I took a break and went on a trip to Gulhi. It takes almost 20 mins speed boat ride from the capital island to get to Gulhi. I have never ever been there and it was quite new for me. The island was smaller than I expected. Bana, Totty, Shaha and Bana’s dad went on the trip including me.

We didn’t have much planned. Just spent the day as it came, walking on the beach, taking pics and running all over the island. Later in the evening we went to the beach and the view was spectacular. The colors appearing in the sky while the sunset was just so beautiful. I wanted to just lie there and stare at the sky all day. And then again when the night fell, the stars. . . I love the stars. . . It was so clear. When in Male’ it is hard to see the stars except for the really bright ones. The sky at night is most beautiful in the islands. I watched the stars as Bana & Totty together with 2 other guys from the island tried to start the engine on the boat at which we were planning to go fishing. Sadly, the engine was broken and it didn’t work. Though I had a wonderful time staring at the sky while others were busy at work.

Had some really nice time with some really wonderful people. We came to Male’ Saturday morning and I went straight to work. How can any of my posts be complete without me talking about work?

Day 5 and the last day of this holiday. Went to office to do a little bit of work. Then spent most of the day at home with mom. Experimented with different kinds of cereals today. I didn’t like the diet one but the rest were quite tasty.

Oh and today made a slap-bet with my brother. We both are gonna start working out and the one to tone the abs first gets to slap the other. Man, I am so gonna slap him soon. Anyways, it is a good thing that we are starting to work out again. I never missed gym since my A’levels and just took a break this year. I better get my ass back to the gym or am gonna gain some serious weight. Plus, lately I just wanna eat eat & eat. Gotta get into shape before my birthday. And yes, 1 month and 12 more days for my birthday.

Contains spoilers.

Let me start by stating that yes, I am a STAR TREK fan. Particularly the original series. However, I have never been to a convention, never dressed up as any of the characters, and I do not speak a word of Klingon. That said, as a kid, I would have LOVED to have done any and all of the above.

My point? While I count myself as a fan, my fanaticism has its limits. There are those who can talk STAR TREK circles around me. And I welcome their input and observations. I say this because I truly enjoyed much of J.J. Abrams’ new STAR TREK film. I also had some issues with the film that keeps it from being a favorite. Or even as great as its first half promised. And my problems with the film are, in part, fan-based and, in other part, common sense-based.

There’s nothing more frustrating to me than a really good film that allows sloppy moments to intrude on the world of the story and characters. That said, I should state here that I am all for re-imaginings. It seems to be the thing these days. No longer is the sequel king. It’s the remake. And I’m all for it if it can do something new and unique with the material and characters. And this STAR TREK movie does that. Much the same way CASINO ROYALE re-started the Bond franchise and re-imagined our ruthless hero. Is it the Bond from the novels? Not really. Is he still highly watchable and exciting? Yes. The Bond series needed a breath of fresh air and they got it. Sadly, the second installment forgot about character development, but that’s another film and another post… Back to TREK.

J.J. Abrams’ new take on the old series is almost terrific. In fact, the first half of the film held me lovingly in its grip. True, I went in fearing the worst, but the filmmakers had some great ideas on how to re-invigorate these characters and films and they managed to pull off the near-impossible: take these much-beloved characters –an institution, really– and give them over to an entirely new cast in an entirely new environment. Changing the timeline, as they did, is quite brilliant (and keeping within the rules of the TREK universe) and have single-handedly set us up for a whole lifetime of new adventures that do not require most of the facts and circumstances of the original series or any other offshoot, be it television or film.

The casting is near-perfect. Even if these aren’t exactly the characters as we knew and loved them, they’re pretty damn close; close enough to remind us why we loved them and make us yearn to love them again. And here is where one of my problems with the film rears its ugly head. It’s an issue that may very well be insignificant to anyone but a lover of STAR TREK. The casting and direction of the actors was so spot on, so fun to watch, both nostalgic and new all at the same time, that it’s that much more disappointing when they get one of the characters wrong.

I initially saw the film in the theater and had some reservations and issues, but all films deserve a second viewing (at least) and so I rented the Blu-ray and sat down for another look. And sadly, the same issues remained for me. The first being the casting of Simon Pegg as Scotty, originally played by the late James Doohan. As an actor and comedian, I think Pegg is great. But his (and the filmmakers’) take on Scotty basically mocks Doohan’s character. In fact, I would go as far as to say, with the exception of the accent, there is little-to-no similarities between the two. Pegg’s Scotty is a wise-cracking goofball from another movie. Whenever he’s on screen, the kids in the audience may be entertained, but the rest of us are stuck with a cartoon character. The filmmakers worked so hard to get all the characters right, why did they abandon this one?

Anyone who watched the original show knows that Scotty was never the comic relief. Not any more or less than any other character. But in this STAR TREK universe, he serves little else. His very presence undermines all the tension Abrams worked so diligently to build up throughout the film’s first half. Abrams might as well have cast Jim Carey and let him run around the bridge talking out of his butt. It’s all very silly and out of place in a world where entire civilizations are wiped out and intimate family members murdered. But someone somewhere seemed to think that the film might be getting too dark and that they should dip into sitcom-land for a little while lest anyone get too tense or, god forbid, think the filmmakers where taking this seriously.

At one point, Scotty accidentally transports himself into an engine cooling system while our beloved Kirk has to watch him zip through transparent water tubes a la WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Now you don’t have to be a STAR TREK fan or know any of these characters to recognize the tension all but completely disappear as the film veers off into an odd comic nether-sphere.

Add to that Scotty’s little alien friend –his cute little buddy that follows him around– and we have an episode of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND on our hands! Perhaps in their attempt to incorporate the many different elements of the TREK universe, the filmmakers thought this would be fitting. Sadly, for me, it completely took me out of the film and made me hyper-aware of the folks behind the scenes trying to make a few more “commercially-minded” choices. So, in effect, they took a beloved character, placed him in a rather riveting story, and then decided he should be more like Bill Murray in MEATBALLS.

But Pegg’s Scotty is really the only major character that completely missed the boat for me. There are a few instances where I thought the filmmakers were trying a little too hard to incorporate now-famous phrases or actions, like Karl Urban’s McCoy stating “I’m a doctor, not a physicist!” at a point where it really doesn’t make any sense in the context of the conversation that’s taking place and just ends up standing out like a sore thumb. But that I can more easily forgive because it is all in the line of trying to make the characters more like the ones we know and love. You can’t get everything right. Especially on the first outing.

But now comes the clincher; the moment in the film when logic and character motivation are replaced by a weak plot necessity resulting in what feels like blatantly lazy writing. In one fell swoop, the writers (or whoever made this decision) have Spock decide that he wants Kirk off the ship so badly that he actually has him ejected onto a dangerous ice planet. Whoa, hold on here, cowboy… Now while the filmmakers may have written themselves into a corner in needing to get Kirk and the older Spock together, they unfortunately resorted to an act that I do not for one second believe any captain or character (not to mention a logical Vulcan) would enact. Not on a ship with a brig. Lock Kirk up. Done and dealt with. Or why not simply sedate him as they had done previously? No, it makes no sense to the story or characters and ends up making me aware of the writers struggling. What’s odd is that this STAR TREK feels like a film where the filmmakers DID actually care and were hyper-aware of the characters and their motivations. So what happened here? Why a moment of such unnecessarily lazy writing?

Unfortunately, this unbelievable moment leads to one of the film’s most extraneous sequences where Kirk is chased by some wild beasties across the frozen landscape. This feels like the effects determining the story and not the other way around. It’s gratuitous and not particularly interesting. It’s an aversion from the story. For this viewer, the entire sequence and the clear unmotivated plot manipulation that preceded it took me out of the film and gave me a slight sinking feeling in my stomach. Mostly because, up until that point, they were doing such a bang-up job and I was so completely IN the world of the film! And of course, this sequence leads us directly to the introduction of Scotty, adding insult to injury.

The good news is, though it takes a while, the film finally finds its footing once again and is pretty damn entertaining straight through to the climax. Yeah, Bana’s Nero is not all that interesting or developed, but he is serviceable in a film that has chosen to spend the bulk of its time reintroducing us to these beloved characters in their new skins. And rightfully so. The film (and the franchise) depends on this.

So, for me, the filmmakers made some crucial mistakes in the second half of the film. They allowed themselves to get lazy as well as give in to some overly commercial elements that, in my opinion, had no place there and, in fact, disrupted the flow and integrity of the story.

But perhaps it’s a small transgression given the task they set for themselves and the amount they actually did get right. Still, all in all, what they got wrong brought the film down enough for me that it just doesn’t sit in my gut as comfortably as I would like it to. And that’s a shame. Because all I really want at the end of the day is good storytelling and rich characters (and yeah, these days that makes me a demanding audience member). And for the first half of the film, they delivered that in spades. But once they stumbled, I was never quite able to shake that feeling that this film was almost terrific. But these days, almost is more than we can usually expect from any film produced and developed by an American studio. So by that gauge, STAR TREK is still way above average.

The 4th day of the holiday. And the best part is we went on a fish trip. Me, Bana, Faxoo, Niushad, my brother, Yayya, Adhuham, Siraath and Sassy went on the fish trip. It was raining earlier and some bailed out in the last minute. But it was a great fish trip coz the raining stopped and we did catch like 13 fish. . . no maybe 14. . . I am not sure. Bottom line is we did catch a lot of fish.

Sassy, my youngest cousin, caught the first fish of the trip. He is just 12 and the most adorable cousin. Sadly, I didn’t catch anything. Most embarassing part is that I caught a coral on my fishing line. Yea, A CORAL. . . A big red piece of rock. Second fish trip of the year but no fish caught yet by me. Luckily this time I didn’t get the fish line all tangled up. Now that’s a good thing.

The cutest fish was caught by Bana – a parrot fish. I don’t know the names of the other fishes. I guess we did catch a barracuda too. We returned at night around 11 pm and cooked curry and baked the fish and had it with roti.

The best fun I had this Eid holiday.

The 2nd day of the Eid Holiday which is EID. Sadly all the activities were cancelled coz of the Swine Flu outbreak.

Well, that didn’t stop us from having a good time. My brother and his friends planned to go to Hulhumale’. It is just 20 mins boat ride away and I looove the environment there. It is a big place with less people and the best place to go for rides. And guess what, I got a lovely surprise too. It is actually what made my day today. Bana said that he can’t come with us, so I was feeling sad coz he didn’t come. Then I went with my brothers and was riding for a while when suddenly everyone stopped and asked me to look at the end of the road. Then I felt like someone was right behind me and when I turned Bana was there on his cyke. Ok, at that point I was speechless. I couldn’t say a word. It was one of the most wonderful gestures. And Faxoo and Niushad were also there.

Then we rode all around the place. Bought food. Ate. Had fun. Loads of fun. I laughed till I cried. And I wanna do that again. One Eid that is gonna be memorable for me. Oh, P.S. Spend few hours at work during morning. What a life !!!

A very disturbing thing happened today. I was coming home with Bana after dinner when suddenly a cute lil kitty came right in front of our cyke. It all happened so fast. I mean the kitty jumped in front of the cyke and it didn’t give Bana enough time to come to a halt before hitting the kitty. And we ran over the kitty!!!

I was petrified by it coz I was on the cyke and I did feel the bump when the cyke ran over the poor poor kitty. And I gotta say that it is one lucky kitty coz it was not harmed at all. It was a cute kitty with golden furry fur all over. It was so so so cuddly.

And Yes, “He” came back from Colombo today. Yayyyyy!!!

You can Have Ufone Utunes Codes from this post.

Request your UTune Code here. We will try our best to find the code for you.

Latest Ufone UTunes codes .

Kaminey Film ufone utones Codes :

Dhan Te Nan – 6782657

Fatak – 6782658

Go Charlie Go – Theme – 6782659

Raat Ke Dhai Baje – 6782660

Pehli Baar Mohabbat – 6782661

Kaminey – 6782662

8X10 Tasveer Utune Codes:

Aaja Maahi – 7003924

Haafiz Khuda – 7003926

I Got The Picture – 7003928

Kuchh Is Tarah – 7003930

Nazaara Hai – 7003932

New York Ufone Utune Codes:

Aye Saaye Mere – 5012813

Hai Junoon – Remix – 5012814

Hai Junoon – 5012815

Mere Sang – 5012817

Tu Ne Jo Na Kaha – 5012820

New York Theme – 5012818

Sams Theme – 5012819

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Utunes Codes:

Dance Pe Chance – 50011

Dancing Jodi – 50012

Haule Haule – 50013

Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte – 50014

Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai – 50016

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – 5005815

Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai (Slow) – 50015

Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai version -50017

Ghajini Ufone Utunes Codes :

Behka – 7003725

Guzarish – 7003726

Kaise Mujhe – 7003727

Latoo – 7003728

Aye Bachchu – 7005474

Kaise Mujhe Inst – 7005476

Lucky UTunes Codes :

Aa Kar Bharlo Bazuon Mein – 5008428

Chori Chori Chupke Se – 5008429

Ek Ajnabi Sa Ehsaas – 5008431

Heyy Rama Ramam – 5008432

Kambakkht Ishq Utunes Codes :

Bebo (Club mix) – 678410

Bebo – 678411

Kambakkht Ishq – 678413

Kyun (Female) – 678414

Welcome To Hollywood – 678420

Om Mangalam – 678419

Lakh Lakh – 678417

Kyun – 678415

Om Mangalam (Reprised) – 678418

Kambakkht Ishq (Remixed) – 678412

Lakh Lakh (Electro Dhol Mix) – 678416

Pakistani Utunes Codes Collection :

Tere Bin – Atif Aslam – 00724

Kuch is Tarha – Atif Aslam – 255845

Kuch is Tarha (Remix) – Atif Aslam – 255846

Mahiya Ve Sonaya – Atif Aslam – 255847

Doorie – Atif Aslam – 255852

Doorie (Energy Mix) – Atif Aslam – 255850

Hum Kis Galli [Dance Mix] – 2551985

Tere Bin (Club Mix) – 2551991

Aadat (Remix) – 2552191

Yakeen [club Mix] – 2551992

Aadat Si (Deep Blue Version) – 2552192

Aadat – Atif Aslam – 2552193

Pehli Nazar Mein – Atif Aslam – 500487

Lambi Judai – Lux Style Awards 2008 – 5002654

Hum Ek Hain – Shehzad Roy – 2551147

Har Gayee – Shehzad Roy – 5001408

Yaad – Shehzad Roy – 502337

Shola – Shehzad Roy – 502346

Saali – Shehzad Roy – 502356

Ya Rab – Shehzad Roy -502906

Huka Pani – Ali Zafar – 007245

Rangeen – Ali Zafar -502358

Dastaan E Ishq – Coke Studio Ali Zafar -6783385

Barsaat – Adnan Sami – 5015724

Apne Jahanke – Sonu Nigam and Adnan Sami – 50010114

Some Bollywood Utunes Codes:

Kyun Kisi Ko W… – Teray Naam – 007179

Lambee Judai – Jannat – 2551004

Tum Dil Ki Dharkan Main – Kumar Sanu- 255685

Jee Karda – Sing Is Kinng – 007956

Jado hey Nasha – Jism – 00725

Pehli Pehli Bar – Sirf Tum – 007520

Pyar Kernay Waley – Hero – 007161

Matlabi hen log yahan pe – Kishore – 007160

Chakna Chakna – Himesh Reshamm… – 5001314

Bas Ek Kinng – Singh Is Kinng – 5006541

Bhootni Ke – Singh Is Kinng – 5006542

Teri Ore – Singh Is Kinng – 5006545

Ishq Bina – Taal – 5013887

Taal Se Taal Mila – Taal – 5021227

Ishq Bina Kya Jeena – Taal – 5021422

Janat Jahan – Jannat – 2551001

Zara Sa – Jannat – 2551005

Aksar Is Duniya – Dhadkan – 5007429

Dulhe Ka – Dhadkan – 5007431

Na Na Kerte – Dhadkan – 5011796

7007318 Aaya Re

7007319 Aish Karle

7007320 Dard e Tanhai

7007321 Dard e Tanhai Kilogram Mix

7007322 Main Chala

7007323 Main Chala – Unplugged

7007324 Nazrein Karam

7007325 Nazrein Karam Kilogram Mix

7007326 Tere Bin

7007892 Aur Aahista Kijiye Batain

7007893 Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai Tera

7007894 Ek Taraf Uska Ghar

7007895 Ghungroo Toot Gaye

7007896 Jheel Main Chand Nazar

7007897 Laa Pila De Saaki

7007898 Romantic Melody

7007899 Yahan Har Shaaks

“He” left to cloudy Colombo today.

He will be gone for 7 days!! 7 WHOLE DAYS.1 CRAPPY WHOLE WEEK. 168 HOURS. 10,080 MINUTES. That’s a lot, right?

This will be the longest we have ever been apart since I met him. It’s a bizarre thought. I thought that I would not miss him and I can just get on with my routine. But here I am. Few hours after kissing him goodbye and already I’m missing him loads.

Anyways, despite me being “him”-less for a week, over the next few days I’m hoping to get some stuff done like work more on my favorite past time of playing with Adobe Photoshop or maybe do some experimental cooking or maybe re-arrange my room.

Last night I went to a friend’s place for a dinner invitation. I met them quite recently but feels like I have been hanging out with them for a longtime. It was a good feeling and I surely liked it.

We had fun and I really enjoyed hanging out with them. All came even though it was raining through out the night. Shiz is a kindergarten teacher and me and Faxoo helped her with some of the stuff which she was preparing for the graduation of the UKG students. Irey lost his job and was claiming that this dinner was to celebrate his unemployment.

Bana and Irey sent Niushad to get our dinners a.k.a CupNoodles. I think CupNoodles was perfect considering the weather and the fact that I ate earlier with my parents. Through out the whole time we were watching one of the Indian Channels – Star Plus. And had some really interesting conversations. And the highlight of all highlights of the night is that I saw the cutest doll. Irey’s sister had a doll collection and she had a cute emo doll with long lustrous hair. I am so gonna get one for myself.

I had a great time with them and I am glad that they invited me.

I went back to Gan (south of the Maldives) once again this weekend. This one was so different from the trip I had earlier this year in August.

This time we went to an island called Hulhudhoo which is 30mins boat ride from Gan. The soul purpose of this trip was for my brother to meet with his girlfriend. She is originally from Hulhudhoo. Me and Yayya were coming along this trip just to accompany my brother. Lets say it was fun and tiring. The weather – omg, it was so so so bad. When we arrived at Gan International Airport, it was raining heavily. Almost 1 hr and 20 mins spent in air travel. Then we went straight onto a speed boat which was arranged for us to go directly to Hulhudhoo. After 40 mins on the speed boat we finally arrived to the island. Then again we had to take a van ride of 20 mins to reach the place which we were staying. And yes, we were all tired and ready to hit the bed.

The day and a half which we spent in Hulhudhoo was very much laid back. Me and Yayya spent most of our time indoors since it was raining the whole time. My brother went to visit his girlfriend quite a lot which left me and Yayya stuck at the house. We only went out to eat. And stayed indoors watching movies the rest of the time. I wouldn’t say the trip was lame since I needed that kinda break from work. But I missed a very special person all along the trip. Wish he came.

We came back to Gan on the day which we had our flight. And from there on it was fun. We went on the link road once again in a car and rode all over the island until we had to go to airport. This time we got some goodies from Gan too. We call it “kudhi bajiya” and “kudhi gulha” in our language. Its a spicy mix of tuna wrapped up in dough and fried until its very hard and dark brown. Its a tasty delicacy which we eat as snacks. Plus my brother’s girlfriend’s mom also gave some sweets which is all Maldivian. Its called “bon’di” and I have no clue of how people make it.

Another trip to the south – signed, sealed and delivered.

Today I went on the first fish trip I have been to this year. I don’t think I went on a fish trip in 2008 either. Now that’s odd. How can a Maldivian not go for a fish trip for this long, right?

Anyways, this one was planned by Bana and his friends. Met some really interesting and nice people for the first time. And yea, how can I forget to mention the cute lil toddlers that went with us. They were so cute and so so so adorable. Kinda made me WOOT. Irey & Shiz are so lucky to have them.

What I really enjoyed were the sceneries. The sunset was breathtaking and at night the sky was so clear that I can see even the smallest stars in the sky. And without the lights of Male’ the sky was so so so beautiful. I love the stars and the moon. Sadly, no shooting stars were seen and no wishes were made. Damn!!!

And for the fishing part, I was pretty bad in it. I mean I didn’t catch a fish. Nada!!! Zero!!! Zilch!!! None!!! And to my misery I got the hole fishing line all tangled up. And every now and then I get the line stuck in a coral or the propeller of the boat. It was kinda embarrassing. But in the end none of us caught that many fish. It was Bana who actually caught a fish that was big enough for all of us to eat. He caught a big red snapper. All others caught little teeny tiny ones.

We went to Villingili to grill the fish. There is a restaurant in Villingili called Symphony Garden. And they make some really tasty dishes there. After the dinner I went home to my long awaited shower. And believe me, I needed one really badly.

This is my schedule for Tuesday, which is same as any other day.

0500 – Wake up for my prayers – through out the day I will find time to do my prayers at different times.

0530 – Sleep till 0800hrs

0830 – Off to work

0830 till 1700 – At work

1700 till 2130 – Just hang around at home with mom. Do some stuff on the internet, listen to music & have dinner

2130 – Go out with Bana or go for rides with my Brother

0000 – Would go to bed or stay up watching movies till late

Efter mycket bråk om Ridhuset vårat så är det FORTFARANDE inte igång. Vi väntar och väntar på besked om huruvida vi ska få använda det eller inte men Haninge Kommun verkar inte vara intresserad av att hjälpa oss. Igår när vi skulle få ut våran hopptränare så slog regnet som spön i backen och ridhuset var avstängt. Våran hopplektion blev inställd så jag och Sophie lastade hästarna och drog till närmaste ridhus för att hoppa för oss själva. Ewa var med och försökte sig på att fota och filma. det gick.. hur säger man det snällt.. sådär

Videon nedan är när jag och Zindy hoppade en liten minibana och jag börjar med att förklara att det ska komma en fantastisk galoppfattning. Den är ju allt annat än fantastisk och ja, resten ser ni ju själva.

Grand Prix Tycoon är ett flashspel där man ska starta och driva ett formel 1 stall. Man måste skaffa sig en förare som är bra, utveckla bilen så att den blir tillräckligt snabb,träna dina mekaniker att göra snabba depåstopp och mycket mer.  Genom att trycka in de tangenter som visas så snabbt som man kan så kvalar man in i loppet, väl där så kör föraren loppet själv.  I loppet så bestämmer man hur mycket bränsle man ska ha, vilka däck som man vill använda och när man ska göra sina depåstopp. Spelet är ganska skoj att spela även om bitarna när man ska trycka på tangenter är lite väl tråkiga och omständiga.

Grand Prix Tycoon

Now today was like one of the best days at work. Not much work to do and our bosses were away on a business trip. Plus we got a free day just to sit around and chat. I was chating all day with Hajja. And running around the office taking pictures of everyone. No, not everyone. Just Bana’s and Hajja’s. I went into Bana’s Dept and chatted with him too. Disturbed him a lil bit and finally went out with Hajja to get some stuff to eat. All in all, its one of the best days at work.

I did something totally out of the blue last night and it got me thinking of the person I have become. I wonder what  happened, what clicked, what made me do it. I thought about it and could not figure it out. Only thing I know about it is that it is so unlike me and I totally surprised myself last night.

Bana hep yağmur armağan edildi
Koynumu ısıran hayal makasları bir de

Anılar sokağından dışarı çıkamadım hiç
Uzun mektuplar yazdım, kimseler okumadı
Yine de bağışlardım çocukluğumun kalbini kıranları
Kendimle söyleştim kimi zaman
Kimi zaman başkalarının düşleriyle yıkandım
Bahçeyi sevdim en çok
Bana gülümseyen ağaçları
Mavi bir keman sesiydi yutkunduğum
Eksikti şiirlerim, resimlerim, sevinçlerim
Kağıtlar, kelimeler ve renkler oyuncaklarımdı
Denize bakmayı severdim de içine giremezdim
Boğulmaktan korkardım, güz yaşındaydım
Kendi içimde kaybolmuş gibiydim
Kime şikayet etseydim korkularımı bilemezdim
devamı için