Junior's Problems II

Hello readers, I am back again to share some juniors' problems with you. Some days ago a little boy called on our telephone number. He told me that he was Shuvo. I said, 'Very well, whom do you want?' He replied, 'I'm Shuvo!' I realized that it was another bored kid playing pranks and hung up. He called again and again and again. I received the phone, my mother received the phone and every time he kept reminding us that his name was Shuvo. Finally, my father answered the call.

Now Mr Shuvo did something different. He didn't tell his name to my father. Rather he asked, 'Are you a policeman?' My father was amazed and asked him who he was or whom he wanted. He didn't reply but said instead, 'You're under arrest!' Ahem, thinking my father was a policeman, he wished to arrest him! My father reprimanded the prankster and called him a naughty brat. We were lucky that he never called again. My mother still wonders where he got our number and why he was calling us so many times. I think he learnt how to redial that day and practised to gain some dexterity in this skill. Ah, technology improves and our juniors go on. Bravo!

Another day a little boy called at my friend's house. As usual, my friend asked him who he was or whom he wanted and the little boy replied that he wanted her. Well, well, what business could this boy have with my friend? Surprised, my friend asked him what he wanted to talk about. And the little boy asked, 'Who are you?' My friend was puzzled and asked, 'Whom do you want?' The junior replied, 'I've called you. Who are you?' He had called her and wanted to talk to her but he had no idea who she is, but he still insists that he wants her and nobody else. Now I see that juniors have learnt prank calling.

Now let's talk about something more interesting. One day my elder sister saw a little boy talking to another little girl. He was telling her to call him in the evening. Why? Because then his mom and dad would not be at home! Some days ago one of my little cousins came to Bangladesh from abroad. He collected a ring from another cousin which he afterwards brought with him as a gift to his foreign girlfriend.

Juniors are now fashion conscious also. One of my young male cousins has recently shaved his eyebrows as he couldn't find anything else in his face to shave off. After that while going out he had to fight for the eyebrow pencil with his sister! Recently I've heard about some kids who have started spiking their wet hair after taking bath! Another little female cousin of mine has recently ordered my uncle to buy her a set of golden necklace and earring. Not a chain. A necklace. I wonder what she will want while getting married.

Some days ago I went to a shopping mall for Eid shopping. There I saw some costumes that I've never seen before. I saw a Spiderman costume and a Devdas shirt. Now the Devdas shirt was not made for any adult. It was a child's shirt with the words DEVDAS SHIRT written in it.

I saw little shoes and sandals with heels so high that even I'd fear to wear them. Of course little girls buy these and so the business flourishes. Ah, the whole world is excited about fashion and style. Why should the new generation just sit down and watch? Let's go on. Now WE are watching…

By Fahmina Nahid

The Charmed Ones

“Hey Mali Bua, how's everything going?" "Pretty good. Oh my God, you know what..." I tapped my pen on the table while my cousin began her tale. As I listened to her, I started to wander off and thought of all the things that happened in the new millennium.

For starters, I live in a joint family, sometimes it's a gift and sometimes it's a curse. I can remember all my time being spent with this joint family. Lucky me, I had two cousins who were just three months and four months (respectively) older than me. I also have an elder sister and together we formed what we called "The Charmed Ones."

Actually, that was a name I gave, being a "Charmed" fan, whatever name we were given, we were inseparable. However very recently, one of the members of the charmed ones left. She didn't move out of the country but just to the other side of the city and I don't think any of us have ever been so emotional than that day when she left. We sent her off with a scrapbook to remind her everyday of the moments we shared.

Ever since she left, our fathers could often be found tearing off their hair. Each time they did that we knew the month's phone and internet bill had just come in.

A conversation with my other cousin would probably start off something like "How's everything going in school?" and a conversation with my sister starts off in various ways. Mali Bua (my nick name for her) and I have a habit of frequently using phrases like "You know what?" or "The thing is…" and "Look at it this way" and that has become a new joke for us. There are no ends to talking when the four of us are in the same room.

After I hung up, I went to the computer room to find my sister busily working on an assignment with my other cousin sitting next to her, obviously bugging her for more suggestions on her English essay. Is Class VIII comprehension really that hard? It didn't seem so to me… but then to her Math was a piece of cake. My sir, will probably become 80 by the time I learned linear inequalities but then her English sir would probably become 95 by the time she completed her comprehension without a single mistake. That's how things are between the four of us. We're nice examples of "Opposites attract."

I can always count on my 'cuzzy-wuzzies' and my sister to cheer me up when I'm upset and to lend me a shoulder when I'm crying, a calculator when my one's missing and make a wish with me when I blow my candles.

I can't count the times the four of us would have an extremely silly quarrel or have a giggling match. We would laugh at things people would usually find stupid… People rarely understood our jokes and if they did, they found it "lame" but we never really cared because we succeeded in making the other laugh and that was a big enough achievement. I've always noticed the sense of loyalty we have towards each other. I remember I used to hate someone just because she/he did something to my sister or my cousin and vice-versa. People would often ask "Why do you hate her?" and I would give a very stupid answer like "Because my sister hates her?" It' not a very convincing answer but that just proves the relationship between the four of us. I remember when we were at my cousin's house we were screaming the place down while seeing "Party in the Park" on TV because "Busted" was singing. I didn't bother to count exactly how many bewildered looks we got but I do know there were quite a lot. I don't like Busted too much but I can tolerate my sister and one of my cousins going on and on about them. My cousins have no interest in the things I see but they definitely listen when I drone on and on.

I would spend all my Eid money getting a new CD player and albums of Linkin Park and Evanescence when my sister would probably spend it on a DVD player and "School of Rock" and the entire F.R.I.E.N.D.S. 10th season.

People would often look at us and think we're all sisters though just two of us are. At time I take my cousins and my sister for granted, at times I realize how lucky I am to have an elder sister I'm so free and open with and two cousins who are just right.

Hey you guys, I wonder whether any of you're reading this. I'm sure Apu is, being a Literature fanatic like me, Nimerus might be too because she reads ever single thing that comes her way, I have no faith in Mali Bua though. She's hopeless when it comes to reading newspapers. The only time she reads them is when I tell her to read about something "interesting" written about anyone interesting.

I'm sure you all remember the day at Pizza Hut and each of our birthdays. I'm sure you all remember when we hugged each other and cried that day and last of all, I'm sure you all agree with me when I say, that no matter where we are, we will always be, hopefully, the inseparable Charmed Ones.

By Sara

Do YOU eNvy Him? He is Lawrence J. Ellison, at number 6, with a bag loaded with 55 billion US dollars

He who made it big

His war of words with Bill Gates was enough to garner our respect, but his outrageous lifestyle is, in our view, fantastic. He lives life on his own terms in the same way admired CEO Richard Branson does. These men are inspirational for what we can do with unrelenting ambition and talent. Let's not forget that he built one of the world's best (and most profitable) companies.

The founder of Oracle is one of the most flamboyant and outspoken businessmen of the century, not to mention one of the richest, with a net worth somewhere north of $50 billion. In an industry dominated by poorly dressed geeks, Mr. Ellison truly stands out with his tailor-made Italian suits and shirts. He looks the part of the billionaire

Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle, has been in the news quite often lately, not for his outlandish comments, but for his battle with Bill Gates for the title of the richest man in the world. The two tech giants are currently battling it out in the $50 billion range, each changing the world's money title based on the daily performance of their respective companies' stock: Oracle and Microsoft.

Larry Ellison is far from a run-of-the-mill businessman. Oracle is the world's leading supplier of software for information management and the world's second largest independent software company, boasting revenues of more than $9.7 billion. The huge success of the company makes Ellison one of the richest people in America. His drive, character and success motivated author Mike Wilson to write Ellison's biography entitled The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison. If you would like to uncover the details of Ellison's life, nasty to nice, the book is brutally straightforward regarding the man commonly referred to as the Other Software Billionaire.

Ellison is living proof that business is not something learned through academic textbooks, but rather an innate gift. A college dropout, Ellison is renowned for his impeccable business sense, drive and ambition. It's no surprise that in order to achieve Ellison's success, one must take huge risks and learn from mistakes made along the way. Was Ellison a risk taker?

Well what would you call someone that promises products with features that don't even exist, only to go back to developers and demand that they deliver these forthcoming products? What about hiring staff that are not qualified for their positions -- so unskilled, in fact, that they required manuals when chosen for their respective positions? Ellison deserves credit for that one as well.

Ellison also demanded at least 100 percent growth in sales of his company's software, a near impossible feat for a company that already boasts $100 to $500 million in sales. It would have been impossible for Oracle and Ellison, if it wasn't for some dodgy sales practices. This may be considered one of Ellison's mistakes as it negatively affected Oracle's business reputation. Although Ellison's high demands led to a highly stressful work environment, it also led to high productivity and Oracle's present success.

Oracle underwent some changes before becoming the multibillion-dollar corporation it is today. When first founded by Ellison, it was known as Software Development Laboratories and then reincarnated into Relational Technologies until it finally took on the name it is known as today; Oracle.

Larry Ellison presently sits on the board of Apple Computer (a company he once dreamed of taking over along with Steve Jobs) and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, while the many honors and awards he received include Entrepreneur of the Year form the Harvard School of Business.

As well as a billionaire, Ellison is also believed to be quite a multi-faceted character: playboy, world champion sailboat racer, sports nut, jet pilot, ruthless businessman, marketing genius, and avant-garde thinker. We weren't kidding when we said he is no ordinary businessman.

By Taskin Rahman