life – Page 4 – khaula Siddique

Juggling

Before I had kids I was able to do everything on time and life was pretty organized, goals were attainable. If only at that time I had known I should be writing. Now things don’t go quite so smoothly….

And this is often how I feel. I look even worse. But that is life. I have a habit of writing things down to the point of being slightly paranoid, so I don’t forget. Things like make breakfast, feed the kids, wake them up first, send them off to school, start breathing normally again. Eat breakfast, feed the cat, feed husband, wash dishes, go to the washroom and other stuff that I tend to forget. When I am not procrastinating I write things I have to do on the Google calendar and believe it or not it keeps me quite organized. I try to prioritize and then stick to it. A lot of things get done, of course somethings get neglected. Like wasting time on facebook, falling asleep on the sofa while watching Tree House and reading through weird news on Yahoo or irrelevant tweets on twitter that I never seem to get the hang of. I know it is a big sacrifice.

Deschanel (Canadian Press)

Zooey Deschanel’s dress flops on Emmy carpet

This was an important bit of news.

So this post was one of my planned things on today’s schedule according to my calendar. I also read some blogs and found this at Words From the Woods. Cat is really great and has good tips for writers. She is also on Agent Query Connect where she helps out writers in the dummy stage. I am one of those dummies.

This is an older post but it had a bit about balancing schedules and every one can use good tips. I find writing things down in order of importance is best for me. The Google calendar helps keep it organized and makes it look less confusing and overwhelming. I also try to keep it at an achievable level. I was reminded of this when I read “The End of Optimism” on heylookawriterfellow. He also has advice and interesting posts on burros. A ‘burro’ is what Latin Americans called small donkeys. Now I will be forever doubtful when I eat a burrito.

Anyways you shouldn’t get over-excited and plan on things you won’t be able to complete. You will just get depressed when you can’t manage to get them done. So plan things in a way that gives you enough time to actually get them done.

This is not what your writing schedule should look like or you will look like this:

So remember you are human and not the Flash. Set reasonable goals to accomplish, and have a stash of chocolate handy when you do or even don’t reach them.

What do you do to keep your self organized and make sure you get things done?

(All images form Google Images. Google I love you, truly I do)

September 25, 2012January 5, 2015 by Khaula Siddique Categories: Humor, parenting, WritingTags: blogging, goal setting, humor, life, Writing 6 Comments

Apartment Life in Karachi

When I was living in Karachi (which I just googled and found is no longer on the most dangerous cities list since we moved) we lived in a large comfortable house. But I also had the opportunity to live awhile in an apartment or ‘flat complex’. It was ….an experience.

Link for article in Dawn newspaper:http://archives.dawn.com/archives/69571

Flat out: Meet the neighbours

By Khaula Mazhar

People who prefer living in a house rather than in a flat have absolutely no sense of adventure. Where else can you find so many different types of people living in the same place, constantly getting on each other`s nerves? Where else can you find such an interesting environment?

For starters, look at the amazing artwork that goes into the dÃ©cor of even the most average, normal, everyday flat. Notice the dramatic red streaks in corners and on the lower parts of walls? You may call it disgusting, I call it artistic. Only a paan addict can truly appreciate its beauty.

The leaky plumbing is another amazing aspect; the designs caused by the water slowly seeping out of the pipes and into the walls give the place a lot of character. And there`s so much to talk about once your tiles start falling out due to the water damage; at your next family get-together you can hold the audience spell bound as you narrate how a chunk of plaster fell on your head while you were in the loo.

There is constant activity in the complex parking areas, and if you live on the ground floor you`ll never be far from the action; be it the Peeping Toms, who always appear at your window the second you open your curtains, or the cricket crazy delinquents who keep the window makers in business. But all this pales into insignificance once Eidul Azha draws near. The sights (animals of all shapes, sizes, personalities and all of their recycled food lying around in cute lumps), sounds (baaing, mooing, moaning, groaning, screaming, pleading, all seasoned with a few spicy swear words) and SMELLS (let`s just say `organic` shall we?) Who needs a vacation to exotic locales when so much is happening at their doorstep?

Living in a flat also engenders a feeling of togetherness with your neighbours. They know everything about you, you know everything about them. For example, I know the timetable of the lady who lives upstairs. She starts cooking when it`s my bedtime. The second I fall asleep I am awoken by the gentle scraping sound of her `sil butta` and I can picture her grinding away at all those aromatic spices. She`s so considerate, she always brings me a plate of her Bihari kebabs, making sure I get them no matter what — even if she has to pound on my door for twenty minutes, while I try to drag myself out of bed, at a quarter past midnight. Her persistence amazes me; so does her timetable.

There`s a very caring family in the flat opposite ours. They care about what I`m doing, why I am doing it, who has come to visit me and why; what I have cooked and, since it smells so good, can I send some over? Of course, they keep me informed of all their goings-on as well. I feel like I`m part of their family. When a baby was born at one of their relatives, I felt like a proud aunt. A family feud left me indignant. I now have more things to worry about than I need and I doubt I will ever run out. Isn`t that great? They also keep me from getting lonely as someone is always dropping in. If “Bhabi” can`t come by, she`ll be sure to send over her four different sized children to keep me company, no matter how much I insist that I don`t need it.

No flat would be complete without the `been there, done that` family. I know they are very popular, and they are a real favourite of mine. No matter what you have seen, heard, done; no matter where all you have been, you`ll find they have seen that, heard that, done that, been there, and of course, all on a much grander scale. It really boosts your spirits to be associated with such sophisticated people.

Life in flats is never boring; there`s always something going on to keep you distracted. Either it`s an aameen or a birthday, sometimes even a mehndi in the reception area. If you don`t feel like cooking you can always attend one of these functions without the hassle of fighting traffic or driving a distance; just skip downstairs.

So, if you are bored of your large living quarters, your privacy, your beautiful lawn, your own, undisputed parking area, your peace and quiet, don`t despair; excitement is just round the corner! Pack up and move your family to the nearest flat complex.

August 8, 2012January 16, 2014 by Khaula Siddique Categories: Humor, Life, UncategorizedTags: Dawn (newspaper), humor, life, Pakistan 13 Comments

Immigrating Granny

This is an article I wrote for July 1st’s Dawn newspaper, the editor asked me to write about settling in a new country. Since I was moving back home and it was not a new experience for me, I wrote from the view point of an old lady moving abroad from Pakistan for the first time. If you want to read about interesting things that happen when you move out of North America go and visit this great blog : http://communicatingacrossboundariesblog.com/

http://dawn.com/2012/07/01/rant-and-rave-allah-tauba/