Pamela Q. Fernandes's Blog, page 41

Notes this November

Its NaNoWriMo month. And so its a busy month for authors everywhere. Most of my writer pals are chained to their desk's, eyes glued to the computer and typing away.
So am I!

First up I wanted to share this wonderful book that I recently read and tweeted about.
Its co-authored by Fr Robert Degrandis SJ and Linda Schubert- 'Healing through the Mass.'

Every Catholic must read this. I have put up a review on Goodreads which I'll share with you.

Review
So do check it out.

Also in three weeks its going to be Advent. I have personally benefitted a lot from Fr Robert Barrons word on fire reflections during Lent, so I signed up for his reflections during Advent. Please sign up if you're not using any other Advent reflections. The sign up page is here.

Its still a warm November. So have a great week guys!

Song on my playlist: What child is this! Il Divo

Perfume review

Its been some time since I’ve reviewed fragrances and this is one indulgence I allow myself when I travel. Last year I had the chance to pick the Nina Ricci collection on sale. Well its pretty easy to spot sales at the Dubai duty free. Now I didn’t pick up the fragrance, what I picked was the eau de parfum, which is a small bottle and a stronger concoction making it last longer.
Overall I think Nina Ricci has very feminine scents. The bottles are cute and symbolic like the dove indicating peace on the L'air du temps, which meant peace after the world war.
Let’s start with Mademoiselle Ricci Top notes are wild rose and pink pepper


This scent smells a lot like Flowers by Kenzo, except that Kenzo last 48 hours. This will last thirty minutes, unless I dunk the whole bottle on me, the staying capacity is flat. It’s a beautiful scent that is powdery, rosy beautiful but not long lasting. I like it but for the price I would buy Kenzo instead. It’s a summer scent.
L’Air du Temps, was something that just did not sit too well. It’s a scent that you would associate with vintage. This is not for the young. I must say with top notes of bergamot and carnation its something, my grandma would wear. Its floral spicy, but not for me.  
Nina L'Eau is a very fresh, citrus and bright scent. I would say it’s a summer scent. Its very refreshing and has a good dry down. Again does not last that long, maybe an hour for me at most which makes it a trouble to re-wear. Top notes apple, grapefruit, mandarin and neroli make this fruity, but I would prefer the green apple instead.
 
Nina L `Elixir is a winter scent. Don’t make the mistake of using this in the summer, I feel it’s a stronger version of the above. Butts got goo staying capacity. Five hours. Liked this but don’t love it. Top notes include red fruit and jasmine, refreshed with bright green Caipirinha lime.
Ricci Ricci is by far the one I love among all these. It’s a winter/evening scent, heavy, floral, long lasting, stays 12 hours and has amazing dry down.  Top notes include rhubarb, bergamot, moonflower, Indian tuberose, centifolia rose, patchouli and sandalwood. It my current signature scent. Its exotic, playful and fun.

Later during the year I wanted to see what was all the fuss about Givenchy’s Very irresistible, and gave it a try.
Very Irresistible Givency—Top notes four variances of roses and anise. I honestly don’t know what to write. This is strong, pungent, lasts okay for 3 hours, but I can pretty much resist it and so can others. Its not what I was expecting, its quite sharp, the dry down is milder but the opening 30 minutes are too strong for me. Will try it in the winter and see.

Movie you should watch- Paranoia
Song on my playlist- Show 'em what you're made of - Backstreet boys[image error]

Perfume review

Its been some time since I’ve reviewed fragrances and this is one indulgence I allow myself when I travel. Last year I had the chance to pick the Nina Ricci collection on sale. Well its pretty easy to spot sales at the Dubai duty free. Now I didn’t pick up the fragrance, what I picked was the eau de parfum, which is a small bottle and a stronger concoction making it last longer.
Overall I think Nina Ricci has very feminine scents. The bottles are cute and symbolic like the dove indicating peace on the L'air du temps, which meant peace after the world war.
Let’s start with Mademoiselle Ricci Top notes are wild rose and pink pepper


This scent smells a lot like Flowers by Kenzo, except that Kenzo last 48 hours. This will last thirty minutes, unless I dunk the whole bottle on me, the staying capacity is flat. It’s a beautiful scent that is powdery, rosy beautiful but not long lasting. I like it but for the price I would buy Kenzo instead. It’s a summer scent.
L’Air du Temps, was something that just did not sit too well. It’s a scent that you would associate with vintage. This is not for the young. I must say with top notes of bergamot and carnation its something, my grandma would wear. Its floral spicy, but not for me.  
Nina L'Eau is a very fresh, citrus and bright scent. I would say it’s a summer scent. Its very refreshing and has a good dry down. Again does not last that long, maybe an hour for me at most which makes it a trouble to re-wear. Top notes apple, grapefruit, mandarin and neroli make this fruity, but I would prefer the green apple instead.
 
Nina L `Elixir is a winter scent. Don’t make the mistake of using this in the summer, I feel it’s a stronger version of the above. Butts got goo staying capacity. Five hours. Liked this but don’t love it. Top notes include red fruit and jasmine, refreshed with bright green Caipirinha lime.
Ricci Ricci is by far the one I love among all these. It’s a winter/evening scent, heavy, floral, long lasting, stays 12 hours and has amazing dry down.  Top notes include rhubarb, bergamot, moonflower, Indian tuberose, centifolia rose, patchouli and sandalwood. It my current signature scent. Its exotic, playful and fun.

Later during the year I wanted to see what was all the fuss about Givenchy’s Very irresistible, and gave it a try.
Very Irresistible Givency—Top notes four variances of roses and anise. I honestly don’t know what to write. This is strong, pungent, lasts okay for 3 hours, but I can pretty much resist it and so can others. Its not what I was expecting, its quite sharp, the dry down is milder but the opening 30 minutes are too strong for me. Will try it in the winter and see.

Movie you should watch- Paranoia
Song on my playlist- Show 'em what you're made of - Backstreet boys

Radio love

I remember writing a while aback about the Since then I have discovered ahem, a few more stations that are absolutely beautiful.
I thought this music must be shared with others.



First up for Christian music something more home grown and no commentary or ads station is NCR- Nagaland Christian Radio. Nagas have some of the most beautiful voices but here the station plays all versions of music acapella, rock, pop, and traditional of all international artists. Its all there and its very uplifting.

For guitar instrumentals- Hits-on-Guitar is a very good station, it has all the best hits reproduced on acoustic and Spanish guitar. Sometimes its better than those hits themselves.

Now my love for Kpop has nowhere diminished so for kpop without ads - KPOP radio has a more well balanced airtime. You hear some of the soulful hallyu ballads and then some of the latest razzmatazz. PS I'm hoping to hear some SUJU and Rain's drama OST's.

I know its very early, but there's a station I occasionally like hearing at any time of the year. And its the Christian music station. Yup its available 365 days a year, 24/7 and every time I play it, no matter how sad I am this station fills me that there is hope in the world. I just love Christmas music.

Love songs- I just recently discovered this station and it has the best of not really love songs but the best of pop and hits from genre. Its called Radio Love Live from New York. You have the occasional ad, but its quite a steady and reliable stream.

On occasion when I write I prefer some Celtic and Irish music and more often than not I turn to this broadcast where local artists are supported. This for some might be a learned taste, but music is universal. Irish podcast

Classic country is what has been my refuge during the rains and if you like country or slow dancing the waltz then this should be your station.

I have quite a bit more, but I'm guessing that's' going to be overkill.

So I leave you to check these stations out and listen to some of them. In one way, radio supports artists if you don't want to buy all their music.

Song on my playlist- Khaled- C'est la vie( This is Rai music- which I also like thanks to my ME roots.)

 [image error]

Radio love

I remember writing a while aback about the Since then I have discovered ahem, a few more stations that are absolutely beautiful.
I thought this music must be shared with others.



First up for Christian music something more home grown and no commentary or ads station is NCR- Nagaland Christian Radio. Nagas have some of the most beautiful voices but here the station plays all versions of music acapella, rock, pop, and traditional of all international artists. Its all there and its very uplifting.

For guitar instrumentals- Hits-on-Guitar is a very good station, it has all the best hits reproduced on acoustic and Spanish guitar. Sometimes its better than those hits themselves.

Now my love for Kpop has nowhere diminished so for kpop without ads - KPOP radio has a more well balanced airtime. You hear some of the soulful hallyu ballads and then some of the latest razzmatazz. PS I'm hoping to hear some SUJU and Rain's drama OST's.

I know its very early, but there's a station I occasionally like hearing at any time of the year. And its the Christian music station. Yup its available 365 days a year, 24/7 and every time I play it, no matter how sad I am this station fills me that there is hope in the world. I just love Christmas music.

Love songs- I just recently discovered this station and it has the best of not really love songs but the best of pop and hits from genre. Its called Radio Love Live from New York. You have the occasional ad, but its quite a steady and reliable stream.

On occasion when I write I prefer some Celtic and Irish music and more often than not I turn to this broadcast where local artists are supported. This for some might be a learned taste, but music is universal. Irish podcast

Classic country is what has been my refuge during the rains and if you like country or slow dancing the waltz then this should be your station.

I have quite a bit more, but I'm guessing that's' going to be overkill.

So I leave you to check these stations out and listen to some of them. In one way, radio supports artists if you don't want to buy all their music.

Song on my playlist- Khaled- C'est la vie( This is Rai music- which I also like thanks to my ME roots.)

 

The woe that is Air India

Recently for lack of choice I flew Air India. And that was seriously because I could not land a ticket on any other flight. Much to my dislike, I booked my ticket thinking to myself- how bad can this be?

I paid 15K and well expected more than I would get from a low cost carrier.
Air India however is not simply, the butt of jokes. Trust me I heard plenty of jokes about the airlines, most people on the flight were afraid if we were going to make it alive, the reason, well an airline that is red in the billions, is definitely going to cut back on the maintenance and safety issues, despite everything said. We all know about the infamous flight which had a fuel leak because of a faulty valve that nobody checked (ironic since the ground team didn't realize either.)

My flight which like all other Air India flights was late. This was a crazy delay. I mean if you want to make a profiteering airline, they should be leaving on time. Every delay is being fined by the airport. For every late departure the airline has to pay a fee to the ground airport.

Once boarding they had no concept of breaking up arguments or de-escalating annoyed passengers. According to their staff, they seem to be doing us a favour, instead of being customer friendly. May be the guy arguing is wrong, but there's a way to calm someone down, take them aside, explain to them why, or even sort out his queries there and then. The ground staff desperately needs a customer service refresher course, because as far as I observed the staff was arguing with passengers embarrassing everyone.
No one was smiling.

We're boarding and well the aircraft was hot. Maybe they're cutting costs, but its the middle of a drought season with lots of humidity. You can smell people, why can't they just turn on the freakin AC. Most travellers even asked the staff because well you don't know what to expect on Air India. They should take a cue from Indigo. Their aircrafts are clean and cool.

So we get into our seats and something below isn't working, there's a ruckus below deck, either the baggage is being manually pushed or there's a scuffle. Everyone hears the shouting, the rain of cuss words and amidst the melee you can see people every so often glancing at their watch. Its 30 minutes and counting since our supposed take off time.

We push back almost 50 minutes later and we're air-bound, thank God.
So the in flights service starts and since its reportedly dinner time at 9 pm- guess what people were expecting- you guessed right dinner. What do we get instead? One water bottle, one tetra packed juice and ten spiced peanuts. So enjoy your meal, coz apparently that's all your going to get. Bon appetit.
Source: bangaloreaviation.comAt this point nothing seems to unfaze me, whether that's the broken entertainment system, the torn magazine in the seat rest that two other people beside me had to share or the hostess old enough to be my grandma.

Air India needs to be privatized or simply shut down, they're bleeding money. The present government did no different from the previous one by infusing more money into an airline that needs more disciplining.
Computerize the records, rosters, attendance, customer feedback and focus on service.
Instead of pandering to the politicians focus on the people who actually pay money to fly with you.
Stop making this a taxi service for leaders, if you're destination is X please land at X.
Discipline the staff from top to bottom. Most Air India office forge attendance, with staff missing on most working days.
Stop providing expensive canteen service for staff where a single plate costs is INR500.
Fix what's broke, the inflight system, the air hostess's attitude, the delays without apologies- almost everything. And if you can't then stop pouring public money into this parasite then hand it to over someone competent. Because sadly the Maharajah isn't happy anymore and
 neither are his travellers.

 [image error]

The woe that is Air India

Recently for lack of choice I flew Air India. And that was seriously because I could not land a ticket on any other flight. Much to my dislike, I booked my ticket thinking to myself- how bad can this be?

I paid 15K and well expected more than I would get from a low cost carrier.
Air India however is not simply, the butt of jokes. Trust me I heard plenty of jokes about the airlines, most people on the flight were afraid if we were going to make it alive, the reason, well an airline that is red in the billions, is definitely going to cut back on the maintenance and safety issues, despite everything said. We all know about the infamous flight which had a fuel leak because of a faulty valve that nobody checked (ironic since the ground team didn't realize either.)

My flight which like all other Air India flights was late. This was a crazy delay. I mean if you want to make a profiteering airline, they should be leaving on time. Every delay is being fined by the airport. For every late departure the airline has to pay a fee to the ground airport.

Once boarding they had no concept of breaking up arguments or de-escalating annoyed passengers. According to their staff, they seem to be doing us a favour, instead of being customer friendly. May be the guy arguing is wrong, but there's a way to calm someone down, take them aside, explain to them why, or even sort out his queries there and then. The ground staff desperately needs a customer service refresher course, because as far as I observed the staff was arguing with passengers embarrassing everyone.
No one was smiling.

We're boarding and well the aircraft was hot. Maybe they're cutting costs, but its the middle of a drought season with lots of humidity. You can smell people, why can't they just turn on the freakin AC. Most travellers even asked the staff because well you don't know what to expect on Air India. They should take a cue from Indigo. Their aircrafts are clean and cool.

So we get into our seats and something below isn't working, there's a ruckus below deck, either the baggage is being manually pushed or there's a scuffle. Everyone hears the shouting, the rain of cuss words and amidst the melee you can see people every so often glancing at their watch. Its 30 minutes and counting since our supposed take off time.

We push back almost 50 minutes later and we're air-bound, thank God.
So the in flights service starts and since its reportedly dinner time at 9 pm- guess what people were expecting- you guessed right dinner. What do we get instead? One water bottle, one tetra packed juice and ten spiced peanuts. So enjoy your meal, coz apparently that's all your going to get. Bon appetit.
Source: bangaloreaviation.comAt this point nothing seems to unfaze me, whether that's the broken entertainment system, the torn magazine in the seat rest that two other people beside me had to share or the hostess old enough to be my grandma.

Air India needs to be privatized or simply shut down, they're bleeding money. The present government did no different from the previous one by infusing more money into an airline that needs more disciplining.
Computerize the records, rosters, attendance, customer feedback and focus on service.
Instead of pandering to the politicians focus on the people who actually pay money to fly with you.
Stop making this a taxi service for leaders, if you're destination is X please land at X.
Discipline the staff from top to bottom. Most Air India office forge attendance, with staff missing on most working days.
Stop providing expensive canteen service for staff where a single plate costs is INR500.
Fix what's broke, the inflight system, the air hostess's attitude, the delays without apologies- almost everything. And if you can't then stop pouring public money into this parasite then hand it to over someone competent. Because sadly the Maharajah isn't happy anymore and
 neither are his travellers.

 

Friendship Day, Birthdays and Freedom

Its 8 months into 2014 sooooo fast.
First up Happy Friendship Day to all my pals out there. I'm usually so discreet, but special shout-out to Marilyn, Urvi, Sneha, Neil, Natasha, Aparna, Siana, Noah, Chandan, Sam, Aldo and Florine. Cheers....



Happy birthday Pabs...have an awesome year, may the sky prove no limit for you to soar and be the person you're meant to be....


Happy independence day too folks...

I've always taken this for granted but after looking at the trouble all over the world, I just thank God that despite the dirty politics, we still have peace and some freedom. Thank God a million times for it....

Song on my playlist: Balada by Gustavo Lima, Dyland and Lenny
Movie I recommend: An Hour and a Half, Sa'a we Nos.... I saw this movie with subtitles based on a true train accident in Egypt, its a very sad poignant depiction of various lives intersecting right till the accident. Each character plays a role and it shows the very fabric of Egyptian life. Its a movie that makes you take stock. Must watch.
,[image error]

Friendship Day, Birthdays and Freedom

Its 8 months into 2014 sooooo fast.
First up Happy Friendship Day to all my pals out there. I'm usually so discreet, but special shout-out to Marilyn, Urvi, Sneha, Neil, Natasha, Aparna, Siana, Noah, Chandan, Sam, Aldo and Florine. Cheers....



Happy birthday Pabs...have an awesome year, may the sky prove no limit for you to soar and be the person you're meant to be....


Happy independence day too folks...

I've always taken this for granted but after looking at the trouble all over the world, I just thank God that despite the dirty politics, we still have peace and some freedom. Thank God a million times for it....

Song on my playlist: Balada by Gustavo Lima, Dyland and Lenny
Movie I recommend: An Hour and a Half, Sa'a we Nos.... I saw this movie with subtitles based on a true train accident in Egypt, its a very sad poignant depiction of various lives intersecting right till the accident. Each character plays a role and it shows the very fabric of Egyptian life. Its a movie that makes you take stock. Must watch.
,

The most amazing invention of our time

Every time I fly I'm not afraid like most people that we'll crash, I'm afraid that we won't take off, especially when I see the size of carry- ons and the luggage that is hauled. In my physically challenged mind I still don't understand how a 660,000 lb (299,370 kg) machine (and that's only a Boeing 777) can overcome so much drag and be able to  climb to 35,000 feet. It amazes me. I'm almost like a little child in wonder when we lift off. For all the travelling I've done and I do make it a point to rack up the miles because I love it so much, but every time, every single time I am spellbound. Maybe getting to my destination is not as much fun as much as the joy of getting to the sky.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a die hard biologist but right in school I understood most of Physics, speed, light, sound, gravity  but throw in vectors, displacement, velocity and boy it would annoy me -ALOT. And for the life of me I didn't know why we need to be bothered about the speed at which the train travels or what is the angle between the tree and the pole. I didn't really see its practicality.
Now when I'm on an airplane I'm so glad that somebody does know how to calculate that stuff and apply it.
When I read about why the shape of a plane is so, why a delay happens because of a technicality, how planes have to be driven with feet while on the ground and hands in the air, the angle of attack, the altitude, the thrust, the drag.... its a science in itself which impresses me greatly.
With thousands of flights everyday taking off, we don't think about what a safe and beautiful machine an airplane is- so earth defying, so breath taking and so perfect.
If you want to read a little more about it - take a look at this.


From the mirror
As world cup madness descends I wish you all a wonderful week. The other day I watched the penalties on a TV in the street in front of a giant screen with strangers of different nationalities. It was so much fun that for a few minutes we were united for soccer in the street nonetheless. That was a first for me.
Enjoy the game people.

Song on my playlist now: Walking in Memphis by Cher
Movie I recommend: Philomena, absolutely heart wrenching, Dame Judy Dench at her finest[image error]