Blogger beta added on blocked list…

Subscribing to blogger beta was the worst decision i’ve ever made in my life!! Not only am i going through all the teething problems associated with beta (which i had quite quietly), i’m almost being forced to change where i blog.

Never knew i’d actually feel pain quitting blogger.com. Its been my cocoon, my incubator… bringing me into the blogging world and making me feel all there is associated with it. (Even though my cousins say i have *yet* to get a life).

I dont know where i’ll be migrating just yet, though some options are wordpress.com, blogsome.com or getting my own server. I think i’ll opt for option three, but that would be after Eid at the earliest. (comments welcome).

As of now though, at least i’ve got one way of posting here… through http-tunnel.com. If you guys can use a separate browser, then install it, configure it, and use it to browse through the blogspot world. Its a great piece of software, quite transparent too, and lets you feel free. The only downside is.. the free version only gives 1.5 kbps of bandwidth….

Signing out now.. apologize in advance for prolly not being able to reply on comment (though i will try).

*crash*

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.

interrogation

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*

unplugged

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!

Sep 11

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)!

Its a strange/irritating feeling

when you cant post comments on your own blog :@

*blogger beta! Dont make me hate you*

w-t-f?

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

poisoned

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.

roasted

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!!

Late for office……..

This morning, i woke up at 8 went through the usual routines, got ready by 8:45 and was about to leave when i remembered i had to take my brother with me. Tried waking him up, but he wouldnt… so waited…. n waited..

n guess what!! he woke up 20 minutes later saying, “bhai, you go, i’ll take the bus!” (aarggghh!!)

so i grab the keys, go down to my car, put the keys in the ignition, turned it, and….

nothing! :S

WTF?!? did some initial diagnostics, and learned that the battery had died over the night! which was pretty weird since, nothing was left open!!

two days ago, the car battery had died as well, the lights were left on by my brother. It started a while later though, but the battery water had depleted quite a bit. I did ask him to refill it, but being my brother he didnt and i also forgot about it.

Now im in a fix.. its 11:30, im still at home, and the car wont start…