3rd to 2nd

Usually if someone says that they went from 3rd to 2nd, it would mean an ascent in the position. We went from 3rd to 2nd today. But that was no ascent. It might have been logically but not literally. Literally it was actually a descent. From 3rd floor to the 2nd. ;-)

Hurray we now have a bigger better office!

Help Me Get Rid of the Cough

About a week ago it was my sister whom i caught sneezing and lightly coughing. And then i found her gulping down tablets of what i call 'her wonder medicine' (it was Panadol CF). I made fun of her that how could she get the flu in this weather. I also held her carelessness responsible for this. I boasted of being all fit and fine.

Then after some days i found 'Pilot' complaining of the flu in the office. I jokingly fined her for getting sick at this time of the year. I also told her to be more careful and to take medicine to get better.

Now after a couple more days both my sister and Pilot are absolutely fine. No sneezes no coughs no nothing! And I am down with a bad case of soar throat. I am coughing my guts out which in turn is scratching my throat more and more. My voice is almost completely broken and I sound considerably different from the 'real' me. I am also trying out the wonder medicine, but seems it is not that wonderful after all, as it is having just a little effect on me.

It seems like some kind of magic that has gone wrong and turned upon me. I wonder why. I didn't make fun fun of anybody out of sarcasm. It was all out of love and 'laad'. I really didn't mean any harm. So if any one of the victims thinks they were hurt, then i am sorry. :-P Now please hurry up and forgive me so that i may get rid of this terrible cough.

Phenomenal Sitemeter Stats

When i reached office in the morning i did the same ritual i do every day. Turned on my PC, as soon as it was on i ran Firefox. Opened sitemeter.com in a tab, opened Yahoo Mail in another and Gmail in another. Then i logged in on my e-mail accounts and returned to the Sitemeter tab. When i did so i couldn't believe my eyes. Usually in the morning i see 4-5 hits on my blog. Sometimes 7-8 but rarely in double figures. But today the hits stats were phenominal. I saw 89 hits, and that was only 9:00 am in the morning.

I was completely baffled and didn't have a clue to as to how it could have happened. I am not a world famous person and i don't write extraordinary stuff. Then howcome my blog was an instant hit overnight and attracted so many visitors. I tried looking at details of my blog visitors. I checked randomly. I found only one thing common in all. They all were Blogger users and had been referred to my blog from the 'Navigation Bar' displayed at the top of all blogger blogs.

I wonder if i was a 'celebrity of the day' for a day or was my blog featured in 'Blogs of Note'. Better still, was my blog URL somehow stuck in the Navigation Bar code and didn't direct users to any other random blog but mine. :-D

This is still a mystery for me. I haven't figured it out yet. But seeing such amazing stats was truely breathtaking. I wish i may reach this level gradually on my own and get genuine readers for my blog.

Here is the screenshot of the Sitemeter screen showing the latest hits:

Phenomenal Sitemeter Stats

I think i will keep looking at this image for a number of days, just to feel the thrill again & again. The thrill that I felt on seeing a similar number today in the morning on my stats page. :-)

I wonder what tomorrow's stats hold for me. ;-) hehe

Why Am I Not Sleeping?

Its 2:00 am and i am wide awake, sitting in front of the computer screen, listening to Celine Dion's 'A New Day Has Come' for the nth time. Am i mad or what? Why am i not sleeping? I have a big day in the morning. A couple of training sessions and several tasks to take care of. Still i am keeping myself awake. I know i will have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. I have trouble with that in normal circumstances and this is slightly unusual. ;-)

I guess i will just have to forcefully shut the PC down and force myself to sleep. I don't want to have a disastrous, drowsy day ahead. I also don't want to bore you guys with my mindless chatter. So for the betterment of ALL i am submitting to my urge for a shut eye and resisting the temptation to play that Celine Dion song for (n+1)th time.

Good Night! Sweet Dream! Shab Bakhair!

Lovely Monday Storm - September 22, 2008

It was a nice day. Pleasant from the very earliest time in the morning. It was good to be in office just because of the weather. There was practically no sun. The sky was cloudy. It suddenly started getting darker. A sheet of dark coloured clouds capped the sky.

Black Cloudy Cap

It was a magnificent sight. It started to get windy and at the same time a drizzle was felt. The intensity of both the wind and the rain started increasing slowly. And then there was a sudden turn of events where the wind was strong and the rain was heavy. The combination of both presented a lovely sight to the onlookers. (But same cannot be said for the ones who were in direct range of this splatter.)

Cloud Filled Sky

The way the wind was pushing the rain and the way the water droplets were resisting was simply amazing. This little pushing and pulling was giving rise to a light shower that was kissing the nearby spectators. Feeling the tiny droplets on the face was an amazing experience.

It's Raining

We didn't want to leave that scene and go back to the confinement of the four walls. But duty called so we had to leave from there. After enjoying ourselves for a while with this breath taking view and weather, we moved with heavy steps, from the entrance of Green Trust Tower, towards the flight of stairs, that would take us to the third floor.

Late Sitting is Injurious to IT Professionals' Health (Read 'Life')

In the tragic blast in Marriott on Saturday, there were some deaths in the adjacent building of Evacuee Trust (also known as STP 2) as well. Those people lost their lives when the ceiling collapsed on them. They were no other than IT professionals, doing a late sitting in office. This is a sign for the big bosses of the iT industry. It is a clear indication of the following fact:

Late sittings are injurious to IT professionals' health (read 'Life'). ;-) hehe

Is Monazza home?

I live in Rawalpindi and many of my extended family members live either in Rawalpindi or Islamabad. Yesterday when there was news of the Marriott blasts, everybody was calling up everybody to see if all were OK. Everybody who called up my house, after asking about the general well being, asked one and the same question. That question was, 'Is Monazza home and OK?'. (Ya they used my nickname but the question was the same.)

And can anyone guess why was that so? Because Monazza is famous for working late hours and even on Saturdays & Sundays. Thanks to Monazza's boss, her fame has spread far and wide. I actually felt a bad at this reputation of mine. I think i need to do some damage control, if it will work. :-D

Marriott Blast - Vulnerable Security

Today our president, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, was supposed to address the nation at 3:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time. He did so too. Due to this event, security of the capital city was beefed up. I was not there but am sure that a lot more security personnel were roaming around and checking up people than usual. I also have a hunch that a lot of hurdles and barriers would have been put on roads, especially the ones leading into the city.

And yet the suicide bomber managed to sneak past the security. Not in a small car but a huge truck. The truck that was laden with explosive material. Did nobody notice or was he an insider? It is a huge mystery.

But this is making me think that is our security system so vulnerable and penetrable. Is it really so weak so as to allow infiltrations. What about the defense of our country? How vulnerable is that?

I better change the subject as scary questions are penetrating and infiltrating my mind!

Marriott Blast - Fire Fighting

It's been almost 3 hours since the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan is ablaze due to an explosion and the fire is still not under control. Vicious flames are eating up the building. It is not known how many human lives are stuck in the building behind the huge fiery columns. May Allah have mercy upon them!

One of the reasons that the fire is still uncontrolled is the inability of the fire trucks to throw water at it with full pressure. The pressure was so low at the beginning that it was not even reaching the 1st floor in the beginning but now the situation has improved a bit. It is a shame that we lose buildings to fire just because our fire fighting equipment is incapable of handling such situations. It is even more shameful and sad to lose precious lives in such incidents just because of lack of water pressure.

Our authorities should do either of the following. Equip our fire fighting teams with up to date gear to enable them to handle serious 'fire' situations, especially in multi-storey buildings. Or forbid construction of buildings that have any more floors than the 'ground floor'.

Marriott Blast - September 20, 2008

Today there was a blast in Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan. It happened around 8:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time. The has been reported that the explosion occurred when a truck, laden with 1000 Kg of explosive material, hit the gate of Marriott hotel. A 25 feet deep crater has said to have been made at the place of explosion.

It is about 2 and a half hours after that incident took place. 60 casualties have been reported so far. The building is still ablaze. The firefighters are trying to extinguish the flames but not succeeding too much. Army has been called for rescue operations. A state of emergency has been declared in the whole country.

An unfortunate and shocking event this has been. Extremely unfortunate indeed.

Blasphemous Blogger?

Just a little while ago i tried accessing Blogger using the following URL:

http://blogger.com

Look what i got as a result!

Blasphemous Blogger?

Then i tried it with the 'www' and i got in. I am speechless at this heinous act! Does anyone else have anything to say?

And i have not yet accessed my blog URL. I am wondering if they have done it yet again and blocked the 'blogspot' domain. I really hope they haven't! Let me check and see.

Birthday 2008

On September 13, 2008 i celebrated my birthday. It did not turn out to be a blast as i was expecting it to be, but it was ok. I got birthday wishes from all 4 members of my immediate family, and i was content with this handful. The rest of the wishes i received were like icing on my cake. Was glad to get them too. :-)

I had planned to do a lot of things on that day. And i wanted to do everything right. The reason for these plans was maybe to make myself believe that if things go right that day, the rest of the year would be the same. How superstitious of me! But then it was just a passing thought because i did not devote myself to do everything on my list. That day went by like any other ordinary day. And i felt like i do on any other ordinary day.

When i reflected back on my life that i have spent so far (as i do on every birthday), i once again could not see significant achievements. I am the kind of person who finds joy in small things and then i am the person who couldn't find even a tiny significant achievement in the past life. Instead, i found lots of mistakes, shortcomings and a couple of regrets. Not finding achievements is not so very good. But finding the bads has it's advantages. It can enable me to work on correcting my mistakes and to do damage control if at all possible.

Nobody is allowed to believe that i am an ungrateful person or that i am not thankful to Allah for all that i have got. I truly am. But maybe i have set my standards and aims a little bit too high. Maybe i need to learn to aim for less & achieve it than to aim for high & achieve only a part of it.

One thing i realize with each passing year is that time stops for nobody and keeps going on and on. Reflecting on the past is useful to some extent but "now" is the time to live in. As Master Oogway rightly said to Po in Kung Fu Panda:

Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift
That is why it is called 'present'

I hope to keep this in mind and live my life accordingly from now on. Happy Birthday to me once again! May i have a wonderful life ahead! May Allah shower His blessings on me (and you all too) always! :-)

Yummy Doodh Jalaibee

I know i will be making your mouths water by telling you that i am having "doodh jalaibee" right now. The doodh jalaibee made with the real orange jalaibee (not that dim coloured Garato). I am having this after a really long time and loving every morsel of it. We can't thank Allah enough for all the eatable goodies he has bestowed upon us. May this continuous supply remain intact. :-D

I am now going to finish off my doodh jalaibee bowl. Hope you guys get to have it (and enjoy it) soon too.

7th Anniversary of 9/11

Yesterday on September 11, 2008, it was the anniversary of another incident which is most popularly known as 9/11 (read nine eleven). The original incident took place in 2001 when the twin towers of World Trade Center were hit by two airplanes and the buildings collapsed to the ground. Several people were killed in the incident.

Who did that and why was it done is still a mystery. Americans believe those were 'Al Quaida' people, and due to this, hold the whole Muslim community responsible for it. There is one theory that it was a Jewish conspiracy. Some say it was done by outsiders (non US people) while some say that it was an inside job.

This incident changed many lives, the way we can never even imagine. It had many repercussions. The most deadly of them all, in my opinion, is the act of USA to go on a killing spree while legitimizing it in the name of war on terror. The victims of this are Muslims.

I do not know if the things have become any better (all i can see is these getting worse) but i guess that it is high time that innocents are set free from the suffering. They should no longer have to pay for the crimes they never committed. What happened on 9/11 2008 was indeed a sad incident. But can the people and government (and the soon to be elected government) of that "grief stricken" country assure the world, especially the Muslims, that things are any better at this point in time?

Quaid e Azam's 60th Death Anniversary (September 11, 2008)

Yesterday was the 60th dead anniversary of our beloved Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. I had completely forgotten about it. I only realized when i had a glimpse of the main page of the newspaper. Thank God that our newspapers still mark the day by posting news item related to such anniversaries. Otherwise, people like me would remain uninformed on such days.

It is a pity though that such things should slip our minds. Some people would say that it is important to remember the teachings of a great leader instead of remembering his/her birth or death anniversary. While this holds true, it is also true that in this busy age such days provide us with the necessary motivation and inspiration. We may not forget the teachings and sayings throughout the year, but these days only refresh things in our minds.

Once again i am making no resolutions but would really like my mind to work with me and help me remember memorable dates, whether those are birthdays of friends & family or anniversaries like this.

Kitty on a Hot Afternoon #2

I spotted the same cat again one recent afternoon that i had seen some time ago. This time it was lazing under my car to beat the scorching sun. Take a look!

Kitty Under Car

I once again couldn't resist myself from taking a picture. (I know it's a bad picture but as i said i couldn't resist.) So i took out my mobile phone and took a shot at the cat. The cat was wide awake and looking at me. Luckily, it didn't move away and let me finish my errand. When i unlocked my car and sat inside, i actually felt sorry for the kitty that had to move in the hot sun to a different haven.

Pakistan Got a Brand New President - 11th in Line

On September 06, 2008, presidential elections were held in Pakistan. The results were same as speculated as well as feared earlier. We got a brand new president in form of Mr Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of late ex-prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. He is the 11th elected president of Pakistan, disregarding the temporary ones.

First we were suffering at the hands of dictatorship. Now it is feared we will suffer more at the hands of democracy (so called). It is not known what the future holds in store for us and it may never be known.

All i can say at this point in time is that may Allah save us all!

Earthquakes - Reminder of the Past

This earthquake on Saturday reminded me of a similar much severe and deadly one that occurred in the year 2005. The month was same and the day was same too. Only the date was different, that was October 08, 2005. It was Ramzan then as is now. But this one was merely 5.6 in magnitude while that one was 7.6. This one was not deadly at all, while that previous one claimed around 80,000 lives all over.

That was a Saturday too when i had come to office to finish off some pending work. And this time again i found myself in the same setting. It's strange how history repeats itself. But thank God it changes the parameters every time.

Earthquakes - September 2008

On Friday morning (September 05, 2008) around 11:00, there was an earthquake in Islamabad. I was in my office, sitting on my seat. Suddenly i felt a judder and i instantly uttered 'zalzala' (earthquake in Urdu). My eyes met a couple of my colleagues' who confirmed my suspicions. The earthquake lasted for a few seconds and no more jolts were felt after that. That earthquake had originated in the Hindu Kush range in Afghanistan and was felt in Peshawar, Abbotabad, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It was 5.3 in magnitude.

On Saturday morning (September 06, 2008) again around 11:00 there was another earthquake. This was a notch greater than the one we had had the previous day and lasted longer too. First there was a major jolt followed by several smaller tremors. On Friday we had stayed in our seats during the earthquake but on Saturday we moved out of the building. The epicenter was again in the Hindu Kush range in Afghanistan. The magnitude was 5.6.

Thank God both were harmless earthquakes. There was no news of any building/house collapsing or of any human casualties. May Allah keep us safe from such natural calamities.

Kitty On a Hot Afternoon #1

On a hot afternoon a couple of days ago, i found this kitty, happily sleeping, trying to beat the heat in the shades.

Sleeping Kitty

But then as soon as i finished taking one shot, it sensed the disturbance. Thus I became a reason to wake it from its deep slumber. It woke up and stared at me, half angrily and half annoyed, that why in the world did i have to be a cause of disturbance. I had no words to reply. I had indeed troubled a poor old cat.

Once Sleeping, Now Annoyed Kitty

First Roza 2008

The first roza went well for me. Though it was not without little setbacks and hardships. But every action was followed by a little good as well.

The first thing that happened was the broken down car. It didn't even start on ignition. We had to take the taxi. But we found it quickly and the driver took us to destination on time. So the net effect was good (i think).

Then my boss told me that even though he is satisfied with my work, he is not quite so with my attitude. According to him i was not showing the required amount of enthusiasm in my work. And he did not appreciate it. I told him my problems and reasons why my energy levels were a few notches down. He listened and promised some good things. So that turned out good as well. Though i still need to work on my energy levels in order to get a good boost.

Another setback was related to an online gift order that was not getting through to the destination. I called up the support personnel and they told me that somehow the address they have was incomplete so that is why the order could not be delivered. Listening to this gave me a long face. But there was hope that i could contact them again and get the address corrected. So that ended well too. Now i am in process to get that address fixed. Wish me luck!

One 'bad' thing for which i could not get the neutralizing 'good' was the news of demise of a friend's father. He was sick for quite some time but everybody was hopeful for a full recovery. But today i got the news that he passed away. I felt sad as well as completely helpless because i couldn't be with my friend right away to console her or to provide support. May Allah rest her father's soul in peace.

There were some more episodes. But i guess that's all i have energy for right now. I am off to bed so that i am able to get up on sehri and also keep my eyes open throughout the meal. ;-)

Happy Ramzan 2008

Woo Hoo! The blessed month of Ramzan has started. I tried hard looking for the moon (1st day crescent) but did not succeed. I had lost all hope that Tuesday would be the start of this month. But soon i got the happy news. That was quick of our Rooat e Hilal committee to take a decision and announce the start of this month almost after Maghrib.

I was on my way home when i got the news. Right after hearing this, i started off with texting Ramzan wishes to my pals. Thank God i was in the back seat or my Father would have scolded me ;-) He is already getting annoyed at the tones that ring when i get text replies. hehe

These would be the longest rozas for me ever (so far). Hope i can cope well. Better go to bed as i dont want to miss my sehri on the first roza.

Happy Ramzan to you all! :-)