HUMOR ZEN STYLE - WHEN WHAT YOU SEE CEASES TO EXIST

SOMERSET COLLECTION, A MUST VISIT BEAUTIFUL MALL IN MICHIGAN

Somerset Collection is an upscale super regional shopping mall located on 2800 West Beaver Road, Troy, in Michigan. It's a beautiful mall, with splendid architecture. It has 180 plus shops and great restaurants. If you happen to visit Michigan, and you want to do some shopping, this is a must visit shopping mall. My daughter bought lovely sandals, shoes and  artificial jewelry for herself. I picked up a few intricate jewelry as well. My son took us to J. Alexander for lunch and we enjoyed the food. Now that's a restaurant worth visiting. 

Some photos taken at Somerset Mall.

I AM BACK FROM VACATION IN THE U.S !!!!!

I had the most wonderful time of my life on a 14 day road trip to the east coast in the U.S., with my husband and children. My daughter flew down to U.S. few days after we arrived in Michigan to visit our son. My husband and son took turns driving - thanks to both of them and their tireless efforts, patience, long hours of driving and their GPS. We visited Cincinnati (Ohio), Atlanta (Georgia) Orlando and Miami (Florida), Charleston (South Carolina), Virginia, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Broadway, Fifth Avenue, Times Square (New York City), Niagara (Buffalo, New York) and Chicago (Illinois). All these places had their own charm and was amazing. So much to do and see. At every city we stopped to tour, we wished we had more time there, to see and do more. Every Sunday night at Niagara waterfalls, they hold beautiful fireworks at 10 pm for 5 minutes,  above the gushing waterfalls that are lit up with colorful lights. We were lucky we were able to see that. Our trip was filled with little adventures, amazing sight seeing, great food, comfortable hotel stay,  lots of fun and wonderful memories. 

I'll try to cover each of these places in my blog under separate posts. Among the places I visited, I enjoyed Atlanta, Orlando, Charleston and Chicago the most. We experienced all kinds of weather in each state (hot, cold, rainy, pleasant, and thankfully no storms). It was so hot in New York city that we all got literally sun burnt on the hop on - hop off bus. The sunscreen and sunblock was no use in New York city. Nevertheless, we had a fabulous time! 

ALWAYS REMEMBER !

I was browsing through an airline magazine in one the flights travelling to U.S. last month and chanced upon this quote.

PEOPLE WHO CAN'T STOP TALKING : GIVE THE OTHER PERSON A CHANCE TO SPEAK AS WELL

I was travelling by U.S. Airways from Charleston to Detroit last month, the journey was around 1.5 hours. My husband and I were tired after the flight from the long journey from Kuwait to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Charleston. I couldn't wait to get to my son's place in Lake Orion, Michigan. We sat in our seats, the flight took off, and I could hear loud one sided conversation. I look towards my left, in the next row was sitting an older man and a young man. The older man kept talking incessantly. It was loud enough for everyone around to hear. I looked away into the clouds visible from my window. An hour passed and he was talking without a pause. I couldn't help looking in that direction time and again. The young man next to him looked so uncomfortable, bored, kept shifting and wriggling in his seat, he became red in the face (may be was furious but didn't voice it) and his body language indicated to silently shout, ' Stop talking, I can't take it anymore'. I honestly don't know how the young man was so tolerant and civil enough to bear it for 1.5 hours and was never given an opportunity to participate in the conversation at any point of time.  May be the young man should have yawned and pretended to dose off which would have made the other man stop talking. It would have been such a relief to rest of the passengers. 

Have you come across people like that, who like to have one sided conversation without giving a chance to the other person to speak?. And when you try to speak, they cut you off, and throw at you another long story. How do you react or respond, or do you keep quiet and keep listening till he decides to stop. Or are you clever and give an acceptable excuse and free yourself from the predicament.  If you are a gifted conversationalist, you can politely interrupt, and talk about interesting things. Who knows, the other person might totally enjoy that. 

People who think, it's all about them, and love the sound of their own voice, should pause to allow the other person to share his thoughts and experiences as well. When you are travelling or at a party, or with friends,  it's honestly rude to just go on talking and not ask questions or listen to what  others might have to share. You can't keep talking non-stop and expect the others to be enjoying a one sided conversation unless you are speaking at a seminar or conference and you are a good orator with skills of captivating an audience. Even at seminars, workshops and conferences, the sessions are interactive where the audience get to participate!  

Sometimes, people speak endlessly about something they are passionate about without any actual intention of seeming a non stop talker. It's importance to be perceptive of people's body language and signs they give out so you know if the topic you are discussing is boring, baffling, irritating, or even uninteresting or if you've spoken enough. Remember, people like it when they are given a chance to express and share their thoughts as well, just as much as you like to share yours. It shows you care and you are respectful towards them. 

MY PHOTOS FOR THE DAY - BIRDS OF DIFFERENT FEATHERS

During my vacation last month, one of the things I enjoyed when I woke up each morning was to look outside the balcony at the greenery,  trees, birds, geese, squirrels and enjoy the fresh air, beauty, peace and tranquility nature offered. And I  wish for  the blessing of  serenity and peace to fill each day of our lives and every human life. 

I don't know how many pictures I kept taking.  Here are a few I'd like to share. 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful 'dad's.

As the world celerbates father's day, I wish every father, a Happy Father's Day. It's not easy being a father or a parent. And you can never be a perfect parent. But it's the most beautiful gift in the world, to be a parent, raise your child(ren), go through the ups and downs, support your children and experience the gift of love. Even if your child may or may not tell you, the fact remains, you as a parent are always treasured and cherished in their hearts forever!

When I was a child, I never knew what my parents thought, felt or went through, until I became a parent and raised a daughter and a son who are now adults . I never truly expressed to my father whom I called, 'Papa',  how much he meant to me and how much I admired him. He was a man of few words. With people he was close to, he opened up, laughed and joked and had a fabulous time. He was passionate about singing and had a beautiful voice. During family get togethers and parties, he would sing that would keep the listeners spell bound and they'd ask him to sing more.  He could play the indian musical instrument 'Harmonium' so well.  He was always concerned about my brother and myself and instilled in us important values.  He loved my children so much and I was fascinated by how much he enjoyed and laughed in their company. If he were alive today, I'd have so much to share with him.  I could never him repay him ever for all that he's done for us.  Even now when my uncles and close relatives share stories of my father's childhood, youth, his years in the military, I listen with great pleasure. He worked hard to be a good father though sadly he grew up without a father as his father had passed away when he was a boy of ten. I hope I made him proud as a daughter and for ever I shall cherish him. I could never thank him enough.