The lighter side of recession
Until now you only thought of the gloom and doom that
global recession had brought to our lives.
But there�s always a silver lining�
Saba Imtiaz
It's the buzzword of the year: the
recession. With sky-high inflation and massive layoffs worldwide,
Pakistan isn't faring too well in these tumultuous economic climes. But
it isn't all doom and gloom! Instep presents reasons for why the
recession may actually not be such a bad thing..
1. Blame it all on the recession
Don't we all love to blame our less
than perfect lives on anything but ourselves? Quite like how constant
traffic jams, VIPs passing through the area and traffic accidents are
common excuses for arriving late, the recession is now your one-word
excuse for anything that's wrong in your life. We present some common
dilemmas:
Don't like your job? Have to keep it because there ain't no jobs in a recession.
Can't fork out for an expensive meal? Recession!
Why aren't you married yet? Can't afford to get married with the recession!
2. You can spare yourself the nightmare of buying gifts
Buying gifts is usually a chore -
especially for people you dislike - but now with the recession you can
be spared from this nerve-racking activity! There is escape from the
birthday of a friend's bratty five year old daughter who always leaves
gum in your hair or the anniversary of one of your college 'Teen
Queens' (who got married ten years ago while you still haven't). You
can easily get away with just picking flowers from your garden (or even
the neighbour's) and presenting that because you can't afford to buy
gifts. Just make a sad face and say, 'it's the thought that counts' and
no one will care that you didn't buy an expensive gift (that they would
have returned anyway).
3. Did you inherit ugly jewellery from your mother-in-law? Now is the time to do away with it!
If you were one of those unlucky
ladies who got rather ugly sets of jewellery for their wedding, this is
the perfect time to get rid of them. Make a beeline to your nearest
jeweller and sell that ugly thick bangle that you've hated for so long.
You'll not only make a tidy profit and have lots of cash (since the
price of gold has gone up and you'll be encashing jewellery that you
didn't spend money on to begin with) but your mother/mother-in-law
won't even be offended because you can quote the recession for your
need to sell off jewellery. Don't be guilty�she'll probably want to do
the same�kyunke saas bhi kabhi bahu thee!
4. Stick with the old wardrobe
It may be a crime of sorts to appear
in the same outfit repeatedly on the social circuit, but if you hate
having to dish out thousands of rupees every season on the latest
it-designer and must-have outfit, the recession is perfect. Rejoice in
your old wardrobe without attracting snide comments from the social
circuit. Not only will your life become much easier, you won't have to
spend hours on cleaning out your wardrobe every few months.
5. Fashionistas, expand your social horizons
With the halt of sorts on fashion
shows, the only place one can catch fashionistas is at arty events -
whether it's photography exhibits, opening of art galleries, book and
poetry readings - the glitterati is now doubling up as the literati.
These events may have been dry and somewhat dull before, but now they
sparkle bright. Thank you, recession for adding grey (as in grey
matter) to fashion's spring/recession palette!
6. It's raining sales!
Call it your contribution to saving
the economy by shopping at the plethora of sales in town. Whether one
walks into a mall or drives down a shopping street - there are banners
announcing sales everywhere. It hasn't been this fun and guilt-free to
shop in a long time, because with everything marked down to even fifty
percent, it really feels like shopping back in the day when rising fuel
costs hadn't jacked up prices of everything, including t-shirts.
7. No more long (and boring) dinners
Whether it's family dinners featuring
the usual five courses and inane conversation or unnecessarily long
evenings spent with friends of friends you can't stand: the recession
is here to save you from wanting to poke your eyes out with a fork. You
no longer have to entertain endlessly and cater for people you don't
like, and just spend time with those you actually like by revisiting
old haunts such as Boat Basin.
8. Budget cuts for musicians? Have no fear, make bad videos!
Musicians shouldn't despair because
there isn't any money at hand to hire those A-list video directors that
they have so coveted. Take a leaf out of Atif Aslam's book and make bad
videos. Tip: you can also save on sets and shoot it in your kitchen or
roof. These terrible videos that are a crime of art will make
everyone cringe and may even lose a fan or two down the road, but think
of how memorable they'll be! Years down the line, when the recession
should be over, you'll look back at them fondly! | 
