Bionic Woman

It’s yet another day when I get home after a hard day at work with no electricity, the UPS is not working again and I have no idea what to fix for dinner. I say fix because gourmet cooking after 12 hours away from home is not an option.

Somehow when you are young you are always in awe of young couples fluttering around. The husband handsome and humorous; the wife beautiful and brightly dressed. Their dreamy eyes are devoid of any tensions and turmoil. In fact I blame the media also for projecting such a warped, romantic image of practical life.

It’s a constant struggle day in and day out. You yearn for the day when you will start earning. Only to learn that it takes 30 days to earn and 3 days to spend. What with the myriad of bills waiting to gorge your paycheck in an instant. I still can’t fathom why the electricity bill increases exponentially in the summers when 20/24 hours the lights are out.

I used to admire married women with their perfect hairdos, manicured nails and impeccable lip color. I waited for the day when my mom won’t say I am too young to wear dark lipstick. Now it’s a miracle if I can make my lipstick last for more then an hour. You can’t expect it to do more since I hastily put it on with my trembling hands on way to the office. The hands are not trembling because I am a novice but because of the bumpy ride thanks to the “development” work being carried out.

The corporate woman is such a powerful and inspiring symbol when you are studying. It’s a realization you get later that a married working woman is a warrior. She not only has to work extra hard at the office to justify her leaving for home at 5:30 but also has to ensure that her house is pristine to prove that it is not getting effected cause of her job. Of course in the eyes of the bosses the men who come to work late and stay late to play pool are more efficient. The manly leisure trip doesn’t end here. They go home to waiting wives and mothers who massage them while they watch TV thinking that their masculine saviors have conquered nothing less then a mountain during the day.

I never imagined weekends should be treated as prized possessions. Before I used to go shopping and eating out with friends on Saturday and lounge around the house watching weekend TV on Sunday. Weekends now are also spent shopping. Although the list now comprises of non-glamorous detergent, toothpaste, bread and eggs. Before shopping was an escape, now shopping is a headache. Every time you go to buy something the prices have shot up like the mercury outside.

Living in Karachi adds a whole new dimension to the concept of growing up, living alone. The utilities thought “basic” for humankind are hungrily sought here. Now we don’t tell people the lights are out. We only compare notes of the times we HAD electricity. After having been mugged using your cell phone in public or wearing some jewelery are sins not to be repeated. Anything from the electricity, water supply, the road outside your house can give up on you in an instant. The recent item on my damaged list is my refrigerator which malfunctioned due to the electricity fluctuation. The technicians have a better work life balance then I do. Hence no one comes after 6 and managing all household chores on a Saturday requires me to be a bionic woman. How we have been living without a fridge for the past month in this heat requires another article.

Of course an understanding companion makes it all worthwhile at times. I say companion and not spouse because unfortunately our society has divided husband and wife roles into well defined compartments and anyone taking the initiative to cross over is looked down upon. I think a spouse becomes a companion when he is extra courageous and defies the norms. If you have someone to share your problems and insecurities with, it makes life worth living even with no electricity, water and roads.