Beating the blues

It was meant to be forever.The promises of eternal love, the mushy poems and the candlelit dinner dates.Not to mention the endless yakking away in cell phones all night long, what with free call rates and joy packages. But suddenly the vows of everlasting lubh crashed overnight and now you're broken, sad, depressed, sobbing and complaining, and you can't move around without a tissue paper to blow your nose with and dab your teary eyes. Don't worry, maybe some of our suggestions will beat the bruise:

Still Friends..but not too much:
You have just broken up with your boyfriend/girlfriend and like all good break ups, you agreed to be still friends. But wait, it's good to still be pals, but it's better to keep your distance immediately after the breakup and trust me, you need the space. We all know that breakups are rarely even, most often there is the one who initiates the breakup and the other who has to come to terms with it. Hence if you are the other person, it’s not going to be easy seeing and talking with him/her like nothing has happened, it is going to hurt. It's going to be far more difficult to get over it, and even if it's not intentional you might start thinking that it's going to work again and fall into that same vicious circle, ending in more pain than you can handle.

What are friends for:
Sure, you have neglected and avoided your best friends while you were going out with your dream guy/girl, but that doesn't give them the right to neglect you when you are heartbroken and devastated, right? So don't feel guilty to ring up your friends and sob your heart out, complain endlessly about what a jerk your boy/girl was and how you deserve so much better. If you think that only girls do this, and the guys are all fine and non complaining, well think again, guys nag as much as girls, but it's really alright for the time being, nothing feels better than putting the blame on the other's shoulders.

Shop till you drop:
For girls, this is the best remedy ever. Nothing cheers up the mind more than shopping! So hit the mall with your friends and shop till you drop, or if you're broke, window shopping still works. Be it shoes, dresses or dvds, you will feel good shopping and haggling. And don't forget to spend quality time with your single friends who you neglected all this time. Go out to eat and hang out, being single is more fun than you think and you'll soon figure out why.

Gaming and movies:
For some, just watching tv can do a lot of mending.If you a movie buff, hit the dvd store, get some good flicks and get absorbed. You will soon discover what you have been missing and if your are into video games and PC games, then no question about it, a few hours with your PS 2 will bring back your zest in life. Killing those figures sure makes you feel invincible.

Take up something new:
If nothing helps, try to take up a new activity. That will help you keep your mind off you know who, and you'll learn something new and may actually become good at it. You can take up playing a new instrument and bring out your hidden talents, or take up a sport like tennis or pool or even swimming. Physical exercise does keep the mind off unwanted evils. You can also try out dancing or karate. Also , try to get absorbed in your work, be it in studies or some school activity, always keep yourself busy and soon enough you'll find that you actually don't have any time to mope over your lost love.

Breaking up is never easy, but take heart because even the best, most solid relationships sometimes come to an end. It will be difficult, no one's denying it, but don't make it more difficult that it is. Give yourself some space, take it easy and concentrate on you, and all the other things that make you happy.

By Subehee Ahmed

Remember all those times when you were younger and wished you could grow up and do all those things that always wanted to do? Then remember growing up and regretting ever wanting those things at all? Precisely the point being that, we human beings are so confused about being who we want to be or getting what we want, that our whole lives are spent doing nothing but regretting. Here's how…

Study vs. Job
As kids, you hate to study. You hate your school, your everyday homework and in general your life in entirety. The idea of getting up everyday at seven to go to school at 8 was nothing short of punishment for our tender minds. How we wished that we could go to offices like your fathers and earn as much money as possible! Office was ‘so much fun’; you wake up late, wear whatever you want and drive to work. At the end of the month you get loads of money. How our young minds counted each day of our lives to grow up and go to work just like our fathers!

Now as grown adults, don't you just hate your workplace? It is not fun; the bosses overwork you, you get a meager salary that can’t buy you anything you want. You are in stiff competition with your colleagues and it’s tough to impress your boss or get a raise. How you wish you remain the kid you were! Go to school everyday and have loads of fun. Do your homework and impress your parents easily. No need to pay for food or any utilities, and instead of holiday once a year, you get holidays at the end of each semester and go on extended holidays with your parents. How our adult minds wish we never grew old.

Boys Vs. Girls
As boys, the word ‘girl’ was synonymous with the term “arch-enemy”. You could never figure out what they were about. They spoke in thin voices and cried over everything. They never fought fair and complained to the teacher all the time. It was cool to avoid them and if you were caught talking to one, then your friends would tell the whole world that she was your girlfriend and make fun of you. You wished that there were no girls at all and the world would be a better place.

As grown up men, the word girl becomes synonymous with the term “babes”. You try really hard in vain to get a girlfriend. You discuss for hours with your friends trying to understand the minds of girls so that you can score them. IF you are caught talking to a hot chick, then you become the star of your brotherhood and claim the girl as your ex girlfriend even if she was just asking for directions. You wish there would be more pretty girls surrounding you and then you'd literally find heaven on earth.

Parents Vs. Children
When you are kids, you are just in awe of your parents, and when you grow and become parents yourself, you are just in awe of your kids. Unfortunately, that's the rule of life. When I as a kid, how I wished I could grow my own facial hair and groom them regularly like my father did. Now that I have grown up (not yet a parent thankfully!), the idea of shaving everyday is a bother; I wish I had the same skin and complexion when I was a kid. This is true for most kids. I asked a 9 year-old what he likes and dislikes about his parents, his answer on both count was “Money”. Smart for a kid of 9 years, he explained he liked that fact the they had lots of money, something he wanted so that he could buy all the toys in the world, but he also disliked his folks, because they never bought him all the toys in the world with all the money they had. And when I asked his parents about that, they complained that they spent a lot on the young man, but his desires just could not be fulfilled.

Being young, being old and being young again.

The human life-cycle is amazing to say the least. When we are young, we are dependant on our parents, we are helpless and need caring. And then we grow up, its our turn to pay back, we take care of the young, help them grow up. And then again, when we become old, we seem to become young again. We become helpless and dependant, we need constant caring. Life has a way to getting us even. So instead of fighting with ourselves or our elders, we should think that we end where we start; being old is just a precursor to being young again.

By Monty Python

Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis
False the cracking sound is nitrogen bubbles bursting in the joint. It's perfectly safe

Fish is brain food
True Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for brain development and eating fish can help clean out arteries which increases blood flow and brain function

You should eat carbohydrates before exercising
True -A small high starch meal will help your body perform better before a workout

Eating carrots protects your eyes
False Broccoli, spinach and other leafy vegetables are much better sources of lutein, which helps reduce the risk of eye disease.

With targeted exercise, you can lose fat in the area you want to
False Fat is lost throughout the body. It is impossible to target a specific area

If you knock out a tooth, you can save it in a glass of milk
True The calcium in milk may help preserve the structure of the tooth just long enough to take to a dentist for repair

Drinking cold water will make you fat
False Water, be it cold or warm, contains no calories and would not add to your body fat in any way.

By Nisma Elias

Launching Party:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

ETC is proud to announce that it will launch "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"simultaneously with the rest of the world on 21st July, 2007.Our event kicks off at 9.00 AM. Eager readers may pre-book their copy at ETC and they will receive a free gift with every order. ETC Kids Club is organizing a Harry Potter Party with games, a movie screening and a fancy dress competition.

Books will be available at the following places:

ETC Dhanmondi:
Concord Royal Court, Plot-27G, Road-27, Dhanmondi

ETC Uttara:
RAK Tower, Plot - 1/A, Jashimuddin Avenue, Sector - 3 Uttara

Books Express Gulshan:
Plot- SE (F) 1, Road - 140, Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka

Books Express Banani:
House 98, 1st floor, Road 11, Block C, Banani

TunesBD.com are celebrating their third anniversary at d'Pavement this July 19th. All forum members and those associated with TunesBD are cordially requested to drop by and enjoy the food, the live music, and a whole lot of fun that we are having.

d'Pavement is a little further along Shat Moshjid Road near the Mohammadpur RAB HQ.

For further details, call 01716-581582 or visit tunesBD.com.