Why Not Recycle?

The picture shown above shows "The Recycling Loop". The collecters (which we can be part of) haul the recyclable items to the manufacturers, the manufacturers produce recycled goods and the consumers (another section we can be part of) purchase the recycled goods.

Most of you must be knowing the bookish definition of "Recycle", thanks to ever so interesting Environmental Science/Environmental Studies (a LOT of sarcasm intended). I apologize (really, I'm sorry!) for reminding everybody of EVS once again but I just had to write about this, being the environmentalist that i am:P!

"Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products."

More and more of today's products are being manufactured with total or partial recycled content. Common household items that contain recycled materials include newspapers and paper towels; aluminum, plastic, and glass soft drink containers; steel cans; and plastic laundry detergent bottles. Recycled materials also are used in innovative applications such as recovered glass in roadway asphalt (glassphalt) or recovered plastic in carpeting, park benches, and pedestrian bridges.

That was just to get you all into the EVS mood once again:)!

The point of this post is to inform people that recycling takes less than 5 minutes to do, and it helps us in the end. So why not? And it's not like you have to travel miles to the next recycling centre. We've got a recycling centre (more like recycling boxes) right in school. For people who haven't noticed YET, it's on the field - on the sandy part of the field. It takes less than a minute to put the previous day's newspaper's into your bag, and approximately four minutes for really REALLY slow walkers to reach the recycling box and walk back!!

Why throw used papers/newspapers/cans when they can be recycled to make brand new papers/newspapers/cans?

Why waste so much?

So i ask : Why not recycle?

Get over your laziness and please learn to recycle!

PS : As terrible and preachy this post may have seemed, I'm trying to get more and more people to join the recycling campaign and get atleast a little concerned about the environment.... Sorry if that annoys anyone, but that's my thing:D.

An Inspiration

1 piece of advice : increase your speaker volume a bit before watching this - the sound is low.

Amazing, wasn't it?

Stephen Wiltshire was born in London to West Indian parents on 24th April, 1974. His sister, Annette, is two years older than her brother. He lives with his mother in West London.

As a child, Stephen was mute and did not relate to other human beings. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language, uncontrolled tantrums and lived entirely in his own world.

It soon became apparent, he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. Aged eight, Stephen started drawing cityscapes after the effects of an earthquake (all imaginary) as a result of being shown photographs of earthquakes in a book at school. He also became obsessed with cars and illustrations of cars at this time (his knowledge of them is encyclopaedic) and he drew most of the major London landmarks. In 1987, he was proclaimed the best child artist in Britain.

Stephen has drawn the city of Rome (featured video), Hong Kong and Tokyo. He is known as a 'Human Camera' and not only has a great memory, but is also an amazing artist.

That has got to be one of the most wonderful things i have ever read about. This man is an inspiration to so many children and people alike. As a child, people must have disregarded him, discouraged him as many people seem to think children with special needs aren't capable of doing anything. I sometimes wonder where this misconception arose from? My first trip to the Dubai Centre for Special Needs was inspirational. Those children taught me a lot more than anything else in my life. They're not ordinary - they're extraordinary. We need to understand that the message the give us is one of the most important messages of life. Each and everyone of us is special - only if we believe that we can do it (i honestly don't care how cliched and lame that may have sounded - it's true). If you don't believe in yourself, you can't achieve anything.

I am a fan of Stephen and you all should check his site out : www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk

Also, this is a picture by him of the Oxford Circus at Night and of The Buckingham Palace -

I'm a little confused tonight..

It's exactly 1.08AM. I'm sitting on my computer AGAIN. I was just in the balcony some minutes ago... just looking out and wondering, when this sudden flow of lyrics hit me. For people who don't know, i write a lot of songs and poems. Anyway, i thought i might as well write them down here and copy them into my diary later. I'm kind of sleepy anyway.

I'm really confused. I don't even know if this qualifies as a poem. It's 3 verses after all. I don't know what to call it. It makes a lot of sense to me though. I don't even know what my source of inspiration was (there is always a source of inspiration for any poem/song) - the view from my balcony isn't inspiring AT ALL. I need feedback on this one.


Endless pain, a gap in faith
I wonder when hope prevails
So many more till this date
sorrow and catastrophe
Where's the joy - why the hate?
They won't budge from the moor.

They need an answer this night,
The scarlet hue still spreads around
Why must it - this isn't right,
Ask - a hard net to place,
Maybe two more, just another fight
All for the money - for the greed.

Would this call for an intervention?
They now know what they need to see -
A mirror, show them a reflection,
A little help is always needed.
Just a little more, a little determination,
This phase should end - they'll return soon.


PS : Like i said, i'm a little confused :S...

SURPRISE!!!!

I'm one person who never gets surprises - not from my family, not from my friends, not from my relatives. So, everytime my birthday rolls around, i already know what i'll be getting from my family and from some of my friends. I know where my party's going to be (cause i'm organising it) and i know exactly what i'm going to wear etc etc. You get my point?

....Or so i thought.

So i guess that's why i was so shocked when my friends planned a surprise party for me. I didn't expect it AT ALL! It was the evening of the first of February. I was exceptionally bored at home so when Bhavi called up and said that she could make it to Spinneys and my mom told me to get her a DVD from Spinneys, i got up and ran. I didn't find it strange that my mom told me to wear some thing other than baggies and a regular t-shirt (my standard clothes) because we had a dinner party scheduled for later. I met Bhavi at Spinneys and we went to the videoshop where Dhoom 2 was starting - the part where Hrithik is dancing (YAY). So Bhavi and I were glued to the screen and i'm sure that the staff working there thought we were retarded. I mean, we were just standing there and staring at the screen. After the dance, i tore my eyes away from the screen and rented 2 DVD's - Click and Kabul Express. I was beginning to get a little annoyed with Bhavi cause she spent 15minutes looking for ONE DVD to rent. I mean, come on!

She had to get something photocopied so we went to Al Ain to get the papers photocopied. The guy at the shop said it would take 10minutes so we told him we'd come back to collect it in 10minutes. Then we went to Spinneys because supposedly Bhavi wanted to buy a birthday card for her family friend, 'Anisha'. I honestly don't know how i fell for that one. Then she was picking out a nice birthday card and she asked me which one i thought was good. I, unknowingly, chose my own birthday card thinking it's for Anisha. Ok then.

Then we went back to Al Ain and picked up the photocopies. Almost an hour had passed, Bhavi gets a call from her "mom" (Rayna lol). We were just exiting and then Bhavi suddenly remembers that she didn't get her DVD (The truth - Aparna and Sakina, who were getting the cake were stuck in traffic so i had to be held in Spinneys for 15-20minutes more). So we go back to the Videoshop. Luckily for Bhavi, Dhoom2 was still going on. So, once again, i'm glued to the screen. For 15minutes, Bhavi is looking for one DVD and watching Dhoom2 while i'm helping her.

FINALLY, Bhavi says she has to leave and that her mom is waiting outside. I went out with her to drop her and my mom(who knows about the whole thing) calls and asks where i am. Then Bhavi randomly starts dragging me towards Lebanese Village. I didn't want to enter Lebanese Village. She says, "My mom's inside!" I FELL FOR THAT - there's a limit of stupidity, i thought!! So i enter the outdoor seating part of Lebanese Village with her, and i see Rayna, Meghna, Aparna, Sakina, Trisha, Prerna and Sagari standing there with a cake and huge grins on their faces. Then they yell, "SURPRISE!!!" and Bhavi joins them. By the way, i'm still on the phone with my mom who says, "Ahh finally! Enjoy!" and hangs up on me! I SWEAR i thought i was dreaming. I didn't register that it was a surprise birthday party. MY surprise birthday party! After 2minutes and 32 seconds (i think) it hits me that this is my surprise party!!!!! I was so SHOCKED! Of course then i was so happy as well! That has got to be my best birthday party ever!! So after i got over the delight and shock of... well, the surprise, we sat down to eat. I thanked everyone like a million times!

While eating, we were discussing how they had planned it. When we all were doing lunch duty one day, i remember Aparna and Rayna left atleast 5times with the excuse of Mrs. Luke is looking for them. I, being the gullible person that i am completely believed them. In reality, they were going to the lunch hall waiting for the guys to show up and give them a card for my birthday! Rishika couldn't make it cause she wasn't feeling at all well. Mini couldn't make it because her mom had this performance in Ras Al Khaimah. Dolly couldn't come either. We took SO many photos (displayed below) and they forcefully:p gave me birthday bumps in the RESTAURANT! Oh, and then they dropped me down - OW!!! Hehe. It was the most fun of 2007!!!!!!!! Oh, and Aparna forgot the guys' card(THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CARD :D!!) and Mini's sorry card (aww..that's ok!) lol.

Thank you so much!!!! You guys are the best friends' in this universe! THANKS! That was one of the best nights of my life!

Also, my parents' were in on it - THANK YOU!

2007 till now has been full of awesome surprises for me. My parents gave me a surprise birthday present a fortnight ago - my new mobile! Also, today my family friend gave me an early birthday present - my new bean bag and my dad surprised me with a new laptop! Thanks all of you for making my birthday my best yet! I love you all! And the best part is, my actual birthday hasn't even arrived yet!

Now, my ending words -
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS : excuse the purple sleeves:P:P, i didn't know there was a party remember???!