Ambreefusion's Blog

Tashkent

ambreefusion — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:52:29 +0000

“What! You don’t exchange your own money” I heard some man shouting at the hotel, he was flabbergasted. Whining what will he do with the sum he had in his bag? This, was a very strange phenomena which I hadn’t heard any where in the world before. And one that taught us to stick to the good old dollar for wherever, whenever.

The two and a half hour flight from Lahore left me feeling really dopey. But when I stepped into the most beautiful city of central Asia it made me feel as if I had entered some Old Russian movie.

After checking in the hotel we went down to the restaurant and had breakfast before we could put our heads down for a quick shut eye. The clean wide roads really impressed us with a tramp going silently its way hence we walked rather than rode in a cab. The uniqueness of the bazaars was worth seeing. The bazaars were enclosed within four walls and a gate; they usually closed around at 8 p.m. but opened very early like 6 in the morning. They were packed with people trading absolutely everything you could imagine.

One of the most interesting bazaars to visit was the Chorsu Bazaar in the north-western corner of the centre. We walked around taking pictures of the women in vibrantly colored dresses and men in knee boots and long coats. Nearly all of the vendors were pleased to have their picture taken. There was a lady selling fascinating little peppers which had all the shades of red ranging from pale yellow to dark red. When we stopped to look, she held them up for us to see. After a few hours of walking around in the heat, the lack of sleep got to us so we headed back to the hotel and took a long nap as the kids were also exhausted.

In the afternoon we walked east from our hotel into the Soviet-era part of Tashkent. We were captivated by the mildly crumbling apartment buildings and the old streetcars and buses. It had the aura of a place that had seen the centuries pass by.

In the early evening we walked over to Broadway, a pedestrian street. There were karaoke stands along the roadside where the kids were practicing their singing abilities so that they could become future Tan San’s. There were also portrait artists and vendors selling souvenirs. The night was mild and the sky star crammed. We walked around and finally found a quiet café away from all the activity and noise where we could enjoy the beauty of Tashkent.

I truly can not put my finger at what I liked best in Tashkent because it was so clean with lush green pathways and gardens everywhere. The parks were planted with massive trees providing a nice shade and giving a very cool effect. Some parks had fountains. The capital had a very orderly and laid back attitude. There was hardly any traffic in the centre and the wooded roadway left inkling as if someone was walking in a park.

There was this park at the Milliy Bog. It was around a vast pond, secluded from the rest of the world, where one could hire a boat and read poetry in solitude. Pathways sheltered by huge trees surrounded the water, except one side, which was an opening to a site with flamboyant state buildings. My Kids were very happy to be there as they kept jumping up and down and running here and there. When we reached there the sun was setting, countless sprinklers went on creating an illusion of the fading sunrays contacting the tiny droplets of water which glittered in the sunset.

Tashkent is a very safe city; I didn’t feel any insecurity going out alone with kids. Even at night I didn’t feel uncomfortable. People usually did not stare at me and some were very friendly and helpful carrying the stroller of my one year daughter with me up the stairs. Not only this but I was surprised by the courtesy of the drivers, the minute you step on the road the cars stopped giving you way to cross the road. Irrespective of so many cars going and coming there was no sound, not a single car honking or a person shouting. Restaurants, cafes and bars along the roads were crowded with locals relaxing over meals and drinks, listening to Russian pop music mixed with western golden oldies from the 1980s.

Alas! It was a dreamy place where a soul meets mind and the heart beats with a rhyme. Tashkent is a beautiful place to visit and I would love to vacation there again.

Advertisement War

ambreefusion — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:47:24 +0000

The battle of the sexes now seems to disappear in thin air with the on going battle of the telecom companies. Who will be the victorious party and the knight in shining armour only the number of customers can tell. Is there a limit or a boundary? No I don’t think so. They believe that alls fair in love or war, so what’s the worry? But up till now we can’t say which Telecom Company is in the lead but I sure can tell you that they all are trying pretty hard. A battle, well how advertisement can be a battle…this thought led me to search for the true definition of advertisement, which according to Wikipedia is: “Advertising is a form of communication used to help sell products and services. Typically it communicates a message including the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer. However, advertising does typically attempt to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinvention of the “brand image”. For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed their persuasive message with factual information using measures beyound limits too. The telecom industry thus has done the same,attacking the viewers and bombared them with sms guns and call charge missiles leaving no one unharmed. From Mobilink to Zong every company is trying to buy the consumer either by hiring celebrities or by touching the funny bone. The first time a big ad campaign was launched by Mobilink with many big names endorsing the brand. Hence Mobilink has been able to attract consumers by luring them into the web of celebrity light. If you see the ever charismatic Jamal Shah and the courageous Iman Ali using Mobilink who would not want to do the same! When the battle became fierce the rest of the telecom companies also started focusing on their ad campaigns and today on television you either get to see the political talk shows or telecom company ads. With claims such as Mobilink’s “reshaping lives” Zong’s “sub kah do” Ufone’s “tum he to ho” Telenor’s “talkshawk” and Warid’s “life ka network” who would one consider? Where Ufone is trying hard to make people happy and attracted to Ufone by the comic element Zong has launched a campaign to make the consumer aware of what they are providing and what other companies are introducing with time. Zong ad campaign has very impressively countered the challenge of other companies by their tag line“ very smart…..meray aziz…Zong kay customers pehlay din say 75 paisay mian bat ker rehay hain…aur yehi nahin…belkay kisi bhi network kay aik No per 50 pasiy main”. We saw Ali Zaffar going bonkers in this maze of telecom industry and helplessly hanging on to the locks of Mobilink when his old brand didn’t renew the contract, after all ab kamana bhi to ha. Telenor doesn’t seem to have any botheration with this contract as they move on casting fresh faces spreading their message loudly and clearly. What can one say it’s their commercial? Ufone tagging along well catching the singing and dancing spirit of its competitor irrespective of Zong’s slow and steady monologue. The battle of gaining more customers and becoming more successful made Ufone go beyond board, but Zong responded back forcefully, but wisely– without using insulting words and doing the trick as well. No matter how fancy they make their ad campaigns and how funny they look on television if the company is trying to trick the consumer into buying their product it won’t work for long. They should have the decency to tell the truth about their products in their ads. In the end of every ad you can always notice a little asterisk on the side of the price they are selling so loudly on every television channel and every asterisk has some little writing on the screen which cannot be even read by the consumer. A good honest ad always catches the fancy of millions even if it doesn’t have celebrity faces all over it. Hence companies should try focusing on honest marketing than over budgeted dishonest marketing.

Kidding their way into technology

ambreefusion — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:42:37 +0000

“Shimile” my 22 month old daughter said to me pointing the mobile towards me. “What is she doing” asked her grandma while I laughed my heart out telling her that she is taking my photograph. My mother nearly fainted. She doesn’t even know how to handle a mobile, operating it seems a far fetched idea to her. For her technology just complicates life not makes it easier as is the popular belief.

This is the 21st century. Science and technology has reached its zenith making discoveries which people a few years back couldn’t even dream about. Everyone seems to be caught in this fire of knowledge, science and discoveries, even the kids think they are modern day Einstein.

I am reminded of an advertisement that was aired a long time back in which a new born baby winked at the nurse holding the coke bottle. At that time it seemed so remote and hilarious but now at the pace the things are going this doesn’t seem to be impossible at all.

Not only the mobile, but my baby girl can also operate the iPod, although no one has taught her—I wonder how?

Besides all this technology-the mobile, iPod, lap top, computers, play stations, DVDs, CDs, these kids seem to still lack something. That something is that shine and glitter in their eyes that their age requires. Bertrand Russell enlightened on this aspect of children’s psychology preaching not to give the kids a golden spoon in their mouths don’t take the joy of achievement from them. We have done what we probably shouldn’t have; providing them with what ever they could not yet even dream off without asking and even without taking in mind their age. They seem withered and depressed facing problems which were once considered to be for much older people.

Even the health problems have been seeped into the children. Dangerous and life taking illnesses like arthritis, sugar, and migraine have found its way in this young generation. At very early age they have white hair which was once considered the sign of wisdom. Glasses and eye problems are faced by nearly every child due to excessive watching of TV and computers. They just sit for hours and hours playing games on TV or watching useless cartoons.

The energy and zest for life which I saw in my grandma at her old age has become extinct even the young blood whose age it is to be bouncy. My grandma died at the age of 90 although she never had a mobile or a laptop or an iPod but she had that shine in her eyes. Who ever met her was amazed by her intellect having an amazing memory and writing skill. The speed with which she calculated without any calculator was astonishing, but alas if you ask any young kid to do so the first reaction would be to reach out for a calculator.

Where I stand from the generation point of view is a generation I might even call the golden years for it never tilted too much on either sides. We had the technology but not too much of it we had the freedom but not over rated. Hence my generation can very well analyze what and where the things are going. Is this technology and advancement taking us some where better or helping us in becoming better human beings?

At the rate with which schools are promoting printed assignments for home work and class work will soon make writing skill obsolete. They are demanded to do research work which is a good idea but what’s the check on them. They copy paste from the internet and finish their work. Bags have become heavy and the brains have become empty what an ironic situation. We have loaded the kids with so much knowledge at such an early age that they seem to have lost it.

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 31% of children age 3 and under are already using computers. 16% use them several times a week, 21% can point and click with a mouse by themselves, and 11% can turn on the computer without assistance. These statics not only agree with my concern but also are more alarming then I initially thought the situation is.

For our generation technology at large was a separate entity which was there to help us with our day lives but when I look at my baby girl pretend to be making a business call to someone on my communicator I realize how the mere definition of technology in our lives has changed and how from an separate entity it has become an organic part of their lives. Technology is creeping deeper and deeper into our lives and the risk of being overexposed to it is mega but somehow we all live wearing a blindfold to it.

hospital…ugh..

ambreefusion — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:37:49 +0000

The very word “hospital” gives me the jitters and it goes back to the time when I became a guinea pig in the hands of doctors and the location was no other than a hospital.
Hospital……err…….goose bumps have begun to show already! I can still smell the sharp smell of spirit. White gowns roaming and rushing from one room to another. Unending and nerve wrecking screams of patients waiting, some patiently and some not, still echo in my ears. The chaos in the air, the hurried steps and sentences left in the middle made me wonder if the world was really coming to an end. No one had enough time for anything and anyone anymore.
My swelled stomach and the never ending kicks in my tummy were a continuous reminder of D day when I will have to go to the hospital. Nightmares became frequent and goose bumps became a part of me. But I had to do this, I had to go to the hospital to receive the beautiful gift of God but, don’t forget, in the most horrifying way.
Alas! I was there when my water sack ruptured. I was moved into the labor room immediately after being told that I have been admitted and am under observation.
Either that was what I was told or I dreamt it for after that I was left alone to stare at the white roof for uncountable hours. Where did the observation and care run away to? A mystery I haven’t been able to solve. Alone in the room I was hugged by the screams of the women around, the pain and horrors in them made my heart drown. Amidst all this I called out for help but to no avail. I guess God was on my side that’s why a nurse took pity on me and came to take my history. After a long drawn interview we both got no where. My plea to see a doctor was crushed every time and was told to wait till 9:30am which meant more than 8 hours of more waiting.
The stern faced robotic nurse came and put some wires on me and ordered me to lie still while they monitored the baby’s heart beat, for how long will the process last, she conveniently forgot to mention that. Lying there in a small white room in pain and fear was very tough. When the last drop of hope dripped out of me the nurse finally came and took off everything as the doctor was about to come. Life seemed to emerge in that dead white building and hustle and bustle started with nurses efficiently moving and sweepers sweeping the floors. This sight left me awestruck, I couldn’t believe my eyes. One nurse after another came to check something or the other with me.
Anyways after a full day of being experimented on, my doctor decided to go for C-section. I, who was already drowning in my fears, was yet to face many more battles.
But I guess they are right when they say that the show must go on, fear or no fear! So my show began with a nurse holding high a syringe oozing with anesthesia accompanied with the bad points of anesthesia. She even went on to say that it will affect my baby and also drop my front teeth! Under those blinding lights and an evil nurse with the sharp needle in her hand I felt like an animal being brutally slaughtered. Half conscious and half unconscious I was made to change into a horrendous gown. Till I didn’t totally become unconscious I could see the dancing spiders and the dirty walls. The last thing I remember thinking was, yikes, I am in the operation theatre. In my sleep I could still hear the ear piercing voices of the nurses gossiping, fighting, and arguing over me. I felt like the hunted in the Lord of the Flies.
The next memory was of being in an 8 rector earthquake as someone was trying aggressively to wake me up. When I did finally open my eyes I was being electrocuted or at least that’s what the doctor’s touch on my stitches felt like. I forgot all the pain when my husband placed my beautiful daughter in my arms. The feel was so comforting and the smile she gave was so breath taking that then I was even ready to forgive the hospital for treating me worse than those chicks trapped in a cage waiting for their time to be slaughtered.
I was shifted to the recovery room…agh… I can still feel the horror of my cough, it felt like I was trapped in my own body and slowly was being suffocated. When I furiously moved my arms and between the fit of cough tried to ask for help, a nurse walked up to me and treated me harshly. On my request of being a bit polite and to handle me with care I was shushed with the label of trying to be “nazuk” (fragile).
During my stay in the hospital, once a nurse woke me up in such a manner that I was ready to run for my life as I thought that the hospital has been attacked but the truth was that she had forgotten to give me the sleeping pill at 10:00pm hence she came at 2:00am to give it. Indeed that’s efficient! Gone are the days when Mother Teresa was born.
Thank God the long morbid stay in the hospital came to an end but it did open my eyes to a lot of things. Public hospitals are a place where even Satan will think twice to visit. No one can tell how effective and productive they are. There are no reliable statistics regarding the most basic parameters of service quality such as waiting. The out doors patients should be given Nishan-e-Haider on waiting and waiting and nothing but waiting. Reminds me of ‘Waiting for Godot’, as their Godot also never turns up. The term ‘out-door’ patient is a very suitable term. Out-door where the out cast and aliens come who don’t need attention or care. One list after another is demanded and the patient who is already fighting the misfortune of fate become nothing but tennis ball in Wimbledon tournament. One test after another, one list of medicines after another, one number after another, one nurse after another and one stop after another. There is no stopping them but for not long as patient’s life betrays the person himself. To be elderly and find yourself having to go into hospital is both a tense and frightening time, the days where we were cared for by nurses that actually cared for their patients is over, elderly patients are looked upon as a burden and mostly treated with contempt. When you are on a hospital ward today expect to be ignored when you request a commode, be prepared to be shouted at if you have soiled yourself even though you had asked for the commode, this sort of thing goes on everyday in hospitals throughout the country, sad, but true. Patients unable to feed themselves have their food put down in front of them but the food is then removed and it is written down as the patient did not want to eat, nobody available to help them feed themselves, so the patient goes without food, the same thing happens with drink, i have heard of cases where people have to be put on drips just because no drink was put in the patients reach, these things again happen everyday, why? The reason why these things happen is that there is a total lack of empathy when it comes to elderly patients, it would not happen in a children’s ward, it would not be tolerated there.
I was a private patient still I had to face so many problems so much so that once the pharmacy issued opened syringes. Thank God I was saved from them by my husband who checked every thing before giving them to the nurses. But what about those illiterate poor patients, some even homeless in the big city for they come from far away villages.
Hospitals so familiar to the word hospitable but both words stand poles apart in our country. There are now half a million cases of abuse every year in hospitals but nothing seems to be happening to change this stigma in our once proud country. Going into hospital today is like playing Russian roulette, go in with a simple problem and you can come out in a wooden box, that’s the state of play in today’s caring society.

Styles Of Eye Make Up According To Eye Shape

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:02:50 +0000

Just by using make up you can enhance the shape of your eyes. You can make your eyes look beautiful and sexy with the help of shadows, mascara and eyeliner.

Here are some basic make up tips for different types of eyes.

If you have wide set eyes start at outer corner of eye with medium hue shadow moving upward. Apply shadow color on entire eyelid blending outward. Spread medium-light shadow to brow bone and blend to center of the lid. Put darker color from inner corner to the center of your eyelid, blending into medium shade that you started from the outer corner. The lightest shade should be intense in the center. Apply mascara. Brush lashes straight up.

If you have close set eyes are those which are narrower than one eye width. Put a very thin layer of light eye-shadows from the inner corner of your eyes to the middle of your eyelid. The brush shadows of darker hues from the start of the middle of your eyelid to the outer corner.

Blend the colors in the middle of the lids. Mascara both upper and lower lashes but use more mascara on the outer corners. If you have deep set eyes, select light colors of eye shadows that will help you to make your eyes appear bigger. Apply light eye shadows on the eyelid from the inner corner of your eye slightly upward while brush darker colors on the socket line. Blend the darker shade out.

If you have hooded eyes apply a medium to darker shadow on the crease and hooded area. Go for a lighter shadow on the brow bone and on the inside corner of the eye. Apply heavy black mascara to upper lashes only.

If you have small eyes apply a medium-toned shadow to the crease and lighter shadow on the eyelids. Use a soft-colored liner both on the top and bottom lash lines. Apply black mascara on upper lashes.

If you have prominent eyes then select medium to deep shades of shadow on the lids. Finish with a coat of black mascara on both upper and lower lashes.

If you wear glasses your make-up should depend on the color of the frame. If the frame is bright, you do not have to add color with eye shadows. Give attention to your eyelashes. Select black mascara.

Color Combinations

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:02:00 +0000

The art of mixing and matching colours is not mastered by every woman. Despite the fact that the women are known for their aesthetic sense but still only some master the art. The proper combination of colours makes you stand out in the crowd and even makes ordinary simple clothes look attractive.

The first thing that we need to remember is that to enhance our good features we have to use bright colours, and hide our bad ones with paler colours. Colour proportions in a suit are very important.

Bright green, fuchsia, purple and turquoise mostly act independently meaning that we will wear these colours separately.

Black and white colours also look cool. The best variation is white dresses and trousers, white blouses with black trousers and skirts. Never go for colored trousers as they will shift the focus and make your eyes go hay wile. Go for neutral colours in your trousers so that they make a base on which you stand your foundation.

Experimenting with colours should be done for better results. Add a tinge of grey to your ensemble to give a perky effect, whether you are wearing bright or solemn colours add grey and then let the magic begin.

Always combine equivalent colours together while experimenting with contrasts at the same time. Using red and green, yellow and violet, orange and dark blue are very appealing. These combinations speak of your style. Only with colour experimentation you can show others that you can dress no worse, than the most tempted woman of fashion!

Tall, taller, tallest.

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:00:24 +0000

There are a few smart ways by following which you can attain the tall, sleek and stylish look. How you dress is the most important factor in this regard .It makes a lot of differences in making you look taller.

Wear clothes of one color from head to toe and you will appear taller right away. For instance, a grey top with grey pants and grey shoes will keep you looking taller and lean. Worried all one color might look too plain? Be sure to mix up same color pieces in different textures to keep things interesting.

A great way to look taller is to add a simple nonstop vertical line with your clothing. A long string of buttons, vertical stripes, zippers, a long scarf, ribbed patterns, pleats, and an unbuttoned jacket with a solid color underneath – all permit the eye to flow from top to bottom.

The easiest way to look taller is to wear heels. You do not have to wear stilettos to get some height. Platform pumps are in vogue at the moment. Nike makes fabulous air soles that are comfortable and wearable.

Sweeping your hair up and off your shoulders elongates your neck and makes you look taller and thinner.

DO not wear Capri’s and calf length skirts. Why cut yourself off at mid-calf when you want to look taller? Stay away from these.

A simple clean lined shift dress is going to make you look taller as compared to a loose one. Wide belts are in style, but you really have to be careful in choosing them as they will make you look shorter instead of looking tall. Rather go for thin ones that make you look taller.

Thick, textured fabrics like tweed and boucle, plus chunky knits, create width and make you look shorter and heavier. Instead opt for smooth fine fabrics to make you look slimmer and taller.

Reshaping Your Midlife Tummy

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:59:26 +0000

Most of us have it… that darn donut! It is right there the big midlife tummy which is also hard to avoid after age 40 and a baby or two. How can you dress to hide that stubborn midlife tummy that annoys you to no end?

When you have a big midlife tummy the tendency is to hide it under a big jacket. Fitted and flattering jacket is a better option which should be shorter and has darts, or is made of fabric that skims the body. The big boxy jackets will give add more substance to your body giving you a huge look.

Go for shape wear. If you have been ignoring shape wear because you think it is like wearing an uncomfortable girdle, you need to try some on. Shape wear is the best solution for midlife tummy. It is stretchy and lightweight and super comfortable. Shape wear will give your figure a flawless look. If your midlife tummy extends up above the belly button then you could add a shape wear camisole. Also try a high-waisted thong. The new high-waisted thong has a lace shape wear panel to hold you in at the same time. Grab these and look as slim and slender as before

Beautiful bold Jewellery

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:57:08 +0000

Big, bold jewellery hits the benches this summer/spring 2009. Ranging from the wild to the wacky, statement jewellery has really made its mark on summer/spring 2009 runways.

Jewellry fashion right now is headed for dramatic colored stones in bold jewelry and big settings. Another trend is big pieces set in geometric shapes. Green and yellow are the more popular colors seen in summer/spring 2009. Multi-colored hues will look best when teamed with an outfit featuring one of the colors from the item of jewelry.

Those who prefer their bold jewelry a little more feminine have floral shapes and settings to select from. These bold jewelry knockouts are a fantastic way to liven up last year’s little black dress.

Onyx exists in many colors, but it’s the deep black onyx that so many designers are incorporating into their bold jewelry, either alone or combined with other gemstones.

You will find a huge variety of jewelry fashion in turquoise bracelets in both traditional and more contemporary looks.

Looking chic within your budget

ambreefusion — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:56:17 +0000

Summer 2009 is not for the faint hearted. It is for the woman who has a fashion sense and knows what she wants. With the help of little fashion sense, she can obtain it all in summer 2009!

To look smart and cool in summer 2009 is every woman’s dream, irrespective of the budget available. Making a new wardrobe every season is very hard, so why not think of ways to dress extravagant within the budget given.

Some fashion trends never change so hold on to older expensive shirts. Change their look by putting on beads or shimmery laces around the hem and the neckline.

Plain shirts look gorgeous with printed scarves. This summer 2009 nice floral prints can perk up any simple ensemble. Light pastels in soft texture always look eye-catching.

Jewelry helps in lifting the mood and personality .It gives an aura that is definitely chic. New accessories add freshness to clothes. Luckily, cheap ones aren’t hard to find. Chunky bracelets, a long necklace- the options to accessorize are endless in summer 2009.

Color, color, and more color is the key this summer. However, you can incorporate geometric designs, beautiful floral and whimsical prints. There are lots of options available within the budget to choose from, whether you seek a daytime garment or something sexy and alluring for night.