Thursday, January 26, 2006
August - The Month
I had planned to update on August 14th. It was to be a heartfelt post which would have explored my relationship with my motherland, my love for the green flag, given that I am one, the perspective of an Azad Kashmiri as a Proud Pakistani. However, work happened.
Actually, the day did not start that great, with I getting into a nasty tiff with my boss in the early hours of the day over some trivial stuff, like me not making my targets. It got better eventually though. The highlight of the day was the new radio station 104.4 Awaz, which played some of the best national/patriotic songs on the day. Their playlist included such classics as Tera Pakistan hai, yeh mera Pakistan hai, Is parcham ke sayey tale, the ever green Ae Watan, Pak Watan which has also been the soundtrack of my blog for the longest time, the more recent hits like Ae Jawan, Jazba-e-Junoon, and of course the second National Anthem of the country Dil Dil Pakistan.
I kept my tradition of buying sweets for all the office on the day, and not just any mackintoshi/galaxyic sweets, but authentic Pakistani sweets from Nirala. I was pleasantly surprised though when I found them to be almost sold out at around noon, when I had gone there to pick up a tray of habshi halwa. I had to settle for ladoo motichoor, which no-body had bought but which turned out to be a great choice in the end, since the awam at office devoured them like anything. They showered such praise on them that even a strictly non-ludoo eater like me had to try one, and then some. Hats off to Nirala!
The next day, I happened to saunter into HPN’s office after my day’s work, and we got around to talking about how I could club my posts under pertinent heads, and the ever-enthusiastic, techy-to-the-core, and hyper-enthusiastic-about-all-things-techy HPN ended up getting me a domain, and putting up this lovely lay-out for me. Fact is this place would have looked a lot more interesting, and would have been loads more informative and user friendly (user being me) had it not been for my constant suggestions to the contrary. Kudos to HPN for maintaining a civil and non-violent disposition through-out his ordeal, and props to him for getting it to look like it does despite me. His wife, Lil-Baji, had it easier when she had constructed the lovely and genuinely “me” lay-out for my blog almost a year ago - she did not have me around to find her way around. Subhan-Allah and Alhamdu Lillah for lovely and loving (read restrained and patient) friends.
August 17 is a sobering day every year, and has been so for half a decade now. This was the day five years ago when wifey had actually followed through on her “yes”; and when her parents had actually allowed us to drive away into the horizon in the back seat of a” just-married” car. It was a humbling day too this year, as wifey went ahead and added on to her list of achievements on this day when she got her “Valid UAE Driving License” in her first attempt. For those not residing in this country, allow me to elaborate so that the importance and gravity of this development can be better grasped.
UAE is a country with not much of a public transport system, the state of Dubai being essentially the only state out of the seven with any semblance of a transport system. Fuel is cheap, and so are automobiles. Cabs/Taxis are prohibitively expensive, or are driven by obnoxiously ill-mannered cabbies. The weather is not conducive to walking to any place. To top it all, driving without a license is a criminal offense, as it is in most countries, and the penalties can include hefty fines, and/or deportation for the offenders. (One needs to remember that almost 90% of the country is inhabited by expatriates, let me correct that, almost 90% of the population is comprised of expatriates inhabiting some 25% of the country. Deportation, therefore, is the scariest and hence the most effective penalty in the department of justice’s quiver.) All these factors make the need for what is normally called a “Valid UAE Driving License” most pressing, and the fact that getting one quickly is notoriously impossible gives people like yours truly, who got his in his second attempt, reason to boast about belonging to a superior race. It was a humbling moment. She is the second person and the only lady I know who got her license in her first attempt, and my only wife to do so. I have one - for the record.
Empirical data suggests that August 17th is a good day for my wife. She got me on this day, and she got her V.U.A.E.D.L on the day - both in first attempt. A colleague of mine, one I compete with every day for the elusive corniest-person-alive spot, cornily suggested that perhaps her getting the license in her first attempt on this day was divine compensation for ending up with me on this day. He is unmarried, so far, what does he know? Plus he is only the smartest person in the office, and a very very good friend with an excellent sense of humor, in that he gets my jokes and I do his - really cannot take such people’s comments at face-value.
August is also the month after which I will be left with just four months to deliver my targets, which means I will need to pull my socks up, start working late, and continue braving the heat - which by the way has hovered around 46-48 degrees but has been reported at 42-43 degrees celsius officially, but more about that, if at all, later.
Here is signing off for August - tentatively.
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9 Responses to 'August - the month.'
1SaeedAugust 27th, 2005 at 6:53 am
another new hindi/urdu fm??theres 106.2,89.1,(atleast 1 more i cant place) & now 1 more?Mabrook for the driver’s licence!lol @ both at first attempt & divine compensation!
2KNICQAugust 27th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
Yeah, you would be surprised at the rate at which new fm stations are surfacing here. The one you could not remember is 101.6 City fm better than either 106.2 Hum fm or 89.1. The new one is distinctively Urdu, which sort of balances out 89.1 which is often distinctively Hindi, and quite often unkind to Pakistan because it borows its news and views from Zee TV.
101.6 was the happeneing channel because of its more balanced approach, though it has less Urdu than Hindi, and smart and less irritating RJs. 106.2 despite the very irritating RJs is still a preset because it is still the only channel that airs the Adhaan/Azan in this Muslim country.
The new channel despite having a complete Pakistani team does not air Azaan. Pity.
3ShiraziAugust 27th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Wish to learn more of your prospective on different issues. I am tuned to you!
4doshesAugust 28th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
congrats on the new start..of yet another year of both the journeys…hurray for the first time achievers…
5KNICQAugust 28th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
Shirazi: Thanks for tuning in bro….JB says I don’t have much of a perspective….hope you can convince him otherwise.
Doshes: Thanks for stopping by. Do keep visiting.
6AbezAugust 28th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Laddoo Motichoor??! My father adores Laddoo Motichoor, and he refers to them as legendary and beautiful creatures that exist somewhere between imagination and bliss. Incidentally, I’ve never had one, and I’m wondering why if they’re so great, how come they were the only thing left at the store? Hmm. Btw, I actually had an excellent time at the YPPF dinner, though for all the wrong reasons apparently, hehe
7KNICQAugust 31st, 2005 at 3:06 pm
Li’l Baji,
I think I should bring you Ladoo Motichoor the next time around…your hubby dearest has brought me that Ajmani Jalebi I love so much so many times, and it is only fair that I return the favor. Lets then leave it for you to place it where you wish to place it on the delicio-meter.
There were so many of them left at the store, because they are apparently an acquired taste amongst the Desi-mithai fanatics.
So, you didn’t like the food, were irritated no-end by JB’s sugar-high induced antics, and loved every minute of those glittering tributes everyone was giving everyone, eh?
8AnjumSeptember 1st, 2005 at 12:23 am
great update knicq - as if we were sitting down and chatting about your last few weeks. i like your (corny ) style (”Plus he is only the smartest person in the office, and a very very good friend with an excellent sense of humor, in that he gets my jokes and I do his - really cannot take such people’s comments at face-value.”)
congrats to your wife, and masha’Allah to her for getting it on the first shot.
9knicqSeptember 3rd, 2005 at 11:31 am
Thanks Anjum for your kind words. It was easier writing two lines about this and three about that, and present it all as an excuse for an update, than it would have been to put up an actual update…:)
About wifey getting it in the first attempt, I have theories of my own, but she says I am just plain jealous….which is not entirely correct, since I had got mine in the second attempt but five years before she did…why would I be jealous eh? ¶ 1/26/2006 01:55:00 AM
Actually, the day did not start that great, with I getting into a nasty tiff with my boss in the early hours of the day over some trivial stuff, like me not making my targets. It got better eventually though. The highlight of the day was the new radio station 104.4 Awaz, which played some of the best national/patriotic songs on the day. Their playlist included such classics as Tera Pakistan hai, yeh mera Pakistan hai, Is parcham ke sayey tale, the ever green Ae Watan, Pak Watan which has also been the soundtrack of my blog for the longest time, the more recent hits like Ae Jawan, Jazba-e-Junoon, and of course the second National Anthem of the country Dil Dil Pakistan.
I kept my tradition of buying sweets for all the office on the day, and not just any mackintoshi/galaxyic sweets, but authentic Pakistani sweets from Nirala. I was pleasantly surprised though when I found them to be almost sold out at around noon, when I had gone there to pick up a tray of habshi halwa. I had to settle for ladoo motichoor, which no-body had bought but which turned out to be a great choice in the end, since the awam at office devoured them like anything. They showered such praise on them that even a strictly non-ludoo eater like me had to try one, and then some. Hats off to Nirala!
The next day, I happened to saunter into HPN’s office after my day’s work, and we got around to talking about how I could club my posts under pertinent heads, and the ever-enthusiastic, techy-to-the-core, and hyper-enthusiastic-about-all-things-techy HPN ended up getting me a domain, and putting up this lovely lay-out for me. Fact is this place would have looked a lot more interesting, and would have been loads more informative and user friendly (user being me) had it not been for my constant suggestions to the contrary. Kudos to HPN for maintaining a civil and non-violent disposition through-out his ordeal, and props to him for getting it to look like it does despite me. His wife, Lil-Baji, had it easier when she had constructed the lovely and genuinely “me” lay-out for my blog almost a year ago - she did not have me around to find her way around. Subhan-Allah and Alhamdu Lillah for lovely and loving (read restrained and patient) friends.
August 17 is a sobering day every year, and has been so for half a decade now. This was the day five years ago when wifey had actually followed through on her “yes”; and when her parents had actually allowed us to drive away into the horizon in the back seat of a” just-married” car. It was a humbling day too this year, as wifey went ahead and added on to her list of achievements on this day when she got her “Valid UAE Driving License” in her first attempt. For those not residing in this country, allow me to elaborate so that the importance and gravity of this development can be better grasped.
UAE is a country with not much of a public transport system, the state of Dubai being essentially the only state out of the seven with any semblance of a transport system. Fuel is cheap, and so are automobiles. Cabs/Taxis are prohibitively expensive, or are driven by obnoxiously ill-mannered cabbies. The weather is not conducive to walking to any place. To top it all, driving without a license is a criminal offense, as it is in most countries, and the penalties can include hefty fines, and/or deportation for the offenders. (One needs to remember that almost 90% of the country is inhabited by expatriates, let me correct that, almost 90% of the population is comprised of expatriates inhabiting some 25% of the country. Deportation, therefore, is the scariest and hence the most effective penalty in the department of justice’s quiver.) All these factors make the need for what is normally called a “Valid UAE Driving License” most pressing, and the fact that getting one quickly is notoriously impossible gives people like yours truly, who got his in his second attempt, reason to boast about belonging to a superior race. It was a humbling moment. She is the second person and the only lady I know who got her license in her first attempt, and my only wife to do so. I have one - for the record.
Empirical data suggests that August 17th is a good day for my wife. She got me on this day, and she got her V.U.A.E.D.L on the day - both in first attempt. A colleague of mine, one I compete with every day for the elusive corniest-person-alive spot, cornily suggested that perhaps her getting the license in her first attempt on this day was divine compensation for ending up with me on this day. He is unmarried, so far, what does he know? Plus he is only the smartest person in the office, and a very very good friend with an excellent sense of humor, in that he gets my jokes and I do his - really cannot take such people’s comments at face-value.
August is also the month after which I will be left with just four months to deliver my targets, which means I will need to pull my socks up, start working late, and continue braving the heat - which by the way has hovered around 46-48 degrees but has been reported at 42-43 degrees celsius officially, but more about that, if at all, later.
Here is signing off for August - tentatively.
-->
9 Responses to 'August - the month.'
1SaeedAugust 27th, 2005 at 6:53 am
another new hindi/urdu fm??theres 106.2,89.1,(atleast 1 more i cant place) & now 1 more?Mabrook for the driver’s licence!lol @ both at first attempt & divine compensation!
2KNICQAugust 27th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
Yeah, you would be surprised at the rate at which new fm stations are surfacing here. The one you could not remember is 101.6 City fm better than either 106.2 Hum fm or 89.1. The new one is distinctively Urdu, which sort of balances out 89.1 which is often distinctively Hindi, and quite often unkind to Pakistan because it borows its news and views from Zee TV.
101.6 was the happeneing channel because of its more balanced approach, though it has less Urdu than Hindi, and smart and less irritating RJs. 106.2 despite the very irritating RJs is still a preset because it is still the only channel that airs the Adhaan/Azan in this Muslim country.
The new channel despite having a complete Pakistani team does not air Azaan. Pity.
3ShiraziAugust 27th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Wish to learn more of your prospective on different issues. I am tuned to you!
4doshesAugust 28th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
congrats on the new start..of yet another year of both the journeys…hurray for the first time achievers…
5KNICQAugust 28th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
Shirazi: Thanks for tuning in bro….JB says I don’t have much of a perspective….hope you can convince him otherwise.
Doshes: Thanks for stopping by. Do keep visiting.
6AbezAugust 28th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Laddoo Motichoor??! My father adores Laddoo Motichoor, and he refers to them as legendary and beautiful creatures that exist somewhere between imagination and bliss. Incidentally, I’ve never had one, and I’m wondering why if they’re so great, how come they were the only thing left at the store? Hmm. Btw, I actually had an excellent time at the YPPF dinner, though for all the wrong reasons apparently, hehe
7KNICQAugust 31st, 2005 at 3:06 pm
Li’l Baji,
I think I should bring you Ladoo Motichoor the next time around…your hubby dearest has brought me that Ajmani Jalebi I love so much so many times, and it is only fair that I return the favor. Lets then leave it for you to place it where you wish to place it on the delicio-meter.
There were so many of them left at the store, because they are apparently an acquired taste amongst the Desi-mithai fanatics.
So, you didn’t like the food, were irritated no-end by JB’s sugar-high induced antics, and loved every minute of those glittering tributes everyone was giving everyone, eh?
8AnjumSeptember 1st, 2005 at 12:23 am
great update knicq - as if we were sitting down and chatting about your last few weeks. i like your (corny ) style (”Plus he is only the smartest person in the office, and a very very good friend with an excellent sense of humor, in that he gets my jokes and I do his - really cannot take such people’s comments at face-value.”)
congrats to your wife, and masha’Allah to her for getting it on the first shot.
9knicqSeptember 3rd, 2005 at 11:31 am
Thanks Anjum for your kind words. It was easier writing two lines about this and three about that, and present it all as an excuse for an update, than it would have been to put up an actual update…:)
About wifey getting it in the first attempt, I have theories of my own, but she says I am just plain jealous….which is not entirely correct, since I had got mine in the second attempt but five years before she did…why would I be jealous eh? ¶ 1/26/2006 01:55:00 AM
