Yasin Ansari

Patriotically supporting Inter Milan

// April 29th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Interests

As much as a I LOVE soccer, watching & playing it I have to admit I am the kinda spectator that knows teams for their ability and apart from the outstanding players that are totally worth watching like Messi, Eto, Alves and the likes I haven’t really paid much attention to the rest. All this was until last night when I had the opportunity to watch history being made as Barcelona (said like u have a lisp) took on Inter Milan in the 2nd leg of the UEFA champions league semi finals in what for me was by far the most entertaining 96 mins (total of 6 mins extra time from both halves) of the UEFA league.

As gripping and mind blowing as the game was, this blog isn’t about the fact that on the 22nd of May Inter will step to play a final against Bayern Munich in the first final that they have made it to in over 30 years. This blog is about a Kenyan (yes another one but not just anyone) who last night walked onto the field with about 15 mins to go in the game and  not only was I impressed but mighty proud that he stood his ground and played well earning him the right to play for one of the most successful coaches of our time, Jose Mourino.

McDonald Mariga is his name, playing in a number 17 jersey as a midfielder. Watch this guy, he will be remembered as one of the stars from Africa. It is rather sad that the Kenyan government hasn’t yet managed to get beyond their egos, corruption and bureaucratic crap to be able to help an individual develop and realize their true potential. As a Kenyan I can absolutely assure you that if there is a kenyan out there that is making waves, its not with the support and help of his country but his/her pure determination to be the best he can be.

What Mcdonald has done for me is build a soft spot and love for Inter Milan and I am pretty sure that last night, Inter managed to win themselves a whole load of support from Kenyans across the globe. As the spectable drew to an end and the sprinklers were switched on to encourage the Inter team to boycott their celebrations and get off the field, I watched Mr. Mariga shake hands and hug some of the legends of the game. All i can say is that I CANT wait for the 22nd when i will watch Inter Milan do what they have been trying to do for years and more importantly get a glimpse of this midfielder.

Thank you Mr. Mariga for giving me that feeling of being proudly Kenyan.

From Agency to Client Side

// April 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Interests

I have been working as a website designer for the last 12 years of my life with a good portion of it being spent graphing as a freelance designer in both Kenya and South Africa. About 18 months ago I was about done with doing my own thing and was quite fortunate to find a job with one of south africa’s top online marketing agencies. After building websites for 12 years, working with all kinds of clients and doing the same dance routine over and over again, I was faced with the question where did i see myself 5 years from now.

As passionate as I am about the web and all the is possible online, truth be told working in agency as a designer is hard grueling stressful work, more so as a designer you know deep down inside that the website you go live with is only a small portion of the overall online campaign / strategy and the true genius is in taking that website and turning it into online magic aka visits.

Having worked as a designer, done some front end and back-end development, familiarized myself with the CMS offering in the market, worked through loads of projects and dealt with a variety of clients, being quite confident with web principles and a determination to build some quality work online getting a job as a designer or a developer just wasn’t going to cut it. So armed with passion for the internet, a belief that I could really contribute more and with 12 yrs of hard labor I hit the market with the a very clear mission, to find a job in the corporate market as a web guy.

Then one day thanks to a lead I stumbled upon ETV and after a few months of some hectic interview process, I finally got a job. My designation says web developer but if the last 3 months are anything to go by then WEB DUDE would be a more appropriate role. With the job comes all the perks of corporate along with all the challenges of corporate.

Over the last 3 months I have built internal sites, implemented a collaborative web based system to manage projects, introduced people to the power of CMS with wordpress & drupal leading the way, I have sat in meetings talking about site architectures and strategy’s and most importantly made the possibilities of the internet very much a reality. Sure coming in from an agency put my miles ahead with most people absolutely confused at what I am talking about most of the time which has resulted in me having to re-look at how I communicate what I know into corporate speak.

Overall its been a fun educational journey that has setup the stage for building an awareness and understanding of online and then translating that into results online. From photoshop layouts to presentations, from site structures to site architectures, from getting briefs to writing briefs. This is going to be one of the most interesting years of my life and career.

To online infinity and beyond.
Yasin Ansari

Awesome Dentist / Dental Practitioner – JHB North

// December 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Interests

Its been years since I have been to see a dentist (shamefully admitting that I haven’t taken care of my teeth) but there is good reason. Truth be told, I knew things weren’t all so merry, and more than the fact that health wise it was only getting worse, it was the excruciating cost that awaited me the day I said Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh to a dentist. But that was until I met an angel from dental heaven. And for this simple reason I am writing this post and giving you her details with the hope that I can do a small part in introducing you to a truly fair, honest, upfront, good affordable dentist.

The Scenario: About 10 years, being young and stupid, I had become quite adapt at being able to open coke bottle tops with me teeth. It was like magic, didn’t have an opener … NOT A PROBLEM, and a few seconds later, bob’s your uncle. Until one fine day, as I attempted to show this dashing damsel in desperate need to quench her thirst with a cold coke how versatile I was, only resulting in me holding a piece of that tooth and realizing I needed a new trick. So for the last 10 yrs I have had half this tooth, which worked effectively until a few months ago when I started experiencing this pain like never before.

My life had gotten to the point where eating was a mission, so one fine day I get my procrastinating ass up and head out to find a dentist on NO medical aid (apparently suicidal if you live in SA). So i started my search in fourways and let me tell you what a mission, and when it wasnt a mission it was just a down right RIP OFF. As my Wify works in Morningside Medi Clinic and I was in need of someone to hold my hand as the dentist reduced my molar composition from 32 teeth to 31, I chanced it to see if I could find someone in the hospital with very little expectation. I mean this is Morningside medi clinic, one of Johannesburg’s top hospitals in the center of Sandton, THE lifestyle and business hub of jozi … cheap just wasn’t going to work out. I asked around and found out about this dentist who works from a building next to the hospital. Calls and inquiries are made and all seemed above board and fair so I booked an appointment.

That morning I brushed for 10 minutes extra just to make sure. I show up and the lady welcomed me with a smile and before she said anything else I explained to her that I had been a BAD BAD boy and that I was not only ashamed but nervous to hear what her diagnosis would be once she took a look. She was chilled, explained that all will be fine. So I lay down, say Ahhhhhhhhhhhh and she starts checking each tooth out. Now there is her assistant that stood there with a pen and paper, and as the dentist checked each tooth what she felt was not ok she called out and gave it a rating between A and C. I kid you not when I tell you she called out atleast 10 times. It reached a point where I just chuckled to myself in complete fear of the cost that await me.

Once she finished checking she sat back in her chair and in the most amazing way explained to me where I was at, what needed to be done, her recommendation, the cost and the best way to approach it medically and financially. I WAS SOLD. So it turned out to be A root canal or extraction, about 5 fillings and one treatment. As I smoke and drink coffee like its free at the end of the process a bleaching would be required. This I could handle. She then proceeded to extract one tooth with week by week appointments to do the other stuff.

Considering that I had a tooth removed, the entire process was painless infact she was gentle. Sure the left side of my face was numbed out completely, but as she stood there and yanked to get this MOTHER tooth out, you could see that she was doing everything she could to make sure that I was ok. Between her constant explanations of what was going on there was the this calming reassurance that I was in safe hands.

Start to finish I was done in about an hour and walked out of there feeling a whole lot better. In an age and city where there is a constant effort to screw people over, get as much as you can irrespective of who you trample upon and values on how we treat people don’t exist, it is truly refreshing and heart warming to go through an entire process like this and walk away feeling great.

So in doing my part, if you are looking for a fantastic private dentist in Johannesburg North (Sandton, Fourways, Bryanston, Morningside) then give this lady a call and I assure you, you WON’T be disappointed.

• Dr. Raheema Suliman
• Dental Practitioner (Private Dentist)
• Phone : 011 883 – 9728
• Tel / Fax: 011 883 9622
• Email: drsuliman[at]vibe.co.za (You know what to do)
• Rochester place, Block G, 173 Rivonia Road, Morningside – Johannesburg.(Map below)

From my 31 happy teeth … Have a wicked cool one.

Yasin

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