Exercising

After gaining copious amounts of weight in the past 2 years or so ( which is approx 6 kgs and is a huge amount for someone at my height) I have now thankfully restarted the gym and health routine.

I am also trying to drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day - which results in me running to the bathroom on a seconds notice at any one time. This is a real matter of tension for me whenever I have to go to a meeting, I keep thinking what if there some super important discussion going on and I realize that I have to go?

What then!

Anyway - I need to drop about 8 kg, and lose at least 12% body fat in the next 60-75 days, and I know thats rather slow progress but I want it to be for good this time. I've been trying to lose weight for the past 4 years and really it has come to a point where I am sick of giving up and starting over again.

Has it really been more than 3 months?

I cannot, cannot believe it has been so long since I blogged.

3 months.

Given that this is new blog, me starting afresh after pretty much abandoning my previous one which I had under an alias, I had resolved to give this one as much attention. I just don't know where the time went. ( actually I do know, I kinda just wasted it I guess, working, working not gymming, not giving time to myself or anything else that really, really mattered)

I suppose I will have to be a little careful in all that I say since I am now blogging with my real name. Let's see how this goes.

Pray I am back soon, with things worth reading.

The Pathan who loved Shahrukh Khan

I have been debating over what to write about these past few days. Various topics crossed my mind. At first I thought that I should write something serious. You know, something grown up and more apt for the present circumstance of the nation and the world, when suddenly I encountered something which totally changed my views and decided to write about that instead.

I cleaned out my wardrobe last week and I came to the conclusion that most office going people come to when they perform such an act, is that I had absolutely NOTHING good to wear for office. Thereby I decided  that as soon as I get the chance I would take a trip to the mall ( read: Aashiana/Gulf)  so I could at least look presentable in the work place.

I was walking around the 'mall' checking out stuff when I came to a stall where I usually shop at and there was your friendly neighborhood 'pathan' guy selling 'kapras' Now I usually get stuff from him cause he gives good discounts and all. I was randomly looking through the store when he said;

Pathan: "Baji, aap Forum ki building mein aap ka office hai?"
Me: er.. haan kyun?
Pathan: oh wahan bank mein kaam karti ho?
Me: umm nai 
Pathan: tow phir kya karti ho?

Now I was faced with the problem of trying to explain what I actually do for a living. Which I think is a problem just about every media planner in the world faces. That is a whole other blog post by itself but I am sure fellow planners will know what I mean. Anyway so back to what I was saying;

Me: mein TV channels say ishtehaar ka time khareedti hoon ( I don't even know how I managed to piece that sentence together)
Pathan: ohh tow company log aap kay company jaate hain agar un ko ishtehaar lagana hota hai TV par?

I was stunned. He summed it up perfectly and understood everything in one sentence! After that of course I could not help showing off and I said:

Me: Aap ne naya Shahrukh Khan wala Lux ka ad dekha hai?
Pathan: Haan dekha hai meine!! Bohot acha ad hai..Shahrukh Khan kitna pyara lagta hai!!
Me: haan woh ad meine laga TV par
Pathan: Baji aap ne tow yeh bohot acha kaam kia! Shahrukh Khan sey muje pyar hai! Hum bohot bohot pyar karta hai us ko

I laughed and looked at him when suddenly I realized that he was very serious.... He meant it, as in he didn't just love Shahrukh Khan... he really loved Shahrukh Khan

I was staring at him in shock and I think he took that as disbelief and he said

"baaji, aap yakeen nai karta, deko mein baal bhi us kay tarha kataya hai, aur shave bhi rakha hai us ki tarha!"

At that moment I took a good look at his face and realized that he actually looked like Shahrukh Khan. He had copied his recent hairstyle and beard from his recent movie!

It doesn't end there...

Pathan: Baji hum waqai mein bata raha hai, yeh deko!

At which point he took out his phone and showed me that his phone wallpaper had none other than SRKs picture on it.

Pathan: Hum hamesha us ka photo apne paas rakta hai! :D

At this point I could practically see the hearts in his eyes when he was talking about him. It was really something.It was the funniest thing I had seen in ages!  Anyway, I told him that it's really cool and I liked Shahrukh Khan too. That was about the end of that convo after which I went back to shopping.

Thinking back I laughed at it a lot. It is so strange that someone who has never met a celebrity can be so in awe and admiration of them. ( In this guys case perhaps it was a little more than that :p) But I bet if Shahrukh Khan knew about this he would be touched to have such a fan. :)

 So dear Shahrukh, if you ever happen to read this, please know that there is a certain pathan who works at the local 'mall' in Karachi, who loves you very, very much!

Infinitely Boring Sunday

I hate Sundays. I hate the sluggish weary feeling that they bring along with them. It's like as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, the realization starts dawning on you that the weekend is over. The day always drags on listlessly, sluggish, reminding you that Monday is just around the corner waiting to rain on you like a dark cloud. Drenching you in the harsh reminder that we are nothing but drones, corporate slaves who cannot dare to break free from this vicious cycle which repeats itself every week, over and over again.

Why are we such slaves to the system? What I wouldn't do to break free from all this. Live the simple life. Chill on a Greek Island for a few months. Relax on the beach. Is it really that much to ask for? From today onwards I have decided I am going to attempt to do all that. At least once in my life I will. Even if it is just for a while.

Cricket

Cricket has always been more of a national sport for us than hockey has, and we all love the game, or do we?

Every time Pakistan is winning everyone seems to be supporting our team, and the moment we start to falter  one gets to see status updates like 'match fixed'or 'the Pakistani team sucks'. Usually its the same people who display these varying updates...why though? why the fickleness? Are we only there to support our team if they win and we cannot grasp or try to understand that they are also human, they can also make mistakes and lose? What does it say about as a nation? It is a little unsettling to say the least.

I am no cricket expert, I am sure that at times the Pakistani team has made more than their share of mistakes but no reason to totally trash them the minute they start to lose game, especially when you are going to crazily rooting for them on the same forum  in this case BBM and/or Facebook, since I doubt any of you blog. :P

If you do, please do tell me,we will become better friends hence forth for sure.

A friends status update within 20 minutes of Pakistan's varying performance 

Another thing I find funny ( and I am sure I'll be hated for this) is how some people STILL cannot differentiate between LOSE and LOOSE.

Just for clarification, once AGAIN

Lose = Opposite of Win

LOOSE= Opposite of Tight.

So Pakistan can LOSE a match but it would be really strange it they LOOSE it. and yet...

Pakistani 'loosers' lost!

I could dig up a few more but I think I've gotten into enough trouble for one day.

Morning vs Night

What kind of things define what makes someone a 'morning person' or a 'night person'

Do they significantly differ in their personalities? Are morning people happier and more positive than someone who is a nocturnal?

Ever wonder why we tend to think differently at night as compared to during the day?

The nighttime seems to darken our thoughts, make them seem more somber, morbid, and yet strangely peaceful. I guess because at night, our surroundings are a lot more quiet. Less noise to disrupt our thought processes. I guess I would say that noise is a good thing.

Distraction is such an important part of remaining sane. At least it is for me, if I didn't have stuff to keep me busy I would probably go out of my mind. As much as I might hate at times the phone incessantly ringing, the 'ping' of emails on my laptop, constantly having to coordinate with clients and colleagues,I think on some level I need all that to keep happening.  A real catch-22.

In-spite of all that...all that 'needing the noise',  I'd still prefer the nighttime. No matter how tired I have been during the day, I am always alert, awake once its past 1 am. It's the worst habit in the world but it's the one time that I get a lot of thinking ( and at times writing) done.

I just re-read what I wrote and I realize that I make no sense whatsoever. I guess that happens when you try to force a blog post out at 1:27 am.

Re post: Parents & Technology/Pop Culture & the rest

Parents and Technology. Never has there been a more entertaining (and lovable) combo. Our folks grew up in a time where life was simple and straight forward. Life's greatest pleasures came in boxes labeled going to the cinema, or going for a drive,technology was simple and slow paced, writing letters to distant relatives, and waiting for weeks for correspondence ,'booking' a long distance call for 3 minutes to talk to some far flung relative in the U.S.A.

Actually most of us also grew up in those times. Ah, the nineties, good times .I'm sure my fellow 'twenty-something’s' will remember. The cartoons on STN/NTM, the long-anticipated trips to Mr.Burger,Ainkak wala Jinn,Jet Sport being for only 2.5 rupees ,er the back to the future trilogy :D. 

Anyway, then came the internet, broad band, cable tv, and the mobile technology boom and everything changed .Forever. Suddenly we were thrown into the world of instant messaging, rapid file sharing, Orkut, Face book etc.

We being kids at the time, were quick to adapt,but most of our parents they sort of got a little confused along the way. It's quite adorable to watch them be fascinated or else completely baffled to no end with things we take for granted.

Once a cousin of mine had to check her email for her mom, and the conversation went something like this:

Khala: I ! ( that’s my cousins name) check the email for me!

I : Yeah mom, I am going to XYZ’s house, I’ll check it from there

Khala: How can you check it from someone elses house? Its MY email

I: Yeah so that’s no problem I can check it from elsewhere

Khala: But How would MY email be in someone else’s computer!!  I don’t want anyone else to read it!

I: (sigh) But no its your email mom, no one else can read it!

Khala: Then why is it on someone else’s computer?!!

I: It is not on someone elses computer, I can just access it, its like making a phone call!

Khala: What do you mean?!! I thought you got the mail from the computer!

Another time a friend of mine had his mom angry at him for spending too much time on the internet, she was like

Tum Hamesha internet khun khelytey rehey ho??

Same goes for cell phones as well, my dad got a new touch screen phone for himself recently and he is convinced that it is the epitome of all technology. Example:

Dad to random relative: See! I have a new phone

Random Relative: Wow very nice, congrats

Dad: See, my phone is really cool it has a touch screen zip zip zip ( locks and unlocks it in rapid succession three four times to prove it)

RR: Yeah I can see it! Real nice!

Dad: Is YOUR phone touch screen?

RR: er, yeah it is see ( shows their phone)

Dad: Yeah good good for you, todays technology is really amazing I tell you, especially THIS phone! See! it also has a zip zip zip… CALCULATOR!

RR: er…yeah of course it does, but every phone has one!

Dad: they do??

RR: Yeah they do.

Dad: oh okay but that’s just one simple thing, forget that, my phone has an MP3 player as well!

RR: How nice I do too!

Dad: ( frowning now) really?... I thought it was not very common

RR: Well, yeah it is. But its still a good thing to have

Dad: Well yeah.... But I bet you don’t have blue teeth!!

*sorry dad, love you, but I couldn’t resist writing this

 Our parents grew up in a time where idols were people like Elvis, Beatles, Amitabh and the rest. Superheroes and heartthrobs would be strong righteous men who fight the bad guys, save the world, kill the monster and then get the girl in the end. These are what the youth used to look up to- before they were replaced with what are now mostly effeminate glittery teenage vampires whose biggest challenge is overcoming the peer pressure at high school. :P

Like I said before, we were able to adapt and accept. Our parents…eh. Well, you know how it goes 

Once (a long time ago, of course, as in probably more than 10 YEARS ago) I was listening to this song at home and my dad is like, "who is the singer you are listening to?” and i am like "oh its the back street boys!!" :D and he's like " what the hell? bastard boys? what kind of horrible names do bands have these days! hmph!!'and I’m like "no no dad Back-STREET boys” and he's like "ohhh Battery boys, I see , now that makes more sense! 

Me: *facepalm*

Another time we were being a long lecture by my ninth grade English teacher about how we kids take it for granted that the “oldies” as she called it, did not know anything about the lastest in what was going on in the entertainment world. She said, “ of course I know what you kids listen to these days! I have young kids too you know, I know all about singers like BRITNEY HOUSTON AND WHITNEY SPEARS’…

Of course this upcoming incident really takes the cake:

A few days ago I out from my room to get a glass of water from the kitchen, I passed by the lounge where I saw my dad sitting watching tv very intently. I went to take a closer look and I saw ( in shock) that he was watching…. Twlight. I stood there frozen for a few seconds unable to move or to believe my eyes. I finally went up to him and asked

Me: Dad… WHAT are you watching

Dad: Oh I am watching THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Me: ( Now trying to keep a straight face, and continued innocently) Really? Is it any good? Whats the movie about?

Dad: Haan.. well its not bad… its ok let see. I don’t know what its about, there is something up with the pale white boy

Me: Really?

Dad; Yeah, I Guess we will find out later

Me: ( now being able to take it any longer) dad! He is a VAMPIRE

Dad: oh ho! Why did you tell me! You spoilt the whole movie! You told me the ending!

Me: hahah, abbu! That’s what the movie its supposed to be about, and its for teenagers not for you, please don’t watch it!!

Dad: why? Whats wrong with it?

Me: well you see this other guy? He’s a wearwolf! – and it’s about a teenage love triangle between them! ( a little surprised at myself at having that much knowledge about the story)

Dad: Really?

Me: Yeah now please don’t watch it! It's lame!

Dad: haha ok ok..

I went away back to my room and when I came back an hour later I saw Edward zooming across the screen in the air and my dad was STILL sitting there!

...I really don't know what else to say.

First Post

After weeks of struggling with blogger I think I have finally managed to create a blog without anyone's help that looks remotely decent. 

Ok, I have no idea what to write. I have blogged before but I never used my real name, nor told anyone about the fact that I did blog, but now I think it's the time to get a little bolder. Who cares if no one likes to read what I write, I will still go ahead with it, and if you do like what i write, well, that would be awesome.

Ok. umm * awkward silence* 

Hopefully see you all soon then, when I have something more to say :D