Realm of the Soul

Khalil Gibran - Pity the Nation

2011-06-20T11:41:00.001+05:00

I wish i didn't sit here and nod my head in assent when reading the below but the parallels to our crippled nation are too vivid to ignore. Its paralying to the common people who feel powerless to stop the continuous degeneration of the only place we can call home. May Allah have mercy on our souls and rid us of the adversity that is upon us. Pity The Nation Khalil Gibran Pity the nation

speech

2011-06-07T13:41:00.001+05:00

i cant write anymore with my hands. they start to hurt.the other day i missed a step on the living room stairs and fell on my knee. Allah saved us. my eyes feel fuzzy. my minds so far ok. i feel like i have something to say but i'm lost for words. speechless. why? i dont know!its been a while now living with this feeling. i was psychoanalyzing and i realized that its probably because i am just

Hello GemWorld :)

2011-04-14T12:49:00.001+05:00

Its been long. Lets just say that and move on without any apologies. Its cloudy. Life is relative. Slightly tiring but there is excitement in silly things. Like sofas and curatins. Manageable. Feel like a part of the rat race sometimes and sometimes supremely disconnected. Old age and aches & pains :) May Allah bless and keep in his protection *********************************************

Its been a long time

2010-10-19T11:40:00.001+05:00

Its been a long time. I havent written anything much for a while now. I think it has to do with the fact that I’m not reading much. When you are not exposed to any channels of inspiration, you lose the ability to express much as well. My core inflow of communication is the Disney Channel. Before you think that I have been reduced to watching the Disney channel due to my offspring’s

29th July 2010 - Thursday

2010-07-29T13:32:00.000+05:00

29th July 2010 - Thursday Today is an awfully sad day in the life of my family. My Munni baji (cousin/popho/chachi) passed away yesterday in the ill fated air blue plane crash on the Margalla Hills. The plane was flying where it had no business to be flying and the end result was the death of 152 passengers and crew. I landed yesterday in Karachi after our plane landed on its second attempt

rainy days & pakoras n chat n puri bhaji n doodh patti

2010-03-02T16:04:00.009+05:00

today was am-ma-zing. it was raining all over the place and for lunch we got inspired to go find some aaloo pakoras anywhere we could find them. lo and behold someone thought of this nimco styled chaat place in old Dubai and off we went. so we got to the famous chowpati and i was like i want everything on the menu :) and between two people we ordered a plate of mix pakoras that had

Abu

2009-10-22T14:57:00.001+06:00

I will never ever stop thinking about him. I will never forget. I miss him today as much as I did three years ago. I had a flash back yesterday night where I relived everything in the last 4 days down to watching him take his last breath. I will never ever forget. Allah has blessed us a thousand times over. May he grant us a place in heaven with Abu. **********************************************

Reminiscences – Thank you GemWorld

2009-09-29T19:24:00.001+06:00

I was going through my old blogs and I got to Tuesday, March 16, 2004 (Blog... thy will be done... http://gemworld.blogspot.com/2004_03_01_archive.html) to the part where I am talking about how my nana taught me to ride a bike in Lahore "

Say Goodbye - 20th Dec 2003

2009-09-29T11:08:00.001+06:00

Say good-bye to not knowing whenThe truth in my whole life beganSay good-bye to not knowing how to cryYou taught me that… (Madonna.. I'll remember) Its ironic. The way the powers that be seem to give in abundance in the normal everyday run-of-the-mill aspects of life, but when you place undue importance on something,

Birthdays and bashes

2009-09-15T13:12:00.003+06:00

:) at the ripe old age of what I have turned today … sigh.. I will eventually get around to saying it out loud but for now I will refrain.. it leaves a lot to look to forward as against earlier expectations. When I was younger the milestones were different. When I was 5, 1st grade was a big deal. When I was in 3rd grade,

Belhasa - May 23rd 09 - Old Blog

2009-08-03T13:01:00.001+06:00

Forgot to post this one. Wrote it on the phone and it kinda got left there..__________________________________________________May 23rd 2009 - Belhasa Driving SchoolSitting at the driving school. Just had my assessment and against all odds actually passed. Road test next milestone. Allah khair karey. had a double whammy in terms of diet plan. 1st had an omelette cheese veggie sandwich with tea (

Reminders of Home

2009-07-27T16:55:00.002+06:00

So I went to Beirut. It was nice. It reminded me of Karachi. I have a feeling after a while everyplace reminds one of home. Its an interesting phenomenon.. seeking out the familiar.. the memorable.. in everything and everyone around us.The first thing you notice about someone are any similarities they may have to someone else. I’m generally trying to match each new face to which Hollywood actor

Sandwiches & Tea

2009-06-24T13:32:00.002+06:00

i just took a few pictures from my phone camera and they're not bad. the Belhasa Driving School Cafeteria i mentioned in Realm of the Desert with the empty plate and cup signifiying the only remains of my 6 dirham sandwich and tea combo. i was just telling my cubicle mate at work about the delicious toasted egg n cheese omelette sandwich with fresh coleslaw and frenchfries INSIDE the sandwich :)

a late blog

2009-06-22T16:16:00.001+06:00

i wrote the below blog last week. Then Allah mian sent me lots of blessings. so there i was feeling all alone. and sad and forgotten. and then me fwiend anie called me up and said lets do a girls morning out.. movie and breakfast. and my hungry little tummy jumped for joy.. :) so saturday morning bright n early at 10:30am amidst protesting husbands we set out on our girls only outing

a morning walk

2009-06-19T09:23:00.001+06:00

its funny. i remember writing an essay on the same topic in 10th grade. :) so i got up at 5:50am in the morning and decided to go for a walk. For a change, i decided to go to the big lake. it was looking pretty. the sun was just rising over the horizon. it hadnt gotten hot yet. i started walking keeping my pace slow so i could enjoy the experience. tried catching the grassy aroma of fresh

another day another cookie

2009-05-13T12:36:00.001+06:00

i had one cup of tea and i saw cookies being taken into another room. i wanted cookies. i didnt get those cookies (nice cadbury ones). i did however get a shortcake cookie from a good samaritan. so now im happy. ******************************************************************************************** Fariha's Thoughts of the Day: GoogleName: Fariha GemWorld Blogspot: http://

Realm of the Desert

2009-05-11T08:23:00.001+06:00

I feel the urge to blog again. But i am undecided whether the expression should be limited to GemWorld or should there be a parallel expression on facebook. I don't use facebook that much. I had actually stopped feeling alienated in life after my daughter was born and so lost my urge to expel my emotions through another medium, but ever since arriving in the maelstrom of this desert, i have felt

Twilight & Other stuff

2009-01-14T11:00:00.001+05:00

ive lost my ability to express myself. i think. i used to be quite coherent. i think i should go back to the paper and pen diary so i feel more secure in my self expression. its funny how we all want to be heard and recognized and yet still keep so much of ourselves to ourselves. the fine line is easily blurred. so i catch up on the trends albiet a little late :) i watched Twilight. it was

shoot me now

2008-08-07T20:23:00.001+06:00

I mean it. seriously lol :) just going to meet my lil fwiend sally at the hut :) am soo excited. its been ages. man. i really need to get my act together and start taking care of myself and my family n friends. if you exhaust yourself emotionally and physically things start looking really sad and dreary. but then you always have food:) cheerios Princess of the GemWorld *****************

sweet sweet rain

2008-07-31T17:47:00.003+06:00

Well here I am in cloudy Lahore. Not that Karachi was bad. It was also beautifully cloudy and lovely. Fun fun. Not so much for the people whose homes are on streets that got flooded but otherwise fun fun. Love a good rain. Most people don't. Anyway my wee widdle fwiend fati came back from Singapore and I got too see her and she got to meet raiyna and fais and we had a chocolate volcano at Kahva

caramel machiatos

2008-07-14T16:47:00.004+06:00

I am struggling. Within myself and without. I am struggling to find the peace. The peace I think I once had. I cant even remember what it felt like. My hands feel dry. All the time. The keyboard seems surprisingly soft and clicky. I have too much to think of yet my mind is comfortably numb. This because my daughter was

nano

2008-06-23T02:00:00.003+06:00

life is sad sometimes. the lights about to go any minute. my hubbys sleeping downstairs and my daughters sleeping upstairs.. my nano passed away on the 31st of May. my baby turned one on the 28th and nano passed away 3 days later. she was fine when i left. then she slipped and fractured her hip. the surgery was very well done but then they gave her a pain killer which reacted with her, her blood

a history of my blog

2008-04-13T13:03:00.001+05:00

i was depressed the other day and i went googling my name on the web... i do that to give my existence some substance every now and then.. while i know my "google name" is "fariha gemworld".. but sometimes i just like seeing what else is out there and just google "fariha".. so i came across farsQuest which is another fariha and she was talking about her fathers bday on april 1st. i think all

in remembrance of my father

2008-04-11T18:06:00.001+05:00

today is april 11th.. 2 years to the day my father passed away on 12 rabiulawwal in 2006.. it had been a quiet day. i'd gotten to the LNH hospital room where he had insisted on spending the night at around noon.. the night before he had been instructing the attendant chap on how to clean the air conditioning filter to optimize electricity usage. khala & johnny mamu & shahid mamu had just

resolutions

2008-03-24T21:53:00.001+05:00

Todays the 23rd of March Pakistan resolution day. It feels like a good day. Lazy Sunday. Except I have strat plan to work on. I've done the thinking and made the drafts, now its time for the re-drafting and the data to start talking.

sunny side up

2008-03-10T16:14:00.001+05:00

My dad always used to say "work never ends, you have to have the self discipline to put it aside for the day and focus on your family". he was right. no matter how much you do.. it NEVER ends.. i can make calls and send emails from morn till night and even into the middle of the night (which i have done) but it still

fascination

2008-03-09T00:34:00.000+05:00

ive always loved talking to myself. i guess thats what this blog is now.. my dialogue with myself.. no one else comes here anymore.. they all gave up on me and moved on long ago.. so now its just me and my semi-headache.. i dont know why i have this headache. i slept in the afternoon. and i thought it was a great bit of sleep. expecially since i was very very sleepy after having stuffed my self

legacy

2007-05-17T01:25:00.001+05:00

ok so im opinionated. i know what i want sometimes. i have my dreams and i imaginethings to happen in a certain way. that certain way spells happiness for me. wheni face impediments in the way, especially unexpected ones, it disturbs me.. shakes upmy dreams and makes me unhappy.im not a happy person when im unhappy. its an un-natural state for me. converselyits the only state in which i feel like

AC's in Office

2007-02-22T11:38:00.001+05:00

Our Lahore office is HOT. i mean you start walking around and i atleast start sweating. And this without any heating being on.. Me n Emkay have started turning on the AC in our glass box to keep from melting away into mush. sigh sigh... then it gets too cold.. and the vent is right on top of my half of the glass box so guess who gets the brunt of the cold north wind.. i've been

2007-01-31T14:47:00.000+05:00

I want to do nothing. i want to be a nothing. i want to cease to exist as an entity that requires food and nourishment or has responsibilities. I want to be free of any sense of urgency, or stress. i want to do nothing. i want to just live... and die. i want to go to heaven in the end. i dont think thats an unreasonable request. If i do nothing, i cant do

cold days and hot showers

2007-01-12T16:20:00.000+05:00

KHi is fine. in my estimation its still cold. im trying to be regular in my aerobic classes. run into soofia there sometimes. it'll take me atleast 10 years before i can even dream of being that fit. i keep looking forward to piping hot water in the shower. when i go to LHR i usually loose all interest in showering at all. too damn cold. its a good thing most of trips one day trips. ive been

it's all good

2006-12-23T14:01:00.000+05:00

Dear all... :) Life's good. you know i finally feel it. after a whole lot of winters, of being filled with a feeling of dreadful anticipation on whatever front was open at that point in life, this winter was surprisingly sublime and well relatively peaceful. This entire week was chock full of weddings. First my hubby's best friend and then mine. so it was glorious popping out all of my

Travel & Cheerios

2006-11-25T12:32:00.000+05:00

Just landed in the US. Johannesburg was pretty. All green green with sloping landscapes, slightly dull blue skies.. a couple of days were overcast but natures vibrations could be clearly felt throughout the land from the elephants on the open range to the earth worms on my bathtub. Yes, i also have no clue how they got there. But it was a once in a lifetime experience and i am thankful to

Life sucks..

2006-11-10T18:03:00.000+05:00

i seem to be stuck in delirium.. i feel kinda nauseous all the time.. i dont know if its because im sick of life.. cause im not... i just think i need to exercise. seriously. except i dont qualify for a club membership yet... life sucks.. i feel like a chicken, graded and de-graded.. there are so many little things in life which can sneak up on you and make you feel silly.. like everything...

Eid time

2006-11-01T00:17:00.000+05:00

Eid time... 25th October 2006-----------------------------------its eid time. we're not celebrating. but i still asked ami to make qeema sawaiyan.. i like those.. i eat them allll day... :).. Uzmchi, shahcha, hamid and sidra are here for eid.. its going to be so great having them here. it gives everyone an excuse to get together every day cause we have visitors from afar... like the olden days

lost for words

2006-10-02T01:14:00.000+05:00

i have been at a loss for words for many many days now.. i dont think theres anyone left who really cares.. frankly our lives have become so busy that no one has time to think of anyone but themselves anymore anyway.. so its not surprising.. orkut.. the new breeding grounds of human contact... i know how much we crave human contact... whenever i go to Lahore, my colleagues have to stuff

silence

2006-09-24T22:29:00.000+05:00

silence... in my soul. my advertising agency just told me that two dots at the end of a sentence dont mean anything. its either one or three. u learn something new everything day. ive been silent for a long time. was too busy to be able to say anything. once u start typing u cant go back to writing in a copy coz u know eventually u'llhave to type it. thats enuff to take the joy out of it. ive

google happy

2006-08-18T15:32:00.000+05:00

on an extremely solid ego trip, i decided to go googling myself to see what cropped up.. so i tried fariha shah... the two things related to me were my old press releases on the Philips website and the following article i had written for NetXpress many years ago on the proliferation of technology in our lives.. Technology Sucks and basically thats it.. i tried "realm of the soul"i tried

FLOODED

2006-08-18T10:46:00.000+05:00

ok i wrote this like three weeks ago. and now its three weeks later.. but basically the story sounds the same.. 1st Aug 2006 - Tuesday______________________ hello world.. i am me. Today karachi is flooded. actually its started getting flooded from saturday onwards.. which is around the time i left the country... and the two days i was gone apparently karachi decided to disappear under

shocked

2006-07-28T00:34:00.000+05:00

16th Jul 06 - Sunday i went to my cbm dhabba on saturday.. i was SHOCKED.. our dhabba wala sold out to some biryani making chap whos tiled the entire dhabba and made it look like a bathroom.. our wonderful unda tamatar making dhabba wala decided to retire and go into the tea making business.. and now he only serves tea to that entire market place.. why .. why ... WHYYYYYYYY.. i will

introspection

2006-06-20T03:47:00.000+05:00

there hasnt been a second in a day that i havent thought of abu. every living breathing moment i think of him. i dont know wether i think of him so i dont forget or because i cant forget. i dont want to forget. that would be more painful that remembering.. i remember every moment, especially in the last three weeks.. every expression.. every word.. every sigh.. it kills me.. when i think of

of cabbages & kings

2006-05-19T10:11:00.000+05:00

no i dont know why thats the subject line.. i have had various interesting discussions today... life is interesting.. im in lahore. the hub of stagnant air, and good food. my familys in khi. i miss my mother.. i miss lahore too when im not around.. after being unceremoniously kicked out of my prior office space, i have now taken residence in borrowed space and am waiting for someone

rememberance

2006-05-15T23:42:00.000+05:00

we went through all the clothes today. i nearly stopped breathing so it wouldnt register. sometimes when you dont breathe it feels like nothing will affect your memory because you're restricting oxygen in your brain and then you stop feeling stuff. all his ties.. his uniform with the emblems and the medals all intact. all the shirts id bought him.. the kurtas.. some so new he'd never had a chance

its finally over

2006-05-07T00:48:00.000+05:00

my life is over. its finally over. its come to a head and its shattered into a million peices. my life is finally over. we're all born with a shadow over our heads. its a shadow that protects. its a shadow that envelops with love and warmth and never lets us feel alone. my shadow was my father. and hes gone. hes taken it all with him. my life is finally over. its funny when at 28 you

reality

2006-05-02T16:57:00.000+05:00

i keep expecting him to come back home.. when i suddenly realize that he wont my heart feels like it will burst out of my chest and die.. i keep feeling like he's gone to get some groceries or for some work. in the first few days the illusion remained.. now its starting to come apart at the seams.. along with my threadbare hold on my tears.. i dont know what to do anymore.. i want to just

my father

2006-04-13T12:03:00.000+05:00

As i answered one of the condolence messages from one of my far flung friends, i mentioned that i was sure that baba was very happy in heaven and had already started making structural improvements and having a lively dialogue with God and Gallileo... i wasnt joking... abu is the consummate Kaizen practitioner. Continuous improvements ideas for every thing from water supply networks to

Passing

2006-04-11T22:52:00.000+05:00

my father passed away on this day of eid-e-milad-un-nabi... he went very peacefully being fully alert a few minutes before and then slowly going to sleep until he stopped breathing... since his diagnosis on mar 16th, there wasnt a day when he complained of pain. he just got weak day by day but there was no pain. i am happy he went as peacefully as he did. i am happy he went on a day as

end of the road

2006-04-05T20:08:00.000+05:00

Sitting in a cafe in amsterdam. My father just got diagnosed with liver cancer. The specialists tell us to make him comfortable. They give us no hope. I am vaccilating between complete resignation to hopelessness and total faith in Allah's divinity. His love and his healing, which is infinite. I pray that he grants us a miracle even if its just to reiterate our powerlessness and his almightiness.

lifes on a tangent

2006-03-09T18:59:00.000+05:00

why do we find it necessary to coin these funny subjects for all our posts.. Is it some misbegotten notion that people will be more inclined to reading it then. that IS misbegotten... i just signed into flickr after a long time and found a bunch of comments on my pictures.. interesting.. photos are like poetry without words.. i think photos are more fun because people can carry their own

Its one of those days

2006-03-08T13:01:00.000+05:00

Its funny. i want to write in plain text and i cant find the button on yahoo mail. there seems to be no going back somehow to the old format. which is a great analogy for life. Theres no going back. sometimes i wonder if we had that opportunity what would happen. i think every one would just go back to the childhood days and refuse to budge. thats the best of times. sigh.... it makes you

Blogs still alive and kicking - http://spaces.msn.com/gemworldfars/

2006-03-07T19:37:00.000+05:00

if anyone cares to know i'm still posting to both sites.. blogspot and msn.. blogspot --> http://gemworld.blogspot.com msn spaces --> http://spaces.msn.com/gemworldfars i dont like it one bit... not to knock msn.. the good part is atleast i can still access blogger.. dammit.. whats the world coming to .. this is just like when they shut down local production of pirated DVDs... its a horrible

I cant believe they blocked blogger

2006-03-07T14:26:00.000+05:00

I just cant believe this my outrage at being blocked is mirrored by many others in the same situation. There are several reasons behind my outrage. Firstly I dont think you can shut people up by blocking, house arresting, or lathi charging. Secondly, the mob that put Lahore to fire in the first protest has in my estimation never even seen the cartoons. Online or otherwise. Even

Displaced

2006-02-24T10:16:00.000+05:00

i'm way better off staying away from the human race. on my last trip to khi i felt like it was a home coming.. this trip is like an acid reflux..Somehow on this one i've started remembering all the reasons i'd wanted to leave in the first place. All of them. the negativity.. the constant gripes... maybe its me.. The whole domestic politics of servants.. ohmygod.. i couldnt stand it... lol.. it

Coming home

2006-02-20T17:20:00.000+05:00

I stepped out of the airport into the windy city of Karachi... took a deep breath of polluted salty air... took a thirsty look around the buzzing airport of the metropolis... i was home.. no sneezes.. no coughs.. nothing but great gusts of karachi enriched air.. I guess my immune system can withstand it.. after years of building up the resistance :) also i think the reason my body's been giving

like a whisper in the wind

2006-02-19T13:54:00.000+05:00

spring came with the light rustling of the leaves, the soft clamour of the birds, the ever so soft whispers of the wind.. it crept up on us and suddenly before we had time to say goodbye to winter spring was here... in all her muted glory.. ahh the beauty of the changing seasons.. its enough to make one wax lyrical about the wonders of nature and the resplendent beauty of fresh rosebuds bursting

Nostalgical sniffings...

2006-02-07T10:42:00.000+05:00

i feel constantly on the verge of tears today.. my former employers are here today for some work and i just found myself bursting into tears at all the memories that suddenly washed over me.. the binoria ki chinioti handi kept swimming in my consciousness and somehow that made me cry even harder.. theres no Binoria ki chinioti handi in all of laaaahoooorrre... bhuuuuwaaaaaaahhhhh... just looking

au revoir my chums

2006-02-02T16:35:00.000+05:00

My evolution from someone who actually had a statement to make into some dithering blabbering fool has taken all of 3 years.. but it did happen.. I've moved to a place in my life where i have nothing but silence and chaos in my head. my ears are always buzzing with the high pitched drone of too much airline travel.. as it is i was clinically deaf already.. my eyes are slowly turning into pebbles.

mush mush mush mush mush.. dribble....

2006-02-01T20:03:00.000+05:00

.....thats my brian dribbling off into the sunset. i think i've finally passed beyond the final frontier. its finally happend. i cant feel my brain anymore. nuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbbb.....thats itsad byePrincess of the GemWorld***************************************************** I dare to dream... so sue me.. :p GemWorldCopyright © Fars - FS 2004 to inifinity

Truth laid bear

2006-01-21T09:41:00.000+05:00

the Dawn Science.com section has always been an old favorite of mine. from reading the comic strip to the nifty little bits of info that you keep finding in it. my objective in life in Philips used to be to get one of the nifty new gadgets featured on the last page. life was good.i miss simplicity sometimes. its become a victim of verbosity and procrastination. i always thought "lack of time" led

the long & short of it all..

2006-01-08T15:43:00.000+05:00

its at the most innocuous times in your life that you realize that life is a constant series of highs n lows... like the dunes of the desert.In retrospect, the desert is the best metaphor for the human life span that i have ever come across. Just saw the end of "The flight of the Phoenix" on cable with Dennis Quaid. one minute the dunes have a certain shape and rhythm.. the next theres a storm

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T14:37:00.000+05:00

Good morning folks.. and a happy new year to you all.. its been a nice beginning.. i had a paratha and chicken qeema & a hot cup of tea... the sunlight is dripping into the lounge.. warmth pervades my being.. sounds of domesticity resound around me.. Red Eye plays in the back ground... New years was a bit like xmas.. there were ipods in the house :) maybe Gods planning to bless us further.. I'm

100 - Its finally a century

2005-12-30T19:52:00.000+05:00

a century of what you ask?!.. This is my 100th post on this blog.. and its around the same time that i started blogging in the first place in 2003.. :) funny aint it.. i remember this time so well.. it was nearing new years the day i wrote my 1st blog... it was a slightly depressing time in my life as all decembers were apt to being.. the winter season has always traditionally been one of

The hyposcrisy of it all

2005-12-22T10:43:00.000+05:00

I was seething with anger and suppressed rage yesterday.. someone we once knew had the gall to call up someone else we know and actually had the audacity to complain that they werent included in the significent occassions of our lives. I have no time or energy to waste on individuals who donot know even the most fundamental basics of ... ANYTHING... This is a message and its loud and clear.

My life as a slave

2005-12-15T19:45:00.000+05:00

Thats what i am.. a corporate slave ... sighfor all our high handed notions of grandeur that we all aspire towards at the end of the day.. thats what we are.. sighhhhhh.. theres no positive or negative to it.. its just a sorry fact of life and something that must be accepted with whatever bitterness or resignation to fate thats required... my matchmaking efforts arent progressing with any

Matrimonial Services

2005-12-05T13:46:00.000+05:00

I have decided to help propagate the human race and offer my services in the highly sawaab worthy enterprise of matchmaking. Now what should i name my little endeavor?!... i though of "Made in Heaven".. but then it seemed too corny and considering the current success rates you never know... so to think of something... i am starting a separate blog page just for this purpose. "Practical Cupid"

Chilly nights & sunny days

2005-11-24T13:15:00.000+05:00

Sometimes Allah mian decides to make us realize just how dynamic life is... by shifting around the game pieces in a flash, completely changing the rules of the game. that realization is brought home to me the most in my current profession. Each day is a new storm waiting to happen.. each day opens with the promise of uncertainty and change written in bright red block letters written on the

Cricket fever

2005-11-20T12:30:00.000+05:00

I always knew I'd hate cricket eventually. As a single woman, its ok to like sports. Having your own TV in your room also helps you tolerate the occasional tendency of your loving dad to dabble in watching something as mundane as cricket 24/7 for as long as its broadcasted. I have to give my mum credit though. She cured my dad of wasting time on frivolous pursuits such as watching television a

Reminiscences

2005-11-16T23:56:00.000+05:00

I'm sitting here in S dadijans room on the couch watching Smallville. She was usually asleep by now. Memories are so fleeting. I saw an Ed yesterday in which he's going nuts trying to capture his most cherished memories on tape. Video. Reminded me of me. But I've missed many great moments. I was standing in the London Tube system the other day watching this man trying to remember the number of

mush!!

2005-09-30T23:48:00.000+05:00

thats what my brain feels like. pure unadulterated, beyond thelimits of solidity mush!!its sad. on my tombstone they can have the following:Here lies mush ! not worth much!i feel like crap. or whatever crap must feel like. thats what i feel. argh. that was a very polite argh. i didint even put much effort behind it. but thats the summarization of my current state of mind i want to run away to

sometimes its all cramped

2005-09-21T17:33:00.000+05:00

Sometimes things are just cramped.. like right now. time is cramped. work is cramped. the mind is cramped. the body the soul.. everything just wants to stretch and work out the kinks. Maybe i just need more back support. hmm... i dunno. somtimes i just feel like.. i dunno. its not that i lack direction. i have it. in my mind. theres a beacon of light shining out in the right direction or what i

I DID IT! I DID IT!

2005-08-25T11:51:00.000+05:00

... with umy's help.. i managed to figure out Flickr.com and got a "badge" as it calls it inserted on the side bar of my Blog YAYYYYYYY!!!Im so happy, but thats okay cause you are too yayayayayyyyyaaaayyyayyyyayyy (Nirvana) *Singing really LOUDLY Im so happy, but thats okay cause you are too yayayayayyyyyaaaayyyayyyyayyy *Encore hehehehanyway so thats my latest hobby.. uploading nice nice

Photostream

2005-08-24T19:20:00.000+05:00

Whats a photostream anyway thats what i'd like to figure out.. went to some blogs..they had added the flickr.com photostream to the side bar.. i wonder how you do that.. i experimented and now theyre all kind off at the bottom of the page. hmm..tudeloo cheeriesPrincess of the GemWorld***************************************************** I dare to dream... so sue me.. :p GemWorldCopyright © Fars -

i think life sucks again...

2005-08-23T13:08:00.000+05:00

We have been sucked into a vortex of disgustingness.. i hate it.. its disgusting.. i hate hate hate it.. a feeling of powerlessness and impotence.. to change things according to your own will.. its excruciating and nasty.. and every1 marches to the beat of their own drum.. jeez.. why.. just march.. why do u need a beat.. that too your own.. sometimes you should just march to someone else's. thats

Its raining pancakes

2005-08-18T07:40:00.000+05:00

So like yesterday i checked my comments and discovered my friend silly sal was in town (Town = Lahore). which was like .. "AWESOME" coz i was dying to go to that pancake house i'd read about in the Daily Times Photo Spread. i picked her up from fortress and the two of us went off merrily thinking we knew where Defence Double D (DD) market was. I thought it was the whole stretch right after the

the battle is won

2005-08-10T17:57:00.000+05:00

I just had the longest most arduous cyberspace battle today with a sneaky little search bar from searchweb2.com. it was soooo irritating. it kept installing desk top icons, irrititaing pop ads, search bars galore til i was forced to go through my ENTIRE hard drive, program files, program setting and the entire windows registry, system folders, temp files, etc. all in an attempt to REMOVE the damn

oh boy oh boy oh boy *quizzical look

2005-07-28T17:38:00.000+05:00

Its amazing. I recently discovered that I could email to my blog from just about anywhere and it would be posted and in order to celebrate that knowledge. I did just the opposite. I just disappeared for a long long stretch. I really don’t know why I do that. I guess it’s the “what comes easy will not be appreciated” syndrome. I wonder why that happens. All of a sudden it became cloudy in Lahore.

Reality strikes once more....

2005-07-20T00:35:00.000+05:00

Life is funny... i realize that i've lost all semblance of the honesty of expression i used to display in the past. atleast im honest enough to admit that.. life is funny... there are many things that have happened in the past year and a half that have taken my breath away and made me thank the Lord Almighty for blessing us so many times over.. i feel blessed to the very core of my being..

THIS BLOG IS NOT DEAD! :p

2005-07-17T20:06:00.000+05:00

I had a really nice weekend.. i know ive been gone for a while.. but seriously guyz.. its not like any of you missed my incoherent ramblings anyways.. some of you may have :) which gives me a nice warm feeling in the pit of my tummy :)... well for better or worse i'm back so deal with it. And i had a really nice weekend. the biggest thing that happened was that I HAVE JUST FINISHED READING HARRY

aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhh

2005-04-20T18:19:00.000+05:00

sometimes life can really hit you hard. i hate reality. i hate all the connotations of reality. i hate everything that it personifies, everything it stands for. EVERYTHING... i HATE EVERYTHING!!!!this is purging of the highest order.. purging the soul of all the venom inside.. of all my rage and my anger at the world.. at the hypocrisy it harbors... at the deceit it veils.. the justification of

i thought life was perfect

2005-03-10T16:03:00.000+05:00

but it never is really.. theres always a dose of reality sneaking about round a corner.. and it hits you as hard as falling 165ft and striking the placid surface of a lake at breakneck speed.the day is very very nice.. its soft and gray with a cloud cover and a soft drizzle and the last of the winter chill waiting to bid us adieu.. i can hear birds outside inspite of my permanently clogged ears.

glitter

2005-03-08T19:15:00.000+05:00

sometimes i feel overwhelmed by my own planning.. i am a compulsive TTD list maker.. for the layman thats "Things To Do".. if you have a therapist they will tell you that TTD lists are peoples way of making themselves feel selfimportant and useful. the more items you have, obviously the more work you do.. the more ticks you have on the list, the higher your rate of achievement... and if you think

repetition

2005-03-07T17:16:00.000+05:00

i get a strong sense of deja vu sometimes.. no relation to the coffee shop.. its weird. sometimes . right in the middle of a ****load of work suddenly the earth stops spinning on its axis, mind shuts down and thought enters a suspended reality.. everything becomes fuzzy and you get kinda lost in the moment... Thats when i usually order a piping hot cup of tea and some ... ahem.. chocolate chip

Spring cometh

2005-02-21T11:53:00.000+05:00

In each life there shall cometh a spring...tra lala lalano thats not a poem. I dont know who im talking to now. i think except for Umy everyones left me to my own devices. Which is not a bad thing. Leaves me more secure in my self expression when i think no ones listening. Its like cursing in an empty room. ***************************************************** I dare to dream... so sue me.. :p

2005

2005-01-25T13:35:00.000+05:00

Wow.. ive been gone for a bit now.. i've realized that if you keep planning for perfection, thats all you'll end up doing...planning! there were so many moments in the past month (its been exactly a month since i last wrote).. so many moments in the past month that i thought i would draft a blog.. maybe about egypt.. add a few pictures i thought... that should be nice.. then thanks to the

Holy FOG!

2004-12-24T10:26:00.000+05:00

Ok so its like this... i wake up this morning and look out the window and i CANT EVEN SEE THE BALCONY RAILING! YEESH! the fog enshrouding Lahore in its soulful depths really came into its own this morning. Bye bye PIA flight schedule.. talk about crazy. It really is. i mean look at this.. Fog on Mian Mir Bridge, Lahore 24th Dec 2004 © Fariha Shah thats like the mian mir bridge in lahore.

back and forth...

2004-12-22T10:16:00.000+05:00

Xmas days are here again... deck the halls with boughs of holly.. tra lalalalalalala.. *sing song tone Well thats that.. it was about the same time last year that i suddenly stumbled upon the great wide world of blogging. Sheer freak accident that.. I was trying to find out how to spell que sera sera.. and i googled it.. lo and behold there was a website by that name.. so i went to the website

Livin on the edge...

2004-12-21T09:57:00.000+05:00

Like seriously guyz.. you wont believe what i did a couple of weekends ago... ahem.. yeah.. well.. i dont know how i managed it.. truth to tell, i didnt actually jump off as much as being pushed off the 50 meters high platform at the top of the tower.. (165 feet in layman terms) Yes indeedy do kiddies.. i did an actual factual bungee jump.. :) and i have the certificate of courage to prove it..

Jingle Bells...

2004-12-05T13:38:00.000+05:00

Its hard to believe that its the end of 2004... Like so many other things in my life the changing of the years has also stopped leaving an impression.. i remember the transition in 1999 vividly.. the years to follow the same sense of wonder pervaded my mind each time the clock would tick over the dawn of a new numeric year.. 2004 was the last year to do so.. 2005 will be lost in the crowd of

slightly misty winter days...

2004-11-24T19:51:00.000+05:00

Its true really.. my blogs really do sound like a weather report sometimes. This morning was amazing.. it was soft and misty.. lahore is still in the middle ground between fall and winter.. winter hasnt struck with a vengeance as yet.. i carry around my oversized Nike jacket anyway ... Just in case :) My head throbs a wee bit.. in a funny way.. my eyes i fear will very soon give up on me i

Rainy Days are here again

2004-11-18T01:34:00.000+05:00

oh joy oh joy oh joy.. Allah be praised... Karachi is all beautiful & rainy again.. :) im so happy.. :) Lahore is cold. The nights are freezing. But thats just my Karachi blood speaking. Eid was nice.. family get together, a bit of visiting & visitors, and lots of nice food. my mum makes the best qeema sawaiyan.. and i practically live off that till its all finished. and then she made

orkut ahoy

2004-11-09T14:44:00.000+05:00

hmmm.. so like i went and checked out this Orkut thingy... Its pretty neat.. alot of old CBM faces online.. lots of communities.. it seems like an interesting place.. i guess this week i can try to see what else ive been missing out on...will finally go to a karachi iftari at Arizona today.. Heard its the best one so we're pretty psyched.. Its amazing what the thought of immense amounts of

Joy....

2004-10-28T09:42:00.000+05:00

Lying in bed with barely enuff light to even see the lines on my Philips CE notebook. I recall the story of the Japanese boy who had to learn how to write with his eyes closed so he could master Japanese script. I can hear the traffic on the Mall. The honks of the horns, the sounds of the mosques resonating in the air. I suddenly remember my morning in Istanbul, waking up at Fajr surrounded by

the perils of blogging

2004-10-26T14:49:00.000+05:00

The day had to come :) i knew deep down inside... infact not even so deep down that baring your soul on the internet was bound to get one into trouble.. especially when everyone you know somehow naturally assumes the blogs all about them... when ... well.. its not you see... cause its all about me... yes.. egomaniacal, narcissistic, totally internally focused.. me! But ah well.. :) i gotta run.

Sweet Home Karachi...

2004-10-18T12:30:00.000+05:00

My 1st trip back home after 2 months was surreal. I felt like kneeling on the tarmac after landing and kissing the scorching ground. Scorching.. because its still summers in Karachi.. i stared with my eyes wide open at everything.. the roads, the street signs, the trees, shops, round abouts... reassuring myself that everything was where i'd left it.. and every so often i would burst into tears

Word of the day..

2004-10-13T11:39:00.000+05:00

I've decided the word of the day shall be.... scrumptious. For some odd reason i have started having massive hunger pangs started at 11am. From then onwards its just a long drawn out waiting period til 1230 when the first signs of lunch start arriving on our company porch. 12:31- i'm in the cafeteria stuffing myself. Now here's the catch. I am NOT alone. apparently i'm not the only one

warped reality

2004-10-08T13:17:00.000+05:00

Just when you think you're so tired you cant even feel anything anymore, something happens to prove you wrong. Whether positive or negative, human emotions drive life. I just think if we can kill the negativity, we'd all be better off. Worry, fear, anger, rage, despair, sadness, disappointment... we should just kill it all off. Its not a nice feeling being angry or hurt. Its not a nice feeling

its OVER!!!!!!!!!

2004-10-05T11:21:00.000+05:00

Long long days and sleepless nights have finally culminated in the end.. lol... We had a long exercise being carried out at work... which is now OVER!! Soooo happy... :) My eyes feel heavy... and keep closing.. my body feels like its breaking in a multitude of places. my mind is like fuzz. but i'm alive. I survived. heheheh... ok so i lost my marbles along the way... but het you cant have

The Alchemist

2004-09-25T16:02:00.000+05:00

I CANT BELIEVE I HADNT READ THIS BOOK AS YET! I cant believe Paulo Coelho thought of life as i do. :) yes. you may bang your head on the proverbial brick wall, but its true dammit. Its as the Caravan Guide in the desert says to the Boy, "I dont live in the past or the future. I live in the present. Thats why i'm always happy. This moment is life." In an online review the following was stated:

Birthday Blues

2004-09-20T22:35:00.000+05:00

And so it came.... And so it went... September 15th 2004. Exactly 27 years completed on the planet. Exactly 6 months completed in my current job. Same period spent in Lahore. My first Birthday away from Home. I had a major problem remembering my age when i turned 19. I kept thinking i was 18 for a good number of years. At 21 I reconciled to the fact that i was indeed out of my teens. Then i

:) happy happy glorious world

2004-09-08T18:10:00.000+05:00

i'm elated... i'm tired.. but elated. For some odd reason... and i cant be bothered to identify it :) it was a nice day.. bloody hot but nice.. it was my map making colleagues birthday today.. so we got the cakes & the card :) it was nice. I love celebrating birthdays. Its such a joyous occassion. You make fun of the advanced age. You make fun of other peoples advanced age. You laugh. You