It’s been over a year since I ’embraced’ motherhood.  And hence the lack of time to write for my blogsite.

My son is a year old now.  And it seems, contradictory to my belief, everyday seems more challenging than the last.  He is beginning to throw tantrums, get more curious and become more restless.  However, I will say without any doubt, life is more fun, adventerous and spontaneous with a baby.  Toddler.  Whatever.  For instance…

Today, a casual grocery trip to Tesco turned into an episode of drama and action.

My son was sitting in the trolley.  I wouldnt really say sitting though, because it was more like attempts to stand up in his place.  I was constantly thwarting his continuous struggle to do so.

It was a moment’s distraction, as I moved forward to pick some things from the aisle shelf and put them in the trolley.  My son was standing again… and whining for some reason.  Exasperated, I held him up…

… and lifted him up- when the whining turned into screaming.

I looked down, alarmed and saw his foot was stuck BETWEEN the bars between the trolley seat and trolley itself.  I pulled instinctively, but his ankle was wedged quite tightly.  How did he actually do that?? I wondered in panic.

“Are you all right?? Do you need help?” A lady asked me.  I nodded.  She held his foot and I pulled him up.  He screamed and started crying hyserically.  His foot was officially STUCK.

Unfortunately, I have inherited my mother’s worry and panic genes.

“I think I will call somebody.  Just wait here.” she said.

I think I must have looked quite terrified as she kind of moved back and said:

“It’s ok he isnt in pain.  I will get somebody”  And I wondered how many years it would be before somebody actually showed up.  Almost instantly, two men walked to me, wearing Tesco suits and badges, looking to be important.

One man took a look and tried to wiggle my son’s foot out, but to no avail.

“How did he do that?”

“I don’t know” I said in despair with a hint of sarcasm.  Obviously, I wouldn’t have let him get on with it, if I had have seen him do it.

“We will have to cut this” the other man said.  Unfortunately, only the word CUT registered.

“WHAT?? CUT WHAT?” I asked shrilly. He wasnt thrilled to be dealing with a panic stricken woman with an already hysterically bawling baby, but his patience was commendable.

“We are going to cut the seat to release his foot” he showed me where and I shut up.  Another man with a hat came with a plier and metal saw.  I felt sick.  He went to work immediately.

A few spectators had gathered around us.  This time I was the spectatEE instead of being the spectator and it felt strange and embarassing.  The baby continued to bawl, regardless of everything.

Somebody touched my head, I looked at my side and there was a lady trying to comfort me.

“Dont worry, he is fine!”

Another lady helped me hold the baby up.  I felt better.  With a snap, the seat came off.

His foot was still wedged.

“Ok wait, let me do this!” The guy who did the cutting, said and held my son’s foot and gently snaked his foot out.  It came out in an instant with only a bit of pressure felt by my son.  I cuddled him and tried to calm him down.  A couple of ladies stroked his back.  I didn’t feel awkward now, I felt really nice from the display of empathy around me.  I smiled and thanked them.  The stern guy and the cutter guy were standing and I thanked them profusely.

“You need another trolley, just wait here while he gets one for you” the stern man said to me, “Next time make sure he is wearing his shoes so his foot doesnt go in”

I felt my face growing hot with embarassment.

“He took it off while he was trying to stand…” I mumbled.  I felt like such a bad mother.  I waited for 5 minutes and the small crowd dispersed with sympathetic and comforting words.

“Are you all right? Is the baby all right?” some women asked me and I assured them we were both okay.

The cutter man came back with a new trolley with baby seat fixed to it (no more risk after all the problem caused!).  I started to take things out with one hand with the baby in the other.  He asked me to stop, he will take care of everything.  He moved all my things to the new trolley.  I put my son in the seat and he put the safety harness on him.  I thanked him but I knew words wouldnt be enough.  I hope he realized how grateful I was.  Cutting a seat out of a trolley, below a lady holding a crying baby, without harming the baby, in 2 minutes is something not all of us can do.

“I will get your pound back” he said pushing the trolley.

“No no no.  Please dont I have troubled you enough!” I said in amazement.

“Nooo, its your money, I will bring it back.” he went away cheerfully.

After such a drama, I couldnt shop any further.  I went to check out my things.  The man came to me after 5 minutes and returned my coin.  I thanked him feebly.  He told me had a 10 month old son who is just as naughty.  And told my son not to be naughty so mummy could shop.

My son, to my great embarassment, shook his head at the man.

The purpose of this post is, to bring to light, how nice people can be even if they are strangers.  The humanity is not gone from everyone just yet.  People all around me while i was in my problem were so kind and empathetic, I learned that I should be the same.  It doesnt matter if you belong to which country, race or religion.  Humanity is something that prevails above anything and everything.

When Pakistan wins a match:

• Optimistic Facebook status updates (say it all, don’t they?) :

“Yes! Go Pakistan!!”

“Go greennnn!”

“Boom boom Afridi!!”

“197/2! Great going Pakistan!!”

“What a catchhhh!!”

• Videos of batting or bowling power plays are uploaded.  Even videos of players swearing at each other are uploaded.  Videos of historical catches, wickets and batting are uploaded as well.  Fans are ecstatic!
• World cup songs are uploaded declaring never-ending love for the Pakistani team.

It’s as if life has been breathed into the nation.  People who had no interest in cricket whatsoever,  begin to watch Cricket (yours truly :)) matches and follow scores.  People who love Cricket, come home from work and watch all previous victory videos of Pakistani players like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi etc.

And then a match in which Pakistan plays uncertainly but wins anyway:

People are silent or cursing when Pakistan does not put up a good show.

Then when it starts playing well, they start praising the bowling or batting skills (either one that lead to victory) generously.

A match where Pakistan gives a consistent poor performance… and loses:

• Some people are still optimistic and don’t lose faith in the fickle Pakistani team.  Facebook status say all:

“PAKISTAN for life. We tried but still …
Proud 2 be a Pakistani. !!PAKISTAN ZINDABAD !!”

“Tum Haro Ya Jeeto – Humain Tumse Pyaar Hai……. :((((“

“ohwell..better than expected atleast.. i thought they’d never get to this point.”

• Others play the blame game.  Blaming the sole reason for loss.

“Pakistan has been DABANGGed”

“Ross Taylor, Ross Taylor, Kamran Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Ross Taylor, Ross Taylor, Kamran Akmal, Kamran Akmal”

“What do Kamran Akmal and Michael Jackson have in common?
They both wear gloves for no reason :o)”

“Kamran Akmal’s favourite pickup line – Can I DROP you somewhere? :P”

• Some people lose hope and criticize the Pakistani team.

“More than 100 runs in last 5 overs.. what the hell Pakistan cricket team doing.. :@”

“What on earrrrth is Shoaib Akhtar doing?? 3 sixes 2 fours and 2 wides..all in just one freakin over?! I can’t watch..:S And another 6??! Im not watching”

“m feeling lyk crying… :(….. pak seems so helpless…. really sad….. :((((((((((((“

The next few days, or until Pakistan redeems itself by winning the next match, everybody becomes silent.   Some people hope for better.  Others rebuke the Pakistani team and say Pakistan was never a good team anyway and has unbelievably unpredictable performance.

Come ON Pakistan! Good luck and Godspeed!!

And people, don’t lose faith, after all, it’s because of them we will get the World cup! 😉

 

 

As a child, whenever my mother used to ask me to fetch her something from her room, I would go halfway to her room and then come back to her and say: ” I can’t find it mom”

And she would glare at me and say: “If I come and find it, you’re dead”

So I would run back and bring her whatever it was she wanted.  I wasn’t very organized as a kid.  I would misplace my things and then bother my mom about finding them.  She would scold me, tell me off and punish me, but she found my lost things ultimately.

Going to university, was like turning over a new leaf in this regard.  I became so organized that I seldom lost anything.  I hardly had the time to look for lost things, so I tried not to lose them in the first place.  Amazingly enough, whenever I went back home I became my old unorganized self.  So my mother never got to see the good side of me.

Then I got married.

And hubby, who is better than I am at losing things, always relied on me to find his keys, wallet, scarf, coat, you name it.

And I must say, I was quite good… I would tell him where his things were without actually getting up to look for them.

For instance:

In the morning I was sleeping while hubby got ready to go to work.

“Where is my wallet??”

Me, sleepily: “Under the cushion on the sofa”

Hubby: “Great! Found it”

Now he relies on me completely, and without even looking for his things, he expects me to find them.  It’s kind of annoying when you are doing something you don’ t want to be disturbed in.  So I am sitting and studying or reading something.

Hubby: “Where are my car keys?”

Me: “No idea”

Hubby (standing there): “I can’t find them!!”

Me (looks up) : “Well you can look for them, I am in the middle of something.”

Hubby (flops down on the sofa): “Awww jeezz… I’ll just wait until you find them”  (sighs sadly)

I look up.  Get up from the sofa and look for keys.

Me: “There they are, on the shelf”

Hubby takes his keys and goes out.

How can he ever survive without me? is what comes to my mind.  I am thinking how to get rid of his bad habit and all suggestions are welcome!

It was this that started it all.  This incident is a good example of how people; normal and well, ‘innocent’ people fall fool for these stupid department stores’ money making schemes.

And now we were standing in Debenhams.

With this voucher in our hands.

In my husband’s hands.

And then all of a sudden he shoved it into my hands and pushed me towards the cashier.

“Excuse me??” I hissed at him.

“Go and ask the lady if she has the energy pack.”

“whhyyy??”

“It’s worth a 100 pounds, come on!! You’re getting it for free!!”

“No I am NOT… You want it…Why do you I have to ask her???”

I turned to look at him and he had mysteriously disappeared.  Oh Well!

I trudged to the counter, and handed her the voucher.

“umm do you have the energy pack?” I asked discreetly, looking for familiar faces.

“Yes we do” she gave me an almost strange look.

“Right…” I got excited. “Can I have one please?” I stated the obvious.

“Oh… you get it for free when you buy something…” SHE stated the obvious.  I stared at her.  Then took the voucher from her hands, and turned around.  I went to my husband and gave him the message.

“Now can you please buy something?”

“Well… I don’t need to buy anything…” I am one of those few freaks who leave shopping as the last thing to do in the world.  I do NOT like shopping.   Unless it’s shoes or bags or books.  And Debenhams doesn’t do good in any of those.

“Don’t you? Don’t girls need to buy something everytime they go into a shop??”

“I don’t…so I don’t, you can buy something if you like”

“Hmm… let’s go to the home section…” I agreed and we took the escalator up a level.  We roamed around but couldn’t find anything.  I think it was just one of those days… when you can’t think of anything, and a pressure to buy something was building.  I thought of any birthdays coming up.  None.  Any occasion.  Eid.  But I had all the jewelry already.

“Can you get socks? You love socks”

“Yeah you’re right…”  We went down a level.

“I already have so many socks”

“Ok then get a scarf or something, you always need new ones in winter” He made sense…and I REALLY wanted to get out of Debenhams.   I looked for scarves.

“I don’t like them… I think we can look in toys section, something for our nephew?”

“Good idea”

But we didnt like any toys either (I know, I know, I am so indecisive!!)

“CAN YOU JUST buy something alreadyyyyyy”  he was seriously annoyed.  I looked at him, intimidated by his tone of voice.  And a bit annoyed.  HE wanted the stupid energy pack.  Why was he making MY life miserable?  If only I could say all this to him 😛

I picked up a scarf and we went to the counter.  I handed the scarf and the voucher.  I paid for it.  The lady stared at the voucher, and then left.   She turned her back and bent over.  F and I both looked on eagerly at what she was getting out.

It was this.

I was shocked.  Then angry.  Then, stifled a laugh.

For THIS, THISSSS we spent 1 hour roaming around, looking to buy something. A measly cardboard box, the size of my hand.

I looked at my dear hubby, he was still looking at the lady, as if waiting for her to take out something else.  I chuckled and he looked at me in a daze.  As if to say, “what?? Whatttttttt??”  I took the stuff from the lady and we walked out of Debenhams.   When F snapped out of it, he grabbed for the shopping bag in my hand.

“NO WAY!!!! Don’t even DARE come near this!! You will NOT get this!! For a stupid box… worth 100 pounds… energy saver… I AM NOT GIVING THIS TO YOU until I see what’s inside”  He burst out laughing and I pulled out the box.

I opened it.  There was a screw and apparently a plastic bag.  THAT’s IT.

“I don’t believe it!” I shrieked.

“Can I see it? Give it to me” We both were playing a snatching game and laughing loudly.  And people were beginning to watch.

Well F got his way after some time, when I was engrossed in shopping.  He stole the box when I wasn’t looking and disappeared.  I realized that after some time and ran out of the shop after him.  He was holding up the box and quietly showed it to me.

And behind the box it said RRP (retail price)  if sold, GBP 1.00.

I found Oxford, another city of colleges and universities (besides Cambridge) very interesting. 

It is different from other English towns, because,

It has a different town centre (aside from usual high street shops, there are local shops which are sooo cute and original).  It has more book shops, Oxford University press shops and also shops catering to various subjects stuff, like arts and architecture etc.

It is full of colleges, which have very very old buildings, that are obviously very well mantained (over a few centuries!)

You see lots of students and young people bicycles, as in Cambridge.

You see many tourists as well, going into and coming out of the colleges and gardens.

It has the birth place of Winston Churchill, called Blenheim Palace, which has amazingly beautiful gardens; though it is in the outskirts of Oxford.

The Museums in Oxford are worth going into.  There are all different and have scientific instruments belonging to Newton and Charles Babbage. 

The Museum of History of Science is simply amazing.  You will be able to relate to stuff you studied in science in school.  I didn’t get a chance to go into Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Ashmoleum Museum.  But I got into the Museum of Oxford as well, which covers the history of Oxford to the present day.

I would really recommend going to Oxford, if you want to feel like a student again.   To learn new things and embrace old history in a day, Oxford is the place to go.

I came across this while leafing through an old issue of reader’s digest. Amazing advice, if you really think about it.

In 1820, English writer Sydney Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. His suggestions are as sound now as they were almost 200 years ago.

“1st. Live as well as you dare.

2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees.

3rd. Amusing books.

4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.

5th. Be as busy as you can.

6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.

7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.

8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.

9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.

10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.

11th. Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.

12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence.

13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.

14th Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.

15th. Make the room where you commonly sit gay and pleasant.

16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.

17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.

18th. Keep good blazing fires.

19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.

20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana.”

I really want to clarify the first point. And all ideas and clarifications are welcome.
As far as I think, it means that well, live as well as you dare. If you dare more, than your life will be as you want, and if you don’t then it won’t. Sometimes we give into others’ ideas of an ideal life, we don’t think for ourselves. We don’t DARE, just follow a monotonous routine. I think every person has the right to live the way they want, but they just stay within the boundaries drawn by others. So live as well as you dare… do what you want, live your life the way you want. And think good! Think about how you want your life to be, and don’t compromise on that. No matter what others think or do.
Live as well as you dare.

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Modesty and being at a loss for words are two components of true faith, while vulgarity and long-windedness are two components of hypocrisy.” [Tirmidhi]

Being timid, shy and sometimes at a loss of words are traits of some people in the world.  Usually the introvert and nerdy kind of people I suppose.  It is  also, I am afraid, one of my traits.  Stepping into adult life has helped to some extent, but deep down inside, I am still the same bluntly honest and shy person. 

I look at people around me and most of them are brimming with confidence and have witty replies to compliments and comments.  I was never one of them, and wished that I actually was.  But now I am proud to be who I am. 

Bluntly honest and sometimes… at a loss of words.

I know that doesn’t sound too appealing at the moment, but that’s the solution to most problems.  Now, I know that, THAT sounds strange as well… but well let me just get there.

Sometimes, we think too much,  “too much” being the keywords,  one thought leads to another and we reach no conclusion.  I used to be the kind of the person who used to go with the flow.  Let things happen as they do, and it depended on me how I took them.  But gradually, I am becoming one of the Thinkers.  By a Thinker, I mean a person who contemplates a lot.  Thinking is not a bad thing, but it has to be positive.  Sometimes when somebody thinks too much, it turns into negative thinking  as well.  Especially when you are going through a bad time. 

Everything takes time.  You cannot get what you want instantly.  You have to be positive and trust God as well.  You have to go with the flow.  Let things happen to you and don’t think too much, because it will do nothing.  You have to take action yourself.  When you have a problem, stop obsessing over it and do something about it.   Because once you get into action, you stop thinking and let your creative juices flow in the positive direction.

Do not think about what people say, as most of it is meaningless.  Listen to everybody, but you don’t have to necessarily follow or take to heart  what they say.  One of the most useful “powers” you can have is to listen and ignore.  Like they say, ignorance is bliss.  Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.

It is much easier when you take people literally… do not read between the lines.  “Is that what he meant by that…?”

“Did she mean what I think she meant?”

These questions will induce negative thoughts.  Just be straightforward, and hear what people say to you, do not look for a hidden meaning.  That makes life so much easier for you.  And people less negative.  Often, people do not even mean anything.  They just say things and you do not want to misunderstand.  When you tend to do so, just ask straight out what the person means. 

This world is full of so many beautiful things, and it would be so much more healthy if we thought about prettier things, like the flowers, the sky and the sun shining.  Think about all the good things you have.   Think about the birds singing a lovely song for you.   Do not stress your brain with over-contemplating, instead just relax and go with the flow.

One day, as I was watching PeaceTV, I came across this amazing lecture on Modern Science and the Holy Quran.  The lecture was very, very interesting, as Dr. Zakir Naik explained how the Quran states all the natural and scientific phenomena way before they were discovered by human beings.

One of the things, that my mind is fixated upon, is where the 2 oceans meet… forgive me for saying it in such a straight forward and enigmatic way, but I have almost been obsessed by it. 

First of all, here are the Ayaat of the Holy Quran, in Surah Rahman,

Surah 55:19- 28

[19] He has let free the two bodies of flowing water (salt and fresh), meeting together:

[20] Between them is a barrier which they do not transgress:

[21] Then which of the favors of your lord will ye deny?

[22] Out of them come pearls and coral:

[23] Then which of the favors of your lord will ye deny?

[24] Also, his are the ships displayed upon the sea, like banners.

[25] Then which of the favors of your lord will ye deny?

[26] All that live on it will perish.

[27] And there will endure for ever the person of your lord, the lord of glory and honor

[28] Then which of the favors of your lord will ye deny?

Now, what Modern science has discovered is, that where the 2 seas meet,  there is a barrier.  This barrier divides the 2 seas so that they do not mix.   Each sea has its own salinity, density and temperature. (Principles of Oceanography, Davis, pp. 92-93.) 

There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the seas through which water from one sea passes to the other. But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters.

This scientific phenonmenon mentioned in the QUR’AN was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay who is a well-known marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A.

The barrier has a different salinity and density from both the seas.

Modern Science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh(sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuarie is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.“ {Oceanography, Gross, p.242. Also see Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301 ; Oceanography, Gross, p. 244 and Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp.300-301}.

One place on earth where this phenomenon is exhibited is Cape Agulhas, South Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.  It’s just amazing…

The barrier between the 2 seas

Cape Agulhas, South Africa

The mediterranean sea meeting the Atlantic ocean

,

Another place is Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.  This phenomenon also occurs in several other places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Medierranean Sea.

It’s amazing how, this was recently discovered by Oceanographers (if that’s what you call them) and was stated in the Quran, 1400 years ago.  And Allah knows best.

The world is mine,
When it is covered with snow
it’s the land of purity
it’s just the sparkling, white shine.

The world is mine,
when the silence disturbs the snow,
and everything just stands still,
as I absorb the enchanting glow.

The world is mine,
as the river flows,
and the boats go,
and the cold wind blows.

The world is mine,
When I am lost,
and I don’t know where the road leads,
it’s just me and discovery!

The world is mine,
as my laughter rings around,
and all because you are here,
my thoughts just disappear J

I just feel so philosophical today… I am thinking so many things… It’s amazing how life changes, and at such a fast pace too.  I am not wondering about the things that are, but the things that could have been.  I don’t know, I guess this is where FATE comes in.

I feel like I have changed so much… I have really begun to think so much about things… I really consider other people’s opinion (even if I differ with it profoundly).  I realize that nothing lasts forever.  Except for God I guess.  And love.  I think Love lasts long, if not forever.

Time changes everything… how you think, how you feel and the WAY you think.

ummmm….

I love the wind in my hair… and the whispering of the trees… they always seem to have a message for me…

annnddd…

I guess that’s it then, some of my philosophical ramblings. 🙂

I hope this is the way it’s done Bina!

Tag:

6 weird habits/things about yourself

Rules:

The initial player of this “game” starts with the topic “6 weird habits/things about yourself” and people who get tagged need to write a journal about their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 6 people to be tagged and list their names.)

Well here are mine:

1. I would stand in Waterstones, WHSmith, Liberty books (or any other bookshop in the world) for as (irritably)long as I can.  It is a habit that has annoyed the many people in my life, my dad, my mom, my friends and now my husband.  I would just browse and browse and browse until dragged out of the shop.  Fortunately, now there are libraries where you can sit and browse/read all you want.

2. I don’t and cannot pretend.  I am sorry about this sometimes, because sometimes one should say something nice to anyone… but I just stay silent…I really mean whatever I say and it really comes from within me if I do say something. I sometimes blurt out truths to anyone.  I cannot hide and I have a hard time making something up.

3. I laugh really loudly.  I cannot suppress my laughter, when it comes, the world laughs around me.  My mother was sooo annoyed by this, she thought it was very unfeminine.  But I am always, so what?

4. I am shy.  Yes, I am not as confident as it may seem sometimes.  It always takes the other person to open me up.  Once there, I am talkative and easy to hang around with (I hope ;))

5. I hate cooking.  As much as I have to do it everyday, I just don’t like it… so I try to make it exciting by experimenting with things 😉 People beware!

6. It doesn’t take much to get me excited… or down, for that matter.  Small and weird things excite me and induce interest into me.  For instance, I am hopelessly, in love with dolphins (yeah the sea mammals, wrongly called fish!) and they just fascinate me to infinity!

I tagged the very few bloggers I know:

Azeem, Bina, Rabia baji and Hamid bhai (Tags above)

I know what he said was really wrong.  And I know that most Pakistani people were offended by it.  I just have to admit that I didn’t even know that “Paki” was a racist remark!  I saw the entire footage on the news and then asked my husband:

“So where is the part he says it really?”

“He just did, didn’t you hear that? Paki?”

“Oh… that is a racist word?”

“Yeah well apparently…”

“Hmmm… I wouldn’t mind if anyone called me that…”

“You wouldn’t mind if the world called you anything for that matter”

“So… how come they aren’t showing the Ahmed guy, all angry and giving a statement about this?”

(shrugs)

laughing “So you’re telling me, that the guy whom he called that isn’t even offended?”

“Yeah well they haven’t shown it in the news… but poor Prince Harry is being reprimanded… the uncle of the guys is apparently offended…”

“Yeah… I don’t think he meant it in a bad way…”

“Nothing matters, as long as he said it…”

“True…”

I read in the news, that the Pakistani’s guy’s father has also condemned the act and

“Prince Harry should apologise to the Pakistani Army and to the Pakistani government for this. I cannot accept his apology unless they first accept his apology.” (BBC news)

I wonder why the government comes into this… and I wonder where Mr. Ahmed is, because he doesn’t seem so concerned about this.  Or is he sitting in the corner somewhere and enjoying the attention he is getting?

Fireworks at London Eye

Fireworks on the water surface!

Me sitting and watching good old T.V.

F comes in, all of a sudden and snatches the remote control from me.

But thanks to my amazing, Xena-like grip, he fails.

Me: What is your problem? I am not even bothering you!

F: I have to see the news! So please give me the remote now! (he hisses hurriedly)

Me: I cannot miss this part, really, just watch it an hour later.

F: Nooooo!! No, no! Nowww.

Me: (stares at him adamantly)

F: Bush has just been thrown a SHOE at! Now can I have the remote (lunges for the remote)

Me: What?? Bush who?

F: (sarcastic) Do we know another Bush besides the American President, genius??

Me: (gasps) Really?

F: (grits teeth) Yess!! Now can I have the remoooottee??

I hand it over to him.  We quickly switch to BBC news, it is 9 pm.  So the news is on.  BBC news doesn’t show it, but there are captions below the screen.

We switch to Sky News… which has, to our great joy, begun to show the umm incident.

We watch… enthralled by the brave, courageous man who gave his all by throwing, not one, but BOTH of his shoes at President George Bush.

Me: He has amazing reflexes for an old rusty President…

F: Yeah… I wish he had gotten it.  And he would have gotten a black eye!

Me: (laughing)

F: (picking up the phone and dialling) Hey what’s up? Did you see Bush getting the shoe thrown at him?

Another place we visited was Padstow “The Historical Fishing Harbour” of Cornwall.

Since we visited Off Season we didnt get to see the usual crowd,but just as well, ’cause we really enjoyed.  First we thought of hiring cycles, but the idea didn’t seem to work out so we set out on a long walk onto the hills framing the banks of River Camel.  Which reminds me, that it isn’t exactly the Cornish Coast, but the Cornish River Camel’s bank, but whatever!

So, the harbour is basically a fishing port, with its own Lobster Hatchery as well.  Which we didn’t get to see.  The scenery was too good to be true.  I tried to capture it as much as I could with my camera, but I am afraid that no picture can justify the heavenly beauty of the green hills dipping into the infinite blue-ness of the river water.

The harbour from above the hills...

From the very top...

There was a walkway with benches lining it, that led upto the hills.

We walked all over the grass and to the top… it was exhiliratingly beautiful and fun. At the very top, it was quiet and it felt like an out-of-this-world place, because all we are used to is Noise, of London, Karachi, you name it.

When we came down, we were famished.  We had the “famous” Cornish pasties and Fish n Chips (to tell you the truth, no one does Pasties better then Greggs).

A lone boat in the River Camel

One of the most amazing things we saw in Cornwall was the Eden Project.

As far as I am concerned, it was just superb.

The Eden Project is basically a clay quarry… I am sorry, I mean, it WAS simply a clay pit with lots of clay in it (DUH).  Then, some people transformed it into a garden, field, you name it, with lots of species of plants, trees and even birds and small animals.

They simulated an environment similar to the Rainforests and the Mediterranean.  The greenhouses which host such plants are one of the largest ones in the world.  They are called The Rainforest and the Mediterranean Biomes.

The Biomes

Each of the Biomes not only had the plant and trees actually growing in them, but also the weather simulated as well.  The Rainforest Biome was hot and humid and we had to take off our coats and I think I even saw mosquitoes!

There were plants of coffee, cocoa, rubber, spices and many fruits as well.  I was just amazed by the fact that the plants were thriving in the artificial environment (which is basically so lame, knowing what green houses are, but SEEING is BELIEVING).  There were waterfalls and streams flowing, just like the rainforests (I suppose!)

A stream in the rainforest

Some of the places in the world that have the Rainforest Environment are:

Malaysia,  Brazil, The Amazon River banks areas, etc.

Some of the plants and trees I saw were:

Coffee, Ginger, Garlic, Cocoa, Papaya, Mangoes, and many more.

Then there was the Mediterrranean Biome, which was thankfully, much cooler and cleaner than the Rainforest Biome.  It was slightly chilly.  I was quite intrigued by some of the exhibits there.  Like How they extract perfume from plants, Autopot growing systems and Olive and Fig trees.   There were Greek figures and statues.

Autopot Growing system

Some of the areas in the world that have the Mediterranean environment are:

Greece, Spain, Turkey, California….

Some plants I saw there:

Fig trees, Aloe vera trees, Cactus (yeah some grow here as well), Olive trees, Citrus fruits (Tangerines and Clementines!) and Fragrant plants (perfumes).

The last thing that we did there was Ice skate in the Winter Wonderland.  Where I fell once only but just about so many times 🙂

I just realized that this sounds like a review for The Eden Project.  So I may as well rate it, 5/5 for an adventurous and amusing place to visit in Cornwall, Highly recommended! 😉 🙂

As most of the Harry Potter fans already know, the Tales of Beedle the Bard was out 10 days ago.  It was quite a disappointment, as it was this 10 page barren book… I thought it would be an unput-downable, fat book that would take days to read.  But it was quite the opposite.  It had 5 stories.  For 5 year olds.  I just read the first one and passed it down to my sister. 

The day it came out I woke up my husband and told him to take me down to WHsmith instantly.  I went there to find out that they had just sold 6 copies of it before me. 

So much for the excitement for the Harry Potter fans.

I still cannot get over it, but the sun just sets here at around half past four.

It is so cold here… it is quite cold and LADIES and GENTLEMEN! I saw SNOWWWWW for the very first time in my life… it was nice alll the white flakes falling slowly, LOVELY I must say.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures as it was night, and I had the IBM selection day the next day, so I was pretty much fretting about that.

Which, by the way, was great! Great as in, not my performance, but IBM is great, FYI, IBM here, is the largest IBM office in Europe… along with numerous departments and Software development Labs, it has these green hills and fields, their own club house, cafe, restaurant, tennis and badminton courts, golf course (I know I know, you must be like “and these people actually WORK here”)

Anyway, the experience was great, and they had these automatic BATHROOMS… as in the water in the tap comes out when you put your hands under it, it detects your hand and shoots water out… so does the flush… LOL…

IBM is great, I would just work for the sake of automatic bathrooms and the clubhouse… LOL, of course I am only joking, I think it is the work environment, it gives you space and social life at the same time.

There are many opportunities in Software Development and the best thing is that you will be rotated and be given hands-on experience in your first year.

Turns out, here in the GREAT UK, you need to have a TV license… yes, you got that right, a License to WATCH your TV… I swear this place is too much for me sometimes… this guy showed up on our doorstep, and said he had no records whatsoever of our TV’s license, and the TV was turned on that time (just my luck isn’t it?) so he said they could prosecute us in court because we were watching the TV without the license and that is an offense under the Communications Act of whenever… anyway when Faiz came home we had quite an argument… I was mad at him for not getting a license beforehand and him at me for letting the guy into (when I could have been robbed at knife/gun-point) our house and letting him see our TV and all…