So who's hating the new facebook outlook ?? The live tickers on the side, the over magnified view of everything etc. I dont exactly hate it, but I'm not liking it either. I must say its amazing how facebook changes its outlook every now and then, how everybody says they hate it, and yet, they stick to it !

'The wild goose chase' and me !

Seems like people do wanna hear more about me being chased down the street by wild geese !I often get e-mails from readers complimenting me, asking me stuff about the Pakistani culture etc, but this time I was actually amazed to be getting numerous e-mails asking me to post about the goose story I mentioned in the last post !


Okay so here's what happened. Somewhere back in June, on one of the Sundays, when the neighborhood usually is really calm, quiet and deserted in the early hours of the morning, my dear mom realised that we needed bread for breakfast. And who's the person who always comes in handy for all the 'please go and fetch some...' kinda chores ? ME. We have a nice little convenience store down the block. Its pretty close by so I decided to walk, I was sleepy anyway, so walking (instead of driving) was a better option. I walked out of the door and down the street. One of my neighbors was washing his car at a distance, I turned left and walked a little more, passing by a home where some new people had moved in. There was a huge cage in front of that home with all kinds of birds in it. I heard a dog bark inside and right near the door was something like a shed in which were sitting two geese and a baby goose. I was just admiring the fact that the new people are probably animal lovers when suddenly one of the goose stood up and started walking behind me. I paced up a little but I think I just gave the wrong sign because that evil thing extended its neck like an arrow and ran charging towards me. The other also began to follow and make weird duck-ish noises ! Within a few minutes here's how what it looked like - me running at full speed down the street, followed by a wild goose chasing me with its long neck all extended and parallel to the ground , and wings spread wide while the other goose gave a horrible background music to the entire scenario. I was still confused at which way to run to save myself when my neighbor drove into the street with his car and  smartly braked it in between me and the goose. And thats how I was saved ! He stayed there with his car until I safely crossed the street. Later on my way back from the store I completely avoided that route and took a longer way instead.

I still wonder what would have happened if the goose did outrun me or something ? I mean would it have bitten me ? eaten me alive or what ?

I'm flying !

A looot of things have happened recently, From being chased down the street by a goose to sleeping 2.5 hours in 28hours !!... My exams ended yesterday, with the ophthalmology grand finale ! I dont exactly hate ophthalmology but I'm not a huge fan of it either. Its theoretical exam at the start of this month was okay but I was totally dreading the clinical exam, yesterday. The adrenaline in my system kept me awake all night before the exam day and thats how I ended with just 2.5 hours of sleep in 28 hours. But thank God the exam went fairly well and one of the examiners even mentioned that I would make a good ophthalmologist and I should really consider it as a field of speciality. For a second my reaction was " wow ! does he really mean me ?? Is he out of his mind !" :D

Today my friends and I went to watch Harry Potter.. It was epic ! It felt good and sad at the same time that something that was such a phenomenal part of my childhood/teens came to an end. It would've been cool if J.K Rowling continued the series again but I think that would just make the whole 'Harry Potter' thing lose its charm.

And as for me being chased down the street by a goose. Yes, that was hilarious, but I wont be giving you the opportunity to laugh over me this time.. So, that's me signing off :)

P.S - The goose story is yet to come. Keep visiting !

Hey there readers, yes, I'm alive :) In case my unusually long absence from the blogging world worried anyone about me being abducted by aliens, falling down the gutter, or getting locked up in the bathroom of my own home without a cell phone or anyone to call for help ! ( I know thats a NOT Im hearing :D ).

 So anyways I was just busy with lots of stuff and had more than enough on plate to find time to blog, but here I am now, and what do I have for you today ?? An entire list of biographies of people from the medical world and related to it..I havent really read any of them and but I'm sure they're interesting. I'd like to get my hands on a a few. Has any of my readers read any of them ??

Here's the link - 

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/07/11/20-essential-biographies-for-medical-students/

10 months of agony and fear, and then, finally - freedom !

My heart was filled with pride and warmth today as I witnessed some really emotional moments. 10 months back a group of Pakistani sailors was kidnapped by Somali pirates and huge ransom was demanded for their release, or they'd be murdered. The families of those kidnapped made desperate appeals on the media for their release. One young girl, Layla Wasi, the captains daughter especially came to notice for her innocent and emotional speech on TV to help her get her father back. Ansar Burney a human rights activist, and an ex-human rights minister, rose to the situation for those in distress like he always has. The huge amount of ransom was collected and paid to the pirates. Not only did the ansar burney trust manage to get the Pakistani sailors freed but it also paid the ransom for other kidnapped sailors from India, Egypt and Sri Lanka, for which their families paid great tribute to Pakistan.

Captain Wasi and his daughter Layla Wasi.

The sailors were in tears once they arrived at the Pakistani port, it was especially so touching to see both Layla Wasi and her dad Capt.Wasi hugging each other, crying, and not letting the other go. That girl did a lot for her father, making appeals, speeches and what not. Capt. Wasi must be a proud father. May Allah always keep or families safe, and may Allah bless those who help others, their reward is surely Jannah ( Heaven)

So so so ...

I rock climbed !!No not on a rocky mountain but a less adventurous artificial thing they have to make people like me get a feel of it :D I didnt reach upto the top but I did something I had always wanted to do, drop back to the ground hanging by suspensions, lame I know, but thats the part I like best about rock climbing :D I would have made it to the top had I not started with a drained off energy level. But anyways, I did make it more than half way through :)

2nd July is the big day !! The day the exams start ( Yeah exam days are the only days I call big in my life, thats what medical college has turned me into ) So anyway its less then a month, and for some reason I'm still not in the study gear. Its probably because I've gotten bored of the entire exam phenomena ! I mean seriously just how many frickin exams am I supposed to take in this life time ? So I've figured, for this semester I'll just play like a pro soccer player playing in his own backyard and save my energy and all those super duper skills for the boards and all :)

Is it alright to have a weird crampy feeling in your muscles after yoga ?? Well you see we had a yoga orientation seminar at college today and we just did a few very basic yoga stretches that didnt seem difficult at all, but all my joints have been feeling weird after that. I probably didn't use the right posture. The organisers are planning a yoga plus aerobic session soon and I cant wait for it !! I hope my muscles are more workable by then !

My favourite Pakistani foods

I'm not exactly a food lover, I believe in eating less and living long but my mom finds this rather disappointing and believes in eating all you want and then working out to lose it. My schedule hardly allows for working out a lot ( did I mention I've managed to work out for 20 mins for 1 month straight ? * read achievement*) I choose to control the calorie intake and hear my mom scold me about how growing children need more nutrients ! YES growing child ! thats what she always says, I mean for God sake mom I'm almost 23, I'm no more a growing child , I am an aging adult, for crying out loud , she then smiles and says oh you still need it any way. Yeah, that's the kind of logic moms use for their kids.

So anyways , I still do like food and there are some foods I'd rather not think twice about eating, here they are

Chicken Handi - The traditional clay utensil used for cooking food as seen in the above pic is called a handi. The chicken is cooked it in it with tomato and onion sauce.

Haleem - Its a cooked mixture of all kinds of lentils, wheat and cereals with meat and spices. Its eaten with a lot of garnishings

Biryani - Now you could almost call this particular dish our national food, since I dont think there exists any Pakistani who hasn't had it or doesn't like it. Its rice cooked with meat and gravy ( and of course spices !)

Chana Chaat - This a favourite for all those who like sour and savoury food. Its boiled chick peas with a lot of tamarind paste, lemon, green chillies, mint, coriander, potatoes, onions and tomatoes.

Naan - Its flat bread that's eaten along with curries and its less classy version, roti/chappati is a staple diet for Pakistanis. I love naan so much I could eat naan all day without actually bothering for the main dish.

Chicken Karhai - This meat dish is sauted with a lot of tomatoes and onions in a big wok

Chapli Kebabs - The one in the pic is a tad overcooked and doesnt look as tasty as it is in real life. Its a patty of meat and spices that is fried with added herbs. The northern areas of Pakistan make the best variety.

Matar Pulao - Its rice cooked with cumin seeds, and green peas

Koftey - Who hasn't heard of meatballs ? This is exactly it, which is cooked in various forms of traditional gravy

Daal - Lentils - I love both the soupy and the dry cooked versions. The soupy one is usually eaten with rice while the dry one with naan or chapaati

Ras Malai - This is a sweet dish. Its basically a dough of milk and eggs, cooked in milk and sugar

Left or right ? Up or down ?

You know what I'm stuck with ?? I'm stuck with 11 chapters of systemic pathology, a task that seems endless and then there's community medicine that I just cant get myself to read regularly because the enormity of pathology in my mind just seems to overshadow the importance of community medicine..Uggh

There's an endless list of friends, family, relatives and neighbours that I need to please and that leaves very little time to study, that's the problem with living in closely knit societies like ours, but hey it has its own advantages, like free food :D a shoulder to lean on and an ever abundant source of support, so basically its all about managing my time ( which I need to do more appropriately now, since we're fast approaching our finals date ).

One of the things worth mentioning that has happened lately is a major shift in my plans. I've decided to switch priorities, switch from making neurology my best choice to to IM ( Internal Medicine). And I'm very whimsical and scared of doing it, beacuse I've been in love with neurology for the past , I dont know, 7 years ! and now I realize I might not be as interested in it as I thought I'd be and the feeling sucks. It feels like stepping out of a failed relationship, a relationship that you thought was perfect until you simply lost interest but are still too clingy to let go of the idea of being in a relationship ( Yeah, too complicated) . So just to make things a little less simple I've decided to act like some divorcee to step into a bar and ' explore other options ' ( No I'm a practising muslim and I dont go to bars in real life, in case it got you wondering ). So, I've added more possibilities on my list , they're IM  ( difficult to get in and needs high scores ), Neurology ( I still see hope in it ) and paeds ( not exactly my thing but still a good choice).

Attending a seminar on ' The long road to residency' just made me question my determination and and ability to go through those lengthy application procedures. A point came when I thought I'd rather just go into R & D and do some probably underpaid but less hectic work and forego the hassle. But you see I just cant picture myself not attending to patients or not doing a hospital job. Being a doctor for me meant , interacting with patients and treating diseases ! Its just so difficult to change your own opinion about your own choices that you once so passionately made..

My mom says that I should take things one step at a time and focus on my efforts right now, I think thats what I should be doing

Watching the semis

Pakistan Zindabad !! ( long live Pakistan) - that was the slogan of the day on 30th March the day we had our semi-final ( Cricket world cup 2011) against India. Matches with India are always sensational, not only because both the teams are wonderful at the sport but also because India and Pakistan have long been rivals at almost everything, so its almost like a battle ground out there at the stadium.

Students from our college had arranged for the screening at a local banquet hall, so it was a huge screen and spectators from most of our college around that screen watching it with lights off, hooting, singing and enjoying every bit of it !! I must say, it was one of the most memorable days of my life, sitting with my friends, painting flags on each others face and then jumping up and down on every sign of success in the match !! But after one inning Fary, Azz and I left for Shii's place since a few of our friends were gathered at her house to watch the match. We drove down to her place like around fifteen blocks away with our faces half white and half green looking like ultimate fools :D We got pretty shocked stares including one from a lady who almost forgot to look ahead of her after her car passed us by :D

At the end of the day we lost the match, but that day and the days before shall forever be etched in my mind. Going team shirt shopping with friends, and trying to find green stuff ( Pak flag is green and white and all possible green items were out of market due to the cricket passion), waving my beloved national flag and praying for my team, its all a beautiful memory..We may have lost the match but it just helped all of us Pakistanis bind more strongly :) Long live Pakistan !

Patriotism on fire !

Its 23rd March, Wednesday, today. Back in 1940, 23rd March was the day when the Muslim league resolved to establish a seperate nation called Pakistan, which was then geographically a part of India. This day is still celebrated as 'Resolution Day' and is a national Holiday. To top that ,today Pakistan is also playing its quarter final against West Indies in the Cricket World Cup 2011, so its Patriotism on fire. Yes Cricket for Pakistanis is all that and more, its faith, its sentiments, its patriotism, its ego etc etc. So yeah I have my fingers crossed for victory tonight :)

The ophthalmology scare !

So there I was studying about anterior blepharitis, chalazion and hordeolum 5 mins ago when I slammed the book shut and turned on a new tab with blogger to get my eyes off the images of stye on Google images ! Studying ophthalmology gives me the creeps, I'm ultra sensitive about the eye, observing it closely and the look of the fleshy interior lid margins set my heart on gallops and the mere discussion of cases on eye trauma paints such a horrid picture into my imagination that it makes my ears ring ! I bunked all the classes when we were supposed to attend and observe eye surgeries simply because I knew I wouldn't be able to stand it.

Everyone has their own share of phobias and weaknesses I guess, attending anatomy dissestions, surgeries and the sight of blood have never been a problem with me but the EYE drives me insane. I hope studying about it for four months will improve my tolerance !!

Of maayuns, birthdays, treats and surprises

I know most of you consider that I've really lost my touch at blogging or have simply lost interest but trust me , thats not it..It seems the past two weeks were the most heavily scheduled weeks of my life, commitments that need to be kept, promises that had to be fulfilled, tests that had to be taken and most importantly tonnes of parties that HAD to be attended...here's how my week passed...

Sunday - Rubab's birthday surprise
               Dido's sis maayun*
Monday - Shi's birthday and a trip to Sea View
Tuesday - Rub's and Shi's birthday treat at Arizona Grill
Wednesday - Dinner with family
Thursday -  Bake Sale
Friday - Dido's sister's wedding
Saturday - Azz's sister's engagement
Sunday - BBQ at at a family friends' home
Monday - Ward test
                 RD's cousin's wedding

and amidst all that I had to fit in my studies too. !!! .And wait did I tell you guys how deceptive Seniors can be ? Most of the people I know rely heavily on the senior's opinion's, pattern's and  choices for their own study planning but for some adamant reasons I've always made my own opinions and made choices that suited my own style. I never just take the senior's word for everything, they're not always right. For instance, there was this senior back when I was in third year who'd scare me by telling how tough Forensic medicine is, how you have to take down notes of everything the professor says and also that no matter how hard you study you will always get a mediocre score, well AAAAINN it never happened that way, I scored the highest in it and found that the easiest exam was of Forensic medicine !! I was also told by some people that the 4th year of medical college is the easiest, 'you could even get married if you want too, it wont be a problem to handle the wedding and studies at the same time' , was what I was told ! but heck no, I dont think its that easy. We have a whole lot of systemic pathology this semester along with Ophthalmology and Community Medicine/Public Health, doesnt look all that simple to me..And oh btw I'm also trying to form an opinion on Community medicine which I heard one senior say was the toughest subject she ever came across ( I so NOT think so )

MK's beautiful braid with a paranda and flowers at dido's sis's maayun

when we bunked to sea view

RD's cousin - the bride

*maayun - The event based on the theme color , yellow. It traditionally involves applying Ubtan ( a yellow coloured skin conditioner made by herbs and spices) to the bride, now merely a superficial ceremony. It is practiced in some families and is not a mandatory part of the wedding

Annual pilgrimage to Haws Bay 2011 - Guest post

  

The following is an account by a blog follower of his recent trip to Hawks bay, a beach of Karachi. There you go Yaseen Ch, your post has been published... :)

Annual Pilgrimage to Hawks Bay 2011

It was a bright Sunday morning right at the end of January when we left for a picnic party to Karachi’s famous beach called Hawks Bay with lots of old and young people and some really young ones too.

Our initial plan was to leave at 11 but late as usual, we were finally able to left at 2:30. It took us an hour to reach the destination, we were definitely behind schedule, but as they say " It is never too late to have fun”

Chicken Biryani and crispy Aalu Chanaa, made by our fellow friends, were the lunch meals for the day.

It was relatively calm and there were few people out there on the beach something which is usually rare for a beach as busy as Hawksbay. The Soothing noise of the waves gives you a thought of never changing and never ending. Of being static, caught in time, it was the same sight and the same sound one year ago when i came here for the very first time and will stay same 50 years on. Only human feelings, emotions and company changes. 

You can’t stay on the beach without running, it compels you, and the sense of distant places almost over rides you. So do we decided to have a race which never ended as planned and instead was followed by a solo long run right to the end.

Joy of such visits is doubled if you have company of little ones who barely have learned to walk and we were lucky to have two of them. Nearly of the same age and having their first sight of the wide horizon.

Such visits are stored forever in your photographic memory, the faces, the dresses, the sentences spoken and gestures are never forgotten and continue to give you joy for all times to comes as there is a famous saying 

“Ask not what tomorrow may bring, but count as blessing every day that Fate allows you”

Summer time is lawn time !

Iits almost the time of the year to wear Lawn again, and the city is filled with billboards and hoardings with advertisements of models in dresses made of flashy lawn prints tempting enough to actually visit their lawn exhibitions. So what is lawn ? its a very light cotton-ish fabric that is ideal for the summers, especially for the hot , humid and dreaded summers of Karachi. Just yesterday we planned of going to Nadya Hussain's ( a model ) lawn exhibit, so after college uj, rubber, shee and I went to the Pearl Continental Hotel, where the exhibition was supposed to be,  but it was only after we got there that Shee reminded us that the exhibit was at actually at Marriott ! but there was another exhibit at PC, Yasir Waheed's and since Yasir Waheed is a trusted name in lawn brands we decided we to go ahead and make our visit of use. It was the last day of exhibition and most of the good prints were already sold out but I bought a few for my mom and myself nevertheless..

Nomi Ansari

 Nomi Ansari is a famous dress designer but its the first time that he's introducing his own line of lawn prints, I'm really looking forward to his exhibition, its in the third week of March, I just hope the prices are affordable !

Nadya Hussain

Her line of lawn prints were the ones we wanted to see that day but instead ended up at the one below, but I'm glad we did because I later read and heard comments that the fabric wasn't very upto the mark and the designs weren't very adequate either.

The place where we landed !

 The next post would be a guest post ! The first in the history of this blog :) so stay tuned :)

Back to business

I'm back from my dream vacation, and I say dream not because it was way too fantastic or because I spent the time at a resort on some island, but dream because it was too short to be real, sitting back on my laptop right now, the past fifteen days or so seem like a dream. I'd thought I wouldn't get much jetlagged since the stay was very short but nay, I dont think I've been this badly jet lagged even after trips that were two months long. But then again I think the present always seems more intense than the past, just like every summer I'm found saying that "summer was never this hot !"

I'd be documenting more stuff and would be blogging more frequently but for now I'm off to sleep...drops down  ZzZzZZzzzzzzzzzzz

Hotel California

I'm past my first week in CA and the jet lag has almost completely worn off, but my allergies have kicked in, i wonder why, it happens all the time ! Im at my uncle's house and we have guest from Arizona as well, my other uncle, its such a full house :) I'm really liking it..the idea of a huge family with lots of cousins is always so pleasing to me.I only wish I had a few cousins my age, almost all of mine are younger than me.My uncles kids in CA are the ones Im closest too, I love it when they call me Baaji ( urdu for elder sister) or show me their stuff and play all kinds of games with me. I LOVE them and of course I LOVE my aunt and uncle too, they're my second set of god gifted parents :)

My uncle from dad's side and another uncle from mom's side would be coming to visit us this week too, and I'm really looking forward to that..Cheers to family :)

PS - I know I havent uploaded any pics in a while, its just that I left my laptop in Pakistan and am using my cousins pc..ill do the uploading as soon as I get there. I promise

Say hello to the slave in me !

Guess where I am at ? No prizes for guessing it and booo if you failed. Well, I am in California right now. Remember I posted on how my vacations got extended and that required a shift in travel plans ? So basically I had to cut my electives at LN Hospital short, pack up, say goodbyes and board the plane. Its just a stay for 15 days and I'll miss about 4 days of college in the middle, but anyhow atleast I'll get to meet my relatives.

What I'm really  annoyed about right now is the fact that the doc whom we ( Huz and I) worked under at the LN hospital has refused to issue me an experience certificate , let alone a LOR ( letter of recommendation). I mean I get it that he'd find it difficult to trust my skills enough in a period of two weeks to write an LOR for me, but heck, he even refused ticking on those tiny boxes in a performance assesment form so that the administration could give me a written acknowledgment of my two weeks at that hospital.Reason - "Two weeks just isnt enough for any kind of acknowledgment" I mean what is he, kidding me !.He made us work like a mule, made us stay back extra hours everyday, asked us to do assignments and then....it all goes to waste just because I couldn't do a complete one month of slavery for him. He was so annoying that even Huz has chosen to stay away from him after I left, I'm sure he'd drive him up the wall if he stayed.

And oh yeah did I mention that he didn't even give us lunch breaks ?!!, Huz and I would rush to the cafe and grab some cookies and gobble them down as we walked from the OPD to the ward after him..Now isnt that cruelty ??

On the other hand bestie and other friends at the cardio ward are under a wonderful, happy, humorous doc who takes them as humans and encourages them too..I'm envying them !

PS - All the other neurlogists in that hospital were all really cool.

Hills over beaches

Yay, another blog award ! I just love grabbing these little pics and putting em up on my page as if they were trophies on my shelf...Thank you very much Sana for liking my blog and awarding me this precious little treasure. You're a fabulous blogger yourself girl !

The 7 random things that I need to say about myself for getting this are -

1 - I hate heights and edges ! Heights make me feel lonely and punched out and edges (on heights) simply  mean the end of the world to me.

2 -  Accidents and I have a long history, I once drowned in a swimming pool,( I was 6 and didnt know how to swim). Had my index finger of right hand chopped off by accident, it was literally hanging by a few appendages of skin ! ( Its okay and normal now), fractured my patella (knee bone) once and dislocated it thrice, and once almost short circuited my entire house !

3 - I have an unnatural love for coffee beverages and coffee itself.

4 - I have a tendency to be emotionally and spiritually over attached to the people around me,  I lose my individuality and thats kinda hard to explain.

5 - I prefer sunrise over sunset, a picnic over shopping, purple over pink, the hills over the beach ( I dont like beaches very much, it gives me a strange uncanny feeling, even though I've lived in coastal cities all my life), and good relationships over good books !

6 - If I had a million bucks the first thing I'd do would be to fulfill all my parents wishes, then ofcourse I'd go on with all the other plans I have for my country and humanity in general.

7 - I'm not actually Pakistani, infact I'm not even a girl, I just blog as a girl because it helps me get popular..Geez Relax ! Just kidding :D

The seven people I'm tagging to receive this award are -

1 - Unveiling Harini
2 - Orderly Chaos
3 - Solo Muslimah
4 Somalian Arab Princess
5 - Writing for life
6 -  Beneath the Kohl
7 - The emotional lava

Grab it people, you deserve it !

Stroke stroke stroke stroke stroke stroke

Yeah okay I know I swore I wouldn't do an elective this time and I was pretty adamant about it the whole  past month but I was left with no better option last week when our vacations got extended for almost three weeks (unexpectedly) Woohoo !! but oh wait that news brought some alarming change of plans and uncertainities.

1 - If the vacations get extended our next exams might just get a little postponed too, so that means I would probably not get vacations in the right time of summer to meet my relatives and that meant urgent shift in travel plans. (sounds complicated right ?)

2 - Sitting at home for a month did not sound so bad but sitting back for around 2 months seemed like such a wastage of time.

3 - I automatically know I've had enough of domesticities when I start getting into disagreements with people at home. It means its time to step out.

So keeping reason number 2 and 3 in mind I decided it would do me good if I did something productive and made use of my time. And so with an entire team of friends I filled up a form, paid the fee and officially started the elective.Most of my friends opted for cardiology but Huz and I chose the neurology dept.Neurology has been like THE most fascinating subject for me since O'levels ( I was 15 then), I'd watch videos, google stuff and sneak into my dad's books for everything that would reveal a little more about the brain. I did an elective at Civil Hospital last year and the neuro patients there were really interesting and diverse, the doc was an overexcited individual too who'd teach with full passion and zeal but things at this hospital are different. This hospital caters to the middle and upper middle class unlike Civil hospital which caters mostly to the lower class ( Its a public sector hospital with no consultation fee etc) so obviously the kind of patients are different and and the presenting complaints are different too. 80% of the patients here are stroke patients and so that gets kind of monotonous and I've begun to lose interest it seems.

Its such a dilemma to be in love with something for over 6 years and then suddenly realise it might not be all what it seemed. I'm doubting my choice. I love neurology, I love reading about all its related diseases but the interesting cases are so far and few apart in clinical practice...The only good thing is that I'm not the only one feeling the same way. Huz who's also doing his elective with me in neuro has been complaining about the same thing lately. I hope this elective leaves me with opportunities and learning instead of doubts and dilemmas !

Image courtesy - Fooksie.com

Get a good laugh !

These are all real incidents from my friend's life and my own !

In the midst of a confusion at the out patient clinic:
Patient: Doctor Zestril gives me headaches and makes me sleepy, cant you reduce its dose ?
Friend AP : Zestril doesn't really make one sleepy, but wait let me confirm.
Friend AP to the doctor incharge - " Excuse me Sir, is the drug Zestril seductive ?"
Doctor incharge : " Err what ?"
Friend AP - "Is Zestril SED-aa-eer-amm *Oh shit* sedative ?"

                                           ****

At the GYNAE ward during an evening duty, all of us were hungry, bored and tired.

Me - Its such a boring day, no labor, no deliveries, no emergencies all we did was take histories, I'm tired , hungry and bored.
Friend MS - "Yeah it was indeed boring"
Me - Hey lets get a delivery
Friend MS with her eyebrows raised in bewilderment - " You want to induce a delivery ?!!"
Me - I meant lets get a PIZZA delivery !
                 
                                 ******

I had to call a hair saloon to ask for their charges,Here's what I had to ask

" I have medium length hair, how much would you charge for a layer cut ?"

Here's what I asked -

"I have hair, how much do you charge "

                              *****

Me at a fabric store asking a shopkeeper - "Do you guys allow people to drink at this store?"
Shopkeeper - "Excuse me ?"
Me - I meant water, as in its okay if I drink water here right ? no 'food and drinks not allowed' policy right ?
Shopkeeper - No *smiling*

Geez it wasnt like I was planning on having a beer party or anything !

                                *****

This is what I thought I'd text my friend -
" I shall be making a public appearance in college today"

This is what I texted in a hurry -
" I shall be making a pubic appearance in college today"


there are many to come, I'll post them after a while :D

I'll always miss you

And every now and then you're reminded how crazy life can get at times, how everything only seems to be under our control when actually we're all like puppets in a play, each character can only perform what its creator wants it to, it can only be on the screen/stage for as long the creator wants it to, not a second more or a second less can it stay with its own free will....

One of my best friends from school passed away this morning. Its hard to believe how she dwindled from a healthy individual to being bed ridden. She lives lived in Lahore, a city to the north of Pakistan and I hadnt met her in ages, our only correspondence was through phone calls, text msgs and facebook. It was a shock when her brother texted me that 'S' was sick, and uncon   with the possibility of a brain tumor. She had been okay a day back, talking, walking joking etc at night she complained of a head ache went to the doctor and got some pills, the headache didn't subside and she had to make a visit to the hospital at which time she fainted. She was admitted but never really gained conciousness, she was also on the ventilator..

I'm sure the past 9 days must've have been one of the most tormenting times for her family, I could feel for 'S' from being miles away and I can imagine how her parents must've felt seeing their daughter in that condition, its just sooo sad..

I now wish I had called more often, texted more often or could have met her someway...that's my biggest regret, I just cant believe she's not there.That even if I go to Lahore now I wont be able to meet her, hug her or atleast see her..Lahore meant 'S', the idea of going to Lahore meant meeting 'S' and she's just no more, not there..

I pray for her soul and I pray for her family..This is just how nature works, Allah knows best and even though we find a thousand faults everything happens for a reason which is often high above our comprehension, May Allah give us and especially her family the patience to bear with this loss..

'S' you shall always be missed, may Allah grant you the best of Jannah, you shall forever and ever be in our prayers :'( :'(

Garden fresh !

I've spent almost two weeks at home and classes dont start till the 17th ! Our result which should've been out and forgotten by now is still a well awaited surprise ( for the good or the bad). Uzma ( my bestie, if you guys dont already know her by now) had her birthday on the 2nd of Jan..I spent that day at her place, we ate, talked,ate, talked and then talked all over again..The party was scheduled for 5th and it was a combined birthday party for Aniqa, Sidra, Anum and Uzma, excluding Uzma all of them had their birthday during exams and couldn't be celebrated so we decided to have them all together...

The governor of Punjab got killed by his own guard day before yesterday, some extremist guy, but Thank God  the killer was arrested immediately

Other than that Karachi has been really cold since last week, and I'm enjoying the winters as much as I can, hot coffee, blankies, warm sweaters and dry fruits are the merry joys of winter for me :)

 Our garden looks very pretty these days with so many fruits hanging on the trees. We have papaya trees, custard apple trees, banana trees, limes and cheekoos ( I dont know what they're called in english)  in our garden, and excluding  the limes and bananas all of them are in full bloom, here are some pics...

The custard apples and the cheekus , fresh from the garden !

Our papaya tree, the plastic bag's there to protect the ripe papayas from being eaten by birds, or otherwise they'd be gnawed like one of the papayas visible in the pic (the orange one)

Lime

The cheeku tree, the cheekus aren't very visible in this picture though :(

Custard apple !

New moon and a New year !

I was watching 'New moon' when the clock struck 12 last night and the air was filled with sounds of fire crackers ! My parents were watching the celebrations on TV downstairs but I didn't bother to get out of my blanket and continued watching. I had been planning on watching 'New moon' since ages but somehow always ended up watching some other movie instead of it. The movie was total crap I'd say. The books are always better but in the case of the Twilight series, when I think of it in retrospect, I wonder what made me such a huge fan. I now think the entire series was just a cheesy teenage fascination ! I mean why on earth would a human choose to live like a vampire !! For God's sake I mean, why !? And please don't say " For love"..If I were in Bella's place I would have chosen Jacob and lived a normal life and not made Charlie so unhappy ! But oh well everyone makes their own choices and I've always had the tendency to fall for the character other than the lead in almost all the movies with a love triangle ( yeah I'm weird)..

Oh I forgot to say HAPPY NEW YEAR !! I hope you guys have a wonderful year ahead and stick to your resolutions..My resolutions for this time are in two sets. The first set is of things I have to do and the second set is of the changes or adjustments I need to do with my attitude and personality..

Set A - Things to do

1 - Study for the boards
2 - Improve my clinical skills
3 - Excel in driving ( I stink at it )
4 - Stop wasting time
5 - Be more regular with my exercise
6 - Increase fruits in my diet
7 - Loose a few inches here and there

Set B - Attitude changes

1 - Be more focused and present minded.
2 - Be more objective oriented.
3 - Get rid of my indecisiveness
4 - To live while studying not study while living.
5 - Be a better group leader ( for my clinical group)
6 - Improve my self confidence.


I hope 2011 brings us all, happiness, the fulfillment of our prayers and a lot of blessings. Cheers :)