Us and I

interview

Full name: Sameen Amer

Date of birth: May 25

Educational background: I’ve done O- and A-Levels from Beaconhouse, and BS (CS) and MBA from FAST-NU. And I also have a Master’s degree in Awesomeness from the University of Make Believe and am planning to apply for a Ph.D. in World Domination.

Hobbies: Overanalysing things till they make my head hurt.

Favourite book: I absolutely love books; they’re, like, food for the brain, so I find it impossible to pick one as a favourite. But if I had to pick, I’d probably say The Catcher in the Rye, and then I’d regret it immediately because all the other awesome books would feel left out.

Favourite movie: I’m a huge fan of animated movies, and Pixar has made some awesome films in the last few years – Finding Nemo is the cutest film ever, and everything from Ratatouille to Up! has been great. But my absolute favourite is WALL-E!! I think that movie is brilliant and it makes my inner geek do somersaults.

Favourite actor/actress: I don’t think I’d watch movies just because an actor or actress is in them, so I guess I have no favourites.

Favourite band/singer: That I’m a Kurt Cobain fan is the world’s worst kept secret, so the obvious answer to this question is Nirvana. That said, there are countless bands and musicians, both past and present, that have made some awesome music, so my list of favourites actually runs on for a few pages.

Favourite personality: Celebrities? None. People I know? My parents; they have done everything in their power to ensure that I can avail the opportunities that they did not have, and they’ve been there to provide unconditional love and support throughout my life. I can’t put into words how much I love them and how eternally grateful I am for their love.

I detest: Hypocrisy, intolerance, fear mongering, bad adaptations and unnecessary sequels, unnecessarily forwarded emails, advertisements and celebrity endorsements, reality television, award shows, the lack of pizzas in my life, the fact that chocolate still hasn’t been declared a basic human necessity…

First crush: No idea. I’ve always thought that if Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah were a guy, I’d totally marry him; does that count? Although I suspect it would’ve been an intense and tempestuous relationship and we would’ve filed for divorce within days, so not much would’ve become of it.

Most memorable/embarrassing incident:
Memorable: Getting my MBA medal, because it made my parents happy which, in turn, made me happy.
Embarrassing: I’m quite certain my entire existence has been a string of highly embarrassing incidents; I can’t recall any of them now because my brain has blocked those memories to shield me; defence mechanism, you see.

Most precious possession: Things (mostly gifts) that remind me that I am loved; they’re as varied as an assortment of stuffed toys (including a little blue teddy bear called Mr. Blue) to a number of books that have been sent to me by friends, as well as lots of other little presents from family and friends. Oh and my computer, which I’m distressingly dependent on for my sanity and survival.

After five years I will be: A world-renowned writer? An international rock star? Miss Galaxy 2016? The Queen of the Universe? A caped crusader working as an intergalactic superhero ridding the worlds of crime and injustice? Humbly accepting my fifth Oscar? Getting Emma Stone to portray me in my biopic? Five years older? I haven’t decided yet. Probably not the last one though.

The next President of Pakistan should be: I’d like to say me, but I’ll have to admit I’m more interesting in the President of the Universe gig, so I’m afraid I’ll have to put myself out of contention.

The Us writer you admire the most: There have been some really good articles by various writers over the years; can’t pick one.

Writing for Us since: 2002.

Genre: Entertainment and technology.

My first contribution: If memory serves (and it rarely does), it was an article about online search engines.

Best work till now: As in, best article? I don’t know. I’m my own worst critic; I’ll have to let the readers decide.

Us Magazine, The News - 4 February, 2011