Retail Therapy

For the past couple of weeks I've been particularly exuberant in purchasing random, almost-luxury, items (some of which I've written about already), a behaviour that may be seen as strange coming from someone sometimes described as "kanjoos". Quite unfairly, I should add - I mean just because I tend not to want random objects of desire as some others may, doesn't mean when I do I'm unwilling to spend on it; it just doesn't happen that often, that's all.

I've never understood the concept of retail therapy - y'know the way some people (mainly women, I think) get joy from buying stuff; sometimes even going out of their way to do so when they are, say, depressed. How can overspending on a luxury item make anyone feel happy? I mean all you're left with is buyer's remorse (if you're lucky) and debt (if you're not).

My purchases haven't been totally useless and I've bought stuff to fill particular practical holes rather than as anti-depressants, so it's not actually therapeutic in that sense, I don't think. Despite this, I must admit it's felt a bit good splurging out. And yes, I still get a high when playing with my iPod.

So yes, I now understand a bit about how retail therapy works. I guess it's handy having a quick and cheap (emotionally, not financially) fix for the times we feel we might need one, even if it turns out to be expensive (financially, not emotionally). It may even be something to bear in mind when that hypothetical girlfriend finally decides to dump me. Better get saving...

Link Of The Day

Petrol Direct

Kinda topical too. Ho ho ho.

Gadget Slags

A few weeks ago the PSP was released in the UK. A few days after that event, regular Tube travelers everywhere would see others playing/whoring their new toy on the daily commute "oblivious" (hah, yeh right) to the world while looking up every now and then to check who is watching them with envy. Even those of you that don't use The Tube will know what I'm talking about - whether it's someone making unnecessary calls on their new mobile phone or repeatedly checking the time on their bling watch they're all what I like to call Gadget Slags.

Those of you that know me will know why I'm writing about this now. Now, I'm not a typical gadget slag. I'll usually keep it in my pants unless I genuinely need to take it out, thank you very much. I mean I'm secure about these things. However, today I couldn't resist flashing my nano, even if it was for a mere second.

There was a context of course, not that this excuses any of it. I mean it was so NOT my fault there were already two ever so pretty women on the train I got on to this morning (one with her own iPod Mini to boot). To be fair though I did hold out whipping my toy out till one of them had left the train at Liverpool Street Station (although possibly only 'cos flashing both of them woulda been a bit too bait. I'm sure the remaining girl called her friend later to tell her all about it anyway).

Oh, and I did take it out for an almost genuine reason - I mean I did fancy listening to Bon Jovi at that particular time and I couldn't control the player in my pocket (blind) in order to do so like I was doing before for volume adjustments and the like. And of course the nano has almost only been created for the sole reason to show others and it would be a grave injustice not to allow it to fulfill this destiny.

Honestly, I'm not trying to kid myself here. In fact if anything maybe I was more of a gadget tart or flirt than gadget slag. Yeh. That's it. And perhaps I'm mistaken but I'm sure the remaining girl returned the favour by changing minidiscs in her player shortly after (which, although quaint, was cute).

Sigh. I'm so ashamed. Ho hum.

Size Matters

Finally got my iPod nano through the post yesterday (being the third person I know to do so - yes, trumped by ZK again). I've not really had a good play with it yet; I filled it up with 1.9 gigs of music last night and listened to random songs this morning. Consider this more of a first impression than in depth review.

Of course the first thing that will strike you is the design. It's one of those things (others include seeing the screen of the PSP or driving a BMW for the first time) that neither words or pictures can help to describe. I'll give it a bash though: this thing is small. And sexy. And I almost never call things sexy. Well except for women. Uhh, anyway here's a pic:


Other than the size, it is just another iPod, albeit with a colour screen previously reserved for the flagship iPod photo which manages to accentuate the already fantastic iPod UI. I dunno how I managed without a clickwheel before.

I've mentioned before how I begun to almost learn to kinda like the iPod/iTunes philosophy. In fact, it's what prompted me to use its (to be honest cheap) imitation in Windows Media Player 10 with my Axim. In a nutshell, music synchronisation and playlist management is great - even for someone with a relatively small music collection like myself. In the nano, Apple have at last given me an excuse to use the pioneer in the field.

Alas the image was shattered once I begun listening to it. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but certainly not as good as my Axim or previous players. And I guess it's the price you pay for having such a diminutive form factor. It's just a shame that something had to so obviously give.

So I guess that's it. It's not for audiophiles, although I've never claimed to be one of those anyway. However if you want a small, fast, easy to use and totally sexy MP3 player, you can't really go wrong with the iPod nano.

Film: Salaam Namaste

Take one bollywood film with a pretty cast and set it in a western location. Sounds like a sure fire hit right? Well unlike my favourites Dil Chata Hai and Kal Ho Naa ho, Salaam Namaste kinda falls short of the mark.

I'm not too sure what it was though. The plot was ok, as was the cast and music... But something was missing in the film. The consensus was that it was very up and down; there were some gem moments but some equally farcical ones too - enough to break any connection the audience may have had with the characters and their situation.

Credit for the attempt though. Even I was gasping at some of the concepts of and events in the film (if you didn't know it's regarding a couple cohabiting before marriage). It's just a shame since the film could so have been much more.

Film: The 40 Year Old Virgin

What was expected to be another in the series of comedies which are actually funny (see: Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers), turned out to be a pretty sweet romcom instead. Of course I (and the person I was watching it with) probably appreciated it in a totally different way to the rest of the audience, but (and I say this with great care since it's quite a sad implication) this film might just have enough substance for both those who wait and those that don't.

Snippet

Shak says: did you show it off on the tube?
xxxx says: nah
xxxx says: kept it in the pocket
xxxx says: I did take it out when I saw afit bird though
xxxx says: hahaha
Shak says: hahahah wicked... did she bite?
xxxx says: she did peer
xxxx says: i was siting down
xxxx says: she was standing up
xxxx says: quite funny
xxxx says: she leant over to peak
xxxx says: and the guy next to her looked down her shirt
xxxx says: hahaha

One Of Those Weeks

Y'know those days where everything just keeps going well for you? When nothing bad happens, or at least nothing bad enough to ruin your sense of excitement and achievement? Well this whole week so far has been like that for me. Amongst other things I had:

• Work being relatively busy and fulfilling.
• The broken GPS dongle that sprung back to life, saving me 60 quid if it hadn't.
• The new availability of gym subsidies at work, saving me 25 quid per month that we had given up hoping to get.
• The receipt of a cashback cheque for the phone deal I'm on, that is 75 quid that I thought I may get conned out of.
• The release and imminent ordering by me of the iPod nano this morning and the subsequent lack of stock at the Apple Store when I became greedy and decided to buy it from the highstreet anyway. This may seem bad but it was good really since it woulda been total besti to buy two at once.
• Oh and I've finally found a replacement for my Henny's satchel-cum-handbag which is currently on it's last legs. Sweet.

Yes, they're almost all financial/material benefits, but these are all amongst the things I can write about here. It's like I'm on a permanent high, like I'm invincible.

But here's the thing: Is this list of bullet points the cause or effect of how I'm feeling? Did I achieve the same last week but was not in the correct state of mind to realise this? Conversely, have bad things happened to me this week that I've glossed over, made the most of or have seen the good in? It's an interesting question and is sometimes asked by others as whether we're able to create our own luck or happiness. I'm not too sure that the answer is yes we can; I mean how can we expect an orphan in Niger, for example, to look on the bright side of life?

Nonetheless I'm beginning to believe that for those of us in a less extreme position it is something we have a certain amount of power or influence over. Why are people in such good positions so unhappy? And those in relatively bad situations the opposite? How many times have we looked back at a sad, depressing or frustrating situation and wondered what the fuss was about? Perhaps if we developed the ability to see things retrospectively and in perspective at the time of unhappiness we'd all be much the opposite? Or maybe some of us (myself included) feel we are happiest when we're unhappy?

A totally illogical proposition, sure, but one that might just hold in the craziness that is the human psyche. But if it does, and if this week is anything to go by, it's something that we certainly have in our power to change.

Aw Crap

I think I'm gonna buy an iPod:


More here. And in my defence (for those who don't know I was the ultimate iPod hater) I have been warming to Apple's music player since playing with my aunt's Mini.

Sigh.

New Music

My Dil Goes Mmmm - Salaam Namaste

One that I liked, then didn't, then slowly grew to like again enough to add to my playlist. A ballad but faster than the norm, I'm looking forward to the film too.

Link Of The Day

For those who have yet to see Kanye West at his best:

NBC Video

Fantastic. The reaction is even more telling!

Thunderbolts And Lightning (Very, Very Frightening, Me)

For the first time (for as long as I can remember, anyway), thunder woke me up from my sleep last night. It wasn't scary, just a bit surreal. Anyway, I spent five minutes watching the torrent come down before I hit the sack again... There's something really fascinating about really heavy rain during a summer storm.

Shak's Choice: Hammasa Kohistani

Obvious political hang-ups aside, today it's Hammasa Kohistani otherwise known as Miss England.


I won't patronise you with why*.

*For those who haven't figured it out she's only a Muslim potential Miss World. Duh. If anyone wants to arrange a rishta then you have my permission.

Game: Advance Wars Dual Strike

I think the original AW was (and still is) one of the best videogames I've played. I never understood what people meant when they said priorities were shuffled and responsibilities mislaid while playing a game till I played that one.

AWDS is the third in the series after the previous two for the GBA. This time it's on the DS, making good use of the screen, but less so of the touchscreen (but only 'cos the interface has been so carefully designed for d-pad control too).

It's pretty much the safe affair - well at first anyway. Further into the game we find that lots of additions have been made; some good but some bad too. I wouldn't have minded with any other game except that AW was as close to perfect as possible. I guess it was a no win situation for the developers, but I still feel that the game has been diluted too much.

It's still a cracking game though, as proven by my almost missing my stop on the way to work this morning. It's just a shame I'll have to eventually give it back...

Film: Red Eye

Amazingly, the last film I went to see was Charlie way back in July. That's a over a whole month without film. Could we be boring of film? I hope not.

Anyway, Red Eye marks a nice return from this lack of cinema. Pretty fun, straightforward and no-nonsense, it doesn't force the audience to work at enjoying it, instead laying the frolics on a plate for us to lap up. The title implies that most of the action occurs on a plane but saying that, my favourite parts of the film were on the ground. But hey, let's not get overly pedantic about mistitled films.

Classic Craven in that it's packed with humour and frights in equal amounts, check this out if you don't like thinking too hard while watching a film.

My Hip Is Broken

A few weeks ago I had a fleeting conversation with the sister of one of my friends. She's 18 (uhh I think) and I now I feel so old.

We were able to communicate pretty easily but the language was kinda different. I do have people of the same age on my list (note to any coppers reading: they are family or friends of family so it's all innocent) but there was something about that day that made me realise how old I am. I'm not sure what it was exactly.

And it is embarrassing at times. Pathetic even. It's especially worrying 'cos I don't feel like I'm 27 at all. It's like I'm in some kind of age limbo, with people constantly commenting on how good I am at acting younger than my years. Maybe I'm hanging desperately on to my past and being dragged kicking and screaming into age. I just hope I don't become one of those old men who wear baseball caps and use forced slang. "Wicked" is still in, isn't it?

Time to grow up and start acting my age? Maybe. I'm not sure how to though... I have friends of all ages and get on with all of them (although at times I feel too mature and others the opposite), so I don't think it's the company that's at issue. Maybe I have to change my clothes or the programmes I watch or something? Maybe it's marriage that forces people to grow up or something? It'll be interesting to see if that's the case.

Lazy Monday

Got a call yesterday from the groom of the wedding that was supposed to be held today. I say supposed because the reason he called was to tell me not to come since it had been cancelled. I didn't press on the reason, but it is a bummer.

This means that my Bank Holiday Monday won't be as busy as I thought it would be. So after forcing a 20 minute lie in (BHMs being the only days I don't have to wake up to a chore for) here I am wondering what I'll do for the rest of it. Still, after yesterday I need to recover a bit and so a part of me wants to just stay indoors and veg in front of the telly, catching up on the series, Bollywood and videogames that I need to catch up on. The other part of me considers that staying in would be a total waste of such a beautiful day.

I'll prolly end up doing a bit of both though.

Party Over Here

120 people in a regular terraced house for lunch wasn't as crazy as it sounds. Once lunch was out of the way, we could all just concentrate on hanging out in the garden under the marquee cracking joke, cussing each other and basically doing what we do every week but this time doing it while dressed up in fancy clothes.

(Note: NOT a gazebo)

I have no idea where the eleven hours went (although a few of us did take an excursion to Green Street in the middle). Definitely one of those rare summer thangs.

Things That Pee Me Off #32: Wireless Keyboards

And if I ever find the guy who invented them, I'm gonna kick his ass.

Shak's Choice: Esha Deol

I've admired Esha for a while now, but just not enough to mark her as a choice of mine. But hey, why not use the showing of Dhoom today as an excuse to search for a picture of her to post?


To be honest I didn't think she was all that fantastic when she first started out but she's definitely matured now (the Hema shining through and her quite apparent gym usage doesn't hurt her case much either) and I take great pleasure in being wrong about her in the past. I might even go as far as saying that she's my favorite Bolly actress at the moment. Nuts, I know.

I'm not sure what it is. Something homely and girl-next-door maybe? Or perhaps the total opposite. Most likely, it's a contradictory combination of the two that every guy loves. Hoo-rah.

One Down, One To Go

A pretty straightforward wedding, this was, just how I like them. The nearby location made it even more painless. However I now feel like I'm stuck in limbo; I don't have anything left planned for today and as fun as the wedding was I still fill kinda unfulfilled today.

Thankfully Dhoom is on the telly, and I'm sure there's an excursion to Leyton gagging to be had later. I'm sure that'll fix me right up.

The Panoramic City Circle: A Question of Leadership - Part II

Today's City Circle was busier than usual, and we decided that this was partly due to Inayat Bunglawala being on the panel, but mainly due to the coverage the weekly gathering had on Sunday's Panorama programme.

The discussion itself was good, but not as great as some of the previous panel format CCs. It was amusing because of the characters present (the aforementioned Bungawala as well as Martin Bright of the Observer) but I'm not sure if the ground covered was anything more than rhetoric from all sides. It was my first time seeing Inayat speaking live, and my respect for him has grown (after dipping for a few years).

Still, with the popularity and exposure of the CC rising each week, I predict it will attract bigger names and crowds. I just hope it manages to avoid the bad things that popularity sometimes inevitably brings.

Itinerary

The last Bank Holiday weekend till the year end, and mine is kinda full already which is nice. I have two weddings and a lunch party to attend to be precise. Looking forward to all three, even if I’m going alone to the wedding on Monday.

It’s a bit annoying since I still haven’t seen Crash, but at least nothing has been released this week…

Prefiltered

This actually happened sometime last week but I've no idea why I didn't blog it then. Perhaps due to its sensitivity at the time, I don’t know. Anyway, it turned out that my makeshift pimps, The Hussains, had yet another potential rishta lined up for me (the previous one, as predicted, seems to have fizzled out), in particular a doctor friend of a friend. So, we passed our number and waited for the call.

A few days later, the potential's mother rung mine. The conversation went something like this, although bear in mind stuff has been edited and paraphrased for dramatic effect:

(…cue introductory preamble…)

Her: So… What does your son do?
My Mum: He works in Computing in a Hedge Fund.
Her: Oh… We were actually looking for a doctor.
My Mum: Oh. Right. Well he’s not a doctor. Umm…

(…cue ten minute friendly chat…)

Her: So we should keep in touch.
My Mum: Sure. Drop by when you’re in the area.
Her: Yes. And hey, if you know of any doctors let me know. I’ll do the same for you – what exactly are you looking for? Any career requirements?
My Mum: Nah. We don’t care about stuff like that. I guess we’d like someone who prays five times a day since everyone in the family does the same.
Her: Whaaaaat? Prayer? Huh?

(…cue standard conversation closers…)

Ok, we should note that the potential is a doctor herself, but still. Even giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming a doctor was required for practical more than snobby reasons, it’s still a bit poo.

Hey, it was funny more than anything else. Go me.

Happy Birthday Dear Blog

It was a year ago today that I posted my first article on this blog. Quite unbelievable, since it feels like I've been ranting and raving on this thing for much longer.

It's been a strange experience, at times therapeutic, at others philosophical with the remaining just serving as a written record of what I've been up to. I'm not sure if I'll ever read back the things I have written (not in any meticulous detail, anyway) but it's nice to have something to back up this creaking memory of mine; I wish I had started one much earlier than I did since there have been important dates in my like that I'd have liked to record (like Hajj, Bolly Star and running a marathon).

And it's because of this written record I've now managed to collate the following statistics. In the last year I have:

• Seen 48 films in the cinema
• Added 63 music tracks to my playlist
• Retold 10 snippets
• Read 16 books
• Reported 11 Choices
• Linked 22 times
• Made 12 television recommendations
• Played 16 videogames
  
• Made one new friend via the blog itself

Unfortunately Blogger is a bit poo in that I cannot work out exactly how may posts I have written, but there have been at least 300 as of December last year. Blimey. Other things that have been recorded are the new friends I've made, activities like Acting and First-aid classes, holidays and weddings I've been to and pretty girls I've seen on the tube.

Despite the constants above, I think the blog itself has changed over the last 12 months. What initially started as a place for me to post articles (of topics I had always been thinking of and discussing with friends about) became more of a dumping ground as I ran out of such things. Posts have become shorter and more objective and so perhaps pointless.

Still, I've struggled to keep it up and I like to think that I'm doing ok, and I won't mention by name the blogs that have risen and fallen (and sometimes risen again) around me. Apart from instilling some kind of pride in me, I hope that I can take it as a sign that I'm doing something right.

This last observation may even go some way to validate some of the principles by which I run this blog; things like not commenting on my own articles, minimising the literal naming and focusing on of specific people, and not writing about the private issues of others even if I happen to share them.

Anyway, here are some of the more, in my opinion, notable posts:

• It cant be that easy... can it?, my first "long" post and probably the reason I started my blog when I did.
• I Am a Freak, full of self analysis and indulgence, a bit of a bare all really.
• Hey Babee... How you Doin'?, still irrefutable.
• Religion is Subjective, my first article regarding Islam.
• One Of My More Favourite Forwards, because it was one of the rare forwards that I actually liked and kept.
• The Blind Eye Of The Beholder, purely because it seemed nobody understood this except me.
• Feelin' Alive, and its surrounding posts for recording a fantastic weekend.
• The Death Of Spammy, for marking a pretty important change in identity. So sad.
• Shak's Choice, do I need a reason here?
• Dubai, Baby, and its surrounding posts for recording a fantastic holiday.
• Plan Of Action, for the yet to be beaten response and discussion in the aftermath.

So what of the next year? Well the last wasn't particularly active but I managed to squeeze out a few posts a week and I have more than a feeling that the next will have even more for me to talk about. I've also got a few emergency draft posts for the times when it doesn't.

Anyway, that's enough recursion for a morning. I hope you've enjoyed or at least found curious this blog over the last year, and I hope that you decide to pop in from time to time to see where it goes in the next.

Thanks for reading, and apologies for any offending typos.

Things That Pee Me Off #14: Unnecessary Umbrellas

Why do some people feel the need to open their umbrellas when it isn't even raining? Is it just to maim and kill those around them? Is it some sort of psychological comfort thing? Are they trying to protect their hair from humidity?

And it's almost always a short woman doing it. I bet they won't even stop to ask if I'm ok when they inevitably poke my eye out.

Grr.

Balle In Barking

We spent a couple of hours at the East London Mela this evening. I thought it was my first, but I realised that I had been to a few before (long, long  ago). It was pretty good, if only for the BBC AN stage (Khiza, Ams, Metz, Trix and the star of the show, Raghev swoon).

The rest of it was standard affair, with rides and food stalls. The people were ok and relatively well behaved albeit replete with rudies etc, and a couple of us were happy to keep our eyes busy with crowd surfing.

I did notice that almost everyone my age had kids in tow, though. Oldest single person at the mela? Possibly.

Boardgame Mania

Another birthday last night and this time we decided to go all out and overboard with the party/boardgames. It's a testament to our disorganisation that it takes us two hours to play one round of anything, but we got through most of it by the end.

We opened with Scene-It, a DVD board game. This was pretty different in that it involves film clips and questions that you play via a DVD player, and pretty hard in that a lot of us didn't have a clue about any film that wasn't a) new and b) pop. Still, it was pretty fun and hectic (and at times, violent) and a good start to the evening's antics. My team lost quite badly, but only 'cos we didn't have the eldest member on our team (honest!).

After a cake break, we brought out Singstar. I'm ace at this, even if I do say so myself. Once again people brought it, and once again I shot them down.

It was already getting pretty late (it's a curse with us lot) by the time we got around to Cranium. This game offers a bunch of challenges for the teams to do and would probably be the game which offered the most variety. Oh, and our team won.

Alas we didn't get time to play Taboo. It was already way past my bedtime when we had completed Cranium so something had to give. Still, I think boardgames are quickly becoming our thing... Although having said that a few of need to work on our tempers I think. Ahem.

Luton

It's not that grey after all.

New Music

Harder To Breathe – Maroon 5

Nobody told me that they sung this. Anyway, everyone seems to like Maroon 5. It may be their range of styles or just the sense of fun their music has or even the way they force you to sing along with them. Whatever the reason Bon Jovi on my playlist had better watch out.