So finally I had the time to blog about it all. I've been sleeping late at night and wakin into the noon of the next day...watchin movies, three to four in a day...
what bliss....
and what a waste...
I'm becoming a 'nocturnal creature' of sorts and don't know if i like it much. I want to intern somewhere. Maybe it'll make me more active. I need a proper routine. Everything is too random. Need to plan.
So finally I had the time to blog about it all. And yet I haven't done much to blog about.
xoxo
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Twitterholic?
So I realised I haven't written much here in a while...i blame twitter, which is a great substitute in a way...microblogging seems more fun and I feel I indulge in it rather frequently...probably more than what's healthy...also because its on my phone; thus the ease of accessibility factor...but the only drawback is the 140 characters limit there...
I wonder how many out there feel the same way...
so long blog.
see you when i feel like venting and writing a lot more than a 140 characters tweeet =)
xoxo
I wonder how many out there feel the same way...
so long blog.
see you when i feel like venting and writing a lot more than a 140 characters tweeet =)
xoxo
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
So after hearing much about it and wanting to follow the whole buzzz...i decided to join Twitter.
It seems like a condensed version of blogging and I wish more of my friends would join me there! here's a link
http://twitter.com/areeej
see you there!
.
xoxo
It seems like a condensed version of blogging and I wish more of my friends would join me there! here's a link
http://twitter.com/areeej
see you there!
.
xoxo
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hopelessness.
This life as just an aptitude test which will determine our ending up in either the abode above or the pit below. What we do here is written down and assessed accordingly. Seems to me like a game of sorts.
First He made us. Then He placed us along with the rest of them. Soon He tested us. And eventually He decided our fate in accordance with our actions and performance in this place. If its all in His hands, then why make us live here in the first place? Are we just pieces on a chessboard? I know questioning religious beliefs may be considered a sin. Who are we to question God's will? =(
But this is just hopelessness, not faithlessness. When praying doesn't help you get out of your despair, what do you resort to? Patience? Forbearance? Had I but world and time enough for that in this fast paced life of mine..heh.
I learnt just one valuable lesson yesterday; life is a lie, death is the only truth. So prepare for the world hereafter, and die doing good.
Rest In Peace Zohaib Aijaz. I'm sure you're in a better place. InshaAllah.
xoxo
First He made us. Then He placed us along with the rest of them. Soon He tested us. And eventually He decided our fate in accordance with our actions and performance in this place. If its all in His hands, then why make us live here in the first place? Are we just pieces on a chessboard? I know questioning religious beliefs may be considered a sin. Who are we to question God's will? =(
But this is just hopelessness, not faithlessness. When praying doesn't help you get out of your despair, what do you resort to? Patience? Forbearance? Had I but world and time enough for that in this fast paced life of mine..heh.
I learnt just one valuable lesson yesterday; life is a lie, death is the only truth. So prepare for the world hereafter, and die doing good.
Rest In Peace Zohaib Aijaz. I'm sure you're in a better place. InshaAllah.
xoxo
Thursday, March 19, 2009
URock!
So I was just appointed one of the URock (Ufone) brand ambassadors for IBA Main Campus. Its not as easy as I thought it would be since most of the potential buyers have already been approached by other ambassadors on campus! However, I haven't let that stop me or bring me down and I will finish what I've started and that too in the best way I can. It is a good pastime and a great distraction for my rather distressed state of mind, which is always filled with thoughts about a bleak future or how to make things right. I wish nobody had any issues ever. yeah, crazy idealistic, I know...
If I succeed at being a good brand ambassador and have consistent progress, then InshaAllah I might even get a great internship over the summer! I am mostly looking forward to all the URock concerts' organizing committees I will get to be a part of because my major interest is in event management anyway... well i just hope everything goes according to plan.
here is the URock video I found on YouTube...
xoxo
If I succeed at being a good brand ambassador and have consistent progress, then InshaAllah I might even get a great internship over the summer! I am mostly looking forward to all the URock concerts' organizing committees I will get to be a part of because my major interest is in event management anyway... well i just hope everything goes according to plan.
here is the URock video I found on YouTube...
xoxo
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
craving...!!
ahhhhh I would do anythinggg to have Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie right now!! I feel all tingly inside just thinking about opening up a pint and indulging, even if it's just one spoonful. How can anyone resist? So chocolatey, so fudgey...so brownieee! A mixture of all things chocolate. The perfect combination. It can't get better. I WANT.
NOW. =(
xoxo
Charlieeee the Unicorn!
I this this has to be the most amusing animated video I've ever seen!! Enjoy! =P
xoxo
xoxo
Designer Lollipops! what next? =P
So much for being candy for the kids, now lollipops are also made in the shapes of luxury brand logos! I wonder how much each costs =P 
LOUIS VUITTON!!!
LOUIS VUITTON!!!
GUCCI Yves Saint Laurent
CHANEL
xoxo
The Fray - Heartless (Cover)
I just love this song these days...a brilliant cover by The Fray of Kanye West's song Heartless.
xoxo
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
"Of Mice and Men"
I read this book recently, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. It was ludicrous for the most part till I began seeing it in a different light. Two men, Lennie and George are field workers who travel together and while George is the cynical, smart one, he protects the rabbits-obsessed Lennie who has limited mental capabilities. They both wish to live on a piece of land they own and can tend to without being answerable to anyone.
In pursuit of this dream, they start working at a farm and as the novel progresses, certain incidents occur which lead to the book's tragic ending. What I felt after reading this book was a mixture of disgust, melancholy and a certain hollowness. Is human life that expendable? Would you kill just to save?
Moreover it evoked various negative emotions within me and it made me question myself; can you trust even your closest friend? If you can't, then who do you lay all your burdens of trust on? Why do most people need someone to depend on? If people desire companionship, does their loneliness end with death if they aren't able to find their significan other?
So why didn't George lead the men away and protect Lennie? How can you kill to save? If he had saved Lennie and they had run away, the story wouldn't really have a tragic ending and in my opinion, it's usually tragic endings that appeal to readers. =(
In pursuit of this dream, they start working at a farm and as the novel progresses, certain incidents occur which lead to the book's tragic ending. What I felt after reading this book was a mixture of disgust, melancholy and a certain hollowness. Is human life that expendable? Would you kill just to save?
Moreover it evoked various negative emotions within me and it made me question myself; can you trust even your closest friend? If you can't, then who do you lay all your burdens of trust on? Why do most people need someone to depend on? If people desire companionship, does their loneliness end with death if they aren't able to find their significan other?
So why didn't George lead the men away and protect Lennie? How can you kill to save? If he had saved Lennie and they had run away, the story wouldn't really have a tragic ending and in my opinion, it's usually tragic endings that appeal to readers. =(
xoxo
Monday, March 16, 2009
"Pakistan in 2020" -SpeechCommunication
On just another typical day of my life, I was skimming through a really old photo album in which I was just a little thumb sucking brat …in that I came across a picture of me with my aunt and my uncle…my uncle had a long beard with the mustache being clean shaved and my aunt was wearing a long black silky dress and her head was covered with what we used to call hijab just a few years ago……
and at that moment it actually occurred to me, that you never see men with beards in Pakistan anymore!!
And women don’t wear these dresses nowadays at all……barely anyone has their head covered, let alone covering their body with that long piece of black cloth…..why is this so?? What happened to the people around me in such short time?? The album that I hold in my hand would be at max just 30 years old……and 30 yrs is not a very long time… for cultures and societies to change themselves!!!
This thought got me thinking…that everything has just changed around me….even me a 32 year old woman is now working and living alone without any troubles…totally independent….something that was not found in our country, our culture, our society even less than 10 years ago……
’10 yrs is nothing, it’s a very short time’ I remember perfectly my college graduation cuz it wasn’t so far back…..yeah it was the same year ………2011………….when it all started happening in Pakistan……..the bombing…and the war on terror.. got so out of hand that people started questioning our own religion….we blamed people with beards for the extremism…and for the unstoppable suicide bombing… the masses started protesting against all violent acts…..the rich and the powerful used all their powers..to get rid of the so called mullahs from our society…..they used all means necessary to persuade the govt. to do the same……thousands were killed……millions went into hiding or ran away to Afghanistan……….
All of this sparked a revolution in the country which caused most people to forget the words under which Pakistan was made “ la illaha ill allah”. This did not only mean that there is only one God but it also meant that we should’ve followed what God told us to follow. I knew what these words meant but somehow I barely had time to bow down in prayer to Him, these words weren’t an integral part of my life anymore.
How did Pakistan become a place where men and women could live together without getting married……where women would walk on streets dressed in the least moderate of ways………where men and women would have so much competition amongst each other in the job market they would give up their families and religion just to succeed…….
Then it came into my head and struck me like bullet….and I thought this isn’t actually bad….or is it??? In fact was it actually our religion Islam that was holding us back from all this liberalization, this development?
I shut the album and kept it on the shelf. Looking through 10th floor apartment window, my gaze swept the city below me, the only thing I remembered being the same all my life was the setting sun. At one point in time I used to have 3 cars at my disposal, now I, like the masses used the Monorail. Petrol was a luxury and only the richest 10 families in Pakistan had access to it.
There were no shops in the urban setting where I live because everyone shopped online. Shope did exist in the slums though. But how does it make sense to go out shopping for things? I remember doing so myself back then too….well… I must’ve had a lot of time then….As the glittering lights became brighter over the twilight I thought of the days I used to spend in the dark when there was loadshedding, well atleast some evils were now eliminated!!
These thoughts depressed me. I didn’t have time to think. I had a lot of work to do. How did my life become so busy that I couldn’t spare myself a good 10minutes to just reminisce about the past? I must get to work, for I was just a part of the system now. A mere “cog in the machine”.
xoxo
and at that moment it actually occurred to me, that you never see men with beards in Pakistan anymore!!
And women don’t wear these dresses nowadays at all……barely anyone has their head covered, let alone covering their body with that long piece of black cloth…..why is this so?? What happened to the people around me in such short time?? The album that I hold in my hand would be at max just 30 years old……and 30 yrs is not a very long time… for cultures and societies to change themselves!!!
This thought got me thinking…that everything has just changed around me….even me a 32 year old woman is now working and living alone without any troubles…totally independent….something that was not found in our country, our culture, our society even less than 10 years ago……
’10 yrs is nothing, it’s a very short time’ I remember perfectly my college graduation cuz it wasn’t so far back…..yeah it was the same year ………2011………….when it all started happening in Pakistan……..the bombing…and the war on terror.. got so out of hand that people started questioning our own religion….we blamed people with beards for the extremism…and for the unstoppable suicide bombing… the masses started protesting against all violent acts…..the rich and the powerful used all their powers..to get rid of the so called mullahs from our society…..they used all means necessary to persuade the govt. to do the same……thousands were killed……millions went into hiding or ran away to Afghanistan……….
All of this sparked a revolution in the country which caused most people to forget the words under which Pakistan was made “ la illaha ill allah”. This did not only mean that there is only one God but it also meant that we should’ve followed what God told us to follow. I knew what these words meant but somehow I barely had time to bow down in prayer to Him, these words weren’t an integral part of my life anymore.
How did Pakistan become a place where men and women could live together without getting married……where women would walk on streets dressed in the least moderate of ways………where men and women would have so much competition amongst each other in the job market they would give up their families and religion just to succeed…….
Then it came into my head and struck me like bullet….and I thought this isn’t actually bad….or is it??? In fact was it actually our religion Islam that was holding us back from all this liberalization, this development?
I shut the album and kept it on the shelf. Looking through 10th floor apartment window, my gaze swept the city below me, the only thing I remembered being the same all my life was the setting sun. At one point in time I used to have 3 cars at my disposal, now I, like the masses used the Monorail. Petrol was a luxury and only the richest 10 families in Pakistan had access to it.
There were no shops in the urban setting where I live because everyone shopped online. Shope did exist in the slums though. But how does it make sense to go out shopping for things? I remember doing so myself back then too….well… I must’ve had a lot of time then….As the glittering lights became brighter over the twilight I thought of the days I used to spend in the dark when there was loadshedding, well atleast some evils were now eliminated!!
These thoughts depressed me. I didn’t have time to think. I had a lot of work to do. How did my life become so busy that I couldn’t spare myself a good 10minutes to just reminisce about the past? I must get to work, for I was just a part of the system now. A mere “cog in the machine”.
xoxo
Buy. ology
Today I attended one of the most inspiring conferences I've ever been to...It was arranged at City Campus, IBA and I was one of the Volunteers as well as attending delegates. This workshop/presentation was based on Buy. ology, Truth and Lies about why we buy, a book by Martin Lindstrom.
It dealt with Neuromarketing experiments, scanning the brains of many consumers to assess what they think and how brands should or should not be advertised.
Various concepts were discussed regarding viral marketing, subliminal marketing and sensory branding. It was not only a thought provoking and mindblowing presentation but it probably guarantees competitive edge to those who attended over those who missed out on this opportunity.
However, as interactive and amusing as it was, some of the examples really shocked me. The instance where an Iphone was blended in a Blend-it-well blender and made into Ismoke was just disturbing.
Even the bit about how the "Smoking Kills" signs on cigarette packs actually lead to an increase in the number of smokers was quite a shocker. Apparently indirect ways of advertising such as merchandising, and associations surpass direct ones such as logos on billboards..?!!!
I was just overwhelmed with the mastery of Lindstrom's presentation skills and would suggest everyone to watch out if another opportunity arises and read his book Buy. ology.
for more information you can check his website
http://www.martinlindstrom.com/
It dealt with Neuromarketing experiments, scanning the brains of many consumers to assess what they think and how brands should or should not be advertised.
Various concepts were discussed regarding viral marketing, subliminal marketing and sensory branding. It was not only a thought provoking and mindblowing presentation but it probably guarantees competitive edge to those who attended over those who missed out on this opportunity.
However, as interactive and amusing as it was, some of the examples really shocked me. The instance where an Iphone was blended in a Blend-it-well blender and made into Ismoke was just disturbing.
Even the bit about how the "Smoking Kills" signs on cigarette packs actually lead to an increase in the number of smokers was quite a shocker. Apparently indirect ways of advertising such as merchandising, and associations surpass direct ones such as logos on billboards..?!!!
I was just overwhelmed with the mastery of Lindstrom's presentation skills and would suggest everyone to watch out if another opportunity arises and read his book Buy. ology.
for more information you can check his website
http://www.martinlindstrom.com/
xoxo
Sunday, March 15, 2009
wishlist =)
.
wow...it was fun making this =D
http://froogle.google.com/shoppinglist?a=SWL&email=reej_88%40hotmail.com&id=2407817769299836601
xoxo
wow...it was fun making this =D
http://froogle.google.com/shoppinglist?a=SWL&email=reej_88%40hotmail.com&id=2407817769299836601
xoxo
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I can't be anyone but Me.
Bipolar personality.Whimsical ideas.Impulsive decisions.Overindulgent habits.Reckless choices.Persistent melancholy.Excessive hypomania.Unconventional motivation.Absent tolerance.Harmless highs.Incongruous views.Manic indifferent.
Incomprehensible, racing thoughts haunt this overused mind. At times, it's filled with absurd, fantastical, and often ridiculously unreasonable ideas.
Don't tell me not to worry, that everything will be okay, and its a passing phase.
Its all here, and now.
.
xoxo
Incomprehensible, racing thoughts haunt this overused mind. At times, it's filled with absurd, fantastical, and often ridiculously unreasonable ideas.
Don't tell me not to worry, that everything will be okay, and its a passing phase.
Its all here, and now.
.
xoxo
Monday, January 12, 2009
Me, Myself and...my shadow?
I don't want to care. But i'm conflicted. I want to know what the future entails.
I feel inadequate when alone. In a crowd I feel at home. Do I let it bother me or do I it let go? Is it normal? What is 'normal'? Is 'normal' the same for everyone?
I used to be one who refuses to believe in a risk-free society where the thrill of living is traded for the safety of existence. Was that an inherent belief or an acquired one?
I wish I knew how to live without fear. I fear the dark, the unknown. I fear rejection, their dissatisfaction.
I know myself. But only sometimes.
.
xoxo
I feel inadequate when alone. In a crowd I feel at home. Do I let it bother me or do I it let go? Is it normal? What is 'normal'? Is 'normal' the same for everyone?
I used to be one who refuses to believe in a risk-free society where the thrill of living is traded for the safety of existence. Was that an inherent belief or an acquired one?
I wish I knew how to live without fear. I fear the dark, the unknown. I fear rejection, their dissatisfaction.
I know myself. But only sometimes.
.
xoxo
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