Rocking away with life

Well it's been more then a while really, and quite a bit's happened in this more then a little while. Ramzan came and went, Eid came and went, a new job, but one thing that refuses to leave the inner crevices of the mind for even a few minutes, the mind and life shattering earthquake!

On the morning of the 8th day of November, life was changed forever for many Pakistanis, myself included. When I was rocking across my office on the 4th floor by the earthquake, I never thought beyond the time it would be over. Yet slowly but steadily the news of the devastation started to reach us. Bit by bit, like that Chinese torture where they drop water of your forehead, one drop at a time, until all control over the mind is lost...

It was however heartening to see the Pakistani people lift themselves up to the occasion. To see students, professionals, kids, the elderly all go the extra mile and then some to do whatever they could to assist in whatever way they could. A relief camp was established at my office. Work was suspended for 10 days, goods were collected, money was collected, and detailed plans were made to send the relief to the hard struck areas. Every night 4 trucks loaded with relief goods were dispatched.

I took two trips to Muzaffarabad for disbursement of relief goods. I thought the clips shown on TV were excruciating, but being there, in the stinch of rotting corpses, where roof upon roof was layed out flat on the ground gave a whole new perspective to the word excruciating. Everyone we met had lost something / someone. In that warped reality when someone said "I'm fine" it meant s/he'd only lost 1-2 family members, and were pulling themselves together to help others who'd lost their whole families. I saw women and children with bruised bodies and broken bones, just sitting there, unable to reach any hospital or help otherwise.

But what I felt most strongly over there was an absence of God, it was as if all divine assistence was abolished, and little insignificant people were left to tread the stormy waters on their own.

I can write on and on about this and still not be able to convey what I saw there, and all that I felt there...so...move on.

After two years I spent Ramzan back at home, and that was comfortable. I guess you can never get pampered enough! And Eid was a nice quiet family affair as well. It was my first Eid after being married, so it did feel a bit wierd at times, but the overall effect was quite soothing.

And then I switched my job as well. This time to a place where I feel I can spend the rest of my professional life in peace, working away quietly.

On numerous occasions I felt the urge to get online to blog, but there was always something to stop me from going there. Now I feel sad, because of so many thoughts that are lost, maybe forever...

Let's try and be a bit more regular now.