Monday December 4, 2006. This day was destined to make a blog entry. You'll see!
9.30 am: It's raining. Karachi hasn't had this much rain.. like ever. Thank you Global Warming.
10.00 am: It's still raining. I have a meeting near boat basin, one of the sweetest smelling food streets in Karachi.
10.30 am: I start the meeting oozing with confidence. Talk about the weather and how it's so
interesting for Karachi to have this kind of weather. The guy (senior director of a large telecom group) doesn't appreciate small talk. Confidence fades away. Added 1 new Member to the National Board of Advisors (NBoA) for AIESEC in Pakistan!
11.10 am: On the road. Waiting for cab.
11.40 am: Still on the road. Waiting for cab. Raining.
11.50 am: Oh Cab! Ripped off!
12.15 - 3.15pm: Office. Work. Change the World.
3.30 pm: Leave for meeting number 2. Raining. I consider calling up the guy (Hot shot director of a large energy company) and telling him I can't make it. After all, it doesn't rain that often in Karachi. The guy would have surely understood. And I have been waiting for 10 mins to catch a cab. Water level on road's climbing. Na. Let's do this! Be a man! Get a Rickshaw (3-wheeled open air vehicle - pic soon!). Fully dressed up in formal wear, rolling down towards I.I. Chundrighar (the Wall Street of Karachi). Water splashing all around.
3.35 pm: Rickshaw driver starts making conversation about the weather. Before I know it, he's telling me about religion, about how the rain is Godsend to remind man of his vulnerability. How the Muslim nation has lost all it's values and respect. How it's hopeless.. One must repent. Now let me tell you I'd never make a mockery of religion. Actually respected the guy's views and listened. He was so passionate he almost cried! Then he goes the wrong way on the road, obviously gets honked at, starts cussing like a pirate about how this nation has no patience and wouldn't give a poor man a way to go through. 75 seconds later, Someone else tries to come in front of him and do the same thing. Man cussed again sayin hey, I aint lettin' you pass. Phooeey!
4.28 pm: Am happy to reach what I think is the destination 2 mins before meeting time. It's simple: Opposite the State Bank of Pakistan, Building called Business Plaza. Hmm.. So we ARE opposite the Bank, but the building is called Business Centre. Oh well.. Tomato, Tom
ato. Walk in and the security guy tells me that I'm in the wrong building and that I need to cross the road (which is crazy - remember Frogger, anyone?) and go through a parallel street. Can't even see the road though. It's ankle deep water. Oh and the security guy says: 'Be careful. Someone expired there in the morning 'cos an electrical cable fell into the water.' Expired? EXPIRED?!?! Oh well, I suppose that's a small risk to take for the big meeting. So I find a pretty innovative way of getting across in my formal wear, stepping on little bags of garbage here and there. Someone on the other end of the road says "Good job!". Then I see a broken electrical wire in front of me. Second scariest moment of my life. (The first was when a whole lotta dogs attacked me outside Nicole's house at 2am in Delhi!)
4.35 pm: I make it into a sexy office. For the first time at a meeting I actually say 'yes, I'd like a warm cup of coffee while I wait for the Director'.
4.39 pm: I get a warm cup of Tea!
5.00 pm: I'm still waiting for him. Start getting fidgetty and read the entire edition of
Petroleum Economist. Did you know that a CEO got sacked every 6 hours this year? So much for working your like off to get somewhere for a quarter of a day eh!
5.20 pm: Still no director. Still raining. I think.
5.45 pm: Director walks in. We chat for 4 minutes. He leaves. That's the 120-10 Rule. You have to wait an average of 120 mins for a 10 minute meeting with a large CEO/Director. Added the 2nd new NBoA members for the day! :)
5.50 pm: Walking down I.I. Chundrighar looking at the cars all around me stuck in what must be the largest traffic jam in the entire universe. Glad I don't have a car.
6.00 pm: Come to a dead end of the pavement. Water beyond that is calf high. Wish I had a car. Walk the other direction. No cab/rickshaw guy interested in me. Come to another dead end. Walk a third way. No luck. I'm on a bloody island. And it's raining. And I'm all dressed up in a business suit. Well, that won't stop me. I roll up my pants, and dip myself (and my leather shoes) into the water and decide to cross. None of Moses' staffs here. Of course, I am watchful that I follow someone's lead lest they get electrocuted. Expired, I mean!
6.15 pm: I think I'm gonna be walking home. Oh well, it's been quite a day. Will be a story to tell. Wait.. Home is 15 miles away and there's a lot of water. And a lot of electrical wires.
6.20 pm: Going past the office building of the chairman of our NBoA. Wouldn't it be fun to run into him!
6.21 pm: Chairman of our NBoA is walking down the pavement towards me! I'm dressed in formalwear, but my pants are rolled up to my knees and my shoes are squishy squashy!
6.22 pm: I'm walking back with the chairman, and he starts talking to me about getting some new (really high profile people, wait n watch out for this one!) on the board that he's already talked to. Cool! Walk into his office. Have a real great meeting. He calls up the Director of the most well-renowned textile firms in Pakistan, and says: Emad's coming over to see you in 30 mins! Are you kidding me?! Apparently, their office is on the floor above!
6.45 pm: I walk into the other guy's office. Squishy Squashy. Couldn't dare to look at a mirror! I'm beyond the point of caring. So what if this guy's one of the biggest directors in the biggest company in the biggest sector of Pakistan! I'm an AIESECer! Reflecting back on that conversation I had with him, I feel I have gotten way too comfy with big corps, and way too smug for my own good. Can't even tell you some of the stuff I said during that meeting! But this guy is smart and you can tell. Add 3rd new BoA member! That's right! 3 in ONE day!! All leaders in the Pakistan market! This board has stars now! And it's all cos of a rainy day! (Lesson: When the day is rainy in Karachi, Corporate meetings get cancelled. People have time. It's the best day to do external work. Sure, it's a bit life threatening, but hey!)
7.00 pm: Meeting ends, and the guy asks me how I'm going home and that he intends to stick around in his office for a bit. So, do I say, 'Cool! Let's have coffee and discuss the cotton industry'? No. I say, 'Hey, I'm young and innovative. I'll find a way.'! Little do I know what's ahead of me...
7.15 pm: I'm walking down the now dark I.I. Chundrighar road. No cabby/rickshaw will stop. I keep braving down.
7.30 pm: I come to a dead dead end. Like really. Nothing, not even a monster truck woulda made it through. And I aint no monster truck. Walk back.
7.50 pm: Find a rickshaw guy who's pushing his visibly dead vehicle down the road. Make small talk with him about the weather and the water situation. Tell him I wanna walk to Zamzama (where I live). He laughs. What a penis! I continue walking.
7.55 pm: Come to a guy selling corn on the street. Haven't eaten all day. Decide to buy 5 bucks (US$ 0.082) worth. The guy rips me off, giving me a TINY pack! Now, I know that 5 bucks aint much, but the purchasing power parity when it comes to corn in pakistan, is really good. Get pissed for being ripped off like that.. Continue to walk. Ask my friend in Lahore to pray for me.
8.10 pm: Take a wrong turn. I know I'm so gonna get raped tonight! Keep walking. See 2 cabs. There's hope. Both cars have their hoods open and the drivers are
tling tlinging the engines with spanners. I approach one of them and say in a real manly voice, 'Kya scene hai? Gaari chalta hai?' (What's the scene? Does you car move?). He says of course! How much for Zamzama? Rs.150!! That's lesser than I'll pay for a cab on a normal day. I'm so gettin raped tonight! Well, that's a risk I must take. So I jump into the car and we set out like two sailors on a grand voyage! And grand it was! We ran into several dead ends but were determined! All the while, swearing at the government for being so useless and discussing various road-making techniques to prevent such madness!
8.45 pm: I make it back home, safe. Thank you Lahore friend who prayed! Give cabby Rs.200! The man earned it! Unlike that jerk who sold me the corn!
I spent 5 hrs at I.I. Chundrighar today. Met 4 top corporates. Sold AIESEC like hotcakes. Battled with challenges. That's the good life on the Pakistan MC! Lesson for my successor: When out to a meeting in Karachi, you must carry some essentials: Pen, Business Cards, Camera and Electricity testing device. (Imagine this post with pictures!)
Quotable Quotes for the day:Security Guy: "Be Careful. Someone expired there in the morning cos and electrical cable fell into the water"
Chairman of NBoA: "Let's rope these guys in man!"
Me: "You wanna know what the difference is between me and the LUMS kids at your company? Well, They're working
for you, while I'm working
with you.. That's the difference!"
My Friend goes by the alias Bombay Baker: "So much rain man.. We're Bangladesh now!"
Joanna: "U ok?"
In other news:The cooking at home continues as I am fast turning into a great chef! Ladies, watch out. The major inventions in the last week include: Zamzama Beans, Joanna Jelly and Rainy Rolls!
Long post.
