Asim and Tamreez http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk This is what we think! Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:11:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Being ‘enterprising’… A few weeks back, I joined this organisation called Social Enterprise London. SEL is the largest network of social enterprises in Great Britain. I found this out after I attended their Annual General Meeting (AGM) a few days ago. Of course when I had joined it was just a google search…as all important internet decisions are made, I picked the organisation with the nicest website! I joined because it’s supposed to provide support and training to those who’re running social enterprises or those who want to start one. I fall in the latter category.

I was sold to the idea of social

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=336 Job Search Calculus So I was told by a friend that for every 10 job applications you send, you get 1 interview and for every 10 interviews, you get 1 job offer. Keeping that ratio in mind, I need to send out a 100 applications to get one job offer.

Over this past year, I applied for jobs off and on and got a few interview calls but none materialized into a job offer. I guess my calculus was off. So now I’ve decided to meticulously follow the formula. I’m going to aim for the magic 100 mark. I’ve sent out 3 applications this

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=334 Pakistan’s First Winter Olympian What an achievement for someone who would cut some wood, chisel it, and make it into something looking vaguely like a ski and tie it to his feet with rubber or nylon rope! Muhammad Abbas, has come a long way from the days when he was just another child playing for fun with his friends on the snow slopes of Northern Pakistan. On Tuesday, the 24-year-old became the first Pakistani to compete at the Winter Olympics. All Pakistanis are proud of you Abbas!

Photo by Reuters

]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=333 Transformation in 6 months? Last night I got myself involved in something crazy, at least it seems that way at the moment. It doesn’t scare me but something inside me is still resisting. I enrolled myself into a 6 month leadership programme offered by an organisation known for its work in bringing transformation in the lives of many people all over the world. What’s crazy is the schedule and the level of commitment. I’m committed to the course for more than 10 hours every single week and 4 full weekends (Sat, Sun, 9am-11pm!) over the course of the next 6 months. It has

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=322 I WILL NOT BE LATE ANYMORE! There are certain habits of mine that I had thought were incurable. They had almost taken the status of ‘beliefs’ about myself, such as “I am a procrastinator”, “I can never be on time”, “I cannot wake up for fajr” and its related “I’m not a morning person”.

Recently my sister Wardah taught me a very important lesson: We should not make ‘bad habits’ excuses for not doing the things we know are important.

Just to give an example: Wardah told me that sometime back she had vowed that no matter what time she slept, she will wake up for

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=321 He’s still alive in my heart! A man of great knowledge, wisdom and personality; a man who throughout his life, from growing up in Poonch, Jammu to moving to Pakistan to the task of getting life restarted here,  showed great courage and character. Nana Abu was a man of extreme intelligence. Lighting up conversations with his clever sense of humor and winning hearts and minds with his deep thought provoking lessons, Nana Abu had it all!

I remember, back in Dubai when he came to visit us , I would spend a lot of time with him. We had a fun relationship and would have inside jokes

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=309 Our blog’s new dedicated reader! I was in Pakistan for the last month and a half. While I was there, I didn’t even get a chance to check my emails, let alone write a blog. A few days before leaving, I asked my mother if she’d had a chance to check out our blog. She said she hadn’t. Mama’s not a very active internet user, but every once in a while she does come online. I wrote down our blog’s URL for her and yesterday when I reached London, I found out she’d spent all day reading our blogposts– from start to end! She said she’d

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=308 Safeguarding our future

I just read a thought provoking article on the impact on climate change becoming apparent even in areas like Kashmir. With major issues like terrorism, “politicians”, and corruption hovering around us like hungry vultures, we ponder little about this extremely important part defining our future. Climate change is a major concern for the whole world. The rising rates of pollution are alarming and the impact now visible in the areas considered as habitat of ecosystem. Devastations caused by droughts, famines and even tsunamis and earthquakes are consequences of changes in the environment which we have a contribution towards.

Keeping

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=295 2010 Another year came to an end and people all over the world celebrated the start of a new year better than ever before. If we had the ability to see the transmission of SMS messages, there would not have been any visibility on the day, as trillions of best wishes and greetings would have been flying all around us. I too joined in with a renewed vigour and optimism. But it makes me wonder sometimes that what is it about the start of a new year that we celebrate. Do we celebrate our satisfaction on the way the previous year

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]]> http://blog.asimandtamreez.co.uk/?p=291 Celebrating Gulgee On this day two years ago, Ismail Gulgee, one of the best painters Pakistan has ever seen, was found murdered in his Karachi home along with his wife and maid. It was indeed a sad day for Pakistan, but Gulgee lives on through his work.

Dawn’s media gallery today is titled “Remembering Gulgee“. I’m glad they reminded the rest of us to not only remember but celebrate this amazing Pakistani hero.

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