The Word of mAn[S]o0r

Recently, over at my cousins, we had sort of a jamming session, getting everything off our collective chests and trying to feel a bit better about the mess that has become life. During this session, i realized something....

i was not connected anywhere..

Almost in all scenario's the discussion involved "... and i asked S for advice..." "...M told me not too, but i didnt lissen..." "...U had been my support throughout ..."

No where was i mentioned.. infact, most of the stuff i had heard for the first time ever. And these were the latest controversies in my own family.

That night led me to thinking... about how much a member of my extended family i really am? Before, i've always kind of prided myself in not being involved in the petty discussions going on everywhere and being kind of aloof... but these things were not petty. They were pretty life changing decisions being taken by people i hold really close to my heart.

In the last couple of days, i've thought a lot... and i have'nt come up with a solution! i'm so bad at socializing, that my nephew and niece promptly forget me in between meetings, and everytime i have to remind them that i'm their mamo! They know my other two cousins by name!

On the other hand however, being aloof has allowed me to live a relatively peaceful life. Since im not involved in the pettiness, im not involved in the fights, i have no bad will with any of my relatives, the little while i do meet them, i have a pretty good time...

Of the choices i have right now, im leaning towards maintaining the status-quo.

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 2:30 AM | Permalink | |

Not really one of those inspirational titles, but anyway, here goes.

Today, i wrote up (and will subsequently) file the first tax return of my life. After see-ing the horror on everyone's faces whenever tax time rolls around, i thought it was going to be one hell of an experience. Add to it, that i did not have any help, still dont know *where* excatly to file the return, and where im going to come up with the money to pay it (thats resolved now), it promised to be one hell of a ride.

But thankfully, CBR proved to be quite a bit more helpful than expected. Thanks to their website, and all excel-based (autocalculating) forms, the whole experience turned out to be a breeze.

In just under 1.5 hours, i had written up and printed out my first ever return form. Im feeling quite proud of myself here. Just one problem though :( i missed the lowest tax slab by just a measely 9k!! and now my tax has gone up 2k!!

Tomorrow, im gonna go file it, and hopefully, going to return without much problems.

Labels: my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 2:06 PM | Permalink | |

If i could, i would make you realize that all you need to be is the complete you and i'd be the happiest guy on earth!

That even through all your ups and downs, all your irritating habits, all your needs, your incapability of doing stuff for me, being with you... is what makes me.... truly happy!

Labels: blogword

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 3:36 PM | Permalink | |

There are some things in life which immediately set your mood, especially if they happen in the morning. It could be your favourite song on the radio, seeing a specific color, a TV ad, seeing your best friends' face passing by in the traffic on her way to work, anything... but after that, you can rest assured that the rest of the day would be nothing short of beautiful and exhilarating.

This is what happened this morning to me, as i made my way down from my new diggs down to work. The radio was set on CityFM 89, with Mr. Suhail Hashmi blaring out his musical selection, and just when i was about to change the station, it started.....

The song with which i've always had great memories.. the song which can lift me out almost instantaneously out of any doldrum life throws at me....

Udit Narayan and Sandhana Sargam's Pehla Nasha

Two of my most favourite passages from the song..

Chaahe tum kuchh na kaho maine sun liya
Ki saathi pyaar ka mujhe chun liya
Chun liya
Maine Sun liya

and

Usne baat ki kuchh aise dhang se
Sapne de gaya vo hazaaron range ke
Usne baat ki kuchh aise dhang se
Sapne de gaya vo hazaaron range ke
Reh jaoon jaise main haar ke
Aur choome vo mujhe pyaar se

And whats even better than this song?? the remix version of it!

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 12:43 PM | Permalink | |

the only one worth relying on is yourself.

This came to me as revelation this morning, after a series of events.

1. I have a batman (an orderly.. not the crime fighter :p) with me where i live now, to make sure the cleaning, washing and other stuff gets taken care off. After a week of living at this place, i've realized the batman is really not interested in cleaning, washing and other stuff.. That i've started doing myself mostly....

2. The dhobi is not giving back my clothes.. as a result, now i have no clothes! So from today, i start washing my own clothes too...

3. This morning, for sehri, the batmans for the entire building (forgot?) to wake up and bring sehri to the rooms of other people around me... thank goodness i goto the mess for sehri, so i had it.. otherwise, everyone else is keeping a sehri-less roza.

4. My batman is not really interested in waking me up in the mornings either.... This issue, i have yet to resolve....

5. My best friend, whom i even threatened last nite that if she doesnt wake me up in the morning, i'll start looking for a new best friend.. forgot to wake me up! Consequently.. im looking for a new best friend now. LoL juz kiddin! she's just toooo sweet not to remain my best friend :D

and so, when on your own, you can only rely on yourself, or get wasted :p

Labels: change, my life, thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 9:33 AM | Permalink | |

Ramzan has finally begun in our fair city (country) after the usual mess by the Ruet-e-Hilal committee. Personally, its going to be a very different ramzan for me this year.

Till now, Sehri's used to comprise of mom's daant (for waking up late), Kellogs Frosties, Egg + Toast, and Tea. Iftars were at home, with the usual pakora+samosa deal, fruit chat followed by dinner. Last year, i didnt even go out with friends all that much, hardly four times, the rest were all at home.

This year, since i've started living alone, I've yet to see what will iftari be like. But i like the sehri that i had today. Anda Paratha, Dahi-sugar-paratha and Tea! YUMM!!! (they also had palak-allo which is *not* so yumm, hence omitted).

I got woken up at around 4:15 by my roommate, and we headed to the mess to have sehri.. ate.. came back.. prayed, and then i promptly went back to sleep! Little did i know... (well, i did actually.. at the back of my mind), that i would oversleep!!

Came to office at 10:30! Its 11:49 and im already feeling way thirsty.... plus, writing about sehris and iftaris right now wasnt a good choice either :S

This is going to be one TOUGH ramzan!! Happy fasting everyone!

Now for the words of wisdom for anyone caring to listen
1. Be kind to your fellow man this ramzan!!!
2. Fasting is no excuse for not working!!!

bus... thats it.

Labels: my life, thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 11:43 AM | Permalink | |

i feel like a wild animal under observation whenever i read this line 'your tagged'! The images of a person in a white lab coat druggin me and piercing an electronic transmitter on my ear gets eerily real!!

Anyway, i was tagged by dear, dear checkmate! so here goes. I, in turn, tag Icedmocha and Tanzila!!

I am thinking about:
her... the one i have, yet can never have.....

I said,
"just five more minutes!!!" while gettin up every morning... n then get hellishly late

I want to,
have my choti choti khushian! dats what makes life much more worth living...

I wish,
i could be a kid again... and laugh without wondering what it would be taken as?!

I miss,
refer to the first question ;)

I hear,
Fan's!! since the AC's on the fritz again :@

I wonder,
when will i get a 100k+ job??

I regret,
Nothing! Made sure of that!!

I am,
an enigma....... no, actually.. im as transparent as heavily tinted window's ;)

I dance,
wildly! but for myself only!

I cry,
have'nt for a long time... but the last time was when i was too shocked to do anything else!

I am not always,
fun... okay, i admit it.. im a nerd and can get hellishly boring at times!

I write,
whatever my heart feels like.. no restrictions

I need,
a tall glass of juice!

I finish,
a cigarette and wonder what good its gonna do me?!

Labels: thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:09 PM | Permalink | |

Labels: my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 12:23 AM | Permalink | |

Let my words be my sanctuary,
Let my words be my prison,
Let my words by my sword,
Let my words be my flower.

My words.... My thoughts.... My pleasure.... My Pain!

(c) ME!!!

Labels: blogword

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:25 PM | Permalink | |

I've been going on and on over at KMB about motorcyclists in the wonderful(?) city of Karachi... Little did i know, i was gonna have my first run-in with one... that too.. driving at over 60 MPH!

This happened while going to the airport to drop my brother and mother for their flight to ISB, just as you cross the last signal before climbing up the terminal. I was barelling down that road, saw a green signal, people waiting at the intersection, and floored the accelerator thinking i'd get through before the signal opens....... (Before i go on, one point to note is that the intersection is surrounded with a lot of tree's/shrubs which ofcourse makes it impossible to see more than one car deep if your coming up the road. The cars i saw were stopped.... Anyways...) then i saw it! A bike with two passengers breaking the signal and crossing the intersection! I swerved right, trying to avoid them, cursing under my breath.... they cleared the road and i breathed a sigh of relief... almost!

Then i saw the SECOND bike breaking the signal and crossing the intersection!!!! this time, there was no time nor room to manouver out... in what seemed like a split second... i jammed on the breaks (which on a mehran are pretty non existant) and almost prayed/cursed in the same sentence!

Then we collided!

Luckily for him (the bastard!), he wasnt hurt.... nor was i or my brother (Thank God!!) his bike was kind of battered by then and my car was pretty much totalled from the front.... i was pretty thankful and sane till that moment, then i heard a strange noise coming from within the engine comparment... and lost it! For the second time in my life... i wanted blood! HIS blood!!! I got out and started shouting at him! Wo tou he was either too shocked or dazed (probably he's an imbicle) to say or do anything back, to bach gaya! Just at that time, my mom came over in the other car... the moment i saw her, i kind of cooled down... a cousin of mine also got out, and went brutal on his ass! (i love you for that cuz!!). After a couple of punches.. and the crowd trying to break us up... i sent my mom n the other car over to the terminal, the flight wasnt gonna wait for a phadda afterall, got my brothers luggage from my car, transferred it to a third car which was thankfully there, left my car at the intersection and went to see them off. It took me a futher half hour to really cool down! The adrenaline rush doesnt go down easily.

What a send off they had from karachi! Sorry mom... Sorry bro!

Damn motorbike drivers!!!

On top of that, he had the gall to say "gaari dekh kar chalao"!! that was enough to get him two three more punches!

Damage assesment: Bumper gone, Bonnet dented, both fenders dented, right axle damanged, engine foundation broken, radiator assembly pushed inside, headlights broken, bumper lights broken.

Labels: my car, my life, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 10:41 AM | Permalink | |

My brother took the car yesterday.....
the car keychain also had the key's to my room cupboard on it....
i went to my room at 6:30...
my brother came back at 1...

i read Angels and Demons for six and an half hours! (The book is totally worth it!!)

Today, i seperated both set of keys! He's again taken the car.....

I think i'll complete the book today.

Labels: my life, thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 6:04 PM | Permalink | |

Today, i spent the morning getting my car boarded for transport. Surprisingly, the whole procedure takes about 15 minutes..... The actual procedure that is! The waiting and all takes about 4 hours :S which ate up my morning.

Went to get the car today, and the first thing i noticed was....... a FLAT!!! i mean, things cant happen without screwing up! now can they. Ol murphy still breathes somewhere :@

So anyways, with no other option, i changed the tyre... and took the car out. One thing i love about a corolla... it is air-conditioning! It rocks! My journey from tariq road to NLC headquarters was pretty uneventful.. when i reached there however, the contact person wasnt there. Turns out... he'd gone to hyd in the morning. Thats what the wait was about.. figuring out he was in hyd :D Khair, someone i got in touch with, got in touch with him, who inturn got in touch with his staff and told them to process my case. That way, i got the car boarded without much paperwork, otherwise, just obtaining an NOC is hell.

In the meanwhile, while waiting for people to get in touch, i thought i'd go get the puncture fixed, then decided to have lunch... and subsequently dropped in at Agha's with a single purpose.. a Henny's sandwich! I head Inspirex go on n on about it and thought why not have it. Picked up a BBQ sandwich and a Strawberry fanta, and ate in the car. The sandwich was... fresh and yummy. Though with a pretty steep price tag. Satisfied, my next stop was again NLC where thankfully the word had come through and my car was processed.

Then i realized another fact (because of which i just love a Corolla's AC), it was raining FIRE out today!! I got dehydrated almost! The searing heat hitting my face felt.... well... like searing heat hitting my face!

Now, im sitting at the office, where thankfully the net is working. I need to get back to work, and do some of it... My boss has been pretty accomodating so far, just hope he remains like that.... I need one more day late, to see-off my mom n brother tomorrow.

And im still unplugged at home :(

Labels: my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 3:02 PM | Permalink | |

One of the things i hate the most, is people asking me to be specific about something they're asking of me. It feels like i'm being interrogated like a criminal or something. I'm the kind of person who likes to have a certain degree of freedom in whatever i do, so that if i find a more optimum way to do it, i can.

I believe this habit stems from being unpredictable. I can not follow a prescribed path for too long. Its just not me. I gravitate in life in response to a lot external forces, many of which i have no control over. Some tend to be more direct than others, however, these are still those which affect my daily routine more than anything else. These forces that i talk about can be vibes from people all the way to traffic jams forcing me to change route.

Let me explain with a very recent example. I was on my way home from work, when my brother called and asked me get something for him to eat, till then, my plan was to get home and sleep.. but it altered. Even though he was a force, it was very direct and i do not include that in my list of forces. From there on in, i changed route to go through clifton, when suddenly, while crossing the neighbourhood of my grandparents, i decided to stop by. I got out of the car, and starting walking up their driveway, where a cousin of mine was coming down with her kid, to get some work done. Here's how our conversation went

Her: Kuch aur maangti khuda say, to wo bhee mil jaata aaj
Me: Howcome?
Her: I was thinking of calling you, because grandpa is not feeling well, and was strugling with the decision for a long time, since you were busy in your packing and all.
Me: *all smiles*

The force here, was her will, (and my grandpa's as i later learned) to have me there, and somehow i gravitated to that spot. Now call me crazy, but this happens a lot to me. I can usually even sense when my cell phone is going to ring and pick it up just moments before a call connects. Its kind of a sixth sense going in overdrive.

I've kinda lost the will to write about what pestered me to write this post in the first place... suffice to day, a certain person X (not inspirex) has this habit of cross questioning me whenever they ask for something from me, and even though i never say no to him, this line of questioning really boils me. Today, my bubble burst on him and i really let him have it! It goes something like this

X: Where are you now?
Me: Office
X: Then why can i hear background noise? Your in the car? Are you going somewhere? where are you coming from? Why are you in the car? Arent you supposed to be at office?
Me: I am at office, just came down to get lunch.
X: Lunch? Where are you going to get lunch? Did u take the car? You took the car na? Where'd you get lunch from? How far is it from your office?
Me: %$^#$%$^&

*the above conversation is not verbatim! I think my anger shorted some circuits in my brain and i cant rem what the hell he said*

Labels: my life, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 5:32 PM | Permalink | |

This weekend, i was unplugged!! Aarrgghhh! the horror of it all!

What i learned in the last two days was this..... im a net-addict! and i keep needing my fix!

It got so bad, that i started getting online from my mobile (even though it doesnt work that well) just to get a fix! Logged into my mailbox, checked out the number of unread mails... n logged out! Forget reading blogs from there!

Then i came into work this morning... all happy that i'll get to get online... and my damn PC was disconnected from the network!!! i almost screamed today! Got the admin guy to checkup my connection and now finally (shukar-allah) its working!!

Read a lot of blogs, commented a whole lot! And now posting!! Its so good 2 be online!! yayy!

*damn.. now i better get back to work!

Labels: adventures in moving, my life, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 11:12 AM | Permalink | |

We finally moved today! When i say move, i mean, we vacated the previous house, i moved into my new 'digs' and mom n brother have assumed gypsy status till their departure on wednesday.
The day started out at 8 AM, just like any other.... when i got out of my room, i realized.... that it was gonna be the last day i wake up in that room. (i had been realizing such things a lot lately).. quickly took in what/how that room had been to me.. my 'sanctuary' for the last six years... as well as my bed n breakfast.

The packers/carpenters arrived as usual at 9:30, as they had been for the last two weeks. All credit goes to them for 'efficiently' packing up everything... My mom n brother just packed their rooms, i only packed up my clothes, the rest was done by them.

The container we had ordered came through at 11 AM, almost two hours later than scheduled... which gave us time for some last minute packing.. Also, that morning, we ordered a forklift to assist in loading the container... anyone planning a intercity move in the coming times... do yourself a favour and get a forklift! It reduced the time n breakage for the stuff manifolds!

At around 4 PM, my stuff, which was just to be moved crosscity, was loaded on another truck and the driver became anxious to leave. I handed over the rest of the packing/closing over to my mom n the packers, and left with the truck to unload the stuff at my new digs. I have now, officially, crossed the (so called) bridge of karachi, and live on not-defence side now.

Brought my stuff over, had them haul it up all three flights to my room, and then started some cursory unpacking. It was then that i realized that a) i was dehydrated, and b) was hungry!!! So grabbed a friend of mine, and we headed over to have some lunch. By the time i was back, i thought i'd just crash!! Almost did, before KESC decided to be a darling and shut off the power supply... and then the mosqitoes attacked! I had no candle, no mosquito coil and very irritated... then in the dark, continued unpacking some more stuff, found a candle i had stashed in my stuff 'just in case', lit it.. and proceeded to take a bath! Then changed and just as i was about to leave... the lights came back on! By this time, i was too pumped with my recent shower, so left. Did some visiting... had a late dinner with my bro (who i picked up on the way) and came back home at 1:30 AM! Its now 2:16 AM... and i just dont wanna sleep.... :S

I think i'm way past tired now...........

Labels: adventures in moving, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:59 AM | Permalink | |

coffee is a life-saver!

enuff said :D

Labels: thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 6:54 PM | Permalink | |

I have a right...

• ... to want good things in life
• ... to make more money than i am now
  
• ... to enjoy the finer things in life
• ... to buy a Porshe Boxter
• ... to say no sometimes
• ... to not be judged
• ... to be in a bad mood
• ... to shout out at the world
• ... to curse when things screw up
  

I want those rights!! Am i wrong to want them? Is it too much to ask?

Labels: blogword

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 10:29 AM | Permalink | |

For the last two weeks, i (nor anyone else in my family) have'nt been able to sleep much. The house being in a constant state of turmoil kinda ruins the peaceful sleep you get.

Two weeks of tossing and turning finally caught up with me yesterday, when i zonked out for 14 hours straight (from 8 PM to 10 AM)! Thank god didnt have much to do then or i'd be in for an earful today!

Labels: adventures in moving, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:32 PM | Permalink | |

Funny things happen when your SMS'ing and some of the keys stop working. My mobile phone, when giving suggestions for words using T9, auto completes words as well.

Yesterday, i was tying a message to my cousin saying "Im with mom" and somehow,
it came up as "Im with non-refundable".

Needless to say, my mom is pretty happy with my mobile phone since it speaks the truth!!

Labels: hilarious, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:28 PM | Permalink | |

Being a Pakistani, September 11th was always special. The day the founder of our country left earht to join God above, and watch (with horror?) at what his creation was to become...

Five years ago, it took on another meaning. Whats most interesting to note is how the world reacted to it, and thankfully, blogs came to the rescue, offering real-world opinions on how Sep 11 changed their lives. Check out Aisha's and Moz's post on Sep 11, as how muslims are/were treated in the US. They're scary!

Also, Mitch Albom wrote a great article in Detriot Free Press on missing the day before sep 11, which im totally in favour of.

Another point of controvery! Americans, being politically correct and anti-racial (what a joke!!) want a seperate line for Muslims at all major airports!! Now this really ticks me off! I mean why? Why is terrorism in their minds only about what Arabs did to them? (Answer: Because their goofy president tells them they're on a War against Islam and not on a war against terror in a recent speech!!!!) What about the Okhlahoma city bombings? wasnt that terrorism? What about what their soldiers are doing world over? Isnt that terrorism?!?!!

Since im already on the topic, there was this one saying i heard which has really clicked with me and i'd like to share:

"There's only one difference between a dictator and a hero. Who won"

(Truman was a hero because he bombed the hell out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki)!

Labels: rants, speaking out, thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 2:45 PM | Permalink | |

when you cant post comments on your own blog :@

*blogger beta! Dont make me hate you*

Labels: rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:16 PM | Permalink | |

This morning, before coming into work, i sat down to clean my drawers, so that they could be packed. This morning, i also found out that i had accumulated a lot of stuff which i didnt need anymore, and some... which i was searching for what seemed like ages!

Some of the stuff stashed in there were

1. Medicines! I never knew i had that many medicines stashed away, strips of Panadol CF and Postan dating back four to five years, from which only one or two tablets were missing. These two were my staple during the days of university, when the common cold was indeed very common
2. Receipts! I've amassed a huge collection of ATM and Credit card reciepts over the years, which i had been faithfully storing in my drawer lest i need them in the future. Most of them have now faded to the point of becoming just plain scraps of paper hence they're now part .
   
3. Business Cards! I never knew i knew that many people! As a rule, i dont keep business cards in my wallet (its already too fat) so all those cards make their way to my drawer.
4. Coins! What can i say... i dont keep change.
5. Notes! Written to friends, gotten from friends, made me relive the glorious university days (even though for a short while) when we passed them around! (SMS still hadnt caught up)
6. National ID Card!!! Hey! i was looking for that!
7. Some other ID cards! More strolling down memory lane...
   

Most of them however, are now in a big bag marked "Dispose"! And here i thought, i'd be needing a whole box to move my drawer stuff!

Labels: adventures in moving, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:09 PM | Permalink | |

When your moving from one house to another, you pack up everything you have into boxes. By everything... i mean everything!

Thursday, i spent in packing up my room.. put all my clothes in boxes and almost taped them shut before realizing.... im still going to be here for another week! The result? Now i have no clothes out and too lazy to unpack the stuff! So, im living out of a box now, while im still at my own place.

Thankfully, im not alone! Another friend/blogger is going through the same dillema, having packed up kitchen stuff, and now has to unpack, use, wash, repack everytime they have something to eat.

Labels: adventures in moving, change, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 3:05 PM | Permalink | |

I have a confession to make.......

Im addicted.... to playing "Midnight Pool" on my mobile phone! Even though the version i have is in German!

How do i know im addicted? I woke up today at 6 AM to goto the washroom, took my mobile phone with me, started it up, played (and won!!!) two games, came back to my room and slept again! (And to think i used to make fun of a friend who used to wake up in the middle of the night for a smoke :S)

Labels: my life, tech

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 2:23 PM | Permalink | |

I took two days off from the office, to help out in the moving part. One day was gonna be coordinating the packers and packing up my room, the second was gonna be filling up the container.

Later i got to know the container would come next saturday!! So much for proactiveness. Thought i'd goto office today, but that didnt pan out.. If you have a chutti.. enjoy it. Did some more of the packing coordination.

Got a major muscle pain (rupture?) in my back thats ristricting my left arm and neck movement :( its been there two days and i'm definately not liking it! Brufen's become my newest best friend!

Last night, i made a major breakthrough in a project im working on!! After a week of working out solutions (banging my head against the wall) i finally came across one!! Yay 4 me! Thats another reason i didnt goto office today, wanted to work out this project.... Advanced it quite a bit and feeling quite good about it!

Now i gotta get back to it... laters!

Labels: my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 9:22 PM | Permalink | |

Hmm... I should've put this declaration at the end of every paper i gave till now. Truly hilarious!

Labels: hilarious

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 5:43 PM | Permalink | |

My mouse was just replaced, without me even being asked, by a co-worker who had the same type as mine. Im thinking.. W-T-F?!

Now, im torn between what to do?! Should i report it, make it an issue? Should i let it go? Should i confront him? He's already come up to me and casually remarked "mouse phir kharab hogaya?" on seeing i was having difficulty using it.

I make it a point to open up n clean my mouse every few weeks, just so its easier to use... and my original mouse was in very good condition :( Unfortunately, i've already opened and cleaned this one as well, destroying all 'evidence'. But still im steamed!!! The nerve of that guy!!!!

aarggghh!! I miss my mouse :(

Labels: at the office, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:46 PM | Permalink | |

I have to write... but what should i write about?

My last couple of posts have been about decisions (here, here and here) and here i am once again... deciding what to post. Is'nt that a decision in itself?

Labels: blogword

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 12:26 PM | Permalink | |

Ever wonder what its like to die slowly of carbon mono-oxide (CO) poisoning? You know, the kind where you lock yourself up in your car, with a pipe blowing the exhaust inside, and leave the car running?

I dont anymore! I got my dose of CO poisoning yesterday, and actually paid Rs. 90 for it!! Here's what happened..

I took a rickshaw home from the office, since my brother had the car.. the stupid rickshaw i selected had a leak in its exhaust pipe, and would blow the exhaust into the back cabin from under the drivers seat, instead of out the pipe like its supposed to. I didnt actually notice it, till the driver revved up the engine and i was surrounded in smoke! I was inhaling the damn smoke for all of the half hour ride. By the time i noticed it, it was already too late and i was almost home, so thought... to heck with it!

But as soon as i got home, all that CO knocked me right out... i staggered upto my room, and hit the bed with a thud.. waking up 3 hours laters with a massive headache and still having my shoes on! And to think i take the rickshaw because i cant stand the LPG smelling taxi's!

*mental note: If committing suicide by exhaust, eat plenty of sleeping pills beforehand
*mental note 2: Inspect the damn rickshaw before entering it!

I have to go home by rickshaw again today.... im hoping it'll be a better one this time.

Update (later that evening): I took a taxi.

Labels: my life, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:15 PM | Permalink | |

You know you cant work any longer when, even in this simmering heat, the temperature outside is cooler than inside!

Thanks to our ever efficient KESC, the powers out again, and has been so for the last 3 hours. That means the AC doesnt work, the office is still shut air tight because the generators outside would blast our ear drums, and with 7 people here, the temperature has just gone up n up! To the point that the fan is now more of an irritation than a blessing!!

Cant wait for quitting time!!!!!

*ofcourse, since i cant work, that doesnt mean i cant blog ;)

On a brighter note, ever since the attendence policy got implemented, today would be the first day i will actually clock my full working hours (maybe even go above a little). Yaayyy!!

Labels: at the office, rants

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 5:08 PM | Permalink | |

I snapped this picture in my garden the other day. A single flower which successfully bloomed where all others around it had failed to, and it forced me to think about certain issue's i've been having troubles with.

For starters, it was being the first one in my family to get into IT. I was always apprehensive about that, even though im good at what i do. I studied 6 years to become a software engineer, only to switch tracks just as i graduated and get into consulting. Now this field, in itself, is new, and we're Pakistan's ONLY local company in this business. So once again, i'm alone. I've always had this inner voice telling me to get into the corporate life, with all its trappings. Somehow, it seemed very interesting to me, and afterall, everybody was going for the corporate lifestyle now.

This flower got me thinking, that maybe the way to shine isnt by being with the crowd, its by growing to your fullest potential, even when everything around you is very different from who you are. Otherwise, this flower would've been just another one in the bunch, and i would've hardly noticed it... right?

Am i making sense? Or am i just trying to pacify myself, justifying to myself, the choices i've made which led me to this point? Baz Luhrmann, in his song, Sunscreen, very aptly says "you choices are half chance, just like everybody else" so its no use to berate myself over them. Is it?

Labels: my life, thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 4:32 PM | Permalink | |

Its so nice to hear from someone else that you do something well. Its a great ego boost!

This time, it was about my driving. Both my parents have declared i'm a rash driver, don't pay attention to the road, and try to break every rule in the book. I, ofcourse, say otherwise. Thankfully, a lot of my extended family agrees with me, so i've still got my car and driving privileges. When i drive, i dont consider the car anything separate, rather, i consider it an extension to my body. This is especially easy with my mehran, since its small enough and im large enough. But i digress.

This time, it was my dads elder brother, technically my tia, but who i call chachu. No reason for that, except that the name's stuck since childhood. Anyway, his daughter enlightened me a couple of days ago that her father thinks my driving is "safe", and that i "pay attention to the road". You have no idea how good that felt!! yayy for me. *touchwood*

On a side note, now im paranoid that i'll have an accident pretty soon, which follows every time i have someone compliment me. I didn't write on this as soon as i heard it for this reason alone.

Anyone know how to perform 'nazar utarna'?

Labels: my car, my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 9:56 PM | Permalink | |

I got pointed to this news article through Sobia's blog, and a shudder went down my spine as i read it!

Talk about hysteria! A man got 15 years in jail because he played paintball in 2000, 2001 and sent a consignment of paintball pellets back to Pakistan. I wonder when was the last time any 'gora' got arrested because of playing paintball?!

Labels: speaking out

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:52 AM | Permalink | |

brunette!! most definately!

While in Paksitan, we dont have complete blondes, we do have a lot of streakings done.. my personal choice of hair color on women is dark (black or brown).

And im not alone, according to a study done by Sunsilk in the UK, more and more men are choosing brunettes over blondes. Why? Read the answer here.

Labels: thoughts

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 5:08 PM | Permalink | |

my nephew turned two today! yayyy!!

he's such a CUTIE! Just starting to talk, a total ball of energy, and im so in love with him and his sister!! We gathered together at my dadi's place for the celebration. It was all very last moment, which ofcourse meant that we had a blast!. Last year, his first was celebrated at Pizza Hut, and even though it kind of fun at times.. overall, it was pretty boring.

After the celebration, i stopped two of my cousins back, and decided we'll go dinner. We used to have a 'cousins night out' with the whole gang, but have recently realized.... the rest dont wanna hang out with us. Which is fine, since we dont want them around either, we're happy being the three of us. We went off to Ming Court at Khadda Market, which by the way, has delicious food!! Ordered Hot n Sour Soup, Chicken Chowming, Sweet n Sour Prawns and Chineese fried rice. They have such huge quantity, that even b/w the three of us, we couldnt finish it.

This time, i got tricked into paying the bill, as my cousins very simply stated, 'we dont have money' (damn it! next time, ask them first!!!). Thankgod for credit cards!! Saved face today.

After food, i tend to get a little high, (i dont really need to do drugs, i get high just after every meal, especially a heavy one :p) so i started picking on my cousins! LoL! poor souls! But it was fun! it became a free for all, with everyone getting in points on whoever, whenever they could.

Then we left, and decided to take the scenic route (through sea view) home. During the ride, the radio started playing really cool songs, coupled with the mohaal, and the 'post-food-high' it made for an awesome experience! We noticed the port shower was on, and decided to go check it out.

It was *so* awesome!!! And relaxing! There's something about watching the shower spray water all around, and the lights bouncing off it, making shapes and what not.. the wind blowing through your hair, just tingling you, nipping at you! AWESOME! I feel so refreshed right now! i think im gonna make that a regular thing now.

All in all, a very exciting evening! However, it was marred by the fact that my mom called my cell 8 times in half an hour, and since it was on silent, i didnt hear it!!! :( So she's pissed at me right now. Hopefully she'll be all okay tomorrow morning.

Ab me off too bed, Good night.

Labels: my life

And so said mAn[S]o0r at 1:07 AM | Permalink | |