Pretty Roses

I have been taking pictures of roses off and on. Thought since i have not been adding any 'words' to this blog of mine lately, i better add some visuals. Take a look and tell me if you think the roses are pretty:

The Pink Twins - A Snail's Resting Place
(Look closely between the petals of the one on the right.)

A Not-So-Perfect Rose - Still Looking Lovely

5000 Hits!

I was delighted today when my visit to my blog increased the hit count to 5000. Woo hoo! :-D


PS: I wanted the total page views to be 10,000 too but no worries if the number is not of my choice right now. It is getting there. ;-)

Gakhar Plaza: Through The Eyes of a Camera

The last time i saw Gakhar Plaza, after it burnt down, it was about a month ago. That time half of the building has collapsed but the other burnt half was still standing tall. Here is how it looked like:

Gakhar Plaza - From Afar

Gakhar Plaza - A Closeup

Now i have heard that the whole building has been demolished. I have not seen the new sight yet but would like to do so in near future.

Gakhar Plaza: The Falling Building

The next day we heard that Ghakhar Plaza building has collapsed. The news channels were also airing videos of the collapse of a part of the building. The sight was sad indeed. After been standing there for so many years, catering to the needs of so many shopkeepers along with the customers' and bringing joy to many people the building met a sad fate. It fell to the ground.

Filler: Shocking Stats!

It is really shocking that i haven't

- blogged on 'Meree Kahani' for 18 days
- blogged on 'Islamabad Metblog' for 34 days
- blogged on ICMMI for 63 days
- twittered for 111 days

What kind of a net animal am i? I am not happy with these stats at all. I need to take strict measures in order to get back in the groove. Am on it already, i guess. :-D

PS: I wonder how many more times would i miss the 'tide' and get out of the 'loop'. I wonder how many more times would i need amends to get back.

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. :-)