Saturday, August 21, 2010

All izz well?

'Aaaaaaaaal izzzzz wellllllll...'

That is the advice Amir Khan gives to his friends in the movie '3 Idiots' to make them feel better. Just tell yourself that 'All izz well', and eventually, all will become well. It is an advice that I am given quite often, and I know friends who swear by it.

All izz well? Yeah right. What good does it do to tell yourself that all is well, when things are not well? Life is not a Bollywood movie. Things do not magically work out on their own. You are in control of your actions and not the results. Since you are in control of your actions, why not try and take control of your destiny as much as possible and try and make things well, when they are not going well? There is no guarantee that all will become well, but I think it is much more sane advice than just being a happy-go-lucky foolish optimist.

So should you be pessimistic? Absolutely not. No one ever got any where by being full of negative energy. The first step to making your life better is to believe that it can be better, and that will never happen if you are convinced that nothing in the world can go right.

So friends, my advice to you, is don't be a foolish optimist, and don't be a negative pessimist. Be a realist, allow yourself to be depressed, and allow yourself to be happy. Both emotions will make you a stronger person in the long run. Make your own decisions, but never have such a big ego to not be able to take good advice.

Remember, not to look at the glass as being half full, not as being half empty, but recognizing that you have the capacity to fill it upto the brim.

And that is the gyan I have to give today. :)

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

One Year

I was just looking through some of my old blogs today. And I came to realise that it has been exactly one year since I started this blog! My first original post to this blog was on August 17, 2009. I have several postings before this as well, but those were just old notes that I had imported from Facebook.

Why did I start this blog? Well, I don't really know. I had come back from Europe about this time last year, and felt as if I had alot of things to say. I think people were getting irritated with my many Facebook notes, and I decided this would be an interesting thing to start up. I enjoy writing, as I feel it lets me vent off some steam once in a while, and I think I communicate better through written words than spoken sentences. Of course I realise alot of the stuff I write would be quite boring, but I hope that occasionally, I come up with something which holds the readers interest.

To those of you who read my my blog on a semi regular basis, both to those whom I know, and to those who follow anonymously, thank you and I hope you enjoy reading about my thoughts, experiences, and mindless drivel. I shall try to keep doing this for as long as I have interest and the time. Cheers to you, and cheers to the year ahead!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Restaurant Review: The Naam

The Naam Restaurant
2724 W 4th Ave
Vancouver BC

The Naam is one of Vancouvers more unique restaurants. About a 20 min bus ride from UBC in Vancouvers trendy Kitsilano Area, The Naam is a purely Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant which was started up in the 1970s. This is quite evident in the decor of the restaurant, which is decidedly 'hippie'-like. It is one of Vancouvers few 24/7 restaurants. The service is a bit poor, as the servers look like they are out numbered and over worked. Still, the attitude is very chill, and no one seems to mind if the food is delivered to your table a bit late.

A group of friends and myself were coming back late after watching the Fireworks at Jericho Beach a few days ago, and since were feeling hungry, decided to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately at that time of nite, there are few to no options available in Vancouver. The closest place open was The Naam, and as we hadn't been there in a while, thought we should drop in.

Although the place was quite packed (even at midnight), we managed to get a seat. Were quite tempted by the yummy looking pastries and cakes which are near the front entrance, but we held our nerve and ordered our main courses. I split a small pizza with one friend, while my other two friends ordered the 'Buddhas Feast', and 'Crying Tiger Thai Stir Fry'. We enjoyed the pizza very much, but I felt the other two dishes were quite bland and need a bit of salt, pepper and hot sauce to improve the flavor. But on the other hand, since the food being served was supposed to be healthy and nutritional, perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised.

The Naam is an interesting eat out, and worth a late night drop in.

Service: 3/5
Location/Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 3/5