October 2007

Oct passed good. Starting with Teradata day , I had fun time whole month.

In Ramzan, I arranged a gathering of my gikian batch mates for an Iftar. It was my first ever administration of such kind of activity. and yeah i did mess up. I booked a table for 12 people nearly 2 days before the gathering at the Pappasallis Islamabad and when everybody reached there just before 5 minutes of Iftar, i was told by the receptionist that there was no reservation by my name. when i inquired , i found that the reservation was done in my name.. true!!!.. at the Pappasallis...true!!!....but at the Pindi branch. Stupid people!!! i was embarrassed in front of all the friends.. Anyways we went to Cafe Grind which is not as good but Khair! .While having food, I did get a few moments of regrets at times when i realized that every one around was either doing MS or PHD or had already done it.(Reminder! i am still just a bachelor - both professionally and maritally) but Khair, i guess i need to practice being dheet a bit more. .

On Eid , i bought my first Kurta ever on a special demand from my susral. I bought it from Junaid Jamsheed. It was pretty expensive , nearly 4000 Rs. Even my coat trouser suits are cheaper than that .Only the people at my susral had this chance to see me wearing that kurta as I didn't wear it anywhere else, fearing it will get dirty.

And yaaaay!! i did advance level course of the Art of living in the end of Oct (last weekend) .For this course, I stayed at a spiritual retreat , Bani Gala ( a place near islamabad raval lake) , for 4 days with the members of Art of living. The course was lead by a lovely lady from India and was attended by nearly 20 people. While there , we woke up early in the morning each day to do yoga before the breakfast . Rest of the day we performed some house chores (cutting vegetables, cleaning etc) , did meditations and had some good lectures. We had a silence meditation in which we remained silent for some 2.5 days. It was amazing . I learnt many kool things there.The stay was at a place from where we could see the lake all the time. It was a lovely experience. I didn't lose any weight during this level of the course. How could I , the food was so tasty there. They had all non-meat food and it used be so tasty that i couldn't stop myself from over-eating . All the people there were really nice and friendly (like me) . Since my return from bani gala, my sleep routine seems getting better. Now sometimes i feel some energy at the base of my spine. I hope it is what i think it is.

and yay! Peshawar Motorway was finally inaugurated last week.[news] Today, I came islamabad through this new motorway in the morning. Its 1 hour 30 minutes from Peshawar toll Plaza to Islamabad toll Plaza if you are driving nearly 110-120 km per hour. Thats kool.

I have been working too much for the past few days (thats why there has been no post).I am on a bad project again. Again late sittings with no acknowledgments but whatever ! my life is going all good and chill. I watched the indian movie "jab we met" and was impressed by the concepts of the heroine of the movie.

Ok me goes now, to see what the CNG mechanic has done with my car. Princess is still around... .

The last curse of the princess

Princess has not been sold yet. My impatience led me to give another ad in the newspaper. The ad appeared last Sunday and since then i am continuously getting calls and calls and calls ..

Initially i was saving each caller's number with name to manage the calls but then my mobile's memory fell short . and so did my endurance. Now i just listen to the calls , tell the people where they should come to see the car and thats it. No management of their names at all.

People are so strange. they will call me any time whether i am sleeping or eating or getting ready for office..and then the questions they ask are plainly stupid.Mostly people ask the things that I have already given there in the ad. Is the car Subaru?? Is it blue?? Is it Islamabad number?? blah blah blah.. All these things ARE plainly WRITTEN in the ad. Why do you ask these things... you freak!!!!

And then they dont show up on time. They would tell me to stay in office so that they may come to see the car and i would leave the office late cursing them for not showing up for 4 hours. Those who come , come very late and when they talk - they have to tell me the details of the cars that they have kept all their life and about their family and other irrelevant blah blah.. come on guys.. why the hell am i going to be interested in YOUR story and YOUR cars and anything about YOU at all...

Khair.. this is how things happen in life. Now i usually dont wait for people when they tell me that they are coming to see the car.

People.. please pray that i get rid of this car..

I am staying in Islamabad this weekend. Just for the sake of the car.. wanna get some car deal done this weekend. wont have the fun of playing starcraft. :( Bodz and KB might go for a brood tournament in Sweden . Lucky them ..

I am still happy that i did the Art of Living Course. I am so happy. I am still doing the breathing exercises and I feel good and fresh the whole day.

Art of Living Foundation

Week before the last week , i attended a workshop by Art of living Foundation. It was a 6 day workshop with nearly 3 hours every day ; a wonderful experience which i enjoyed a lot.

This is my first workshop that made a lot of impact on me. They focused on teaching breathing techniques and yoga. I have been studying many things about yoga and breathing on internet from a long time and i was feeling the need of such kind of a workshop.

The basic concept of Art of Living Foundation is to teach exercises that increase prana. What is Prana? Its a life energy - probably the same as qi/chi. Through Yoga you can considerably increase the prana in your body.

The effects of the workshops are lasting. . There were a number of spiritual lessons which might become a part of my life now. There was one exercise which i will mention as it had a very deep effect on me. In this exercise, the participants were told to sit in pairs facing each other with eyes closed. Then we were told to open our eyes and look at each other silently and then a question was asked. "If God ever comes to you in this face, will you be able to accept Him as God?". It was a very deep thing. The question hit me somewhere deep. and it still echoes in my mind now in my free times.

Earlier i was told by someone that Art of living foundation is promoting hindu concepts. What i have learnt is something that is beyond the domain of any religion (or may be i havent studied enough religions). The founder of the course is an Indian . true !!! ..his teachings are not . He is the follower of the Maharishi guy - the one who started Transcendental Meditation. The main exercises of the Art of living course are clearly given on their website . see. This is unlike other workshops as other instructors usually try to keep their teachings secret and sacred - making it impossible for a person to know what will be offered unless he/she gets registered for the course. Art of living makes it clear as to what they do and thats why they seem honest.

I came to know about Art of living when i was in Michigan , US. The course would have cost me some 400$ , had i done it in US. but lucky me!!.. i found them here and did the workshop at a much much much much lesser price .. :D ..There are only 2 Art-of-living instructors in Pakistan. luckily both are based in islamabad . . Btw, one of them is a VP in Mobilink.... kool ..

Ali Bhai and Noman also attended the workshop. Ali couldn't complete but Noman completed it and is as happy as i am.

The advanced level of the course will be offered after Ramzan. and in that we will have to go and stay at somewhere for sometime... for some 3-4 days.. isolated from the world.. What does that sound to you.. kool or weird.. :d ... well. ...kool to me atleast.. Reminds me of the time when i used to go on Tableeghi Seh Rozas - (a 3 day trip to a mosque) . Those , too , were days.

Oh btw!!... i lost 2 kg weight during the workshop. :D