Alton Towers

Getting all the family together is always a hassle and we decided that enough is enough! A girl’s only trip was planned as we were all off from school/uni, I took a holiday from work (what? I was celebrating going back to uni!) and we were having fabulous summer weather for once.

Friday 29th August; Saaiba, Sara, Saba and I, all off to Staffordshire for a well deserved, fun filled day. The weather was fab, our tickets were sorted, we had parental approval (lol)... we were prepared! And so we set off at 9am for our 4 hour ride to get there in Saba’s little Polo. After a car journey that consisted of awful signing from the back of the car (Sara and Saaiba I’m joking... or am I? lol), constant chattering, gossiping, eating junk food, Saba pleading with her car to go faster and the TomTom woman confusing us near the end of our journey, we finally arrived, Woohoo!!! Saba then proceeded to upset one of the parking attendants, which was hilarious. Alton towers was extremely busy to say the least and after memorising where we had parked our car, we boarded the train to take us from the car park to the theme park. On the train, Saaiba managed to cause panic amongst the other passengers:

Saaiba: On seeing a particular ride... “Oooh! That's such a bad ride. We have to go on it! People have died on that ride!!!”

Saima, Saba and Sara all looking very concerned. The other people in the train compartment looking VERY panicky...

Me: Um... when u say died...?

Saaiba: Oh I don't know if anyone ACTUALLY died... but it's bad ass ride!

BIG sighs of relief all round and a fit of uncontrollable giggles from us 4 followed...

Picked up our tickets (which were bloody expensive), got our maps and planned our day as to which rides we were gonna go first. Sara had a bit of a panic about getting on the rides, but after forcing her to go on Nemesis (I know I should know better), she got over her fear and was bouncing around, lol. Tip: traditional asian parenting – if your kids are afraid of something you push them further to go and do it, lol – face your fear kids... except in this case Sara’s my sister and not my child :P

After going on all the fast rides first, we had dinner at Pizza Hut (yes we planned ahead!) and off we went to the wet rides – the river rapids. Needless to say, we got very very wet and the water looked a bit suspect; I know a microbiology kit would confirm my doubts! Us girls have practically known each other our whole lives and yet we learnt even more things about each other during our day out. I learnt that Saba is easily sucked in as she became addicted to gambling for a little while in her quest to win a cuddly toy :) I learnt that Saaiba and Sara combined have awful hand eye co-ordination when it comes to throwing a ball, lol and I discovered that as well loving all the fast rides; I also have a soft spot for the teacup ride, you know the one that spins round and round. Saba thinks this makes me sad and old... this may be true, but then again with her being 2 years younger than me she won’t have long to go before she’s also the same, mwha ha ha ha! We’ll all be sad and old together, lol.

To conclude; a beautiful day, plenty of stupid jokes and amusing incidents (always guaranteed when we’re together!), loads of pictures, lots of fun and great company as always :) Sara even made up her own Facebook group about it, lol. I’m glad we went even though I had to persuade/threaten some people to go... ahem you know who you are, lol! It’s funny how the older two (Saba and I) had to sell the idea of going to Alton Towers to the younger ones and yet they KNOW they enjoyed it as much as us... maybe even more so! Come on girls... it’s Alton Towers! lol!

So when’s the next trip I wonder? ;)

When it’s time to leave...

Have you ever been stuck in one of those jobs where you eventually get to a point that you just cannot bear it any longer? The little things initially don’t really matter but over time they all accumulate to such an extent that you just can’t stand being there anymore. All of us at some point or another have had a job (permanent or part time) that we hated in one way or another. If you haven’t, you’re an exception to the rule and extremely lucky!

Chatting amongst friends, I came up with a list of some of things that I think are a good indication that you should get out of that job as soon as...

1. Your co-workers drive you insane.

I don’t mean fun loving insanity but more like the ‘I-hate-you-all!!!’ kind of insanity. Co-workers can be a blessing or a curse in the workplace and they can work alongside you and be your friend or drive you to despair.

2. You hate going to work

Most Sunday night’s you find yourself dreading Monday morning from coming around. If it is a full time job, this is made much worse as you basically hate every second of your life you spend there, which turns out to be quite a long time.

3. You're exhausted.

Know your limits and learn when to step back. You won’t be any use to anyone if you get stressed/ burnout.

4. You're bored.

When your work starts to get routine and you don’t feel challenged enough.

5. Your career is at a standstill.

You don’t feel like you’re making progress. Maybe you don’t love the job as much as you used to, perhaps your priorities have changed or you just might need a new position with more responsibility?

6. Lack of recognition.

Even if you’re the shy type, it is still nice to have your work acknowledged in whatever forms i.e. verbal feedback, perks, bonuses etc.

7. You don't feel comfortable.

If you’re not comfortable in your workplace, you can’t do your best work.

8. Your work environment is less than desirable.

Aside from health and safety stuff, if your workplace is optimistic, so are you. If they are negative, again this get reflected in you as well; both personally and professionally,

9. You can't stand your boss.

Clashes with your supervisor can have a detrimental impact on your work, which is not good for you, your morale or the company.

10. The company is in trouble.

When there are financial worries and you’re not entirely sure where you stand with regards to your role.

Hand on my heart, there has only been one job in my life so far that I’ve ever felt the need to escape from, yet I would still say it was a good learning experience. In the beginning, I enjoyed it immensely and I had been honest from the start about my future goals which I had shared with my supervisor, who was totally supportive and the best supervisor you could ask for :) But the last month or so of that particular job began to drag and compared to some other people, I know how one month doesn’t seem like a long time to suffer. I think the change in me in my last month there was part of the reason as I knew I had learned as much as I could from this place plus I had other plans in the pipeline, something else to look forward to and so deep down I knew that it was time to move on. But even this change in my own perspective wasn’t the main reason for me hating... sorry disliking (hate is such a strong word) my last few weeks at work. My main reason I think was the change in attitude from other people once they had learnt about my future plans. Was it jealousy on their behalf that I had the opportunity to escape and improve myself? Did they not like the idea of somebody else progressing? Maybe it was something that they longed to do? Did they think that my impending departure was a form of betrayal?

I felt a little uneasy at time not knowing why there was a sudden change in the last four weeks whereas up until that point I was still very much a key part of the group and it was a fun group :) I have to say it wasn’t everyone at work, but just a select few, yet that still didn’t make it any better. I like being able to get on with other people, I hate confrontations and I truly believe it is ‘nice to be nice’. Therefore this sudden change in other people’s attitude was a bit of a shock, but I learnt from the experience, took it on board and went on my life. I don’t believe there is any point in bearing grudges and I know I will never ask them why they behaved the way they did. Instead I know that if I ever met them again, I would be more than happy to sit and talk to them as nothing ever happened. Sounds crazy, huh?

I’m thankful that my mother taught me to be the better person :)

Changes

Wow! This Wednesday I got a call to say that I’ve been successful in my application and won a scholarship at the University of Manchester. I still can’t believe my luck that they chose me out of all the people that got interviewed – surely it must be a fluke? But I definitely feel like the time has come to move on with my life and go back to what I love doing once more. Working in Harrogate was fun, but it was never meant to be long term and I guess in a way, I was putting off going to uni because I felt that I didn’t have the strength to carry on, what with everything that happened lately.

The person I was studying for, who was my initial inspiration, the person who I really wanted to help with the knowledge I would gain, had gone and so it all felt rather pointless. I felt like I didn’t deserve to be amongst those other med students, but talking to my mum made me see otherwise. She told me that everyone especially Aisha, would still be proud of me if I decided to carry on studying, as the things that I would learn, the things I would go onto to achieve would perhaps go on to help others in a similar position to Aishi (inshAllah). Even if I couldn’t help Aisha, helping other people out there would still be good thing. It probably seems kind of obvious to you all that are reading this, but at the time I felt quite lost and it was my mum who helped me on my way again. She’s my life coach in a way, always giving me pep talks and motivating me when I’m down, having complete faith in me, even when I doubt myself. I’m lucky that my mum is the way she is; I love her more than anything and feel truly blessed to have her in my life. I just hope that I can make her proud of me and can go on to achieve great things, inshAllah.

So after my pep talk with mum, I went and filled out application forms, got interviews and quite a few offers as well which surprised me. But the course at Manchester was what I REALLY wanted and well the last time I really wanted something (Aisha), well that didn’t work out so well. So two weeks after my interview I got the call to say I’d been successful and that set me off in another panic. How do I tell my boss I’m leaving? Eventually I decided the bite the bullet and go and tell my boss the truth. I was so nervous but Bob was great, apparently it was no surprise as he knew that I wanted to study further, it would be sad to see me go but he wished me the best of luck in my endeavours. So off I went to write my resignation letter (during work hours, they were paying me to write it, ha ha!). Next dilemma... telling the rest of the group that I'm leaving. First Abbey, then me; all the asian people are leaving Harrogate, lol. Ah well, onto bigger and better things, inshAllah :)

My Fears...

There are many things that I fear; spiders (eek!), the dark, not being to fulfil my ambitions but there is one reoccurring fear that I find in many other people... a fear of change.

Why do a lot of us fear change? Bad changes I understand but good changes - surely there’s nothing to be afraid of there? The question applies to so many people I know, my father, elder relatives, perhaps a few of my cousins and close friends and actually even myself as well.

I find myself sometimes going through phases. There are times when I know what I want and what I need to go do get it... but it’s like I’m stuck and can’t seem to move myself forward. Filling in forms for uni courses, applying for jobs, actions that could change the path of my life and yet I feel afraid I guess. What if I get a job and never go back to higher education? What if I start studying again and fulfil my aim to become a successful medic in my chosen field only to realise it that perhaps it wasn’t worth all that? I think the thought of making that leap scares me more than I realised. Other times it seems that everything is working out for me and I am reassured that this is the path that I would like to undertake in life and I will be successful (InshAllah). A medical professional is my ultimate goal and I often find myself daydreaming about what it will be like when I’ve accomplished my goal. My heart feels so happy and I welcome change gladly with open arms.

I KNOW what I want from my life, that’s not the problem... it’s just working out how to get there. Sometimes I think I just need a good kick up the backside, which is where my mother comes in. I’m so thankful that’s she’s in my life (mashAllah) and often wonder what would become of me if she didn’t support me the way she does.

At the same time I find myself thinking of others that felt like me; my father being one of them. Sometimes he’s so happy go lucky and such a jokey and cheerful guy (mashAllah) and then other times he manages to stress himself so badly, that it can be difficult to watch. I think he compares how his childhood was to how mine was and it scares him that everybody is so independent these days. That’s not to say I don’t need him in my life as I will always want the presence of my father as well as my mother in life. I want them to be able to meet their grandkids and pass their knowledge and wisdom onto them. That’s another fear I have, my parents, my family not being around me but that’s a post topic for another day!

So I wonder what you guys out there are afraid of... feel free to share :)

Breaking free...

The working life – the for and against arguments for this activity I’m pretty sure you’re all well versed with :) What makes me wonder is whether it is better to have a 9 to 5 job or a job that has unpredictable work hours.

With unpredictable jobs, you can’t really plan things in advance. But on the plus side, it’s great not having a set routine and not knowing what is going to happen any given day. I guess that’s partly why I like the medical scene; it’s exciting and you see/ hear/ learn something new nearly every day. On the other hand, with a 9 to 5 job you know it’s time to switch off at 5pm and your leisure time is from there on in until 9am the next morning. The downside would be that for someone like me it may get a little routine perhaps. Which is why during my histology/pathology placement, I have found myself quickly getting stuck into a fairly normal and predictable routine. Don’t get me wrong, I am really enjoying my time here as I have learnt a lot and there have been some interesting moments. Recently however, I have found myself clock watching, waiting for the day to end. I think during my undergrad I realised quite quickly that a routine 9 to 5 desk job would probably not suit me.

Thinking back to the start of my year, as I was the new girl, during my lunch hour I would spend my time getting to know other members of staff, catch up on reading or just have a wander around the grounds if the weather was particularly nice. Now that Abbey has left work (post wedding), I find myself getting slightly bored. I think part of me knows that my time here is slowly coming to end and I can sense that is it time to move on. This is partly because a) this was never meant to be a long term thing (but I treated it like one anyway) b) I feel I have learnt as much as I can from this place and c) I have set some things in motion (will explain later) which will hopefully work out and move my career forward (iA).

Anyway back to the issue of my wandering mind, seen as we only get 45 minutes to an hour for lunch (depending on how busy we were), what initially started off as curiosity has now quickly turned into a competitive game – with myself! Nowadays I get my lunch and I regularly venture out into the beautiful town of Harrogate. Pretty soon after my initial few visits, I started setting myself targets seeing how far I could stray from work and make it back in time. Maybe even take a couple of pictures if it was a particualrly nice place. Ok, it might sound a bit weird but I found it fun as it was nice meeting new people (and old – literally bumped into my microbiology lecturer Dr Harrington during lunch once) and I would say that the majority of Harrogate is pretty friendly and welcoming. There is this one rather standoffish lady in a local shop, but that’s a blog post for another time. I also discovered some beautiful new places in and around Harrogate and it really is a quite a scenic place.

I cannot explain how much I look forward to my lunch hour, it is a form of escapism – literally. I’m hoping I’m not alone, I mean people must do something to pass the time when they get bored. You never know there might be someone out there who probably plays exactly the same game as me during their lunch hour, lol. I think I should probably give this lunchtime activity a name. Any ideas?

The difference between Zak and Yaa...

Ever since my last car died (:( and yes I still haven’t gotten over it yet) my new car and I haven’t bonded in quite the same way as I would have liked. ‘Yaa’* is very different from ‘Zak’. Zak was reliable and we had an understanding between us. It was a good working relationship and I knew where we both stood. I knew when Zak’s oil needed changing, or when one of the tyres was a bit low on air, or how long Zak could last on the reserve tank before I really was in trouble. Basically after my first few outings with Zak, I never felt the need to test Zak’s limits ever again. Now it’s all different.

To be honest, Yaa has been good to me with no breakdowns so far (touch wood) and no major catastrophes. I wouldn’t say Yaa is unreliable because that would be untrue as Yaa does get me from A to B without any major dramas. I just never know how far I can push Yaa, without there being a major backlash. I mean I don’t kick or scream at Yaa, it’s more often a sort of pleading – ‘Please YaaYaa just make it up this hill’ or on the motorway it’s ‘Come on Yaa, you can move faster than this!’ or in particularly harsh and blustery conditions it’s usually ‘Please Allah, don’t let Yaa and I get blown away!’ There is also an element of uncertainty and this best example I have of this to date are my trips to the petrol station.

As I frequently make trips to the various Manchester hospitals and back, you can imagine the amount of petrol I go through on a weekly basis. So the first thing I did when I got Yaa, was to fill the tank, make a note of mileage and see how many miles we could last before we had to fill up again. Sad but practical and at least I knew what to expect. Except when we started out daily journeys to Manchester and back, I found my petrol running out quicker than expected. I thought there may be leak etc but after a thorough service, I found there were no such problems. Yet back and forth from Manchester, I would often found myself staring at the needle telling me how close I am to running out of fuel. You’re probably wondering why I don’t just fill up at the nearest station? Well firstly when you’re between petrol stations on the motorway and the next station is miles away so that won’t be any help. Also I am a creature of habit. I regularly fill up from a petrol station near my house and well I don’t like breaking my normal routine (OCD alert!). Other reasons also include other petrol stations are more expensive than the one near my home, I have a loyalty card and get points back every time I fill up (sad I know, but I blame my dad for this habit, lol) and finally I don’t like the idea of mixing lots of different petrol types together as I don’t think Yaa will appreciate it. If I absolutely have to fill up from somewhere, I often won’t get a full tank and will wait till I get home again, lol.

So Yaa and I play a game now... to see if I can make it to the next petrol station or not. It goes something along the lines of ‘Please Allah, get me and Yaa home safely. Please? Ok? We’re good? Ok, thank you!’ ... and thankfully I’ve been lucky enough to make it each time. It’s stupid but I like it. That’s when Yaa and I get on great! We stand united against... err petrol stations? Lol. The initial issues I had with Yaa, I think are partly do with the fact that Yaa doesn’t match what I had in my head. A tiny size, with little boot space, no electric windows or central locking, a funny engine noise upon starting – yep, Yaa definitely is very different from Zak. But at the same time, despite all that other stuff, Yaa is most definitely a little trooper... just like Zak and I’m grateful :)

* Sorry, a quick note; I actually call this car ‘Yaa’ – again my choice of name is based on the number plate. Sometimes it’s ‘YaaYaa’... I mean I tried’ Basanti no.2’ or just ‘Basanti’ for a while upon my cousin Sara’s recommendation but it just didn’t stick. So Yaa it is... and yes I know I’m weird.

Independence day

Quick note to say Happy Independence day to all. Despite not living in either India or Pakistan, I still feel compelled to say it each year :P