TLOK + Sunshine + Liebster Award

The third season of The Legend Of Korra titled Change has just come to an end and it was amazing in the most unexpected ways possible. The finale started out with the main bad guy, Zaheer giving Korra the option of surrendering herself to save the Airbenders he has captured- and for a seemingly noble guy (he talks about stuff like giving people true freedom and he acts like he thinks he's right and is a good guy and all) he doublecrosses Korra- capturing her and keeping the Airbenders.

^super awesome xD^

The fight scenes were amazing and everything was brilliant and I loved all of it. In the second part, the Red Lotus (an organization created to get rid of the Avatar) poisons Korra, forcing her into the Avatar state so they could kill her and thus end the Avatar cycle.

Korra's Avatar State was so brutal and violent and it was the complete anti-thesis of the last time the Avatar went berserk- when Aang faced off against Ozai. Aang's State was totally defensive while Ozai tried bringing him down. Here, Korra is the one who is bent after Zaheer while he flies around like Superman.

^violent crazy Korra omg I love her^

One of the reasons why I really love this show is because of the strong female characters. There's Lin Beifong and her sister, Su. Then there's Asami who doesn't bend but she is totally awesome too.

And the last scene just literally killed me- Jinora being declared an airbending master aside.

OMG LOOK AT HER. I just want to hug her to pieces and cry and omg I haven't felt this way about any character except that velveteen bunny rabbit in the story I read when I was eight years old (even though the rabbit had the happiest ending in that same story ever) and maybe Itachi (and heck, he died- Korra's not dead but this hurts much more ;n;)

This season was also much more violent as compared to the last two seasons and I think ALL of the TLOK fans have realized WHY Nickelodeon stopped airing it. It's just too graphic for children.

This lady gets suffocated.
This lady combusts her own head.
This lady gets electrocuted.
This guy brings down an entire cave in an effort to suicide.


[If you don't understand what I'm talking about, it's okay. You can start watching the Legend of Korra- the first three seasons are complete and available online]

The Sunshine Award

I got nominated by F @ The Fence Of Stars for the Sunshine Award where you have to tell people five facts about yourself, answer five questions by your nominator and give five questions of your own. Here we go >.>

Five Facts about Me

1. I love reading- reading anything! I'll read books, articles and blogs. I love telling people how much I liked their writing, or what I think could improve it.

2. I mentioned a velveteen rabbit I cried for when I was eight. It was the first story in this big story collection book and it was about a toy rabbit who got abandoned by his owner and how the poor rabbit waited and waited and how it rained and how he got soggy and I think this was too much for my eight year old self. I remember bawling for this rabbit every time I read the story (which my mother used to make me read out loud so I could improve my English. The reading sessions ended with both of us delicately skipping this first story).

3. I am a neat freak and my notes will be the most beautiful thing you will ever hold in your hand.

4. I'm starting to get a little worried about my MCAT since there's just a week left but I've been preparing for this for almost two or three months now so I'm a little scared of all the hidden mental stress my mind may be carrying. The last thing I need is my brain melting down before the test.

5. My friends have started university (some of them) and I am jealous because they have such beautiful campuses and dorms and omg I don't think I could find anything comparable to those in medical universities here.

F's Questions and My Answers

What is your favorite mythical creature? DRAGONS! xD

If you had to change accents, which would you choose? Either British or Australian :p

What was the last good book you read? I just finished reading 1984 by George Orwell. It was definitely good, in a frightening sort of way.

What is your favorite modern slang word/phrase? Hmm. This is a tricky question because it seems modern slang is something we use every day without noticing how much we use it. I don't think I'd be able to pinpoint any such phrases from my own speech D:

What is a little known fact you just found out? You cant touch your nose with your tongue like Toothless can.

^Omg did you actually try it xD^

My Questions For You

1. What is your favorite part of your favorite season?
2. Describe one event that happened to you this summer which you will probably remember for the rest of your life xD
3. The worst book ever written- in your opinion?
4. Natural tourist spots (eg beaches) vs man made tourist spots (eg amusement parks)- where would you rather go?

5. If you could invent something out of a science fiction novel or movie, what would you make?

My nominees

Lindsey Evenstar

Yasmine M

Envy

Celeste Marie

Ima Writer

Liebster Award

I got nominated for this by Whimsical Youngster @ The Starry-Eyed Dreamer. Thank you for nominating me :)

Q) What is the most important lesson you have learnt?

Well, my parents (actually, my father mostly) are usually stressing about how grades are not necessary proof of your intelligence and grasp of your studies. The main thing is to understand what you're doing first- before getting ready for a test. You could memorize everything and ace the test or you could sit down and understand everything and ace life :)

Q) What are you most scared of?

A) Cockroaches. Definitely cockroaches. Slimy little bugs. It doesn't help that I recently read a manga called Terraformars which is about humanity conquering Mars by introducing a mold and cockroaches there. The cockroaches were meant to absorb the heat of the sun and thus raise Mars' temperature while the mold was there to nourish the cockroaches. Anyway, so the manga started with this space expedition off to see how Mars was doing and to clean off the little pests. So they landed and they were like "Omg this is just like Earth now!" and they looked for the cockroaches except the cockroaches were man-sized and distinctly humanoid (evolved cockroaches) and so imagine that tiny little bug being mansized. Not only is it inhumanely fast but it's also indestructible and the cockroaches (now called Terraformers) literally pick off the human characters. The manga is pretty graphic and the cockroaches- ew. They have traumatized me.

Q) Do you believe in love at first sight?

A) There are lots of things you will love at first site but you probably won't get them anytime soon.

LOL KASHAF THIS IS FOR YOU xD

Q) If you had a time machine, what era would you travel to?

A) If I had a Time And Relative Dimension in Space (aka, a time machine) the first thing I'd do is probably sing the Doctor Who theme whenever I can. (WOOOO EEEEE OOOOOOO DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN WOOOO EEEE) And after that I'm going to high five my TARDIS

And after THAT I will try to go join the Sherlock universe xD and wow Sherlock will my wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff xD

But in all sincerity, I think I'd take my time machine and go 1400 ish years into the past :)

Q) What is your favorite show?

A) Well, I'm not sure about that. I'd probably say Doctor Who (again) and Sherlock (again).

Q) If you could use one cosmetic product for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

A) I don't apply cosmetics on my face soooo.

Q) What fictional character do you relate to the most?

A) Probably Korra. She's a very realistic and relatable character. (My spellcheck tell me relatable is not a word o.o)

Q) What is your guilty pleasure?

A) Browsing on tumblr or playing games or typing up this blogpost (which has spanned at least four days) when I should actually be studying >.>

Q) What are you looking forward to?

A) I am looking forward to Eid and my MCAT result (even though I haven't given the test yet) and an acceptance letter from RMC and I might go to Karachi so looking forward to that as well.

Q) If you were stranded on an island, what one person and three items would you bring?

A) I think I'd bring Cinder, from the Lunar Chronicles (cause her author reckons Cinder's the best when it comes to deserted islands) and as for the three items, my time machine TARDIS from the earlier question would be more than enough xD

Q) Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

A) Depends on how they blew their first one.

My questions

Your favorite social media website and why?

Do you think good and evil is most definitely good and evil?

What do you usually do when you're faced with a difficult decision?

How do you manage to calm down if you find yourself in a panic?

What is the most exciting thing to look forward to in school/university?

What advice would you give to the you of five years ago?

Share the last share-worthy memory you have had.

Television VS Internet- which would you rather let go of?

The best book you've read so far?

What kind of art do you prefer to dabble in?

Do you think your past should dictate your future?

My nominees

The Fence of Stars

Maine Lyn

A Girl Without A Name

Hasiva

MJ

Thanks for reading this post all the way to the bottom. 

If you got nominated and you don't want to do it, it's okay! 

If you want to do it and you didn't get nominated, let me know. 

If you want to get nominated but you don't wanna do it, well. >.>

INQILAAB! REVOLUTION!

I don't know if this shows up on your news feed or news channel or whatevers but Pakistan is currently having a revolution which is... not exactly a revolution. Basically, there's this guy called Imran Khan who won us the Cricket world cup some decades ago and now he's here to try winning us a Democracy cup (cause yknow, Pakistan looks like it's either run by families who take turns on the seat of power, or the military). Now, let's get this clear, I don't have much to say against Imran Khan because honestly, he seems pretty cool most of them time, but that was until he decided to bring this "inqilaab".

[Inqilaab means revolution]

This was brought about by the Azadi (Freedom) March which was around the 14th of August which is also Pakistan's Independence Day. Of course, at first we thought it would fun and games, a march on Independence Day and more festivity and nationalism and patriotism and all the other isms that suddenly makes us emotional slaves of our country for those precious 24 hours of the year where EVERYONE decides to take a selfie in green and tag it as #OMGIHEARTPAKISTAN and #ILOVEMYCOUNTRY while the rest of the year its something like #IwishIlivedinUSA or #PakistanIsSoLame or whatever. I'm not judging this bit, but what I AM judging is how this day got mixed up with Imran Khan's march and suddenly, it wasn't "Happy Independence Day"- it was "Azadi! GO PTI!!"

[PTI is Imran Khan's political party, it stands for Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf, or Pakistan Movement for Justice]

Like, excuse me. What? WHAT?!

And you know what was even more unforgivable? It was how Imran Khan was suddenly equated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. If you ask my opinion, I haven't seen Imran Khan do anything as good on such a large scale as what Jinnah did- he cannot be even placed parallel to Jinnah.

I think I'll say this again, I don't have a problem with Imran Khan. But I don't have a problem with John Green and TFIOS either- but I just didn't get the hype about them. Same with Imran Khan. My newsfeed is FLOODED with #ILoveImranKhan and #ImranKhanIsMyLeader but honestly, he has been sitting in the capital of this country for almost a week now (maybe less, but the city HAS been semi-locked down for a week) and he hasn't got anything to show for it except for tons of biased updates where people are like

OMG I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH SOLIDARITY IN PAKISTAN

IMRAN KHAN WILL DEFINITELY BRING INQILAAB

THE MARCH IS GOING GREAT

(GOODNESS GRACIOUS PEOPLE, GET A GRIP. THIS CROWD HAS BEEN SITTING HERE FOR DAYS AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET. OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING IS NOT GOING VERY GOOD)

The thing is, Imran Khan has the support of all the wrong people. He has the undying support of the youth- more than half of which can't even legally vote yet. They'll all come out in the streets and party and go wild and have fun, but they can't give him their votes because they DONT HAVE IT TO BEGIN WITH.

Oh, while we talk about Imran Khan's youth support, I want to bring up the immaturity of his fans. The things I see, posted proudly by underage Imran Khan fangirls and fanboys mind boggles me. I cannot fathom how such young minds can jump from supporting Imran Khan to deciding to take matters into their own hands and insulting people of the opposite party.

Translations:-

"Hopefully I am not disturbing you, lady with the make up"

"We don't like you AT ALL"

"When you ran away to get married, didn't baldy say anything?" 

"Why don't you run away with someone again, and take baldy with you?"

"You are so lame"

"BTW. You ran away and got married, right? Awww :p If the Prime Minister can't get his daughter to listen to him, how can he expect the same of his nation?"

[Ganjay, or baldy refers to the current Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif]

I think it's fine if you tweet to the person things like "I don't think you should comment on this" or "I don't support you" or "I don't agree with your stances" but it's a completely different story if you decide to drag in that person's personal life and mix it up with their politics and then spew it out venomously- especially if you're underage and don't even have a vote.

Let's take away the political affiliations from the example I quoted above. Instead of a bunch of PTI supporters insulting the married daughter of the Prime Minister, it can also be seen as harassment a woman has to face from children a decade- if not more- junior to her. Blatant display of discourtesy to elders- something that is not respected in Islam.

On top of that, it's also against Islam to speak so foully against another person. And since Imran Khan is also marching around Islamabad saying things about Iman (faith) and being Muslims and stuff, I seriously expected better behavior from both, his online fan club and the fan club present at the march (the latter fan club has been seen to be enjoying the concerts set up to entertain them as well as dancing along in shameless ways).

I tried explaining this to the person who was so proudly displaying this on their timeline by commenting about it. I immediately got a private messaging saying "You didn't need to comment that" and instant removal of it (my comment, not the post in question).

This new generation, I swear, is the most jaahil generation I have ever had the fortune to meet. 

Let's talk about the March. It has been almost a week and Imran Khan's demands seem to be getting crazier and crazier. He wants the current PM to step down and he has already declared himself as the Prime Minister of Pakistan ("Prime Minister Imran Khan will never lie to you!"). Can we talk about how wrong this is on so many levels?

First of all, Nawaz Sharif has only done one year of his term. If he does step down, doesn't Imran Khan realize that this would boost Nawaz Sharif's chance at getting hold of the PM seat again? Why? Well, firstly because 1. Nawaz Sharif has NEVER completed a term 2. He can always blame Imran Khan and say "The nation owes me another chance at fixing this country" 3. When Imran Khan messes up, Nawaz Sharif would be like "HAHA LOL I TOLD YOU IMRAN KHAN WAS NOTHING- MAKE ME PM AGAIN GUYS!"

Imran Khan should have waited till the next election before trying to display his strength as a political leader- he should have tried to become the Prime Minister in the "democratic" way- the same way he is fighting for right now. Not only would the remaining four year increase his vote bank as more fanboys and fangirls become legal, but he could also try harder to win the votes of the older population by actually doing something with the province he has won through the last election. I personally think it is hypocrisy- him demanding Nawaz Sharif to step down early and at the same time, demand democracy. It seems everyone loves using the word democracy when it means YOU get the chance to sit on the seat.

Last but not least, Pakistan has much more important problems to deal with right now, much more important than an accused feudal Prime Minister who has only done one year of his term. Pakistan has national debts, a failing economy, terrorism, health issues, power issues, security issues and growing intolerance among its people for minorities. It seems to me that Imran Khan is being used as a decoy to ensnare the attention of the masses and to keep the media busy from reporting the actual dangers Pakistan is currently facing. (Quite possibly a cover to get General Musharaf out of the country and safe from the punishment his nation wants to see inflicted on him).

May Allah protect this country from those who seek to destroy it from within.

BookShelf: Looking for Alaska

Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

~Taken from Goodreads

I've read the Fault In Our Stars and I found it pretty unique (but not as awesome or tear jerking as everyone was hyping about) so I decided to try out another book by John Green. Let me just say that I have never been to university (or college or whatever it is called) or lived alone, away from my parents- and the book was describing everything in so much amazing detail so I was obviously hooked (it was like a Harry Potter fan reading a fanfic about a normal student at Hogwarts while Harry does his awesome stuff etc xD for me anyway). Everything was described- the euphoria of a "Great Perhaps" and leaving home, making new friends, studying, ragging (it's called pranking there, apparently), getting into trouble, trying not to get into trouble and I just soaked up the details with shiny sparkly eyes LOL

But okay, back to the point. The book dealt with the death of a close friend and how such an event could be so sudden and unpredictable and have such long lasting effects. I found some of the characters hard to imagine (Alaska was one of these people. She was just... too eccentric that she seemed more like a cardboard character where you just lump everything labelled "crazy" with her but she was still cool).

Anyway, I rather enjoyed reading this book and would most certainly recommend it to anyone who has read TFIOS and liked it. But the thing is, the characters are just as unrealistic as they were in TFIOS (cough) Augustus Waters (cough). It's great for light reading though- don't dwell too much on what's going on and go with the flow :D

The Beautiful Blog Award

I got nominated for another award by Yasmine @ Cloudy Dreams but I was keeping it on hold because I had asked Abby to re-design my blog for me- and she installed it today so I figured I should celebrate it with a Beautiful Blog Award!

Isn't my blog beautiful? Abby has her designing done very professionally- you fill out a form and she'll contact you within days and you get started on the designing! She's super nice and really patient and offers to re do the blog completely if you're still not satisfied :D 

Click here for her webpage.

Okay, back to the Award  >.>

Questions&Answers

Q) Reading or writing?

A) Personally I like reading better because it doesn't require as much effort and you can be relaxed and lazy AND read at the same time! How cool is that xD (not very, I admit, but for someone who is lazy 80% of the time, it actually is)

Q) Which fictional characters would you love to have dinner with?

A) Wow that's an interesting question. Okay, here's the list.

--> Definitely not Naruto or Luffy because omg, if I am paying for the bill, I will go bankrupt- these two eat enough for 50 o.o

--> Most of the characters I like are evil, so I have feeling they'll try to convert me to their side or just end up killing me in the end.

--> Nice guys are scary.

--> Can I just eat dinner alone? o.o

--> Ooh, wait, I want to have dinner with Korra xD she'd be cool. 

Q) Do you have something (like a teddy bear, or a blanket or a favourite toy) from when you were a baby that you just can't stand to throw away?

A) Umm, not really! But what I do have are loads of diaries, all starting from 2008. I'm thinking about cleaning them up and posting entries here so they're never really lost :)

Q)Pick up the book you're reading/the last book you've read, go to the third chapter and quote the seventh sentence.

A) THE BIOLOGY BOOK I WAS READING:- "In multicellular organisms, although there is a division of labor among cells yet every cell can respond to changes in its immediate vicinity" 

THE BOOK I WAS CASUALLY READING:- doesn't exactly have chapters, so I'll just do page 30 sentence 7. "No one shall be turned away by the servants on that veranda, be he black or white, no one shall be kept standing who approaches with a loving heart" (A Passage to India by E.M.Forster)

Q) What do you like most about blogging?

A) The random-ness xD

Q) What do you hate most about blogging?
A) I wouldn't say hate, more like annoys. Something that really annoys me, while I browse blogs, is how there are 13 year olds who have like 400 followers but when I try to see what's so interesting about their blog, the last 5 or so posts are stuff like "Look at this thing I bought!" and 30 comments and "I don't have anything to say today, but how are you?" and 35 comments and I'm just sitting there like.

But it's okay. I write mostly for myself :)

Q) Favorite accessory?
A) Definitely necklaces and bracelets.

Q) Favorite holiday location?
A) Beaches ;n; definitely beaches, although mountains are cool too.

Q) Do you play any instruments?
A) Haha, no >__> not at all.

Q) How much time do you spend on the internet per day?
A) Let's be honest, with a smartphone, you're literally online every waking moment.

Q) Why did you write the last two posts that you wrote?
A) Well the last one was an update, which I always do and the one before that was a Bookshelf post which I had put on queue when I thought I'd be in Chitral. So I just wrote them... :D


Well, that'll be all. I'll try writing a couple more posts but I think I'll have to use the post queue again D: because the MCAT and stuff happening >__> have a nice day :)

Good news and Bad news and Worse News

RUN!!!!

I like how Maine divides her posts into days and I'm afraid that with all the days that have passed by, I'll have to do the same to update it all. I know I left saying that I was going to Chitral and I guess you guys are waiting for a super amazing travel post but unfortunately, that's not going to happen for reasons I will start giving below as I tell you what I've been up to >.>

9th August 2014: SATURDAY

[Excerpt from journal]

I passed the AKU exam! So now I have this permanent grin plastered on my face since yesterday. But that's not important.

The important thing is that today we set out for Chitral. We were supposed to leave at 5 pm but we got a little late. Anyway the drive itself was rather pleasant except for the fact that Islamabad's to-be-condition was making a negative impact on the trip.

There's supposed to be a long march and some other random stuff going on that would cause possible damage to the capital so that's why the city has apparently been scheduled to shut down. Possible bad-case scenarios also put the ER Department on high alert (presumably) so with my dad on a road trip, people were calling and going like "What're we going to do?!"

Well that issue got resolved after a few hours.

We stopped at an army mess in Nowshera after passing signboards saying stuff like Kamra, Mulan Mansoor and Hassan Abdal. The army mess was really well-kept and beautiful place- too bad it was already dark. There was a large lawn which was really well cared for bound by a small fence. On approaching th fence, I realized that there was a vast river-which- in the dark and the distance- appeared like a large, vast plain. The River Kabul.

We had dinner and walked around. There were jasmine bushes with some (few) blooming flowers- it looked like someone had already picked them off. There was s sort of open air cafe (which looked really stylish) and a wall with embedded squares and a light in their center so from far away they looked like lanterns.

^the lantern-wall^

Hania started complaining that her headache was getting worse and worse and that started creating more complications because the next stage of the trip involved driving to Chitral throughout the night- and my father didn't want to have Hania spend solid hours in the car with her headache.

^Outdoor cafe thing^

For a long moment it seemed as though the trip was over and we'd be back in Islamabad just in time for bed-but then we realized that my taya (uncle) lives about fifteen minutes from where we were right then- so that was part of the new plan; split off from the main Chitral caravan and spend the night at Risalpur and see how it fares in the morning.

10th August 2014: SUNDAY

Stayed in Risalpur till almost 1pm and that's when we head out back for Islamabad. The drive itself was- once again- rather pleasant although uneventful but when we entered the city we saw that a lot of the roads had containers set beside them- ready to have the roads closed and the city blockaded.

^container outside the city's toll entrance, ready to block the road^

^containers blocking half of the road already^

We spent most of the day at home, planning on what to do next. My brother wanted to watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes but the seats were booked for today so we reserved some for Monday. In the evening, there was supposed to be a Palestine Rally at Khyber Chawk and we decided to go attend it.

First of all, no one knew what Khyber Chawk was exactly and this event wasn't publicized on Facebook (the positive bit about doing so is that Facebook provides you a map, making it easier to attend) and we spent a good half hour looking for the rally in places it wasn't going to be. However, we finally got there after finding out that Khyber Chawk was near the Zero Point Exchange.

^car found at rally^

^rally from the bystander's view^

11th August 2014: MONDAY

Today wasn't such a good day because I really didn't want to go to academy and give the mock exams (I thought we'd be in Chitral and that I was free of these tests D:) but my mother was like "Go .__." and so I had to go. I'd only planned to go for the exam and come home right afterwards but that plan backfired sort of.

I was trying to leave the campus when the guard was saying something to me which I couldn't understand (I think he was mixing up pashto in it so I really didn't understand) and kept trying to leave but he wouldn't let me leave so I was like what the heck and he kept motioning to the office. So I was forced to stand in the office listen to some other girl say to all the office managers (who were all male) that she wanted to go home and could they let her leave already? But obviously they said no >__> I hate those people, honestly.

Anyway so they were like "Why do you want to go home?"

Me: *totally clammed up and already freaked out with too much adrenaline on being cornered in an office, having my right to leave the campus denied and all of these by men who in that moment looked extremely heartless, barbaric and cruel* I just wanna go home.

Them: Don't you have a reason?

Me: I wanna go home.

Them: Okay, we're gonna call your parents then. Here, call your mom.

Me: *calls mom, find sister, gets told mom is busy*

Them: Okay, we're gonna call your dad then.

Me: *silently swears at them to hurry the heck up cause I wanna go home*

Them: Hello, we're the academy dudes who are totally evil and trying to stop your daughter from leaving the campus two hours early.... Uhuh.... Okay *hands phone to me*

Me: *self-consciously takes phone* *whispers* Hullo?

Baba: What's wrong, you want to go home early?

Me: I wanna go home. *whispers*

Baba: Why, what's wrong?

Me: I just wanna go home.

Baba: ....

Me: ....

Baba: Okay, give the phone back.

Them: *takes phone* Okay, sure, thanks. *hangs up* You can leave, just enter your details in this form.

Me: *writes down name, class date etc and gives reason for leaving early as "none"

And then I left and I was still feeling really shaken because I don't like being interrogated or forced to explain myself to an audience that is 100% male. I hate it. I freaking hate that office now >:| 

Anyway, when my dad came home he's like "Are you okay" and I'm like "Yeah" and he said "You sounded like something was really wrong on the phone" and I said "No I was just stressed out" while I'm silently thinking *no girl should have to go what I went through*.

After that, we went to Centaurus Cineplex to watch the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which was surprisingly a pretty good movie. I liked it- cliches and all.

^Centaurus decked for 14th August^

12th August 2014: TUESDAY

I got my CIE result today- AAABC which isn't so bad considering the C is in Psychology which was an extra subject I took and shouldn't really affect my grade because the pre-med subjects should be what actually count and that's where I got the As in (Biology, Chemistry and Physics).

Bought mithai and went to grandmother's + aunt's place.

13th August 2014: WEDNESDAY

I went to my old school and got a reference letter from the Principal for the AKU Part 2 admission procedure. Oh- and guess what, while I was in the academy I accidentally dropped my phone and wrecked the screen.

I'm sorry, I'm just being really emotional about my phone right now so I'm just gonna spam pictures of it.

And in case you were wondering how it looked before crashing.

I know I wanted an android, but I don't want to let go of my phone just yet :( I know its an outdated Windows 7.5 (heck, it doesn't update to the latest Windows 7.8 no matter how many times you try) and it has a lame battery (barely lasts five hours if you're texting/using continuously) and most of the apps are faulty, but it's still an amazing phone because

1. Less battery means more charging and less using and less playing and more studying.

2. It has FOURTEEN GB inside it, man! How much more could you ask for? I don't have to face problems about storing in phone or on SD card because there is no SD card slot AND the phone itself has LOTS of memory to spare.

3. It's got pretty neat in-built stuff, like the texting system can be directly connected to facebook- so if I want to message someone from my phone, I get to pick if I want to message via text, Facebook or Windows Live which is super cool and wowed me when I found out about it.

4. It has NEVER hanged on me. Ever. The system is fluid and doesn't lag at all despite having an update available.

I hope I can get the screen fixed. The phone is fully functional, everything is in great working order- it's just the cracks on the screen. I can feel the cracks when I touch or swipe and the lines are too close together so it does obscure a lot of things that I have to tilt the phone around to see.

This phone has been with me for a little more than two years and I don't wanna let it go just yet ;n; quick- say a prayer for the Catalina- that she may be restored to her former glory and continue serving Kanra ;n;

BookShelf: The Girl With All the Gifts

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh.

Melanie is a very special girl.

~Taken from Goodreads


This was a surprisingly depressing story- then again zombie apocalypses probably would be depressing, but one factor that added to the overall depression was the fact that children make up more of the story. I don't know about you guys but when a horror movie involves children, as opposed to teenagers and adults, things just seem a lot more scarier and that must be because children are pure and innocent and usually have to be protected, so it just hits us harder when they are the ones who are terrified and abused, especially since it's usually never their fault in the first place.

I just went of-topic didn't I? Anyway this story involves Melanie, a young girl who appears normal at the start of the book- although quite precocious- but when further details are given you realize -with that twinge of pain- that she is not normal. She is, in fact, a sort of hybrid zombie -called hungries- who happens to be much more high functioning than the usual hungries folk found beyond the security fences. Lots of children like Melanie are locked up in a compound where they are given education to determine the extent of their brain function before they are taken away for what is called "the greater good".

This is the first-of-its-kind zombie story I have ever read- I'm sure the plot twist will leave you just as stunned as it left me. The details of how the hungries functioned served to make you hold your breath every time one of them came across the pages. So to sum up, this was s pretty good book. There was a higher than average level of profanity (Like about one word per two pages) but I suppose that's alright, given the situation that the adult characters found themselves in.

CONCLUSION:- Read this book too! :D

Letters With Sparkly Surprises

OMGHIJKLMNOPQRS- Okay. I'm totally calm. This post will be a total jumble for many reasons so I'll just write the important things first and then elaborate (it won't look that way to you though >.>)

AKU MBBS ENTRY TEST RESULT

HEYYYY!! I GOT IT!!! JUST TODAY!!!

So I was typing a blogpost for a reason I will expand on in the next point. The bell rang and my brother went to check it and he's like "There's a package for you" and I was like "Okay bro" and internally I was like "ASDFHWWOAURVN" and then I went outside and the guy is like "Are you Kanra" and I'm like "Yeah" and he's like "Okay sign here" and I'm like *signs* and then he gives me the envelope and then I go inside and I close the door and I just stand there for a few seconds and I'm like.

Dude. What if I've failed?

NAH LOL LETS OPEN IT RIGHT NOW.

And then I opened it and at first I got a little confused cause it was a letter and I thought I'd just get maybe a card that has gigantic text saying "CONGRATS YOU PASSED" or "CONGRATS YOU FAILED" but now I've realized that universities don't work that way.

^The Letter With The Sparkly Surprise

ROAD TRIP TO CHITRAL

I don't think I've updated this bit, but we're going to Chitral tomorrow (Saturday) so that's why I'm busy typing up my book review posts to queue over the week.

I haven't packed anything yet. My mother says that three changes of clothes are enough and that I have to iron all three and fold it carefully and all the other travel stuff. I won't be taking my laptop along (there won't be any wifi) but I would be carrying my camera (which sadly, has a battery charger running on 120V whereas the mainsupply is 240V so I think the camera will be out of action before even half the journey/trip is done). I'll be taking my journal to record everything as well as a couple of books to study/read. Oh, that reminds me, I went to a book shop earlier this week and bought two books.

I've already finished reading Paper Towns and I'll probably taking A Passage to India with me.

REGISTRATION FOR UHS MCAT

This morning I went to RMC (Rawalpindi Medical College) with my dad with all my documents attested and all my photographs and everything ready and we got the form and sat in the auditorium until our number got called and then we got me registered. After that we went to Shifa and I waited until the driver came to pick me up. Meanwhile, some of the doctors there asked me about how my studying was going and if I was nervous about my upcoming result.

RIGHT! So I think that'll be all. I will most probably be without WiFi for about a week but I'll use my cellular data to update Twitter >.> So if you're interested in my road trip updates my username is @KanraTSK (It changes a lot >.> I think this is the third or fourth time I've changed it) and it goes by Catalina Blue. (Sorry if I'm confusing you. Kanra/Catalina will both suffice although I prefer Kanra)

Update + Post + Sunshine Award

I do this tooo much

Alot of things have been on my mind at the moment so here I am, trying to make some sense of it.

I think I know why I study so hard. It's because I'm not good at anything else and I really want to prove myself useful in some sort of way. I've always been placed in the background and never really complimented and the only time people notice me is when they find out about my grades.

I'm not good at anything except studying. I am a disaster in the kitchen and I can't clean properly. I think I have some sort of problem with following verbal directions. I'm not pretty or sociable and I think I just come across as a sullen girl when I really want to be special in some sort of way and I think it's getting grades that has become my answer to this.

I need to pass this MCAT test. I mean, what use am I if I can't pass it? I'm terrible at everything and useful for nothing. The least I could do is ace it and get a good grade. And if I do fail, what do I do then? Sit at home and start messing things up until I get them right? I can't stand constant failure.

Yes TT__TT

Well, those are three random statements that I have formed this weekend. Now on to the good stuff >.>

Saturday, 2nd August 2014 - went to a friend-of-my-dad's place. They had come to visit us and stay at our house in Florida and they moved back to Pakistan shortly after we did but they were in Karachi and we were in Islamabad. Now they've shifted to Islamabad and we met for the second time six years after the first (2008). It was pretty cool xD All I remember are small fragments of memories but my mother remembers a lot more and she's like "Do you remember how mischievous those kids were- they used to do crazy tricks in our swimming pool and remember that incident at the Arab restaurant-" and I'm like "Uhh. I don't remember it all that well, just sketchy stuff". I'm going to dig out my diary from that summer and see what I can find.
After that, we went to my grandmother's place where they were planning to leave for a barbeque picnic the next day.

Sunday, 3rd August 2014 - Sooo- the barbecue picnic! WE set out around 8:00 am ish and went to my grandmother's place to wait for everyone to gather so we could leave at the same time. My aunt had already left early in the morning to set the grill and stuff. We shuffled passengers around in the two cars we had and I had to sit with my aunt's daughter who got left behind because she was asleep and her mother didn't want to wake her (she's barely two years old). Aasia wasn't a problem at all, until we almost reached our destination and that's when she started squirming and crying and I was at a loss on how to keep her quiet. She didn't quiet down and kept wailing until she got back to her parents.
The spot we picked was awesome. The view was great and despite weather reports, it was surprisingly cool with an occasional breeze.

Two of the cars. The one on the left is ours.

Here's part of the view and the third car.

Found some mushrooms >.> or toadstools. Whatever.

Food >.>

It was lots of fun and a well spent Sunday morning :D Now on to the Sunshine Award.

The Sunshine Award is pretty common and it involves eleven answers, eleven question and then some nominations etc. So here are the questions I got.

Q) Happiest experience you've had so far?
A) Well, I can't really recall anything specific. You know how people in books haave this good stuff happening and then the narration adds something cheesy like "And that was the happiest moment that XXXX was ever going to have for a long time" before something tragic happens? Well, apparently my life's narration is yet to say anything like that- tragic turn happening or not.

Q) What are your interests?
A) I'm interested in reading, writing and making things! But when I mean making things, I am usually talking about art and craft sort of things. Kitchen creations aren't exactly my specialty... *quickly shoves all kitchen mishaps into cabinet under sink*

Q) Favorite artist and why?
A) Are we talking about painting artists or music artists or some other kind of artists?

Q)You can control one of the four elements. What would it be, earth, water, air or fire?

A) DEFINITELY

WATERBENDING

BECAUSE

ITS

AWESOME

A shame I couldn't find any Korra gifs, tumblr is being super slow.

Q) Favorite book of all time?
A) Well that's a super hard question, but whatever I recommend on my blog can be said to be on my favorites list xD

Q) Would you rather have a beautiful voice or be an amazing virtuoso of an instrument of your choice?
A) The voice- definitely the voice.

Q) Favorite color?
A) Red, then purple and then black!

Q) Name one ambition of yours
A) Probably reading, writing and stuff. Idk >__>

Q) Any secret talents?
A) 

Q) How do you want other people to see you?

A) Cute but ferocious... OMG SORRY I HAD TO USE THIS OMG HE'S SO FUNNY xD being ferocious and all xDDD

Q) Name one characteristic you want in a boyfriend.
A) Loyal and all the other random fluffy friendship stuff.

I think watching Sherlock and Supernatural and Korra and Tumblr is getting way too  much into my head.
Oh, on the bright side, I forgot to tell you guys that I started playing DOTA 2 >.> and I keep dying and sometimes its fun. I've settled on three characters that I find dependable so far- the Tidehunter, the Legion Commander and Lina. I've played multiplayer a few times but everyone's always like "Noob >.>" and I'm like "Yes, Noob >.>"

Anyway, my questions for the Sunshine Award.

1) The first book series you've ever read.
2) Do you have conversation with yourself? What is it usually about?
3) Favorite childhood memory?
4) That one arch nemesis you have/had- could you describe them?
5) How did you and your best friend meet?
6) Every had an instant dislike of a teacher? (Like Harry and Snape?) How did you realize you didn't like them?
7) Recently joined fandom?
8) The last book you read?
9) The most exciting thing that happened to you this summer is?
10) Blog vs Journal- pick one!
11) Why do you blog?

My nominees
MJ
Kashaf A
Maine Lyn
Syed Arsalan Aijaz