The Prime Minister and his Numb Nation

Once upon a time there was a country whose Prime Minister had to go to the Courts on charges of contempt of court. He thought to postpone the trip. But then suddenly decided that he will go. He lived next to the court house. All he had to do was get out of one building and get in the next one (almost). Had he walked, it would have taken him 15 min. But he decided he wanted to move on four wheels.

When he insisted on going in a car, several other cars had to be made ready. After all he was the Prime Minister and couldn't afford to be seen in public without his huge entourage of vehicles. Precious liquid was pumped in the vehicles so that they could make the "long" journey.

The path was pretty straight forward, just like a straight line. But covering that distance would have been without any commotion. This was once again against his high stature. How could this be that he was on the roads and there was no turmoil. To please "his highness", the authorities cooked up a delicious plan and excellently executed it too. They started blocking roads that were far away from the Prime Minister's actual path. Bottle-necks were created so that traffic could only trickle through. Compulsive behaviours and actions of frustrated drivers was inevitable. Still these road blocking measure were executed with full force.

Unsuspecting drivers slowly started getting trapped in the ocean of vehicles. There was not even any way to turn back to escape for the poor souls. Hues and cries of the people could not be heard but strongly felt. These seemed to be fuelling powers of the Prime Minister, making him feel good and stronger and not to mention "happier". His happiness could be spotted from miles away due to the 32 "white bulb" pearly smile plastered ALL OVER his face. *twinkle*

The Prime Minister also wanted some drama in the skies. For his pleasure the skies were studded with hoovering air crafts that continuously went round and round a round and round. *head spinning*

After getting so much fuel burnt as well as the hearts of the masses, the Prime Minister returned from the courts (this time smiling a little less) after taking a few days stay. The poor people remained badly trapped in traffic while the Prime Minister happily returned home, like a conqueror.

Even after many hours of the little "outing" of the Prime Minister, his people remained tortured, pestered and beaten. But this did not bother him one bit. He kept smiling and while smiling went to bed to have a good night's sleep; his conscience crystal clear.

That Prime Minister lived to rule the country for many years to come. Such episodes became a norm to which the people adapted really well. The people got used to this nuisance so much that they would feel "bored" if such an activity did not occur after every few days.

Due to such numbness of people, the Prime Minister thrived. Not only him but many of his coming generations lived happily ever after in the same country enjoying the same grandeur.

Moral: If you shut down your minds, you will turn numb. If you become numb, inflicted pain will not be felt. If pain is not felt, you will stay calm. If you stay calm, the rulers will conveniently continue sucking your blood and flourishing.

Another Moral: If you do not wish to be a delectable delight for the vampire-like, blood sucking leaders, PLEASE WAKE UP!

Annihilation of Footprints

All people that come into your life leave footprints all over. The stronger the bond with the person, the stronger would be the footprint. When any of those people play a bad role and act as villains, you need to eradicate their presence from your precious life. You can successfully achieve this as well. But it is a harsh reality that trying to eradicate their footprints is next to impossible. They diminish over time, but stay engraved on the delicate leaves of your life. You keep wishing for those specific leaves to fall off the tree, but in vain.

I wish there is some way to make the footprint engravings of the wonderful ones deeper. I wish there is some way to annihilate the footprints of the baddies.

How to Make the Alphabet Soup!

After the raging success of "Alphabet Soup" amongst the masses, the "chef" decided to let everybody in on the recipe. It is pretty easy to make and there is no chance of error. Do as follows:

1. Acquire a document with extension as ".doc". 

2. Open this document using "KWord". 

3. Do a "Save As" and save the document with a different name. 

4. Make sure the newly saved file has extension as ".odt". 

5. Close the file and re-open in "LibreOffice Writer". The text would look a bit widely spaced. Think that perhaps this re-created file is not compatible with this program. 

*Drum Roll*

6. Open the file (with .odt extention) again in KWord. 

Wallah! The scrumptious, visually appealing (you may chose to differ from this opinion *wink*) Alphabet Soup would be ready. Consume it at your own pace and enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you feel the need to pull out your hair, break the computer, bang your head against the wall or do anything outrageous after seeing the "soup", this blogger cannot be held responsible. :-P

Alphabet Soup

I heard of this term "Alphabet Soup" for the first time in Sesame Street, several years ago. It was referring to a "soup" that contained the English alphabet characters floating in a liquid. 

Some time ago i saw something that that instantly made me utter "alphabet soup". It was nothing like what i had seen in Sesame Street. The sight was a jumble of English alphabets and i couldn't help myself but label it as such. 

Here is what i saw: 

Alphabet Soup

Believe me it is a real genuine document that initially contained real genuine words of English. And then suddenly it underwent a "transformation". 

So do you also agree with me when i call it "alphabet soup"? Or would you rather call it a "flock of larks" or a "swarm of flies"? *giggles*

Happy Birthday Dear Quaid e Azam

Dear Muhammad Ali Jinnah, 

 We wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. However, we are sorry that we never actually considered you "Quaid e Azam", otherwise we would have adhered to every word you had said. We hope and pray that maybe some day Allah will bestow upon us all the necessary enlightenment. Only then we would be able to realise the meaning behind your words, and act upon them.

Yours truly,
Monazza Talha
Representative of the Nation of Pakistan

Inflation is Affecting Me: Anecdote of a Mobile Balance Recharge

Till some time ago, when I used to recharge my mobile balance with a scratch card of Rs. 300/-, a sensual female voice would announce that my credited amount is Rs. 285/-. Getting 15 rupees cut off just like that did use to make me feel bad but i was coping nicely; rather very nicely. 

Today when i was recharging my balance I noticed that the sensual voice providing instructions had changed. It was still the voice of a female but perhaps a different one. I didn't mind that at all. And why would I. But once the recharge process was finished and the lady announced my credited amount i was ENRAGED. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr! 

That announcement was no less than a bombshell for me. I was told that out of my precious, hard-earned, dear 300 rupees, i got only "Doo Soo Sain-taa-lees Rupay" (Rs. 247/-). WHAT! 53 rupees cut off JUST LIKE THAT! There has to be a limit to deducting money just like that! I am going mad just thinking about this recharge just like that! 

I tried to look this up on Google to see if there was some mistake. But alas, to my dismay, the deduction was correct. At least i think it was. I found an information page on my mobile phone service provider which listed the following taxes: 

• 5% service charges (on recharge face value)
• 19.5% FED 
• 10% Advance Income Tax apply on all charges
• 2% operational fee will be applicable on all recharges

I couldn't make head or tail of this tax list as i didn't know which taxes were cut during my recharge, but i sure am annoyed. I think this annoyance and rage will last till the next few recharges. And then perhaps i will get used to it; just the way i am getting used to the other brutal atrocities committed against me, the Pakistani Citizen, by the government.

Lunar Eclipse, December 2011

Lunar Eclipse, December 2011 Originally uploaded by Monazza Talha

There was a lunar eclipse on December 10, 2011. In addition to other parts of the world, it was fully visible in Pakistan as well. I witnessed it from the city of Rawalpindi. The moon looked really awesome.

It is a pretty common phenomenon i guess but i am always intrigued by it. I am always excited to spot and eclipse and even take pictures of it.

But one thing i always forget during an eclipse is to see it from beginning till end and keep taking pictures of the various stages. I am planning to do this during the next eclipse so that i can make a collage of all those moon pictures.

I wonder when "IS" the next lunar eclipse. Better go check the NASA calender. :-)

11-11-11 and a 21

Today is an interesting day since it bears an interesting date. The date is pretty palindrome-atic. 11 is the number in the spotlight. Today is the 11^th day of the 11 month of the 11^th year of the 21^st century! Wait a minute! Where did this 21 come from in the line of 11s? The date would have been more perfect when it came in the 11^th century. Guess the date is not perfectly palindrome-atic after all. *giggles* Nonetheless, it is an interesting date and we should enjoy its interestingness while it lasts.

I Live!

I was remembering of Mushoo from Mulan recently and also remembered his dialogue "I live!". As soon as i remembered this, i knew i had to post it. So here goes:

I LIVEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Yes i live and i am alive and very much present in this world. Was just absent from this blogging part of the World Wide Web. But once again thanks to all the die-hard readers who kept coming back to check up on me. Now the question is that for how long am i going to stay "alive" here before once again slipping into a "coma". *Ponders over the thought!*

Eid ul Fitr 2011

Just wanted to wish all visitors a happy Eid ul Fitr! May you all have lots of yummy "sawaiyyan" and get loads of "Eidee" too. I am wishing the same for myself as i am greedy for both food and money. *giggles*

May we all have a wonderful Eid! May we all be able to find the gratitude in our hearts for all the blessings Allah keeps bestowing upon us in abundance! Ameen.