WaWa's World!

I've Moved...

2009-02-11T12:33:00.002-05:00

So I'm going to be blogging at WordPress now, instead of here. You can visit my new blog here! I've transferred all of the old posts and comments, and I hope I will still see all of you there! =)

Long Live Palestine

2009-01-14T21:41:00.006-05:00

So it's been too long again... I'm just generally pissed off at the world these days. It's been 19 days and over 1000 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel, including over 300 children and 100 women, and more than 4000 have been injured. I don't even need to tell you all about how there is no aid to help these people in Palestine.

Yet, what action has been taken against Israel to stop them? Nothing, really. Yeah, the UN has met a couple of times, blah blah, all meaningless meetings really. When the US wanted to stop Japan in World War II, what did it do? It nuked the country. Well, I'm not saying we should nuke Israel, but something needs to be done to make Israel stop. I am so damn sick of it. And there are still idiots out there who support Israel. Well, guess what, Israel broke the ceasefire first, not that it even matters at this point. Over 1000 dead compared to the 14 Israelis dead? What an absurd ratio. Not to mention most of the 14 are SOLDIERS who died while killing innocent civilians. And for anyone who wants to use that ridiculous argument that Israel is in constant danger by the rockets, blah blah. Guess what? More Palestinian children have been killed in the past two weeks alone than the number of Israelis that died from rocket attacks in the past 4 years. Another unproportional response by Israel meant to exterminate the Palestinians as though they are nothing but bugs... They are HUMAN.

My blood just boils with outrage everyday. All these world-wide protests might be raising some awareness, but how much of a difference can it really make? I'm gonna be cynical, or realistic, and say it isn't making much of a difference. For as many people there are out there protesting against Israel, there are MANY more ignorant people who still believe all the Muslims should be wiped out and they are cheering on Israel. Just take a look at these racist groups on Facebook, like "1000 Against Jihad." The group is full of hate speech against Muslims and Islam. There are over one billion Muslims in the world, and how many of them are terrorists? Not even 1%. When will people stop being so damn ignorant? sigh.

Just utterly depressing. I don't even know what to say anymore. Neturei Karta has the right idea, and I hope more people will open their eyes. I hope more people will come to see that Israel is MURDERING innocent people, committing a genocide as we speak. The same people who suffered a genocide themselves are no longer the victims, but the victimizers. For how long will they use the Jewish Holocaust as an excuse to commit such atrocities? Absolutely despicable. They are the so-called chosen people in their own eyes, but do they honestly believe that God would approve of their actions, of them murdering innocent people? How can they honestly believe that any Just God would approve of this? Sickening.

I really don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said. But I am just so frustrated and exhausted. We live in a very unjust, depressing world.

Animal Abuse

2008-12-07T10:49:00.005-05:00

So someone brought it to my attention yesterday that I may have freaked out people with my venting against animal abusers. Do I truly believe that animal abusers should have their limbs cut off and that they should be burned alive? No! That would indeed be horrific. I need to learn to control my anger a bit better and stop saying such things when my blood starts to boil every time I read or hear a story about animal abuse. Anyone who knows me knows that I wouldn't harm any living being, whether he or she is guilty of a crime or not. I wouldn't want to be responsible for inflicting pain on anyone. Do I believe animal abusers should be punished though? Yes, with jail time, community service, etc. etc. The problem is that in America animals are viewed as "property," which is why people can get away easily with abusing animals and inflicting pain on them, even for "valid" reasons, such as de-clawing.

De-clawing is illegal in a few European countries, yet it's allowed in America. I had a long discussion about de-clawing with my cat's vet, and unfortunately it doesn't seem as though the laws will change in America any time soon. There are many other options available! First of all, get your cat a scratching post, that will prevent him/her from scratching any furniture or carpets, and then you can also trim your cat's nails, which is very easy. And there are also "soft paws" which you can put on your cat. There simply isn't any reason to put an innocent animal through so much pain... which weakens their muscles, leaves them completely defenseless and makes it extremely difficult and painful for them to even walk.

Anyway, I went off on a tangent. Back to the point... Anyone who knows me would know that I don't wish to see any living being harmed in any way. I simply state such things out of anger when I feel so helpless, because I know things won't change any time soon. Should I be surprised that people abuse animals? No. When humans, who are supposed to be the most intelligent species on earth, are capable of torturing and killing one another for reasons of race or religion and a multitude of other reasons, then I shouldn't be surprised that humans are capable of inflicting pain on a completely defenseless and innocent creature. A part of me, though, assumed that since animals can NOT talk back, since they are of no particular religion or race, that humans would be able to respect animals and treat them kindly. But sadly, many people lack a conscience and feel no guilt about hurting an animal that cannot even speak for itself...

Which is why I try to speak for them. Someone has to. I shall try to hold back any anger from now on and not wish such painful punishment upon animal abusers. I still do believe they should be punished, though. Five years of jail time, minimum, and community service.

Alright, I guess that's all. So if I've managed to freak anyone out, I apologize. I am the kind of person who watches where she walks to avoid squashing an innocent bug. So I can assure you, I would never actually want to see any human suffer such an awful death. I'll try to find other ways to vent my anger from now on... =)

Black Friday Birthday

2008-11-29T21:15:00.004-05:00

So I used to always blog on my birthday... Missed it this year. Well, it was certainly the most uneventful, boring birthday anyway. No one was in town to celebrate with, so I mostly just slept, spent time at Borders, or watched TV.

It was Black Friday. Spent Thanksgiving at my friend Amanda's house. I had fish while everyone else had turkey, but my fish was very good, too! All of the food was really great. Played Guitar Hero and games on her brothers' Wii, which was quite fun! Woke up with a very sore arm! Amanda thought we should check out the outlet mall an hour away on Black Friday, as they would have huge sales at midnight. My first Black Friday experience. And never again! I figured that since it's midnight, there would be hardly anyone there. But I was wrong... It was extremely crowded and everyone looked so wide awake and energetic, which I also could not understand. I was sleepy, uncomfortable and I thought I'd die of a heat stroke a few times (though it was cold outside but crowded and extremely hot in all the stores). I did end up buying stuff... But I am not gonna do the whole Black Friday thing again. Didn't get to bed until 4 AM on Friday the 28th, my birthday!

I am truly sickened by the behavior of some people. As everyone knows by now, a WalMart employee was trampled to death in Long Island after the doors opened and hoards of people ran in, running over him... This is what has become of our society. People are so into consumerism that they don't care about the safety of a man on the floor who is being trampled to death? My goodness. Absolutely sickening. I hope the people who ran through those doors are extremely ashamed of themselves and I hope they feel very guilty for what has happened. One would think that living in the 21st century that people would know how to behave in a civilized manner. Unfortunately this is proven wrong time and time again... How could a few people not stop to help this man? *sigh* Shameful...

So while sitting at Borders on my birthday, I was near two people who were on their first date, or they were at least having their first meeting after having met online. They were into Fantasy RPG and they were both Pagan. It was quite amusing listening to them and watching them get to know each other a bit better. The girl was clearly nervous, but that didn't stop her from speaking loud enough for everyone in the cafe to hear her. Everyone learned a lot about her cat. I wonder if they'll end up married, hmm....

So just two weeks until this semester ends, and THANK GOD! I am so damn exhausted. Can't wait for this semester to be over and I can start applying for jobs. But next semester will indeed be worse, because I'll have my master's exams to take as well, which requires a crapload of reading... *sigh* Anyway, shall not think about next semester yet when I have so much work to do in just the next two weeks... Blah....

Oh, speaking of Borders... I was complaining to mum on the phone about my depressing birthday, and a guy sitting next to me overheard me and said "Happy Birthday" to me as I got up to leave. A stranger's kind gesture can make a huge difference. I thought it was very sweet of him to say Happy Birthday, though he didn't know me but he thought it might make my day a little bit brighter. And it did. :) Well, another year older (26 now, gosh...), and hopefully wiser!

Exhausted !

2008-11-24T20:56:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time... again. I'm just exhausted. I have so much on my mind, but I wouldn't even know where to begin. I just feel mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted right now. I could use a relaxing vacation. Not a vacation where there are so many historical places to see (though I do love that), but a vacation where I can just chill on the beach for 3 days, watch the waves crash to shore, and just listen to nature, while I breathe in clean air and clear my head of all the random thoughts that fill it right now....

So I just came back from the annual Middle Eastern Studies Association conference! It was in Washington D.C. this year. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially since so many of my professors, past and present, were there. I had the pleasure of running into one of my favorite professors from undergrad. I absolutely love that man! He's a brilliant Ottoman historian, and just one of the sweetest people. Running into him had to be the highlight of my trip. I was really hoping to see him. He told me I looked more elegant than ever! lol Which was very sweet of him! Then we talked about what I've been up to for the past few years... I mentioned how I'm a bit confused about things right now, about where to go next... He told me it's the perfect time to be confused...

Though I love academia, and I really do, being at the conference reaffirmed how much I just love the academic world, I just don't know if I can go for a PhD right now. I feel tired. Not to mention, I completely went into the wrong field. I love the Middle East, but I should've gone into Political Science and focused on the Middle East in that discipline, rather than entered a graduate program in just regional studies, which as a former professor of mine would always say, is completely and utterly useless.

So what to do now? Well, I'm going to be applying for jobs, hopefully in Human Rights or Foreign Policy, InshAllah... and if I feel up to it, maybe I'll come back for graduate studies in Political Science. I guess a year long "break" of working might do me some good...

Back to MESA. Attended some interesting panels, one about International Relations, which I felt was very relevant to today. There are not enough people who specialize in the Middle East writing in International Relations journals, which can influence the actions our government takes. This needs to change! I'd like to be someone someday who helps to change this...

Anyway, I'm tired. So I shall go for now... But I hope to start blogging again regularly... Because I'm a politics junkie, and there was so much I had to say during the whole presidential election... But I just never got around to writing about it. But there's always something on my mind, and I seem to have an opinion about everything... so I guess I shall write more often, InshAllah... :)

It's Been Too Long...

2008-07-04T10:39:00.003-04:00

Wow, what has happened to me. I used to be someone who would blog at least once or twice a week. And now if I blog even once a month, then that's something! *sigh*

So Istanbul was absolutely amazing. I am going to tell everyone I ever meet to go there lol... Istanbul had the most beautiful views imaginable... I did so much there that to blog about it all would take way too long... so some of the highlights in brief:

--Chasing a con artist who got away with $400 through SultanAhmet

--The Blue Mosque at night... absolutely gorgeous! And feeding *Zeytin* at the Blue Mosque (their resident stray cat)

--Sailing on a private yacht (courtesy of my sister's fiancee) on the Marmara to one of the Princes' Islands, which are beautiful and so serene...

--Chilling out at Taksim Square everynight, smoking hookah, playing either backgammon or poker (yes, I totally kicked butt at poker hehe, no real money though)

--BURGER KING! Not sure if the meat was actually halal or not, but I just assumed it was lol and had a few whoppers and crispy chicken sandwiches, and they were AMAZING! I wish I could go back just to eat there again lol

--Eating at some of the most luxurious places in Istanbul (courtesy of sister's fiancee's friend who lives and works in Istanbul) with the most amazing views...

--Becoming acquainted with all the stray cats I would come across... I love them all :)

--MADO Ice Cream... so delicious

--The donner kebab stands, cheap but good and filling!

--The Hospitality... The people were just so nice and hospitable!

I will upload my SLR photos when I get a chance InshAllah on Cafe Jupie. I just haven't had the chance, because after I came back, my Intensive Intermediate Azeri course started, and it's extremely exhausting... I've been so busy! :( It's 5 hours everyday... and at least 3 hours of homework everyday... 3 weeks down, 5 to go! *sigh*

Oh, and Budapest... Beautiful, but way too expensive and not tourist friendly at all! I wouldn't recommend putting it high on your list of places to see! The 2nd or 3rd largest Synagogue in the world is in Budapest, and it has Moorish influences in the architecture. That was definitely the main highlight of Budapest.

Ok, I'm going to try to blog more often from now on. I miss my blog... hehe. Toodlez for now!

Summer 2008!

2008-05-03T15:38:00.005-04:00

So the semester has finally ended! Yay!! It was a busy semester, hence I haven't blogged much at all! So I leave for Turkey in 15 days. :) Return to NY on June 3rd. Then return to Indiana on June 7, and begin my Intensive Intermediate Azeri (Azerbaijani) language class on June 13! It's really intensive! Five hours daily, beginning at 8:30 AM for 2 months! What a summer... lol

My sister will be graduating from med school in 2 weeks as well! That's exciting. I can't wait till I finish school and begin life!!

Oh! And I'll be going to Iran again InshAllah in November!! I'm really excited about it. There is an academic conference on Religion, Peace and Media. Two of my favourite professors will be going as well, InshAllah! And hopefully I'll be able to get a travel grant since it's for an academic conference, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to afford going... But I reallyyy miss Iran and want to go back so badly, so this is the perfect opportunity to go back!! It's for two weeks. I'd miss two weeks of classes, but it would totally be worth it! So I hope that InshAllah that works out... Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

So I came across this video while searching for Orlando Bloom on YouTube lol.... "Orlando loves spinach *lol* EAT SH*T AND DIE!!" It's just hilarious!!! You guys have to see it if you haven't seen it yet!! It's funny how people pretend to be someone they aren't on the net, or they pretend to know someone they don't know lol... Do they honestly think other people will believe them? Anyway, it's just way too funny... and Orlando's laugh is funny too lol

So lately I've been having a lot of bad luck. First I got a speeding ticket, which I shouldn't have gotten, as someone in front of me was going MUCH faster than I was but he got away, damnit. Yes, I was speeding, but still, why couldn't the cop have gotten the dude who was going faster? Grrr.... Then I slammed my finger in my car door (accidentally of course, no one does that on purpose! lol)... Then I locked my keys in my car and had to pay $30 to get them out :( First time I ever did that, and at the worst time possible when I really need to save money! And then I had to get an oil change for my car, which took 10 minutes, but I had to wait another hour and a half because they couldn't close the damn hood of my car!! It was VERY frustrating. Then on Wednesday I tripped while walking to my car and fell, and I bruised one of my knees really badly (it's still all blue and purple) and I got a few scrapes on my hands and face lol... Someone even saw me fall, it was a really bad fall, and he didn't even ask if I was ok!! So all this bad luck so far seems to be related to my car in one way or another. I'm just scared of what's left to come... eek! Hopefully the bad luck streak is over though!!

So I read an article the other day in the paper where two guys were debating Global Warming. One guy was convinced there is just contradictory evidence and so global warming isn't a problem that needs to be dealt with, blah blah. The other guy believes that it is a problem and countries should do whatever they can to help stop Global Warming. I honestly don't understand people who say Global Warming doesn't exist. Ok, let's assume for a minute that it doesn't (but it does!!), is it really going to kill someone to take the effort to do things that are good for the environment anyway? Like why wouldn't you want to help the environment anyway whether you believe it is a problem or not?! How selfish can some people be! God!!!!

Ok, when I get back from Istanbul and Budapest I'll have tons of blogging to do for sure :) And of course I plan on keeping a travel journal so I'll remember what to write in my blog hehe, and lots of photos to come as well!! :)

Hope ya'll have a great summer!

Still in Purgatory

2008-03-19T20:46:00.007-04:00

Wow... So it's been forever since I've blogged, eh? I guess I just haven't really been in the mood. There's always stuff on my mind, that's a given lol... and I always think, "man, I need to blog about this!"... But then I just don't seem to be in the mood later on...

Anyway, this semester will be over in a little over a month!! Yay! Papers to write, exams to take, blah. But then on May 18 I'll be leaving for Istanbul with my sister :) We'll also be going to Budapest for a few days. Why the hell Budapest? I really don't know why... lol... I personally would rather have gone to Athens or Florence instead, or even Paris again! But at one point, we decided we'll JUST do Turkey and that's it. And after we bought our plane tickets, my sister decided on Budapest, and without really thinking it through, I agreed. And only later did it occur to me that we probably could've gone to Athens for the same price anyway lol... Oh well, we'll hit Italy and Greece next year, InshAllah =D If I have any money, that is!!

So after this semester is over, two more semesters to go. God, seems like FOREVER. At one point I was seriously contemplating getting a PhD. Who knows, maybe someday later in life. But for now, I've had enough school. I'm 25 and I feel like I've been in school foreverrr. I just want to get my damn master's and move on!! I want to start living a real life. Graduate school is like being in voluntary purgatory, for real. You're not an undergrad enjoying college, with a major that you believe will lead to a career (if you are not planning on going to grad school)... and you're not in the real world working, earning real money that you can use to enjoy life! Instead, you are stuck in this limbo, feeling like you are too old to be doing homework every night, taking quizzes, etc. It's seriously purgatory. I just can't wait till I finish in May 2009 InshAllah.

If only it weren't for the way the stupid NELC department at IU is set up, I could be done sooner. But oh well... Maybe something exciting will happen next year that will have made it worth it to be here for one more year lol... Let's see.

So, I hope you all are doing your part to help the environment. Recycling, even if it's inconvenient. Trying to cut down on your purchase of water bottles... 60 MILLION water bottles are thrown out EVERY DAY. Can you imagine what a difference it would make if people used re-usable bottles instead?? Or how about getting a water filter for your faucet? :) And use cloth bags when you go grocery shopping! And quite frankly, they are much better than paper or plastic. They hold more and are sturdier, so you wont have any more accidents if they put too much stuff in your plastic or paper bag and everything falls out while you are walking to your front door. :)

So, to those very few who still come to my extremely dead blog, thank you :) lol... Oh, and before I forget, Happy Nowruz to all the Persians out there!! And this year, I don't have a problem saying it because it does not conflict with Muharram :) Although I still have a few qualms about Nowruz being celebrated as an Islamic holiday, and ya'll know about that lol, so I won't start blabbing on about it here... hehe

Hello, 2008.

2008-01-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well, winter break is almost over. It flew by so fast, I really don't know where all the days went. On the 17th of December I went to Baltimore with my sister. I'd never been there before. It was ok... The harbor was pretty. I took some photographs, which I shall post once I get back to Indiana! Also went to the national aquarium on someone's recommendation, but it really wasn't that impressive. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is nicer! Other than that, I spent all my time at home, but I still feel like I've been here only just a few days. *sigh* Going back to Indiana on Friday January 4. I'm just praying and praying that I do not have a miserable day traveling like I did when coming to NY. Just pray that the weather is PERFECT so there are no delays whatsoever!

It was very nice to be at home with family. I am going to be so depressed again when I go back to Indiana! *sigh* Saw a few movies: "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and "I Am Legend." I loved National Treasure! I thought it was just as good as the first one!! "I Am Legend" was so depressing.... Had some good pizza while in Binghamton from Tony's Pizzeria. There seriously are no good pizza places in Bloomington!! and of course went to Whole in the Wall, which I love. And nothing can compare to mum's cooking, yummy.

So.... It's 2008! I have no resolutions for 2008. Well, I am going to try to save some money. Meaning, I really need to stop buying DVDs. I bought way too many this past year! So definitely need to stop wasting money so I can save enough money for Turkey! I've already bought my plane ticket. My older sister and I will be leaving on May 18 for Turkey and will return on June 3, InshAllah :) We plan on seeing Istanbul, Edirne and Ephesus. We still need to do some more planning as to what we will see and for how many days, etc. Should be fun, InshAllah! I was hoping to go to Athens and Florence as well, but we decided it's just easier and cheaper to go to just one country! So yes, must save money for accommodations and food and sightseeing and whatnot! =)

Hmm... So this coming semester, which begins on Monday, I am taking Persian and Turkish of course, and "The Cultural History of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey." So I should be pretty well prepared for my trip to Turkey come May!

I really wish I could've finished my stupid master's degree by this coming May. But I have to spend another year because they require you to have 3 years of your main language, and Persian is my main language and I did not come into the program with any experience in Persian. So I HAVE TO stay another year if I want to finish my degree. But I'm just accumulating more and more debt... student loans are killing me. I just wish I could be done with this year and get a job and move on with my life already *sigh* Grrr.... That reminds me of a resolution I do need to make. I need to stop making decisions without thinking through EVERY little detail!!! I need to stop making bad decisions! Well, hopefully I'll find a good job when I do finish and can pay off my loans in my lifetime! InshAllah!

Ok, I guess that's all... Will blog again once I am back in depressing ol' Bloomington, Indiana. Au revoir for now...

Day from Hell !

2007-12-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I was scheduled to arrive in Binghamton, NY at 4:30 PM. The day started out fine. I left Bloomington at 11 am. My friend Zohra picked me up to drop me off at the Indianapolis airport, which is an hour away. I was a bit worried because it had snowed overnight, but the roads were fine. Dobby and I reached the airport at around 12:15 PM.

My first flight from Indianapolis to Detroit was delayed. It was originally scheduled for 1:20 PM, but delayed to 2:25 PM. We boarded the plane at around 2:20 PM. The plane did not even take off until almost an hour and a half later. There were some mechanical issues (something about the engine and the APU). When we finally DID land in Detroit, we had to sit on the plane for another 40 minutes or so (even after our hour long flight), because there wasn't an open gate for our plane to go to.

By then, I had missed my flight to Binghamton, which had also been delayed. Had the plane from Indy been able to dock at a gate sooner, I wouldn't have missed my other delayed flight. So when we finally did get off the plane, there was a long line at the counter with lots of angry people who had also missed flights (the guy sitting next to me missed a flight to Denmark). Luckily I had some nice company in line, a few students from IU.

First, the lady at the counter said there is nothing she can do to help us if there is nothing available with NorthWest because our delay was due to weather. The rule is that if it was a mechanical problem, they have to find you a flight even if it is with another airline. But lots of people protested when she said this, because of course it was a mechanical problem, the pilot even told us a few times to mention this at the counter. So finally the captain came out, and we all asked him to talk to the lady at the counter and explain. He said, "They lie all the time." How reassuring. But after a while, he was able to convince her it was mechanical and that they need to help us out.

The other students I was in line with could not find any flights to their cities, even on other airlines. And they were all headed to major cities, so I was worried I might not be able to find anything. So they had to spend the night at a Hotel. One of the guys was actually happy about this because he was dreading going home lol, he was pretty excited to spend the night in the hotel! So there were no flights to Binghamton at this time on any airline. So I found a flight to Syracuse, which is an hour away from Binghamton. I was currently in concourse C, and the flight was leaving from Concourse A at 7:00 PM! She told me I had to run as fast as I can to catch my flight. She called them to tell them to wait for me.

Now, I was wearing a wool sweater, a wool coat and carrying my bag and Dobby. So running from Concourse C to A was HORRIBLE. They are quite far from each other. But I ran as fast as I could. It took me around 10 to 15 minutes to get there even while running. When I finally did reach there, I was all hot and sweaty, ew. And I was quite upset because the flight hadn't even started boarding yet! So I had time to go to the restroom and try to freshen up a bit... and still had to wait in line for another 15 minutes or so before boarding. There wasn't any need for me to run.

We landed in Syracuse at around 8:30 PM. I waited around for the luggage, and of course mine was not to be found. So I had to wait in another huge line with angry people whose luggage had also been lost. She took down my info, handed me a toothbrush and toothpaste, and that was it.

I had to borrow clothes from my sister to sleep in because I had nothing at home to wear! I REALLY need my luggage!

So the weather was quite bad. Upstate NY was expecting a bad snowstorm, and the roads were pretty bad on the way home from Syracuse. We left the airport at 9:30 PM and arrived at home in Binghamton at 11:30 PM! *sigh*

Quite honestly, I wasn't concerned for myself the entire time. Yes, I was inconvenienced throughout the entire day. But I was more concerned for Dobby. He had gone to the bathroom at around 9 AM, I put him in his carrier at 11 AM, and he'd been in there since then! I was so worried that if I couldn't find a flight to Binghamton or Syracuse, poor little Dobby would suffer even more. He'd been cramped in there all day with no food, water or litter box! And what would I have done about him if we had to spend the night at a hotel? Where would I find a litter box for him? So I knew I should ask about Syracuse, and thank god there was a flight going there.

It was a LONG, miserable and exhausting day, but luckily we made it home and Dobby got to go to the bathroom and eat some food. Yay! I called the airport today, and my luggage SHOULD be arriving in Binghamton at 4:30 PM today. So let's see. It better come, because I need some clean clothes to wear!!! And I'm heading out to Baltimore with my sister tomorrow!! So I desperately need my luggage.

The entire time I couldn't help but think how I could've already been at home by 4:30 PM if there were no weather delays or mechanical problems. *sigh* What a sucky, sucky day. I am never flying with NW Airlines again!

So now I have to pray that my luggage will arrive today, or else I have nothing to wear tomorrow...!!

Anyway, it's good to be home. :)

Must Become a Vegetarian

2007-12-10T17:33:00.000-05:00

So I should be working on my gigantic paper right now, but I'm distracted by too many things! And I made the mistake of visiting the PETA website today, and that's just depressed me immensely. *sigh* I am going to do my best to become a vegetarian. I don't eat meat that often as it is, maybe like once every 2 to 3 weeks. I was aware of how brutally animals are treated in slaughter houses in America, but even in India... The things I've read about today are just horrific. These poor innocent cows have to march miles and miles without rest or water. And if they stop, chili peppers or salt is put in their eyes to force them to get up and keep on moving! Animals are treated so horribly! Animals in China are skinned ALIVE for their fur, most of which is exported to America. MARS, which produces candy such as M&Ms, is currently doing animal testing on mice and rats, etc., which results in their deaths! Chickens are thrown into boiling water while they are still alive! The list is truly endless of how brutally animals are treated everywhere in the world. Where is the compassion for these living, breathing creatures? I suppose if humans are able to kill other humans without any remorse, they obviously have no problem doing the same to poor innocent animals. *sigh* I'm so disgusted.... I will make sure that I never buy any product ever again that contains wool. The way these poor sheep are treated... It'll make you cry! And I shall never buy leather again.... I've never bought anything containing fur, and of course I never will. And I shall do my best to become a vegetarian for good.

Winter break is almost here... another reason I'm distracted. I keep on thinking about the freedom that lies ahead that I can't get my work done right now. This winter break I will be going with my sister to Maryland and Boston for her residency interviews. I haven't been to Boston in a few years, so definitely looking forward to that! And I'll be visiting a friend in Manhattan. I go to Manhattan often enough, but it's been a long time since I've been in the city during Christmas time, so I'm really looking forward to that. I love Christmas season! And I plan on having a "The Office" marathon! I have seen each episode at least 3-5 times, but I want to vegetate for 2 days straight just watching all the seasons of The Office. Really looking forward to it!

Ok, must try to get some work done now...

Happy Birthday...

2007-11-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

...To me! So I am now 25 years old. Yes, TWENTY-FIVE. One of those round numbers that is really freaky. Just 5 years until 30... I am a quarter of a century old... *sigh* Twenty-five is such a grown-up, adult age. Yet I am still in school and I still feel like a kid. Just the other day I bought a sweatshirt with monkeys all over it. Should I be wearing stuff with pictures of monkeys, frogs, cows, etc. on it? Hmm... well I think it's cute.

So I had classes for the first half of the day. My Iranian Civ. class was really quite interesting today. The professor was discussing Shi'ism, and brought up some points without really clarifying things, leaving the students thinking absurd thoughts about certain Shi'a practices. I raised my hand to answer a question another student asked, and the professor shot me down! He literally took two fingers and motioned to me that I put my hand down! lol... Maybe I'll get my chance to do damage control on Monday. He's really nice and understanding, so hopefully I'll have a chance to clarify certain points then!

I went to dinner at Turkuaz (Turkish restaurant) with two friends. It was quite nice! Saw a few other classmates there as well. The owner of the restaurant was VERY flirtatious and VERY talkative. The experience reminded me of "The Sopranos"...where Tony tells Artie that he just needs to shut the hell up because people just want to eat their food and not be bothered by his talking to them ALL the time. That's how it felt at the Turkuaz. This guy would just come by like every 5 minutes, and it was bordering on the edge of uncomfortable lol... But he was nice, he brought me out a peice of cake with candles. I can't remember the last time I had to blow out some candles! It was nice overall :)

Anyway, so another year older... and since the existence of my blog, I always make a post on my birthday. And although I do not blog that often anymore because I don't have the time, I just had to make time for this!! The semester is coming to an end... and I am SWAMPED with work. But hopefully afterwards I shall come back and babble on and on about what is on my mind! hehe...

Oh, and Dobby wished me a happy birthday this morning. He pawed my face and meowed a couple of times. And as usual, he completely hogged my pillow at night... But I always forgive him because he's so damn cute! hehe Toodlez for now! :)

To Anonymous

2007-10-28T21:06:00.000-04:00

To whomever posted this comment on a post from a long time ago [Venting(I)]: "Some people just go into washroom stalls to change clothes. So no need to wash one's hands ;)"

I must disagree 100000% percent. If you go into a stall to change your clothes, chances are you touch the door in order to close it and you touch the lock on the stall door to lock it. And you know who else touches it? People who actually used the restroom. Hence, you are touching GERMS. So if you do only go to change your clothes, washing hands is still an absolute MUST! Also, use a paper towel to open the door of the bathroom when you are leaving, otherwise the purpose of washing your hands to begin with is defeated.

*****

Hmm, It's been a while since I've posted! Not too much going on. Same ol' same ol'. Went to a Middle Eastern music concert on Saturday night. It was pretty awesome. It was a local band actually, Salaam, but they do concerts nationwide. They were VERY good. I was quite impressed! Quite enjoyable! Anyway, I'll rant on about some stuff later on.

Why People Suck

2007-10-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

So last night I should've been studying for my Persian midterm, but I was distracted by two puppies running around in the parking lot of my apartment complex for a few hours. It had been raining on and off, there was a Tornado watch, and these poor little dogs are just running around in the dark, playing. It'd been over 2 hours and people just kept on walking by the dogs, not paying any attention to them. It was clear that these dogs did not have an owner around. So I finally went out at around 8:30 with a bowl full of cat food for them. They ate it in literally a second! The poor puppies were so hungry.

So these dogs had collars, but no tags! I went around from door to door asking if the dogs belonged to anyone or if anyone knew anything about them... but no one cared! Everyone seemed indifferent to these poor stranded puppies. I thought white American people would've cared more, but they didn't. I called animal control, although I didn't want to, but they were closed. So I called my apartment's emergency number and told them to contact Ray, the head maintenance guy, who I know takes in stray or abandoned animals and raises them. He has raised baby raccoons several times (I even got to hold one of them!). But they couldn't get a hold of Ray. So finally after knocking on some more doors, one girl was nice enough to take the dogs for the night. I couldn't, because of Dobby. He'd have a heart attack if I let two dogs into the apartment! Dobby was watching everything from the window!

So the girl took the dogs and returned them to me at 7 AM. We tied them up outside and Ray came around after an hour or so. He fell in love with the puppies. They were quite cute! He was playing with them a lot. And then all the other maintenance people came over and were playing with them. They said they'd find the puppies a good home, InshAllah.

So this is why people suck. I am so sick of people getting cats, dogs or any other animal without realizing how much care animals require. ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS!!! For God's sake, do NOT get an animal unless you've done research and realize how much time and love you will need to devote to care for the animal properly!!! I am so sick of people abandoning their animals, abusing them, killing them... God, I hate people. *sigh*

My Persian midterm went not so well. It probably would've gone worse though if the dogs weren't taken care of, because then I certainly wouldn't have been able to concentrate at all because I would've been so worried about those poor puppies. I'm so glad they will find a good home, InshAllah.

But there are so many other innocent animals that get abused and die EVERYDAY. *sigh* I really hope that all animal abusers and murderers die the most horrible, brutal deaths, InshAllah! They deserve it for harming poor, innocent, defenseless creatures.

Save the Polar Bears!!!

2007-10-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

So today is Blog Action Day! Anyone and everyone with a blog who cares about the environment should dedicate a post today to the cause of saving the environment! And that is what I intend to do! Of course, I have quite a few blog posts already about Global Warming, saving endangered animals, etc. etc.

I don't understand how some people can be so incredibly selfish and not do their part to help the environment. Is it really THAT difficult to recycle? Get off your lazy butts and recycle, people! A little effort now will be better than suffering later on. And if you say, "I won't be around in 70 years, so global warming doesn't affect me," then you are a selfish jackass! YOUR descendants will be around! Do you want to leave them a earth that has higher temperatures than it should, that has less wildlife than it did years ago, that is so polluted that finding a place to breathe clean air becomes a huge feat? Stop being selfish and start doing your SMALL part to help.

Imagine, if EVERYONE on the earth did even a TINY bit, it would make a HUGE difference. If only we could get everyone on the earth to care about this planet and the wildlife that is suffering. Yes, wildlife is suffering everyday. So many animals are on the endangered species list, including polar bears! Polar bears are drowning because of Global Warming! There are so few pandas left in the world. *sigh* How depressing. Just imagine what it would be like to have to show photographs of these animals to your grandchildren (if you have any, and if you live long enough to see them), instead of being able to take them to a ZOO and show them the real thing, because the animals are EXTINCT!! Is that what you want, people?!?!

And don't listen to those idiots out there that say Global Warming isn't real, that the earth goes through climate changes every so often and it's completely normal. Yes, the earth has gone through climate changes in the past, but the RATE of the current climate change is ABNORMAL. It is NOT right, and it is ruining our earth and endangering the lives of MANY species!!!

So PLEASE stop being a lazy bum and do your SMALL part to help the earth. Start recycling, no matter how inconvenient it seems. Try to minimize use of heat in the winter and use of AC in the summer, etc. etc. There is so much you can do, which I possibly cannot list here, but it's a click away. Just google and start saving your earth. :) The polar bears, seals, pandas and all the other animals will love you for it!

Please Moisturize!!!

2007-10-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

So there is this guy in my Persian class.... and his hands are extremely dry!! All last year, I told him to moisturize! I recommended Aveeno to him, cause I honestly think it's the best moisturizer out there. He always said he'd go and get it himself. If you look at his hands, you can see how incredibly dry they are. It makes me cringe, especially as we almost always end up sitting next to each other. I even offered him my Aveeno that I carry with me everyday, and he refused to take it all last year! And he PROMISED he would buy moisturizer and start moisturizing. Again, this semester, I see the same dry hands... and AGAIN I reminded him to get some moisturizer! And he said he would. Today I took out my Aveeno, as always, and told him to take some, but he just wouldn't!!! WHY!!!!!!! My head is going to explode. I don't understand people who do not moisturize! He said "It's because of the weather." I don't care WHY his hands are dry, I just want them to be moisturized!!!!!! I apply lotion after EVERY single time I wash my hands, and I've had many people comment on how soft my hands are. And that's the way they should be!! Who wants rough hands!! Gosh... If only you could see this kid's hands... It would make you cringe too. I know he won't moisturize... even though I always offer him Aveeno in class, he just refuses. What to do... *sigh* One of these days I will just lose it in class. What can I do to make him start moisturizing? I am tired of seeing his utterly dry, chapped, scaly-looking hands!!!!

Anyway... so I finally watched the BBC/A&E "Pride and Prejudice." I really enjoyed it. I can't say which I like better, though, the 2005 P&P or this one. The A&E one is great, because it's longer and is more true to the actual novel, and you can see the progression from indifference to liking. But I enjoy the landscapes, costumes, colour, etc. from the 2005 one more. I am torn. Well, no reason I can't love both! :) And it's hard for me to say which Mr. Darcy I like better, because I like both of them in different ways. I wish the 2005 movie were longer...*sigh*

A Bit Obsessed...

2007-09-18T19:32:00.000-04:00

So I haven't blogged in a long time. I've just been very busy. This semester I've decided to stay active and do things that I enjoy. So last week I went to my first ever fencing lesson. Fencing was something I've wanted to learn for a long time now. And then when I found out that James McAvoy is a class-C fencer (Wow!), I decided it's about time I learn! So on Tuesday I went... and I cannot believe how difficult it is! Suppose I won't be going to the 2008 olympics afterall lol... It's quite a workout!!! I am not sure if I will stick with it this semester. I might pick it up from the beginning next semester, because I had already missed a few lessons this semester, so I am not up to par with the rest. But I had no idea how much is involved in fencing. It's really quite difficult! But fun! :)

Then I decided to pick up with tennis, as I hadn't played in a few years. I am happy to say that my serves and backhands are still good! My forehand needs a lot of work though lol... But it was quite a work out as well. I am just out of shape!!!

Anddd I have been getting used to my new SLR. I've taken quite a number of photos, mostly at a graveyard. There is a very nice graveyard right on campus, near a chapel. It's the perfect place for me to practise with my camera!! I shall post some photos tomorrow on Cafe Jupie! So stay tuned! :)

Lately I've become super obsessed with movies based off of Jane Austen novels. I'd seen "Pride & Prejudice" before and liked it... so I bought the DVD and have watched it twice in one week! Then I got "Sense and Sensibility," which is also sooo good! Love it! Alan Rickman is wonderful in the movie. I love his character. I ordered the A&E version of "Pride and Prejudice" and am anxiously awaiting for it to arrive! And I was just so impatient, that I went ahead and ordered "Becoming Jane" from the UK. Quite unfair that it's already released there but a release date hasn't even been set for the US! Unfortunately my DVD player only plays region 1 DVDs, so that will be an issue... lol... Maybe my laptop will play it! I certainly hope so! Because I could not wait until 2008 to watch the movie again! That's just too long!

Anyway, so this brings me back to the same old question. Where is my Mr. Darcy!!!!!! Do such men even exist anymore?! Well, I certainly will not settle for anyone less than a Mr. Darcy (or Tom LeFroy) of my own! I really wish I lived during those times... When gentlmen existed... and there were lovely balls to attend... and the way men and women interacted was so lovely. Today everything is so blah. I was born in the wrong era. *sigh*

Anyway, Mr. Darcys aside... classes are going well. Learning about Ancient Persian history right now. We started at around 5000 BC. I wish I could go to Iran again. I feel I was not as appreciative of all the ancient architecture and whatnot I saw there several years ago as I should've been. I remember even sitting in the van a few times because it was too hot outside, and I missed out on several ancient engravings, sculptures, etc. Now that I've studied it... I can't believe I passed up on such opportunities! It's so amazing to be in the presence of something thousands and thousands of years old, wow! I'm glad that I did see Persepolis though!! But I really want to go back to Iran again someday, InshAllah. And of course to practise the Farsi I've learned thus far! Turkish is going quite well as well. I have the best professors. They are all so adorable!

Anyway, I really must update my other blogs. Dobby's blog has been neglected for so long, I am so ashamed. I must tell him to get off his lazy but and type!! =P He needs to stop waiting for Jaspurr, who, by the way, came by two days ago!! And I must update Jupie-Vision as well!!!! And of course, I will definitely upload photos tomorrow, InshAllah, on Cafe Jupie! :)

Toodlez for now!

Edit: Some photos have been posted!! :)

Mr. LeFroy

2007-08-26T17:45:00.000-04:00

So classes start tomorrow!!! I'm not so sure I'm looking forward to it right now. There is so much crap I have to take care of. And I'm starting to feel anxious about my application, which probably hasn't been reviewed yet... and I'm already feeling anxious about all the student loans I'll have to pay off someday... Because sometimes I feel like all this studying will lead to nowhere, at least not to a decent career with a good salary! lol... We'll see, eekola.

I wish I lived in simpler times. Or do I? I don't know. I was wondering the other day, after watching "Becoming Jane," what life would've been like if I'd been born in that era in England? I love all the movies that take place in that time period, such as "Pride & Prejudice." I love the dresses the women wore back then... the balls they attended... how men and women interacted... everything was so lovely! The men wore nice suits and were gentlemen, like Mr. Thomas LeFroy!

I'm in love with Tom LeFroy! hehe... I've seen "Becoming Jane" twice. It's such a great movie. Definitely on the top of my favourites list now. True, the story might have been fictionalized. Although it's hard to tell how fictionalized it is... Because apparently, Jane Austen asked her sister to destroy letters containing any mention of Tom LeFroy upon her death. Why would she ask this to be done, if it was just a mere flirtation, as some say it was when critiquing "Becoming Jane"? That doesn't make sense. But fictionalized or not, it's a great movie and I love it. I wish men like Mr. LeFroy or Mr. Darcy actually existed! If only...*sigh*

James McAvoy is such a great actor. He played the doctor in "Last King of Scotland." He's just so adorable hehe :$ I'm not a huge fan of the movie "Starter for Ten," but he was adorable and quirky in that as well. Oh, and we can't forget him as Mr. Tumnus in "Chronicles of Narnia!" hehe:) He married a woman who is 9 or 10 years his senior! I think he should ditch her and marry me instead. lol Well, one can dream! hehe

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot! So I made an impulsive decision and finally bought a digital SLR. I am now the owner of a Canon Rebel XTi. Digital photography is much more complicated then regular ol' film photography. I haven't learned how to take proper photos with my camera yet. Before, all the extra work would be done in the darkroom. But now, I need to learn how to use all these buttons to get an image as I want it. *sigh* I should probably take a digital photography course...

Vices

2007-08-15T13:01:00.000-04:00

So it's been a while. I found a job, thank God! At the local Kaplan Test Prep center. :) It's a good job. I don't have to clean up after messy customers, fold clothes and all of that crap. I've had jobs at banks before, and they are good part-time jobs, but I couldn't find such a job here in Bloomington. So Kaplan is good enough!! =) I register students for their classes, answer phones, stuff like that. Pretty easy stuff. Nice working environment.

Anyway, I need to learn how to start saving money. I've managed to get addicted to eBay again. I go through phases, where I am either on eBay a lot, or I abandon it altogether for a few months. Well, right now I'm on it a LOT, stocking up on Harry Potter collectibles lol... There are some HP collectibles that I bought many years ago, in 2000, that are selling for quite a bit on eBay now. I think it's a good investment! My two vices: Handbags and Harry Potter. Too many purses/handbags and I just can't seem to get enough Harry Potter stuff....

It's horrible, I know. But someday when I have my own house InshAllah, I'm going to have a room (preferably a study or library) where I will display all my Harry Potter stuff. :) I have run out of room in my apartment, so some of the stuff I'll just store until I have a house someday... hehe.

Classes begin on the 27th. I'm taking my 2nd year of Persian, 1st year of Turkish, and a class called "Prophets, Poets and Kings"... Iranian history. Should be interesting =) I still haven't heard from the CEUS department. The secretaries here are apparently very incompetent, and because of them, everything is messed up *sigh* So I haven't yet been accepted to CEUS, so I haven't yet been able to apply to SPEA, and that really puts me behind schedule. I am quite upset, but I haven't gotten to the point yet where I am fretting about it day and night. Once it hits me, I'll be a total nervous wreck, I know it. But for now I am trying not to think about it...

Anyway, I suppose that's all for now. I doubt anyone is reading this anyway =P But someday when I'm 80 and hopefully if I still know how to use a computer and this blog still exists, I shall come back and read about what my life was like many years ago....

Mysterious Gorilla Deaths

2007-08-02T17:51:00.000-04:00

So... Another reason I have lost my faith in humanity. Humans are the worst creatures that God ever created, I am sure of that! Humans are just terrible, terrible beings. Humans kill each other for the stupidest reasons... as if that isn't bad enough... They kill innocent, defenseless beings for no reason at all. I am so sick of humans.

So there was an article in Newsweek about these poor innocent gorillas being shot in Africa for no apparent reason at all. They were all shot up-close, experts say, so it was not a mistake that these gorillas were shot. Some were burned alive after being shot. For what reason? No one knows. They were left just to die. They were not being killed for food or for their fur. One of the dead gorillas was found with it's baby clinging to its body. How incredibly sad.

I am so sick of humans!!!!! Especially because of all the animal abuse that goes on around the world, both wild and domestic. I was absolutely sickened when I went to San Francisco and saw ivory sculptures being sold left and right. Are no police men walking around the streets seeing these ivory sculptures being sold?! Is ivory not illegal? If it isn't, then I am even MORE disgusted!! Ivory should be ILLEGAL in the US!!! And if it's not, then I am seriously, seriously, seriously ticked off. I can't express how angry I am that people are disgusting enough to kill innocent elephants for their ivory. I HATE HUMANS!!!!!!

We have so many beautiful creatures in the wild that are endangered, all because of stupid, disgusting humans. And then all the poor innocent domestic animals that are neglected, abused, starved, etc. I'm so sickened!!!!!!!! It makes me feel so sick to my stomach and makes my blood boil! If it were up to me... I'd have ALL people who abuse animals, neglect them (when you adopt an animal, you have to realise what responsibility comes with it), starve them, kill them, etc... SHOT. Yes, I think such people deserve DEATH!!

A while back I was reading an article in Reader's Digest about this man in Colorado who rescues wild animals that have been taken captive. People buy (ILLEGALLY) wild cats and other wild animals for their own sick stupid pleasures, and these animals suffer when they get older, no one wants them when they aren't cute and cuddly anymore. The man in the article entered one house where he found so many baby cubs in freezers, dead all over the place, lying in their own waste, etc. Reading the article made my heart sink....

GOD DID NOT CREATE ANIMALS TO BE ABUSED AND USED FOR HUMANS SICK PLEASURES. I would just like to say to all those people who are thinking of adopting a cat or a dog... DO NOT UNLESS YOU HAVE RESEARCHED THOROUGHLY AND KNOW WHAT RESPONSIBILITIES COME WITH HAVING A PET!!!!!

That is all I have to say now. *sigh* I hope I become successful enough someday, InshAllah, so that I will have enough money to put into the cause of rescuing animals and teaching people responsibility, etc.

Counterfeit Drugs

2007-07-31T20:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. Just a bit of post-Deathly Hallows depression! I'm re-reading all of the Harry Potter books now, starting with the beginning, some for the 5th time!

Now that I know exactly what happens, it's fun to pick up on tiny details in the earlier books that seemed so insignificant at the time. Now you realise how important these details were! For example (Spoiler Alert): Grindelwald is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And the first chapter about Snape is "The Potions Master." Also, Harry makes a comment about how he is sure that Snape can read his mind... All interesting details!

I was watching Dateline the other day. It was about counterfeit drugs. Most of the counterfeit drugs are produced in China apparently. It's absolutely horrid the materials that they put in the drugs! Mostly paint and lead, to give it the same colour as the real drugs. Many of the drugs contain poisonous materials. They take such care in making sure the drugs look like the real thing, including the packaging.

These counterfeit drugs reach our local pharmacies, even CVS! Many sad stories about how people were unaware that they were taking counterfeit drugs, which ultimately led to deaths. The saddest part is that there is still no real protection in place to make sure that we are not receiving counterfeit drugs. You would think that a country as advanced as America would've found a solution to this by now, but they are slow in doing it. They have produced really tiny chips that can be added in the bottles of the real drugs, and then each pharmacy would have a scanner to scan all bottles to ensure that the drug is in fact real. But this has yet to be mass produced and used. *sigh* Disappointing! The government really needs to get on top of this! One of the counterfeit drugs that reaches America in abundance is Lipitor. So disturbing, as MANY people take this drug...

I really don't think I have any faith left in humanity! There seems to be more bad people than good out there. These counterfeiters have no trouble poisoning millions of innocent, already sick, people for their own monetary gain? Absolutely sickening. May such people burn in hell for eternity!

There was something else I was going to discuss. But of course, I decided to wait on blogging, and now it's totally left my mind. Hmm... Maybe it'll come back to me later.

Cyanide & Happiness Cartoon

2007-07-31T11:21:00.000-04:00

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-07-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

Well, I finished reading the 7th Harry Potter book yesterday. Now that it's all over, I have this empty feeling. It's depressing that there are no more Harry Potter books to look forward to... For years, there was always a new book to look forward to, new mysteries and awaited answers. Overall, I thought the book was great. There were some great plot twists and turns... But the epilogue left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Anyway.... Do NOT read on if you haven't finished reading the 7th book... Many spoilers ahead...

Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore

"The Prince's Tale" was by far my favourite chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Even though in my last blog post I said Snape was evil... After I wrote it, I began to have my doubts. And the closer we got to the book release, I starting having more and more doubts. And finally when I started reading the 7th book and learned more about Professor Dumbledore, I was somehow convinced that Snape was a good guy afterall.

JK Rowling really did an excellent job of showing that people are not ALL good and not ALL bad, but can have a bit of both in them. That's what makes them human! As we started to learn more about Dumbledore's past, I was a bit afraid of how he might turn out to be in the end. But I think he redeemed himself, as did Snape. Snape knew he made a mistake, but he made up for it.

"The Prince's Tale" was heartbreaking. Poor Snape loved Lily so much... but he was all alone. It's sad how he was treated at Hogwarts by James and the others. Snape spent the rest of his life making amends for what happened, still loving Lily. I felt so sorry for him. I wished he didn't have to die the way he did. And I wish he and Harry had been able to say goodbye on better terms. I'm happy that Harry told everyone while battling Voldemort that Snape was indeed a good wizard. We didn't get to see any funerals, but I hope he was buried in the same manner that Dumbledore was.

And it was very heartwarming for Harry to name one of his children Albus Severus.

Dobby and Kreacher

I was shocked and sad that Hedwig died so early on. It was quite depressing. Was her death really necessary? I didn't think so. I wonder why JKR felt the need to kill Hedwig. But Dobby's death seemed necessary. It wouldn't have been realistic if they all left the Malfoy Manor without at least one death. It's just depressing that it had to be Dobby. He was so loyal and died such a noble death. The way it was dealt with was done really well. It's good to know that Dobby got a proper burial, etc. Dobby will be missed. :(

I'm so glad that Kreacher became loyal to Harry Potter. Dumbledore was right about how elves should be treated. And I couldn't help but feel sorry for Kreacher. I was happy to see him make an appearance at the end of the book!

Lupin and Tonks

I was really happy to find out that they were married and expecting a baby! I was a bit shocked about the way Harry spoke to Lupin, but it was necessary to make him go back. I just wish it could've been done a bit more nicely! But it was very heartwarming for Lupin to make Harry the godfather of Teddy Lupin (Lupin and Tonks' baby!).

I think their deaths were unnecessary. Maybe I feel that way because Lupin and Tonks' deaths weren't explained. Harry already lost Sirius and Dumbledore... was it necessary for him to lose Lupin as well? That upset me quite a bit, that JK Rowling had to kill him off too. And now Teddy is left an orphan... who I am assuming is brought up by his grandmother (Tonks' mother), as the epilogue indicates that Teddy doesn't live with Harry. I would've assumed that Harry and Ginny would want to raise Teddy, because Harry knows what it's like to not have any parents. Hmm...

The Weasley Twins

Considering how many Weasleys there are, it was a given that at least one of them would have to die. It was nice to see Fred and George being themselves even after George lost an ear. I was really hoping that it wouldn't be one of the twins that would die though. George has lost so much! He lost his ear and his twin brother. I was hoping it would've been either Bill, Charlie or Percy who would've died. It shouldn't have been a twin or Ron! =(

Some of the deaths did seem just unnecessary in the book. But I suppose that's just to show that indeed there really was a war going on, and to make it realistic, people do have to die.

Ron and Hermione & Harry and Ginny

I'm glad Ron and Hermione ended up together in the end and got married. This was a couple I liked and they definitely belonged together.

I was never a fan of Ginny. I thought her character didn't have much substance to it. Maybe there was more to her than we weren't shown. JK Rowling explained in an interview that Harry needs someone like Ginny... She's strong, compassionate, can put Harry in his place, etc. I suppose I should be glad he ended up with her then, which makes him even more of a Weasley family member. I just wish Ginny could've been a bit nicer to Ron in the previous books! Maybe I would've liked her then...

The Dursleys

"The Princes's Tale" gave a lot of insight into why Petunia hated Harry. It was good to see the backstory there from Snape's memory. Who would've guessed that Petunia really wanted to be a witch when she was younger...

It was really touching when Dudley told Harry how he felt, and how he would leave him tea at his door. Made me all teary eyed! I wish we'd been able to find out more about Dudley and what happens to them in the end....

The Deathly Hallows

I'm glad that there was more to the story than just finding the Horcruxes. The fact that JK Rowling can add such a story line even in the 7th book and make it all tie in is amazing.

Some people are confused about the Elder wand. It's quite simple. Dumbledore won it. It was then Malfoy who disarmed him on the tower in the 6th book, so the Elder wand technically was now his, even though Snape killed Dumbledore. Harry then disarmed Malfoy in his house in the 7th book (even though he was using another wand at the time), so the Elder wand then became Harry's, even though Voldemort had physical possession of it later on. So it wasn't Snape that Voldemort should've killed in the end. That was quite depressing that Snape had to die for a wrong reason. =(

King's Cross Station

This chapter was just to fill in gaps I believe, to make the reader aware of what was going on. I don't think it was explained really well why or how Harry ended up at King's Cross, naked, talking to Dumbledore, who is dead... It was informative, very. But it just seemed to be there to fill in gaps in the story for the reader. There just needed to be a way for Harry to figure out what to do... so this was it. But I just wish we'd had more explanation about how they both ended up there...

Epilogue and Lose Ends

This is where I believe the book fell short. We found out that Neville is a professor of Herbology. That's good to know. He is perfect for the position. But what about all the others? We don't find out anything about Luna or the other Weasleys! And what about Professor McGonagall?

Who knows what happened in the 19 years that passed between the war and the epilogue. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied. I want to know more about what happened to the others... Apparently the epilogue was originally longer, but in the end they decided to cut it down! Grrr...

And again, there are lose ends that weren't dealt with. We found out nothing about Sirius and the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. This upsets me so much. This is something that readers have been dying to know about, and again she leaves it out completely....

I know JK Rowling said this would be the last Harry Potter book she writes... But that perhaps she might write a book about the biographies of different wizards. I hope instead she writes a book to fill in the gaps! I really want to know about the other characters we came to know and love...

~*~

Overall the book was good. Just the things mentioned above upset me. At times it seemed a few parts just dragged on, some fighting scenes. But the plot was once again brilliant! I just want to know more!!!!

Can't believe it's all over... *sigh* What to do with my life now! What to look forward to now... It's so depressing when something that has been a part of your life for so many years suddenly comes to an end... What an empty feeling... I hope I can meet JK Rowling someday and get my book signed and ask her questions! But I reallyyyyyyyyy hope and pray she writes just one more book to fill in the gaps!!!

Harry Potter Predictions!

2007-07-18T17:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Many reasons for that! The first being that I was very sick when I came back to Indiana on July 7. The flight back home was terrible. I was feeling incredibly homesick (4 weeks at home was NOT enough--It felt like 4 days!) and very nauseous... I was sitting between a husband and wife on the plane and I was coughing very badly. And then the plane had a LOT of turbulence, which made me feel even more sick, and I felt like I was going to vomit, so I began to cry on the plane! It was quite horrible and embarrassing lol... Dobby did better than I did on the plane!

The 2nd plane ride wasn't as bad. I was still feeling VERY sick, I was just praying to get to Indy as soon as possible. The guy sitting across the aisle from me was reading a book. I couldn't see what book until we started leaving the plane. He was reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I never would've taken him to be the type of guy that would read that book! He looked more like a surfer dude or whatever. So I was impressed lol

Then the next few days I just stayed in my apartment, vomiting and coughing. I still have a cough. It just won't seem to go away!! *sigh* Then my friend Zoona came this past Saturday!! It was her first time in Indiana.

I explored downtown Indianapolis with her, which I'd never seen (I live an hour away from Indianapolis). It was quite nice! Yesterday we went to Blue Spring Caverns! Never been there as well. It was really cool. We took a boat into the caverns, which were REALLY awesome. Never been in ANY cavern before actually! Quite an experience!! Zoona left today, and I miss her already. I always feel lonely after people leave after visiting me! But I have Harry Potter to look forward to!!!

I am going to Borders with my friend Amanda for the HP party!! I have a Gryffindor shirt that I am going to wear! =) And I have puma shoes that are the Gryffindor colours as well! I'm really excited about the book... But it's just so bittersweet. This is the last one. I'm glad the series isn't going on FOREVER, cause that would make it lose its charm. But it's still sad to know there won't be any more! I hope all of our questions are answered! I'm so scared to see who will die and whatnot. So here are my predictions (spoilers of previous books ahead):

-RAB is Regalus Black.
---He'll find the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort together with Harry.
---Will take over as Harry's godfather.
-Snape is EVIL and will be killed by the Order of the Phoenix members.
-A Weasley will certainly die, not sure which one.
-Hagrid and Lupin will be killed.
-Harry will live and possibly become a Muggle (read an interesting article about this, but not 100% sure about the Muggle part).
-Either Ron or Hermione will die (although I hope both live and get married!)
-Malfoy will come to the good side.

I hope questions about the Veil are answered! I am so curious to know what happened to Sirius exactly. I really hope Snape dies. Even IF (HUGE if) he's a "good guy," he deserves to die for killing Dumbledore!! It was so incredibly sad when Fawkes was mourning... *sigh*

Anyway, so let's see what happens. I intend to stay offline, not watch ANY TV, and not leave my apartment until I finish the 7th book, because I don't want to take ANY chances of having it spoiled for me, as the 5th and 6th book were!

'appy 4th of July?

2007-07-05T11:54:00.000-04:00

I had originally planned for my mum, sisters and I to go mini-golfing and then watch the fireworks afterwards. Not necessarily to "celebrate" anything, but simply because there would be fireworks, so it might've been nice to see. But I was sick yesterday with a fever, but I suppose it was a good day to be sick on, since it was raining all day anyway, so mini-golfing would not be pleasant, and there would be no fireworks. (Still sick today!) So I just read Harry Potter all day yesterday.

Then in the evening I was flipping through the channels on TV, and saw the 4th of July celebration in Washington D.C. People were there swaying and dancing to the music and they were almost all adorned in clothing that depicted the US flag, or at least the red, blue and white colors.

Then I got a bit ticked off. There was everyone celebrating July 4th while merrily drinking, eating, dancing, mingling. What about the people in Iraq?? I wonder if people would still celebrate July 4th if they knew about all the horrible regimes and terrorism that the US has supported in South America and the Middle East. How can a country be celebrating freedom, when it oppresses people of other nations?

I switched the channel before my blood would begin to boil. Ignorance is truly bliss for most people, I think. They can go about their daily lives doing whatever they want, without a care in the world about how people are dying everyday in Iraq. And it's not JUST the American soldiers I am talking about, but the civilians! Of course the media shows the American casualties, but how often do we hear about the thousands and thousands of Iraqi civilians that have died?

Rosie O'Donnell was correct in posing the question "Who are the terrorists?" That stupid blond football player's wife really ticks me off. It's a very valid question to ask. How would the Iraqi people view the Americans? Who supported Saddam and supplied him with weapons, and then turned a blind eye to all of the people he killed? And then who pushed the UN to put sanctions on Iraq? And then who goes and acts as the liberator getting rid of Saddam? All non-sense. It's just like the US to have no morality whatsoever in its foreign policy. I just wish more people would realise that terrorism from the other side (i.e., OBL and associates) will not stop until the US changes its foreign policy!

These policies that exist today in the US were not the ideals of the founding fathers of America. And until the true ideals are restored, I don't think July 4th should be celebrated. Just my opinion!

Flip Flops!

2007-06-25T20:07:00.000-04:00

So I wore flip-flops today! I have no problem wearing them at home around the house (on tiled areas only of course). But I had never worn flip flops outside! My feet feel so naked and unprotected! And I am afraid of people stepping on my feet or of something heavy dropping on them, which is why I never wore flip flops outside before. But over the weekend I bought a nice pair of flip flops because I felt I should give them a chance. I hesitated to go outside wearing them. My feet felt so bare and vulnerable! And then I found it really difficult to drive while wearing them! So I learned my lesson. I shall not wear flip flops outside again. Unless someone else is doing the driving and I know I'll be wearing them only for a very short while, so as to have less risk of me stubbing my toes or hurting my precious feet in any way possible.

Speaking of feet... This is quite sad and gruesome. But amusement park accidents happen quite often. No ride is ever 100% safe. You never know when something can go wrong. And unfortunately for one 13 year old girl in Kentucky, something went terribly wrong and she lost both her feet. They were severed while she was on the ride. I can't imagine how the girl must have felt when this happened. InshAllah she will recover from this and live a healthy, happy life! I don't think I'll be going to an amusement park anytime in the near future. I haven't been to one in a few years, but whenever I do go, even going on the swings scares the hell out of me. The swings that go way high up! Little kids go on them all the time. But I'm always afraid of my swing breaking and falling God-knows-how-many feet to the ground! So whenever I go on that ride, I am too busy reading du'as continuously to even enjoy it! I think I can live without ever going to an amusement park again in my life. I'm an adult now! I can get enjoyment and amusement out of traveling and whatnot.

And speaking of traveling... I went to visit my sister this past weekend in Rochester. It was quite fun. We went to a few cute towns in the suburbs of Rochester (Pittsford and Corn Hill), near the Erie canal, with really cute shops and a river walk and whatnot! Ate at a few really cute places, like "Simply Crepes," "Charlie's Frog Pond," "Thali of India" and a really good Thai restaurant, "Siam" or something. Checked out a museum as well. Fell asleep on the bench. Once you've seen one piece of artwork from a certain category (such as impressionism), or time (16th century), or place (Italy), then I don't think it's necessary to see ALL the pieces of art work that would fall into such categories, especially if the artists aren't that famous. So I found the museum a bit boring, although it seemed to have a nice collection of stuff considering it was in Rochester. But it definitely can't compare to the Met.

And speaking of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I went there the weekend before this past one when I visited the city. I really missed Manhattan while I was living in Indiana. I don't think Chicago compares to Manhattan! The museums in Chicago are pretty blah compared to the museums in Manhattan (no offense to Chicago people). Had fun in the city. Walked around central park with a friend, ate at a few cool places, like Max Brenner! Yummy. Had never been there before! Also went to this one halal Mexican/Moroccan place. The food wasn't that impressive. Or maybe it was of lesser quality that day since they were so busy. We got a table right in the middle of some Desi's 20th birthday party! It was really crowded. Overall that weekend was fun!

ONLY 25 DAYS LEFT!!! Until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released!! I am re-reading the 5th and 6th books to refresh my memory! Man, I can't wait. It's exciting and depressing all at the same time. What will I have to look forward to in life after the book has come out?!

Oh, and I don't have my wire with me here in NY to upload photos from my summer so far, so those will have to wait!

Blood Diamonds

2007-06-10T09:22:00.000-04:00

Dobby and I made it to NY alright. It was a total travel time of about 7 hours, because the airport was 1 hour away, then layovers, etc. This time traveling with Dobby wasn't as difficult as last time because his carrier actually fit under the seat on the airplane. I still believe he should get his own seat since I have to buy him a ticket. Quite unfair. Something needs to be done about that! The poor cat... as soon as we got home he went to his litter box. He'd been holding it in for a long time apparently. He's such a good cat, mashAllah!

I made a friend from eastern Africa on the plane. I thought he might be Muslim, but he's not. So we talked about politics and the history of Africa among many other things, it was interesting. I wanted his opinion about blood diamonds. In case some of you weren't aware, there is even cocoa from conflict areas in Africa. :(

As far as diamonds are concerned, I believe all diamonds should be boycotted until the industry stops importing diamonds from those areas at all. If people boycotted diamonds, then the industry would be forced to do something about it, otherwise the whole industry would die out. But boycotting can have negative consequences as well I suppose. But also, if you boycott diamonds, you are at least 100% sure that none of your money is going to the support of oppression against innocent civilians in Africa. If you purchase diamonds even if they are "safe" to purchase, you still can't be 100% sure. And if conflict continues in Africa in these areas even if all diamonds are boycotted, at least none of our money will be supporting it. Right? I am not sure if this is how it would work, but that's just my guess. There is a thread on ShiaChat about blood diamonds. So what can be done? Hmm... At least with all these recent movies about Africa (Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, Last King of Scotland) there is more awareness about the issues in Africa. So that's a good thing.

I have two doctors appointments this week and one next week. Ugh. I forgot to add something very important to my list! I want to see my old professors. I miss them so much. I emailed them a few weeks back, so hopefully I can meet up with them and discuss what I've learned in grad school so far, if I've learned anything at all that is! lol... Actually, I have. I know a LOT more about Afghanistan and the Balkans than I ever did before. So that's pretty cool.

Going Home

2007-06-07T11:08:00.000-04:00

So I didn't get this job that I really wanted here in Bloomington. Oh well. What to do. *sigh* So I am going back to Binghamton, NY on Saturday. Originally the plan was to stay there for a whole month (until July 7). But I really need a job right now. So I will probably come back after 2 weeks or so and look for a job. We'll see!

While in NY, I want to:

-Visit Manhattan...Really miss it! Been a year since I've been there. Hopefully hang out with some friends. Eat at Alice's Tea Cup or Khyber Pass, or both! And of course visit a museum and Central Park while I am there.
-Go to Whole in the Wall (see post below) in Binghamton at least twice during my stay, or once per week (for however long I am there).
-Eat at this new restaurant Lemon-Grass in my hometown, supposed to be amazing!
-Eat at Lost Dog Cafe in Binghamton just once (they also have really amazing desserts).
-Eat at Applebee's just once (they have a Blackened White Fish sandwich that I really love, but the Applebee's in Bloomington doesn't have this sandwich! I haven't had it in a year!)
-See "Ocean's 13" and if I am still in NY at the time it comes out, I want to see "Ratatouille" with my little sister.
-Go miniature golfing (there is no good miniature golf course in Bloomington).
-Hang out at Barnes & Noble in my hometown at least twice per week. The BN there is much nicer than the BN in Bloomington, so I don't hang out at the one in Bloomington much.
-Get a good start on my novella, which I haven't been working on as I should.
-Get quite a bit of Dobby's scrapbook done.
-Visit some relatives in my hometown that I haven't seen in a long time
-Have a dentist appointment, eye doctor appointment, and another doctor appointment. Fun!

Poor Dobby. He will have to go through the airport trauma again *sigh* I feel really bad for him. Cats hate being taken away from their normal surroundings, and I am doing it again to my precious Dobby. But I can't leave him alone for 2 weeks! That would be worse, I think, than making him suffer through the airports again. He has a smaller carrier now, one that will fit under the seats easily this time and won't cause too much delay, InshAllah. But I am still very upset that his carrier has to go under the seat. When I buy a plane ticket for Dobby (which costs almost as much as my own ticket), I would like him to actually have a seat of his own!! *sigh* Anyway, we'll see... Pray for us!!

Maybe I'll find a job in NY, who knows, and end up staying there longer. Either way, I really need a job. I probably shouldn't be planning on eating out so much, but I don't have the convenience of being able to go to these places whenever I please anymore! So I must go now!

5 Favourite Places to Eat

2007-05-31T20:58:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Ahmed to list my 5 favourite places to eat, so here I go! :) I love fooood!!

1. Whole in the Wall (and that is spelled correctly) - Binghamton, NY

This restaurant has had many famous people dine there. They make their food from scratch. It's simply wonderful! It's all organic, of course. And they make the MOST amazing dessert ever. I crave it all the time. It's simply the best dessert on Earth! It is a warm, gooey chocolate-chip brownie with vanilla ice cream, warm raspberry sauce and whipped cream with cinnamon. This brownie is unlike any other. Oh, and their creamy mushroom soup is sooo good, and I hate mushrooms otherwise!!

2. Khyber Pass (Afghani) - Manhattan, NY

This place I chose not only because of the food, but the atmosphere as well! The atmosphere is wonderfully Afghani! It has such a great vibe that I would go there simply for the atmosphere even if the food sucked. But luckily the food is simply wonderful too!

3. Alice's Tea Cup - Manhattan, NY

I loved Alice in Wonderland, and here is a little cafe with an Alice in Wonderland theme! It has a huge variety of teas to choose from, as well as many scrumptious cakes and whatnot to eat! I always get the smoked salmon sandwich to eat! The cafe is quite adorable! Reservations usually need to be made, and it can be a bit pricey because they charge for the atmosphere, but it's totally worth it for an outing.

4. Tony's Restaurant - Endicott, NY

An Italian restaurant with a really nice atmosphere, with real Italians making the pizza! Yummy! They have other Italian food, too, of course! Love it!!

5. Ruby Foo's - Manhattan (Time's Square), NY

Pan-Asian Cuisine. Great atmosphere, love it! Love the food and the restaurant itself! Reservations definitely needed for weekends! A bit pricey, but worth it for an outing. Coconut rice, yummy!

SanFran Photos

2007-05-28T16:29:00.000-04:00

I have more stuff to vent about, but I shall post about that later.

I posted some photographs I took in San Francisco using my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. I am just getting back into photography. I hadn't used my SLR camera properly since I went to Iran in July 2004. But I would love to know what ya'll think, so do check them out if you get a chance! :) The ones from the cafe might be a tad bit out of focus because I had to manually focus my camera since my stupid auto-focus temporarily gave up on me.

Random Venting (I)

2007-05-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

My next door neighbor always walks in front of his apartment AND mine when he is on his cell phone. It's a bit annoying, as he can see right through my windows and I am usually lying on the couch watching TV! Grrr... I wish he wouldn't do that.

~*~*~

I get so annoyed when people talk so loudly on a bus or in a theater so that everyone can hear them. Especially on a bus when someone is on his/her cellphone talking very loudly! It's like I don't care to hear about his/her conversation about what is usually something incredibly stupid, so please don't force me to listen to it! But you have no choice. You HAVE TO listen to it because the person is talking so damn loud! Grrr!! Don't do that! Also, when two people are standing literally less than a foot apart from each other on the bus, but they are talking as though they are miles apart. Don't they ever realise that people are staring at them?! Sheesh!

~*~*~

Please don't chew with your mouth open, and please don't try to tell a story or talk at all with food in your mouth! It's just annoying when someone is trying to talk to me while eating, because it's all choppy and it takes the person FOREVER to get one sentence out. WAIT until after you've swallowed! It'll be MUCH quicker that way!

~*~*~

For the love of God, wash your hands after using the restroom! I can't tell you guys the number of times I've been in a public restroom and someone leaves without washing her hands. Don't they even get embarrassed leaving like that when other people have seen that she hasn't washed her hands?! Forget the embarrassment, what about all the germs! Not only the germs that person has, but the germs she's picked up! Doesn't she want to wash them away?! My goodness!

~*~*~

Please do NOT go in the "15 Items or Less" lane in the grocery store unless you really have 15 items or less! Because then people like me, who might be carrying 5 items or less, have to wait FOREVER!! Grrr... Go in the longer lane!

I shall write about my other random thoughts as they come to me... That's enough venting for now! hehe *blush*

Felicity's Visit

2007-05-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

So a friend from PA visited me for a few days! :) I'll refer to her as "Felicity." She arrived on Saturday and just left this morning. It is so lonely here without her now!

So on Saturday after picking her up from the airport we went to the Indianapolis Zoo! She'd NEVER been to a zoo before! How crazy is that?! It was a lot of fun! :) We got to see some interesting monkeys, giraffes, elephants, etc! I even got to pet an Emu! He was very adorable! His hair on the top of his head was a bit rough though, but still cute! Later in the evening I made us some chicken-pilaou which came out VERY good! Very yummy!! And we also had some strawberry dessert that I had made for us! :) We watched a movie as well, "Where the Heart Is"... I hadn't seen it before, it was sweet!

The next day, Sunday, we walked around my beautiful campus and downtown. It was nice! The weather was really nice while she was here (a bit too hot for me though). 'Felicity' loves college campuses, and I can honestly say that IU had to be one of the most beautiful college campuses around! We went to a Turkish restaurant in the evening, when all the festive lights are lit and it's so pretty!

I've lost track of what we did on what day. But one of the days we went to Lake Monroe, a really big lake nearby, to go canoeing! Felicity has done adventurous stuff like this before, but it was my first time! It requires a LOT of arm strength, which I lack. So it was a bit difficult at times, but it was enjoyable. Sitting on the lake in a canoe is peaceful! It really is quite a pretty lake too! Of course I was afraid of falling in because I don't know how to swim!

We played Parcheesi, twice, and she kicked my butt both times. But I was VERY close one of the times! We also played several games of quarto! I love board games, so I was happy that I finally had someone to play with!! Yay! We also cooked alloo-keema one of the days, and it came out really good!

Yesterday we went to this little town nearby, Nashville. It's a historic town with many cute little shops! Very adorable town! So we each bought a pearl ring! :) She a white one, and me a black one! Oh! And Felicity had NEVER seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies before! I know, you all must be as shocked as I was! So we watched one and two! I am just sad that she couldn't stay one more night to see the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie tonight with me and a friend!

We also ate at a Tibetan and an Afghani restaurant while she was here, and had bubble tea! :) We hung out at Borders now and then too. One of the days, we ended up talking to this one shop owner for over an hour about politics! It was interesting. He shares our views about politics and whatnot, so that was cool. And the guy and his wife studied at Binghamton University years ago, my undergrad uni! So that was such a coincidence!

Felicity really liked Dobby. How can anyone not?! Dobby is so cute and anyone can fall in love with him! And I was VERY surprised, because Dobby is usually very afraid of people, but he opened up so quickly to her! So they bonded pretty quickly. And I really do think that he misses her right now!

It was so awesome to have you visit, you must come back sooooooon! We miss you!!!! I hope the visit was as enjoyable for you as it was for me and Dobby!!! :) Hope we meet again someday soon, InshAllah!

San Francisco

2007-05-24T12:56:00.000-04:00

So as usual, I am behind on my blogging. I went to San Francisco on May 13 and returned on May 16! I'd really wanted to go overseas, but that wasn't going to happen this summer, so I decided to go to SF! Unfortunately it was quite cold for California weather (I think) while we (Amanda and I) were there! But nonetheless, it was enjoyable!

The plane ride was interesting. I sat next to a middle-aged man who was quite friendly. We talked about global warming, politics, travel, education, history, communism! It was very interesting! He had gone to Bulgaria in 1981 or so with a Jazz ensemble and Sheryl Crow happened to be in that ensemble! He told me interesting stories about her! So that was pretty cool.

So the day I arrived in SF we went to the Piers and saw all the lovely sea lions! I love how they are just chillin' there, not minding all the people watching them! So cool! Pier 39 is pretty nice. Has so many funky shops, and lots of sea food! I had some fried shrimp, which was actually quite expensive for finger-foods (in my opinion), grrr.

We went to Lombard Street, which was really nice. I can't imagine how expensive it would be to live on that street! The houses were gorgeous! SF seems like a very expensive place to live! We also saw Ghiradelli Square. Unfortunately I did not have any ice cream there!

The next day we saw the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was really quite unpleasant on this day. It was very cold, windy and misty! Golden Gate was nice to see, as it's a landmark. The bridge wasn't very golden though, more a rusty colour. Afterwards, we went to Golden Gate Park, because I really wanted to go to the Japanese Tea Garden! It was very pretty!!! I loved it! If only the weather had been beautiful! The park was so serene! And it had the most awesome funky bridge too! There were lots of nice Japanese looking plants and structures! We had tea, of course! Which was nice on such a cold day!

In the evening we went to Alcatraz! My hands were freezing as I was trying to take pictures while on the ferry! Brrr! I honestly wasn't sure what the big deal about Alcatraz was until I got there! I didn't know why so many people would want to see a prison. But once there, I understood! The history of the prison-Island is so fascinating! I can't do it justice in a paragraph, so I won't even try. I just recommend you all read about it. It was quite sad to see the conditions in which the prisoners lived. I feel even prisoners deserve privacy when using the bathroom! But that doesn't happen in a prison! And there were a few cells in which the prisoners would be in TOTAL darkness, which is quite disturbing. We learned about the many escape attempts as well. There is just so much to say about this prison. Ya'll really should read about it sometime! Or maybe later on I'll dedicate a post to Alcatraz.

The next day we just hung out downtown, walking around, and went to the Pier again! It was fun! :) Took a picture next to a huge Johnny Depp/Pirates of the Caribbean lit up poster-thing! hehe.

Anyway, overall it was fun, but cold! I don't like SF as much as I do some of the other cities I've visited. I guess I had built up my expectations too high, and I was expecting something totally different than what I saw. So I guess for a California city, it's pretty cool! :) I just wish they had a better public transportation system, like a subway or something. Oh well.

Do You Rinse?

2007-05-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

One thing I have always wondered is why do people in TV shows not rinse their mouths with water after brushing their teeth? That really bugs me. I rinse! Just the other day I saw 3 people on 3 separate TV shows not rinse their mouths after brushing. They just spit and that's it. What is up with that? Is that realistic? How many of you rinse??? Won't they still have toothpaste foam in their mouths if they don't rinse? Is that safe?? Because you aren't supposed to swallow toothpaste...

Anyway, yesterday I came up with the setting for my novella as well as a list of primary characters. I am quite excited. The gist of it: It will take place on a quaint street in the Montmartre district of Paris, in an apartment building (where the main characters live), a cafe and a bookstore. :)

When I was in Paris my friend and I were staying in the Montmartre district and we would sometimes get lost while trying to find our way back to the hotel. Well, we came across this one absolutely quaint street that I fell in love with, I took a picture of it (it's my wallpaper). So I chose that street to be the setting of my novella. :)

Anyway, I won't give away too many details right now, but I am happy with my idea and I hope I will be successful at writing my first novella, InshAllah!!! I am starting out with the intention of writing a novella, since it's my first time writing seriously. I don't know if I could manage a whole novel, well, we'll see!

Hello, Blog!

2007-05-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I had my last final exam today! I am officially done with my first year of graduate school, and it went super duper well! :) I think I got a 4.0 this semester, InshAllah!! =D

I don't know how it happens. There was a point where I was so swamped with work that I couldn't even imagine myself being able to finish it on time and actually do well. But some how, miraculously, the work gets done!! That used to happen in high school as well. It's a very weird feeling. Now that classes are done, I almost don't know what to do with myself! No papers to write at the last minute, no last minute studying, no procrastination! Very weird.

I have been an absolutely terrible blogger this whole year. I am sure no one is even reading this lol, but that is alright. I will just babble to myself.

Well, now the summer is about to begin! I will be going to San Francisco for 3 nights. Really looking forward to it. Never been to California before. Hope to get back into my photography this summer. This is the first summer in a very long time that I am actually NOT taking any summer classes, so that's pretty awesome. So I hope to start writing seriously as well! Let's see if it actually happens.

A few days ago I was at Borders bookstore studying, and there was an author who was signing his book. Seemed like hardly anyone was stopping by to get their book signed. He was a pretty new author that probably no one has really heard of. Well, as I was leaving, I stopped by at a table near his (not his table though) to look at some books, and I picked up his book that was sitting on that table as well just to glance at it. He saw me so he came to me and started chatting about himself and his book. I hate getting into situations like this, because I knew he would encourage me to buy his book when I wasn't the slightest bit interested in it. And it was $30. Anyhow, so he started going on and on and asked me what my name was, so I told him, and he signed the book. So really, I had no choice but to buy it then. *sigh* I was so upset with myself, that I had even picked it up to begin with. I should have known that this would happen!!! Such a waste of $30. So I shoved it under my couch to not be reminded of it. Anyhow, the author just emailed me a few days ago thanking me for purchasing his book. That was nice of him. I had told him how I was interested in writing a book myself, so he said he could help me. We'll see if he really does! If he does, then buying his book will have been worth it! lol

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am applying to another department, CEUS - Central Eurasian Studies, which has a great focus on Iran. And that department will allow me to do a joint masters degree with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). That way, if I do NOT go for a PhD, at least I will be able to find a worthwhile career at the UN or a non-governmental organization. We shall see. I think I would rather get into the real world and start making money to pay off my loans, get a cute apartment, and really start living life, rather than spending another God knows how many years in school. We shall see, wish me luck! :)

Anyhow, I shall start blogging more regularly, about my neurotic life and thoughts. Especially now that I have nothing to do!! Such a strange feeling!! :)

Ciao!

Moi

2007-04-08T11:48:00.001-04:00

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Iraq / Istrabadi

2007-04-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

So yesterday the Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations, Feisal Istrabadi, gave a talk at Indiana University titled "Implications of Failure in Iraq for U.S. Security." His talk was quite good! Basically he spoke about how the plan of dividing Iraq based on ethnic or sectarian divisions is absolutely absurd, as many Iraqis of different sects do intermarry, and although there might be a majority of one group in one area, there is also still a large population of the other groups/sects in that area as well. So to divide the country would essentially mean genocide occurring in different cities of Iraq. And as he pointed out, the partition of India to form Pakistan did result in many deaths.

He spoke about how if the U.S. hadn't invaded Iraq, no matter what the true purpose of their invasion was, that another few generations of oppression would continue from Saddam and his descendants. So the Iraqi people are grateful, but now America has to finish the job it started, and properly. I wish he had spoken about moral implications of U.S. foreign policy in the past, that has led to much of the suffering of the Iraqi people by Saddam to begin with. But he didn't speak of any such thing. Istrabadi is Iraqi and a graduate from Indiana University as well! I don't know if he doesn't find past history relevant, or if he just didn't have enough time to go in-depth. Hmm...

The question and answer session was quite interesting. Of course several people's main concern was Iran's involvement, if there is any. People tend to be scared of Iran exerting influence, which really angers me. And of course there was the Zionist presence yesterday. They appear at every talk relating to the Middle East, even though the talk has absolutely nothing to do with Israel. The Zionist said how he believed dividing the country is the best option, etc. etc. And in babbling on and on, the Zionist kept on referring to occupied territories as being a part of Israel. Anyhow, Istrabadi had no patience for him and quickly embarrassed him by proving how wrong and ignorant of the situation in Iraq the Zionist was. Of course everyone applauded Istrabadi and the Zionist left the room!

It was an excellent talk, and I hope that it is added to YouTube for everyone to see. The guy is quite intelligent!

Oh, just an interesting point, something I didn't know before. The old Iraqi flag had "Allahu Akbar" written in Saddam's handwriting. The new flags have it written in Kufic script!

***************

The weirdest thing has happened! On Thursday I lost one of my gold rings in a cafe on campus. I was putting on some hand lotion, and the ring fell off and bounced on the floor. I saw it bounce before my eyes, but I couldn't see where it landed. I then spent 25 minutes on my hands and knees in the cafe looking for my ring--to no success. It couldn't be found. I searched and searched! The people at the cafe told me that they would call me if they find it. I was quite upset about having lost my ring. And I lost it right before my Sufism class. So I tried to tell myself it's alright, it's just an object... I shouldn't care about material things. So I tried to focus on more important matters, such as the death of the 3 month old puppy that I had been told about the night before.

So just a while ago I went grocery shopping, and when I came back to my apartment, there was my ring, sitting on my front porch!! I am truly baffled. My mother says that perhaps someone found it and that person knew where I live so he/she dropped it off. But that makes absolutely no sense. Because no one except 2 people knew I lost my ring, but neither one of them knew what my ring looked like, and neither one of them knows where I live. It's just not possible! How my ring just showed up a week later is truly unbelievable. Maybe I did something good so God decided to give me back my ring! Who knows!!! It am still in awe.

Anyhow, I shall get back to my papers. So little time left in the semester. Once I finish my papers, I have to catch up on hundreds and hundreds of pages of reading! Eekola. Wish me luck. :) Maybe the bad weather now is a blessing, since I won't be dying to be outside, I can actually get some work done! lol... So here's to hoping that the weather stays cold until I finish my papers!!

Death to Animal Abusers!!!! Iran Zindabad!!!

2007-03-29T20:58:00.000-04:00

So... Yesterday I was utterly depressed. A co-worker told me a very depressing story... In short: Her neighbor's boyfriend beat a 3 month old puppy to death with a baseball bat because the puppy took his porkchop. *sigh* I really hope that he is reported to the police, and I hope he gets the death penalty. I know that won't happen, but I really hope he dies the most brutal death. That may sound harsh... But what kind of a person does that to an innocent animal? I am so sick of these so-called "people" who abuse and kill animals. They are not people, they are savages, and they deserve to die in my opinion. Unfortunately such animal abuse happens often, and everytime I hear of a story like this it makes me cry.

God knows what that poor puppy must've been thinking and feeling as it was being beaten to death... He must've been wondering what did he do to deserve such brutality? It's so incredibly sad. I can't get over it. Everytime I look at my Dobby, I think how can people be so incredibly cruel and brutal... These are little innocent animals we are talking about here. Dobby could steal my food, he could scratch me, bite me, do whatever. But I would NEVER punish him or hit him! He's an ANIMAL and he doesn't know better. Just the thought of someone even laying a hand on my Dobby, God forbid, makes me incredibly sad and angry. If, God forbid, anyone harmed my Dobby, I would personally physically punish that person!!! May God give that little puppy a place in Heaven, InshAllah, and may God punish evil people who hurt innocent animals!!! *sigh*

So the other day I watched a documentary, "Pilgrimage to Karbala," which followed the story of a few Iranians travelling from Tehran to Karbala for ziyarat of Imam Husayn (as). It was very interesting. The murshid's story interested me the most. Very devout man, I really admired him. The story of Kamran totally confused me. Here is a man who is very wealthy and with a very westernized mother and fiancee. Both his mother and fiancee appeared on the documentary without hijab. They also owned a pet dog, who lives in the house with them and apparently Kamran wrestles for fun with the dog. But Kamran seemed to be quite spiritual and it meant a lot to him to go to Karbala for ziyarat. I was just confused because most devout Muslims would not keep a dog in their house, and his mother and fiancee did not seem even a tiny bit devout, from what was shown in the documentary. Even at the end of the documentary, he tells his fiancee that he wants to get married in Karbala because that is where his soul is, and his fiancee didn't have anything to say and she didn't even seem to care. I am just utterly confused about him and his family.

I really enjoyed the documentary though because it really tied in well the concept of martyrdom to Iranian national ideology, and how it was a part of the Iranian Revolution. It also brought in present day Iranian politics, with Ahmedinejad and the so-called "nuclear crisis." One thing that did upset me was after the documentary was that they had a professor to answer questions, and he referred to the battle of Karbala as a "myth." It is NOT a myth. This is history for heaven's sake!

Anywhooo, I guess I shall end it here. Two research papers to write in less than 2 weeks, each 15 pages. This will be fun. *sigh* Wish me luck!!!

Nowruz Mubarak

2007-03-23T18:45:00.000-04:00

So I went to the library today and ended up getting a LOT more books than I had thought I would, around 15 or so. It was raining and I had my umbrella with me---one of those really tall ones that you could use as a walking stick! Anyway, so I got out of the library and it was raining, so I opened my umbrella, but I had so many books in my hand that I kept on dropping them literally every 3 or so steps that I took! It was incredibly frustrating trying to carry all of those books while holding the umbrella over my head, plus my bag, which was heavy and killing my shoulder. Many people were walking by, going in the same direction as me, but NO ONE would stop to help me pick up my books or offer to carry them even for a little bit. :( *sigh* It took me forever just to get to the damn bus stop. Next time I'll have to park at the library, although it's impossible to find parking there. Finally I reached the bus stop and a nice Indian guy came by and offered to carry my books for me onto the bus! He was from Chicago, so I guess that explains why he was friendly while all those Indiana people were not! Anyway we chatted for a bit. And I am very grateful to him that he held half of my books for me!!! I guess Desis are good for something afterall! hehe. But seriously, do courteous people even exist anymore? *sigh*

Speaking of Chicago, I went there for Spring break. Although it wasn't very spring-y in Chicago! It was cold. And there were all sorts of crazy drunk people on St. Patrick's day (and night especially). We saw the river being dyed green, which was a waste of time in my opinion, because the dye wasn't dispersing very well once it was dumped into the river, so we basically stood there in the cold for an hour for no reason. Later at night when we were passing by the river, THEN it was green! The kind of green you see on St. Pat's day, but the river was of course naturally green before then too! The hotel we (Amanda and I) stayed in was quite nice, right on Michigan Ave. Went to a few museums and the aquarium. In my opinion, the museums in Chicago do not even begin to compare to the museums in NYC! I really missed Manhattan while I was in Chicago. But the aquarium was cool!

I have an incredible amount of work to do within the next two weeks. I won't even tell you guys about it lol, but it is a LOT. Pray for me!! I hope I can get it all done. So I don't think I'll be blogging again until towards the end of April, but who knows. Mum and sisters are coming to visit in the beginning of April as well!

Happy Nowruz to anyone who celebrates it.... :) I won't go into what I feel about Nowruz--I've done that enough and have managed to tick off many people lol... But nonetheless, Nowruz Mubarak... Happy Spring!

Lanat on the Taliban

2007-03-09T09:10:00.000-05:00

I am sending all my curses to the Wahabbis, the Taliban, and to the Pakistani government for not doing anything about the damn Taliban taking over the NWFP (where my family is from). LANAT ON ALL OF THEM! Stupid Pakistan, UGH! I can't express how angry I am right now with Pakistan. I am never going there. If I EVER do go there, I will be going there to overthrow the government and kick out the Taliban!!

I just received news that one of my favourite uncles was murdered... He was a very wealthy man, and did so much good to help the poor of Pakistan. I have met him just a handful of times, but he was incredibly sweet, funny and caring... He lived in the NWFP and constantly received death threats from the Taliban who had invaded the NWFP. However, he refused to leave his home and give up all of his businesses, which employed many poor people. He was murdered last night (which was morning in Pakistan). May he rest in peace... Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioon. And may his family have the strength they need in this difficult time, InshAllah. He leaves behind his wife, two sons (one of whom is about to get married), and a daughter. Both sons live in Texas. Very smart children, mashAllah.

*sigh* I feel so... weird. I swear, just last night... I went out for coffee with a few of my classmates, and I was expressing my anger to them over coffee about the Taliban being in Pakistan. And I told them how my uncle had received death threats. And I mentioned how angry I was at the Pakistani government for allowing this to happen... My uncle was probably about to be murdered at the time I was stating all of this... He was murdered as soon as he arrived at his office... and one of the men who works for him and helps him open up his office every morning was also murdered, however, he died a few hours after his gunshot wounds.

Please read Surah Fatiha for him and pray for the well-being and safety of all the Shi'a Muslims in the NWFP... May Allah give the Taliban what they deserve--DEATH!!!

EDIT: So the more information I find out, the more shocked I become. This really hasn't sunk in yet. Every now and then I get that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realise that he's really dead... and he died in such a horrible way. He died of 8 gun shot wounds. His bodyguards and driver were also killed. *sigh* God, I can't even imagine what he must've thought when he was shot at... If he even had time to think before he died... It's just so hard to even think about right now... His two sons are on their way to Pakistan. Please keep them in your prayers... May they be safe, InshAllah. This is just so unbelieveable...

EDIT # 2: Here are two articles I found about my uncle's killing on the internet, although the age is wrong: BBC and the Other . To see it in writing on the internet made my heart basically sink into my stomach... That horrible feeling. *sigh*

Choo-Choo

2007-03-08T15:33:00.000-05:00

Spring break has begun!! I had my last day of classes today, yay. I had to do a little presentation in my Post-Taliban Afghanistan class. It went horribly. First of all, there were hardly any students. And then when I would ask a question, everyone would just stare at me, and I would basically end up talking to myself. It would go something like this. "So in Afghanistan... blah blah... [explanation of some concept]... So why do you guys think that is?" Silence. "Anyone have any ideas?" More silence... "Anyone? No? Hmm, ok..." It was like that for every question I asked. I don't know if it was me, or if the students just weren't in a talkative/debating mood today since they were all anxious for spring break to start. But I am graded on my critical review discussions! Eek. I hope the professor sees that I at least tried, as embarrassing as it was lol...

I can smell spring in the air. It's still cold, but I can smell it!! And that makes me happy at least. Anyway, so I was going to B&N to get something, and the train was running through town at that time, so I had to wait like 5 minutes for it to pass before I could go further. Every now and then I get stuck waiting for a train... and then it happened again on the way back!! It almost never happens, but twice in one day? Weird.

Dobby is sun-bathing right now. I'm glad it's been sunny the past few weeks. He needs sun, all cats do! But unfortunately only my bedroom gets sunlight, and the stupid blinds are in the way, so he has to push them aside and then lay down in the middle of them to get sunlight, unless there are NO clouds in the sky and the sun shines all the way through to the middle of my room, then he can be more relaxed when sun-bathing, hehe. He's so cute!

Tonight I have to watch a Persian movie, called "The Tennants." My professor says it's funny. It better be, cause all Persian movies that I've seen are depressing as hell, and I am so sick of watching depressing movies.

The last Persian movie we watched was called "The Twilight." It was about this man and woman who are in jail for petty crimes (the man stole something because he was poor...), anyway so they get married in jail and have a child. Finally they are released, but it's so hard for them to make a living to support themselves. They are very poor and can hardly afford food. So [spoiler alert] the man eventually ends up in jail again because he stole some meat to feed his family... and one of the last scenes of the movie is of the grandmother giving the child (a little baby) some drugs to make him stop crying! *sigh* So incredibly depressing. I'm sure this isn't far from the truth. From what I know, Iran's economy is pretty bad right now, and there is a high unemployment and underemployment rate. Most of the population is young and educated, but underemployed... so what can you expect. Sad, really. I hope things change for the better someday, InshAllah.

Ok, I am done babbling for now...

'Ello

2007-03-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

So I haven't blogged in a month. Eekola. =( My poor blog has been neglected. Had mid-term exams last week! I got a perfect score on my Post-Taliban Afghanistan midterm, which I was veryyy happy about! And then I got a 99.75% on Persian and a 98% on Sufism. So far I am content! Let's just hope I can do a good job on my research papers! I am happy with my topics. For my Post-Taliban Afghanistan, I will be writing about terrorism: State Terrorism vs. Individual/Group Terrorism or whatever. I'll use the USA and Israel as examples of state terrorists...

So over a week ago I went to a Unitarian Universalist church to speak about Shi'a Islam! It was pretty cool. I was asked to come and talk about the differences between Shi'as and Sunnis. The people at the church were very nice and very accepting of me! They asked me all sorts of questions, from questions about Islamic history, to politics in Iran, to my personal experiences of being a Muslim in America. I'm glad I went. Unitarians do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. They were a really nice group of people. I wish there had been a bigger group, but it was still a good sized group, and even if I could educate around 15 people, that is still better than nothing! :)

Spring break is coming up, tomorrow is my last day of classes! I am going to Chicago for two nights, the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Never been. I want to check out the museums, the conservatory, Michigan Ave (which is where my hotel is located)... Hmm, anything else I should check out? I am a bit nervous about leaving Dobby alone for two nights. It would be my first time leaving him alone! I will make sure he has plenty of food and water, but I know he will be so sad. I am gonna have a co-worker look after him. I wouldn't trust anyone else here in Bloomington with Dobby. She has cats of her own and she is very kind and loving towards animals. So hopefully Dobby will be ok while I am gone! InshAllah!

So once again I have switched topics for my Sufism research paper! I am writing about something that has never been written about before, not at least that I can find! So that's a bit exciting. I hope I do a really good job on it so that maybe I can get it published someday, since it'll be the first paper of its kind! I am writing about Sufi symbolism and motifs in "The Little Prince." I read "The Little Prince" (Antoine de Saint Exupery) for the first time maybe a month or so ago... Absolutely fell in love with it! Can't wait to write a paper based on it...

Hmmm, what else?? Oh yeah! So I watch "The Apprentice." Well, I haven't been keeping up with it this season, but now and then I'll watch an episode. It would conflict with "Desperate Housewives" earlier in the season. I've watched all the previous seasons. Well, this past Sunday's decision was a bit surprising. He fired two people. One of the guys he fired not because he did a bad job, but because he jokingly referred to himself as "white trash." The Donald got really mad at him for calling himself white trash, and he said "Do you think I want to hire white trash? You're fired!" And then he fired another person for task-related errors. Hmm, interesting.

Not that I care about celebrities or their lives, but sometimes you can't help but see their pictures and the headlines while waiting at the checkout counter at the grocery store. What the hell happened to Britney Spears? Now she is what I would call trash. She turned trashy a long time ago... Ewww.

But sometimes people can't help what lives they were born into. If you were born into a trailer park, then you are bound to grow up to behave and live a certain way. I wonder how easy or difficult it is for such a person to grow up to be really educated and become very successful, like Izzie on Grey's Anatomy! Of course that's just fiction... and I wouldn't call anyone trash who was born into such a life. But people like Britney Spears... She has the money to live a decent life and not waste away her life like she is doing... It's just sad and sickening. Anywhooo...

Places I Want to See

2007-02-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

So it snowed like 5 inches or so today. I went to class in the morning and it was snowing. By the time I finished classes, my car was covered with snow. :( It took me a LOT longer than usual just to get home, because I was driving super slow, because my car slips easily. While cleaning my car, I noticed someone keyed the back of my car!!!! The trunk!! Oh my God!! When I first got my car a few years ago, someone keyed my front door. People suck. Anyway, so my car slipped a lot, and I got home at 3:45 when my class had ended at 2:15 lol, and I only live like max 10 minutes away from campus!

Poor Dobster. I haven't updated his blog in ages. I shall do that soon and post some new pictures of him. He's getting big! I remember when I could pick him with only one hand, when he was just a baby and sooo small! Now I definitely need two hands to pick him up! He's a little piggy! He eats a lot. But I shall tell you all about him later in his blog hehe, he's much more of a shaytooni now than before!! But I still love him so much! *wub* I can't imagine a life without my little piggy Mr. Dobster.

So I was just thinking today about all the places I want to see before I die. I know there is no way I will be able to see every country I want to see. I simply don't have the money to do that! lol, unless I win the lottery in the future!! But I'm pretty sure that isn't happening. Anyhow, here are just some of the places I want to visit someday (and if you are feeling generous and would like to buy me a plane ticket, I'd greatly appreciate it!!):

Italy--Home of the Renaissance!! The great Roman Empire! Beautiful art and architecture and amazing food! #1 on my list (tied with Istanbul).

Greece--For the same reasons. Art and architecture. The country just looks so amazingly beautiful and cultured. I want to see the beautiful white buildings against the sparkling blue sea!!

Istanbul--The last capital of the Ottoman Empire, and definitely the greatest city of the Ottoman Empire. Having studied Ottoman history quite well, I really want to see this city! The great bazaar... The bedestan... The great mosques...

Malta--Where Europe meets the Middle East. Would be nice to see a country that has a blend of both cultures!

Iran--Again! Esfahan is one of the most beautiful places I have been to. Amazing history and culture, and food!

Yemen--I hear their food is a blend of Middle Eastern and Indian food! Have heard many nice things about Yemen...

Kenya--Elephants!! Must go on a Safari and see lots and lots of elephants and giraffes!!

Egypt--The pyramids and the Nile! Must see where the Pharohs lived.

Australia--The land down under! Koalas and Kangeroos and the Great Barrier Reef!!

South America--This includes most of the South American countries, where the Mayans and other Indians existed and still do! And the Amazon! Although I absolutely hate snakes, so I am thinking that would be a very bad idea. I would die of a heart attack there and no one would ever know.

Switzerland--Must see the Alps! Swiss culture also seems really cute.

Karbala, Iraq--Self-explanatory! The place where Imam Husayn, beloved grandson of the Prophet, was martyred. Would be an honour to go there someday and pay my respects, InshAllah!

Anyway, this is just a very small sampling of the places I want to see. There are many more. If I can go to at least 3 of these places before I die, I shall be content. But I will make it my priority to set aside money every year when I have a career solely for travel. And if I never get married (which I'm pretty sure I won't lol), then I will definitely be able to travel, InshAllah! :D With my mum and sisters of course! and Dobster!

Israel=Terrorist Nation. Just p*ssed off, so felt like adding that.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-02-02T22:42:00.000-05:00

So it's coming out on July 21, 2007!!! On the one hand, I am super excited. This is the moment I have been waiting for!! To finally see what happens... To see who dies. :( But it's going to be the end of a great series, and what will there be to look forward to after the release of the 7th book?! I don't want there to be any more Harry Potter books after the 7th. I'm glad she set a limit on it. I hope the 7th book is at least 2,000 pages long. But I doubt it. *sigh* I hope she wraps up ALL the loose ends, and there are a lot. There are LOTS of questions, and I hope she answers them ALL! I wanted to be in London or Scotland for the release of the book, where all the big parties will be, where history will be made! But unfortunately I don't think that will be happening. *sigh* Anyway, anxiously awaiting the book! The countdown has begun!!!

So I have my topics for my research papers. For my Sufism class, I will be writing about the panjetan paak (Prophet Muhammad, Hazrat Fatimah, Ali, Hassan and Husayn) and their role in Sufi traditions/belief. To see how much of Sufi practises and Shi'a practises relate to each other... are they the same? Something along those lines. For my Post-Taliban Afghanistan class, I will be writing about the humanitarian conditions prior to the Taliban, during the rule of the Taliban, and after the Taliban. Basically, condition/treatment of women, education, healthcare, poverty, nutrition, etc.

So I went to Indianapolis for 'Ashura. It was interesting. Veryyy small Shi'a community. Not what I was hoping for or expecting. Missing a lot of the aspects of Ashura that you would see in New York at al-Khoei. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers. I was afraid there wouldn't even be any place for me to go on Ashura, but at least there was some place. There was majlis in Arabic, English and Urdu. InshAllah next year I would like to go to Chicago for Muharram. Chicago is 4 hours from Bloomington. So we'll see!

So I guess that's all. It's been so long since I'd updated my blog. I am sure I have lots more to say, but it can wait until later. And I absolutely MUST update Dobby's blog tomorrow! There is lots to tell... My precious Dobster *wub*

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-01-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

Al Gore is my new favourite person. I love you Al Gore!! He is doing something truly great with his life. He is spreading a very important message to save our planet.

I just watched this film today. It was very enlightenting, frightening and disturbing all at the same time. Global Warming is REAL and it can drastically change the earth within even 50 years. Something must be and has to be done about it.

Al Gore said that people can go from being in denial straight to being in despair. That is how I felt after watching the film. I was never really in denial about global warming, but I didn't think it could have any major affect on the earth within the next 100 years or so. I was so wrong.

EVERYONE must see the film "An Inconvenient Truth." Al Gore shows us climate patterns throughout the centuries and in more recent years, and Global Warming really is destroying our earth. I can't speak of everything in one blog entry, but I really urge everyone to see this documentary. You will be glued to the TV as you watch it. Your stomach will turn inside out as you realise that your own city could be under water in the next 100 years.

As someone who loves animals, I was saddened to hear that so many polar bears are drowning in recent times, because the ice is melting, so polar bears have to swim as far as 60 miles to find a place to rest. And tragically, they often do not find such a place and drown from fatigue. It's very saddening.

Please, PLEASE watch and buy this documentary. And start taking action.

Buy more efficient appliances, RECYCLE [I for one save up all my cans and bottles since I do not get recycling service at my apartment and go to the center myself], walk when you can, take the bus or ride a bike when you can, buy an energy efficient car if you can afford it... Just do whatever you can!

It is possible to save the earth. Towards the end of the documentary, Al Gore shows us how even "little" things like above, if done by EVERYONE, can make a huge difference and save our Earth. So please watch the documentary, and start doing what you can to save our poor planet, and the darling polar bears and all other wildlife, and HUMANS!

I am even more upset today than I was in 2000 about Al Gore not 'winning' the election. He won, but we unfortunately have Bush in office. If Al Gore had won, things would be different right now. The earth would be better off today then years ago. I hope enough people watch this documentary and are as impacted as I was by it, enough to start doing something about it. If Al Gore runs for presidency again, vote for him!

My Poor Knees

2007-01-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

I don't know why this always happens to me. Almost a week ago, I hit my right knee really hard against my desk while rushing to answer my phone. It left a really bad bruise, and it's still all red/purple-ish, and it hurt like HELL!

Then just 2 days or so ago, I hit my left knee against my bed's wooden frame. It hurt like hell, and left a small bruise. Not as big a bruise as my right knee's, but still a sizeable one. And it hurt to even walk afterwards!

Why do these things happen to me... I always seem to be injuring myself and getting bruises, a lot more this year than in previous years. I've stubbed my toes so many times, I've cut myself accidentally in the kitchen at least 5 times in the past few months, I've burned myself a few times while cooking... I just don't get it.

Anyway...

Classes have begun! I am taking Persian, Sufism and Post-Taliban Afghanistan. I have a LOT of work for both classes. For Sufism: Two major presentations, 15 page research paper, smaller response papers every week, midterm and final exam. For my Post-Taliban class: 15 page research paper, I have to actually teach/lead two classes, critical response papers that need to be emailed to everyone in the class, midterm and final. Sucks so bad. :(

So any research ideas??? For Sufism, I was thinking of something relating to Shi'ism and Sufism. I'm not sure what exactly, but if anyone can give me some ideas, I would greatly appreciate it! Or I was thinking of writing about al-Hallaj. For Post-Taliban Afghanistan, I also wanted to do something related to Shi'as, or something about state terrorism vs. individual terrorism. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it! I have a LOT of work this semester and I definitely do not want to wait until the last week to write two 15 page papers!!!

Happy Gregorian New Year!

2007-01-01T09:59:00.001-05:00

So the new year has come! 2007! Looking back at my new year's post from a year ago, I can say I did not keep my resolutions. Eating less chocolate--nope. Eating more fruits and vegetables? Nope. Spending less time on ShiaChat? Hmm, somewhat. Study more? I guess, but not as much as I should've. Although I am quite happy with my GPA for my first semester as a grad student! :) And have I been more grateful and patient? Eh, not really... So I guess I should keep the same resolutions for this coming year. Try to eat healthier and gain a bittt of weight, and be more patient and grateful! and of course study more.

So yesterday was Eid al-Adha as well here in Binghamton. So we went to the mosque in the morning, which was boring as usual. Then at night went to a relative's house for dinner. All my life, I'd watch TV shows and see those corny family moments that I wish we'd have in my family... Such as, the crazy relative that wants to show his pictures to everyone and talks about each picture for 5 minutes, even if it's a picture of pavement! Well, I finally got to experience this last night!! One of my relatives, who is actually my cousin but he's old enough to be an uncle, hooked up his laptop to his HUGE TV (his tv is seriously so freaking big) and showed us like a billion pictures. In the beginning it was just hilarious, cause everyone else was cracking jokes, at the expense of another uncle who I absolutely adore, and I was laughing so hard that I eventually had tears streaming down my face and my stomach was aching so bad lol, so that was great. But after everyone was done cracking jokes, my cousin ("uncle") continued to show us pictures, some of which were actually of pavement (no joke), and I fell asleep.... So I'm very happy that before the end of the year, I managed to have that family moment that I'd always craved! :)

Before this, I was sitting with all the men in the livingroom because that's where the big TV is. Besides, I get bored with all the gossip and women's talk. So while flipping through the channels, we came to the 2006 World Cup Final Match!! So of course we watched it. This had to be my 4th time watching this final match lol, cause usually when it's being shown on tv, I watch it again. We cheered, boo'ed and gasped as though the outcome would change, but of course we knew what would happen. And I re-lived the sad moments of Zidane being red-carded. How sad... Definitely one of the most memorable moments of 2006!! Ugh, screw that Materazzi jackass!!!

So what did I do this year? Nothing special really.

-I didn't go anywhere this past summer, although I did inspire a trip to Ireland for CI and his friends! I really wish I'd gone to Italy or Greece. :( Maybe in 2007! If I can save up enough money. Or Istanbul! I just need to work hard and save my money! InshAllah!
-I started graduate school, which was a big thing for 2006. Currently a masters student in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Mum really wants me to get a PhD though... InshAllah, we'll see!
-Moved away from home to Indiana to live on my own for the first time in my life, which was a HUGE thing.
-I got a CAT!!! That is HUGE! I'd been wanting a cat for so long since Kitty ran away in November 1997. Of course no cat will ever be a replacement for Kitty. I love you Kitty!!! May you rest in peace, and InshAllah we'll meet again in the afterlife...

So overall, I guess it's been a pretty boring year. I guess my idea of a boring year is not having travelled anywhere. But I did make some huge changes in my life, so at least the year wasn't totally uneventful! InshAllah 2007 will be a better year. I hope to take my passion for photography more seriously in this coming year, hoping to devote more time to it. And to writing! Hopefully Iwon't be bogged down with too much school work. And I really hope to travel somewhere this upcoming summer, InshAllah! And, I am really looking forward to the 5th HP movie and the 7th book InshAllah!

And I just want to thank all of you for being a part of my life, even if you happen to be someone I have never met in person! :) Wishing ya'llz a prosperous and healthy year!

Saddam is Dead.

2006-12-30T09:54:00.000-05:00

So Saddam Hussein has been hanged, as you all of course know. Just last night some were talking about how they hoped that his hanging would be taped so we could all see it. And I said, "If it were any other man, I wouldn't want to see it, but since it's Saddam, I would also like to see it happen."

Well, then this morning I saw the tape of him walking to his execution, having the rope put around his neck... didn't see the actual execution, but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad for this man. I know he's responsible for the deaths of thousands and thousands of people. And I personally feel that he deserved capital punishment. And being a Shi'a, I suppose I should be more ecstatic than non-Shi'as about his death? But it's always sad to see a man knowingly walking to his death... Most often death just sneaks upon you. But to know you are going to die... It's just sad.

The reporter for BBC said, "In Iraq, this is Shi'a justice, not national justice." Yes, it was sad to see a man walk to his death... But is this not justice? This man was responsible for mostly Shi'a deaths, but as well as Sunni deaths (including Kurds). So how can ANY human, Shi'a or not, NOT see this as justice? Should we only mourn for the deaths of our own sect? This is quite a sad day if this is in fact true. *sigh* And now the "experts" all say that the Sunnis who were privileged during Saddam's rule will lash out against the Shi'as even more so now that Saddam is dead.

If democracy is that majority rules, and if democracy is what they want in Iraq... Well., the majority IS Shi'a afterall... For years and years the Shi'as were oppressed and tortured. I think it's about time they get to start holding some positions of power and making decisions for the country. I don't want to see this power abused and I don't want to see Sunnis or Kurds treated unjustly, but I feel the Shi'as have a right to power in the government now. And I don't think the Sunnis have a right to lash out against the Shi'as for this.

But it would be nice to see some unity in the country, not based on sectarianism, but on nationality/ethnicity, so that they might all feel equal and make their country into something good again. Although having studied Middle Eastern history, I can't recall a time when Iraq was "great." Maybe thousands of years ago when the Arabs were making advances in science, math, etc. and Baghdad has the greatest library in the world. But since then when has Iraq ever been stable? Perhaps I am missing some chunks of history here and there, so I apologise if I am wrong here!

Ok, so that's just my 2 cents. Of course ya'll are free to disagree, and I would love to see what everyone else thinks! :)

Happy Festivus!!!

2006-12-23T10:18:00.000-05:00

So today is Festivus! And today is the first day that Dobby ventured downstairs! I am so proud of him. He does have social anxiety, but he's making progress. My precious Dobby! I am still sick. Feel like I've been blowing out my brains. Anyway! Can't wait to see "Night at the Museum"!! We are gonna go see it tomorrow. :D Saw "Little Miss Sunshine" again yesterday, the funniest movie ever. Laughed just as much as the first time I saw it! Hmm, well, we didn't get a Festivus pole, but we do have a large candycane which can we can use as our pole I guess. I think we will skip the airing of grievances though, just to keep the holiday light and festive lol :P Anyway, hope everyone has a Happy Festivus!!! :)

Update: I got Reindeer antlers today when we went shopping!! They were free. So cute. So I even wore them to BN!! lol... Anyway, we exchanged presents hehe, I got some nice stuff from Banana Republic from my older sister, and from my younger sister: some really nice cream and a vegetarian cookbook! and a pretty watch from my uncle, hehe. Yay! We have decided to make Festivus a yearly tradition now, awesome! :)

Airport Woes

2006-12-19T09:09:00.000-05:00

So yesterday morning was my flight to NY from Indiana! Thank you CI for dropping me off at the airport, really appreciate it! :o) Anyhow, so once at the airport, that's when hell began! First of all, the stupid man outside would not help me carry in all my luggage. I had one big suitcase, a big box, my backpack, laptop/bag, and Dobby in his carrier. No one was helping me and time was running out, so I somehow managed to drag in everything on my own! Dobby had a roundtrip ticket, that cost $160 without tax! Anyhow, I got my luggage checked in, and then I had to go through security.

They wanted me to take Dobby out of his carrier and walk through the x-ray thing while holding him! Well poor Dobby is such a baby and scared of strangers, so no matter how hard I tried, he just would not come out! So then the horrible security people were turning the carrier upside down so that he would fall out! But he wouldn't fall out, he was clinging on to the sides as though his life depended on it! Poor Dobby, poor thing must've been so traumatized. So they checked me and then said that Dobby needs a private screening since he won't come out. So they took him to a separate room, they allowed me to watch, and they would move him around in his carrier to scan it for chemicals or whatever. His blanket got all messed up in his carrier. I had his blanket laid down, but by the time they finished, it was all smushed up and everything, and with Dobby in his carrier, I couldn't fix it properly again for him! They even scanned all his toys that I had for him! So that was the first traumatizing event for Dobby.

I was the last one to get on the plane. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Dobby's carrier wouldn't fit under the seat! His carrier met the measurements I was given, but it wouldn't fit. So then the air hostess is like "Would you rather be stranded in Indianapolis or Detroit?" Detroit is where my layover would be. She said my next flight's airplane is even smaller and chances are I might get stuck there. So she said I could stay in Indy until I figure out what to do. Because there is no way I would let poor Dobby go into the belly of the plane! Animals have died there. Plus it's even louder down there and poor Dobby is such a baby, and I know he would be traumatized for life if he went down there, I couldn't bear to part with him. So I told her I was absolutely against that idea. And so they went around the airplane, asking random people to move their legs/feet to see if Dobby would fit under the seats in front of them lol, that was a bit funny. Everyone was staring at me though cause I was the cause of delaying the flight. Finally in the end, as the attendant could see I was about to cry, they decided to let me and Dobby take the very last row of the plane which is always kept empty, and I could just strap his carrier into the seat. So that worked out in the end! Poor Dobby was so scared of all the noises the plane was making. But alhamdulillah it went well. At the end of the flight, the air hostesses told me to play dumb on the next plane so that they would be kind to me and let me and Dobby stay on lol, they were really kind about everything so I am grateful to them for what they did!

Then I got to Detroit airport and had to get from Concourse A to Concourse C, and that's a long ways away. There is this really cool part when you are going from one concourse to the other--the walls and ceilings change colours and cool soothing music is playing while you are on the conveyor belt thingy. So Dobby and I took the tram, and then had to do a lot of walking. My hand was killing me from holding on to the handle of his carrier. It's just not very ergonomic, or whatever the word is that I am looking for lol. One man from the plane recognized me and asked me how Dobby was doing. We got lunch (frenchfries) and one man kept on giving me the evil eye, as though he was mad I brought the cat into the restaurant. Weird. I noticed that there were no other animals in the airport, not even a dog! And I was getting funny looks for having a cat with me. lol... But it's ok, anything for my precious Dobby!!! *wub*

So then it was time for our next flight, which was overbooked to begin with. So the lady saw my cat carrier and she said there is no way it's going to fit. So she took Dobby away from me and went on the plane to check. I wasn't allowed on yet. She came back about 15 minutes later and gave him back to me and then went to her computer and started doing stuff. She didn't even tell me what was going on! So I was again about to start freaking out. (I need anxiety pills or something lol). Then I asked her what was going on, and she told me she was going to put me in the last row and Dobby's carrier could go on the floor, as it won't fit under any seats. So thank God that worked out well too!!! But I don't know if I'll get as lucky on the way back, so I'll have to find a smaller carrier before my flights home!

So now here I am, at home in NY, and I am sick! I have a sore throat and my voice is all raspy and whatnot. I couldn't even swallow last night, so was awake most of the night spitting into the trash can since I couldn't swallow lol, not fun. :( I don't even have any throat medicine or anything. Well, hopefully mum can get me some! So I am just gonna stay home all day. But tomorrow I totally wanna go to BN. I miss my hometown BN. It's my most favourite BN of all time! Well, I also like the one at Rochester, as that is very cozy too. But I don't like the BN at Bloomington too much, it doesn't have the same vibes. Anywhooo

That's all I guess! Dobby is comfortale with the upstairs now, but he has yet to venture downstairs. I just hope my father doesn't open the door and he runs away like my last cat. :( Just pray that Dobby stays safe and at home while I am here!! Toodlez for now! :)

Going Home!

2006-12-17T10:18:00.000-05:00

Going back home to NY tomorrow!!!! But not even for a whole 3 weeks. :( I hope Dobby is ready for a day of travel... InshAllah! I gotta go buy him a baby blankie today for his carrier! Lots of packing to do! Eek!!! Pray I get there safely! :)

Almost Festivus!

2006-12-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

So Festivus is almost here! December 23rd! And my mum, sisters and I are actually gonna celebrate Festivus this year, first time ever! lol... Except that we are missing the Festivus pole. But I'm sure we'll find something laying around the house that will work! Can't wait for Festivus!! A Festivus For the Rest of Us!!! and I do have a lot of grievances to air!

Anyway so today I had my Islam/Balkans final. I can't believe I was even freaking out about it. I fell asleep today while trying to catch up on readings. I must've done only 30% of the readings. So before the exam, all of us were pretty much acting as though we were high. No one seemed to be stressed out about the exam, none of us really studied for it. And instead of last minute studying, we were talking about movies we'd seen and talking about diamonds and DeBeer's old diamond commercials! I miss DeBeers Diamond commercials. The music in the commercials was so awesome. Anyone have an mp3 of the music??? So 2 finals down, one to go tomorrow morning, Persian! Should be a piece of cake! InshAllah! :)

So apparently everyone who has seen the movie "Blood Diamonds" has vowed never to buy diamonds again. I must see this movie. I also want to see Apocalypto. Apparently the world is coming to an end.

I have to work tomorrow night and then Saturday 2-11 pm. I can't believe they scheduled me for the entire freaking day. God damn Old Navy!!!! Marg bar Old Navy!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I can call in sick. hmm...

One Movie...

2006-12-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

1) One movie that changed your life?

I can't say that any movie has really changed my life. But if I had to choose one, I would say "The Fountain" which I saw most recently. It just made me think a lot about life and death.

2) One movie that you’ve seen more than once:

Serendipity, Lord of the Rings (all 3), Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more...

3) One movie you’d want on a desert island:

Lord of the Rings (all 3)

4) One movie that made you laugh:

Little Miss Sunshine (Don't think I've ever laughed as much as I did when watching that movie!), and so many others.

5) One movie that made you cry:

So many! Almost every movie I watch makes me teary eyed lol... Hmm, some that come to mind: Lord of the Rings, Autumn in New York, Hidalgo, almost every Iranian film, umm, lots more, seriously.

6) One movie that you wish had been made:

The Martian Chronicles, The Confessions of Max Tivoli, My Uncle Napoleon

7) One movie that you wish had never been made:

Hmm... Just those really stupid low budget movies. There are so many of them.

8)One movie you’re currently watching:

lol I guess I can answer this, Jumanji is currently showing on TV which I am sort of watching.

9) One movie you’ve been meaning to watch:

Lots! Just look at my netflix queue :P

10) Now tag five people...

Anyone! :)

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I had actually been meaning to make a post about "The Fountain" which I just saw recently. In the movie, the main concept is that "Death is the road to Awe," which the Mayans believed in I guess. And one of the characters isn't afraid of death. I know as Muslims we shouldn't be afraid of death either, or should we? Well, I am! I am scared of dying!!! Is there any way I can NOT be afraid of dying? I try to live my life as best as possible, I live by the Golden Rule. But everyone sins, who isn't a sinner. And I am just afraid of what might await me *sigh* And then there are those Shaytani thoughts of what if there really is no religion or anything, and once you die, that's it! lol... Of course I know there is life after death. Hmm... I don't know, scary. And I don't want to die anytime soon. There is still so much I want to see. I haven't even been to 1/4 of the countries I want to visit! I haven't done anything worthwhile in life yet. Well, InshAllah I won't die anytime soon...

Computer Games... recommendations?

2006-12-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

So I handed in my worst paper ever on Tuesday. Didn't meet the page requirement, so I did all those high school tricks (that I had NEVER done until now), such as changing the margins and the font. My paper was titled: The Significance of Impalement in Ivo Andric's 'The Bridge on the Drina.' I must say, the concept of my paper was good, but it wasn't well researched enough, I could've expanded on more, etc. etc. It was poorly done. Yet, I received a good grade on it! My professor did make a lot of notes though, one of which was "I see you tried stretching out the paper." lol Anyway, she is really nice and I'm so grateful she gave me a good grade, cause I had been doing so well in her class and it would've been horrible if one poorly done paper ruined all of it. I am taking her Sufism class next semester, and InshAllah I'll write a great paper for that class!

I bought a computer game. I haven't bought one in such a long time. 'The Sims' is cool, but it can get boring after a while. The really cool part about the Sims is designing and decorating their houses (which fulfills my desire to be an architect and interior designer) lol, but then after that it's blah. So anyway, I got "Murder on the Orient Express." It is of course based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel, but with more twists and turns. So far it's ok I guess. I still haven't gotten on the train yet, but I hope once I do the game picks up. Does anyone else play computer games, and if so, which ones? Any recommendations? I am looking for something adventurous, fun and colourful (not drab and dreary), with good graphics, etc. etc.

Oh! One of my personal Persian essays got published in the Central Eurasian Studies department's seasonal newsletter. Unfortunately it had one typo, but other than that it's pretty good. Is there any way for me to print Persian script on my blog? Hmmm...

So I have final exams next week. Arabic is gonna be a killer, Persian should be easy, and I have TONS of reading to do for Islam in the Balkans, but InshAllah it should be ok. And then I go to NY with Dobby!!! :)

One Book...

2006-12-06T16:39:00.000-05:00

Stole this from Noon's blog...

1) One book that changed your life?

Harry Potter

2) One book that you’ve read more than once:

Read quite a few more than once, but I guess I've read Harry Potter the most.

3) One book you’d want on a desert island

Harry Potter (all 7!)

4) One book that made you laugh

My Uncle Napoleon, Harry Potter

5) One book that made you cry

A Separate Peace, Harry Potter, The Kite Runner, The Confessions of Max Tivoli

6) One book that you wish had been written:

Not sure I quite know how to answer this! lol

7) One book that you wish had never been written:

Reading Lolita in Tehran (total crap).

8)One book you’re currently reading:

Reading like three, but I shall name one: The Dante Club

9) One book you’ve been meaning to read:

Hmm.... There are so many. I guess "A Clockwork Orange"

10) Now tag five people...

Anyone! :)

The Big 2-4.

2006-11-28T17:52:00.000-05:00

I am now one year less of half of 50. Getting old. *sigh* So what have I done today... well, I woke up (didn't get enough sleep, so I am super exhausted right now), took a shower and got ready for classes as usual. Hit my head against the door of the cabinet in my bathroom when it was open. That hurt. My car is emitting some really loud, irritating and embarrassing noises. I slammed really hard on my brakes this past Friday, and since then my car screeches REALLY loud(ly?) when I am reversing, and makes a rattling sound now and then. That can't be good. Will have to get that checked out on Friday. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix, cause I need my car!!!

So I had a presentation in my Islam in the Balkans class today. I got an extension for my research paper until next Tuesday. So that gives me 6 days now to write 10 more pages. But she decided to give us more work. Lovely. So I need to prepare a presentation about my research paper (which is not yet completed) for Tuesday as well! Good lord. I have never had so much work in any class as I have had in this class! The amount of work and readings she has given us all semester long is insane!! I am seriously so mentally exhausted. I am burned out.

Curious Infidel came over with my birthday present. A huge thing of hot chocolate (lots of different kinds! yummy) and colourful Christmas lights!!! So we put up the christmas lights in my apartment. They look really cool now since it's dark. I will take a picture once I figure out how to turn off the flash on my camera!! I think I will leave them up all year long. I see no reason to take them down. They are festive. But don't worry, I'm not a Christian. But maybe by the end of the year I'll have convinced CI to convert to Islam lol, jk. That isn't happening in this lifetime. EDIT: The christmas lights are actually from curious' sister!! Very nice of her hehe :D

Anyway, so then I went to Applebees and got some take out food. Honey grilled salmon. Dobby liked it. He could smell it the second I entered the apartment and wouldn't stop meowing until I gave him some fish! So I think my birthday was happier for him than it was for me lol. So I came home and ate that. I put in a dvd to watch, but I'm not watching it, but I can hear it in the background. Maybe I'll go plop on the couch and watch it soon. So overall it's been a somewhat sucky birthday. I hate being alone on my birthday. I need to make some friends!! Well, at least Gilmore Girls is on tonight. But that will probably depress me more. I wish I lived in Stars Hollow with characters like Luke and Kirk!!! Maybe someday... InshAllah.

Anyway, Happyyy Birthdayyy to me. Yes, I'm a Gloomy Gus right now... Well, on a brighter note, today is Jon Stewart's birthday as well. So cool to share a birthday with him. I wonder what he's doing right now...

Edit: So I went to see "Babel" with CI. Hmm, what does "Babel" mean? Is that something Biblical? Anyway, it was a weird movie. The Japenese people in it are very strange. There are also Arabs and Mexicans in it. Interesting movie with an interesting "plot"... So thanks for that CI!! and the water! :D

Oh, I took pictures of the Christmas lights!! Will post them soon :D

Turkey Day!!

2006-11-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

So today is my blog's birthday. My first post was on November 25 of last year. Happy Birthday Blog!! It's absolutely GORGEOUS outside. Too bad I have a 20 page paper to work on, that's due on Tuesday. Yuck. :(

Anyway, so I went to CI's house for Thanksgiving! It was so much fun. He gave me a tour of Notre Dame. I saw "Touchdown Jesus" and the Grotto, which is so pretty. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my digital camera, so I bought a disposable camera. There are still some pictures left on it, so it'll be a while before I get to post any pictures. :(

I made my RasMalai dessert for Thanksgiving. But most of my dessert was sent home with me with some leftovers :S I wonder if that's a sign? lol... Well, I thought it was good. Not as good as the first time I made it, but still good. We played several games of Parcheesi, and twice I was in the lead, but I still wouldn't win. :( His parents cooked me my halal chicken. All of the food was very good! I met his dog Bo. He's old and gentle. And his cat Boomer, who is really big. She kept on hissing at poor Dobby (took him with me). Dobby is such a sweet baby that he was so scared and wouldn't even hiss or meow back!! Poor Dobby! But Dobby liked CI's house, I think, cause he had Boomer's scratching-post/house to play with. CI's parents are both really nice. He has a very close, loving family, mashAllah! Anyway, I'm glad I went. I could babble on and on about Thanksgiving, but I'll stop now before you all get irritated, and anyway, CI might say I'm giving out too much info. about him! lol :P Thank you once again CI for having me over for Turkey Day!! :o)

Anyway I better get to work on my paper. *sigh* Wish me luck!! Oh!! An interesting fact I learned at CI's house, which he never told me about!! The IRA (of Ireland) received some training and weaponry from the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). How interesting is that! hehe

RasMalai

2006-11-14T23:47:00.000-05:00

So the other day I made RasMalai (my favourite Desi dessert). It didn't come out exactly as it should have. It tastes like rasmalai, but looks more like kheer (another Pakistani dessert). It took a long time to make actually. The riccotta cheese has to cook for an hour, then I had to form it into balls and prepare the sugar syrup and the milky-syrup. Anyway, in the end, it tasted good :) So I'm glad I know how to make rasmalai that looks like kheer!

So today at work this Chinese looking girl comes up with a ton of stuff she wants to buy. She ends up buying 5 gift cards, each worth $100 and then she bought clothes, and her final total was $700. She swipes "her" credit card, and I of course asked to see it to compare the signatures, as the amount was so huge. The signatures do NOT match up even the slightest bit. I ask to see her ID, but she says she left it in her car. My manager is too busy to come to the front. The name (first and last) on the card was a very English name, nothing Chinese or Asian about it. So she has no ID. So my manager tells me to call a co-worker to make the final call, and he says it's "close enough." He just let a girl get away with making a purchase of $700 on someone else's card!! That was NOT her card. The signature was not even CLOSE to looking anything like the one on the card. And before she left, she goes to me and the girl who was bagging for me, "Do I know you? You guys look really familiar." And neither of us knew this girl. I think she just wanted to make sure we wouldn't see her on campus or anywhere. I'm quite upset she got away with it. I really didn't want her to leave the store, but my manager was too busy *sigh* And my stupid co-worker just let her get away with it. And another co-worker who dealt with her just a while before I did said she came in wanting to reach the $1000 limit on "her" credit card. I feel really sorry for the person whose credit card that actually was.

Anyway, I better go to sleep. It's late. I'll add a picture of the rasmalai tomorrow. I am too lazy to get my camera to upload the pic right now.

Saddam Hussein--Capital Punishment

2006-11-06T19:42:00.000-05:00

I got into a discussion with Ahmed about Saddam Hussein receiving the death penalty after I exclaimed, "Saddam is getting hanged, finally, yay!!" This is how it went:

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Ahmed:

I'm happy a terrible man is finally going to be punished. And happy that hopefully ppl can try to move on to more positive things. I dont think I can say I'm happy a man is going to be hanged though. I guess it comes down to being for or against capital punishment.

My reply:

If it were a man who out of impulse killed a man and regretted it later, then I would not be for capital punishment. But this is Saddam Hussein. He is responsible for the most brutal killings of many people, including Islamic scholars. He is responsible for the systematic killing of Kurds and Shi'as in Iraq. He has no remorse for such killings. Even while in prison he ordered the killing of Shi'as in Iraq. A man who gets pleasure out of the killing of thousands of people in the most gruesome and brutal way deserves to die. It's allowed in the Qur'an as well.

Anyway, Just my 2 cents. I don't want to turn this into a sectarian debate, but it seems that Shi'as are more likely to see Saddam die because it was their own people that were killed and our great scholars, so we feel more strongly about him being punished. Saddam was not out to kill Sunnis, unless a Sunni was specifically against Saddam and it was known to him. But he saw all Shi'as as his enemies.

Anyway, I think it's nice that in general you are against capital punishment, and as I stated earlier, I am as well when it comes to individuals who are remorseful. But not for people who systematically killed thousands of people.

Ahmed's Reply:

I understand what you're saying. Perhaps in general what you're saying about Shia and non-Shia is true, their feelings about him. I don't really make that distinguishment personally, I like to just think a muslim is a muslim is a muslim. And ideally, a person is a person is a person.

Now, at times I do remember thinking to myself, man I wish someone would just kill him already. But I don't like to think that way about anyone. I know if someone hurt one of my family or friends I'd feel that way too, but still, I believe it would be momentary and not lasting.

I know legally its fine. And more importantly by the Qur'an its fine. But I don't know, other than in self-defense, I couldn't kill anyone. A person will face the consequences of their actions on judgement day. I want justice as well, but yeah I don't know, I couldn't kill anyone nor order the death of anyone.

Also, if I take the disccusion away from Sadam.

Then how do you define remorseful, or how long of a time period do they have in which to become remorseful?

And do say death penalty after 1 kill, 2, 10, 1000, etc.

Like some ppls crimes are on a whole other level when they are killing entire villages and cities and tons and tons of ppl but in a sense its still arbitrary to define where the line is.

Oh and then there are crimes like torture and rape and other forms of mental/physical/sexual abuse that I find are sometimes as bad or worse than murder. So...its hard to draw the line I think.

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At which point I decided to write a blog entry about it with his permission (which I obviously received).

So, I'd like to reply and say that...

I also wouldn't personally ever kill anyone. Even if that person (God forbid) killed my most beloveds. I would not personally ever want to be responsible for anyone's death, nor would I want to order such a death. When Saddam was found in Iraq and taken to prison, I remember seeing photos of him and actually feeling a tiny bit sorry for him because of the state he was in. He just looked absolutely pityful. There I was feeling sorry for a man who committed some of the worst crimes in humanity. But now over a year later, I was happy to hear he received the death penalty. I really can't explain why. I suppose I'm just happy to see justice being served for the thousands of people whose deaths he is responsible for...

One can never know if someone is remorseful about his/her sins or not (only God knows). But this is a man who killed MANY people. I would not condone capital punishment for a man who has only killed one or two people. I'd rather see him serve his time in jail, as isolation can at times be the worst of punishments--more worse than death. And then God can deal with that person on Judgement Day. But I'm sure there are many Shi'as and Kurds around the world that want to see justice served on earth. I think it can be concluded that someone who has killed at least 3 people obviously doesn't feel remorseful, or else why would he continue to kill? Unless he has a mental sickness, in which case he needs psychological help and not capital punishment.

Quite frankly, I don't think I'd be upset if Saddam Hussein was just sentenced to life in prison. I'd also be happy about that, as long as it isn't a nice prison, but a prison that is actually hell on earth.

Where would I draw the line? I agree, some crimes are more deserving of capital punishment, such as rape. But unless, God forbid, I am ever in such a situation, I don't know how I would feel about it. So I can't say that I would condone or condemn capital punishment for rape. But something to think about... There are reports of men who are in prison for murder killing men who come in for crimes of rape, etc. So they have their own form of justice in prison. So it seems that even the murderers agree that rape is more deserving of death than is murder!

Anyway, I guess it took all this babbling for me to say I'm unsure, and I suppose it depends on specific situations. So what do you all think? If you could answer Ahmed's questions, I'd be interested in knowing how you all feel about Capital Punishment, where to draw the line, and does Saddam Hussein deserve to die?

Sticky Toffee Pudding!!

2006-11-03T20:38:00.000-05:00

I am an impulsive shopper. Today I was only supposed to buy necessary items, but I ended up buying two dvds ("V for Vendetta" and "The Boondock Saints") cause I really liked these two movies.

I also bought two pints of ice cream, one of which was Haagen Daaz's limited edition Sticky Toffee Pudding. A few months ago I was watching The Food Network, and they were showing a special about the Haagen Daaz Ice Cream Competition that was open to the public. Anyone could submit an idea for a new flavor, and the top 3 would go into competition to see which would be mass produced for the public. I can't remember now what the other two flavors were, but Sticky Toffee Pudding won. So I thought I'd try it today, and it was so damn good!! I highly recommend it. The other pint I got was "The Gobfather"--Ben & Jerry's. My ALL TIME favourite ice cream flavor from Ben & Jerry's is Wavy Gravy. It was the best!! It had all sorts of nuts in it, plus vanilla, chocolate, caramel, nouget, uff, it was the BEST!!!!!!!! I don't know why they got rid of it. I've been in mourning for years and years. I think about Wavy Gravy so much, it's not even funny. I seriously miss it.

So this got me to thinking about all the things I wish I could be in life. I watch Top Chef on Bravo and I envy those people who are cooking for a living and for fun!! They make some of the most amazing dishes ever. I live to eat, not vice-versa. And a part of me wishes I could be a chef.

I'm just going to make a list of all the things I wish I could've been in life... In no particular order:

Professional Photographer
Photography is a passion. I envy those who do it for a living. They get to see the most exotic locations and get paid for it, and the world sees their work and admires it.

Top Chef
Food is my life. I live to eat. I wish I could create dishes and have the world admire them.

Architect
I've loved architecture since I was little. I just admire gorgeous buildings. I even have some architecture books at home and love to peruse them and just see the beauty of buildings that people have created.

Doctor
Almost did this. Changed my career track in my 2nd to last year of undergrad. Had thought about it as a sophomore in college though when I was in an ambulance with my mum and saw doctors save her life. Such an admirable career that really makes a difference in people's lives.

Astronomer
Ever since I was little, I would gaze into the night sky with such awe and wonder. I'm truly amazed by what is up there, and I wish I could explore it and discover galaxies and new stars and planets. I took an astronomy course as a first year undergrad student, but physics just isn't something I'm good at.

Advertising Executive
This came about from watching "Who's the Boss?" I love commercials (when they aren't interrupting my favourite tv shows) and I always have thought I can do better. I think I know what can make people buy a certain product and how best to advertise it. And I always examine ads in magazines quite carefully. I don't know why, I just do. I read the fine print on almost every ad I come across. Weird.

Chocolatier
Chocolate is my life. I absolutely adored each and every chocolate shop I stepped into in Paris. It's heaven. And "Chocolat" is a great movie and ever since I saw it, I wished I were that woman with the chocolate shop--and hell, Johnny Depp too!

Chemist
I loved chemistry in 10th grade and I seriously seriously kicked butt at it. My teacher thought so too. But then came along AP chemistry in 12th grade, by then I somehow stopped caring. But I think chemistry is just so cool. I'm fascinated by the discovery of new elements, I'm fascinated about how atoms were discovered, etc. etc.!

Fashion Designer
I absolutely love the show Project Runway, and if I had the sewing skills, I would totally want to be on that show and design clothes. Especially since I feel that people these days simply don't design the type of clothes I want to wear, or handbags!! I have a fetish for purses/handbags, and I have yet to find the perfect one that I absolutely adore.

Author
I'm working on it... Someday InshAllah. This is something anyone with a passion for writing can accomplish. And someday before I die I intend to publish a book! God willing.

Journalist
To truly be fair and balanced, unlike Fox news and all the other garbage that exists. Journalism has a huge impact on people's lives and shapes how they think. It's powerful.

President
Yes, I think I can rule a country and do a damn good job of it! Hell of a lot better than Bush can at least. Bush sucks.

Vigilante
I just had to throw this in here. I have crazy dreams about beating up bad guys and being a heroine. Never gonna happen. I am too much of a weakling. Or when I used to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," how much I wished I were as strong as she was! I wish I could kick a$$ like she can, or like the Boondock Saints!! Totally cool and admirable.

Talk Show Host
I think I'd be a better host than Oprah. You can think I'm crazy if you want, but I really don't see what is so great about Oprah. Someone please enlighten me.

Travel Guide
Just like a professional photorapher, getting paid to do what you love and getting to travel to the most amazing locations. Damn, I really wish I had this job.

Lawyer
Almost did this too. Got an LSAT book after taking Business Law and kicking butt in it as a Freshman when it was a course meant for Juniors! Yeah, I seriously kicked butt, and I loved studying it. I think it would be so cool to defend innocent people and win.

Ok, that's enough for now. There are plenty more, but I'll spare you all. I shall go back to doing my homework. InshAllah someday I'll be a diplomat or working in the UN or government shaping foreign policy for the better. And that is something I'd love to do. Or InshAllah I'll end up in academics, and that is also something I'd love. So hopefully I'll end up doing something that I will enjoy, even if it wasn't one of the above. God Willing! Ciao.

Help!! Research Ideas...

2006-10-31T19:05:00.000-05:00

So yesterday at work I met John Mellencamp's wife, Elaine Irwin. I didn't know it was her at the time actually. It was my first day on the register and I wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. She bought some clothes and her sons were with her. She used her credit card, and I asked to see her ID. Blah, blah. After she left, my manager (who came to watch me do the transaction as soon as she saw her) was like "Do you know who that was?" and I'm like "No, who?" and she told me. She told me that Mellencamp's wife is a model. She didn't look like a model to me in the store. She looked really average, she also seemed down to earth. She didn't look all dolled up or anything as models do in their pictures! Anyway, I don't think I've ever heard any of John Mellencamp's music, so in the end, it's not that huge of a deal. Now if only I could meet Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom...

The picture is the gift that CI got me on Eid. Don't really have anything else to post a picture of. It's one of those things that you put wax in and the candle below it melts the wax. It smells so good! I think he got me the scent "Christmas cookie." These things work MUCH better than actual candles. Like I bought myself one of those candles that costs like $20 from Yankee Candle, and I can't even smell it when it's lit! But the ones that melt the wax work really well.

Hmmm... Oh yeah. So my professor totally shot down my idea for my research paper for my Islam in the Balkans class. I wanted to do the place and treatment of Jews and Christians within the Ottoman Empire, specifically looking at Devshirme, the Millet system, and the different forms of law used. However, she said it doesn't relate to the Balkans closely enough. So she suggested I talk about the Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire that were from the Balkans. But I don't know how researchable that would be. So I think I will write about Edirne, but there also aren't too many books about Edirne. *sigh* Any ideasss?!?! Anything relating to Islam in the Balkans??? It can be more recent. But several kids in class are already writing about issues relating to Bosnia, so I don't want to do that. Any suggestions people?? I gotta start my paper ASAP!!! I don't have much time. :( It's due on my birthday, November 28!! Grr..

I just gave Dobby a bath. It seems like he doesn't bathe himself often enough. So I wet a washcloth and gave him a bath that way. hehe. And Dobby keeps on bugging me for piggy back rides. On Eid I gave him a present and I also gave him a piggy back ride. He was laying flat on my back and I got on all fours and went around the apartment lol, and he loved it! Now he's always jumping on my back or curling around my neck wanting a piggy back ride!! Silly Dobby...

Oops...Time Change!!

2006-10-29T09:12:00.001-05:00

I'm a bit frustrated!! Up until today, Indiana never used to change its time for daylight savings. Well, now they have started to change their time and they go along with Eastern Standard Time. So I was scheduled to work from 10 am to 1 pm today, but I didn't realise the time changed. I didn't get much sleep last night either and I REALLY could've used another hour of sleep. But instead I wanted to make sure I'd get to work on time. But when I got to the mall, no one was there!! So I called my mum and she explained that the clock goes back an hour. Grrr... I worked Friday, Saturday and today, and I gotta work again tomorrow and Wednesday. Sucks having to work 4 days in a row! I'm going to miss Lost!!! *cry* Anyway, Thanks for reminding me about the time change, CI *dry*

So last night I went to my first ever Halloween and college party!! I'd never been to either before. It was fun! I only stayed for two hours. I dressed up as a happy witch. Wasn't much of a costume really. I had a funky witch's hat and witch's shoes that I just wore with normal black and white flowery clothes. Everyone loved the shoes though!! CI's brother was the Crocodile Hunter! He even had the whole Aussie accent thing going lol and he had a toy crocodile and when holding it, he'd say in his Aussie accent, "Ain't she a beaut?" It was funny. One guy was dressed up as a matador. He had the best costume there I'd say. He was really nice actually. He's CI's neighbor. We talked quite a bit about Islam and politics in the Middle East, so that was cool. There were some other really good ones too. One guy was just dressed in sweatpants and a shirt and had a real cooking pot on top of his head. He was a pot-head. CI's sister was wonderwoman. Almost everyone had good costumes! Anyway, it was fun! So I'm glad I went!! :)

I just made potatoes for dinner. Everytime I make spicy alloo (potoatos), I end up coughing and sneezing so much from all the spices. It's been like 40 minutes and I still haven't stopped coughing!! God, I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate Arabic. *cry* I dread going to Arabic class everyday. He gives an enormous amount of homework. I don't like the teacher, the class puts me to sleep. And I'm not too fond of learning the language. Maybe if I had a cool teacher for Arabic, it wouldn't be so bad. But I don't know, I just can't wait until this year is overrr and I won't have this dude for Arabic again. Although I still need another year of Arabic after this to fulfill my secondary language requirement. :( Damn. Persian is just so much easier to learn and enjoyable to speak I think. No offense to any Arabs!!! *hijabi*

Blah.

2006-10-27T12:56:00.000-04:00

I really have nothing to blog about. But I'm bored. It's raining and cold outside. I have to work today. Seems like the homework never ends. My Arabic teacher has been giving us tons of homework each night, and now even our Persian prof. And I have so much work for Islam in the Balkans. I need to prepare for an upcoming presentation about an article, plus a paper every other week, and I must start my big research paper, which is due on my birthday next month. Lovely. I'm not sure I'll be able to find enough information for 20 pages. I can sum up Devshirme, the Millet system and the law systems of the Ottoman Empire in about 3 pages. So I really have no idea how I will fill 20 pages. So I'm feeling really blah.

Next semester I'm taking Sufism, Persian and Arabic. Sufism is taught by the same professor who teaches Islam in the Balkans. And I'll have the same prof and teacher for Persian and Arabic, and the classes are all at the same times that they are this semester. So nothing changes. That's a bit sucky. But it's ok. I'm looking forward to Sufism. She said the class might take a trip to the Dearborn, Michigan mosque for Ashura if she can arrange it, so that would be really great for me if that happens, as there is no Shi'a mosque in this city. Although I believe in Indianapolis (an hour away) there is a Shi'a mosque.

Anyone hear of "Keane" ? They have good music. Here's a song of theirs, that was in "Lake House," that I really like... It's a bit "old" now.

Somewhere Only We Know

I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
So why don't we go

This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

Eid Mubarak

2006-10-23T18:59:00.000-04:00

Eid Mubarak to ya'llz. Hope you guys had a great day. :) Or will have if it's tomorrow for you!!

My day was crappy. No hot water again, so I took a shower in very cold water, I don't think I got all the shampoo out of my hair cause it was too cold and I just couldn't bear it!! They say it's fixed now, it better be fixed for good, cause I need hot water!!

Arabic class was cancelled, but Persian was not, but the classroom was quite empty today. I think I stepped on my professor's toes (not literally). There was a discussion about the Persian film "Leila," and then my professor brought up the topic of temporary marriage and said it's legalized prostitution basically. Well, it's not, so I said "I disagree" and went on to explain. He didn't say anything after I gave my explanation, so I don't know, he looked a bit upset that I disagreed with him... I hope he's still nice to me. :( He isn't too fond of the current Iranian regime and even called it "barbaric" today. So I don't know how he felt about me explaining the concept of Mut'a as it's MEANT to be used in Islam. I did add in that it is abused by some people, but that it does have a contract and the husband does have responsibilities, etc. etc. Anywhooo... we'll see. *sigh* I can't have him not liking me!!! Cause Persian is my primary language...

PLEASE pray I have hot water tomorrow and everyday, InshAllah!! God, I just can't take cold showers in the winter time especially *cry* Even in the summer I take hot showers unless it's over 95 degrees farenheit, then I take lukewarm showers. *sigh*

I am going to make pumpkin soup later in the week!! I learned how to make this awesome pumpkin soup from my sister, it's good :D and it's the perfect season for it!! of course, hehe! Oh yeah, a QUESTION. Is my font size too small for you guys? Does it make it difficult to read my blog? Please let me know... Thanks!

No Hot Water = UGH!

2006-10-21T18:30:00.000-04:00

So today totally sucked. Today was my first official day of work. I woke up to find that my apartment had no hot water whatsoever. So I was freaking out, because I didn't want to be late for work! So I called a friend (who lives very close by as well) asking if I may use his shower, and of course he said no. So then he told me I should ask his sister who lives like 20 minutes away, but she didn't pick up the phone. So then I called my apartment complex's office to complain. They said they could have a guy over in 30 minutes to fix it. Time was running out! So I told them I have to work and I can't wait that long. So then they told me I could use the shower in the model apartment (the apartment they show to people who are touring the complex to see what an aparment looks like). So I grabbed whatever I needed and went there in my pajamas to take a shower. How horrible!!! But man, that model apartment is SOOO freaking NICE. My apartment looks so old and like crap compared to the model apartment!! It's sooo nice. Everything is new. My apartment looks like it's from the 1970s!!!

So I got to work on time, I was in the fitting room today for 5 hours. My lower back was killing me from standing for so long. Gotta get used to it. But everyone is super duper nice. I think I will like working there. One of the girls I talked to actually lives in the same complex as me; I explained my morning situation to her. And she actually has one of the remodeled apartments!! So towards the end of my lease, I am going to ask them if there is a re-modeled apartment that I can move into. Cause no matter how much I clean my bathroom, it still looks dirty to me simply cause it's old looking. So I want a nicer apartment!! Especially since I am going to be here for at least 3 years. So InshAllah!!! Pray I get a better apartment people at the end of my lease!!!

Ok, That's all. I have several boardgames and no one to play with. :( So if anyone wants, COME VISIT ME and play boardgames with me!!! Pleaseee!!! *cry*

Oh, and some may wonder why I HAD TO take a shower. Just in case ya'llz don't know, I have OCD and I absolutely cannot go in public without having taken a shower and feeling CLEAN. I never even leave the house without first brushing my teeth (cause if my teeth aren't clean even if the rest of me is, I still feel dirty). So sometimes I end up brushing my teeth upto 4 or 5 times a day (if I am coming and going...). I just have to feel clean!!

Candy Land

2006-10-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, so here I am! I am exhausted!

My sister came on Saturday, so I drove to the airport to pick her up. It's an hour away. We had a good time. It was nice to have company at home. So while I'd be studying, she'd be cooking or playing with Dobby. It was a good change from doing everything by myself! We went to a few restaurants: Casa Blanca (Moroccan), Anatolia (Turkish), Samira's (Afghani). It was nice. We also saw one of the funniest movies ever!! *Little Miss Sunshine* I shall blog about it on Jupie-Vision later. GREAT movie!!! My sister went back to NY on Wednesday. The apartment felt really empty and it still does! Gotta get used to it again.

I also had all my midterm exams, they went well. I am just really exhausted! Had my first day of work today. Didn't actually work, instead spent 3 hours filling out paperwork and watching video after video after video about the job, safety, blah blah blah. My first official day of work is tomorrow!!

My sister and I went to Samira's twice actually, Monday and Wednesday. And then today I went there again with some friends. The waiter totally recognizes me, really nice guy. I felt a bit embarrassed having been there for the 3rd time in one week lol, but I won't be going back for quite a while now!!

Got invited to a Halloween party, but not sure if I want to go. Cause everyone will be dressing up, and I don't really feel like buying a costume, so I dunno, we'll see... Oh yeah, Early Eid Mubarak to ya'llz!! I will probably be in class on Eid. Don't know many Muslims here anyway.

Gotta register for next semester's classes tomorrow. Continuing with Arabic (UGH) and Persian (Yay) and probably a class on Sufism. The professor (who is my professor right now for Islam in the Balkans) studied with a Sufi master for 20+ years, so she really knows her stuff. Sounds interesting. So although I'd like a new professor, I will be having the same three professors again Spring semester, including the Ghanian dude. *sigh* :(

What else?!?! Oh yeah!! I got the board game Parcheesi today!!! I just need people to play with. :( I also got the board game Candy Land. Yes, how childish, I know. But I couldn't resist. It's a collector's versian (cheap though), came in a really cute tin box, and the board game has the original 1950's artwork!! So I gotta find people to play that with me too! lol... Ages 2-6 though :S So I doubt anyone will wanna play!! I'm not sure if I myself will enjoy playing it. The last time I played candy land was when I was a kid, I think!! Memories *sigh* How simple games used to be hehe, just trying to reach the end with no real obstacles in the way.

Ok, I shall stop boring ya'llz to death!! Nothing "intellectual" to post about lol... I'm too exhausted for that. If anyone wants to talk about something intellectual, I can ramble on and on about Conversion to Islam in the Balkans during the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. I can ramble on and on about Evliye Chelebi (a traveller who lived during the 17th century and had a VERY fascinating life), or I can ramble on and on about the cities of Istanbul, Edirne, Salonika and Sarajevo. So if anyone wants to hear about any of the above, just hollar! :P hehe. I might actually post about Evliye Chelebi later. He was such a cool guy!

First Grade Revisited

2006-10-11T16:53:00.000-04:00

So today was one of the most embarrassing days ever! My Arabic teacher (who is a student himself in the department) has been really cranky the past few days. Yesterday he yelled at a few students for various reasons. Normally in class the past few weeks, if he would ask a question, it would be for anyone in the class to answer without any student having to raise his/her hand. But yesterday he asked a question and a student answered, and he got all ticked off at the student for answering cause supposedly he was asking one specific student. He also got angry at two students yesterday for talking (they only talked for a second to ask each other something).

So today he asked a question, but he didn't state anyone's name, so I thought it was for anyone to answer, so I did. Then he got super angry and you could almost see the smoke coming out of his nostrils!! lol... He said "Please," and at first I thought that he wanted me to repeat it, so I repeated the answer. That's when he got seriously ticked off and started talking very sternly to me telling me not to talk again unless I am addressed. And I said "Sorry, I thought you were asking the entire class." And then he said "No, I stated this yesterday, do not talk unless I am talking to you." And he was looking at me with this really mean serious look, so I said sorry again... Gosh, It was just sooo embarrassing! I'm a graduate student and I felt like I was sitting in the 1st grade!! And then after class a few other students told me that they also thought he was talking to the entire class but they were afraid to give the answer cause of what happened yesterday. Eekola. So from now on I am not gonna say anything at all!

I have a job interview tomorrow at Old Navy. Not sure if I wanna work there or not. But knowing my luck, I won't get the job anyway lol, we'll see. Then my sister is coming this Saturday! And I have all my midterm exams next week.

Today I met with my Persian prof, and we were talking about how I should do a joint-Masters degree in NELC (my department) and SPEA (School of Public and Enviornmental Affaires). That way I'd have more career options open to me in NGOs and possibly the UN or government, should I choose not go to for a PhD and settle with a Masters. I am considering it. So next semester I will apply to either SPEA or the Political Science department. Pray for me!! I hope I get accepted...

Saw the movie "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" yesterday. It's a British movie, anyone seen it? It's pretty good! If you liked "The Boondock Saints" then you'll probably like this movie. I still like Boondock Saints better though!

A Quote...

2006-10-07T20:04:00.000-04:00

So last night I went to a "haunted house." To be honest, before going, I thought it would be a real haunted house, meaning a real house that has been reported to have ghost sightings. But it was one of those houses that is full of spiders and webs and people walking around in scary masks and costumes trying to scare you. I was a bit jumpy...I don't know why I get scared or jumpy when I KNOW it's not real, but sometimes you just can't help it! And once you get through the house part, you end up in a maze! It was so dark and we must've gone around in a circle about 4 times before finally finding our way out! But overall it was fun! :)

So today I watched my first football game, Notre Dame vs. I can't remember who. Notre Dame won. It was boring as hell though. European Football (soccer) is SO much better! But I think I actually understand American football now, somewhat. It's still very complicated, but I think I get the gist of it now!

A quote from Curious Infidel:

Islam is Christianity with dynamite.

I was discussing Islam and Jihad with someone, and to try to simplify things I said, "Islam is Christianity with an extra prophet." lol... I was REALLY trying to simplify things. I know that's not entirely accurate, but I just wanted him to realise that we share many of the same prophets, etc. etc. And that's when Curious jumped in and said his quote, which he is quite proud of. Oh, but don't worry, I of course argued against the quote!! *no* What can you expect from him...

Anywho, I gotta do tons of work tomorrow! And my sister will be here in exactly a week! There is so much I still want to do before winter comes, such as visit the zoo!

PS--Ya'llz should go to Dobby's blog and see a picture of an elephant I bought today! I was in the grocery store and saw the elephant! It was a really good deal too. Not as expensive as they usually are. So I bought him! *blush* On the way home he sat in the passenger seat of my car with his seat belt on!

The Boondock Saints!

2006-10-03T21:43:00.000-04:00

So I just posted this on Jupie-Vision, but CI feels it's SUPER important that I should post it here as well, and since it seriously is one of the coolest movies I've ever seen, I shall oblige!

~*~*~*~*~

This has got to be one of the coolest movies I have ever seen--The Boondock Saints, directed by Troy Duffy! It's about these two Irish twins who take the law into their own hands.

The following is the MacManus Family Prayer, which they recite before killing someone:

And shepherds we shall be, For thee, my lord, for thee. Power hath descended forth from thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to thee, And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti.

The following is a quote from towards the end of the movie, which is one of my favourite parts:

Now you will receive us. We do not ask for your poor, or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick. It is your corrupt we claim; it is your evil that will be sought by us. With every breath we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood 'til it rains down from the skies. Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal - these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions. These are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil - we urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. For if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day you will reap it, and we will send you to whatever god you wish.... And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, so that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. And we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti.

I seriously don't want to spoil the plot for anyone, but just the way it's set up is so great and different from other movies. The acting is great, and there are lots of funny parts! Especially the conversation about the rope between Connor and Murphy!

Gotta thank CI for recommending this movie (it's his all time favourite). For anyone who loved the movie "V for Vendetta," you'll definitely love The Boondock Saints without a doubt. It's definitely one of my favourite movies now. I rate it a 5 out of 5 stars (despite the one unnecessary scene!).

The Perfect Jeans!

2006-10-02T18:30:00.000-04:00

I'm very happy because yesterday I found the perfect pair of jeans! The pair that is impossible to find! The pair that fits just perfectly, and is in the exact style and color you want!! As a friend ("Hope") so eloquently put it, "It's easier to find a husband than the perfect pair of jeans." That might actually be true! So I am so happy I finally found them. Yes, this is a very materialistic thing, but seriously, once you find them, years of searching end! Of course one girl's pair of perfect jeans could be a nightmare pair for another girl! But if anyone is curious, I found mine at The Limited. If anyone wants to know the style/fit, I'd be happy to share! Yay!!!

Ok, I better go and do some homework and study!! I just made alloo-keema! hehe. My sister is coming to visit me in less than 2 weeks! So I've been busy planning what we'll do. We're gonna rent a rowboat and go boating one day! It's pretty cheap and the lakes here are gorgeous! So InshAllah the weather will cooperate. Tomorrow my Islam in the Balkans class is taking another field trip to the mosque, but for Iftaar this time lol... Anyway, That's all for now!

Republicans!

2006-09-27T18:56:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I had a job interview, but it was a group interview (I hate those). So the interviewer (an undergrad senior who was really quite immature, which makes me wonder why I was being interviewed by her of all people...) stepped out for a few moments, and I and two other students got into a political debate...

One guy when introducing himself said he is a political science major (undergrad freshman) and hopes to run for president of the US someday. So another guy asked him whether he's a republican or a democrat. Republican, of course, ew. So the other guy started talking about how he disagrees with Bush's policies, etc. etc. I at one point mentioned what an idiot Bush is that he can't even talk properly, to which the republican replies, "Stephen Hawking can't talk either and that man is a genius." The republican compared STEPHEN HAWKING to GEORGE BUSH!!!! LOL! Is he for real? This just goes to prove how incredibly stupid republicans are (no offense to any republicans reading this...). We went on to discuss the first Gulf War, the Iraq War, the UN, etc. etc. It was quite an intense conversation for 3 people who had never even met before. We joked about how we might be on some hidden camera show lol, cause it was just so unusual. There was another girl there who appeared to be quite ditzy (I seem to be quite judgemental today, huh?) and had no idea about anything so didn't say a word. All people should try to be informed about what idiot is running their country...

So anyway, I doubt I'll get called back for a second interview, as I didn't feel like humoring the girl who was interviewing me. I don't know how she got in the position of interviewing people. The world works in funny ways! So I will apply to some other places this weekend.

The other day I got the book "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. It's about a man who has gone through very unfortunate circumstances and ends up working for the travelling circus during the depression era and befriends an elephant (which happens to be my very favourite animal). Got very good reviews. I started reading it and it's quite good so far. I'm also currently reading "Candide" by Voltaire. It caught my eyes when I was in the bookstore last week. It's about a man who believes that all that happens to him happens for a reason and for the best. It's a satire mocking hypocrites in religious institutions and government. Seems pretty good so far. InshAllah I'll be able to finish these two books, as I sometimes end up starting books and don't finish them until a year later because I start reading too many other books inbetween. A very bad habit. I think I am currently in the middle of at least 7 books right now. *hijabi*

I also need to start my research paper, on top of everyday homework/studying. Awfully pressed for time! My sister is coming to visit me in 2 weeks for a few days, so I'll be pretty busy then as well.

The picture above is of the waterfall I saw last week! It was really misty, hence the picture appearing all foggy. [Click on it for a better view.] A few years back I went to a corn maze in autumn. It was the coolest thing EVER! The cornstalks are so high that you can't even look over the edges! It took me about 2 hours to find my way through the maze. This was in New York (state, not the city). So I looked up to see if there are any such mazes in Indiana, and there are! So InshAllah I wanna get some people to go to a corn maze with me! They are just so much fun. Ever since I was little I used to imagine myself going through a real maze... Too bad it's not like the final challenge of the Goblet of Fire from Harry Potter. That is the COOLEST maze ever!! Oh well... I suppose corn mazes are good enough for us muggles! :)

Ramadhan Mubarak!

2006-09-22T18:34:00.000-04:00

So I think tomorrow might be the first day of fasting? I am not too sure actually. Hope you all have a great Ramadhan! May everyone's du'as be answered, InshAllah. This is my first Ramadhan away from home...*sigh*

So yesterday was the NELC (Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) Fall Reception! It was quite nice. They had so much good food! Middle Eastern food of course! I wish I could've taken some of it home with me lol, there was lots of food left over! I ended up sitting with people I already know, so I didn't meet anyone new, which was the purpose of the reception. The chair of the department introduced the new grad students formally to everyone in the room, and while introducing me, he mentioned that I was highly recommended by a graduate school colleague of his! Prof. L!! hehe, I miss him. InshAllah he's doing well! So that was nice! *blush*

Today I went to this one park and did a bit of hiking. Weather wasn't too ideal for it (I felt). Was a bit misty and wet. But I saw a pretty waterfall. CI decided it would be nice if I went to where this one mini "cave" was so he could take a picture for me. There was no railing and you have to stay low while trying to get there because there isn't enough room to stand, and it was slippery due to the rain! I was scared I might fall and die, but I made it and back! Thank God! Pictures came out crappy anyway cause it was too dark, flash obviously wouldn't go that far! Oh well. Saw a lot of deer though! :)

Now I'm hungry. I'm too lazy to cook today. I think I'll go get some pizza. It's been ages since I've had any!! I need to find a good pizza place around here. It's a necessity! Wish me luck!!

Oh, so in TIME Magazine there is an article about Ahmedinejad, and of course it makes reference to his jacket. Why can't people get over his jacket?! Leave the man's sense of style alone, damnit! So there is an interview, and I really like his answers. They are well thought out responses, about Palestine, Nuclear weapons, etc. etc. He believes the US will not use force on Iran. Hmm, let's see. I know quite a few people who are eager for the US to use force... *dry* InshAllah nothing bad will happen. Iran is such a beautiful country and I don't want to see it turn into another Lebanon, God forbid!

I'm gonna go get dinner and watch "Tristan and Isolde." So ciao for now! :)

Tulips in Turkey

2006-09-19T16:29:00.000-04:00

So here's something interesting I learned. Tulips aren't originally from Holland! The Ottomans were the ones who exported them to Europe. They also introduced coffee to Europe and cheap cotton (blue jeans), dyeing techniques, etc. etc.!! Europe (England and France especially) had been trying to figure out ways to compete with the Ottomans' cheap production methods and labor. If it wasn't for the Ottomans, the Europeans might not have made the advances they did in production (machines, etc.)! :)

Not even a month into my first semester as a masters student and I am procrastinating. I had a paper due today which I started at 11pm last night! So I am quite tired today. Well, I finished it, hehe. For Islam in the Balkans, we have a short paper due every other week, plus quizes and exams (midterm and final) and our long research paper and mid-term research paper progress report! Too much. :S Or is this normal? I suppose I should get used to it.

I am absolutely loving my Persian class! I really like the professor. At first I was a bit turned off by his comments about the regime in Iran, but then again, even I don't think it's perfect. Every regime has its problems that it needs to work through. He's a really cool guy, so funny, and really makes me want to learn Persian. And I know I could never fall asleep in his class, even though it's early in the morning everyday! I actually look forward to going to class! Is that dorky? hehe :)

Hmmm what else?! Oh so this week is Persian movie night! On Thursday! There is also another department reception on Thursday before the movie that I'll go to, to meet students and professors and get free food! :)

On Saturday evening CI asked if I wanted to join him and some friends for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I was going to decline at first, as I am a lazy bum and prefer to stay at home and watch tv, but then I was convinced to go as I have no life anyway so figured it might be nice to meet some new people. And I did. I met some new people at dinner. There were friends of his and then friends of his friends. Was a nice change from staying in and being a bum! Then afterwards they wanted to go see some stand-up comedians, and I was going to decline, but was convinced into going! The comedians were hilarious! I hadn't laughed so much in such a long time! So I'm glad I went. Except that this guy who sat next to me (who was completely normal at dinner at the restaurant) was now completely drunk and making me feel veryyy uncomfortable! But CI took care of it! He made him get up and leave me alone!! Thanks CI!! hehe :)

So anyway, I was thinking. What makes a person laugh? I mean the actual physical act of laughing, how does it happen? How come when you find something to be humorous, you laugh? Where is the connection between the sounds you emit and the actual mental thought?? Does this make sense? I suppose I can't word it properly. But I just want to know the biology (or chemistry?) behind laughter! Hmm... Any thoughts Rafi? =D

Oh, I am really quite ticked off about something. I don't know if this only happens to me, or if Hoosiers are actually very laid back and don't care about things. The first GSO meeting I missed wasn't even 50% my fault. The e-mail about the meeting was sent out the night before. So I asked them to send out an email at least 2 days in advance, which is proper etiquette anyway. So I get an email last week saying there is a meeting on Wednesday at 2:30. So I showed up, and I find out that it wasn't "official." Since I had personally asked for advance notice, I was sent an email, but it wasn't made official, hence no meeting. Great. Then last week I had made an appointment with my advisor for Friday at 3:30. I have to go out of my way to get there. Well, she didn't show up. I receive an email from her later in the day--she thought the meeting was at 4, not 3:30 and apologised. Grrr... So I was really quite frustrated about all of this. Now I just received another email TODAY stating that there is a meeting TOMORROW. At least this email wasn't sent out the night before. Let's just hope it's a real meeting and I dont waste my time again! Hoosiers!! GRRR!!!

Whose Song Is This?

2006-09-12T16:47:00.000-04:00

So today in my Islam in the Balkans class we watched an interesting video, Whose Song Is This? There is a beautiful melodic tune that different ethnicities all claim to be their own. The Serbs, Bulgarians, Greeks, Bosnians, Turks, Macedonians and Albanians all claim the song was originally theirs, but the others stole the tune and added their own lyrics to it (the tune has varying lyrics from country to country). In certain areas, the song was actually turned into a military song!

When Ms. Peeva was speaking to the Serbians about the origins of the song, she played the Bosnian version for them, which caused quite a strong negative reaction. She was physically forced out of the restaurant! Everyone held really strong nationalistic pride about the song. Each ethnicity had a history of the origin of the song.

So today I went to Barnes & Noble because my copy of "Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire" arrived. It's so incredibly cool to open up a book, look at the bibliography and see your old professors' name and works listed there! I saw Professor Q's work listed in the bibliography. I miss him. *sigh* He was one of the best professors I ever had.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Have Coffee Hour for Persian in the afternoon, then a GSO meeting (which I can't miss this time), and the first MSU (Muslim Students Union) meeting is tomorrow night, which I want to attend in hopes of making a friend or two! We'll see.

I really hate people right now. In retaliation for Steve Irwin's death, some incredibly stupid humans have been killing/mutilating stingrays. This is not what Irwin would want. He worked his entire life to preserve animals and care for them, to work against animal abuse. These people call themselves fans of Steve Irwin? This is truly despicable. I am appalled by such humans. What other creature on earth starts war, is responsible for massive genocides, kills mercilessly over land? Only humans.

Istanbul...Not Constantinople!

2006-09-08T12:30:00.000-04:00

So last night I went to the Art Museum on campus (which is really nice) for the Coffees of the World event. They had Middle Eastern food, art and music. My Persian prof. was playing some instrument (the name of which I don't know). Was really nice! Met some people, an Iranian girl! But unfortunately she confirmed what I already knew, hardly any Shi'as on campus! Spent most of the time talking to a classmate. I'm really starting to like Bloomington! There is lots more to do here than there was in Binghamton. And campus is absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine that it'll be much more beautiful in autumn. There was a gorgeous full moon last night too and the weather was just perfect.

So I've decided to write my research paper (for my Islam in the Balkans class) about something Ottoman-related. Either the Devshirme or Millet system (or both). This was how the Ottoman Empire kept internal cohesion between the Jews, Muslims and Christians. I'm actually taking the easy way out, as I've already studied Ottoman History. So I wanted to do research about something I am familiar with, rather than start something completely new. Hopefully I'll have enough research for 20 pages!!

I'm also thinking of switching from Arabic to Turkish (and Ottoman, which is incredibly difficult to learn) next year, because I think I'd like to explore the relationship and animosity between the Ottoman and Persian empires and the Ottoman treatment of Shi'as. My professor told me that there hasn't been enough research done on this area, and the Ottoman archives in Turkey must be loaded with useful information. But Ottoman is very difficult to learn, which is why there aren't that many Ottoman historians. I had the fortunate pleasure of being taught by an Ottoman historian last year (he always used to play the song "Istanbul, not Constantinople" in the beginning of every class.) The Ottoman Empire tried to wipe out one of the Sufi orders that was primarily Shi'a as well. Ottoman history is quite fascinating, so I think I might enjoy this more than doing something religion-related. Originally I was planning on learning Persian and Arabic to study the different approaches to Shi'a history (especially the Doctrine of Occultation) between Western Scholars and the Ulema. But it's not as "fun" as studying Ottoman and Persian history, I think. So we'll see! I'll make up my mind after I visit Turkey, InshAllah.

I learned something interesting yesterday. When the Mongols sacked Baghdad, they wanted to give the current caliph an honourable death. And their way of doing this is to roll him up in a rug and roll him down the stairs... Interesting!

I'm gonna go get some bubble tea today, hopefully. I hope it's good as the bubble tea back home! It's been ages since I've had any. Long overdue.

Kitchen Woes!

2006-09-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

So I suppose I've gotten a bit cocky about my cooking abilities. Well, tonight I have been humbled. Well, not really lol...

So I was making chicken-saag (spinach) tonight. I was washing the chicken and cutting off the fat and whatnot, and a whole piece of my chicken fell right down the drain into my garbage disposal! That was the first thing that went wrong. Halal meat is pretty expensive here! Grrr... So I put in the rubber-stopper to prevent anything from falling through again.

So I finished cleaning my chicken and went to pull out the stopper (or whatever it's called) and it was STUCK!! I had put it in the wrong way, and it was really jammed into the sink!! As if it wasn't bad enough that I had a chicken leg or whatever sitting in my pipes down there somewhere, now I had the stopper stuck in the sink! I was majorly freaking out. I didn't want to have to pay a plumber and I didn't want to get in trouble by my landlord! So I tried using a fork and a knife to get it out. And I cut my pinky quite badly. Not a small cut where there is hardly any blood, but a real cut where blood starts gushing out. So I put on a bandaid and went back to trying to get the damn thing out of my sink! To no avail, however. So what does one do when she is absolutely desperate? Call an Infidel to help you! I went online, knowing CI would be there, and after listening to me cry and whine for about 5 minutes, the Infidel came over to take it out. Thank God! So those are the first two things that went wrong.

So finally I started cooking. My spinich wasn't completely thawed however, and the chicken took FOREVER to cook. I have a rice cooker, in which "I" cook my rice! So I put in the rice to be cooked. Well, after a few minutes, I started noticing all these shiny bubbles in the rice cooker! SOAP bubbles!! Apparently the last time I'd washed the rice cooker, I guess I hadn't done that good of a job (but knowing I have OCD, I don't know how this could have been possible), so my rice was being cooked in soap water! AAAH!!! Well, I called mum, asking her what I should do. She said it's probably just a tiny bit, so not to worry about it. So I thought, ok, I am too tired to start over with the rice anyway.

Chicken-Saag was still cooking, and everytime I'd take the lid off the pot to mix it and check up on it, I'd sneeze at least 3 times!! I guess I'd put in too many spices or something! Don't worry, I don't sneeze into my food!! lol...

Well, FINALLY, what seemed like ages later, my food was done!! So I sat down to eat. My rice was not soap-tasting, thank God, and the saag came out pretty good! A bit too spicy, as my mother always makes it, but it tasted just like her saag, so I am quite proud of myself!! From now on I shall be more careful in the kitchen!! Don't want any of this to happen again! Quite exhausting!!

Animals & Time

2006-09-03T10:39:00.000-04:00

So last night I was incredibly bored and awake, so at around 10pm there was this show on *Animal Planet* about Animals and Time: How Animals Tell Time. It was really quite interesting! ALL animals have a sense of time, without even being able to read a clock! hehe :) There is a certain part of the brain that acts as a clock. They showed lots of examples of what type of time animals can tell. Yearly time, interval time, etc. etc. Even domestic animals can tell time.

There was one story about a dog in England who would leave home and go to the train station everyday at the same exact time to wait for his master coming home from work. But one sad day, the dog owner didn't ever make it, as he'd been rushed to the hospital and died. The dog still went to the train station everyday to wait and wait, but his owner never came. So sad. :( Anyone who says animals don't have feelings is obviously very wrong. Grrr... Just like my precious Dobby. He gets so excited to see me when I come home from classes.

Anyhow, I won't bore ya'll with more talk about this. But the show talked about birds, bees, turtles, certain types of bugs that only surface every 13 or 17 years (how amazing is that?), butterflies, barnyard animals! Was quite informative!

So yesterday I went to the Arts&Crafts festival. Didn't buy anything, of course. Saw lots of interesting things though. Saw a man with a really big parrot just perched on his shoulder! Cute! He looked like a pirate almost! lol... Went to a halal Turkish restaurant with CI and his sister. Food was pretty good! I really hope I get into that class and go to Istanbul in Spring!

Today I just have to study, study, study!! And run some errands. And some Iranian girl messaged me out of the blue yesterday and wants to meet me today at the library. So if I can figure out how to get there, I'll go meet her for a while just to say hi and whatnot. We'll see!

T.G.I.F.

2006-09-01T18:02:00.000-04:00

So it's been an incredibly long week! Classes began on Monday.

Persian
The prof. is a really cool guy, for the most part. He loves moving around the classroom, really interacting with the students (we have to sit in a circle everyday), and whatnot. He's a musician. He'll be playing at this event next Thursday night which I'll go too. "Coffees of the World." Thursday is Middle Eastern night, so he'll be playing music with his band and there will be Middle Eastern food, coffee and art! Sounds like fun, so I'll definitely check it out. He's a middle-aged guy, very energetic and small! As a person he's great. His philosophy on life and religion is just to "love everyone." He spends about 5 minutes of every class discussing his political views, though. Some of which I really disagree with. He didn't support the Shah, but he also is really against the current regime, and he called President Ahmedinejad Supidinejad. He also had some not-s0-nice things to say about Ayatollah Khomeini! Eekola. But as a person, really nice, friendly guy! And I know I could never fall asleep in his class. Today we had to vote on which movie we wanna watch in Persian: Chicken Run, Monsters Inc. or Finding Nemo. I voted for Chicken Run as I've never seen it before, but Finding Nemo won!

Arabic
Absolutely dreadful. My grad. advisor put me in "Intensive Arabic," which starts out at the very basics, but supposedly gets really intense and covers 2 years of Arabic in one. I have already taken one year of Arabic, so she figured this would be best for me, although it starts out at the very beginning. So right now the teacher (a grad student) is going over the alphabet, and I literally fall asleep everyday. It's absolutely dreadful. The teacher talks in monotone and I can hardly understand what he says cause of his accent (he's from Ghana), and he speaks in a very low voice. So it's veryyy easy to fall asleep. I know I really won't like this class at all!

Islam in the Balkans
Prof is really cool. She studied with a Sufi master for 20+ years. Not sure if she is Muslim herself. She tells a LOT of anecdotes in class about her travels in the Mid East and Balkans, which are pretty cool and funny. We are taking a field trip to the local mosque on Tuesday lol, and later in the semester we'll take a field trip to a Greek Orthodox Church if we can find one! A LOT of readings for her class and a lot of work, but it seems like it'll be a very interesting semester. Among the books asigned for her class:

The Balkans: A Short History
By Mark Mazower

Being Muslim the Bosnian Way: Identity and Community in a Central Bosnian Village
By Tone Bringa

The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria
By Mary Neuburger

Also a very basic book about Islam by Karen Armstrong (background for the non-Muslim in the class). She also assigns a lot of other readings that I have to print out. I have to write a research paper for the class (15-20 pages) on a topic related to Islam in the Balkans! I have absolutely no idea what I can write about yet. If anyone has ANY ideas at all, I'd greatly appreciate it.

So yesterday was one of the worst days ever. This campus is incredibly HUGE. I have to park at the stadium and take a bus to the student union. Bus ride is about 5-7 minutes. So yesterday I had two classes in Woodburn Hall, then I had a half hour break until my next class. So I wanted to get something to eat, so I went to the union, but the lines were SUPER long, so I didn't get anything at all, and started making my way to Ballentine Hall, which is where my other class was. Instead, I ended up at Franklin Hall which is all the way on the other side of this HUGE campus!!! By then I had 5 minutes to get to class, so I'm running and running and finally make it to BH, but uff, I was sooo exhausted and out of breath. THEN, I thought I had a GSO (Grad. Student Organization) meeting (I'm the secretary). So I went to the office after my class, and found out the meeting was the day BEFORE!! I had missed it. I am seriously so out of it. Well, it's the first week. Hopefully they can forgive me for that!

Tomorrow is an arts/crafts/music/food festival in town, so I'll go to that to check it out. I just did my laundry today. AND I've been cooking food as well. The other day I made mutter pilaou, and two days ago I made alloo-keema. I think tomorrow I will make daal! or maybe chicken korma. We'll see! :) I found a halal meat shop here, so that's great!

And Dobby has been keeping me very busy, and I really don't feel all that lonely with him here. Although I miss mum a LOT. My sister is home for the weekend from med school. This is the very first time that she's at home when I'm not! I'm the one who always used to be there. Very odd and depressing. *sigh* And of course mum cooked her favourite dishes. I wonder if she'll cook my favourite dishes when I go home in December for winter break... I hope so.

Ok, I think I am gonna go to Chili's tonight for dinner with some people. Let's see! I really need to get a part time job!! Ok, I am done babbling about my week. And I'm sure I've bored you all. Eh? Well, if you guys have suggestions for my research paper, please do give them! And PLEASE check out Dobby's blog!! It's been updated, and please post comments about how incredibly cute he is. He's my precious! *wub*

My "Celebrity Look-alikes!"

2006-08-28T20:44:00.000-04:00

There is this cool site that does face recognition, so I did it using a few different pictures! :) Here are my results: (Ya'll should try it too!).

Ms. Secretary!

2006-08-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

So I came back from the graduate reception a while ago. It was fun, I'm glad I went! :) I met some nice interesting people. I met this one guy from Kentucky who is Jordanian, he's pretty cool. Chatted a while with him. Met this one Korean guy from Wash. DC who is Shi'a! He's been Shi'a now for about 5 years I think. So that was pretty cool as well. Spoke with some professors. Talked to the dean of the department, and had some awkward silences, it was quite embarrassing lol, didn't know what to say or how to get out of it! There was good food! Falaffels, hummus, pita bread, bakhlava (which was wayyy too sweet).

There were elections for the Graduate Student Organization of the department. Basically, the GSO has to raise funds for department events among other activities. They work with other departments' GSOs and with the university. So someone nominated me for Secretary, and I won! Yay! So I'll be meeting with the others every two weeks or so to plan things. Figured it'll be a good way to meet people and something good for my resume! So I'm excited about that!

There is a class being offered next semester about Ottoman history, from 1453-present. I actually took a class VERY similar to this last semester. "Middle Eastern History 1453-Present." 1453 was obviously a very important year in Ottoman history! lol... Well, I really want to take the class because for spring break, the class will be taking a 7 day field trip to ISTANBUL!!! I was planning on going to Istanbul in July 2007, but this would be even more perfect, because I'll have classmates to go with, and then I can go to London in July. It will work out well, cause mum won't have to worry about me being in Istanbul alone this way! So I definitely want to take this class next semester InshAllah!

Tomorrow is Dobby's vet appointment. A Pakistani guy who my mum met in April when we were here, Faraz, will show me where my classes are located tomorrow. And I need to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to take care of some business. Will be a very busy day. And I still need to get my textbooks and student ID.

Classes begin Monday. Have Persian Monday-Friday 10-11am, Arabic Monday-Thursday 11:15am-12:30 PM and "Islam in the Balkans" on Tuesdays & Thursdays 1-2:15 PM! So I'll be so busy... I hope Dobby will be ok at home without me during those times. InshAllah!

Bloomington, IN!

2006-08-23T10:47:00.000-04:00

It's been ages since I've updated. I've been pretty homesick and felt too depressed to blog. Well, here I am! Today I'm going to meet my advisor to make my schedule. I haven't even decided for sure what class I want to take, besides Arabic and Farsi. Then tomorrow is the graduate welcome reception, where I can meet new and old students and faculty. But I hope I'm not the only one who will be there! Then on Friday Dobby has a vet appointment. The vet is located on the same road I live on! Not even a minute drive lol... cool, huh?

I miss home so much. *sigh* I have all this responsibility on my own shoulders now. No one to share it with. Bills to pay (rent, cable, electricity), laundry, cooking, cleaning, studying/homework, spending time with Dobby and cleaning up after him. It's a bit much all at once!! I really hope I can manage InshAllah. I miss mum's presence :( It's not the same talking to her on the phone several times a day. I want to be there in person to know how she is and what's going on. I feel so out of the loop, uninformed, and so worried now about her because she is not right in front of my eyes anymore. And she isn't even close enough for me to visit on weekends.

I haven't been updating my blog as often as I hoped I would be. One of the reasons is because of my little shaytan, Dobby. He has to be wherever I am all the time. He follows me everywhere, as a duckling would follow its mum! And it's hard to type because he always sits on my keyboard or at least rests the most part of his body on it. He makes all sorts of windows pop up and god knows what. Little rascal.

Bloomington is a nice town. I live right near all of my favourite places, including BN!!! BN is less than 5 minutes away from me by car. As is the mall and lots of other stores and restaurants and everything I would need! It's great. I love my location.

I was watching the news yesterday, and I saw that many people thought the world would end yesterday for some reason lol, August 22. Because that was the day Ahmedinejad said he would announce his reply to the UN Security Counsil. Lots of weird conspiracy theories out there. I love "The Colbert Report," I think Stephen Colbert is hilarious. But one of his recurring jokes is Ahmedinejad's name and being unable to pronounce it. It's not that hard!!! I am really starting to like Ahmedinejad, how he stands up to the West and Israel. At least someone has the courage to do so. I am so sick of the hypocrisy of the US, Israel and the UN. It's making me sooo angry. I hate feeling so angry and so helpless, unable to do anything about it.

Anyway, I best go get ready, if Dobby lets me. Going to the bathroom is not easy anymore, cause he stands outside of the door going absolutely insane. Oh well... Toodlez for now!

Goodbye New York

2006-08-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

This will be my last blog entry from New York (for some time). Leaving for Indiana tomorrow morning. Won't be online again until on or around the 16th. Move into my apartment on the 15th. Cable guy is coming on the 16th. Will be extremely busy though, so may not be on until the 19th. I'm feeling excited, sad, scared and nervous all at once! I just hope the drive there is safe, InshAllah, and that my parents and little sis come back to NY safely (by plane).

I've been so incredibly busy running last minute errands, packing, etc. I feel as though I've packed up my entire life! :( All my clothes, shoes, trinkets and whatnot. I've packed up most of my books, but it's impossible for me to take all of them with me. There's too many. So I am leaving a lot behind, which makes me sad. I feel like I've packed up too much junk. I tried packing only necessary items, but then I would come across things that I don't need but I don't want to leave behind either. Like I have a collection of different tin boxes, and I don't really need them, but I packed them up anyway. They aren't ugly or anything. I'll take a picture once I get to Indiana. For example, one is a tin that held tea, its got an elephant on it, another is a Peter Pan tin (Big Ben), etc. etc. I've packed up most of my stuffed animals. There aren't a lot, the ones I packed up all have meaning to me. I am taking my pillows. Can't part with them.

I got the book "Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam" yesterday. The topics look so good. I'm anxious to read, but it'll have to wait until a week or two from now. Will make for some very interesting discussion!

Before I leave, I would just like to emphasize the importance of WASHING YOUR HANDS!!!! I was in a public restroom the other day (which I try to avoid at all costs) on campus, and this woman used the restroom and left without washing her hands. That makes me sick to my stomach. THIS is why I use a papertowel/tissue to open doors in public. You have no idea what types of germs are on those doorknobs.

This reminds me of a funny Monk episode I saw this afternoon. Monk (who reminds me a lot of myself) can't swim (something we have in common). Well, he fell into the ocean and was trying to stay afloat, and this floating ring comes by. He hangs on, but lets go immediately after realising it's actually a toilet seat! So he would rather risk drowning than hanging onto a floating toilet seat lol... I'd probably do the same thing as him. Although God knows there must be tons of germs in the ocean, but there is no way in hell I would touch a toilet seat to stay afloat even though I don't know how to swim! Gotta love Monk!

So wish me a safe journey, ya'll! Will blog again from Indiana InshAllah :) Toodlez from New York!

My Weekend...

2006-08-07T17:28:00.000-04:00

So I came back from Manhattan today. Today was hell. But I'll get to that later.

On Saturday, Naaz and I went to Alice's Tea Cup for lunch. It was good, we didn't even have to wait at all for a table! Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and saw the planetarium show "Collisions" which I've seen before, but absolutely love. You really feel like you are in outer space, it's great! This was the first time that I saw the entire museum in one visit. It was pretty exhausting actually lol... Then we went to dinner at an Afghani restaurant Khyber Pass. Really like their food a lot. Then we walked around so much and my feet were killing me. I was dragging around a big heavy bag, which made it much worse. We were gonna go for dessert at this one place, but the wait was 45 minutes long, so we decided to pass on it. We went back to Naaz's place and watched the movie "Closer," which I didn't like much. Very dark; about people who are very messed up. Don't think I'd want to see this movie again. I didn't even like Jude Law in the movie either!

The bag I was dragging around was a very cute little cup and saucer espresso set that was on sale at the Museum of Natural History. The price was really great, so I thought why not. *hijabi* It's so pretty! :) Now I wish I had an espresso or cappuccino machine. :( But that's not happening anytime soon! lol

Oh, I almost forgot! When I arrived in Manhattan, I ended up in the wrong apartment building. So I kept on hitting the wrong button, and I was on the phone with Naaz, and she said she didn't hear any bell. She said she tried buzzing me in, but I heard no buzz. So finally another guy opened the door so I managed to get in. Dragged my bag up 4 flights of stairs and knocked on the door. It wasn't Naaz! I was in the wrong building! I was supposed to be one building over. So I went over to her building and had to go up 4 flights of stairs again. That sucked lol

Sunday we went to Trump Tower. I am a huge Apprentice fan, so I wanted to go there. It was ok. Didn't get to see the boardroom or anything like that, which sucks. Then we went window shopping at Tiffany's and a few other stores. When we were near Times Square, there were a LOT of police cars lined up on the side of the road. Traffic was blocked off for a while. Then on signal, police car after police car would turn on its lights and sirens and start zooming down the road. I think they might've been shooting a scene for some movie! I didn't get a chance to ask anyone though. But it looked really cool to see all those police cars at once like that.

Then we came upon a street where there was a little bazaar fair going on. There was a palm reader. So I thought why not get my palm read just for fun, so I did. Paid $5. The reader kept on saying there is something I really need to know, and for $10 more she'll tell me. But I passed. Anyhow, she said that there is travel in my future (InshAllah) and that I always have good intentions with everyone, but I am misunderstood by people because of my good intentions. Not sure what that means exactly?? She also said I need to stop confiding in people too much. That was absolutely freaky, because I do confide in people way too much. So I shall stop that!! Naaz's reading was very interesting as well lol, but I can't give the details to you all :P Oh! and she also said I wouldn't have any financial problems in the future. I don't know how true that can be, but I hope she's right InshAllah!

Then we went to Planet Hollywood for lunch. Following that, we saw the movie "Pirates of the Carribean" at a theater in Times Square. HUGE movie theater!! We were on the 5th floor. The escalators were so steep too. The movie was really good. Funnier than the first. Absolutely loved it. Gotta love Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. *blush* After that, we just walked around for a bit more then went back to Naaz's place. We ordered in dinner and watched tv.

Today was my bus ride back home. I thought my bus was at 11:05 am. So I left Naaz's apartment at around 10 am to hail a cab. I simply couldn't get a single damn cab to stop for me! I was getting so worried I might miss my bus. Because when you buy a bus ticket, it's not a reservation, so sometimes they run out of seats, so you really need to get there early and wait in line. Well, no cab was stopping for me. Then this black car with tinted windows pulls up next to me. The guy rolls down his window, some middle-aged man who thought he was so damn hot, asking me where I wanna go. I shoo'd him away! I walked up a few blocks and was finally able to get a cab. Well, when I got to the bus station, I realised my bus was actually at 11:45 am!! So I had to wait around for a bit. So I waited and waited. But the line was so freaking long, that the 11:45 bus didn't have room for me anyway. So I had to wait another hour in line until I could get on a bus. It sucked so bad. When I was on the bus, we were stopped at a redlight, and there was a man who looked like he was talking to someone else, but there was no one there! Maybe he was seeing ghosts lol...

Overall, the trip was very enjoyable and I'm glad I got to see Manhattan one last time before leaving for Indiana! Naaz is very good company too and I had tons of fun! :) I'm gonna miss Manhattan! Well, I know it's not the last time I'll be seeing it, but I don't know when the next time will be... Anywhooo, so that was my weekend!

Now a few days left until I leave for Indiana... August 12. :( *sigh*

EDIT:

Take the FOOD ETIQUETTE TEST!!! :) I got a 4 out of 11. Grrr... Got the first 3 right, the next 7 wrong, and the last one right.

Parade of Elephants

2006-08-02T20:03:00.000-04:00

So it's so freaking hot that I am melting. Despite taking an ice cold shower, I am still hot. So after work, I came home, then left to run some errands. I left the house at around 6pm, and as soon as I stepped out, I could smell what seemed to me like elephants. You know that distinct smell elephants have, right? It honestly smelled like a herd of elephants had walked down my street. But then 6 miles away, in the mall parking lot, I again smelled elephants!! I am pretty sure there was no parade of elephants through town, so I'm wondering why this smell is. Could it be because it's so hot???

I bought a book. I shouldn't have. Shame on me. I am still reading "My Name Is Red," "Catch-22" and "The Great Theft." But this book looked so good, I just had to get it. It's historical, actually. "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America." It got excellent reviews. "A dynamic, enveloping book...relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel... [if only all non-fiction books were like that!!]...It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction." --NY Times.

I really should discipline myself and not allow myself to buy a new book until I have finished all the un-read ones I have at home. But I simply can't resist. Am I a shopaholic? or am I a readaholic? I fear it is the former, not the latter. Although I do immensly enjoy reading, but the excitement I get out of buying a new book is greater than the excitement I feel while reading it. But then I am more satisfied once I have finished a book and actually loved it! Anyway, I must promise to myself not to buy any more books until I finish these 4 first!!

I also bought the first season of "I Dream of Jeanie" on DVD. Yes, I am a shopaholic!! :( I remember when I was quite young, around 9 years old or so, I absolutely LOVED "I Dream of Jeanie." While all the kids would be watching cartoons, I would want to watch this show instead lol... I recall being at a babysitter's house one summer. And there were three triplets (they used to live down the street) Jennifer, Ben and Amanda. Well, my sister and them wanted to watch cartoons and I wanted to watch "I Dream of Jeanie." They were nice enough to agree to watch my show and ended up liking it too :D Old TV was so nice, compared to a lot of the crap that comes on today. Well, now I sound like an idiot, cause I am still addicted to tv lol, ok, I take it back! Lots of good shows on today, except they have a lot of crap IN them.

So I was talking to a certain someone who shall remain nameless! And he said that most guys have the impression that I would not cook food for my future husband. *dry* That could not be further from the truth. I LOVE food, and what greater joy is there than cooking something you made with your own hands and savouring it in the end, and feeling proud of what you have made? A way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? So of course I will cook for my husband *dry* Not that I'll enjoy making him rotis all the time (I'm a rice kinda gal), but I would do it simply because I know I have to. I would prefer someone who likes to try new dishes once in a while, because I actually do love experimenting in the kitchen and finding new and tasty recipes. It's seriously so rewarding to have everyone praise what you've made. *blush* I love the praises I get when I cook my world famous strawberry dessert, or my lasagna. I know my husband probably won't even say "thank you," but I know I'll be a damn good cook and it'll keep him loyal to me! lol *hijabi* So the certain person said that most people have the impression that all I want to do is travel and enjoy life. Who doesn't? But that's not how life is. I, like everyone else, have obligations that I will have to fulfill! So if you are reading this, you know who you are, there you go! Now, has your jaw touched the floor yet? lol :P

Ohhh!! So on the way home from the plaza, I was driving, and I saw 10 old fashioned cars in a row on the road!! Each had an elderly man driving it. It was just so cute ^100. Some old people are seriously just so adorable. I wish I had my camera, it would've made a GREAT photo. Too bad. I really love old fashioned cars. I get so excited everytime I see one. Ok, I suppose that is all. Two days of work left! Then off to Manhattan. I hope Naaz remembers I am coming! lol :P Then next week is going to be so hectic. I have an eye appointment, a hair appointment, have to finish packing, go to campus of my undergrad uni to take care of some business, etc. etc.! Gonna be hectic!!

Back to the heat for a moment. I feel like such a wimp. I could never live in the Middle East. I am still wondering how I managed to go to Iran in July two years ago! I remember it was horrible. I feel so bad for the people of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, and all the people in the Middle East who can't afford air conditioning. I am truly spoiled :( Not only do they not have air conditioning, but they have bombs falling on them 24/7. You never appreciate something until it's gone. I am thinking back to when my power went out for 4 days and we had no air conditioning. May Allah (swt) grant health, happiness and peace to the oppressed people of the Middle East, InshAllah! If not in this life, then surely in the next. May justice be served...InshAllah.

A Tiny Bit of Me

2006-08-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Noon and Farsh. So here I go, since I've been requested to do so =P

* Alone, or with people?

Alone at times. I really enjoy driving alone on a gorgeous day, singing along to music and thinking "Isn't life great" on those days. There are other times that I don't mind solitude either, but I am also a people person and like being around people who are fun to be around. I love playing games with a whole bunch of people!! That's so much fun! :) Boardgames, or badminton, whatever! Love sitting at a tea shop in great company and having good conversation.

* Summer, or winter?

Summer, I suppose. Although I always love the first snow of winter. After that, it sucks. I do like wearing layered clothing at times. But the season I prefer most out of all is AUTUMN. I am an autumn baby and I love the crisp air, and it's cool but not too cool and warm but not too warm, I love seeing the beautiful foliage, and I love being able to go out with just a shirt and a light sweater, no coat required. I just love the feeling of autumn. Best season ever! :) And I mean a TRUE autumn. Not a freaky one where it's too hot like summer or where it's snowing!

* Black, or white?

Black! I love the look that artists have who wear all black. Think it looks cool. Black goes with anything! And I bought a really pretty back dress a few weeks back *blush* I absolutely love it, I just have no where to wear it to! lol

* Observe, or get along from the very first moment

Same as what Farsh said, "content to observe, but eager to socialise." I won't get along right away with everyone, however. It depends on the person. But I don't mind socialising of course. If I'm at a desi party, I will most likely just observe, unless I see someone similar to myself who would like to talk about something other than bollywood and whatnot.

* Clown, or Drama (Queen/King)?

Used to be a major clown when I was little, but a well behaved one! Now I'm a drama queen :P

* A Hummer, or A BMW convertible car

BMW. A friend of mine has a really nice one. I remember when I sat in it, I was like wow, this is nice! lol... only twice, sadly! I also don't know how to drive stick shift, so will need to learn if I ever am able to afford a BMW, which I highly doubt...

By the way, I think hummers are sooo freaking UGLY!!!! Why would anyone in their right mind buy that car??? What a waste of money, gas, metal (and all the other materials it was made out of)!! a waste of space on the road too *dry* Grrrr

* Loyal or………

Loyal, of course. I am loyal to others and hope and expect loyalty in return from those whom I am loyal to. I try to live by the golden rule, "Do unto others as you'd have done unto you." Of course you'll get walked over by people many times... But you continue to live by the rule naviely hoping that someone out there does too...

* Favorite Material Posession....

I have a few. I love all of my HP material possessions, simply because they make me happy lol Then I have these gold bangles I bought from Iran, a friend helped me pick them out in Iran (well, I should say "friend" as it's been 2 years since I've talked to this person lol... but it was sweet of the person to help me pick them out), my cameras. I love photography and I love my cameras! I love some of my clothes very much, I would not know what to do if they get so worn out that I can't wear them anymore! :( My pillow. I am extremely picky. If going on a weekend trip, I must take my pillow with me. I really can't part with my pillow.

* When I look at someone, the first thing I see is....

I guess their face? lol... I really don't know, hmm. I suppose the person's eyes, because I always try to make eye contact, as that's important in america. Also, the way the person is dressed! Sort of hard to miss that.

* My life is....

Not perfect. Could use a bit of improvement. But I do have much to be grateful for still.

I would like to tag the following (if they have not yet been tagged already): Karchite, Ibrahim, Khadija, Peace, Rafi (If you don't have a blog, you can answer these q's in the comments section :D), Ali Imran, and whoever else feels like answering the q's!! :D

Froggy Prince

2006-07-30T15:21:00.000-04:00

So I spent the weekend at my sister's place. She lives in Rochester, 2.5 hours away from here. I really prefer that city over Binghamton. There is so much to do there, many nice restaurants and places to hang out. Had quite a bit of fun! On Friday night we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner, then did a bit of shopping, then headed over to this one plaza for dessert at night, it was really quite nice. The weather was just beautiful at night. Lots of nice places outside to relax and eat ice cream and whatnot. We saw two frogs! One started hopping directly towards me so I shrieked and jumped away myself. It wasn't a huge frog, but he wasn't all that small either! I swear, he was staring at me before he started jumping right towards me.

The following day we ate breakfast at a really cool bagel joint, then headed over to this really big mall. Did tons of walking! Then for dinner we went to this really good Indian restaurant, "Thali of India," which means "Plate of India" I think! Very good food. In the evening we went to Barnes & Noble. I swear, all the stores we have in Binghamton are sooo much nicer in Rochester! They are always so much bigger and more aesthetically pleasing and whatnot. So I've been to BN in a few cities, here and there, some of which are just blah. But the one in Rochester is seriously the best BN I've come across. Not only is it much bigger than the one we have, but it has good vibes too and the perfect atmosphere! I wish I could've stayed there for a few hours, but it was late and mum was tired, so we only stayed for an hour or so.

At the mall, I bought the complete 4th season of "Will & Grace" on dvd. The 5th season is actually my favourite, but I accidentally bought the 4th. Oh well. I love "Will & Grace." I always wish I had my own Will. *blush* I can't wait to watch these dvds with my future cat in Indiana. Oh, and I bought a really cute shirt that says "Waiting for my prince charming" and there is a picture of a cute frog with a crown on his head. hehe

I told mum I am going to Istanbul next summer, InshAllah! I was doing some research online and found quite a few really nice cheap hostels in central Istanbul! The "Teach English in Istanbul" program is for a minimum of 10 months, but I can't stay there for that long! So I decided I can just visit and stay in a hostel, so it'll be cheap and doable, InshAllah. I always keep a travel journal when I go somewhere. So I was checking out the journals at BN, just daydreaming, and I saw one that I liked and I said I'll buy that before I go to Istanbul, well, mum bought it for me last night. Very sweet of her, hehe. And she's really warmed up to the idea of me having a cat. If it's a boy, his name shall be Mr. Darcy! Then on the way home today I asked if I have any relatives in any Arab countries. I have a relative in Dubai and in Saudi Arabia. So InshAllah I will also try to go to Dubai for a week as well next summer, if I save up enough money! Would be nice as I've never been there. So we shall see!

~*~*~

My sister is on a listserve through which all the med students can send out an email to all the other students. Well, she received an email from a Jewish girl saying "Show your support for the brave Israeli soldiers and send them boxes of chocolate candy bars!" Well, my sister isn't the type to get politcally involved. The listserve is only supposed to be for medical school-related discussions, not politically charged emails. But luckily this one other Shi'a boy sent out an email in reply to hers. It was very nicely written, stating that the listserve is not for this purpose, etc. etc. Then another boy replied to his email saying it's America and "our brave soldiers fight for our freedom of speech" and a whole bunch of other absurd crap. Then he wrote "If you want to send out an email for the Hezbullah soldiers, you can do that as well." Yeah, right. America is not so free that a student could send out an email for the brave Hezbullah soldiers and not get a ton of replies attacking him for that in return. Ugh. Makes me so mad.

I am just so damn sick of Israel and Zionism. Just because they think that they are the "chosen people" doesn't mean the rest of the world does. And just because they think Israel was promised to them doesn't mean the rest of the world has to believe in it too. Although the way that Israel is getting away with its terrorism against Lebanon, you would think that the rest of the world is on their side. Ugh. I am so utterly sickened by Israel and the world sitting by not stopping this. And I am even more sickened by the UN threatening sanctions on Iran unless it stops its Uranian Enrichment. Of course damn Israel and the US can have nuclear weapons (among many other countries), but God forbid Iran have any. I am just so sick of this hypocrisy!!! What kind of a world do we live in? I feel so helpless. What can we do to change the state of things? I hate sitting at home not being able to make the slightest difference whatsoever while people are dying everyday in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, etc. *sigh* What to do. :(

*WaWa's World!*

I've Moved...

Long Live Palestine

Animal Abuse

Black Friday Birthday

Exhausted !

It's Been Too Long...

Summer 2008!

Still in Purgatory

Hello, 2008.

Day from Hell !

Must Become a Vegetarian

Happy Birthday...

To Anonymous

Why People Suck

Save the Polar Bears!!!

Please Moisturize!!!

A Bit Obsessed...

Mr. LeFroy

Vices

Mysterious Gorilla Deaths

Counterfeit Drugs

Cyanide & Happiness Cartoon

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter Predictions!

'appy 4th of July?

Flip Flops!

Blood Diamonds

Going Home

5 Favourite Places to Eat

SanFran Photos

Random Venting (I)

Felicity's Visit

San Francisco

Do You Rinse?

Hello, Blog!

Moi

Iraq / Istrabadi

Death to Animal Abusers!!!! Iran Zindabad!!!

Nowruz Mubarak

Lanat on the Taliban

Choo-Choo

'Ello

Places I Want to See

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

An Inconvenient Truth

My Poor Knees

Happy Gregorian New Year!

Saddam is Dead.

Happy Festivus!!!

Airport Woes

Going Home!

Almost Festivus!

One Movie...

Computer Games... recommendations?

One Book...

The Big 2-4.

Turkey Day!!

RasMalai

Saddam Hussein--Capital Punishment

Sticky Toffee Pudding!!

Help!! Research Ideas...

Oops...Time Change!!

Blah.

Eid Mubarak

No Hot Water = UGH!

Candy Land

First Grade Revisited

A Quote...

The Boondock Saints!

The Perfect Jeans!

Republicans!

Ramadhan Mubarak!

Tulips in Turkey

Whose Song Is This?

Istanbul...Not Constantinople!

Kitchen Woes!

Animals & Time

T.G.I.F.

My "Celebrity Look-alikes!"

WaWa's World!