My university has their annual convocation night today, so more or less the entire staff from the management to the peons will be hard at work assuring a fun-filled night for all involved. Thanks to this, the rest of us get a day off. Add that to Kashmir Day tomorrow and Sunday the day after and you have a much-anticipated three-day weekend!

What I love about this place is that nobody does a holiday like we Pakistanis. Others just sleep the day away, or wake up late and read in a leisurely manner they could not afford on other days, but we have to, as a collective group, run around to the nearest hot holiday spot (free, of course) and party the whole day (and night) through. This evening, I have watched the slow accumulation of holiday makers coming to the beach with whole families in tow, just to make the most of tomorrow's public holiday. I can hardly wait for night time (post Maghrib) when the young men on motorbikes and no cares or silencers will tear up and down the main road. God did not bless motorcycles with stereo systems, so other young men, being of a compassionate nature, will help out their unfortunate brothers by filling up their own cars' tanks with CNG and blaring 'Papi Chulo' or the equivalent good time song as they cruise right along with the motorbike people. Up the main road, back to the beginning, then back up the main road. You'd think such an activity would get monotonous after a while, but the Pakistani youth is not so easily dissuaded from enjoying his public holiday. The monotony can be easily broken by:

a) two passengers on different bikes holding hands as they race up and down the road, in a harmonious balance as they glide over speedbreakers.

b) one biker swerving towards another, slower biker (most likely a not-so-young man with wife in town behind him) and veering away at high speed at the last minute.

c) stopping and taking turns demonstrating how to best go about doing a 'wheelie' (riding a motorcycle on one wheel) in the midst of crowded roadsides.

d) slowing down near anything female on two legs and giving her appraising stares all the way from her toes to her head. Should subject be younger than thirty, make dignified sounds guaranteed to turn them on, such as 'chhh-ch!', *smacking lips* and 'oye hoye'. If a particular female happens to be minus burly male companions, turn the bike around once you pass her and repeat the entire procedure.