Devastated!

It hurts you so much when a person who is so much important to you and not only that, expects so much from you and then you know that you are the one who is responsible for hurting and making that person cry. That was the case with me yesterday, call it fortunate or unfortunate that I cannot detail anything here. But this I know from the bottom of my heart that those few seconds when I picked up the call and listened were among the worst of my life! :[

Village tour

That problem was again solved by Uncle Amman who offered for his car once again. So the plan was made and we were going :]

In the morning we got to know that tamur still had to go to school so we always started late. Papa went with phupo who in the morning offered her car to us which we cleverly accepted. We reached our village as late as 1230pm in the day and right away started playing Cricket. Playing right between everyone and the cooks was something that was not new to us. The lunch was so tasty and after such a long time we had something good to eat in the village. Here still many guests came to meet papa and mama.
After the lunch all we eight cousins went to the school ground of the village and played two matches which was such a worthwhile experience and after such a long time we played these team matches. More than enjoying the play, we enjoyed the fun amongst each other.
We came back in a hurry as it was getting dark. Saying good bye to everyone we came back home skipping two invitations for a lunch and dinner and eating french fries with my four angels. Without any doubt these five days were among the best of my life!

cousins..

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY/FRIDAY 15-16-17th DECEMBER 2010.

Later in the evening our cousins from Lahore had also come and the house was a complete family today. All the remaining members from the family had also come and we really enjoyed alot. Imagine 38 people in one house at a time! We talked and talked alot till midnight and then slept so late as well.
The next day we all cousins played cricket in the morning and it was also a refresh of memories. We played for like 3 hours non stop but then had to finish as guests were coming one after the other. Papa and Mama were invited for lunch today at Phupo Affi's house so we all went there. A couple of new guests were waiting for us namely Mamu Khalid and Idrees bhai with whom we had never met but had heard of them alot.
After the lunch, Me, Ali bhai, Hamza, Tamur, Talha went out to drop and pick our cousin and in the mean time enjoyed alot. Firstly we looked for a deck for Ali bhai's car, then we had Ice cream. yes Ice cream in december ;]. Then after picking our cousin we had Golgappas :P . We three brothers came back home and I slept for an hour or so and when I woke up we had our cousins along with idrees bhai and we woke up till late night, chatted and laughed alot while eating pop corns after mid night.
The next morning we again played Cricket and it was an even tougher battle this time with more cousins joining in. Today mama and papa had a lunch form our other phupos and believe you me it was as tasty as you can get. All of our cousins left in the evening for village persuading us to come as well, the only problem standing was that our car was still out of order.

Lasalle Memories!

WEDNESDAY 15th DECEMBER 2010.

There was a lot of rush of people to take their luggage from the PIA office and we had to wait for two hours to get papa's. It was more than our expectations as we just had one car and a friend of papa had asked him to take his luggage along home. Somehow we managed to fit in the car and came back home safely.
The breakfast was mammoth! I really enjoyed eating everything (As always ;] ).
Shahrukh did not go to school and Tamur had to fill the form and take a short leave so Along with Hamza, we four went to Lasalle so that Tamur could fill the form and we in the mean time submitted Shahrukh's application to his school. Tamur still had some time left so we started wandering in the school and met almost all of my school life's teachers who have taught me so much over these years the only disappointment was Sir Ghulam Sarwar who totally refused to recognize me eventhough I was his favorite student during the two years of class teaching. W took two of my four angels with us and came back home. The lunch was even festive and enjoyed it alot with my cousins once again.

Papa and Mama return =]

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 14-15th DECEMBER 2010.

We reached home safely thanks Almighty after waiting at the terminal for almost an hour and a half as it was still early morning and there was time remaining for the sun to rise. It was cold but not like Islamabad so the ride on the Rickshaw was uncomfortable. Just as we reached home Manal and Tamur were about to leave for the school.
I was not feeling any hunger but the tasty Omelet was irresistible so after the breakfast I slept for two hours, later on I talked with mama and She told that they were about to leave for the Airport in Jeddah. We had come to Multan for the sole purpose of receiving mama and papa but unfortunately our car was out of order and there was no time to get whatever problem it was having fixed. We asked our cousins for the car but they simply refused making excuses and saying that they are going to receive our parents and any two of us can also come.
We were really annoyed with this and tried to get a car from somewhere. Although we had arranged for the car with our other cousins but we all wanted to go receive mama and papa all alone. Thanks to our neighbors who not only gave us there car but also offered us a driver to take with them but we refused as It would have been too early to wake anyone up so early in the morning.
I didn't sleep all night waiting for two calls. 1) from another city and 2) from another country. both did not come. We reached the PIA office at around 5:30 in the morning and mama papa arrived at 6am. We were so emotional and happy to see them back. both were looking so week and tired. Mama was taken home by uncle Aman and Hamza, Me, Shahrukh stayed with papa to pick up the luggage. There were loads of people from the family to receive mama and papa and more were to come in the next days. There were a total of 95 people.
One thing was for sure that we had missed mama and papa so so much in these 40 days. I was feeling so happy and relax now as being an elder I had this added responsibility of managing everything behind them. I felt like every tension has been swept away from my mind!

Scare and Near Escape!

MONDAY, 13th DECEMBER 2010

This time reaching home was not at all an easy task. The month of Muharram had started and people were rushing to their homes. I had to leave for Multan on Friday but unfortunately my presentation was delayed till Monday so I had to wait extra couple of days. We had booked the seats for Multan on Saturday so we (Me and Hamza) were relax on that part. Seeing that both of us were going back home My other two flat mates also decided to go home today.

We reached the bus terminal at 9pm and as usual went to the advance ticketing both to purchase the ticket when I heard this shocking news that there was no record of the seats that we had booked. I tried again by asking them to check my phone number in the record but that was also not to be found. Thankfully the in charge of the terminal gave us two advance tickets for 9:30pm and we were able to leave for Multan without further scares as I already was having a really bad day after the presentation.

It was different experience this time around, going home to receive mama and papa who were returning from Hajj, this prospect was exciting although we were going home for just 4-5 days and I had my final presentation to prepare. 

Back and Broken!

So I'm back in Hell after enjoying good few days at home and as always It is really refreshing. But this time around things will be tough for me as I have a bundle of presentations to go through and most importantly the Final Presentation. I'm so down right now and I also have no source of inspiration to buck me up. I hope that spark of lightening is around the corner for me.

My final exams are also approaching but I know I won't be able to study until atleast my final presentation that is due on the 24th, everything will be so happy and bright after the day of 24th passes by! :]

O never let go!!

My love i want to tell you,

how much u mean to me.

you're like a chocolate,

wrapped in a candy,

that tells how you're sweet.

Caring as YOU are, I feel im cared,

No worries and No sorrows.

I feel like im flying,

for your wings, i did borrow.

You showed me life form an angle,

that sure is not in three-sixty.

Because a thousand happinesses,

did multiply by fifty.

The way you talk and smile

through the day,

Brings gudguddi even at night.

people start wondering.

what made me go so bright?

Happy u so make my life,

Dont ever go away,

i want to hold on to you,

through thick n thin of life.

IF EVER I LOSE YOU .......

The chocolate will go bitter,

the feelings will go bad.

the wings will tear apart,

the angels out of dee.

the Happiness will go quarter,

the nights into nightmare.

the brightnes will turn dusky,

my heart will start sereaming

the life i so call it,

will go out of meaning.

My love i want to tell you,

how much u mean to me.

you're like a chocolate,

wrapped in a candy,

that tells how you're sweet.

Good times again

After loads of tension and tough time its again time to go back home and I am so happy about it!
i just had the best as well as the worst presentation possible but I don't have much time to write about anything as the bus leaves in just two three hours and I have to go to the terminal in an hour or so!!
Mama and Papa are coming back from hajj and hopefully inshaAllah will reach Multan early morning on the 15th :)

Mountain from a Mole ..A dedication to my Father =)

[ We are A Happy Family of six people thanks Almighty. Dr. Ashraf Awan (my father), Dr. Masroor Fatima (my mother), Me, Hamza, Manal and Taimur! ]


Henry James once defined life as that predicament which precedes death, and certainly nobody owes you a debt of honor or gratitude for getting him into that predicament. But a child does owe his father a debt, if Dad, having gotten him into this peck of trouble, takes off his coat and buckles down to the job of showing his son how best to crash through it.
Uptill now I was not even aware of the things My father has taught me or of how much he has Influenced me. I really have learnt a lot from him in every possible way. My Father's name is Dr. M. Ashraf Awan and he is a doctor by profession.
Life was always a struggle for him, living in a backward area, Noshera (Not the one near Peshawar) in the Khushab District where there were no such things as public schools and to get education was close to impossible. My father is one of six children in his family; Although my grandparents could afford to provide full education for all of their children most of the people were against school education in that region so my grand father who used to drive trucks city to city supplying goods from one place to the other shifted to southern punjab region so that they could provide education to their children and that's where my father began his studies in a proper manner. He tells us that It was the sixth grade in which he got admission and the very first day he was asked to read out an application to the principal for a leave and all my father could do was to read ABC to Z.. As that was all he had studied uptill now. It was from that point onwards that he became a doctor by working really hard.

Where are You!!

I heard a guffaw from behind a tree,
Maybe it was you,but I din't see.

Your sweet fragnance passed by me,
Maybe it was you,but I din't see.


I wanted to know who it was,
Maybe it was you,the one i had lost.


You used to be with me every minute,every second,
But now you sparkle in the sky as a star,like a diamond.


The guffaw ,the fragnance,makes me remember,
Of all the days we had spent together.


You used to hold my hand,but now you recede,
Why does it happens only with me?


Your leaving this world has put me in affliction,
Now I need only you to give me affection.


Come back and console me,come back and mollify me,
Now only you are left to satisfy me.


Without you I pass my every day sorrowfully,
And I still can't believe that you left me so happily.


You are the only one who purvey me love,
You are the only one who can be compared to a dove.


Were you so keen to leave this world,
That you left me alone without saying a word?


I used to be jovial on with you,
But now I feel sorrow when I think of you.


Without you my life is so insecure,
You are the only one who can have the affliction inside me cured.


Now I can never see you in reality,but only in dreams,
And when I think of you,my eyes get flooded with tearful streams.


Whenever I was with you, you gave me pleasure,
Your love for me was so much,that it can't be measured.

My favorite Teacher (Sir Khurram Javed)

He is perhaps the second best teacher I've ever come across. As they say that first impression is the last impression and that was the case here and the first impression was too good for that sake. It was my first day at the university and the very first lecture, the very first subject was of C++ language and our very first teacher was Sir Khurram Javed. 
He was so adamant on the rules he has set and he never let them loose at all. No one can enter the class after first 10 minutes, break of exact 10 minutes, everything on time and more importantly his rules were the same for everyone. He also had a sober and attracting personality and he always set a good example for all of us and I can bet that there is no one who can object at his way of teaching at all. He always knew from the very start who the weak students were and really worked hard with them.
On a personal note he really helped me alot in this difficult subject and it was so motivating when he told men that I was his most disciplined student =) . Although he left the university the very next semester presumably due to the internal politics he still remains my favorite teacher in the University life.

My favorite Teacher (Sir Farooq)

Sir Farooq is my all time favorite teacher, well not only my, perhaps of the whole class who was under his supervision in the 8th grade. He was previously a student of Lasalle High school and was the chief prefect as well, an honour that only the best ones achieved.
Although in the start we had two class teachers but Brother Youhan was to leave in a couple of weeks and indeed he did. It was only after him that Sir Farooq became our class teacher.
He was so easy going and really a fun to be with. We as a class and on the personal level could share everything with him. Whenever we had any problems relating to any subject he was always there to help us out and I still remember that we were not satisfied with the way of teaching and also the behavior of most of the teachers and he himself took responsibility of at least three subjects at one time. If we didn't complete our homework he never scolded us or (like others) slapped. We never had a Cricket match up till now and he arranged for it as well.
But, they say that good times never last long, and same was the case here. Well in a way it was good. He got selected for the army and left the school. It was April, I still remember. He didn't come to school for a week if my memory helps me and one day he did came. It was our Islamiat period and Teacher Bushra was teaching us when he entered the class and told us the news that he is leaving the school as he was selected for the army, which was his life long goal. I also remember that the moment he was about to leave the class, whole of the class began crying (almost) and some of the boys requested, in fact pleaded him to stop but that was never going to be the case. He gave us his contact and email id but we were never to feel his physical presence again.
I really learnt alot from him and he was the most easy going and helpful teacher I ever came across and It was only because of his guidance, help and support that I was able to make myself an average, if not good student. Hope that other of my class fellows also have the same memories of him just like I do.

Five ways to earn money/get traffic while blogging

There were many articles relating to this topic on the internet and most of them had really strange ideas for the people who have just started to blog or want to earn money while blogging. Telling you the ruth I don't earn anything while blogging and there aren't any people visiting my blog daily or in huge numbers. Here are the five easiest and simplest of ways, no need to get into more complicated stuff.

1) Don't think about earning money, just think about what your heart says and write about it.

2) Don't try to over write anything. Just write as much as required and don't try to lengthen it.

3) If you write about that are are not relating to you then mostly write about the current topics that you think people will be interested to view and read about.

4) Although, mostly people have their own personal blog which is a good idea ofcourse, but why not have a blog with multiple people writing for it? A few mutual friends doing so wont be a bad idea.

5) Tell people about your blog in your school, university or where ever you are and convince them to visit. paste the link on the notice board, text friends and remind them to visit every now and then.

Exam time :@

With the sort of preparation I had and all the problems and tough circumstances that I was in, my exams went better than expectations thanks to ALLAH and the prayers of my parents :)
The first paper was as almost as expected but was too lengthy and was really hard to complete within time but somehow I managed to do it almost!
The second I was thinking will be one of the more tough ones and also important for me because of some issues that had really motivated me and thanks Allah once again the paper was easy and a big tension was out of my mind.
I was thinking that the course of the third paper will not be much and also we all knew that no matter how hard we prepare the paper will be tough and difficult to solve keeping in mind the past experiences with this teacher but thanks to Allah once again the paper was easier than ever but amazingly enough, Sir checked the papers over night and the next day everyone had already checked his/her marks, I didn't check my paper as I was not planning to take any sort of tension which spoils my coming exams.
hmm the course was too much and I had no idea about anything in the course but thanks to Bilal who came at the right time for me and within no time helped me cover the most part of the course and that's why my paper was again better than expectations.
I had two papers on the last day and the first one was not upto the expectations but I'm still positive about it. The next paper was again easier. Let hope I have a good result! please pray everyone :) 

Hell..

What do I write when I'm in this state of mind? I'm literally hating everything around me and you know why? I'm going back to HELL!! Yes you are right, I'm going back to Islamabad!!! And what more? I have my mid term exams starting from the day after tomorrow and the interesting thing is that I have not studied for the past 10 days at ALL! And even more fascinating thing is that I'm having a fight with someONE!! And here is the icing on the cake, Pakistan is really struggling in the second test match against South Africa! want to know more of my tensions? I'll have my final presentations in the coming month and there is a lot of course work also!!! I hate ISLAMABAD!

Most enjoyable Eid perhaps?

Second day of eid was even more enjoyable. We went to Shahrukh's (our other cousins) home and really had loads of fun. We had planned to visit our second Mamu's home along with our other cousins and it really worked out well as we got to meet our youngest cousin Anaya :) We hadn't seen her for more than a year now and it was sad for whatever reasons this happpened. We made her learn our names by heart and played alot with her and then came back to shahrukh's home. 
Later in the day we had lunch which was so heavy that even me, who eats alot was literally hating to eat anything after that lunch. There was certainly no pan to stay at their place at night but some how we did stay and enjoyed another movie night along with the tasty pizza :)

The third day stated in a bizarre way as our Taya jaan had come all the way from village to meet us but we were not at home. He had stayed overnight at our Phupo's home and even waited for us in the morning, calling again and again but we had not attended the call as we were asleep here at our cousin's place. When we woke up (thankfully not too late) and straightaway got ready without breakfast and had just sat in the car when phupo's call came that he has gone back now. So we got out and again went inside to have breakfast. we had just unpacked when again the call came that he has not gone far and is coming back to meet us so once again we got ready and left. On our way to phupo's house we met our khala and uncle who 'ordered' us to come back and that we cannot leave until we don't have breakfast (which was my favorite btw :D ) so we promised to come back in an hour or so. And indeed we did come back after meeting taya jaan :) it was so embarrassing to face him really and we should have been alert.
The trouble did not end here as at night we cousins had a plan to go out and have a barbecue or something but the plan didn't work out exactly as we had preceded. At the very last hour we were facing huge problem, although we had planned everything forgetting there were not enough space in one car to take 13 people :D
Thankfully uncle and khala came with us and the day was saved. We had not planned for such a big scale party but it was really nice and at the end it really was worth it. It was also the birthday o one of my cousin so the occasion was even more lit up by that. we came back dropping the four angles to their Nano's house and came back home.
The Eid was complete and I can safely say that it was my one of the best Eid's ever if not the best. Even though there were no parents but still everyone really took good care of us and was so caring :) well the only draw back of the Eid is that I have started to hate everything that is eaten  ( ahem its good in another way :p )

Eid..

On the Chand raat we went out for shopping and it was fun.. The hajj was today and we hadn't got any call from papa and Mama for a couple of days now. 
We woke up in the morning and offered prayers as usual. My Eid actually didn't started until we talked with mama and papa. Everyone, I could tell was down because we were not getting in touch with them. As we had not made any plan at all for eid so it was difficult to decide what to do and where to go. So we decided to go to our Mamu's home and spend the Eid with our four little angels. Most of the day we just sat and watched TV but enjoyed the cute talks of our cousins. We ate alot all day and ate so much that I couldn't even breathe at one time and also skipped the dinner =p Later in the evening we along with our cousins came back home and enjoyed alot watching movies and playing games etc. Our other cousins also came to visit in the evening. I was feeling that everyone was so willing to visit us, call us to there home and talk with us as they were feeling that we are alone :D

Mixed Mixture

The time passed nicely at home. Although as always I had plans of studying at home but that was not at all possible in spite of my mid term exams that were to take place exactly after the Eid holidays finished.
The first couple of days passed slowly with nothing much to do but thankfully the First test match between Pakistan and South Africa started just at the right time for me. On the week end my cousins, my four angels came to our house and stayed for a couple of days and it was so fascinating to see the naughty things they did and the cute questions they asked.
My sister had her paper rechecked and we went to see the papers and were amazed to see that the extra paper attached with the answer sheet was of another student. We applied again and hope she gets more marks then what she initially had. It was strange for us all that she scored more that 90% in every other subject except English although her paper went good. I bought a couple of novels but really didn't get any time to read them at all.
We didn't initially had much plans for Eid as all of us were having no feeling of festiveness at all in the absence of Papa and Mama..And we were missing them alot.

Multan...

life plays funny games. It was the first time I was going home and there were no parents at home, there was no one to come and receive me like the way it was in the past, there was nothing like taking my favorite breakfast on the way to home. Yet still, I was really happy and excited to go back home. 

As I usually tell my room mates that the best thing of my stay in Islamabad is the happiness and excitement I have when I go back home. Usama, my flat mate also haphazardly made a plan to come with us and thanking Allah he would be that I had booked two extra seats at different times. So we set off for Multan, we sent usama before us and arrived at the bus at 11:00pm. The journey was enjoyable as always, during which at the jhang terminal I eat my favorite meal, early in the morning.

We reached Multan around 6:30am in the morning and it felt so empty when there was no one to receive us, anyways we came back home ourselves and thankfully my Aunt was still at home when we reached. Milk shake, Kebab, egg and paratha was my first breakfast and was a dangerous sign of the things to come :D

Buzy Times

As soon as I reached back to the hell I knew this time it will be tougher for me to settle back to the normal routine of Islamabad. I have never liked this city and I don't think I ever will. Moreover my parents were leaving for Hajj within a week and Manal and Tamur were alone at home so these things had made it really tough for me to get back to the load of work.
The one thing that kept me busy was that I was making my website and It was a successful experience. Here is the link to it Raafay's World" Although I have to do a lot of work still to maintain it. One thing interesting and amazing that happened with me was that one of my teacher really behaved awkwardly with me on an issue that to me was really sensitive for me and that too in front of all the class and I felt humiliated to say the least.
My parents have reached Saudi Arabia safely thanks GOD.
Just today I have covered the course of all the subjects and I'm feeling so light today. I'm going home tomorrow night God willing.

Changes for the Test Squad

Pakistan have brought a few changes to their test squad that was originally announced even before the ODI and T20 series had started. A few changes were always on the cards due to the good performance of some players during the recently concluded one day international series.
Strangely enough Sohail Tanvir,who was included in the original squad of 17 players has been dropped from the squad eventhough he had performed exceptionally well during the two matches he played in the Quaid-E-Azam trophy which is the biggest first class tournament of Pakistan. his performances of 6/41, 1/141, 4/77, 4/65 were unable to convince the selectors of his fitness and was drop on the basis of the following problem. Some sources although, say that the selection committee want Sohail Tanvir fit for the upcoming series of New Zealand and have guaranteed and assured him of a place in the team. The selectors want sohail tanvir to get full fitness before this series.
Danish Kaneria was also withdrawn from the squad for the reasons known only to the Cricket board. He was set to arrive but was told to see the PCB office instead of boarding the plane. It is widely speculated that Dainsh Kaneria has been not included in the squad because of the non satisfaction of ICC over the spot fixing claims that he was involved in the County Championship.
Zulqarnain Haider who was almost cementing his place in the side left the team under bizarre circumstances saying that he was threatened by the Bookies that if he did not cooperate with them he will be in deep trouble. He has announced his retirement from international cricket just yesterday. Adnam akmal, the younger brother of Kamran Akmal and the elder brother of Umar Akmal has been included in the squad and it is really interesting to know that Kamran Akmal has not been included in the squad even though he is performing well in the domestic competition.
Younis Khan who performed really well after his return to international cricket has been retained in the test squad along with Muhammad Hafeez who was the leading run scorer for Pakistan in the recent series against South Africa.

MyQuotes

This I have realized today in real that agar books ko poora saal lift nahi karao tou exams k days main wo bhi lift nahi karwatin, larkion ki tarha wo bhi attitude dikhati hain (All rights reserved: All the characters here are non fictional) =D

Life, Lemon and Lollipop

Well I really wanted to move on from the "A Wise Boy" tag associated with me. I had asked lots of people about a new name for the blog and to suggest me something but nothing came. Atlast the only person that I could have expect to help me did help and I had a variety of names to choose from. This name might sound or look stupid but I like it ;)

Have a safe journey =)

Mom and Dad were going for Hajj so we had a really busy time at home. Had to shop alot during the week long stay, both for the parents and ourselves as well. I hope papa and mama have a safe journey to and back from Saudi Arabia and a safe stay as well. Although the routine was hectic but at the same time it was enjoyable.

 The best part whenever I go back home is when I'm in the blanket at night and reading a novel ;) I hesitatingly took out "The Lost Symbol" the latest novel of Dan brown. In the past I had tried to read it but didnt find it interesting like the previous novels of Dan Brown. As the pages were read by me I was amazed to find that it was of the same calibre of the other novels infact a little different and belonged to the real world. I'm eagerly waiting for his new novel but I think it'll not be around too soon.

Pakistan VS South Africa: Team Review

Pakistan have announced their team for the up coming series against South Africa and indeed there are a few surprises. The biggest and at least for now a flawed one is to not only recall Misbah-ul-Haq but to make him the captain of the test team. Misbah has not been in great form and had played his last test match against Australia this january. His last one day appearance was in the Champions trophy semi final against New Zealand. One reason that we can give in the defense is that there is no other senior player in the team other than Yousuf and he would not be willing to take up the captaincy amid the "respect" he got after the disastrous Australian tour where Pakistan failed to win even a single international game and were even accused of Match fixing later during the sydney test. An inquiry committee set up by the Pakistan Cricket board had banned Yousuf and Younis for indefinite time but the decision was later changed.


Another surprise, a good one is the inclusion of Taufeeq Umar who has got a deserving chance after being away from test Cricketfor almost four years now. Muhammad Sami gets another chance in the test team and we will have to wait and see what his performance is, remeber that Muhammad Sami is the most costly bowler with the worst average for a bowler who has played more than 15 tests.

Yasir Hameed has been dropped from the team and for sure on the basis of his interview that he gave to the NOTW which created problems for the team management in England who were alreadyunder lots of stress due to the match fixing scandal. Kamran Akmal has also been dropped due to fitness concerns.
The saddest part is the non inclusion of Younis Khan, who has once again been ignored without a sensible reason behind it. Chairman on the PCB, Ijaz Butt is putting personal differences in front of national interests. Younis should not only be included in the team but also be named the captain of the test team. Mohsin Khan the chief selector says "We needed a senior player to strengthen our batting line-up," Mohsin told the News. "Our first choice was Younis Khan but we didn't get any clearance [from the PCB], after which we discussed the option of recalling Misbah and decided to go for it."



Here are the teams and Schedule for the South Africa series later this month.


Pakistan ODI/T2O squad: Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanvir Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider (wk).

Pakistan Test squad: Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah ul Haq (capt), Umar Akmal. Azhar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Zulqarnain Haider, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir (subject to fitness).



Schedule:

Oct 26: 1st Twenty20, Abu Dhabi
Oct 27: 2nd Twenty20, Abu Dhabi
Oct 29: 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi
Oct 31: 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
Nov 2: 3rd ODI, Dubai
Nov 5: 4th ODI, Dubai
Nov 8: 5th ODI, Dubai
Nov 12-16: 1st Test, Dubai
Nov 20-24: 2nd Test, Abu Dhabi

My Cricketing Memory

It was february 2008 when I came back home during the semester break and was playing a cricket match with Hamza.
I had scored 94 runs in really tough situation as hamza was swinging the ball a lot. The only thing in my favor was that tamur was supporting me a lot and it was actually him who took all the photos and made the video which got deleted accidently. btw, hamza was out on the very first ball of his innings.

Experiments and Hypotenuse

My computer is as troublesome as ever and there are no signs that It will show any improvement any sooner. I don't know what has gotten into it, every time I turn it on I find a new error waiting for me. Sometimes the IDE drive not loading, sometimes the disc checking halts, sometimes the window itself halts during the start up, the new windows can not be installed and sometimes when it does turn on, comes to a stop by itself. Have tried every possible cure that I could have found, all the sciences of bilal have not work either. Will be taking it back to Multan this week if I am able to go.
Everything that has been going on with the computer has had no affect on my daily Internet life. I have spent enough time on the computer, here or in the University to create a total of 5 blogs now all over the Internet world. I do have a few plans and I am really excited about it as well. My studies are going nowhere really. Some days I get the feeling that I'm lacking and the other day I feel like I am right on track. The coming week will be a tough one as I have a few quizzes to take and assignments as well.
The "Important" part of me is in Lahore and I'm really looking forward to the return.. by the way about Lahore, I along with my group mates might visit Lahore in the search of a sterling engine which we have heard that is only available in the city. We have not done anything about our final year project and will have to hurry up before the presentations which are around the corner.
Well Younis khan has not been included in the team once again and this thing has really hurt me a lot. A good news for me atleast is that Intikhab Alam has been announced as the manager of the Pakistan Cricket team...Loads congratulations to you!!! :)
Our experiment with the cook is going good so far and lets see after a fortnight that was it a good decision of ours or is it a total flop once again.
I have been trying to find and search for some blogs for the teenagers and there are not much at all. I had hoped to find many so that I can consult with them and vast the ideas I already have in my mind which also includes a blog with five writers collectively, lets hope it works out.

MY BLOGS

Raafay Awan's Blogger Blog (A Wise Boy's Diary)


Raafay Awan's Wordpress Blog (A Wise Boy's Diary)


Raafay Awan's Friendster Blog (A Wise Boy's Diary)


Raafay Awan's Multiply Journal (Raafay (A Wise Boy))

Struggling times.

Although I had the vague feeling that this semester will be easier and the load will not be that much, all thoughts have gone wrong here. This perhaps is the toughest semester of the lot. I'm having to attend 23 credit hours which are most in the University's history and as much I know this exceeds the limit of 21 credit hours set per semester for any student by the higher education commission.
I'm taking the courses of Islamic studies, Fluid Mechanics, Power Electronics, Mechanical Vibration, Computer Aided Engineering, Embedded systems and of course FYP. Setting the schedule was a really tough job and one which always gives headaches and this time was no exception. But thankfully all was sorted out on time and i didnt miss any classes up till now thanks God!
It was really sad to come back to Islamabad from home leaving all the ease and leisureliness behind but that's what always happens, this time it is a little different though as Hamza has come with me and there is no one to look after at home. Hamza was really helpful at home although he is a little high tempered when at home. Papa will for sure have more and more burden now, I really miss home.
Hamza got admission here at the same university as mine and we both along with Bilal had to arrange for accommodation as early as possible because two of our flat mates have left the flat for the reasons known only to them and their behavior has been really strange towards me. Anyhow, we did look for a place for a couple of days and were not finding any place for the time being but where there is a will, there is a way: I never wanted to leave this flat as the atmosphere here was so peaceful and enjoyable and God listened to me and we got a new flat mate in shape of Hamza's school friend. The other good thing that we have been able to do is to hire a cook and after such a long time we are able o enjoy healthy food at our own place. It's a little early to suggest but he cooks well. We have already spend a lot of money on the rent as we were only three people in the start and in the space of 15 days we had to pay the rent of the next week as well so things are really tight at this stage.
Talking about my own self, things haven't worked out as I had wanted. Life for me these days has been the toughest. Withe manal, tamur, mama and papa back home and papa mama going for Hajj, and then problems, huge problems unfortunately with the dearest dearest, and "loads" load of study haven't done any good to me. The one source of inspiration I always have from somewhere, from someone is still missing. I'm really looking forward to start jogging or atleast a walk because strangely that's the thing( add music to it ) give me loads relaxation and a time to reflect on things.
Most probably I'll be going back to Multan two weeks later so that we can help out mama and papa prepare for the Hajj as they leave for (My land of dreams) Makka-Medina on the 3rd of November. I really have to tryreally hard to control myself wit hdearest dearest as i have hurt more than I have ever and that too, knowing and still forcing myself to, I really am missing everything between us and that's for sure that I cant live without dearest dearest. Also I'm still lagging in studies so I'll have to start as well.
I was just passing by a group of girls the other day and listened them talking about me and my blog, saying that his blog is full of things about love.. really? oh really? haha!! btw, manal got really good marks in her first year exams. Loads congratulations to her :)

Mr Larry King ,What about our Dr. Aafia?

Yesterday I was just switching between the channels and saw the "Larry King Live" show for the first time on BBC. I have heard a lot about this show since long and also know that it has been going on for such a long time and I had always wanted to see this show.
Fortunately or unfortunately the show I saw was his interview with President of Iran "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and it was really exciting to see the questions asked. Most of the questions asked were about the American people that were under Iranian police custody or those people who were lost in Iran and again and again the same questions were repeated even when the answers were almost satisfactory.
The real shock was to see the Host was just asking and talking about the one side of the book and ignoring all that was said by the president and trying to pretend that his point of view was wrong. One can argue with it and also that the point of view might be wrong but whenever the Iranian President asked any question about the wrong doings of Israel or the American injustice, he took a commercial break by cutting in between (On several occasions the smile was evident on the Iranian President's face while he was cut in between).
The worst part was after the end of the interview when Larry King invited Fareed Zakaria to prove the Iranian president wrong and both of them trying to prove him a "Liar" (I think even called him once, I might be wrong) and that he was counter attacking ...Gosh what a lame and astonishing excuse!!
Anyways whats done is done. So careful about the people of Israel and USA Mr. Larry king yesterday your court decided to punish Dr.Aafia without any proof and sentenced her to jail for 84 years, Has the justice been prevailed? will you do a program with President Barack Obama and ask him to influence your judiciary? Will you talk to poor Aafia's family? Ar you so negative? Are you so blind not to see what has happened here? I am so very dissapointed with you (I have no expectations, anyhow). Its good that the Show is ending this year!!

btw, here are a few examples from the interview..
To read the full interview click here (Link to the full Interview)



KING: But did you make the request -- they're asking if you would make the request of the judiciary to move it along. They miss their families.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): I think that there are many prisoners in the world. Do I have to make a personal request for everyone?
Now, having said that, I have requested the judiciary to look at the case of these three people's cases carefully but, you know, there are many prisoners in the world. Here in the United States, there are 2.5 million. Can I request the judiciary here in the United States to show leniency and I would, in fact, seize this opportunity here and ask the judicial body of the United States, judicial leniency, in the case of the 2.5 million prisoners in this country. They have spouses. They have mothers, children, parents. Many are young.

KING: We'll have more with the president of Iran right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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KING: We're in a world of fear apparently. Conscience -- you talked about human rights and Mr. Netanyahu. How about conscience in your country? Students, human rights defenders? Don't you have to improve in the area? Aren't there -- are there full human rights in Iran? Does everyone in Iran have the right to speak out, to protest?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Everywhere in the world, you see challenges of that nature. In the United States, too, there is need for more on this front. Isn't there? So we have to have a comparative skill in our hands. I don't think, for example, in Iran, an employee would be fired after 50 years of serving in an office for expressing his opinion or her opinion. But this happened in your country. A reporter with a rich background was forced out of her work simply because she expressed an opinion. This never happened -- would never happen in Iran.

KING: Never happen?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Now, everywhere in the world, we have problems. But this would never have happened in Iran. Having said that, I understand all over the world there are problem, including in the United States. And we are prepared to sit in a forum at a table, place all our troubles on the table and discuss it and resolve it together. I asked you, you have over 2.5 million prisoners here. Not all of them are killers, murderers or thieves. Who are the rest?

KING: Are you saying we have political prisoners?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): No, that's not what I'm suggesting. You can tell me that. Why are they in prison? Why?

KING: I haven't investigated every -- drugs --

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Are they all thieves? Are they all thieves and robbers?

KING: Big drug problem.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): You have so many drug-related problem, 2.5 million people, one percent -- out of 100 people in the United States, one person is in prison. Why?

KING: Let me get a break and we'll come right back.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Have they all killed? Have they all robbed? Have they all trafficked drugs?

KING: I don't know what that has to do with it. All right, we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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KING: You're not saying the United States committed genocide? You're saying the United States committed genocide?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): That's a separate discussion. And, yes, it did happen in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But that's a separate issue. I like to ask you, if in a country someone's rights are violated, they're oppressed, assuming that your assumption, your statement is correct, does that imply that they can go and occupy another land? Is there any logic in that? If we were to follow that logic, will there be any security left in the world? In World War II, 100 million -- or 80 million people were killed. If they were to go occupy 20 countries around the world, that would have been terrible.

KING: Israel is a legal state.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): The question is -- come on. The question -- you just said yourself it's over the Holocaust. Why are you changing your statement?

KING: You were saying --

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): My question is what are the interests of the United States to -- in absolutely defending them. There are many parts of the world where human rights are violated. Do you know how many American Indians were killed? Do you know or not?

KING: I know. We're out of time.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): You're a reporter. You should have the answers to these.

KING: We're out of time. We'll pick this up next year with the president of Iran. I'm Larry King. Don't go away.

Time for a Change

Most of my time today my mind was occupied with the thought that Am I using this blog for the exact purpose and satisfaction. Up till now I have been mostly blogging about my daily life and general stuff about me, but today as I was visiting different blogs I came across a blog of two Iraqi girls and I was really stunned to see that both of the blogs had a clear message in it. Without going into deep details of the blogs, It has really impressed me a lot. Different people have different reasons to blog but for me blogging is more of a self satisfaction thing. I really have a few Ideas for my blog and I will definitely try to implement them more often now instead of this daily boring routine (At least for others). I would definitely want to move a level higher than the standards I have set for myself!