i want to vote! February 17, 2008

ever since election year has been confirmed I’ve wanted to vote…see the way i see it, you don’t have the right to criticize the politicians unless you’ve actually owned up as a citizen and voted for the better guy…the only reason why we have so many jaahils sitting in parliament is because unfortunately most of the people who’ve gone out there and voted are jaahil..

the only way you can change anything is by going out there and voting..its a slow and painful process…but if you can read this and you’re a citizen of Pakistan..

go out there and VOTE!

the literacy rate in Pakistan is 53%…and the voter turnout rate in the last elections (according to government statistics) is about 41%…6 out of 10 registered voters do NOT participate towards the political destiny of the country…no wonder the country is in such a dismal state..most people can’t even be bothered to go and elect the smarter candidate!

anyway..i wanted to vote..so i filled out all the registration forms well in advance last summer..and sent them to the local electoral rolls…come election week and I’m waiting for my election card to arrive…it didn’t till Friday so i checked online to see whether or not I’m on the electoral rolls..and sadness set in when my name wasn’t there!

all that effort gone to waste…they didn’t register me =(…so now i can’t vote…in spite of wanting to

they say that if you’ve got an NIC (national identity card) and turn up at the polling station on the day of elections then you can vote…I’ll try doing that tomorrow..lets see if that lets me vote

elections are tomorrow..

otherwise I’m still upset =’(

and no HR people are not stupid!

life etc June 10, 2007

why are there limits…u know the thought crosses my mind every calculus class…sucha boring course that is, but apparently i have to get thru it to get my BBA…and the irony of it is that we have just one HR course in the whole bachelors program…as if i give a crap about why a line is curved the way it is and whats stupid function if applied would result in such a line…if it were upto me , i’d just pick up a piece of paper and draw squiggles…why complicate life needlessly

*sigh* mathematicians needa life…all that intelligence wasted away on the functions of a particular curve..yeesh

im still internship less..purely becasue i applied to a cpl of top notch companies and assumed that merit would reign supreme..so much for idealism..all that u really need for a job in pakistan is one good contact!

the heat is unnerving…and im lucky enough to have electricity most times of the day…my heart goes out to the poor souls who dont even have an operational fan in their homes..no thanks to the hyperefficiency of KESC…

budget’s out…and OUT  it really is…see a lot of idealism there…i guess the GOP prefers to ignore the corruption that makes every strategy void! the one thing they should really zero rate is power generating machinery…and they should lather a 200% duty on all the luxuries…cell phones, cars, air conditioners….if u want em, either pay the duty or buy local! or else sell your nation to the dogs…you know people whine all the time about what they are to do to get pakistan about this rut….how about u stand up for whats right! its infantile logic really…sach bolo! be true to yourself and be honest in whatever you do! defend the pakistani economy by buying local! why expect the government to do everything…try paying for your electricity bills instead of taking it illegally!

i saw for the first time in my life, riots, rights in the heart of elitist karachi *schon circle*…just because of electricity outages…and politicians have the nerve to harp about prosperity…

im getting too worked up. so fullstop to that.

im going to be more regular in my blogs now…purely because i need some sort of catharsis every so often. im all the more glad if reading my catharsis brings relief to others!

delayed January 10, 2007

i travelled to karachi on the night of the fifth…we got there before time *just like the ticket told us* …the flight ended up being around 2 hours late…not as bad a wait as most flight delays are…bad weather was the *credible* cause cited…

anyway..got on the plane..haseeb sadi was on our flight *reading that haseeb* so nabeel sat with him…ohh it was a such a pathetic flight..not as bad as typical syrian air flights are…but pretty bad!!

the thing is that saudi arabian airlines had diverted all its karachi flights for the hajj season….and had sold all its reserved seats to syrian air…which means we pay for a great airline..and end up flying back and forth on a REALLY crappy one..one the way to dammam nabeel and i felt more like we were travelling on a stinky bus…it was overcrowded, filled with laborers who didnt abide by the no smoking rules…we had to sit right at the end of the plane…in the tail!..if anything at all, it had a great view…saw the sun come up over the clouds …

airplane food is bad…but this food is bad *font 72*…smells funny

on the way to saudi they gave us a tray which nabeel and i estimated cost the airline no more than 30 rupees…consisted of a stale slice of cake…an overripe banana…and a sandwich that seemed to have been made a week ago…oh and they also serve fake coke/fanta/sprite

anyway…i’ve gone off course! we had to verify that the baggage to be put on the plane was ours or not…hehe…before we got on the plane..we were made to walk out on the frigid tarmac and point at our luggage so that it could be put into the plane..i dont think ANYONE has ever had to do that…pathetic airline!

before that we had trouble finding the gate…the guy at the counter who checked us in told us one gate, the airport information board said another, and then there was a third one being announced on the public address system….now dammam airport is huuugee..rumored to be the biggest in the middle east..to walk from one gate to the other takes a good 10-15 minutes..in spite of the electronic walkways…so walking all over was quite annoying…liked the art on the walls on the way though..and also discovered the Royal VIP lounge..hehe…looked royal enough!!

by the time i got on the *almost empty* plane..i was realllly tired and sleepy…nabeel as with haseeb in the back and i saw this as a good opportunity to get some sleep..there isnt anything else u can do on the plane…except the girl next to me was very talkative…if i had met her some place else, we wdve become the best of friends…but in that stinky cramped plane where i was already cranky..her talk was just plain annoooyyyiiinnngg

anyhow…got off the plane and braced myself for the long passport/immigration line…the first 2 hajj flights had landed the very same time as us…so we found ourselves in lines with VERY pushy hajis..they seemed to have that attitude about them *get out of the way u worms…we’re hajis…we’re superior now*…not in my queue lady!!

got out of immigration…*sometimes i wonder how it would be to an immigration officer..looking at boring passports every day…and having to deal with rowdy crowds…i guess that goes for airplane stewards and stewardesses too…but the ones on syrian are actual vile..have a serious B.O. problem..and dont understanda word of english..its a friggin INTERNATIONAL flight…is the IAAA reading out there?!

got out of baggage claim and finally got outdoors…*”my favorite bit,” says haseeb, “i feel like a celebrity!”*…and indeed there were SWARMS of people outside…most of them there to greet the returning pilgrims *haseeb:”look all the girls with the flowers and garlands!! they’re all there for me!!”*…and for once due to the excessive rose garlands, entering into karachi smelt good…the terminal was so crowded they had personnel in place to let the luggage trolleys pass through…got out into the karachi morning air, and took a cab home..stayed there for half and hour..and the got on the point to university…

it felt good to see all my fwwends…also nice to see the returning BBA8/MBA batch, who were away for a six month internship..but since i was delayed by a couple of days i wanted to check out my courses and teachers…cant really complain much..the IBA Admin seems to be showing some genuine concern for our batch and finally giving us good teachers…though my seniors assure me that theyre all crap, i seem to think otherwise…we have 4 courses with the word management in them…and our teachers have started calling us professionals…for once we have a financial management teacher *Zia ul Haque* who knows his stuff…a managerial accounting teacher *Aman U Saiyed* with a southern accent and loads of anecdotes to match his accounting knowledge…a methods of business research instructor who cracks the silliest quirks in class and has taught us before *S.M.Saeed* who i like inspite of his BS *so far we have been told that “the best way to motivate your researchers is to give them a sweet danda”…! pretty outrageous*…a philosophy of Islam teacher who talks all airy and loves to rant *”language and words are mere breath!!” he says*…good old TJ *tic tac toe! third semester in a row*, who’s teaching us Management of Pakistan’s Economy and is so far giving out the same handouts to both us and the BBA 4s doing Analysis of Pakistani Industries…:D…we also have a Mr. Kamran *youngish* teaching us Productions and Operations Management…unfortunately he has to share the course with Mirza Sardar *who’s the head of the Management Dept at the IBA, and cant teach cause he recently had bypass surgery* who sits at the back of the classroom and acts all busy shuffling papers and gets up from time to time *”if Mr. Kamran would allow me to encroach on five minutes of his time, i just wnated to addd….” to which Mr. Kamran looks on helplessly to Mirza sahab and the clock for the next 10 minutes*

hehe..since ive pledged to attain nerd status, and subsequently get a presentable GPA this semester, im studying and paying attention in class..so far..!…its only my third day at uni so i cant see my promise going far…but lets be optimistic shall we

also practicing math questions like mad for the upcoming P&G test…i think id be ready to give the GMAT once im thru with the practice…my math instructor is ammar habib khan..and just happens to be a math genius…speeding thru questions while im still lost sumwhere in the last question…but i was very happy today when i did questions today and didnt get a single one wrong ..ammar, on the contrary, got a couple wrong..much to my glee, and to which ferial told ammar “doob maro ammar!!”…hehe…guess im soaking up his math knowledge..muahaha

u know this has turned ou to be a pretty long blog…but i had fun typing it up..dont care if u guys dont read it all..hehe

u know what i was going to start typing about meetings…but i guess i’ll put that in another blog! not meeting details…but mebbe minutes!

new theme? new year! January 4, 2007

i wanted to start off the new year with a new theme….but i looked thru the ones wordpress has made available…didnt really like any as much as my current one..theyre either too dreary..or too bright

so i guess im stuck with this one till i either learn how to work css…or till wordpress has some interesting templates up

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this was my first eid home after 3 years…annndd it *no surprises* felt good..and the chilly weather was literally the icing on the cake…which reminds me..i also did a lot of baking while i was here…no cooking though..left it to ammi…and the sad bit is that im leaving in 2 days *missing 2 days of classes by the way*..and i still havent shopped enough..or had my fill of home…i dont want to go back!!

argh…whats worse than homesickness is this feeling that sets in..when u just DONT want to leave!!

anyway…i still see the numbers going up on the *seen* tab at the bottom of my page..and no comments to account for the surge…*grumbles*

meeting up w/ sarah jaanuu tonite…n a couple of arab friends..lets see how it goes

hope all of u had a great eid….and pakistan yet again had 3 eids *strangely reminds me of this*..also pray u have a great year

every second day of eid, theres this spectacular fireworks show at the corniche..in spite of wanting to watch it, i couldnt…there was this eid party we had to go to…it was new years eve on the second day of eid here..it wdve been spectacular if i cdve gone there…

*sighs*…next time

bs bs and more bs December 14, 2006

exams over…which means i’ve had more than my share of spewing bullshit

and yes i will write loads in the days to come

am going home tmw nite!! *yayy*

thought of the day:

An arrow can be shot only by dragging it back,
so when life is dragging you back with difficulties..
it means that its going 2 launch u into the victory

point noted

catharsis December 3, 2006

i just figured out that i can flunk all my exams this semester and still NOT drop out of IBA

and u have nooo idea how appealing that isss

i dont wannntttt to studdyyyy

stupid US treasury bills…linux commands…spot rates…chi tests and ANOVA

boooo hoooooo

i cant wait for these two weeks to end!!

distractions galore

just managed to download akheer by juggy D..i love the saarangi on it…and theres slight rain outside…cloudy weather…chilly breeze


*sighs*

kill blogspot November 21, 2006

okie im going to sit down n cry now…

my blog’s disappearred!

love hate relationship November 11, 2006

i sound too IBA centric in my blog..at least thats what i think..most prolly cz i spend MOST of my time either there or doing work for there…out of obligation and not out of choice! and the season up ahead is such when we’ll get NO weekends and meet IBA people 7 *and a half* days a week…im NOT complaining

since the convocation was just around the corner, the iba admin had been painting pillars walls and poles left right and center….doors polished and light fixtures changed..all for the big today when our (dis)honored governor, Dr. Ishrat ul Ibad actually bothered blessing our premises,and our dear Director Mr. Danishmand made a point to *surprise surprise* harp onnnn and onnnn about the glory of the IBA

dont get me wrong…i love the place…favoritism and all! No matter how much u hate IBA for whtever, its policies, its system,its people,its rigidities…u eventually come around to loving it for its *legacy*…the legacy that all of us IBA people come to be part of…and again, the true IBA person is that who has spent at least 4 years here…ive seen grown macho guys as well as the most emotionally resistant of girls crumble to their knees at the thought of leaving IBA behind

*sighs* and yes i know i’ll cry when i leave too..its a love hate relationship really

one reason to love IBA : they’re finally acknowledging a management guru….Abdul Sattar Edhi was awarded an honorary doctorate today …he got a doctorate for social services management..and it was so humbling to meet him…i felt honored to be speaking to him…*respect* thru n thru for the man who’s gone out of his way to make a difference to the world…my last post was about bring frozen…and there were quite a few times when i was reminded of my post when i was at the convocation today…when we heard him speak *and there were very few of us listening* about how he was an utterly uneducated man…we were in utter shock when he said that he had read only 2 books in his whole life..and that too in Gujrati[hindi dialect]…he said he didnt deserve to be called maulana[religious cleric] since he could not even read the Quraan…he was illiterate and he had to rely on tape recordings of Quraanic recitation and translation for his Islamic education…when he was being taken for lunch by the IBA hotshots..he saw us girls standing there smiling at him and he came up to us and started talking to us..saying out of the blue “itne saalon main maulanaon ne mujhe poocha bhi nahi..aur aaj in logon ne mujhe degree de di”[ for all these years the religious clergy never acknowledged me..and today these good people have bestowed a degree on me]…the look of utter contentment on his face was a sight to marvel…i didnt have the courage to ask for a picture with him..i didnt think i was capable of standing in the same frame….he is just plain WOW…just shows that literacy does not make one educated =)

anyway..while maulana edhi was giving his speech behind me was a huge audience…of students and parents…who were busy chattering amongst themselves and not even bothering to clap when Dr. Edhi was given his doctorate…it quite honestly pissed me off…i said in the last post about people being numb to their conscience and just NOT listening to the people who matter..and here was evidence of that…and i wish i cdve been disproved…

ho hum…i wont get depressed over the lack of conscience and humanity in people!!! i won’t i won’t i won’t!

anyway..it was good meeting old friends today…people who have graduated..and managed to get a few white hairs already..some of them losing their hair..some of them changing their hair color…it sounds so odd…me discussing people’s hair…hehe..cant help but notice!! =P *yes sarah..nothing has changed*

which reminds me…the newest member of the blogosphere is *drumroll*..my jaaaannnnnnuuuuu sarah khan =D as sarah would put it *harippa* =D

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!