I am proud to be a part of Calgary’s Pakistani community. It is a community that is growing very quickly and there are so many great changes being made all around. When we first came here, we could not find an Islamic school to enroll our children in and this was very disappointing to us. We knew that with growth, this would change.

When I did my class 7 driving test, I met a man who was easy to talk to about what this meant to me. Being Islamic himself, he agreed that fighting for an Islamic school for our children would be a good idea. After all, living in Canada, they would be exposed to so much that it was up to us to teach them what was right.

We had a bunch of people meet one night at Halal Pakistani restaurant and we got enough people who wanted to make this a reality that it did not take long before we had the school that we desired. My children have finished school now and I think they are much better for having learned about their culture and religion properly.

For those of you out there who are roller coaster enthusiasts, you know what I say when it gets into your blood.  The thrill of the ride is so exhilarating that after you try it the first time, you can never get enough.

At least that is how I feel.  I am always trying to try out new roller coasters to satisfy my need for excitement.

Recently, when I made a trip to London, England, I stopped at Thorpe Park to check out their roller coasters.  I had heard that they had one of the world’s largest roller coasters, the Colossus.  What got me really excited is that it had 10 inversions - which is the most available in the world.

Let me tell you this - it was worth it.  In fact, I rode it five times and it was nothing like any other roller coaster that I have ridden in my lifetime.  It was so amazing that I think I will be going back next summer - I just can’t wait.

I remember when Kerpal and I started getting serious about each other. His family was coming from India to visit and he wanted me to meet them. I was so nervous and was trying to find any way to get out of it. I even tried to make myself physically sick. It did not work and he assured me that they would love me.

He suggested that we cook them dinner together one evening. I decided that it would be alright if he was with me every second of the meeting. I decided to find some Indian recipes to try and try to impress them with my cooking skills. Kerpal thought this would be good and he has always thought that I was a great cook.

I found some Indian chicken recipes that looked fairly simple, yet tasty. His family arrived just as the timer went off in the oven. His mother said that the food was very good and his family was so wonderful that I relaxed and allowed myself to just have a good time getting to know them. I can’t wait to see them again.

For those of you who have not attended college yet, you are in for an experience of a lifetime.  You’ll try things that you never tried before, make many great friends and meet some amazing people.  It was definitely one of the greatest times of my life, but at the same time it was a lot of work.

I can remember spending countless hours working on research papers for the technical classes that I was taking.  While I did learn many valuable things, it got to the point where I would dread each termpaper that I was assigned.

You see, you had to make a trade off between the time that you usually spent on fun things to have just enough time to get those term papers done.  While the sacrifice was needed so that I could get my degree, I would have very much like to participate in more activities outside of school then do my homework.  But, I do not spent that time on my assignments, I would not have the degree that I have today.

I had the strangest thought today while out at the mall.  You see, we were sitting in the food court earlier today and we were sitting across from a store that sold glasses and contact lenses.  They had a special on for colored contact lenses - buy one get one free.

It made me wonder: can eye color change?

When I got home I took a look online to see if there was a way to change color of eyes without wearing contacts.  I figured that since we can change pretty much anything else about us, that there would be a company that offered different colored eyes as a service.

It turns out that I was right - you can get eye color surgery to change the color of your eyes.  If you would like to see a sample of what the before and after eye color surgery, take a look at the picture here on the right - it sure looks pretty cool.

I was recently invited to my son’s school for career day.  The idea was to have many parents from many different careers come and talk to the children about what they do on a normal work day.

I thought it would be fun to go, and my boss was happy to give me the time off I needed to attend.  I figured that it would be definitely interesting for the children, and for myself too - it is always interesting to see what others do for their work.

When I arrived at the school, I found out that there were five other parents that had come for the day as well.  Watching their presentations, it was interesting to see the points of view of people from other industries.

There was an accountant, a janitor, a Marine Biologist, a waitress, and a construction worker.  Each of them had amazing stories to tell about their jobs - and their passions for them.

All in all, I think it was an educational day for myself - it felt really good to get out of the office and socialize with other parents.  I think I will do this again next year - it was fun.

When I started my first real job, I was fresh out of college and was very nervous. It was a really good opportunity for me in regards to career advancement and it would look great on a future resume. In fact, I was so lucky to get the job, as no one thought I would, being as young and inexperienced as I was.

The job also came with excellent benefits that would start when I had been working there for six months. This made my dad very happy, as he is really big on making sure that everyone he loves has enough medical insurance. It had not been a problem for me up to this point, as I was covered under my parents plan until I was done school.

We decided that the best thing to do would be to purchase some temporary insurance to get me through the first six months. It was a lucky thing that we did because I ended up in a car accident and would have owed a lot for medical bills without that insurance. My dad is one smart cookie. And I still love my job.

I just recently purchased a cell phone and I love it.  I have tons of minutes, call display and message manager.  It is also a sweet phone that I can talk and text to everyone that I know.

But not everything is as good as it could be.  You see, someone has been calling me ten or twenty times per day, and they always hang up when I answer the phone.  At first it was annoying, but now it just makes me angry.

Thing is, there is no name that comes up on my number display - just a number.  So I decided that I could use a cell phone number lookup service to see who it was calling me.  Using the reverse cellular phone directory was easy, and I found out who was calling me - an ex-girlfriend.

I think I might have to get a restraining order, or at least talk to the cell phone company and explain the situation.  At least I now know who has been calling - and I can do something about it.

I have a son who was diagnosed with ADD about five years ago.  Since that time, we have been using prescription medication in an attempt to get it under control.  Sadly, the reality of the matter is that none of the prescriptions that we have tried have been effective, and we had pretty much given up on our son living a normal life.

But, one of my good friends suggested that I look at some ADD/ADHD natural treatments.  I went to talk to a doctor that specializes in alternative medicines, and he suggested that my son try Listol and Synaptol as many people had success using those products.

Well, I am so happy I did try them out because my son is now living a "normal" life.  His ADD is under control and he has become more focused on life and his schoolwork.  I think that from now on, I will try to use natural products before I try store bought medicine as they have now worked miracles in our lives.

Do you ever look at the gifts that you get for your birthday and wonder what the person was thinking?  Well, I have had many gifts like that over my lifetime, and I just have to shake my head.  Perhaps the person that does that the most is my brother.

You see, he picks out the worst things to give as gifts.  One year, I was “lucky” enough to get a potato peeler and bamboo placemats, yippee! (insert sarcasm here).  I just dread what he is going to get me each year, so much in fact, I wish he just didn’t bother.

On the other hand, there are some people in your life that get you the most amazing things imaginable.  My aunt is a good example of this, and she usually gets me better presents than my own parents.

This year, she bought me the Will Barrow and lean master piano course.  It was exactly what I wanted, though I don’t know how she figured it out.  But, obviously she knows me pretty well, and I am very thankful for the gift she got me.  She is the best!