This post is about my trip to the Pakistan American Youth Conference, November 10th, 2012 in Los Angeles, California, as I mentioned previously in this blog post.

Friday – Arrival, Reunion, Girl Scouts Meeting

Conference Day

Last Day – Brunch Hopping then homeward bound

Full Album

Friday – Arrival, Reunion, Girl Scouts Meeting

I arrived Friday November 9th, and my friend, Aisha Cabrer, picked me up from the LAX airport. We have known each other from when she lived briefly in Atlanta, GA. It was like old times except the weather was better in Cali. The masterplan was for me to be a guest speaker at a joint Daisy and Brownie Girl Scout Troop Meeting, affiliated with Minaret Academy , a private Islamic school located in Anaheim, CA – a stone’s throw away from Disneyland.

For this meeting, Aisha and I designed a t-shirt that comingled the “Girl Power” theme of weightlifting and the Girl Scouts. Score! Having artistic genius in her blood and being the owner of fabric paint markers was the beginning of a memorable shirt prop. Unfortunately, I was not as heavy built as we both thought and walked away with a very XXL t-shirt that hung on me like a jacket on a tree outside of a Korean BBQ house. Since it was too late to go back to the store to get the right size, we made it work and c’est la vie…The t-shirt of course said, “Lift Like a Girl Scout” because that’s how I roll. During the meeting, Aisha introduced me and asked me to explain to the Girl Scouts present why I chose to go into the world of weightlifting, what inspires me to continue, and what advice I would share with girls to defeat the odds when people say you can’t do something. I was encouraged to use a range of vocal tones (i.e., Bass, Tenor, Alto, Soprano) but I was stuck in between bass and tenor (I’m a monotone baritone by nature). It’s the engineer in me. Sorry deal with it. Anyways, these Girl Scouts had a few unexpected questions, such as, could I pick up a car and when you’re lifting weights do you vomit? They were impressed with my answers, as they are still young.

 

I got to spend some time with Aisha and her family, then we trekked through heavy Friday night LA traffic to get to the hotel I was staying at in Studio City, California (which was closer to California State University, Los Angeles, campus which the conference was being held at). Before Aisha left, I was a big poser and posed with Hollywood themed stuff, rummaged through the free hotel fixins, toured and propped ourselves on the boutique lobby furniture. Perhaps I did a Gangham style manuever by a stranger’s Honda Odyssey to confirm with security cameras the pseudo Odyssey versus the actual Honda Odyssey that we came in. Check check. It was Aisha I think. The only way you will be able to ascertain who did the actual dance moves is to check the security cameras. Although, I missed my own SoCal premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2, Aisha told me I was good in it. As I’m also known in the underground pop culture world as LiftingCovered Kristen Stewart AKA Bella Swan on the Twilight movie series. Since she gave me an extra duffle bag to transport expired boxes of Girl Scout cookies, guava, persimmons, and homegrown curry leaves, I can say I lived the good life in California. (The cookies and persimmons required an extra airport security scan when I was leaving LAX for ATL – home).

Conference Day

Saturday morning, I got ready and went over my speech notes. Samia Khan, picked me up on her way to the campus. With no introductions, we were able to have a non-stop conversation instantly which was the start of our adventures. It helped that she is talented at talking and connecting with people. Her ideal job is to work on a show such as The View. She currently is a co-host of Sony’s tech show “SGNL” and has a blog at KHANversations.com. When we reached the campus, I was introduced to many people. I have not mentioned everyone in this post, but please check out the links and Facebook page on the event for more detail on the panelist and volunteers involved. I also have some of this information in my photo album.

We had lunch and while Samia (who was to moderate the panel) talked with the others on the Entertainment panel, I went over my speech. I also took the opportunity to show the video I had created using iMovie. I got approval from all of them, so that means I must have done a good job, especially as an amateur/wannabe movie maker! This video was the intro to my speech, which gives a summary of my weightlifting story to the present.

After lunch and before the panel, one of the volunteers kindly offered to get coffee for us from Starbucks. He was also patient, because it took a good 10-15 minutes to figure out what I wanted to order. I had not been to Starbucks in a very long time, did not remember what they sold, and had no idea what the seasonal beverages were. This is how Samia and I also realized we are both indecisive. But our level of indecisiveness put together allowed us to make decisions quickly. While I browsed over the Starbucks website, Sadia filled me in on all of the options available. Normally, too many options would increase the complexity of my decision making process, but her explanations helped me narrow down which options I did want by process of cancellation and preference. Finally, the order was finalized, and Samia SMS’ed this order to the volunteer.

I assume that the caffeine in the coffee plus the sugar content gave me a boost of extra energy. This added to the creativity of the conversations I had and pictures we took in the conference room. For example, Sameer is known for his scriptwriting, but he is also he is also is quick with humor in conversations. The idea that I should pick up Samia overheard for a picture materialized. I came to realize this would be dangerous after some attempt, so we settled for a piggyback ride.

I attended their panel – Host and Personality Samia Khan (khanversations.com), VFX Artist Mir Zafar Ali (The Day After Tomorrow, XMen, Spiderman 3, Incredible Hulk), Qurram H of the band Josh, Hollywood TV Comedy Writer Sameer Asad Gardezi (Modern Family, Outsourced, Minds of Mencia), Producer Tariq Jalil, (Marmaduke).

From hearing this panel, meeting the other panelists and from the attendees feedback, a lot was learned and I think in some way at least everyone was motivated.  All did a great job. Though I am not in the entertainment industry, I could relate to some of their experiences. Such as some of the low points you encounter, such for them when they were starting out, and how you have your ups and downs in failures and success. Then it was the dinner portion of the conference, which Samia Khan emceeed naturally. This included a video speech from Zeenat Rahman from the US State Department, Sargeant Mike Abdeen from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the ovation for the volunteers (Rumaisa Rahman & Tasneem Noor – these two were the main organizers of the conference. They worked tirelessly on the conference for the past 4 months! I know for a fact that Rumaisa did not get much sleep from the start to not until Thanksgiving break came around), remarks from Riffat Masood (Pakistan Consulate), and Dr. Naqvi from Shine Humanity.

Umair H. Zubair AKA Dj Riamu of Riamu Entertainment handled of all the audio, video and cool light effects for the conference (he is working on a bridal workout remix for 2013, which I am looking forward to listening to while I train). It was great, and when I saw my iMovie creation on the big screen and pictures before my speech, I almost forgot to get up and walk over to the stage floor to give my talk until I looked at Samia for the cue 🙂

Tasneem Noor had guided me on my speech, making it more personal, reflecting on the choices and paths I chose, especially the ones that are non-traditional or outside of the box which can be scary. How do we balance responsibilities we have, especially as a woman. Finally, what I feel makes my life meaningful. Going through the process of preparing a speech and finally speaking helps me to process the experiences I have had. I had a few questions, and the highlight was when Shaista Khan (Pakistan Development Coordinator for Islamic Relief USA) said I should be congratulated for my accomplishments and receive a standing ovation.

As the crowd was finishing dinner & hearing a set from Asghar Husain of Public Jones, I got to talk with many people, take photographs, and even had one autograph request. The band Nasaal performed, then Rumaisa got everyone up for Josh. After the concert, I got to meet Atif Moon, Co-founder and Inspiration behind the Center for Global Understanding. He trains in wheelchair tennis, his goal is the next olympics, I hope to see him there!

*UPDATE December 29th*

RU Entertainment has posted their video coverage of the very First Pakistani American Youth and Young Professional Conference held in Los Angeles. Presented by the Consul General of Pakistan and Young MALAC.

Last Day – Brunch Hopping then homeward bound

The next morning Samia picked me up from the hotel, and had the yelp application open on her phone searching for brunch spots. I learned a new function of bookmarking choices, and from there that helps narrow down choices, valuable for the indecisive. Again by conversing and putting our indecisiveness together, we finalized a brunch spot. That is where we had omelets. Rumaisa joined us and Samia came up with the idea of a second brunch spot where Rumaisa could also get breakfast, and we would try a nutella banana crepe, which would be my first time “brunch hopping.”

Then I flew back to Atlanta. It was an awesome trip. I am happy I was hosted and invited to speak, to have the opportunity to share my story, meet many people who were inspirational and also supportive of my efforts.

Full Album

These are a set of pictures from my trip to Los Angeles, California, for the Pakistan American Youth Conference (where I spoke), Nov 10, and the day I left, Nov. 11. It also includes humorous pictures and some from the Josh concert, Brunch hopping on Sunday before I left.

LA Girl Scouts & Pakistan American Youth Conference ALBUM

I hope I get to visit LA again one day inshAllah — Kulsoom