Fragile Girl - Umemalicious

A Good Marriage!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:05:00 +0000

The Reb was fond of telling young couples, “Remember, the only difference between ‘marital’ and ‘martial’ is where you put the ‘i.’”

He also, on occasion, told the joke about a man who complains to his doctor that his wife, when angry, gets historical.

“You mean hysterical,” the doctor says.

“No, historical,” the man says. “She lists the history of every wrong thing I’ve ever done!”

“I think people expect too much from marriage today,” the Reb said. “They expect perfection. Every moment should be bliss. That’s TV or movies. But that is not the human experience. Like Sarah says, twenty good minutes here, forty good minutes there, it adds up to something beautiful. The trick is when things aren’t so great, you don’t junk the whole thing. It’s okay to have an argument. It’s okay that the other one nudges you a little, bothers you a little. It’s part of being close to someone. But the joy you get from that same closeness—when you watch your children, when you wake up and smile at each other—that, as our tradition teaches us, is a blessing. People forget that.”

- Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom.

Timekeeping!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 05:58:00 +0000

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping.
You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.
Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.
Man alone measures time.
Man alone chimes the hour.
And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
A fear of time running out.

[The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom]

Hey! I've seen you somewhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:58:00 +0000

Have you ever come across people who, after looking at you, instantly go like, "Hey! I've seen you somewhere!" No?

I have! And this is a bit annoying, since they can't recall where they have seen me and I...well, my dinky brain completely refuses to recognize them at all! I don't know if my brain is too rusty or if they're just trying to strike a conversation (at which they fail).

This has happened with me a number of times (half of those I've already forgotten).

1. Some 13 years ago, when my friend and I used to play tennis, her coach once looked at me and went like, "Hey! I have seen you somewhere!". His tone was a bit accusatory. And since I was still a kid, I didn't know how to respond to my unknown crime. I feebly said, "You must have seen me in this court yesterday!" :$ But he was adamant that he had seen me somewhere else. IDC!

2. And 9 years ago, while taking the first class, my A' Levels GP teacher suddenly started scanning me and, with the most curious round pair of eyes, she said, "Oh, I've seen you somewhere!" With an equal pair of curious eyes, I asked, "Where?" and she said "Yemen!" Wow! Of all the places, she had seen me in Sana'a, Yemen. And according to her, I was one of the bright students and ....blah blah blah! Yes, you guessed it right, I've never been to Yemen all my life! :(

3. Oh, 5 years ago, when I was once lazily stepping downstairs in the university, a girl stopped me (she rather came in my way and stood there like a firm statue) and said, "You just went to the restrooms on the right, how could you come downstairs from the left?" She was utterly baffled! And I could only manage to say, "Because I can! I am coming downstairs from the left. You must've seen someone else". But she wasn't in the mood of buying it. She wasted my 3.5 minutes and walked away, still baffled! Lol. [But really, do I have some strange sort of super powers? :P]

4. Fresh from the oven! 15 minutes ago, an artist came to our office (we're working on an ad) and the moment I entered the meeting room and greeted him, his eyes went wide and rather than returning my greeting, he instantly said, "Oh, I've seen you somewhere!" Uh, again! I tried to keep calm and replied, "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen you anywhere"
Him: "Oh, I know! Box Office!!"
Me: "I'm sorry?"
Him: "You work at Box Office, right?"
Me: *wondering what the heck that place is* "No, I work here. I'm a full time employee of this company"
Him: "Part time? Freelancer?"
Me: *ARGH!!! I was totally annoyed. Which language does he understand?* "May we please see your art work?"

Before leaving, since he had to show his stupidity, he asked if I was working on this ad project only and in reality I work somewhere else? ARGH! I felt like throwing the stapler at him. Some people are just too thick!

All those prospective I've-Seen-You-Somewhere cases, please stop bugging me, cuz you can't recall and I simply don't want to put stress on my dinky mind.

How To Beat Monday Morning Blues!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:08:00 +0000

As much as you want to tear away the Monday from the calendar, cross out your Mon Meetings from schedule, erase the 9 am to 5 pm slot from your clocks, and directly jump to Monday evening to reminisce the Sunday remnants, you can't! All your wishful thinking must be kept aside. And you must muster up some courage to face it once every 52 weeks of every upcoming year of your precious, little life! Let your Mondays be wanted, not haunted!

So here are a few tips, if you like, follow them, or else drag yourself to work every Monday then.

1. Brush your teeth for a good 5 mins. All your senses wake up when you enjoy brushing your teeth. Fact!

2. Wake up 5 minutes earlier than usual and dedicate those minutes to shower. Shampoo well. And wear your exclusive Monday morning perfume/cologne (yes, set aside one of the best ones for Mondays only).

3. Wear your best clothes to work. The cleaner and admirable to everyone you are, the better you'd feel. Fact!

4. If you have time, make your own coffee/tea rather than waiting for the tea boy to bring you one. There's so much joy in making your own coffee/tea! If not, chit-chat (or gossip, in crude words) with your colleagues.

5. Take breaks! Eat a cookie. Chew a gum. Keep chocolates. Drink loadsa water. The moment you feel drowsy, gulp down a glass of water and experience the magic of revival. Fact!

6. Always wish for the weather to be good. And take a moment out to enjoy that beauty!

7. Take full advantage of the time while your boss is out on a meeting. Roam about. Socialize. Call mommy/wifey/kids. In short, change your location for a while. But if you're the boss, well, you can do anything then!

8. Keep a toy on your desk. Play with it once in a while.

9. Blog from office! :p Or tweet. Or listen to a song. Or keep an e-book. And do not report this to my boss!

10. And if you're left with some time, WORK! Why else do you think they pay you?!

In a nutshell, be positive! The weekend is just 4 days away! ;)

PS: Oh, during Ramadan, when you can't eat or drink or gossip, just be patient. Your working hours have been reduced, right?

Cheerio folks! =)

Sale! Sale! Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:35:00 +0000

So, the Sale season is back in full swing! Billboards are littered with CAPS lock on, red, 150pt SALE! banners, that are bound to widen your eyes with their drool-worthy percentages. And man, do we not wait for this season? Half happiness and satisfaction is already achieved when we see 51% off on sandals and 70% off on home furnishing! Wow! Such a candy to your eyes! You want to avail every best offer in town! I can't comment on others, but, well, at least, I can taste that joy :p

So, while driving towards the Shoppers' Paradise - aka Tariq Road - I see billions of banners and billboards acting like super-strong massive magnets that even your empty wallet cannot repel you from stepping inside the stores. No, you can't just window-shop during this season! You land in that Sale-stricken zone and you see virtually everything on discount! You name it... Sale on Cambridge, Exclusive, J., Bonanza, Stylo, Gul Ahmed, Hush Puppies, Lawrencepur, Nike, Needle Impressions, Pantaloons, Khaadi, Habitt, Subway, Liberty Books... Ahhhh... and sorry to burst your bubble, not Jafferjee's or Jabeen's!

To complement all the advertising fever, a plethora of public is also there, attempting to check out each and every store, to grab the best deals and take back home a truckload of Sale items! But for me, Sale translates into nothing positive! Yes, as much as I visually feast on those billboards, I can never fully take advantage of them! Principally, there are huge parking issues! For a tiny driver like me (who can't even see the bonnet of her car, no matter how much she hops on the seat), there are hardly ever neat parking slots available. And you guessed it right, I detest reversing or squeezing my car to fit between two other wrongly parked cars! Thanks to Dolmen Mall's parking area, you can safely leave your car there and walk only to the adjoining malls/markets/shops! In short, you still miss 75% of the Sale zone!

The rest 25% is no good either! At least, for me! I step into a clothing boutique, and viola! My size just does not exist! I can never wear an M trouser with an L shirt, when I only fit into an S size! *sigh* The disappointment has just begun! Next I step into a sandal outlet and practically drool over all those pretty pumps and sleek sandals. And when I inquire about the size and colors, I'm flatly told that 39 is the smallest size in this particular range! My God! These salesmen are so highly qualified at giving you mini heart attacks! But seriously, I wanted to yell as to where should people of size 37 go to?? *double sigh*. Later, I aimlessly check out the other Sale-flashing stores and by the end of the day, manage to buy one cool Tote bag (not on Sale) and a Jafferjee's wallet (never on Sale)!

My dear readers, I so hope you have at least once (if not always) benefited from Sale, unlike me. But the bottom line is: During Sale season you end up buying things you never intended to! :)

Cheerio folks!

PS: I'm desperately waiting for the Sale season to end now!

Living Among Legit Liars

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:11:00 +0000

Maya Khan. Who doesn't know her, specially after the spotting-couples-in-a-park-and-asking-about-their-marital-status incident. For more than a month (till the next video gets aired), everyone was blaming her, condemning her for her actions, ordering her for an apology and uncovering her secrets to show her how much it hurts when the same happens to you.

Today Maya Khan appeared in an exclusive interview with Kamran Shahid in Front Line.

Looking at one side of the coin and the argument seems very plausible - no-one has the right to invade anyone's privacy. Valid reason. Maya fired. Argument closed!

View the other side of the coin and kaboom! It was all fake! Nobody was at stake. Actors confessed. Maya apologized. Broken glass fixed!

But well... Does your mind accept this change of affairs? Eyebrows were raised then and eyebrows are raised again. But why did it take more than a month for Maya to come up with the stark evidences. Were the facts being cooked in the meantime?

I have been a regular viewer of morning shows, but I don't have a calculator to evaluate how many people appreciated this of her initiative. What's apparent is the heavy frustration and desperate annoyance of millions of people, who not only vented their feelings out by passing indecent remarks and making fun of Maya Khan, but also attacking her character and unveiling a set of her personal photographs.

I am not here to accuse one person and save the other. But aren't we all acting the same - spreading the same jahalat (ignorance and idiocy are mild words here) - pointing the flaws of others while presenting ourselves sensible and prudent. Please. For once, we must learn to first improve ourselves and then think about improving others. This is, indeed, a very unattractive and unappealing thing to do, but maybe that's the need of the hour to make things better in our society.

Exploring sensitive social issues require a lot of care, caution and responsibility. One does not merely step out and fulfill their mission on a one-sided, prejudiced basis. If Maya's cause was genuine and sincere, and her evidences were really accurate, then why "Reenactment" was not written when the episode was being aired! Shall we wait for another video where these facts would be verified? But who knows, that might be another round of dirty accusation on one another, for we are living among legit liars!

Dinky Mind weds Insane Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Wow. What a combination, isn't it? ;)

Alhamdolillah at whatever is written in my fate now :p Life's certainly going to change in a better way In'sha'Allah, for I'd now have one special person to annoy for the rest of my life :D

30.12.2011. Chapter changed!

Prayers needed. A lot of them :) Thank you.

PS: I forgot how do I sign when I was asked to sign the papers yesterday, although in the past few days I had practised a lot! :$ Plus, my voice choked inside my throat when I was about to say "Qubool hai" for the first time! Sari mehnat aik taraf ho gai!

زنانہ اردو خط و کتابت

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:10:00 +0000

حمّو تو تمھیں یاد ھو گی۔ اس کی شادی پر ھم سب لوگ گئے تھے۔ سنا ھے کہ لڑکے نے اعتراض کیا کہ نہ تو رسوم ادا کی جائیں اور نہ باجا گاجا ھو۔ خاموشی سے سب کچھ ھو جائے۔ توبہ کیسا ھونق لڑکا ھوگا۔ شادی ھو رھی ھے یا کوئی چوری کر رھے ھیں۔ ولایت سے ابھی ابھی آیا ھے، اس لیے دماغ درست نھیں ھے۔ لیکن کون سنتا ھے۔ رسمیں ساری ھوئیں - مانجھے بٹھانا، کنگنا باندھا، مہندی لگانا، مسالہ پسوانا، پانی بھروانا۔ تمھیں خوشی ھو گی کہ مہر تین لاکھ مقرر ھوا ھے اور ڈیڑھ ھزار روپے جیب خرچ لکھا گیا ھے۔ حمّو کتنی خوش نصیب ھے۔ باقی کی رسمیں بھی ادا کی گئیں۔ چوتھی کھیلنا، دلھن کی جوتی دولھا کے کندھے پر لگانا، آرسی مصحف کرنا، دولھا کے سر پر بہنوں کا آنچل ڈالنا، دولھا کو زعفران کے بہانے مرچیں کھلا دینا، دولھا کے جوتے چرا لینا، پھر دولھا کو الٹی چارپائی سے گرا دینا، اس کی شیروانی پلنگ سے سی دینا، میراثنوں کا بیھودہ گانے گانا، بڑا لطف رھا۔ دولھا بھی ایک چغد نکلا۔ جنم نہ دیکھا بوریا سپنے آئی کھاٹ۔ سنا ھے کہ نکاح کے فوراً بعد کہیں فرار ھو گیا۔ بڑی مشکلوں سے ڈھونڈ کر لائے۔ پتہ نہیں اّج کل کے لڑکے کیسے ھو گئے ھیں۔ یھی رسومات تو قوموں کے زندہ رھنے کی نشانیاں ھیں۔ دولھا نے مہر میں بھی مین میخ نکالی کہ بیس ھزار کا جو جھیز لڑکی کو دے رھے ھیں یہ اپنے پاس رکھئے اور تین لاکھ کی رقم کم کر کے مہر کو اور کچھ نہیں تو دو لاکھ اسّی ھزار ھی کر دیجیے۔ لاحول ولا قوۃ

شفیق الرحمٰن کی "مزید حماقتیں" سے اقتباس ___

Gr8 Years of Happy Blogging! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Yayyyyy!!! My bloggie is 8 years old now :D

*feels overwhelmed*

*wipes those tears of happiness*

*gulps*

Readers and Readresses, I really can't imagine I've been sitting on this space for more than 8 years now!! EIGHT OLDIE YEARS!! Yep, the anniversary was on Nov 30th, but this rusty Dinky Mind forgot to celebrate it on that day, so it's been 8 years and ... *counts on fingers* ... 3 days now! :D

*hyperventilates*

Oh God, I still can't forget the day when I started this blog. Famma, all the credit goes to you for introducing me to the world of Blogistan. I can never thank you enough :') My enthusiasm might have reduced a tad bit, but it will always be there!!!

Concluding my speech, I'd like to state that in a few days, when hopefully I'd be free, I'd adorn this blog with a new template and some better features and add-ons, so my readers could enjoy their time here :)

I hope these 8 years extend to ∞ years ;)

*wipes another tear of joy*

You may now clap ;)

Congraduation

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:31:00 +0000

I've got my Convocation ceremony in 12 hours now. I was talking to a 6th grader earlier today and was telling him about my Convocation and university life.

Me: Tomorrow will be my Convocation ceremony. I'm so happy :)
Him: Oh yeah, you told me yesterday you'd be wearing a black frock!
Me: Huh? FROCK? No!! I said I'd be wearing a black gown and a black cap ... and, yes, a blue sash too.
Him: So it's like a farewell party?
Me: No, not exactly a party, but farewell, yes! It's actually something less than a party and more of a... an emotional day.
Him: Ah, so you're going to a funeral!

*facepalm*

That's the advantage of being a kid. Free imagination and you can drag it into any direction you want, and no one would even argue!

Diet? Over My Dead Body!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:10:00 +0000

I've quit eating cream cheese
I've quit licking chocolate-hazelnut spread
I've reduced my meals to 1.5 a day, rather than full 3
I've cut down my oil intake
I've stopped having fizzy drinks
I'm on those grape fruits, bananas, cucumbers, yogurt and all those fresh things that are bound to help me out in this crucial time
I've also started workouts
Like skipping rope
And stupid walk
And what do you call that lame exercise that my sis told me about...

AND STILL

That stupid, lame, idiotic, nonsensical, and ultra crappy weighing machine showed my weight as 2 Kgs plus the previous one!!!! Like HOW!!! That's a total scare!!! I'm dead sure I'm inhaling some pretty dense air!

And to make things worse, one day my sis commented "Oh dang! Look at these fat-laden arms of yours!!! Kia thoonsing these days?"

And my fiancé said, "What are you hiding in your inflated cheeks?" when there was just nothing!!! :( *sobs sobs*

Enough with this diet drama! I don't know what got into me and I started acting all foolish! I'm officially putting an end to this diet fever and will resume with my regular, 'balanced', breakfast from tomorrow, i.e., a plate full of ultra greasy, chaat-masala laden french fries, complimented with a rich garlic dip and a big mug of highly lemony green tea!

I'm also going to have my junk food whenever I'd want. And I'd also have a spoonful (or two) of chocolate spread whenever I'd be tensed, tired, or just in the mood of having it.

Most of all, I'm crossing out the word "weighing machine" from my dictionary.

Diet - End, Finish, Fin, Finito, Nishta, Khallas!!!

Leaving "One Family"

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Uh, so today was the last day of my 12-week traineeship at L&F. And what an amazing experience it was. 12 weeks passed in the flick of an eye. Today it was a very fun-packed, yet gloomy day for me. So while I sniff my nose and quietly weep behind the couch, why don't you guys check my desk pictures. I wish I could post those memorable pictures of ours as well, but, umm, I might upload them on facebook. Might.

Left-to-right view of my desk. See that paper pen-holder? I proudly made it and happily gave it away to N :)

I'm so going to miss all those post-it notes that always helped my Dinky Mind to stay active. And my Aussie kangaroo placed right in front of me too :') Oh, and see those capsules in a slender bottle? Only 3 people know what it actually had! Haha :D

This was my favorite side of soft-board :) I had my tiny 2-paged phone directory, my favorite quotes that always motivated me and my huge "IBA Class of 2011" mug. Coffee tasted much more heavenly in it :)

This was the rear side of my desk. And I made a smile there. Know why? That's cuz whenever I used to turn around to look at my supervisor, he would, sort of, glare at me sometimes and this smile helped a lot in balancing my mood out! Thank you, dear smiley :)

And that's while packing all things up and leaving in a while :( Notice that post-it note having etc written on it? Well, that's end of thinking capacity! So apt!

Thanks a million L&F for making my stay so memorable. And thanks a million & one USAID for placing me there!

Talk About Office Extensions!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:09:00 +0000

So here I come again with another of my workplace stories.

For the first few days of joining office I didn't know what my phone extension was. So, on the third day, when Dinky Mind finally started working, I dialled zero, and asked the receptionist what my extension was. 180. Wrote this on a Post-it note and pasted it on my phone set so if anyone asks I could tell them without putting my tiny brain through recall-trauma. I also made a one-page post-it extension directory and pinned it on my soft board above the phone (sadly, we don't have glass panels to stick post-it notes on).

So, the real story began 4 days ago when my phone rang and I picked it up:

Me: "Hello!"

Caller: *pause* "Umm... okay, sorry!"

and the line goes dead.

Next day:

Me: "Hello!"

Caller: *baffled* "Uh... oh!"

and the line goes dead.

Another day:

Me: "Hello!"

Caller: *silence*

and the line goes dead.

On the other day:

Me: "Hello!"

Caller: *pause* "Umm... is this Mr. XYZ?"

Before I could even think of a reply, he'd hang up, realizing what a silly question he asked!

And a second later, I would hear the same voice yelling, "Mr. XYZ, isn't your extension 180?"

And a distant voice would respond, "Nah, 181!"

Grrrr... Hello! Make a directory!!! Or borrow one from someone and get it copied! And also pin it up on your board! It's so annoying. The desk I'm using was not occupied by anyone for the past few months. And so was the phone. And so 180! I sometimes wish to have a Caller ID on my phone. :( I hope I don't get such "accidental" calls again :/

Cheerio folks!

PS: Do I really sound like a Mr.? :(

Ugly Ufone!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Till this moment I thought my phone had some issues, but when I called Ufone's helpline, I changed my opinion. When I dialled 333, I was greeted with a female robotic voice giving me really good news - "Respected user, this is to inform you that from July 15th, the charges for calling Ufone helpline have increased to Rs.1, exclusive of taxes. And if you want to talk to our service centre representative, then it would cost you additional Rs. 1, exclusive of taxes. Please dial 1 for...." I wish I could vent my anger out at the mechanic voice!

Anyway, I pressed zero, as it would direct me to the service centre representative. Thankfully he picked up on the 3rd bell, and greeted me by my father's name [my sim card is registered on his name]. I explained him the problem (if you remember, I once talked about my phone not able to send txt messages) and he, very professionally, asked me the cell phone model, and how many messages I had in my inbox and outbox. He also asked me to delete all the sent messages, check the message centre number and restart the phone. He said he just sent a message centre number on my phone (and I did hear a beep). So when I held up and checked the 2 txts on my phone, I found them both to be from Ufone about their silly and ultra stupid services!!! There was NO message center number anywhere in any of the txts! You can't believe how blood-boiling it was. I've been facing this problem for the past 5 days and silly, irresponsible Ufone reps are so darn unhelpful, it's plainly... ARGH!!!

Needless to say, I checked the message center number, deleted the sent messages, restarted my phone and since it's Ufone, the problem persisted! I even restored the phone to factory settings, but still, no success. Now I'd go home, charge my phone and call that silly guy again to text me the message centre number and not promotional SMSs.

It seems like in my life its a rule to talk to one silly person a day *sigh* :(

Workplace Wonders

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:37:00 +0000

The first thing you notice when you walk into my office (which you won't) is the whiteness (or call it 'seriousness' in better words), and, aslso please add, the mind-numbing chill. It certainly wouldn't be wrong to call this place Mini Moscow. The moment I sit on my desk, I can feel all the evil AC ducts directed towards me and my poor nails start turning blue in 2 seconds. Even my lime-green jumper (yes, there are certain advantages of working in a sourcing company) fails to keep me completely cozy. It's of no use even when I try to stretch the poor sleeve down to my hands. Seems like I might need to buy a pair of woollen gloves real soon.

Believe it or not, this cold literally jams everything! My brain, my hands, my feet, my cellphone! *shivers* Trust me, typing becomes a real challenge in this ~~mind-blowing~~ chill. My feet freeze even when im wearing woollen socks and shoes. They become so numb, sometimes it feels like I don't even have feet :( Scary! And that's not just it. My cellphone can also feel that chill and it has now stopped functioning properly. Poor thing can't send txt msgs anymore. RIP, my dear N82. :( I hope I don't get any serious ailment during my stay here :(

The most striking thing about this place is that everything is so white, so dry and so very plain that sometimes I just wish I could paint all these walls in lilac-and-pink stripes (or any other color, if you want). I've planned I'm going to personalize my desk real soon. And I'd make sure it has more colors other than just lime-green (jumper) and yellow (post-it notes).

Enough rants for today. If they can't let me paint the walls, I can just make my desk colorful. And I'm sure I can then start loving work here ;)

Cheerio folks!

PS: I'm writing this post in my lunch break. Promise!

Why Can't I Have You Back

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:55:00 +0000

"I hope you never hear those words. Your dad. He died. They are different than other words. They are too big to fit in your ears. They belong to some strange, heavy, powerful language that pounds away at the side of your head, a wrecking ball coming at you again and again, until finally, the words crack a hole large enough to fit inside your brain. And in so doing, they split you apart. "

I'm an incomplete person for more than 2 years now. And it's still hard to digest.

Ad-diction!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:29:00 +0000

Our media is continuously coming up with crazy, senseless, baseless, and irritatingly long advertisements these days. Ads like that of Ufone that lack clarity and of Sooper Cookies that seem more like a trailer of "So you think you can dance?", the creativity in making ads is going far below standard. Oh, and how can I forget the famous Chaika ad, which was of a similar sort. With an outrageously insane jingle like that, who would be willing to try this product out.

I love watching ads - the good ones actually. And it pains me a lot to see sub-standard Pakistani ads which are more focused towards the models and their moves and less towards the actual meaning and message. The reason I never liked (rather, hated) Zong since the very beginning was that they always blamed one competitor or the other to snatch the market share away in a childish manner. Even if they come up with rock-bottom prices, I would still not go for it. Such ads show poor marketing efforts and the dearth of talent in advertising agencies. One can add a lot of different ads to this list easily. All these ads are not only spoiling the image of the brand, but of our cultural values as well. Why do we have to make ads like Ufone Utune, where the son can set a Utune of 'library environment' and make his dad believe he's in the library studying and not hanging out with friends. Ever thought about what are we promoting here?

I can hardly recall any Pakistani ad where I was awestricken with a WOW. But that day while channel surfing, I came across the following ad

The message is clear, the product is identified and the idea through which the message has been conveyed is quite commendable. Imagine the impact of this 30-sec ad on so many millions out there. Why can't we learn positive things from others and implement them in our environment? Why can't our ads be such decent, concise and complete?

We need to promote our values and must create a sense of ownership among our masses. And since TV is the most common medium of communication, why not use it to become better humans and better Pakistanis!

Hangman

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:19:00 +0000

What to do in class when you aren't even allowed to use your laptop? Start playing Tic-tac-toe? But that's a kiddy game. So in my Saturday's class, a classmate of mine suggested we should play Hangman.

UA: "So I'd think of a movie title and you have to guess it"
Dinky Mind: "No way please. I'm worst at memorizing titles. Try something else....Umm, as in brand names of chocolates" [I had Lindt in mind] :P
UA: "Pleaseee NO. I don't know all those tongue-twisting names. Why not try out city names?"
Dinky Mind: "Arright. You think, I'd guess"
*UA thinking of some alien city name when a cool name popped up in my head*
Dinky Mind: "I've thought of a city. You've to guess it"
UA: "Fine"

*DM starts sketching blanks*

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UA: "Is that really a city's name?"
DM: "Yep. Seems like a big city"
UA: "Okay, A, then"

_ A _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UA: "O"
*DM makes the head of the poor guy deemed to be hanged*
UA: "Dang! Okay, 'I'?"

_ A _ _ _ I _ _ _

UA: "Good. Now N?"
*DM makes the left arm and tiny fingers*
UA: "Is that really a city or are you just fooling me with all these blanks?" :O
DM: "It is a city. And now I doubt you've ever heard of it"
UA: *throwing another aimless arrow* "C?"
*DM makes the right arm with tiny fingers*
UA: "Grrr. You know if I say 'A' once it means you have to fill all the blanks that might have an 'A'?"
DM: "I'm not that dumb. Another shot?"
UA: "Ermm, T?"
*DM makes the body of the puppety-man*
UA: "Darn!!! H?"
*DM makes the left leg with a shining shoe*
DM: "I'm enjoying this drawing now"
UA: "Ummm... P?"
*DM makes the right leg with the shining shoe*
DM: "Last chance before I tie the rope around his tiny neck"
UA: *lazily* "B?"
*DM very happily makes the rope and pulls it*
DM: "I is the winner!!! Muhahahah"

And later after that class I found out UA dropped the course. Maybe he was too afraid of losing another Hangman game with me :P And who knows, next time we might play Ludo or Monopoly in class.

Anyway, now you guys have to guess the city's name. And you've got enough clues given above to help you :)

Happy guessing ;)

10 Things :)

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:06:00 +0000

1- You respect my needs for chocolates
2- You outwit me many times
3- Your choice in giving gifts is superb ;)
4- You don’t prolong fights
5- You know how to keep my temper in limit :)
6- You know how to cook breakfast! That’s such a BIG relief for me :D
7- Your ability in keeping me at ease is such a blessed thing.
8- I love your sense of humor
9- And your respect for others :)
10- Oh God, I’m out of words now *teary-eyed* :P

Happy Birthday :)

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:36:00 +0000

Wishing a very very joyous Birthday to my fiancé, UY :)

I just hope I succeed in making your birthday as wonderful as you made mine :)

Mein Meetha Kaisay Boloun…

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:56:00 +0000

The new year started with all it’s zeal and Dinky Mind didn’t write any post. Please blame my studies and my ever tied-up schedule. The avid readers of this blog know how much crazy this Dinky Mind is for cooking/ baking/ eating! And when I’m studying I need something to eat; most preferably something sweet.

For me, the sweets category only includes ice-creams, cakes, chocolates, pies, cookies, mousses, desi mithais, only halwa-puri wala halwa, vermicelli and kheer etc. I am, ~~please don’t kill me~~, Not a fan of gaajar/mooli/kaddoo ka halwa! My question: Why do you put sugar in veggies? Please eat veggies the way they are. What if I make spinach halwa, would you volunteer to taste it? Now don't go all 'Eeek' at the sound of it. There are people like me who don't like the traditional sabzioun ke halway, and there are also people who try to make almost everything sweet. My mom once told me people eat meethay samosay!!! Now that’s a bit strange for me, but IMO this is no way to innovate food.

Now coming to the zarda story. Why, oh why, do you put sugar in rice?!? For a long time I had been zarda-phobic. But now I just have no choice when people look daggers at me. So, just to let them know I'm ~~sometimes~~ one of them, I take a tiny morsel or two of that colorful zarda thing. Oh, and you might argue why do I then regard kheer as a sweet dish which also has rice in it. Then, my dear readers, it has milk in it too, and sugar as well, so it doesn't harm much to add in a few, like really few, rice in it. So, in short, kheer qualifies!

My terribly horrible exams ended two days back, so I hopped outside into the Ice-cream world to have some wholesome scoops of my favorite Blueberry ice-cream. I was highly disappointed cuz the standard of that ice-cream parlor had gone awfully down. It was not ice-cream, it was ice-frost :/ And he had drizzled such a tiny amount of blueberry sauce on it, it made me hate the ice-frost even more :( Anyway, the pineapple ice-frost was the same. So later at night, I went out to a different place to try some other flavor. And upon my Momma's recommendation, I bought peach ice-cream. OMG!!! It was a super delicious thing to have! I had never tried that flavor before, though I love love love peach-flavored milk. So, next time I'm gonna pair up my peach ice-cream with some other cool flavor and have the most content 30 minutes of my life again :) That day, in short, I tried 5 different flavors of ice-creams and rated Peach to be the best one!

Hmm, so the point remains, I can't appreciate veggie halwas, no matter how crazy the whole world might be for them. I'm simply not a halwa person at all. Mithaies: yes, Ice-creams: Yes, Cakes: YES, Chocolates: Yahoo!

So,

Mein meetha kaisay boloun

Jab ~~chocolate~~ mithaie mein ne khai nahi.

Cheerio folks =)

PS: Try a new flavor of ice-cream today :)

If Only I Had A Magic Wand...

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:19:00 +0000

Disclaimer: This tag game is meant for girls only. The reason for having this magic wand tag is that guys only work from 9 to 5 a day, whereas the girls work from 9 to 9 and another 9 to 9, so we need magic wands to help reduce some work load.

_________________________________________

Wish # 1: If I had a magic wand, I’d instantly swoosh it and make my room tidier. I’m so bored of always seeing my room in a mess that I want to give it a new look – a sparkling, neat and tidy one maybe. And is there any way I can plastic coat everything so I don’t see any tiny stain on them, is there?!

Wish # 2: Oh and also to have a solution to this overflowing closet of mine. I wonder where did all these clothes and socks come from. Maybe I need to hire a person to somehow manage this thing – like the one who could make pairs (or triplaires) of them and hang them neatly inside. (No, I won’t provide extra hangers). Cuz you know it sprains my muscles every time I try to push that truckload back in its place. And then it all comes back falling on me. God, is there a spring inside or what?!

Wish # 3: For the past couple of days I’ve been desperately wanting to have a violin (and of course knowing how to play it). Imagine how cool it would be if I had an occultist wand and I’d magically twirl it in the air and have the finest of violins right on my shoulder and a brain all tuned to play it! Wow. [Not to forget some cool breeze to help sway my long, straightened hair – only if they don’t get stuck in the violin strings.] Sheesh! That’s scary now!

Wish # 4: Okay. So this thing is bugging me the most! I’ve been reading the last book of the Shopaholic Series and I really want to track down darn Luke and bash him for being such a treacherous husband! I mean look at Becky, she’s so nice and understanding and he’s taking advantage of her! Stupid meanie jerk! So what if he’s so smart and handsome and such a successful businessman, I still want to tell him what a moron he is! I just wonder why all these men (excluding my fiancé) are such jerks?! Grrr.

Okay, enough with this Luke-Brandon bashing session before I totally lose control and forget my other important wishes.

Wish # 5: I so wish to own a chocolate factory :( A few years back I made this tiny little wish to have atleast a single box of chocos in the fridge ‘at all times’. And it has always been granted – be it in the form of cooking chocolate or in the form of Hershey’s, or Ferreros, or Dairy Milk, or Snickers, (no, not Bounty) or Galaxy, or Dove, or…okay I stop! Getting back to the wish, I just realized that I can’t have so many refrigerators in my home, so why not go for just a single little chocolate factory. No harm in it, right?

Wish # 6: Right now I’m so madly badly craving for…for nothing else but mangoes! I mean why can’t we have mangoes all round the year? I so want to have frangrant, neatly cut squared pieces of mangoes right now. Or even a mango milkshake. Or a mango mousse maybe. Or anything mango! And no, I don’t want to have mango icecream! Icecreams should only be made of chocolates and of course Blueberries, but not of mangoes or strawberries. Eeek!

Wish # 7: Okay, so here comes the real wish. To cut the above-mentioned mangoes in neat square pieces, I’d be needing a huge, stylish, state-of-the-art kitchen, with all the gadgets one can dream of! I’d practically love to have a kitchen that has things ranging from an Eiffel-Tower cookie cutter to a huge, stuffed pantry – the kind Nigella Lawson owns. *Droooooooooools* Oh, and there should be this exclusive, glossy, round table where I could put my iPad and scroll through all the yummy recipes I’d be trying. Wow! [Shh, the little iPad is just a tiny wish I need to get fulfilled with a bigger one. I hope I do get it]

Wish # 8: Like yesterday I was passing by a home and I saw this nice little aquarium with the most darling fish in it. [For me, the plural of fish is fish. You may go calling them fishes, but I like fish! Like sheep; sheep and hair; hair, so fish; fish! End of story!] Okay, so I want this aquarium of mine to be the size of Indian Ocean with a small island in the middle. After all, I’d be needing a place to view my fish from!

Wish # 9: God, before these 10 golden wishes of mine end, I just want to swivel my wand for a DSLR. Yes, DSLR is one thing I’ve been craving since birth. I mean, not exactly, but … you do get the point, right? So, a DSLR please?

Wish # 10: NOW WOULD SOMEBODY GET ME THIS DARN MAGIC WAND BEFORE I COMPLETELY FREAK OUT?!

I tag:

Specsified!

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:32:00 +0000

Since childhood I craved to wear specs. I remember when at the age of 6 I first went to our Eye Specialist's office. After my parents' and siblings' eyes were tested, I was called. So I sat on the revolving stool and in a confident and triumphant manner read the whole board in the mirror. The Doctor uncle was shocked as I was reading the last 2 lines faintly visible (to him).

Doctor Uncle: "Did you memorize the board while waiting?"
Me: *wondering I could've* "Nopes" :(

He then exclaimed to my dad, "Your daughter has a perfect 6x6 eyesight. She might never need glasses". The innocent Dinky Mind didn't understand this compliment and felt very dejected cuz she always wanted to wear specs :( I spent 6 years of my early life watching TV from a distance of 1.5 feet, reading books in dim lights, wearing my sista's specs and daddy's reading glasses to somehow weaken my eyesight, and even at times pretending to be partially blind! And that's what I got??? Imagine my feelings when I saw all my plans going straight down the drain *sniffs sniffs* Later when I got home I wished I had misread the board - reading W as M or V as A *sigh*

Anyway, time passed by and I gave up my desire of being specsified till day before yesterday :) Yes, I went to get my bro's eyes checked and got mine tested as well. So then the optician uncle asked me to read the last 2-3 (English alphabet) lines, which were divided in 3 columns

ف ر ک و ق............ m q d e y t ............ h w p r i
ل ر پ چ ب............ h y w e d s ............ i k o v r t

Me: "m. q. d...."
Him: "Tsk tsk... You've got a verrrrry weak eyesight"
Me: "Noooo! It really is 'm. q. d'. Honestly, I'm not making it up!"
Him: *pointing at the third column* "Read from here"
Me: *grrr* "h. w. p. r. i"
Him: *changing a glass on one of my eyes* "Now read the last line"
Me: *making up the alphabets this time* "1. b. a..."
Him: *changing the glass again to a higher sensitivity one*
Me: *head spinning* "Noooo... Remove it please. I'm not that blind!!!"

So after shuffling the glasses and making me read the whole darn A-B-C board, he finally declared my eyesight to be slightly weak! And yours truly finally got a number of 0.75, :) which, according to my Mommy, can be improved with a few kilos of carrots. Carrots, *sigh* :o( Specsies, *yay* :o)

Now I can't keep these glasses on my nosey for long. They're limiting my view and it's a bit irritating. No, don't think I'm complaining. No. Never. My childhood desire got fulfilled now. I'm not at all complaining. It's just that these specs don't suit my golu face anymore :(

Lol. But Dinky Mind is happily specsified! Yohoo!!! :)

Cheerio folks =)

PS: Shh... Don't tell this to my mom! I can perfectly see without these specs! ;)

ڑ سے پہاڑ

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:10:00 +0000

...کڑوا سچ

جب "الف" سے انار اور "ب" سے بلی ھوتی ھے تو "پ" سے پہاڑ کیوں نہیں ھوتا? "ڑ" سے پہاڑ کیوں ھوتا ھے?
دنیا بھر میں آپ کو کوئی "ڑ" سے پہاڑ نہیں نظر آئے گا۔ آخر کتابوں میں یہ لوگ ایسا کیوں لکھتے ھیں?
آخر کیوں زبردستی "ڑ" سے پہاڑ اور "ڑ" سے جھاڑو بنا دیتے ھیں? صرف یہ کیوں نہیں لکھ دیتے کہ "ڑ" سے کوئی لفظ شروع نہیں ھوتا اس لیے زیادہ دماغ لگانے کی ضرورت نہیں۔

بچپن سے اب تک یہی بات سمجھ نہیں آئی۔آخر صرف "ڑ" کے ساتھ ھی یہ ظلم کیوں? میرے خیال میں اب ھمیں "ڑ" سے کوئی لفظ ایجاد کر ھی لینا چاھئے ھے تاکہ آئندہ نسلوں کو آسانی ھو اور وہ میری طرح "ڑ" سے شروع ھونے والا پہاڑ نہ ڈھونڈتی پھریں۔

?کیا پشتو زبان میں کوئی لفظ "ڑ" سے شروع ھوتا ھے

From Job Hunt To Girl Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Dinky Mind) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:50:00 +0000

PROLOGUE:

The younger male population of our country is traumatized by job hunt, and their moms are worried about finding the perfect girl for them. In short, there's a lot of emotional commotion around us.

The general definition of a "perfect girl" includes traits such as "... smart (not fatty AT ALL), young, pretty, has long hair, tall, well-educated, perfect in all household chores, friendly and on top of all, FAIR!" The perfect girl is one having all these attributes. All the other girls can go to ... wherever they like!

CHAPTER 1:

While running down the stairs after class, Sammy and I were hoping to find the Xerox shop a bit less crowded. After a few more steps, I realized I was striding alone without my accomplice. So I turned around and found her having a chat with an aunty and a girl (apparently her daughter). I headed back to find the cause of delay and what happened next is as follows:

Aunty *in a well-composed manner*: "My son has done CA and is very intelligent. And we are looking for a girl for him."
Sammy and I took a half step back and tried to wave our left hands and get them notice our engagement rings. Thankfully they did.
The Daughter: "We are looking for a very pretty girl and of course IBA produces intelligent girls."
Sammy and I *forcing a smile*: "Indeed"
The Daughter *all excited*: "So how's that brown culottes wali girl? You guys know her?"
I scanned the area for the brown culottes wali girl but she was to be seen nowhere.
Me: "Umm, where exactly?" [Yeah, yeah, I was starting to enjoy it all :P]
The Daughter: "Oh, she's gone actually!"
Me *mumbles* : "Very well. And you expect us to recognize girls by their colored culottes and not by their faces?"
The Daughter: "So, you know her? We want a pretty one actually"
Me: "Well, there's a truckload of girls here. And sadly we don't know each one of them" :)
Sammy: "Yeah, we've actually got more boys than girls here"
Aunty: "So you're in 1st year of studies?"
Sammy: "No, no, no... In the last one actually and it's the 2nd one as well" :)
Aunty: "So you know any pretty girl here... someone you can suggest?"
[Aunty free hoing now. So we tried to cut short the story and Sammy came up with something out of nowhere]
Sammy: "Aunty, actually I'm also looking for girls"
I quickly turned sideways to hide my laughter. Who is she looking girls for????

Somehow we managed to end the convo right there and move on, giving them a polite gesture that we can't help them :) And all this time I wondering how did they manage to get into the premises? I mean what did they say to the guards, 'We're here to find a pretty girl for my CA son?' :)

EPILOGUE:

Stop haunting girls that way. Please!