tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53851520855071106072024-03-13T05:40:42.388-04:00Kh Al Id Si Dd Iq Uia variety of things/thoughts occupying my mental spaceKhalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-19180980229001291392008-01-16T21:31:00.000-05:002008-01-16T22:18:38.600-05:0010 years on...I feel like I've been writing way too many reflecting posts reminiscing on the times gone by, but I just can't pass on this opportunity. After all, it's a big one, it's a whole decade we're talking about here. TEN years ago, January 16th 1998 I came here to the United States, right after finishing up high school back in Riyadh. I still remember that afternoon in DFW airport when I landed with my brother and proceeded to immigration. Lots have changed since then. I finished Undergrad and then Grad school, started working, met some awesome people, made some lifelong friends, hopefully learned a few things about life in general. First, it was hard being away from family and home, then I began to enjoy the time away, and Wichita became home. Among some of the not-too-easy-to-forget things in the past ten years (in no specific order)<br />- the Desi corner in the student center at Wichita State<br />- the first snow shower<br />- the first Eid prayer in Henry Levitt arena, basketball stadium<br />- the first C programming class with Brad Owens<br />- long nights on the second floor of Jabara Hall<br />- my little Honda CRX which I shared with my brother and wrecked in 2000 :(<br />- regular visits to Toledo, OH and Detroit, MI<br />- all the other fun filled road trips<br />- the concerts, especially millennium night at the Pontiac Silver dome with Metallica headlining<br />- Dollar movies at the East side Palace, the place to be at on Friday and Saturday nights during undergrad<br />- Foundry and Chroma<br />- grilling steaks on our $20 grill on the patio in Broadmoor<br />- the first tornado<br />- Dunkin Donuts on Central, one out of two places that were 24/7 back in the days in Wichita<br />- driving my boat looking Le Baron without oil and having the engine ceased<br />- pumping iron and sweating buckets at the Heskett Center<br />- learning to cook and make chai<br />- two ACL injuries<br />- letting go of my fears and starting consulting work: Wichita -> Dallas -> St. Louis -> Wichita -> Boston -> Harrisburg<br />- my first ever cell phone<br />- Barnes and Noble on 29th and Borders on Rock, my favorite places to hang out in Wichita<br />- Chisolm trail park, Sedgwick County park and the side walks in Wichita, miles upon miles of jogging<br />- Cookouts at our apartment<br />- Cricket games in Adeel's basement<br />- Dinners at Mir Saab's<br />- first trip to Europe<br />- losing a very close friend :(<br />- making a life long friend :)<br />- first crush in the US, psychology class<br />- first job, teaching biology lab<br />- first paycheck, ahhh the feeling<br />- getting fired for doing assignments at work<br />- learning to fill 'er up, coming all spoiled from Saudia<br />- burying a friend<br />- skydiving, shooting, kayaking, paint balling, horse riding, rock climbing, roller coasters, 10 K, hikingKhalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-7618176109466921602007-12-28T21:47:00.000-05:002008-12-09T05:54:58.960-05:002007 - Year in review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkT2ZUePIpf0qYZua9iMPHm9fIFZVFYGLDX73Dsf46pUeGGQj-KMdgZK2JaUhHDYuEy0iJ2FVQVshpcRh74p_qGmEQzlqetZVsKXuu1KyU1Il6V4419SvS_pT1s1Xu7Jy17LzuIRAgVEYJ/s1600-h/IMG_0303.jpg"><img style="float:left; 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margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtG2BqWFGV-EKRzyzzkECSQaJLxXTOPBL8QRmlqFq8koJGVzD2Tr-OXJOeJHea3VR6lV0wz8dSC0KXnqwAqxIzp4wousxNQxvNIOZf6GXUC1X5ZWqeoESBIXrMfEv8TqHbd_PnJMNGjBlL/s320/DCP_0455.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5149222131244954194" /></a>Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-5262857363653490432007-12-28T21:30:00.000-05:002007-12-28T21:47:33.291-05:00Whew! 365 days just flew by...Haven't written in a while, I can thank my job for this long absence. Let's put it this way, there was not much to write about anyways since I pretty much worked and slept in the last few weeks or so. Eid Al Adha also came about a week ago, I'd remember this one for a long time to come, cause I worked til 1 at night on this past Eid.<br /><br />As I sit here and type away stuffed with Beef Tajine, Hummus, pita bread and mint tea from Sahara, which by the way is an awesome joint in the not-so-adventurous indie dining scene here in Harrisburg, I'm thinking in a couple days 2007 is coming to a close. It's almost like yesterday, the evening of 12/31/06 I was watching Year in Review with Anderson Cooper and looked at the Boston skyline through the windows during commercial breaks that frigid evening. Can't believe but a whole year has gone by. This time last year I had just moved to Boston and was getting used to my new job and the new place. And at the end of the year I look back and am thinking what a great year it was... from the trips to the adventures to the new experiences... I can only hope that 2008 is at least as much fun as 2007 Insha Allah.<br /><br />I'm traveling tomorrow to see Umar and Usman, am excited cause I haven't seen 'em in a while. I plan to not do anything at all, just relax and recuperate for the coming weeks at work :(Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-87312923845240312212007-11-18T20:50:00.000-05:002007-11-18T20:51:44.321-05:00:(Is it considered abuse of workers' rights when one is asked to work on an official holiday like Thanksgiving? I couldn't believe it when I was asked by my PM last week. I have travel plans for heaven's sake... I guess I'll be spending this Turkey day in my cubeKhalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-88700973257514462562007-11-11T17:35:00.000-05:002008-12-09T05:54:59.137-05:00World Run Day 2007<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmpDT5aLvHZQKNu74kpUdMLTNJRtPISlIjUiHyPiJ7xeECy4tj5p7DqWTFIbVqw7XxkAc46UQHiqTvCqU0EabmGJfuyK8j5i1vQsFgBQW2F5Fj9kVb5plGE6Dam4t2mEc8sHfJ44Dp7d7/s1600-h/WorldRunDay.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmpDT5aLvHZQKNu74kpUdMLTNJRtPISlIjUiHyPiJ7xeECy4tj5p7DqWTFIbVqw7XxkAc46UQHiqTvCqU0EabmGJfuyK8j5i1vQsFgBQW2F5Fj9kVb5plGE6Dam4t2mEc8sHfJ44Dp7d7/s320/WorldRunDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5131715408051359218" /></a><br />Runners all over the world, <a href="http://runday.com/">Have fun</a>!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-68575895534335668832007-11-04T00:34:00.000-04:002008-12-09T05:54:59.355-05:00The holiday season is here...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxfANtzpbpHWZbIFfdE3B-m0AiCA1u8vuSUWmnTn-3Q97AqvTvzARV9ci28bpG-4OAHZ9vehleNzqYRLORN2W5VnCJvKnidV2JrMMDkA_yb1CExwMxOwhFGkeysza2XmJpINeJxX-21YS/s1600-h/Image015.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxfANtzpbpHWZbIFfdE3B-m0AiCA1u8vuSUWmnTn-3Q97AqvTvzARV9ci28bpG-4OAHZ9vehleNzqYRLORN2W5VnCJvKnidV2JrMMDkA_yb1CExwMxOwhFGkeysza2XmJpINeJxX-21YS/s320/Image015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128843019343742242" /></a><br />Yes, it is. For a lot of people, it means a lot of different things, winter, snow, mistletoe, shopping, presents, Santa etc. etc. To me, a major reminder of the season is the seasonal offering of Gingerbread Latte at Starbucks. I absolutely love all their espresso drinks, even though their plain coffee tastes like used engine oil. But their Gingerbread Latte is my favorite drink. I've tried it elsewhere, e.g., Dunkin Donuts, and it was pretty bad. So, I had my first cup of that at Starbucks this afternoon while I pretended to study. I also discovered a nice semi Indian restaurant around Da Burg. It's actually in Carlisle, little ways from Harrisburg. Food is mediocre and very Americanized, I mean who puts chick peas and kidney beans in Jalfrezi? But they've got an awesome relaxing smoking lounge. So my buddy and I smoked away Saturday night while listening to remixes by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_%28musician%29">Khaled</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daler_Mehndi">Daler Mehndi</a>. The owner of the place is Afghani, the chef is Indian, they're serving Shisha and playing Arab music and the location is a Brady bunch small town. All of that creates a fun place, that's for sure. As we smoked, a teen sitting next to me asked whether it has green stuff in it. We were like yeah like they're gonna let us smoke weed in a restaurant. Disappointed as they looked, him and his buddy left shortly afterwards :)<br /><br />Also, time changes tonight, another reminder of the season. Remember to fall backward!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-68292819630416106102007-10-28T15:57:00.000-04:002008-12-09T05:54:59.639-05:00Pretty Pittsburgh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDIhfAPwLZ8icTautvah5bMZYrlsSTlH_Vff09nV-qcFuXar9sT_3yZKsGmi40H7FD8aa9TDliAkH7QMeqrYDF-W1Wda4hGGYFt8yhYvExyA3668S_EKU_sDPPulvIbCU2Vf1ayC8UxAi/s1600-h/IMG_2042.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDIhfAPwLZ8icTautvah5bMZYrlsSTlH_Vff09nV-qcFuXar9sT_3yZKsGmi40H7FD8aa9TDliAkH7QMeqrYDF-W1Wda4hGGYFt8yhYvExyA3668S_EKU_sDPPulvIbCU2Vf1ayC8UxAi/s320/IMG_2042.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126482883274982162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90geSbclwwofirin2PbYLkc8rTRtyIIKolU74wjbhTeA2k8Tbw5Pn6OnW3bFWmMm49i1q5shL8rT9MnZ4436wYUqu1aeRO0q84zZHNpchGU-M7BeU38Mj9CFgYtzw-wsKFq1HjhYyLmTa/s1600-h/IMG_2041.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90geSbclwwofirin2PbYLkc8rTRtyIIKolU74wjbhTeA2k8Tbw5Pn6OnW3bFWmMm49i1q5shL8rT9MnZ4436wYUqu1aeRO0q84zZHNpchGU-M7BeU38Mj9CFgYtzw-wsKFq1HjhYyLmTa/s320/IMG_2041.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126482621281977090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6lP5a1hWLvDe4Uv2jdHP6ByAGRmCmJ4iF7kQbCplfM_tK0h1_-PBrohgRPzND2Llk-tvNHiDkH05cOpnwpVP1aSTrnO7Owf-gJayOsfSA3V1ltsv0GMumKuVfqgknYbdetxy69yOtpFj/s1600-h/IMG_2039.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6lP5a1hWLvDe4Uv2jdHP6ByAGRmCmJ4iF7kQbCplfM_tK0h1_-PBrohgRPzND2Llk-tvNHiDkH05cOpnwpVP1aSTrnO7Owf-gJayOsfSA3V1ltsv0GMumKuVfqgknYbdetxy69yOtpFj/s320/IMG_2039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126482290569495282" /></a><br />My roommate and I drove to Pittsburgh this Saturday. Long 3+ hour drive! Whoever I asked told me that I'm going in the wrong direction of everything worth going to... but I thought what the hell? I've driven toward East, namely Philly and Jersey, to the south, namely Baltimore and the DC area, to the north to the Ricketts Glen State Park. And actually I've gone west from Harrisburg as well on my way to Ohio, but didn't stop in Pittsburgh. I thought it was a fun little day trip, nothing REALLY worth going to/for, but the views from the <a href="http://incline.pghfree.net/">Duquesne Incline</a> were just amazing. Standing here on top of Mt. Washington, you can see the whole downtown. In your view are the 3 rivers intersecting, the business district skyscrapers, the many bridges, the two fields where Steelers and Pirates play. We also got to go to the historic Carson St. and took a stroll there. Smoked Shisha at the <a href="http://www.hookahbookah.com/Hookah_Bookah/Home_Page.html">Hookah Bookah Cafe</a>. Gotta have that on my itinerary :)Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-34736462410547510962007-10-21T21:20:00.000-04:002008-12-09T05:55:00.391-05:00Fun tiring weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUk9QWUx3OWlWPMvMSGuTmBVRO6kJJoUYVZ3Z0gm7yseTRLauX6t9bDipWhnuZ0_4eLDnzUwvZlXYO6qArre9u0Dr_A7GegR1WjL0WV1-vnEIoC70vBOw4T_b2sPz7l7VmqZlu0oEHhq2/s1600-h/IMG_1985.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUk9QWUx3OWlWPMvMSGuTmBVRO6kJJoUYVZ3Z0gm7yseTRLauX6t9bDipWhnuZ0_4eLDnzUwvZlXYO6qArre9u0Dr_A7GegR1WjL0WV1-vnEIoC70vBOw4T_b2sPz7l7VmqZlu0oEHhq2/s320/IMG_1985.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123975944540962770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qSUDFEcGEVOV63-nj65yDDK6t1qQ5lh_Ad7Jr_0hA0pLaJ1c_BsOgYRf1vpQH-pEMx1r9iib88FQ8OPPVOHJyktOsksdS5TH_qHF-BuShxgy9JUmIQfMMjWXUxywxp1tVU9touciXajZ/s1600-h/IMG_1973.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qSUDFEcGEVOV63-nj65yDDK6t1qQ5lh_Ad7Jr_0hA0pLaJ1c_BsOgYRf1vpQH-pEMx1r9iib88FQ8OPPVOHJyktOsksdS5TH_qHF-BuShxgy9JUmIQfMMjWXUxywxp1tVU9touciXajZ/s320/IMG_1973.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123975381900246978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLE_sfmDLsAO_dqr_XluIeM6WmsqY8J8sSTSiGcTNDk8zNH2opRaWXOGWYRrCdg4bPgOC9AvJMPD8qW6OaXXlA9UDLiqNEH8Ur5vY7nrAdega8u9vUeDe05iKydELQMPI4Oj2J1A608Oh/s1600-h/IMG_2003.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLE_sfmDLsAO_dqr_XluIeM6WmsqY8J8sSTSiGcTNDk8zNH2opRaWXOGWYRrCdg4bPgOC9AvJMPD8qW6OaXXlA9UDLiqNEH8Ur5vY7nrAdega8u9vUeDe05iKydELQMPI4Oj2J1A608Oh/s320/IMG_2003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123974050460385202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN1mUCbVKMktb9kG8208VMhUy7wYn_kMoJ3zhOvLKOiUi9wwg9WIjD9alAxvBEke1aFhHviwh3HYiilCh6yxvTSzd3j9hnztE1OvVt5nU0z6XEI6R-JJqAUgPjPaY9_d3GOx69QXmwDBx/s1600-h/IMG_2000.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN1mUCbVKMktb9kG8208VMhUy7wYn_kMoJ3zhOvLKOiUi9wwg9WIjD9alAxvBEke1aFhHviwh3HYiilCh6yxvTSzd3j9hnztE1OvVt5nU0z6XEI6R-JJqAUgPjPaY9_d3GOx69QXmwDBx/s320/IMG_2000.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123973870071758754" /></a><br />This was definitely a busy but tiring weekend. On Saturday, Junaid and myself discovered a new Halal place in/around Harrisburg. It's Moroccan, known as Sahara. Very nice food and the ambiance was great. Had some really traditional Moroccan stuff, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajine">Tajine</a>, Hummus, Khezzu, <a href="http://reviewsby.us/restaurant/marrakech-cuisine/menu/zaalouk">Zaalouk</a>, their awesome Mint tea... it was great. Also, watched <a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809794083/info">Rendition </a>later in the evening.<br /><br />Then, Sunday bunch of us from work headed out to the <a href="http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks/parks/rickettsglen.aspx">Ricketts Glen State Park</a>, about 2.5 hour drive from Harrisburg. It was amazing, there are 27 waterfalls, the tallest of which is 94 feet. Also, because of the fall foliage, we got to see the trees at the best of times with changing colors and falling leaves. The temperatures were comfortable as well, in the 70's. The pictures just don't do justice to the awesome scenery. I'm hella tired though after 3.5 mile hike through the woods with steep climbs and all. It was fun.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-49254225625817341132007-10-20T11:30:00.000-04:002007-10-20T11:40:55.333-04:00You can run but you cannot hide...First, it was the laptops, the notebooks. Then, it was secured VPN's. Further, along came the Blackberries and the smart phones with email capabilities. Now, it's the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7050576.stm">usage of phones on board airplanes</a>. Seems like we're running out of excuses day by day. "Yeah, I'd really like to finish it but I have to go home, will continue on it tomorrow." That stopped working some time ago. "I would've totally answered your call, but it was during flight." Now, you won't be able to use this one either. Ah, the amazing technology!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-80408916250692180532007-10-14T00:52:00.000-04:002007-10-14T01:07:10.016-04:00Eid WeekendSince Eid happened to be on Friday in Da Burg, my roommate and I had the whole day Sat. for our little weekend trip. So, off we went to NJ early Saturday morning with a little stop at the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/dewa/">Delaware Water Gap</a> which wasn't all that actually. I've seen better stuff in Mass and Colo. Still, it was nature and the weather was perfect to be out and about. We got bored pretty quick and started driving toward <a href="http://www.oaktreeroad.us/">Oak Tree Rd.</a> in Edison, NJ, Jersey's version of <a href="http://www.devonavenue.com/freebusinesses/restaurants.htm">Devon St.</a> in Chicago. I had heard rave reviews of the whole Indian/Paki portion of this road from some guys at work. They must not have seen Devon in Chicago, cause Oak doesn't even come close to it. Yeah, there's a lot of Desi businesses from restaurants to cafes to clothing stores to DVD stores, but the sheer size of Devon and the number and variety of stores there is by far superior. One thing I gotta give to Oak Tree Rd. is that there's a heavy South Indian influence here, there's totally vegetarian businesses etc., that wouldn't fly with me any given day. So, we ended up going to <a href="http://national.citysearch.com/profile/6895196/">Shezan </a>and pigged out on their special Eid buffet, absolutely delicious, highly recommended! And after a long day of exploring nature and pigging out on Desi food, we smoked peach shisha with pina colada in the base of shisha at <a href="http://www.aladdinlounge.com/">Aladdin Lounge</a> which was a sight in its own.<br /><br />I also learned that NJ and OR are the only two states where by law all the gas stations are supposed to be Full Service, meaning your lazy ass can relax in your car while someone will fill 'er up.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-25221959742689854682007-10-12T23:58:00.001-04:002008-12-09T05:55:00.590-05:00Eid Mubarak!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7U4iAuI1GImyWqhdtguFPYFUFewSCetWTGKMuf5PtQFsCKdbgBXIuU1K3rk1QHDNAuzuE04hZ08ffVynSQ2jum0hy1az_cefCXjV116s9CX5vRjj8duuMQqix9UgpmVm0FJgeDNxf-P6n/s1600-h/image001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7U4iAuI1GImyWqhdtguFPYFUFewSCetWTGKMuf5PtQFsCKdbgBXIuU1K3rk1QHDNAuzuE04hZ08ffVynSQ2jum0hy1az_cefCXjV116s9CX5vRjj8duuMQqix9UgpmVm0FJgeDNxf-P6n/s320/image001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120665959274821522" /></a><br />Kullu 3am Wa Antum Be7'air<br /><br />You know what really grinds my gear? Cell phones going off in the mosques and at work. We've all seen our fair share of these instances. I heard a couple this morning at the Eid prayers too. But what happened last week at our daily status meeting was just over the top. This guy's ringtone is some new Indian movie song and his volume is set to MAX. Now, I've heard his phone go off quite a few times on the floor, but pu leeese not during the meeting when there's 25 people present in the conference room and the PM is trying to get the status from the team members. I mean how long does it take to silence these things when you're walking into a mosque or work? I think I hate ringtones regardless...Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-18143721742986392762007-10-09T18:20:00.000-04:002007-10-09T18:32:29.908-04:00Perils of working in the ITI was shocked the other day by what I texted my friend as we chit chat on GTalk. I go, "I had slept all night and had shown up at the mosque for prayer only". No, you just didn't do that!!! The usage of "only" at the end of a sentence is a trademark fobulous Indian thing to do. By the way, the term fobulous was coined by my brother Fahad to refer to fabulously FOB'by guys, whereas FOB stands for Fresh Off the Boat. Not to say that my brother and I are not FOB's, but there are varying degrees of FOBiness. Fobulous are the ones who wear white sneakers with dress pants and knee high socks etc. They're the ones who'd use only at the end of almost every sentence. As I noted earlier, the development team here at IBM predominantly consists of FOB's. And I'm sure they've rubbed off on me over the past 6 weeks or so. No offence they're all really nice guys and gals.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-76901389828471843352007-10-02T00:38:00.000-04:002007-10-02T00:52:01.398-04:00The KingdomExcept for a few exaggerations, I think it's a pretty decent <a href="http://www.thekingdommovie.com/">movie</a>. It's set in Saudi Arabia but actually shot in Dubai and Arizona, which is quite obvious to someone who has lived there in Riyadh. Otherwise it would fool most of the people. They did a good job of showing that it's actually Riyadh by somehow putting the legendary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Centre">Kingdom Tower</a> in the background in one of the sequences where they're all on a roof top figuring out whether the movie of the bombing was made on top of that building. The Saudi car plates on the black Suburbans are also convincing, but I did see Dubai/Abu Dhabi plate in one of the scenes. Also, the location of the Rahmah compound (where the attack takes place) is dubious, since it's shown to be 2-3 miles from the Kingdom Tower. No Western compound of that size is located so close to downtown Riyadh. They're all 10 miles or more from the city center. And yeah, the way Jamie Foxx talks to the Saudi Ambassador in Washington is highly unbelievable. I think <a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809097093/photos">Colonel Ghazi</a>, the Saudi police chief did a great job.<br /><br />Bottom line: the movie was mildly entertaining!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-84079472301755437032007-09-24T01:30:00.000-04:002007-09-24T01:36:44.617-04:00Saturday night shooting incident...I thought I heard something and wasn't dreaming. I was awakened by pretty loud gun shots late Saturday night around 2 AM. I got up and looked out the window and saw 6 police cars racing down Chestnut St. and turning on to the alley where my apartment building is located, 2 of the cars apparently secured the perimeter and the rest went further inside the alley til I couldn't see no more. They were followed by an ambulance as well. I figured someone might have been hurt considering there were quite a few shots fired. I went back to sleep and saw the <a href="http://www.wgal.com/news/14183569/detail.html">news</a> in the morning. I know downtown Harrisburg is not the best of areas, but to have a shooting incident less than a block from my place is scary.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-56049230529792083052007-09-22T23:38:00.000-04:002008-12-09T05:55:00.968-05:00Re-discovering the DC Metro area<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK1RslRZv5EOQkeMMsmKl_lc2loq_OKmtC-CNJCYjiwTvKddvTTpg5yT_3rklbZXUnj8-0r6iXwlXvD54iyyT49-EkWvd9CUio2SVmhgp0IDRhP5XyF4UEPAwQEKUIQGaWM_zEAzowbSy/s1600-h/IMG_1895.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK1RslRZv5EOQkeMMsmKl_lc2loq_OKmtC-CNJCYjiwTvKddvTTpg5yT_3rklbZXUnj8-0r6iXwlXvD54iyyT49-EkWvd9CUio2SVmhgp0IDRhP5XyF4UEPAwQEKUIQGaWM_zEAzowbSy/s320/IMG_1895.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113246132688041858" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXg6BHtyzq5nw9MsxgV8lc8xgk-FdpP3Ip5ms_zk-HU59U_nNzqnO-FcA2YX6uAnJWQ1X1qgFzPHHlJPRJOdPRyLAM2kR99CY2ENybU3bulZOihCE6a3fbArY_IRfFUxBMUdJow-G4xBt/s1600-h/IMG_1883.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXg6BHtyzq5nw9MsxgV8lc8xgk-FdpP3Ip5ms_zk-HU59U_nNzqnO-FcA2YX6uAnJWQ1X1qgFzPHHlJPRJOdPRyLAM2kR99CY2ENybU3bulZOihCE6a3fbArY_IRfFUxBMUdJow-G4xBt/s320/IMG_1883.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113245960889350002" /></a><br />I thought I was gonna be grounded in Ramadan. After a heavy travel season through summer and the subsequent move to PA, I was just gonna relax at home over the weekends, at least a few weekends. Whatever!! In the last 5 weekends since I moved to PA, I've been out in 4 of 'em. First, it was Philly, then Toledo, and then last two weekends down to the DC area. I've been to DC back in '98, my brother and I drove up there from Wichita to meet my dad who was in town for work. We went sightseeing and such back then, but there's so much to see/do around here. So, last two weekends I had an excuse to drive down to DC. My buddy Yasir was visiting for work for a few days. He was gonna be in Columbia, MD, he called me up and it didn't take much persuasion. First time around, we went to <a href="http://www.georgetowndc.com/">Georgetown</a> and had Shisha at the <a href="http://www.cafeprince.com/">Prince Cafe</a>. Very cool place and lively atmosphere. We also got to go to downtown DC and checked out some of the monuments. Then, we got to check out Baltimore which was also pretty cool. The <a href="http://www.baltimoreravens.com/facilities/Default.aspx?id=66">Ravens stadium</a> is right in downtown Baltimore and that Sunday they were playing someone I can't remember, so we saw some happy Ravens' fans tail gating and all. Just like any big city, food is great in the greater DC area. There's tons of Afghani/Persian places, lots of Desi restaurants and loads of Arab Shisha bars. First weekend, we got to try <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_details_review_search?userid=acszhau0S58HO6Atx_52dA&q=maiwand&x=0&y=0">Maiwand</a> and <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_details_review_search?q=ravi+kabob&userid=acszhau0S58HO6Atx_52dA&x=0&y=0">Ravi Kabob House</a>. Both were great. Second time around, we checked out <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/t2Wz4ZSZQ64M5bf1aeQizQ#hrid:8jfbljNjrjtXtY_tclgXeg">O's Place</a>, a weird name for a Pakistani restaurant. Word of caution for people with allergies, DC is bad, stay away from it! I took Zyrtec both the times, but I was miserable, just wanted to stay inside the hotel room, which the <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_details_review_search?userid=acszhau0S58HO6Atx_52dA&q=sheraton&x=0&y=0">Sheraton in Columbia</a> is pretty cool. The lake in the back makes for a pretty sight and the jogging track around it is even cooler, that is, if your allergies are not killing you...Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-88914954185108833372007-09-11T20:50:00.000-04:002007-09-11T21:08:30.556-04:00200+ and counting...<a href="http://ksiddiqui.yelp.com">My Yelp</a> has achieved 200+ reviews!!! It's sad actually, I could've used these hours to do something a little more productive, like studying or working out, but no, I chose to rant seemingly endlessly about anything and everything.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-78094759854357774552007-09-10T22:44:00.000-04:002008-12-09T05:55:01.146-05:00Kullu 3am Wa Antum Be7'air<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYiw5sairBz_vpsba997aS7qyY3LKpiMGM_NVhS2AePp1XIPkGd0ZNlXp_PUPDWIYyMqvAzJ8dydarL7zFM3wWxyLYfXDt3i9lMWPDVYZeN8nAmh0ObDGS51XSlSu2XYeI6SVWiS93J4J/s1600-h/ramdan_800.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYiw5sairBz_vpsba997aS7qyY3LKpiMGM_NVhS2AePp1XIPkGd0ZNlXp_PUPDWIYyMqvAzJ8dydarL7zFM3wWxyLYfXDt3i9lMWPDVYZeN8nAmh0ObDGS51XSlSu2XYeI6SVWiS93J4J/s320/ramdan_800.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108773356501627458" /></a><br />Ramadan Kareem! The holiest month of the Islamic calendar Ramadan starts on Thursday, 13th September. Wow! It's been one year already, last year this time I had just got back from Riyadh and was still at Cargill. This is going to be my 8th straight Ramadan away from home, parents and family :( Can't believe it, let's see how it goes here in Harrisburg. I wish and pray for peace, happiness and prosperity for everyone all over the world.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-4193861006460315342007-09-09T22:45:00.000-04:002007-09-09T22:46:27.617-04:00Worth Clicking<a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1633488_1639316,00.html">Time's Top 50 Websites 2007</a>Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-21689627430032431412007-09-09T00:43:00.000-04:002007-09-09T01:05:59.422-04:00First weekend in HarrisburgThis is my first weekend here in Harrisburg, both last weekends I was out to Philly and then Toledo. I can see this place getting really boring, wow! I had to work on Saturday morning so that took care of at least a portion of the weekend. Later in the afternoon, I went jogging along the Susquehanna river which goes through the city. There were more people fishing than jogging or walking or biking along the river. Maybe it's cause it was really hot. The paths along the river are nothing like the ones by Charles river in Boston. Now, that's somewhere you wanna jog, very clean and well maintained and always full of people. Come to think of it, in my last few years consulting, I've lived in 5 cities and all but one of them had a river going right through the city. Susquehanna in Harrisburg, Charles in Boston, Arkansas in Wichita, Mississippi in St. Louis. Dallas is the only one without a river, although there were a couple of lakes. Comparing these to Riyadh which is where I grew up, the closest water body is 250 miles away. Riyadhians get their water desalinated from Arabian Sea at Dammam port and pumped all the way to Riyadh. I went Shisha smoking at <a href="http://www.skewersgrill.net/index.html">Skewers</a> tonight, it was really bland and tasteless. The Kabab wraps were pretty good though. At least living in downtown, you've got your nightlife and weekends covered if you're in the whole bar/club scene, which I'm not... so Lamb Kababs were quite exciting to me :)<br /><br />Talking to locals at work, I also found out <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/tmi/">Three Mile Island</a> is only few miles from Harrisburg and is actually visible from downtown. This is the place where the worst nuclear civilian disaster in the US history took place back in 1979.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-24493843996145169062007-09-04T18:25:00.000-04:002007-09-04T18:39:43.432-04:00My maiden voyage on AmtrakThis actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I was just not able to do a write up right afterwards. So, my roommate and I had to go to Philly over the weekend to drop off my rental car which I picked up at the airport there when I flew from Wichita to Philly. The rather economical and practical way of coming back, we decided, was to hop on the Amtrak which takes 1.5 hours and you're home with $7 less in your pocket. And the best part is the Amtrak station here in Harrisburg is less than a block from our apartment. I'm totally unimpressed by them. This was my first time hopping on one of their trains, and almost everything that could've gone wrong did go wrong.<br />- First, their kiosks wouldn't work at the downtown Philly station, so couldn't get the tickets electronically.<br />- Then, when we approached the counter, the system was down, so they had to hand write the tickets.<br />- Also, they weren't able to accept plastic, only cash.<br />- Finally, the train was 50 minutes late.<br /><br />I'm like what the f*ck? But my roomy, who travels with them pretty regularly, tells me that my first experience was definitely an anamoly, and they're usually quite solid. I have yet to see it though...<br /><br />- And yeah, the stewardess lady was sooo friggin' loud, annoying as hell!<br /><br />BUT I got to try the real Philly Cheese steak sandwich at the station which was simply delicious.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-50024085704067036032007-08-31T15:34:00.000-04:002007-08-31T16:35:57.921-04:00First impressions of HarrisburgSo, I haven't written much in the last few weeks. Maybe it's cause I've been stressed out by the move to Harrisburg. This place is not forgiving to car-less people. Coming from Boston where the public transportation was just fabulous, this place definitely stinks. Then, the closest Bank of America is like 35 miles from my apartment, and I live right in downtown Harrisburg. Thanks to the non cooperative banks, every time I withdraw cash, I pay $2 each to the ATM and to Bank of America, just cause I don't have a Bank of America location close by. Downtown is nice for the most part, but there are some VERY shady areas. Had it not been for Crown Fried Chicken, I wouldn't even think about going to these areas. So, this fried chicken joint is serving fine, economical Halal food in the middle of a ghetto. We ate there yesterday. There's no place to sit down, you gotta take out, which is good, I don't think I could sit down and eat here after sun down. But the chicken was good. I'm sure we'll take out again in the near future. What else? Now, I'm totally ecstatic cause there's a couple of Shisha bars like walking distance from my apartment. One of them, the Citadel, also serves Halal food. We have yet to try the other one, Skewers is the name by the way. There's a few masajid around, one actually close to my apartment, which would be good since Ramadan is coming Insha Allah. Once again, it's almost like I'm working at IBM in Bangalore or Trivandrum or something. My lead, who's not an Indian, asked me whether I have any experience in India... I'm like dude, I'm not even from there. No offense, this place is FOBville. Time flies, first couple of weeks have gone by already and the long Labor Day weekend is upon us. I'm driving to Toledo this evening after work to see Umar and Usman, it's been a while. Really looking forward to the long weekend after stressful couple of weeks. I'm missing Wichita for sure... Harrisburg is better than Boston in a sense that at least I knew one person really well before coming out here, as opposed to Boston where it was more like zero. And that person is my roommate now, I hardly get to see him, courtesy of the hospital he's interning at. He's hella jealous when he comes home late in the evening and I'm sitting down sipping on Chai while watching crazy Saudi drivers' drifting videos on <br />Youtube.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-19936175658794829552007-08-20T21:20:00.000-04:002007-08-20T21:55:53.151-04:00Yet another beginning...So I'm here in Harrisburg, PA, just got here last night and am crashing with Junaid, my high school friend. I know I need to give it more time but I don't like this place so far! There are reasons for it though... I'm coming back after a two and a half month vacation, and then on my way back I stopped for a couple weeks in Wichita and hung out with my home boys. Man, gotta love this consulting business, I don't think I would've been able to take 2.5 months off from work otherwise. Boston has set the bar so high that Harrisburg will take a lot of time to get used to...<br /><br />I start working on Wednesday Insha Allah.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-74938476479859507202007-07-02T04:54:00.001-04:002007-07-02T05:00:43.168-04:00Dubai -- the land of superlativesThe results are out and surveys have confirmed that Dubai is the most congested city in the Middle East. No wonder I felt I couldn't live in Dubai when I visited few weeks ago. It's one thing to visit and another to be living somewhere. Also, the studies concluded that Dubai has the worst car parking problems and the longest average commute times. Hopefully the Metro will alleviate some of the problems, to be opened in '09. Of course, Dubai has the tallest building in the world, the largest mall in the world, the biggest apartment complex in the world, the first artificial snow park in the desert, the most luxurious hotel in the world and more. Land of superlatives for sure!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-49081681871892849512007-07-02T04:34:00.000-04:002007-07-02T04:51:54.302-04:00Lost in translationAccording to the latest census, the population of Saudi is 27 million, out of which 8 million are expatriates. Basically there are a lot of foreigners like Pakistanis, Indians, Arabs from other countries and Filipinos. Speaking from my point of view, there are so many Pakistanis here in the Kingdom that if I wanted to, I could live here without learning/speaking a word of Arabic, because I would find my own kind every freakin' where... To some people, it's an advantage. They learn only so much Arabic just to get by and nothing more. For example there are over a million Filipinos in the Kingdom. You'll find them working in restaurants, cafes, offices, banks, travel agencies, airports ad nasuseam... so if they wanted, they could live here and conduct their business with minimal Arabic, and that is at the government offices which you don't go that often anyways. I visited someone at the hospital last week who's from Pakistan and has lived here in Riyadh for the last 25 years or so. It was sad seeing the trouble he was going through trying to communicate with the Arabic speaking staff. So I tried to play the interpreter between my Urdu speaking friend and the Arabic speaking administrative staff at the hospital. Lot of expatriates living here complain about how Saudis live in their own impermeable society and circles. I wonder if more of us tried to learn their language and communicated with them, how would things turn out? After all, it's their country you're living in!Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5385152085507110607.post-75555681578934012322007-06-25T11:16:00.000-04:002007-06-25T11:37:56.358-04:00Reflections on RiyadhIt's been about three weeks since I got to Riyadh. Life slowed down for sure, since there's no work and all I've been doing is eating and sleeping pretty much. Needless to say it's been HOT, hovering around 45+ degrees celsius. Traffic in Riyadh has been getting worse every time I come back. There's so many cars on the road, and the concept of rush hour and weekend vs. weekday is fading slowly. No matter what time of the day you go out, you're bound to get stuck in traffic at one place or another. I wish we had a Metro thingy here. Riyadh is losing its traditional charm with all the Starbucks and McDonald's everywhere, and new outlets opening on a regular basis. Fahad and I went to Thumamah outside of Riyadh for barbecue with his buddies which was a lot of fun, you get to see/ride camels, horses, ATV's and there's sand everywhere. And above all, there's Shisha cafes with some traditional flavors you won't find in the US. I went to my high school 10 years after graduating. There was some sort of festival going on. It was nice seeing my old instructors and my alma mater. Some instructors have retired now.Khalidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04870301163894082511noreply@blogger.com0