A welcome change

This week, it was quite encouraging to see the new magazine design. For a moment, I wondered if our paperwala had dropped it at our door by mistake (these invisible guys deliver as early as 3am — kudos to them!). Change is always welcome and it was good to see the new layouts and the enhanced pictures. I miss the Jumble and the Crossword though. Could we have it from next week on?

The articles DIY in Dubai and Marriage? Kids? Not now, Darling (Sept 21) were intriguing ones — though I do not agree with the latest trend of delaying kids by working women. It’s a sensitive topic. Young married women are not ready to plunge into family lives, as they want to settle first in their respective careers. They want to have kids later, but by doing so they will also find tremendous pressure on the work front and not be as fit (physically) to spend quality time with their children later. The earlier the better, I feel — though I’m sure many will disagree!

On a final note, I’d like to quote Winston Churchill when he said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” All the best!

Congratulations, P VINODHKUMAR, on your winning entry! We will be in touch with you shortly.

CONGRATS ARE IN ORDER

Having lived in Dubai for the past 30 years, I must admit that change is inevitable — especially in a place called the UAE! As an ardent subscriber of Khaleej Times from day one of my arrival, I can say the transformation from the year 1981 through 2012 has been phenomenal. It is equally befitting, therefore, that wknd. has also adopted a much-needed change. New York State of Mind (Sept 21) especially revived memories of our last vacation to the US and we felt like visiting the city all over again. Though we’d visited all the spots Peta Scop mentioned, the children got more joy by remembering them once again. It was a real treat for them. wknd. is surely going to reap the benefits of ‘starting over’ for many years to come. Congratulations!

Dileep B Menon, Dubai

Quite the role model

It’s always good to see the other side of a radio host that you listen to almost every morning (DIY in Dubai, Sept 21). Being a Malaysian Chinese, having spent half my life in New Zealand, and then moving to Dubai, I can sort of relate to Simone Heng (minus the super good looks!). I think at such a young age, Simone is quite a role model. She’s beautiful, and she’s actually, quite entertaining on [radio show] The Lowdown. I didn’t know of her blog until I read the article on the ‘wknd’ (pun intended). It’s definitely going to be a site that I’ll be visiting quite often. I also liked the idea that we don’t have to splash out, living in Dubai. We can look good and be different, all on a good budget. As Simone says, we have to “be strategic and work hard”. It’s what my mum always told me!

Cindy Law, by email

FAMILY ON HOLD

Reading Marriage? Kids? Not now, Darling (Sept 21) made me proud to be a part of the wknd. readership. It’s not easy to talk about the issue of delaying marriage and children in our society, but Karen Ann Monsy’s treatment of this delicate matter with balance and respect for diverse views is commendable. In my family, women traditionally finished college, and then promptly got married before they were considered ‘old’. However, my mom always encouraged me to excel in academics and thrive in the professional world. I got married in my late twenties, and remember thinking, “If I could just get that next promotion...”. Kids got planned around work projects; somehow we’ve managed to make it work. In my own office though, many professionally successful divas plan their work projects around infertility appointments and a good number have had complicated pregnancies. Ultimately, I don’t think our generation has solved this quandary. Many of us are still trying to figure out how we can have our cake and eat it too. I suppose my father had some good wisdom when he advised, “Don’t treat life like a set of sequential steps... You have to parallel process!”.

Ankita Prabhakaran, by email