Noulakaz

The blog of Avinash, Christina, Anya and Kyan Meetoo.

Archives for February 2014

ManU and Liverpool fans: stop being insulting

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Here is a typical conversation between a Liverpool fan and a Manchester United fan in Mauritius:

ManU fan: Pas simple sa Liverpool là. 5-1 banne Arsenal ek 2-1 gagne baté ar li.

Liverpool fan: Péna problème sa. Nou pas intéressé avec FA Cup. La ligue beaucoup plis important.

ManU fan: Tane sa depi 20 ans. Dépi zot pa ine gagne la ligue.

Liverpool fan: Pas kas la tête. Zou pou couma nous asterla: 20 ans zot pas pou gagne narien.

ManU fan: To pé révé. Nou pou acheté 2-3 top zoueurs l’année prochaine ek nou pou bez toi… comme d’habitude.

Liverpool fan: Avec ki kas? To l’équipe, c’est l’équipe ki ena plis boucou dette au monde. De toute facon, zot péna défense et milieu donc pas zis 2-3 zoueurs zot bizin. Vidic pé al Inter.

ManU fan: To pé révé. To l’équipe pou ramasse ene mari baté ar nou l’année prochaine. Gerrard ine vine dada. Suarez népli pou là. 26 ans mo faire mari ek mo éna l’intention continié.

Liverpool fan: To pé koze n’importe. To bizin réaliste: to l’équipe faible et to entraineur péna l’expérience. Liverpool pé vine mari fort.

ManU fan: Nou va bez zot l’année prochaine. Nou va investi.

Liverpool fan: Ene ferfout. Mo l’équipe pli bon ki to l’équipe.

and, just after that, the fighting begins with insults being thrown, mums being involved and a lot of noise being made.

Sometimes, I ask myself why don’t football fans engage in more intelligent conversation about the evolution of the game, tactics, styles of play, potential signings, training routines, etc. Maybe that’s because a lot of football fans do not really know football very much apart from the latest gossips, results and, of course, their beloved team.

To be complete, I didn’t know a lot about football myself but I read two books and I learned a lot:

Let’s try to stop being insulting to each other. After all, this is just football. Let’s engage in meaningful conversation.

Valentine’s Day

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On Friday, our kids, Anya and Kyan, prepared dinner for Christina and I for Valentine’s Day. They did almost everything including setting up the table, preparing starters (pâté de campagne), a big salad and dessert (biscuits topped with chocolate and almond).

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After dinner, they gave us nice cards, all made by themselves. Kyan did his at school while Anya did hers in secrecy after school.

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As you can easily imagine, Christina and I were delighted. The food was nice. The cards were beautiful. And we enjoyed being together. Since quite a few years, Christina and I avoid going to restaurants on Valentine’s Day for dinner. We much prefer to be together, have something nice to eat and drink and have fun!

A nugget of wisdom on how to be successful in life

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During an IAmA (I Am A) on Reddit, Colonel Peter Mansoor, former executive officer to General David Petraeus during the surge in Iraq and now a professor of military history at the Ohio State University, offered the following nugget of wisdom on how to be successful in life:

  1. Get as much education as you can.
  2. Marry well and for life.
  3. Start saving early and make it a habit.
  4. Find something you love, and figure out how to make money doing it.

I love #4. He naturally mentioned that “#4 is tough for a lot of people, but if you can pull it off you never work a day in your life.”

I wonder how many of us in Mauritius really find something they love doing and actually do it on an everyday basis?

I do. At Knowledge Seven. Being an entrepreneur is about trying to do #4 every day of your life, failing numerous times, until you finally succeed.

Do you?