Everything Mouneet

Live the moment.

2010-12-05T18:01:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. I realized that drinking a lot of water lead to frequent nature calls. I didn't have time to go to the toilet and I controlled it till the point that if I waited even a second more, I would have wetted my pants. So, I finally gave up and headed to the loo, Urinating after controlling it till the limit, gave me some amazing expressions on the face. AHH! I thoroughly enjoyed the process. This would have been probably the first time that I would have been alert to my sensations and expressions while pissing. I really made the most of the sensations. This made me realize that most of the time, we are not alert to so many things that happen to us, which are around us.

If we remain alert to everything that's happening, we can experience so much happiness in all the things. But, that's possible only if we are alert enough to live each moment. As the day progressed, this thought of living the moment constantly kept coming to my mind. I started loving this feeling of alertness and enjoying everything that I was doing. So, as soon as I saw the "Old Kaka" at the tea stall looking confused and sad, I immediately cracked a conversation with him, that made him smile. All throughout from the sad face to the smile and the laughter - I was alert of the entire process and I could enjoy it more than him. Then, when I sipped my tea - I was alert of the exhilarating aroma, the perfect taste and temperature. As I walked pass a kid who was walking and playing with his dog - I too became playful and enjoyed watching them play.

I realized that so many times, we reach that "AAH" and "WOW" sensations, but we hardly let them sip inside totally. We are always in a hurry to move on. So, I decided to give it a try to remain alert to everything good that's happening and live every moment as it comes. I could enjoy my food, my conversations, my work, my music so much better. So, as I was driving back home, I enjoyed my drive. The traffic didn't disturb me at all. Infact, I loved the fact that it would take more time to reach home, so that I could listen to that favourite song one more time. I could be alert to the thrills I get when I am driving fast, to the roads and the trees, to the people waiting at the signals. Oh it was amazing. As if I've got a new life to live, where nothing can change my mood from good to bad.

What if we decide to live every moment forever? We can experience so much fun, satisfaction and happiness in everything. May it be tasting that yummy pasta or enjoying our favourite movie or just being in nature observing the sky, the leaves, the flowers, that smell of the wet mud, enjoying a good laughter, making somebody's day with a smile, helping someone in need who didn't expect a help from you, lingering on that brilliant idea which just flashed in your mind, being in the present moment with your loved one and observing every detail of her beautiful face, being alert to our words that they should not hurt anyone, the possibilities are endless to make our lives more beautiful. We just need to be alert to live the moment. Believe me - Life won't be the same from then on. Well, it all started with a Piss - only because I was alert of that amazing sensation of release!!

Trip to Uttaranchal in North India

2010-04-21T15:15:00.001+05:30

I went for my honeymoon to the Club Mahindra Resort at Binsar Valley in North of India in the Uttaranchal state, in April 2010. Considering that it would be the most romantic place to be for the honeymoon out of the options available to me from RCI, I took this decision and planned my trip accordingly. I was told that the resort doesn't have air-conditioning, as the climate there is cold through out the year. We booked our flight and train tickets on cleartrip and took a Jet Airways flight from Pune to Delhi and then train journey from Delhi to a place called Kathgodam which happens to be the nearest railway station from Binsar. Two trains ply from Delhi to Kathgodam - Ranikhet Express and Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express. We reached New Delhi station and found that the train was from Old Delhi station. So, we had to motivation an autorickshaw driver to break a few rules and somehow reached the Old Delhi station on time to find out that our train was late by an hour. Overall, the train journey from Delhi to Kathgodam was comfortable in the Chair Car compartment of the train which took about 7 hours to reach Kathgodam. We stayed the night at Relax Inn in Kathgodam. They had excellent rooms and amazing food.

The next morning, we took a taxi for Rs. 1300 from Kathgodam to Club Mahindra Resort Binsar Valley. Our taxi driver Mr. Jeevan Shah was a very friendly person excited to guide us throughout the trip, showing us various kinds of plants, trees and temples along the way. I would like to put his mobile number here, so that my readers can contact him in case they are traveling to Kathgodam: +91-9412351525.

We stopped by at the Kaichi Temple, which is located at a picturesque place on the way to Binsar. We were impressed by the cleanliness and devotion of the people there, who were chanting songs of the Lord with musical instruments even at 11:30 am. It was a very peaceful experience to be at the temple and eat the prasad. We passed through places like Bhimtal, Almora and Kasaar Devi on our way to Binsar.

Binsar Valley is a scenic place located 20 Kms from Binsar Forrest and from the famous Point Zero (highest point in that region from where we can see the Himalayan ranges). We were disappointed by the fact that it was not at all cold at Binsar and also by the fact that because of the hot weather we could not see the himalayan ranges from anywhere around Binsar due to unclear skies. In fact, it was very hot. The only activities that the resort provided was trekking, bird watching and rock climbing. For someone who is on a honeymoon vacation, all of these sound like a nightmare. But, we happily took a trek through the valley to see hundreds of different species of birds. I have never seen so many types of birds in their natural habitat in my entire life. It was very fulfilling.

The entire region in this part of Uttaranchal is called as Kumaon region and they have their own culture and cuisine. I fell ill during our trip with vomiting and loose motion. I guess, their food didn't suit my belly. The staff at Club Mahindra Resort Binsar Valley, were very co-operative and courteous. We even rented a motorcycle from a nearby village called Kasaar Devi, from Mehra Automobiles, where the contact person is Mr. Shankar: +91-9756216122. It costed me Rs. 250 per day for the motorcycle + petrol expenses. The ride from Almora to Kasaar Devi to Binsar is beautiful and frightening at the same time. The road is full of blind curves which passes through the dense forrest of Binsar. There is always a chance for sighting a leopard in and around the forrest. We also went to a small zoo, where they have kept 4 to 5 leopards. It was a pleasure riding through the mountain roads to nearby villages and farms in the valley. People in Uttaranchal are extremely friendly and helpful - always ready to guide us whenever they can.

We did a good amount of shopping at the Himjoli shop located at Kasaar Devi, where they sell organic herbs, jam, books, shawls and lot of beautiful artifacts made by the local people of Kumaon.

Tired of the hot weather, we decided to go to Ranikhet (approx. 80 Kms from Binsar), which was supposed to be much more pleasant than the current location. But, when we reached there, we found that there had been fire in the mountains and the overall temperatures were soaring. We finally cut down our trip by 4 days and came back home.

Lessons from 2009.

2009-12-22T10:40:00.000+05:30

The year 2009 was full of learnings for me. I have passed through the most challenging situations of life in this year. Following are some of the things that I have learnt from my experiences:

Love:
1) Love can move mountains. It really can.

2) Listening to a love song takes me to another world. Free from stress. Fills me with love.

Finance:
3) Managing personal finance. I need to have a budget for every month.

4) Credit cards & loans are a thing of the past for me. I was drowning in credit card and loan debts, till I realized that I need to do something about them. I've stopped using all credit cards. Stopped taking any more loans.

5) Not saving money for bad times can make me bankrupt in matter of days.

6) The stock market is always going down when I want to sell. Emergency funds should not be linked to the markets.

Personal:
7) Reading is the most important habit I developed in 2009. Reading books has helped me learn so much about so many things. I've realized that reading equips me with all the necessary tools to stay in touch, to conquer my fears, to learn, to make me aware about the world.

8) Goals. I've learnt that if I don't have a goal, I am not progressing anywhere. Goals are a must for everything - personal, financial, hobby, family, reading, traveling, etc.

9) I can be happy, when I want to. Whenever I want to. At all times.

10) No matter what disasters life brings to me, if I stay positive and focus on the solutions, miracles do happen.

11) The biggest assets I have are the people whom I know. And if I want to keep them as assets, its MY responsibility to keep in touch with them, not THEIRS.

12) Crying can get the frustration out. But, its never the solution.

13) If you have quit an addiction. Remain quit. You try it one time and you are an addict again.

14) Actions speak louder than words.

15) People who are by my side in the worst of times, are truly the people who love me.

Work:
16) I can be fooled by people. I must remain on guard at all times.

17) Being honest in what I do really helps me in the long run.

18) Its very difficult to build trust again once its broken.

19) Getting work done at Government offices will always be frustrating and time consuming. I better go prepared and remain composed. Anger would do no harm to them - will create stress in me instead.

20) The most difficult task I've ever done, is to ask an employee to leave my organization because of down sizing.

21) No matter how well I know someone, if I have to do a business or an agreement with him / her, I need to put it on paper in black and white. Verbal communication just doesn't work. I've had enough bad experiences. Lost a few friends in the whole deal.

22) In worst situations, stay positive. Do not focus on the problems. Focus on the solutions.

23) Remembering and calling a person by his / her name really makes that person remember mine. It also makes them feel they are special.

24) Never ever hesitate to ask for a discount. I've had some amazing bargains just by asking for it.

25) If my passion is not in what I do, then, I can never succeed in it.

26) To go after my passion requires guts, changes in lifestyle and lot of sacrifices. It takes time and I need to be patient.

There are so many things that I have learnt, that I regularly post on my Learnings blog. Looking forward to 2010 and to the challenges it brings to me. In absence of challenges, there is not much to learn. Wishing my readers a Happy 2010.

Pros and Cons of a Flash Website

2009-11-10T22:47:00.001+05:30

I wanted to understand the exact details of advantages and disadvantages of a flash website in comparison with HTML website. I found this article which is worth reading for those who are unaware of such details:

http://bit.ly/3tD44a

Branchfree Banking.

2009-09-03T16:40:00.001+05:30

I came across an ad banner on the ICICI Bank website, which mentioned a B2 Savings Account. As with general human curiosity, I clicked on it to find out more. What I found was something which I was looking for since a long time. Its finally arrived. BranchFree Banking (B2). I immediately took the virtual tour of the account and found it quite interesting. Its a Savings Account which sweeps funds between Savings and Fixed Deposits as and when needed. No cheque books, No ATM access, No Documents, No queues... Just Pure Internet Banking to save your money. Its amazing.

I was reading an article in the afternoon which mentioned about the growing pace of changes happening in the world today. People need to be more and more adaptive to change. It seems that the entire human race has never been through such drastic changes in the history of mankind, that we are going through right now.

And here I am. Adapting to change. Branchfree banking - adapting to new age banking! I've opened my B2 Savings Account today. What about you?

Credit Card is a thing of the past.

2009-08-24T19:58:00.001+05:30

After getting into too much of credit card debt and reading stuff on the "Get Rich Slowly" blog, I finally decided to call it quits for credit cards.. I've completely stopped using them and am feeling extremely happy about it. I was getting too tempted to buy things when I didn't have money for it. Now, its a totally different feeling to buy in cash. I actually get a feeling of a purchase.

Some of my friends think that I don't have control on my spendings and that a card is so much convenient if we pay the total amount due on a monthly basis. But, whatever you want to call me, I can't always control my temptation to buy. I am a hard core shopper. And now, with the advent of destroying my credit cards, I am totally in control and happy that I am not adding to my debts. So good bye credit cards and welcome cash!

Indian festive rituals

2009-08-24T18:32:00.001+05:30

In India, we look up to the month of Shravan (As per Hindu Calendar) as a holy month. Lot of people do fasting and visit temples in this month. Its believed that this is the month to undo all the sins which we have done in the past. Lot of people abstain from eating non vegetarian and drinking alcohol. One of these days (7th day as of the month as per Hindu Calendar) of Shravan is celebrated as Saatam (meaning 7th day). On this day, we are not supposed to light fire on the stove and we worship the stove by doing a pooja. I've clicked this photo of our kitchen showing the stove, which was not used to cook anything on that day.

Movie Update

2009-08-13T13:09:00.001+05:30

The Day the Earth stood Still - features Keanu Reeves and is a thrilling movie with amazing special effects. I really loved the storyline and the overall concept. The movie makes us think about our life and the way we are living it, about how we are treating people and the environment.

My rating: 9 / 10.

Iron Man - A science fiction / action movie with superb special effects and an interesting story. Kids would love this. Well, I loved it.

My rating: 6 / 10.

Love Aaj Kal - Features Saif Ali Khan and Deepika, is a different kind of a love story. Very nice editing and direction. Good songs.

My rating: 7 / 10.

The Knowing - Features Nicholas Cage. It holds our attention for the first half, but then, it becomes extremely slow. I liked the concept at the beginning, but the end is horrible. They've tried to show the Adam & Eve concept in the end, and I really couldn't stand it. What a waste of time it was.

My rating: 2 / 10.

The Hangover - One of the most hilarious movies of all time. Made me remember my teenage days. I've laughed and laughed and laughed, and after the movie got over, I was still laughing!! What a Movie!!

My rating: 10 / 10.

Using Google Profiles

2009-08-13T12:40:00.001+05:30

I came across a post on the Gina Trapani Blog about Google Profiles. With more and more people using the internet for everything, its a good idea to have your complete profile on Google. In this way, anyone searching for your name or company can see your profile listed at the bottom of the search page. I've updated mine and I feel every internet user should have one on Google.

This may be the next change and substitute to Visiting Cards. So, next time someone asks me my contact details or what do I do... I am going to ask them to Google it. I have added the profile link to my signature in Apple Mail.

Here's my profile: Mouneet Mehta

Using Forms on Google Docs

2009-08-02T11:13:00.000+05:30

I came across an article about using forms on Google Docs on the "Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life" website. Here's the link to the article - http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dg8pkq3t_23zg622tgz

What this tip shows is that you can use Forms on Google Docs to create things like an expense tracker, survey form, etc. to get it filled by users or yourself, and the data entered in this way gets added to your linked spreadsheet on Google Docs. I have already created 2 forms for my office expenses files and its working perfectly. Its such a convenient way to add the entry. It saves time because, I don't need to log on to Google and open my file. Just need to save the form on my hard disk and open it whenever I want to add an expense incurred, press submit and Bingo! The form automatically adds a Time Stamp to my spreadsheet which helps me find out when the data was entered through the form.

There are numerous ways to make use of the Forms feature and I am already thinking about other ways to use it.