My favorite stress buster is walking bare foot on the grass in the backyard, somehow the cool feel of grass has a magical effect of calming the body.

Try it and feel the difference. I think our bodies are created to be in sync with nature  while life  today take us more & more away from it.

This is the age of distractions - facebook status updates/ likes, tweets, gadgets such as smart phones-  its very very hard to keep focus.

We love tabs on our browser but the distraction it causes is huge as we tend to multitask between tabs whether we realize it or not. Multi-tasking i have found is not really a friend of mine.

When doing the same routine everyday, the brain goes on auto pilot and fails to notice the things around and w/o that stimuli, things go boring.

So introduce a small change everyday by changing the parameters. Say take a different route to work. You will be amazed at the difference. Suddenly you start noticing the trees, the smells and even the streets. Suddendly brain gets a different experience and it starts analyzing with result being you are in a better mood when you reach office.

Folks, wanted to write my experiences on taking a 3 day stopover in Dubai while flying to Delhi with kids. I traveled with two – age 1 & 7. Dubai is a great city and it was lot of fun. Visa -  If you flying Emirates, visa can be applied online. You have to scan and upload the documents which is a little bit of pain as the site requires the documents not more than a certain size and rejects them if they are not w/o giving any errors. The process is still better as everything can be done online. US citizens get a 30 day visa on arrival and do not need a visa in advance. Hotels - are expensive in Dubai. I booked mine through Hotels.com after reading reviews on Tripadvisor.  I was traveling with kids and wanted something with kitchen. I found one in “Bur Dubai” area which couple of my friends told me is centrally located and clean & safe. I booked the Xclusive Hotels Apartments. Turned out to be neat, clean place with a sufficient kitchen. The staff was also nice. They do have a shuttle for the airport so ask in advance otherwise Taxis are readily available at airport.

What to do: 1.    Dubai is a city of many malls. Bur Dubai and this hotel is close to Burjuman Mall. It is walking distance from Hotel, it’s an ok mall but  has the metro station so u can catch it from here if u r staying in this area. 2.    Burj Khalifa & Dubai Mall – the tallest building in the world, Its spectacular and worth seeing. Its right next to Dubai mall which is also a good one. I did not get a chance to go up as the tickets were all sold out. Buy tickets in advance online, it’s about 100 Dirhams. They have a walk-in category also but  that costs 400 Dirhams which is kinda costly. At the base of Burj Khalifa is Dubai musical fountains. They are spectacular, they start at about 7 PM and have  a show every 15-30 mins. Kids will just love it. The entire ambience is great at night and has great Arabic touch to it. There are restaurants facing the fountain, they are nice but costly. Also there is lot of smoking outdoors so with kids that might be a hassle. Dubai Mall also has a Gold Souk(bazaar) built in great Arabic design.

3.    Mall of Emirates  - This mall is quite new and looks great. Has the indoor ski area. I did not go in it but looked great for ski and some snow play. They rent out the ski gear except caps & gloves which can be purchased if you are not carrying it. But nothing is cheap in these malls so watch it. 4.    Jumeirah Beach Residency (JBR) walk – A great place south of Dubai with outdoor restaurants, 5-7 star hotels, by the sea – A great place to stroll in the evening, catch a bite and stuff. A must see. 5.    Madinat Jumeirah – A great shopping place built in Bazaar ambience and a hotel – It has a great architecture / design. Its right next to Burj-al-Arab. The famous Hotel that has been in so many movies. This is also a must see. Has some great restaurants (expensive though). The hotel has a creek running through it and there is a boat ride that takes u around. Go during evening and it looks beautiful. 6.    Desert Resorts – We went to one which is about 100 Kms from Dubai called Hatta Fort. A good quiet scenic place and the drive was through the countryside / desert, so was good to see that part of it. There are few others which are closer to Dubai. 7.    Jumeirah beach Park – This is a park with a beach in it. Good place with kids to play and have fun on the beach. Water is nice and cool. No photography allowed on the beach but.  There is a Jumeirah public beach next to it but this is better as has a good park and eating places also. 8.    Gold Souk – It’s in Diera – old city– and is worth going and having a look at all the gold shops.

Other Stuff
1.    Taxis system is great and cheap – so cab around a lot, saves time. Metro is also great but Taxi will save time. 2.    There are places in the “PALMS” like Atlantis but we did not get a chance to go there
3.    Desert Safari, I heard is great where they take u on Landrovers in desert and do dune bashing going up & down the dunes but we were advised that it’s not suitable with 1 year old. 4.    Dubai night life is famous with many clubs but we did not get a chance to explore with kids.
5.    Check things on Google and other sites, there is enough information Hope this is useful and enjoy your Trip…:)

Hi Folks, I am starting this mini blog series to share my experience with what i think are small things but make a big difference.

The first one is that when i interview people, i wonder why people mention things on their resume which they have no clue or very slight idea about. It's true that buzz words will get you an interview but looks really bad when you can't answer about something about which you have half a page in your resume.

So true !

The day looks so long specially if it's an unpleasant one while the years just fly by.  So while we all are focused on how to best get through the day, be mindful that the time will fly and you must make and plan time for things that actually add value to your life and will become pleasant memories :)

Although we presume that we act because of the way we feel, in fact we often feel because of the way we act. As such to change our feelings we should change the way we act. Try a smile when you feel low and you will see that  simple act can start to change your mood.

It’s always hard to find places that parents and kids can equally enjoy and it’s even hard to find recommendations from fellow parents. As such wanted to share the stuff we enjoyed with kids on a recent trip to Napa / Calistoga.  Napa Valley near San Francisco is world known for its wine & vineyards and seems like a place where kids will get bored zzz... and as a result drive you crazy. Well the kids found the below activities quite fun and we had a fun too.

1.    Old Faithful in Calistoga - It’s a geyser that shoots up from an underground river at regular intervals. The interval varies - average is 40 mins during the year. We were lucky that the interval for the day was like 10 mins. Great place for a picnic ( you can get food and even beer / wine) and have a great picnic there. Carry lunch from outside as there is nothing available there. Has few animals like  sheep,  goats and also saw a lone Llama. The ticket price is 10 bucks for adults and kids under 6 are free.

2.    Petrified Forest - The small trail through the forest has tree exhibits of redwoods that turned to rock (petrified)  3 million years ago due to a volcanic ash from nearby Mt St Helena. It’s quite amazing to see those tress and get to know more about the history of the area. The trail is about half a mile and is part paved but we could use a stroller on it. The way back winds down steep so you might wanna get the stroller down backwards if you have a small kid in it. The gift shop is amazing with great exhibits of petrified trees, fossils, crystals etc. Great learning place for kids & adults alike. The ticket price is 10 bucks for adults and kids under 6 are free.

3.    Sterling Winery in Calistoga - It has an aerial tram that  takes you up the hill where the winery is located. The view going up in the tram is just great and kids are sure to love the trip up. It is a small ride and not comparable to Gondola ride say in South Tahoe but still enjoyable. There is an open terrace as part of the winery which has great views of the Napa Valley and the surrounding hills. The price is a little steep but perhaps worth. $ 25 for adults and $10 for kids for kids.

Ever wondered why we get bored so easily. Well the answer might lie in the modern life that has made most of the aspects repetitive and void of surprises and adventure. For centuries everyday tasks of getting food, cooking, getting up, getting to work were challenging and involved effort which in turn engaged all our senses and kept us alert.
With modern ways of life everything is a breeze and in most cases a repetition. Most of us  use the same routine through our day starting with same breakfast, taking the same route to work, do almost the same work all day, same grocery stores etc etc. Have you ever felt that you remember sitting in your car in morning and not remembering how you reached work, well you are not alone. Try taking a different route to work one day and see how your mind & senses are engaged in noting the new surroundings.
Try these few things and see the difference.
-    Try eating a different cereal / breakfast at least once a week
-    Substitute coffee or orange juice for tea or vice versa
-    Take a different route to work
-    Leave work a little early and surprise your kids
-    Engage a different sense  - brush with your eyes closed
-    Try to write with your left hand if you are right handed

Well you can make your own list, basically u wanna introduce change, an element of surprise or adventure into your everyday activities and you will notice the difference in the energy levels.

Egypt is Free, long live social networking.

Social networking has finally fully matured to be the force it always had the potential to be. It is a simple yet beautiful concept that grew from a dorm room with an intent to connect fellow students and continue conversations online. The real beauty is the collective power it gives to people and speed with which the entire humanity gets connected and can communicate, organize and bring about changes.

Social networking companies will finally succeed in finding ways to monetize effectively and become finacial juggernauts but hope the real spirit of these services never get diluted.