Clarity!

It’s funny how it was only eight days ago when I was high on brownie hash drowning in miseries of multiple rejections and now eight days later, Allah mian has turned my world around 180 degrees.
For the last 8 days, after receiving those rejections I drowned myself in work. Admission or no admission, my book was due to go into print on the 24th of March and that is the way it was! I had to work and weeping over my sorry fate was not going to make the book get complete. So I got to work. I worked day and night. No jokes. I was up for four days in a row. Seriously no jokes. It’s a remarkable feeling, not sleeping for four days….watching the sun come up only to see it go down again in a matter of moments…or so it seemed, since I barely looked up from my computer screen.
Long story short. I finished the book in time. I even managed to apply to a new university in Sanfransisco. The book was handed in for printing complete by the 25th of March ( half was handed in the previous day)- dummy made on the 26th and I officially go into print Inshallah tomorrow afternoon once I hand in the cover page.
So on the 24th, leaving my house for the printers, I was zombied out and miserable still from my rejections. I received a letter from a place I had half heartedly applied to in Chicago on my own.
Yet another rejection. Damn I felt like a loser.
After 5 stressful hours at the printers in the far away lands of Korangi (at least from my house) I returned home to finish the other half of the book. The electricity vanished. Sigh.

When it rains…it pours.

And hour later, during which I mostly sat on my prayer mat and prayed for happier times, God worked his magic.
I switched on my computer and checked my email- which is strange because I was planning on working right away. I didn’t have time for emails. But I checked anyway.

To: Ms.kAy
From: Fulbright
Subject: oops (not really but it should have been oops!)
Dear kAy,
As it turns out, it has come to our attention you were NOT rejected from XYZ university. You were actually accepted! Blahblahblahblah we made a mistake blah blah blah blah contact us please blah blah blah
Signed,
kAy’s coordinator.

THEY MADE A MISTAKE? Gasp.
They threw my acceptance letter accidently in a rejection pile!!! I would have gotten super pissed except I was supppeerrr happy :P this university is in NEWYORK people and it is a realllyy good one!

What followed was a series of amazing events. I got into the uni in San fransisco too. My book got complete miraculously in time, I managed to get proofs too and even the bad grainy pics that I feared would turn out ugly turned out beautiful!

When it rains…it pours! ☺

So now the time came to decide where to go.
NY, my dream to live in city? Or SF? The one with the course better suited for me. Both universities equally highly credited. The votes were in. Where should kAy go? Mom said SF, dad said NY, sisno#1 said SF, sis 2 I think leaned twds NY, granddad said SF, grandmom said NY, uncle said SF, aunty said NY.
After three days of intense debating in my home- last night my mother came to my room to continue rooting for SF.

mom: “beta the weather is warm…you will freeze in Ny….people are nicer…its so clean!...its quieter than NY…..crime rate kitni kumm hai SF mein….beta…the weatheerrr- beta if you go to NY, I will freeze!!!”

me: “Why will YOU freeze amma?"

mom: “ buss, knowing you are there…I will!”


This went on for 3 whoolllee days.
Then finally last night I said ,

Me: “mom, SF is a 6 hour plane ride from NY.”

Mom: “so?”

Me: “So if I go to SF, I wont be coming home very often in the two years I’m there.”
(note: I get terrible ear thing in the plane…lethal almost- plane travel is torture)

mom: Why?

Me: there is no direct flight.

Pause

Mom: we’ll buy you lots of sweaters for NY.

lol.
And that is how, ladies and gentlemen, kAy decided on NewYork NewYork!


Cheers!