Furree Katt

It's Never Enough

2012-02-24T11:38:00.000+05:00

So, for a change, I decided to wake up super early and write a normal blog post like I used to, once upon a time.

But then i procrastinated and this post isn't really written early in the morning.

Anyway, the reason for this blog post isn't because i'm in the frolic mood of writing something super happy.

It's because i don't know where else to turn.

The real deal is that i'm seemingly unable to cope with stress anymore. If i may be allowed to brag a little, i've always prided myself with the fact that no matter what sort of problems come my way, i find myself able to deal with them. No matter how much i whine, i do get through them, and mental wounds (if any) fade away with time.

That's not happening any longer.

Exams are on my head. In reality they are still a couple of months away, but these are the most important examinations of my life.

My entrance into the university of my dreams depends on A grades in all subjects.

And i do not feel capable of getting anything above a B.

I'm trying my best, i'm studying as hard as i can. I've shunned all the tv shows i used to watch, unread books that i have on my bookshelf, and the little time online i get during the day, for studies and revision. I am putting in hours and hours daily into trying to perfect myself and learn and revise everything i can for the impending ~~doom~~ exams.

It's not that my subjects are the hardest ones out there. It's not that i've ever been an incapable or weak student. The thing is, i did not get the most valuable factor that all students receive: time.

While the school term began in August, i could not afford tuition till much later. I lost precious months, i lost SO MUCH TIME, time that i could have used to study whatever i am studying right now. Had i got time, i would have smoothly sailed through all of this without a single complaint.

My parents do not seem to understand. If they see me crying and sniveling about how tough everything feels, they assume that the weakness lies in me. I have tried talking to them about this, but have achieved nothing. I know that i must control my feelings around them, because i am aware that they didn't have the resources to provide me with tutors earlier, and complaining in front of them constantly will just make them feel guilty and not really change my situation.

I also know that whining about it too much will not produce any positive results, but i needed to get all of this out of my system. What i really have to do is focus even more on my studies and try my utmost best, give more than a hundred percent. However stressful this is for me, it is a learning experience and i won't forget that.

But still, i do slip into this ultra i'm-a-loser stage from time to time. Which is why i need motivation and advice from all of you, something that i can read again and again every time i feel down.

Okay i really have to pee right now. And then i'll get back to studying.

well that would explain a lot.

i wrote something for someone else

2012-02-23T23:34:00.001+05:00

and i would love it if you guys could read it and leave a comment there.

click here.

love! ♥

Ink And Paper - Guest Post by Neshmia

2012-02-11T00:00:00.000+05:00

Hi, everybody! My name is Neshmia. Today, I’m writing a guest post for Furree’s awesome blog. Thank you so much, Furree, for giving me the opportunity!

This guest post is a short fiction story I’ve written about a broken family, titled ‘Ink and Paper.’ These are two entries from the respective journals of a father and daughter. Sadaf’s parents are divorced and she lives with her mother, Tanya, in Pakistan. Sadaf’s father, Haroon, lives abroad in the United States of America. He lost the custody battle, and is permitted to see his daughter only once every five years. The first time Sadaf traveled to see him was when she was eight years old, when Haroon lived in Washington DC. The second time was when she was thirteen, and he lived in San Francisco.

You can read other short stories, articles, and random musings written by me on my own blog at: www.ruminations-nt.blogspot.com

Ink and Paper

Sadaf’s Diary:

Dear Diary,

It seeps into me, that poison known as ‘depression’, overcoming my defenses and rendering me helpless, like a rat trapped in a snake’s clenched jaws. An inevitable, destructive venom coursing through me; pulsing through my veins, sweeping me along in its wake. Like a tidal wave too powerful to battle against so you just succumb and let yourself float along with ease. I can feel it in my bones when it’s coming, drawing closer. I would run if I didn’t already know that it has the power to overtake me instantly.

When I was little, Amma would tuck me into bed every night. She would lay me down, and sit awhile next to me with the lights off, the two of us submerged in impenetrable darkness, chattering about everyday things. Sometimes as I jabbered on about meaningless topics – the frivolous activities I indulged in with friends, the minor indignities of being reprimanded in class, never-ending complaints of homework – she’d trace a hand along my forehead lightly. I’d feel her fingertips against my skin, skimming my temples, gently tangling in my hair. I’d close my eyes briefly and accustom myself to the feel of it. I remember clutching onto those moments. They were the epitome of everything beautiful to me.

The conversation between my mother and me usually lasted half an hour, dying out as sleep stealthily sank its firm clutches into me. When I drifted in the limbo between sleep and wakefulness – lingering in that no-man’s-land before crossing over – she’d stand up. Taking the blanket folded into a neat square at the end of my bed, she’d open it, grasp it fully by both hands, and shake it over me powerfully, so that it would flutter down and cover me. I could feel it when she did that. I would feel the blanket twisting, rippling above me like a living thing, causing stirs in the atmosphere, light bursts of billowing air. I could feel it free-falling, as the air abandoned it in the hold of gravity, as it settled on my body.

Depression, as it approaches – I’ve come to find out – does so in much the same way. It loiters, hovers over me like that blanket. It stays in that position for days, sometimes even weeks, before falling and settling with a lasting finality.

Depression slows me down in every way. It tires my body, numbs my mind, and slows my reflexes. I feel dumber, mute, my intelligence and willpower draining out of my system. The very thought of making plans with friends exhausts me. Conversations seem daunting, requiring more energy than I could possibly spare. Silence becomes my sanctuary.

Sometimes, in those nights when we talked, I would chirp brightly, “Amma, when is Papa coming back home?” That was before I knew the word ‘divorce’, before I was old enough to comprehend the ugliness of it. She would normally shush me, but sometimes she’d indulge me, allow me my fantasies. I’d lie there as she’d spin tales of us going to live with my father soon, promises that kept me enchanted. She’d boldly state assurances of him visiting us soon. Such beautiful lies to believe in, punctuated by excuses of why all of it only existed in the future. “Your schooling here, his job abroad isn’t steady yet.” Excuses that my subconscious was more than willing to accept; like a drowning man clutching onto a drifting log of wood.

I realize now that when she told them, she actually indulged not only me, but herself too. She’d let herself believe, just for a few minutes, in the words she was speaking. And in that darkness then, the mirages she’d just depicted seemed almost substantial, shimmering in the distance; puddles of gleaming water that had yet to disappear, vanish before our very eyes into nothing.

Haroon’s Diary:

Dear Journal,

The gym is the one place I feel gloriously alive. The only place really, where I can feel powerful again. I exalt in the strength of my body, in the miraculous beauty of it, muscles, sinews and cords working in tandem to create effortless movement. I revel in every drop of sweat trickling down my skin, in the flushes of heat suffusing me as I push myself to my limit. I feel reborn again. Like maybe I have a second chance at life, a do-over; like maybe the events of the past can be undone and my doom can be reversed. Like maybe I haven’t annihilated my marriage or haven’t lost the custody battle.

I have many memories of my daughter. I’ve seen her only twice in my life – the first when she was eight, and the second when she’d newly turned thirteen – but the memories are still clear as crystal. They’re lodged in my mind, vivid and sharp, just bursting to come to the surface. Work keeps them tamped down, restricted. The pressures of my multiple jobs, knowing I have massive debt and loans to repay, doesn’t allow me to waft in nostalgic reminisces. But when I’m at the gym, I feel free. The memories overpower their boundaries, envelop me. I see Sadaf then, her bright glowing brown eyes and her quick, impish smile. The deftness with which Sadaf moves that came only through me; Tanya, my ex-wife, is known for being a klutz, her clumsiness a defining trait of her character.

During Sadaf’s latter visit, when she walked down the ramp into the San Francisco airport, on the brink of womanhood, her eyes searching through the milling crowds for my face, I was blown away. I was astounded by the confidence with which she moved, and the grace with which she conducted herself. I was transfixed by the change in her accent, how it had deepened and matured to something unrecognizable. Weekly Skype-ing sessions hadn’t done justice to my daughter, hadn’t portrayed the vivaciousness of her personality or the beauty of her nature. She was an alien thing, a foreign creature. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t see myself in her. I couldn’t sense myself being reconstructed in her. I couldn’t find a solid part of me within her being, a part that would allow me to state with relieved conviction that this girl was indeed my daughter. She was her own and completely so, untouched entirely by me. Two islands who’d once been interconnected, but now the bridge had crumbled away, isolated each.

But when she’d first come to me at the age of eight, things had been different. I’d been living in Washington DC then. She arrived in December, when snow was coating everything thickly; a girl with curly black hair and rosy dimpled cheeks, bundled up in a sweater and a scarf and a thick fluffy jacket. I’d been embroiled in work then, and couldn’t afford a holiday. I left Sadaf with a trusted sitter for the entire day, until I returned in the evening. I’d find myself rushing through my job, hurrying through the mandatory tasks and clipping away everything that could be clipped, just in an effort to get back to her as soon as possible. When I reached home, I would quickly open the door. The sitter would stand up, a college girl of about twenty, eager to depart. I’d proffer her some bills, she’d take them, and a confirmation of tomorrow’s timings would be exchanged. And then she’d go, leaving me alone with Sadaf.

It was a routine we both knew by heart.

“Sadaf! Sa-daf!” I’d cup my hands around my mouth, call her name loudly, stretching the syllables. A giggle could be heard, and then the bedroom door would be pushed open tentatively, a small crack out of which her eyes peeped through. I knew my part in this game, and played it well. With a friendly roar, I’d lunge towards the door, and she, shrieking, would back away, jump on the bed. We’d chase each other then, cat running after a mouse, Tom & Jerry being enacted right in our bedroom. I could’ve caught her easily of course, but what fun would there be in that? And so I chased her, holding back just enough so that she’d be able to escape, making it look like she really could elude me.

She’d leap off the bed and race into the kitchen then, down the hallway, into the living room. I’d run after her, making a deliberate effort to produce exaggerated pants and huffs, giving Sadaf the joy of believing in her speed and that it out outrun mine.

And of course I knew, even before I entered the living room, where she would be. A large cupboard stood next to a sofa on a far end of the room. She’d scramble on top of the sofa, from where she’d leap up onto the roof of the cupboard. And there she’d stay poised, a huge smile curling her lips, waiting for me.

And I, the perfect partner in this game of dance, would step up gallantly and hold out my arms. And with a shriek of pure, unadulterated joy, she’d launch herself – literally heave herself and catapult into the air – right into my arms.

The trust with which she did so – the unwavering belief that I would never let her fall; not catching her not even being a possibility to be considered – never failed to bring tears to my eyes.

Sometimes, even now, the mere memory is enough to dampen my eyes, blurring my vision with a sheen of wetness. But these are just memories, a way out of reality. Memories of moments that are long gone; faded and blended into shadows. Of perfect moments that can never be recaptured or relived, but only remain encapsulated forever in the pages of this journal, in ink staining white paper, maiming it purposelessly.

When Neshmia first emailed me about asking to publish a post on my blog, I was honoured. As you must have witnessed above, she's an amazing writer. Thank you so much, Neshmia! ♥ - Furree Katt.

YOLO

2012-02-08T16:55:00.000+05:00

I am guilty of listening to The Motto around 50 times a day and learning all the lyrics and singing (or rather rapping) it at the top of my voice to everyone around the house and especially to my boyfriend who never seems to get tired of it. It may seem like an idiotic garbling mess when you hear it at first but the truth is it's filled with metaphors that you won't identify with until you know the background of Drake, Lil Wayne and Tyga. Or maybe you need to be skilled at dirty thinking and dirty talk which is what I seem to be. I don't know. All I want is a YOLO shirt and a YOLO tattoo which I'll probably get for my 18th birthday. Speaking of my birthday, I have a wishlist. Which I may post a week prior to my birthday. But I'm actually counting on certain people to give me certain gifts and if I post about what I want on my blog, maybe someone else will give me something that I wanted another person to present to me. You know? Well I want to throw a massive party and I sincerely hope someone surprises me because I've never had a surprise birthday party before. Only a surprise farewell. It's funny how goodbyes are given more importance than most events. It's also funny how honey ain't sweet like sugar.

You Only Live Once - that's The Motto.

Life Update #12

2012-02-05T19:27:00.004+05:00

REMEMBER WHEN I USED TO DO LIFE UPDATES BACK WHEN I HAD JUST UNDER A HUNDRED FOLLOWERS? I'M SO EXCITED THAT I'M DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN OMGOMGOMGOMG.

like most of my posts, i'm going to start out with apologizing for the fact that i haven't been around as much as i would like to be, however since we're all best friends and you guys know my situation pretty well, i'm sure you understand the disappearance and i don't have to provide any further explanation for myself. heehee.

it's now time to tell you what i've been up to in all of Jan and Feb! *drumroll*

I dyed my hair purple

it's not the first time that i've experimented with my hair, having done blue and blonde highlights in the past, and getting sick of them and dying them brown-black after half a year. unfortunately, the purpleness kind of washed away after a week and became this really groovy shade of maroon. which isn't bad, but it's not purple anymore. but thankfully, i have proof in pictures. if you've got good eyes, you probably might see the purple here:

this is my 'heehee' face.

but if you can't, that's okay. this picture was taken at night. in the daylight it looked totally amazing.

I got another piercing

if you've been following my blog for a while, you can probably guess which one is the new one. (hint: read this post.) isn't it so cool? Moonie's totally awesome friend Kinza had come from Canada and all of us were hanging out at a mall (with Russian Bear tagging along) when Kinza expressed her desire to get an ear piercing. she was worried about how much it would hurt, so i told her it wouldn't and i could prove it to her, if she wanted. she said okay, and actually PAID for my piercing! that has to be one of the coolest things anyone had done for me, haha. anyway, the guy who was piercing my ear for me said it would hurt like a female dog, but it didn't. and so Kinza got hers done too, though on the cartilage. but her piercing hurt. HA! :O

I also got a silver nose ring to replace my purple nose stud, which you might be able to spot in the first picture of this post.

I got a Blackberry

YESYESYES! i am proud to say that i have joined the snobby class that most of my relatives, fellow bloggers, friends in Dubai and boyfriend belong to. The Blackberry Owners. *evil laugh*

though mine used to be my mum's. she got herself the new Bold 4 (9900) in white colour, and that's like the greatest phone ever. so she gave me her BB Curve, also in white. but whatever. i'm not too particular on phone models. it's just the plain fact that i own an actual Blackberry that's making me so insanely happy. YAY!

I've been studying like a mad person

i've been swamped with loads of work, but it's really satisfying doing all of that instead of working and being emo over not being able to educate myself. i always count my blessings when a huge assignment comes my way, because it's only going to help me in the future. plus, my subjects (Psychology and Sociology) are really interesting! English Language is a piece of cake. i'll be studying Literature soon, too. so i'm busy in all of that and totally loving it. :D also, my mean and nasty (yet quite hilarious) tutor is quite a character, but that's a story for another post.

I'm a teen columnist for Miss Unlimited

that's right! Miss Unlimited is a website for women all over the world, and one of their wonderful writers JDub contacted me asking me to be a part of their new section dedicated to teen girls worldwide. there are eleven other teen girls apart from me who are going to be teen columnists like myself, and i'm super excited for what we're all doing. i've checked out all of their personal blogs and they are like the coolest girls ever. two of my blog friends, Mona and Perfectly Imperfect are a part of this too, so i feel totally comfortable knowing that i know them prior to MU and that i'll be sharing this great experience with them. i'll be updating you guys whenever a post written by me gets published on MU!

anyway, that's all for now. i've already got a post in mind for the next week (or so, haha) so PLEASE keep reminding me to get down to actually writing it! i feel so weird when i look at my blog and see such few new posts. and then i feel alienated from all of my blog-friends who update their spaces regularly. sigh.

take care! ♥

and it's all over

2012-01-04T22:16:00.000+05:00

the tuesday before last was my final day at work. it coincided with the end-of-term party for the students, which was great since there wasn't any teaching, just loads of fun. the week before that i took some pictures of and with the kids.

the girls look pretty zoned out, but they're quite cute otherwise.

my excitement on being surrounded by so many boys. yum!

when i told them that i was leaving, a few of them protested but otherwise everyone was indifferent. i guess they're too little to understand the enormity of the situation, and will only come to terms with it when they return on January 4th and i won't be around. :O

the teachers, however, threw me a surprise farewell party. :D it was really awesome. i wish i had pictures to show you guys but the teacher who was taking the pictures didn't send them to me yet. the faculty had decorated an entire classroom and they got a cake for me. i got loads of presents too. they asked me to give a speech, which i gladly did. it involved informing everyone about my future plans and the intention to enroll my future child in the same school where i worked. i made tonnes of jokes which made everyone go into fits of laughter, so it was quite a cheerful affair. i'm proud to say that i didn't shed any tears! all the sobbing had been over and done with a week prior to my last day, so it was all good.

i am really going to miss all my students and colleagues. life is going to be pretty mundane now that i am not working anymore, regardless of all the studying i have to do.

thankfully my tutors are going to provide me with enough material to post about on my blog. one of them is really nice while the other (my new tutor) is extremely mean and super strict. i had my demo with The Strict Tutor two days ago. i'll elaborate on the events in another blog post. it's half horrific and half hilarious.

in other news, i finally downloaded the entire Take Care album. i think Shot For Me is one of the best songs by Drake i have ever heard. i encourage all of you to listen to it, like right now.

i have also (finally!) been included in PakistaniBloggers.net.

i had submitted my blog to this website an entire year back, but they included me in the showcase just a few weeks ago. i think someone else submitted my blog, because the picture and blog description i had sent to that website were quite different. anyway, i seem to have almost no support there (since i'm a new addition). i would really appreciate if you guys could vote for me on my page (i don't know what bloggers get if they receive the most votes but whatever). click the green tick mark on the right side of the screen.

the red arrow indicates where you need to click (duh).

my cousins are here from Australia and i'm having loads of fun with them. they'll be leaving by the end of January, and i'll really miss them lots. here's a picture of myself with one of my cousins:

aww.

and finally, a very happy new year to all of you. :D i'm hoping 2012 is filled with happiness and success for everyone. 2011 was a pretty tumultous year for me, but it was definitely better than 2010. i'm counting on the positiveness to increase even more this year. i would also like to thank everyone who commented on my previous post for their amazing and much appreciated support. i was in tears of overwhelmed joy when i read all of your awesome feedback. it really means a lot to me. ♥ i love you all.

adios for now!

i'm quitting my job

2011-12-10T21:00:00.001+05:00

it's true.

from 4th January 2012 (the new term after the winter holidays), i will no longer be a teacher.

after a year and a half, the time has come for me to say goodbye to the most amazing experience of my life.

i am really happy to tell all of you that the financial problems my family was facing have lifted and therefore there is no need for me to work to support them anymore. i can now fully concentrate on my education and build up a future the way i want it. i can finally turn all my dreams and aspirations and ambitions into something real.

the decision to resign was an extremely difficult one. it took much contemplation and debating with myself to reach the conclusion that if i want good grades, i must leave the one thing that takes up most of my time. i'm not saying that teaching is getting in the way. it's just that i have my entire life ahead of me to work and earn a living; right now is the correct age to study and learn and educate myself - to be like every teenager should be - and i am going to seize this opportunity before it eludes me again.

i have mixed feelings about my resignation, though. i have become SO attached to my students. they are - and always will be - a very important part of my life. they have given me tonnes of joy and happiness, they have showed me a wonderful world filled with innocence and pure affection. to leave them in the middle of the school year is absolutely heartbreaking for me, but i know that this is one sacrifice i need to make in order to secure my own future. i have given up a lot in the past for my family. i have experienced life with crushed dreams. now that i am getting what i have always wanted, i feel like i truly deserve it and i must let go of my job so that i can focus on studying and making up for all the time lost.

telling my colleagues about my decision was totally tough. a few of them teared up a little (aww!) and i got loads of rib-cracking hugs. The Bully actually told me that she would die without me! :O that made me feel totally special and really guilty at the same time. a lot of my colleagues told me that they'll miss me a whole lot and that they loved working with me. for the most part, they were happy that i would finally be studying properly again.

when i handed in my resignation to the principal of the school, he gave me a big bear hug and told me that once i'm done with university, the school will welcome me back and offer me a totally awesome position whenever i want it. he said he was proud at the fact that i am putting my studies first and that i plan to do my Bachelors in Education (he did his Bachelors and Masters in Education, too).

all in all, this is good for me in the long run. i am and always will be thankful to the school for employing me with my incomplete qualifications and no previous work experience. they have been the kindest and bestest employers ever. i'm also extremely grateful for all the support my blog readers and followers have displayed over the more-than-a-year of my employment (and my not-studying phase). it's really cool how my entire work experience has been documented here on my blog; from my substitution-teacher days to my job interview and appointment letter days to my loooong and tiring working week-days, and finally, my resignation.

i still have the rest of December to spend with my students and colleagues. i will make the most of it and try to accumulate as many special and awesome incidents as i can to share with you guys.

i do feel pretty emotional (read: awfully sad) at the moment. the burden of this big decision hasn't entirely lifted yet, so i would really appreciate some support and love from all of you. i need other people to tell me that i've made the right decision, so that i can continue my journey with freedom from the nagging 'you-didn't-do-the-right-thing' feeling tugging at my heart.

love and hugs (i need some!)

Furree Katt

need 500 likes

2011-12-08T20:53:00.001+05:00

a friend needs some support for a facebook page.

HERE!

so if you have a facebook account, and if you like me, you must like this page. i shall return the favor with lots of posts packed with some seriously exciting, amazing and unexpected events that have been happening recently. and pictures too! i promise. December will be awesome.

truth over fame

2011-11-25T22:21:00.000+05:00

“I’m really scared for my generation, you know. The thing that scares me most is Tumblr. I hate what Tumblr has become. Because it like, it reminds me of those clique-y girls in high school that used to make fun of everyone else and define what was cool, but in five years, when you all graduate, that shit doesn’t matter. No one gives a fuck about that shit. Instead of kids going out and making their own moments, they’re just taking these images and living vicariously through other people’s moments. It just kills me. Then you’ll meet them and they’re just the biggest turkey in the world. They don’t actually embody any of those things. They just emulate. It’s scary man, simulation life that we’re living. It scares me.”

-Drake

http://octobersveryown.blogspot.com/

never having consistently tumblr-d myself, i can't say that i agree a hundred percent. but i suppose the percentage of my agreement revolves around the mid 80s, so it's Team Drake instead of Team Tumblr for me. not that i am against Tumblr itself. it's just that using images to define one's personality and to create a perception based on other people's moments isn't that cool at all which is sadly what some Tumblr users (but not all) do.

i am seriously glad for websites like our beloved Blogger which are a platform for intelligent people to stay true to themselves and communicate with others through actual words. i have always liked the concept of expression through words rather than pictures. for me, any picture worth a thousand words is a lovely thing to witness, but mostly such pictures make a once-in-a-while appearance in our lives. the use of words can express and convey feelings much more at any given time. hence, i find them more reliable, comforting and awesome in general.

i'm also super grateful to have been able to receive such amazing feedback over the year that i have blogged by the name of Furree Katt. there's always an instant joy whenever i find out that someone has read what i have written, and shared their thoughts about it. in a life where i have spent my teenage years lacking the companionship of people around my age in the physical sense, online friends have provided me with happiness and much-needed company. i have found my best friends through blogging, which basically means that i have found them through writing. and yes, i know i almost always end up being a sentimental grandmother in every other post haha. but really, when i came across the quote by Drake above, i just had to share my opinion.

while i'm on the subject of blogging, i would like to share something which i have kept as a secret for quite some time.

sometimes the number of my own followers intimidate me. i have always considered blogging to be a medium of friendship, so whenever someone follows me i always make it a point to visit their blog and comment as well. with 400 followers - i am almost always in disbelief that so many people take interest in whatever i have to say - it does get a little hard to say hello to everyone whenever i log in. on most days i dread offending someone if i don't visit their blog or follow back, especially since they have been so kind to follow mine. i fear that as my followers grow, i'll become more and more impersonal towards the ones who have been with me from the beginning, and are still with me as this journey of writing continues.

i see bloggers with masses of followers and millions of comments on their posts, to which they don't bother acknowledging or replying to, and i always fear that i might transform into one of those tyrants of the blogosphere. i also see writers with serious potential who regularly update their blog, and they have such less followers that it breaks my heart. sometimes i wish that i could give those bloggers all of my followers, because they don't disappoint their readers by spewing out a post only once or twice in a month; they don't give their own followers a chance to complain about the lack of posts or post so less that people begin missing them.

recently i received around 50 comments on a post and i didn't reply to a single one. the guilt has been eating me up from inside because most of those comments were wonderful and written with so many feelings and were packed with positive vibes. i know that i have always been a considerate person by nature and by not returning the love i feel so out of touch with my original personality.

i don't know where this post is going, but while writing it i feel like i have changed drastically from who i was at the beginning of the year. on one hand i feel proud to have many followers who like to read what i write; on the other hand i feel like i almost always bitterly disappoint these very same people by not writing enough. i am experiencing quite a difficult mix of feelings right now.

there are a lot of other things that i am going through these days. most of them can aptly be described as internal battles with myself (lol duh - who else could i battle with internally?). slowly but surely i will share all of these things with all of you. you, who have stuck by my side through every good and bad thing that has happened to me since the past year and a half; you, who are and will always be my bestest friends in the entire universe. i am feeling too sleepy to continue (i'm sure you're all thankful to be spared from another bout of sentimental grandmother-ism), so imma head to bed and snooze my butt off. i'm glad it's finally the weekend.

happy snoring to me.

p.s. a blog you should read:

To turn and know all the rules have been changed.

The Truth About FWD Mails

2011-11-20T23:28:00.000+05:00

How many times have we been explicitly annoyed with the constant flow of the much dreaded 'forward mail' in our email inbox? These forward (or more commonly known by their 'FWD' abbreviation) mails have made emailing a pain in the butt with their often uselessness. According to me, the evil FWD mail can be broken down into four main forms:

That's right, kids. there's the Quiz mail, with a link to a website that often requires you to answer useless questions and find out even more useless (and often untrue) things about yourself.

There's the ever popular 'Chain' mail, which threatens you with impossible things like death by an exploding purple cellphone charger or a fatal wound inflicted by the mythical Chupacabra if you do not pass it on. These often require you to count backwards from 100 and then make a wish while spitting in your hand.

Then there's the 'funny pictures' mail, which isn't so bad. It mostly contains pictures of women drivers getting into accidents or someone's baby being cute by peeing in a soup bowl. The novelty wears off when the same pictures are sent to you over and over again by fifty-million different people. That's when you feel happy about all those accidents and you hope that the baby actually drank the soup.

Finally, there's the 'emotional, tear-jerking true story' email containing a totally fake and made-up account of people doing stupid things in the name of love/loyalty/cows.

BUT (yes, there's a but), there is a fifth form of the FWD mail, and that's the one containing valuable information. These forward mails have been a great help to me from time to time, and I shall give you the most recent examples as to why.

- The Day My iPod Stopped Working

It was like the end of the world for me. My iPod had been one of my most prized possessions ever since my parents had gifted it to me on my fifteenth birthday. I had spilled water all over it, and it wasn't switching on or charging. In the midst of my panic, I miraculously remembered an email I had received a couple of months prior to the incident about fixing iPods at home at zero cost. In a hurry, I opened my email, and after a couple of minutes I found what I was looking for. Someone had forwarded me an email about covering the wet iPod in dry rice and leaving it that way for 24 hours. The rice would absorb the water and the iPod would work again. I tried it, and it worked.

i hope the fact that i have a purple ipod nano is understandable through this picture.

- The Day My Grandfather Had A Stroke

We were all eating dinner when he collapsed in his chair. In twenty seconds he regained consciousness but his speech was slurred. Everyone was in a frenzy. A week and a half before it happened, I had read something in my email about certain things a person must do to figure out if another person has had a stroke or not. They were to. a. Ask the person to repeat any sentence after you. b. Ask the person to smile. c. Ask the person to raise their hands. If they are unable to do one or more of these things, they have most probably had a stroke and should be taken to a hospital within an hour. My grandfather was able to raise his hands, but his smile was lopsided and he couldn't coherently repeat what we were asking him to say. Identifying what had happened to him cleared our minds off of the confusion, and we were able to act and react fast to whatever was happening. My grandfather was taken to the hospital super quick, and in a few days he made a full recovery.

- The Day I Burnt My Hand

I blame my own stupidity for getting into that mess in the first place. The kettle was boiling, and like an idiot I put my hand over the steam emitting from the spout to see how hot it was.

Let me tell you folks, it was SO BLOODY HOT. My hand got burnt. Luckily I had a small packet of flour inside the fridge. I had read in a FWD email that cold flour heals burns instantly and does not leave a single mark or a trace of pain. I applied the cold flour on the place where I had scalded myself, and when I washed it off (I had kept it on for ten minutes) there was absolutely no sign of any burning except a slight pinkish tinge to my skin (which faded within an hour). No blisters or puckering or peeling or any sort of pain at all. It was miraculous. One of my cousins had burnt her finger a bit while handling a hot pan, and her dad had forced her to apply ice to it. I was there at that time, and I told her to put flour on it instead. She settled for applying flour on one half of her finger and ice on the other. The place where the flour was applied had absolutely no marks and it had stopped hurting. The place where she applied ice however, turned into a blister.

So you see, after these incidents, whenever I receive a FWD email with a promising title (e.g. 'this is good for your health' or 'how to do so-and-so' etc), I never fail to go through it. Such information is great to be read and passed around. It could really help someone in their time of need.

But if someone ever forwards me a picture of a happy pooping cow and expects me to find it funny, I will find them. And then cut them up into a million pieces and then find that happy pooping cow and STUFF THE PIECES IN ITS MOUTH!!!!!!!!

Goodnight.

holy macaroni

2011-11-16T09:49:00.000+05:00

four hundred followers?

happy furree katt.

yay! i truly am happy. this is so cool. it's been more than two weeks since i last posted and i'm totally submerged in fearfully dangerous waters named The Unread Blog Posts By Fellow Bloggers. but the amount of followers i have now are a massive motivation for me to continue blogging (as) regularly (as i can)!

i've been having a great time at school. my students get more and more adorable by the day. in the beginning of the school year, i had lost what little hope i had of experiencing funny incidents with them, because nothing too humorous was happening at all. but last week, all the kids decided to show me what they're made of.

there's a little girl with a sort of split personality. one minute she's spewing out stuff like "God is the supreme being!" and "You'll go to hell for being wicked!", and the next minute she's telling a little boy, "Baby, you drive me crazy!" it's quite disconcerting, but entertaining all the same. it's like she learnt to be a religious preacher and a seducer at the same time. did i mention she's only five years old?

last week, we were introducing the concept of 'blends'. blends are two letters at the beginning of a word which have to be said together in order to make the correct sound. some examples of blends are: 'fl' for 'flower', 'gr' for 'grumpy', 'sw' for 'swimming', etc. after introducing the concept to the students, i began to ask them questions to reinforce what they had learnt from the explanation.

me: can anyone tell me what words begin with 'cl'?

random little boy: cloud!

random little girl: classroom!

other random little boy: cloak!

other random little girl: clip!

and then...

soft-spoken little boy: duckling?

no kidding. while all the other kids fell into hysterical laughter, i had to control myself for fear of offending the little boy. he rarely ever makes an effort to answer questions asked to him, and i didn't want to discourage him by guffawing at what he said. while the answer itself that he gave was incorrect, it was apparent that he had grasped a little of the concept because the 'cl' sound appears in the middle of the word 'duckling', and he had identified it. it was still immensely funny though.

just yesterday, there was this little boy who was disturbing the entire classroom by kicking and pushing around his fellow students while they were doing classwork. i took him aside and i spoke to him for around fifteen minutes, explaining that everyone comes to school to learn, and that with him disrupting the class, he's disrupting everyone's future (haha). he looked solemnly at me throughout the entire lecture. at the end, when i was convinced that he had got my point and would no longer annoy anyone else:

me: do you understand what i'm saying?

him: CHOCOLATE BISCUIT! *runs away and hits another boy on the head*

me: *facepalm*

it was my best friend's engagement a few weeks ago. she's just one year older to me, so it was quite a surprise when everyone found out. it's strange to think of a person being committed to marry another at such a young age. but in a way, i find it quite heartwarming that her future has been decided as early as possible with no complications. i think i'm getting quite partial to the idea. this is us on the big day:

awww. SHE LOOKS SO PRETTY! i love her outfit. i think i want something similar on my engagement, but perhaps in pink.

here's a guest post that i did for Leah's super awesome blog. i was really nervous about the reception my post would get, but now i'm so ecstatic because of all the mostly positive response! i am super thankful to Leah for giving me an opportunity to reach out to other bloggers apart from my own followers. it's always refreshing to read the opinions of people who normally wouldn't come across my blog. yay :D

x

and i suppose that's all for now. i have a couple of more posts that i'm working on in order to fill this void called November. please forgive me for not replying to your comments on my previous post :( i know i say this all the time but i really am awfully busy and i barely get time for blogging at all. the only reason i found time to post today is because i'm awfully sick so i skipped school to stay at home. yay for sickness!

big fat group hug.

♥

i ain't no fatty.

2011-10-22T00:25:00.000+05:00

Weight issues are something that I have never had. I’ve alwaysbeen content with how much I weigh and how I look. I had always been chubbyduring my childhood and my early teen years, but I had never let that affect myeating habits or my self esteem.

Recently, a lot of people have been telling me that I’vegained weight. This doesn’t exactly bother me in terms of appearance, because hey,I’d rather be a little meaty than look like a skeleton, right? But I amslightly concerned about how this is affecting my health.

Since this past month (and a little before that), I havefallen victim to ‘comfort food’, a term used for food eaten when in need ofsomething to distract oneself in tension/sadness. This means I have beenstacking up on French fries, ice cream, cookies, candy, popcorn and soft drinksmore than I ought to whenever I feel a little stressed out at work.

At first I thought a little comfort food wouldn’t make adifference. But when I actually took a few moments to think about it (and when commentsabout my weight kept increasing), I realized that I was unnecessarily consumingmost of these things. I was gorging on junk when I wasn’t even hungry. I hadreplaced my intake of water with Pepsi or 7up. In school, we’re teaching thestudents about ‘healthy foods’. We even got a doctor to come and make apresentation about how healthy and junk foods affect our bodies. That simpleKindergarten unit made me think about what I eat and how much of it affects mybody in a negative way. To be completely honest, I have been feeling a little lazier and heavier than usual these days.

Getting to the point, I don’t mind being a little chubby,regardless of how many times my brother calls me ‘fatty’ and how randomrelatives tell me that my face has become rounder than before and how my tummylooks ‘fuller’ than it usually used to. What I really want to do is take care ofmyself. This will be easy if I cut down on all the unnecessary junk food I eat.I don’t think I need to have fries and ice cream and soft drinks EVERY day.

My mum told me that I should exercise a bit after coming homefrom school. A few months ago I used to work out at home quite a lot, and that helpedme keep myself feeling good and active. I think I should take that up again. Apartfrom toning me, it’ll help in exerting all the negative energy I have in a productiveway.

The reason I posted about this here is because I need a littlemotivation to get things going. I don't really care about the numbers on the scale, it's just the feeling of being fit that I want to get back again. I need positive vibes from all of you and honestlyI think it’ll really help if you all could encourage me in staying healthy.

Plus, if my effort and your encouragement result in me actuallybecoming slimmer ~~and sexier~~, then that’s really great, don’t you think? :D

Much love.

♥

HELLO ♥

2011-10-18T19:47:00.000+05:00

So many things have happened in the past month, but I havedecided not to talk about them. Most of September had been a depression-esqueera. Not in the sad sense; just in the deprivationsense. It seems like I’ve been deprived of a lot of things recently. Like thegeneral satisfaction of work or the time to relax and read my favourite blogsand write till the nagging feeling inside me (the one that’s always like: IMUST SHARE THIS INCIDENT WITH THE WORLD THROUGH MY BLOG!!!) vanishes.

I do realize that I have a lot of blog-reading to catch upon, and I assure all of you that I’ll try my best to read everything that I’vemissed. I may not have so much time to spew out loads of long comments on eachand every post like I used to, but you all can be sure that I’ll definitelyshare my opinions on your most recent pieces of writing. And I’ll try to replyto all your comments on time, too.

Teaching is pretty much okay. Since the school hasintroduced a new education system with most of the changes focusing on thePrimary section, I’m just trying to cope with the changes in the yearly plannerand the massive amounts of work being given – not just to me, but to all of mycolleagues – with as much patience as I can. Twice I’ve had to take a break inthe Nurse’s office with The Cursed Low Blood Pressure, a condition too commonamongst the teachers in Primary working more than they should, drinking(actually more or less gagging on) 7UP with salt sprinkled in it.

On top of that, my dad gave our puppy away to a friend whowas in need of some drooling ’n’ pooping company more than my family ever was.I was sad in the beginning, but it’s not like the puppy died or anything. She’spretty happy, she has other dog-friends and more space to run and poop as shepleases than she did at my place. Plus my cat is less restless and purring alot more these days. So it’s all good.

And yes, amongst all the general events underlined withsadness, there’s some genuinely positive news. I’ve started studying, with tutorsand all. It’s going great. I’m glad I’m making some progress with becomingsmarter and more educationally qualified. Plus, I can afford it now! The roadto B.Ed looks well-paved indeed.

I really missed you guys. All these new followers have me so excited! I'm about to go on a total blog-visiting spree right now.

After that, how could I not? :O a new post coming sooner than you probably expect, with pictures and all. Only if I have loads of comments on this one though. Yay!

♥

The Awesomest Day In The History of Awesome

2011-09-19T13:01:00.000+05:00

the most fun i have had in the longest time was on Friday, September 16th 2011.

why, you ask?

you can take that perplexed look off your face, because i am about to enlighten you as to why.

BECAUSE OF THE FRIKKIN BLOGGER MEETUP, WITCHES!!!

'twas the day when i met seven super amazing bloggers and had the time of my life.

let me introduce you to the cast of the wonderful evening (click on their names to visit their blogs):

Russian Bear

Hamza Bin Ladin

Ateeq

Moonie

That Guy From Karachi

Furby Esvee

Aaishah

and of course, me.

yes, we posed as bodyguards. from left to right: That Guy From Karachi, Hamza Bin Ladin, me, Moonie and Ateeq. (Russian Bear took this picture with Moonie's camera)

the first ones to arrive at the designated meetup place were Russian Bear and myself. Hamza and Ateeq had texted Russian Bear that they were already there, but they LIED. :O because when the Bear and I entered, there was no sign of them. 5 minutes later they walked in, claiming that they had arrived first even though the proof was right in front of them that they hadn't. but Hamza offered to give Russian Bear a prize, so it was all good. we laughed and stuff.

next came Furby and Aaishah. they had come directly from their college because they had a Math test, and they needed to get home as soon as possible. so they only stayed for around ten minutes. :( they thought meeting everyone was awkward, which was practically the opposite of what i thought. after much convincing we got them to pose with us for a picture.

from left to right: Aaishah, Furby, me, Hamza and Ateeq. (Russian Bear took this photo with my loser-face camera)

then came Moonie. honestly, she's probably the coolest person i've ever met and her presence made everything a million times awesomer than it was at that moment. she and i were super excited to meet each other! we couldn't stop squealing and jumping around. Furby and Aaishah had to leave then so they bade us farewell and set off to their respective homes.

then, Moonie whipped out her magical camera and took a few pictures.

Russian Bear and i

yay!

Ateeq and Hamza. Hamza's saying hi to everyone! HIIIIII!

we were waiting for That Guy From Karachi, but it seemed that he was going to be slightly late. thus we decided to take a five-minute walk and head over to the nearest mall, where it would be easier for us to be our loud, hyperactive selves and not draw too much unwanted attention. once we reached there, That Guy From Karachi made his grand entry. instead of applauding, we pretending to ignore him for being late just for a joke. but after 10 seconds of doing that, our niceness took over and we welcomed him quite happily. LOL.

so together, we first headed to a store which sold cool stuff for children and teenagers. we browsed through everything and bought cool shades and fake moustaches. it was there where Ateeq found his long lost brother:

and then we got told off for using a camera inside the store. so, we headed out in our endeavor to find a place to take pictures where everyone would be okay with it. our search brought us in front of an arcade, and that was where we did what we knew best.

POOOOOOSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!

aren't Moonie and i so SIMILAR?! ♥ i love our awesome matching hairstyles. we did all the girly poses imaginable. and then Moonie re-took over her camera and this was the result:

left to right: Ateeq, Hamza, Russian Bear, That Guy From Karachi

contrary to the conclusion you may have drawn by looking at the above picture, i was not intimidated being in the midst of four awesome guys. in fact, i thought there was too much guy-ness around me so i pouted like a pretty little girlieee! ♥ (sorry about that, boys.)

this was the only picture i had with the ultra amazing Hamza Bin Ladin, so i HAD to post it here. i apologize on behalf of Hamza for his wrongly-timed blinking.

after that, we all headed to the cafe inside the mall. that was where we had the most fun. we all sat down without ordering anything and talked approximately for over an hour. to be completely honest, 'talking' is an understatement. we laughed and shrieked and made fun of each other and gossiped and went completely crazy. oh and Moonie pinched Russian Bear so hard he almost cried like a little baby.

That Guy From Karachi and Ateeq talking about something undoubtedly intriguing

me admiring Russian Bear's mean and nasty sense of humour (he made fun of everyone)

Hamza and That Guy From Karachi

BUBBLE FACES! ♥ Moonie, Russian Bear and myself. aren't we the cutest?

this is Hamza trying (and failing) to copy our bubble face. SORRY HAMZA :P

the life of the party, Moonie! she made everyone feel comfortable around each other.

i seemed to have caught a small bout of amnesia concerning whatever i know about That Guy From Karachi, because:

- i forgot the name of his school (in my confusion i called it Rolling Stone Academy)

- i forgot his name (i called him 'this one' to his face haha)

- i forgot his gender (i called him 'her' by accident)

but he forgave me for my dumbness, and we proceeded to have an in-depth conversation about the awesomeness of Converse All-Stars (which i was wearing) and Vans (which he was wearing).

Moonie taught us some new vocabulary. instead of 'awesome', she called everything 'ass-ome'. hence, leading all of us to call everything 'ass-ome'. she also introduced us to 'wowza', a word obviously made for wowza-worthy situations. her camera was admired and used by everyone to take some awesome pictures.

Ateeq introduced us to the wonderful world of making actions with his hands to go along with everything he said. it was mostly the 'rock on' sign moving according to the variety of topics he talked about.

Hamza entertained us all with his general outfit. he wore a kameez, which i thought was pretty ass-ome, because he showed respect to the fact that it was Friday (Friday, gotta get down on Friday - yes, we sang that too!).

Russian Bear was mean to everyone and made fun of them the entire time. but somehow, his meanness and evil jokes were loved in general and we all had fun listening to whatever he had to say. he also paid for my donut, smoothie and pepsi, so yay!

oh, and we posed together as well.

♥

TALK TO THE HAND!

together, the six of us had the bestest time EVER. we gossiped about all the bloggers we know (yes, we did!) and joked around and discussed loads of cool things. we even got told off in a bookstore for being too loud. Moonie was raving about this amazing author called Jerry Spinelli which no one (not even the bookstore-people) knew about. Hamza and i called him 'Jerry Spaghetti'. we stared and drooled at all the expensive books which none of us could afford.

and finally, some of us showed our true colours.

left to right: me, Russian Bear, That Guy From Karachi

that's right. we're ~~punjabi rapists~~ dakus.

it was truly an amazing experience meeting everyone and hanging out with them. it was so easy to be ourselves in front of each other. i think everybody is twenty million times awesomer than what they come across as on their blogs, and that's saying something. they're all unbelievably awesome. we had loads and loads to talk about. everyone was really comfortable around each other and i really liked that. i think our new group had made a firm friendship and next time we'll meet each other as good friends, not just as fellow bloggers. I LOVED EVERYONE!!!!

if you would like to read other accounts of this amazing day, please click on the following links:

Moonie's Post

That Guy From Karachi's Post

Russian Bear's Post

Ateeq's Post

Hamza's Post

so yeah, that's about it. i would really appreciate your opinions on everything this post contained. because you know, your opinion matters.

also, a big fat hello to my new followers! thank you for following me. i'm going to visit all your blogs soon.

rawr! ♥

(all pictures courtesy the one and only Moonie and her mega awesome camera (unless otherwise stated). i did the editing in the picture of myself and Moonie posing, and the moutache-picture collage.)

2011-09-08T21:41:00.000+05:00

i've been extremely busy and tensed and stressed and sad in these past few days but that's a story for some other time. at this very moment i'm just super duper excited about THE KARACHI BLOGGER MEET UP!

if you want to attend, here are three posts/pages which contain all the information you need:

Post #1

Post #2

Post #3

i know for a fact that some of the awesomest Karachi-peeps will be there. and i'll be there as well. so if you're a blogger from Karachi, you need to come!

(whoever is coming, bring your cameras, please. because i'll most probably forget mine.)

i shall reply to your comments and read all of your blogs once i get some free time. big fat hug to all of you. and some words of encouragement are really needed to help me get through the awfulness of whatever i'm going through right now.

bye ♥

OMG IT'S THE BIGGEST LIFE UPDATE EVER

2011-08-29T21:30:00.000+05:00

due to the fact that i've been recently unable to post about the totally awesome things happening to me since practically forever, i have decided to enlighten you on the major events and happenings all at once.

so, after a million years, another Life Update! *applause*

just like most of my Life Updates, here's a recent picture of myself before i get down to writing the actual post:

i have made peace with the fact that my nose is the size of a whale.

if you have not yet gotten any clue on the length of this blog post through the title:

IT'S GOING TO BE FRIKKIN' MASSIVE.

so, i don't blame you if you decide to skim over it and comment a few positive words like, "nice post", "i liked this", "gr8 :))" and "wow cool!" and then think i'll be happy. (FTR, i'll be quite annoyed.) but in all honesty, i will actually really appreciate it if you read the entire thing and give your genuine opinion to me. i know i can count on most of you to do it, especially the ones who have been following my Life Updates since last year. please please please make me happy :D

i'll be writing down everything in sections so that it's easier for you all to read. right. here we go:

The Cousins

first of all, i have been totally busy since the arrival of my aunt and cousins from England. since i hadn't seen them in four years, it was quite an exciting affair and i wanted to spend every waking moment with them. my visiting cousins consist of a 20 year old female, and two males aged 16 and 9. they are going to leave in the first week of September, so hopefully i'll be posting more regularly then. i shall be sad to see them go, though. we're having loads of fun together! though i think the most memorable thing we did was go out for ice cream and then realize the entire city was on strike. so, no ice cream for us, but 'twas a rather funny car drive all the same. and their British accents are just so divine. :O

The First Day of School (For Teachers)

one of the few unfortunate points of being a teacher is that i have to go to school a few days before school actually starts, due to the fact that the classrooms are a mess and someone needs to fix them up before the students pour in *rolls eyes*. so, on August 4th, after an entire lazy summer, i woke up early and hauled my tush over to school.

it was pretty awesome seeing all my colleagues again after such a long time. the general greetings went something like this:

me: HIIIIIIIIIII!

colleague: HIIIIIIIIIII!

me: HEYYYYYYYYYYY!

other colleague: HEYYYYYYYYYY!

me: HELLOOOOOO!

yet another colleague: *ignores me*

me: oh how i missed this kind of treatment :')

i spent most of the day helping out the other kindergarten teachers and my mum (she teaches Grade 1) set up their classrooms. it was loads of work and i was looking for as many excuses to avoid it as possible. i guess i'll always be lazy regardless of how excited i am to actually work.

there were a lot of things that needed to be changed. like the ugly things stuck all over the walls. in KG, the first unit of the syllabus was called 'Myself' in which the children would learn to write a few lines about themselves. for a sort of visual aid for the students, we had two cut outs, one of a boy and one of a girl. i looked at them and i new they would not do. so i made my own.

the cut outs on the left side are the ones that were already in the class. the ones on the right are mine, i drew them. they look totally awesome in the classroom. click to enlarge.

this was also the day i met Ovais! that's right, we teach in the same school. be jealous B). he's totally awesome and really funny. he is the same in reality as he is on his blog, which is really cool. i was like THIS psyched to meet him *spreads arms wide*. we spent forever talking about various blogs and bloggers. i know right?! i'm so glad to have a proper friend at school now. though we most probably won't see each other much because i'm in the primary building and he's in the junior/senior building. BUT STILL!

apart from Ovais, i got to meet some of the other new teachers at school. they're all so young (in their 20s) and pretty, and slightly intimidating cause they've all had teaching experience in other schools and stuff, so they know more than i do about the fine art of handling annoying little kids. :O i made friends with all of them, though. everyone is really nice. plus i'm thankful for their presence. people like The Bully will have the other young teachers to victimize. yay!

The Orientation

this was the day i was really worried about. i thought i would totally blow it in front of all those parents. surprisingly, the entire orientation went really well! the main teachers were talking to the parents about the stuff their kids will be doing the entire year. then, it was time for me to be introduced. The Bully introduce me like this:

"this is the baby of our school."

me:

seriously. i know she only said that cause i'm the youngest teacher and stuff, but now all the parents of those 80 kids know me as Baby. -.- but most of them are really sweet and they don't seem to have any complaints about their children being in the hands of a 17 year old. yay!

The First Day of School (For Students)

as you all know, i was super excited for this day. i had spent the entire summer holidays preparing for how i would meet and adjust to the new students. the first thought that came to my mind when i saw them was OMGSOCUTEOMG!!!! there are some seriously super adorable kids this year.

the first day was great cause i didn't have much work to do, i just had to stay in the classroom and get to know each of the kids. most of them have really strong personalities and are confident and friendly. BUT:

The Students Have Problems

because even though they are clever, they can't seem to apply their intelligence to actual work. the reason being that before they came to kindergarten, they were part of another educational system in the same school called High-Scope-something. this High-Scope-something states that the children should be free to do whatever they want. no work should be given to them. teachers are not supposed to say 'no' to the child. apparently it's supposed to develop their personalities instead of their knowledge. so in short, these kids don't know shizz. and it's up to the KG teachers to teach them all what they were supposed to have learnt last year PLUS everything in the regular kindergarten syllabus. extra work for us :(

but we're getting through it. some of the kids are naturally smart so all the stuff we're teaching is easy for them. the rest (albeit endearing,) are dumb. but like last year, some really funny incidents are taking place. for example:

me: we're going to do something special today!

little girl: are we getting married?

me: *dumbfounded*

the girl who dreams of marriage at the age of 5

another little girl: my daddy has a gun.

me: is he a policeman?

another little girl: no, he goes to office.

me: O.O

i also have Harry Potter in my class. no kidding.

Awesome Stuff In General

and now, i present to you stuff that i've been doing apart from work:

yeah okay so my ear looks awful but that's not the point. NEW PIERCING! (the one on my cartilage.) the normal lobe one was done when i was a baby. the second lobe and the top were done when i was 15. imma need two more to be completely happy with my ear, though.

i'm also slowly working my way through the pile of books that i had bought from Sunday Bazaar. Russian Bear and i had gone there once again and i got like seven more books (he bought six of them for me haha). i just finished Misery by Stephen King, and just like Kayren had said, it put me in misery. seriously. very gruesome book. but awesomely written just the same.

and OMG, you guys. a few days ago while i was eating dinner, my brother rushed into the room and practically dragged me to the garden. i didn't know what was going on until i looked down and saw this:

SOMEONE GIFTED MY DAD A PUPPY! apparently some people from my step-grandfather's family had loads of puppies and wanted to sell them but since they knew my dad and his love for dogs pretty well they gave this puppy to him for free. my brother named her Coco. we can't really decide whether to spell her name as Coco or Koko, but whatever. she's the cutest thing ever. and so friendly :O so we have a cat and dog at home now.

day before yesterday we were looking for Coco in the garden and we couldn't find her. she usually responds to her name but this time she didn't come when we were calling out for her. suddenly my 16 year old cousin started saying "poopy dog! poopy dog!" and to everyone's great surprise, Coco suddenly burst out of the bushes wagging her tail. so yeah, she's a poopy dog.

have any of you heard She Will ft. Drake - Lil Wayne? it's the bestest explicit song ever. Headlines by Drake is good too. it's different from Marvin's Room and Trust Issues. that reminds me, Justin Bieber did a cover of Trust Issues :O in my honest opinion it wasn't terrible but he oughtn't cover any song by His Drakeness in the future. and Nicki Minaj's song Fly ft. Rihanna's video released recently. i really like both Nicki and Rihanna's looks in it, especially their hair. ♥ i SO want my hair like Rihanna's!

and now for some special mentions.

Happy Belated Blogversary to

LEAH'S TREASURES! :D

yes, that's me and her.

i had meant to draw something for her quite a long time back but i never got around to it till right now. i still feel totally guilty about it. i hope Leah will accept my wish even though it's like a trillion years late :(

and thank you Moonie, for this. ♥ i love you. you're the awesomest and the bestest. i would like to gift you my cat. in a dustbin.

so ends this life update (finally). it feels so good letting all of the above out. i sincerely hope you didn't get bored reading it. you guys have been asking me for a long post for quite some time and i hope i did justice to your expectations. i'm also terribly sorry for the delay, i've been totally immersed in work ever since it started. i've already told you why i have to put in extra effort in teaching this year, and that's draining all the energy out of me. thank goodness the Eid holidays are here! imma be chillin.

right. tell next time, then. love you all!

♥

Russian Bear, I love you.

2011-08-28T18:21:00.000+05:00

Lioness Without A Pride

2011-08-20T19:02:00.000+05:00

if it wasn't for Maryam Reza, i wouldn't have gotten to know one of the most wonderful souls in this entire world.

Lioness Without A Pride.

apart from being amazingly intelligent and eloquent with her words, she's vivacious, quirky, charming and hella awesome. since the day i came across her blog, i've been in awe of the massive amounts of warmth and fiery passion her writing exudes. (i had a crush on the Amy Lee header she had at that time.) her blog posts are intriguing, her writing is beautiful and she herself is hugely talented, gifted and totally mature. i can never not read a single thing she writes!

to say that we've become good blog-friends is quite an understatement. i absolutely adore and admire this girl. i sincerely hope with all my heart that one day, whenever Maryam decides to visit India to meet LWAP, she'll take me along too. then we'll have a FREAKINGPARTYLIKEOMG!!!

Dear Lioness Without A Pride,

i love you. you're one of the coolest people i have had the utmost pleasure and honour to know, and i hope we remain friends from now till the end of time. from your comments on my Life Updates back when i was blogging about Jackky Bhagnani (comments that i shall treasure forever) and your genuine interest in my life (which helped greatly in changing the content of this blog to myself), till your concern about my whereabouts and MIA-ness today, everything you say and do makes me feel totally special, loved, and warm and fuzzy inside. you're just so adorable it's almost unbelievable. and so NICE! thank you for everything. you're one of the bestest friends i have made online and i'm so sorry that i didn't post this on your special day.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! ♥

all my love,

Furree Katt.

p.s. to everyone, i'm terribly sorry for leaving all of you alone without any substantial bit of writing. i'll explain everything in the next post. i just need pictures for it; it'll be the biggest life update in this blog's history. YAY!

i'll never talk again

2011-08-15T22:57:00.000+05:00

oh boy you've left me speechless.

OMGI'MSOEXCITED

2011-08-02T17:18:00.004+05:00

FINALLY, A MASSIVE BUNCH OF GREAT NEWS.

SCHOOL IS STARTING NEXT WEEK!

no sarcasm there. i'm so excited. these holidays have been the most uneventful and boring ones that i have ever experienced. i can't wait to get back to work and meet all my new students. they're all going to be within the 4 to 5 age group and i'm SO BLOODY PSYCHED! because, truth be told:

this is not meant to be pedophile-y in any way.

since i'm a teacher, i'll have to go to school a few days earlier than the students, so that i can help in setting up the classrooms and stuff. i can't wait to see my colleagues again. no matter how evil a few of them are, the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" really applies in my situation.

i'm really nervous for the orientation, though. for those not in the know, the orientation is the day where the teachers meet the parents of their students for the first time and introduce themselves. since i suck at public speaking, you can imagine how terrified i am at the thought of introducing myself to eighty pairs of parents at once. THAT'S RIGHT, EIGHTY PAIRS. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ADULTS. but i suppose it's for the best. last year i started working three months after school started, so obviously i had missed the orientation. that is why almost no parent knew who i was. this time everyone is going to be aware of my existence. :D

on Sunday i went to Sunday Bazaar, a market where awesome things are available for throwaway prices. here's what a random narrow alley in it looks like:

photo courtesy: Its Illusion

i had no use for clothes, though. i bought BOOKS :D

11 books, for the price of one. i can die a happy bookworm :')

if you had not noticed, ten of them are by Stephen King. he's my favourite author. one day i shall write a post glorifying him and his books. for now, i shall stay content and read to my heart's desire without feeling guilty over spending the big bucks, because i barely spent anything at all. muahaha!

i have tons of blog-related good news as well.

i got a 5 star rating at The Blog Reviewer! go and check out the website. it should be evident but imma let you know anyway: BLOGS ARE REVIEWED THERE.

i'm also really happy to tell you guys that i got awarded lots and lots by all my totally amazing blog-friends. i shall acknowledge them now:

The Best Follower - awarded by That Guy From Karachi

Works of Heart - awarded by Daaneiiaa


Blog on Fire - awarded by Rebecca and Hazel

Xxtraordinary Blogger - awarded by Hamza , iZaynab and Jodie

Seriously Rad Blog - awarded by Hamza

Butterfly - awarded by Beyond Timid

Simply Awesome - awarded by Ovais

thank you all so much ♥ you're all the best. i feel really special whenever i'm awarded, and to be awarded so many times really means a lot to me! i feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

and i know i'm like a few days late (how blasphemous of me), but here you go, Muslim followers:

yes, that's me, frolicking in the fields of piousness

i hope all of us have an awesome and tolerant month of fasting. i shall try my utmost best to ignore the constant rumbling in my tummy this month, and not listen to songs that insult people's mothers.

♥

p.s. the reason i have not been posting regularly is because my cousins are visiting from London. it's been 4 years since i've seen them so i'm trying to spend as much time with them as possible. they shall be leaving on the first week of September, and i have no idea when i'll see them next. i just got an opportunity to update you all because my mum, aunt and one of my cousins have all gone to the beauty parlour (yuck). that leaves me with no one to hang out with by obligation (because the rest of my cousins are guys and they're all busy playing Modern Warfare with my brother). so, thank you for bearing with my lack of posting and please continue bearing it for a while longer! i love you all.

FURREE KATT IS A YEAR OLD!

2011-07-24T13:58:00.000+05:00

no, not me. THE BLOG.

that's right. YAY!

i would like to thank all my followers for getting me this far. i love you lots and lots. you're all my bestest friends. without you guys i would have zero interest in blogging. (to whoever remembers reading about The Blonde Senior on my blog: OMG THAT WAS FUN WASN'T IT?!)

i'm also really happy that i got 3rd place in the Top 25 Kid Bloggers list. thank you all for voting for me ♥ and congratulations to some of my totally awesome blog friends (Jodie-Ann, Davidd, Hamza, Perfectly Imperfect, iZaynab, Fiona, Dee and Ezazi) for making that list too! we're so awesome.

right. and thank you all for your comments on my previous post. i shall reply to them within this week. hurray!

♥

17

2011-07-19T22:09:00.000+05:00

i'm only 17.

some people say i'm mature for my age, and others say that i'm hopelessly childish. i understand how both these opinions are formulated. to some, i may come across as an intelligent working girl striving to earn an income to help in supporting her family. to others, i'm that annoying teen who loathes non-fiction books, listens to Drake and pulls the ears of her cat solely to hear an annoyed meow.

whatever people assume, i think that being mature or immature on different occasions is completely acceptable; after all, i'm only 17.

life should be easy. teen years should be fun. but they're not. not for me, and not for any of us anymore.

i had always looked forward to turning 17. i believed it to be the age where the transition into young adulthood began, the introduction of huge responsibilities and choices that would make our future what it is destined to be. 17 is the ultimate i'm a proper TEEN! age. that, and something more.

i've been 17 for over four months now, and i've come to terms with the reality of this age. i'm loaded with both maturity and immaturity. it's what defines me. (LOL so cliche! i did not just say that. O.O)

you're 17 and you find yourself sincerely hoping that the world will witness an alien invasion in 2012, so that you'll be young enough to enjoy it.

you're 17 and you look at your fingernails and think, i should have stopped biting them ages ago. too late to save them now. they'll always be short. but hey, at least they'll match your height!

you're 17 and you read about other teens and you wish your life was as awesome as theirs. what are you doing here, living like this? dude, you suck. why can't you go to concerts and on extravagant vacations or shopping sprees and own a zillion pets like they do?

you're 17 and one day you find out that all your salary that you saved has been used up to pay the bills and other pending debts. you cry bitterly; you wanted to restart studying and you needed the money to pay for tuition. but then you realize that this is the way it has to be, at least for now; you make peace with it only because you're partially responsible for the electricity and gas and telephone and internet bills not being a problem.

you're 17 and your cat pounces on you in a surprise attack. "HOLY F-" is what you manage to say out loud before you realize your dad is reading the newspaper in the same room; he looks up and laughs at your expression and the way you clapped your hands on your mouth in horror of almost using everyone's favourite profanity.

you're 17 and you can't stand eggs; you used to devour them as a child but now they just repulse you. ewww, eggs. you still like Marmite, though.

you're 17 and your younger brother is annoying you more than usual today. were you this irritating when you were 14? you think not! but a tiny voice inside tells you that yes, you were. you were hormonal and loud and silly and everyone must have rolled their eyes at least once whenever you opened your mouth to speak.

you're 17 and everyone around you is worrying about their university applications and their exam results. you wish that you could take part in all that commotion; that you could have some good news to look forward to as well. it's okay, maybe next year.

you're 17 and you steal a couple of cigarettes from an adult member of your household whenever you get the opportunity and smoke them in your bathroom or behind your house. and one day you get caught, but your parents understand; they were once 17 too. your dad fights to keep the grin off his face while your mum tells you that if you want to smoke, you should buy cigarettes with your own money. ("you're earning now, aren't you?") you decide that smoking can suck it, you were saving up for all those books you saw at the store.

you're 17 and you realize that your first kiss was a waste, what was a magical moment then is just an annoying memory you want to forget now. you should have waited, but you were such a young-in that time, allowing the butterflies in your tummy to take control of all your other senses.

you're 17 and you desperately need to do something awesome before the summer ends. you remember that some lady called and wanted you to tutor her kids; you were excited at the prospect of earning something extra during the holidays. she never called back.

you're 17 and your parents argue everyday but you know that's the way of most parents everywhere. you stay awake late at night and listen to your mum telling you that she's considering a divorce and try to be the understanding daughter and not cry. but then the next day everything is fine and you spot your dad cuddling your mum and you thank God and the angels for the love between your parents and for a home that isn't broken.

you're 17 and one day you taste something coppery and salty in your mouth. you spit and realize that it's the same stuff your nosebleeds contain and your entire world is reduced to the terror of the moment, the fear that something is wrong internally. is this the end? you didn't think about blood this way when you were foolishly cutting, did you? get a grip, you're only 17. but that's the thing; you're too young to get a grip. the doctor says it's going to be okay; (he glances disapprovingly at the scars on your arms while doing so.) he's probably right. he's the adult.

you're 17, and you come to the conclusion that the world is every bit as cruel as the adults say. it sucks.

you're 17, and you fall in love. you think that this is it, and even though everyone around you is skeptical and tells you that you're too young, you ignore them because it's the right thing to do. you trust your heart and you feel safe and you know everything's going to be okay.

you're 17 and you realize your entire life is ahead of you. if everything is wrong now, you can make it right. it's your life. no one can deny a 17 year old of a beautiful future; you're so cool, you deserve one.

♥

Sims 3 Is Evil

2011-07-10T22:22:00.000+05:00

if there's any game i have lusted after since as long as i can remember, it is Sims. it has always been my dream to control the entire lives of human simulations and make them do as i please. with Sims 3 being the coolest version yet, i was positively drooling for it. but since it was pretty expensive and my brother had already used up his all the 'money saved up for PlayStation 3 games' that we had accumulated on some other useless game, there was no way to obtain Sims 3.

'til yesterday, that is. my brother had found out that one of his friends owned Sims 3, and she was willing to let him borrow it for a little while (i.e. till she came back from her vacation in a few weeks). she came to our house last night and handed the CD over. as soon as she left, i snatched the CD from my brother and stared at it in all its glory, in half excitement and half disbelief.

yes, this was my exact expression.

we instantly put the CD in our PlayStation and began playing. the feeling of joy i had at that very moment was indescribable. i created an entire household that looked (almost) exactly like the members of my family. i built a home and furnished it. i played with my little Sims and controlled their every move, just as i had always desired to. what happened next looks like this:

i must have spent a good two hours on it, struggling to keep my eyes open (it was late at night) before i finally decided to go to bed and continue playing the next day. i then remembered the existence of my phone, and when i checked it i was surprised to see loads of missed calls and this:

well not exactly this, but you get the picture.

i was totally engrossed in the game, so much that i ignored almost every call and text message on my phone. i was so completely lost in the lives of the Sims that i had forgotten the fact that stuff happening in the real world was way more important.

i suddenly realized what i had done. i had ignored everyone just so i could play a measly game. never mind the fact that i had waited to play it for a year, or that i would have to return it soon. my heart had been replaced with the Sims 3 CD. i was a horrid, terrible, evil person. ~~BAD DOBBY!~~

this was me when the realization had struck.

anyway, i apologized to everyone and then made the decision that i would no longer play Sims 3 ever again. it was just way too distracting, therefore making me unable to talk to/text anyone while playing the game at the same time. i applaud everyone who can handle their Sims' life and their own and not be an epic fail at either one. i had my share of playing it, and now i have given up the responsibility to my brother. so today, the entire day, my brother has been handling the household i created and is really enjoying himself (and his friends don't mind either).

moral of the story: SIMS 3 IS EVIL AND DISTRACTING.

or maybe this entire thing proves that i suck at multitasking. oh well.

thank you

2011-07-06T22:31:00.000+05:00

there comes a time in every blogger's life when an emo post must be written. i am proud to say that i have completely passed the phase of ultra loser-ish and depressive lameness that i was 'going through' a few months back and am frolicking in the gardens of general neutrality most of the time. (okay so maybe the 'lameness' phase hasn't passed yet, but whatever.)

i've been feeling pretty nostalgic all day, thinking of all my old friends that i had to leave behind while moving to Pakistan. we barely are in touch, and i blame myself for it more than anyone else. the big move has affected me drastically, making me a much different person than what i was back in the good old U.A.E days. the funny, hyper, super happy, poking-her-nose-into-everyone's-business Furree changed into the reclusive, antisocial, introvert Furree. like a turtle, LOL. i have realized that even though i'm annoyingly happy most of the time, the biggest change is that i am happy by myself. those bazillion friends were special, but only at the time that they were around. their absence affected me quite harshly in the beginning, but it's okay now.

sometimes i feel really horrible of the fact that i don't make an effort to talk to the ones who made me the type of joyful human being that i am today. but on other occasions i feel like those same people don't really make an effort to talk to me either, so we've all accepted the separation and are satisfactorily carrying on with our lives.

with Summer 2011 being the most mundane and boring summer i have ever had the displeasure to experience, and with nothing productive to do (since there's still another month left to get back to work), all the annoyingly sad bits of last year are invading my thoughts. i have learnt to deal with them when they trickle in, but not when there's an entire downpour of those bitter memories and all that shizz.

to get to the point (more like to the bottom of pointlessness), i miss being around people. not just your average group of random people, but MY people. my old friends. talking to them online and on the phone does not cut it; i need to see them and meet them everyday and hang out with them - life sucks like the snout of an anteater without them. pathetic analogy right there, but YES. i have absolutely zero interest in hanging out with a whole new set of human beings, calling them 'my friends' and exchanging jokes and secrets and just general talk; i'm suddenly going through a phase which totally contradicts everything i have said in this post. i want my U.A.E friends back. :(

okay. so i just had a vanilla and grape smoothie and i feel much better. i totally forgot the reason i was posting today and went on a total rambling spree. :O the reason why this post is titled 'thank you' is because i may have lost all this:

but thank you for making up for it. thank you for reaching out to me through the online world. i've gained you all, and now, that is enough for me. you guys aren't just my followers; you're my new friends.

ANDIHAVE300FRIENDSLIKEOMG. ♥

i am liked by mothers.

2011-07-04T02:07:00.000+05:00

no kidding.

i got an email from Circle of Moms stating that i've been nominated to the Top 25 Kid Bloggers list on their website.

this is the first time i was super ecstatic to be called a kid. and i really wasn't expecting to be on that list, (with my personal favourite bloggers like Jodie-Ann, Fiona and iZaynab) so yeah. i'm really happy :D

to vote for me, you can click the button on the right sidebar which will take you to my page where you can click on the thumbs up button. (here's the link anyway.) you can vote once a day, everyday til 22nd July. hurray!

and for all you Lady Gaga and Harry Potter fans:

fgfg

ghghg

LOL.

one of those surprisingly eventful days

2011-06-28T21:48:00.000+05:00

summer holidays are awfully boring. i can't wait for school to start so that i can get back to work. i can totally feel all my productive juices leaking out of my brain.

BUT THIS PAST SUNDAY WAS ACTUALLY FUN :D

my dad had suddenly decided that he wanted to show off his cooking skills to the entire family and make biryani, from scratch. since this has never happened before, my mum, brother and i jumped at the opportunity and made a plan to have some family time with my uncle and aunt (dad's brother and his wife) by hanging out in a mall, leaving my dad all alone (at my uncle's house) to cook.

LOL i just realized how mean that was of us.

anyway, we went to the mall. my brother and i barely ever hang out with my uncle and aunt (even though they are both in their 20s and not too uncool) so it was pretty nice roaming around and spending time together, as a family. the first stop we made was at the bookstore, where i got this:

Duma Key by Stephen King. :D i was actually looking for some of his really popular books like 'Salems Lot, Firestarter, Carrie etc but this was the only Stephen King book they had (apart from Under The Dome which didn't appeal to me much). but whatever, IT'S A BOOK! I LOVE BOOKS! OM NOM NOM.

then, we went into this cool watch store where i passed a (truthful) remark about how it's been a whole year since i've worn a watch. this led my uncle to insist on my choosing a watch so that he could buy it for me. i chose this:

it's purple, yay! and it's a watch. i like purple, and i like watches. so, major win in that department.

after that we just roamed around aimlessly, doing what we know best: WINDOW SHOPPING. we looked at bags, shoes, clothes, jewelry and tons of other stuff but didn't buy anything apart from the book and watch.

then, it was time to go back to my uncle's place, where my dad was all alone, shedding sweat, blood and tears to create the perfect biryani. it looked pretty good (i forgot to take pictures of it, trust me to be so careless -.-). but since dinner time was a while away, i got to hang out with my aunt's moody yet super adorable kitty.

my brother is holding her here.

SHE'S TOO CUTE OMG.

finally, it was time to eat dinner. my dad wasn't nervous at all, considering it was the first time everyone was eating something that he cooked. he was like, "LOOK AT THE RICE! AND THE MEAT! AND THE POTATOES! IT'S ALL SO PERFECT!" and everyone else was like, "OKAYLET'SEATPLEASE" which we did, and it turned out to be pretty good. yay :D my dad was happy and wasn't modest at all about his achievement.

then, we ate some strawberry ice cream, and it was time to go home. i didn't expect a regular mid-vacation sunday to be much fun, but this was different. hurray!

i wasn't going to add more to this post, but apparently some people think that making a blog about myself is the stupidest thing i could do.

whatever your preference is, i don't really believe in picking on someone specifically because they write about stuff that is none of your interest.

(just assuming here)

in response to their lovely opinion:

i like talking about myself.

some people are just a FAIL at life

2011-06-23T23:29:00.000+05:00

let me tell you something.

i have a hope. a gleaming, shining, sparkling hope that one day, everyone whom i know will have gained some intelligence and therefore be a pleasure for me to associate with.

one day, everybody will be able to hold a smart conversation and be fun to talk to.

one day, everyone will be able to spell correctly and make no major grammatical errors in their general life.

one day...

... f0Rg3t !t.

so yeah, i was greeted by ^THAT on my facebook homepage yesterday. it really sucks because i barely use facebook and when i do, i have the utmost displeasure of witnessing a few of my acquaintances showing off their tYpInG SkIlLzx to the world. *shudders*

for me, slang is something i usually do not pay much attention to. a lot of people i know and love use slang. they like to shorten words and use popular abbreviations instead of typing out the correct spelling.
now, i don't really have a major problem with people who use slang like this:

because you know, a person who writes like this most probably doesn't want to waste any time in expressing how cute they think a random orange-haired girl is. they shorten their words to save time. at least their short forms are understandable.

but when it comes to stuff like this, i DO pay attention:

yeah. IF YOU TYPE LIKE THIS, I WILL FIND YOU AND KILL YOU. i do not see any point in elongating a word and adding extra letters to it, especially when the word in question is something that looks completely fine on its own and is relatively easier to type.

another thing that extremely annoys me is when people use alternative (and nonexistent) spellings as different versions of words, which are essentially useless because they have the same amount of alphabets as the original word.

unfortunate and totally real examples:
you = yew
cool = kewl
loser = luxer
know = knoe
time = tyme

DUDE WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM. or should i say 'prawblm'? yeah, WOT IX UR PR0BLM HUH?! this kind of stuff looks gruesome. towtaly grewsumm.

there is only one suitable picture to express the way i feel whenever i come across all the above stuff, and that is this:

true story.

Heavy Metal Lover

2011-06-19T00:10:00.000+05:00

Dirty pony I can't wait to hose you down.

You've got to earn your leather in this part of town.

*squirms*

i hope that wasn't dirty even though it sounds pretty dirty. not dirty as in omg-mud-on-my-shoes dirty, but rather, ooohhhh, dirrrrtttyyyy. it's not mine in any case. i just like listening to Lady Gaga more than the average person. Heavy Metal Lover in particular.

i got a package in the mail yesterday. it was a certificate from The British Council, stating that i got the highest mark in the entire city in the IGCSE English Language exam last year. the certificate is an 'Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award'. LOLOLOLOL i was NOT expecting that. all i knew was that i got an A*, but the highest mark in the city? :O even though the writing i do in examinations is way better than the shizz you guys read on my blog. i actually capitalize my Is on paper. yay :D

i'm aware that i've used this picture on my blog before, but what the heck :D i had like, 10 followers that time. LOL

anyway, back to the subject of importance: LADY GAGA.

i saw The Edge of Glory's video yesterday and i am sorely disappointed. ugh. SHE JUST WALKS AROUND AND MOVES WEIRDLY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE THING. no choreography, no costume changes, no blasphemous portrayal of anything that could have caused controversy. just Lady Gaga and an old, weird saxophone (i think) player hanging around some boring buildings. a few people are actually happy with the video, ~~crazily~~ stating that they like the 'simplicity' of it. yeah, FISH OFF, FOOLS. i love, adore and almost worship Lady Gaga, but i definitely had higher expectations for The Edge of Glory.

at least the Did It On 'Em video was super awesome. i liked how Nicki Minaj used her concert + backstage footage for it. and the Next 2 You (Chris Brown ft. Justin Bieber) video was not that bad either. i quite liked it (please don't hit me).

right. i just felt like writing the above stuff all of a sudden. i don't feel like writing anymore, so i shall end this.

i'm gonna marry the night. and also try my best to incorporate Lady Gaga's song lyrics into my posts as much as possible till i'm sick of her new album.

♥

Fever

2011-06-14T22:08:00.002+05:00

i have been seriously unwell since the past few days, with the most horrific fever that i've had the utmost displeasure to experience. apart from doing its regular job which is to burn my forehead at 103 degrees F, it's making me talk all funny.

i did the stupidest thing ever, which was to bear it and try to be my usual annoyingly happy self. it's fifty zillion times harder being upbeat whilst burning alive.

totally.

it would have been better to sulk around and be a total loser. at least i would have gotten everyone to feel sorry for me :O

anyway, this was just to let you guys know that i have zero inspiration to write anything worthwhile and i'm pretty sure it's going to be like this for the next few days. i'm in an absolutely terrible condition right now and all i feel like doing is spending the whole week in bed devouring ice cream and watching reruns of So You Think You Can Dance and Bones, plus crushing on Raizo (Bi Rain) from Ninja Assassin. wait, i'm doing that already.

♥

also, to add to the lameness, are the two soundtracks to my situation:

Fever - Adam Lambert

Fever - Lady Gaga

they are basically the same song and used to be super cool till i played them over and over again and got sick of them. on a brighter note, i saw the 'Last Friday Night' video and i think i'm in love with Katy Perry and Rebecca Black. joy.

now i'm completely out of things to say, so i guess i'll go lie down with my fever, fever, yeah. toodles and noodles.

i'm gonna drink my tears tonight

2011-06-11T01:44:00.001+05:00

dear almost-best-friend,

i know you've gotten way better stuff written about you before, and i can never compete with that, never ever. i won't try to. this comes straight from the i-love-everyone-but-i-love-some-more-than-others part of my heart.

a friend to you is something i had never imagined myself to be.

scared i was; what you would think of me?

it took a lot of courage to make you aware of my existence. plus a mixture of intrigue and a nagging intuition about how it would turn out to be okay. yay for intuition.

for me, being honest is both painfully hard and frightfully easy, depending on who i'm talking to. with you, it is the latter.

it isn't often that i meet someone who reminds me of someone else. usually i avoid attaching a person's personality and habits to another, and dismiss memories that come along with it.

it's different with you.

i lost a friend, but i gained one too.

and now, i'm starting to feel like a dungeon dragon.

thank you for being there and filling in the empty hole Mudassir left behind. you are nicer than what i could have ever imagined.

from F to F,

all my love.

The Blogger Meet Up

2011-06-08T20:04:00.002+05:00

on Saturday, June 4th, i attended a Blogger Meet Up at the Ambassador Hall in Marriot Hotel.

it was hosted by Dell and Mobilink, who were giving bloggers a 'sneak peek' of the new Dell Streak 5.

yeah, this.

i can't remember what time i arrived, because my memory sucks like that. anyway, i was greeted quite politely by two ladies who escorted me to the Ambassador Hall.

yes, i am actually this short and was this happy to be there.

Russian Bear arrived around the same time as i did so we both went inside together. we sat next to each other and starting talking about everything (since we know each other already).

we were looking at everybody and noticed Hamza Bin Ladin and his friend (Ateeq Mughal) sitting together. i was all: OMG IT'S HAMZA OMG! i must have annoyed him by whispering his name fifty million times haha.

then, the presentation started. a girl introduced the product. i could tell she was super nervous because she was stammering throughout her entire speech:

she was soon replaced with a guy whose occupation i cannot remember. he was important, though. then there was this competition which involved Twitter and Facebook, two social networking websites which i barely use. and a Q&A session, with the person answering questions about the product correctly winning a gift. we were all handed brochures, in which Hamza, Russian Bear and I instantly noticed a misprint (they printed the weight of the Dell Streak 5 in the 'height' section).

during that time, i was getting hungry. i asked Hamza whether we would be served any food, and when he replied in the affirmative, all thoughts of the Dell Streak 5 flew out of my mind and was replaced with:

when the presentation was over, i grabbed Russian Bear and we rushed to where they were serving tea + edible stuff. the tea was mediocre but the sandwiches and cake were pretty good.

it was there i got to speak with Ahmed Yoosuf, a really cool blogger from Sri Lanka. HE WAS SO INTRIGUING! i wanted to ask him loads of questions but i didn't want to come across as annoying.

and then, the saddest part of the day: HAMZA REJECTED MY HIGH-FIVE. yeah. i won't even get into the details of that. -_-

overall, the entire event was not so bad. i did learn a little about the product (i think it's really fancy) and got to meet some super awesome bloggers. i was hoping we would have all gotten a free Dell Streak 5, but alas.

left to right: Russian Bear, Hamza, Ahmed, Ateeq

since we all didn't get a group shot, i drew them hahaha. and yes, they're all holding hands (SORRY GUYS :D)

for more details, you can check out:

Hamza's post (there's a picture of us here :D)
Ahmed's post
Ateeq's post

x

or you could just buy the product. you know, if you're super rich and all that shizz.

Twisted Antics of My Childhood

2011-06-06T19:00:00.005+05:00

all of us have done something strange during our childhood years. we've had our share of quirks and faults and moments where we've been caught doing something (innocently) weird and awkward when we were little.

some of my childhood weirdness has still stuck with me during my teenage years (proof above). but that's not what i'm going to talk about in this post. i'm going to enlighten you guys on the stuff that i've thankfully stopped doing, and the strange kiddish habits that i am glad to have grown out of.

i used to indulge in a lot of activities that might never be considered 'normal' for a child. some of these include:

chewing on the limbs of my dolls

it started when i was 3 years old, when i first got a taste of sleeping away from my mum whenever she used to go out at night with my dad. on those particular nights i used to sleep in a tiny, comfortable bed in my grandparents' room, and have my grandmum tuck me in each night. i used to enjoy the quality time i spent with my grandparents, but on one night, i was super cranky and decided that i really missed my mum and wanted to sleep between my parents on their bed, no matter what. since my mum and dad were out, and my grandparents were not in their room at that particular moment, i got extremely irritated and wanted to take out my frustration in the most attention-grabbing way possible.

due to the fact that i was too young to think of all the absurd things that i was capable of doing to achieve the reaction i wanted, i did the first thing that came to my mind: grab a Waitress Barbie doll directly in my line of sight and take out my anger on her in doll-talk. when that didn't prove satisfactory, i got even more annoyed and did the most unladylike thing i could have ever done at that moment: viciously gnawed on the Waitress Barbie doll's arm.

it was fifteen minutes into that barbaric act when my sense snapped back into me and i realized what i was doing. i slowly unclenched my jaw and freed the Waitress Barbie doll's arm from my mouth, and when i looked at it, i let out a huge shriek. the doll's arm was a hideously mangled mess. it then dawned on me that i had destroyed something dear to me just because of a mood swing, and that made me really, really upset. i started wailing and crying at the top of my voice. it took me a couple of days to get over it.

once the OMG-i-killed-Waitress-Barbie phase was over, i realized that maybe the idea of putting a doll's limb in my mouth wasn't such a bad idea, and i had just taken it a little too far on the first try. the soft plastic of my other Barbies' legs and arms became a temptation. whilst playing with them i nibbled here and there, and began to gently chew on them when i was out of other stuff to do. this carried on for a couple of years, till i had perfected the act of chewing and left no marks at all.

i can't remember how i stopped.

eating the biscuit part of an Oreo and leaving the cream

this practically made me an outcast among my first and second grade peeps. all the children used to do the 'in' thing in school: lick the white cream of the Oreo cookie and discard the black biscuit part. i on the other hand, used to scrape the white cream off the nearest surface and devour the biscuit with pleasure that was not understandable to anyone my age or below.

them (with cream in their mouths)

NO ONE GOT THAT I DIDN'T LIKE THE CREAM. i just didn't. i was ridiculed for this act of not-cream-liking for at least two years. and then Chips Ahoy became the new thing to eat.

imagining every person under a motorcycle helmet to be a total hero

this was something i had decided to take with me to the grave, but i feel like talking about it all of a sudden. so yeah, i might regret it later because it is one of the most embarrassing parts of my little-girl-ness.

from ages 4 to 7, whenever i saw a motorcyclist wearing a helmet that covered his entire face, i always imagined the face underneath to me something like this:

hence making all motorcyclists with helmets+visors look like this to me:

even though it was apparent to the rest of the world that those guys must have been 30-year-old uncles or pimply teenagers or just extremely plain-looking human beings. I HAD A CRUSH ON EVERY MOTORCYCLIST WITH A NON-VISIBLE FACE. you can laugh now.

favouring the colour black in every drawing

when i was in preschool, all my teachers were worried. they thought i was a disturbed child, solely on the basis that while all my fellow classmates were making pretty pictures out of bright colours, i was scribbling away with a single black colour pencil on whatever drawing assignment i had been given to do. my mum was not at all perturbed. she said i was a happy child and encouraged me to draw as i pleased. the teachers all showed their concern, but little-me proved them wrong by starting to use bright colours after a while.

teacher and i.

i never stopped with the bright-colour-usage after that. just look at my blog. :P and my favourite colour is orange since as long as i can remember.

speaking of remembering, this is all i can remember for now :O which is enough to give you an idea of how strangely i used to behave when i was a child. oh well.

i am glad to have changed. i stopped playing with dolls when i was 11. i can't remember the last time i ate an Oreo. i barely spare a glance at motorcyclists. i love colours.

please make me feel better about little-girl-me and share your weird childhood behavior, too! i would love to know how weird we've all been as little kids.

x

this is a repost. i added the drawings.

2011-06-04T21:33:00.000+05:00

ooooh, new header.

(opinions please please please)

OMG this is so cliche

2011-06-02T00:10:00.001+05:00

but some songs do bring back memories.

and you will not be spared from reading about them.

everywhere i go (online, that is) i come across tons of people who wail about how certain songs remind them of certain people and/or situations from their past.

my reaction towards them has forever been the same: eww.

i've always considered those people to be super annoying. but now, i reluctantly accept that sometimes it is indeed possible to have a few memories revived whilst listening to a familiar song or hearing lyrics that somehow (annoyingly) fit into a past experience/current situation.

this is due to the fact that i was recently listening to my iPod on shuffle, and suddenly an all too familiar voice reverberated in my ears with this very line:

"Hey Jim. you know the old sugar daddy..."

me: OMGGGGGG!

yes, kids. the song that brought back a flood of memories the second i heard it was:

Whatever You Like
by T.I.

(DON'T LAUGH, OKAY)

this is T.I (obviously) in a screenshot from the music video.

so yeah. two major memories stand out from the rest, and they are:

The School Bus Memory

'Whatever You Like' has played a major role in making every ride in the school bus enjoyable. in the days where it was #1 on the charts and every radio station played it constantly, myself and all my bus buddies (70 in total) used to sing along to it at the top of our voices, tripping over some of the lyrics and confusing each other terribly but always ending up laughing at each others inadequacy to learn the entire song.

since the radio played the censored and 'clean' version of Whatever You Like, a lot of people didn't realize the meaning of many things that T.I would do according to whatever the girl liked. when we all read the lyrics online, some parts were way different than what we heard on the radio and in the days after that, we all confused each other by singing parts overlapping and including lyrics that weren't part of the radio version.

with time, the entire song was engraved in everyone's head and towards the end of the long chart-topping run, we could sing it in perfect harmony, though always giggling at the 'i want yo body, need yo body' part. it was loads of fun.

The Home Memory

i was sitting in front of the TV with my brother one lazy afternoon and flipping through channels looking for something interesting to watch. we settled on Channel [V]. a few moments after a commercial break, Whatever You Like started showing. we squealed like little piggies, because you know, it was a cool song and we had never seen the video before (both of us were too lazy to YouTube it).

i remember watching intro and seeing T.I. for the first time. my brother and i were totally surprised at how... little he was. we honestly thought he would be some massive, broad, 6-feet tall guy with a beard.

in short, we thought he would look exactly like Rick Ross.

throughout the rest of the video, my brother and i stared at disbelief at T.I. such a heavy voice coming from such a skinny guy! O.O

other instances include the time where my uncle took my brother and i out for a drive, he switched on the radio and Whatever You Like was playing. he changed the station and suddenly found his niece and nephew screaming like wild animals in protest for him to switch it back.

it's been three years since then, and i still enjoy listening to Whatever You Like once in a while. for me, it's one of those songs that are super catchy in a totally non-annoying way.

for those of you who haven't see it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJACVmankY

you're welcome. this is the clean version. opinions are avidly anticipated for this one. i want to know what you think of the song :D the video is funny.

really.

you know what annoys me? people discovering songs like Knockout, Find Your Love and Photographs now. i mean, WHERE WERE YOU FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, ~~COWS~~ PEOPLE?!

granted, sometimes i hear a really good song three billion months after everyone else has already bopped their bop-worthy heads to it at some party or on their iPod or on the radio, but i always do a little research to find out when that particular song had released so as not to sing it in front of said 'boppers' and embarrass myself somewhere by saying something like this:

"oh hey you know that new song by Rihanna, UMBRELLA?"

(NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE, SO HUSH.)

in closing, i shall leave you with a typical song-lyric picture, not because it's an obligation for a post like this, but because this post would look incomplete without it.

♥

you make me smile

2011-05-31T15:02:00.002+05:00

and apparently, i make you smile too!

i've been meaning to acknowledge this award since forever, but i keep on forgetting to.

1. Accept this award with a smile and link to the person who sent it to you.
2. Pass this on to five blogs that make you smile.
3. Contact the person to tell them that they have received this award.

thank you Jodie, Ashley, Martin, iZaynab and Bianca! :D ♥

this award really means a lot to me. i am so glad that i can make people smile. it's such a great feeling ♥

they wrote such sweet stuff about me and my blog! imagine that. i just have to share it with the rest of you:

Jodie

:D Her blog is SO AWESOME. She's so cuute! Lol! And she posts pictures often which I LOVE. She always posts about amusing stuff, so yeah. I smile and laugh most of the time. This girl's got a blog worth reading!

Ashley

For those of you who don't KNOW, this girl is bomb-diggity. Or whatever it is that you youngins say these days. I'm too old to keep up with all your hip lingo. Yes, I'm intentionally talking like an old not-cool woman. Anyway, Furree is awesome. Some of her posts make me laugh until I cry. She's super sweet, super pretty andd.. generally super. SUPERB. Superbly super? I'll shut up. Go love her now.

Martin

Furree became the first actual follower on my blog and I have no idea how she came across it, but her blog is crazy good. I'm usually looking for blogs that follow some sort of topic or gimmick, and not usually blogs where people just talk about their daily lives... unless the blogger in question happens to have a flashy and captivating voice and writing style. Such is the case with Ms. Furree here.
Sometimes I remember that she's only 17 and she seems so grown up, but then I think about one of my little sisters and how she's 16 and still seems like such a little baby to me. Not in a bad way or anything, but it still amuses me greatly.

Bianca

okay, this chica was one of the first i followed. Why? because she's awesome. just plain awesome. her blog posts are long, so it's a great way for me to postpone my homework because it is one of those things that i REALLY despise. Even though her posts are long, she keeps my interest, which is saying a lot, because i'm pretty sure i have A.D.D. or something like that... :D

iZaynab

Why ~? She rocks. iJust love her & her life.
iMean her blog is adorable & she presents her information with the best pictures ~
iMean I'm picky with my blog as in other people's templates if the background is dark.
But damn, it got me to forget & stop doing that.
She owns ~ ! ! !

(did i forget anyone? please let me know :O)

now, i know i'm supposed to award this to 5 blogs, but over the past couple of weeks one particular blog has had me in fits of laughter. i cannot stop smiling whenever i read it, each post is funnier than the one before and this blog is definitely one of my favourites. :D

that blog is... *drumroll*

TEENAGE MUTINY. *happy dance*

if you aren't aware of this blog's existence, go and check it out now! it is owned and maintained and written in by Hamza Bin Ladin, who is the master of difficult vocabulary and intelligent thoughts which he is able to convey to his readers in a super funny way. yeah. i no joke.

(this is also to annoy Hamza because i don't think he likes to be awarded much, haha. let's force him to acknowledge this and carry on the awarding chain!)

x

i'm also going to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the other awards that have been... awarded (yeah lol) to me:

thank you, Hamza! ♥
This one goes exclusively for Furree Katt.Trust me this young lady is ALL over the place.You would find her comment on any blog you visit before you.She doesn't seem a person but a team,as she's able to comment and follow 99399487 blogs!! that makes to cry out "Meooooow"..!

he also called me an 'astute blogger' on which he has elaborated:

Furree Katt, who blogs on the blog with the same name.This young lady teenage teacher, is all over the place. And she was the hardest one to chose an alias for, as she seems to fit everywhere! Go and say hullo to her.

thank you, Nas! ♥
Furree Katt is cool personified. Her blog is a place where you can laugh and have a generally good time. Her writing is always refreshing and fun to read, and the writer herself is a very nice person.

thank you, Arisa! ♥

Go on her blog and read 'The Creep'......you'll know why she is deserving of the award ;)

thank you, Aeesha! ♥
I have recently fallen in love with this girl. Her blog is so full of colors and and I don't know how many times I have said this to her and so many others. Lol. I wouldn't pick one particular post out of her blog, because it's all in all so cheery! =) Do skim through.

AWWWHHH i feel so loved. ♥ i'm going to treasure what everyone said about me forever. it really does mean a lot to me. ever since i started blogging again, i've gotten to know such amazing people and gained truly awesome friends, which i shall forever be grateful for. yayyy ♥

and because i feel like it, here is my widest i-am-a-creepy-clown-that-will-murder-you-tonight smile:

~~~ seriously. ~~~

The Ordeal

2011-05-29T14:23:00.000+05:00

if i had to pick the most awkward day of my life, i would choose Thursday, 12th May, 2011. (yes, this is the 'Thursday' post that won in the voting, a round of applause please).

being a seventeen year old girl, awkwardness is something i experience a whole lot. working with ladies who are either middle-aged or senior citizen-y automatically increases the level of awkwardness i have to face regularly.

(i just noticed i mention my age too much haha. i keep on forgetting that all of you already know how old i am. i love sticking it in everyone's faces though, so bear with me.)

on Thursday the 12th, our school held a dinner at a fancy restaurant.

the guests? all the teachers from the school.

now, i shy away from socializing, and this was a major social event. the only reason i attended was that a special invitation was sent for me from the Grade 3 coordinator (she has a massive liking for me O.O), and i was curious to see how all my colleagues are outside our workplace.

i discovered something that i wish i never (for lack of better words) ... discovered.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT OUTSIDE SCHOOL.

in school, everyone treats me really well. some even show motherly affection towards me. but on the night of the dinner, they:

- ignored me

being the polite little girl that i am, i greeted everyone when i reached the table where everybody was seated. most of the teachers returned my greeting, with a smile and/or a 'hello', but some of them just turned their faces away.

when i sat down amongst the teachers i am most comfortable around in school, they didn't even talk with me. i tried my best to join in a couple of conversations only to be ignored and/or dismissed with a wave of a talon-ed hand.

- poked fun at my attire

now, having lived abroad for quite some time, i am not entirely partial to the national dress of Pakistan which is called Shalwar-Kameez. i mean, i do like it, but i prefer not to wear it. yknow? i've never been to work wearing Shalwar-Kameez, so none of my colleagues had ever seen me in that attire. but for the dinner, i HAD to wear the top part (Kameez). this is what i looked like:

pardon the blurriness. and YES THOSE ARE HEELS OMG

a teacher sized me up and said, "well, what is this now? you'll never part with your jeans, will you?"

me: I PARTED WITH ALL THE PRETTY TEES I OWN, DIDN'T I?!

- gave me the 'what is she doing here?!' look

yeah. apparently some people thought that an assistant is not of the same caliber as a teacher (which is partially true).

but with all the awkwardness aside, i did manage to have an okay-this-is-not-so-bad time. the food was delicious and i did not hold back in taking a second helping (yeah i NEVER did that before!). everyone loosened up after eating and i managed to hold proper conversations with quite a few of the other teachers present. i latched on to an adorable teacher who is only a few years older to me, and spoke with her in squealy-girly tones throughout the entire evening. here's a picture of me with two of my favourite colleagues:


left to right: myself, the Grade 3 coordinator, the adorable teacher. (LOLOLOL i look massive! and i'm much shorter in reality. heels can work wonders O.O)

awww. imma miss them SO much.
♥

i just hope that you miss me a little when i'm gone

2011-05-24T22:35:00.001+05:00

the last day of school for my students was Friday. it's their summer vacation now.

i thought i would be relieved and ecstatic, but to be completely honest, i'm really, really sad.

since last year, all i had been harboring were frustrations over the fact that my education had to be put to a standstill due to financial problems, and i had to work to support my family instead of study like a normal teenager.

the only thing that took my mind off the situation i was(/still am) in, were these:

my students.

work has been a blessing in many ways. apart from providing a steady income, it has helped me grow as a person. i have become more understanding of the way the minds of little children work. i have matured, given and gained knowledge, and have received tons of love from loads of kids.

even though i'll be seeing them next term, these two months are going to be difficult. it's only been a few days and i'm already missing their voices asking innocent little questions, their adorable little faces and their naughtiness.

on the last day of school, all the teachers around me were getting gifts from the parents of the students they taught this year. every teacher's desk had piles and piles of presents and bouquets of flowers. when all the gift-giving was happening, i got absolutely nothing. nil. zero. i don't really blame the parents, because after all, who would give a mere assistant anything? i'm pretty sure they didn't think i made any significant impact in the lives of their children. this upset me for half the day, which is why i didn't take any pictures of the class party and whatnot.

i may sound selfish, but being under-appreciated for all the work i did this year is totally not cool. but i admit, the ego-inflated part of me wanted everyone to think like this:

however, at the end of the school day, when the parents came to pick their kids up, one mum got me this massive bouquet of pretty white flowers and thanked me for giving her daughter 'a wonderful year'. another mum gave me a hug and said that her kids adore me, and that she sincerely hopes to see me around next year. a kid from Grade 1 made a card for me, which is really sweet because i'm a Kindergarten teacher.

when it was time for everyone to say their goodbyes and leave, i started crying. LOL I COULDN'T HELP IT, OKAY. my coordinator said that they're just kids and "GET OVER IT FURREE, YOU'LL SEE THEM IN 60 DAYS". she didn't realize how these kids have helped me get through all the problems that i was facing last year (and this year, too). they were a major distraction, and they made me happy.

these summer holidays shall be spent studying. i need to study as hard as i can to make up for whatever i have missed this past year. pray/hope that everything becomes okay for me, you guys. i really need all your prayers.

♥

p.s. for those of you who read the title and went like, "ooh, Drake!", I SHALL NOT DISAPPOINT.

Today

2011-05-23T21:26:00.004+05:00

SUPER TIRED AND THIS IS ALL I CAN RECALL:

teacher: *humming* you know what it is, i love you so much...
me: *joining in* you know what it is, black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow!!!!!!!!!!
teacher: ...

I SWEAR I THOUGHT SHE WAS SINGING BLACK AND YELLOW. -.-

Death by Pool Party

2011-05-19T19:22:00.000+05:00

i'm not kidding. it's possible.

i feel overworked, exhausted, super tired and on my way to zombie-ness. the reason:

~~being attacked by~~ supervising crazily hyper kids in three inflatable pools over a course of three days.

three pool parties. three pools for each party. three days. around 80 kids in total.

today was the last day of this madness, and i could collapse any moment, but i need to tell you guys what happened.

this is me, today. look at the fatigue on my face. you can practically hear the whimper i'm emitting, asking to be freed from my duties as Poolside Servant (actually i was in the middle of saying something completely different, but yeah)

let me start from the beginning.

once fine day sometime last week, my coordinator approached me.

coordinator: we gonna have a pool party, dawg.
me: huh? why?

apparently, towards the end of every school year, all the kindergartners have a pool party. since there are three sections of KG, each section gets its own day of the week to splash around in multiple inflatable pools. due to the sad fact that i'm an assistant for all three sections, i had to be present at each pool party, controlling all the kids who decided to unveil their crazy selves in the water.

at first i didn't think it would be that bad. the kids were calm in the beginning, which was when they were in their classrooms changing into their swimsuits with their towels wrapped around them.

on their way to the pools (click to enlarge, they are really cute)

but as soon as they reached the playground and laid their eyes on the inflatable pools filled to the brim with water in all their glory, the kids started screaming and shouting and running in haste to get to the pools first.

and then they jumped in. and then water splashed everywhere.

now, i'm okay with splashing. it doesn't really bother me that some of the heavy children emptied half of the pools solely by jumping into them and causing all the water to spill out. but i hadn't forseen that the harmless upward movement of water would actually be quite harmful.

TO MY CLOTHES.

yuh. i had actually dressed up nicely on the day of the first pool party, because it had slipped my mind that little kids splashing in water = wet clothes for everyone within a twenty million feet radius.

i was more careful on the second day, and managed to take a picture of the girls being uber cute:

this was before they started acting like banshees, though.

the third day (which happens to be TODAY) was totally traumatizing. having dealt with two other sections in the past two days, i thought this would be a piece of cake. but no. these kids were different. they were dangerous.

("why?", you ask, thoroughly confused and slightly intrigued.)

THEY HAD WATER GUNS, THAT'S WHY.

and their target was ME.

all the kids were in the pools. they were laughing and splashing around and stuff, but their attention was limited to themselves, their fellow students, and the water. suddenly, out of nowhere, there were a trillion squish/whoosh/ppshhhh sounds from all possible directions and i found myself drenched head to toe with water. it took all my willpower not to yell out something inappropriate like "YOU BLOODY KIDS!". i took it with a smile, and warned them not to do it again.

almost instantly i found myself squealing like a piggy, because the attack had started again. but this time, it was my coordinator. DO YOU KNOW HOW MESSED UP THAT IS?! she had a hose and she was aiming at me. 'twas pretty scary.

but then, amidst all the chaos and laughter and water, i started enjoying the entire thing. i borrowed a water gun and started shooting at the kids, and we had a battle of sorts. one of the other teachers climbed into the pool and started splashing around with everyone. that was fun, too. the whole thing lasted around two hours.

after that, i had to help some of the kids change out of their swimsuits and into their uniforms. do you know what that means? i saw naked children today. and yesterday. and the day before yesterday. i saw eighty naked kids in the space of three days. but it was pretty much okay, because they're practically like my own kids. except i don't have any O.O

when that was done with, everyone went back to the regular school routine. i was glad, because this meant that i would be free for the rest of the day since i didn't have any class. but then, to my horror, the Grade 1 coordinator approached me and requested me to fill in for one of the teachers who was absent. she said it would only be for half an hour. i agreed, and proceeded to the classroom where i was needed.

first graders are easy to handle once you've got their attention. most of them know me already, so it was no problem keeping them occupied for the half-hour in which i was present in their classroom. but then, when it was time to leave, the Grade 1 coordinator asked me to stay for a little while longer, till their next class started. i complied, only on the basis that i didn't really have any other option when it came to a coordinator asking me to do something. :O

i stayed for another half-hour. i played hangman and read out at least 342784 stories to them. my voice was hoarse by the end of it.

when that got over, i started feeling woozy and veryyyyy sleepy. i kept roaming around the hallways like a vagabond. and then, finally, it was home time.

i didn't sleep in the afternoon like i usually do. guess this means i will sleep early tonight. yay, me!

tomorrow is the last day of school for all the students. i still have to go on Monday and Tuesday next week, though. IMPORTANT-TEACHER-WORK. O.O

votes are in from my last post, i shall be posting about last Thursday pretty soon, then. :D i tried to make this post long to make up for the gap in between, i feel really weird not posting every second day.

loads of love to you allll. ♥

-.-

2011-05-14T16:34:00.000+05:00

Blogger, why must you be so mean to me?

i have no idea how all of the comments on my previous post got deleted. but don't worry, i read all of them. they're all saved on my email. YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME KIDS.

i've kept that post as a draft to publish later (maybe after a month or so, haha) and i shall add new stuff to it so that it'll be worthy to comment on again. you guys will do that, right? comments are what keep me going. (delerium, i shall send you your comment again so that you can post it as it was, 'twas quite a lengthy and super-awesome one)

quick update, i've started working on everyone's testimonials. on paper :D so that i can write whatever comes to my mind at 3 in the morning without having to switch on my ancient computer. and it makes it more personal, somehow. i'll type it out when i'm done with all of them.

i have loads of stuff to tell you guys, too!
but i am confused as to what i should post about first. LETS HAF A VOTE.

- A (very special) song that brings back memories
- This past Thursday (it was quite an ordeal)
- My old cat and the one i have now
- Totally emo post about my problems in life

VOTEEEEEEEE! (in the comments, because i am too lazy to make an actual poll)

okay, bye now.

p.s. :( sorry about not replying to your emails. i am in no state of mind to do so at the moment. i'll try my bestest to get to that later today or tomorrow.

my blog is awesome because...

2011-05-08T21:30:00.001+05:00

... it's carbon neutral!

THAT'S RIGHT.

today, i noticed that some of my favourite bloggers were posting about the same thing: an initiative called 'My Blog Is Carbon Neutral'. (link)

they plant a tree for each domain/blog that has this button. which neutralizes the carbon footprint emitted by the domain, for fifty years. FIFTY! that's really cool.

so, i've added a button on my left sidebar (i like the small one, 'tis cute), and i encourage all of you to participate in this initiative, too. click on the link given above.

a random green picture which i like and deem fitting.

awesome bloggers who've taken part in this:

Fiona

Jodie-Ann

Kuroneko

iZaynab
ishashime

we really do need trees. the school which i work in barely has one or two. the kids play around poles instead. here's one of my favourite students who certainly does deserve to play around trees:

do it for her.

i promise to always give you me, the real me.

2011-05-06T22:40:00.002+05:00

Who

Would have thought
I’d be caught

In this life?
Let’s celebrate

With a toast
And get lost

In tonight
And make it all light up

♥

Wait until the sun goes down

We gon’ make this place light up

Even when the sun goes down

I'm gon’ make this go ♥

^ so i took out the cussing. i am feeling very weird tonight.

and OOOHHHHH. look at the similarity between this picture and the one on the left sidebar! that is freaky. my nose is more prominent in this one, though. BUT STILL.

i've been sick since the past couple of days. not fair. i don't like being sick. 'get well soon' wishes needed.

only two weeks of work left! SUMMER VACATIONS ARE SO NEAR. i'm too unwell to be excited, though. but when i get better i'll be jumping up and down. with excitement, of course.

i want to change my blog banner. i am tired of it now. i need a good picture for it, though. O.O WHERE DO I GET THAT FROM?!

the video for Judas is good. i saw the first 20 seconds of it when it was leaked before its release, but then the video kept getting stuck and then i found out that it was taken down. THEN IT GOT POSTED ON MY WALL RIGHT AFTER THE RELEASE :D who else has seen it? i love Lady Gaga's makeup! and her outfits, too. the model portraying Jesus was pretty cute.
and i saw the Super Bass video, as well. Nicki Minaj looked pretty, but i didn't like it that much. it wasn't special. but it sure was colourful.

would you all like to ask me a question? ASK ME ANYTHING YOU WANT (in the comments). i'll definitely answer you. i'm too lazy to make and maintain a Formspring. this is like, a one-off. that's the term, right?

i may ask you something, too. we can have a conversation.

Philophobic, i adore you.

Jodie-Ann, yay, you're back! i missed you!
Lioness Without A Pride, it's coming soon. promise.
Asif, i need to tell you something. i will email you very soon.

and you. i love you.

The Staffroom Grapevine - Part 2

2011-05-03T20:41:00.000+05:00

there is always someone in our lives whom everybody can live without. an aunt, a classmate, a neighbor, a celebrity figure.

for me, that person is *drumroll*

The Bully.

she terrorizes the staffroom like no other. she prowls around the corridors and preys on unsuspecting innocent creatures (like ME) and does what she does best:

BULLIES.

now, you must be thinking, "a teacher being a bully? what is that all about?"

(okay, maybe you're not thinking that. but whatever. you should, so that the following sentence is of use to you:)

YES. The Bully is the only teacher in the school whom i would gladly like to see resign and perhaps join the navy and be shipped off to Antarctica to live with penguins.

The Bully is tall, fair, blonde(ish) and 50-something years old. when she enters the Staffroom, all the teachers that happen to be present there avert her gaze, hoping and praying that she doesn't strike up a conversation with them. because unlike normal chit-chat and banter, this is what The Bully talks about:

"my daughter and her husband are having a grand time vacationing in Italy! where have YOUR children been for their holidays?"

"my grandchildren say the funniest things. they love how active i am with them! all my other friends praise me for how fit i look. what diet are you on? are you even on a diet?"

"i'm renovating my house in London. you hear that? LONDON. do you know how expensive it is? oh, maybe you don't. what kind of properties do you own?"

"your earrings are lovely! i had a similar pair a couple of years ago when they were in style. i sold them off a while back at a cheap price, because that's what they are now, don't you agree? how much gold have you bought this year?"

apart from all of her showing-off and nosiness, you know what is really perturbing?

the fact that she has got her eyes on ME.

why me?

because i'm her favourite victim.

why am i her favourite victim?

(okay, i need to stop asking so many questions)

because I'M THE YOUNGEST. all my life i've been taught to treat all adults with respect, which has gotten me into loads of tricky situations recently. being a teacher's assistant, i am obligated to help my fellow faculty members in whichever way i can, ONLY if it concerns actual work related to the syllabus.

The Bully takes advantage of my position and asks me to do stuff totally unrelated to what i am employed for.

example 1:

The Bully: come here!

me: yes?

The Bully: get me a glass of water!

example 2:

The Bully: come here!

me: yes?

The Bully: carry my bag for me!

(i-wish-this-were-an) example 3:

The Bully: come here!

me: *runs away screaming*

i am not a personal assistant. my job is teaching children specific parts of their syllabus, NOT carrying other teachers' stuff around like a peon. i know, i should stand up for myself and learn to say 'no', but that 'no' could get me fired. The Bully has been around for 9 years, and since this is only my first year, i have almost no right to point out how unfair she is most of the time. plus, she's an adult. and old adult. i am nothing but a duckling in front of her dinosaur-ness, which in The Bully's eyes translates into me being too inexperienced to even open my mouth.

maybe one day, when i'm a proper lady and The Bully announces her retirement, i shall tell her how mean she has been to me, and how i have silently burdened myself with all the things she has asked me to do for her. she'll probably have this reply ready for me:

"well, at least i'm rich."

yeah and then i'll only have your support to help me get over it, haha.

click here to read The Staffroom Grapevine - Part 1

I'M BACK AND I'M STILL FLY!

2011-04-27T23:17:00.000+05:00

for those who realized i was missing, yes, i am back now.

the reason for my more-than-a-week-hiatus (*gasp*) was because i had decided to follow my dreams of becoming The Second Little Piggy and live in a house made out of sticks.

LOL JK. my internet wasn't working. i ~~killed~~ changed my service provider, don't worry.

I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH! i do realize i have a lot of blog-reading to catch up on, which i shall spend the next few days doing.

the week-and-a-half which passed by was eventful, and fun. it was Earth Day on the 22nd, which meant that all regular work at school was thrown out the window and some fun save-the-Earth stuff was done instead. my students had to do a recycling activity, for which they got loads of trash from their homes and made totally awesome shizz out of it.

aquarium made out of a shoebox

... stuff

... more stuff

a shirt made out of... stuff

vase and rocket

jewelry box made out of a shoebox

... even more stuff

Karachi

fish made out of a plastic bottle and egg shells used as holders for tiny plants

slippers made out of cereal boxes

this kind of creativity is truly awesomesauce. i unfortunately cannot take credit for any of this, because the kids' parents helped them make this stuff. and even they can't take full credit for creativity, due to this incident:

me: i love the slippers! whose idea was it?

student: MY MUM READ IT ON THE INTERNET!

me: lawlz

anyway, i loved all the stuff. this isn't even half of the haul that was brought in, most of the kids took their creations home the very same day that they had got it (these pictures were taken the next day).

i think i have a huge influence on certain children.

the boy my mum tutors, on his first day

this is him now

yeah, i don't know how this happened.

i promise i shall post loads to make up for the recent gap. 7 posts in one month is not good at all :O

and new followers, HIII! ♥ thanks for following. i love you all, and i shall visit your blogs really soon. here's a picture of my cat to make you happy:

SHE PEED ON MY STUFF. i had loads of extra chart paper lying around on floor of my room, and she just sat on it and urinated like she was being paid to do it. i actually TOUCHED it, thinking it was water. :(

and that is all for now. my internet just came back a couple of hours ago and i felt obligated to update you guys. i shall post something super-awesome soon!

♥

p.s. i am in love. yay, me.

The Creep

2011-04-18T00:09:00.002+05:00

i had tons of fun in my old school. i miss everything about it, and everyone in it.

three memories from my ex-school days stand out from the rest:

- studies

- friends

- boys.

my ex-school years were the most yummy in terms of eye-candy, because the place was crawling with hot guys. also the hawt, but mostly the hot. being a young teen (thirteen, to be exact) whilst getting admission in that school, i was subjected to feelings that i probably never felt before. i was a crusher, and i crushed on a new guy every millisecond.

being this way, a part of me has always wanted someone to feel the same way about me.

and let me tell you something, kids.

PEOPLE DID CRUSH ON ME. i know, right? impozzible. but true. i for one never expected anything like this to happen, but it did. and when it did, i was horrified.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?!

because instead of the totally hot guys that my school had to offer, i got this:

The Creep.

The Creep was a thin, scrawny, oily-looking boy whom i had never spoken with in my entire life. i don't think i even noticed his existence, ever. he was my bus buddy throughout my 9th grade. not exactly a 'buddy', but we were in the same school bus due to living in the same area, so yeah. bus buddies. *cringes*

i never thought anyone like him would play a significant role in my life. but he did, because:

HE CRUSHED ON ME LIKE MAD.

i found out through one of my friends, whose brother was The Creep's friend. it went something like this:

my friend: you know what my brother told me?

me: obviously not, because i wasn't eavesdropping on you, nor did you enlighten me on this information before.

my friend: whatever. he said his friend likes you!

now, she used the term 'likes'. he didn't like me. he was OBSESSED with me. he used to call radio stations late at night to request and dedicate weird love songs to me. he would talk about me with his creepy little friends the entire school day. he would draw these terrible sketches of me on the back pages of every notebook he had.

i could tolerate it at that level, i suppose. i chose to ignore his weird behavior, and dismissed it as something that would hopefully pass in a little while.

it never passed. something happened which made me so angry, so very angry, that to this date i shall never forgive The Creep for it, ever.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED:

one fine day at school, a couple of girls and a guy from the other classroom told me that this Totally Hot Guy was asking someone about me. that Totally Hot Guy was someone i had been crushing on for a couple of months, whom i had thought had never noticed my existence. apparently he did, and my friends had overheard.

they said that he was wondering who i was, and that he thought i was cute. now, this piece of information made me ecstatic, overjoyed, and OMG-HOT-GUY-THINKS-I'M-CUTE-OMG-esque. what i had never ever prepared for was what my friends told me next:

my friends: The Creep told him to back off, and said that you belong to him.

me:

I WAS SO ANGRY. apparently, what they said was true. this was what took place inside that classroom:

The Creep ruined my chance at even conversing with the guy i had been crushing on since two whole months, for which i shall forever hold a massive ~~i-will-kill-him-someday~~ grudge against.

as the months passed, his crush intensified more and more. he was too shy to say it to my face, so he sent his annoying friends to me, in hopes that i would listen to his woeful tale of desire through them and take pity on him and crush back. they even went as far to say that The Creep had informed his mum about how much he liked me, and that everyone in his family used to tease him about it.

*wail of despair*

The Creep made everything so uncomfortable and awkward. i told him to stop his weird behavior, believe me, i did. since i wanted to avoid him in every way possible at school, i sent him an email over a random weekend concerning the issue. it went something like this:

a short version of my polite and courteous email

please stop crushing on me. i do not share your feelings and it is best that you concentrate on something other than this nonsense, such as YOUR EDUCATION.

The Creep's reply: jusS gImMm3 0n3 cH@nc3 plZzzZz

me: *dies*

i don't know how i managed to survive 9th grade, but i did. it was a terrible, terrible year. i didn't even get to speak properly with any cute guy, because they were all under the impression that i was The Creep's property. no one even listened to me when i told everyone that the rumours circulating were untrue, and quite frankly, totally yuck.

when the summer vacations started, i was SO relieved. i used to get occasional emails during the first few weeks of the holidays (from The Creep's friends) reminding me of the 'pure' and 'undying' love that i should 'claim before it was too late', but other than that i managed to avoid the awkwardness and embarrassment of the entire situation. in 10th grade everything was pretty much normal and it seemed like all was forgotten over the course of the summer. that, or the fact that i switched buses.

when i moved back to Pakistan from Dubai, i missed a lot of people, and still do. i'm happy to inform everyone that The Creep is not one of them. and guess what? i recently got a message (from a friend of The Creep, hah) that The Creep is sorry about everything and he wants my 'forgiveness', and that he 'still loves me'. do you know what i replied?

i ain't forgivin' you, SUCKAAAAA! :D

JK, i'm not that mean. i didn't reply at all, because i didn't want to instigate any kind of revival of the crazy infatuation that guy had over me. though according to his friends, the flame of infatuation never died down. say it with me: ew.

two hundred followers? does anyone remember when i was the loser who blogged about worthless things? well HAHAHA. thank you Saad, for being the 200th :D and thank you everyone, for getting me this far. i love you all more than i love cats, and that's saying something. party in the house, DRINKS ON ME*!!!!

♥

*orange juice

too much work and its side effects

2011-04-14T21:40:00.000+05:00

i have found my mini-me.

as you may have guessed by the title, this post shall be about work. no ranting, no complaining, no insulting. just a bunch of rambling which may be a condensed version of an amalgamation of the three.

WORK IS SO TIRING. week after week it's wearing me out more and more. (oh look, repetition for emphasis!) it's stressing me out so much. i feel like a cow that has just realized the farmer was feeding it beef burgers. no, really.

i don't think i've slipped back into routine since Spring Break ended, which is quite sad. waking up every morning is becoming more difficult by the day. it sucks because i take an early morning shower and blow-dry my hair (no time to towel dry), and being the terribly lazy and slow person that i am, i need at least a half-hour for all that jazz.

a few days ago, i woke up awfully late and had to rush like never before for fear of getting a tardy if i didn't reach school on time (yes, i need to be there at 7:40 every morning, any later than that and my salary gets cut). this meant that my shower + hair-drying had to be sped up by x5. which was impossible, but i tried it anyway.

the outcome:

i was waving the hairdryer like a maniac around my head hoping for it to dry faster, resulting in my hair getting CAUGHT IN THE BLOODY THING. has anyone ever gotten their hair caught in a hairdryer? that too, a burning-like-the-sun one?

i tried my best, but i couldn't get it out. i pulled and tugged, but my hair was actually jammed in the inner works of the damned thing. i had to resort to the option that i had hoped never to resort to, ever:

CUTTING MY HAIR.

i couldn't find my normal scissors so i used the paper-cutting ones. this is what i had to sacrifice in order to free the rest of my head from the ~~monstrosity~~ contraption:

sob. thank goodness i was able to cut it from the middle of the strand, meaning i didn't have to face the horribleness of a bald spot. the jam was somewhere around the back of my head, and cutting it didn't interfere with my fringe. if it were my fringe i would have had to cut, i would probably never be able to show my face in public again till it grew back.

i'm falling behind on a lot of work. HOMEWORK. that's right kids, you would have thought that due to having a job i wouldn't be getting any homework like you school-attending students do, but yeah, Furree Katt does have a lot to do at home.

i have spent a good chunk of my free-time-turned-to-work-time making flowers (or 'Parts of A Plant', which is what the Kindergarten syllabus says). do not let the amount of flowers in the picture fool you to think that all the cutting work was easy. i had to make a hundred flowers. a hundred stems. a hundred leaves. a hundred roots. so yeah, i had to cut out FOUR HUNDRED THINGS AND MAKE THEM LOOK PRETTY. i think i succeeded.

the completed flowers on the board (only 1/3 of them)

i had to put the parts of the plant (roots, stems, leaves, petals) in front of the children and ask them to identify which part went where. i chose four colours for the petals (blue, pink, purple and yellow) and made them in daisy and tulip styles so that the kids could have their own unique flower to take home.

the kids being moderately excited about the flowers

speaking of amalgamations (yes, we were speaking of amalgamations. check the opening paragraph. CHECK IT.), there was this interview i had seen on TV a couple of years ago. a local celebrity was talking about how much she liked Dubai, and she called it 'a quintessential amalgamation of a variety of cultures'.

QUINTESSENTIAL AMALGAMATION?!

what a choice of words. whattay. i didn't know celebrities could sound so smart yet so scripted during interviews. i bet she didn't even know what that meant, and was just told by one of her assistants to say it to sound smart. i would never use 'quintessential amalgamation' in a real life conversation. it's like:

me: hey there, how ya doin'?

creep: oh, i'm feeling quintessential amalgamation. you?

me: get away from me.

on a side note (or an end note, because you know, this isn't on the side. it's at the end of the post.), i apologize for not posting sooner. i didn't know i was going to be missed :P love you all!

♥

My Biggest Fear

2011-04-09T23:37:00.002+05:00

it's bad.

it's awful.

it's horrible.

it's terrifying.

it's mortifying.

my biggest fear has been realized.

it's...

BEING TICKLED.

that's right, everyone. if there's one thing in this world that i absolutely loadespate (loathe + despise + hate), it's someone invading my personal space and wiggling their fingers around a 975180423 mm radius of me. *cringes*

it's not tickling, it's torture. what totally annoys me is that people don't realize what kind of trauma i go through at even the thought of being ~~attacked~~ subjected to that kind of action. my fear is so bad, it can actually be classified as a phobia (Pteronophobia).

what's worse than the thought is the actual reaction. it's not the regular "ooh haha don't you dare tickle me, dearie" type at all. it goes something like this:

Evil Human: hey Furree Katt i'm going to tickle you!

Me: *starts crying*

i'm not kidding. most of my family avoids tickling me now. i have a deathly fear of those who don't think it's as serious as i claim it to be, especially when they try to have a little fun and tickle me when i'm with them in enclosed spaces (elevators, cars).

the reason i'm spilling out my deepest, darkest secret to you tonight is because something really awful happened a few days back and i wouldn't have been able to share it with you without giving you all the above details.

The Day My Fear Turned Into A Real Life Monster With An Incentive To Kill:

DO NOT BE FOOLED BY HIS INNOCENT SPARKLY EYES AND CHARMING HALF-SMILE. this boy was once my favourite student (never again, i tell you. NEVER. AGAIN). till the day he decided to ask me the question i've always dreaded:

"are you ticklish?"

i responded with the usual answer:

"NO, NOT AT ALL, NO WAY, NO SIRREE, WHO GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?"

he shrugged and walked away.

i thought that was the end of the entire scene. little did i know (lol, i've always wanted to use that phrase!), that disaster was waiting to unfold.

towards the end of the school day, when everyone was done with their work and we were ~~sippin' on our Rose~~ hanging out in the classroom with nothing to do, i stood up from where i was sitting with the intention of going to the teacher's bathroom to wash my face because i was in danger of falling asleep. turns out i didn't need a fat splash of water to wake me up, because as soon as i took a step in the direction of the classroom door, two tiny hands slithered on my waist from behind and eight fingers and two thumbs began their horrendous wiggling.

at first i didn't register what was happening. i attempted to take another step forward but i couldn't, because the little boy had his arms around me and had latched himself on tightly. when i finally realized what was going on i let out a massive 'NOOOOOOOOOO' which was so high-pitched it sounded like this:

"NEEEEEEEEEE!"

needless to say, no one rushed to my assistance because:

- they were all little kids.

- they were too busy laughing at my plight.

i was in an awful situation. i couldn't do anything drastic (shake him off vigorously, smack him) because i would be in danger of violating the Teacher's Useless Be-Nice-To-Evil-Children-No-Matter-What Code of Conduct. in between the squealing and cringing i was doing, i felt a tear escape my left eye. i feel ashamed to admit it, but yes, 'twas a very difficult time.

anyway, all this must have lasted about fifteen seconds, because right then my coordinator walked into the classroom and witnessed the horror. she then let out a giant bellow (she's allowed to shout and scream because she's the coordinator, *oohs and aahs*) which resulted in immediate relief for me as the little monster let go of me in an instant and ran back to his designated seat. the coordinator began telling him off for his behavior, tactfully not looking at me so that i could have a moment to wipe my tears (i will forever be grateful to her for that). right after that the home-time bell rang and i ran out of the classroom as fast as my short legs would take me.

and that, my dear BBFs (blog buddies forever - clever? :D i made it up. muahaha) was the most traumatic experience i have had with a student of mine. there are way more horrific situations i have had to deal with concerning tickling, but when it comes to work, this one takes the cake. and the entire buffet.

lessons learned:

- expel any student who asks if you're ticklish, so that they don't get a chance to do the deed

- go to work equipped with a taser

and yeah, that's about it. if any of you even think of tickling me at any point, our friendship/blogship is over. goodnight.

Happy Birthday To My Brother

2011-04-07T00:04:00.004+05:00

Dear Brother,

OMG, YOU'RE FOURTEEN! ♥

i'm so glad that we're the kind of siblings that are friends. you're my most favourite person in the whole world. as much as i'm always an imposing, annoying, nagging, nosy sister most of the time, i want you to know that adore you to death, and i love you.

Happy Birthday ♥

Furree Katt

also, a very happy birthday to Hamza as well :D yay for cool people born today!

The neverending awkwardness.

2011-04-05T16:19:00.001+05:00

Home 1

mum: don't you take that tone with me, young lady! otherwise i'll get you married!

me: ...

Home 2

my brother: i hope you get married soon.

me: why?!

my brother: so that your husband can play PlayStation 3 with me since you're no good at it.

me: ...

Relative's Place 1

old lady who i'm somehow related to: my dear you have grown up so much!

dad: yes, she has, hasn't she?

old lady w.i.s.r.t.: how old are you now, child?

me: seventeen.

old lady w.i.s.r.t.: *gasps* seventeen! we must get you married immediately!

dad: *grins*

me: ...

Relative's Place 2

Aunt: who are you texting?

me: nobody.

Aunt: ohhhhh, i see.

me: i'm not texting anybody.

Aunt: boyfriend, eh? *winks*

me: ...

(i was not texting anyone. forgive me if checking my cellphone for the time is Heinous Crime #1)

Work 1

young teacher (she's 21): i haven't seen you for so long even though we work in the same building!

me: i know, i barely get time to come down to the basement anymore.

young teacher: so, how have you been?

me: pretty much normal, you?

young teacher: i've been great. anything new?

me: not really.

young teacher: nothing? but there must be something. eh eh? *sly grin*

me: *confused* no, not really.

young teacher: nothiiiiiing? *wiggles eyebrows*

me: ... no.

young teacher: well my relationship has been going great. me and him meet every single day!

me: *realization dawns* oh.

young teacher: so, have anything to tell me?

me: no.

young teacher: *eyeroll*

Work 2

Random Teacher: oh wow, you look lovely today!

me: really? thank you!

Random Teacher: really. you look absolutely radiant!

me: aww, thanks.

Random Teacher: you look like you're in love!

me: ...

Work 3

student: Miss where is your husband?

me: i don't have a husband.

student: why? did he die?

me: no, i'm not married.

student: then how come you are a teacher, Miss?

me: ...

WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM ME?!

I'm Blazin'

2011-04-02T01:01:00.000+05:00

what's up, world? the sky? yeah, i knew that.

i thought i should post something long-long, because you know, i'm in the mood.

hurray!

i think i've discovered a genius among my students. there's this little boy, he's really cute and super intelligent. he's only 5 years old and he knows almost everything there is to know for someone within the 7-10 age group, no kidding. plus, he adores me! this is us:

he was trying to do the peace sign but his raised hand didn't quite fit.

a few days ago, when i was through with teaching the kids and was hanging around in their classroom, he came up to me.

him: i want to tell you a secret.
me: okay.
him: i need to tell it in your ear.
me: all righty. *leans forward*
him: *stage whisper* first you have to promise not to tell anyone.
me: *whispering back* okay, i won't.
him: i'm inviting you to my house!

AWWWWW. that was so sweet, it made my heart melt and turn into something not unlike the filling of a chocolate eclair.

me: teachers can't come over to students' houses! you ought to invite one of your own friends.
him: but you are my friend.
me: i meant one of your classmates.
him: no, i want you to come over to my house.
me: haha okayyyyy, when?
him: tomorrow!
me: aww i wish i could come, but i'm busy tomorrow.
him: *taking my hand in his* please, miss. please. please come to my house!

at this point i couldn't help but feel a huge surge of affection for him. it was almost motherly. HAHA.

me: *grinning* okay, i'll try.

he forgot about the whole exchange five minutes later so i didn't feel too guilty about fibbing. :P

this boy is going to grow up to be a fine gentleman, and a very smart one at that. he knows all his spellings and sums, and his grammar and language skills are nearly perfect. he can identify all the major locations on the world map stuck on the classroom wall. he's aware of current events such as the earthquake+tsunami in Japan and how our politicians are a bunch of losers and the outcome of every match in the ICC Cricket World Cup. he knows what kind of cellphone i have, and all the features, too. AND TO THINK LIL OL' ME IS TEACHING HIM! i feel awesome playing a small role in shaping his very bright future. :D

after a hundred years i finally made a birthday card for someone.

i made one of my students hold it up, to give you guys an idea of the size.

this was for my colleague, Hira. it was her 22nd birthday on 30th March. since she's one of the youngest faculty members in the school (i'm the youngest haha), i've always found it easy to talk to her and stuff. she's been a friend of sorts, and she's a genuinely nice person. one of the nicest, ever. i think i love her :P

basically what i did was take two chart papers, pink and purple, and fold both of them in half. i stuck the purple chart paper inside the pink one and tied it up with ribbons to make a kind of booklet. this is the cover:

i wrote 'Happy Birthday Hira' on separate papers, cut them out, and stuck them on the pink chart paper. since Hira likes stars and flowers, i cut those out from the purple chart paper and stapled them onto the cover.

when opened to the first page, it looks like this:

i drew stuff on a separate paper, cut it out and stuck it on the purple chart paper. you can click to enlarge, it's all my lame drawing :P

when the purple page is opened, it looks like this:

that's a letter i wrote on yellow paper and stuck on the purple chart paper :P i love writing to people, it's almost a hobby. since it was Hira's birthday i wrote a birthday-themed thing and told her how i felt about her (YOUNGER SISTER-ESQUE FEELINGS, OKAY?) and apologized for being so annoying, since i'm always buzzing around her like a housefly in school.

and finally, the last part. when the purple page is flipped it turns to the end of the booklet. since Hira thinks 'Friday' is the most annoying song in the universe, the following became obligatory to include:

REBECCA BLACK CUTOUTS AND 'FRIDAY' SONG LYRICS! perfection or what?!

she really really really liked the card. i got hugged :D that was awesome, since i spent an entire day on it haha.

did you guys know that i'm everyone's favourite teacher? i didn't know either until last week, when a surprisingly large amount of children told me so. but maybe it's because i let them do stuff like this:

i'm quite lenient when it comes to their rowdiness. i only scold/punish when it's absolutely necessary, otherwise i quite enjoy their shenanigans.

they raise their hands at every opportunity, i have no idea why. :O

Smokey_Cat and i went book-shopping a couple of weeks ago. we searched and searched and searched for The Shining, but it wasn't anywhere :( so, she bought these for me instead:

but since she's going abroad for a vacation this month, she'll be able to get me The Shining as well. muahahaha BOOKS.

Desperation was 690-ish pages and i managed to finish it in 3 nights, because there was no time to read it during the day. while being one of the most amazing stories i have ever read, it was SO TERRIFYING THAT IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. i got so scared that i feared the dark for a night (which i have never ever done, not even as a little girl). though there was nothing in this book that would actually prompt a fear of the stuff i could not see due to darkness, i STILL got scared, which has to say something about how horrifically terrifying this book is, right? I LOVE IT, IT'S MY NEW FAVOURITE.

i've started Insomnia, but i'm moving slowly with it since the main character is an old man which makes things a little less intriguing than a bunch of people trapped in a tiny town with unspeakable evil all around them (that's what Desperation's about!). the scary part hasn't come yet, but it's interesting nevertheless. i'm really terrible at book reviewing so i won't go into much detail about either of them, but if you like horror, DESPERATION'S THE 1 4 U.

haha i did not just say that. O.O

Smokey_Cat got Dreamcatcher for herself! in her own words it was:

*drumroll*

"not bad."

I'M SO BORROWING IT.

April 1st was uneventful in terms of people playing jokes on each other. thank goodness i didn't get pranked, i absolutely detest lame jokes being played upon me. though i did attempt a little something on a teacher by saying "we won't be getting our salaries this month." she was like: "WHA- oh, haha." and i realized what a hypocritical failure that was :P

since it was Mudassir's birthday on the 1st as well, i gave some money to the needy on the roadside in exchange for prayers. i prayed, too. i'm trying to get in contact with his family but nobody knows his parents' phone numbers. i'll keep on trying, though. if i'm not able to call them, i'll definitely email them. i really miss him. they deactivated his facebook account, which is good. though i probably will not be able to see his face whenever i wish, except the one picture i have of him which i posted here on my blog. i think they deactivated Masood's facebook account, too.

i love you, Mudassir! ♥ R.I.P.

everyone is having their exams/farewell/prom/whatever. and all i get is a lame last-day-at-Kindergarten party. that too, after a month. oh well. maybe next year? my only worry at this moment is that WHO'LL TAKE ME TO PROM?! i don't even have a number one candidate anymore. HEY! will you guys/girls go to prom with me? next year?

i still feel a little disoriented, though i'm not sure why. HOW ARE YOU ALL? did i tell you that i love each and every one of you, and what i really really want (lol, Spice Girls) is a gigantic group hug?

*group hug*

LOOK WHAT I'M GETTING THIS SUMMERRRRR

FOR REALZ. i asked my mum and she said yes. i told my dad and he just rolled his eyes, which is a definite yes because that's exactly what he did when i got my waist-length hair chopped off into a boy's crop when i was 13 and the time i got blue highlights when i was 15. and also for my 5 ear piercings and nose stud. he even tried to convince me to get an eyebrow piercing instead, but that wouldn't be of any use because my fringe would cover it. so YAY for cool parents and a totally awesome summer ahead! :D

the reason i'm getting it done in the summer is because it takes a month to heal, and i don't want that to interfere with my last month at work before the holidays start. i have no problem waiting.

and that's all, humans. i shall attempt to sleep now. good night! :D

♥

Koofy and Tags

2011-03-31T23:20:00.002+05:00

yay, i have stuff to post about. :D

first of all, AWWWWWWWWW. look at this:

Sana awarded me this as part of her Koofy Awards. read her post about it here. the rules are really simple, so simple that i actually adore them haha. look at me, adoring RULES :O i'm a weirdo!

all you have to do is:

- accept the award and thank the award-giver
- award any deserving blogger that comes to your mind
- do the 'a picture from my camera' thing in which you upload any random picture that you've taken from your/your friend's cellphone/camera and write a funny/sad/interesting/disgusting/sweet/lame/awesome caption for it.

again, I ADORE THESE RULES. no 'state 348428 fact about yourself' or 'pass this award to 4827 bloggers' so yay!

thank you so much, Sana. i love you, really i do. ♥ i haven't been posting happy stuff lately but i'm so glad you gave this to me anyway. and you think i'm a right ray from rainbow and an adorable little drama queen! that's the sweetest thing anyone could ever say, YAY FOR DRAMA! everybody go check out her blog A Life Worth Living right now. then check it out again a few days later too, her template will have changed. :D

i award this to:

JODIE-ANN FROM ...THE RUN ON SENTENCES OF LIFE... ! *cheers*

because my day is truly brightened whenever i read her blog. i love each and every post of hers, she's an amazing writer. she muses and amuses, no kidding. her blog is bundles of fun and i could spend my whole day there haha :D

really i can. (i hope you don't think i'm a creep for putting your picture up here, Jodie :P)

picture + caption:

and this, folks, is how backhand is done.

(these are my students. just look at their raised hands! mega LOL. i took this picture yesterday with my camera)

i also got tagged by Rebecca from ♥ the life of an ordinary girl in a 'my favourite things' post. thanks, Rebecca! (Reb? :D) so, here we go:

1. Food - Chinese

2. Colour - orange

3. Animal - cats, bears

4. Sports Team - NONE :D i'm the most non-sporty person in the universe haha

5. Dessert - ice cream

6. Artist/Singer/Band - Drake

7. Pair of Shoes - Converse, that's all i own actually :O

8. Outfit - everything :P

9. Skinny Jeans - LOVE! ♥ i gave up wearing normal jeans a year ago, in favour of the most awesome invention for legs, ever

10. Brand - none

11. Perfume - i suppose all of them, never really had a particular favourite

12. Accessory - my nose stud

13. City - Dubai

14. Hobby - reading

15. Beauty Product - NONEEEEE ahaha i suck but i have no interest in such things :(

16. Snack - anything yummy/unhealthy

17. Holiday - none, actually :O i would have said Eid but Eid has tons of awful memories. maybe summer vacations :D

18. Movie - Main Hoon Na (do not judge! nothing can beat this movie ever)

19. Song - everything on my iPod

20. Guilty Pleasure - THIS. it's... just... HAHAHAHAHA. i remember bopping my head to this atrocity a few years ago and actually enjoying it :P do let me know your reaction :D

done! i'm tagging:

FYF at Dungbombs, Starsong

Simply.Aya at Escaping Reality

iZaynab at / / iLowLife ~

Furva at Insights of the head beneath the cover..

Randomhyper at Organized chaos.

just copy-paste and add your own answers. :D

p.s. special mention to Debbie who awarded me with The Versatile Blogger award! i've already received it before, but i just want everyone know that i totally appreciate it and i'm really happy to be awarded again :D

OMG HAHAHAHA i just let out a massive burp and my grandfather in the next room said "what the HELL was that?!" AHAHAHAHAHA LOLLL

Hello.

2011-03-30T01:17:00.017+05:00

i've never cried so much that my eyes hurt, but it seems like that's all i've been doing in these past few days.

it's awfully awful. yes, that awful.

i suppose i'm feeling a little better than before, though. these past few days have been tough (understatement) but the sooner i accept the facts, the better.

it's Mudassir's birthday on the 1st of April. he would have been 19.

i've been really sluggish and down at school, but it's better to have company around than to be alone. during school hours i had found myself to have cheered up a little and momentarily forgotten whatever happened last Friday. i did snap an awful lot at all the kids though, and hand out more punishments than usual. :( even they sensed something was wrong, most of the smart ones kept quiet and one even came and held my hand for ten whole minutes, without telling me why.

i miss you guys! i'll post something proper soon. and i'll go on a commenting spree later today. so beeeware. or not. i know you love my comments. and you love me. and i love you.

thank you all SO much for the kind words of condolence, i really don't know how to reply. i just want you all to know that i really appreciate everything you've said and i'm so touched that you guys care so much. i'm glad i could help increase the prayer count for Mudassir and Masood, in my own way.

anddd, hello, new followers! *waves* you guys are so cool. ♥

Please pray

2011-03-25T21:52:00.002+05:00

for the souls of my school friends, Masood and Mudassir, who died in a car crash today in Fujairah, U.A.E.

left - Masood. right - Mudassir.

this is a picture of both of them which everyone from my old school is profiling on whichever social networking website they are on.

Mudassir was one of the nicest guys i have ever known, and he was always friendly towards me, despite me being a junior to him. i'm lucky to have known someone like him, even though only for a few years. he was loved by EVERYONE. Masood was equally popular amongst his group of friends in our school. they're going to be missed terribly by me, and all our schoolmates.

honestly i'm still in shock, but i thought i would let you all know i'm taking a break from everything for a while. this news is one of the hardest things i've had to deal with, ever. not being able to attend their funeral(s) due to being in Pakistan right now is something i'm going to regret forever.

Inna lillaahay wa'inna ilaiyhi raajay'un.