Precious Moments, Memories Forever!

First of all, separate and awesome thanks to Andy, Red, Suburban, Geet, Mr. President and Balqis. Your few words mean something. Words have become wayyy too cheap in the modern word, but you (atleast the bloggers) know the power of words. I felt some of that.

But alas, your push, while wholesome, was not enough, as it seems that the tradition of Nature pushing someone in a deep pit does not end there, but then she actually starts shoveling sand quickly before the aforementioned person can try to get out.

I lost a friend in Haiti. A good friend, someone who I’d spent short, but quality time with. Turns out, I didn’t even know he was there, but sadly he was. I got the news a couple of days ago and was trying to get through to his family in the USA. But either they’ve travelled (which seems most likely) or something esle has crept up.

Since we ARE in a funk already, why not push the envelope a bit further, why not test the mettle a bit more, why not serenade the misery to its miserable cresendo!?

Again I thank you for the comments, and again I wish I’d pull myself out of here … it’s getting dark…

-FK

Wishing you Eid Sa’eed

Since I am busy in all the weirdness of my last post, I shall not attempt to obstruct the Alice-in-Wonderland-like activities of mine, waiting instead for an Alice-in-UmbrellaCorp-like activity to end the monotony. Going through the past up & downs, I have assured my self that this blog can indeed survive without me, since my 15-day hiatus did not affect the incoming traffic. This is very good, as I am promised a steady stream of visitors; this is very bad since whatever I write (or don’t) does not have any effect on anything! 😦 I am disappoint!

I shall propose to extend my hiatus, taking advantage of the generous Eid holidays to traverse some borders, see some foreign lands. I hear there is a cold front coming along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, maybe I can use that. *nudge nudge* *wink wink*

After thanking you all my reader for this readership, allowing a glance of interest to fall on this very VERY small persona of mine online, making me sigh in satisfaction or astonishment whenever I see the amount of visitors go up or down by a couple or more.

So, after thanking you for all that, I wish to fall upon you a very happy Eid with blessings and benefits and lots of blog hits and exciting trips and inner satisfaction. Most of all, I wish upon all of you money, health & happiness (as my father says, pick two!).

-TFK

“I’ll Be Back!”

Real Life has a way with things. It looks at you, finds you, stops you, pushes you, sneaks up on you, bashed you on the head and then drags you away to where it wants you to be. And currently, Real Life (RL) does NOT want me to blog. I’ve pleaded, begged, hidden from, tried to bypass and even fought it, but it wins. I threatened it once, but then realized that was Not A Good Idea! 🙂

Blog or no blog, life goes on. Things are happening in the world and the world is happening to things. The silly political hoo-ha regarding Obama’s speech, the weird activities of Coalition forces in Iraq & Afghanistan (but why are they called coalition? Why was the word ‘allied’ dropped? How long are they going to come up with similies?), the death of Patrick Swayze, Serena Williams’ tirade at the umpire and more. While The Fark Knight sits in his roller coaster, watching these things zip by, wanting to stop or atleast slow-down to look at them with detail, Real Life wants me to sit tight and go at the pace it wants. I could jump off it and do things at a much slower pace, but the coaster wouldn’t stop. I’ll do that, doncha worry, but when time comes.

Anyway, you don’t do things like that on an empty stomach. 🙂

(Much Belated) Ramadhan Kareeem to all. Remember that there is a person behind this persona. Pray for him in your prayers in The Blessed Nights.

-TFK

Here Comes the Bling!

With the general exodus of all sorts of people and things from the UAE, seems that a few of the oddities are also finding their way stateside. Recently spotted this little gem near the ministries area.

Now that’s some serious cheap bling! Apologies for the crappy photoshop.

-TFK

I win!

I just got to know that I have won the first prize in an online quiz competition. Yay! Prizes, here I come! 🙂

-FK

H1N1: Schools, Ruwi & Lulu

Really brief. After the case of an Indian School student falling ill and passing away due to swine flu, the Indian Schools have closed for an extended holiday. That comes after an annoouncement that they would not close. But they are now closing.

The Pakistani School had announced that they would not close. But they had ‘off-d’ primary school kiddos. Seeing the severity of the cases (and the huuge amount of snot-nosed not-so-kids), vacations have been announced for another week, 15th to 22nd Aug.

Rwui Ruiw Ruwi has had a general sweep by the baladiyah, handing out masks and forcing the general shopkeepers and shopassistants to wear them. Gives Ruwi a sterile look. Now you can’t even identify the person who is giving you the eye (or the x-ray eye). Same for all medical centers, where HongKong-esque masked smoochers were seen by your truly.

Lulu is as much a cesspit of all kinds of virii as usual, human-type and others. I’m sure that if there is any place where H1N1 and H1N5 are going to mutate, that is going to be Lulu; where, this friday, I saw 200 people per minute (ppm) entering and exitting the doors. And Ramadhan shopping still has to commence, with people going starking mad, buying wholesale items (I saw a local buying atleast 7 cartons of red Jello, swear). Consider with that the amount of cars parked (in their newly opened multi-tier parking space), the humid, wet smell of coconut in the air there, open fruits (and flies) and you can get an idea of the genetic experiments going on in Lulu’s atmosphere. shudder. And no masks, mind you. When pharmacies are going to sell facemasks @ R.O. 5/- per box (50 pcs), why would Mr. Raj, with a family of 5, buy a whole box!? Especially when no one has told them that the friggin masks have to be replaced after a couple of days of use (the flimsy ones).

Here’s to me, heading for all the lonely places. Yo, beach up in Yeti, here I come!

-FK

15th August: India Independence Day

So, 62 years ago, the British were expelled from the Indian Subcontinent. The Muslims congregated to one side of the place, the Hindus to the other, a demarcation line was set, and 2 countries were born. By raffle luck coin toss arrangement with the British, 14th August was set as the independence day of Pakistan, while India celebrates the 15th.

Great to see how individual people can force entities such as the British Government to leave an area as rich and as fine as the Indian Subcontinent. It was not without reason called The Diamond in the British Empire’s Crown. If they (British) had managed to stay, wonder how things would’ve been now! Atleast we’d be travelling to Europe visa-free!

1. India never has had an indigenous standing army in her last 100000 years of pre-partition history.
2. Pre-partition India was primarily ruled by the minioriy Muslims till the British advent.
3. India has the largest number of Hindus in the world. By law, India is a secular country.
4. The name ‘India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers.
5. Chess was invented in India.
6. India is the largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
7. India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
8. The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
9. Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world (Source : Gemological Institute of America).
10. The four religions born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.
11. India is surrounded by Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma.

Congratulations to people on the other this side of the border.

-TFK

14th August: Pakistan Independence Day

So, 62 years ago, the British were expelled from the Indina Subcontinent. The Muslims congregated to one side of the place, the Hindus to the other, a demarcation line was set, and 2 countries were born. By raffle luck coin toss arrangement with the British, 14th August was set as the independence day of Pakistan, while India celebrates the 15th.

Great to see how individual people can force entities such as the British Government to leave an area as rich and as fine as the Indian Subcontinent. It was not without reason called The Diamond in the British Empire’s Crown. If they (British) had managed to stay, wonder how things would’ve been now! Atleast we’d be travelling to Europe visa-free! 🙂

1. Pakistan has one of the highest %age of national budget allotted to military uses.
2. Pakistan is USAs biggest non-NATO ally (in terms of military/monetary aid).
3. Pakistan has had more time in military rule than democratically elected governments for any constitutionally democratic country in the world.
4. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. This is now the name of the Southernmost province of Pakistan.
5. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which were invented by Muslims.
6. Mughal India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India’s wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
7. Pakistan held the world cups for snooker, cricket, hockey, squash, yatching and boxing. All were gained and lost within 4 years.
8. Pakistan’s national sport is hockey, not cricket.
9. Bangladesh was a province of Pakistan till 1971.
10. There are only 2 official border crossings
11. Pakistan grows 20 different varieties of mango. Only 3 are exported.
12. Pakistan is surrounded by Afghanistan, Iran, India and China.

Congratulations to people on this side of the border.

-TFK

The Bottom Half Divided by 2

I’m kinda sorta having trouble with work nowadays.

Not with the authorities/company policy, but with a couple of “elements” that take the concept of CYA a bit too far. The general mentality of the ‘little black workers’ to screw up everyone and everything, to let go of all morals and integrity of theirs, but to not let go of the job/post is not something compatible with the likes of me. However, sadly, such things are not things that you raise at the proper level, neither can you do anything about them at your own level, being as inconsequential as they are. But they do have a consequence of pissing me off and making me shake my head at how relative morals are. My father had this gem to pass onto me: “Imagine a person of average intelligence. Imagine how he would be acting. Now imagine that half the world is less intelligent than that.” I’ve read it before, but I still like it everytime I hear it! 🙂

The Bottom Half of the IQ level, divided by 2.

-TFK

10 weird things…

…that have happened to me this week/fortnight (inspired by SEwG):

– Whilst bowling at OBC, competing against first-timers, my score was 82. My average score usually is by the 150/160 mark. (I’d promised a training session after the game. It was scrapped).

– I spent about 45 minutes (and 5 rials) in the children’s arcade in the basement of Al-Masa Mall. And I enjoyed it.

– I’m beginning to hate The Week for their silly half-cooked, more-holes-than-swiss-cheese-cover stories.

– I joined a local forum with an anonymous account (I already have a real-life-name account there). I then deleted it without making any posts.

– I saw an accident beneath the airport overhead intersection last night. There were 3 police cars ‘on top’ of the overhead, policemen looking down from above.  The crash involved 3 cars.

– I saw an accident where in a long-haul truck had crushed a tiny daihatsu beneath it (whilst taking its usual huge turn). Turns out the local woman driving the car didn’t notice the truck until her-side window fell onto her lap.

– My 42-person department has no woman in it.

– The Select Shop at the nearest Shell station doesn’t have ‘anything’ that is for a 100 bz or less.

– The daily average hits for this blog is roundabout 80. I get 100 on a good day and 30 on a bad one. On 7/7, it received 352 hits.

– I recently managed to smash my watch’s glass by accidentally hitting it against my cellphone, which was in my pocket, while wearing a jeans.

– I haven’t flown since April 2006. That year (Apr05-Apr06), I flew 5 times; 3 times in the year before that, 3 times 03-04, 5 times in 02-03.

– These were 11 facts.

-TFK