Saba Imtiaz: Everyday is a winding road..

David had a picture of this on his blog ages ago; it was from his LCP. I thought it made alot of sense then - but today, its so much more relevant.

Survival Kit Items:

#1: a chewing gum - to remind you to stick to it.
#2: a match - to light your fire when you're feeling burnt out.
#3: a paper clip - to help keep things together when they seem to be out of control.
#4: rubber band - to stretch you beyond your limits.
#5: stars - to twinkle in your eyes and give you something to reach for.
#6: starbursts - to give you a burst of energy on days when you don't have any.
#7: a band-aid - when things get a little rough.
#8: an umbrella - for a rainy day.
#9: a panadol - well you ain't got an easy job.
#10: a bag - to help you keep it together

It is 3:25 AM. I should be asleep. I have tons of things to do tomorrow. Instead, I am constantly refreshing the nomadlife homepage to see the updates by Tom Gara on the PAI elections happening at IPM right now. I think that should go into the 'you know you've been in AIESEC too long' list..

15 minutes later: I've erased the rest of the post. It doesn't even make sense to me. They still haven't announced the election result. My back hurts. I really should go to sleep..

Happy birthday to the most awesome woman I know - Nicole Bohl.

When Nicole came to Pakistan in December, I remember Sharz and Mikaal telling me 'OMG, Nicole's been to 55 countries!', and I couldn't stop thinking - 'wow!' In the weeks that followed - with her working with the MC, being a faci for SDC, her funny impersonations (even in the picture she's impersonating someone :P), traveling with her to Lahore and hearing some of her stories, giving me advice on running for LCP, her sitting me down at NLC and giving me some amazing advice - all these memories and so many others keep flashing by - she's just such an amazing, amazing person. :) I miss her - but yay, she has a 1 year visa for Pakistan now so she's going to be here soon hopefully :)

Love you babe! Hope you had a great day :)

Karachi's an unpredictable city.

With Lahore burning down, and Peshawar rioting, I would've thought Karachi would follow the same path. We're the city that faced the brunt after 9/11. Surprisingly, other than mass rallies and a few isolated incidents, nothing happened here. There are scaffoldings over the offices of foreign banks and companies, and the road to uni (which is surrounded by embassies and consulates, right, left and centre) is semi-blocked by empty containers - a tactic that the City Government adopted after 9/11. The containers had been removed less than a year ago finally, alongwith the police checkpoint (where many a speeding student paid bribes to avoid a ticket and to make it to class on time).

It feels like a flashback in time. I was in my first year of I.Com at Commecs when 9/11 happened.
Today, I'm a little more than a year away from graduating (fingers crossed).

In the future, where will I be?
Talk - Coldplay

I'm trying to get back on track.

My cell phone has a note posted on it so I see that whenever I pick up the phone. It reads:

"I am a smart, intelligent 20 year old. I do not deserve to be treated like crap."

I was talking to Kurt about things that inspired us. Something that has always inspired me is a line from an Emirates ad: "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" I think if I had to sum up the past two months in one line, that would be it.

I downloaded this song for Sharmin before NLC. I've been listening to it alot. Savage Garden used to be one of my favorite bands growing up, but I never liked this song then - it was too optimistic for me.

Savage Garden - Affirmation

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe forgiveness is the key to your own happiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

My favorite picture - the OC stall's complaints and suggestions list :P

Labels: photos

AIESEC Pakistan at Awards Night

Labels: photos

Just got back from NLC today, after another incredibly long train journey.

Now that I've showered, have somewhat unpacked, cleaned up my e-mail inbox, got the contact lens for my left eye (it mysteriously vanished o_o) and have eaten something non-vegetarian, I've sat down with three open blogpost windows.

And I don't know what to write.

This conference has been really interesting and really weird for lots of reasons. I was so overworked and tired pre-conf that I left without having any expectations whatsoever, and I felt incredibly lost and confused for the first two days. I think sitting down in commission and planning sessions got me back on track; and long conversations with Saira, Sharmin and Nicole about how I felt. What I'm going to say is this: AIESEC Pakistan is my extended family - some of the members are the family support I never had; and I know that I can actually cry and laugh and make random jokes and bug them endlessly and they will still be there.

I love you guys =)

In the past few weeks, I have morphed into a full fledged workaholic. I love work - it keeps me busy, I enjoy it because its challenging and fulfilling, and since I'm prone to being depressed often, it keeps me distracted from thinking and overthinking situations in my personal life. When people ask me these days how things are going, non-AIESEC wise, I have no answer, because between university and classes and exams and AIESEC, I can barely get time to sleep, let alone think. I think a reason why I'm so at peace with my own life these days is also because I just had a proper vacation after a very long time, and I actually sat and thought about my life, everything that had happened in the past few months and I got all my thoughts down on paper. The train journey to Lahore, sitting in Masoom's eating apple crumble and writing furiously, jotting down thoughts in the airport lounge while I waited to board my delayed flight to Karachi - I'd forgotten how it felt like to write on paper. It was one of the simple pleasures of life that blogging and Word and MSN took away, and I'm glad I rediscovered it.