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Day trip to Beirut

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: ,


Join a group for a day tour to Lebanon by coach. Left Damascus at 6.30 am and reached the border town at around 8.00 am. After the going through the normal visa clearance procedures, we left the border town for Beirut which is about another 2 hours drive. There was only light traffic and thus not busy. It makes the journey through the mountains a pleasant and memorable one. We also passed the ruins of the uncompleted Hariri Bridge that was bombed by the Israeli forces in the 2006 war. The traffic volume started to increase as we entered the city center. The first stop was the most popular and “touristy” of caves include the Jeita Grotto, with its huge caverns and underground lake. It was however unfortunate that we could not enter the underground caves due to raising water level. [Information on Jeita Grotta to follow later].

We left Jeita Grotto and head towards our second stop – the cable car ride to the top of the hill. It was an exhilarating experience on the ride with a clear and picturesque view of the sea as the cable car glide effortlessly to the hilltop. We then proceed to the city mall for lunch. Though it would be nothing to brag about for others but for us that just arrived from Damascus, it was a venue to cherish especially for the availability of fast food counters such as Nando’s, Mc Donald, Starbuck and many more. It is just like KL though in a smaller scale compared to what is available in KL such as Mid Valley, Pavillion, and many more. The children in the group kept reminding of a lunch stopover at Mc Donald and I guess they must have enjoy the luncheon and which they will savor until they taste the next Mc Donald again. Other places that we visited included the corniche and the Hariri Mosque.

We left Beirut city center at about 5.50 pm. There was heavy traffic along the way towards the border town of ........ Fell asleep the moment the bus left the city. However, the expected smooth journey home was not to be. There was heavy snowfall in the mountains, the route that we had earlier passed through on the way into Beirut. The traffic was not moving because all the owners were busy putting chains onto their tires for safety reasons due to heavy snow along the route. Failing to anticipate the snowfall, our coach did not bring the much needed chain. With no other alternatives and not wanting to stay in the cold up in the mountain any time longer, our group had to voluntarily fork out some money to buy the chains at exorbitant rates from sellers that just happened to be around in such circumstances. While the chains are being fixed onto the tires, the group step out of the bus to enjoy the snow and for photo sessions. When all’s done, we proceeded with our journey. The presence of snow on the road begins to disappear from the roads as we neared the border town.

We reached the border town at 10.20 pm. While the tour organizer handled the immigration procedure, some of us took the opportunity to visit the border duty free shop to get stuff such as chocolates, cigarettes, toys for the kids, etc. Snow started to fell heavily again as we were about to leave the border town and we hope that snow will also fell in Damascus. Fat chance though ... it was only raining in Damascus. I finally reached the warmth of home at 12.00 midnite. Overall it had an enjoyable day outing for me. And I hope to be able to join similar outings in the near future.

In retrospect, Beirut is a bustling city and enviably inching herself towards becoming the “Paris of the Middle East”. Buildings are being tastefully refurbished especially around the city center and near the corniche areas. Despite the continuous political hiccups faced by Lebanon, the country has been able to project a different image to visitors. Notwithstanding these successes, the government should continue to exert efforts and rebuilding not only Beirut but the whole country. This would ensure equal distribution of growth, development and prosperity of the country as a whole. Simultaneously, the government need to ensure that they retain the Arab culture and architecture in their pursuit of development. It is the soul of the nation which all could be proud of!

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Tips to become a better blogger

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

Blogging does not come easy especially for someone, like me, who does not have the flair for writing or journalism. I generally spend some time surfing the net reading other blogs for ideas especially when I don't have anything to write about. By virtue of being new to blogging and not an internet tech freak, I tend to look at various blogs for solutions or interesting widgets to complement my blog. In such instant, I came across this particular article "49 tips to become a better blogger" by Janith from Bloggusion.com . I wish to share it with all .....

49 Tips to Become a Better Blogger

1. Blog about what you are passionate about, not for the niches that promise a lot.
2. Research, Research & Research more.
3. There’s always something more to learn.
4. Be confident in what you write.
5. Know your niche.
6. Out-smart your competitors.
7. No matter how big your competition is, just remember they are human too.
8. Know that humans make mistakes; exploit your competitors to get the upper hand.
9. Be creative, don’t copy others.
10. Set yourself goals, reasonable goals.

11. Stay Committed.
12. Be Polite.
13. Motivation is the key to success.
14. Don’t procrastinate - be productive in your work.
15. Understand that everyone is different.
16. Be open-minded - there will be people that disagree with you.
17. Don’t take criticism personally; use it as a force to push your forwards.
18. Discrimination is ultimately sourced from some type of jealousy.
19. The internet isn’t always nice.
20. People that are jealous might not like what you are doing, ignore them.
21. Understand that envy and jealousy are two different things.
22. You are bound to fail, so learn to accept it.
23. Welcome mistakes with a open mind and a heavy heart.
24. If you don’t make mistakes - you will never improve.
25. Don’t stress when things aren’t working out.
26. If you are stuck with something, 99% of your issues can be fixed using Google.
27. Everything takes time, so does blogging.
28. Don’t take anything for granted; appreciate everything you get from your work.
29. Don’t give up, no matter how useless your efforts seem.
30. Seek and you shall find.
31. Stay focused, stay targeted.
32. Try to write daily, write more on good days to make up for the bad.
33. Read other peoples’ opinion.
34. After you read it, respect it - even if you disagree with it.
35. Comment them, they will comment you.
36. Treat others, the way you want them to treat you.
37. Draw on the facts, stay away from the myths.
38. Appreciate what others have to say.
39. Do something extraordinary for people to notice you.
40. Know your audience.
41. Use social networks such as Twitter, Myspace and Facebook to really get to know your audience.
42. Make Friends.
43. Reward your readers.
44. Don’t be afraid to try new things, or else how would we know which is better?
45. Help others, yeah for free.
46. Karma is a strong force to be taken seriously.
47. Run for charity.
48. You got to spend money, to make money - don’t get stuck with Blogger for too long.
49. Lastly, money isn’t everything - except the root of all evil.

Final Say,

No matter how long you have been blogging for, whether it is a few days or a few years – you will always continue to learn.

Anyone can be successful in blogging – by it comes down to the wire where you need to ask yourself “Am I committed?”

If you can keep at it, through the ups and downs you will ultimately prevail.

May we all be successful blogger!



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Handbook 2009

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

A friend of mine send me an email with an attachment entitled Handbook 2009. Decided to put it down here for I find it useful for all of us in facing 2009.  

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.


Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.
Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with
his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away
like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Share this to everyone you care about.


We may have welcomed this year on a bit of a rough patch,
But things will go back up and everything will hopefully be alright.

Live Life To The Fullest !!!!!



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Malaysia Open

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

Watched the Malaysian Open Golf tournament on Showtime Sport Channel for the past two days and felt disappoined that we once again failed to capture the tournamnet despite having lead the tournament for the opening rounds. Well it looks like Malaysia will have to wait another year and see whether we will be able to make it then.  Despite being away from Malaysian soil, I guess all Malaysian would want a Malaysian to make it whatmore with the tournamnet being held in Malaysia. 

Though one would always saya that may the best man wins, but deep inside us we will always be hoping that a local would win. Still Chia has made Malaysian proud of his achievement and hope that he will bring more fame to Malaysia in the near future. Thats the patriotic spirit within all of us which we should nurture not only in sports but in all that we do. We must learn to be proud of Malaysia and what we stand for. Thats how a nation and its people could move forward especially with the catch phrase of Malaysia Boleh!. Malaysia is second best to NONE!


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Listening & Hearing

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

As individuals that made up a society or community that we live in or work, one needs to listen and hear what others are saying. Generally people tend to only listen but but we fail to hear the words. This failure of listening and hearing indirectly contributes to the mess that we are currently faced with.

Whatever position we hold, be it as superiors or subordinates, we must not fail in this act. We must continue to listen and hear what the other party are saying. We can learn more and helps create a conducive environment for all if we hear and listen. Sometimes we tend to just wave aside what someone else are saying just because we think that we knows better the subject. But that need not necessarily be true. Besides that there is no harm in just giving the other person to voice out his opinion. It will helps to boost his self confidence.

Never be judgemental in life because we have more to lose by being one.




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Virtues of Life

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

"Privileges and positions should be used with care and compassion,
never take advantage of it and abuse it"
and
"Don't take advantage of people and don't let people take advantage of you"



Those are two quotes from YBhg. Tan Sri Murad Hashim in one of his recent interview with the media which caught my attention. We should adopt and practice them throughout our life. Leaders, organizations and nations could all fail if privileges and positions are randomly abused and not curtailed. Abuses of privileges, positions and power all lead to various form of corruptions.
Organizations and nations would be able to develop and prosper if only everyone adhere to the rules. Let us all thus learn not to take advantage and abuse what little privileges that we have in work and life.

We must also learn not to take advantage of people especially when people are nice to us. Simultaneously, we should also not allow others to take advantage of us. We must be able to say NO when the circumstances warrants it and we should thus accepts when others say NO to us.



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