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As I had not been able to update for quite some time, I decided to make it up by uploading photos that I had captured last year (Sept - Oct 2013).

Till then,

S

* Note: copyrights reserved* 

Photographs

These are some photographs that I captured two weeks ago.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take that many :(

McGill Arts Building

McGill Arts Building

McGill Arts Building

McGill Arts Building

All were taken on the same day in the afternoon!
Till then
Ciao,
S

Of musings

*a sheer result of procrastination combined with five minute study break*

"A soul's end "

When the earth shall turn to dust,

and angels blow deafening trumpet,

heavens shall be created from dawn to dusk,

down there confusion prevails.

When you had forgotten Him, I and me,

and shouteth for thy beloved, who never care to see.

As we all vanish into million particles and turn to sand,

so shall I return from where I came from, to my homeland.

The magic of darkness, surely will witness it,

as the stage is being set, surely justice was never oblivious to it,

Pull out those rusted books, solve centuries old matter.

Some sent to good place, while others banished forever.

No compassion, no kinship, no love shall saveth you.

No compromises, no arguments, no plea turneth the Judge in favor of you.

--------------------------------------------------

A work of fiction, and does not relates with any factual events at all or whatsoever. Enough with the heavy and now back to studying/watching videos on Youtube! :D 

BYE!

Borrowed Thoughts

DeLillo and Kerouac

"People think about who they are in the stillest hour of the night. I carry this thought, the child's mystery and terror of this thought, I feel this immensity in my soul every second of my life." - Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis

" The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

- Jack Kerouac, On the Road

 The first quote is from DeLillo's thirteenth novel (and now made into motion picture by Cronenberg), Cosmopolis, is about a 28 year old millionaire's quite 'eventful' day across Manhattan, in order to get a haircut. Its quite a bizarre, wordy yet an interesting book, and the movie is equally compelling to watch.

The second quote is from one of the most 'defining' novel of its time i.e. Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'. Its a must read for all those who are interested in reading about the Beatniks. This one, has also been made into a movie and was coincidentally shot in Montreal, QC.

Somehow, I love the depth and the beauty of both of the quotes, and the way they both complement each other even though both of them talk about entirely different eras yet monumental ones. Cosmopolis is contemporary, set in the 21st century which we can all relate to. Similarly, On the Road also talks about an era which changed the lifestyle in the States, and also around the world forever.

Let the Skyfall...

Aldo and Skyfall

Yesterday was a pretty eventful day for me. Not only I got to meet the vice president of Aldo Group David Bensadoun, I also saw the most awaited movie of the year *drumrolls* SKYFALL! The day trip to Aldo Headquarters was an eye opener of sorts as it was my first visit to a multinational corporation's office. I also got a chance to see the workings of the company and how it was able to overcome the silos between its four main departments, and work together as a company. The best part was the chance to meet the top executives of various departments and the free goodies!!! (*YAY*) which included 'Call it Spring' notebook and Aldo customized pen :D

The pen and the notebook

In the evening, I headed over to watch the latest James Bond flick 'Skyfall'. Somehow, I had never been fascinated with Daniel Craig's version of Bond and refused to watch his previous outings 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Casino Royale'. For me, It was always Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan as the perfect James Bond. But after watching Skyfall, I can say without any doubt that Daniel Craig has his own charm and elicits a very likeable appeal. Plus, there was Adele's song so I could not have missed this movie for the world. Adele is like today's Shirley Bassey for the Bond series and I loved that the makers of the film used her song in the *spoiler alert* title credits.

The ticket!

Here is something which I did to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bond( or probably out of boredom).

'Swept away I am stolen...."

This goes on my wall....

Till then, 

Hold your breathe and count to ten, and let the skyfall...

Sara

The Chronicles: Part Two 

Of Turkish, Korean and Spanish Dramas...

Oppa, çok güzel, y te quiero..

Be assured. I am not making these words up and I am perfectly fine. These words, belonging to different languages, have become a part of my dictionary. It is not due to my every day interaction in the diverse community at McGill, but it is more to do with my growing love for international soap operas. To others, it may seem like a "complete waste of time" but to me, its my chance to gain much wider understanding of the global cultures around the world. Its my opportunity to appreciate the similarities that I share with people of different backgrounds and look at the differences at the same time. Even though, this interaction may be limited to one end, but it still allows me to explore a lot of things that I was previously unaware of.

Whenever someone would bring up the term 'global citizen' or 'global player', I would think about Coca Cola and the way its logo is written in different languages.

source:http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/2010/03/cokes-international-logos.html

Or if you go to McDonalds in some other country besides your home country, you may find some dishes to be customized in accordance with the local culture; McAloo Tikki (vegetable burger) found in India, McArabia (grilled kofta burger with spices) in Middle East, and CBO (Chicken Bacon Onions) in Europe.

Does this reflect diversity? Does this satisfy the definition of 'global player'?

Yes it does. Well, I am not here to advocate the inclusion of McDonalds meal in your everyday diet, but   I find it quite fascinating the way companies employ regional orientated strategies and go on to become global companies of tomorrow.

If these huge organizations like McDonalds, Coca Cola, Pepsi Co etc make these regional strategies one of their distinctive competitive advantage, then should individuals( or specifically anyone part of the global workforce) also position themselves in similar way?

I am not saying that one should consider joining a language class from tomorrow, but if we all make an effort to know  more about other cultures through the use of powerful tool called media, we can become better global citizens of tomorrow which will lead to lesser stereotypes and healthier co operation.

And technology has made this much simpler, because it is due to Web 2.0 that people like me are able to watch all their favourite international shows on viki.com which provides a video platform for these dramas with english subtitles (subtitles are available in 31 languages).

The Chronicles: Part One

"the WhatsApp connection"

Come October, and the city of Montreal was flooded with autumn leaves on the ground. To me, it was quite fascinating as I had never witnessed such a breathtaking sight ever. The photographer in me was awakened and I was forced to capture some photographs from my smartphone. Somehow, I wished I had Canon EOS T3i Rebel camera which I have been told has top notch shooting performance. 

The view at Rue Aylmer 

Then I ventured into the McGill campus and took some pictures of the McGill lower field, one of the upper residences and the pedestrian view of the skyline of Montreal.

McGill lowerfield.

Say hello to James McGill

Of leaves, skies and serenity...

Instantly, I whatsapped ( If you don't know what is WhatsApp, then click here) all these pictures to my family and friends back home. That was the time I realised that even though I was miles apart from Karachi, I was still connected with it some way. This was the time where I thanked the Gods of Web 2.0 as technology has made me feel less home sick and spend less time wallowing in sorrows and instead, divert my energies in becoming a part of the multicultural McGill neighbourhood.

I get Harry Potteresque feeling whenever I look at it

Fiddled with the editing tools of Picassa.

Whatsapp, BBM, Viber, magicJack are some mobile based, instant messaging and voice over internet applications (in case of Viber and magicJack), that allow users to send images, video, audio and text messages to other user - for free. Yes. For free. Does it come as a surprise to me? Partly. But then I understand that we are enjoying the fruits of technology, which keeps on giving. Also these applications will be very helpful to you to stay connected back home if you are an international student like me.

If you have never tried these applications, then download them on your smartphones as soon as possible and enjoy the unlimited possibilities of these applications.

All in all, I could not have asked for a perfect Sunday morning. :D

P.S I am sorry if your web browser crashed due to the size of these images. :D

Till then,

Cheers,

Sara