Calvin and Hobbes...

...show why the economy stinks. 

Most religious countries

I would've thought Pakistan would be in there somewhere, but clearly we're all talk and no action where religion is concerned. 

Going Vegetarian

Having tried being a vegetarian before (long ago) I know how difficult it is. I love eating chicken, even more then that I love seafood. The thought of giving up chicken is actually less scary then not ever being able to eat shrimp, prawns or crabs again. Still, I'm thinking of going vegetarian. Here's why:

1. If you haven't already, watch "Meet your Meat". It's a 12 minutes documentary about how the animals we eat are treated, and absolutely horrible. I couldn't watch a large part of it. I know that that may not be how animals are treated/butchered in Pakistan, what with the whole halal thing, but I know that conditions are far from ideal, and I don't think that something we should support. 

2. It's healthier. Every freakin' vegetarian I know is really healthy. They have lots of energy, they glow (literally!) and what with the whole health thing I'm on, I wonder if this is the way to go. 

3. I don't eat a lot of meat as it is. I eat the occasional chicken when it's made in some nice form, not being a big lover of the general home-cooked meals. And I haven't eaten much seafood since I got back from Karachi. I'm thinking I won't even notice the change.

4. I don't want to eat Daisy. So you're wondering, who the hell is Daisy. Well, when I was a kid and read Enid Blyton, she had all these stories set on farms and there was always a cow named Daisy or Buttercup. I've always remembered that, and now (after watching Meet your Meat) all I can think is that I don't want to eat Daisy. 

So, I'm going to try and see if I can be a vegetarian. Usually I only tell people I'm doing something after I've done it (giving up soda, working out, eating healthy) so that no one laughs if I fail, but this is something I think I want to let people know about in advance so I don't get any shocked "you're what!" comments at the next family dinner. I'm going to try this for 30 days first, and if I feel like my reasons are valid after that then I'll keep going till as long as I can. 

WiFi

For all those who know me, my parents complete lack of knowledge about all things techy, and my complete love for all things techy is no news. When I moved home last year, I moved into a home with dial-up internet (horror!) which meant I could barely check my email. Anyway, that was fixed so we now have the PTCL connection which is pretty good, I can download tv shows and stay up-to-date with BSG and Gossip Girl, as well as follow news, play online games, and chat. Cool. 

However, we still didn't have wireless Internet. I work in the living room, which is ok during the day when no one is home, but then once everyone comes back from work the TV is blaring (usually on some annoying channel) so I take my laptop to my room. Since I don't have wireless, I have to keep coming back to the living room to check mail, send documents etc, which is annoying, and distracts me to no end (I end up watching news, or some show, and the living room is really cold as well) and so I finally gave in and got a wireless router.

Since the salesperson was confident I would be able to install it with a little help from PTCL, I didn't think much about it, but when I got home and got everything set up the PTCL customer services girl who took my call was far from helpful. She couldn't figure out why I kept getting random errors and bad connectivity, not to mention why I couldn't set a password and secure the network. Finally, I disconnected the router, waited a few hours for the customer services shift to change, called back, and talked to a guy who after 50 minutes of guidance said that the problem was with the modem they gave me back in August, so I needed to have it replaced. Pisses me off that every time I called up PTCL in the last six months to complain about a connection that was better than dial-up but far from stable, they'd say they were doing maintenance. 

Anyway, today they're sending some tech guys over to fix both the modem and set up wifi. Now I can work out of my warm toasty room without having to watch 'hum sub umeed say hain"!. 

Driving Update

Driving lessons are kinda boring now. We've taken to reversing on the track at the ITP office  (as that's where the test will be), so I see the same track everyday and it's really annoying. Test is on the 10th, yikes!, and the latest news is that we only get one attempt at reversing around the roundabout and parking and if we hit a traffice cone, we fail. There's also a theory exam before that. 

What's fun is that I can now drive the family car if one of my parents is there too, so I do that sometimes. I'm still not over my fear of accidents, but it's getting easier to drive with more confidence. I wonder why I'm learning to drive, the car isn't at home all day anyway...

Day 4,5: Chicken

A friend asked me why I didn't write about Day 4. I guess I didn't because I was still processing what had happened (don't worry, not an accident) and part of me really didn't want to admit that I was having trouble with this. Anyway, the lesson wasn't bad, I mean, to learn something you have to be challenged, so yesterday was like that for me, a pretty big challenge. 

To explain, let me tell you why I didn't learn to drive when I was younger and still at school. I started off with lessons, my mom teaching me, and I got the grasp of the basics pretty quickly, but the first day she took me on a main road (Zero Point), I choked and ended up causing a huge traffic jam, and the traffic cop pulled me over and told me and my mom off for letting me drive without proper instruction. The combination of my fear of accidents (and killing someone), and the incessant honking behind me is a recipe for disaster when I'm behind the wheels, so Day 4 was all about that. I had to go through a couple of intersections, and my feet would not press at the right time and time and time again the instructor had to take over. 

Today was different. Mostly because I'm a chicken. Every morning we have a choice of the order we drive in. There's four students, and we drive all the way to E-11 and back, so there is enough time for everyone to get 10 minutes at the wheel. Every stretch, however, has different intersections/round abouts etc, with the first being the easiest (just left turns), and the last being the most difficult (2 intersections). Yesterday, in order to learn something new, I took the last stretch, and I should have faced my fear and done the same today, but chicken that I am, I took the first stretch, something I already drove two days ago, which means I didn't learn much at all. Chicken. 

Day 3: I'm a learner, you idiot!!

Day 3 was by far much more exciting then both previous days put together - we were on an actual road!! 

We started off from the F-9 Park, I drove all the way from there to Margallah Road, and then to F-11, from where the other students took over and drove us back. I was pretty good, if I may say so. Scared at intersections, but hit 60 km and third gear (!!) and didn't get told off or anything. The girl who started after me was also pretty good, as was the last student in our class. 

The aunty (number 3 in line) was a bit unformtunate though. First she couldn't understand how to put the car in gear (yesterday's lesson aunty!!) so kept getting this wrong and was finally told off! Then she couldn't get the car to start, and finally could NOT understand how to go from first to second gear. Huff! It was embarassing sitting in the car while she was getting scolded, but even more scary when she DID get the car rolling and kept taking erratic turns right and left, driving the car in both lanes simultaneously, and those who understand my fear of car accidents will get how TOTALLY freaked out I was! Dying in a car accident while learning how to drive a car is not how I want to go! 

The only irritating thing today was the other drivers on the road. I mean, you can see the big red L all over the car, as well as the sign on top stating that it's a driving school car, so STOP with the honking you ass!! Everytime we slowed down, the car behind us would start honking, essentially confusing us even more! 

Anyway, the best part of the lesson wasn't the actual lesson but the lesson I got afterwards. To brief you first, I am driven to my lesson by my dad, but then take a cab back home. So I hailed a cab, and got in. This really old uncle was driving, and boy was he chatty! Once he learnt I was a learner driver, he had all kinds of tips for me; stay in your lane, use the indicator, don't use your cell phone, which were quite useful, albeit stuff I already knew. He didn't believe in seatbelts, and was very happy with the Islamabad Traffic Police since he said " I once saw them cut a ticket for an Army General for not stopping behind the white line." He used to be a construction worker in Dubai, where he drove trucks, and then when he hit 60 they sent him back home so he's been a taxi driver since 2002, which makes him in the late 60s. Cool guy, deserved a tip, which he got, for all the tips he gave me :) 

Ciao.

Day 2: Are you dizzy yet?

Today was Day 2 of driving lessons, and what a confidence boosting day it was :) 

As is customary in my house, I was there fifteen minutes early (my dad is a stickler for punctuality) and had to wait for the lesson to start in the car (my dad drops me off) since it was raining. Yes, it's raining in Islamabad, again! 

Anyway, my dad gave me a mini-lesson in the car while I waited, which meant that when I actually got into the learner's car to drive, I kinda kicked ass! We drove around and around and around in a circle in this big empty ground that's used for lessons, so basically I started the car, drove in a circle, and stopped fifteen minutes later as there's four people in my class, including me, and we each get fifteen minutes of driving time. Essentially, I waited fifteen minutes for a fifteen minute class :/ Still, I kicked ass, so I came home happy. Tomorrow we're driving on the road. Watch out Islamabad (or at least everyone in the F-9 Park vicinity). 

Cat Proximity

P.O.W.E.R

So today was the first day of driving school. As excited as I was, I was confident it was going to be a major bummer (I mean, it is school!) but I was not completely let down, and not just because of what I learnt about cars (although that's cool too!)

Firstly, I'm going to the Islamabad Traffic Police's driving school, and apparently their motto is "Friendly Police", which, I must say, they are. However, this also means going to the behemoth of a structure (or collection of buildings) that is the F-8 ITP HQ, and then finding out that my class will be in a tiny room, where they stuff in 40 aunties, with no ventilation. Eugh! 

I was also scared I'd be the oldest (eldest?) person there, but no no. As my aunty comment might have made it obvious, I'm by far one of the youngest, with the average age being 40! So the questions that get asked "what is the round thing with the N on it" (answer: umm..gear) are hilarious, and provide for much entertainment. 

Since today was day numero uno, we had to give our contact information, learners permits, NIC copies and the like. Mostly administrative stuff, yet, it took us 1.5 hours to get everything done. You ask why? Well, women are known for being late, and this is Pakistan. One lady actually walked in 50 minutes after "class" had started (we start at 10, she came around 11), and wandered in nonchalantly. 

The other reason is that this is not AIESEC, so there are no processes in place for things like dividing a room into two classes, subdividing into groups, having people sign up for classes. So essentially, the two teachers went through every single person individually thrice. First to check we were there, then to get our documents, and finally to get our contact numbers and ask us which time slot we wanted. It took all my self-control not to give my opinion on how to best manage the situation.

Anyway, I did learnt a few things. Firstly that every time I get in the car, I should check the P.O.W.E.R (Petrol, Oil, Water, Electric, Rubber) and that under the hood are the ABCDEF, but I no longer remember what the D stands for. Haha!

All in all, cool first day. No making a fool of myself yet, but tomorrow I get behind the wheel, so that should be something to watch out for.

First 100 minutes...

Hilarious Beer Ads

1000 things that matter

This is very cool project on the internet: www.1000thingsthatmatter.com 

-- 

If meaning is created through language then our society is created through its communications technology.

The words we use to describe our world change our experience of it. Similarly, the channels we use to access information, to meet and make friends, to share learning and memories and to debate the issues shape the society we live in.

We hope to gather a sample of 1000 things that matter. Things that matter enough that you want to tell us about them. The entries here will inform the film and some may directly be used within it - particularly those which are provided as video or images. The film will be distributed on DVD to the top people in the telecoms industry and may also be available on the internet.

www.1000thingsthatmatter.com

2008...

This is one of my favorite things to do after the new year starts. Sad that I'm not at a party as it's just three hours into 2009...

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

Started exercising (for real) and jogged in the rain. (People who know how much I hate exercise will understand how big this really is!)

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Never make any resolutions. It's like setting yourself up for disaster :/

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, my sister had a baby boy, Abbas. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, but someone's death did change my perspective on life. 

5. What countries did you visit?

Boring year this was in terms of travel. Macedonia and Turkey. That's it. Just two! 

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

For the last two years this has been the same answer, a laptop, but I now have a very cool laptop, so I'm thinking I now want a PSP. I'm so materialistic! Actually, some direction in life wouldn't be too bad. 

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 4. I moved back home after almost six years away. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Making healthier lifestyle choices. 

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not managing my money & time better.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My handbag collection. I'd say laptop, but I'd be lying. 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

AIESEC Lahore's, mostly. They made me very proud again this year :) 

13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

No one can get me down. 

14.Where did most of your money go?

Clothes, bags

15.What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My family vacation to Istanbul, and then the reunion back home for Eid. 

16.What song will always remind you of 2008?

Hmm..."Pappu can't dance", the "Race" soundtrack, "I kissed a girl" by Katy Perry, "I'm yours" by Jasan Mraz

17.Compared to this time last year,

I. are you happier or sadder?

Happier

II. thinner or fatter?

Thinner

III. richer or poorer?

Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Socialize. 

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Sleep. I've slept over 10 hours every day since I moved back. 

20. Did you fall in love in 2008?

No

21. How many one-night stands?

Nil

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No. 

23. What was the best book you read?

Hmm...Twilight and it's entire series was definitely the most interesting read. I read each book in 6-8 hours, usually by staying awake all night. 

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Katy Perry, Jason Mraz

25. What did you want and get?

The new laptop :) 

26. What did you want and not get?

Can't think of a thing.  

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ahh...I saw a lot of movies, so this is really tough to pick. Kung-fu Panda was great, so was Tropic Thunder. Mamma Mia was very fun to watch. In Indian movies, Jaanu Tu.. was great, and Race was a definite entertainer. 

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I spent all day shopping and then had dinner with my parents. I turned 25, which was apparently a surprise for my dad as he thought I was younger then that. Ha! 

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having a little more direction in life. Right. About. Now. 

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

It evolved a bit. I'm a little more concerned about what I wear, and I blame the new handbags as they are too good for normal clothes. However, I am still the jeans/t-shirts kinda gal I was a few years ago, just a little (teensy little bit) more polished. 

31. What kept you sane?

Myself :) It's weird to say this, but I spent more time with myself then I have ever in my life, and I definitely kept myself sane :) 

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Shia Labeouf. Robert Pattinson is a close second, but he's a little too pretty. 

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

Our wonderful President, Mr Zardari, and the US elections. 

34. Who did you miss?

I miss my gang from LUMS. Mostly Naureen/Ammar since I do meet Kirmani here and there, but also Saif and the rest. 

35. Who was the best new person you met?

I'm completely lost here. I met a lot of new people, but none of them really left an impression so I'm going to have to say no one, and then go out in search of a life. :)

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:

I learnt that I'm completely happy when I'm on my own, but to get there I first needed to learn to love myself. (As Sohaib would say, "what fluff!")

The mess that is my Facebook...

I was recently telling family that my Facebook is a mess. There's so many people in my friends list that I'm hesitant to even post updates anymore, and now this stupid blog is linked to it (and I can't figure out how to get it off!) so I don't update my blog anymore. 

Everytime you come back from an AIESEC conference, during those 3-5 days post-conference where you're still experiencing the adrenaline rush, you add every freaking person you met there. This makes for a lot of people! Now I have to go through everyone of them, sort out when we met, and then remove people that I have absolutely no contact with! Shit! 

Phase I was completed about a month ago, I removed everyone I had no recollection of meeting. Phase II is underway now, and I'm categorizing people into lists (being unemployed makes for lots of free time!) and removing people I have no plans of contacting again, unless I end up in their country. 

To add crazy on top of crazy, my mom asked me to set up a profile for her! Not happening! Admittedly my mom is barely able to turn her laptop on, so getting on Facebook regularly to keep tabs on her kids will be highly complicated, and unlikely, but why even go there. Imagine the self censorship that would have be employed should the 'rents decide that Facebook is their playground. 

I've been plagued with weird dreams and sleepless nights for the past few weeks, and while I haven't had much of a chance to wonder why, I found myself thinking about last night's dream while out in the park. 

I lost a friend, some six odd years ago, and recently re-connected. Not in the way I'd imagined we would, but anything is a start after this many years of silence. I mentioned to another friend recently that I'd like to get that time back, I'm not by nature someone who trusts people very easily and so it's been very difficult to figure out where to go from here. Regardless, I know there's no going back, there's no fixing what we - and yes, I admit I was at fault too - broke. 

I guess a part of last night dream was me wondering what I missed out on, and the sooner I get my head around it, the better. 

On a lighter note, I'll be blogging more often now. I considered starting a new blog, which no one knew about, so I could post without self censoring, but I've realized recently that nothing I say, or do, can shock the people that I care about. 

McFlurry-lessness...

Weird word, I know :) I just made it up. Anyone who knows me would know of my insane love for the McDonalds McFlurry, specifically, the one with Oreos...lots and lots of oreos (so many in fact, that one McDonalds outlet in Karachi actually knew me as the crazy person who wanted more oreos than ice-cream). Current life is a little different, I can confidently say that no one in any of Islamabad/Rawalpindi's two McDonalds knows me at all :)

First, let me give you the magic number - 1. That's the number of McFlurry's I've had since I moved back on July 4rth. Withdrawal was tough. I missed the apartment, the DVD collection, the internet (my parents still had dial-up, I finally upgraded it about a month ago), the roof, sheesha (number of sheesha's had since return to Islamabad is a little higher, 2), the people - Saaim's endless ideas, Taha and Sohaib's weird love, KLepo and his KLepo-ness, Andrew and Zafirah's relationship which very closely resembles marriage :P and of course, the McFlurry and McDonalds trips.

However, I was quick to realize that life in Islamabad is essentially very cool. I have a great cable, nice flat screen TV, the potential to get DSL internet, access to cooked food, washed clothes, a maid, cook, car, and of course, family. The last two months have gone a long way to help me recover from the one year I spent washing my own clothes, cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, ordering in, and generally living a tough-ish (by current standards) life.

Of course, my transition (lol) was greatly helped by the fact that I spent one month with my sister and her kids here, and even got to go on a family vacation up north....no time to think of the McFlurry times. But everyone's gone now, and although I was a little unsure of how I'd like a sibling-less house, I'm happy to announce that the new McFlurry-less life still suits me just fine. I eat healthy (salads, no ordering out, well balanced meals), exercise, sleep well, wake up early, and spend crazy amounts of time on the internet.

So next step, getting a job :)

A random week...

Well..not really. I mean, it was weird in the sense that I ran into the randomest of people.

First, on my way to a meeting on I.I Chundrigar, while walking on the road (right about to across it) I hear my full name being called out. Turn around and find Ahmed Bilal, someone from LUMS, cool guy :) but someone who I'd only exchanged facebook comments with for the last two years...so we're standing there in the middle of this road catching up...so weird! Weirder still, I'd gotten his number like a week before this hoping to catch up with him before I left Karachi.

Then, today, on my way to the big-park-next-to-Park-Towers, again while crossing the road (not the same road, this time Zamzama) I look at the car that so courteously stopped for us, and it's Omar Khalid (OK) and one of his bandmates from ADP. Weird...but not as weird as what happens next. I wave, move on...then this car stops..and this girl waves (I think at me)...I look closer...it's Arooj...this girl I went to high school with...and she wasn't waving at me, she was waving at Michael Kamau and Anna. So once she sees me it's all...where have you been...blah blah (by the way, I actually do like her...just that it was too much catching up in like one minute to put down)

Anyway...weird week. In terms of catching up with/running into people I barely see/never see otherwise.

Last two weeks in Karachi :) Ze countdown has begun!

bye bye nomadlife :(

After repeatedly trying to change my blog template, and repeatedly not succeeding, I've followed a friends advice and switched back to Blogger from Nomadlife. This way I can use their cool template thingy-majiggy! (If you know how I can have the best of both worlds, please leave a note in the comments!)

Sadness though...I liked nomadlife :)

Tea Time

For some reason, last night the boys decided we were going to be coming into office at 9Am (usually we come in at 10, leave at 7 or after that). I think a motivator was the 9AM office tea we manage to miss everyday (we all love the tea, and the tea boy!) but whatever our individual motivations might have been, we were all up at 7:30 AM (unheard of, normally) and I actually got to say "have a good day" to Anna before she left for work (she leaves really early, usually we're still sleeping). Within minutes, Sohaib and I were slaving away making breakfast for everyone (omelette's) and by 8:30, all dressed up, we were ready to leave. So far, on track for tea - yay!

So we get downstairs, head for Taha's car, and realize - oh no! - there's a punctured tire! Not letting this faze us one bit, Taha, KLepo and I start puttering around trying to get the spare on, and Sohaib, his usual useless self :P is standing in a corner, smoking. What follows is undoubtedly the funniest half hour I've ever experienced this early in the morning, unfortunately, I only started taking pictures halfway through, and my camera phone ain't great, but regardless, there's some proof of the hilarity.

Anyway, I was talking about how the car tire was being changed. So just as Taha had managed to raise the car with the jack, bang!, the car fell off it. Like literally, just slid off the jack! At first I thought Klepo (who was at the back) had accidentally pushed it, but looking over I realized he was no where near it! Taha's expression was priceless, KLepo was swearing in Slavak, and Sohaib and I couldn't stop laughing. Anyway, we live above Gunsmoke, and even at this godless hour, they had people there, so they came over (to watch, I might add). So did two beggars who were roaming in the street. Pretty soon we had a good crowd going, Sohaib still smoking and smiling, KLepo giving suggestions, Taha trying to clean his pants of all the dust (he was all dressed up for a meeting) me taking pictures, and the car just standing there, half tilted into the sandy parking lot, with one tire missing!

Finally, Klepo came up with, what was, a brilliant suggestion. Let's put rocks right behind the wheel (Where the jack is supposed to go) so we can first lift the car and then put the actual jack in (since there was no space to put it in). So he starts collecting rocks, Taha starts digging a hole (I still don't know why!) and the rest of us are still standing there, smoking, watching, taking pictures.

Then comes the difficult part, raising the car that one extra inch or two, so Taha can get the jack in. Finally, Sohaib decides to help, so Klepo and him start lifting the car, but don't get very far, since it's heavy, and well..they're no supermen! So Taha, who's still kneeling on the hot ground in his formals, yells at the beggars/Gunsmoke guys, "Dude, help us!!" and they all run over. Suddenly, there's too many people near the car, I'm expecting another fall, one of the guys is trying to put the jack way under the car (near the axle, by my guess) and Taha's like, "not there!".

What seems like an hour later (ok, no, 10 minutes!) the car is up on the jack, and miraculously, the rest of the tire changing procedure was completed within minutes by the onlookers, with Taha providing a little help. Sohaib, is standing around looking like he did a lot, Klepo is still smiling and Taha's like, "shit, my clothes are messed up now!" and I'm like "let's go!"

We leave, make a few stops at some petrol stations to get the punctured tire fixed, get to office at 9:20ish, thinking, "crap, we missed the tea!". Taha comes in, makes a call to the office kitchen, requests we still be given tea, and lo and behold, at 10:20ish, the tea makes its way to our office! Good morning, eh?