The Final Blog

The semster is coming to an end, and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. This class has taught me how to write essays the way that colleges want it. I thought I had essays down pat until I got here and had my first essay not do to well. But that has changed, I feel that I have a better understanding of how to write essays for a college environment. But the hardest part about this class was the whole analyzing of an issue, we had to show along with tell. Just telling the reader about the issue is not good enough. But all in all I found that this class has better prepared me for college writing. The class was laid back and was easier to do the work rather than going to a lecture where the teacher would lecture you the whole hour and then go home. I actually got to know a few people in the class, rather than going to my other classes and not knowing anyone. This was a great class with a great environment, and I would not trade this class for an another one.

Moving

Before anyone gets to excited, I'm not the one moving. My cousin was moving from Northville to Canton over the weekend. But there was a twist to the moving, I had to help him with the move. But I did not mind until I got to his apartment. He sort of rushed into this moving, where not everything was packed, and just sitting in the rooms as is. He wanted the whole place cleaned out in two days, and basically nothing was packed. So we packed and moved things at the same time. So he with many others, including my brother, started Saturday and I joined in on Sunday. I had to work on Saturday, and did not get home until 7:00 PM. This was one of the most tiring Sundays of my life, we were moving furniture, packing and cleaning the apartment. On top of all that once we filled the cargo van, we drove to Canton, and took everything out and put it in his condo, going up a flight of stairs to reach his front door! So a 150 lb tv was the hardest thing to move, and I am still feeling the pain today!

Eid Al Adha

Well in Islam, we have two holidays, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Back on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we had our Eid Al-Adha. So this being a very holy day, we had to go to a special prayer, which was at 9:30 in the morning. So we had to get up at seven in the morning and leave to house at 8:30. So we get to the banquet hall around 9:00 AM. We pray our Eid prayers in a banquet hall because our mosque cannot fit the number of people that come and pray, the numbers are in the thousands. Well the prayer did not start till 10:00 AM. There is this running joke, desi standard time, which basically says that all Indian and Pakistanis are always late for things. 

After the prayer we are meeting people, wishing them a happy Eid, then the problem came. There is one entrance and exit, which the same thing, in this place. So there are thousands of people trying to leave this place at once, which caused gridlock. It took us about a half hour to get out of this place. But finally we did and then the day finally began. 

The rest of the day comprised of meeting various family and friends. We went to see many people, and many people came to see us. The day was topped off with a huge family gathering at my uncles home in Rochester Michigan. We got to the gathering at around 7:00 PM, and did not leave until 1:30 AM. So got home and slept and got up at 8:00 for work!

Ashoka Indian Cuisine

Being of Indian decent, my family and I generally go out and eat Indian food. As much as we love eating Indian food, we love criticizing the food and the service. Now what better review would I do other than Indian food? I decided to go to Ashoka, a local Indian restaurant in Canton, Michigan. Once I entered the restaurant, I was greeted by mannered employees, who, it seems, have been trained quite well. Decorated with paintings of old times in India, the mood was set at a way that one feels relaxed. I was seated at a booth, along with my family, and was feeling really good about this restaurant. The cleanliness was good, and there were enough wait staff for a good experience. There were a lot of people there, from a young couple to elderly people with their grand kids, so this restaurant is family friendly. Being an Indian restaurant, there was much diversity, with people from every continent. No doubt this is a family restaurant, there is also a bar, with imported liquor from India and Europe.

The food, I think, is quite pricey, even for Indian food standards; the average price for an entre is about fifteen dollars. With a party of five, and ordering three dishes with dessert and appetizers, the bill was around $70. We must remember that this is not a fine-dining restaurant, but an average looking restaurant--a bit higher-class than a Max and Ermas. Aside from the price, the food was delicious. Especially the Indian Chinese food; I would actually come here for Fried Rice instead of a Chinese restaurant. My family and I ordered Chilli Chicken, Chicken Haka Noodles, and Lamb Biryani. These dishes are by far the best Indian Food I have had at a restaurant, hands down. Haka Noodles are stir fry noodles with a choice of meat or vegetables. The Lamb Biryani is a savory dish with meat and rice. Finally Chilli Chicken is this delectable spicy chicken that will leave the eater begging for more. The dessert was very authentic--the Gulab Jamun was amazing, and each bite was complemented with a soft and warm feeling. Gulab Jamun is fried bread with syrup. Indian food, usually being spicy, can be difficult for some to eat. Ashoka offers three grades of spice, mild, medium, or hot; with that everyone's spice level is met.

But aside from the food, the one thing that sort of got to me was the wait time. Having a restaurant full to its max, the food took some time to get to us. Also the food was not hot or cold, it was warm, which is a bit of a turn off to some, but I did not mind. They could hire more waiters and waitresses, even though there were like seven, they looked a bit frantic. The wait staff worked hard and got all orders right and got the orders to the people as fast as they could, it was just that the restaurant was full. My family and I were quite fortunate, after we were seated there was a line of people waiting to be seated, along with many carry out orders.

All in all, this restaurant was very good, if someone wants to drop $70-$100 for Indian food. The food, by far, was the best restaurant-style Indian food. The service was good, the restaurant was clean, and the food was exceptional. The only thing that I did not like was the pricing, there are other Indian restaurants in Metro Detroit that offer food for less money, but as the saying goes; what you pay for is what you get.

Important Information

2100 Haggerty Road

Canton MI, 48187

Phone Number: (734) 844-3100

Hours :

Lunch: Monday thru Friday 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Lunch: Saturday and Sunday 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Dinner: Monday Thru Thursday 5:30 PM- 10:00 PM

Dinner: Friday and Saturday 5:30 PM-10:30 PM

Dinner: Sunday 5:30PM- 9:00 PM

http://www.ashokaindiancuisine.com

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Motor Trend Car of the Year

Motor Trend recently announced their pick for car of the year, which is the 2010 Ford Fusion. Before everyone starts berating me and writing this American car off, just hear me out. This car, since its arrival, has been highly rated as a midsize average car, its not a luxurously car, but a car that is practical and that is also affordable. This car's competition is the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and the Chevy Malibu. I've rode a last generation Fusion, and it is a solid car, a huge improvement from the older American cars. I really believe that many American cars are written off, because of past models, but Americans cars have come a long way and I think thaat they are competible with the Japanese cars. Just give them a chance. 

Lions

Well its official, there is still hope. The lions have improved 200% this year, by winning two games. After last years debacle, winning one game was the goal this year, but amazingly the worst team in the United States won two games! I am not an avid pro football follower, but even for me this is a happy thing. I just feel bad for the Browns, knowing the fact that they lost to the worst team in the league. 

But Being a basketball fan, I rather would not talk about the pistons... 

Sample restaurant review

I found one on italian food 

http://detroit.metromix.com/restaurants/restaurant_review/first-taste-lolas/893662/content

Hard week

This week is by far the hardest week, I have a chem exam on friday, a econ exam on thurs, a math exam on mon, and finally a comp paper due on monday. This, I guess, is gearing me up for what lies ahead. College is not supposed to be easy, so I just have to get used to it.

Well I gotta go and study......

my third paper

my third paper was by far the most thoughtful one. I had just a little difficulty writing it, but writing papers is getting a bit easier. I still think writing papers is by far the hardest thing I have to do.  But it is just one of those things that one must learn to do, and do well. Our way of communicating is by writing, so just do it. 

Studying in the library

Well when i first started to study in the campus library I would usually study in the 1st floor, or the second floor. But with time, also comes wisdom, and I came to realize that you cannot get work done on the first two floors. The second floor is like the socializing floor, where people get together and talk. I found myself finding people and doing more unproductive things, so I went to the third floor. This is a great floor to be doing homework and studying. My productivity was so much better because the third floor is a quiet study place, where I guess no one is allowed to talk, and it works wonders. If someone need to study hardcore, go to the third floor. But I still have yet to see the fourth floor.

Wedding Part 2

Well I was saturday Nov 7, and another cousin of mine was getting engaged, so again I had to work from 11 am -7 pm. So I had to be nice to rude customers for 8 hrs, then finally when I get off work, I had to drive myself home, take a shower, put on some presentable clothes, and once again drive 1 hour to this party. I finally get there at around 9:20 and everyone was eating dinner. Remembering my last late appearance, many of my family members already had food ready on a plate! Then when the festivities where over, which was like 1:30 in the morning, I drove back home, but it took a lot less time getting home, due to the fact that no one drives on the highway at 2 in the morning, so I had like no traffic, and was averaging like 90-95 mph. This story does seem made up, but I assure all the readers that it is not. My dad has like 11 siblings, and he is # 11 of 12, so there are many cousins that are older than me, and are around the same age. I just hope that I don't have to go to another party after work in a long time. 

Campus

well looking at the umd campus, I see alot of diversity. I came from Canton, where I thought was alot a diversity, but I was wrong until I came here. I see many caucasians, african americans, asian (eastern asian, indian, middle eastern) here on the campus. I really like it because now I can learn more about people without taking a class!

Have to work on Halloween

I work at a cvs in canton and I have to work from 7am to 4pm. Its not bad but still, I have to wake up early. I am just glad that I am out by 4pm, because I hate working the other shift, which is 3-10pm. Working the 3-10pm shift ruins the whole day, you cannot do anything because you know you have to go to work in the afternoon. But I thinh there will be a rush there tomorrow, because it is halloween, and people will be going out and getting things at the last minute, which will lead them to a convenient store, so then alot of people will be at this convenient store and people will have to wait longer than just going to a meijer and our convenient. But i'll just have to just go through it.

Agassi

I was on espn the other day, and I saw a head line that caught my attention. It was about Andre Agassi's tell all. The article outlined how Agassi was a drug user at one point and hated the game of tennis, while playing it as a pro, and how he hated his father. The drug using was the most shocking, because he did fail the drug test, but lied about it saying that his drink was spiked. But in actuality he was a user at one point, but quit soon. I guess he will come clean now, I mean look he is retired an no one is going to say anything about all the stuff he is coming clean with. I think this is just a ploy to get more money.

Midterm

Well half the semester is over and I think I am sort of in the swing of things. College requires much more of selfteaching, contrast to highschool. But I think the class that is the most difficult to adjust to is my comp class. Writing for me is not that easy, and to change our high school format to a more upper level will be and is challenging to me. But I think I can do it and hope I will do it well. All in all I like all my classes, but my comp class I find it that I got to know the student more, because I just don't show up and take notes on a lecture and then leave, in comp I actually talk to people and got to know them. I like comp, and I think this is the class that is most going to improve me as a student.

another health issue

I had a chemistry exam last Friday. I went took the exam, and when I got home I got some bad news. One of my uncles, was having chest pains and went to the hospital, and was having some tests done. So my family and I left to go to the hospital, and along the way, We get a call that one of his arteries was 75-80% blocked, and the docters were putting a stent in the artery. I was like wow, my cousin (who is 37) had a bypass surgery this year, and not my uncle is having one. (the cousin and uncle are not father and son) My uncle is like 53 a more common age, but still never the less, it is still quite suprising. Finally when we reached the hospital, he was still going through the procedure, and we waited with 20 other people for the procedure to finish. The procedure went well. By the time I am writing this, he is already discharged from the hospital and is already home. I just hope he takes care of himself.

Late to a Wedding

Saturday was a busy day. I worked from 10:00AM till 6:00PM. Usually I work till 7PM, but this past Saturday my cousin got married, so to attend that I left early. Well, I being at work, I missed the whole ceremony, but got to show up a few hours late for the reception. Thank God it was a late reception. It was terrible, I left work at 6 PM, went home took a shower, put on a suit, then drove an hour and a half (usually it would take an hour, but there was construction and a road closing due to a pumpkin festival) to get there when everyone was already finishing dinner. I go there about 8:20 PM. Then I finally left at 1:00AM drove back, this time it took an hour; I just almost fell asleep on the wheel the whole way home. But on the plus side, it was a fun reception.

Tough Week

Well on Friday October 23, 2009 I will be having my second Chem Exam. This time around, we have covered more thinks that are much more challenging compared to our first exam. But on top of all that I will be having my second Math exam on thursday 10/22/09, which will be hard because we are learning things that, again are harder. College I guess is in full swing now, and it is safe to say that it is harder than High School. College is harder, not due to homework, but due to the sheer amout of things we cover, and how much we are to self teach before the next lecture.

Homework 2- 10/14/09

having taken many classes in high school and taking few in college, the one that seemed to be the most beneficial has to have been my honors Biology class, my chemistry class, and my Humanities class. My honors bio class has taught me alot and there I gained much interest in the science of Biology, and I still retain much of the things I was taught. (felt lazy and did not take AP biology and regret it know) In the chemisty class was the same deal, the class was interesting and increased my interst in the subject, and I still remember much of the fundamentals (thank god it helping in chem 134). Finally Humanities. I liked Humanities because I have never learned about art and literature of history. The class taught one history in the aspect of art and literature, and I liked it. Before the class I never liked reading literature, but after the class I enjoy reading here and there. Art, well I know somethings about it, but just dont understand modern art. Older art like at the time of the greeks and romans they were describing the ideal way of life in their eyes, and the sculptures were so realistic it was amazing how they could create that with no modern technology. Humanities also showed us some monuments, such as the taj mahal, again how can people build something like that with no modern tools. Before I took that class, I didn't know much about literature and art, because I was a more math and science kind of person, and still am. But humanites was a good experience. Biology and chemistry have shaped my occupational out look, because of those classes I want to go to med school.

Homework 1- 7/14/09

Just over a year ago, the price of gas was about $4.00 a gallon, there is no telling whether that will happen again. The energy dependency on fossil fuels has been a major problem in the United States for some time now, such as the gas crisis of the 1970's and as recently as of last year. Our problem has been that we now import more oil than we produce, and we import much of our oil from OPEC. Being dependent on another country for oil can be difficult, due to politcs. For instance if the counry does not like our political views they can set up quotas on the oil until we oblidge by their ways.
But aside from the whole price of gas, comes another major problem, our enviornment. Our planet has increased in temperature by 1.4 degrees F since 1880. Due to the negative effects of fossil fuels our planet is experiencing global warming. Polar ice caps are melting and our weather patterns are changing, and our ozone layer, in our atmosphere, is depleating. It seems that we, the people of the earth are destroying the equilibrium of the earth.
If we don't respond soon, we will run into many enviornmental problems that are irreversable, along with being dependent on foreign fuel. The simple solution is to find alternative energy. We have found alternative energy in flex fuel, hydrogen and bio diesel and electricity. But those alternatives are quite expensive and are not mass produced. We must write to our congressmen and tell them that there must be laws or incentives placed so that we can make the transition from fossil fuel to something more enviornmentally friendly, and that can be produced in our country. there is general though that this solution is based on theories, which they are, but they can be put into motion of the people and the government support the cause, then this solution will become practical and will be able to be practiced.

customer service

Well I work at CVS, and we get these reports every month that describes out performance. So there is a pharmacy catagory, a front store catagory, and a photo catagory. For some reason our photo score has been going down for a few months, and that has lead to management changes. But after the management changes, it still seems to be lower than it should be. Like we score a 60 % in customer service and courteousness. My collagues and I are always friendly with our customers and still the score is low. I just don't get it, management is always on everyone's case about how our scores are low, and I don't see a solution. I seems to me that few customers who are not happy that their pictures are not ready in time due to a machine malfunction are calling in on these surveys and destroying our customer satisfaction score. But I could be wrong, I am beginning to hate customer service and retail.

Saturn

I was reading some articles online the other day, and came across an article that suprised me; Saturn was going to cease to exist. The negociations between Roger Penske and GM had fallen though, and now Saturn doesn't have a buyer. But for those who have saturns can still can have servicing done at other GM servicing places. Wow I would have never imagined GM would get rid of Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Hummer, and Opel. Its weird our family had four Pontiac cars in the past! But looking at GM now, many of the cars being lost by Pontiac, can be integrated with Chevy, basically they were on the same playing field, both were not top tier luxury brands.

2nd Comp paper

I finally finished my comp paper, and for some reason it took a really long time. But I am just glad that I finished it. Once you get started writing the paper, you sort of develope a rythm that helps you go faster, and it gets easier once you get started. I just hope I do well on it and above all do well in this class. I really hope to gain the knowledge that I need to succeed in this class. All I have to say is that I miss the five paragraph essay that we learned and loved back in high school. Well we will see what the comp 105 classmates think of this tomorrow.

MLK Quote

"Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam.I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speakfor the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. Ispeak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to theleaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.

I went and googled famous quotes said by MLK and I saw this one. Whenever I think of MLK I associate him with civil rights and fighting for all of the African Americans. But this quote is about other people from another country. This just goes to show that MLK was not just worried about his problems but the problems of other human beings. This quote is powerful, he is associating himself as a brother to those people, he is related to them by the means that God created them. I just haven't seen that kind of connection besides in a church setting. Looking at this, its different from the original "I have a dream", which in itself is a powerful quote, but this one we really don't learn about. We learn that MLK was a fighter for the African community, but it seems that he fought for all races as well.

My first college exam

well on Friday 9/25/09 I had my first chem exam. Not knowing how hard it will be I studied like a maniac. But when the test as given and I finally took it, I found it to be exactly what I studied. There weren't any trick questions or something we didn't go over, we went over everything and it seemed fair. I just hope I did well and every chem test is like this one. Also this was my first college exam, so before going to the test I was so nervious, that I was afraid that I would mess up the test by being so nervious. Now I know I have nothing to be nervious about. I just hope to do well on it and all the other exams.

Freedom Posters

Looking at the original posters my favorite one in particular was the Freedom from Want. Looking at the family eating together, make me think that they may not be allowed by a government, but our government allows that and President Roosevelt proved that to us before our involvement in the second world war. But this is more than being able to eat a meal with your family, it is about ensuring that we are allowed to think on our own and not be told what to think and want. We have alot of freedom in this country, and these posters are thier just honoring it. But all the posters have postitive meaning, I just like this one in particular, because I am so close to my family, not just my immediate, but also my aunts, uncles, and cousins. This poster hit home for me

Eid al Fitr

As I posted in my last blog, Sunday 9/20/09 was a major muslim Holiday. After fasting for 30 days I finally got to celebrate. This is one of the two major muslim holidays and generally regarded as the most important, because this occurs after ramadan, the most holy month of the year. Eid Al Fitr is like our Christmas. But during the month of Ramandan, we must not only not eat from sunrise to sunset, but also hold our tongue. We must not say bad things to or about people. We must pray more, like on a normal day we pray 5 times, but in Ramadan we must pray an extra prayer at night that takes alot longer than an average prayer. We must reflect on what kind of Muslims are we, are good muslims or are we muslims that need to work hard to become good muslims. We must give alot of charity during ramadan, like our yearly dues to the poor. Our yearly dues to the poor is like tax, if we don't give it is like a bad thing. We fast so that we feel how a person feel when they don't have food.
But finally on Sunday we could celebrate, we ate talked laughed and had a great time. We went to many homes and had food and just generally had a great time. I am just happy that I can now have lunch with some friends, and not just see them eat in front of my face.

The Power of Words

Many major events in the past have been recorded with words. Look at the first human going to the moon, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."-JFK Words are a means of communication and persuasion, for instance look at politicians, the only way that people elect them and know what they stand for is by their words, no matter how much of that is garbage. Look at persuation, one man got a whole country to commit genocide. Hitler was a crazy person, but a great speaker, he made a whole country think that killing off so many people is an okay thing to do.
On sunday 9/20/09 I celebrated a major muslim holiday Eid al Fitr. Eid al Fitr comes to the end of every Ramadan and is celebrated all around the world. But on every Eid, we have our Iman, or religious leader speak to us. He said a few things that are very powerfull, such as that we must forgive. All the disagreements that people have should be forgiven. He further went on to say that never hold grudges and always think of that bad incident when you see someone. We as muslims are peacefull people and we must act peaceful. Then he also went on and told us to practice our religion properly like pray five times give charity and respect one's spouse ect. But throughout that speech people were captivated, the words had so muck power, even though this was a pretty common speech.
The power of words is everywhere you see. Look at the fundamentals of our country, as other students pointed out, the constitution and the declaration of independence are a prime example of the power of words. When the early colonies declared independence that was something that never happened before, Britain was one of the, or the, strongest country on this planet at that time. Our Bill of rights insures us rights by our country. Without that we have nothing to protect us from our government. Words was something of proof that slavery was abolished, and words were something that proved that woman can vote, and words were something that 18 year old had the right to vote etc.
Words will always have power, whether it be bad or good. We must take note of the power of words so that another Hitler will never happen again. But hope that good change will happen like the abolishion of slavery. I never thought of the power of words until now, looking at it there are careers build of the power of words, like authors, speech writers and Lawyers. At work I even see little kids who can barely talk try to persuade their parents to buy them candy. I see that words give me the right to actively participate voting without any problem. I now see that words may be the most powerful thing in the world.

Health Affects all Ages

Last week Sunday we get a call from a relative that lives in Chicago. It so happens that my cousin, who happens to be 37 years old, is having a triple bypass surgery. I could not believe it, since most individuals who have this surgery done on them are much older more like in their upper 40's and up. So the surgey was schedualed for 7:00 AM friday morning, being that I have a three day weekend I went along with many of my extended family. Leaving Canton at 10:00PM, we did not reach Chicago till 2:45 AM. Finally went to sleep around three, woke up at 5:30 to eat, due to my fasting, got ready and went to the hospital at 6:00Am. Then went to Friday prayers at 12:30 PM and finally left Chicago at 4:30 PM.
I finally get home around 10:00PM and went to sleep. Aside from all my lack of sleep, I realized that at 37 I could be having that surgery and maybe even worse. I have come to the realization that I must take care of myself now, not later when the damage could already be done. But the surgery went well and he woke up at 5:30 Pm and was in good spirits, he just wanted a Big Mac.

My First Day of Class

Through the early morning mist, I made my half hour long drive to the University of Michigan Dearborn. Today was the first day of my four year long trek through the training of my future career. Though I generally like driving, today was the worst driving experience I have ever had. It took me 25 minutes to find a parking space, I went through almost every parking lot until I finally find a space at the back of the parking lot that was at the complete end of the campus. Well, that is a great way to start out my college career, by being honked at and almost getting hit in the parking lot every five minutes.
But after the hole almost getting hit by another car, and driving endlessly looking for a parking space, the day ended up being a good day. I have good professors and the classes seem to be interesting. Just hope tommorrow's parking will be easier!