MC applications '07-'08 just opened up. From saying at NLDS '04 that I'd be MCP Pakistan one day to actually filling out the application! The wait has been unbearable.

reconnecting...

i'd thought that when my friends graduated, i'd lose touch with them - we'd never been the emailing each other kind. (un?)fortunately, they've all suddenly turned into the emailing kind, and since most of them are now in the UK, we get weekly updates of what's going on in their *new* lives. from cleaning schedules, to eid celebrations, to who's up-to-no good type gossip. it's fun, but we all had very varying groups of friends - kind of like those ven diagrams - with overlaps here and there, and although we knew everyone, we were never *close* friends with a lot of each other's friends. which means that if X sends a weekly update, all her friends are on the list, and since everyone *loves* "replying all" on gmail, we end up having to listen to all the comments her friends have to throw into the mix. not fun. especially if you don't really like all those friends. *snicker*

it gets even more interesting.

if i have a comment to make, which i don't particularly want to share with everyone, i'll just remove all the random people from the list, and send the email to *my* close knit group of friends (possibly a subgroup of the much larger group that received the originaly email), and thus a second *internal* email begins, but again, because of gmail, this is in the same thread as the previous, much more public mail. and yes, you guessed it, sooner or later, someone will send a response that had to be sent to the much smaller group to the much larger group causing confusion, and sometimes problems.

so, not only have i *not* lost touch with my old friends, we're still creating messes for each other...

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

I turned 23. First birthday in the last four years I didn’t spend in LUMS with friends. Actually, yesterday was Ammar’s birthday, and since our birthday’s are so close together we usually celebrate them together. This year was supposed to be a BBQ, or something, but he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in the summers and so I really didn’t want to be in LUMS today anyway.

Anyway, it’s Eid, and it’s vacations and I was supposed to spend this birthday with my family. But that’s not happening either.

My parents and brother have gone to spend Eid in Faisalabad – the town I was born and raised in. But I couldn’t go; too much work to catch up on, plus I have to study for the upcoming exams since the mid-terms didn’t exactly go great. But they didn’t really get it, so they left pissed at me since I refused to join them on the trip.

Why am I writing all this? I just noticed a birthday cake in the fridge that my parent’s must’ve gotten for me, but we had no time to cut. It’s the most depressing thing in the world to have a birthday cake in the house, but have no one to watch as you cut it :)

Human choice

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe  that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"  Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat  properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's
intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of
him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on
their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped
on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the
game for his team.

"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world". 

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

30 hours and counting...

LUMS used to have this really weird way of scheduling mid-terms. (Explanation to everyone not familiar with LUMS - my university: We have 10 week quarters, and every quarter has mid-terms. So roughly we have exams every 5 weeks.) What they used to do was schedule mid-terms very randomly between the 4rth and 7th week. So there was a good three weeks of, "I can't do this, I have mid-terms going one." Anyway, someone in the administration must have had a light bulb go on in their mind, as from this year, all mid terms happen in the same week - to be specific, the first class of the 5th week (or is it 6th?). Basically, it means that there's these four days when 95% of mid-terms are held, and unlike last year, where we had a break from all the mid-terms and actually managed to get some sleep during the three weeks, we now have 4 days where no one (except the really nerdy people) sleeps.

I've been awake 30 hours - which is nothing for LUMS standards. I had an exam this morning, so I was awake last night studying. And I have three (yes - one, two, three!!) exams tomorrow. Which basically means I can't sleep till tomorrow evening. But wait - we have an LC social tomorrow - and there's no way I'm missing that! Which means I won't get to sleep till tomorrow night - midnight would be a good guess. Another 24 hours...

Now - as interesting as Augustine's Confessions is, it really cannot stop me from thinking about the fact that I cannot sleep for another 24 hours, or stop me from ooking at my bed every ten minutes. Unfortunately for me, I'm not being tested on the colors of my bedspread tomorrow, so I definitely need to get back to Augustine.

Note: I just realized that when I finally sleep, I'll have been awake for 54 hours. My previous record is 46 hours, at the end of which I vaguely remember getting on a bus, but have no recollection of what happened between then and when the bus stopped 5 hours later.

The funniest conversation EVER!

Emad and I were talking on gmail - this is the conversation I saw:

---------------

Emad: dude, i was tryin to call ur bro for some work and he doesnt pick up my fone! wat the hell!

Emad Nadim: .. from no. 87 to no.78 in ONE qtr! Pakistan Baby! ..

Nida: ugh

i dont know

does he have your number?

when did you call?

an quite possibly, he's sleeping right now

Sent at 11:16 PM on Monday

Emad: i dunno

Sent at 11:23 PM on Monday

Emad: do i have his?

Nida: 0300-8285295

no no n

0300-8285205

Sent at 11:25 PM on Monday

Emad: 0300 828 5205

Nida: yep

thats it

when did you call?

Emad: i called twice.. in the evning tday.. then a coupla days ago

Nida: he's an idiot

i'm just glad its not genetic :)

Sent at 11:28 PM on Monday

Nida: brb

Emad: evening too

Sent at 11:30 PM on Monday

Emad: dude.. like at 9pm?!

Sent at 11:36 PM on Monday

Emad: wat the hell i have the rong no.!

thnx

---------

This is the converation Emad saw:

---------

me: dude, i was tryin to call ur bro for some work and he doesnt pick up my fone! wat the hell!

---

11:17 PM Nida: ugh

11:19 PM i dont know

11:20 PM does he have your number?

me: i dunno

do i have his?

11:21 PM Nida: when did you call?

me: 0300 828 5205

i called twice.. in the evning tday.. then a coupla days ago

evening too

11:22 PM Nida: an quite possibly, he's sleeping right now

11:23 PM me: dude.. like at 9pm?!

---

11:30 PM Nida: 0300-8285295

me: wat the hell i have the rong no.!

thnx

11:32 PM Nida: no no n

11:33 PM me: ?

11:35 PM Nida: 0300-8285205

me: so i had th erite one! sheesh!

11:38 PM Nida: yep

11:39 PM thats it

me: ?

11:40 PM Nida: when did you call?

me: 9

11:41 PM Nida: he's an idiot

me: eh?!

11:42 PM Nida: i'm just glad its not genetic :)

me: haha! someone is smug today!!!

11:44 PM Nida: brb

---------

Took me about 20 minutes to realize what was going on, then emailed Emad to find out that he was literally on a different page! The internet here sucks sometimes!!

decisions...

life is about to take a turn towards being boring pretty soon. not that my life so far has been the stuff real good movies are made out of - but it's definitely not been boring, especially the last four years, more specifically the last two years.

i'm staring at what is the end of my collegt education - which means i'll move out of the dorms, move into more suitable and predictable living quarters, stop staying up all night watching recently downloaded tv shows, and stop ordering food from the khokha at 3 am. It also means i have to make a decision. what am i doing next?

which brings me to the reason the last two years have been specifically interesting - i joined AIESEC in the fall of 2004. for the last two years, my non-AIESEC friends have either had to see me go off to other countries, or had to deal with the streams of guests that pass through my dorm room door. that's what's made the last two years very interesting.

now i have to make a decision - continue with AIESEC, or get a job. believe me, i know what i want to do, unfortunately, the saying that you're your own man after college is really very untrue. just as we're our parent's children our entire life, we're also bound to recieve advice - and in my case "direction" - from them our entire life.

the decision needs to be made soon - an interesting life, or a boring one.

Sotally Tober

Starkle, starkle little twink
Who the hell you are I think
I'm not under what you call
The alcho-fluence of inco-hol
I'm just a little slort on sheep
I'm not drunk like thinkle peep
I don't know who me yet
But the drunker I stand here the longer I get
Just give me one more drink to fill my cup
'Cause I got all day sober to sunday up.

name: nida rasheed

nickname: there have been several attempts to invent one, but none have stuck :) my name's short enough without needing a nickname...

languages spoken: english, urdu. i can understand punjabi, but any attempt to speak it usually causes the listener to laugh till they cry...

countries visited because of AIESEC: india, romania and poland...

favorite colour and why: i'll have to say blue. it calming, but fun at the same time.

what you wanted to BE when you were a child: i wanted to be someone who worked with wild animals, either because i was involved in conservation efforts, or as a photographer.

now, what do you want to do when you grow up: i want to start my own event management company in pakistan.

favorite book: to kill a mocking bird

favorite movie: almost famous

What song is stuck in your head right now: chelo - cha cha ( IC '06, CC dance!!)

Why I joined AIESEC: someone said i'd get to travel, and develop as a person. more importantly, they said i could go to india within the month. i stayed for completely different reasons :)

Passions: AIESEC, conservation, and anything else that has anything to do with animals (including animal planet!!)

Nida 2010: if my parents get their way, i'll be married with two children, probably named chintu and mintu while living somewhere close to them.
if i get my way, i'll have finished my @ internship and will be working full time in event management. i'll also have travelled to 25 countries by then, all set to achieve my goal of 30 countries by the time i hit the age of 30!

blogging ramadan...

Name: Nida Rasheed

Age: 22

Location: Lahore, Pakistan

Nationality: Pakistani

Religious background: Born a Sunni Muslim, I now fall into the "not religious" category

Current occupation: Student, President AIESEC Lahore

The thing I love the most about Ramadan: How excited people get when you talk about Eid :)

The hardest/most annoying thing about Ramadan: Water...

What I want to get out of Ramadan this year (learning/spiritual etc...) Learn to be more adaptable, accepting of other people's behaviours. Be nicer :)

My best Ramadan memory: I live on campus, and my first year here Ramadan was in the coldest winter days. I'll never forget how some students would come for Sehri (5 a.m.), all bundled up, some with a blanket, so that they wouldn't get cold on the walk from the dorms :D

The paradox of our time.

A wonderful Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet m ore problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get u p too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the m oon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and l ess.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. T hese are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

short update...

yes, i'm horrible since i don't blog more often :P no time to do proper (read: long & meaningful) posts, but here's some updates:

1. am back in LUMS, classes have started. am loving/hating the life :D
2. AIESEC Lahore in the middle of recruitment! yay! am loving it!
3. missing everyone from the CC. too much i think :)
4. my brother's getting married in 3 months! excited beyond belief! it's a nine day wedding!! more details on the wedding later.

have a class to catch now!

Tagged by
Pierre

I am thinking about...
the "pierogi" I had for lunch ;)

I said...
a full sentence in Polish today :D

I want to...
go back in time and start my CC experience all over again!!

I wish...
I had more time to do all the things I want to do

I miss...
home :)

I hear...
the voices of people from 24 countries in the background :)

I wonder...
what happens to us after we die

I regret...
nothing

I am...
a work in progress

I dance...
not so well :)

I sing...
only when I'm very happy

I cry...
when I feel helpless

I am not always...
excited. (contrary to popular belief)

I write...
when there's too much going on in my head:)

I confuse...
everyone because I talk too fast

I need...
some time to myself everyday

I should try...
being less bossy

I finish...
university in three months!

I tag...
Romeo, Xeb, Kurt, Naaz, Nic, Nicole, Saba, Sohaib, Ahmed, Ehsan, Salman Suhail, Sharmeen, Aqeel

If you comment on this post::

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, you must re-post this on your blog.

(Clockwise from centre bottom) Nicole, Emad, Nida, Puneet, Joanna, Saba, Kurt
National President's Meeting

I was originally going to post something really sad, since I'm missing home with a vengeance right now (and home means: family, friends, @Pk, LC members, EBMs, LUMS, my turtles!) but I saw the picture we took at NPM, and I realised that soon I'll be meeting most of these people again. Can't wait!!
Weirdly enough, I even miss things like Emad calling me up to bug me about @ issues!! Have a great time at JNC!

...

it's weird how i never listen to the national anthem at home, but now that i'm not home, i'm looking it up on the internet!

polska!

Yep - I'm here!! The immigration people gave me a less than amazing reception, but the reception outside the airport was great! The weather here is the most talked about topic -everyone thinks it's too hot, I'm thinking it's like Murree in the summers! The campus (where IC will take place) is beautiful, and has amazing dorms! The CC office is really cool (and I mean literally! The AC is blasting away!) and everyone's put stuff up on the walls, and there's radio music blaring away!
Proper agenda starts from tomorrow, and ends in two weeks. By then, we'll have finished planning, and will have moved onto hands-on work with the teamsters.
Haven't seen much of Warsaw, so will post more after a few days!

i really need to stop accidently clicking on the "reply all" button...!!

just because your mobile phone has a camera doesn't give you the right to snap my picture anytime you want. my shoes have heels that could poke your your eyes out, but you don't see me going around jabbing them in your face do you?

ladies and gentlemen...

...the batch of 2006 has left the building...

well...i haven't...and neither has ammar or naureen...but yesterday was the last exam day for LUMS - and for a lot, the last day in LUMS, or last night.

i now know how weird it is saying goodbye to people who've become like an extended family. how do you say goodbye to someone who was there for every important moment in your college life? you can cry, you can laugh it off, or you can do what we did and bury a time capsule (i kid you not!) at 4 am in the morning. i think, for some of us, it was a hassle-less way of saying good bye - no tears, no awkward hugs, or sad faces. we buried it with the promise that the next time we're all together (after graduation) we'll come back and dig it up. so right now, all we have to say is "see you soon", since we have to meet to dig the darned thing up anyway :)

that being said, i only recently realized how much i'm going to miss these idiots who became the most important people in my life - even when i hated them. these were the people who stuck by me in the worst of times, helped me out no matter what i needed, and let me rant and rave about everything under the sun - including them - and didn't say anything back.

...next year won't be the same without you...