Career Advice From Friends

The Ways of K

Anyone who knows me is aware that Friends is my favorite TV show. I watch it almost daily. I don’t just watch it for the punch lines, I watch it because I can find it easy to relate to and because I think it can offer some sage advice. The characters on the show go through many career and personal changes throughout their 10 season run. From it, I have gathered some great career wisdom, from all six characters, that I think we should all keep in mind.

Rachel: Proof Reading and Keeping Up with Contacts

When Rachel is trying to break into the fashion world, she makes the mistake of sending out hundreds of resumes stating she has “compuper skills.” Unlike the resume incident, Rachel’s networking goes much more smoothly. Mark, her coworker from Bloomingdale’s whom she remained friends with, is the one who sets her up an interview at…

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What kills creativity

Peace .

She was searching for peace . Peace of mind.She was desperately wishing for it. Every second. 

Almost like a drowning man gasping for air.Every single cell of his dying body, struggles for oxygen. He flails his arms around helplessly. A drowning man could give anything for that one gasp of precious oxygen. Oxygen that we inhale 25000 times in a day without a concious effort. Oxygen that is abundant in the atmosphere. Water itself is a composition of oxygen and hydrogen.

Thats how peace was to her-present but not available. She could do anything for the sake of it. But there was nothing she could do..She was in similar agony -not physically, but mentally, morally, spiritually.

Almost like a fish thrown on to the shore by the cruel waves of its beloved sea. Its pain and struggle are obvious from the way it dances with agony.it yearn for the waves that crash on to the shore , missing it by millimetres. And then becomes still, as it says farewell to life. life that is just a few inches away, staring at it.

Thats how peace was to her. She knew where it was but could not gain it. It was free but out of reach. She yearned for it but it cruelly sat there staring at her

 she should’ve realised , that like a fish on the dry shore and  a man in the deep sea she too was in the wrong place.
She had to make that one strong effort to swim to the shore, one last effort to jump back to the sea.one last effort to gain what she wanted most.  Peace

In my heart’s clustered town

Karachi

Dear passengers, we are ready for takeoff, we’ll reach our destination in one hour 45 minutes. . . .” The flight attendants cool voice filled the plane.

He looked out of the window for a last glance at the city. It is then when realization dawned on to him. He was leaving what he loved most, his homeland. He was leaving behind every memory of the first 20 years of his life.

His eyes welled up with tears. He let them flow down his cheeks. As the plane started reaching height, Karachi became beautiful beyond measure. The lights blinked in the dark night. Almost like someone had showered golden glitter on the land. It was whizzing with energy even at this late hour. The view was mesmerizing, from where he was sitting right now.

He closed his eyes as more tears trickled down his cheeks. Images flashed, everything that made Karachi feel like his very own. The house where he used to feel his late grandfathers presence , the mango tree in the yard that he had grown with such love , the school, the college, the nearby market, Tariq road, agha khan hospital, kabys, the zoo, the Quaid’s mazaar .

It was all going to be part of a memory now. “places don’t matter, people do” he reminded himself. But he was leaving them behind too..  friends, he couldn’t imagine a life without them. Cousins with whom he had shared his childhood. Teachers that had been mentors , and every other person he was close to.

“Towel?” he heard the air hostess say as she handed over hot towels to the passengers. He took a towel. It was warm. Warm in contrast to the cool air conditioned environment of the plane. It reminded him of the hot coffee cups they had enjoyed in the garden in winter. It brought a smile to his face.

“I’ll come back , someday.” he assured himself

A friend

 

Our eyes followed her as she entered the class and walked to her desk. She was beautiful. Her curly black hair moisturized fair flawless skin and perfect features had magical impacts. I distinctly remember she was wearing a stylish shirt with matching lip gloss and capris as per the latest fashion. It was certain she had spent hours to get ready for this first day of college.

I felt inferior sitting there, at the front desk  wearing a “tailor stitched” shalwar kameez , thick framed spectacles, hair hastily done into a pony tail. I was literally her opposite. Unfortunately I had spent more time preparing for the “first class” rather than the “first impression”. That very instance I knew I would never be a part of her group i.e. “the popular ones”.

We are worlds apart.in class I sat at the front she chose the last bench.  I made sure I aced all tests , she cared less. She hangs out with friends every other day I prefer staying home. She chose fashion designing as a career I chose chartered accountancy. She wears the latest styles I wear abayas.  Yet something has kept us together. I don’t remember a day in three years that I spent without talking to my best friend

We rarely had a conversation in college. It was so rare that after a year of studying in the same class, we realized we lived in the same neighborhood. That is when we became good friends and later so close that we hardly spent a day without seeing each other.

After three years now I stand nearly at the same stage as I was when I first saw her. Every time I think of her I think of how different our choices are.

When I get formal replies I wonder what’s changing things between us. As I get rude or argue I wonder if I am now a transformed person. Every time she asks me what’s wrong I wonder the same. Now that we’re less sensitive about how the other side feels , I feel we’re drifting apart.

How could you become friends? my conscious mind asks, while the subconscious mind tries its best to keep us apart.

the statue

the marble statue in the museum , stood with grace

with its well carved structure and gleamy surface

 

it was under a shade

untouched and safe

 

kept away from the harm of sun

the wind stern and the waters run

 

standing there, the statue thought

and pondered about what  he’s got

 

it was certainly meant for more

wanted to know what it could score

 

and so it decided to explore

see what the world had in store

 

the shade adviced

with words disguised

 

it should keep in mind

the world will grind

 

but when things get tough, be strong inside

because that is where true strength resides

 

it replied, i will do my best

God wil take care of the rest

 

with that the statue left the shade

promises to bring pride, farewell it bade

 

at first it did wonders

and didnt make blunders

 

things went fine

the statue shined

 

but good times dont stay

soon the weather gets grey

 

the winds got strong

the nights got long

 

the statue got scared

the darkness it feared

 

then crackled the dark night sky

the statue couldnt help but cry

 

down fell cold drops of rain

all the statue felt , was pain

 

it wanted to run back to the shade

but alas! promises it had made

 

so with all its bravery it stood

gathering all courage it could

 

in these times of mess

unexpected helplessness

 

the statue found its inner strength

and understood what the shade meant

 

it learnt,in times that are tragic

what works is the inner magic

The Wall

The wall i have built around me

is as high as a wall could be.

i have carefully painted the exterior with disguising happiness

and a dash of attitude so it would look its best.

its glittered with modesty

streghnthened with honesty

its made of strong stone

strongest ever known

 

 

but inside

here i reside

surrounded with regrets

the floor carpeted

with dark shades of distress

the walls painted

with grey shades of insecurity

the air full of

pungent negativity

 

 

i sit, in the middle of this dark room

comfortably, on cushions of gloom

a space so empty, its hard to breathe

a room so warm, i could freeze

 

 

i sit in the loudest silence ever known

surrounded by people , yet all alone.

that moment of anger

that moment of anger when you can actually feel anger running through your veins. your heart pumping boiling angry blood. when you breath so full speed you can feel it through your throat. your mind working full speed too! losing concentration. SHOUT! . throw something. break everything.. RUN! SCREAM! BLAH!

beauty and brains

If ever given a choice between beauty and brains, I would chose brains. The reason-obvious, the latter is rarer as compared to the former. ipso facto.
I must make it clear that this is not a baseless opinion. I speak with 20 years of experience and research. It is not easy to come to such conclusions. It takes years and years of being judgmental. Years and years of witnessing jaw-dropping stupidness. Years and years of quite intense observation. Years and years of useless pondering over the human behavior.
The homo-sapiens can easily be divided into 4 categories. (a) THE BEAUTY (b) THE BRAINS (c) THE BEAUTY AND BRAINS (d) THE NEITHER.
You don’t have to be too smart to conclude which category u fall in, but if you’re still wondering let me help you with the experts’ knowledge.

(a) THE BEAUTY
Type– common (well it sort of depends.)
Characteristics– love the mirror. Generally self-obsessed happy beings. Not too intelligent.
How other homo sapiens respond-  tend to lose their mental abilities in the company of this kind, homo-sapiens from the category ( b) (c)( and sometimes (d) too) can easily use them for their advantage without them even noticing it.
Experts opinion-When they say” first impression is the last impression”, You’re at an advantage because your first impression will always be the best u can give. Ha ha..)
Examples- umm.. Paris Hilton?

(b) THE BRAINS
Type-uncommon
Characteristics- understand the realities of the world, mostly serious, quite , never too happy, high acheivers, look at lesser beings with pitiful eyes. High IQs and EQs.
How other homo-sapiens respond- other homo-sapiens do not notice their presence unless The Brains use their powers. But once noticed they gain a lot of fan following.
Experts opinion– go rock the world.
Examples- bill gates , mark zuckerberg, Hermione granger =P

(c) THE BEAUTY AND BRAINS
Type- very very rare
Characteristics – perfecto , a mix of category (a) and (b) minus the weirdness
How other homo-sapiens respond– With a i-wish-I-was-her/him kinda look.
Experts opinion- NONE =l
Examples- umm.. umm.. any suggestions?

(d)THE NEITHER
Type– everywhere
Characteristics- the average
How other homo sapiens respond- generally indifferent , other homo sapiens may appoint them as sidekicks or supporters
Experts opinion- the successful will be remembered because they succeeded, the failures will be remembered because they tried,and the average will be forgotten.

Examples– me ( as u might have already concluded by the utter pointlessness of this piece of writing)

so what are you?

time wasting-ly yours