Showing posts with label F1 STUDENT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label F1 STUDENT. Show all posts

Sunday, January 17, 2010

MISC SAVING TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Hopefully the new year has started with you being more efficient as well as appreciating the gift of life. I diverted from the mundane posts the last time and blogged in a famous poem on life. Print it, make it a screen saver.. I know it has helped me to relook at things and just might help you to..

Moving on to the topic of this blog, saving tips.. This time I am suggesting investing in one of the time tested tools to save money. Although with an annual membership fee, the subsequent savings quickly add up and include 24 hr car breakdown support and hosts of other benefits.

Yes I am talking about the AAA card.

Even if you don't own a car, chances are you will rent one couple of times a year. Whether its a flat tyre or battery problems, their extensive network ensures timely and efficient support and is an indispensable tool when you are on the road.

For more info log onto www.aaa.com. Do remember to mention your student status because that might get you additional discounts..

More on savings next time..

Good luck

Sharad

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Quote:
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”
Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Monday, January 4, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR

SLOW DANCE.. A Poem .. For New Year Resolutions..


Slow Dance
by
David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Do you run through each day on the fly
When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
'Cause you never had time to call and say "Hi"?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away...

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.



Tuesday, December 22, 2009

New Year 2010

What plans have you all thought of to ring in the new year.

All of us are in the learning mode, including myself. There are dime a dozen websites available online for free suggesting you how to plan your new years. And here is one from self-help guru, Robin Sharma that he emailed last night to me.


To create the single best year of your life to date. Most will waste this opportunity and make the new  year a repeat of the one just past. Sad. But true. But a few will wake up to the possibility and do 7 things that will ensure 2010 is the most unforgettable twelve months they have experienced yet. Want to be one of the fortunate few? Here's what to do:
 
Step #1: Evaluate 2009. Do a written story recording what went well this past year and, even more importantly, what areas you could improve on. Also list all your wins and as many high points as you can recall. Get a clear picture of how you showed up.
 
Step #2: Set Your Theme. Come up with a theme for 2010. It may be "The Year of Financial Freedom" or "The Year of Work Excellence" or "The Year of Fearlessness". But get a theme into a document you can start reviewing every week.
 
Step #3: Create a Mission. The next step is to develop a one paragraph mission statement and put it into this document. Clarity precedes mastery so the more clear your ultimate mountaintop for 2010 is, the greater your focus will be. And the most positive results you'll see.
 
Step #4: List Your Big 5. OK, now ask yourself this powerful self-coaching question: "What 5 things need to happen between now and December 31, 2010 for this to have been the single most successful year of my life to date?" Write down those five goals as simply and clearly as possible into this document.
 
Step #5: Sequence Your Big 5. Now break your Big 5 down into quarterly goals. Set 5 core goals for the first/second/third and fourth quarters of 2010 to ensure you nail your Big 5. Review these every week. Reflect on them everyday if you really want to win. Make these strategic objectives the sole focus of your life.
 
Step #6: Refocus Every Morning. Life's job is to distract you. Your job is to stay staggeringly focused on what's most important. Take 15 minutes during your morning resetting period to reflect on your goals, to envision your best moves and to track out a day that's productive, passionate and fun.
 
Step #7: Get Devoted to Learning. The #1 skill of super successful people is that they are relentless learners. While others are wasting time on low-value websites or watching mindless reality tv shows, they are listening to audio programs, studying books on leadership and success and basically creating a rich, beautiful and meaningful life. As you journey through each day of 2010, make the time to fuel your brain with ideas on excellence and creating your absolute best. Nothing's more important than that. And please remember that all it takes is a single idea to transform the way you lead and how you live.

Do give me your thoughts whether you have any other advice that can help others..

Happy Xmas..

Until then 

Sharad

Quote: Wake up at 5:00 am. It is God's time. Anon

Thursday, November 5, 2009

CALLING HOME

Hello everyone,

My last entry requested information on telecalling experiences. Since our blog is not indexed yet, I will continue from where I left and you can join in once we are live. So here are some  tele-alternatives.

  1. VOIP: Besides skype (incase you haven't tried, download from http://www.skype.com/ and voila you can free calls to skype users anywhere and cheap calls to regular phones), another interesting one that I found is http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/07/04/free-international-calls-from-pc-to-phone-with-google-talk-and-talkster-gtalk-to-voip/. Has anyone tried this, any good/bad/great experiences. Considering  both these options are free, the sound quality is excellent. Have you experienced it otherwise. Any tips. 
  2. From Phones: I am told Airtel one happens to have the best rates (1 cent/min), giving about 600 minutes for about $10 (inclusive of monthly rentals). Although difficult to believve, I also hear there are some issues with customer service, call drops etc but the voice clarity is top of the line. Any interaction
  3. Calling Cards: Obviously there are many providers but callingcards.com seems to have excellent options.
 Are their any other services, besides the above, that you have experienced and would heartily recommend as well as comment on the alternative mentioned above.

More later