Monday Bloody Monday

We all hear how Monday’s are blue, dreary and I certainly don’t want to be at work on a Monday after a good weekend.

So I checked up the etymology of the word Monday and here’s what I found:

Monday: The day is the first day of the week (if you follow the business calendar; geographically and culturally it varies in importance and sequence) and is derived from the Moon and is also known as the Moon’s day.

It isn’t my day, I’m not sure if it is your day but it is the Moon’s day!
This day is named after a celestial body which does not emit light, has a dark side, has been pretty beaten by a multitude of thrashings received by meteors over time, rotates from west to east (DUH!!) and in some terminologies we may (or may not) have used in school or college, means BUTTOCKS! (Now I am not sure how many of you have mooned someone in your youth but heck; if that body part has a day named after it, that just sets says it all for me anyway)

Hence my question. Is it logical that Monday, a day that is allegorically named after a body part none of us can easily turn and see (except with the aid of a mirror), really be considered as a day to be out and about, being active, starting the work week and slaving our way to a long awaited 6 pm closing bell; or, should we give it the due credit it deserves and . . . well just sit on our behinds and wait for Tuesday.

p.s. Friday is a day connected with the planet Venus which associates Friday with love, peace and relaxation.

A Nail.

For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost.

For want of a horseshoe the steed was lost.

For want of a steed, the message was not delivered.

For want of an undelivered message, the war was lost!


I got this, of all places, from a movie last night and it has struck a nerve and etched itself so permanently in my mind that I would want to sum up my 2008 in this philosophy.

Who says watching television is a complete waste of time!

What really pisses you off?

I don’t mean the big ticketed items here.

I mean fair enough that one gets irked at seeing someone kick a puppy or someone being rude to a helpless person is enough to wring a knot in a soul-less shylock’s heart but I am talking about the small ticketed items.

To define those to you from my perspective here are a few things that send my noggin off the freaking rocker because how can one not see the flaw in them:

I hate it when I pull over at the light and the person in the car beside me has their finger shoved so far up their nose, they could probably pull out their eye ball

I hate the fact that when you are in an elevator someone can let loose one of those toxic silent but violent farts which make the air repugnant but stand there ignorant to the sensitive senses of others

I hate the fact that men in this part of the world will walk around in the public, shamelessly scratching their nether regions; at times seemingly wrestling with the family jewels and immediately extend their hands to greet you with a gentlemanly shake

I hate more so the people who have seen the chap perform a three round 90 second wrestling bout with the bishop and continue to shake the rubbed-in-the-family-jewels-musky paw

And I hate the fact that someone out there is talking face to face with a peer, friend or comrade and is spitting small darts of saliva without noticing the discomfort of the listener who is being polite not to highlight the current uncomfortable scenario.

Well that was the rant after a hectic weekend.

What annoys you?

Did I Wake You?

So heres my weekly question:

What is the deal with someone calling you either early in the morning or late at night, awakening you from you slumber, and politely asking “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

Here’s what I researched and found:

This is an inane human habit/nature in attaining the upper hand/taking-the-command, subconscious act which basically translates like this:

The guy (or girl) knows you have been awakened (we all have our sleep voices which are distinctly different from any other tone). Yet the person will ask “Did I wake you?” This is their subconscious way of attaining the higher ground in the conversation. Your response: “No, no I was just lazing around” or “No, no I was lying down” or some other defensive statement to try and subconsciously gain some footing because you have been caught in your most vulnerable state (come on let’s face it you are not able to do much in your sleep except; sleep!).

Well to not get involved in this subconscious battle; in truth playing my role to be at par (or slightly an upper footing) with such calls, I have my own response to such calls.

Here’s how my call would go:

Caller: “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

Me: “Yes. Is it something important?”

And that pretty much sets the tone for the conversation to come to a quick conclusion by the caller politely acknowledging and apologizing (usually) and me telling them I will call them back.

Why should I have to lie about my state of consciousness when in truth I was asleep and yes your call did wake me up and yes you have right to feel bad and I, for one, am not the person to take that right away!

Time Ticks!

What is it about weather and the roles it plays in ones behavior? Take yesterday for instance. Islamabad had a hailstorm that left the city covered in a blanket of white, bringing scores of people out into the streets to see their town embalmed in natures wonder.

Cameras where clicking, phones were buzzing and cars were a-crashing! (people don’t really know how to drive on icy roads here since it rarely happens) But it was a moment in time where everyone forgot the current shortage of electricity, the hiking prices of gasoline, the massive inflation in our economy and the threat to our national security.(ironically there was a suicide bomb attack in Lahore yesterday)

Yes, nature has its way of offering us these little glimmers of hope, rejoicing and revelry where time comes to a pause and we are consumed by the beauty that surrounds us; which mind you, we take for granted each day!

I enjoyed driving in the midst of the deluge myself and have concluded that we all need to take moments out of our lives just to stop and look around; take in these phenomena happening around us every day, and relish all that we can smell, taste, see, hear and feel; all that bonds us together and makes us what we are and can be!

Take that break and let the moment sink in. Our time ticks at the pace we set it to maintain. We just need to take charge of it as opposed to letting time take charge of us!

Pakistani?

I have a friend in London who asked me this question today which struck a chord for me to look into myself before I replied with my response.

Question: Do you think a twenty year old; the child of Pakistani parents who has grown up in the Middle East, schooled there and then in London but who holds a Pakistani passport and who has essentially grown up surrounded by Pakistani people is Pakistani even though he's never lived in Pakistan at all?

I thought to myself that this is a very smart and concerned question from, well, a concerned Pakistani.

Online I went, to my favorite reference site (www.wikipedia.org) and after doing some brief reading the following was my response:

Can a man, born in India to an Ismaili khoja family, married to a Parsi, educated and living in England, holding an Imperial passport, not able to speak our national language but surrounded by people who envisioned and desired the same idea be the Father of a Nation?

The answer to my friends question, we are sure to find in the due course of time!

This thought led me to my own question. What is a Pakistani? Yes by the technical definition he or she is the citizen of our recently formed state however in my personal belief, being a Pakistani is far more than that. It is an ideal! It is the will to stand for your rights; it is the energy and ambition to work towards realising your beliefs; it is the desire to live free and it is the passion to better your motherland and your lot to the best of your honest abilities.

That is what I feel it is to be a Pakistani. I don’t expect agreements on this though I do invite debate here.

How far are we in achieving this ideal; is another question in itself but if you or I have the will, energy, commitment, passion and conviction to be Pakistani then I do believe there is hope.

Even in her martyrdom, Benazir Bhutto has ignited an inferno of political enlightenment amongst the urban Pakistani’s (moreso amidst the youth) who perhaps viewed Pakistani politics perched on their comfortable sofa’s watching our fate play its role on the boob tube.

I sincerely hope that a phoenix does rise from these ashes.

This country cannot burn anymore, and I for one cannot remain seated on my sofa, anymore!

Pakistan Zindabad!

Fit for life . . .golden advice

A simple saying, easy to manage and, in my opinion, works like a dime!

Breakfast like a King,
Lunch like a Prince and
Dinner like a pauper!

Dont knock it till you try it is what i say. . .