10 Things I Love/Hate About Karachi

10 things I love about Karachi

1. The food. Oh the food. Best food in the world!

2. The people's love and affection.

3. The hustle and bustle - the city never sleeps and makes me feel alive.

4. The warmth. It's good to give my body and muscles a break from tensing in Holland/London's chill.

5. The immediacy of labour. A shoe needs mending? Done. A pipe's burst and needs replacing? Done. The TV's conked out and needs fixing? Done. All within hours and no appointments needed. Oh, and I'm still richer than the guy fixing my stuff. It's just not fair that the dude with unwashed hair, minimal education and a hairy asscrack earns more than I do.

6. Karachi has a culture of giving and sharing. Just as well. Sharing that rich chocolate cake with chocolate mousse on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side amongst 5 last night was a fair distribution of fat I'd say.

7. The help. Anybody lower middle class and above can afford a driver, a cleaner, a cook, a gardener, a security guard, a nanny etc.

8. Air conditioning. Ah the cooling amazingness of walking into an air conditioned room after being in 40-degree heat.

9. Discovering new restaurants. Every time I visit there are a handful of brand new restaurants serving ridiculously priced heavenly cuisine and desserts.

10. VCD's - DVD's at special rates;)

10 things I dislike (I try to avoid using the word 'hate')

1. Food poisoning and an upset stomach on every single trip.

2. The people's mentality when it comes to different rules for men and women.

3. The constant honking of cars. A car cannot move any further at a red light no matter how many times you honk, IDIOT.

4. The heat. I'd like to not melt away and sweat like a pig while drying myself off after a shower please.

5. I can't be myself 100%. Nodding 'ji' (yes) constantly as a sign of respect is very exhausting. I can't swear. I can't be silly. I can't share complete details of my choices because of the hypocritical and judgemental culture that surrounds me.

6. Guests can show up at any time and stay as long as they please. Enough said.

7. Religious lectures by aunties and uncles. The other day I actually heard 'If a man's not Muslim he's nothing'. This notion pretty much disqualifies 90% of my friends and .. closer friends;)

8. The obsession with brands and clothes. Lets talk about our jobs, ambitions and travels shall we?

9. Limited independence. I can't just hop onto a bus and take off. I can't refuse a dinner invitation from a family member's colleague's wife's sister without insulting them beyond repair.

10. I dislike that I'm not attracted to my own kind though some are in fact tall, handsome, successful, family oriented, fun etc. Maybe one day?

Karachi - Home before Home

It's great to be visiting my home before home once again. Imagine this - dry heat, constant noise of honking buses, the familiar music of an ice cream truck (it's been the same since 20 years), policemen pulling over and fining helpless motorists to fulfil their own greed, handicapped beggers, impressive shopping malls and restaurants replicating the West, an uncessary public investment called Port Fountain off Karachi Harbour and an unexplainable obsession with high-end clothes. As an Englishman recently described Karachi, it was the only city he'd been to that made NO SENSE.

For example, just a few days before I landed there was a politically inspired strike in the city which typically means burning buses, some dealths (I deliberately write 'some' as numbers are insignificant unless of course these casualties occur in the United States), political unrest and the city shutting down. Luckily I arrived in the calm after the storm. It was as if nothing ever happened. As they say, life goes on. My trip in November 2010 has made me slighly paranoid but then again, a bomb blast tends to shake up the best of us.

On a brighter note, it's such a refreshing and much needed break in a country where people 'care'. The level of interest people have shown in my job, my living arrangements, my parents, my sister's kids, my health - it's SO nice. And I'm taken aback by the collectivism of it all. When you visit someone in Paksitan, the entire family will walk you to the door to say goodbye, from the elders to the servants. You will never be left stranded. There is always someone who will pick/drop you. An hour is never too long to travel. It's not even considered an effort. In London God forbid if you're not living in the same zone you can forget about having a social life. Any excuse is valid from congestion charges to high petrol costs and tube strikes. People will sooner advise you to 'move' so that they can see you than get on a bloody tube and hawl their ass to you. Ok getting sidetracked - this will be a whole other blog.

Karachi reflections TBC. Back to the tea which was served to me and the delicious sandwich that was made from me. I'm not spoiled here, really;)

Sher-O-Shayari

Jab jab dard ka badal chaya
Jab gham ka saya lehraya
Jab aansu palkon takh aaya
Jab ye tanha dil ghabraya
Hum ne dil ko yeh samhjaya
Dil aakahir tu kyun rota hai
Dunya mein yun hi hota hai
Yeh jo gehre sanate hain
Waqt ne sab ko hi bate hain
Thora gham hai sab ka paisa
Thori doop hai sab ka hissa
Aankh teri bekaar hi namh hai
Har pal ek naya mausam hai
Kyun tu aise pal khota hai
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai

New casa

Finally - some time to blog!

I made the exciting flat move last weekend. My flatmate and I are settling in slowly but surely. I absolutely love the flat. The only thing lacking is the area. Our only form of entertainment is Tesco and a car wash. If only life were that simple. And, I have no choice but to take dreaded tubes after avoiding them for a year. There's nothing worse than London's transport system. Still, I am totally loving having my very own bathroom and shower - a luxury in London.

I've started a new job in the meantime which keeps me on my toes. Love the challenges it brings and the professionalism I've longed for. I push everyone who is unhappy in a job and feels underappreciated to leave immediately if not sooner. BUT, make sure to get the right amount of experience (you'll know what that is in your profession) before writing that oh-so-satisfying resignation letter. Also, never ever underestimate a manager's support. If you have it, you'll find yourself working twice as hard and ten times more motivated. As I've said before, hurray for awesome managers!

And so another week continues. And who knows, maybe the boiler promised by the lettings agency will finally show up.

Facebook Myths

Here it is people - your quick guide to avoid being caught up in Facebook insanity.

1. Facebook Purging

When people announce that they're deleting friends from their Facebook, you panic slightly. You secretly hope you've made the cut. And then you decide to do the same. Who needs 400 friends they haven't seen or spoken to in five years?! Point is: Chill. If someone deletes you, you wouldn't have even noticed if they hadn't announced it.

2. Number of Friends

The greater the number, the fewer the "real" friends you really have. No one has 1200 close friends. Chances are you went to a party, got spotted (or perved on someone), received a friend invite (or desperately added them in the hope of seeing them again) and tada! You're popular!

3. Facebook Flirtation

This is something you all need to keep in mind the next time you go ballistic seeing your boyfriend/girlfriend publicly commenting sweet nothings on someone's picture or status. If it's public, it's innocent. More often than not there is NOTHING to it. It's the off-Facebook shit you need to worry about because there's no way anyone's stupid enough to leave traces of that (except for the odd dumb idiot). Also more often than not, Facebook flirtation is intentional to get a reaction out of you.

4. Number of Albums = Social Life Calculator

Once again, if your social life were really that active, you wouldn't have time to upload the gazillion pictures that you dressed up for and posed your way through for pure self-indulgence.

5. Facebook is Addictive.

It ain't. You have an addictive personality!

Change

This phase of my life is all about CHANGE.

Started a new job. Loving the honeymoon phase. My brain feels alive again, taking on new challenges, meeting new faces and learning new names.

Within three weeks I'll have moved into another flat as well. Look forward to moving in with my ex-flatmate - a great cook with an explosive wit to match.

On a darker note, I have lost 4 family members in the last six months. An entire generation seems to have been wiped out due to illness and old age. Very sad and a harsh reminder of the rules of life.

Another close friend left the country without saying bye. Well, he tried but we were too busy being stubborn and having a tiff to have a decent goodbye. We have now made up thanks to Facebook.

Going forward, I'm excited about new possibilities, meeting good people and perhaps even returning to the world of gyms and fitness!

Catch 22

I have been meaning to make a serious point of something ever since I decided to leave behind a career in Sales (one that I fell into but mastered) and move onto something more challenging and creative. Something the writer in me has been craving.

UNPAID JOBS.

When did it become perfectly acceptable to exploit talent, hard work and enthusiasm? The label child labour ferociously comes to mind when I think of millions of job seekers in the market being reduced to taking on belittling roles lacking respect, fairness and downright human decency.

For example, certain professions such as Public Relations REFUSE to pay a penny to anyone making a career change, irrespective of hard earned skills being brought to the table, irrespective of academic qualifications that qualify them in the highly educated tier of their generation, and certainly irrespective of the fact that employers KNOW the candidate can turn around their business. I have no doubt that every successful person can spot a winner a mile away.

There need to be some drastic changes in the mindset of employers. If candidates are not students, they should not qualify as interns working in unpaid jobs. Roles must be created for them if there is clear potential. The same goes for pay rises. Companies are NOT benefitting from losing highly qualified employees to their competitors. The job market is NOT benefitting from unemployment being on the rise as a result of job hopping and dry transitional periods. Candidates are not pursuing their passion and settling for jobs that pay the bills but don't feed their minds or hearts. What’s even worse is that professionals are devaluing education. Having a Masters degree is almost worthless nowadays. A Bachelors degree will often suffice. Many jobs don’t even require this. This makes me very, very sad and extremely annoyed. The determined, opinionated Scorpio in me is NOT impressed.

While I am rational enough to understand the whole barter system of securing a spot in a company for free while learning and absorbing like a sponge (a poor sponge might I add), the ease and disregard for candidates bothers me. I see interns every day carrying things twice their size, doing tedious and repetitive tasks, running errands like their life depends on it while smiling the whole time in the desperate hope of being noticed and appreciated. I was this intern once and refuse to be it again. I also make it a point to treat every intern with respect, kindness and encouragement, for this will shape their attitude towards the next employer and influence their treatment of interns in the future.

But, what it boils down it is that the market is tough, and may always be. Sometimes you have to start at the bottom and work your way up and other times, you might just have to do that a second time. OR you can sell your soul to the next employer who talks money and promises to offer you your worth.

Sound of Silence

Today has been a very quiet day. Quiet not in terms of nothing happening, but because I have been working in my room peacefully while listening to the soft purr of the pedestal fan. It really is my saviour in this humid weather.

After waking up to an alarm days on end, I strategically put my phone on silent last night, only to wake up at 2:30 this afternoon. This too was because I heard my flatmate speaking at the top of his lungs on Skype – in French! On days like this I conveniently conclude that my body “needed” the rest rather than feeling guilty about being a waste of space.

I also choose to see this wonderful silence as an opportunity to ponder over my life, friends and family. I wonder what everyone is doing today. I wonder if they are happy. I wonder if anyone has time to indulge in these thoughts nowadays unless they’re forced to. London doesn’t leave much time to reminisce.

I am also excited about taking on new challenges and leaving old ones behind. A close friend of mine always says that we should never hang around a job if we start to feel “stale”. I’m a sponge. I love the feeling of a fresh sponge taking in new information, conversations and surroundings.

Euro Tour

It's been an awesome two weeks.

My best friend and I took our much awaited break in sunny Barcelona, the city of Gaudi.


Since we both were shattered from an early morning and hectic months prior to that, we decided to take it easy and familiarize ourselves with Espanya. The hotel, seemingly luxurious online with a rooftop pool, was more of a two-star, uncarpetted work-in-progress building. Oh and the rooftop pool was more giant bathtub than pool. At least we had a friendly receptionist, Derrick. (Profile: 6' alpha male; half German half Spanish; smoker; remembered our room number leading to many a controlled giggles on our part).

Sorry, got distracted. Moving on...

In a nutshell, we covered everything that can be covered in Barcelona - the Ramblas, Park Guelle, Casa Batllo, Sagrada Famillia, Barceloneta), the 26th floor of the grand W Hotel, Olympic Port, Catwalk Club, paella etc etc. Good times!


The main obsersvations I made about the Spanish were that tourists are not very well received. I could see suspicion in the eyes of practically every local I spoke to. Perhaps the recession has taken its toll on them and freely spending tourists piss the hell out of them. The language barrier was another one. I thought the French were bad. Although, I'm convinced the French CAN speak Engish but choose not to. Kind of like me and Dutch.

On a more positive note, the transport system is amazing. Barcelona's metros put London's tubes to shame. They always work, are airconditioned, clean and ON TIME.

Public displays of affection are quite intense. There is no discretion. I'm not sure if I was uncomfortable, intrigued, or plain turned on.

After Spain came Holland. Ah, the land of cheese, tall gorgeous men and vibrant (more commonly described as "dodgy") Amsterdam. Friends, family and good food. All in all, I have nothing to complain about.

Time to get back in the grind in London. Sigh!

Revisting Memories

I advice everyone to revisit memories - the good ones - if they get a chance. This weekend I gathered a group of friends for a roadtrip to Lulworth. I last visited Durdle Door when I was a student at Bournemouth University. This was in 2007. Yesterday, I went and took pictures at the exact same spots where I was snapped almost four years ago. Not quite a lifetime away, but it's definately been a while.


This was my third visit there, but so much has happened since. I earned myself two Masters, moved from Bournemouth to my parents in Rotterdam, reclaimed my independence and moved to Amsterdam, worked, got laid off, moved back in with my parents, looked for the perfect job for a year while keeping myself motivated and busy with part-time jobs and freelance writing, eventually got fed up and took off to London. Over a year later, yesterday, this roadtrip took place.

I felt overcome with so much emotion. The day was so much fun and filled with many thoughts and realisations. When you're so busy with work, routine, events, and life, sometimes there's absolutely no time to take it all in. Durdle Door is the best place to do just that. I fondly remembered that four years ago I was in a loving relationship, though naive and new to love. Now for the first time I'm single and really enjoying it. I am at peace with myself and my choices. This my lovelies is an amazing feeling! What's even better is knowing that some things never change and evolve, but you do every day!