Thamie's pages...

My post below is showing as if I have posted about 1-1-11 on 31-12-10 itself-its again a confusion depending on which side of date line we live.

A new day has come which we will write as 1-1-11 no matter you are a DD/MM/YY or MM/DD/YY follower.Living in the South pacific,closer to the international date line has an advantage of being one among few million people on earth to welcome the new year before the rest of the world. Except for the fact that we follow a calendar which has only 12 months and all the 12 months of this cycle are over and we are restarting the cycle, I hardly see any specialty about Jan 1st ( midnight of Dec31 st).May be because I am one among those few billion people who have seen transition of a Millennium in my life time, this change of year is sometime I am feeling as a common thing happening every 365 days. I am seeing in TV today about hundreds of thousands of tourists flocking and trying to get a prime spot to get the spectacular view of the firework show at the Harbour Bridge , Thousands of people gathered at Time Square in the west and Dataran Merdeka in the east and any other important spots of

How gifted we are for living in our own land or on a land we preferred to live for seeking employment,for having better living standards,for studies and for doing business. It is painful to be forcibly migrated to another land as a result of wars,natural calamities and living there as a refugee and to seek asylum as the living conditions in one's own land is not congenial. Visit this official website of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org to know how painful it is.... and help them in some way or the other.

I was thinking this phrase " what really real is not real" which my school teacher says too often.The following are some words which I come across every now and then but every time in a different context without implying the really real meaning.... PERSONALITY The word personality means an individual's set of behaviours , traits and attitudes which are situational in nature and which makes a person distinct from other. This word is derived from a latin word " Persona" meaning mask which is not a physical one but a social mask which defines our behaviour , ways of thinking, reacting, socializing .Unfortunately I found this word being used very commonly in a wrong context referring to an individual's 'outer,tangible, visible' thing than the' inner,invisible,intangible' thing.Many a time I have seen well educated people saying things like "his personality does not suit the position" what they actually mean is his "appearan

An example for accepting life as it comes to us...Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983… From the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: “Why did God have to select you for such a bad disease”? To this Arthur Ashe replied: “The world over, 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD ‘Why me?’. And today in pain I should not be asking GOD ‘Why me?’ "

Sometimes we feel like doing and having things which are closer to impossible or far from possible. One such thing which one can experience by using your photograph is through this website www. photofunia.com You can see yourself in a USD 100 bill,share space with the US Presidents on the Mount Rushmore,have your portray beautifying the cabinet room in Vladimir Putin's office.

03rd November- This is the day I was born few years( say decades!!) back and all these years I have been thinking this date as significant as 25th December or 02nd October ( May those holy, respected souls forgive me) by seeing a lot of friends,colleagues and relatives showering me with their wishes year after year in person,over phone and through Emails. Yesterday( 03rd November), I want to experiment on how true is this , changed my Birthday on my profile !! on all social networking sites( Facebook,LinkedIn) and waited what's happening.....Nothing happened- except few great souls around me who really feel the day is significance because "I "was born ( heights of Ego!!) has wished me and others who generally shower their wishes have forgotten in their daily chores. The underlying fact behind this is... 1. Gadgets and technology on networking , no doubt, bring people together and may remind us all the important days like a Birthday of your friend or yours.But you are

As I was going though the archived photos in my computer, I have sen this photo and should tell about this interesting gentleman here.He must be a septuagenarian. I met him along with my friend on a hot “Sun”day last year at the Point Cruz area in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Both me and my friend were surprised to see an authentically dressed Indian clad in Dhoti and Kurta in this part of the world were Indian Indians( this is how the FBIs- Fijian born-Indians were differentiated from Indians from India ) are very rare to be seen . We approached him, greeted with Namaste and started picking up a conversation with him. When I asked “Sir , where are you from?” the reply came that he is from India( West Bengal) and reached Solomon Islands as he was hopping!!! different countries. His reply has changed my paradigm on travelling as a need to travelling as a passion. It was amazing when he shown us a handwritten note which has a detailed study of history, Geography, culture, tradition,

This tiny little piece of tableware is what annoys me and many of my friends from hotels across the globe by its unique characteristic of “disappearing” and as a result makes the life of the guys from Food & Beverage trade miserable whenever they have huge requirement for the teaspoons. Perhaps, its cute appearance or its compact size makes it easy to slide in garbage bags, socks of staff or sometime attracted by the guests and end up in the handbags of female guests. My experience over years has shown that even hotels with huge inventory of the teaspoon has also got no immunity to this peculiar syndrome of running out of stock for teaspoon whenever they are required. Few months back, I had a tough time with the teaspoons when my team was packing equipment for an off-site high profile catering activity to the Solomon Islands and the Taiwanese delegates accompanying the President Ma of Taiwan during his state visit to this tiny (as a teaspoon) nation in the South Pacific. The

"Whatever happened, it happened well. Whatever is happening, it is happening well. Whatever will happen, it will also happen well. What of yours did you lose? Why or for what are you crying? What did you bring with you, for you to lose it? What did you create, for it to be wasted or destroyed? Whatever you took, it was taken from here. Whatever you gave, it was given from here. Whatever is yours today, will belong to someone else tomorrow. On another day, it will belong to yet another. This change is the law of the universe"

Got this from a friend... Here goes: Jean-Paul Sartre is sitting at a French cafe, revising his draft of Being and Nothingness. He says to the waitress, "I'd like a cup of coffee, please, with no cream." The waitress replies, "I'm sorry, monsieur, but we're out of cream. How about with no milk?" __._,_.___

Today is International Chef's Day!! Each Chef around the world will be celebrating this day in their own style.What's the fun in celebrating this day by cooking delicious,expensive meal to cater in the usual way but it is really touchy when we celebrated this day in a very memorable way by serving lunch to specially challenged kids at Solomon Islands Red Cross school for disabled. My friend Chef Andy( I don't know why these chefs are so obsessed with their names to be prefixed with "Chef"-even Prince Charles or any head of a country will not bother if his name is not prefixed with " His Royal Highness" and "His Excellency" respectively but these chefs will ... ) has taken a lot of efforts to cook for them along with his team and served them with a happy heart. What a good way to celebrate.....

If "practice makes Perfect" why there are many lawyers who are still practicing without becoming perfect???

Despite the negative publicity created by the western media, India has become a successful and proud host of the Common Wealth Games 2010. Even on the day India is celebrating the closing ceremony BBC was found taking rigorous steps to tarnish the country's image by flashing all initial problems which occurred before the opening of the games..... Click the link below to see what CGF president Michael Fennell has to say about India as a host of CWG 2010... http://sports.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/14/slide-show-1-cwg-2010-delhi-delhi-games-a-success-declares-fennell.htm

Today, I happen to see something which probably would not be possible in any country which the rules, security measures are rigid.I have seen 3 immigration officials waiting in the hotel lobby with their official seals and stamp pad- reason???? some of the guests of the hotel who are air crews have entered the country without getting their passports stamped by the immigration!!! and now when the immigration officials have realised it they are at the door steps of the passengers to affix " Entry made' seal in their passports. Though it looked like a WOW !! service by going out of your way, it has also made me feel why few countries are so fussy about their tight security at the point of entry and few are not. Had it been in any other country may be in Australia- by now those passengers would have been arrested as illegal immigrants if they have managed to enter the country by escaping the tight security measure. When you live in a tiny country ,you can enjoy few luxuries...

While I am writing this, the 7th miner out of the 33 trapped miners from the Copiapo' mines of Chile has been rescued after a long 69 days of ordeal. We, in our day to day life boast or have seen people boasting silly things like achieving budgets,increasing sales,developing human talents, reducing costs,completing certain program of studies as "triumphs". But when I was watching this live on my TV thousands of miles away from Chile sitting in Solomon Islands, it has given me the real meaning for the phrase " Moment of Triumph" which is " NOT just achieving the achievable things or achieving something which if not achieved by us today can be achieved tomorrow either by us or by someone else but "triumph" really means doing something with the highest level of determination,courage to save our own or someone's life in a critical condition which has unfortunately only one chance to do" For the trapped miners struggling for 69 days ,half

Few years back when I bought a book " Who moved my Cheese", I was inspired by this quote on the first page of the book and ever since it has inspired me and I keep this on my office desk as " C'est la vie " "Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again, But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us." -A. J Cronin

My connection with Commonwealth games 2010 is continuing since the day I got a chance to hold the Queen's baton few months back. A week ago, I felt so bad about the negative feedbacks flashed all over the world ( Courtesy BBC, CNN etc.,) about India's preparedness for the CWG 2010 and today I am again connected with the CWG but this time in a happy way.One of our employee at Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands named Jenly Wini is representing team Solomon Islands in the CWG 2010 at New Delhi. Jenly is a professional weightlifter and she works as a Security guard ( no wonder!!) with us.I, along with my team in the hotel am proud about Jenly's participation in the games as she is the only female sportsperson representing Solomon Islands team in the CWG 2010. Today, we had a small function to felicitate Jenly as she is leaving tomorrow for the games.The hotel has presented her sporting gear required during the games and it was joyful as all wished her the best. May

I feel global warming, glaciers melting are not the real reasons as told by our scientists for th e increase in the sea levels.It is this millions of big cargo vessels carrying billions of tons of cargo floating on our seas as the reasons for raise in sea level.drop few coins in a glass of water and see the proof for this theory!!!! Remove all these vessels for one day and see the sea change!!!

Few months back, I was proud to be an Indian while holding the Queen's Baton of Commonwealth Games as my country is hosting the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010. Today, I am not a happy man along with many of my fellow Indians to hear through International media about the status of India's preparedness for the games which is due to commence in a week's time. Besides the fact that India could have spend those billions of dollars on its infrastructure, health, education to its people, I had a strong feeling that the money being spend will be a valuable investment in showcasing India's image as a emerging economic superpower.But the news that India is not prepared for the games,foot over bridge collapsed,false ceiling damaged, poor sanitary conditions in the games village is not so good to hear especially when we are boasting India's greatness among other nationalities. What went wrong???? Is there any insufficiency of funds to support such a big sporting extravaganza? Ar

This has been always a cliche’ used by hoteliers around the world to attract guests who wants to feel at home wherever they travel (perhaps most of them come under this category).As a hotel operator, along with my colleagues, I am striving to give this experience to all my guests. But I have a question for all those guests is that-when you always want to feel at home, “why the hell are you travelling???” Better sit in one corner of your home without venturing outside if you are reluctant to change to different food habits, taste, culture, attitudes. Change is the essence e of life. The very essence of travelling should be to experience the changes what one cannot see in their own home. If I can get same food, meet same people I am accustomed with, experience the same culture and habits people in my place have, I would not spend money, time and effort to go to any place as it is mere waste of everything. Travelling teaches a person a huge volumes of lessons which good book cannot

It's not always fun working in a night club especially on a weekend.I have heard people saying " what you are is what when nobody is seeing you" but I think "what you are is what when you are drunk and everybody is seeing you!!!" You get to see the real people in the night clubs starting from begging entry when they are not dressed in accordance with the club rules to arguing that "It's my birth right to drink as much as I want and wherever I want and you have no right to stop me drinking". The law of Club says... "nightmarish effect of a night club employee is directly proportional to the sale of alcohol,intake of alcohol by the patrons,number of patrons inside the club,proximity to the closing time and to the increase in the decibel of the sound ( some people call it MUSIC!!!)" Yesternight (can anyone recommend my contribution to the Oxford English Dictionary meaning 'last night' similar to Yesterday and yesteryear) was

A couple of days back one of my virtual friend on the internet has posted a discussion on a social networking site-"Let us show our real name - Bharat to the world".I replied to him with my question "What are you trying to achieve by changing the name of your( our) country??". I wish he is not one among those superstitious Indians who is very badly affected by the Numerology mania which is an ongoing thing. I have couple of my friends who changed their names by adding/deleting few letters from their existing name believing it is going to bring them fortune or their existing name is the reason for all their misfortunes!!.My name has five"E"s and people often think it is such a numerological obsession- believe me it is purely for pronunciation reasons only and I am ready to have a change of name with the world's most horrible,unlucky numerological set up as I believe names are for identity and to avoid ambiguity rather than bringing luck or misfortune

Point Cruz, Honiara- Important commercial centre with banks, Diplomatic missions,Hotels , shops Honiara main Market with fresh produce- Yummy Pineapples,Bananas,Paw paw( papayas) and of course Fish!!! Pikinini blo Solomon Aelan ( Children of Solomon Islands on a beach) Colourful flowers at the market

Serene view of the outer islands on the South Pacific from Honiara

A proud moment with the Queen's baton of Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 . The reasons for the pride is that the Baton has commenced its journey several months back and has been traveling all commonwealth countries,expected to cover more than 70 nations meeting over a billion of the world population ( I guess it should be more than a billion as India, the host itself has a population closer to a billion!!). I got a chance to hold the Baton at Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands where I work and where the baton stayed for few days before commencing its journey to other countries.The Baton is so special to me personally as an Indian that I got a chance to hold the baton going to India (it's final destination) in a South pacific Island nation far from my home and rare to see any Indian faces. The Baton has quite a lot of amazing special features like soils from all parts of India forming the outer design,GPS,The Queen's message,LED changing its colour automatically

Its a hot news in the southern part of India about a Swamy(god man???) involved in a sex scandal with an actress which has triggered public unrest in some places.This news is hot ,not just because it has something really important but because the way media included hot clippings to market their skills of Journalism or commercialisation. First, people should be clear that being a swami is JUST A JOB like being a driver,teacher or cook etc., to tell people something what sells. Those men or women are as simple as any one of us .It's our mistake to treat few popular figures- actors,politicians,sportsmen,SWAMIs equal to God and doing anything and everything they ask to do.Let's have a clear thought that NO MAN CAN EVER BE A GOD. Second thing is the way this news is flashed by media-are they behaving responsibly by informing public about such culprits in the society or selling pornography???? It was disgusting that the popular channels attached so much of importance to this and b