On the way into work I heard this on the radio.....
A best selling book called "Crap Towns" had a sequel released... "Crap Towns 2"..........
BECAUSE.........
SO MANY PEOPLE WROTE IN COMPLAING ADOUT THEIR TOWN OR CITY NOT BEING INCLUDED!!!!!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Anger in reflection
Again this title sounds deep but trust me it isn't.....
In one of my previous posts (the search for me), I said I was surprised that when I put my name into Google, an entry referring to me came as high as 5th.......
However.......
After a weekend reflecting..... I have become angry, nay enraged..... How can someone with my stature, my brilliance, my wit, my charm be relegated to a lowly fifth.
I'm the king of the world, this is my planet you... you plebs merely live on it.... I should have been at the top of the list! Infact every entry should have referred to me... no ait every result in every search carried out (regardless of the subject searched for) should refer to me.
I am disgusted with the antics of Google... but in my magnanimous generosity, I will assume this is merely a small oversight on their part, to this end I will allow Google (and every other search engine) a period of 20 nanoseconds to correct their churlish behaviour... after which I will take Google to the Ineternational War Crimes tribunal (cos it is that bad an offence) and sue them for every penny/cent/shilling etc etc that they have!
In one of my previous posts (the search for me), I said I was surprised that when I put my name into Google, an entry referring to me came as high as 5th.......
However.......
After a weekend reflecting..... I have become angry, nay enraged..... How can someone with my stature, my brilliance, my wit, my charm be relegated to a lowly fifth.
I'm the king of the world, this is my planet you... you plebs merely live on it.... I should have been at the top of the list! Infact every entry should have referred to me... no ait every result in every search carried out (regardless of the subject searched for) should refer to me.
I am disgusted with the antics of Google... but in my magnanimous generosity, I will assume this is merely a small oversight on their part, to this end I will allow Google (and every other search engine) a period of 20 nanoseconds to correct their churlish behaviour... after which I will take Google to the Ineternational War Crimes tribunal (cos it is that bad an offence) and sue them for every penny/cent/shilling etc etc that they have!
Congratulations to Matt and Amanda
A very good friend of mine, Matthew Vickers (aka the Golden Child/Boy Wonder etc etc) got engaged to his girlfriend (now fiancee). Actually he got engaged on 14th of February, but the party was last night....
Matty actually proposed in style, he pretended that he was taking her to Cork, then whisked her off to Venice, booked the penthouse suite, then got down on one knee and proposed in the suite.........
For all those who don't know I went to uni with Matt for four years, and he does deserve the title of golden boy (I was thinking of using golden balls... but I don't know him that well!!!). Matt was a brilliant student and academically gifted, on a completely different level to most others, he's good looking always and had all the laydeez after him (but always behaved like a gentleman), he was good at all sports, has a great job, works hard and should be Presicent of the world soon..... infact he is the prime candidate for being the target of pure hatred, he should make you physically sick etc etc etc...
BUT MATT'S MOST ENDEARING QUALITY IS THAT HE IS SUCH A NICE GUY, you actually can't do anything but love the guy!!!!! He's the type of guy who would spend the day before an exam helping others understand the subject. He carried my bags at uni when I broke my leg... I could go on forever but I guess you get the picture...
Now for Matts embarrassing bits....
He can easily spend hours getting ready in fromt of a mirror.... he has been known to get lost when out with friends because he's too busy looking at his reflection to notice where everyone has gone!
He has been known to sit in trains and taxi's with hair straighteners tarting himself up on the way to work!!!!
Anyway... that's all the embarrasing bits I think I can mention for now ;)
At the engagement it was good to see old friends like Scotty to Hotty and Mo.... I was a bit dissappointed that Stuart "BOOBOO" Smedley couldn't make it... I'm sure if he wanted to he could have caught a cab all the way from the Canary Islands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matty actually proposed in style, he pretended that he was taking her to Cork, then whisked her off to Venice, booked the penthouse suite, then got down on one knee and proposed in the suite.........
For all those who don't know I went to uni with Matt for four years, and he does deserve the title of golden boy (I was thinking of using golden balls... but I don't know him that well!!!). Matt was a brilliant student and academically gifted, on a completely different level to most others, he's good looking always and had all the laydeez after him (but always behaved like a gentleman), he was good at all sports, has a great job, works hard and should be Presicent of the world soon..... infact he is the prime candidate for being the target of pure hatred, he should make you physically sick etc etc etc...
BUT MATT'S MOST ENDEARING QUALITY IS THAT HE IS SUCH A NICE GUY, you actually can't do anything but love the guy!!!!! He's the type of guy who would spend the day before an exam helping others understand the subject. He carried my bags at uni when I broke my leg... I could go on forever but I guess you get the picture...
Now for Matts embarrassing bits....
He can easily spend hours getting ready in fromt of a mirror.... he has been known to get lost when out with friends because he's too busy looking at his reflection to notice where everyone has gone!
He has been known to sit in trains and taxi's with hair straighteners tarting himself up on the way to work!!!!
Anyway... that's all the embarrasing bits I think I can mention for now ;)
At the engagement it was good to see old friends like Scotty to Hotty and Mo.... I was a bit dissappointed that Stuart "BOOBOO" Smedley couldn't make it... I'm sure if he wanted to he could have caught a cab all the way from the Canary Islands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
The search for me..............
Before anyone gets excited and assumes that this post is going to be some deep and meaningful comment regarding some inner soul searching etc etc... I'm sorry to dissappoint you but its not!
While sitting at work bored, I was thinking about how I'd find information out about peope I know on the net... then I wondered what information was out there regarding me and how easy it would be for people to find me...
So i decided to try a mini experiment... I typed my name (Salim Suleman) into Google to see where I would rank....
And to my surprise........
The first entry referring to me was fifth in the list, it was my blogger.com profile!!!!
I also came in at number 39 with a listing on my old schools ex-pupils directory (Roundhay School)!
And the final entry I found was at number 149 - this was actually from a 10km race I ran in 2000. I came 347th (out of 364 in a time of 1hr 1min and 12 seconds). This was actually a good result for me as I had broken my leg a few months earlier.
I might try this search on other search engines and then post the results here.
It would be interesting if you guys did the same and posted you're results here in the comments!
(Oh and for you're information other famous Salim Suleman's include music producers. gangsters and guerilla warfare commanders!!!).
While sitting at work bored, I was thinking about how I'd find information out about peope I know on the net... then I wondered what information was out there regarding me and how easy it would be for people to find me...
So i decided to try a mini experiment... I typed my name (Salim Suleman) into Google to see where I would rank....
And to my surprise........
The first entry referring to me was fifth in the list, it was my blogger.com profile!!!!
I also came in at number 39 with a listing on my old schools ex-pupils directory (Roundhay School)!
And the final entry I found was at number 149 - this was actually from a 10km race I ran in 2000. I came 347th (out of 364 in a time of 1hr 1min and 12 seconds). This was actually a good result for me as I had broken my leg a few months earlier.
I might try this search on other search engines and then post the results here.
It would be interesting if you guys did the same and posted you're results here in the comments!
(Oh and for you're information other famous Salim Suleman's include music producers. gangsters and guerilla warfare commanders!!!).
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
My Hajj (part 2 – The Journey there)
I’ve tried a fair bit to put into words my experience on the Hajj… but no matter what I say I can’t quite get the words right!
Anyway, I’ll start with the actual journey…
One thing to explain first is that to go on the Hajj, you need to go as part of a group. There are many agents out there who organise groups and assist you throughout the journey to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and to ensure you complete the rites as best as you can and provide advice and guidance. To this extent they are more than just tour operators and are more religious guides.
The group I went with was Dome Tours and would like to thank them for making my journey smooth and pleasant.
Everyone I’ve known always says that Hajj is difficult, but to be honest, while it was physically demanding I would say that it was not the least bit difficult. Allah removed all obstacles from my path and provided me with assistance at every stage - everyone I know did their utmost to help my journey go as smoothly as possible.
Anyway, to the journey….
The group organised a coach to take us from Regents Park mosque to Luton airport at 4am. A good friend of mine (Najam) dropped me off.
Now picture the scene… young asian guy…. standing outside one of Europes largest mosques at 4 am…. in the British capital…. all alone….with a large suitcase and rucksack…. What happens next!!! Well I get stopped and searched by the police… now I’m not complaining, they were pleasant and friendly and I had no problems. Its just in hindsight its pleasantly amusing!
At the Luton airport we had no issues and we went through without a problem. We were then given a choice of putting on out Ihram (specific clothing to be worn while completing the hajj and umrah). I decided to put mine on at this point as I didn’t want to struggle on the plane. The Ihram (for men) consists of two pieces of white cloth, one wrapped around the waist covering the lower part of the body and the other over the shoulders – and absolutely nothing else. Once in Ihram certain restrictions apply (i.e not allowed to apply perfume, not allowed to propose) – the reason for these restrictions is that the Hajj is a journey for Allah and certain worldy things become forbidden.
Once on the plane I started talking to the other “Hajji’s” (people who are doing the Hajj). I made a fair few friends with EVERYONE being polite and more than helpful. Sharing and giving advice and gifts. The reason for this is that people were trying to earn as much reward as possible from Allah and everyone’s god consciousness had been raised.
Arriving at Jeddah International Airport, I was prepared for a long wait…. We had been warned that it can take upto 14 hours to get through the airport… (Around 3-4 million people going through the airport in a short period of time).. but we were out in less than one!!!1.
Once through I expected a long wait for coaches (again told it could take a fair few hours to get the coaches again, these arrived in less than 2.
Then began the journey from Jeddah to Makkah. This took around two hours. During the journey we were all say a prayer repetitively (saying O’Allah we are coming)… we had to have a number of stops on the way to hand our passports in……
Eventually we reached the holy city…..
I’ll say more about what happened next soon… so stay tuned!!!!!!!!
Anyway, I’ll start with the actual journey…
One thing to explain first is that to go on the Hajj, you need to go as part of a group. There are many agents out there who organise groups and assist you throughout the journey to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and to ensure you complete the rites as best as you can and provide advice and guidance. To this extent they are more than just tour operators and are more religious guides.
The group I went with was Dome Tours and would like to thank them for making my journey smooth and pleasant.
Everyone I’ve known always says that Hajj is difficult, but to be honest, while it was physically demanding I would say that it was not the least bit difficult. Allah removed all obstacles from my path and provided me with assistance at every stage - everyone I know did their utmost to help my journey go as smoothly as possible.
Anyway, to the journey….
The group organised a coach to take us from Regents Park mosque to Luton airport at 4am. A good friend of mine (Najam) dropped me off.
Now picture the scene… young asian guy…. standing outside one of Europes largest mosques at 4 am…. in the British capital…. all alone….with a large suitcase and rucksack…. What happens next!!! Well I get stopped and searched by the police… now I’m not complaining, they were pleasant and friendly and I had no problems. Its just in hindsight its pleasantly amusing!
At the Luton airport we had no issues and we went through without a problem. We were then given a choice of putting on out Ihram (specific clothing to be worn while completing the hajj and umrah). I decided to put mine on at this point as I didn’t want to struggle on the plane. The Ihram (for men) consists of two pieces of white cloth, one wrapped around the waist covering the lower part of the body and the other over the shoulders – and absolutely nothing else. Once in Ihram certain restrictions apply (i.e not allowed to apply perfume, not allowed to propose) – the reason for these restrictions is that the Hajj is a journey for Allah and certain worldy things become forbidden.
Once on the plane I started talking to the other “Hajji’s” (people who are doing the Hajj). I made a fair few friends with EVERYONE being polite and more than helpful. Sharing and giving advice and gifts. The reason for this is that people were trying to earn as much reward as possible from Allah and everyone’s god consciousness had been raised.
Arriving at Jeddah International Airport, I was prepared for a long wait…. We had been warned that it can take upto 14 hours to get through the airport… (Around 3-4 million people going through the airport in a short period of time).. but we were out in less than one!!!1.
Once through I expected a long wait for coaches (again told it could take a fair few hours to get the coaches again, these arrived in less than 2.
Then began the journey from Jeddah to Makkah. This took around two hours. During the journey we were all say a prayer repetitively (saying O’Allah we are coming)… we had to have a number of stops on the way to hand our passports in……
Eventually we reached the holy city…..
I’ll say more about what happened next soon… so stay tuned!!!!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)