The Rainy Olympics

I'm finding Vancouver quite...wet.

The temperature is quite mild but the clouds wouldn't go away. So the winter olympics is set amid a rainy background. I wear boots every day, suede boots, but there's no snow to tread in.  Mind you, I do enjoy not wearing layers and layers of warm clothes, but come on, these are the WINTER Olympics!

I have been enjoying the behind-the-scenes while volunteering though.
This allowed me to get closer to the outdoor Olympic flame just outside of where I'm volunteering as a techie.
And I got to see the CTV studios up close as well! Now, I just want to see Canada win GOLD!

The Mauritian at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics...

So I've been in Vancouver for almost 48 hrs now.

A few things to note:
- streets are narrower over here,
- people look gooooooood here (I always tend to find people outside of where I reside better looking!)
- it has been raining since I got here....

So it's a good thing I brought my umbrella.
Yesterday was quite a fun filled day. I picked up my dress rehearsal tickets and a bottle of wine and walked around downtown a bit. I ended up at Robson Square where I decided to wait in line to pick up competition tickets. After more than 1 hr wait, I got them tickets, yay!

I was talking in line with a very nice couple and I saw them again after having lunch in the mall. I was actually looking for a locker to put away my wine bottle, but guess what, for security reasons, they have removed all the lockers during the games! So when I saw them again, I offered to give the guy my bottle of wine and then had to explain that I can't hold on to it because I cannot bring any food or drinks with me to the dress rehearsal that night.

Next thing I know, the guy was directing me to a concierge of a nearby hotel where he used to work and I went there and the concierge guy accepted to store my bottle of wine, but not without asking some questions about how come I ended up at his desk.

That's one thing about these games....Vancouver is opening up to the world and I'm opening up to strangers apparently. Yes mom, I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers but these are the winter olympic games!!!!!!!

Go Canada go!  (Only coz Mauritius doesn't send any athlete to the winter olympics!) :P

Dreams....

Do you believe dreams have meaning???
The other night, I dreamt that I was in my old bedroom in my parent's house in Mauritius, preparing to go to bed. Then I looked out the window and saw a couple of shooting stars...so I kept watching and then a ball of fire fell, turned towards my house, crashed somewhere behind my house where I couldn't see from my window.
In that dream, it was as if I was watching an action movie. I saw the ball of fire come towards my house and I ducked for cover, when I looked up again, there were 2 FBIs in the field next to my house (there's no field in real life!). The 2 FBIs were some actors I've seen in some TV shows, can't really remember which ones. Then the firemen came and then I woke up.

What the hell was that about?
How come nobody in my house woke up from that din?
How come nobody came to rescue me?

The dream was so real that I needed a few minutes to realize I was in bed. I felt the fire, I saw the damage, I heard the noise.
Now, they say you dream of the last thing you were thinking of before falling asleep....What was I thinking of before I fell asleep? 2 unknown actors? shooting stars? firemen?

If someone can find meaning in this dream, give me a shout...

Surprise!!

My extended family loves surprises. My aunts plan surprise after surprise, they somehow always have some kind of hidden agenda. Question why they are doing something instead of taking the path of least resistance and they will shoo you away. There, you know they are brewing another surprise.....

There's 2 kinds of people. The ones who like surprises and the ones who do not. I'm thinking I'm more of the 2nd. That doesn't mean that I don't like to plan for one for people around me, I just don't like being the surprised one. Lately I was planning to surprise a friend, and when that didn't turn out the way I planned, I was quite upset and started taking it out on him. But wait a minute...was it his fault that I couldn't surprise him? I guess not. I was more upset about how I planned it than anything else. If I had done this instead of that, if I have said this instead of that, or if I had said this or that at a different time....

This made me think of other situations in life where a simple word/action could have an impact on the rest of your life. If a surprise could be ruined by a word, what else could be altered by a different word, at a different time, in a different way?....What if...

Age, marital status and appropriateness...

Yesterday, I went to the hair salon to have my hair done for my cousin's wedding.
The hair salon was operated by Koreans who barely spoke English. But even with their limited english, the woman setting my hair with curlers, after a couple of introductory questions, asked point blank how old I am.
Taken aback, I still answered her and immediately after, she asked if I was married! She didn't comment on my single status, but kept asking other questions like, where do I live, what kind of work do I do, etc.

Since hairdressers are usually known for gossip, I was wondering if she was actually just asking questions for small talk or if it was going anywhere in her head. In any case, I thought it was quite nosy of her, so I was relieved when I was handed over to a hairstylist.

The hairstylist was a young Korean guy and he asked me what kind of style I wanted for my hairdo. I had the hardest time to decide between an updo and a half up, half down style but when asked, I decided to go for the updo. The guy, though, said that a half up, half down style would make me look younger. Fine then, the younger look it shall be. Not surprisingly, a few minutes later, HE was asking me how old I am AND asking me if I was married!!! At least, he joked about it saying "not yet, right?". He also asked me what kind of job I have.

So, what is it about Korean hairdressers and the way they talk to their customers? Obviously, they must have some kind of script according to your age range because a relative who is a bit older than me, also had nosy questions, but they were of the nature of "what religion are you?". I wonder now....do they all go through a training that says "Chapter 12: questions to ask a woman in her late twenties..."?

What is it...

about being abroad that makes you act differently than in your own city?

The plan today was to walk up the street and enjoy the neighbourhood.

So there I was chatting with someone by my side and walking at a fast pace to catch up with the others when passing a guy on the bus stop. I haven't paid attention to that guy, actually, I didn't even see him until he said "hi" to me, and then on impulse, I said "hi" back. Errr...yeah, that was a reflex and chances are, I would have done the same in Toronto...but I was taken aback, shouldn't my awareness level be higher in an unusual place?

Second incident was just an hour or so ago. The crew was taking pics by a dinosaur statue, by the side of a traffic-jammed street (don't ask!), and I was just waiting for them to be ready to set off again when I heard someone clear his throat behind me. So I turned and this guy sitting in a truck in the traffic jam was looking directly at me and when I turned, he made some appreciative noise and instead of just turning back and ignoring him (what I would obviously have done in TO), I smiled and then went on my way. When the light turned green and he passed us, he waved his hand through the window to say bye.

Okay, I was flattered....

In a tank top and capris and my hair in a loose bun, I certainly wasn't worth a double take. I get cat calls walking to work in TO sometimes. In heels and dressed up, it's justified....but I have never turned and smiled!!

So I'm not sure if it's the air here or just the fact that I'm on vacation...or maybe just the men around here....whatever it is, if I was just half as friendly walking down the street in TO, I sure would have loads more friends back home than I do now!

Update:
I was approached today by a guy in a wheelchair in a McDonald's. He wheeled his chair straight at me and said that I'm so beautiful it makes him wish more than ever to be able to walk!!! 
And following my cousin's wedding, my cousin was telling me today that her cooking instructor asked about me at her wedding. I could have sworn the guy was taking pictures of me, but it wasn't obvious, he could have been playing with the settings on his camera!
Maybe I should consider moving here....

Not nerdy enough...

I'm back after 2 yrs!

I was thinking during my flight over to L.A this morning that I'm not nerdy enough, I should really update my blog and this is the perfect occasion to start again.

So here I am, after waiting 2 hrs at LAX for my cousin to pick me up. (We redefine "fashionably late" over and over in my family.) I think I saw Christina Ricci while waiting, I got a snapshot of her, that I will upload later if I can find a software to crop pics on my new Aspire One. Some paparazzo took pics of her too, so I'm 90% sure it WAS her and she barely reacted to his flashes....

So here's to the first few hours in L.A....Now where are those burritos or fish tacos?

Fresh or hard-boiled egg?

How do you differentiate between a fresh and a hard-boiled egg?


Answer:
Spin them really fast.
The hard-boiled egg will spin faster than the fresh egg.

Check it out!

World Pastry Cup

I was watching a programme on French tv yesterday about this and I couldn't believe my eyes.

There is a world championship for pastries every 2 years in Lyon, France, and it's just astounding the pastries the participants create there.

It makes sense that this championship should be based in France, after all, France is world-recognized for its gastronomy. In 2005, the French team won the championship, and the world champion "patissier", Christophe Michalak, now works in a big hotel in Paris where the bar showcases the pastries as if they are jewels and people around the globe go to the bar especially for the pastries. I must admit the desserts do look appetizing and very very classy and if you were to take the word of people eating there, they are just a taste of heaven.

Those big-shot hotels in Paris have found a new way to attract fashion victims into their restaurants/bar/patisseries now. As designers do it every year, the hotels' bars offer pastries that changes every season. Hence, they have the winter-autumn collection, the spring-summer collection, etc. A new trend is also emerging where designers are asked to draw a dessert which would then be created/prepared/baked by the hotel's patissier. The results? Very intricate and classy desserts.

Now, me being a big fan of pastries, especially chocolatey ones, watching that show was almost too much to bear. I had to look more into it and I've found some pics of the world cup competition:




And that is just a sample. You can find more pictures here:
http://www.fmainardphoto.com/sirha/cmp.htm

This year's world cup winner was the Japanese team.

From Nose to Mouth

Did you eat boogers as a kid?
For those who don't know, "booger" refers to dried nasal mucus. Yes, you read it right, the dried remains in your nose, that's what a booger is and yes, the question is, did you eat those when you were a kid? (or do you still eat them?)

I used to eat boogers as a kid and I'm not ashamed to say it. I have a smaller cousin who used to eat boogers as a kid and he outgrew it too, so I thought it wasn't unusual for kids to do that and I never even thought that some people don't know about that as a habit. I got a doubt yesterday though, while having a conversation about bad habits as kids, so I thought I'd check, maybe booger-eating only runs in MY family and we are a freak show without knowing!

But no, if you do a search on the internet, quite a few websites mention nose-picking and eating the harvest of that. Phew, that was scary. Imagine I had to go find my cousin and tell him that we are the only 2 people who had that bad habit!

Consequently to checking that it wasn't just me and my cousin, I also found out that eating boogers is quite harmless, it might even boost your immune system according to some experts. (Check it out here) However nose-picking involves risks that I am only aware of now, (and then it's just gross) so I'm glad I outgrew that habit!

Now, some people actually eat earwax...
I don't want to be pointing the finger or anything (I'm the one who used to eat boogers) but as comparisons go, I don't know which is worse: from ear to mouth or from nose to mouth, and that's one experiment I am not too keen on.

Chinese Spring Festival

On Sunday, we began the year 4705 in the chinese calendar which is a pig year.
Humm, let me phrase that again: 2007 is the year of the pig according to the chinese zodiac.

Some believe it is not just another pig year but the year of the Golden Pig, which according to certain myths, means that the babies born during this year will lead a "fat and easy life" and possibly making loads of money. So if you are ever given the opportunity to be born again and are given the choice of the year, you better choose to be born in a year of the Golden Pig! :P

Here in Mauritius, we get a public holiday for the Chinese Spring Festival. The Sino-Mauritians usually celebrate by having family dinners, giving foong pao (red envelopes with money in it!), lighting up firecrackers (to scare away bad things) and of course sharing cakes with our friends who are not of chinese descent. Some people go to the pagoda during the day to pay tribute to the gods, and some fast on that day. The customs of the day differ from family to family because our chinese ancestors were not necessarily from the same regions of China and because less and less sino-mauritians follow all the customs nowadays. Some customs are too complicated for the younger generations to learn without understanding chinese writings, so when the elders who used to perform the services , along with them goes the knowledge they carry.

I'm going to write about the little I know about today.
First, the week leading to the Chinese New year is always busy with cleaning because on the day of the new year, we cannot sweep the floors because we will also be sweeping away money we could earn during the year.

Then, on the day of the new year, people are supposed to wear new clothes. I have no idea why, but it must probably so you can get new clothes throughout the year.
Then of course the tradition where elders give foong pao to the younger generations. That again is a custom that vary among families. Some families stop giving foong pao to someone who has started working and some stop only when someone is married. But mostly, the money inside is not quite important, it is more the gesture than the monetary value.

The chinese new year celebrations basically should last for 15 days, at the end of which there is the Lantern Festival, which closes the festivities. It is at the end of the 15 days that people can go consult their "horoscopes" for the year and make promises to the gods if the "prediction" is bad, so that the year goes by with a little less unfortunate incidents.

The rest is quite unknown territory for me. I am sure there are loads other customs and traditions that should take place, but none of which I understand the purpose or timeliness. Sino-mauritians tend to comply to as many customs as they know of and to omit the unknown parts, so I am quite content doing just that also.
On that, I wish everybody a good year of the pig!

Valentine's Day or SAD...

February 14, a day lovers around the world await for.
Wanting to check the origin of Valentine's day, I've check wikipedia and as well as finding the different believed origins of Valentine's day, I've found that Singles Awareness Day (SAD) is celebrated on the same day.
Yes, it is true that if you're single and comes Valentine's day, you feel like the loneliest person on earth, especially if all your friends are in a relationship. So it makes sense that SAD is "celebrated" on the same day, but Asians take it even a step further, they have a Lovers-go-die club which is a club against lovers or couples (isnt' that just far-fetched or is it just me?).


The day has come and gone.
Whether you are in a relationship and you celebrated with your better half (or chose not to), or you're single and didn't celebrate (or maybe had a drink for SAD), the day is over, and gratefully, we won't have to bear the constant reminder of the media that we need to celebrate love for another year. It never used to be this commercial in MU before, but I guess with the influence of the West, Valentine's day has become quite popular over the last few years.
As one of the radio hosts was saying yesterday, why celebrate love on that day only? Why not celebrate it every day of the year, 365 days a year? The most recurring questions during the day yesterday were "so what did you get from your boyfriend/lover/husband?" or "What did you get your boyfriend/lover/husband?". Does celebrating love resume to giving gifts then?
That's what the media wants it to be about and that's what makes the day even more painful for singles.

If you're single and you survived the day without going insane, feeling lonely or sad, congrats to you. It takes a lot of wisdom to recognize that it is just an excuse for people to buy more and be theatrical about their love. Love doesn't have to be this big, as said in 1 Corinthians 13, it does not BOAST.

If you're not single and you celebrated (or not), keep in mind that there are 364 other days where you could be just as considerate for your loved one :P.

It's all coming back to me now....

The long-awaited list was out yesterday afternoon making a few chosen very happy and leaving hundreds deceived. Every year, school leavers await their results with impatience and those who have been hopeful to win a scholarship await the list of scholarship winners with a mixture of eagerness and stress.

At 18, you think the world would stop if you deceive your parents. At 18, you think it's everything to live up to their expectations. At 18, you think your future rests in having great A levels results. I can't imagine the stress of the very smart, those whose dreams and aspirations all stem from being a scholarship winner and hearing their names on the radio. One "laureate", as we call them here, was interviewed yesterday and she admitted not being to eat or sleep because of the imminent announcement of the results. Have she not won one of the scholarships, the same student would have been devastated and disgusted with life.

Flashback: February 2000. Having a combination of subjects that didn't allow me to compete for the scholarships, there wasn't going to be my name in the papers, nor being announced on the radio. But I was just as eager to hear the names of the scholarship winners so that I could congratulate them if I knew them. It's funny the frenzy around that list. When the list came out for my year, all of my friends' names were in the newspapers, not because they were scholarship winners, but because they were good enough to be ranked. Yes, it is something else when you see your name on that newspaper, isn't it? My mom says it's pride. The parents can be proud of their kids when they put their names on those papers because of their academic prowess.

So what happens to those kids whose names weren't in the papers then? Does that mean that their parents can't be proud of them? Yes, my friends were all in the papers, but they were there not because they happen to be among the very smart, but because they chose a "side" where competition is not that good. I, on the other hand, had excellent results but, as my mom points out, would never have the recognition provided by the papers.

7 years down the road, it doesn't mean anything now. It didn't even mean anything when we all went to university. Nobody cares that you were or weren't ranked for your A levels, nobody cares that you were in the papers in tiny Mauritius. I'm sure it certainly made a difference for the scholarship winners, their parents didn't have to provide thousands (if not millions) of rupees for their studies, but that didn't make them more likely to succeed than others who didn't win.

It's outrageous the pressure parents put on their kids to win those scholarships. It's outrageous that success in Mauritius is mostly measured in academic results.
For those who weren't in the papers or for those who tried their best and still didn't make it to the top, I want to say: chin up, life doesn't resume to one exam. There will be loads of opportunities for you to succeed, it's up to you to take them and to find your way to the top.

Brain drain or the exodus of the new generation...

Today, I've read an article in the NY times where the subject is about Germany and the loss of its younger and highly skilled population.
I couldn't help but notice how true it is of the Mauritian population also. People try to seek a better future elsewhere, be it in Canada, Australia, the States, the UK or even Singapore and in doing so, the best and brightest, most often than not, are lost to their home country. Here in MU, it is becoming ever so common that school leavers go abroad for college/university education and rare are those who ever come back. In fact, those who do come back to stay are usually those whose parents own a business (and hence, it's been understood that they will take over), those who couldn't get their residency papers in their adopted countries (therefore couldn't stay there), those who couldn't find work in their adopted countries (lack of money always bring children running back to their parents) or those who never adapted to life outside of their home country.

This exodus of the young could only be understood if you've lived here in MU. I've tried explaining this to my friends back in CA, and they could never understand why people would want to leave paradise island for snow-covered Canada. The prospect of earning more money (and in a currency that is recognized world-wide) aside, ".. the natural beauty and the sense of possibility", as the article so beautifully describes, is enough to appeal to the young and ambitious. Not only that, there is now another category of middle-agers who, trying to be a step ahead, are emigrating so that their teenage children could benefit from lower university fees when they finish high school.

It is interesting to note that those who study abroad and then come back to MU can expect to earn a slightly better salary (in some companies) than their peers who studied at the local university. This is only because there is the idea that the level of education abroad is better than the one delivered locally. I am not here to debate whether the level of instruction of the University of Mauritius is comparable to international levels, but if for anything else, just experiencing the world beyond our small island gives those who studied abroad a slight advantage. That said, I'll put my case to rest on that subject.

Another interesting fact is that often those who emigrated in their youth nurture the idea of coming back to MU in their old days. They may not want to stay all year round, the health care abroad being substantially more trusted, but they certainly wish to flee the cold winters abroad and find sunshine in our homeland.

So what changes should be made in MU to stop the brain drain you would ask?
Nothing much an individual could do, although if you're Prime Minister and you want to make your people WANT to stay, you could find a zillion ways to help. But I'm not here to criticize the government or anything else, God knows I'm not really an expert in politics or economy. I think, all people need to be happy here is (just like everywhere else) a little bit more money, less tax to pay, better health care and way way more entertainment!
But then, that's only my opinion and a very simplistic way to solve the problem.

For those who are just back in MU, from someone who's been back more than a year now, you will definitely get used to it again.........maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a week.... but within a year for sure!

Slouching beings

I've been watching people walk by recently, people at work, people at supermarkets, people on the streets.
One noticeable thing that most people have in common, across generations and race, is that they slouch.
"Children carry huge over loaded backpacks, adults lug briefcases to work, and thousands of people spend hours hunched over a computer whether for work or play. " **
Because slumping into our chairs is easier than consciously sitting straight, people get into the habit without realizing it until someone brings it to their attention. Even then, most people will hold their spine straight for a few minutes before forgetting and reverting to their slouching positions.

Ageing already brings a slight slouch to our posture, but now, with worse sitting and standing postures, not only the population as a whole would soon be subscribing to regular visits to a chiropractor, but by the time we reach old age, we would all be bent in two with a who-can-do-better list of back problems. In countries such as CA, where chiropractor fees are covered by health insurance if they are justified and recommended by a doctor, more of taxpayers' money will be involved into paying for the cost of bad posture.

It takes real effort though to sit straight, bring back your shoulders, and walk tall and to remember doing this all day. But remember: "Change takes willpower! However … the rewards of good posture are well worth the effort. You will feel great and your physical appearance will look tall and confident! "**

**quoted from an article about posture tips.

Hump country...

You could take the same route every single day of the year.
You could know the road by heart, every single turn, every single pothole.
You could even say that you could drive your eyes blindfolded on that road.
Yet, one morning you wake up and do the same stuff you've been doing for the past x years and driving leisurely down that road, woahhhhh hold on, there's a SPEED BUMP on the road!!!

Here in MU, this happens quite often. Out of nowhere, speed bumps appear overnight. They put them everywhere, on smaller roads as on bigger main roads, near schools or near supermarkets, anywhere they think people usually speed. They spend thousands of rupees making those humps and then they spend as much to remove some of them because in someone's eagerness to make humps on the road, they didn't realize that they are hindering vehicles that need to speed, like ambulances or fire trucks.

Out of the capital, on one of the main roads for buses to go up north, there are 3 humps on a stretch of 100 m, just in front of a temple. Yes, I agree that there's been quite a few accidents there because of speeding drivers, but those humps cause monstrous traffic jams during peak hours because that being a busy road for buses, the humps slow down buses and other vehicles more than they should.

I'm not saying speed humps are bad, but hell, why put them all over the place?
If that goes on, MU's roads will become just a succession of humps, one after the other so that everybody would need 4x4 to drive around.

Ant invasion

As the weather is getting irritatingly hotter, my house is getting invaded by ants from all angles.
They crawl in from the roof, they come in through the doors and windows, they invade the car, they come through the pipes, they build nests in my drawers, they crawl over the laundry...they are just EVERYWHERE.

Black ants that are just annoying and crawl at the speed of light, red ants that bite like crazy and that look for sweets, tiny red ants that just give you the creeps...you can find them all in my house. My parents have found that they can kill the ants by chalking up the places where the ants are likely to show up, so having lines and lines of chalk running up, down and along the walls is quite ordinary at home.

Sometimes though, when the ants are actively attacking something, be it some crumbs or food left on the table, or just a piece of cloth, it's better to use a spray that will kill them instantly! So sometimes you'd find my dad armed with a spray, killing the ants with poison spray in very strategic places. The thing is, however, that the ants might retaliate stronger, where you have once killed hundreds of ants, you come back 1 hr later to find thousands of them milling around the dead bodies of their contemporaries. I've just read an article that suggests it is best to kill the ants with a poison that they will bring back to their nest, therefore killing the whole nest in one go. I need to find such a poison so that my dad could retire from his role as the ant-fighter at home.

In CA, ants seldom come into the house. You could leave a chocolate on the table and find it weeks later at the same spot, without an ant around (you might not want to eat it though!). A good thing about Canada also is that food don't go stale as quickly as it does here. A bag of chips, left opened for a week, would still taste the same and as crisp as ever. Here, I've found bags of chips still sealed that have gone stale before the expiry date. So in a quest to keep away ants and to keep food from getting stale as much as possible, I've had to get back into the habit of using airtight containers and not leaving crumbs behind.

On that note, I dare the stupid ants to come, I'll sit tight with my chalk and poison spray and defend my territory.

It's in you to give....

As we approach the New Year's eve w/end, I have heard a lot about the NOT-drinking-and-driving campaign here in MU. This week after Christmas, the news have been about how the police force stopped vehicles on Christmas eve for alcohol tests and how many drunk drivers were tested.

We all know that we shouldn't drink and drive, yet some drivers still do it because they either think they are above the law or because they think their tolerance for alcohol is better than most people. What these drivers do not realize is that by driving under the influence of alcohol, they not only put themselves in danger, but they put the lives of other people in danger too. Most often than not, in road accidents involving drunk drivers, the innocent are more hurt than the drunk driver himself. The Don't-Drink-And-Drive campaigns usually try to remind people of those risks come the holiday season.

That said, the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) usually have a massive campaign to make people donate blood during the holidays. Here in MU, I haven't heard that much about giving blood although I am sure the need for blood is even more critical during this period. The blood banks in MU already run low most of the time, so it is only normal that during the holiday period, with people getting busier at home and with parties, fewer donors have the time to go to a blood collection point and unfortunately more accidents occur during this period meaning more people needing blood.

Since the blood collected can only be used within 35 days, every healthy person who can donate blood should be encouraged to do so to relieve the need for blood nation-wide. Blood to spare is something most people have... yet, there is still not enough to go around. It is something money can't buy, only something one person can give to another. In fact, one blood donation may help save up to three lives.

As the CBS campaigns usually say: "It's in you to give. Give the gift of life, donate blood."

If nothing else, that could be your good deed for the coming year.

Goodbye 2006, hello 2007!

As 2006 is coming to a close, this is the time to reflect on the year just gone by and for some of us, to make new year's resolutions.

Looking back over the events in 2006, it seems that this year has seen its quota of natural disasters, political scandals, unfortunate killings and accidents and sporting events. Personally, the year has been way more peaceful than in the world, the highlights being getting a new job then changing companies, a trip to Birmingham, and making loads and loads of new friends.

With only a few days left in 2006 though, let's not linger over the past, and let's look forward to the new blank page ahead. I am sure that the question that will pop up sooner or later would be about my new year's resolution.

What's a new year resolution you say? Check out the answer on wikipedia:

A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year's Day and remain until the set goal has been achieved, although many resolutions go unachieved and are often broken fairly shortly after they are set.

According to a few surveys online, the most popular new year's resolutions are:
- Spend more time with family and friends.
- Get fit/ lose weight.
- Quit smoking.
- Enjoy life more.
- Quit drinking.
- Get out of debt/ save money.
- Learn something new.
- Help others/ volunteer.
- Get organized.
- Get a better job/education.
- Eat right.
- Reduce stress/take a trip in the year.

I, by experience, know that my new year's resolutions do not hold all the way because I tend to forget them after 1 week. Yes, we are all getting older, some of us a little bit wiser, some a little bit balder, some a little bit fatter. The bottom line remains that we don't need a new year to come by to realize that we need to take action, either it is to lose weight, eat right, quit smoking or decide to take a trip. However, some of us do like to have a set date to start something even though the goal might not be reached anytime soon.

Having said all that, I have decided that my 2007 resolution would be NOT to have a resolution.

What's your new year's resolution for 2007?

The countdown has started...only 3 days left.

Fireworks, firecrackers, etc.

It is the custom in MU to set off fireworks or firecrackers for celebrations like Christmas, New Year's, Divali, Chinese New Year.....bah, any festival or celebration in fact.
So, in this season of holidays, it is very common to see/hear fireworks around the island...EXCEPT I never expected to see what I saw last night.

I was driving down the motorway after work when, lo and behold, I saw fireworks being set off from a GAS STATION! It is to believe that Mauritians from Roche-bois have no clue whatsoever of the danger of lighting up fireworks in a highly inflammable area like a gas station. I had no time to check if they were being set off by kids or by "responsible" adults, but in any case, the gas station was open, so there must have been the said responsible adults around. An accident could so easily happen and the sad story would be on the headlines the following day claiming that nobody thought such an awful thing could happen.

In CA, the law prevents citizens to set off fireworks or firecrackers if it is not during the Victoria Day week-end (the w/end preceding May 25), Canada Day (July 1st) or New Year's Eve. Some provinces allow fireworks for Divali, but I haven't seen any on Divali during the 5 yrs I was there. It is justifiable why Canada would have such restrictions on fireworks: people do not realize until it is too late that what they are doing could put other people in danger. If such a law was to be implemented in MU, I bet a lot of Mauritians would be outraged that their kids do not know the pleasure of setting off firecrackers and fireworks. Safety comes first though, so I wish there could be something to be done about this....Right now, all I can think of is maybe stop by Roche-bois and kick some uneducated @ss over there. I must say that this particular region in MU could give me unlimited inspiration for blog entries. :P

It is on this happy note that I wish y'all a Happy New Year 2007.

Viva fireworks!