I've never come first in life; never first position in academics, and never in sports even. Always second or third and so on. While everyone else would joke, 'peechay se first aati ho', my father would always say, 'You're second, but you're second to none! Never forget that!'

Now you see, that's how parents slowly and silently strengthen us. While rest of the world may laugh at our shortcomings, parents struggle to convert them into our strongest points. We realize this years later when we've got multiple medals of honor to boast, but by that time we may have lost our dear ones.

This is in honor of all the loving parents out there who nurture our souls and who strengthen our characters to be star human beings! They are the best, and because of them we surely are 'second to none!'

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The Reb was fond of telling young couples, “Remember, the only difference between ‘marital’ and ‘martial’ is where you put the ‘i.’”

He also, on occasion, told the joke about a man who complains to his doctor that his wife, when angry, gets historical.

“You mean hysterical,” the doctor says.

“No, historical,” the man says. “She lists the history of every wrong thing I’ve ever done!”

“I think people expect too much from marriage today,” the Reb said. “They expect perfection. Every moment should be bliss. That’s TV or movies. But that is not the human experience. Like Sarah says, twenty good minutes here, forty good minutes there, it adds up to something beautiful. The trick is when things aren’t so great, you don’t junk the whole thing. It’s okay to have an argument. It’s okay that the other one nudges you a little, bothers you a little. It’s part of being close to someone. But the joy you get from that same closeness—when you watch your children, when you wake up and smile at each other—that, as our tradition teaches us, is a blessing. People forget that.”

- Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom.

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Try to imagine a life without timekeeping.
You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.
Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.
Man alone measures time.
Man alone chimes the hour.
And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
A fear of time running out.

[The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom]

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Have you ever come across people who, after looking at you, instantly go like, "Hey! I've seen you somewhere!" No?

I have! And this is a bit annoying, since they can't recall where they have seen me and I...well, my dinky brain completely refuses to recognize them at all! I don't know if my brain is too rusty or if they're just trying to strike a conversation (at which they fail).

This has happened with me a number of times (half of those I've already forgotten).

1. Some 13 years ago, when my friend and I used to play tennis, her coach once looked at me and went like, "Hey! I have seen you somewhere!". His tone was a bit accusatory. And since I was still a kid, I didn't know how to respond to my unknown crime. I feebly said, "You must have seen me in this court yesterday!" :$ But he was adamant that he had seen me somewhere else. IDC!

2. And 9 years ago, while taking the first class, my A' Levels GP teacher suddenly started scanning me and, with the most curious round pair of eyes, she said, "Oh, I've seen you somewhere!" With an equal pair of curious eyes, I asked, "Where?" and she said "Yemen!" Wow! Of all the places, she had seen me in Sana'a, Yemen. And according to her, I was one of the bright students and ....blah blah blah! Yes, you guessed it right, I've never been to Yemen all my life! :(

3. Oh, 5 years ago, when I was once lazily stepping downstairs in the university, a girl stopped me (she rather came in my way and stood there like a firm statue) and said, "You just went to the restrooms on the right, how could you come downstairs from the left?" She was utterly baffled! And I could only manage to say, "Because I can! I am coming downstairs from the left. You must've seen someone else". But she wasn't in the mood of buying it. She wasted my 3.5 minutes and walked away, still baffled! Lol. [But really, do I have some strange sort of super powers? :P]

4. Fresh from the oven! 15 minutes ago, an artist came to our office (we're working on an ad) and the moment I entered the meeting room and greeted him, his eyes went wide and rather than returning my greeting, he instantly said, "Oh, I've seen you somewhere!" Uh, again! I tried to keep calm and replied, "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen you anywhere"
Him: "Oh, I know! Box Office!!"
Me: "I'm sorry?"
Him: "You work at Box Office, right?"
Me: *wondering what the heck that place is* "No, I work here. I'm a full time employee of this company"
Him: "Part time? Freelancer?"
Me: *ARGH!!! I was totally annoyed. Which language does he understand?* "May we please see your art work?"

Before leaving, since he had to show his stupidity, he asked if I was working on this ad project only and in reality I work somewhere else? ARGH! I felt like throwing the stapler at him. Some people are just too thick!

All those prospective I've-Seen-You-Somewhere cases, please stop bugging me, cuz you can't recall and I simply don't want to put stress on my dinky mind.

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As much as you want to tear away the Monday from the calendar, cross out your Mon Meetings from schedule, erase the 9 am to 5 pm slot from your clocks, and directly jump to Monday evening to reminisce the Sunday remnants, you can't! All your wishful thinking must be kept aside. And you must muster up some courage to face it once every 52 weeks of every upcoming year of your precious, little life! Let your Mondays be wanted, not haunted!

So here are a few tips, if you like, follow them, or else drag yourself to work every Monday then.

1. Brush your teeth for a good 5 mins. All your senses wake up when you enjoy brushing your teeth. Fact!

2. Wake up 5 minutes earlier than usual and dedicate those minutes to shower. Shampoo well. And wear your exclusive Monday morning perfume/cologne (yes, set aside one of the best ones for Mondays only).

3. Wear your best clothes to work. The cleaner and admirable to everyone you are, the better you'd feel. Fact!

4. If you have time, make your own coffee/tea rather than waiting for the tea boy to bring you one. There's so much joy in making your own coffee/tea! If not, chit-chat (or gossip, in crude words) with your colleagues.

5. Take breaks! Eat a cookie. Chew a gum. Keep chocolates. Drink loadsa water. The moment you feel drowsy, gulp down a glass of water and experience the magic of revival. Fact!

6. Always wish for the weather to be good. And take a moment out to enjoy that beauty!

7. Take full advantage of the time while your boss is out on a meeting. Roam about. Socialize. Call mommy/wifey/kids. In short, change your location for a while. But if you're the boss, well, you can do anything then!

8. Keep a toy on your desk. Play with it once in a while.

9. Blog from office! :p Or tweet. Or listen to a song. Or keep an e-book. And do not report this to my boss!

10. And if you're left with some time, WORK! Why else do you think they pay you?!

In a nutshell, be positive! The weekend is just 4 days away! ;)

PS: Oh, during Ramadan, when you can't eat or drink or gossip, just be patient. Your working hours have been reduced, right?

Cheerio folks! =)

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So, the Sale season is back in full swing! Billboards are littered with CAPS lock on, red, 150pt SALE! banners, that are bound to widen your eyes with their drool-worthy percentages. And man, do we not wait for this season? Half happiness and satisfaction is already achieved when we see 51% off on sandals and 70% off on home furnishing! Wow! Such a candy to your eyes! You want to avail every best offer in town! I can't comment on others, but, well, at least, I can taste that joy :p

So, while driving towards the Shoppers' Paradise - aka Tariq Road - I see billions of banners and billboards acting like super-strong massive magnets that even your empty wallet cannot repel you from stepping inside the stores. No, you can't just window-shop during this season! You land in that Sale-stricken zone and you see virtually everything on discount! You name it... Sale on Cambridge, Exclusive, J., Bonanza, Stylo, Gul Ahmed, Hush Puppies, Lawrencepur, Nike, Needle Impressions, Pantaloons, Khaadi, Habitt, Subway, Liberty Books... Ahhhh... and sorry to burst your bubble, not Jafferjee's or Jabeen's!

To complement all the advertising fever, a plethora of public is also there, attempting to check out each and every store, to grab the best deals and take back home a truckload of Sale items! But for me, Sale translates into nothing positive! Yes, as much as I visually feast on those billboards, I can never fully take advantage of them! Principally, there are huge parking issues! For a tiny driver like me (who can't even see the bonnet of her car, no matter how much she hops on the seat), there are hardly ever neat parking slots available. And you guessed it right, I detest reversing or squeezing my car to fit between two other wrongly parked cars! Thanks to Dolmen Mall's parking area, you can safely leave your car there and walk only to the adjoining malls/markets/shops! In short, you still miss 75% of the Sale zone!

The rest 25% is no good either! At least, for me! I step into a clothing boutique, and viola! My size just does not exist! I can never wear an M trouser with an L shirt, when I only fit into an S size! *sigh* The disappointment has just begun! Next I step into a sandal outlet and practically drool over all those pretty pumps and sleek sandals. And when I inquire about the size and colors, I'm flatly told that 39 is the smallest size in this particular range! My God! These salesmen are so highly qualified at giving you mini heart attacks! But seriously, I wanted to yell as to where should people of size 37 go to?? *double sigh*. Later, I aimlessly check out the other Sale-flashing stores and by the end of the day, manage to buy one cool Tote bag (not on Sale) and a Jafferjee's wallet (never on Sale)!

My dear readers, I so hope you have at least once (if not always) benefited from Sale, unlike me. But the bottom line is: During Sale season you end up buying things you never intended to! :)

Cheerio folks!

PS: I'm desperately waiting for the Sale season to end now!

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Maya Khan. Who doesn't know her, specially after the spotting-couples-in-a-park-and-asking-about-their-marital-status incident. For more than a month (till the next video gets aired), everyone was blaming her, condemning her for her actions, ordering her for an apology and uncovering her secrets to show her how much it hurts when the same happens to you.

Today Maya Khan appeared in an exclusive interview with Kamran Shahid in Front Line.

Looking at one side of the coin and the argument seems very plausible - no-one has the right to invade anyone's privacy. Valid reason. Maya fired. Argument closed!

View the other side of the coin and kaboom! It was all fake! Nobody was at stake. Actors confessed. Maya apologized. Broken glass fixed!

But well... Does your mind accept this change of affairs? Eyebrows were raised then and eyebrows are raised again. But why did it take more than a month for Maya to come up with the stark evidences. Were the facts being cooked in the meantime?

I have been a regular viewer of morning shows, but I don't have a calculator to evaluate how many people appreciated this of her initiative. What's apparent is the heavy frustration and desperate annoyance of millions of people, who not only vented their feelings out by passing indecent remarks and making fun of Maya Khan, but also attacking her character and unveiling a set of her personal photographs.

I am not here to accuse one person and save the other. But aren't we all acting the same - spreading the same jahalat (ignorance and idiocy are mild words here) - pointing the flaws of others while presenting ourselves sensible and prudent. Please. For once, we must learn to first improve ourselves and then think about improving others. This is, indeed, a very unattractive and unappealing thing to do, but maybe that's the need of the hour to make things better in our society.

Exploring sensitive social issues require a lot of care, caution and responsibility. One does not merely step out and fulfill their mission on a one-sided, prejudiced basis. If Maya's cause was genuine and sincere, and her evidences were really accurate, then why "Reenactment" was not written when the episode was being aired! Shall we wait for another video where these facts would be verified? But who knows, that might be another round of dirty accusation on one another, for we are living among legit liars!

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Wow. What a combination, isn't it? ;)

Alhamdolillah at whatever is written in my fate now :p Life's certainly going to change in a better way In'sha'Allah, for I'd now have one special person to annoy for the rest of my life :D

30.12.2011. Chapter changed!

Prayers needed. A lot of them :) Thank you.

PS: I forgot how do I sign when I was asked to sign the papers yesterday, although in the past few days I had practised a lot! :$ Plus, my voice choked inside my throat when I was about to say "Qubool hai" for the first time! Sari mehnat aik taraf ho gai!

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