Radio Silence

So I've gone 2 days without BlackBerry Messenger. Its made my phone from something interesting to a pile of junk. Technologically wise, Its a load of crap. Don't know how I've spent so long with this piece of junk. Its an insult to technology.

Apart from that, I'm enjoying the "radio silence". No Updates. No Broadcasts. No Unnecessary Conversations. No Aimlessly scrolling through facebook/twitter because I have nothing else to do.

Instead I'm back to reading, blogging, random photo-editing, more music downloading and the other timepass I haven't done. And it feels different. A good different.

Google+ / Google Hangouts

Well, I don't know about the other countries so much but in the United Arab Emirates, Google+ and Google Hangouts is undervalued. It's not used to its full potential. I've been using it for a while now, and Google Hangouts especially, is absolutely fantastic.

Google Hangouts, is a messaging/video&voice call service. It's closest comparison and competitor would be Skype. Agreed, Skype has a massive audience and user base, but it's not even close to how fantastic Google Hangouts are. Quality and Feature wise.

I won't go into comparing those two, because i'm sure by now you've opened up another tab to do all of that.

Just consider joining it. And the more people you get to use it, the better it gets. It just keeps getting better.

Until Next Post,
Parichay 

Class.

First Class, the prestige status of every airline passenger on every airline going to every country in the world. It's something a few do regularly, and a lot dream of achieving one day. 

I've never flown first class. It always appealed to me. Whenever we travelled to India and passed by Business Class, I'd always end up thinking to myself, "If Business Class looks like this, I wonder what first class looks like". The arrival of the A380 took that to a whole new level. With Emirates, the local airline of Dubai releasing advertisement after advertisement on its First Class facilities including a 15-minute spa/shower session.. well that was something. 

I'm going to be in the USofA for 4 years. I'm going to probably come to Dubai in the Summer and in the Winter each year. That makes 2 Round-Trips a year, for 4 years. Considering what I've heard about British Airways' [BA] frequent flier/Miles system, I'm super excited. Miles can be transferred, meaning that the miles my parents collect on this trip will be transferred onto my account. That, along with my own miles, will ensure a Business Class upgrade when travelling at least for One of the two trips. 

[By Now I'm Sure You've Guessed, I love travelling, especially By Air].

So it got me thinking, If I, once in the 4 years (Most preferably in the last year after my graduation) buy a business class ticket to Dubai [Which is a 14 hour flight, mind you], I'll be able to upgrade myself to First Class. Agreed, its not A380, but its still First Class. Something everyone wants to experience, but few actually do. 

Now you must be thinking, where the hell is all this coming from? My dad and I were discussing the loyalty program Emirates Airlines has for its fliers. Its called Skywards, for those who don't know. I was aware of 3 categories up until now. Blue, Silver and Gold. I had absolutely no idea that they have a Platinum category as well. But that's not what shocked me. What shocked me was the SKYWARDS IO [Invite Only] Tier. That's absolutely insane. It's all hush-hush, not even mentioned on their official page. They have their own lounge at the Dubai Airport which is so well concealed most of us have never even seen it. 

Here's a glimpse of what it would be like if you were invited:

Somebody from the Emirates office shows up at your office unannounced with your package. Inside the package is your kit. A thick, heavy dark rede at grey/brown membership card with matching Luggage Tags. A Mont Blanc wallet and a personally signed Letter form Tim Clark, the CEO of Emirates Airlines welcoming you to the club. 

There is also a private number on the back of the membership card which has a personal number for you. When called, the operator on the other line is dedicated to you and answers the phone with a "Good Evening Mr. ______"

Sounds a lot like what Up In The Air [Movie]'s 10 Million Mile system was based on. And it sounds absolutely Phenomenal. I'd like to meet someone with a Skywards IO card someday. 

That's 2 Posts in 12 Hours. Woah.

Until Next Time,

Parichay 

The Uncertainties of University

I realised that I haven't blogged since April. Its been a while since Yas, and boy do I miss that place. But this post isn't based on how I miss the past 2 months. I'll save that post for when my summer comes to an end. For now i'm going to talk about what lies at the end of Summer '13. Particularly, at the end of August. 
And that is: 

University Begins.

Yep, University time is finally approaching. And I'm pretty sure it's what every high school graduate is thinking about. It's the "next big step". It's what will "define who we will grow up to be." 4+ Years of Undergraduate study will shape us into the new generation. 

But that's all roses and flowers. There's a lot we're not prepared for. There's a lot we're taking for granted. And there's a lot that we've been told to consider, but we just don't. 

Independence just doesn't come like that. After spending the first 17(or 18) years of your life in a secure bubble with your friends and family, it'll be one hell of a shift. We have the luxuries here that we'll long for once we're there. I can't say I know how that feels because I still have to experience it. Seniors and their parents can try all they want to explain it to us, tell us to brace-ourselves and to expect a lot. But that's all we can do, brace ourselves. We cannot experience it unless we're actually there. 

There's a lot to learn. A lot to experience. Things that we'll need to survive out there. Sooner or later we're going to have to see the independent life. The life without the "bubble." Be it at the age of 18 or at the age of 22, we're still going to experience the same experiences, make the same mistakes and do the same things. We can't learn if we're spending time feeling secure. 
Some people prefer seeing that life at the Post-Graduate level, but all I feel is that you'll be going to the university with no independent experience and a lot of knowledge from undergrad. That's it. 

I will miss everything here, my family especially. It'll be insane spending 4 months without really interacting with them and our conversations limited to instant-messaging and Video Chats via Facetime or Skype. But we'll handle that obstacle when we get to it. For now, we can just brace ourselves. 

With that, I look forward to the first 5 months at college. The new life. The restricted yet unrestricted life of a college student living in a dormitory within the Campus away from all securities and previously known luxuries. I look forward to Fall 2013.

Until Next Post,
Parichay

P.S. BBM's coming to iPhone. My "Predicament" [See earlier post] has been solved. Huhu.