach near the hotel. You can get a good camera angle from there!

I just enjoyed the long rides in Dubai. There are also some good amusement parks and of course, the indoor ski slope (both places, I didn’t go!)

The artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali are for real. You may have seen the Google Earth pictures. For a man-made structure, they are quite impressive. Entry is restricted to residents and officials on the island. So we were able to see only the main trunk road of one of the islands – Palm Jumeirah.

Food:
You should try lebanese cuisine. I missed it!! It’s basically clean and healthy food – not much spice and no much oil. You should definitely try the shawarma. I love it. Laban is Arabic for buttermilk and is available in tetra packs and plastic pet bottles. It is awesome. A famous company is Almarai.

You should also try out the Indian and Pakistani restaurants too. The biriyani you get there is very different from the ones you get in India. We visited a place called Karachi Darbar – nice place and good food.

If you are keen on Indian vegetarian food, there is the whole host of Indian vegetarian restaurants in Dubai including Saravana Bhavan, Vasantha Bhavan and Sangeetha for the South Indian fare.

If you like chocolates, you will find all variety there. Another must-try is the date biscuit. They are called Maamoul. It is biscuit with serious filling of fresh dates. I absolutely go nuts over this. My favourite brand is Al-Karamah. A box of 16 biscuits costs around 7-8 AED.

Other pointers:

Stay. Hotel apartments seem a good option. They have all the amenities – phone, washing machine, microvave oven, electric stove etc. We stayed at Golden Sands in Bur Dubai.

Communication. There is only one provider – Etisalat. A new mobile connection would cost 165AED plus recharge. If you have a contact in Dubai, check whether they’ve a free sim card and just recharge it.

Internet. Hotels will have Internet but they’re very slow..even late in the night. We used to frequent an internet cafe in Al-Ain centre in Bur Dubai. They have wired and wireless connections and you can either use your own laptop or one of their desktops. The speed was decent enough and an hour cost 10 AED.

Language. If you know English, you can get around town without much issues. Knowledge of Hindi or Malayalam can have its special benefit. Lot of Indians and Pakistanis there, especially as cab drivers.

Also remember that UAE follow a Sunday to Thursday week. Most of the other GCC countries follow the Saturday to Wednesday schedule. Some companies in the UAE still follow the same schedule.

Hope this helps someone who is visiting Dubai. If you have anything to add to this list, please feel free to add as a comment here.

Update:
Transportation:
Taxis and buses are available as part of the public transport system. The buses look comfortable and in some places, even the bus stops are air-conditioned! Like I mentioned in my previous post, taxis are not freely available everywhere, everytime. There can be a waiting period before you get one. The other way is to book a taxi via telephone. But during peak hours in peak seasons (like Gitex), they don’t even pick up your call! I guess all their taxis are taken.

I don’t know about bus charges. But taxi fares start at AED 3 and during night hours, AED 3.5.