Muryam is a backend WordPress developer on our team. She helps marketers build plugins, custom themes, and other interesting things using WordPress. Muryam gives us a glimpse into her family life, why she rarely watches TV, some amazing things she and her husband do in their spare time and the interesting role Dangerous Dave played in her life.
Hi Muryam! How are you?
Hi Sajeel…good thanks how are you?
I’m good thanks! What are the last 3 things you Googled and why?
1 – Stackoverflow
Of course! A developer’s dream website
Yes! The site really shows the good in the world to me. People all over the world contribute to solving problems for one another. Really shows one of the great things about being in development.
Yes, developers are generally very good at sharing knowledge
That’s right. There is a chance someone had a similar problem before and they go ahead and post it here on Stack Overflow or in other places. It’s really nice.
What else have you Googled?
I spend a lot of time Googling different clothing sites.
What kind of clothes are you looking for?
Clothes for me, clothes for my family. I try to buy stuff out of season to get a better rate.
What do you mean by out of season?
Like I will buy summer clothes now since it is winter. And winter clothes in the summer. When you buy out of season you can get most stuff at 20-30% off.
30%!? That’s a huge discount
You didn’t know this before?
I can imagine buying clothes out of season would yield a discount, but 30%!?
Yes, definitely 30%. You obviously don’t do a lot of clothes shopping Sajeel!
Hahaha! Obviously not. What else have you been Googling?
As a parent, I am always Googling different remedies for kids and their symptoms.
Yeah absolutely. Can you elaborate more?
Kids always have some different symptoms or things that happen. Like my youngest son burned his hand and we were looking online for different ways to treat that
Oh no!
Yeah it was a minor thing. Just a little mark, but you know he is a young kid so sometimes we rely on Dr. Google for quick solutions!
I can relate to that and have done that often myself. Ok, who are 3 people you’d like to have dinner with and why?
I’d invite Bushra, she is a really close childhood friend of mine. We were very close during childhood but life drifted us apart. It would be great to talk with her again. Then I’d like to invite Troy, my former manager in 2012 who encouraged me to learn WordPress. Lastly, I’d like to invite Hamid my husband ...of course! He’s an accountant with an MBA in Finance. Those three would have a lot of fun together.
When was the last time you cried tears of laughter?
Last week! Probably at something my husband did.
What a surprise! A wife laughing at something her husband does!
Not necessarily about something he did. Normally at the end of the day, he and I just hang out, talk about the day and laugh at different situations while drinking tea.
No TV at the end of the day?
No TV really. Sometimes he’ll read a book. Sometimes we’ll talk. Usually, the kids have control of the remote!
What do you like about coding?
Coding is really just a beautiful thing.
It really is.
I never thought about being a programmer until University. I wanted to be a Doctor but switched to the programming side. Even then I wasn’t sure about the whole thing.
Why not?
I just never really believed I could do it. Even for the first year or two, I wasn’t sure.
What changed? When did the belief come?
The first time I believed I could be a coder came in class one day. The prof ran a loop on the board and implemented a variable. He asked the class ‘who can tell me what the variable will be?’ I was the only one who got the answer right. When I got that answer right I got the confidence and the spark.
It was just that simple?
Small recognitions can be a big thing. It’s like that in coding too. You do one small thing, run the program, and when it works you get that nice reward! No feeling like it and if you know it, you know the feeling!
Where were you when you first saw a computer/laptop?
It was probably the late 90s. My older brother passed his matric exam (a test in many countries kids take when they are 15-16 years old) and my dad bought us a DOS machine. Had a lot of fun playing our favorite game on it.
What was your favorite, DOS-based PC game?
Dangerous Dave
Of course, it was Dangerous Dave! A DOS classic.
We played that game all the time. Got through all of it!
What are some things your teammates don’t know about you?
Most of the teammates don’t know my exact age! Or how many kids I have or if I am married not!
You are a mystery to them!
Yes, I know! God has blessed me with 4 kids…twin boys, a daughter, and another son. Hamid my husband is a financial controller.
Ah! He runs the numbers
Yes, he does. In our spare time, we have helped build a few schools!
Please share! What do you mean you have built a few schools?
Well, it’s mostly Hamid. I volunteer and help, but he and his friend invest and help manage a few schools in different parts of Pakistan for elementary-aged kids.
