Red Blotches, Why Me?

Back then in my Junior College days, the teenage days when almost all girls tend to be affected by pimples and have their faces covered with scarfs because of the red dots splattering their cheeks, I roamed carefree with not a single pimple in sight. I considered myself lucky and prided my bath soap for keeping me away from harms way.

JC ended and I stepped onto the next pedestal, the Engineering College days. Not that I was very happy getting into it, after all my dreams of joining media studies were blown away. The dream was short lived just like my lucky-prided  no pimple free self, as it would be known. Year One passed uneventfully, with me going about my routine fussing over nothing and happily welcoming the succeeding Year Two. Year Two began on a dramatic note and well the end? Grr I don't even want to think about it..

It was in the fall of 2010 that my pimple chronicles began and continued to worsen over the winter. Year Two was supposed to be the year of the IV err Industrial Visit that was more like a Jab We Met; with we running behind the train. But coming to the main topic, yes it was the year of the IV and just like the planning to visit North began in fall slowly and steadily; the red blotches started marring my pretty face almost the same way, slowly and steadily. First they were less small patches here and there and then they grew into full fledged pimples by the time 2011 arrived. I was worried, worried is an understatement I was quiet dramatically worried. And thus, started my problems. For ease and less drama let me list down the problems I now started facing on a daily basis;

1. Itchy, very itchy skin add oily to that too.

2. Reactions, plenty of them. Gosh even my most prided soap couldn't be spared.

3. No makeup(okay I practically applied none but well what I meant was Talc) so not even talc.

4. Worried about how I looked when it came to fests especially.

5. Being teased by friends mercilessly, karma is a bitch truly.

6. And so on, so on as my principal always concluded his speeches....

I can so relate to this 

So with so many problems, I obviously tried a lot of solutions. Right from one face wash to another, not to forget the special dermatologist treatment. Alas! All failed and I was promoted to my Year Three and with that even my pimples. Eventually, I was tired and thought of giving up all the creams and medicines et al. when a miracle, an angel arrived.

Out of routine, one fine supermarket visit and my mum got Garnier Neem FaceWash  for my sister, note my sister and not me; after all she is the one who used it. And looking back now it would seem that the stars were finally aligned in the right direction. As I came home one fine evening, after a tiring day in college and later on an extreme struggle in college; I went to wash my face but what do I see? My precious oh-so-expensive facewash and serum got over! What now? I was tired and secondly I was in no mood to go down and get a new one *after all it wasn't really working.* So out of laziness I ended up using my sister's facewash and continued using it for the next whole week. And viola suddenly it seemed like there was something different. My face, my face was improving, the pimples were finally leaving me!

Rescuer  !!

I could not believe yet I carried on with the experiment, *yes now it dramatically was called experiment instead of laziness* one week then two and the pimples magically started disappearing slowly and steadily. In no time, okay almost three months my face was back to how it was, Looking back now it feels like ironic, the solution was right in my home and yet I went to search it outside failing miserably. Sometimes I feel glad of my laziness that day, had it not been for it who knows I would still be a victim of those monstrous red blotches, ruling my face. Ending my story on a dramatic note, I'm indeed glad for the karmic intervention! And now I use it daily!

This post has been written for  bit.ly/GPABlogLinkIndiBloggerActivity and bit.ly/GarnierPureActiveNeemWebsite




    

Zesty Like Citrus

“What is this life if, full of care. We have no time to stand and stare.” 

Life passes by us, just like those tiny hands of the clock slowly ticking away. Moving in a monotonous pace, living the mundane life is what most of us do, don’t we? Home-Work-Eat-Work-Home. Tada! The day is over. Where is the enthusiasm, where is the zest?

So on this ‘mundane’ Sunday I sat on my usual isolated location surrounded by books and kept on
pondering. Is there nothing that keeps me motivating, prodding me to look ahead to each new day or is there something that triggers me into welcoming the morning sunshine with a sleepy yet satiated smile? And the answer was instantaneous, what maybe be boring to someone may be tangy to someone else. Here, the someone else being me :D

So since, I’m such a zesty person with so much gusto let me even be a little less lazier and share it out here on my blog.

Reading:

Reading anytime, anywhere as long as it is not a boring non-fiction or a business journal. You’ve got me hooked. I am such a novel freak that even though my poor smartphone is overflowing I have overstuffed it with e-books. The other day my friend exclaimed, what you don’t have Candy Crush Saga in your phone! Embarrassing moment it should have been but it wasn’t, the love the feel of losing myself in a book, paperback or electronic. Even after a long tiring day, reading a book cheers me up. If it’s a classic it’s a boon!

Watching Movies:

Now I ain’t saying I’m a die-hard movie buff or someone who no matter what watches the “First day First show.” Nah I’m not that kind of a girl but there are days when even reading seems painstaking and I’m drooping. That’s what those movies come to the rescue. 3-4 back to back and I’m bouncing back letting go of my aridity. It’s a bliss and I totally fall in love with cinema and life all over again.

Cooking is Therapeutic:

I’m not a big time foodie but I’m a very choosy picky eater. Throughout my life I’ve bugged my mum, sometimes I still do coz I don’t like the way she makes it or it’s not my favorite. This was how my love for cooking was born. Experimenting with various cuisines, whipping something yummy with very less ingredients; in short cooking gives me a high. The first time I cooked something was way back in my 8th std. believe me it was a disaster apart from me no one ate it. But over the years, not only has my cooking evolved but my family looks forward to my cooking. On a very secretive note, I think my mum is very happy as she has got a break from her cooking, as she just gets to enjoy like a good patron and I’m the poor chef.

Silver Moon and Sea:

I’m a true romantic and I live in place where the lord has bestowed us with sand n sea. Fusing them together, I love strolling along the sea side at night, with the stars shining bright. Not only is it pleasurable and refreshing. It even drains out the fatigue of the long hard day. Though this delightful activity is not possible daily, I try to take out time on weekends to unwind.

Chatterbox: 

I simply cannot help it. I am undoubtedly and blatantly a talkative. It’s not like I haven’t tried to curb it or in the most lower it. It simply does not happen. My report cards have been constantly been having this remark, “She’s talkative or She’s a chatterbox or She’s simply too exuberant.” I don’t really know if it’s a good thing or bad, but even when I’m low or sad I’ll be talking. Hell I end up talking more than usual then. It might come across as a turn off to someone silent, but chatting make me lively and vivacious.

I would like to end on this note, zest is different for everyone else. For someone it might be the loud pumping music of a disc, for another a quiet night curled up with a book on a couch would provide the same high. What matters is what elevates you and gives you a high.

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com

-Fatima

My Bookstore My Dream...

Reading and Writing, two words that I use to define myself. Tracing back time to almost my school days all I can recollect is; reading used to be something that I found comfort in and now that bliss is extended so much that it has become my passion culminating into a dream. I am a Engineering student and a dreamer, put these two together and you don't always get a good combination. Though it doesn't necessarily mean that being a student has thwarted my plans, although at times I did feel like backing away and not pursuing it till the end but each time I felt like taking a step back, I was reminded of a quote by Paulo Coelho that helped me tread ahead.

 

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” 

And thus the idea of starting a Bookstore cum Cafe, an independent start-up bookstore for book lovers grew on me slowly and steadily and I started moving towards my goal of converting my dream into reality.

People who know me, know how much emphasis I give to jotting down everything that I need for my task to be completed right from the location, to employment, to softwares to be used and most importantly names. So after hours of mind-boggling I decided on "Grounds for Thought Bookstore." My primary goal was to serve the people who not only frequent bookstores but also those who couldn't due to lack of time and travelling thereby catering to every individual who genuinely loves reading. 

But business is not just about marketing, networking and money; it is also about the resources and how to allocate those resources in order to get optimal output. And that is where I started facing issues, what seemed good in my mind and on paper didn't really seem fitting in reality as I being a student hardly have enough resources. My dream of starting a bookstore came crashing down; that is when I came across Microsoft Office 365 (http://www.office365.in). 

Microsoft Office 365 is the cloud version of the decades offered by Microsoft Office suite. Besides the familiar programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint there are other services such as Lync SharePoint Online and Exchange Online and creating websites to market the business and keeping it up to date which are included. It provides virtually anywhere access to familiar Office tools, plus enterprise-grade email, conferencing, and more IT services. In all being a perfect tool in the business arena. 

Having learnt so much about it and realizing its benefits, my mind started forming different ideas about how to incorporate it into my business without losing focus on my dream project. 

The bookstore industry as a whole is going through a large shift. Earlier, the market was dominated by local city libraries and small book vendors selling novels. Thus, my own experience as a customer was not satisfactory as I did not always get everything under one roof. Therefore, my bookstore  would cater to the needs of middle class customers who cut back on purchasing; thereby a used bookstore will look more attractive to customers who still wish to purchase books or simply lend them by being a member of the bookstore. 

The bookstore would try to provide various genre of books. It would offers a wide range of books including both the educational and recreational, a variety of magazine and fine music selections and newspapers. This includes just about every imaginable category including fiction, non-fiction, business, science, history, children and other types of books. Also the newspaper selection would concentrate not just on daily newspapers but archive even the past newspapers of historical dates.

Since this will be a bookstore cum cafe it will also provide a relaxed reading room type atmosphere that would be encouraged through the placement of art, chairs, couches and coffee tables; where one can sip evening coffee and enjoy a good read for customers who do not wish to purchase the book or take it home with them. 

In addition, as I mentioned earlier about incorporating Microsoft Office 365 as it provides ample services that would help my business. Since this is a small scale venture, the small business plan would help in my start up. 

Using Sky Drive I would update the database of existing and newly added books as it can be accessed both online and offline after synchronization. Basically this would help in searching the item the customer is seeking but is hard to find. This I do would by using the Microsoft Office tools like MS Excel for keeping a record of the books and music collection in a .csv file that would be stored in the cloud i.e Sky Drive that can be easily imported in a database; also since I'm all but using Microsoft products the database that I would incorporate would be SQL Server to ease my work.

Also there would be an online virtual library so it’s easy for the customer to leaf through books and place the order though not necessarily being present at the bookstore personally. The basic idea of having an online library in addition to the bookstore is that, if a customer wishes to purchase the book; the book would be delievered to their residence. But, home delivery won't hold true if the customer wishes to take the book on loan, but they can definitely pre-book the book they wish so that it is issued in their name and can be collected by the customer in a weeks time.

The website of this online library would be built using the Microsoft Office 365 Website builder and the requests would be updated in the database that would be connected to Sky Drive, Excel, Lync for audio calls and SharePoint so that the changes and order recorded can be viewed by me, the Head Librarian and even the other employees so as to have a fair idea of which book is available and how is the bookstore functioning. 

And one of the best feature is that I need not be present in the bookstore the whole time to check the records management, I can sync and configure Microsoft Office 365 on my touch screen cell phone and access the data anywhere thus, simplifying my task of checking the business development at my ease. 

Though this being a small scale business at start-up with minimum employees, the primary marketing strategy in order to capture attention for the bookstore would be using prominent signs at the stores location, handing out fliers to people, discounts on membership cards based on first cum first serve basis and radio advertisements to capture customers. Still there would be a sales and marketing representative who would keep a track of all the books sold, borrowed, acquired and also lost incurring a fine to the individual; using Microsoft Office tools like MS Word, Excel but with new and improved efficiency.

Today technology has advanced and it has it's perks and is present in every part of our life, it helps us from menial tasks to skilled elevated ones. The bookstore is my dream and a small initiative that I want to take in order to encourage not just reading for leisure but also a step towards developing a rational thinking that combines both proper education and creativity thereby inculcating the idea of dreaming big and working towards achieving it.

And I sincerely hope that one day my dream is fulfilled and I can proudly say, Yes this is my Bookstore not just for people who can afford to buy books and read but for everyone who can afford or who cannot but who genuinely like to read. 

This post has been written for Microsoft Office 365 and Indiblogger

-Fatima

 



P.S: Understanding Microsoft Office 365 courtesy; Microsoft site and google for various tutorials in each language.

Rendezvous with the Sun

Time flies so fast with memories never leaving your side as they always linger close in the recesses of your mind. As I sit here on the beach enjoying the subtle sun browsing an albums of my younger days on my i-pad, I realize it's been exactly ten long years since the day I had a real tryst with the sun.

Back then too global warming was as good as it is today and one needed protection from both the UVA and UVB rays of the sun. Smiling slightly my gaze lingers on my smooth untanned skin reminding me of my "Fourth Indiblogger meet sponsored by Neutrogena" that finally made me embrace a sunblock lotion. Seeing that I had really nothing much to do, I let the memories engulf me loosing myself in them.

The meet was held in JW Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai of which I was lucky to be a  part off owing my exams were miles apart. The moment I entered the venue all I could see was yellow; umbrellas, drapes, the hosts and even Neutrogena boards all over.

Once the registrations were done we were being given a Face mask and a cute little umbrella on which we had to write our name and drop in a box *me thinking why* but before I could run a theory in my mind one of my friend dragged me to our table as everyone had already settled on their tables and were mingling with fellow bloggers.

Some new faces, some old and some not present but that didn't dampen our spirits as we made new friends. Some of the bloggers even wore the Neutrogena Face mask that we were given during  registration.             

          

Our host and dost of the evening !

Me and my group :D

Once we were finally settled on our tables and sighed happily that finally this time "Our Group is not table-less" but sadly our happiness was short lived as Mr. Anoop thought that this time too there would be fun games but with a twist of scattering everyone, thereby breaking our sweet group and we went table hunting with an added rule that every table must have at least 2 guys and 2 girls each and also that they should not be a part of your previous table. And the first table to form that group gets an USB band. 

Well my table lost in this one but never mind as we won the next one. We had to know each other's name on the table and tada we knew and were the first ones to raise our hands!

Yay we all won vollyballs..yoo hoo :D

Once this was done and we thought that finally there would be no more shuffling. We were to pick the cute little yellow umbrellas we had submitted while registration that were randomly sorted.

                    

 Once the picking ceremony was done we were asked to find the person whose name was written on our umbrella and get to know them. Some lucky ones found their soon while some like me were searching for the person till the very end. Also the first five people who searched their partners got cool gifts and one of the girl was so lucky she got her own name and she too got a gift. :D

Finally we sat down feeling that now we put the umbrellas to rest. Anoop dropped another fun game on us, that was to count the number of holes in our umbrella. I for one had not even noticed that there were holes in the first place :O. Anyways, moving on I had *four* holes and so I was to find fellow bloggers who were in the same group. Post the new group forming we were told to give our group a name and a tag line. My group's name was "Sun-or and Sun-orita - Basking in the Sun" pronounced as (Senor and Senorita). Although we didn't win this round too we enjoyed a lot and I yet again made some new friends :) 

Post this we had a war, not literally but an umbrella with holes and balls war where duh we again lost but had lots of fun. At the end, the purpose of the game was to explain to us that there were two types of rays UVA and UVB and most of the sunscreens do not give 100% protection and thus there are holes that allow the harmful rays to penetrate and affect our skin. *Didn't know that but glad to know*

Fun but knowledgeable game! 

 Finally, we were tired and we got our much awaited break. And we went to satiate our tummy that was hungry and mind you there was so much that one had to think what to eat and what not. Jalebi with Rabri, Chocolate Mousse, Cheesecake, every variety of tea and coffee, Corn balls, sandwiches etc. both Veg and Non-Veg. 

Paneer Rolls

Cheesecake

Different varieties of Tea.

Once our stomach was satiated and we were seated on our tables. Walked in our guest for the evening the very own sweet "Tara Sharma Saluja" wearing a bright yellow dress.

She talked about her show "The Tara Sharma Show" that airs on Colors and  Nickelodeon and also talked about her 2 kids, and how she manages to keep her skin healthy, glowing and supple using Neutrogena Sunscreen on a regular basis. She also told us three easy steps for a healthy glowing skin; cleanse, moisturize and  protect. Finally she was done with giving us ample suggestions and shared her views with us. But alas! Everything comes to an end, and it was time for her to leave but not without a goodie from the IndiBlogger team who presented her with Neutrogena hamper and it was given by our very own youngest blogger (13 years old) Ashwin Pathak. 

Ashwin with Tara Sharma Saluja

Post this there was a dermatologist session who tested different sunscreens including the Neutrogena Sunscreen and finally the results proved. Neutrogena provided protection from both UVA and UVB rays thereby giving 100% protection. Also he answered many queries by the bloggers. 

Why are Sunscreens Important and when can be used ??

* Sunscreens can be applied since the age of 3

* Most sunscreens only provide protection against UVA rays.

* Higher SPF level does not necessarily mean a good sunscreen. 

* Sunscreens should be applied every 2-3 hours so that the effect stays for a long time.  

Finally, it was time for the meet to end but can a meet be done without some more fun and a group pic..Never but since this meet was all about twist we had a crazy "Harlem Shake" and a group pic thereby putting an end to the wonderful meet. 

Suddenly, I heard my friend calling me breaking me from my trace and I realized it has been almost an hour that I was lost in the memories of that day when I realized the importance of using Sunscreen and from then on till today I've been using Neutrogena Sunscreen- My personal protection from sun. And this is "How I met the sun" and have fallen in love with it since then. With that being said, I re-applied my Sunscreen and took off to play beach vollyball with my friends without the fear of being tanned or sunburned.

My protectors from the harsh sun.

Also do visit: https://www.facebook.com/NeutrogenaIndia

-Fatima

P.S: Picture courtesy IndiBlogger and Aditi Pathak

       UVA- UltraVoilet A and UVB- UltraVoilet B

Silky Like Silk..

Same year different day a continuation to my crazy wacky experimentation to get smooth and straight hair using innumerable ideas of ironing, making the hair sleep under the weight of heavy books and even some mom-made ideas et al. @Mischief Managed <you can check it out here>

Nevertheless after a while all had failed and I was back to my lustrous locks. But they say perseverance pays and it surely did; err not for me always you see as I'm the impatient one but this time it did. Well I didn't really wait did I?? As I had not only resorted to my crazy ideas but still waited for some miracle to happen and what a luck it did happen, with the launch of "Sunsilk Perfect Straight" moreover I was lucky to get a free sample by IndiBlogger but not so lucky enough to use without feeling a little sheepish as I had proudly claimed there can never be a shampoo to tame my curly hair *embarrassment you see.*

The lucky hamper :)

Anyways enough of me poking myself for my loss. Let me narrate or rather illustrate "The" experience after using the "Miracle Shampoo."  After all a picture speaks much more than even thousand words can convey.

This snap of the unruly, curly hair were taken before taking a head bath for the first time with the Sunsilk perfect straight. 

Before hair wash pic1 

and 

Before hair wash pic2

Once I was done doing the photo-shoot; I immediately went to have a bath. Basically, there were no different procedure to wash the hair but the same like using every other shampoo. First shampoo your hair and rinse them gently and then apply the conditioner to the ends for a minute or two before rinsing that off too.

Now of-course, I couldn't see the difference until I stepped out of the bathroom so I was again hoping that it doesn't work but then again contradicting myself please let it work. *Note to thyself: If, it works further embarrassment to myself.* And then, I finally stepped outside with my hair wrapped in a towel.

Counting...my subconscious drama queen pacing...moment of truth finally... 

I unwrapped my hair brushing them slightly, waiting for them to dry and the smell that wafted in the air was a sweet tooty-fruity smell..at least to me it felt so. And I couldn't believe my eyes; well I can't really write it down you better see the results.

After hair wash pic

And now as even you can see my hair were finally sleek, smooth and silky and all due to Sunsilk Perfect Straight and that too in the very first wash.

If, only I had waited and not experimented even I would have sleek hair with minimal effort earlier. But realizing my folly now I plan to use this very Miracle Shampoo whenever I want my lustrous locks to be straight thereby reducing the hassle. 

Indeed, really glad that Sunsilk came up with such an amazing product and that too at an economical and affordable price. 

And folks reading this, please do give it a try. You will surely see the results especially people like me who thought ironing was the only way to get straight hair.

At the end, I can proudly say

The Mischief was finally Managed with no, not a single help from Magic but from Sunsilk Perfect Straight..! Even muggles have solution to everything.. :)

-Fatima

P.S: The url used in the pics is of my other blog, I had planned on posting it there earlier as this blog was not approved by IndiBlogger when the pics were clicked and sorry for the lack of pics, I don't have a good camera just the cell phone one and also less memory space. Nevertheless, happy to have got straight hair. :)