About Myself:

My wife sometime calls me Dilbert. For 10 points can you guess why? I wonder what does Melinda Gates calls her husband. I not only write computer programs in daytime but sometimes in dreams too.

Born on September 4, 1970, I and my sister grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. My father owned a hardware store and my mom used to be a fashion designer. I say they "used to be" because now neither my father owns a store nor my mom is a fashion designer. I guess she could not compete with Calvin Klein here in the US. My sister, Rafia, is happily married and lives in New Jersey too. Surprisingly, she too is a software engineer.

I attended St. Patrick's High School school in Karachi until the 8th grade and then went to Cadet College Petaro (Sindh, Pakistan). There I completed my 12th grade. I call those five year as the "Golden Years" of my life. The memories that I collected in Petaro will stay with me the rest of my life. It was Petaro where I grew my love to callagraphy and drawing. After completing my intermediate high school, I came to US for further studies. That is when I started loosing my hair.

A few word about my wife Batool

It was Aug 30, 1996 when I got married to a beautiful lady named Batool. Soon there will be a link to her page also here.

In US I started my studies at a county college. After completing my first two years, I transferred to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Being an international student I had one heck of a time paying my college tuition. Anyway, finally graduated in Fall 1993.

I have tons of stories associated with my life. In one way it is good because I will have lots of them to share with my grand children. I did not go to Rutgers for Software Engineering. My major was Electrical Engineering and I was going toward designing laser diodes. In September 1993 I went for a job interview that required C/C++. I did a little bit of programming in my junior and senior years but wasn't good enough to work for a company. Anyway, after a weekend worth of effort learning C++, I was able to convince the employer that I was the best candidate. I got the job and along with it, my first assignment. Purchased a book, "Learn C++ in 14 Days" with a hope to become a C/C++ guru by the end of 14th day. You could guess what happed next; I was fired on the 15th day.

Obviously, I was very upset. Somehow, I managed to stay together and purchased my very first C/C++ compiler the very next day. This incident pumped up so much enthusiasm into me that it is still working as an active catalyst agent in my struggle toward becoming a good software engineer.

I like to draw free hand sketches and do calligraphy in my spare time. I do calligraphy not only in English but also in Persian, Urdu, and Arabic. In fact, if I wasn't an engineer I would have been an artist. It was my Mom's wish that I become an engineer and trust me guys, sometimes following your folks' advice can change your life. I am glad that she forced me to become what I am right now.