I slept around 3:30 am last night. First of all, those evil mosquitoes were feasting on my blood, and secondly I had been wearing my dental retainers. As usual, I wore them after a decade, so I was having extra pain :( I had to take them off in order to sleep. [Taking them off means more pain. Eeks!] Anyways, I slept around 3:30 am and after 10 minutes it was 7:30 am - time to wake up. :/ Got dressed up, picked up my heavy bag (a 2 kg Mac is a huge weight for me to carry), drove with my eyes half opened, and reached the university in 5 minutes. [Yep, I drive real fast when I'm sleepy. I'm weird, I know]. Anyways, in the class I sat in the front row so I could keep my eyes open and my attention focused. But my hands were dead, and I wrote the text in a really incomprehendible (sp.?) writing. After two hours of continuous torture (of staring blankly at the board), we finally got a 15-minute blissful break. Like a robot, I picked up my heavy bag again, and headed towards the back of the hall. There are such comfy 2-seaters over there. I slammed by bag on the arm-rest and rested my head on it. Folded my legs on the sofa, hid my face in arms, closed my eyes and I FELL ASLEEP!! I must have taken a 5 -7 minute nap only. And thankfully there weren't many people in the class at that time, just a few of my friends and that bunch of stupid girls whose hands are glued to their cellphones and they rarely walk out of the class.

That nap refreshed me up so much so that I went to the cafe, had a good bag of chips (aka my breakfast), and skipped the second half of the class =D Evil moi, I know :D

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Dec 25th is a holiday because Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, was born. Dec 27th will be a holiday on account of Mohtarma BB's death anniversary. There is no (national) holiday on Dec 26th. I wish Zardari could visit Afghanistan today. We would then have 3 holidays in a row!

Cheerio folks =)

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My friends got sick of me always whining about my motu tummy. So they gave me the idea of drinking Green Tea. Uptil now I haven't drunk any type of tea - green, brown, black, pink, magenta, orange, etc. So that day, when Momma asked me to make Green Tea for her, I asked her if I should try it too. She had no problem with that, but was thinking if I'd shrink and disappear one day :D Anyways, I made 2 cups, and squeezed 1/4 of a good lemon in my cup. Momma doesn't take sugar, so I followed her. Remember, I drink sugar-free milk too? So, I took the first sip, and it was so ewwwwww! Seriously!! Probably I needed to add sugar to it, or I shouldn't have squeezed too much of that lemon in it. Whatever the case, I didn't finish my tea. I just couldn't. It didn't taste good.

After 2 days, I was again forced by my freind (who gave me the idea of drinking green tea) to try another cup. This time, I made myself half a cup :P and added 1/2 tsp of sugar and 2 drops of lemon juice. I gulped 2-3 tiny sips. It was then when I saw my Momma take the last sip that I decided not to drink green tea ever again. She made such a bitter face, and said that last sips are always that bitter. No doubt it was quite evident :)

I'm happy with my fatty tummy. I just can't drink Green Tea. I'd rather excercise or walk. :D

Oh, and it's so much fun to attend shaadian and all :D Wearing all those chamkeelay (not paindoo, but decent) dresses and being photogrphed :D And oh, how can I forget taking photos of those pastries wrapped in red ghararas :D

Cheerio folks =)

P.S.: I needa shleep. Daily we come home around 3 am from mehndis, mayoun, and shaadis :(

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Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm going crazy! I got such an awesome eidi this time :D Not a bakra or gaie or oont or anything, but a MacBook - the NEW MacBook :D MashAllah it's so amazing. I so wanted a MacBook for the past 2-3 years. And Alhamdolillah got it now :D [Ayesma, you buy one too ab] :)

I went to place an order on Dec 3 at Bawany's. The check got cleared in 3 frikkin' days. And in those 3 days, I had to keep the news in my porous stomach. It was seriously too hard. And today, when I went to pick it up around 5 pm, I felt like ...I can't explain that feeling :D Today, when I txted a few of my close friends and told them about the good news, they all were so happy :D Ritz was so happy for me *hugs* :) And so was SD :) He called me from US. Without checking the number on CLI, I picked up the call and recognized him when he said, "Where's my treat k***?" [K*** is a very weird name he has for me :D It's one of those million names he has for me :) ]. Ufff, I wasn't expecting his call, but was so glad to have a congraty call from him :D

And I feel like singing, "Aaj apun ki zindagi ka bohat bara din hay. Aaj to apun naachay ga bhee, aur apun gai ga bhee" :D I'm sure Ayesma must be knowing this song, righto? :P

Cheerio folks =)

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1. My bloggy turned 5 on Nov 29th and I didn't get time to blog about it :( *hugs her blog* Actually we had gone to Nathiagali (not the one in Northern Areas, but Karachi wali) And that is such a nice place, with the exception of those pointed gravels there. There's absolutely clear water. And the best thing about it was that the whole beach was for us that day. I have been there a couple times earlier too, but that was some 4-5 years ago. A few of Naval dinner parties were held there. Oh my god, that place is really amazing. I'd post the pictures soon.

2. I forgot Ritz's birthday :( It was on Dec 4, and I thought she was born on Dec 5. Dayum! Why do people change their DOB every year? :/ I forgot Jajo's birthday, and now Ritz's birthday... What's going on? I blame my N70 for all this. Why did it crash when I needed it the most? It had all the dates saved in it. Now I have to note all of them down again! Argh!

3. Shaadian coming up. I love attending shadis and watch pastry-looking brides sit like an idol for 3 straight hours :D Waisay, beauty parlors shouldn't 'decorate' their faces that much. The lesser the make-over, the better. I hope both of my cousins, who are getting married, don't look like pastries.

4. I'm waiting for a cheque (check?) to be cleared. It should be cleared today or I'd seriously go punch that guy's face. Any powerful person reading my blog? I need your assistance :) My happiness lies in that cheque (check?) :D

5. Eid shopping still left. :( When will I buy sandals and jewellery? *Wake up, Dinkum!* Plus, I want some new shades of nail enamel.

6. Oh, and it rained last night :D Me sho happy :) I love rains. It's just the lightning and the garaj that scares me most :$

7. My dental retainers are becoming a big problem for me. Whenever I fix them, it hurts me so much, I have to put my hand over my mouth for the next 30 minutes :( I sit in a corner and quietly wait for the 30 minutes to pass :( Haye, so unbearable it is sometimes.

Prayers needed, as always.

Cheerio folks =)

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Yahooo!!! But the real tension starts now - getting grades :s

Pray I pass Portfolio Mgt :/

So hate zat!

Cheerio folks :(

PS: I forgot to wish Jaj on her birthday. Seesh! She'd kill me, I know :(

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O winter, king of intimate delights,
Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
Of undisturb'd retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted ev'ning, know.

[William Cowper, The Task]


Winters are almost here. And I don't like them. I don't like to wrap the blanket around myself or wear gloves and wollen mozay all the time. And I don't like dipping myself in a reservoir of moisturizer. I don't like my static hair. I don't like eating too many dry fruits and then counting pimples. I don't like when mosquitoes fly in my blanket because the poor souls feel cold too [and then evil them dance and bite in the middle of my foot!!! Damn that tilmilahat!]. Winters make me feel more lethargic. The long nights are one thing I detest the most. I wake up some thirty times between 11 pm and 7 am (because I sleep for 2 hours in the afternoon. Hehe). I don't like wearing half a dozen sweaters and look fat.

Everything seems to slow down in winters - including the clocks! Even the sense of humor of some people dries out! :/

Summers are a joy! Rainfall, flowers, sunshine...Ahhh!!! :)

Mish you, Summers :(

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Momma: "Look at you...You're becoming skinnier day by day"
Me: "Nnnooo...I'm still 40 kgs :)"
Momma: "Okay..." *thinks* "Look at your arms and your wrist...It's shrinking for sure"
Me: *smiles* Come to the main point, Momma :)
Momma: *says flatly* You're going to start drinking Nesvita now!"
Me: *makes a bad face* NO!
Momma: "Yes! Now go and drink a big mug of it"

I don't like drinking milk - especially 'dabbay walay'. I just don't like their taste. And as usual I didn't like the taste of Nesvita. It's like adding water to Nido :/ But since I had to drink that evil mug, Momma suggested to add some sugar and Ovaltine to it. I like unsweetened milk. Adding sugar to it makes it taste so...sweet! [Lol! Sorry, I couldn't find a better adjective :p] Anyways, I'm back to un-dabba-ed milk :D And I like it! It's so so much better than Nido/Nesvita. Oh, and that reminds me that the only tetra-packed milk I like is Olpers :D

Enough buraiyaan for today. :P

Have a blessed day.

Stay healthy. Drink Olpers :P

Cheerio folks =)

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A Barbie doll with a barbie house. I feel like a munna bacha.
Plus, I want a good book to read. Puhleez, suggest me some really nice books.

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On Monday, I went to drop Daddy dear at the hospital for his regular checkup. Then went to uni, attended two hours of my 3-hour class (8:30 to 11:30) and went to pick Dad. On the way back, we went to CSD for some grocery shopping. It took us an hour there. And seriously that place is so congested. Although it is better than Imtiaz II (where you feel the shelves will fall on your head) but since I was feeling flu-ish, my head started aching again :/ I was about to faint. The air conditioning system wasn't working, so it was hell hot inside. We finally got out of there and reached home around 12:30. Had a class at 12:30, but skipped it. Fortunately our boring proffy was absent too. Had a class at 1:30. Skipped that too. And went to sleep around 1. Asked Ritz to wake me up at 2 for my majors class (2:30 to 5:30), but she woke me up at 2:20. I was having fever when I got up, so I decided to skip my Portfolio class too. And again fortunately, there was guest speaker session that day. What a relief! I'm glad I fell ill on the right day :P

And today, I'm having flu, fever, cough, headache and now a never ending series of hiccups and sneezes.

People say you get hiccups when someone is missing you. SE says you get sneezes when someone misses you. I say you get hiccups and sneezes when you're ill. :/

Stop missing me pwease. These hiccups are really very irritating. :/

And prayers needed.

Adios amigos


PS: We're having a lawn being made at the back of our house and it's so refreshing. I love lawns. We had one at NHS too, but it was too difficult to maintain that and so it was cemented although I protested the most [but who listens? :( ] Anyways, this lawn is almost 3 times the size of our NHS lawn. So, me is berry happy :D

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We have recently got our home renovated. So, a few days ago, Ritz visited my place. I took her to my room to show the new look of my room.

Ritz: Woahhh, red red curtains!!! :P
Me: Yeah, before they were stitched, I never liked them.
Ritz: Know what, your room has a fragrance of that of a… bride’s room.
Me: Huh?
Ritz: The new furniture does make a room smell like a bride’s room.
Me: Oh, okay. But there is one thing that’s missing.
Ritz: *saying it all in one breath* I know. A Husband, right? :D
Me: WHAT?
Ritz: *inhales* This place ‘does’ smell like a bride’s room. Ahhh…
Me: Hello Mademoiselle…I was talking about the CARPET!!!

[Ritz is so like Chelsea. And I’m so like Raven, she says]



And another story...

Some 2 months ago.

Me: Of all the things you’ve been given in dowry, I like your 17-pcs bathrobe set.
Biya: Yeah, I love it too. Thanks to Papa for bringing such a cool thing.
Papa: You have to admit, my choice is very good
Me: That we all agree.
Papa: Yeah, that’s why I married your Mom ;)
Momma: Yup. I’m blessed to have been married to a person like your father.
Me: I want one too.
All three of them: WHAT? A husband?
Me: NO!! A 17-pcs bathrobe set! :|

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Finished reading The Kite Runner today. Aapi gifted me this book on my birthday, and now I got the time to read it. It took me two days to complete it (exclude the time when I open a novel, read a few pages, get bored and slide it back in the shelf). But seriously, I'm one of those who really drag the reading because they want to "enjoy the story for a long time" [perhaps for a few weeks]. I spent my whole Sunday in reading that book, wept couple of times. Yep, Momma says, "is ki aankhoun mein samandar bhara hua hay." :$

The whole day I did nothing but read the book with almonds on my side. I'm addicted to almonds, but still it has no effect on my poor brain. I think I'd always be the same ol' Dinky Mind :( And I forced myself to close the book around 1 am and reminded myself of the 8 straight horrible sessions at university.

Okay, okay, okay. This book is really one of the best books I've ever read. I had the same fun reading this one as I had in reading Angels & Demons. But I think The Kite Runner was better than Angels & Demons. I really became glad how Amir .... okay, I won't spoil the suspence for those who haven't read it yet :P But I seriously enjoyed reading about Amir and Hassan's childhood. They both were so innocent...awwww! Ab I want to watch the movie too :$

Now I want another book - A Thousand Splendid Suns or Tuesdays With Morrie or both :P

*waiting for me's next birthday* :(

Cheerio folks =)

PS: Luhff you Biya. You always give me good books to read. So, when am I getting a new one? :$

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• Got real busy in eid days
• So a late Eid Mubarak to all of my readers
• Having our place renovated, so things were (and still are) quite messed up.
• University reopened
• Extra workload
• Not enjoying this semester
• Jajo gave birth to a baby dolly - Emaan - on Oct 2nd :D
  
• Sold my N70.
• Searching for a new cell phone.
• Bought some really cute stuff toys... cuddly cuddly :D
• Tried making Pita Pockets and loved them.
• Survived an accident today (else I would have been crushed beyond recognition)
• Enjoyed my Eid a lot
• Got loadsa Eidi (won't give it to you :P)
• Bought loadsa sandals before eid (all almost flat, so don't worry. Won't hurt you that much) :P
• Made loadsa brownies today - Bushi and Aashoo both have Eid parties at their schools.
  
• Finished reading "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" by Jules Verne
• Have started "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.
  
• Still looking for Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays With Morrie" :(

Here are the Pita Pockets made. There were actually six in the dish. By the time I brought the camera to take a picture of them, three were happily munched by our guests :)



That's all for today.

Cheerio folks =)

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So the title does give you a hint that I've carried out a new experiment on my hair, doesn't it? :P
Okay, coming back to the topic, I made a mixture of ground Aamla, Reetha and Sikakai and asked Momma to apply it on my jharoo hair. Long time ago, Dad brought this thing, but not in powdered form. And man it was so hard to kootafy all this stuff, especially the Aamla (or was it Reetha? Whatever), because it is sticky and hence quite hard to crush. Anyways, later one day, Dad brought the powdered one and today I got time to apply the paste on my head.

Now read the dreadful part. When the time came to wash my hair, and when I untied them, they were really giving the picture of a jharoo with loadsa mitti in it. Seriously. My hair had gone dry like anything and because those three things were not finely ground, they were making my hair look gravel-studded :/ [Yea I won't mind if you say Eww for the next 20 mintues. I felt the same :/]. And when I washed them, some Coke type black water started flowing down my hair. [I give you another 10 mintues to Eww]. And I literally had to pull those tiny lumps from each of my (now really long) hair. This experiment really tested my patience today. Huff! But the results were amazing! Seriously! I mean this is the first time I used this stuff and, as our grannies say, it really conditioned my hair.

Those who want to Eww a lil more, let me tell them my Momma has applied henna, egg yolks, yogurt, honey, butter and all the ala-bala things on my hair. I once used hair color too, but it was of no use since I've got triple-dyed hair already. Is this is a blessing? :$

Those who really are nuts like me, and who want to try this thing out, let me tell you, later you will start scratching your head quite frequently. The remaining tiny lumps make you scratch. :/

If I had told this thing to Aashoo, she would've said:
یایا ۔۔۔ سر۔۔۔ بو واوا
Translation: لالا کے سر میں ُہو بابا ھے
[Lala is me] :)

Whoever scratches his head, she quickly says, "in ke sir mein hoo baba hay" :D

So please always keep your heads clean :D

Cheerio folks =)

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The type of skin I have is commonly known as the “Dinosaur Skin” by my family members. All my siblings have delicate skins, but I have a thick one, hence, the Dinosaur Skin. I have always strived to make my skin look better, a little fresh, so I have used all those sweet-smelling lotions and even ugly-looking mud masks. [Yeah, I’ve got a lot of time to waste on carrying on experiments on my skin and hair] :D But now no more hassles, as I’ve got Cosméceutique creams. Yay!!! :) There are 8 varieties in this range – Skin fairness, Wrinkle control, Freckle and black spots, Age defying, Acne & pimples, Pimple scars, Sebum control, and Cellulite control.

I got this package some 10 days ago. These creams were so nicely packed, I didn’t want to open them in the first instance :D And it really took me a good 20 minutes to carefully unwrap the big box. There was this cute black bag inside, with an even cuter card ribboned to it. There were 2 packs of creams, a few booklets, and discount coupons :) I ordered the skin fairness and sebum control creams.

It is true that I’m often referred to as a Dark Chocolate cuz I’m tan, but this is not the main reason why I ordered this cream. Hehe. This cream protects the skin against harmful UV radiations. I’ve tried using some of those good sun-block creams, but they’re so sticky, they annoy me a lot. I started using this product by Cosméceutique and I’m quite satisfied with it. The best thing about it is that it absorbs completely, and hence, no ewwy feelings :) Plus it has Umbelliferin, or simply put, coriander seeds. I’m really glad to find such natural ingredients in these creams. Moreover, this product has a tongue-twisting ingredient – Tetrahydrocurcuminoids. And Dinky Mind is happy to find ‘hydro’ and ‘cumin’ in this long word :) And did I ever tell you I used to do water therapy for the freshness of my skin? Well, not anymore, as I’ve got this cream which would do half the water therapy now :D

The other cream that I got was the Sebum Control. I’ve got such an oily skin that Momma says that if the Amreekis get to know how much oily skin I have, they’d one day come to drill and extract it all. Lol. Now I have Cosméceutique Sebum Control to take care of the excess oil. Ahhh, I’m so relieved. This cream has really helped my face to look fresh rather than an oil reservoir.

Thank you Cosméceutique. My skin glows happily now :)

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کبھی احساس ھو تم کو
کہ تم اچھا نہیں کرتے
جو مجھ کو یوں رلاتے ھو
لہو میرا جلاتے ھو
اگر اس آگ میں جل کر
میں اک دن راکھ ھو جاؤں
مجھے دل سے بھلا دینا
سمندر میں بہا دینا
مگر یہ یاد رکھنا تم
خدا سے یہ دعا کرنا
کہ جو اچھا لگے تم کو
وہ تم جیسا کبھی نہ ھو

Read this on some blog and Dinky Mind has now forgotten the name of that blog :$But thanks to that blog and thanks to me too who wrote it down on a piece of paper :D

Cheerio folks =)

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Alhamdolillah, Dad is feeling healthy again. He had cardiac arrest TWICE. One on the same day, i.e. last wednesday, Sept 3, but doctors didn't tell us that day. They said we brought him to the hospital on time. Thank God. Next was on Friday, Sept 5, in the morning. He was about to discharge the same day, but when in the morning he had another attck, the Rahat Hospital staff shifted him to Shifa Hospital. Momma was with Dad in the ambulance, and my bari chachi was with me. I was driving like a crazy person. Hazards on, right behind the ambulance. The sirens were paralyzing my brain and I was crying and driving at the same time. Such an unexplainable situation it was. My Chachi was trying her best to console me and I was just wishing for my Dad's life. He was immediately shifted to the CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) and doctors were so hopeless, asking us to pray. I felt like killing that darn doctor! He was so calmly saying that there wasn't any hope. His sugar level shot to an alarming 389. His blood pressure was 210/130. We weren't allowed in the CCU. The whole Friday I kept crying like anything, especially when my relatives were hugging me, wiping my tears and saying, "Tum to bahadur beti ho na". I wanted to lock myself in an empty room and cry my heart out.

On Saturday, when I went to see him, he held my hand and started crying. I so badly tried to say, "Papa, you'd be fine InshAllah", but these words just couldn't make their way out of my mouth. There were scary ECG machines, oxygen masks and injections around him. When I coudln't resist my tears, my Momma helped we walk out of the room.

My dad had his angiography in 2005 and doctors then said that only 20% of his heart is working, 80% is blocked! And when I was reminded of this statement, I would cry with more intensity. Thankfully his condition improved with every passing day and he was finally discharged on Tuesday, Sept 9.

I thank you all from the core of my heart for you all prayed for his health. May Allah reward you all. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

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1. My Dad is suffering from Malaria (sp.?). I request you all to please pray for him. Alhamdolillah he is feeling a lot better now. But yesterday we all couldn't sleep. I think we should get rid of all those plantations right outside our main door. But that's really hard. My Momma loves her plants. And there isn't a whole tribe of mosquitoes living in our house or on the plants outside. Must be a باہر والا mosquito. But Alhamdolillah, Dad is quite better :)

2. My Nokia N70 crashed last night! This gave me triple tension! After Iftar when I picked up my phone, it was showing an abnormal screen - highly pixilated. I've never experienced such a situation in the past 2 years with this phone. So, as a matter of fact, I was highly frustrated. اسے بھی آج ھی خراب ھونا تھا؟ . But even it had happened any other day, I would have said the same. Anyways, I took everything out of it - the battery, the sim card, the MMC. Then inserted everything back, recited Ayat-al-Kursi and Bismillah, phoonkafied the phone :P, and then restarted it! Bahhhh! No change! I felt like throwing it out of the window, but then dropped the idea. After all, it was my only beloved phone. A phone I'm quite attached to. I realised this when I borrowed my bro's phone - Nokia 1200. Man, this phone has such hard keys. Probably because my bro is a بادشاہ آدمی, doesn't txt his friends, but directly calls them. And I am addicted to txting. That's why my N70's keys are berry berry soft. Plus this 1200 has such an idiotic vibration. For half an hour it keeps on vibrating like a maniac, until you press any key to stop it from acting like a lunatic!

Today my bro will hopefully take the phone for repair :( I pray it gets well soon. Or should I buy a new phone? Cuz my cousins are after me ke N70 is slow and blah blah blah, so you should sell it and get a better one, something like Ericcson (sp.?) . But right now I'm having a tough time with this 1200.

3. Yesterday I forgot to pull the USB from the office PC. I didn't even know I forgot to take it out until today when I came and found out it was still inserted there. Ahhh... Dinky Mind is becoming more and more rusted these days. *Sigh*. If God forbid yesterday was my last day over here, I would have never seen my cutie USB again. This tiny thing is of huge help to me. *pulls it out immediately and drops it in her bag*. Happy again :)

Prayers needed :(

Cheerio folks =)

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کل تو سکون سے گزر گئی (گیا؟) مگر آج کیوں اتنا روزہ لگ رہا ھے؟

ایک تو آج یہ مغرب کب ھوگی؟ :(

I know I shouldn't be saying like this but... okay, I stop!

Pwease pray for me :(

Cheerio folks.

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I wish a happy Ramadan to all the Muslims. Tomorrow will be our first roza (hopefully). I pray Allah guides us all and showers His blessings on us. Ameen.

Now coming back to my rants. Momma has decided that there will be no Iftari scene this Ramadan. Just direct dinner! *cries like anything* I mean a dining table littered with every type of greasy stuff is something I want to have when I break my fast. And now we'll be having Daal, chawal, and fried aaloo after dates and a mug of milk! Nahhhh... Okay, I admit, Daal chawal aaloo is my favourite dish (add some achaar too :P) but this shouldn't be the iftar menu! Momma says we all are growing fat. And I've been recently given a new title by her: توپ کا گولہ *sigh* It is true I'm eating a lot these days and I do fear what will happen to me in Ramadan, but giving me such a name doesn't sound that good :( My tummy is getting outta control and I've been threatened that if I don't tone it up, I wouldn't be getting new dresses for my cousins' shadis :( She knows my weaknesses! *another sigh*

And this weekend was the worst as far as food is concerned. I ate a lot (okay, MashAllah se). I must've had a few gallons of chocolate, some half ton of potatoes (in the form of fries) and God knows how many kilolitres of oil! And before those ugly pimples start to pop up on my face, I better reduce my consumption of all this greasy stuff (plus chocolates etc). *triple sigh* God, save moi!

Pary for me pwease

Cheerio folks =)

PS: Uni starting from 15th. Finally!

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Il n'y a pas de raison particulière pour écrire cette poste en français. Ou probablement je suis trop heureux, cela est pourquoi j'essaie d'exprimer mon bonheur en français. Hehe. De toute façon, je posterai plus de lui bientôt, bien sûr dans l'anglais. Je posterai des images aussi.

Avoir un bon jour.

Au revoir, mes amis =)

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Ahmed Faraz passed away on Aug 25th. May his soul rest in peace. Here is a ghazal and nazm by him that I've read and like.

سنا ھے لوگ اسے آنکھ بھر کے دیکھتے ھیں
سو اس کے شہر میں کچھ دن ٹھہر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے ربط ھے اس کو خراب حالوں سے
سو اپنے آپ کو برباد کرکے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے درد کی گاہک ھے چشم ِ ناز اس کی
سو ھم بھی اس کی گلی سے گزر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے اس کو بھی ھے شعر و شاعری سے شغف
سو ھم بھی معجزے اپنے ہنر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے بولے تو باتوں سے پھول جھڑتے ھیں
یہ بات ھے تو چلو بات کرکے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے رات اسے چاند تکتا رہتا ھے
ستارے بام ِ فلک سے اتر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے حشر ھیں اس کی غزال سی آنکھیں
سنا ھے اس کو ہرن دشت بھر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سناھے دن کواسے تتلیاں ستاتی ھیں
سنا ھے رات کو جگنو ٹھہر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے رات سے بڑھ کر ھیں کاکلیں اس کی
سنا ھے رات کو سائے گزر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے اس کی سیاہ چشمگی قیامت ھے
سو اس کو سرمہ فروش آنکھ بھر کے

سنا ھے اس کے لبوں سے گلاب جلتے ھیں
سو ھم بہار پہ الزام دھر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے آئینہ ِ تمثال ھے جبیں اس کی
جو سادہ دل ھیں بن سنور کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے جب سے حمائل ھیں اس کی گردن میں
مزاج اور ھی لعل و گوھر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے چشم ِ تصور سے دشت امکاں میں
پلنگ زاویے اس کی کمر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے اس کے جسم کی تراش ایسی ھے
کہ پھول اپنی قبائیں کتر کے دیکھتے ھیں

وہ سرو قد ھے مگر بے گل ِ مراد نہیں
کہ اس شجر پہ شگوفے ثمر کے دیکھتے ھیں

بس اک نگاہ سے لٹتا ھے قافلہ دل کا
سو رہروانِ ِ تمنا بھی ڈر کے دیکھتے ھیں

سنا ھے اس کے شبستاں سے متصل ھے بہشت
مکیں ادھر کے بھی جلوے ادھر دیکھتے ھیں

رکے تو گردشیں اس کا طواف کرتی ھیں
چلے تو اس کو زمانے ٹھہر کے دیکھتے ھیں

کہانیاں ھی صحیح، سب مبالغے ھی صحیح
اگر وہ خواب ھے، تعبیر کرکے دیکھتے ھیں

اب اس کے شہر میں ٹھریں کہ ُکوچ کر جائیں
فراز آؤ ستارے سفر کے دیکھتے ھیں

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And this nazm "Bhali si aik shakal thi"

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بھلے دنوں کی بات ھے
بھلی سی ایک شکل تھی
نہ یہ کہ حسنِ ِتام ھو
نہ دیکھنے میں عام سی

نہ یہ کہ وہ چلے تو
کہکشاں سی رہگزر لگے
مگر وہ ساتھ ھو تو پھر
بھلا بھلا سفر لگے

کوئی بھی ُرت ھو اس کی چھب
فضا کا رنگ روپ تھی
وہ گرمیوں کی چھاؤں تھی
وہ سردیوں کی دھوپ تھی

نہ مدتوں جدا رھے
نہ ساتھ صبح و شام ھو
نہ رشتہ ِ وفا پہ ضد
نہ یہ کہ اذن ِ عام ھو

نہ ایسی خوش لباسیاں
کہ سادگی ِگلا کرے
نہ اتنی بے تکلّفی
کہ آئینہ حیا کرے

نہ اختلاط میں وہ رم
کہ بدمزہ ھوں خواہشیں
نہ اس قدر سپردگی
کہ زچ کریں نوازشیں

نہ عاشقی جنون کی
کہ زندگی عذاب ھو
نہ اس قدر کٹھور پن
کہ دوستی خراب ھو

کبھی تو بات بھی خفی
کبھی سکوت بھی سخن
کبھی تو کشتِ زعفراں
کبھی اداسیوں کا بن

سنا ھے ایک عمر ھے
معاملات ِ دل کی بھی
وصال ِ جاں فضا تو کیا
فراق ِ جانگسل کی بھی

سو ایک روز کیا ھوا
وفا پہ بحث چِھڑ گئی
میں عشق کو امر کہوں
وہ میری ضد سے چڑ گئی

میں عشق کا اسیر تھا
وہ عشق کو قفس کہے
کہ عمر بھر کے ساتھ کو
وہ بد تر از ہوس کہے

“شجر حجر نہیں کہ ھم
ھمیش پہ بہ ُگل رہیں
نہ ڈھور ھیں کہ رسیاں
گلے میں مستقل رھیں

محبتوں کی وسعتیں
ھمارے دست و پا میں ھیں
بس ایک در سے نسبتیں
سگان ِ بے وفا میں ھیں

میں کوئی پینٹنگ نہیں
کہ اک فریم میں رھوں
وھی جو من کا ِمیت ھو
اسی کے پریم میں رھوں

تمھاری سوچ جو بھی ھو
میں اس مزاج کی نہیں
مجھے وفا سے َبیر ھے
یہ بات آج کی نہیں“

نہ اس کو مجھ پہ مان تھا
نہ مجھ کو اس پہ زعم ھی
جو عہد ھی کوئی نہ ھو
تو کیا غم ِشکستگی

سو اپنا اپنا راستہ
ھنسی خوشی بدل لیا
وہ اپنی راہ چل پڑی
میں اپنی راہ چل دیا

بھلی سی ایک شکل تھی
بھلی سی اس کی دوستی
اب اس کی یاد رات دن
نہیں، مگر کبھی کبھی



Cheerio folks

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The Pakistani Spectator e-mailed Dinky Mind and asked if they could interview her. Dinky Mind didn't mind in being interviewed by such nice people, so she responded to their questions. What she didn't know was that this interview would be published by them on their website! *Haye!*

Here's the interview =) Enjoy reading her foolish replies :P

Cheerio folks =)

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Biya has gifetd me "The Kite Runner". The whole world has already read it and I'd be reading it now. But I so much wanted to read a good book, so I'm quite thankful to her :) Will start reading it tonight. And I'd make sure I keep a good bowl full of cashew nuts (or chocolates) and a big mug of coffee when I plan to read that book. Books should be read that way, according to me :P

Today, my boss gave me Galaxy. It's one good chocolate (just take out the raisins from it) after Dairy Milk (Pakistan wali nahi, it doesn't taste that good) and Snickers. Hersheys Hugs and Kisses and Ferrero Rochers are just tooooo good. Ufff, chocolates are a blessing. And licking chocolate is more fun than taking a big bite. Even if you take a bite, let it melt in your mouth. Enjoy the taste. I do that. I mean when I'm alone (or with Jaj, Ossy and Ritz), I lick it (cuz we are equally insane). And when I'm with other people, I just take a big bite and let it melt for a good ten minutes in my mouth :)

I prefer having whole milk chocolates, but nutty chocolates are also liked by nutty me. One day Ritz and I had this huge pyramid of 1-metre long Toblerone (we both got a separate pyramid). Jaj's fiance (now hubby) brought her that Toblerone plus other assorted chocolates, and she, not being a chocoholic, distributed them among us three (Ritz, Me, and Ossy). Ritz and I, after wrapping our shares, had cut pieces from Ossy's share and then we gave him his share :D. One should have such friends :P cuz meanie me can't share chocolates that easily :P

Ritz and I once had really yummy whole milk Swiss chocolates. I dont remember the name, but it was a bit bigger than a coin and tasted heavenly. My Dad's colleague, who has returned to US, sends us Hershey's Miniature chocolates, and Hershey's Hugs and Kisses. In the Miniature Choco's packet, I always loved Krackel (the rice one)..and Mr. Goodbar (the peanut one)...and the Milk Chocolate The Silver one). So, what's left? The Dark Chocolate. Nah, me not a big fan of dark chocolate.

Oh, and how can I forget how I inhale chocolate syrup. Yes, when Momma brings home a bottle of Chocolate Syrup, I'm the first one to attack it. I slurp many spoons full of it every day. I'm the kind who, if feels hungry at 2 am, would get out of bed, go the kitchen, and licks a spoonful of choclate syrup or chocolate spread, whichever is available.

My cousin, Tuba, is not a big fan of chocolates. She's rather not a fan of chocolates. She doesn't like chocolates at all, and she doesn't know why :D So, she when I visit her, she gives me all the yummy chocolates that her dad brings. And in return she pulls my cheeks! Such an unfair saza. When I protest, she says, "I give you chocolates, so be quiet now!" :D And then I quickly keep the chocos in my bag, cover my painful cheeks and run away :D

On my birthday, big bro gave me a box of Girl Scouts Thin Mints Cookies. Without reading "Thin Mints", I quickly opened the pack and picked out the nice choco-coated cookie. It was good if there was only chocolate and no minty flavor in it :( but I ate them :) just a few of them actually. And asked my bro to kindly give me chocolates next time :D

Ahhh, so this was my choco story. I do sometimes say I'm not a chocoholic, but I say that when I'm out of choco stock. When I've got loadsa chocs with me, I don't want anybody to be in the radius of 10 metres from me! Jes jes, meano me :P

Cheerio folks =)

PS: I'm having a tooth ache now :( And my visit to the dentist is also due. And he always asks if I have refrained myself from chocos and all the meetha stuff. And I always lie! *sigh* Mein sudharney waaloun mein se nahi!!!

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Yesterday was my birthday and now I'm 18 and a half years old :)


Saturday night, we were out for dinner and I so much hoped to return home before midnight so I could answer those birthday wishes calmly. But we reached home around 12:10 am and by that time I had recieved some 10-15 sms and 3 calls, plus birthday hugs from my parents and siblings :) Had a long convo with Jaj who called me around 12:30! Was too tired so slept early (around 1:45 am) :P When I woke up, there were some 8-10 more sms, and a few missed calls, plus 2 cards on my bedside. Although it wasn't cloudy but I was happy :) Bro had arranged a lunch for us on his ship, PNS Tariq. [Yeah, it's "his" ship, and "his" navy! :D Afterall, he's the NavO]. I went onboard a ship after a long time. Although cameras were not allowed, still I took mine and clicked many pictures. We first went in the wardroom, kept stuff there, had juices and then went out and walked through the narrow, meandering corridors to the deck. Saw a few people fishing there too.


Then we went to the operations' room. Took loadsa pics, although there were a few maps labeled "Confidential", so I didn't take their pictures ;) But this compass was looking so cool, I couldn't resist taking its picture. Check out the tiny toony lamp on it :) Looks so cute na? For more pictures, check out my flickr. The kids had so much fun there. They were struggling to sit on CO's and XO's chairs, which were quite high. But there were their-size chairs too :) Yep, so tiny that it seemed that they were made for Aashoo and Abeer.

After spending a lot of time over there, we went back to the Wardroom to have lunch (around 3:30 pm). I was the head of the table :P I was the special guest :D And according to table manners (more suitably, the Naval rules), no-one started their lunch before I did :P It was fun. There were such yummy prawn and fish in lunch. Ahhhh, the lunch was very really very yummy. And did I tell you there were parathas and not roti? Hehe, yep, probably the chef knew that that chief guest doesn't eat roti :P

After lunch, we had tea and juices again. Before leaving for a boat ride, we were given caps as souvenir. Then we wore those much-needed caps and walked towards the sun-lit MS Jetty, where a boat was waiting for us. That boat encountered some problem, so we waited for another boat to come. It arrived after 15-20 minutes, and in that time, we started fishing. We took a fishing rod from this guy who had 2 of them. But before we could catch any fish, our boat was there. I have always enjoyed jumping from the jetty stairs on to the boat, and from that to another one :) And yesterday the same happened.

I am actually the restless one (after Bushi) who keeps on hopping here and there to get all possible views. So when the boat ride began, I took out my camera and started taking photos, although it's strictly prohibited, but who cares. Aashoo, Abeer, Bushi and Umar sat on the tiny deck of that boat. Later I also climbed somehow and sat there :) It was ultimate fun. I so much wanted to take off my shoes, and sit with my feet touching the sea water, but couldn't as the green metal bars were quite away from the boundary of the boat (and I couldn't have sat without holding them). Uff, how much I wished to have a little more tall height. Haye qismat! In this picture is Aashoo and Bushi, and Ammi's and Biya's hand. Aray, at one moment there was such strong wind that Biya's cap flew and fell in the sea :) Then the guards tried to pick it out with the help of a long wooden bar with a hook on one end but they couldn't, and the cap drowned. Lol. After an enjoyable boat ride of some 45 minutes, we headed back home.

Was so tired that I had my special dinner, of Maggie Noodles, and slept around 11 pm :)

Cheerio folks =)

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سائنسدانوں نے اپنی طرف سے یہ بری خبر سنائی ھے کہ ھر بڑے شہر کی ھوا میں
ایک دن سانس لینا دو پیکٹ سگریٹ پینے کے برابر ھوگا حالانکہ اس سے اچھی خبر اور کیا ھوگی کہ ھم مفت میں روزانہ دو ڈبی سگریٹ پیتے ھیں۔ مجھے تو گاؤں کی صاف ھواؤں میں رھنے والے لوگوں سے بڑی ھمدردی ھے جو اس نعمت سے محروم ھیں۔ بس اگر کوئی ڈر ھے تو وہ یہ ھے کہ کہیں حکومت بڑے شہروں میں سانس لینے پر ٹیکس نہ لگا دے۔ اب تو ھم گھر سے نکلتے ھوئے یہ بتلا کے جاتے ھیں کہ دو کش انارکلی کے لگانے جا رھا ھوں۔ یہی نہیں کوئی پوچھے گا کہ آپ کو لاھور آئے کتنی دیر ھوئی؟ تو دوسرا جواب دے گا “آدھی ڈبی ھو گئی، ایک ڈبی کا قیام کروں گا“۔

سگریٹ پینے سے جو مالی نقصان ھوتا تھا، وہ بھی نہ ھو گا۔ میرے ایک جاننے والے
نے سگریٹ نوشی سے پیسے بچانے کا یہ طریقہ نکالا تھا کہ وہ ھمیشہ سگریٹ سے سگریٹ سلگاتا، یوں ماچس کا خرچ بچتا۔ اس سے پہلے ایک سردار جی بھی ایسا کر چکے تھے کہ اس طرح ماچسوں پر رقم ضائع نہیں ھوتی کیونکہ سردار جی کو لائٹر جلانے کے لئے کئی ماچسیں جلانی پڑتی تھیں۔

انگریز ھم پر سگریٹ کے زور پر حکومت کر گئے کیونکہ پہلے حقہ تھا۔ سب لوگ اس کے گرد ھالہ بنا کر بیٹھتے اور ایک ھی حقہ یوں مل کر پیتے کہ لگتا یہ ایک ھی جسم کے مختلف منہ ھیں ۔ مگر انگریز نے انہیں سگریٹ تھما کر علیحدہ علیحدہ کر دیا ۔ سگریٹ بڑوں کی چوسنی ھے جسے وہ سمجھتے ھیں کہ ھم چوس رھے ھیں حالانکہ وہ انہیں چوس رھی ھوتی ھے ۔



Taken from Dr. Younus Butt's Afra Tafreeh.

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A berry Happy Birthday to my dearest, shweetest Momma :) I made for her a birthday card and gave it to her at midnight. I usually keep the card in the lounge or on her side-table at night and when in the morning she sees it, she comes to kiss sleepy Mammy :) But last night, we were awake till 23:30. Evil moi woke her up at midnight and presented her the card :) Me glad she liked it :) I so much wanted to post pictures of the card, but just yesterday my room was gifted with a new book shelf, so now everything (books + PC) is on my bed. Hence, I failed to transfer photos from my phone to the PC. Tonight I'd try to fix everything (only if I get time).

Well, before going home now, I'd first go to buy her a gift :D I just pray she likes it. Will post the pics tomorrow or day after. *sigh* yeh PC bhee na... Aray, I have to bake a cake for her as well. I must ask my boss to let me leave early today :$

*prayers needed*

Cheerio folks =)

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Let us divide the word 'preoccupation' into two parts - pre-occupation, that is, occupying your mind with something before it actually happens. This is what worrying is: trying to resolve problems that have not even had time to appear; imagining that things, when they do happen, will always turn out for the worst.

Naturally there are exceptions. One of them is the hero of this little story.

An old king of India condemned a man to the gallows. When the king had finished reading the sentence, the condemned man said:

'You are a wise man, Your Majesty, and curious about everything that your subjects do. You respect gurus, sages, snake-charmers and fakirs. Well, when I was a child, my grandfather taught me how to make a white horse fly. Since there is no one else in the whole kingdom who knows how to do this, my life should be spared.'

The king immediately ordered a white horse to be brought.

'I need to spend two years with this animal,' said the condemned man.

'All right, you will have two years,' replied the king, already somewhat suspicious. 'But if this horse does not learn to fly, you will be hanged.'

Overjoyed, the man left with the horse. When he reached his house, he found his whole family in tears.

'Are you mad?' they all cried. 'Since when has anyone in this house known how to make a horse fly?'

'Don't worry,' he said. 'First of all, no one has ever tried to teach a horse to fly, and the horse might well learn. Secondly, the king is already very old and he might die in the next two years. Thirdly, the horse might die and then I'll be given another two years to teach the new horse - not to mention the possibility of revolutions, coups d'état and general amnesties. And even if everything remains exactly as it is, I will still have gained two years of life with which I can do anything I like. Does that seem little to you?'


[If you want other such stories, email me] :)

Cheerio folks =)

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He: "So, what's your name?"
Me: "Umema"
He: *confused* "Humera?"
Me: *with a fake smile* "Erm, it's Umema. U-M-E-M-A!"
He: "Oh okay. Different"
Me: *mumbles* "Whateva"

After making a few service errors, he yelled from the other side of the court, "Maimuna, you're making too many faults. You gotta improve your game!"
"And you gotta improve your memory, Mr. Coach", I mumbled again.

This was my tennis coach, who never called me by my real name. I was always Maimuma and Humera for him.

Well, nobody calls me by my real, full name anymore. And those who do, seem quite odd to me. :D

Umem is what people usually call me.
Ema is what a teaser friend calls me.
Emo/ Emostan/ Emoster is what evil Acro calls me.
Mommese sometimes calls me Mammy when she's full of affection :)
Baaj/ Baji/ Jabi is what my lil bros call me.
Oye Moti is what Jaj calls me.
Proffy is what Ritz calls me.
Moti Fitch is what we call each other (Jaj, Me and Ritz) :D
Maya is what a very cute friend of mine used to call me.
May is what an uncle blogger calls me. I'm not that kiddo. :$
Laila/ Lailee is the name given to me by my Mami.
Naina is what Uzam calls me. She found it hard to pronounce Umema, hence Naina.
Meymu is what SE calls me.
Sparkle Chotu is what my teacher used to call me.
Oumyemah is what our arab relatives and friends call me.
Umemi, Umemzi, Umemoo and Umemzoo is what Ayesma calls me :D
Dimple Dee was the name given to me by my school friends, when I really had those dimples.
Harris calls me Dee dee? As in Dexter's sis.
Yaya is what Aashoo calls me.
Meyma Pupoo is what Abeer calls me.
Mame is what my Dada used to call me.
OLPM is what SD calls me.
He also calls me Imtiaz! Lol, yes! This name has a whole story behind it :D
And he also called me Dark Chocolate because I'm tanner than him but more sweet :D
He also calls me the T word, and the K word :( Both the words are related to one of the above names. :( And these are one of those extra-teasing names Ive got.
Jamaimah is what my bro and a few friends used to call me. It rhymes with Umaima probably :$
Mishi used to call me M&M and Eminem. She said your name sounds so.
Dinky Mind is part of my definition.
Umemalicious is what I call myself :D

The worst name given to me is by my big bro, and no, I'm not going to write it here. It starts with B :P

How many names do you have?

On Ayesma's farmaish, I'm tagging
Asma
Absar
Saadat
Lubz
UTP

Enjoy =)

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Momma's birthday is just 6 days away, and I need to buy her a gift. Dinky Mind can't come up with any good idea :( Please help her out.

And pray she gets time to make a card ( on this weekend) and bake a cake on her birthday (I'm planning on going home early on Thursday) . Prayers needed.

Cheerio folks =)

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Just 8 days!!! Check yours now :P

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I hope it rains the whole day today! I feel so dead fresh when it rains! :D [Means I feel fresh and not dead!] :P [And I feel out of my mind too] :D [So I just can't stop acting like a crazy woman] :) [I mean like a crazy girl] :$

Awwight folks

Taz! [Not that cartoon character Taz, but for me, Taz is short for Tata] :D

[See, I'm going nuts again!!!!]

Bubye!!!

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There was too much traffic on the road today. Cars were moving at snail's speed. I was enjoying the cool cloudy weather, so the jam didn't bother me much. I was near Rejent Plaza that I noticed something in the greenbelt. A 10-12 year old kid having a deep sleep on the damp green grass. It really brought tears to my eyes. The thought that what circumstances led him to sleep in the middle of the noisy, polluted road really gave me goose bumps.

I once read somewhere, "You learn something new everyday, if you pay attention". We sleep on cozy, comfortable beds, in air-conditioned rooms. We wrap ourselves in quilts, and we sleep on soft pillows. Talking about myself, I really can't sleep on some other pillow, and can't even think of sleeping on the (carpeted) floor. I'm a grown up, I know I should have the strength to sleep on carpets, if ever required. As compared to that boy, I don't have that tender skin that really requires comfortable, soft bed. And still I'm so unthankful for all that I have. We need to learn from such people. We need to be patient and thankful.

When I moved little farther, this thought striked my mind suddenly. Was he even alive? And I could harldy concentrate on my driving after that. Who could sleep in such noise?

Please Allah, forgive us for our sins and our unthankfulness. We surely are among the blessed people, but do we really thank You for all the happiness and ease around us? Please give us the ability and strength to help those in need and make us your favored people. Ameen.

This reminds me of "Your Handicap and Our Handicap."

I run for miles at a stretch, without once realising what an ordeal it is for you to walk one step. I talk of the red and the blue sky and the silver moon, without thinking of you, who can only see black. To whom his own appearance is a mystery; for whom there is an envelope of darkness and no morning. And when I break my glasses, I complain.

My day begins with words and ends with words. I hear, I speak. I express feelings of love, hatred, of hurt. I compliment, I reprimand, I spend hours glued to the television and the telephone. I sing my favourite song and hum my favourite tune. You do not cross my mind. You, who have no communication with the rest of the world. And when I am asked to lower my voice, I complain.

In the remaining time (i.e. the time when I am not doing any of the above), I think. I think before I speak, after I speak, while I speak. I think when I write, when I observe, when I sleep. I think of the past, and often relieve it. I think of the future, and try to plan it. I form opinions. I calculate, I learn, I reason, I remember. I think of everything, but you. You, who are unable to perform any of these tasks. You, who are locked up in a prison and are unable to live your own life. Unable to understand who you are and why you have been brought into this world. And when I can’t recall what I wrote to my friend’s birthday, I complain.

Today, all of a sudden, I am beginning to think of you. All of you. Trying hard to imagine what your life is like. And wondering why I haven’t done anything to help you. Why we don’t provide you shelter that you need. Why sometimes your family fails to give you the love that you need and leaves you to struggle alone. I wonder why the institutions are so scanty and the benefits so meagre. Why not our government allocates more funds for proving your quality of life.

Why we cannot have books in Braille and speech therapy and the countless facilities provided in the West. Why we continue to be oblivious of your existence, and ignorant of your problems.

You have taught us more than our best teachers. It is through you that we have learnt to survive. To conquer our fears and make our weakness our strength. You have taught us to be confident, yet sensitive – brave, yet accepting – for you are all these qualities personified. Those among you who are mentally incapacitated have taught us the lesson of virtue and innocence. You who are unaware of Satan who abides within us. You have taught us, above all, to persevere. And, not to complain. History has witnessed people with handicaps climbing mountains of success. Anna Sewell wrote ‘Black Beauty’ without ever having ridden a horse owing to physical handicap. Milton wrote unmatched ‘Paradise Lost’ when he was blind. Beethoven played his classical symphonies before awe-stricken audiences, when he couldn’t hear. If these legends can do it, you can.

You think you are handicapped? Ain’t I? Aren’t we all? There is always something that we lack. Be it beauty, intelligence, money, or character. We say we have eyes, but do we really see the heaps of garbage around us, the filth, desperately needs to be cleared? We say we can understand. But is there anything in this world, in this life, that we understand fully? We say we can speak. But do we call idle gossip we indulge in, speech? Do we speak the truth and fight the injustice that exonerates the guilty, and persecutes the innocent? We have deliberately chosen not to use any of the facilities provided to us and this, my friend is OUR handicap.

Why can't we really do something to help such people? And I'm not talking about those beggars who belong to proper organizations. I'm talking about the real deserving people. We really need to do something before all this becomes very common.

Cheerio folks.

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Some of life's unanswered questions!

1.If all the nations in the world are in debt(am not joking, even US has got debts), where did all the money go?
2.When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
3.What is the speed of darkness?
4.If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of that stuff?
5.Who copyrighted the copyright symbol?
6.Can you cry under water?
7.Why do people say, "you've been working like a dog" when dogs just sit around all day?
8.Why are the numbers on a calculator and a phone reversed?
9.Do fish ever get thirsty?
10.Can you get cornered in a round room?
12.Why do birds not fall out of trees when they sleep?
13.What came first, the fruit or the color orange?
14.If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
15.What should one call a male ladybird?
16.If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot?
17.Can you blow a balloon up under water?
18.Why is it called a "building" when it is already built?
19.If you were traveling at the speed of sound and you turned on your radio would you be ! able to hear it?
20.If you're traveling at the speed of light and you turn your headlights on, what happens?
21.Why is it called a TV set when theres only one?
22.If a person owns a piece of land do they own it all the way down to the core of the earth
23.Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130 when you legally can't go that fast on any road?
24. If drink & drive is not allowed why the hell they have parking in Bars ?
25. Do stairs go up or down?
26. Do coffins have lifetime guarantee?
27. Why is it necessary to nail down a coffin?
28. Are children who act in 'R' rated movies allowed to see them?
29. When French people swear, do they say pardon my English?
30. Isn't Disney World just a people trap opearted by a mouse?
31. Why don't the hair on your arms get split ends?
32. Wouldn't it be smart to make the sticky stuff on envelopes taste like chocolate?
33. If a fork was made of gold, would it still be considered silverware?
34. Why is a square meal served on a round plate?
35. Why is a boxing ring square?
36. Why do all superheroes wear spandex?
37. Why are Pringles curved?
38. Why aren't safety pins as safe as they say they are?
39. Do movie producers still say lights, camera and action when it is a dark scene?
40. Did Noah have woodpeckers on the ark?
41. If he did, where did he keep them?
42. Why is Charlie short for Charles if they are both the same number of letters?
43. If you don't pay your exorcist, do you get repossessed?
44. If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
45. How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
46. Why is it when we duck, they call us chicken?
47. What do vegetarians feed their dogs?
48. Can a person choke and die on a lifesaver?
49. If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
50. Is there anything easier done than said?
51. Why don't ducks duck when you shoot at them?
52. What are those little things on the end of your shoelaces called?
53. If they develop a supersonic train, will they give it a whistle?
54. Is bad a bad word?
55. Did Noah keep his bees in archives?
56. Can dogs have dog days?
57. Why are things typed up but written down?
58. Why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
59. Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food?
60. Why are washing liquids made of real lemons, but lemonades made of artifical flavours?
61. Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
62. What is the another word for "thesaurus"?
63. Why is the word 'dictionary' in the dictionary?
64. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
65. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
66. Why do the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Baa Baa Black Sheep all have the same tune?
67. Why is Happy Birthday To You the most famous song of the world?
68. Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
69.Why do you get on a bus and a train but get into a car?
70. Is a hot car cool or is a cool car hot?
71. Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Cheerio folks =)

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Operator : "Thank you for calling Pizza Hut . May I have your…"
Customer: "Heloo, can I order.."
Operator : "Can I have your multi purpose card number first, Sir?"
Customer: "It's eh…, hold……….on……889861356102049998-45-54610"
Operator : "OK… you're… Mr Singh and you're calling from 17 Jalan Kayu. Your home number is4094! 2366, your office 76452302 and your mobile is 0142662566. Which number are you calling fromnow Sir?"
Customer: "Home! How did you get all my phone numbers?
Operator : "We are connected to the system Sir"
Customer: "May I order your Seafood Pizza…"
Operator : "That's not a good idea Sir"
Customer: "How come?"
Operator : "According to your medical records, you have high blood pressure and even highercholesterol level Sir"
Customer: "What?… What do you recommend then?"
Operator : "Try our Low Fat Hokkien Mee Pizza. You'll like it"
Customer: "How do you know for sure?"
Operator : "You borrowed a book entitled "Popular Hokkien Dishes" from the National Library lastweek Sir"
Customer: "OK I give up… Give me three family size ones then, how much will that cost?"
Operator : "That should be enough for your family of 10, Sir. The total is $49.99"
Customer: "Can I pay by! credit card?"
Operator : "I'm afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir. Your credit card is over the limit and you oweyour bank $3,720.55 since October last year.That's not including the late payment charges on your housing loan, Sir."
Customer: "I guess I have to run to the neighbourhood ATM and withdraw some cash before your guyarrives"
Operator : "You can't Sir. Based on the records, you’ve reached your daily limit on machinewithdrawal today"
Customer: "Never mind just send the pizzas, I'll have the cash ready. How long is it gonna takeanyway?"
Operator : "About 45 minutes Sir, but if you can't wait you can always come and collect it on yourmotorcycle…"
Customer: " What!"
Operator : "According to the details in system ,you own aScooter,…registration number 1123…"
Customer: " ????"
Operator : "Is there anything else Sir?"
Customer: "Nothing… by the way… aren't you giving me that 3 free bottles of cola asadvertised?"
Operator : "We normally would Sir, but based on your records you're also diabetic……. "
Customer: #$$^%&$@$%^
Operator : "Better watch your language Sir. Remember on 15th July 1987 you were convicted of usingabusive language on a policeman…?"
Customer: [Faints]


Cheerio folks =)

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Those who know the meaning of OLPM need to stay quiet (SD, you especially) and those who don't know what it means should not even ask for it. Not a good word, I tell you :P

Anyways, coming back to the topic. Our beloved maidservant has gone on a 2-week vacation. Mommyyyy.... :'( She manages the house so well that Ammi and I have grown fat, like REAL fat! So, in these 2 weeks of her absense, we both can lose weight to a great extent!

I can do everything - like ironing a million clothes, and I seriously enjoy doing laundry and cooking and baking, and I don't even mind jharoofying or pochafying the place, but cleaning the bathrooms....it's one thing that almost kills me! I want my bathroom to be all dry and stink-free! But this lil brother of mine fumes me up by saying, "I just can't hold this wiper! And hence, I'm not going to wipe the bathroom", and then he teases me more and runs away! Why on earth are brothers like that??? Tell me, does any wiper weigh 50 kgs? Nahi na? Then why the heck can't he just take 2 and a half minutes out of his stupid busy schedule to wipe the idiotic bathroom???? ARGH!!!! And when the toothpaste 'accidently' flows out of the tube into the washbasin, he just makes an ultra innocent face and says, "mein ne kuch nahi kia, so please clean it!" And I swallow my anger and enter the wet bathroom!

God, and at the end I have to clean it, obviously. But sharing your bathroom with kiddy bros or sistas isn't a neat idea at all.

Cheerio folks =(

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It's so hard to wake up early on a Monday morning, especially if you had a busy Sunday and you slept late. That's for people in general. For me, waking up early everyday is so uninteresting. And instead of thinking about the tedious 45 minutes drive, I try to rejuvenate (or well, console) myself by the thought of the nice cloudy morning weather and soft breeze (which is so rare over here, yet I daily slide the windows down to feel it). I haven't yet grown used to this 2- hour daily drive, but thankfully the world is so full of little things that make me happy - like funny poetry on falooda carts, chirping birds, swaying trees, even the sun lit road sometimes seems so beautiful, the broken street lamps sometimes look so artistic, and even playing with the scroll bar of the mouse, or holding the earphones quite near to notice the magnetic field. There are so many things that I just can't fully define. And Alhamodillah I'm blessed to see and feel all these blessings.

And only with the thought of enjoying all these blessings, I drag myself out of bed every morning and look for tiny things that help me make happy.

Enjoy your Mondays =)

Cheerio folks =)

PS: Just seven more working days over here and my hectic internship would be over! Yahooooo :D

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If my sister and I have one sister each, how many sisters do we each have?

1) 4
2) ammi se pooch kar bataonga
3) forgot to bring my calculator
4) question tooooo personal

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Got this book yesterday, and finished reading it in one go. It was very interesting, but had too many characters. So it was hard to keep track of all of them, and I kept on going back to previous chapters to find who's daughter Agnes was, etc. I was so pissed off at Uriah, who would keep on saying, "I'm a humble person, so is my mother. We have a humble home and humble this and humble that and humble everything". And I was glad to know how he was found guilty. I was actually waiting for that chapter. Hehe. I like books which have happy endings. Yep, Dinky Mind doesn't like to contemplate much on the sad endings. :)

The lesson that I've learnt from this book is, "Three things you should always remember: Never be proud, always be kind, and never be dishonest."

And I bought another book - Best Quotations for All Occasions. Back in A-Levels, we used to have this book - Collins Dictionary of Quotations, and I always wanted to have it. Now I've got a similar book, and I'm so happy to read it.

Remember people, exactly after a month I'd be celebrating my birthday, so please buy nice books for me abhi se :P

Aray, I heard this cool song on radio when I was driving to office. But could hear only a few lines :( And it goes like:

لیے آنکھوں میں غرور

ایسے بیٹھے ھیں حضور

جیسے جانتے نہیں

پہچانتے نہیں

:) Lol. It's a song by Ahmed Rushdi, and I just can't find any link to download it from. So if anybody has this song with them, please please please mail me. Thankooo :)

Cheerio foilks =)

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I feel like "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yabba Dabba Dooooooooooooooooooooooo (ing)"

Don't mind, Dinky Mind has lost her senses. She's missing Lala, Talal (remember the one I was going to get married to?) and Aashoo :(

And she wants to read a good book in this cool cloudy weather (with cashew nuts, of course). So, any recommendations?

And she's wondering why do these stupid guys at office fix their belts or adjust their trousers in front of the whole world.

And she's disgruntled at the office boy who has made Nido milk's coffee :/ Who likes Nido or any other powdered milk? :

And she's looking at her hands and counting those uncountable lines. Okay, that was exaggeration. But Dinky Mind likes to exaggerate :)

And she's thinking in how many equal strips a paper is divided when you pass it through a shredder.

And she wants to go and pull the string of those window blinds so she could see the nice weather out there, but she knows that these three people who actually "own" this window wouldn't let her do it (neither does she has the courage to ask them or do it herself). Meano people!

And she wants to go out on a shopping spree. Haye, when will I go to buy clothes for Eid? :$

And she's trying to straighten this paper clip.

And she's wondering how many millimeters are there in 12.76 kilometers.

And she's looking at this glass of water and trying to identify the upper and lower miniscus.

And she just found out that miniscus and meniscus mean the same thing! [People just like to invent new spellings for the same thing]

And she wants to go sit on the tip of a mountain and enjoy the rain pellets.

Okay, enough blahs for today. I'm happy now. In an hour I'd be out of here and I'd be enjoying the weather!!! :) Cloudy weather always makes me happy :D

Cheerio folks =)

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Belonging to an Urdu-speaking family, we are very (okay, I'm somewhat) particular about the gender of certain words. Following are those few words whose gender is disputed! Lol.

• Road: So, what do you say, "Road hota hay" or "Road hoti hay"? Well, I think Road is a larka, so it should be "Road hota hay", but many people think ke "Road hoti hay". Now look, Road lamba hota hay, right? 'Sarak' lambi nae hoti, that's why
  روڈ ھوتا ھے اور سڑک ھوتی ھے

Clear now?

• Akhbaar: Ab please don't show your akhrotness and say that Akhbaar hoti hay. Akhbaar is again a larka. Like, "Akhbaar aaya, Akhbaar perha". I know most of you do think of Akhbaar being masculine, but back in school I had a friend who'd say "since girls are bad, and Akhbaar is bad too, so akhbaar is a larki. Hence, Akhbaar ai!" : Now argue if you can! :D

• Haleem: Yummm!!! :P I asked one of my friends whether Haleem is male or female (:P), and she said, " اگر زیادہ بنے تو حلیم ھوتا ھے، اور اگر کم بنے تو ھوتی ھے“
  

And I wondered if I asked her, "So how do you measure it then?", her reply might come out as:
اگر دیگچی میں بنے تو حلیم ھوتی ھے اور اگر دیگ میں بنے تو ھوتا ھے

If, God forbid, she had concurred with my point, I would have thought that there are people who still can beat this Dinky Mind in idiocracy!!

• Pulao: Now this is something I recently discovered :D I used to think of Pulao as a lady, and hence, "Pulao banai, Pulao khai, Pulao mazay ki thi". But this someone gave me the proof that Pulao is a boy! :D So, from now on I have to say, "میں پلاؤ کھاؤں گی " But that makes it a girl again. Wait, let me make a male version of it ;) " پلاؤ بہت اچھا تھا" Fine?? :P

• Dahi: All those who say "Dahi khai, Dahi khatti thi" are wrong!!! :) Well, I used to say the same, but then I was told ke Dahi is a larka. So, from now on, you all have to say

“دھی اچھا تھا“ :)

So, we all need to learn the proper gender of words before, one day, we start saying

" لڑکا ھوتی ھے اور لڑکی ھوتا ھے“

:D

Aray, this reminds me that over the weekend I saw this rickshaw which said,

"آج پھلجڑی ھوں، کل پٹاخہ بنوں گی“

Lol! :D People are so funny.

Cheerio folks =)

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Since I waste my 2 precious hours driving daily, I've got a little too many stories related to this topic.

Sometimes these slow drivers irritate me a lot (so I start changing lanes and irritate others :P). Anyways, coming to the point. This lady with her family was driving a Mehran and wasn't giving me enough space to overtake (/undertake (is there any such term in driving?)), so I had to slow down the speed and follow her : There were three kids sitting at the back, and an uncle on the passenger seat. And then the eldest kid turned around and looked at me and kept on staring!!! I got a little confused. I looked at her as if "well, what happened?". Then she jolted both of her siblings, they turned around too and started staring like their sissy (Sissy, for me, is long for Sis). Ufff, 6 eyes, all focused on me, made me more confused! I tried to give them a fake smile, but it didn't work. Those kids were making me very uncomfy. I wanted to overtake the car as quickly as possible. And then I finally got the chance, and as I went past them, I saw, from the corner of my eye, all 5 of them staring at me!!! I was really about to say, "KYA HAY BHAEEE? Never seen the 8th wonder???"

When I narrated this story to my parents, they laughed and said, "You must ride a cycle, you really disappear in the driving seat!" Boo hoo :'(

Cheerio folks =)

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If you have to go to the washroom over here, you enter this corridor, there's a kitchen + dining hall on the left. Leave it. Take a left turn, and you'd be near the washrooms. The ladies' one's on the left, and the gents go straight. Just yesterday, my friend Al and I had to do wuzu and were walking through the corridor, when some guy (who was coming behind us) almost whispered, "Director's inside!". Both of us thought he's probably talking to himself. I went up to the washroom's door and turned the knob. Locked! Confused, I looked at Al, and she gave blank expressions too. Before I could knock the door, Mashkoor sahab opened it from inside and with his eyes fixed at the floor, he walked out with "Sorry, sorry!" Hahahaha..

Later, we went to the receptionist and asked her why the Director did that. She gave such a funny reason (which he must have given to her too) that when there's no one in the ladies restroom, he goes in, and people usually know he's inside (I wonder how!), and when the door is already locked - means some ladies are inside, he, without knocking the door, goes straight to the men's washroom!!! What an idiocracy!!!

His "sorry, sorry" still makes us laugh. =) And did I tell you there're just 5 and a half female employees in the office? Well, I'm an internee :P

Cheerio folks =)

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This is the book that I've finished reading just yesterday. And it's really nice. Couldn't digest the heavy and archaic vocabulary of Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy. Even Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is also waiting to be read. *sigh*

I've learnt so much from this book, from all the five people Eddie meets in Heaven. The ending really made me cry, when he met his last person.

And here's a quote I like about the book:

"Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by their own moments of accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their live."

And another,

People say they "find" love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a 'certain' love. And Eddie found a certain love with Marguerite, a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable. Once she'd gone, he'd let the days go stale. He put his heart to sleep."

A must read, I must say!

Cheerio folks =)

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Lol, not in that sense, but I seriously can't speak!!! That's true. And being quiet for even 5 minutes bugs me a lot. And even if I speak, i sound like Mr. Bean! :( Dayum! That's not fair!

Had an appointment with the dentist's today. And after a 1-hour wait, he pushed the retainers in my mouth in just 10 minutes! And man, this stoopid thing is making my mouth all watery! :/ On my way to the office (after the dentist's visit), I had my mouth stuffed with tissue papers! More than half of the box got empty in my 10-minute drive, leaving a trail of wet tissues on the road. And when I reached office, at the entrance, I met this old security guard who would always greet everyone with his wrinkly smile. Instead of saying "Walaikum Assalam", I just nodded and smiled and quickly paced towards my office. I felt so bad then :(

And now, in the office, I'm conversing with people by writing my messages on papers! :
When I wrote, "I've got braces. I can't speak. Any task for me?" and showed it to my boss, he was about to write the reply, when he realized and asked stupidly, "You can hear, right?" And I nodded again :D I'm surely going to have a serious pain in my neck now - have to nod every now and then.

Even drinking water has become a problem for me. It seems like passing through many rivulets before finally flowing down to my tummy.

Please pray for me. These retainers are more menacing than the fixed braces. :S

Cheerio folks =)

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Today I saw this thela-wala, pushing his falooda cart, and on it was written:


کیوں کھڑا ھے پریشان
فالودہ پی میری جان


And it reminded me of all the funny stuff that I'd read on shops, trucks, rickshaws and walls.


نچ بڑے شوق سے
ادھار اگلی چوک سے

اف باجی ، رکشہ گئی

کوئی جل گیا، کسی نے دعا دی
جلنے والے کا منہ کالا

قسمت آزما چکا، مقدر آزما رھا ھوں
ایک بے وفا کی خاطر رکشہ چلا رھا ھوں

مست نگاھوں کو سلام

ِجِنے اپنی ماں نوں ستایا
انے ساری عمر رکشہ ھی چلایا

ُفُلّی ایر کنڈیشنڈ

آخری گولی

پائلٹ سیٹ

مِس کال

[I even took the picture of that "Aakhri Goli" and "Miss Call"] :D

"Fully Airconditioned" was a bus with no glass windows. And "pilot seat"...well, you all know ;)

Reminds of this photo that I took on my way from Hyderabad to Karachi :D

Cheerio folks =)

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Sometimes this thing pisses me off and sometimes (just sometimes) it makes me smile.
Just yesterday, I was driving back home when I got stuck in a traffic jam on this busy Shahra-e-Faisal. There were a few motorbikes walas near me. One of them said to his friend, “Ye ghar walay chotay bachoun ko kaisay gaari chalanay dey detay hein?” and then laughed loudly. This infuriated me so much, I turned and glared him (although I’m always advised to ignore such *beeps*). Another bike wala, who was at a little distance from this *beep* one, looked at him and said, “badtameezi ki bhee koi inteha hoti hay”. And thankfully, in the meanwhile, the cars started moving and I raced quickly towards my destination.

Another such incident also happened yesterday. There were three teenage boys trying to cross this same busy Shahra-e-Faisal, when one of them (who looked Sudani/ Makrani), tried to peer in my car for a few seconds, to make sure he wasn’t looking in an un(wo)manned car, then he nudged his other two friends and as I passed by him, I overheard him saying, “Oh look at that miniature!!!” I’m now thinking of giving up my desire to enjoy the nice evening weather and slide the window up to save myself from such comments. [That wouldn’t be of much help either – people can’t stop staring at the tiny thing in my car] :/

When I started taking my car to the uni, my friends used to say, “Ye itna bara jahaaz tum chalati ho?” I don’t think Corolla is that big a car, and neither am I a tiny tot! They shouldn’t say like that. It just shatters my desire of driving a Hummer. :P

Cheerio folks =)

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Was cleaning my wallet when I found this on a neatly folded paper. Reminded me of the time when I had memorized it and wrote it on that paper. It's one of my favorites by Amjad Islam Amjad.

مجھ کو اپنے ضبط پہ ناز تھا
سر ِ بزم رات یہ کیا ھوا
میری آنکھ کیسے چھلک گئی
ھے یہ غم برا ھوا

میری زندگی کے چراغ کا
یہ مزاج کچھ نیا نہیں
ابھی تیرگی، ابھی روشنی
نہ جلا ھوا، نہ بجھا ھوا

مجھے آپ کیوں نہ سمجھ سکے
یہ اپنے دل سے پوچھیے
میری داستان ِ حیات کا
ھے ورق ورق کھلا ھوا

مجھے جو بھی دشمن ِ جاں ملا
وہ پختہ کار جفا ملا
نہ کسی کی ضرب غلط پڑی
نہ کسی کا وار خطا ھوا

مجھے ھمسفر ملا بھی تو
ستم ظریف میری طرح،
کئی منزلوں کا تھکا ھوا
کئی راستوں کا ُلٹا ھوا

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