I know what you did last Spring

As we built our business in Europe, I had a chance to visit Rome last April. Our colleague, Philippine Reille, finally sent me a picture of the Forum Systems Team in front of Castello San Angelo, Rome.

I did get to see Pope Benedict from a hundred yards or so - very impressive & charming - at least to look at :-)

I recall being offered Authentic Italian cuisine by our gracious hosts, however, I have come to realize that I am more fond of American Italian foods that are less greasy and salty than their "authentic" Italian counterparts. I hear it gets progressively salty and greasy as one heads South.




There's nothing more fun than serendipitously walking around the streets and discovering historical artifacts and sites in Rome.

It's anything but Boring

Last Sunday, February 18, Mikaeel decided to perfect his flying kick at Samar's birthday party. On his 3rd try, he overlooked the fact that one of the helpers at the gym was still standing behind the "tackle foam." Newton's laws are indeed irrevocable, at least at the macro level: Mikaeel bounced off the foam and broke his right arm's radius and ulnar bones. He was quite the trooper. I had him hold his broken arm, walk to the car and then bear the bumpy ride to the ER.

Mika was quite the joker after the Morphine kicked in. After the X-Rays, the Orthopedic Surgeon, Bobby, & ER Doc, Michael Butler, tried anaesthesia drugs. After a couple of doses, they started looking at each other wondering why it wasn't knocking Mikaeel out. At one point, Mika shut his eyes slowly and after a few seconds, startled everyone by saying "fooled ya". After 4 doses, he was finally sedated and we were kicked out to the waiting room.

I was really impressed with the ER staff at UMass Memorial, Worcester - the waiting area was poor, but the staff was world class. I guess they get to see a lot more than the clean & sterile ERs in our neighborhood. We were back in our local ER after Mika and Tylenol with Codine didn't get along.

Emaan, my 5-year old, picked up a bug while waiting in the ER, and was throwing up 2 days later. And today, a week after Mika's accident, Emaan's virus caught up with Mika and he spend this third day in the ER after throwing up 11 times. I think we should get him a membership rewards card for ER visits.

So Grandma & Grandpa (Morji & Baba) got to see a week in the life of Mamoon, Zehra & Co. As usual, Zehra did most of the work, but I took a lot of the credit.

Nano, Abbas and Hussain were all there in full support and helped us get through the week. I hope next week is a bit better.

Mikaeel's Winter Piano Recital

Mikaeel's first "independent" recital yesterday evening at the Steinert Hall, Boston was quite an event. The day began with both parents pushing Mikaeel to practice incessantly. Mikaeel must have rehearsed over 10 times just on Saturday. This was his first lesson in disciplined prep for a "big" event. It reminded me of my days of cramming before exams.

An entire contingent showed up to support Mikaeel. Attendees included Mom and Dad, both GrandMa's (my mom especially made the trip from Pakistan to make sure she was there for this event), Haroon, Tehmina, Samar, Abbas, Hussain, and Jessica. Everyone was dressed up as if it were Mika's wedding.

Mika's performance was spectacular. Great etiquettes with well done bows and pauses between different pieces. Mikaeel played:

1. Allegretto 2 by (C. Czerny)
2. Good-bye to Winter (Folk Song)
3. Allegretto 1 by (C. Czerny)
4. Chant Arabe (Anonymous)

All kids made their parents, friends and family proud of their hard work and performance. The final presentation was especially impressive: Sonata No. 48 by J. Haydn. The Sonata was performed without reading notes and purely from the performers memory. I look forward to the time that I fulfill my promise to Mikaeel and buy him a Steinway when he gets to that level. Better start saving up today.

Congratulations to Dr. Fumei Huang on her excellent work with all the kids at the recital.