Greetings from Karachi

So I'm blogging from Karachi heheh. Been meaning to post this since I got in a couple of days ago but it's been a bit busy. Even now I'm actually still in the middle of today's workshop but we're on a bit of a longer break due to some of the participants having meetings. Plus we're a little bit ahead of schedule today so we have some slack.

Anyway, I still need to keep this to a quick-ish update so here you go:

• There are SO MANY local security forces standing/driving around the city with rifles in their hands. It's kinda intimidating.


• Otherwise it's actually been quite alright here for me. The people in general are polite. They stare a lot but they're not hostile towards you or anything. Not that I've approached any of them heh.


• Hotel's quite nice. The gym has great equipment (I went at 6am this morning for a workout)


• The local food is AWESOME, but oh so fattening (hence gym visit). Lots of capati and naan (they have different names here tho) and kebabs and masalas and hummus and mmmm yummy.


• Coincidentally this same week, our hotel is the venue for an "IDEAS (International Defence Exhibition and Seminar) - Arms for Peace" convention. Yes, Arms for Peace. Kind of an oxymoron isn't it? Anyhoo. What that means is that I'm staying at the same hotel with a huge bunch of the leaders of armed forces of the World. We have no idea if that's a good or a bad thing!!! Good because security is heightened 'cuz so many important army people are here. Bad because, well.. doesn't that make Sheraton a hotspot???? Eek.


• I did however meet two top Generals of Malaysia last night (if I'm not mistaken one was from the Airforce and another was from the Navy, although I don't remember their titles 'cuz they sounded complicated and long when they introduced themselves to me). I was waiting at the hotel foyer whilst a whole bunch of the delegates were there and the Malaysian delegates saw me and asked if I was Malaysian or Mongolian (wut? Ingat aku Altantuya kah??). Kinda cool to have chit-chatted with them all the way here in Pakistan when the chances of that happening in KL would be nada.


• Sadly none of the delegates were hot men in uniform. Oh they wore their uniforms alright, hundreds of them in their navy/airforce/army uniforms with loads of badges and stars and medals etc but none looking like Pierce Brosnan or Robert Downey Jr hahaha.


• The Shell office here is pretty nice. It's not too big a building but the interior's good. However, the electricity goes out for about a minute or two, occuring about 6-7 times a day. Like India and Indonesia, they also get quite an unsteady supply of electricy. So we'll be in the meeting room discussing when *poof* it goes dark and the airconds shut off. Thankfully the computer ports and projector are on backup power supply so they remain on. When this happened on the first day we were here in the office us visitors kept jumping and going "oh!" everytime there was a blackout. But after that happening so many times, we're now as calm and steady as the locals haha! I don't even stop midsentence now when the power goes out... I just continue talking like nothing happened. Dah champion ah macam local :P


• They have A LOT of hawks flying around in the skies. I've always thought hawks were lone creatures and don't live in flocks but there's a whole big bunch of them hovering in the skies above the city all the time. And they're pretty huge. I was up on the office building roof yesterday getting a view of the city and the birds flew pretty close. It was quite cool.


• We were out for dinner last nite, one of the local HR managers took us and gave us a semi-tour around the places we passed by. We drove by Benazir's late father's house, and along the road her brother was killed by local police whilst she was in power.


• Books here are quite cheap. I went into a local bookstore chain (Liberty Books) and found some great titles at about 30-40% the price of books in Malaysia at full price. And guess what. I've bought 5 books from here so far haha :D
  

Will write more comprehensive stories of my trip when I have the time!

Soundtrack: Nothing at the moment. Office is pretty quiet.
Mood: Work work work
Location: Shell Pakistan Limited, Karachi office
Random thought: I'll get fat if I stay here very long.

Post-Graduate Musical

Heehee I know this is soooo lame but ohmygod I'm splitting my sides from the amusement! :D

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Soundtrack: Pitty Sing - Anyway
Mood: LOLapallooza
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: OMG gotta try all the other JibJab HSM3 stuff now!

ZAC!!!!!!!!

CILAKAK ADIKKU BERJUMPA ZAC EFRON DAN ASHLEY TISDALE (and Vanessa Hudgens but I don't care that much about her nyeh)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I was that close to Zac I would have bitten into/licked his arm muscles. Maybe that's why it wasn't fated that I too was in Melbourne and thus able to push little children aside at the HSM3 red carpet premiere.

BLADIHEL JELES GILERRRRR!!!! Hahahahahaaa


Soundtrack: The Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown
Mood: Extremely excited and jealous
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: No random thoughts at the moment, sorry. Visions of Zac Efron's perfectly-sculpted body clouds my mind.

Pakistan Here I Come

Here's some news. My trip to Pakistan, though initially avoided, is back on again. Obladi oblada.

For the past two weeks the project team has been going around in circles trying to determine the location of our next workshop. We wanted to have it in KL (more convenient for the project team). The country HR manager of Pakistan wanted to have it in Karachi due to cost limitations on his team. We offered to do it somewhere closer to Pakistan, say Qatar or Dubai. That was initially accepted as the option at first... but then the country manager again came back and said the project team MUST come onsite for the workshop.

My program manager asked how I felt about that and if I felt ok about going. I said, OF COURSE NOT! They're still setting off bombs left and right over there! The recent earthquake didn't help much to lessen my anxiety about going, so no. I didn't want to go, not at this point in time. My project manager also responded the same, and that was that. We sorta expected that given our company still has a global travel ban on business trips to Pakistan, we're good to proceed with the plan to have it somewhere else.

Friday morning I was getting ready to go to work when my program manager called to tell me that the travel ban has been lifted just the night before. Actually the travel ban was lifted on travel to Karachi and southern parts of Pakistan... there's still a cautionary note for travel to Islamabad. And that meant we have no reason to avoid from making the trip since the office is based in Karachi.

So yeah. I guess I understand the importance of us having to actually be present in the country to get our work done efficiently and all, but still... I'm not feeling too keen about having to go.

On the slight plus side, however, I will be making a transit in Dubai for a few days before returning to KL. There's another project workshop there in the days following the Pakistan one so a bunch of my other project colleagues will be there, most importantly Pam! So we're excited to get to do a bit of touristy things together whilst we're there (might as well make the most of the trip right!!! I've never been to Dubai). Also, I'm planning to meet up with Yang, see her place and what she gets up to when she's working and based in that city. Should be fun (provided I get out of Pakistan muahaha. Ok ok. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts).

Should be nothing to worry about though... the country manager has given his assurance that all aspects of security will be taken care of, and that Karachi's been quite peaceful anyway. I'll just pray :)

The major downer for me is that I now have to go back to the Pakistani Embassy to re-apply for my visa since my passport was stolen just before Raya. All I know is, I ain't going there alone! Dragging one of the guys at work with me whether they like it or not. Someone's gotta play my bodyguard.

Soundtrack: Aqualung - Good Goodnight
Mood: Sleepy
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: Why do cheesecakes taste so darned good??

A great day for America and the World

I am not an American, and the closest tie I have to that country is my Uncle Bob who is married to my maternal aunt, Mak Teh.

Yet I stayed glued to the TV last night up until 2am, watching live telecasts of voting polls opening across the US of A. I woke up early this morning, and immediately ran out of the room to switch the TV on and check on standings. And once in the office, I've been tuned in to the live video feed on CNN.com, heart racing as bit by bit polls close and I see the numbers for Obama rise... and rise... and finally... VICTORY!

So why do I care so much? I don't give this much attention or concern about my own country's politics. So why America, and why now? Well. Obama is why. And I think that is the answer for why millions of other non-Americans around the world are more captivated and supportive of this year's elections as any other. Obama seemed to have appeared at the right time... a beacon of hope for Americans, and a symbol of change for the world. And a historical one at that!

Don't get me wrong. I am not wishing that I am an American, or that I am professing my utmost love for a nation I'm so far removed from. But as much as one might try to ignore or deny it, America is somewhat the 'center of the world'. The superpower nation. Their foreign policies impact more lives globally than any other country's. The Bush administration has wreaked havoc not only for his country but worse still, other nations as well.

Obama has promised change. And after following the presidential debates and watching him address his nation, I have faith in him and what he can do for his country. True, there is still a tiny cynical voice inside me which is saying "well anyone can promise a bright and peachy future. He's probably just an extremely charismatic salesman who can make you believe in anything". But for once I think I'll put my cynicism on politicians aside, and risk believing. If there's anyone in this world today who I think is worth risking my belief in, it's Barrack Obama.

So America.. congratulations! For voting your first African-American president of the USA. But we know race wasn't the reason behind it at all. I say congratulations for voting the right man for the job based on his intelligence and integrity, for his dream and vision, and for that I respect you as a nation.

I'm smiling. And I can't stop smiling. Because today is all about the strength of hope and unity :)

p/s: Adding this in as I absolutely love this interview (I LOVE John Cleese! I think he's one of the most wacky, intelligent men on Earth. I'd vote him for President if I could ;p)

Soundtrack: Web feed from CNN.com Live
Mood: Exhilirated
Location: Office cubicle
(Not-so)Random thought: And oh COME ON... McCain and Palin? I've never seen a more non-intellectually-challenging pair of presidential candidates ever. Aside from Malaysia's own politicans of course.
(The truly)Random thought: Hey. Looks like our local ulamas and politicians need not worry about how to be rid of the heavy metal/black metal social problem anymore. Har har.

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur

Mummy, Baba, Kelly, Muna, Ayman and myself (amongst thousands of others) participated in the Terry Fox Charity Run for cancer research this morning. It was held at the Lake Gardens in KL, and this is the first year that I'm taking part in the run and it was fun! Thousands of people participated, from the tiniest and cutest of babies (ANYAAA!!!!) to the oldest of grandmas.. people walking, running, roller-blading, cycling, in prams, in wheelchairs, from all walks of life. It's always a great feeling to be a part of a huge group of people united for a common cause.

Ah, and I cannot refrain from making a comment about all the eye-candy. OH MY GOD SO MANY GOOD-LOOKING BOYS/MEN. Hee. That was unexpected. Kelly, Muna and I were like "Wow... didn't expect there to be an added benefit to participating in this run, eh girls!". Ahh. Certainly was pleasant to the eyes, and made waking up early in the morning so much more worth the effort for us non-morning persons.

Shallowness aside. It's been aaaaages since I've gone to the Lake Gardens and I was quite pleased to see how it's so beautiful and peaceful there. I'm making a point to visit the garden more often after this, just for a morning walk, a picnic or something.

"Team Shell". Our company sponsored 100 employees
for the run hence we had to run with our brand ;p

Booyah. We who managed to wake up at
'ass-o-clock' in the morning, in the words of Izyan

Arriving at the assembly area

Muna changing t-shirt secara stealth. Sungguh skill.

Ayman and friends geared for the run in Kain Pelikat! Haha gile comel

Team Petronas. :P

Team Sime Darby brought a big flag (center, distance). Ish. Tercabar.

All gung-ho to start the run. L-R: Kelly, Muna, myself, Baba

The start was slow, as there were thousands of people squeezed onto a small footpath.
So it wasn't really a 'run'... everyone just walked! I only started my jog in the last 1.5km

Oooh lookie we're in London

Our not-so-power-walk included singing, silly walking, random sports-like
commentating, and sudden bursts into conga-line

I finished the run to find Baba (who was ahead) tucking
into ice-cream... ONE IN EACH HAND!!!

Muna made new friends

I like this picture of my parents :)

Soundtrack: Mogwai - Scotland's Shame
Mood: Feeling refreshed
Location: Hoxe's cafe
Random thought: Apparently I don't have a Googleganger. Every result (5 pages' worth) of 'Mufizah Moslim' in Google points to me. I feel so unique and special :p. Heh. Do YOU have a Googleganger?