Feedback on Google tools

This is my last blog entry, which will be a reflection on the different Google tools I've used for my other project after attending the different training session done by my classmates. Moreover, is it part of the project requirements to demonstrate what I learned from each session and each tool through screenshots and obvious evidence of applying them through my daily life.  

I believe that the different Google tools were very helpful and useful since each tool helped me perform my daily tasks in an easier and simpler way. My favorite Google tools were: Google blogs, Google sites, Google Picasa, Gmail and Google searching.  Below are the different reasons and benefits of each tool:

Google blogs

My favorite Google tools was blogs, it is a nice way to keep in touch with my friends and family and let them know about my daily routine and updates since my blogs is my diary. My favorite part about blogs is that I can add my friend’s blogs using the Add option, and then I can read their updated posts whenever I enter my blog without having to visit their individual blogs. I may still use my blog even after this project and graduation.

Google sites

I always find it really hard to create a website from scratch and I believe it requires information technology knowledge and skills. However, with Google sites I completely changed my mind since it is a much easier and simpler way to start creating a website. At First, I had no idea what is Google sites but since it was my topic for the tanning session I had to know all about it and at least be somehow an expert while using it. What I liked the most about Google sites, it that it’s a free service provided by Google and it allows a use to create different website using the same G-mail account. Plus, choosing a template, theme and a name for your website is done all at one easy step. I've created my own Google sites for two different topics one is an explanation of how to use and create Google sites and the other one is everything I've learned about Google tools and how I used them. I also recommend any business owner to create his business official website using Google sites. Click here to visit my Google site.  

Google Picasa

Google Picasa is simple software to edit photos and create movie clips. I usually use it to edit, add effects and texts on any image I want and then either post the image in Instagram or my own blog. I liked using this software since it is much easier than Photoshop and it’s not complicated at all. However, one thing I must keep in mind while editing the picture is that to save it I should make a copy so I don’t lose the original photo.

G-mail

Mostly the entire world use G-mail as their main email server since it is a free service provided by Google. At first, I used Hotmail to send and receive emails from my official E-mail account. However, after creating a G-mail I totally switched to use my G-mail account as my main and only account since its features are much attracting for users. Such features include filters which helped me organize my email according to the sender. Plus, without my G-mail account I won’t be able to use all of the other Google tools.

Google searching

This tool is the most beneficial tool since it helped me a lot while searching for different articles and websites to finish my projects and reports. By using Google searching techniques I am now saving a lot of time and effort while searching. Since each technique help me find exactly what I’m looking for with a simple trick performed. For example, if I wanted to search for a PDF file I will simply type the topic name between (“”) and then write filetype:pdf.  

Additional tools

All of the above, are my favorite and most beneficial Google tools, however I also use Google Calendar, Google Maps and Google chrome. Google Calendar helps me create events and reminders for my specific appointments or obligations. Google Maps helps me find any location on the world with different views and also help me create a route plan and notifies me of the time it’s going to take to reach my final distention. Lastly, Google chrome is of course my main web browser since it is faster, easier and has many helpful techniques and features, which prevent wasting my time. There are other Google tools that I didn't find very helpful or let’s say I didn't like them much  or use them as often as the others, and they are: Google drive, drop box and Social bookmarking. Social bookmarking (delicious) is a tool provided by Google to help send and share useful links and resources. Instead I usually use Google Docs and my G-mail account to share any document either via Email or Google Docs.

Ranking

Below is my ranking for each tool out of 10.

Blogs: 10/10

Google Sites: 10/10

G-mail: 10/10

Google Searching: 10/10

Google Calendar: 10/10

Google Maps: 10/10

Google Chrome: 10/10

Google Picasa: 9/10

Google Reader: 9/10

Google +: 8/10

Facebook: 8/10

Social bookmarking: 6/10

Google drive: 6/10

Drop box: 5/10  

Google translate: 4/10

Summer Vacation!

Every summer I and my family plan a trip to a different country. Last year we went to Italy and I visited Rome, Venice, Como and Milano. I've loved the four cities, I experienced different things, visited many places and the best thing I loved about Italy was the food.

 In Rome, I've visited historical places and many museums. However, in Venice I enjoyed the taste of organic tomato sauce with the pasta and pizza cooked at different restaurants. In Como, the best thing was the big lake and the spectacular view of nature from the balcony of our room in the hotel.  Lastly, in Milano I mostly went shopping and bought everything that wasn't available in my country but I was a bit disturbed from the weather it was sunny in the morning and rainy in the afternoon, so I had no idea what to wear or should I get an umbrella with me or not!

This year we are planning to have a late vacation, since the holy month of Ramadan is soon and Aid is next. We decided to go either to China or Turkey; I’m excited to visit any of the two countries since it would be my first time.

Any other suggestions?

13 days left!

It is the end of the semester, the end of college life and the end of my final bachelor year at Dubai Women’s college. Only 13 days left and I’m really excited to start my career life yet I’m kind of sad to end my college life. I’m going to miss college, my daily routine, my friends and my teachers.

For college, I’m used to wake up at different hours every day and stay for my classes and leave with no obligation to stay until a certain hour! Plus, every break I usually leave college for an hour to go have breakfast at different restaurants nearby. I’m going to miss all of that and specially the late and long hours I spent with my group members and friends to finish and prepare for our projects while chatting and eating together.

However, I’m ready to start a new stage in my life, since I already applied for jobs at different companies and attended couple of job interviews and tests at different organizations. Hopefully, I’ll hear from them soon and get accepted in the best organization to sign a contract with them and start right way.

Photo-shooting

The other day I was really bored setting home doing nothing, so I decided to take photos of my favorite baby nephews Majid and Khalifa. Luckily, the two boys were wearing the exact same outfits of polo t-shirts and shorts, which made the pictures look nicer. I took random photos without them knowing that I’m doing it so they looked spontaneous and really cute hanging out together, playing and fighting.     

Hangover 3 !!

Since I’m a movie addict and I frequently go to the cinemas, I watched all three parts of the hangover movie. The last and the end of the movie is part 3 which is now showing in the cinema. It was good, funny and I enjoyed it, but to me the previous two parts were much better and the best was the first movie released on 2009. What was really funny is that I was really excited about the movie and I bought the tickets two days before the show, just to make sure I’ll have my best seating booked.  

Gallery visit

For my other project I had to visit two different local galleries, I chose AlSerkal Avenue since it has many galleries located in the same place; I visited all of them the art and photography galleries. My favorite two are the one I chose to write reports about them for the project are: Gulf photo plus and Emmanuel Catteau. Emmanuel is a photographer who took photos of portraits of people of different nationalities. Gulf Photo Plus is a gallery of different photos for different photographers. The best photo I've seen of all galleries is the one shown below, I liked it because it is of my own city Dubai and it has a reflection effect. It if taken by the photographer: Michael Cerendo.   

P.S: you can find more information about Alserkal Avenue and the different galleries there through this link

Birthday Cake!

This weekend I and my family celebrated my nephew’s birthday Ahmed and Abdulla, My sister was the one who chose the cake she made it look like boxing gloves. Since both my nephews are into sports, boxing and keeping fit and in shape. I really loved their cake; it was huge and looked really nice with 3D shape. So if you are looking for a 3D shaped cake I definitely recommend Wow Sweets in Jumeira, since they bake the best cake ever with many flavors such as: vanilla, chocolate crunchy and red velvet. The best one is chocolate crunchy because it has small pieces of French biscuit in it with makes the cake taste really good. However, if you were confused and didn't know which cake to choose the bakery shop Wow doesn't mind to mix two of your favorite flavors in one cake!

P.S: to have an idea about the different shapes, offers and flavors click here

A must drink!

Every day I must have my dose of caffeine or I guess I won’t be as productive as I want! My favorite is Starbucks drink; Iced-white mocha with caramel and no web cream. Its sweet flavored since it has white chocolate and milk in it, however, still it gives me the energy I need to wake me up. So each day I drive to Starbucks and my favorite part is the staff over there remembers my order so I don’t have to repeat it everyday. I recommend trying it cold with ice cubes in summer and hot in winter!

A special friend

Friday, 24th May, 2013

College life makes you spend more time with your friends and colleagues, during this time I’ve became very close to my dearest friend Rowdha. Her birthday is on 26^th May, so prior to her birthday I planned a birthday celebration which will take place at a fancy restaurant in Dubai and I invited our friends as well. I've selected Zuma restaurant for dinner, since I already tried it. I enjoyed the day with a great company and most importantly I enjoyed the Japanese delicious dishes we ordered.

Spa

My friend Rowdha and I share the love to relax and enjoy an entire day at the spa releasing the stress away. Therefore, I booked us an appointment at SensAsia Urban Spa at the Village on Jumeirah Beach Road. The treatment took 60 minutes however, we are free to stay after the massage to enjoy the spa facilities and drink a warm cup of tea. It was a day well spent and the spa was definitely worth trying!

For more information regarding SensAsia Spa don't hesitate to visit their official website 

The Great Gatsby 2013

The Great Gatsby movie which is based on a true story and a novel published back in 1925 written by American author. The movie was really great; it was about a young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and who played this role was Leonardo DiCaprio in the latest version released on 2013 among other famous movie crew such as Joel Edgerton and Tobey Maguire.  It is a drama, romance movie and the events started when the main character found himself drawn to the past and still attached and completely in love with whom once was his girlfriend but now is a married women. I found the ending a bit tragedy but the overall movie was very enjoyable. I recommend watching it!

RUSSO'S Pizza !!

The other day I’ve tried this new pizza place called “Russo’s pizza” at Jumeirah Center on Jumeirah Beach Road. What I can only say is that it was really good and reminded me of the pizza I ate at Venice!! The same Italian taste and crisp, plus, I liked the shape of the pizza as you can order the regular round shape pizza or a huge slice cut pizza. I’ve tried two different kinds of pizza vegetables and tomato mozzarella pizza, and I liked both. If you can’t visit their Jumeira branch then you should wait as they are opening soon at Sahara Center, Sharjah.

Red bull addict !!

Since everyone knows how much I love red bull, I have this announcement to all red bull lovers; there is new red bull in stores!! And I definitely recommend trying it. The new editions are silver, blue and red edition, and each one carries a different flavor of lime, blueberry and cranberry. It is the same energy drink for the same price but with additional flavor, my favorite was the blue and silver edition but I won’t choose any of them on a regular basis as I enjoy drinking the regular old red bull the most!  

Laduree's macarons!!

The best macaroons I have ever tasted are Laduree’s macaroons. They are the yummiest and most delicious, flavors are of all kinds and you will definitely like it, if you are into sweets and desserts. My favorite are: Vanilla, Pistachio and Rose. However, what I do like about Laduree is not only the taste of their sweets but also the gift boxes and packages as they offer a gift box for each season, for example, if you are willing to get someone a macaroon gift box soon then you should buy them the new summer edition which will be available from 23^rd of May at all Laduree’s shops.  

New Cafe!

I definitely recommend the new French café at Mercato Mall, as they have the most delicious homemade tiramisu cake in a jar! It is really tasty, light and well prepared. However, you can’t have it for take away as it made in a jar so you have to stay at the café to eat it. I say it’s worth the stay!   

Qatar for the weekend =D

Thursday, 9 - 11th May, 2013

Exactly what I needed for the weekend is just to go away, fly anywhere, and this is what I did! I went to Qatar with my older sister to visit my cousin Maitha over there. It was a great well spent weekend, it is my first time to visit Qatar and it was really different than what I imagined. I thought, it would be old and undeveloped, however, it was different with many interesting places to visit such as; Katara, The pearl and Souq Wagif.

Luckily, I went to all of them, what I liked about Katara was the delicious multi restaurants and the view of the sea around there. The pearl, is an amazing new investment project in Qatar, it includes all brands boutiques, various restaurants and cafes and rental apartments. I liked it because each part looks like a different country for example the marina view looks like France and the apartment view looks like Venice. Last but not least, Souq Wagif is one of the oldest places at Qatar, it is well known for its traditional garments, handicrafts, spices and souvenirs.       

First Job interview!

Monday, 6th May,2013

After applying for jobs at Dubai Career's Fair 2013, luckily I got my first job interview at ENOC. I had a class during the job interview time, however, I had to apologize and leave class to make it on time. When I first arrived there I was kind of nervous, since it is my first interview but after entering the conference room I was calm because I wanted them to get the first impression of me as a confident potential candidate. The job interview was short, about 15 minutes and the questions were direct and general and I was able to answer them all, plus I asked them if I’ll be having any training or development courses and they said that they do train their new employees during their first year. Well, I hope that I’ll hear from them soon or from any other company!    

Iron man 3

If you enjoy watching action movies then you won’t regret watching Iron man 3. I already watched the previous two parts so my expectations for this part were high and luckily, the movie was as I expected it to be GREAT! The director is Shane Black and as everyone knows the hero is Robert Downey. I liked everything about the movie except the fact it included a terrorist and talked about terrorism!

  

Field trip

Thurday,2nd May, 2013

I consider today the worst day ever, first I had no idea where are we going to visit as a field trip with the college I just knew that the bus is living at 8:30. So I woke up really early took a shower and went to college at 8:00!! But I was surprised when I arrived and saw no one from my class or my teacher. Finally, at 9:00 o’clock everyone arrived and we went to Dubai Ports at Jabal Ali.

We took approximately one hour to reach and I hated it, because of the bus driver driving and the traffic. Not only that, but also when we reached there the weather was really hot and sunny. They took us on a tour and later on we attended a pointless presentation! The only positive aspect of this boring field trip was the view of the huge ships at the port.

On her birthday!

Wednesday, 1st May, 2013

Finally, the day I was waiting for! After college immediately I went to party center at Jumeira to collect the balloons I ordered earlier and then went to my friend’s house after arranging with her sister everything. My friend’s reaction was what I hoped for, she was really happy and excited and the surprise was a success.

Later at night, I took her to Zuma restaurant for dinner, we order several dishes such as; tempura sushi, tempura shrimp, Zuma salad, grilled crab, sweet corn and vegetable noodles. I recommend every dish to all, it was really good and delicious. The surprise wasn’t done yet! After dinner while she thought we were waiting for the bill, the waitress approached our table carrying a huge plate of mix mini cakes while signing happy birthday to my friend!   

Dubai career fair

Tuesday, 30 April, 2013

It was compulsory to go to Career’s UAE exhibition at Dubai World Trade Center, since our teacher will take attendance over there. I thought it was a good idea since we are about to graduate soon and we need to start applying for jobs, therefore, I printed 20 of my personal CV and distributed them to several of private and government organizations. There were about 120 booths but I only visited few because of the crowd and time.

Some of the organizations required a printed CV, or an online form and CV attachment, or a right away job interview! I did all and hopefully will hear from them soon !

I need a break

Monday, 29 April,2013

I needed the day off from all of the work, projects and college stuff, so I spent my time at the saloon doing manicure & pedicure and then went back home to chill and stay with my family whom I don’t see much often because of my long busy day at college.

I went to tips & toes saloon at spinneys Jumeira, they are really good when it comes to nail arts and designs, however, I was too tired to wait for nail art so I just did the regular manicure and pedicure using their new summer collection “orange color”.

Project time

Sunday,28 April, 2013

I and my colleagues were gathering at Rowdha’s house to prepare for our photography project. The requirement is to take pictures of different fruits and vegetables which resemble the rainbow colors. The purpose is to encourage people towards healthy diet and the title of our project is healthy living. At first, we were brainstorming ideas and searching for well taken shots at the internet, instagram and came up with several more. Next, we went to Dubai Fruit and Vegetable Market to buy what we need and then we went back home to start cutting and preparing the fruits. Finally, I believe the results were actually nice and we took 200 photos to show our teacher Mr. Tridib during our meeting tomorrow.

Found was I was looking for!

Finally, got my friend a nice gift after spending the whole day searching while shopping. On each birthday I like to surprise her with something she likes and wants, this time, because of her rings addiction I bought her a bracelet and two rings from Tiffany & Co boutique and hopefully she’ll like it. If you’re looking for a special gift for a special person, then Tiffany’s new collection would help ;)

On a rainy day!

Saturday,27th April,2013

On a rainy day there is nothing more I crave than Al-Raslaan traditional Arabic food. It is the yummiest and the best and I never regret going all the way to Al-Awir area which is approximately 40 minutes away from my house, just to eat their fine food. I consider my Saturday as a well spent day, since I enjoyed a really good company and the best snack I could ever have. So if you’re looking for the best take away traditional Arabic food, then Al-Raslaan is your only choice!

My Favorite dessert

My favorite dessert is "Legaimat" which is a traditional Arabic food, that people usually enjoy eating while drinking coffee or tea. Almost every house in the UAE prepares this dessert in the holy month of Ramadan. I'm no chef! So I have no idea how to make one, but I can suggest that you visit Al Fanar Restaurant in Dubai Festival City if you are looking for the best Legaimat ever.

Enjoy & Have Fun!

Yesterday, I went to Yas Water World in Abu Dhabi with my friends, we decided to go on Thursday since every Thursday is ladies night. I really enjoyed every game, the park is huge and has many rides even a roller-coaster; which will take you on a tour around the whole park!

What I liked about the park is that prices for tickets are affordable ranging from 210 for regular tickets and 385 for premium. Also, I liked the fact that every game has an Arabic name for example; Sebag which mean race in English. However, what was really tiring is that we had to wait approximately 45 minutes for each ride because of the long queue. So if you are willing to visit the park I suggest going any other day except for Thursday, and if you wishes to go on a ladies day, then make sure you buy your tickets in advance and go for premium instead of regular. Enjoy and have fun!

Habit

Afternoon tea, everyday around 5:00 o’clock I have to drink two to three cups of tea. I know it’s somehow a bad habit but what can I say it’s an addiction! to prepare the tea with milk it doesn't take 10 minutes and I can do it myself. Here around the UAE it is called "Karak" and it's part of the culture and Emirates habits to sip at least a cup a day. That's why in every corner of Dubai streets you'll find a Cafeteria who offers Karak.  

Looking forward for 1st of May!

After one week exactly is my best friend birthday Sara. Therefore, I spent the day planning for her birthday, and I came up with what I think is a nice idea. I'll go to her house uninvited and without her being there, I'll decorate her room with balloons, candles and the gift. Plus, today I made a reservation for dinner at Zuma restaurant in Dubai International Financial Center, where we will have dinner and celebrate her birthday afterwards when the waiters will sing and bring her birthday cake over. looking forward for that!

Quiz and exam!

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Today we had an advanced accounting quiz plus a midterm exam in one day. The quiz was multiple choose test, which were really confusing and required deep and critical thinking. The midterm, however, was a bit long and fairly divided with easy to medium questions. I really hope that i did well in both can't wait to have the grades! 

Sebastiao Salgado

Sunday, April 21st,2013 

I and my colleagues were gathering at Rowdha’s residence once again in order to complete our presentation for Mr.tridib’s course. The topic of our presentation was the photographer Sebastiao Salgado. He is an interesting person with many beautiful black and white photographs, who he took of four main aspects: poverty, injustice, war and landscape. If you are looking for inspiration I would suggest you buy one of his books which are available through amazon and other retailers.    

Movies again!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Last weekend, I went to the cinema twice in two days. The movie I watched was fire with fire it’s an action movie for Bruce Willis and Josh Duhamel. The story started when a fireman testify against a criminal, who later on threatened his life. Well, the movie is not that good because the story is just like any other and it was more of a drama movie than action! So I don’t recommend watching it.  

Movies

Yesterday, my friend insisted on going to the movies and I eventually agreed not knowing what movie she chose. We went to oblivion for Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, it is an action fiction movie, which I didn't like or enjoy at all. it is about a man who is assigned for a mission to save earth when suddenly he starts to doubt his mission and himself. I think I wasted my time spending 2 hours watching the movie when I really don't like fiction movies. Therefore, I don't recommend watching it unless you are into fiction movies!

Today's class

At college during Mr.Tridib's class we had a discussion regarding the various steaks people can eat, including strange animals meat such as kangiros. which made me feel weird since I don't eat beef in the first place  

Project time

Sunday April 14th,2013

Spending the day at Rowdha Kamali's residence pretending to work while I and my colleagues were actually satisfying our cravings eating fresh homemade Kunafa. Which is originally a sweet or dessert prepared by Syrian people. However, we Emarati learned how to prepare the sweet and added our touch to it to make it special and unique. 

  

A great experience

Saturday, April13th,2013

Spending the day fishing in the middle of the ocean enjoying a great new experience with friends. I really spent a great time since I was able to go fishing for the first time in my life and also catch my first fish. It felt great and it was really exciting, however, the fish I caught was tiny and small and the others were lucky to catch bigger fish. I call it a great day not only a great experience, since the day was well organized, we enjoyed many activities not only fishing but also, cruising, swimming and cooking!