Phone Sales tips !

■Never ask if it’s a good time to talk. This gives the other person a perfect excuse to end the call. If you are unsure if the person has time to talk, then state up front that the phone call will only take 3 minutes. When you give the person an exact time be sure you time the call. After the allotted time, tell the customer you’re at the end and ask them if they would like to continue or reschedule. Using this practice allows you to demonstrate how much you respect their time.

■Ask questions. People will never hang up on themselves.

■Use the person’s name at least 3 times in every phone call. Who doesn’t like to hear their name said?

■When greeting people on the telephone, avoid using their last name. It makes the call seem too formal. Your objective should be to have a casual conversation, in the same way you would talk to a good friend.

■Use visually descriptive words to help paint a picture of what you’re saying. A phone conversation doesn’t have to be boring and stale.

■When starting a new telephone conversation, always give your first and last name. Never assume the person you’re talking to is going to recognize your voice or think you’re the only one with your first name.

■Watch your facial expressions by placing a mirror in front of you when you talk. It’s amazing how they come through over the phone.

■Add energy to your phone calls by standing up. Nobody likes talking to a “blah” person. People who have good posture tend to come across more enthusiastic than those who don’t.

■When you end a conversation, always summarize it in the same way you would end a live meeting. By doing so, you can prevent misinterpretation of your discussion.

■Always allow the other person to have the final comment or question. Just because you’ve asked all your questions doesn’t mean the other person has asked all of his.

■Avoid negotiating over the phone, use it as a means to introduce information and to follow up or confirm information. It’s impossible to truly read body language over the phone and thus you lose a major negotiating tool. A phone call however can be an excellent way to introduce a new idea you would like to receive some feedback on. Many times it will allow feedback to be gained in a less threatening manner than if it were to occur in a traditional sales call.

■Never use a speaker phone with a customer even if they say it is fine with them. Speaker phones add to the perception the conversation is not important enough to capture 100% of the person’s attention. (Only exception of course is if there is a group involved.)

Interviewing Top Talent...

When there’s a job to be filled at your company, keep in mind a few things that are critical to land top talent. Even in this job market top talent is hard to find. Yes unemployment is high but for top talent, the “passive” job candidate, he or she for the most part are not looking. Now I’m not saying that there isn’t top talent out of work in this market because there is, but even the top talent who are unemployed have options. Don’t be a jerk who thinks you’re “holding the golden ticket” when interviewing someone. This is a client driven market but don’t exploit this fact. If you want to attract top, passive candidates, don’t forget that you may need to “sell” your opportunity.

Some basics on what motivates a job candidates and why they are willing to leave their current job:

1)More money

2)Better benefits

3)A better opportunity that offers career growth

4)Less stress/pressure

People stay at their current company because:

1)Paid well

2)They like their co-workers

3)Having job security (which is really a state of mind)

4)Having good benefits

There are some interesting things at work here that are overlooked. If you understand what motivates someone, perhaps you can leverage your interview to attract talent. For a passive job candidate to leave the comforts of what he/she already has, you need to start to understand that they are interviewing with strength on their side. Keep in mind the hardest part of the process of landing top talent is to actually get someone to make a change. Change is not as easy as you think and placing job candidates for over ten years, I can tell you that one of the hardest things for someone to do is to quit their current job.

The main goal of your interview should be that when a job candidate leaves your interview, they are more excited regardless to whether they’re your top choice or not. You want them walking away saying “This would be a great place to work!” Now I know that’s common sense, but my all time favorite saying is “common sense is a rare commodity!”

Some tips that will help:

Make the job candidate feel welcome.

Spend most of the interview listening intently to what the candidate has to say.

Talk up everyone that you work with.

Coming across positive will attract someone to you.

Make sure you do what you say. If you tell the candidate that you will get back to them than make sure you do so in a timely manner.

Some tips that will not help:

No one needs to hear about the nightmares at your company. Perhaps a nightmare for you is an opportunity to others.

Nobody needs to hear if you mess up that it’s your ass. In a job that’s already implied.

Talking bad about people who work for you or who have left will only signal that you will do the same about them.

I can tell you that people hire people that they like. The same holds true on the other side. People want to go to work for people they like. A company is only as good as it’s people. What are you doing to set that stage? Really spend some time thinking about your interview process and how you can make it better. You have one shot at a good first impression.

Daughter's Birthday Celebration.

It was Princess's birthday on the 17th November, as called her close fifteen friends nearby to our society and made her day with joy & enjoyments.

Guests were also there from Calicut to celebrate the occasion,we had served them with pav bhaji & payassum. Started with cake cutting, snaps taken and lasted for 3 hours starting at 7 pm.

So, now my daughter is growing fast................

Prayers & Love to Sandra.

Identify & Recover wasted time.

Instead of watching a one-hour TV show, tape it and watch it in 45 minutes by fast-forwarding through the commercials. Don't spend a half hour typing a lengthy email when you could accomplish the same thing with a 10-minute phone call. Batch your errands together and do them all at once.

During the summer between my second and third semesters, I found an apartment across the street from campus that was slightly closer to the engineering building than my on-campus dorm room. So I moved out of the dorms and into that apartment, which saved me some walking/biking time every day. I was also moving from a two-bedroom dorm which I shared with two roommates into a smaller single-person studio apartment. This new apartment was much more efficient. For example, I could work on programming assignments while cooking dinner because my desk was only a few steps from the stove.

Trying to cut out time-wasting habits is a common starting point for people who desire to become more efficient, but I think this is a mistake. Optimizing your personal habits should only come later. Clarity of purpose must come first. If you don't have clarity, then your attempts to install more efficient habits and to break inefficient habits will only fizzle. You won't have a strong enough reason to put your time to good use, so it will be easy to quit when things get tough. You need a big, attractive goal to stay motivated. The reason to shave 15 minutes off a task is that you're overflowing with motivation to put that 15 minutes to better use.

For example, you might have a career you sort of like, but most likely it's not so compelling that you'll care enough about saving an extra 15 minutes here and there, even if your total savings might amount to a few hours each day. But if you've taken the time to develop a sense of purpose that reaches deep into your soul, you'll be automatically motivated to put your time to better use. If you get the highest level of your life in order (purpose, meaning, spiritual beliefs), the lower levels will tend to self-optimize (habits, practices, actions).

Coll'n 11 : Golden Rule.

I grew up in Trenton, a west Tennessee town of five thousand people.I have wonderful memories of those first eighteen years, and many people in Trenton influenced my life in very positive ways.My football coach, Walter Kilzer, taught me the importance of hard work, discipline, and believing in myself.My history teacher, Fred Culp, is still the funniest person I've ever met. He taught me that a sense of humor, and especially laughing at yourself,can be one of life's greatest blessings.

But my father was my hero.He taught me many things, but at the top of the list, he taught me to treat people with love and respect...to live the Golden Rule. I remember one particular instance of him teaching this "life lesson" as if it were yesterday. Dad owned a furniture store, and I used to dust the furniture every Wednesday after school to earn my allowance. One afternoon I observed my Dad talking to all the customers as they came in...the hardware store owner, the banker, a farmer, a doctor. At the end of the day, just as Dad was closing, the garbage collector came in.

I was ready to go home, and I thought that surely Dad wouldn't spend too much time with him. But I was wrong. Dad greeted him at the door with a big hug and talked with him about his wife and son who had been in a car accident the month before. He empathized, he asked questions, he listened, and he listened some more. I kept looking at the clock, and when the man finally left, I asked, "Dad, why did you spend so much time with him? He's just the garbage collector." Dad then looked at me, locked the front door to the store, and said, "Son, let's talk."

He said, "I'm your father and I tell you lots of stuff as all fathers should, but if you remember nothing else I ever tell you, remember this...treat every human being just the way that you would want to be treated." He said, "I know this is not the first time you've heard it, but I want to make sure it's the first time you truly understand it, because if you had understood, you would never have said what you said." We sat there and talked for another hour about the meaning and the power of the Golden Rule. Dad said, "If you live the Golden Rule everything else in life will usually work itself out, but if you don't, your life probably will be very unhappy and without meaning."

I recently heard someone say, "If you teach your child the Golden Rule, you will have left them an estate of incalculable value." Truer words were never spoken.

Coll'n 10 :The Heart of a Teacher - Paula Fox

He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, he had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.

Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving. "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.

One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!" It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it. I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister."

At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third. One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend." That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone! I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.

That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important. "The Eklunds called last night," he began. "Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is." Dad responded quietly. "Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said. "The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend." To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.

I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, "Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me." The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water. I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it." Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. I keep it in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists." That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

Play the Glad Game !

In her wonderful book, The Wealthy Spirit, Chellie Campbell describes how, when she was a girl, her mother taught her to play "The Glad Game." On days when Chellie came home from school complaining about something - a bully on the playground, a harsh teacher, a skinned knee, or difficult homework - Chellie's mom would hug her, kiss away her tears, and then suggest, "OK, enough complaining.

Let's play 'The Glad Game.'"

"The Glad Game" is another name for a Gratitude List. The Glad Game helps you focus on what's right in your world today, instead of what's wrong. Chellie's mom was a very wise woman, teaching her that no matter what your troubles, there are still plenty of things to be grateful for: a sunny day, good food to eat, a loving family, a house to live in, a family pet to love, a handful of friends to enjoy, and much, much more.

Chellie would follow her mother's suggestion:

"I'm glad I have you as my mom."
"I'm glad the weekend is almost here."
"I'm glad I have some nice clothes to wear to school."
"I'm glad I don't have to share my room with my sister anymore."
"I'm glad I get to watch TV when I finish my homework."
"I'm glad we have pie for dessert."

Playing "The Glad Game" is a terrific way to change your attitude in a hurry. We all slip into self-pity once in a while - after all, we're only human. The important thing is to cut the pity-party short and shift into gratitude. An attitude of gratitude will get you much farther in life than complaining and self-pity. Try it and see.

This is one of many short chapters in Learning to Dance in the Rain...The Power of Gratitude.

Dancing in the rain isn't something that most of us are born knowing how to do. We learn it. We learn it from others; we learn it from Life. The more we dance, the better we get at it. With practice, dancing in the rain becomes almost automatic. We no longer seek to run from storms...instead, we toss back our heads, throw out our arms, pick up our feet, and DANCE!

Meeting - Old Buddies ( Xth Std.& Office Staff's)

Its a eternal bliss to meet old friends and talk about old times spend in school without knowing the fact that in future, will be meeting each other or part away for ever.

For me, its lucky that "Internet" has made it little possible to join back some of my old friends, as it took some time, but still feel happy that we are in touch and update all proceedings, happenings in life as it moves....

Its sheer coincidence that few friends & old colleagues from the first job till date have settled up in Pune, so happy to spend time on weekends as family gatherings, its a great occasion for kids to meet up, new friends and associates.

May the bond grow & last forever.............

Bhandardara - Old Friends Re-union.

It was 1st of August 2009, we three friends planned to visit Bhandardara, Nasik for a day's visit, to catch up & remember those old college days spend together in hostel and studies during our graduation time, as we were meeting after 2 years.

Bhandardara - Bhandardara sits by the Pravara River, and is a blend of verdant natural beauty, murmuring waterfalls, sky high mountains, tranquility, greenery, invigorating air & pristine ambiance. The vast expanse of the Bhandardara Lake and the roaring Radha falls are the major tourist attractions.Passing from Nasik - Igatpuri highway, take a left turn towards Goti gaon and proceed as per the road signs and you reach the perfect spot.

Bhandardara is full of beautiful attractions – from majestic Wilson Dam to wondrous Arthur Lake. As legend has it, Shri Agasti Rishi meditated here for a year, surviving only on water and air, pleased with this display of devotion, God came down to Earth and blessed Shri Agasti Rishi with a stream of the Ganga river, which is now known as the Pravara River.

From Bhandardara, you can climb up to see the Ratangad and Harishchandragad fort. Or, you can follow the trails that lead to Ajoba and Ghanchakkar peaks. Also, if you are up for a challenge, the highest peak in Maharashtra, Mount Kalsubai (1646 m), stands tall for you to conquer. The starting point of this challenging trek is Bari Village, located 12 km away from Bhandardara. Atop, there is a small temple and standing. Standing at the summit, you can have panoramic view of Sahyadris and Bhandardara.

We drove in our Maruti Alto at a good speed, seeing & judging to the conditions of the road, rains were also on cards at some spots, lot of tourists have been from Mumbai & other places to catch the nature beauty & water falls at its peak season.

It took for us to drive the whole area of 25 kms one way stretch, maybe 1 1/2 hrs, by stopping, waiting & catching nature glimpses.

After the long drive, we spend night out at Gomantak, Nasik, famous for its non-veg & fresh fish dish, had a healthy & delicious dinner finishing the day at 11.45 pm for sleep mode.


All in total, was a wonderful & remembrance trip.

Tourette syndrome.

Tourette syndrome is a condition that affects a person's central nervous system and causes tics. Tics are unwanted twitches, movements, or sounds that people make. To have Tourette syndrome, a person must have two tics that affect body movement and one that is a sound.

If you are having trouble imagining what tics are like, they're kind of like hiccups. You don't plan them and you don't want them. You can try tricks to make the hiccups stop, like drinking water upside down, but you can't just decide to stop hiccuping. Hiccups that last too long can even start to hurt and feel uncomfortable. Tics can be like that, too.

Sometimes, tics can also be a little like "scratching an itch." You don't really want to scratch the itch, but you just can't help it. In these situations, a person has some control over the tic. The person feels an urge to make a movement or a sound before actually doing it. The person can even hold back the tic for a while. But eventually the person will have to let the tic out.

Who Gets Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome is more common than doctors once thought: It affects at least 1 in 1,000 to 2,000 people and maybe more. It is believed that about 100,000 Americans have Tourette syndrome. Many more may have other tic disorders that are less severe.

Tourette syndrome is more common in boys than in girls. It almost always starts before age 18 — usually between ages 5 and 7. Even though kids with Tourette syndrome can get better as they get older, many will always have it. The good news is that it won't make them sick or shorten their lives.

Sometimes a person with Tourette syndrome might have other conditions, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or trouble learning.

Why Do People Get Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome is probably, in part, a genetic condition, which means that a person inherits it from his or her parents. Tourette syndrome is not contagious. You cannot catch it from someone who has it.

Doctors and scientists don't know the exact cause, but some research points to a problem with how nerves communicate in the brain. Neurotransmitters — chemicals in the brain that carry nerve signals from cell to cell — may play a role.

Tics

People with Tourette syndrome have motor tics and vocal tics. Motor tics are movements of the muscles, like blinking, head shaking, jerking of the arms, and shrugging. When a person with Tourette syndrome suddenly begins shrugging, he or she may not be doing it on purpose. This may be a motor tic.

Vocal tics are sounds that a person with Tourette syndrome might make with his or her voice. Throat clearing, grunting, and humming are all common vocal tics. A person with Tourette syndrome will sometimes have more than one type of tic happening at once. Tics can happen throughout the day, although they often occur less, or go away completely, when a person is concentrating (like working on a computer) or relaxing (like listening to music).

The type of tic often changes over time. The frequency of the tic — how often it happens — usually also changes. Tics are usually worse when a person is under stress, like when he or she is studying for a big test. Tics are often also worse when a person is excited or very energized about something, like at a birthday party or a sports activity. Tics can even occur when a person first falls asleep but usually diminish dramatically and disappear completely during the deeper stages of sleep.

Rains - Kerela

First Day of School in 2009-10.

It was a hard day for us to get started off my kids for the first day of school on 15th & 22nd June 2009, as it was school re-opening day after a big vacation, as they have spend good time in Ooty & Kerela with grand parents, enjoying & relishing all moments of life with cousin's.

What all excuses, of not going to school for the first day. But still they went happily..... beginning a new academic year ahead, full of studies,home & class works, with little time to play in between these tough syllabus study.

God bless my kids to score good marks & stay fit, also pray for each of my friend's kids. Take care.

Who went with Columbus ?

Dental studies suggest Africans might have been part of his explorer’s crew.

The first planned colonial town in the New World was founded in 1494, when about 1,200 of Christopher Columbus crew members from 17 ships that made up his second journey to the Americans settled on the north coast of what is now the Dominician Republic. Beset by mutiny, mismanagement, hurricanes and disease, the settlement of La Isabela lasted only a few years. The ruins remained largely intact until the 1950’s.

In the past few years, chemical studies of the skeletons, especially their teeth, have begun to yield new insights in to the lives and orginis of Columbus crew. The studies hint that, among other things, crew members may have included free black Africans who arrived in the New World about a decade before the slave trade began.

La Isabela was not the first settlement established by Columbus. When the Santa Maria ran aground off the Caribean Island of Hispaniola on Christmas Eve, 1492, during his first voyage, the 39 stranded sailors built a fort they christened La Navidad. When Columbus returned the next year, the fort had been burned and the crew massacred.

The study of the La Isabela skeletons grew out of a project in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, where in 2000.Researchers were surprised to find the remains of West Africans among those buried in a mid-16th-century church cemetery in Campeche. Vera Tiesler and Andrea Cucina from the Autonomous University of Yucatan invited Douglas Price, director of the Laboratory for Archeological Chemistry at the University of Winconsin at Madison, to do isotopic analysis of those skeletons teeth.

What is Isotopes? Isotopes are different forms of an element, atoms with different molecular weights based on their varying numbers of neutrons. Depending on their diet and water supply, humans concentrate specific isotopes in varying ratios in the enamel of their teeth.

Ratios of carbon isotopes in the teeth reflect what foods a person ate. A diet heavy in corn, millet, sorghum and other tropical plants yields more carbon 13 (6 protons & 7 neutrons), whereas grains such as barley and wheat produce more carbon 12 (6 protons & 6 neutrons). Europeans of Columbus time would have relatively little carbon 13 in their teeth; Mexicans would have much of the heavier isotopes. Natives of Hispaniola and many Africans, who are believed to have eaten a mixed diet, would probably fall somewhere in between.

Mexicans are about as heavy (on Carbon 13) as you can get, said James Burton, a geochemist at the University of Wisconsin involved in the La Isabela and Campeche projects. “Africans are in between, Europeans at the other end ”.

DNA analysis is also been done on the skeletons. But after excavation and years of storage, the samples could be heavily contaminated with DNA from other sources. “They were Africans sailors on early expeditions ”.

Used V's Loved !

THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE MISSED, IN THE TIMES WE ARE LIVING, WHERE MATERIAL IS OVERTAKEN HUMANITY!

While a man was polishing his new car, his 4 yr old son picked up stone and scratched lines on the side of the car. In anger, the man took the child's hand and hit it many times, not realizing he was using a wrench.

At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father, with painful eyes he asked, 'Dad when will my fingers grow back?' The man was so hurt and speechless, he went back to his car and kicked it a lot of times.

Devastated by his own actions, sitting in front of that car he looked at the scratches, the child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.

The next day that man committed suicide. . .

Anger and Love have no limits, choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely life.... Things are to be used and people are to be loved, but the problem in today's world is that, people are used and things are loved...

During this year, let's be careful to keep this thought in mind: Things are to be used, but People are to be loved... Be yourself, this is the only day we HAVE.

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder. God bless you, I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Stay FAITHFUL & Be GRATEFUL

Father's Day - Gift

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son.

He needed to come home immediately and take care things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.

He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.

As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss Life's gifts because they are not packaged as we expected? .

Excerpt from Finish Strong - Dan Green

On August 1, 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail with a crew of 28 on an exhibition to the Antarctic. The mission of their expedition was to cross the Antarctic on foot - something never done before. Shackleton was a successful and highly respected explorer known for his faith, determination, creativity and conviction. He was knighted for his successful expedition to Antarctica in 1907-09.

In order to recruit his crew of 28 he took applications from 5,000 men. Many believe that he placed the following ad in a London newspaper to attract the applicants. While there is no evidence that this ad actually ran, it does quite appropriately frame the environment that Shackleton was trying to recruit for.

Men Wanted: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.

This expedition was going to be different than any other one that Shackleton had led. Five months into the expedition their ship, the Endurance, became stuck in the heavy ice flows near Antarctica. It was not uncommon for ships to get stuck periodically in the ice flows and Shackleton believed that the ice would eventually recede and free the ship. His focus was on the expedition and he held fast on that course. However, over the next three weeks the ship became solidly frozen in the ice. Attempts to free the ship were futile. At the end of February, 1915, the crew prepared the ship to become their camp for the remainder of winter. At this point, Shackleton abandoned his primary goal for the expedition and turned his focus towards returning to England. His expedition had become a rescue mission. By October, eight months after being stuck, the pressure created by the ice finally took its toll on the Endurance. The ship began to come apart and sink; making it uninhabitable. The order to abandon ship was given and the entire crew began to salvage as many supplies as they could. They took the sled dogs, food, gear and three lifeboats and moved their camp to the ice flow next to their sinking ship. The temperatures were brutal; reaching -15°F on average. For the next five months the expedition camped on the ice flow surviving on what little food they had left. In April the ice flow they were camped on began to break apart. Shackleton ordered the crew to take only essential supplies and board the life boats. They fled the disintegrating ice flow and traveled seven days by sea to Elephant Island. Elephant Island was a barren place to be stranded; made up mostly of rock covered snow with temperatures reaching -20°. For the next nine months, under Shackleton's leadership, the broken expedition remained loyal, optimistic, focused and faithful to their leader's belief that they would survive. Ultimately, Shackleton knew that their survival depended upon his ability to reach a whaling outpost that was more than 800 miles across the most treacherous ocean seas in the world. Determined to save his crew, Shackleton set-out in one of the lifeboats with five crewmembers to make the journey. The odds of making it were 1 in 100. Nautical scholars consider this journey by lifeboat to be one of the greatest nautical accomplishments in maritime history. Shackleton successfully made it to the outpost and returned to Elephant Island with a rescue party four months later. On August 30, 1916 after 22 months of being stranded on a barren rock in sub zero temperatures, the crew of the Endurance was rescued. All twenty eight crew members survived the ordeal and most were quick to credit the strong faith of their leader as the catalyst in their survival.

What an extraordinary story. But wait, there's more. When Shackelton landed on the island of the whaling outpost, they were on the opposite side of the outpost. He and his two companions had to hike over the mountains to reach the outpost. In thirty five hours and sub zero temperatures and without any hiking gear, they made their way over the mountains to reach the outpost. A few years ago, a group of climbers retraced the path that Shackleton took over the mountain. With modern climbing equipment and experienced climbers, it took 48 hours to retrace the steps of Shackelton - almost thirteen more hours than the trio did ninety years earlier.

Now that's what I call finishing strong...

Collection 9 - Friends.

It was the Year from Hell -- September 1993 to September 1994 -- the dog died, my marriage of 24 years ended, and my house burned down. I had moved into a new rented house with my youngest son, after my husband and I split up. We'd been in the house just six weeks. I went to a dinner party one night, and as I drove home, I saw helicopters hovering in the general vicinity of my new home. Smoke was billowing into the sky, and sirens were wailing. As I got closer, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be awful if that was my house?” Then I turned the corner, and sure enough, it was my house.

I was devastated. It had been such a horrible year, and now everything I owned had gone up in smoke. Mementos, baby pictures, family keepsakes, clothes, furniture -- everything was destroyed. My marriage was gone, my dog was gone, my home was gone, and all my worldly possessions, except my car and the clothes on my back, were gone too.

My son and I stayed with a friend for a couple of nights. Then my friend Gail heard about the fire, called me up, and said, "Come move into my house. I have seven bedrooms and five bathrooms -- plenty of space for you and your son." It was a sprawling ranch house on a double lot in La Jolla, with an ocean view, to boot. Gail had three kids at home, but there was still plenty of room for me and my son, Sutton. Her offer was a godsend. Little did I know that her offer of a temporary place to stay would turn into a living arrangement that lasted two and a half years.

Gail and I had a lot in common. We had both been raised Catholic and our unconscious minds had been programmed the same way -- we saw ourselves as good little Catholic girls who were gonna stay married forever. But both of our husbands decided they didn't want to be married anymore, and so here we were, two single mothers, dazed, confused, and in a fog. We had followed the rules...why were we not happy? Gail and I spent the next couple of years sorting out a lot of things together.

After we moved in, I soon began to look for a permanent place to live. After a few weeks, Gail said, "Please don't leave. I've never had so much freedom!" Having me in the house meant someone to help take care of her kids, someone to share cooking and gardening, and someone to share day-to-day life. She loved having me there and I loved being there. So we stayed.

It was an important chapter in my life. Gail and I gardened together, talking back and forth as we worked in the soil. We both needed time to heal from our divorces, time to sort out the confusion, time to get some clarity on the past and some focus on the future. It was a time of deeper insight and spiritual growth for both of us. Over time, I grew to realize how strong I really was, how even-tempered, and how I really could get my act together and go on with my life.

Gail's generosity was more than anyone could ever ask or expect from a friend. She gave me a safe haven in which to mourn and heal and grow into the next chapter of my life. She showed her love in countless ways. I am eternally grateful to have a friend like Gail.

I'm also grateful for the lessons I learned from the fire and the other losses that came so suddenly, so fast. Much to my surprise, I found gratitude among the ashes. I was tested sorely - literally trial by fire. But, like a phoenix, I rose from the ashes strong and whole. I would not be the person I am today if not for that Year from Hell.

(A story by Julie Anna Hill...adapted from Friends Are Everything, by BJ Gallagher)

Ooty Trip - May' 09

Its been a long time since attended marriages of any relatives, so got a chance to visit Ooty to attend two cousin sister's wedding and engagement occasion on the 17th & 20th May '09.

Its was a refreshing trip for me as after long time, meeting up all relatives in one forum. Wedding & Engagement went very well and almost up to the mark,have to please all guests & relatives as usual.Its a occasion of get together and remembering all old stories, playing games, picnic etc.

As it was a tiring week to attend two weddings & work load at home being from girl's side plus other small & big activities to be taken care for smooth output, which off course went well and admired, so needed a break for all specially people who worked hard, harder.

We planned for a picnic on the 22nd May, just for a break with all Uncle's & Auntie's. The place is - Ralliam Dam, near Kotagiri, Nilgiris. A small dam fulfilling the water needs of Ordnance Factory Arvunkadu built during the British regime, so can find all ideas put in favor with natural aspect.

We had a great time, as brother's & sister's went for trekking to a hill, near to the valley, spend time in water, had lunch & drinks (soft), played tambola, sang songs and returned back smoothly home.

So, again a remembrance picnic till next year tour back !!

Need Support & Help !

Hi Friends,

Good Evening to all of you.

Its a kind gesture to help one human to other with the possible available resources.

Just in a nut shell, i would like to appeal to all my dear & near friends to donate anything in kind, be it old dress, grocery & food items,old school items(books) of your kids to a Orphanage for the needy children staying.

Its for Mother Teresa Foundation Orphanage at Mumbai-Pune old highway road,ahead of Khadki railway station, above Godrej Interno office, personally have donated my kids clothes for two times & also helping my friend Mr.Johnson Varghese,who is running the Orphanage for the last 4 years with 26 needy children's(mix of boys & girls) aged between 5 to 19 years of age.

If you have clothes or school books & would like to share it with the Orphanage kids, do call us or post your thoughts, we will come to collect it from you anytime, just call us on 9823301425.

You could just make a difference to the KIDS....by a small gesture of love & kindness.

Thanking you all.

Sincere Mass Appeal !

Being a true Christian & knowing the real facts of the blown out of proportion happening in St. Joseph High School, Khadki with Sister Jonna being targeted by parents who have been seeking admission to the said school for the following academic session of 2009-10 through various means.

And to whom, all the unwanted social personae & political parties fighting the coming Election to grab this “Said News” and make Headlines with muscle power & disinformation of the event.

True facts – On the 18th March, there were some parents who have not paid the school fees for the current academic session for a varying period of 3 to 12 months duration. The school principal has instructed all parents to pay it before the year-end exams or to meet the school authorities & teachers to clear the dues. Some parents met, paid the fees & took their wards with them, a few kids were waiting in an adjoining room. In the mean time the SSC papers have come through postman, so Sister Jonna was busy in signing the papers & collecting it for the exams to be held .At the time, some parents took the snaps of kids waiting in the room with the help of media, who was on the lookout for some sensational piece of news & supported the parents, without knowing the facts. Nobody bothered about the SSC students appearing for the exams. People should pause and give thought to an important fact. If their electricity, telephone, tuition fees & monthly salary and the like are not paid in time, wouldn’t some action be taken? Was the school wrong in taking action to recover fees due to it? It seems one of the parents who had a grudge for not getting admission to the school took the smooth revenge of involving a parent in the trap whose kid was among the said 25 students, mentioned in Mirror and Times. If the school is not strict in discipline, how can it maintain the high value in education & life standards. Of which one of the parents have said that “These people are not giving admission to our kids, we will see & fix them rightly” (all said in hindi). You must be wondering how this all story is known to me in detail, sorry to say my kid is not studying in the school but we happen to listen to a statement in the church by Sister Jonna with right facts. For which she was arrested for a day, today it is St. Joseph School, tomorrow it would be some other school in your neighborhood, Wake up people and try to realise the facts and support it.

Leave the school to function with their core principles. Do the media have to intervene in all such matters? If fees had been paid in time, all this could have been avoided. Why are these people so adamant to make their wards study in a Christian school & not in a Government school?

I personally appeal to all people in Pune to join the signature campaign in support to Sister Jonna & other schools,preventing the politicization of school administration.

Clover Highlands & Rahul Restaurant.

What a name to the topic choose to pen down.

Its because last two weekends been out meeting old buddy's and expanding my social circle.

First to start with Clover Highlands, awesome place,the view & society, totally clean in Wanworie, my friend's flat was facing NIBM forest area, cool breeze.It was lunch invitation and me with my family visited her place after a long drive,it depends on the road and traffic you face. There were other close friends also visiting to make the event more graceful as we had dhoklas,all gujrathi dishes tasted for the first time with all sort of good combination. We left the place around 5 pm after a tea break, sorry to miss the sweet rasgullas, mouth watering ones....

Second, at Rahul's , with a old colleague worked during my tenure of job as team member, this was a gathering type dinner program with few known friends of the couple, as we chatted & discussed on various topics ,enjoyed the food, but not up to the mark of a good restaurant,ok types.It started off at 7.45 pm and ended dot at 9.30 pm as we tasted chicken curry, roti's, zeera rice,soups with starters.

So, totally two weekend have been fabulous and enjoyable.

Next week, is the ZOO trip with kids..........planning.

Dongergaon Trip - Friends Re-Union

This is Girivan.

A wonder land 400ft above Lonavala. The beautiful bungalows located. In evergreen hills and hillocks of Girivan the farm plots are developed artistically by the plot holders. We have bungalow plots and Horticulture plots on the slopes of the hillocks.

Types of plots
1. Bungalow plots on table land.
2. Horticulture Plots on hill slope.

In Girivan at present 800 plot holders & approx 200 plot holders have constructed their bungalows. MTDC registration approval under ‘Bed & Breakfast Scheme.

We four friends planned for a "Valentine & Re-Union Party " at Dongergoan and stayed for a night, its a drive from Pune via Pirangut & Paud, after Paud bus stand, take a right turn and check the signboards to reach Girivan.Nearby places to see is Walven & Pawana Dam.On our return way we checked in Krushnai Water Park,near Singhagad, The place was not crowded than what I had expected, so it seems it is a well known family hangout on holidays. The entry fee is reasonable - Rs.300/- for adults and Rs.150/- for kids, which includes a vegetarian lunch in their restaurant, food ok types.

The overall management, though not up to the mark, is pretty decent. Though like most public places the security guards and attendants hardly had a voice of their own and did little to maintain order and enforce rules.

The place has enough lockers to store your stuff. There are enough clean (pleasant surprise!) showers, changing rooms, bathrooms and loo's.They do try hard to enforce the only-swimming-costume in the pool rule, and do make swimming costumes available for use, for some nominal fee. The ladies’ costumes include thigh lengh t-shirts and full-length/capris style leggings, in order to make ladies of all age, size, weight, make feel comfortable Unfortunately, you’d still find some ladies splashing around in their salwar suits/ t-shirts etc. and men in their vests, shorts, track pants instead of the mandatory swimming trunks!

The park has been built on some 5 acres of land and has the standard water rides and pools - lazy river, wave pool, many water slides and tunnels, deck for rain dance.

We enjoyed the get together with families, good place to break away.

Dancing in Rain - Collection 8

They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.

He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!

About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story." And the lights went dim.

Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."

Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."

But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."

When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!

My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."

I returned to Chicago and shared Patrick's story with my wife, my friends, and our team at work. About two weeks later, I received a letter from a friend. He said, "Mac, I don't know who said it, but I think you'll love this quote."

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"

I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?

It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, thus, your life, forever. Sarah Breathnack said it best...

"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."

Dad & Son - Collection 7

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make Rs100 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow Rs50?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs50 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the Rs50 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have Rs100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that Rs50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Apply the 80 / 20 Rule - Collections 6

The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the "Pareto Principle" after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the "vital few", the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the "trivial many", the bottom 80 percent.

He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.

Number of Tasks versus Importance of Tasks

Here is an interesting discovery. Each of the ten tasks may take the same amount of time to accomplish. But one or two of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of any of the others.

Often, one item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together. This task is invariably the frog that you should eat first.

Focus on Activities, Not Accomplishments
The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous. For this reason, you must adamantly refuse to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.

Before you begin work, always ask yourself, "Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?"

The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue. A part of your mind loves to be busy working on significant tasks that can really make a difference. Your job is to feed this part of your mind continually.

Motivate Yourself

Just thinking about starting and finishing an important task motivates you and helps you to overcome procrastination. Time management is really life management, personal management. It is really taking control of the sequence of events. Time management is having control over what you do next. And you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.

Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them. They force themselves to eat that frog, whatever it is. As a result, they accomplish vastly more than the average person and are much happier as a result. This should be your way of working as well.

Did you forget to Live ?

First,I was dying to finish my high school and start college.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
Then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could go back to work.
But then I was dying to retire.

And now I'm dying.
Suddenly I realized that I forgot to live.

Don't let this happen to you.Appreciate your present situation.

Enjoy each day.

Strange Secret !

George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.

We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.

Mayawati's Birthday

A National wide affair happening.............

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is celebrating her 53rd birthday in a very low profile due the December sensational murder of PWD engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta in Auraiya allegedly by BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari, the MLA allegedly lynched the engineer after he refused to donate Rs 50 lakh for the Chief Minister's birthday which created havoc in the state & also with the opposition leaders.Still she has cut a cake of 53 kgs (as per age) ordered from the top bakery in state.One by one each officer close to her will feed the cake piece and a similar event will be held in Delhi at a five star hotel to mark the celebration, the Mega event in Delhi is planned as a well calculated move to send a political message to her supporters belonging to the scheduled castes.

Mayawati, today will also announce the Shiksha Sahayata scheme to provide financial assistance to poor girls to pursue secondary education.Under the scheme, approved by the state cabinet yesterday, a largesse of Rs 25,000 would be offered to over 5 lakh girl students in class 11 and 12.

The 1956 BSP leader's birthday is also celebrated as " Aarthik Sahayog Diwas (financial support day) with BSP party members and workers making heavy donations to the party.

In all Lucknow its been flooded with posters and hoardings, which is illegal by the Corporation of Lucknow but being for Chief Minister, all are kept their lips locked in silence.

Collection 5

It's amazing what can happen just by paying attention. Besides, I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.

I don't remember the exact date when I met Marty for the first time. Up to that moment,nothing that day seemed particularly important – certainly not what brought me to the store in the first place.Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, my thoughts were on speed, nothing more.The line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted,and I glanced toward the cashier.

There stood an affable-looking man in his seventies.Slightly stooped and of average build,he wore glasses and a nice smile.I thought,well, he's an old guy and it probably takes him a little longer to get the chores done.

For the next few minutes I watched him.He greeted every customer before he began scanning the items they were purchasing.Sure, his words were the usual,"How's it going?" But he did something different – he actually listened to people.Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.I thought it was odd, but I guess I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a robotic conversational habit.After a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, "I just found out I have six months to live," and someone would reply, "Have a great day!"

This old cashier had my attention. He seemed genuine about wanting to know how people were feeling.Meanwhile,the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. Customers handed money to him,he punched the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open,and he counted out their change.
Then magic happened.

He placed the change in his left hand,walked around the counter to the customer,and extended his right hand in an act of friendship.As their hands met,the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes." I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,"he told them."You have a great day.Bye-bye."

The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless.There were smiles and some sheepish grins.All had been touched by his simple gesture - and in a place they never expected. Some customers would walk away,pause for a moment, and look back at the old cashier, now busy with the next customer.It was obvious they couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened.They would gather their things and walk out the door,smiling.

Now it was my turn. As expected,he asked me how I was doing.I told him I was having a good day."That's good," he said. "I'm having a good day, too." I glanced down at the name tag on his red vest, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashiers wore. It read, "Marty". I said, "It looks like you enjoy your job, Marty."
He replied, "I love my job."

Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money.The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand.His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake,he said, "I sure want to thank you for shopping here today. Have a great day.Bye-bye." At that moment I wanted to take him home and feed him cookies.It was as if Sam Walton had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy's body.

I left the store,walked through the parking lot and got into my car.On the drive home I couldn't shake what had just happened.I had been in that store a hundred times and had never walked away feeling like that.

Who was that guy?

Admission Procedure !

Oops, what a night it was - 4th Jan '09, as went for Sandra's admission to St.Joseph Convent School,Pashan starting from night 10 pm to next day 9 am.

The best part was that Mr.Kishore (Good Samartian) had brought up tokens for all the people standing in line for the admission forms. It made the difference.There were almost 200 people standing for the much awaited forms to be filled in for thier wards.Its the same process,i did for two school, St.Joseph's & Vidya Bhavan also. Choose the best and close - motto!

I believe in making the admission forms online will reduce people's tension of sleepless nights and pain.Today i am a happy father after getting the daughter's form atleast, admission is still a way ahead to go after Interview and Review's.

Just added up - Sandra at last have got admission to St.Joseph's as desired, but still used to think of the pains other parents take for their wards to get admitted to the best of schools, Interview went well and things worked pretty well as planned.

A Happy Father & Mother at last............Cheers !