Yesterday started gloomy as I got out of my bed 5 in the morning ... saw the score ... pakistan had conceded almost a hundred more runs for the ninth wicket ... Hussey had got a century ... on my way to work I was following the live scorecard ... paki wickets kept falling ... and soon the inevitable happened ... I tried to get out of the depression thinking of the things like "If they win what will I gain and if they lose what I wud lose" but couldn't ...
but the day got better as I attended a dear friend's wedding in the night .... there was the usual delay as this is in our blood - except me ... I helped out with a little transportation problem due to which we were the last to arrive ... ironically we were the first to "report" ... the weddings here are different in a few ways .... its not co ... you get served with qahwa right away ... there is no traditional crap ... joota chupai and what not ...
I and a friend indulged in a topic according to the occasion ... how will marriage affect our lives ... what will it improve ... what not .. my friend who we call "Chacha" explained as if he had gone thru everything ... he said its just like having a room mate except you cant complain to the warden and change your room ... this room mate is for "life" ... it was a scary analogy as I remembered my days in the hostel .... Chacha talked about setting ground rules on the first night .. and if you dont its already too late ...
it was a nice setting and everything ... the dinner was great ... we (I and Chacha) couldn't wait for the Rukhsati ... and returned to our homes round about midnight.
Friday 8 January 2010
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Maybe its just a Crush
I have been obsessed by Apple lately ... mostly due to the WWDC keynote address and that mac vs pc commercial with the funky Justin Long
My present laptop has been with me since 3 years now ... its a Toshiba Satellite ... but now I need some change ... People need change .. may be I should contact Obama .... Surfing thru some blogs forums etc. I found that there are very few distributors of Apple products who are selling at a very high profit margin ... like if I order from Amazon it will save me 700 to 1000 SAR (i am talking about macbooks) .... plus when u seek their technical assistance they are of little help, if any ...
The operating system "Leopard" ... i think is more fun more secure and as this site quotes "So aesthetically pleasing that it distracts users from countless technical gaffes" .. The book itself is sleek and light .... no wonder its called Macbook Air ... its so possessable ...
Now the iPhone ... this I will surely get .. when? ... I dont know ... its a whole different world man .... and I am not in it ... this site is really helpful especially for those who are living in Saudia ...
My present laptop has been with me since 3 years now ... its a Toshiba Satellite ... but now I need some change ... People need change .. may be I should contact Obama .... Surfing thru some blogs forums etc. I found that there are very few distributors of Apple products who are selling at a very high profit margin ... like if I order from Amazon it will save me 700 to 1000 SAR (i am talking about macbooks) .... plus when u seek their technical assistance they are of little help, if any ...
The operating system "Leopard" ... i think is more fun more secure and as this site quotes "So aesthetically pleasing that it distracts users from countless technical gaffes" .. The book itself is sleek and light .... no wonder its called Macbook Air ... its so possessable ...
Now the iPhone ... this I will surely get .. when? ... I dont know ... its a whole different world man .... and I am not in it ... this site is really helpful especially for those who are living in Saudia ...
Thursday 12 November 2009
Communication Skills
"Communication Skills" ... Lets just say I have none of it ... be it a one-one conversation or one-many ...
Mr Shahid was our English teacher in 9th and 10th grade ... I was his favourite student ...upon his insistence I participated in a speech competition ... it was the first time I was taking part in any extra curricular activity . I had been up on the stage many times but not as a speaker .... Surprisingly, I started well without any hesitation but soon my memory got the good of me ... after a 5 sec pause the audience (which mostly consisted of ill-mannered final year students waiting for you to make the smallest mistake) started clapping .... I remembered the next sentence and completed without any further hitch ...
1st semester in university... there was a subject called Communication Skills ... I was dreading it already ... One day our instructor (jinhain pyar say goofy kehtay thay) distributed us into groups and gave each one a topic and 15 minutes to prepare for a brief monologue .... my turn came. Again ... in the middle, I screwed up .. a long pause ... which felt like ages ... it was so bad that on a scale of 1 to 3 I had to be scored -1 ... it was awful ...
These were examples of one-many communication ... I suck at one-one communication too .... You know when people argue even when they are not sure .... I dont do that ... I dont even argue when I am right ... Just yesterday, a colleague showed me an email which contained this picture of the Buggati Veyron-16
I explained that 1001 refers to the hp NOT the top speed .. but he was adamant ... " I have seen a video in which this car races with an aircraft " he said. " I have seen it too ... but it does not come even close to 1000 kph ... its highest speed is 407 kph " was my reply .... " No No No you must be mistaken its around 930 something ... " .... "Really? (sarcasm)... " and I left ...
... and the list goes on
Monday 2 November 2009
Chalta Phirta Bank
During my university life, which was not that long ago, I used to lend money to whoever needed my help ... from large sums to small amounts ... my debtors included hostelites, class fellows, batch mates etc ... Matlab meray dar say koi khali hath nahe jata tha :)
The reasons varied from fee payment, project, fuel, tires, NERC etc.. But the transaction I vividly remember is with a friend (not so much :S) who needed some money for a cousin's wedding ... I believed him and gave him the money ... which he promised to return as soon as he is back ... then the rumours started pouring in ... one of them was that he borrowed a handsome amount from his uncle and then got rid of his sim card to avoid any kind of contact with him .... this guy was the most notorious monetarily .... drowned in fines and debts ... WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS BEFORE !!
Although I was having this fear of ...... I tried to take things calmly .... requesting repeatedly .... he had a new excuse in store for me daily .... I have to give him 10/10 for his superb convincing skills and acting ... once he proposed to give me his cell phone (I should have taken it) ... then one morning I went to his door and started banging the door to get him off his sleeping ass and demanded the money right away ... he got up .. took the keys to a borrowed bike and said Come On ...
We went to the nearby bank .... to make the story short ... I didnt get the money but was convinced ... the exams started ... I went to him for I thought would be my last demand ... That SOB skipped his last paper and left .... that day I promised not to lend anyone any money ...
I came here to Jeddah ... got a job .... made friends with the co-workers .... especially with this Indian guy .... before going to vacation he asked for 1000 SR ... He had been so nice to me and his reasons seemed genuine so I lent him the money ... he came back a little late and found out that he had been terminated due to his over stay .... Oh Crap ... He was out of job and the next expected salary was cancelled due to his termination ..... Why Me ??!!
You dont need to be dragged into the pathetic story (I think I already have ) .. all you need to know is that he paid me in two long and painful installments ...
The reasons varied from fee payment, project, fuel, tires, NERC etc.. But the transaction I vividly remember is with a friend (not so much :S) who needed some money for a cousin's wedding ... I believed him and gave him the money ... which he promised to return as soon as he is back ... then the rumours started pouring in ... one of them was that he borrowed a handsome amount from his uncle and then got rid of his sim card to avoid any kind of contact with him .... this guy was the most notorious monetarily .... drowned in fines and debts ... WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS BEFORE !!
Although I was having this fear of ...... I tried to take things calmly .... requesting repeatedly .... he had a new excuse in store for me daily .... I have to give him 10/10 for his superb convincing skills and acting ... once he proposed to give me his cell phone (I should have taken it) ... then one morning I went to his door and started banging the door to get him off his sleeping ass and demanded the money right away ... he got up .. took the keys to a borrowed bike and said Come On ...
We went to the nearby bank .... to make the story short ... I didnt get the money but was convinced ... the exams started ... I went to him for I thought would be my last demand ... That SOB skipped his last paper and left .... that day I promised not to lend anyone any money ...
I came here to Jeddah ... got a job .... made friends with the co-workers .... especially with this Indian guy .... before going to vacation he asked for 1000 SR ... He had been so nice to me and his reasons seemed genuine so I lent him the money ... he came back a little late and found out that he had been terminated due to his over stay .... Oh Crap ... He was out of job and the next expected salary was cancelled due to his termination ..... Why Me ??!!
You dont need to be dragged into the pathetic story (I think I already have ) .. all you need to know is that he paid me in two long and painful installments ...
Friday 30 October 2009
Borders of Shariah
Our project is in the closing stages ... Professors, students, administration staff etc have already started settling in ... the Campus area has been handed over to the proponent ... only some residential buildings are remaining ....
For those of you who dont know, "project" refers to King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST), a multi million dollar project near Jeddah .. at the shore of the Red Sea ...
Its a well known fact that Saudi Arabia is the only country, where strict Shariah Laws are applied ... the shops close during prayers, women have to wear hijab when in public, they are not allowed to drive (I dont know if its according to Shariah or not), the punishment for adultery or involvement in narcotics, in any way , is ultimately .. death.
But lets focus on the women and hijab part ... these rules do not apply inside the premises of KAUST ... and did I mention that it is the first co-ed institution in the Kingdom ... women can drive ... dress as they like ... it's a funny spectacle when a girl goes out for her morning jog in her shorts ... and the workers leave their work .. all gawking at her ...
Getting back to the subject .... this royal decree of "freedom" has created unrest in the clerical faction ... one of the clerics who openly opposed against co-ed has been relieved of his duties ...
I, like many others believe that soon a time will come when Saudia will be as open as (why go far) ... say UAE and this is just the beginning ...
For those of you who dont know, "project" refers to King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST), a multi million dollar project near Jeddah .. at the shore of the Red Sea ...
Its a well known fact that Saudi Arabia is the only country, where strict Shariah Laws are applied ... the shops close during prayers, women have to wear hijab when in public, they are not allowed to drive (I dont know if its according to Shariah or not), the punishment for adultery or involvement in narcotics, in any way , is ultimately .. death.
But lets focus on the women and hijab part ... these rules do not apply inside the premises of KAUST ... and did I mention that it is the first co-ed institution in the Kingdom ... women can drive ... dress as they like ... it's a funny spectacle when a girl goes out for her morning jog in her shorts ... and the workers leave their work .. all gawking at her ...
Getting back to the subject .... this royal decree of "freedom" has created unrest in the clerical faction ... one of the clerics who openly opposed against co-ed has been relieved of his duties ...
I, like many others believe that soon a time will come when Saudia will be as open as (why go far) ... say UAE and this is just the beginning ...
Tuesday 27 October 2009
An Interesting Conversation
There is this driver from Eritrea in our office, I had a chat with. He speaks good English, is well mannered, dresses smartly ... a clear contrast to the other drivers who cant speak a word of English ... heres a gist of the conversation ...
I dont recall how we started but along the way he told me where he was from and that he and his family had to flee due to some political problems ... and hadn't returned to his home country for 25 years .... My curiousity led me to ask him, how he was able to speak such good English ... it was a simple answer ... "from school" ... he had passed high school and then due to financial reasons he had to quit further studies ...
Somehow he got into the field of "Hydro-Meteorology" ... I was like "What??!!" ... "It means the study of ...." .... " I know what it means (but you) " ... Then he started explaining how the water conditions of the rivers have to be considered while constructing bridges ... so eloquently .... and I was thinking about our Egyptian Construction Manager who cant pronounce "Library" :S
But when he came to saudia ... the first thing in his mind was not to chase that career but to feed his family ... after several jobs which included being a cashier, salesman, waiter etc he came here as a driver ... and still searching ...
I was really moved
I dont recall how we started but along the way he told me where he was from and that he and his family had to flee due to some political problems ... and hadn't returned to his home country for 25 years .... My curiousity led me to ask him, how he was able to speak such good English ... it was a simple answer ... "from school" ... he had passed high school and then due to financial reasons he had to quit further studies ...
Somehow he got into the field of "Hydro-Meteorology" ... I was like "What??!!" ... "It means the study of ...." .... " I know what it means (but you) " ... Then he started explaining how the water conditions of the rivers have to be considered while constructing bridges ... so eloquently .... and I was thinking about our Egyptian Construction Manager who cant pronounce "Library" :S
But when he came to saudia ... the first thing in his mind was not to chase that career but to feed his family ... after several jobs which included being a cashier, salesman, waiter etc he came here as a driver ... and still searching ...
I was really moved
Saturday 24 October 2009
5 Minutes
It seems this is my first post since June. May be this is because nothing worth posting had happened until now -
I hadn't been to Madinah for two years .. it was long over due. On the eve of our trip, I and dad went out for a vehicle safety check. The tires had to be changed. There were two types available at our trusted Shell puncture shop .. an unknown brand and the other one TOYO - Made in Japan ... We obviously went for the later .. 270 SR each
Dad had to transfer credit ... to save time and avoid traffic we parked our car across the street in front of a small hotel ... There were two Yemenites sitting beside the entrance ... as soon as we got out, one of them asked "will you be long?" ... " just 5 minutes!" , i replied
There, I met one of my colleagues who had transferred to another department and we had to do some catching on .... it went on for more than "5 Minutes" .. When we returned back ... there was a group of people beside our car .... one of those Yemenites had gone berserq ... had a pair of scissors in his hand and was trying to deflate the tires through the air nozzle ... "WTF are you doing?" I shouted and tried to drag him away from the car ... "You said 5 minutes .... no ... You said 5 minutes" ... I tried to calm him down by apologizing but that MF was persistent on deflating all 4 tires .... "No I'm sorry ... I want all 4 of them" trembling as he spoke ...
During this scene of chaos ... one of them told me to get in the car and start the engine .... Meanwhile ... the maniac was done with the front tire and moved to the rear ... dad tried to threaten him by calling the police ...but nothing was working .... I got in the car and was about to close the door when he jumped up and blocked the door ... dad on seeing this got in also ... it took 4 people to pull him away from the door ... as soon as he was out of the way ... I got out of there like I was escaping convict ... Phew!
I hadn't been to Madinah for two years .. it was long over due. On the eve of our trip, I and dad went out for a vehicle safety check. The tires had to be changed. There were two types available at our trusted Shell puncture shop .. an unknown brand and the other one TOYO - Made in Japan ... We obviously went for the later .. 270 SR each
Dad had to transfer credit ... to save time and avoid traffic we parked our car across the street in front of a small hotel ... There were two Yemenites sitting beside the entrance ... as soon as we got out, one of them asked "will you be long?" ... " just 5 minutes!" , i replied
There, I met one of my colleagues who had transferred to another department and we had to do some catching on .... it went on for more than "5 Minutes" .. When we returned back ... there was a group of people beside our car .... one of those Yemenites had gone berserq ... had a pair of scissors in his hand and was trying to deflate the tires through the air nozzle ... "WTF are you doing?" I shouted and tried to drag him away from the car ... "You said 5 minutes .... no ... You said 5 minutes" ... I tried to calm him down by apologizing but that MF was persistent on deflating all 4 tires .... "No I'm sorry ... I want all 4 of them" trembling as he spoke ...
During this scene of chaos ... one of them told me to get in the car and start the engine .... Meanwhile ... the maniac was done with the front tire and moved to the rear ... dad tried to threaten him by calling the police ...but nothing was working .... I got in the car and was about to close the door when he jumped up and blocked the door ... dad on seeing this got in also ... it took 4 people to pull him away from the door ... as soon as he was out of the way ... I got out of there like I was escaping convict ... Phew!
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