On Life and Death

"Death cannot be justified by reasons, it is God's will; but life can be justified by the choices you make. You can either die a victim of terrorism, or you can give your life fighting it and saving the future"
~Isbah Zulfiqar

Teebsters day at work

On a frivolous note

fresh day begins with music videos on you tube

followed by video games on yahoo games

then musica time

some chatting

more chatting

and finally when she is tired from a hard day's work it's time for some programming :p

Teebster, it was so much fun taking these pics chupke chupke

Teebster strikes again!

The Teebster Mesh! Who says office is boring :)
My monitor is most honored by the decoration :p. Thank you teebster for sparing my ring :)

Teebster--the prankster

Ok, So I return to my office seat after a minute or two and find my wall paper set to this image. Then I see a very giggly teebster! So lesson learnt is never to leave your work station unlocked even for a minute!

Good one teebz! Now you better watch out! :p :)

My favourite T-Shirt

I have had this T-shirt for almost a decade and I continue to treasure it. My friend, Momina gifted it to me. She told me before hand that she's going to get me a t-shirt..I was like.."no no no beeru, i don't wear t-shirts"..and she said "when you see it, you will surely want to wear it"

It's the size of my hand and the message on the shirt says: THOUGHT I'D BUY YOU A T-SHIRT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY BUT THE TAILOR HAD THE WRONG SIZE WELL AT LEAST I REMEMBERED THE DAY!!

Momina, I m still trying to fit into it :)

The Mysterious Envelope

One fine morning in late 2007 a mysterious, creative envelope addressed to me, landed on my office desk. Inside was a pretty bracelet. I was most pleasantly surprised.

It read

SairaStar,

Remember the girl from the village,
Remember the girl from the town,
Remember the gal who spoiled this ugly elixir envelope
By writing UPSIDE DOWN :)

Happy Birthday, may you have a wicked life full of blogs,fans and a prince in shining armour ;)

On the corner it said P.S Guess Who! :p

By far the most interesting envelope and unique birthday wish addressed to me.

Some good moments of life

• To laugh until it hurts your stomach
• To clear your last exam
• To fall in love
• To hear accidentally that somebody said something good of you
• To pass a while with your best friends
• To see an old friend again and to feel things haven't changed
• To wake up and realize it is still possible to sleep a couple of hours
• To have tea and dry fruit with family in winter evenings
• To see a sleeping baby smile
• To know that someone is smiling with heart because of something you said or did
• To unexpectedly find some money in an old jacket pocket / purse / drawer
  
• To learn a lesson for life from a person you don't know at all. For example: words of wisdom from a taxi driver, or a laborer
• To come across a funny note scribbled on an old notebook written by a friend in one of the boring lectures
• To feel the warmth when someone brings your/their favorite chocolate for you
• To be warmly greeted by your mommy in the morning as if you were still a baby
• To have garam garam pakoray made by mama on the first winter\summer rain
• To sit on a big rock on top of a mountain and watch the sunset and sunrise
• To take a lot of photos with a lot of excitement, (like a kid playing with his precious most toy) specially with your brand new camera
• To read letters from old friends
  
• To view old photo albums
• To dine on the iftari table with family
  
• To win a bet.
• To complete the final stage of a video game
  
• To see a smile on Mom's/Dad's face.
• To win a heated argument.
• To have your favorite meal be it savour or chicky meal or a sizzling steak or a cheesy lasgnia :). Also to have your favourite scrumptious dessert.
  
• To fix a really hard bug (specific to software engineers) or complete a work related module
  

Thanks for contributing everyone. God bless you all with these happy moments and more =)

Golo Molo and friends

Chono mono

Bailu cutie

Goshi janu

Pinky

Choto

Golo molo

Reddy

Zeenie leenie teenie

Snow white

Gopo baby

God bless my friends infinitely.

Isbah changes lanes

My favorite tech writer from work switches lanes and moves on with the journey of life. I vividly remember my first day at work. It was raining heavily that and I was sitting in the reception lounge waiting for the HR Manager. Apart from impatiently counting the ticks of the clock, I was observing everybody walking into the office. Almost everybody who came in that day,was all messy and drenched in rain. There came a gang of chirpy girls and walked in a neat and tidy, stylish girl with wavy hair, a composed look, and a grey smile. Yes, it was Isbah.

The first few things that Isbah said to me were:

Hey!, make sure you don't chat online too much, you are new here, you are being monitored!

Hey, you can't bring in your friends to the kitchen!

Hey, your jacket is fab! why did you get it.. piece of *&^% :p

and gradually I got to see the other side of the lake, ahem..I mean the other side of Isbah. Our friendship grew and from Isbah she became IsbahStar, my scorpion side kick. The long discussions on Grey's Anatomy during lunch break, planning our own version of the show, bugging SAK on little things, the drawings in the meeting rooms, the ice lolly visits to utility store, refereeing her and SAK over school days arguments and the laughing for no reason at all at each others stories are all cherishable moments with Isbah. I most admire Isbah's ability to capture beauty in little things. She has been blessed with a commendable sense of aestheticism, Masha'Allah and of course I thoroughly enjoy reading her deep and thoughtful. Don't we all.

=)

Here is a farewell note for you Isbah,

Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrow keeps you Human,
Failure keeps you humble
Success keeps you glowing,
But only Faith Keeps you going

So Isbah, my friend, I wish to the best of faith. May God bless you with the best of both worlds.
You will be missed. Miss Grey, Keep in touch. Come on now Dr Bailey is around, it's time to scrub in......................

=)

To Pong from Yin

Alright Pong, now here we go.
It's a brand new version of the dosido.

Just stomp your feet and clap your hands.
Come on Pong its the hamster dance.

=) =) =)

Ping and Yang are dancing to the tune too

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We love KFC

Yang's mighty zinger

Pong's Zinger extreme

Ping settled for fries only

Yin's not so chicky meal for a change

Farewell Nausheen

Summer 2002: I met Nausheen in Bahria University during the admission interview session there. We had a pleasing conversation, gave our respective interviews and parted ways. I opted for NUCES-FAST while Nausheen joined Bahria University.
.
.
.
4 years later
Summer 2006: One fine morning I was walking towards the kitchen at my work place (Elixir) when I spotted two new employees who were gossiping and giggling away. I moved towards them to greet them. One of them was Sundus, the other was Nausheen; Both did a good job in confusing me with their names, (see old post) and then moments later Nausheen pleasantly reminded me that we had an encounter years ago. =).
Luckily, this time, I got to know her more.
.
.
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More then a year ahead
Sept 2007: It’s time to part ways, but hopefully to meet again. InshahAllah. I wish her all the success and happiness in this world and more importantly in the hereafter. Nausheen, it was lovely knowing you. All the best in your future endeavours.Keep in touch. God bless you.


Elixirites, here is a little treat for you.

Chit Chat with Nausheen

Syra: What did you like about Pakistan?
Nausheen: I moved to Pakistan around five years ago, and now as I head back to my former home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I contemplate about all the things I love about Pakistan and will sorely miss:
· The opportunity to work professionally
· To be able to actually drive a car
· Enjoying the presence of abundant family members and relatives
· The lush green environment
· The cloudy weather and rainy days (perks me up a hundredfold)

Syra: What did you not like about Pakistan?
Nauhseen: Pakistan is a great country, but not without some major flaws. And I’m being positively critical when I say that the flaws lie mainly in the people of Pakistan. There’s a lot of fraud and deception here, and that makes it very hard to trust people. Based on my personal interaction with the people (and I’m being very general here), I found many Pakistanis to be proud, lazy, unfriendly, unpunctual, and are scared of hard work. But if Pakistani people can recognise and accept their flaws, I’m sure we can improve so much more as a country.

Syra: Do you feel there is a lack of religious awareness in Pakistan as compared to Saudi Arabia?
Nausheen: Yes, definitely (though I find Elixir to be an exception). I’ve noticed that Islam is not properly taught to young children by school or by their parents. And as adults they venture of either towards total extremism or modernism. It is the least we could so as Muslims to read, understand and apply the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah in our daily lives.

Syra: Describe your stay at Elixir?
Nausheen: My stay at Elixir has been exceptionally enjoyable and fruitful. And I’m very grateful to Elixir for giving me my first opportunity to work in the professional field. My job has always been challenging and interesting at the same time. I must say that working as a Technical Writer has generally helped me to express myself in better and clearer ways. I love the environment at Elixir. I have learned a lot through work experience which I know will facilitate me greatly in my practical life.

Syra: Most memorable moment at Elixir?
Nausheen: When I was given a raise; it was quite unexpected but very gratifying.

Syra: What will you miss the most about Pakistan and about Elixir?
Nausheen:
What I’ll miss about Pakistan:
· Economically priced DVDs
· Economically priced fast internet.
· A wider collection of books esp. at Saeed Book Bank
· All my cousins, esp. the younger ones who have labelled me the best storyteller of all times.
· All my friends from Bahria University.

What I’ll miss about Elixir:
· The particularly friendly and comfortable work environment
· The outings to Kim Mun, Café Grind, Hotspot and QAU.
· The birthday parties.
· The common room discussions (there is no topic left untouched….)
· The secret hair styling parlour and photo sessions in the common room.
· All the wonderful friends I made at Elixir

Syra: First word that comes to your mind when I say the name: // Nausheen's reply ahead of name
Asma: Email-Forwarder (or Lizard-lover?)
Isbah: Orkut/Facebook
Memoona: Witty
Saira Andleeb: Chic
Saira (me): Warm & Friendly
Sundas: LUMS
Tayyaba: High-spirited (Not Jamia Hafa)

Syra: What are your future plans?
Nausheen: No definite plans as yet. I would love to study further (maybe MBA or MS) and then work again. However, I do currently plan on studying the Quran and further trying to comprehend Islam.

Syra: Recommend me a book to read.
Nausheen: Can I recommend three?
· The Giver by Lois Lowry – Extremely thought provoking
· A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini - Extremely touching
· Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – A wonderful read with an unconventional but powerful female protagonist.

Syra: Recommend me a movie to watch.
Nausheen:Signs – starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.

Syra: What's your favourite hangout place in isb?
Nausheen: Probably, Pizza Hut. I’ve had such good times there with friends and family. (And it’s so close to Saeed Book Bank).

Syra: If you were to write a book, what topic\story would you chose?
Nausheen: I would absolutely love to write a book in the near future, and I hope to God I find the opportunity to do so. I love the fantasy genre because you are allowed to break all rules of empirical, testable (even magical) protocols and stretch imagination as far as you want. Other than that, I would also be thrilled if I wrote a book on Islam especially on women’s rights/equality and what the Pakistan society needs to do in order to eliminate some detrimental cultures (esp. against females) which are thought to be Islamic.

Syra: Which one of the Harry Potter books did you enjoy the most?
Nausheen: Definitely, Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite. I absolutely loved the way JK Rowling builds Sirius Black as an evil character in the book (we learn to hate Black alongside Harry) and then suddenly everything turns around when we learn that Sirius Black is not only innocent, but he is Harry's Godfather and was not evil as we were led to speculate. And the time-turner scene with Harry, Hermione and the Patronus spell was nothing but purely ingenious.

Syra: Your favourite quote:
Nausheen: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter books.

Syra: Any message for my blog readers?
Nausheen: Please excuse my spelling and grammar mistakes within this interview. (I was typing really fast.)
Thank you all (elixirites), for the fun times we’ve had during my stay at Elixir. I wish everyone the best in life (and in the hereafter). If you plan on visiting Jeddah, then please don’t hesitate on giving me a call or something. My personal email address is nfr_212@yahoo.com.
Goodbye and God bless.

Random snap shots from here and there

Here are a few interesting pics I took. Happy viewing :)

Tazeen is showing golo molo's pic

Tazeen is showing chothu's pic

This cute little friend of mine was sharing her school experience with me. Mean girls in her school would pick up verbal fights with her just for the fun of it. So she tells me in such a daring way "Saira baji,in response i do this, I turn my head back, raise my hand towards them and say 'Talk to the hand!!!!!!!!!'" In the pic: Zunaira says "TALK TO THE HAND" :p.

Happy Belated birthday to Teeba. That's her birthday cake. Icing done by Saira Andleeb, Idea originated from Isbahstar's classy mind. Btw, why is she holding a danda? :)

For Shahrukh and the rest: I saw this movie during my childhood, in which this gypsy lady gives a poor arabian boy a peach kee gutlee. When he puts it in his palm, closes and then opens it,it would turn into a jewel. As a kid, i used to mimic that, hoping my aaro kee gultee would turn into a jewel. A few weeks back I was doing the same :)

For Sundus-the cat lover, and the rest: that's my pet kitten, "palto" on my dad's arm.

For Usman, who loves dogs, and the rest. In the pic: Jerry, the most well mannered doggie I have ever seen.On the left: Jerry's toy which is a replica of him :)


Next three pics are for Sameer, who is a huge admirer of nature like myself, and the rest. In the pic below:The clouds right above my house, just before a heavy shower

The margalla hills can't be viewed because of the fog! (A beautiful view from my office window on regular days).

Check out the trees bending due to the strong breeze. The wind was whistling spooky style that day.

Farwell..Binish Apa & Sundus

Nausheeen

woops

sorry sorry

just kidding

was just fooling around for old times sake :)

Sundus Jasmin :p I mean Sundus Yasmin (in the frame above)

hmmmmm..I have known her for over a year now..I vividly remember the first time I met her,she was with her best friend Nausheen, and both of them did a good job confusing me with their names :D...and for quiet some time I have been calling sundus-->nausheen and nausheen-->sundus...both of them would ask me to name them whenever we crossed ways at work..,and both even explained me the meaning of their names in hope of resolving the confusion but it didn't work because the meanings matched :D Just their luck :)

but finally I got the names right, thanks to maira(Office Coordinator) who put me in Sundus's Van and we became van fellows too.I got to know sundus more and her hillarious comments along with Binish Apa's jokes made our daily journey back home enjoyable.

When I joined Elixir, Binish Apa's warm personality made me feel at home. She was the first one to befriend me and welcome me into the Elixir family. Unprofessional as it may sound, I call her Binish "Apa" because of her sisterly traits :), she was always making sure I was comfortable with my work, the food, the surrounding and everything.I will always remember her kindness and her helping nature.

While I call binish, binish Apa, Sundus-the witty calls her Baby Binish :D

o i must say Binish Apa's spectacles frame simply Rocks!!! and adds to her unique style..I am a fan of her trousers collection...and it was on her farmaish I got hold of those stylish jeans ;)

One never gets bored with Binish Apa and Sundus around. They have the funniest of incidents to narrate and endless amusing stories. We, Elixirites will surely miss their charm and company.

I will always remember them with the fondest of memories and I wish them all the happiness and success in the world.

Sundus & Binish Apa, all the best to you for your future endevours.

May the forces be with you.

Ameen.

Sana,Sidra,Saira and The Veezo Crisps

I was walking by a grocery store and saw VEEEEZOOOOO CRISPS on the snacks stand and instantly it reminded me of my college buddies namely Sidra and Sana :). The three of us used to feast on them in the cafetaria after crazy hours of programming.It's funny how such associations build up.Carrying the flashback in my mind I rushed into the shop and got myself a packet of veezo's and like old times stuggled to open it, believe me, opening the veezo packet is the hardest thing to do!! Anyhow, after several attempts I finally managed to open it,(Sana would open it for me in uni) got hold of a chilled sprite and happily munched them.The munches would have been tastier had the twosome been along my side.Just for the record I prefer lays to veezo's :p and pringles to lays.