eid (s) October 27, 2006

eid was celebrated in the majority of the world on monday…saudi arabia, us, canada,south america…also in some parts of pakistan! tuesday was also eid…in the northern parts of india and some parts of pakistan…and then finally…on wednesday was eid in the rest of india and the majority of pakistan…india, being a larger country in terms of size, celebrated 2 eids…then why the hell did we have 3 eids in pakistan?? the age old debate of sighting of the moon…our pathan brethren insist on being shariah-compliant and celebrating eid *and starting ramadan* according to when the moon is sighted in their region…personally i see no problem with that…because they are technically correct…and then we have the Mufti supreme of the ruet-e-hilal committee [moon sighting committee] insisting that the eid celebrated there was in violation of shariah…why do they insist on imposing themselves?? does it make a difference whether or not the country or the world celebrates eid together?

we were having this debate yesterday that in all parts of the world, in all countries, *including the religious center saudi arabia*…the moon is sighted in some places and is not sighted in others…so most countries make a 100 year calendar based on astronomical calculations and just follow that…or they set a standard…for example, eid is decided in saudi arabia, on the basis of the moon sighting in Makkah

so should Pakistan pick up from the example…or continue to rely on a group of aging maulanas to tell them whether or not to celebrate eid?

oh and how many of u actually saw the moon? i spotted it myself! *gloats* im lucky!

so on chand raat, right after iftar and sighting of the moon..the girls of the family put on henna..*sighs* i love henna….faizan T jaali sahaafi asked me what i love most about eid a week ago..he thought i would say eidi..but naahhh..its gotta be the dressing up…chooriyan and mehndi [bangles and henna] =D

and since i had henna on..i couldnt do any of the work i had set out for me..cleaning up my room..irning clothes..taking out jewelery…so we crashed in front of the tv…and watched a hilarious show called *chand raat*…also saw bits of titanic …ive always loved the movie! hehe…love the rebellious streak in rose, and the impulsive nature of jack…and i still cry when i see the ship going down…the class divide portrayed…uff its a great movie!

anyway..since i hadnt done any work in the night..i had to wake up early on eid day..cleaned up my room…got ready..and before i knew it it was guests, guests and more guest…my grandparents are the senior most members of the extended family…so on every eid, we dont go anywhere…people come over to our house…so theres a lot of work at home…around 11 i had a splitting headache…so i popped a panadol and continued to work…before i knew it i couldnt make sense of the world around me…was greeting a family member when she said..abeer ur burning up…so i gave her an odd look…ke that was a weird way to put it ;P

then i realized she was referring to my body temperature…went and took my temperature…it was a whopping 40.5…*no wonder i felt giddy*…so i got into bed…and spent the rest of the day greeting guests, talking to friends and family online and on my cell…and worrying myself thinking i had come down with the scary diseases that were doing their rounds in karachi…dengue and viral haemmorhagic fever and what not…but my chacha *paternal uncle..he’s a doctor* calmed me down…and said that i should for the time being just continue with panadol..and if it still sticks then i should get my blood tested..i followed the advice…and am feeling a lot better this morning..the fever’s still there..but its gone down to 38.5…i hope it goes away altogether by tonite..i cant afford to get sick!! have reports to give in, and then the hourlies that i cant afford to screw up…also the upcoming seminar!! i better not get sick!!

lets see how the rest of eid is going to be..have to go to university anyway on the 3rd day of eid…cz our super smart government declared the 2 days before eid holidays..and then decided, oh crap..too much loss of productivity..so lets bring em back on the 3rd day of eid! *sigh*…and yes im homesick!!

tagged by sid =D October 23, 2006

*jumps up n down uber excited*…yayyy..my first taaaggg!! =P

Today

height: 5′3″
color: Cinnamon
piercing: ears
tattoos: none….but i was yearning to get a mehndi tattoo today..its a pity the moon didnt want me to do so :S

Right Now

Time: 7.18 PM
Mood: tired, upset *i want my chaand raat noowwww*, happpyyy *yayyyy chhuti declared on thursday…ONE more reason to love shaukat aziz*
taste: none
the weather: hot, but not humid..theres a slight breeze wafting around
bad habit: txting…taking lil things to heart..procrastination…trusting people too easily
current crush: hmmmmmmm…my eid outfit =P
biggest regret: none really…none tht i could put up for the world to see
Perfume(s): raspberry fantasy *had to be a fruit*
Thing I want to do: can i dream? grab him, get a jet ride to saudi n have a shawarma

Favourite

TV show: ermmmm…none tht im following currently…i like tht wild science show tht i cant recall the name of cz im too tired..mythbusters and tht show on discovery with the yellow science sign…*hits head on table trying to remember the name*
book: too many…try kartography for now…im loving suitable boy *the ive been reading since august *…eleven minutes by paulo coehlo…almost ALL the books by john grisham and michael crichton..especially Timeline…books by bill bryson…roots by alex haley…i fall in love with books all the time..its a pity IBA has pretty much killed my reading habits
non alcoholic drink: most juices…appletizer…grapetizer…berry cocktail
milk drink: i dont like milk generally…but if its in a good latte….
brand: depends on my mood…GAP, HSY, khaadi,monsoon
color: again, depends on my mood..im a different color of the rainbow everyday
emblem: hehe…section2 * i wld put up a pic if i could find it*… is emblem and logo the same thing/ if so i like too many!
perfume: has to be fruity! rush summer , cool water , white musk
designer: again, depends on my mood and the kind of clothes im shopping for…*look above*but my personal favorite would be tazeeennnn
Chocolate: patchi, after eight, has to be bitter chocolate

Have I Ever

broken the law: not that i know of…but yes i bend rules all the time
misused credit card: nopes
skipped school: yessss
fell asleep in the shower/bath: hehe..no…but ive wanted to..showers are so relaxing
had children: No
been in love: still am..in love with the wonder that is life
been hurt: all the time…burnt my finger jst yesterday

Random

have a job: Nopes
My CD player has what in it right now: nothing, but the last cd i listened to was abbas ali khan’s Sun Re…out of curiousity …not bad…but not a collectors item
if I were a crayon, the color? hmmm…gold or mebbe atomic tangerine , mebbe purple pizzazz , or electric lime
what makes me happy? the dumbest things….butterflies..flowers…good honest people…talking to friends…orkut…spending time with family…good food….

When/What Was the Last

I got a real letter: a year ago..from ammi =)
got an email: a minute ago…some eid card
thing I purchased: a card to call home
TV program I watched: mythbusters
movie I saw in the theaters: Taj Mahal..hehe..with the craziest bunch of whackos to watch a movie with =P
Hugged: casual friendly hug wdve been hira’s aaj subah….proper proper..its been a while
Place I was: on the roof looking for the moon
song heard: Kora kaghaz tha yeh man mera…likh diya naam uss pe teraaa…dont know wht movie…but its an old indian classic tht i heard on the radio on my way back from hira’s…fell in love w/ it all over again
phone call: home
was depressed: last nite…was homesick

What Comes to Mind When I Hear

car: vw beetle red
murder: IBA admin *ifi t werent for their stingy vacation policy, i cdve gone home for eid*
cape: superman =P…or rather crime master gogo’s ghagra *watch andaz apna apna if u havent already =P*
cell: my txts, radio *sniff sniff…lost my headset*
fun: friends
shoe: kolhapuris
crush: =)
music: radio
love: home, family, friends, movies for some odd reason
chalk: my lil cousin who’s going thru that phase when she pretends tht shes her teacher, and is conducting classes in my bedroom every day…

I Tag; since sid was kind enough to tag a person who;s new to the *blogosphere*..i guess i’ll tag ammar and bilal…and al fatah*knowing tht he wont reply, but tagging him hoping he will*

hollywood grill October 22, 2006

20th october

the much planned and replanned and delayed and postponed batch iftar FINALLY happened…but *surprise surprise* it took on the most dreadful turn of events…

till thursday morning everyone was telling me, oh we’ll make it abeer…ur such a doll we’re going to come only for u…n we need an outing we must go! then there was the onslaught of excuses: – work at home, family dinner, afraid to take permission, granddad’s death anniversary, too many evneings out….*sighs*

come thursday evening i started txting ppl….jst to confirm how many were actually making it…so i would know how many seats to set aside…ammar and i were in the car..we were picking up bilal and khushboo…by the time we picked up bilal, it was clear tht only about 6-7 people were going to be there from our class…i was soooo pissed off…fit to blow at the time…if it werent for bilal and ammar the day wdve been a disaster…ammar *pessimistic as ever*, wanted the whole thing called off…*bura lagta hai yaar..chillar awaam ki batch iftar* [ doesnt look nice, turning up at a party ur arranging with loose change..] bilal was really looking forward to the thing…and he kept giving us reasons to go ahead…i was being stubborn and had decided that i was going to have fun NO MATTER WHAT…so i talked to fariya..and she sed tht she wont come cz ayesha isnt coming….desperate times…we told fariya tht we were outside her house and tht she had no other option but to come join us for iftar…i hadnt met fariya since her birthday around 6 months ago…while fariya was taking her sweet time..and bilal with his nonstop commentary..ammar PISSED OFF at the way nabeel and bilal were acting…we called up the section one people and they could muster just about the same…then poor baba txted, ke when r u picking me up?…he’d told us earlier tht he was waiting for us at Aghas…we assumed he was referring to agha’s supermarket…it was only when we were outside fariya’s that it occured to ammar that he ws talking about Agha Juice …it was too close to iftar time for us to go back and pick up Baba, so we had to ditch him *sowwwyyy baba*

outside fariya’s we also decided tht instead of having a lame iftar now, we would have a better dinner after eid *sighs, postponed AGAIN*…fariya came out and said that we had to pick up ayesha z, by this time, we’s all gone mad…with ammar seething in the driver’s seat *poor thing had been busy all morning…going to uni, dropping me home, taking a 2 hr class at anees hussain’s, and then resuming the role of driver for all of us*..bilal playing the craziest possible songs…and fariya and i getting all hyper…outside ayesha z’s it was way too quiet…so we turned up the volume and played the james bond theme and cracked up when he went *BOND, JAMES BOND!* hehe…was a moment right there!

so there we were at 5.45, trying to figure out where to go after we’d droppd nabeel at zamzama…we still had to pick up khushboo *who was very distressed as it was almost maghrib time and we still hadnt picked her up…poor thing thought it was a ditch scene*…so there we were lost in the banjar sunsaaaann roads of phase 6 looking for khushboo’s graffiti’d house…cursing at the area cz it smells foul and yet is considered an elite part of the city..can u spell FUMIGATION?? =P

anyway it was maghrib when we got to her place…so she got us a bottle of water and dates so tht we could break our fasts….and it is here that we discovered that shias dont have the problem roza’s being makruh [invalid]..they can wake up at 11 in the night and eat, and their fast would still stand…shucks! we spare a second and our roza is being labeled makruh!

we picked up khushboo and driving along seaview to hollywood grill…the beach is ALWAYS inspiringly beautiful…we walked into the plaec VERY impressed by the fact tht we were welcomed by the sight of angelina jolie and brad pitt…hehe…great decor and ambience…unlike most karachi eateries, it wasnt cramped…and open in spite of the fact that it was PACKED at the time…luckily we got the last table…which was already set with complimentary roohafza, fruit salad and good samosas…we were so hungry we didnt even ask and jst started eating..it was then that the VERY pierced waiter came up to us and started explaining things..by this time fariya and i were already in love with the place..come the uber stylish menu cards, and we were goners! hehe we went for their iftar deal which was all u can eat baked chicken, pizza and drinks…a cheap deal for 350 plus tax

the place was great, the food was great, but their service was slow..so i had a brainwave to speed up their service..hehe…the menu card and placemats told the story of the eatery, and attributed a Mr Manzur Riaz to being the mind behind the place…the next time the waiter passed by, i casually said to ammar..”Riaz saab se baat karni hogi” [we should talk to Mr. Riaz about this]…he was a bit lost initially then him and bilal picked up and carried on the conversation, with us pretending that we knew the owner..hehe..in 2 minutes we had a steaming hot pizza on our tables and our drinks refilled!!

it was a fun evening out…from the food..to our jokes about *liz aunty* a portrait of elizabeth taylor was up on the wall in front of us, and she was looking in bilal’s direction..we were convinced tht she was smitten by his george clooney patch =D]

smitten were fariya and i…making wild birthday plans..to come to hollywood grill again hehe

whoever missed out, YOUR LOSS!

the ride back home involved mellower music…and ayesha and ammar and i bonding while standing in the LONG cng line…nabeel and bilal pushing cars around there..and ammar’s car finally giving up on him* naraaz ho jaati hai [she gets angry] =P*

anyway…i had a great day…but it was a lil disappointing tht the rest of the class people couldnt make it…primarily cz theyre of herd mentality..depending on each other for their entertainment…and going back on their commitments when they see that their friends arent coming..oh well…THEIR LOSS..i know now that there is NO point in trying to convince our class to do anything cz they find a way to weasel out

next time its open invite…whoever wants to come is most welcome, but never am i going to actually pay individual attention, cz it doesnt pay off whn u have sheep staring back at u

this blog dedicated to: my chums who turned up and made sure that we had fun ; the waiter who was in the grooooovveee hehe

song of the day: tokyo drift ( fast and fullliious ) *poor jap chick cant pronounce the R*….cz dj tal made me listen to it..and i sumhow got hooked to a song i find soooooo annoying…now can anyone tell me wht tht ting ting sound is in the background? talal insists tht its a cowbell..i think its a triangle…but since we’re both pretty much lost about the instrument, we’re open to suggestions =D

unpredictable pakistani October 18, 2006

if people are looking for sporting controversy all they have to do is turn to the pakistani cricket time

its been thru such tumultuous times recently…pehle the whole ball tampering Ocal controvery..then the captians being changed and rechanged..and then this last drug abuse accusation

personally, i’d like to think tht at least Asif is too naive for drug abuse..the way i see it…their physicians might’ve given both Akhtar and Asif meidicne for recovery, n thts why there are traces of the substance nadrolone found in theri bloodstream….i’ve read a lot of articles abou the controversy, and im not convinced tht the PCB would go for such desperate means to beef up their bowlers…we’ve been one of the best bowling attacks in cricket for a long time..and dont really need performance enhancing, bulk building drugs…

anyway…research shows tht the consumption of large amounts of protein, be it in the form of meat, eggs, or even protein shakes and energy drinks…combined with heavy workout sessions, can induce the body to produce higher levels of nadrolone…the way i see it, becharey pind ke larkon ne injury ke baad dher saare dood anday se jaan banai…kutton ki tarah workout kiya[translates to: poor village kids ate a whole lotta eggs n milk after they got injured, worked out like dogs] n then the poor things just pissed in a cup and were told okie guys uve taken *drugs* *HARK tabooooo in our culture…u say drugs they think CHARAS [weed/joint]* hehe..which reminds me..i was explaining the whole drugs thing to my naive little dadi yesterday….she said ke *manshiyaat[drugs]* li hain..and i was like nooo…its more like *nashaasta[food used to give u strength]*…:P…so she goes chhup ke khaa lete jaan, hi toh bana rahey hain..sab ke saamne khaane ki kya zaroorat thi [they shdve eaten it secretly, why'd they consume it in front of other people]…toh then we explained the whole urine sampling thing to her…and then she was like ooohhh

but anyway..whtever the resons may be for the nadrolone traces…we’ll jst have to wait for the trial, which is set to be conducted in a fortnight….innocent until proven guilty!

on the upside, the match between pakistan and sri lanka was reall really reallllly good…after going thru such bad times, and suffering heavy team losses, the pakistani team put in a great show without key players…*standing ovation*…ALL of the factors were against them, and yet the pakistani team proved yet again that where theres a will there is a way!

moment of the match: younis khan lifting bob woolmer into the air hehe! just shows how badly the teacm wanted this victory..and what effects it had….it was sweet really the way they were celebrating! i wish Afridi had put in some good batting! but Malik and Razzaq were electrifying…!

next match on the 25th..lets hope nothing more drastic happens by then! u never noe wht to expect next from em!

ho hum..as random as ever! October 17, 2006

hmmm

its almost been a week and i havent blogged…what have i been busy with? i have absolutely NOOOO idea

typically when i get home from university i head to the kitchen…work for iftar there..nap for an hour…wake up for iftar…and then jst help around the house i know i havent been sleeping..cant really bring myself to study this semester for some reason! so what HAVE i been upto this week…*contemplates*

i know i slept REALLY late on saturday nite..was watching this documentary on national geographic about how south americans cross into the US…was depressing really…people get mauled and killed after they leave their families…they WALK for most of the way and are obviously undocumented…

erm…and i know i watched lage raho munnabhai sumwhere during tht time…cute movie..just like the first part…comedy with a cause! although i think the whole MAHATMA GANDHI thing has been blown out of proportion, i agree tht he was really different in his problemsolving approach…but it only works on people with a conscience…difficult breed in todays time when children are brought up to be ruthles insensitive and self serving

also watched this documentary tht mullah waqar very graciously gave me about the misconceptions regarding the hudood ordinance…i didnt have much interest in the issue in the first place..primarily because i see no reason to laws being debated in a country like pakistan where one can only PRAY for enforcement! so its nothing new if old laws are being twisted around by the people in power to exploit the underlings of society… if we revise the laws, im sure the corrupt legal system will ensure tht the interests of the powerful are served

the image they show of the blindfolded lady is so ironic..where on the one hand its supposed to symbolize tht all are equal, it also shows that often, even laws turn a blind eye to justice

*sighs*

wht else

had another one of those rediscovery and self improvement talks with lili…talking to her is sooo invigorating! tht woman makes one think!! and sorta read over sardar‘s piece…but then decided tht i was too tired to actually sit down n read it with concentration…so im going to do tht soon!

songs..which remind me tht im craving listening to nazar by ADP…talal is being an ass and making me jealous cz he gets to listen to it before i do *grumbles*..r u listening al fatah!

oh and sid has been a sweetheart and has added me to her friends list on her blog..*yayy*..now if only the tech idiot i am could learn how to put friends up on blogs! and im whining again al fatah, cz u havent added me to urs yet ..hehe

ummmmmmmmm….my msn is acting really *GAY in the words of dj tal * rite now..so im logging in logging out…having random conversations with the issues gang…honestly…technology really tests my patience! especially when it has the word LIVE in its name it is anything BUT that

on the agenda for the next couple of days:

iftar with the batch: which has been delayed so many times now tht its not even funny anymore…was initially supposed to be after the elections.. a sob event for the losers tht is bba5 …so tht we could mourn not getting those 20 odd votes….and tht was wayyyy before ramadan…i was supposed to coordinate with murtaza abbas *aka don w/ decieving looks ;P*…and i never really got down to doing tht till ramadan happened..*arent i the procrastinator*…so we decided it would be iftar…then we got down to convincing people to go for ifatr..out of the blue murtaza told everyone tht we’re going for dinner on monday…since it was the 21st of ramadan people bailed out…so we decided okie..wednesday should be it ..iftar bas khatam!…but its ammar’s mom’s birthday, n we cant really have the thing without our failed politician so its been pushed to thursday..and im NOT taking any crap excuses now…ive been txting and retxting plans like crazy listening to ppl whine about the place, the money…*grumbles*..i cant be an event manager…i’d end up sobbing in a corner cz people CANT be happy!

sending out seminar invites: got the sexiest guest list today…and wht made me happiest was to see ahmed mustafa haq’s name…really miss him! the one funloving carefree cheetah on campus…has officially become the hot corporate with THE voice tht he was destined to be..im sure just as carefree, an funloving and CHEETAH as before here..wreaking havoc at the indigo office!

sending out the article to cK: yes i promise i will update it and send it to u

going n harrassing the tailor to gimmme my clooottthhheeesss…n harrassing my brother into taking me for mehndi on chand raat..hhe

studying for the hourlies! *yipes* hourlies n 3 reports due right after eid…plus the seminar and interviews for societies and *scream!*

oh and next blog shd be on cricket..wanted to talk abt it today..but i think this is long enough..and too many fonts!

i already have too many ppl telling me tht my blogs are too long *screws up nose*

oh and sarah jaannuuuuu…u made my dayyyyyy!!! ur comments cheered me up sooooooo much *hugs*…love u!

now the rest of u silent readers…comment!

BBA 5 October 12, 2006

i know i promised tht my next blog would be about university but cant really bring myself to type about grades currently..i guess im going to go over each course and tell u my experience of
it

Business and Society: we call it bullshit…not only cz of the initials but becuase thts exactly what we study…how can someone expect u to LEARN ethics and morals ina 5 month course by perusing of utilitarian theory and identifying the TYPES of justice…i was actually looking fwd to the course cz i thought it would be interesting debates, but hell to expect intellectual debates at iba is expecting too much…the poor thing tries so hard to get us talking but no one is really interested in her take on technology and what Islam says about it and all * most probably because we’re too busy reading for DE *

in retrospect, B&s actually sounds appealing on my blog

Development Economics: one of my favorite courses at IBA so far…there was International Relations which i loved and then theres this…a course with a conscience…one tht discusses current events and creates conciousness about how we can actally work for public welfare…my utmost RESPECT to the Course Instructor Dr. Mahnaz Fatima…we had heard so much about how she was a *hitler*…but 2 months with her have completely disproved the myth…she is an intelligent woman whom i am in AWE of…she teaches something she completely believes in..and i love the issues we discuss..poverty, inequity,welfare…reall life issues…not just crap tht focuses on increasing shareholder equity

Statistical Inference: people complete their BBAs and still dont manage to pass this course…the dreaded SI…luckily enough , we have a very *dheela* teacher for this one…the first time we saw him he had his shirt untucked n looked like he’d come straight from bed…old, sleepy, slow…and he teaches SI by turning his back to the class and writing definitions…hehe…i havent written much in his class…and dont remember paying attention at any point in time…SI involves reading fiction, playing on other people’s cell phones…gossiping n teasing…anything but doing MATH hehe…and yes af , since its a math course, and no meenai, i’ve got bad grades…manhoos guy, promised to give ur formulas so we went into the hourly w/out memorizing them…and in spite of knowing what to do i couldnt do anything cz i didnt have any formulas…:S…so i made up some hoping tht he’d buy it ..unfortunately he didnt…hehe..

sighs

talking to ammi abhi..not in the mood to type more! to be continueddd

oh and please..ppl who stop by…i want feedback!!

ramadan, and debates, and controversy…so wht else is new =P October 11, 2006

my internet wasn’t really working, so ur going to witness a detaiiiillleeedd blog now..hehe pehle pc wasn’t working, then my internet wasn’t working, and now that both of them are working, my mouse refuses to work…what a life…tabbing and alt tabbing through windows..*shrugs*

what’ve i been upto since my last blog….lots!

friday my phupis *father’s sisters* came over and stayed all the way till sunday…so i was up and running all day on friday…helping with iftaar, and dinner and continuous kitchen cleanup…by the end of that day i was fit to drop asleep…i was that tired…but hell, switched on the radio on my cutesy cell n listened in *w/ my cousin faryal* to mani and azfar go onnn and onnn about the cricket scandal of shahryar khan resigning…the way the PCB behaves, you’d think it’s the girl scouts…having little cat fights behind the scenes, and looking all pretty upfront…hehe…khair,i like shahryar khan…he was a smoooth talker…and younis khan blunt…so i guess they were bound to have a fallout *yes i have opinions about all cricketers *

saturday,i was supposed to stay over at university and work on *brand repositioning* seminar ke invitation cards…almost dozed off on the PC around 3, looking at images…got kicked out of the ooppar wala lab cz apparently they close at 1 during ramadan *curses*…but thank god the library lab has air conditioners now *yayyy afshan *…got home, and found out that we had guests coming over in addition to those which had spent the nite there…and since my phupis were acting like guests, i had to work on iftaar…making pakoras n fruit salad

oh and i had a little spat w/ my phupi…she *surprise surprise* started criticising my mother for choosing to pursue a career when her kids were 2-3 years old…according to her, its *inhuman* to do that to your children ,and that since my mother was a *career-woman* my siblings and i have underdeveloped, incomplete personalities….quite obviously, i was fit to blow at that point…hell, my phupi’s working, and has been working since her own girl was 3…and although i shouldnt be saying this, but just because her own child has problems doesn’t mean that the children of all working mothers are just as *incomplete*…

i think this working mothers debate is quite subjective…i for one, never felt tht it was wrong for my mother to be pursuing a life of her own…she was there when we left home, and she was there when we came back from school…she did the cooking for us, and helped us with our homework and was our best friend…we used to leave home, after she fed us breakfast every morning..how many children of housewives can make a claim to that?? we could sit down watch movies with her and discuss what happened at school and it would always be OKAY….

i for one, took pride in the fact that my mother was not as unaware of her surroundings as i saw my friends’ mothers to be…she had a mind of her own, and would actually have engaging debates about things other than the typical aunty *sale and joota and jora* talk…she was tech savvy, n she wouldnt cringe if u said the word gay in front of her

i guess at the end of the day, its about quality time…i’ve seen a lot of children who had stay at home mothers…and i dont see any difference between them and myself…except sometimes i know i can take pride in my mother whereas my friends would be shy to admit that their mothers aren’t exactly living in this century…it has contributed to my personality immensely…my parents let me grow in whatever direction i pleased…i didnt have an overbearing mother trying to live her dreams through me…

*sighs* i cant thank God enough for giving me my parents

anyway..moving on…caught up with my sexy khala over the weekend…humari crazy n intimate talks hehe…n i love her for reading thru my blog when ppl like ammmaarr *glares at ammar* were being as cynical as ever! taz u owe me a testimonial

afshan…love u babes, have to catch up w/ u one of these days…call u up tomorrow around sehri…hopefully my phoneline *which is currently dead* will be fixed by then…the reaction on nabeel‘s face when he realized that our phone is dead was GOLD..he picked up the phone and said, “its not working”…fumbled with the wires and all and was flabbergasted at it still not functioning when i pointed out tht “KARACHI hai…2 saal ho gaye line kharab huay we…ab toh hona hi tha..hehe!!”

also had loooonnnggg cherished talks w/ hira n al fatah on monday nite…hehe..love u guys!

went shopping yesterday…had to get accessories for my eid outfit…oh and got a great chappal for cK *mwah*…hehe..and discovered the only hallmark store in karachi…now i know where to get my cards from..:P..its a pity i lost the habit because i don’t like the cards in Pakistan….unless its *the card company*…guess hallmark will help me pick up the habit from where i left off

*long blog eh?*

ho hum..what else have i been doing…working on the invitation cards for the seminar and they’re real *hawt*..ammar and i had a our share of fights about how it should be all out creative *with ammar wanting extreme abstract concepts* and then jumped in shahzeb *seminar manager* saying “corporate touch daalo”…lmao…then we got juniors to intervene n help resolve our dispute…hail Bushra and Fariya!

finished it today…*look here , n give me feedback*…we think its turned out pretty well..n i got my way *nyah nyah* hehe

i guess this is long enough for today..i’ll always have stuff to talk about…:P

and yes af…the next blog will be about university! grades, teachers, just cz i lurve uuuuu..hehe

oh and anonymous person claiming to be known to me…please do tell me who you are…i have such few people reading my blog anywayyy

backtrack history! October 5, 2006

hehe…interesting forward i got..thought i might share it with my readers *none yet so far :S*

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies . By then, the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying: "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery, and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying: "It's raining cats and dogs !"

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt..Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying: "Dirt poor". The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. So a piece of wood was placed in the entranceway to hold the thresh. Hence the saying: "a thresh hold."

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old".

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could: "bring home the bacon". They would then cut off a little bacon to share with guests and would all sit around and: "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or: "the upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would
take them for dead, and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family wou ld gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of: "holding a wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be: "saved by the bell" or was considered to be a .. "dead ringer".

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

so here’s the *scene* October 5, 2006

those of you who know me understand my relationship with words…my need to put everything i think out in the open…be it orally or like this…im a living, kicking text freak *making ample use of my free sms facility, having conversations via texts through the night, n sometimes even in class *

can spend all day on msn having mundane IM conversations…and ive been told more than once that i would have died if the phoine werent invented

im wht u would conventionally call a chatterbox

but im happy with the title :p

the reason why im starting blogging is cz i miss all my friends..n i think tht i should give them a place to come in and read about the happenings of my life…want to share it with them…*particularly my graduating class*…:)…and yes, a few unwanted people are bound to come across this..lets hope they enjoy it too hehe

life can get busy, and im not the the most efficient of people, so my blogs may be a lil delayed…but ive pledged to make this work…so if i stop blogging, jst bear it out..i will be back!

currently listening to andholan…an addictively good track by the mekaal hassan band…to my foreign friends click on the word andholan n u’ll be rerouted

…i love the interplay between the flute and the guitar…makes me go crazy..hehe…dont worry about the lyrics…jst say tht *im restless without u* in different ways…its a dialect of urdu, typically used in desi music…i think they call it porbi…correct me if im wrong…anyway…great track, primarily instrumental, so u guys should enjoy it!

spent most of today with my friend sibtain naqvi..he’s a year ahead of me in uni..n one of the most soothingly genuinely intellectual people i have met in my life…not one of those over the top indulgent art critics…but grounded…as grounded as they get…hell, if i had the kind of family background i would be arrogant as hell..n yet he has this down to earth quality…and we talk seamlessly…

and i miss home more and more everyday, as eid grows closer…*sighs*…the sights and sounds of spending eid in a vibrant, relative infested place like karachi may be appealing to many…but to spend eid without ur parents n ur family is EXCRUCIATING

*sighs* more about that tomorrow

already October 5, 2006

the blog’s two days old, and im already slacking?

naah, was just busy with the hourlies…*hour long, monthly exams, for those of u uninformed as yet*

n if i start writing about them, i’d sure it would depress me further, and would prove to be no asset to u anyway…

*contemplates, writing a blog on that tmw*