Interests / دلچسپیاں

A few things about me outside the classroom. Say hi on @abdul.baasit.

People. I'm a people person through and through, and I honestly can't go a whole day on my own. My biggest flaw is that I can't do much alone: eating, studying, working out, watching a movie, going shopping, grabbing a lychee / peach iced tea, or even a late-night chai run all need company. Maybe that's why I end up making new friends wherever I go, usually within minutes. Funny thing is, people who haven't really talked to me often assume I'm this super serious, short-tempered guy who never jokes around. Couldn't be further from the truth. Outside my work, I'm about as unserious as it gets: always joking around, up for a game and just enjoying life.

Sports. I can pick up pretty much any sport, but I mostly play table tennis, basketball, squash and cricket, and I love swimming. I was part of my school's basketball team and represented my school at the Federal Board basketball tournament.

Games. During my senior year at LUMS, I spent many midnights playing board games and cards at the Khokha. I'm always up for a game, whatever it is.

Turkish. Yes, I speak Turkish, though honestly I understand far more than I can say. There's a story behind it: I once dreamed of working in Turkish theatre. Life had other plans, and that dream slowly faded, but the language and my love for dizis stayed with me.

Patterns. Without really meaning to, I collect data from everyday life, and I have an eye for the patterns hidden in it: the kind of signal that clears p < 0.05 while everyone else sees noise. Wherever I am, I tend to work out the hidden rules and connections behind things, the kind of details most people either never notice or take a long time to catch.