Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Grey's Anatomy Does Not Represent THE COMMON E.R.!

At least, that's what most doctors, residents, interns and nurses say...Yeah well I love the show because I can now refer to a doctor as McDreamy or McSteamy and honestly, I don't even remotely feel mcguilty for it. Those of you who haven't figured out the "Mc" stuff, well it either means that you are a. oblivious to the world or b. McSlow...Mc comes from McDonalds and their advertising campaigns. Ok never mind...Back to the show... Come on...which female in their right mind wouldn't want a guy like Patrick Dempsey or Eric Dane to be their "boss" or doctor! There is more eye candy in that one show than any show on TV, period! Even for guys....Who wouldn't want her as their intern? Ok, I should be less shallow and admit that doctors or medical professionals, if you will, need to be more than just looks. They actually need to know "their shit"... (Couldn't think of a better way to say it.)

So the other day, I had to go to the E.R., yes again...Now I know you're wondering as to why do I end up in the ER so often...Honestly, if only I knew, life would be so much easier... A little background as to why I had to go in this time around... I was just being my clumsy self and managed to sprain my mid-foot area. Well to be exact...In the morning, I was rushing to go to a birthday lunch party for a 1 yr old, and naturally I was running late... I ran to get my hair dryer (of course with wet feet) and slipped on the rug...flat on my behind. Honestly, it didn't hurt then, so I just pretended like nothing happened, got ready, wore my 4 inch heels and was off to celebrate. I come with a slight pinch on my mid foot area but still thought I was WonderWoman and was off to watch Daniel Craig in Casino Royale... I think it was when I saw Daniel's Belly in the nude scene that just triggered the foot. I was in pain but managed to not scream. I came back home (after the movie of course) with a slight swollen foot. 5 mins later I could not move at all and was in excruciating pain. I've now been waiting at the ER for 2 hrs in pain with my cousin and father filling out a ridiculous amount of registration forms and of course the x-ray reports. I finally meet my doctor...HELLO DOCTOR!!!! Yes he was cute and yes he was young.... But as much as I and my cousin would have liked to flirt with him, I was more concerned of getting rid of this pain.... He on the other hand was busy looking down my cleavage than my foot or the x-ray reports. Now what does that say? Granted I probably shouldn't have worn such a low-cut t-shirt but when you're in pain, does all that matter really? So basically what's the point of this thread? Well the point is that regardless if we are medical professionals or not, we are still human and we act upon our human instincts regardless of where we are. I as a patient will still check out my doctors; Doctors are still going to look down cleavages, regardless if they have seen numerous naked bodies; People can still be attracted to their co-workers and make it a point to act on it than just sit and think WHAT IF? It's human nature....So those of you medical professionals who think that Grey's Anatomy is wrong....Look around, I’m pretty sure that if you haven't been dating your colleague, I'm sure you've been thinking someone around you is HOT! This so-called life is Normal...and if you think I'm wrong...then who are you kidding?

Monday, November 27, 2006

To My Fellow Abu Dhabians

Don't deny it....It's all soo true....Especially the ones I've written in bold.


You know you're from Abu-Dhabi when...

1) You won't accept riding in less than a BMW. MERCEDES OR RANGE ROVER. And when you do ride in a HASHKALL taxi you're wearing your sunglasses and you're going to the beach.

2)Dinner time is at 11pm and lunch is at 5pm

3)When you step foot inside the mall and/or a club and happen to know everyone... and if not then you know someone who knows someone who knows you.

4) Your parents get mad when your friends call the house phone.

5) When you expect good service, living in the lap of luxury and spas to be your daily routine.

6) You refer to your phone as a MOBILE not a CELL and have at least 3 or 4 of the latest ones.

7) You change your mobile every year because it becomes outdated.

8) You walk in the mall (for a woman) and get picked up like this: 55763837

9) You walk into a club and just STARE at everyone STARING at you. It's you looking at them looking at you looking at someone else.

10) Your idea of a night out is going to Dubai, staying at a hotel and eating at Chocho's or Trader Vics.

11) You refer to losers as hashkalls. (And that's not even the real correct term for it loll!!).

12) You expect the confirmation of everything to end with Inshallah.

13) You get hit on at least five times a day. (For women)

14) You NEVER get hit on unless its a Russian prostitute (For men)

15) The mall is considered a hangout. Cafe's are a daily routine.

16) You don't have proper street addresses. You refer to your house as the one near KFC opposite Dana Plaza.

17) You drive at least 100km on the main streets and highways and think its normal.

18) You think everyone's last name begins with Al.

19) Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the houseboy or maid.

20) You think a picnic is pulling over to the side of SPECIAL and having shisha with chai.

21) You think WASTA (connections) outdates any kind of education.

22) You wear a jacket inside and take it off outside.

23) You can judge a perfect 10 by her eyes.

24) You understand that wadi bashing is not a criminal act.

25) It's considered normal that your parents and their friends parents work for oil industries and get a severance package of 100k per year.

26) You think Bebsi is better than Coke

27) Paying 10dhs in a hashkall taxi is BULLSHIT! And you argue until you end up paying 5 only.

28) You U turn when it pleases you.

29) Having a gathering means inviting more than 30 people and then paying for all of them.

30) You think hanging out at Abu Dhabi mall is cooler than hanging out at Hamdan center.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Tazer GUN

THIS IS A TOTAL OUTRAGE.....PLEASE READ DOWN BELOW



"An Iranian-American, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, UCLA student was shot by UCLA'S UCPD November 14th 2006, because he could not show his Student ID. He was shot 5 times with a taser gun. Police threatened to shoot students who got too close. The Student yelled out that he had a medical condition, but the cops kept shooting. Don't let the UCPD get away with attempted murder!"

WATCH THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3GstYOIc0I

UCPD officers shot a student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody.

No university police officers were available to comment further about the incident as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, and no Community Service Officers who were on duty at the time could be reached.

At around 11:30 p.m., CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check. The student did not exit the building immediately.

The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.

The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.

It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition.

UCPD officers confirmed that the man involved in the incident was a student, but did not give a name or any additional information about his identity.

Video shot from a student's camera phone captured the student yelling, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your ****ing abuse of power," while he struggled with the officers.

As the student was screaming, UCPD officers repeatedly told him to stand up and said "stop fighting us." The student did not stand up as the officers requested and they shot him with the Taser at least once more.

"It was the most disgusting and vile act I had ever seen in my life," said David Remesnitsky, a 2006 UCLA alumnus who witnessed the incident.

As the student and the officers were struggling, bystanders repeatedly asked the police officers to stop, and at one point officers told the gathered crowd to stand back and threatened to use a Taser on anyone who got too close.

Laila Gordy, a fourth-year economics student who was present in the library during the incident, said police officers threatened to shoot her with a Taser when she asked an officer for his name and his badge number.

Gordy was visibly upset by the incident and said other students were also disturbed.

"It's a shock that something like this can happen at UCLA," she said. "It was unnecessary what they did."

Immediately after the incident, several students began to contact local news outlets, informing them of the incident, and Remesnitsky wrote an e-mail to Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3GstYOIc0I


-UPDATE-
UCLA's released something:
http://www.ucpd.ucla.edu/ucpd/zippdf/2006/Taser%2011-15-06.pdf
http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38958

Check it out. It's not even correct, as we can see from the YouTube video, Mostafa Tabatabainejad did not "encourage library patrons to join his resistance".
We really need to take action. He's going to court, so those present at the incident can testify against the UCPD and portray what really happened at the scene of the crime.


Contact the UCLA Police Department and express your disapproval of how the situation was immorally handled:
http://www.ucpd.ucla.edu/

Contact UCLA Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams About Incident at Powell Library:

Dr. Norman Abrams (Interim Chancellor) - chancellor@conet.ucla.edu
Dr. Daniel Neuman (Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost) - evc@conet.ucla.edu
Dr. Maryann Jacobi Gray (Assistant Provost) - mgray@conet.ucla.edu
Dr. Robert J. Naples (Assistant Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students) - dean@saonet.ucla.edu

PS. Don't be rash and it would help if the curses sent were on the low-key.

Circulate this video to the masses.
So that we may hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

For more information:
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/10325914/detail.html
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=4763689
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=7513

SIGN THE PETITION:
http://www.petitiononline.com/uclaucpd/petition.html

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan


Before I go ahead and give a full review of this movie, I have to say to all my readers that this is a movie that one should not miss. It is one of the funniest movies that has hit the silver screen in a very long time and I can't seem to even think of one movie that could come close for comparison.

So what's all this hype about?

A little about the movie....

Borat Sagdiyev is a Kazakhstani TV personality who travels to America to make a documentary record of his exploration of the American culture. He is accompanied by his producer, Azamat. Once in New York City, Borat navigates the hurdles of settling into his hotel room then discovers Baywatch on late-night TV. He is immediately enamored by Pamela Anderson and decides to take a road trip to California to meet her. This journey takes him to various cities and then finally out to Los Angeles. Along the way, he meets characters who are stranger than he is, adopts a pet bear, and gets into a nude wrestling match with his colleague.

What I loved about Borat....

1. Sacha's ability to use a novel way of discussing every hot and taboo topic in America. His use of over the top Sarcastic Humor for political incorrectness was soo shocking that one can't help but laugh.

2. The infamous Fight between him and his colleague, Azamat. This fight alone is worth the 10 bucks in the theater. Not only was the entire theater audience rolling all over the floor laughing, it is a scene beyond belief. You keep on wondering how did these 2 fellows even go through with it in a straight face? (This video is available on Youtube.com if you're curious and haven't seen the movie.)

3. He showed how ignorant majority of the people in America are about everything out there in the world... It shows that most people living in the states like to live in their own bubble and would prefer to not know about anything else beyond their immediate vicinity. I think a movie like this will finally open eyes to most Americans that it is time to stop being so ignorant and actually take charge and stand up for what is right. Instead of being yet another couch potato.

There were definitely unforgettable moments in this movie, and honestly, I would like all of you to watch it first and then possibly discuss it after.

As Roger and Ebert used to say, "IT'S TWO THUMBS UP WAYY UP!!!"


Enjoy the first 4 minutes of the movie.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-qO8Oywpas

Friday, November 10, 2006

Let's Play The Love Game

Many say that love is overrated. A majority of the rest say love is profound and only those who are lucky get to experience it at least once if not only once. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about those who have no clue about love. But the main question remains unanswered, WHAT IS LOVE? Is there a specific definition of this word or is it just as obscure a concept as the moment a person will die? Robert Frost once said, “Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” Ever since I heard this quote, which was roughly in freshman year of college, I thought it was possibly the most accurate, but never questioned it... Love is a desire, we all want love, to be in love and when asked a person about love, they don’t know how to describe what love is? So far the only answer I’ve gotten was love is love. BUT WHAT IS LOVE? Should we be desiring something we are unsure of….

Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about it…

Love is a profound feeling of tender affection for or intense attraction to another. People in love are often considered to have "good" interpersonal chemistry. Love is described as a deep, ineffable feeling shared in passionate or intimate interpersonal relationships. In different contexts, however, the word love has a variety of related but distinct meanings: in addition to romantic love, which is characterized by a mix of emotional and sexual desire, other forms include platonic love, religious love, familial love, and the more casual application of the term to anyone or anything that one considers strongly pleasurable, enjoyable, or desirable, including activities and foods. This diverse range of meanings in a single word is commonly contrasted with the plurality of Greek words for Love, reflecting the word's versatility and complexity.

Does this make sense? Ok, so what do we do when “Love” gets complicated? Let’s take the following situation as an example. If we were in these people’s shoes, what would we do? I’ll ask the questions after…

This story involves a girl and 2 boys. Yes, a love triangle if you will. To make it less confusing I’ll give some names. The girl’s name is Mary and the two boys’ names are Adam and Steve.


Mary and Adam meet and instantly become good friends. Slowly Adam becomes attracted to Mary and Mary notices the shift in Adam’s behavior. Mary is not romantically interested in Adam and is dating David. Adam tells Mary that he is interested and wants to date Mary. Mary believes she’s in love with David and therefore breaks friendship with Adam and stops talking to him. A year later, Mary and David mutually breakup and agree that they are in different mindsets. Months after the breakup, Mary and Adam meet again and decide to restart the friendship. Adam introduces Mary to his friends, which includes Steve. Mary is instantly attracted to Steve and it seems that Steve shows equal interest in her but gives mixed signals. This confuses Mary. When Mary was being introduced to Adam’s friend, she sensed that Adam probably still likes her, so she herself decided to be a little reserved towards Steve. So what should happen now?

Current Situation: Adam still likes Mary. Mary Likes Steve. Steve really likes Mary but is the best of friends with Adam and knows how Mary broke Adam’s heart.

Should Steve confront Adam about him liking Mary?

How does Mary approach Adam about Steve?

Should Mary and Steve continue talking and flirting in front of Adam?

What would you if you were in either one of these characters’ shoes?

Just so that people are aware, this story or situation has nothing to do with me. It's just another hindi movie in the making and a past Friends' episode. I just thought it would be a great discussion idea. Nonetheless, I was reading my "Love Horoscope for the day" and it was interesting to me that this is what it said.

Dear Dazzlingsitar,

Here is your single's love horoscope for Tuesday, November 14:

Someone wants to know what they have to do to get with you. The truth is they'd have to be another person entirely -- they're just not the one for you. Be gentle yet firm when you tell them this isn't it.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Stuffed Vegetables with Rice and Sour Cherries


From time to time, I've decided that I'm going to share some recipes that I've tried and tasted and have ABSOLUTELY LOVED. Here is one.....

This is a Base Recipe – Alter measurements when cooking for more or less.

Ingredients:

4 Large Beef Steak tomatoes

4 Large Peppers

2 tbsp butter ghee or clarified butter

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 onions, chopped

8oz minced lamb

2 cinnamon sticks

2oz dried cherries or cranberries

.5 cup of bulgur

3 cups of lamb or chicken stock

.5 cup rice

.5 tsp salt

2 tsp dried mint or 2 tbsp of fresh mint

1 tsp of turmeric powder

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of cracked black pepper

1 tsp soumak (optional)

Preparation:

  1. Roast tomatoes and peppers for 10 mins at 400 F- empty insides of vegetables
  2. Sautee Garlic, onions, lamb, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, black pepper and soumak on high for 5 to 6 mins
  3. Add the tomato pulp from tomatoes that are roasting, dried fruit, rice, bulgur, 2.5 cups of stock. Season with salt.
  4. Return to boil and cover
  5. Simmer for 10 mins.
  6. Cover dish with foil and bake again 350F for 40-45 mins until the rice is plump and liquid has absorbed
  7. Stuff veggies with rice
  8. Garnish with labne (middle eastern yogurt) and mint
P.S- This picture is a similar picture of what it should look like...couldn't be bothered to scan from the book.

BhaloBasha

Musings on Love in Bangla Literature


Love is both universal and local. Just like Language, Love exists in all human societies yet varies in its shapes and forms. Love inhabits a central place in the Bengali imagination.

The Network of Young Bangladeshi American Professionals (NYBAP) is pleased to invite you to an evening of selected readings from Bangla literature celebrating Love.

The event will showcase poetry by Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sunil Gangopadhyay as well as excerpts of novels by Manik Bondhopaddhay, Humayun Ahmed and Ahmad Mostafa Kamal.

Refreshments to follow the readings.

Tickets: $10

Space is limited; please RSVP at www.nybap.org

Thursday, November 30th
6:30pm - 8:30pm

TamarindArt
142 East 39th St (btwn Lex & 3rd Aves)
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212.990.9000
web: http://www.tamarindart.com
Directions: 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / S @ Grand Central - 42nd Street

If you have questions, please contact:

The Events Committee
Network of Young Bangladeshi American Professionals
web: http://www.nybap.org | email: events@nybap.org | phone: 718.514.2124

Connect. Inspire. Succeed.

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About NYBAP

The Network of Young Bangladeshi American Professionals (NYBAP) is a new organization targeted at young professionals in the beginning and middle stages of their careers. NYBAP's founders saw the need for a network uniting young professionals from all walks of life to exchange professional experience and foster career development. Currently, NYBAP members represent a wide variety of industries including Finance, Law, Marketing, Consulting and Medicine.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Ummm....Doc, Do You Realize I'm STILL SICK?

So it's been a week from the first time I felt all the symptoms and I still don't know what I have. I've already been to the doctors 3 times already, done numerous tests. Everything seems to come out negative and normal. However, I still have a fever, the upper abdominal pains and occasional ribcage aches. The only good thing is that I'm not vomiting anymore. Vivid details...I know and I'm sorry...But I just cant help it. I guess it's just my frustration coming out. I've been recommended to see a gastro who initially gave me an appointment 3 weeks from today. But the fact that I've threatened the receptionist to murder if this pain does not subside or be gotten rid of asap, I've managed to get the appointment TOMORROW! Yayy! So lets see how it goes...Hopefully I will have some answers soon....

Gratitude

Waking up in my apt in Manhattan this morning has been no less than a full on surreal experience, only because I didn’t know if it was going...