Words are hard to describe a woman, who was not only an honorable athlete, but also a fighter, a motivator and in true terms an inspiration for all the women in the tennis fraternity since the 1970s.
Read the rest of my article on SportPulse.net: http://sportpulse.net/content/wimbledon-legends-billie-jean-king-9047
17 Grand Slams. 7 Wimbledon titles.
These are the fewest yet the only words that describe the Swiss ace’s career not only in tennis, but in Wimbledon as a whole. He has been one of the favourites at SW19 since he won Wimbledon’s junior title in 1998, only to become World No. 1 in the junior rankings as the year ended.
Read the rest of my article on SportPulse.net: http://sportpulse.net/content/wimbledon-legends-roger-federer-9014
So yesterday I tried this new restaurant serving Iraqi food called Samad Al Iraqi Restaurant. It is located on the Jumeirah Beach Road, right besides Chilis (if you know where it is, or you can just search as it isn’t so difficult!). When we entered and sat on our table, for a good 2-3 minutes we weren’t approached by the manager or the waiters so they could give us a menu. And that was a little bit ticking off about it. Then waiting for these few minutes the waiter finally came and handed us the menu. After a few seconds the waiter came back with some really good complimentary lentil soup for each one of us and also with green salad. It is because, as I read some facts in their menu, that it was a custom in Iraq to serve green vegetables before the actual food when guests came over. Hmmm, really impressed.
And then waiters would come with big baskets in their hands, and they would serve freshly made tandoor roti’s (hot flat breads made in pits where fire would be lit on coal). I would rate this as a plus point to their service to customers.
My stomach was half filled by having all this complimentary food and we had to carefully order the main course so we wouldn’t ending up saving food and taking it home. So we ordered two plates of Iraqi mixed grills (and each one was a single portion) and also 2 plates of Iraqi Kebab Yoghurt. Oh, and for the appetizers we ordered a mixed mezze (of appetizers). Although I am not a huge fan of Arabic appetizers but this one I found it really interesting. Loved the hommous as usual, and there was also this mixed vegetables section stirred in a sweet orange coloured sauce which was also quiet good, and for the first time ever I actually liked fatoush (green vegetables with dried pomegranate and other bunch of sour stuff). Didn’t try the purple vegetable (don’t know what’s it called) because it certainly wasn’t looking so mouth watering.
Finally our main course arrives! And I was really excited to get a taste of it as I was trying Iraqi for the time. The presentation of both the dishes were, I should say as being a food lover, very mouth watering with all that meat in front of me! So after all the dishes were on our table, I first grabbed for the Iraqi Kebab Yoghurt. And when I took the first bite, I lost all my apetite. Firstly, because it was sheep’s meat – and we never have it, it has always been either lamb or beef. And secondly, it was covered with A LOT of yoghurt. This ruined the taste of the kebab even more. So I forcefully finished it (thank God I took less than half of it) and went on to eating the boneless chicken and the entire chicken kebab. The chicken was okay too, not that great compared to the one we get at Al Hallab (this is a Lebanese restaurant). And for the first time I was actually thankful we did not order a lot (although a whole kebab was still left behind).
My ratings (out of 5):
Ambience – 4
Service – 2.5
Food – 3 (this is only because of the complimentary lentil soup and the mixed mezze platter)
Average – 3.2/5
Obviously I would not ignore the fact that there are other dishes that might have been better, as I looked up on foursquare people recommending the Meskouf Fish. So if you are looking to try something new, I will certainly recommend it. Although I wouldn’t recommend the Iraqi Kebab Yoghurt, but that also depends if you like sheep’s meat or not. And I would also recommend to read the summarized tales of food of the Iraqis inside the menu (there are many of them in it) – they are actually really interesting and you can catch up in some good knowledge while you’re still decided on your lunch/dinner!
Happy apetite!
While I was brainstorming ideas for this blog post, my own scenario popped up in my mind. I always have this dilemma before the beginning of every semester of university. I always get confused whether I should use my iPad for typing up my notes or should I buy notebooks for writing them. This happens because although my handwriting is really really good, I tend to write really slow and end up lagging behind in catching up professor’s notes. But I always go for the notebook option than the virtual one.
So why do I always end up choosing writing?
I have a lifelong love for pens and pencils and notebooks and writing. It really fascinates me! And it is one thing I am actually good at! That’s why I love bookstores. Particularly the one in our university. Whenever I feel low or I just have nothing to do, I go to the bookstore to check on new stationery and art stuff. And in every 2-3 visits, I have to add an item to my personal stationery collection.
Before I lose the direction of this post, I will come on to the main point behind this post.
I see that in this generation, and as these years go by, people are shifting from writing to typing. Typing on laptops, tablets, and even smartphones. As technology shifts to digital forms (or should I say it already did long ago) people are more engaged in using digital devices to make notes, add important dates and times to their calendar, and other things that involved writing before. And digital devices are also being used more because people have started to look carefully into sustainability and green environment issues. I understand and I respect how people globally are working towards a green environment, but what I don’t really approve of people shifting into digitizing their lives and work so much, that they lose their ability to handwrite.
And in the end handwriting is an ability and an art, and under none of these does typing come into (well not under art at least). And what people forget is that there are many fatal risks on damaging your fingers in typing but there are a few in writing (if one hand goes numb, there is always the possibililty amd potential to write using the other).
Not getting into the medical reasons of why writing is superior than typing, I believe that there is some special feel and enjoyment in writing, which I do not feel while typing. Typing is such a monotonous exercise to my fingers that after a while I get fed up of it. However writing is so much more fun; you can change your style whenever you want, you can write from your right or left hand (if you are ambidextrous). And you can write in those fancy secret/hilarious messages on the corner of the page which can be passed onto your friends during lectures or meetings (if that’s possible).
And maybe if you’re really good in handwriting, you can pursue a career in calligraphy or any other arts discipline whereas being a fast typer doesn’t take you anywhere (unless you’re a good content writer).
So I would really like people to look into this. I don’t mean to say that writing is dying out so quick, but it will take a few years to do that.
Here’s a lil’ something to which I agree and at the same time don’t!
Ciao till my next post!
Facts about the fruit loved-by-all:
“The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like.”
– Neil Gaiman
This is what encourages me to write this blog.
There are so many things that pop up in my mind at night, but I always end up forgetting them till I wake up in the morning. I should just write my blogs at night to share with you everything that I intend to write over here.
Moving on, had a really pumped up last week because of Wimbledon – and of course, Roger Federer. It gives you so much excitement to see an overly exceptional player ruling the court, at the peak of turning 31 in a few months. Federer not only played some of his best tennis as the rounds progressed, but he also proved that 30 year olds should not be underestimated – and in this case one of the best tennis players who has been labelled as the ‘King of Tennis’, or specifically for Wimbledon as ‘King of Grass’. I do not believe that in the past two/two and a half years Federer has lost his glory. Not at all! He might not have won Grand Slams, but his love and passion towards tennis shows why he moved from being No.1 to No.2 to No.3, and recently winning his 17th Grand Slam title, back to being the World No.1. I always love him for what a charming and calm person he is on court, never losing his cool and always being focused on his game. And the essential point being, he never gives up.
Looking at his 4th round win against Benneteau, I was at first completely brokenhearted to see Federer losing the first two sets. The reason could have been anything, but I’m not here to make up reasons on this matter. What gave me back my hope was when he won the third set. His comeback was phenomenal! And I regained the hope of his win, not only against Benneteau, but also for the Wimbledon title – his 17th Grand Slam title. And he showed it! He achieved it! He took back his games and made it to the QuarterFinal. There was no stopping for the King of Tennis. I believe what made him progress the rounds, either with ease or obstacles, was his goal to ACHIEVE. Achieve for his country, his family, his fans, and most importantly, for himself.
And there, Federer beat Youzhny, Djokovic and Murray to regain his Wimbledon trophy after 3 years and also his ranking as the World No.1 in tennis – creating H17TORY of being the only player in this sport to possess 17 Grand Slam titles.
And I rejoiced with screams and a huge, never-ending smile for this great man who I have been supporting, with love and pride, for the past 5 years.
Very, very creative! Gotta love it!
Hello Bloggers!
So I finally decided to start a personal blog on WordPress despite having one on Blogger. I think I’ll just delete that one.
Anyway, first post. So if anyone would like to know more about me, see my ABOUT page (you can click on the ‘About The Blogger’ link on the left of this post).
There is really nothing much to say right now. Will give you a sneak-peak of what this blog is all about. As you can see under my name on the left, I will be blogging mostly about my Photography (which isn’t that great, and I’m not even a pro). Will be posting photos I have taken either through my Blackberry or iPod (yes, I am a Apple and Blackberry fanatic. Absolutely love what they produce!). Next comes about the two sports I absolutely LOVE watching: Cricket and Tennis. Will be posting reviews on several matches (mostly of the Pakistani team and Federer (and even Djokovic and Nadal)). Next will be about Social Media – I am a total social media savvy and I plan to build my career in this field. Lastly, I will be writing about my absolute love for food and how fat I am. (Note: Beware! I will be whining about how fat I am).
And all this sums up to me writing about ME!
So please do catch up on my blogs. I will try my best to be innovative and funny and crazy and serious in my posts. 🙂
So see you in my next post.
Yours lovingly
All things Anam 