First Half of 2009

A number of items that I should record - outside of what I now communicate via other channels such as Facebook.  The first half of 2009 has been really eventful:

1. Feb: Travelled with Mikaeel to Dubai, Islamabad and Lahore in February.
2. March: Mikaeel got his Brown belt in Karate.
3. May: Had to rush to Islamabad to be with Dad after his procedure.
4. May: Had a wonderful time with Emaan in Orlando.  Discovery Cove Rocks.
5. June: Heading to Las Vegas for HP's Technology Forum.

Business has been good, even with a slow economy.  Am back to reading more of Richard Dawkins.  

Paris Trip and looking back at 2008

Had a wonderful trip to Paris.  Visited my cousins, the Reille Family.  It was fun doing the tourist thing, going to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Seine River, Versailles and then cool restaurants and clubs in the evening.

This year has been interesting - seems like every year time shrinks and things move faster.  My travel schedule was great with trips to Zurich, Prague, London, Paris, Oslo, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

I had a great time with the family at Cape Cod - Jet Skiing on choppy water is challenging but loads of fun, especially when you have a 9-year old hanging onto you.

2009 is going to be equally fun with trips to London, Islo (not Oslo), Orlando and Los Angles already inked.  There's surely going to be a trip or two to Europe in the first half of the year.  The Monaco Grand Prix and a week in the South of France is also in the cards, hopefully.

Professionally, things are working out really well.  Both companies are doing well and the business models finally make sense.  Lately, I have been reading up on the health care industry and hope to get more involved in policy and technology related the health care.

Visiting Las Vegas

Had a good time in Las Vegas while exhibiting at the Gartner Conference for Crosscheck Networks.  

- Shopped at Burberry and the Ferrari store, Wynn Hotel

- Ate at Nero's and Sushi Roku.

Flying back to Boston tonight on a Red-eye and will head to Paris tomorrow evening.  It should be interesting doing 2 red-eyes within 24 hours.

Official letter asking for special consideration

This is an good template for Government Officials to ask others for special consideration, Nepotism, or just plain Sifarish - Paki Style

Debbie Does Dallas - Gilani Does Washington

I don't know whether to laugh or cry - I guess with a population of 160M folks, this is the best Pakistan can do:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C03%5Cstory_3-8-2008_pg3_3

Recent Activities

Just received a signed copy of John McCain's book "Faith of my Fathers." It's a great read and I recommend that every American, independent, republican, and democrat should read it much like every American should read Barack's book "The Audacity of Hope" that I very much enjoyed. Casting a vote is a civic responsibility of every American and learning about a Presidential Candidate is essential before casting a vote.

Over the course of the primary season, I have come to despise the divisiveness, sensationalism, and utter disregard for the consequences of the fast and loose statements by the "talking heads" on channels like Fox News, CNN, ABC and MSNBC. Thanks to the internet, Americans have now become more independent minded and not as subjected to the hypnotic effects of the mainstream media. Eventually, the media moguls will lack any significant power over moving the masses by spinning and slanting the news to meet their own agendas.

Next week, I am off to London with Mikaeel. This will be my first trip with him without the whole kid and kaboodle. It is a sign that Zehra has faith in my abilities to independently manage Mikaeel or in Mikaeel's ability to independently manage himself. Regardless, it should be fun. On the Agenda:

1) London Eye
2) Madame Tussaudes
3) London Dungeon
4) Hamley's and Harrods
5) Westminister Abbey
6) Buckingham Palace
7) Tower of London

Not sure how we're going to squeeze all this in 4 days - but we'll try. The Museums will have to wait.

Mikaeel's January 2008 Piano Recital

Here's Mikaeel's January 2008 Piano Recital held at Steinway & Sons, Boston, Massachusetts. Mikaeel played the following 3 pieces:

1) A Short Story, H. Lichner
2) Minuet K.2, W.A. Mozart
3) Harmony Angelic, F. Burgmuller

Lilly Salina Yunus - 2 months old

Lilly Salina Yunus knows how to please a crowd:

Mikaeel first lesson in Political Science: Get Inspired.

On Jan 9, 2008, I took Mikaeel, 9, on his first lesson in Civics - listen to Barack Obama and Patrick Deval speak. Mika took the day off from school, the only time that I would ever permit him to do so.

The speech by Obama was exquisite - he feels right for our times. It is Obama's inspiration that I want Mikaeel to feel and carry with him. Hopefully, Mikaeel will serve his country - The United States of America - well and will become a strong ambassador of the greatness that the people of this country embody.

Deval Patrick was gracious and humorous in talking to Mikaeel. He gave Mika a one-in-a-lifetime, get out of school pass given the historical nature of this election. Obama was gracious enough to autograph his book: The Audacity of Hope.

Barack Obama - Our best hope for getting back on track

This evening, Barack visited Boston and I got a chance to listen to him up close. The man is genuine, pleasant, stately, smart and driven by a strong sense of purpose to change the way things are in America and bring it back to its respected and revered status in the world. I wish him the best of luck in the primaries.



The event for Barack was organized at Fenway park. Here's a picture of the Red Sox world cup winning trophy

Mikaeel gets his Green Belt

A trip down memory lane with the Yunus Clan

Here are some pictures that I dug out from my backup storage.

Mikaeel at 9 months chilling out in Hawaii.
Who's that stranger holding my son - oh wait that's Zehra.

Zehra on a 4 legged animal - I think it's a horse. We were on a day-long horseback hike in Hawaii and Zehra's horse decided he wanted to just hang out. She was always at last one in the pack which gave me a good opportunity to get this picture of here and her horsy.Mika at 1 hanging out with Daddy. This is where Michael Jackson got his idea.

The two Yunus Studs chilling at Boston Commons.

Mika on his 1st Birthday with his Grandma. Now his second sister carries his Grandma's name Salina as her middle name. (Summer 1999).

Mika at 4, Emaan at 9 months (Summer 2002).
Emaan smiling for Dad (Summer 2002)
Mika at 4 (Summer 2002)

Baba under the tree shade (2002)
Mika's 5th birthday (Summer 2003).

Mika, Minah and Emaan
Winter 2004: Baba, Tony Chacha and Juni Chacha.
Winter 2004. The last time I saw Ilyas Mamu and Mumani Jan. May God bless them.
Winter 2004. Morji with her younglings.

Resurrection - Amsterdam Style

Here's a classic video from a trip to Amsterdam in late 2001. It is about this time of the year that "the boys" would be planning a trip to "Amstergame" - as we fondly called one of our favorite cities. Now, Prague has taken over from Amsterdam.

Lilly Salina Yunus gives Dad the Victory Sign

Lilly Salina Yunus, born at 1:28 pm, November 8, 2007 on the 14th Floor of Mass General Hospital, Boston. She knows how to please a crowd. Very quickly she gave Dad a solid vote of confidence and showed him a Victory Sign. I know it means something else in the UK, but in the US it is the victory sign. Regardless, she has attitude.

Mikaeel decided to wear his "fancy" clothes to school today since he wanted to advertise and celebrate the arrival of Baby Lilly. Emaan was excited to see Lilly's pictures and tomorrow she will get to meet her baby sister for the first time.

More pictures to come ...

Trip log - Prague September 7, 2007

Friday, September 7, Riz and I found a gap in our schedules to walk around Prague and do the tourist thing. Prague is indeed great for architecture lovers. Here are some pictures from our day.

St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church

After a hard day of work, one deserves to Relax

I feel like that almost everyday

Rizwan's New Car

Mamoon's New Car

The path to success

The Prague Castle

The Charles Bridge over the Vlatova River

The Altar at St. Nicholas Church

Tower at the Charles Bridge

The National Museum

The Municipal Hall - where the members of the Czech Symphony Orchestra Perform.

Powder Tower - Right near the Marriott Hotel

Rarely get to see a Russian Aircraft. This one is a Tupolov 154

Rizwan's on the lookout for a bride.

This was my third trip to Prague and with every trip I seem to enjoy the city more. Although it has become very touristy, it is still a city one can just frolic around and absorb the architecture. There is still a very Eastern European flavor to the city with significant Russian overtones, but it seems that over the years that may be something that will be lost with The Czech Republic rapidly becoming a part of the mainstream Europe. I guess Hungary and Romania are other countries that I should visit before they start to lose their Eastern European charm.

Trip log - Prague September 6

Although I spent most of the day inside my hotel room working and it was a dreary day, the evening had a special unexpected surprise. On a whim, I decided to go to The Municipal House, Smetana Hall to see if I could get tickets. They were available and for less than USD 60, I got seats in the third row.

Members from the Czech Symphony Orchestra did a wonderful job playing great pieces such as:

• J.S. Bach Air
• J. Dvorjak Humoresque
• J. Dvorjak Largo from Symphony No. 9
• Schubert Ave Maria.

With Lucianno Pavarotti passing away today, I want to pay my tributes to a great icon of our era who will always remain in our memories. Here's Pavarotti singing Ave Maria that I just saw the Czech Symphony perform today.




Also, I was moved by Dvorjak's Humoresque. Perhaps one day Mikaeel will make me proud and play this piece for his dad. The video below is at the Municipal House.

Trip log - London - August 31-Sept 2

Trip log - Rome - August 29-30

This is my second trip to Italy in the last 18 months. Although I do love the architecture and history that Rome has to offer, I haven't been a big fan of Southern Europe until recently. Eventually, everything grows on you - and it's Rome's turn now. Rizwan and I landed just before mid-night. From the moment I got on the Alitalia aircraft, I got flashbacks of Pakistan and India. The Italian demeanor, body language, facial expressions, usually aggressive tone is very reminiscent of the sub-continent culture. Perhaps it is the hot-blooded middle-eastern streak that is common between Southern Europe and the Middle East/Sub-Continent that results in such similarities.

Our taxi driver from the airport to the Marriott Hotel, Via Veneto, may as well have been a Grand Prix driver. Both Riz and I were quick to put on our seat belts. He was friendly and courteous, much like most of the Italians we have dealt with so far. And he was playing 80's tunes on the Radio - even played "It's just an Illusion" - the first album that I ever purchased. The Marriott - Flora on Via Veneto, is right next to the American Consulate. Here's the view from my room:


After checking in, we decided to walk to the Pizza Espania. To my surprise, at 1:00 am, the place was still hopping with people just hanging out, drinking and playing music.




We woke up early and headed to our meetings. After a grueling schedule, we raced to catch our flight at 5:00 pm back to Heathrow. I had enough time to grab Mikaeel a Ferrari bag and a I treated myself to a few shirts as well.