Adios Szab - Hello MC!

It was the morning of May 18th, I frantically gotup at 9:30am to literally RUN off to college, as we had our Research Project Presentations - which you have to give at the end of your BBA, and is pretty much worth 2 courses! Got to college by 10:15, in a rather unusual setting in the Auditorium (where we were presenting for the first time), and witnessed nervous, tensed, hyper (some losers were for some reason!) and some happy buncha' students.. who were about to unofficially graduate!

Presentations from 10:30am - 5pm, and my group's turn was at 4pm! Sighh. So after catching up with my sleep, joking around, millions of sms-es, going for prayers in the middle (friday), taking pics!, having lays, revising notes, we were on the stage for 1 final time! (why is this turning into a lame story of some famous band's last gig?! :p)




So that sums it up pretty much. Presentation finished, went ok, less raping as compared to others, and we were treated by our college to tea and snacks!

And so after giving 100+ presentations, clearing 48 courses, taking 144 hourlies and 48 finals, going to a huge number of seminars/conferences... I still have the same old car!.. Ok no, I finally graduate!

It was indeed a pleasure studying here, and a greater pleasure to have met the life-long friends I made over here.. the early morning halwa-puri's, the frantic runs to the lab for print-outs, the lays with tea sessions, the samosa with tea sessions, the random arguments in the cafe over why we chose a certain topic for a report, the mimicking sessions! (oh damn!), the walks from 90 to 100, the birthday celebrations in the study, the flamingo trips, the meetings! (SO many!), the EBM's!, the random AIESEC memories, the fights, the daewooooo! (oh how can I forget you! you SUCKER!!:p), the drops, the same damn feeling after giving every exam, and the billion other things.. this all would definitely be missed!

And now its hello to the MC of AIESEC in Pakistan! Can't wait to start, though I do need to wrap up some stuff. The last couple of days have been a lot of corporate meetings with Emad/Kurt, desperately trying to sell off my car (sadness), family stuff, hanging out, and a lot of green tea for some odd-ball reason.

The entire month of June is transitioning into next year's role as the National Team of AIESEC in Pakistan, which entails living with 3 old MC members, 3 new MC members, 2 Interns, and 1 CEED-er from Canada, at the MC Mansion! Not to mention crazy transition sessions at the Office as well as at home/roof/wherever!


July is when we officially take over, and thats when things get insane!


More of that later, right now some more pics.





So am I going to end this off on a really emotional note in a background of empty corridors?!

No I'm not! Thank God its over!

:)

NPM!

So National President's Meeting 2007 starts in another 12 hours! This is defintely one of my firsts. Another first, is the fact that I'm on the OC (not on the same levels though, but still). And since I was (volun-told) to be on it, its an interesting experience going to Zamzama Park with Kurt to figure if its worth having an "inspirational" session over there or not.

With 14 leaders from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad.. venues ranging from the MC Mansion, Cafe Coffee Day, NGORC, SZABIST, to Zamzama Park.. the following 3 days are going to be worth it all!

After a couple of months, I have now realized that it is really really hard to keep a blog active and to post on it regularly! It just is. I didn't think it would be this hard, but it actually is a pain. I made a conscious effort tonight to update it, as I knew the weeks to follow after tonight, are going to be absolutely insane.

In more news, I'm selling my super cool car off. Yes, very sad. But hey, how cool is that for you?! Benefits include no locks, no moving windows, no AC, alot of natural air, a CNG system to heavily rely on, 4 and a half tyres, half-key, a radio tuning into all radio channels, no headlights, zebra-print seat covers, very reliable, locked dashboard, a trunk with empty oil cans, empty chips packets, and alot of memories. Offers start from Rs. 0.2 million. Hit me if you're genuinely interested! First come, first serve basis, so don't try to woo me by our personal or friendly relationship!

A discharge video to make, portfolio presentation to finish, term report to submit, budget to look at for tomorrow, make a list of calls to make tomorrow morning, some sort of packing to do.. all of that, or a power nap? Hmm.

Anyway, I know you're gona read this soon! So this is a reminder for you to pickup that tennis racquet and practice!:P Time's passing by!

Haha. Later.

Crazy.

So, the mission towards getting AIESEC in Pakistan's Full Membership Status has begun!

I just got back home from the crazy MC Mansion an hour back, after Emad and Nida left for the airport to fly-off to Egypt for International President's Meeting! What a challenge, and what a conference they are gona have! All the best guys!

It was an interesting day today, to say the least. My Advertising teacher thought I "always" have some problem or the other when I asked him for an early leave from his class. I actually had dinner from outside today, without whining about the fact that I have to take pre-cautions. I actually took Yousuf's advice on something, which turned out to be really good in the end:P. I was at the MC roof for 5 hours, chugging up Pakola and chocolates non-stop, sorry Kurt. I finally broke my car's keys. I missed The Apprentice.. Ok, now I am just getting too emotional.

More randomly, I haven't posted since pre-NLC, so I might want to start off from there. I think NLC 2007 was by far, the most challenging, inspiring, blunt and fun conference that I have experienced so far. Seriously.. It was 5 days of.. 'everything'.

As mentioned in my previous posts, I did apply for President of AIESEC in Pakistan, which I did not get. However, I did get selected as Vice President of AIESEC in Pakistan, specifically dealing with External Relations! :)

So my MC Team for the next 1 year starting from June'07 would be Nida (President), Sohaib (VP Xchange), Tomas (VP Talent Management) and ofcourse, myself (VP External Relations).

While we have already started off with random suggestions for a Team-name, I think its safe to say that the thoughts that we are having right now, are nothing less than crazy. But nevertheless, what a rockin' year to look forward to!

In more random news, I am figuring out a way to get a laptop. I need help, so give me some ideas! It sucks not to have one. Not to mention the fact that I have to get to India in exactly 32 days from now, for APXLDS 2007!

Anyway, welcoming a new friend to Pakistan in the next couple of weeks is definitely happening! Aura, you're in for the time of your life girl! And an awesome blog you got, once again.

I'm out for now.

AIESEC in Pakistan

Please Join Us in Congratulating..
8 Impressive Candidates..
For Your..
! MC 2007-2008 !

4 Brilliant Pakistani Candidates
for:

President 2007-08,

AIESEC in Pakistan!

:: Nida Rasheed - Lahore ::
:: Saba Imtiaz - Karachi ::
:: Sohaib Athar - Lahore ::
:: Taha Durrani - Karachi ::

&

4 Brilliant Candidates for:

Vice Presidents 2007-08, AIESEC in Pakistan!

- Aqeel Akbar (VPX and VPTM&LCD) - Pakistan -
- Poornima Venkatesh (VPX) - India -
- Tiffany Curtiss (VPER) - USA -
- Tomas Klesken (VPTM&LCD) - Slovakia -

....

Read Their Applications Here

....

The Countdown has begun to Elections at the

National Leadership Conference 2007!!!

"She"s made it too..

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/world/asia/03karachi.html?_r=4&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin


Its funny how 'she' can make it so big.. and others who actually do make some sense, are totally criticized.

3.7 :)

After having a previous best GPA of 3.3, and lowest of 2.7, its safe to say, that this semester was quite full of surprises.

Activities which should have had a negative effect on my gpa (but somehow had a positive effect!) :

- Missed college for 3 whole weeks due to Jaundice!
- Acted in a play in September. Go TCN!
- Probably the busiest semester for all AIESEC related activities!
- Buddy over from Africa! :)
- Demo album launch of InQishaaf. Alongwith atleast 5 concerts!

Can't get over it. :P

In more news, only 16 hours to go for deadline of MC Applications for AIESEC in Pakistan!

What's my status?

A million thoughts currently in my mind. A billion ways to put it. Sleep was never such an anti-thing for my body. Ever.

WHY?!?!

"Dear user. Last 4 days for Warid Zoom offer. New rates from 28th Dec for Warid Zoom Unlimited and Limited sms offer".

Alot can happen over coffee..

21 Dec'06: Karachi, Pakistan.

11:04 am: Gotup from the following sms:
Joanna: Hey, your lunch with Ryan is at 12:30pm! Take care!

11:30 am: I can sleep more..

12 pm: A litttlee more..

12:09 pm: 5 minutes won't kill me..

12:15 pm: RUN!

12:30 pm: I get a call..
Kurt: Mr. Taha, when would you be here?
Me: 2 minutes! I'm almost there.
Kurt: 2 as in 2? Or Pakistani 2?
Me: Okay 3 minutes honestly!

12:39 pm: I enter the MC Office to find them engrossed in their laptops. Yes, I don't have one! Anyway, exchange of greetings and..

Emad: Where are you guys going?
Me: Not sure. Nawab, CK.. ?
Emad: He can't eat!
Me: Oh.
Kurt: You have 51 minutes with him!

12:50 pm: I walk into Costa with AIESEC International's Director for the Asia Pacific Region (woah!), Ryan Sheppard, and we quickly grab the best table right next to the window.

12:51 - 1:35 pm:
If there was possibly a time when I could actually give a practical example for the word "Inspired", it would be during this time! From talking about the progress Pakistan has made till now, or how to tackle with my parents, or what mind-set to be in always, or why I haven't washed my car in so long! (lol), it was highly inspiring to say the least. I never believed it was actually this huge, and the step I was about to take would have been this enormous. I never thought so much could happen over coffee. I never knew the dude was only 22 years old! And I never knew that I could be that high about something! I never thought this would actually be a huge investment into my future. I never thought 2 small packs of sugar would be less for me. And I never felt a more strong sense of belonging and belief in this organization. I just have to do this now. Not because I have to, but because I really really want to! And ofcourse, regardless of what happens, never have any regrets whatsoever!

1:44 pm: We enter the MC Office..
Kurt: You are 14 minutes over-time! Pay us!
(lol).

2:01 pm: Leave the MC Office with a spirit to die for!

2:20 pm: Enter college to look for Rabia and her department members. Can't find her anywhere. Quickly sms her (i love Warid!). Run into OC's meeting, go through updates, list down potential companies to call for myself, and leave!

2:50 pm: Check email. Half of my department has applied to become Team Leader for the Xteams! (so that's 5 outta 10 people). Only 2 people would actually get it!

3:15 - 3:45 pm: Call 4 companies and setup meetings for next week!

6:10 pm: Go all the way to uni-plaza to get my pc fixed (pending for the past 184,302 days!)

8pm: Actually washed my car!


Alot can happen over coffee.

U-rock.

Just got back from a productive jam. We're playing at U-rock alongwith other major bands. 3 songs only though. But would make a huge impact for sure!

In other news.. MC Applications deadline EXTENDED till the 4th of Jan'07!! Phew!

So no more 18 hours, infact more than 14 days to go!

Aaaa.

88 hours to go.

For President and Vice President Applications deadline for AIESEC in Pakistan.

Time right now: 6:03 am.

Status on sleep: vanished.

81 days...

It feels like a lifetime has passed since I last posted here.. SO much has happened its not even funny.

Rockstar Supernova? They're in a mess now for copying some other band's name or something. Lukas won it btw. Pointless, but just had the urge to round off that previous post.

I think the most striking things to remember during these 81 days.. were the 7 solitary days at the hospital. All alone.. family/friends visiting in the evenings. No TV, no internet, no AIESEC work, no other work, no college, no assignments, no Karachi Broast with the boys, no doodhpatti, no late-night gmailing, no gtalking at 2am, no cursing my awesome sportscar, no annoying tyre punctures, no NYDS!:(, no Eid, no garlic fries from Milano, no hourlies, no corporate meetings, no tracker, no band meetings, no music, no f.r.i.e.n.d.s, no MTV, no EBM's, no Szabist ki canteen, no tea with samosa every single day during break, no driving sisters around, no messed up room, no neighbours, no laptop, no nothing.

Sigh.. so many no's. I don't know if those 3 recovery weeks were a break for me, or time to reflect on, I know one thing for sure. NO compromise on health ever again!

Anyway, then we had InQishaaf taking over life. Demo Album Launch Concert at the Basement. www.inqishaaf.com Project with Saaim and his buds. Covered by Geo and CNBC. Another one at Cafe Shabistan. Another at DHA.

Then we had an end to our non-raising drought! A raise with Reckitt. Welcoming Kouadio Yao - MY first trainee here in Pakistan. Hearing him say,

You're like my father overhere.

Million other news.. cramped up with finals, so would like to stop and ponder over the Sales Management final tomorrow. 15 hours to go, exactly before he hands us the papers. To study or not to study..

Moving on! I remember I have to go with Yao to the Visa office at 9am. As much as I hate early morning wake-ups, this one seems exciting. I'll get back on THAT one soon!

Whose it going to be?

Lukas? He's too weird. His voice is pretty aight though. Very monotonous when he screams though.

Dilana? She has had so many controversies. Worst was her press related crap. Then again she sang something sucky to make her fans even more mad. Loser.

Tobi? Very very strong candidate! Actually he's my pick currently. He has great stage presence, and involves everyone, even Supernova. Previous performances were quite rocking. More, more, more was a treat! His original was catchy too.

Or Magni? He's pretty strong too, but doesn't have the edge when it comes to stage presence. His take on Creep was superlative!

Can't wait for Wednesday, 10pm!

Good-bye Storm Large!

After killing my most significant reason to watch the show, Supernova has lost out on a major opportunity to become the most favorite Rock band for males!

I personally thought that was it for Lukas. He sang his not-so-catchy original Headspin, and sang it in his unique yet monotonous way of screaming. I've had it with his singing style. If after 5 weeks I'm sick of his voice, then who says he could do it for Supernova for the next decade?

And after the whole controversy related to Dilana, I don't know WHY they are not kicking her out!

Blah. Point being, Storm Large should not have been kicked. She was the next Pamela Anderson in line for Tommy Lee and it was quite obvious.

And in all randomness, today was one of the best days.. academically that is!

Sigh.

That's Suri Cruise for you. She is by far, the world's most famous baby till now! Born to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, she was not 'revealed' to the world for almost 5 months. She and her famous parents have an exclusive 22-page photo-shoot in the new issue of the Vanity Fair. Damn! What more could that baby ask for. More people in the world already know her, even when all she can herself recognize are just 2 people!

Sigh. I wish my baby pic appeared somewhere. Even Dawn would do.

You're fired Carolyn!

Woah. Donald Trump FIRED his right-hand woman, Carolyn Kepcher! She was one of the reasons why I was soo into The Apprentice. She used to give such logical reasons and used to point out things that even Trump could not think of.

The boss says that she wasn't paying much attention to her actual job, and was involved with her newly found fame.

Anyway, just makes the coming up season of The Apprentice all the more interesting! (*rubs hands!) Can't wait!

Recruitment's first-phase moments.

Phew. The first phase is over. And what a phase it was! Surprisingly, we never took any pics. Sharmeen however, did. Now I know what you do with those maxell batteries, muhahaha. :P.

Anyway, there were so many moments to take pics of. Ofcourse, the most significant, noteworthy, momentous and meaningful was the time when someone very responsible, got biryani for his hard-working team-member. How sweet was that. Also, the time when that same responsible person treated the whole OC for coffee. Wow. I never thought someone would actually do that in this gruelling heat and busy life. Not to mention the time when we got to know that Augie's driver was pathan. LOL. That was way too freakishly funny. Augie, thumbs up for that! What else did we have, oh yes. We had our sole member of PD, a.k.a Anti-Army Style, answering to questions in a millisecond like:

Anti-Army Style: I hate him.
Me: Forget it, he'll be here soon.
Anti-Army Style: He had to pick me up 2 hours back!
Me: What's his nam.... (didn't let me finish)
Anti-Army Style: Ghadda.

Lol. He was just 3 hours and 2 minutes late. Not much eh. Anyway, then we had the Wji-lock!

Wji: heyyyyyyy there... ;)

Student: :I. hey.

Wji: Are you like.. applyin'?! you really should;)
Student: (speechless) :I :I (blinks eyes twice) :I (gulp!) :I OKAY I AM!!!

Lol. I never thought I would have so much to write about. :P. Oh yeah, we also had the following moment! How can I miss that. It rarely happens at Zabbie.

Sharz: Is our class cancelled?
Wji: Yes, for sure. I checked the notice-board.
Mikaal: I think its on.
Me: Wait, leme check the notice-board.
(I walk to the notice-board where it says that our class is actually cancelled. I turn and start walking back, when I am intercepted by a totally unknown species for the very first time in college who walks by leaving the wind under a spin of temptation and taking the world by storm. (sighhh) :P. Anyway, before I forget the fact that I am still narrating this conversation.. :P)
Sharz: So, is it on?
Me: :I (blinks once)
Mikaal: Cancelled or nott?!
Me: :I :I (blinks twice)
Sharz: Dude!
Me: :I... I forgot what I had to say. :I

Dayem! Anyway, I think thats enough. Some pics are given below.

ARE you?!

Shamsi smiling, Deej telling us about the number of forms she sold, Mikaal trying to prove her wrong, Taha preparing for an hourly. Lol.

Looking for the 'perfect' candidate.

Good-bye Ryan "Dark Horse" Star.

After just watching the re-run of Rockstar: Supernova, I am quite amazed at their elimination. Of all the people, they kicked out Ryan?

After his take on Losing My Religion a couple of weeks back, I was actually mesmerized. It was better than the original!, to say the least. Then came his original (which btw I'm trying to find online, if someone finds the link, send it to me), it was a notch up as always and was quite captivating. Yesterday's take on Coldplay's Clocks was in my opinion, one of the best "performances" of the night. Jumping onto the piano from the edge of the stage for the bridge, was pretty amusing, you can see Storm's reaction if you don't believe me.

I think he is more of a solo person, than a band-member. Hell, he might have even over-shadowed the celebrity-filled Supernova, had he made it to the very end.

There is even some controversy going on over the counting of votes btw. Apparently, last night when voters logged onto vote, the site displayed an error message whenever they tried to vote for Ryan. Thats outrageous! Was it all manipulated? I think its better defined on Dave Navarro's blog where he clearly mentions that had manipulation been the order of the day, he would have never produced this show. Which reminds me, that more than myself, Dave Navarro was a much bigger fan of Ryan. Just check out the times he has mentioned how Ryan is going to front Supernova no matter what. I think in all fairness, even if Ryan was not in the bottom 3, Supernova heard all 3 of them, and thought Ryan wasn't for them because of his style.

To sum it up, I think his journey was very alligned to what he told Supernova at the very end. ".. had I been your vocalist, you guys could have made records for 20 years.. but I feel sorry 'cuz that is not going to happen anymore. I'll see you guys at the charts, 'cuz that's where I'm going to be". Thats a typical dark, depressed and egocentric Ryan Star for you. Lets see where he heads off to now. Maybe back to his solo career with ofcourse, a much larger fanbase. Whatever the case, he definitely should release his single that he played on the show.

As for who has it in him/her to front the band, I really have no clue. Dilana, in my opinion, might be it. She has really strong vocals. Her press screw-up might actually screw her even more. Tobi, more of an entertainer. Although, his last performance was a killer! Lukas.. hmm.. he might end up winning it. He has that rock-edge, and he has a unique voice as well. Magni, he is a fighter for sure. Killer take on I Alone last time. Storm Large... sighhh. Lets not go there for now.

Who knows, Supernova might end up having a male and a female vocalist.

Urdu

Wednesday was an interesting experience.

There we were in the waiting room of Sunbiz - a business channel, for a talk-show with our Dy. Director of Szabist, and a person from ICAP. It was a smooth discussion on Internships and their benefits for students, and was moderated very well.

The interesting bit was, when during the pre-show briefing, the host told us that the whole show would be in Urdu. Why would that be a problem? I asked myself, since Urdu is my mother-tongue.

Little did I know though. Since it was targeted for the masses, it had to be in Urdu. Fair enough. But then why did the host give a 2-minute introduction of the whole talk-show in English? Beyond me.

I almost forgot to mention the invisible documentary that we saw on the large TV screen which was apparently switched off! Haha, now that was funny! The host asked us to pretend that we were watching it on the screen and we actually faked it for a couple of seconds. Now I know why its all so very well-timed during ALL talk-shows!

Anyway, I was absolutely sure that it would be too easy, till I started off. All terminologies I have learnt so far have always been in English. The only place where business students now speak Urdu is during casual conversations. Khair, all said and done, it went very well anyways. I don't know the time of its airing, probably sometime next week on Sunbiz.

Really made me look for my reliable lughat at home. Well, atleast for a few minutes.

Memorable

Its been quite awhile since I last posted here. I guess its just because of the absolutely crazy schedule and work-load I have these days. Having outings with foreigners, adjusting to the new semester, just had a gig, managing Recruitment! - which has been insane so far. Addressing 150 students and then 60 students, was totally worth the last-minute adjustments to the banners:) Listening to Thomas and Pascale's experience, throwing kit-kat to whoever answered the questions correctly.. its turning out to be one hell of an experience.

Anyway, since I have (very quietly) deviated from my original motive for this post, I would like to post one of the many memorable conversations from JNC'06.

Alarm-clock: Getup you guys!

Teedee: I'm up.

AN: Man its 7:30! Plenary is at 9! Let me sleeeep!

(AN cursing his luck and putting pillow on his head)

Alarm-clock: I don't care! Utho! I gotup at 7 and came here. You guys have already slept for 30 minutes more than me! Getup!

(Amidst this interesting situation, a very smiling person person comes out of the washroom and opens the cup-board and listens.. )

AN: Alarm-clock, I will do your laundry for a month, just let me sleep!

Alarm-clock: No thanks. Get the hell up! (throws an object at AN)

Teedee: Haha AN, forget it. You can't sleep more today. Learn from that smiley person near the cup-board, he has changed already!

(AN ignores and tries real hard to sleep.. when all of a sudden.. )

Smiley person: Hey AN, do you know Danish?

(AN annoyed at the shrill tone of the smiley person's voice!)

AN: Uh yeah I do, why? (thinking to himself as to WHY would someone ask that sort of a question at 7:45 am in the morning!)

A very smiley person: He's getting married.

(AN sinks into his pillow even more)

(Teedee and Alarm-clock die of laughter!)

Lol.

Happy Independence Day!

We might be having power failures at crucial times, we might not have water at home, annoying traffic jams, broken roads, filled-up underpasses, and what not..

But we shall also always keep in mind that this is the only country where we can live like we do, and we can have the freedom which we want to have!