Gakhar Plaza: Plan of Visiting Saddar

I did hear the news of Gakhar Plaza burning, but didn't remain glued to the idiot box the whole day. I had to go out to take care of some errands with my mother and sister. So we got ready and went out for our necessary shopping. The initial plan was to go to Islamabad and then to Saddar. We still had plans to go to Saddar that day too, in spite of the fact that Gakhar Plaza was on fire. We were hoping that the fire would be controlled and things would not get out of hand.

First we went to Super Market, Islamabad to get some stuff. Then late afternoon we returned from there. We used Murree Road (yes i know it is now called Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road but can't seem to call it that, at least not yet) to get into Pindi as that would have been the shorter route to Saddar. As we approached Saddar we saw a couple of ambulances coming from that direction. We instantly thought that those must have been coming from the fire incident place. We prayed that people carried by the ambulances would be fine after a little treatment at the hospital. But this sight could still not budge our intention of going to Saddar. We kept going forward.

We forcibly moved ahead slowly as there was a lot of traffic on the road. Still adamant to get to Saddar we kept moving. Only when we reached near KFC and saw the sea of cars on the other side of the road (and on our side of the road too) that we changed our plans. From Ministry of Defense building we moved left and headed home.

And thank God that we did not attempt to get into Saddar or it would have surely been a disaster for us.

Gakhar Plaza: The Plaza on Fire

I heard it only on Saturday morning but Gakhar Plaza was on fire since the previous night on Friday. The news channels said that one of the shops caught fire due to short circuiting and from there the fire spread. The fire brigades were there, trying to extinguish the fire, but their efforts were not paying off much. The fire was continuously spreading.

At that time i was thinking that why are these fire brigades not able to extinguish the fire. The Gakhar plaza was not even as tall as Mariott (the hotel that recently got burned down in Islamabad). It only had around 5 floors. Then why was the water not reaching the burning areas? The fire men were trying their best, but then why were they not successfull?

I kept wondering and waiting for more news to show up on news channels.

PS: I thanked God that no casualties were reported till that time.

Holiday! Rejuvenate!

Took two days leave from work, Wednesday and Thursday. It seemed like an act of rebellion so i gladly went ahead with it. ;-) Doing something for oneself is always refreshing and pleasing. I didn't do anything fruitful or positive during these two days (though i did have to do my laundry, and still didn't do it). Just relaxed (yes i traveled but it was stress-less). Rejuvenated i returned to work only to have another pair of holidays coming my way (that is the weekend). Woo hoo! :-D

I sometimes do miss the school/college days just because of the holidays. I think everybody should take a break from work from time to time to have relaxing days off. I really believe this:

Doing holiday does rejuvenate!

;-)

To Lahore & Back

Went to Lahore Tuesday night and returned back within 24 hours. Suffered 10 hours of inter-city travel on the motorway. Had to bear the heat of Lahore. Roamed aimlessly in Ichra and then Liberty. Unwillingly gulped down a Subway sandwich.

But you know what! It was all fun! I am all set to do it once again and soon. ;-)

December 09: International Anti Corruption Day

On Eid day i came to know that such a day as 'International Anti Corruption Day' is also observed. And it is observed on December 09 of every year. I came to know of this through the banners that were put on Islamabad Highway from Faizabad till Zero Point.

While going towards Islamabad, on seeing these banners, i at once tried to take a picture. I failed. Then on my way back i tried again. Still failed to take a picture from the moving car. Since the highway was almost empty, my sister suggested to stop the car, turn on the indicators, and then take a picture. So i took her advice. But just as i was about to shoot, i saw a fast moving vehicle approaching me from behind. I made it quick, hit the button to take the picture and hurried forward.

I thought that in my haste i would have succeeded in blurring the picture. But turned out that the picture was absolutely fine. *Phew* My endeavours paid off and i got a picture of the banner. As soon as i got home, i put the picture up on Islamabad Metblogs. (Felt like a real journalist at that time.)

Note: I am hoping that we are not just busy in putting up anti corruption banners, taking their pictures and discussing this on different forums but are also doing something for its eradication. It is a hard thing to do, as the disease has spread far and wide. But we can't give up on it without trying. I can start with my own self. I believe that if everyone does that then it will be a big little step towards erasing corruption from our country. May Allah give us strength and patience to go the whole way. :-)

Eid ul Azha 2008: Eid Day

Today was Eid ul Azha. It was a holiday from work but otherwise a really busy day. It started off with my waking up and having 'dodh savayyan' in the breakfast. Then we all got ready to go to my grandmother's place. When we reached there, the goats were already slaughtered and the butcher was making final pieces out of the meat. This was a setback for me as i had missed seeing the whole 'qurbani' activity that i had been doing all my life. I did manage to capture one of the 'siri' (goat's head) on my camera.

After that it was a hopping ride from one relatives' place to another's. We hopped three times, had goodies to eat there apart from the regular chit chat, and then headed back to my grandmother's house. There after having dinner i felt so sleepy that i dosed off on the bed, wrapped in my father's shawl. Thank God the shawl was warm, otherwise i would have turned into an icicle. ;-)

I was waken up 20 minutes later to tell me that it was time to leave. I jumped out of bed and tried opening my eyes. Only when i succeeded, i moved towards the car to drive it. On our way back we stopped over at an Aunt's place.

with my mother. I got my sister in the passenger seat and sped towards the From there we set out to reach home. My father left the place a couple of minutes earlier, alongdestination. Without realising it much, i got into a race with my dad. :-D hehe Going here, zig-zaging there and finding my way through the little river of vehicles, i reached home first. And my dad didn't even try to win. I wonder if he had tried, would that have been a tough competition.

I relaxed for a while and played a bit on the Internet. While i was doing do my eldest Aunt arrived with her family. They stayed for a while and left. After that we also got ready to reach my Uncle's place for dinner. It was as usual fun to have almost the whole extended family together under one roof.

Food was great. The company was good too. And i also got the desired motivation from my guitarist cousin to do the same. I just wish the motivation lasts a long time.

Now we are home. I am in front of the PC. I am dead tired and sleepy but i had to turn on the PC and "login". So i did that. Now i guess i better run off before my sleepy head bangs on the keyboard.

Hope you all had a great Eid day too. May you see many more fulfilling, wonderful and blessed Eids. :-)

Eid ul Azha 2008

Today was Eid day. Eid ul Azha. The Eid which is not about eidee but about 'qurbani' of animals. It is little about bangles & mehandi. It is more about the even distribution of the meat shares to the needy. It is not about 'killing' animals but it is about the great act of sacrifice that is being performed in the background.

It is about caring for the not-so-fortunate-financially family members and the poor. It is about unity and about sharing. It is about self sacrifice. It is about following a Sunnah of the great prophets, Hazrat Ibraheem (AS) and Mohammad (SAWW). It is about bowing ones's head down to the will & order of Allah.

I feel among the fortunate ones that were alive to participate in this glorious act of exaltation.

Stressed Out!

These days i am really really REALLY stressed out. There is a lot going on. Lots of work in office. Lots of 'fighting' going on with the boss. Lots of things bugging me. Lots of tasks assigned to myself at home too that i am unable to complete. Lots of boredom. Lots of everything not-so-good. All of this leads to mood swings, rash behaviors and pangs of extreme rage. This also leads to de-motivation in several things in my life. My "sunshines" help and do cheer me up but i want a solution to all this. I am disoriented these days and can't seem to figure where to start and how to begin knocking out the stress factors. I don't like this feeling and want to be rid of this as soon as possible.

I just made up my mind on run-time. I am not going to pick and choose the stress causing factors to start making amends to get rid of them. I am just going to pick up a gun and start shooting at whatever comes in my way. *shoot shoot zap shoot kapow zap zap* I can already feel the stress levels descending. >:-) heh heh heee

Please Stay Forever, You Are My Sunshine!

There come times in your life when you feel really blue. The times when you are sad with tears bucketing up behind your eyes. The times when you are trying hard to remain as normal and strong as possible in front of the world, but inside you are hurting and breaking. You feel like cutting off from the whole world and packing yourself in an out-of-reach cocoon. You even shed a tear or two while keeping things hidden from the rest.

In times like these there are some people who act like rain drops in the dessert sun. They are the sunshine in rainy days and rays of hope in days of despair. A look at them would start making your day better. And getting a chance to talk to them would result in a complete transformation. All of a sudden your heavy heart would start feeling light, your mood would turn better, tears would evaporate as if they never existed and the inverted curve of the lips would become upright.

I am so thankful to Allah that He has given me such people who make my day and even make it better. They successfully cheer me up whenever i need cheering up and make me feel good about my life. I am not going to thank them for their 'services' because they are my pals and i own them. :-) They bring 'Technicolor' to my life, without which things would just have remained grey.

I would just like to say to them, "It's so good to have you around." I should perhaps call out and say to them, "Please stay forever and ever as you are my sunshine!" :-)

This post is dedicated to my dearest pals. :-)

COD 4 Song

I have spent nearly 2 hours, trying to find one of the songs that plays at during the credits of COD 4 but have failed. Can anyone help me with that? :-P Does anyone even know what COD 4 is or is it so that all of you are thinking of 'cod fish' or 'cod liver oil'? ;-) hehe

Anyone?

Here's one empty billboard. Anyone wants to advertise anything?
Here's one clean slate. Anyone wants to write anything?
Here's one big elevated space. Anyone wants to express anything?
Here's a huge canvas in the sky. Anyone wants to paint anything?

Empty Billboard

Pockets & Pockets

The dress that i wear everyday is shalwar qameez. And when this dress is for a female that doesn't have any pockets. Men's shalwar qameez dress has at least two pockets in the shirt. I always envy them that they have pockets on them to keep stuff in.

Today i was not wearing shalwar qameez. I was wearing my jeans. Not only this but i was wearing my denim jacket as well. Now the combination of both made my hands full with pockets. There was an abundance of pockets everywhere (on me *giggles*). Many were in my jeans many in my jacket. There were so many pockets that i was overwhelmed to have them all. I guess having all these pockets on me in one day, really quenched my thirst for wanting one every day, in an instant.

Note: Out of the zillion pockets that i had, only one contained something worthwhile. It contained a yummy Ding Dong bubble. Woo Hoo! ;-)

Disclaimer: I am not responsible if after reading this post you become obsessed with pockets, see/hear/smell pockets, want to check your pockets, feel like pickpocketing and even think yourself to be a 'packet in a pocket'. ;-)