It was a weekend of work, also of freezing into an icicle, as winter has properly come to Islamabad. My shawl and occasional cardigan will no longer suffice so I have borrowed a coat from my host at least for the morning walk to work, when all the leaves and the ground are rimed with […]
Besieged
There are rats in the office. I was the first to spot one, a dark little creature which scampered across my line of sight while all the others had gone to the cafeteria for lunch. A few days later, two others spotted a rat climbing up the wall and into the false ceiling. Then it […]
Sepia to technicolor
Much of Saturday was spent firefighting at work, including chasing down people who had already left for their Christmas vacations but the machine never stops, so most of them had replied by Monday. Saturday morning I made it out to an early breakfast with a couple of friends, both with an interest in heritagey stuff, […]
Kitchen wars
There is an ongoing war with the kitchen. They have refused to serve breakfast at the desk in this office, saying they are not permitted, but there are witnesses to a whole ‘train of trays’ with eggs, French toast etc, being taken down to another department. The kitchen liaison, an elected staff member, is considered […]
Meagre pickings
After working for much of the night on Sunday, I finally finished my work at 6 in the morning. Felt fine the next day, as I normally do after a night without sleep – it’s the second night that gets me zonked – just a bit slower than usual and unwilling to make much of […]
Bags under my eyes
My eyes are dramatically shadowed these days, work has been consuming all waking hours and most sleeping hours as well. I did manage to make it back early once – by early I mean left at the end of working hours – and went to the markaz to buy some milk for tea. My exciting […]
Coloniser, colonised
My deadline on Wednesday has unterrified me, as it turns out it is actually my deadline on next Monday. Phew. While it’s still going to be tough, not least because I have to extract information from dozens of reluctant individuals, at least there are enough hours between now and then that it is theoretically possible […]
Terror strikes
Back in Islamabad. In the morning we went to visit an uncle who lives very far away, in the new bits of Defence, and then back, a quick lunch and off to the Daewoo. It was an uneventful journey, enlivened only by a chicken patty of the classic sort you get in all Pakistani bakeries. […]
Up and away
I left work early, by which I mean at the time when we are supposed to leave on Fridays, as I was planning to catch the Daewoo to Lahore. This I did, though it felt a very long journey. It is lovely to be back with my father. Slowly it has started feeling a little […]
Boar sighting
I finally saw the fabled boars of the Diplomatic Enclave, by the side of the road in the dark. They were very large; no natural predators in these parts, since I doubt jackals and leopards are permitted in the enclave. Happy news: I have some sort of work agreement thrashed out, and even a piece […]