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;