And He is Actually a She!

I distinctly remember it was 6th of this month when I fell in love all over again…with a dog this time. =P I reached the hotel at 2 pm where a friend of mine was throwing his birthday treat. I went inside and all the way to the rooftop where the restaurant is, only to find that I was the second one of the invitees to get there. After a while, other people started to show up. Now I must say my friend is a real ladies man; there were 3 guys and like 12 girls (not that I’m jealous, haha) Anyway, that is irrelevant to this post. We all had excellent food … well, good food … to be honest, it was just okay. Post lunch, we decided to go to this ice cream place for dessert. A friend of mine and I got in the car and set off for the ice cream place. On our way, we saw this guy holding two adorable puppies at a roundabout and we exclaimed, “Oyeee!! Kuttay k bachayyy!” in unison and at this, we rolled in our seats with laughter. But the puppies were so adorable that we both decided to take another look at them and drove all around the roundabout once again to see them. I stopped the car at one side and called the guy over. That’s where it all began. It turned out he was selling them for Rs. 5000. One was white and the other was black and, I must add, both were adorable when they looked at us with their small innocent eyes that would make anyone go awww. We struck a bargain with this guy and got one dog for Rs. 500! We both congratulated each other for successfully striking such a good bargain. But after like 5 minutes of patting and playing with the dog, we both were like what to do with him? Both our parents are against keeping dogs and since we live with our parents we have to play by their rules. I decided to keep the dog at my house till my parents get back from their vacation and since then the dog has been living in my room. So as of today, my parents are officially back and have met the dog. Luckily the dog was at his best behavior when he met my dad and sat obediently by his side while he rolled around at my mother’s feet. Dogs are intelligent animals; he must have sensed that this was important because I have never seen him be so obedient. I am not sure if my parents love him or even like him for that matter but I get to keep him.. for now. =D

This is from September of last year. Never found time to post this. But more importantly the dog gets to stay. Oh and I discovered like only a month back that my dog is actually a female dog. *Poker face.

In the Loving Memory of an Old Friend.

Today I said a final goodbye to a very dear friend of mine. He had been fighting for his life for over a month now but he did not deserve to go this young and in such brutal heartbreaking way, where I was not even able to say a proper goodbye. Sometimes when I used to see the scarred and sorry looking face of his, I used to think maybe it was kinder on him to just let him go... But I never lost hope, not entirely, that maybe someone, somewhere, somehow would be able to fix him. He recovered too once three weeks back but it did not last for very long and before I knew it, he was in much worse condition only like a week later.

For the past 4 years, 4 magical years, he has been with me through all the ups and downs of my life. Where ever I went, he went side by side, hand in hand. Whenever I fell, he fell. Whenever I was sad, he made sure that I get to talk to someone to make me feel better. In return I wasn't able to do much for him. Although I used to pick him up and dust him off whenever he fell (mind you he used to fall often), I feel I should have been more careful in order to not let him fall at all. I used to complain about him all the time. I used to call him useless, old fashioned piece of junk but he didn't mind, he used to act just the same as he did before.

Ah... How I miss my old friend now. He knew almost all of my secrets, all of my passwords, all of my favorite songs, all of my crushes, all of my conversations with them and all my friends, and all of the little poems and short stories that I wrote. In short, he was my best friend and I've lost him today.

In all reality, he could have lived on for a few weeks or even months had it not been for the accident where he flew out the window and landed on the road only to be run over by a motorbike. I was there, I was the one who was driving the car and it all happened in a matter of seconds which seemed like an eternity. The incident replays itself over and over in my head. It was something like this: a motorbike, trying to avoid a rickshaw, bumps into another motorbike who cuts in front of me, I brake hard and spin the wheel around in order to save the guy on the motorbike. It was during these seconds, when the car turns around uncontrollably, he flies out the window on to the road and the bike coming behind him runs him over. I look out the window and see him lying there, broken to the core. A nice stranger picks him up and walks over to my car and hands him to me and I very tenderly hold him in my hands and look down at my old, trusted and finally broken friend, Nokia 6760. I know he is not with me anymore and I’m sure he can’t listen to me right now but I would like to say this to him that no matter how much I complained about you, I loved you more than you know… Hell I've loved you more than I ever knew. You will be missed. Forever. Rest in peace old friend.



P.S. Never keep your cellphone on the dashboard of your car with windows down. -.-

Time = Money. Dafuq?

They say time is money; I am only now, comprehending the true meaning behind this statement. When I was younger, I used to wish time was money because I had all the time in the world, to do all the things I wanted to do, but had no money. Now I have some money, granted it is not as much as I want (doesn’t even get close to it), I do not have the time to do stuff that I want to do. Don’t know whether I should be thankful that time is not money because if it were the case, I’d be living well below the poverty line.

The school for most part has been keeping me busy with all the assignments, quizzes, presentations, research, problem sets and exams. The midterm week ended yesterday and I realized for the first time how fast the time is actually moving and also that I am failing international economics. =X It is not like I don’t get the subject, I get it just fine. The problem is with the questions on the exams. I see the question paper and I think to myself: ooookay. Hmm. I think I know the answer …you’ve got this… but that is against the model… and not to mention stupid… Did we even study this in class? The fuck? The only good thing in all this is that I am not the only one who is having a hard time with international economics - a small consonance.

Anyhow, I’m happy that it is Bakra Eid this week which means a long weekend and God knows I need it. Right now, my only wish is that time slows down, even by just a little so that I can actually enjoy a bit of life.

Is it the End of the World Yet?

I walk down a dark, cold, empty corridor. There is urgency in my walk. Something or someone is after me. I am not sure what I am doing in such a place but I have a feeling I have some business there. I reach the end of the corridor to find a locked door. I want to open that door. I feel with all my heart that the reason why I am in such a cold, dark place, being chased by an unknown thing or things lies beyond that door. I want that thing so bad. It is like a treasure to me. My pulse quickens, my breathing gets faster and I realize that my hands are sweating with excitement and fear as I feel my predator catching up to me. I try to break in but I can’t, the door is too strong. I can feel the predator getting closer. I search my pockets and find a paperclip inside. I set to pick the lock while looking over my shoulder for the predator. Suddenly there is an earthquake. The whole world starts to shake violently. I feel the death knocking at my door. I work faster on the lock. I have to get to that mysterious thing, before the world crumbles down to dust. There is music. I am not sure where that is coming from. I have succeeded in picking the lock. The earthquake has gotten stronger. The music has gotten louder. I am going to meet my end very soon. I have to move quickly; have to get that thing before I die. I kick at the door to open it. The music has become deafening now. I cannot take it anymore. I close my eyes and put fingers in my ears to block out the sound but it wouldn’t go away. I want it to stop but it just wouldn’t stop. I open my eyes again. It takes me a moment to realize where I am. I am in my room. The music is still there, though not that deafening and the earthquake has subsided to mere vibrations. I search my room for the source of music and vibrations to find my cell phone ringing and I realize it was all a dream.

I looked at the phone to see who this discourteous caller was who had woke me up early in the morning and denied me a treat of knowing and having what was beyond that door to find that it was my best friend. I picked up the phone, thinking this better be good, and said hello? and my friend replied “soo tou nahe raha tha? Yaar nastha hee keraa day please!”

I am not sure what exactly my reply was, but I haven’t heard from him in three days (dil per lay gaya baat) ;)


P.S. This is from second week of July. Summer break had just started then. :) Found it among other things that do not find their way up here. Oh and I did not hear from him for 9 days. Kuch zayada he dil per lay gaya tha :P

Real Life Severus Snape!

Cannot believe it has been 2 weeks since the school started. It seems like I am still on vacation or something due to my extremely weird and partly messed up class schedule this semester. The only good thing about it is that I have only one 8 am class as opposed to 8 am classes throughout the week which had been the norm for the past 3 years. I have school on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. One would think what the hell am I complaining about, it is pretty pretty schedule. But I tend to get lazy with a day off almost every other day so getting into a momentum or routine so far has been a problem. And also a one day weekend is no fun at all. -.-

Anyway, this semester I have a teacher who can give Professor Snape form Harry Potter run for his money. This was first pointed out by my friend sitting next to me and I realized he was quite right. There is uncanny resemblance between the two. Both have greasy hair, both talk slowly in their drawling voices, both have a natural gift at keeping the class quiet without any effort, both are extremely rude, and if you look closely you would think they look the same as well. He started the class off by “interrogating” people about their backgrounds, knowledge of econometrics, different statistical models, and soft-wares. I was his first victim and he asked me about such econometric techniques that I had never ever heard of them. One by one other students were interrogated, with him running a constant commentary on how very limited our knowledge was in the field of econometrics. Don’t know what he was expecting from students who had taken a course in econometrics two semesters ago and were coming back to school after a month off. Anyhow, a friend of mine was sitting two rows ahead of me and soon it was to be her turn. Her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, face was red from blushing, and was possibly perspiring as well. But luckily for her the class ended just before it was her turn. Later on while walking to the next class she told me that she knows exactly how poor Neville Longbottom felt in Snape’s presence. LOL

Pakistan Khappay, Pakistan Khappay, Pakistan Khappay

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan turned 65 three days ago. The country that came into existence after much bloodshed is still bleeding; there is no end to its suffering. Perhaps the bleeding never stopped.

Granted some of the damage was done by the foreign forces but most of the damage was inflicted by our own hands. We allowed ourselves to lie, to cheat and to become dishonest in every walk of life. Result is for all to see. We have wide spread poverty, lack of basic education and morality, lack of any sort of health structure, no clear public policy, no tolerance towards ideas and views different from ours, high levels of hypocrisy, no patience and no respect for others, no unity, no faith and no discipline – ironically the last three attributes are the motto of Pakistan . In short we are everything that a nation or a country should not be. Last year Pakistan was ranked 12th worst state on the list of failed states.

The country presently is being run by incompetent nincompoops. It is futile to blame them entirely for they merely reflect the society. Our beloved President Mr. 10-percent along with much adored Prime Minister Raja Rental/Bijlee are from amongst us. This does not mean that every second person can become the President or Prime Minister; it means that every second person is Mr. 10 percent or Raja Rental in some way or the other! (So don’t be surprised if you see Zardari blinking back at you through a mirror – scary thought)

It’s heartbreaking to see the county where it is right now. All the efforts for a separate Muslim homeland have been all in vain because what we have today is clearly not what the dream began with. We have had very little to cheer about for the past 65 years (apart from cheering every alternate hour for being blessed with electric supply). But these 65 years could not have been all bad.. I would like to think that we achieved something as well. For better or for worse, we did become a nuclear state which I personally believe is a stupendous achievement considering the circumstances in which the nuclear bomb was made. At least most Pakistanis cheered at that. 1992 Cricket World Cup and 2009 T20 World Cup are also one of the very few things that the whole nation was happy about. People like Dr. Abdus Salam, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Ali Moeen Nawazish, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Arfa Karim and many others like them have made the country proud but all these names are never celebrated. The nations that fail to celebrate their heroes seldom produce more of them, and that is the ultimate demise. May God help this nation – Amen.

You Have a Text Message

You never replied to my text message! Dude, did you even get my messages? Yaar banda kabhe sms ka reply bhi ker daita hai! Is something wrong with your phone? Kabhe time per reply naa kerna tum! Torr k phank do tum apna phone – This is what I get to hear on a regular basis from my friends.

I don’t quite understand what my problem is with text messages. Maybe I do not take them very seriously or maybe I just get too many messages and I go straight to the ones I think are more important thinking I’d look at other messages later and then I forget all about them. Or maybe I am always busy with one thing or the other to take some time out and reply to “oye kya karr rha hai abhe?” & “kya scene hai /scene awnn hai??!”

This habit of ignoring text messages is quite old and gets me in trouble at times but I never learn. I, very conveniently, ignore my dad’s text message reminding me to get home before curfew, my mom’s text asking me to get something from the store on my way back, my friends’ messages reminding me of paying their money back. It is not like I do not reply at all. It is just that I do not reply on time. I even had a breakup with my girlfriend because according to her I never replied – which I think is not true!! And then another past love interest asked me if I was trying to act cool by not replying on time? (as if I need to ‘act’ cool, haha =P)

So I have decided to put in more effort to reply back to people. And I am discovering it is not thaaat hard and I am also getting fewer complaints of not replying back or on time. Let’s see for how long I can continue this. =]