Returning Home

Wednesday I got the email. Haven't got the actual papers yet so I don't tell anyone. Friday I left work early, got back to my apartment for some last min packing before going to the airport.....awk...I forgot the key at work...but the super let me in...so it was fine. Checked the mail on my way up and I got what I was waiting for. Took the cab to the airport and flew back home to Canada. My family was out at a wedding so I took a cab home and just relaxed. Its nice to be able to just sprawl on the couch, at home, and just watch tv and eat a home cooked meal. It was also really weird to be back. Well weird is not the right word. But...I haven't spent very much time at all in Canada in the past ~2 years. It was odd having so much space again. And not huge buildings everywhere. Saturday Woke up (I heard birds when I woke up!) and came downstairs to greet my parents. And tell them, I got into Rotman (University of Toronto) MBA program! They were naturally very happy to hear I got in and of course that I'm moving back. I'm really excited! I feel like I've missed out on tons not being home. I dont' regret leaving. I've experienced a lot and seen so many things here in NY. Still...you miss not being at home at times. That said, after my initial YAY when I found out on Wednesday. I'm going back to school!!! My 2nd thought was ok....I have 8 more weeks to do everything I want to do and haven't yet in NY! So after that I quickly got ready and met up with Jessani, Nadin, Gabriel, and Al to play squash. I haven't played in ages and oh man...I'm out of shape. But I still managed to go undefeated! :) Afterwards we went played some basketball. I'm terrible at basketball but I'm a decent shooter and managed to win at 21. Then in American, everyone was tired so we only played to 4 points and I somehow managed to win that too! After that we met up with James, Bradley, Seiji, Bill, and Ruth and just chilled at Jessani's place for awhile and played ping pong and a couple more games of 21. I was undefeated at pong and won 1 more game of 21. I'm on a roll today! After getting ready we all went to Alice Fazooli's (which coincidentally is the same restaurant we all went to when I was leaving Canada to come to NY) where Ali, Shahzad, Hillary, Dave, Ken, June, and Gordon joined us for dinner. I have to say the Calamari was excellent. The rest just ok. Jessani raves about the pizza....I haven't tried it but compared to NY pizza....I dont' know...afterwards we went to Ken&June's place and just hung out. And my lucky streak was broken as Shahzad destroyed me in pong. Twice. Ah well, better him than Jessani :P It was great to see everyone again and just chill and talk. I can't wait to be back and doing that more often. Sunday I met up with some bloggers (Mezba, Ruby, Isheeta, Liya, & Samosa) at Yorkdale mall for the first time. I've never met other bloggers before so I really had no idea what to expect. And I'm a pretty quiet person until I get to know people...but then I semi-sort of know them....but anyways it turned out to be a lot of fun. Everyone was very friendly, cool, and pretty much like their blogs. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them some more when I'm back. The rest of Sunday and Monday (its was a holiday for me) was spent with family. And that was....fun, annoying, silly, frustrating, awesome. Everything families always are. :)

The last few days

OK, so Day 1 I did cardio.....since then...squat.....sigh...but I'll do some today! Tuesday was the game so I couldn't. The Raptors won!!! Yes!!!! And then yesterday Anojan, Aamir, Jane, and I went out for Baskin Robbins ice cream and then to a Yemen restaurant (it was so good!) as Aamir heads back to Canada tomorrow. But today no excuse! I will excercise! Oh, I got Accepted! Yes, after 2 rejections finally! I got....a credit card :P hehe. A whole $300 limit too. haha, for those confused. US Credit card companies don't look at my Canadian credit history. So when I moved here I had zero credit history. So I applied for citibank cards a couple times (they have a good airmiles credit card) but got rejected because of the lack of credit history. But now, finally I got one....though with another company. I don't really need a credit card, but it should help establish more of a credit history. Which helps in other things like getting loans and even renting an apartment. Its a bit of a pain but its funny too. A $300 limit on a card? I had bigger limit on my canadian card in highschool. As for my mba applications.....I'm now 3 for 3 on being waitlisted, the latest wait list being USC. So...yeah, feeling a bit doubtful...though not down. InshaAllah it'll work out. I finally got all the Amazing Race pics...so I'll do a picture post soon enough....within the week hopefully. For now they are on facebook if ppl can't wait. Does this make sense to anyone? Janet and Zaina having a conversation J: Hey have you talked to Ahmed recently? Z: No, have you? J: Nope, its been quite awhile. Z: yeah, I know we haven't been online at all and have been really busy studying for finals but he's been a bit distant. J: yeah, and i know he's had a lot of visitors lately and been busy with them and with work as well....but he's acting weird. Z: you think he's mad at us? J: maybe....grr...how dare he be mad at us. Janet calls ahmed J: hey i got a bone to pick with you? A: huh?

Interviews and Tag

So I had the Austin-Texas (McCombs) interview this past Monday.......it went really well! It was much longer than I expected, 1230pm - 210pm. But it was quite casual, the alumni interviewing me was very nice and gave me a really good impression of the school and the city. I was ready for all his questions and he liked my answers and said he would give me a favourable review. He did however temper it by saying that the interview is still only one aspect of the application and that everything will be reviewed once more before they give you a decision. While most ppl he has approved have been admitted there have been times when they have not, and there have been times when he's given bad reviews and they've still got in.....which seems odd to me.....but oh well. I feel good about it right now. Also, Toronto (Rotman) emailed me to setup a time for a phone interview! The guy said its only a 30min interview though. And from reading about it online its very casual and it makes me feel like its only a formality...as long as I don't screw it up. So yay! So ABCDlaw tagged me, from no tags ever to 2 in a week! Kinda cool. Anyhow, she has given me the task of listing 5 of my favourite things and why.....hmm....... 1. The first thing that immediately jumps to my mind is...CHOCOLATE! Milk, cake, ice cream, cup cakes, truffles, bars, whatever, chocolate is wonderful! 2. Stories. Whether its a book, a movie, a tv show, a story someone tells me, a broadway show, whatever it is, I really enjoy a good story. The feeling of a good book where the entire world around you disappears and you are full immersed in a story...I just love it. 3. Travelling! There are so many amazing places in this world. Things that just make you stop and stare and go WOW. And going new places, seeing new things, and even the trip itself...its a fun adventure that ends up giving you so many little stories...most of which you forget but the trips are just incredible experiences. 4. Ok, so bowling, pool, movies, trips, vacations, shopping, etc all that stuff is a lot of fun...but I really like just simply hanging out with people and talking too. A lot of times, the simple sitting around with family or friends talking and playing cards or boardgames are the nights where you have the most laughs and the most fun. 5. Hmm.....what else...I like competing. And of course winning. I dont' mind losing as long as I did well. If I won but didn't do as well as I know I can I'm disappointed. That said, there are some ppl I will not lose to if I can avoid it. I won't lose to my sister or my cousins, Anojan at video games, Darrin at Pool, Jessani at anything, Ben at squash, and I could go on. 6. I guess thats another thing (or 2). I'm a big Toronto Raptors fan! Lets go Raptors, Lets Go! Woo! Woo! (I only woo woo online I don't know why I don't in person...its just not me). And I really like playing squash. Hopefully, inshaallah I'll get into school and be able to start playing again. k, thats good enough. Lots of people have been tagged lately....I dont' want ppl to be sick of it....but if you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged! And list 5 of your favourite things and why. :)

Les Miserables

For those that have been following, 2 days have past since my last post. I should have some information. I do not!!!!! Argh!!!!!!! Apparently, due to a technicality I was 1 day late for the early decision deadline and as such I have to wait. And not only that but they (I'm talking about University of Toronto btw) have not received my transcripts! I sent that back in December....grrr....They said they sent me an email, but trust me I would have noticed. I look in my junk mail folder too! sigh.....So I told them to double check and in the meantime I contacted Waterloo (my undergrad university) and told them to courier over another copy of my transcripts. Now Toronto said they'll try to expediate the processing but also that it takes 4-6 weeks usually to process an application. Ok so does that mean from when I sent my stuff in (like a month ago) or 4-6 more weeks from when they get my transcripts? Man....this processing is killing me.......its like co-op ranking days x1000 (ok, only waterloo ppl will understand.....oh well). Its nerve racking nevertheless! On the plus side, Austin-Texas contacted me telling me to arrange an interview either on or off campus. I think thats a good sign. They gave me a list of alumni in New York. I contacted 1 guy.....so far no response....I'm suppose to give 3 business days for a response before trying someone else.....but I have 2 weeks to book the interview (interview itself can be later)....so far no response....I have to wait til monday to try someone else.....man....please just let all this stuff work out. Inshaallah. Another plus, I'm going to go see Les Mis in April. I have some friends visiting and we bought our tickets for the show today! I've heard great things about it so I'm excited! And I think I'm going to go see another show next weekend with some friends too. And tonight I'm going to go catch The Namesake. I hope its as good as the trailers make it seem. Um........what else.......I don't feel like blogging more.....I feel like cake.......anyone have some cake? Want to share?........fine. Oh yes, whats with this weather? It was so nice for a few days and now? Now we're back to snow and slush? blah....

2 more weeks

So as may have been gathered from my previous post, I was feeling quite down. And while I'm not 100% up, I'm heading in that direction and thats good. On the plus side, I am finally done my applications! Yes, to know freedom again feels great! Well technically, I still have my last application to do, Western Ontario. But Western is lower on my list (no offense to anyone who went there). Its a 1 year program, and I feel like I want to do a 2 year program. There are definitely some disadvantages of 2yrs. 1 it takes twice as long :P and it'll cost more. But, I think I'll get more out of 2years. Learn more. And I'll be able to do a summer internship and inshaallah an exchange term. I want to go somewhere. hehe, I'll have to move somewhere for school too, but still I want more. Maybe London or HK or something. That would be cool. Just for a term. For some reason, I'm feeling confident about getting into Toronto. I shouldn't. I really have no idea what will happen. I want to just get in anywhere hopefully....well. I hope I get in anywhere. Would I be happy if I just got in at 1 place, no I'd be disappointed. But meh, hope for the best. Take what life gives you. So yeah, I'm starting to feel confident about Toronto, despite nothing having changed to make me feel that way. I'll find out about Toronto in like 2 weeks. 2 Weeks! InshaAllah. So with my new found free time, I figure I want to do something. What is it I want to do? I'm not sure. For sure I'll make myself go to the gym more. But what else? I thought about this before and never did anything but hopefully I will now. So what to do? I thought about fencing, or cooking, dance (hiphop or tap), or an instrument, or some art thing, but I haven't quite decided. Money is still a factor since I need to save for school. Speaking of money. I find when I'm not in a good mood I tend to spend more. I'm lazy and I'll buy food. And I want to cheer myself so I buy nice food and chocolate of course. hehe, nothing wrong with that. I probably don't eat enough regularly anyways. I only had 1 meal today actually. But then, I spend money on other stuff too. Not too big on cloth shopping...though thats fun once in awhile. I like toys :P . I want a new tv. A nice big flat screen tv. BUT yeah....that would not be good. But I did buy a nba2k7 for my xbox360 =) ....and after playing it...I want a bigger tv even more! haha....one day. I found a lot of ppl on facebook lately. Stewart, Masashi, Dina, Jane, Victor, etc. Someone posted an old grade 4 class picture. I'm such a geek in it. What I find cool though is, I can remember so many people in it! And talking to many of them, albeit short exchangs, is quite nice. Some of them remembered EVERY single person in the pic. Thats very impressive. I think I got about 60% of them which I thought was fairly good. Anyhow, I have some pictures I want to put up. Actually lots of pictures. Food, visiting alia, silly things, and amazing things, oh and various things. So wow, 5 picture posts coming up. I'll decide which one first later unless someone actually requests something in particular. laters.

a little bit of bleh

Today is Friday. And I am glad. Its been a long week. In more ways than one. I haven't been sleeping much lately. Both because I've been busy and because I just haven't been able to. I feel cold right now. I had some very good chats with some people yesterday, it was very nice. I also didn't have some good chats with people...which is too bad. UCLA application is finally done and overwith thankfully. I'll have to start on Michigan this weekened and maybe Western next weekend and then I'll be done and truly free...I can hardly wait.....inshaAllah I get in somewhere.... Sometimes confidence leaves and confusion clouds....sometimes I can look and see the sky and just start to smile. I want to sleep this weekend. I don't feel like doing much else. I got 3 movies from netflix so I'll be watching those :P You know what, sometimes I tire of peoples immaturity. Stop acting like you're 13 people. Not everything I say has to relate to you or me. And I can just imagine that some people might still take this post literally if they so happen to read it. Buts its in general. Can I not discuss things without it being taken so personally. I feel like this post is downer....I dont like that...maybe it seems like that b/c I'm actually feeling a bit down at the moment.....but give me an hr.....heck let me hear a joke or a song i like and i'm sure my mood will change soon enough :P snap crackle pop i don't know it just came to mind i'm weird like that. I'm also annoyed with people not knowing at what volume to speak...indoor voices people....

Just walkin along singin a song

Ok, so yesterday I had an interview with a recruiter from Arizona State I think it went well. I think it gave me a chance to talk about my work experience and I really think my work experience is going to be a big plus. I learned more about the program and it seems quite interesting. So I went into the interview a little nervous but I came out feeling pretty good with a tune in my head. There I was just a-walkin' down the street, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" Snappin' my fingers and shufflin' my feet, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" I looked good (looked good), I looked fine (looked fine) I looked good, I looked fine and I nearly blew their minds Haha, ok so I probably didn't blow their minds but it was good. inshallah. Later in the evening I went to a reception and dinner, again by ASU, where they were giving away this economics award. I was sitting there listening and its just wow. These people are so intelligent. And they know so much. And I listened to his economic presentation and it was really impressive. It made me feel like man, I want learn everything. I like economics, I don't want to pursue a masters in it. But I mean, knowledge is wonderful. Theres so much cool stuff out there to learn. And I wish I could just be a full time student for life. .......maybe w/o the assignments though hehe. Anyhow, I got the chance to talk to many of the other prospective students and at first it was scary. When I first got there I was the youngest there (I think I was the whole night actually). But also, I was the only brown person, heck the only non-white person. Basically it was a room full of tall white guys all looking like finance guys. But more ppl came, it got a bit more diverse, I talked to ppl AND it was Fascinating! Everyone was coming from different backgrounds, even the people from the same sector had varied experiences. Different ages, parts of the country. Ppl from fashion, non profit, accounting, marketing, etc etc And everyone was very friendly. It was nice. Also, I felt like ok, I'm not out of my league here. My experiences are strong and others are interested in what I have to say. It felt good. And I'm excited about going back to school. inshallah. Not just this school, but any school really. I think it'll be fun. So after it ended I felt good and I had a tune in my head. :) heeh, I don't even know why this one, its a bit early for it. but nevertheless. Sleigh bells ring are you listening in the lane snow is glistening A beautiful sight we're happy tonight walking in a winter wonderland Gone away is the bluebird here to stay is a new bird He sings a love song as we go along walking in a winter wonderland