Missing Streams

Hella annoying

2012-01-23T22:16:00.001-05:00

I love meeting new people, making new friends, learning new ideas and discussing new things. Despite all that I am very naive and too trusting and sometimes its the friends that you've had for years are the ones who let you down more than others. and it's annoying as hell.
I hope all you wonderful online people are doing well, go get some sunshine from time to time. I'm gonna go back to my previous state of MIA :)

2012 the year of doom

2012-01-01T14:38:00.002-05:00

Ultimate destruction is our fate. Woohoo! now that i have your undivided attention i would like to wish bloggers sitting in-front of their computer screens, a life full of meaningful blogging. One where your posts always turn out funny and witty and the people they know in real life vs. those they know on the online realm don't mix. Unless that's your thing of course. Internet connections all around, Cheers!

I checked on last years post for New Years and while i didn't dance in no rain or have a fire going in my backyard this time around, i did watch like 10 episodes of The Big Bang Theory and theorized about the downhill spiral in which the United States is heading with the passing of their Bill which grants indefinite detention to anyone on US soil, without the tedious need to present any evidence. How lovely!

So if i may, I think I'll actually write down some resolutions this year

1- Get into law school
2- work on a humanitarian project and actually help my country
3- memorize till Al-Mu2minun
4- Actually be open-minded about people who want to propose

Simple enough? let's do this! :D

Will not model for food.

2011-10-23T15:22:00.000-04:00

I'm seeing a trend here, I mostly write when I'm super busy. I have a million things to do and then I'm like, "wait, i have a blog don't i?"
because logically that's what you do.
Hey, at least i have a cover page of one of my papers done. Check.

so the other day i had a photoshoot which was super exciting and interesting. I never thought modelling actually required talent, like wahhh? i know! Things which i have no innate skill at, not to mention that it's tiring as hell. Change into this, go over there, stand like that. I have trouble taking orders from people Ok! I haven't gotten all the photos back yet so I'm not sure how they turned out but I'm ubber excited.

So here's a sneak peak.

Other than that it's mostly school, school, school, work, meeting, school, work.

Personal checklist:

- Essay Proposal

- Prepare discussion questions for meeting

- Conference lecture outline on Egyptian Revolution

- Book hall for event

- recruit people for flash mob

- Cover letter and Resume

- Breathe

Things that make me happy

2011-10-15T16:30:00.001-04:00

Many times we feel that if we have this or that we will be happy. We have a whole list of things which if we accumulate will no doubt make us the happiest people alive. In that rush of materialistic daze, we forget about the small things, tiny in that matter, but which make us the happiest of all.

It puts a smile on my face to be walking and to see a random person smile to themselves and then I'm walking around smiling to myself as well.

The other day while walking an old couple were walking as well, all of a sudden the husband stopped, bent down and kissed the top of her head and then continued walking next to her. I melted.

While at the mall a couple of weeks back, i saw a little boy no more than 5 walking with his mom, he looked at me winked, and did the whole pointing/guns hand move, clicking his tongue at the same time and continued on ass if nothing had happened. It made my day!

While enjoying the October Sun at school, one of the school workers mowing the lawn turned to me and said
" beautiful day ain't it, enjoy it!"

Maybe I'm one those people who are just so easily pleased and amused, but i take it that most people are. Give it a try and smile or say something nice to the next person you see. It might make their day.

What I'm currently doing

2011-10-11T18:53:00.003-04:00

Sitting at a table in the school library trying to write philosophically about Plato's Republic and the concept of the Philosopher king.
Sweating it out because despite the 100 degrees weather our school decides that they want to turn the heat on. Good one you guys!
Attempting to stay awake because i somehow thought it was a good idea not to sleep after an all-nighter.
Drinking my Ice Cap and wanting to go pee but too lazy to actually get up.
What might you be doing on this lovely evening?

Things to do on an Airplane

2011-09-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

1. Remove your laptop from a bag.
2. Open the laptop slowly and carefully.
3. Turn it on.
4. Ensure the passenger next to you is watching.
5. Connect to the Internet
6. Close your eyes for a brief moment, open them again, turn your gaze upwards to the sky as if in a prayer.
7. Take a deep breath and open this site: http://www.myit-media.de/the_end.html
8. Turn and observe the facial expression of your neighbour.

Can't, Stop, Laughing! Lol

هذا أيضا سيمر

2011-09-27T23:52:00.000-04:00

This too shall pass. I go through these phases where everything i am doing at that particular moment, whether good or bad, all i can think in my mind is this too shall pass. or this is just a moment and then it's gone. It's such an odd combination of sadness and comfort squashed into two. In a way you feel helpless, trying to hold on to a moment which you know will only remain in the form of a memory but at the same time when you're going through a tough time you can't help but take a deep breath and think in relief, "well, this too shall pass."

When religion doesn't cut it

2011-09-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

There are moments when you become literally speechless because of how shocked you are. I shouldn't have been shocked, I shoulda seen it coming. but that's what we do, stay in denial as long as we possibly could until it's thrown directly in our face and telling us "OK LOOK!" and then we have no other option but to do just that.

One of my closest friends, who i consider to be technically my sister was skyping with me the other day and the topic came to how much we've changed these past couple of years and she decided to tell me that she's agnostic. To her, religion wasn't something she thought of as rational and all the rules and regulations are probably pointless to a lord who loves us all regardless probably could care less. There could be many different paths and she could not fathom the whole inclusion and exclusion process. Knowing that we are very similar I respect her questioning process, not so much the illogical arguments. Like her i am not the type of person to take something to be just that because i was told it was so, or that authority claimed it to be. I have been through my own period of questioning but the outcome and reality i came to was totally different than hers. Which is why i wasn't sure where to start with her or how to proceed on such a delicate topic. I feel though that speaking to each other after so long and actually opening up about how our religious beliefs as a whole have changed has made us hopefully more open to discussion.

Not for a state of Palestine

2011-09-25T22:57:00.000-04:00

One of my best friends moved back to Palestine recently, with all that's been going on about Palestine going to the UN to be voted in as an official state i spoke with her to get an idea of how Palestinians were dealing with the idea. At first, i was very much for the idea but then through talking to people and doing a little more in-depth research it looked to me as if a Palestinian state isn't actually in the interests of Palestinians.

Before i get jumped on as anti-Palestinian here's what's going on. In the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinians have no actual economy, the items actually used by them are mostly all made in Israel. So say there is a Palestinian state how is it to thrive with no apparent economy? Secondly, establishing a Palestinian state what does that actually change? considering that during this whole time the UN has recognized that Israel has had several sanctions placed against it but has anything actually changed. There is nothing binding about these sanctions so why would Israel comply!

Anyways that is the short synopsis on what I've got to say about the matter, maybe not what people would automatically think is a pro-Palestine stance but nonetheless, it is my approach to it.

2011-09-07T13:23:00.000-04:00

"Was I disrespectful to Obama for saying that he didn’t say anything when the Israeli military bombed Gaza for seven days and killed 900 innocent civilians? ‘Cause he didn’t. So that’s not disrespectful. To say I didn’t vote for him, that’s not disrespectful either — that’s exercising my right to not cast a ballot for a system that I don’t necessarily believe in. It’s more of a corrective critique as opposed to me just trying to be an asshole. I didn’t believe that he had the power to change the system, which is what needs to happen. I don’t look at the color and I don’t look at the historical significance. Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you’re going to save the world. There are no superhuman qualities about us; we’re all human, able to make mistakes and be hypocrites, [and] also at the same time do great things."

Lupe’s answer when told that on “Words I Never Said” was pegged as disrespectful due to his criticism on Barack Obama.

I respect this man.

Holding onto these last moments of summer

2011-09-07T13:20:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of days ago and before we head back to school, the family decided to take a beach trip. So as everyone was heading the other way because of Hurricane Irene we were going in the other direction. You know, just typical family outing. Surprisingly though when we got there there were a couple of other families there as well. I hoped it would be emptier. All the same, it was great. beautiful sunrays, and the beach is great no matter what.

we go for the birds

Wahhh!..that's my fishing face, don't judge.

heading home <3

On Children

2011-09-07T00:42:00.003-04:00

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

Kahlil Gibran (excerpt from On Children)

under some neon lights

2011-09-07T00:41:00.000-04:00

I'm just sitting here in the registers Office at school waiting for my brother to get everything cleared up so he can get registerd for university. I'm actually excited to get started and so glad to be back in town. Oh home sweet home. I already have my resolutions all planned out and like every year i expect half of them to go unfullfilled, but at least i try, no!

Inshallah may this coming year be full of awesomeness and happy adventures for everyone!

Study hard ya'll

The monsters inside your head

2011-09-02T17:30:00.000-04:00

Beware that when you fight the monsters you do not become one of them.

Mission Statement

2011-09-02T12:06:00.001-04:00

I vow to be a servant of God, one who always tries and takes a step forward in her life and through her seeking of knowledge.
I promise to be a student of life, one who learns from her mistakes and leaves the past for that.
One who always takes hold of an opportunity when it hits.
I will try and leave the judging of others up to God and worry about how i portray my actions first and foremost.
I will do my best but i will also realize and come to terms with the fact that some things are not in my hands to change, and others, that if God hadn't answered my prayers for them, it was for the better.
I will not stand silent to injustice and oppression.
I will stand for the truth even if my voice shakes doing it.
I will count my blessings and honor the people who love me.
First and foremost, i will not simply exist but i will live, breathe and inhale the beauty of life which God has in his generosity granted me.

02/09/11

Home grown Country Fun

2011-08-30T19:21:00.000-04:00

We all know how God works in wondrous( is that a word?) ways yet we still manage to forget that and get ourselves in a tangle worrying about what hasn't been. Only to look back later and tell ourselves, "that's the only way i woulda had it."

and oh! some Eid goodness.

Yea, they do call me Mr. Handsome.

and then i got real mad.

Popcorn!

It takes skills to be a swordfighter, but even more to be a cotton candy fighter

What Muslim art looks like

When you gotta read a book, It doesn't matter if you're in the bouncy castle . You DO IT!

Eid Mubarak

2011-08-29T23:50:00.002-04:00

EID MUBARAK TO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE YOU! <3

Thank God i have Cereal

2011-08-25T23:59:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since i've been on blogger, i miss writing but somewhat not. Ramadan is ending this is crazy!!
SO much has been going on but when you don't have the will to write anymore it's not in you to go and write all about it. I'm thinking of starting a tumblr but i know that it will probably end like this blog...neglected :(
awww pity! poor blog, all lonely like.
I almost feel guilty, i shall go and eat me some cereal!

You gotta love the people in my town

2011-06-25T15:05:00.002-04:00

and he does this on a regular basis..

As for me, I'm riding a camel

2011-06-14T13:08:00.000-04:00

I'm done with school, and studying for the LSAT and God does it feel weird! It's been so long since i've actually had anytime just to myself to actually hang out with my friends, go for ice cream and take it easy. Alhmdllah, loving it! hope it lasts. I've been realllly wanting to go to Egypt except for the fact that i don't want to be stuck at home, especially with my dad's side of the family i know how these trips end up, with me coming home dami ma7roo2 ( my blood boiling) and since my whole family is in Cairo, and my friends will mostly be touring around Egypt, there goes any chance of me going with my friends anywhere like Luxor or Aswan. wish my brother would go with me! yaaa so i'll first have to figure out this little dilema of mine and then go from there. How's summer for everyone? or depending on what side of the world your on, Winter????

Fish Tragedy

2011-06-01T09:44:00.000-04:00

My little brother the other day won a little goldfish and he was ecstatic. He called it Susu and put it in our pond that's in the backyard. Sadly, that was short-lived.

Little Brother: wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Mama: Ehhh, fe ehhh? (What's wronggg?)

LB: Susuuuu died (wahhhhhh)

Mama: It's ok I'll get you another one, don't cry!

LB: but i loved Susuuuuuuu

Mama: We all die at the end, it's okk

LB: but Susu was soo young. Like only a few days old. WHYYYY DID HE HAVE TO DIE!!!

Mama .......

LB: Does that mean on the day of Judgement he'll turn to dust?? I'll never see him again ahhhhhh

Mama: no no, you can ask to see him again then. I'll just get you a new one!!

Waking up on the wrong side of the road

2011-05-24T01:49:00.000-04:00

You know when you're sleeping in the car and then you wake up and the first thing you see is this?

Ultimate freakout for that milisecond you think your gonna die!

and then of course next thing you do is take a pic and blog about it

Earplugs cut out the noise

2011-05-22T20:08:00.000-04:00

So i have my LSAT (Law School Admission Test) coming up in June and although I've been studying and taking practice tests my scores are crap. I honestly don't feel like studying anymore, my mom blames it on me telling everyone that I'm taking it soon, i guess the typical Arab thing to do. Blame it on the evil eye lol.
I can't believe that I'm going into my fourth year of school. It feels like yesterday that i was an incoming Freshman to University, how time flies.

Alhmdllah, despite everything this year has been a blessing from God. I had the chance to learn new things, meet new amazing people, grow friendships, and be witness to major and sweeping change. and for that i am happy! I should apologize though for not updating ~~at all~~ much, but you know sometimes you get those writing, apathetic, lazy blues. Whatever you wanna call them.

Let's just say in those past couple of month I've been doing some self searching, growing and learning. ( I also taught myself how to make sushi!!) which is probably the most important thing here. wooooot

life has its ways

2011-05-08T01:31:00.002-04:00

It has been over a month, i should really update this space here. but for now...sleeeeeeeeep calls my name

life goes on

2011-04-03T00:05:00.000-04:00

ya i realize the time lapse since the last time i wrote here. Sometimes i would bring up blogger and open the page to write and then close it again without having written anything. I don't know if its that i don't have anything to write or that i don't know how to word it. Honestly though, i'm not sure how i feel about having a blog where my friends now know what i'm writing. It isn't something where i just write and not care about the world thinking what they do since i'm just a faceless person behind a computer screen, now its different.
School's the same lots of things to do but its the same old same old.

Life is what you make of it

2011-03-01T14:36:00.000-05:00

It's been a while eh! I've been busy with what's been going on in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and all the other middle eastern countries. We've been organizing protests here and doing press releases. I'm praying that things change to the better because some of these leaders are pretty insane #Ghadaffi.
I've been wanting to drop everything and go to Egypt so bad but i know how realistic that is. Hopefully in the summer inshallah.

So just right now i'm sitting here at one of the computers at school which isn't such a good idea considering i just got one of my wisdom teeth pulled out. Friends come up to talk to me and i have to show them a ...sign?! lol. we do not appreciate the things we have enough, and only know their worth when we don't have them anymore.

وسقط اخر فراعنة مصر توت عنخ حسون

2011-02-12T11:23:00.000-05:00

I am beyond proud to be Egyptian. Thank you God that i was able to live and witness this moment go down in history. May this be a beginning for greatness, peace and standing up for justice in all corners of the world. Now we know, when we think of those around us instead of thinking of only ourselves, what we can become.

And to God we return

2011-02-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I've been missing in updating my 30 day photo challenge. Yesterday i got a call that my friend's dad has passed away. I was shocked since i had just seen him 3 days ago, and my friend, i had just seen her this morning as she creeped up behind me to scare me. In a split second everything could change, my heart goes out to her, i stayed with her as she went to tell them in the hospital that her family didn't want an autopsy, at that moment i thought her the bravest person in the world. I honestly cannot describe how i was shaken to the core, all i wanted to do was find my own dad and wrap him in a huge bear hug. May God give her and her family patience and pass this time on us with ease. Inshallah i will resume updating the posts but please give us some time. Salams

Day Twenty-Four...i wish i could change..

2011-02-07T00:18:00.000-05:00

people. I'm not sure if i want to change the way people interact with each other, or if i want to be able to control people's minds. I've almost come to the conclusion that Humanity is dead, compassion, and mercy are gone with wind too. I wish people would start acting each other as human beings, not as something that is lesser than they are.

This video says more than enough about cruelty that is rampent, it makes me wonder...

Day Twenty-three...Favorite Book

2011-02-05T23:46:00.000-05:00

I'm not even gonna go on about how unfair it is too choose only one book, now the rest feel left out.

This book is about a girl who has a gift, of making the characters actually step out of the books when she reads. My ultimate fantasy!

We get it, it's an African thing

2011-02-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

I might have been ~~shouting~~ speaking on the phone a bit too loudly, talking in Arabic and telling my friend anti-Mubarak/pro-freedom slogans which she could put on signs for the protest we were heading to. Now to think of it, it was probably not a pleasant experience for the girl sitting at the desk next to me. Anyhow, i finish the phone call to get into the following conversation

Random Guy: how are things looking in Egypt?
Me: the same, people still in the streets, Mubarak still president
RG: that's crazy, he just won't budge
Me: ya, 30 years and he thinks he's going to change things now
RG: May God be with them
Me: Ameen, where are you from?
RG: Tunisia
Me: and congratulations to you guys!

Day Twenty-Two...I wish i was better at

2011-02-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

My writing. Sometimes you have all these emotions welled up inside you and you hear someone say something that screams out THATS WHAT I"M FEELING!!! I wish i could break-down my feelings like that, write my emotions out on paper, do it with eloquence, have someone read it and say " this couldn't have been said any better" I wish i had writing that explained life, its ins, outs, and everything in between. I wish i had writing that opened your imagination into the unimaginable and made you see things that are only seen in dreams. I wish my writing made words come alive on the page ...literally. I want to Inspire!

Day Twenty-One...i'de like to forget

2011-02-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

Not just forget, i wish i could erase this part of my past. The couple of years i lived in North Carolina were not my best, sometimes i wish i could forget it all. Remove the memories as if cleaning up a hard drive. But at times i thank God Almighty because only when i look at that situation do i remember that Allah does everything with a reason and that he knows what's best. The place in which i'm living right now i used to hate before moving there, I used to tell my mom that I'd rather die than move here and then when i moved to North Carolina i would have rather moved anywhere than stay there. So when i did end up moving here i was grateful Alhmdllah.

would you?

Day Twenty...and i'd like to travel to...

2011-02-02T13:13:00.000-05:00

these posts make me take very hard choices.

I'm a traveler, i love to travel and it's not easy to just pick one place. can i pick a couple? pweeze?

I'd love to go to Spain. Part of my ancestry goes back to Spain. The story goes that When Islam came to Spain they became Muslim but when King Ferdinand(sp?) and Queen Isabella kicked the Muslims and the Jews out they fled to...Egypt! families met, a few generations later after the unity of Spain and Turkey we get me! and there i was thinking Cleopatra was my great great great greaaaaat something.

so naturallly....

I also want to visit Turkey.

oh and Greece has been my first travel to place on my list since i was a weeee little kid, I've always imagined myself walking around barefoot in a white dress around these houses

p.s I will not mention Italy, Scotland, UK, Malaysia, Sri lanka, South Korea, or Japan :)

Day nineteen...a picture and letter

2011-02-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Hosny Mubarak

I've spoken so many words against your injustices, your oppression that it hardly needs mentioning anymore, not that it really needed mentioning in the first place. Your actions spoke louder than your words. I'll be first to admit, i felt bad for you during the speech you gave about how you were the country's military hero, how you served it and its people, because yes maybe at one point before all this you were something. but you can only blame yourself for what has happened, for where you are now. The chants of people on the streets, the derogatory name calling that they call you. Yes, it's not so respectful of someone your age but again did you consider that when old women cried themselves to sleep because of worry about where their sons were because you wisked them off the streets and no one heard a word about where they were. Did you consider that when your brutal police forces cold bloodedly murder Khalid Saed and made his face nearly unidentifiable. Did you for a moment consider how his mother felt when they came to her and told her that her son, was dead. or the many others really. Imagine Mr. President, how you would have felt if that was YOUR son. Did you consider the ones that were thrown off police station roofs and said to have committed suicide. The millions who live in cardboard boxes rain or shine while you sold Egyptian Gas for under 10 cents to Israel, why? Were you working for the people's best interests then? Were you working for their best interests when youth graduated from Medical school and then had to put a piece of cloth on the sidewalk and sell used books in order to make a living, because the possibility of finding a job was next to nothing. Or were you working in their interests when the Education system became so unbelievably hard yet fail to teach anything that many had to start tutoring in all subjects at the first grade? When many could not afford to pay for that and it was either starve the family or have the child pass. What did it matter to you anyways, they were one among the millions of the same situation.

I write those words as my heart aches and my tears flow. Yet I sitting here compare nothing to the millions who have to day in and day out live with the consequences of your rule. The prayers of an oppressed person never go unanswered, and you Mr. president have many prayers against you.

Day Eighteen...biggest insecurity

2011-01-31T18:35:00.000-05:00

Oh wow this one's gonna feel like I'm pouring my heart out, like I'm talking to a psychiatrist about my deep dark secrets.

Here goes, my dear Internet friends, but mind you keep it on the down low.

I'd say my deepest insecurity is dying not on the right path. Everyday, during our prayers there is a line that we say and it's "guide us to the right path." Many times i just say it systematically and methodically, not much thought going into it. I'm really not the all out uprightness person, I've got my share of sins, but for me this happens to be my biggest insecurity. It's easier said than done that "oh the right path is clear from the wrong one" "Just read and you will be filled with knowledge" Bull! I couldn't disagree more, but then i guess that's whats always keeping us on our toes, right?

Day Seventeen...Something which has mad a huge impact on my life recently.

2011-01-30T21:15:00.000-05:00

As an Egyptian I've grown up passing day in and day out Masjid of Imam Al-Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad. I knew who he was and his position in Islam, i passed by the Mosque many times, maybe entered it once or twice. I knew that he had been killed, and that his head lay in that mosque. Why or how i never did care to find out.
About two years ago there was a lecture that i stepped into with a friend, the lecture was about the Battle of Karbala and Imam Hussein's role within it. I think that event was the domino that pushed the chain effect of me picking up books, reading and educating myself. What took place in Karbala is a humanitarian lesson for everyone, not just for Muslims. Imam Hussein symbolizes the stand against oppression, and the ultimate sacrifice as he stood against a tyrant, Yazid, Who despite knowing who Hussein was, did not hesitate to kill him and mutilate his body. I can honestly go on about this forever but it'll suffice to say that learning about this event had and will continue to have a huge impact on my life.

Day sixteen...someone who inspires you

2011-01-30T00:43:00.000-05:00

This girl I've known just for a little while compared to the large scheme of things, but i remember when we first got talking. I was trying to study for an exam and she was waiting for her class and we kicked it off awesomely. We had so many similar goals, so many aspirations that we wanted. After half an hour of talking it felt like I've known her forever and till this day she's one of the few that gets what i want of life and inspires me in many ways <3

Day fifteen...to do before i die

2011-01-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

I think my biggest fear is to die without having done anything with my life, to live a life with no meaning. Maybe this is why I'm always having a yearly crisis of "what have i done with my life?" Over the years I've accumulated a list of goals that I'd like to do before i die but i think really more than that i just want to live a life that is filled with meaning, a life dedicated to others, dedicated to justice, righteousness, imagination, uniqueness and adventure. That is what i'de like to do before i die. Is that too much to ask for?

Day fourteen...I can't live my life without you

2011-01-27T23:35:00.000-05:00

I need to tell my mom to stop wearing white cause it washes away her face..jokesss

I love my mom to death, I may not always show my appreciation but i can't imagine life without my mom. She's my everything, that it's hard to even put into words the amount of feeling i have for her. Sometimes when i think about the day when death comes calling( i know horrible) i always hope that i die before i ever have to see any of my parents or family gone. It paralyzes me that this part of life would even happen.

May you have many more years of health, blessings and happiness my awesome mama. Ameen

The revolution of Egypt

2011-01-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

Yes i call it a revolution, and nothing short of that.
this is not just some uprisings or merely protests but finally a call for overthrowing a decedent regime
it is a a total and absolute change from what we as Egyptians lived in of Apathy, lack of care and repeated slogons of " there's nothing in my hands to do."

We've tasted enough oppression and how sweet is the taste of change. We haven' t yet seen progress but the fact that Egyptians no matter their religion, social standing, or gender are out in the streets taking matters in their own hands is something.

The fact that thousands of Egyptians started collecting the garbage off the streets is something
The fact that people are working together as one hand is more than just something, it's everything

May God protect them and stand by them.

Day thirteen...Art is larger than just the artist

2011-01-26T19:31:00.002-05:00

nuf' said

Today is the day

2011-01-25T23:26:00.000-05:00

that i am proud of being Egyptian.

The day that hundreds of thousands of Egyptians went to the streets to protest an oppressive regime

the day that the Egyptian government felt threatened enough to close down the metro system, twitter and phone lines

The day where mothers, women and children went out alongside with men.

The day where they said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I honestly hope this goes further than just a one day protest, more than just a revolution but a change of the whole system, not to the worse but to the better.

Day Twelve..Favorite memory

2011-01-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

This was during a Fast-a-day we were hosting at our high school back in 2005. And even though it's very hard to just choose one memory I can say without a doubt that this was one of the best memories I've had
( along with a few others) The work that everyone put into making it happen, the amazing feedback received from people, the fun and stress we had putting it together, yah it was awesome!

Day Eleven..something i hate

2011-01-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Oh hot damn! this one is easy. is that bad?

I hate people who use culture in the name of religion. I feel like giving them a slap or two to wake them up.
keep your sick culture to yourself and don't soil religion with it.

I Hate people who take advantage of little children, cruel, sick B******s !

Day Ten...most treasured Item

2011-01-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

Lord have mercy! i honestly had to think all day on that one, i even had to ask my sister. I put it in a way to make her understand saying " if the house was on fire and i could only take one thing with me what would i take" her saying your clothes was of no help whatsoever. Funny thing was while worrying myself silly over all this i freaked myself out when i thought my favorite necklace got lost and wasn't around my neck. Oh silly me, i was wearing my favoritest ( yes it's a word, i just made it up) and most treasured item this whole time.

My friend gave me this necklace as an Eid gift once upon a year ( last year) and honestly, if i don't have it around my neck i freak out. Maybe it's the fact that i can trace Allah's name on it with my hands that puts me at ease. That whenever i hold it, it reminds me of the fact that God is always near and that i could be as silent as could be yet still making Dua ( a prayer) within. Who knows really, we function in weird ways.

Day nine...getting me through it cheesy-ness and all

2011-01-25T02:39:00.000-05:00

The lady in the green t-shirt would be my best friend. Unfortunatly, we dont have any electronic pics together. funny eh? Honest to God, my cheezines doesn't do it justice but i've been through alot with her. especially that those teen years are full of drama, lord knows from where. She knows me, my crazy family and still chooses to be my friend. life was pretty successful and making us live on opposite ends of the country and maybe we don't even talk to each other that much but if there's someone who i can always pick up with a conversation like no time has passed, it's her.

P.s so i was out of town on the weekend, had no access to internet and it turns out i had a automatic posting fail! I'm so good at this technology stuff! what? be thankful i know how to log in. seriously you guys!

Day Eight.. My hero

2011-01-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

Imam Ali though inspires me in every way possible and everyday i learn more and more which makes my love for him increase, not only as a character who went down in history but as a person who was a husband, a friend and a father. It does not seem hard to have mercy on the ones whom we love, but this is the man who had mercy even on his enemies. After the prophets death he was a figure who pushed forward the Islamic Ummah. The one whom the prophet said about him "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate" As i read his sermons i can't help but wonder at his eloquence in speech and knowledge. I'd encourage everyone to learn more about him especially as youth he stands as a great model for us in ever essence of the word.

Disclaimer: for all those who tell me what about the prophet, Having the prophet as a hero is a given.

Day seven...the person you do the silliest things with

2011-01-21T12:35:00.001-05:00

This is such a hard one! I think I act very silly at times and with all my friends.
Although the person whom i could say knows me at my silliest and i could just act plain retarded in front of is this lady in white here. I'm impressed, she takes it really well!

This is normal i act like this 99% of the time

Day six: something which makes me laugh

2011-01-20T15:24:00.001-05:00

My friends! Those silly gooses, i love them to death.

day five...and how i love it

2011-01-20T01:31:00.000-05:00

I love glorious little sliver looking pots...and painting

I may not be a talent in painting but its something that i love doing. Granted i don't do it very often nowadays either but when i do it's such a humbling feeling. I think anyone who paints knows what i'm talking about when i say i could sit there for long hours on end just looking at nature and seeing how the light falls on trees, streets or anything really and just feel an awe at the perfect state of nature. To me painting is just another way of contemplating Gods creation, another form of worship.

Day four...start a fire?

2011-01-18T23:47:00.000-05:00

I know i know, it looks like the thing i want to do again is start a fire and i look like a fire maniac here but i promise that's not whats going on. See this picture was taken during the camping trip i went on during the summer. The one where we stayed in tent right in front of the beach, yeaaa that one! i~~t was also the one where it thunder stormed two days in a row and our tent turned out to be not waterproof~~ YA It was just awesome, wish i could be doing that again.

Day three... and the cast is

2011-01-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

   Ugly Betty!
I'm not a T.V person i hardly ever watch shows but i fell in love with Ugly Betty. I think each of us has an Ugly Betty inside of us or hope to at least. Meaning that we all want to in a way dress in whatever way, be whatever we want, eat whatever and not give a hoot about what others think. I loved that she was so uplifting so inspiring despite the way people acted towards her in the workspace. She wanted to be her own self and not just another carbon copy of all the other workers who acted in a specific way to fit into the "fashion" industry. I think we can all relate. Ahhh look at me over-analyzing shows as usual!
I actually thought it would be a great addition to have a Muslim Hijabi girl on the show, everyone at the company would initially pick on her but then would fall in love with her after they get to know that hey, Muslims are successful and have a taste for fashion as well ;)

Whats that? I'm dreaming too much? pshttt watch me start a show!



Am i the only one who loves her color coordination?

Day Two...ya we're tight

2011-01-16T14:52:00.001-05:00

Don't you just love those uniforms

That's my little brother and I, first day of school, Lord knows when. Me and my brother have had this relationship where when he was born i called him "sumaya" a girls name, talked to him in the feminine instead of masculine and for a while he pretty much addressed himself in the feminine as well. I think it was because when he was just born he peed on my leg and from there it started. If this isn't love, i can't tell you what is. Also when i was in about 9th grade maybe and him in 7th we hated each others guts. It didn't play too well for my mom since i remember us being on vacation at the time and refusing to sit next to each other on the Airplane. Being the strong Egyptian woman that she is though, she threatened she'd have the plane turned around and take us back. I think after we got through that phase though we've grown a lot closer. We can sit around having late night conversations about taking over the world, our dreams and the trip to ~~North~~ South Korea that we plan on taking together and just life in general. So even though we've had our ups and downs we've still managed to not kill each other, which says a lot in the friendship department.

Day One...Not fobbish at all.

2011-01-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

This is what i go to school to learn..awesome fobbish poses!

15 facts about yours truly:

1- My sister who's younger by six years apparently looks like my older sister

2- things I'm passionate about. My religion, Justice, History and Ideas

3- I would rather learn something from a course then get an A without having learned anything

4- I love love love swimming, sometimes i wish i could live in water

5- people don't laugh at my jokes, they laugh at my laugh

6- Owls just amaze me. I think they're beautiful beyond compare

7- My idea of fun is reading books

8- I love my hair short and i think i want to keep it like this for years to come

9- I use the word "love" a lot but usually when i say it i mean it

10- I am born in a generation that is not mine. I love old poetry, writers, music, art, clothing, fashion but maybe i am born in the right time since i have the right to still act as those generations did and its nothing out of the ordinary.

11- I had to take the Drivers education class 3 times just because I've moved so much

12- I believe that i can change the world and i tell myself that i will :)

13- I'm very into trying new things, especially new food

14- I have to read the book before watching the movie

15- I'm very social yet i very much value my alone time

30 Day photo challenge

2011-01-15T19:54:00.001-05:00

So i just read about the 30 day photo challenge by "Colors of My life" and am excited to be joining. This should be interesting it'll allow me to ponder my thoughts and take a look back down memory lane. wooot!
The challenge is to .... just look at the picture.

So who joined this? link your blogspot

The pretty things the sun does.

2011-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

During winter break i was visiting family down south and i love the fact that when i walked out each day it was to this scene. The trees whether covered by snow or glistening in the sunlight always made me a little bit more cheerful inside. At times I'd see a deer or doe pass by and bluebirds were constantly singing their little voice boxes out. I think i can get used to this.

The silence on the streets is deafening

2011-01-12T23:51:00.001-05:00

I snapped these shots on New Years while I was visiting a little town in the states. It was eerily quiet on the streets. It had rained the day before and the weather was not making matters any better. In those alleys it was a weird combination of serenity and an eerie sensation of abandonment. I sort of liked it but then again i sort of didn't

My little Golden swordfish

2011-01-10T20:25:00.001-05:00

Necklaces are the next best thing to a Krispey Kremes donut, which are unbelievingly amazing. So the other day when i was browsing an antique shop and found this baby i couldn't help myself. Also despite the fact that i hate fishing i couldn't resist. I guess a part of me will always associate it with lazy summer days, chilling by a beach somewhere with a coke in hand ( minus bees that sneak inside) Just saying you know!

Say what.... I'm so lost!

2011-01-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

One would think that with all the updating I've been doing for the new year, end of the year/resolutions, i'd be up to date with whats going on except for the fact that i feel that the new year has already snuk ( past tense of sneak?) up on me. Don't as me why, i just feel like it has. Maybe it's because even though school started today for me, I'm nowhere near my school? just maybe! Maybe Its because most of my resolutions were to take place once i started back to school and since ( have i mentioned that i still haven't started) I still haven't started school, i just feel like I've been falling behind.

Ok new resolution, STAY ON TRACK!

Hair be gone

2011-01-04T11:44:00.001-05:00

So I finally did it, after weeks and weeks of telling myself i'll get a haircut. I did. And just to show my brother how much i trust him, i let him cut my hair! like all of it. It feels weird wrapping my hijab and not have a bump in the back. It's weird yet satisfying. I love it even though it didn't exactly turn out exactly like i wanted its still nice. My face shape took a whole new look or whatever.

since my hair is more curly than straight this is more how it turned out. close enough

I could swear though that i look like Audrey Hepburn, except for some odd reason my mom doesn't agree

I resolve to stop breaking into song at every opportunity... Or atleast stop watching Glee..

2011-01-02T13:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes things work out in the perfectest ( word?) way possible. Alhmdllah, ulter duper excited for an upcoming "thing." Once the ball starts rolling i shall inform. Also, seriously couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the last day of the year. Eating sushi with my siblings and forcing my sister to try her first sushi while chanting "eat it" "eat it" because lets face it, peer pressure is the only way to get things done! Making a fire in the front yard and trying to grill everything and anything on it while watching snowballs get thrown at my dad. Check.
Last but not least, Dancing in the rain. SO check.

AS per usual, new year resolutions!! ( i just looked at my past year resolutions) and i can honestly say that i haven't looked at them since the day I've written them.eeek! Since new year resolutions are only written down to be broken, i will not write down my New Year Resolutions! Ha!! Take that system. What now? huh? huh?

On a totally unrelated note, i just went into Wal-Mart and this lady got this ultra freaked out look on her face, went into the next aisle and started walking faster.

then when i walked out, a lady made up for it by telling me that Jesus loved me!

I love people here!!

A little bit of selfish works

2010-12-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

I miss the fact that i used to do more with my time than just study. I used to paint, swim, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Not saying that i'm not doing anything but its not as much as i would have liked to do. If there's a lesson i learned in this past year it's to not relay on anyone. pessimistic? no, just being realistic. With my friends i used to get such high hopes because it would always be "Omg! lets do this" "We're definitely going to get this done" but then "this" never happened. Not that they don't have dreams, they do, amazing dreams! But they're just that, dreams. So plan is this coming semester (inshallah) is to do what I want. Not what somebody else wants. Not to wait for somebody else to come along and support me, i need to support myself. As inspirational as it is putting a goal and saying i need to get this done, it isn't realistic. I need to work on a checkpoint where i see how far I've reached and if i'm still on track. So as silly as it sounds I'm going to start off with a new look for a new year and new resolutions. cheers!

My friends told me they'll break my neck if i cut my hair like that but i def. love this look.

Totally Awkward moments

2010-12-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

Some guy just had to propose to me

not once but twice.
If it wasn't awkward enough getting the what do you think talk from my mom, i got it from my lovely dad.

I know my parents were against it, like not even considering it because the guy was like in his 30's eek! so the last couple of days went something along the lines of

Dad to Brother: so you ate out? where at?
Brother: Umm Hobbes* food place
Dad: Whatt!!! Why didn't you go to Aristotle's* food place ( looks at mee and bursts out laughing)
Me: Horrified look on face
Mom: chuckles
Brother: What's going on? WHY IS EVERYONE LAUGHING AND WHY IS SHE DIGGING HER FINGERNAILS IN MY ARM!

this went on several times, and then yesterday my dad comes in my room and goes
"OK seriously though i know i've said no but i didn't take your opinion. He's a good guy so what do you th-."

Me: are you kidding me right now? NO NO i already said no.
Dad: OK maybe you don't want to tell me
Me: WHAT!! No, like my answer is not going to change. I can't believe you. Are you trying to get rid of me??
Dad to Mom: I don't know what to make of this. How did you react when i proposed to you
Mom: Propose again and we'll see
Me: OK cute and all but are we done here
Dad: well i just didn't want to not be doing by what the prophet says, he's a good guy and i have to get your opinion. All i want is your happiness and a guy who will take your hand to heaven.
Me: OK well it's definitely not this Guy eww.

Last line was said in my head :)

* Names have been changed, there are no Hobbes and Aristotle lest you started thinking you knew them.

So after this weekend i truly need me some shopping therapy or any type really, that would work fine.

As another year passes by

2010-12-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

The end of the year just sneaked up on me! Seriously, all of a sudden it's December and before you know it, it's the year after. I was looking back and seeing if i had achieved anything this year or if i had done anything worth noting and well i did get one of my things on the list of 70 achieved.

9. ~~Donate blood.~~

I actually reached the 110 pounds mark to be able to donate blood.wooot!

Even though I'm proud to say that i have finally donated blood, i have done so much more this last year. I have met people who i can say without hesitation, have changed my life. People that i am blessed to have known. Events that forever i will remember...and smile. I wish i could go and thank everyone of them for being part of my life.

So Thank You God for letting me live another year to meet those amazing people.

Thank You for the knowledge that i have gained.

Thank You for my family and friends

Thank you for my health.

Thank you for letting me look at nature and feel unbound love for it.

Thank you for the laughing, the crying and the confusion

because if anything, it was an indication that i was thinking

and nothing could be greater than thinking, thinking, and knowing

Thank you for the long nights i spent studying

They are the proof that i am able to get an education.

Thank you for the opportunities, for the moments of contemplation

For this heart that keeps beating, living, and loving.

I am truly grateful

<3 Me

At ease

2010-12-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

Everything was the same as she left it, it was as if no time had passed at all. She felt that she could pick up from the moment she left off and everything would be as is. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing extra-special. Everything was the same except that the change of seasons was the indication that it wasn't. The cold chill air in the morning and the bare-naked trees bathed in a violent orange made her feel at home. Home sweet home.

Reminders to my soul

2010-11-29T23:24:00.000-05:00

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.”

That is all!

I, the infidel

2010-11-27T23:49:00.000-05:00

Why do people feel that it's their duty to pass judgment on other humans eternal abode. seriously, i think religion is a sensitive enough topic as it is for others to go and pass their judgement on you and why you are oh so wrong. There's a difference between a discussion with intellect and just trying to prove me wrong through any way possible. Have you so secured your position in heaven to find the time to look down on others? Is that it? Oh do tell me more on my position in hell while i pretend to listen and give you some smiles followed by "sounds good" every once in a while. I get it that fear plays a big part of it, the need to justify my religions correctness by having all others as wrong but do you need to shove it down my throat. I'm not even talking about a different religion, what's that? yea you've heard correctly, just a different sect. If i may give some advise oh dear sir/ ma'am, do get your information straight before you come at me with your pointed finger and swear words from behind the computer screen. Otherwise, you just play the fool!

ambiguously writing

2010-11-25T00:42:00.000-05:00

I feel so ashamed that this year is almost over and here i am with only 40 something posts compared to last years a 100 and something. It isn't that I'm any busier than before, because I'm not. Although i do have new stuff going on. I'm not sure if it's the stuff i want to share with the whole wide web. I'm not sure where it is i draw the line anymore of things i post and things i don't. I know it isn't many people that actually do read this and anyways it's more for my own record than anything else but then when it's not serving that purpose anymore then what's the point? I'd hate to see myself quit writing though, I've quit with the poems and stories as it is, it's sort of like this is my last link with my love for writing. so i shall keep on writing.

One thing that i have recently done was sign up to be a part of the group that leaves for Gaza from Canada in the coming spring, I'm praying praying praying that i get chosen. I'm hoping that if i do get chosen my parents will just have to face reality and let me go. we will see.
My local Amnesty International group and I are raising money to try and help in any possible way that we can in pushing the project forward. It excites me that I'm taking part in this, even if it's a small one.

moments ago i was working on an essay and currently what i have here is more than i have written for my essay. i should return back to what i was doing.

Peace and smiles :)

It's a Conspiracy!

2010-11-21T19:38:00.000-05:00

So as i got to listen to my cousins overseas talk about all the great stuff they would be doing on Eid, i did an internal frown. When they asked what i would be doing, I gave out a fake laugh while saying "giving a presentation at school. "

It just so happened that the week which Eid fell on was my busiest week of school yet. 3 papers and a presentation, lovely.

I did have my Eid though on the night before Eid, if that makes any sense. hmmm

A couple of friends and myself came together on Eid Eve? and since we were fasting we decided, hey lets cook and eat together. which we did. The cooking took all day, i cut my middle finger wide open, and we kept on finding out we were missing some kitchen utensials, asked a random girl in the apartment building if she had it and had to wait nearly 20 minutes after Maghrib to actually start eating since the food wasn't done. But, we did have the most epic game of truth or dare! The sort where your friend is forced to run around screaming at the top of her lungs that her stupid husband ran away. The kind in which your friend has to knock on some random persons door and sing them "twinkle, twinkle little star. " or where they knock on another persons' door asking if they can wash their dishes. That day pretty much made up for having to sit down and write papers on the day of Eid.

I also still think that it's a conspiracy, they so did it on purpose, making me miss Eid like that.

Chicken anyone?

what did you do on Eid?

Waking up in the morning feeling like...

2010-11-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

Waking up in the morning feeling like.... a giant bruise.
So the other day i started taking a womans' self-defense class, and I'm so glad i did.
It's such an empowering feeling, not to mention every woman should know what to do if put in an unpleasant situation.

Yeaaaa, it's true that when your in a given situation where you need to defend yourself things never play out like when you studied them or practiced them, but at least you'll have some tools to work with, and that counts.

So starting the class, it made me realize how much i need to exercise. I stretched my bodies in ways i never knew possible, and it's painful in joints that i never knew could hurt.

An interesting experience.

I was surprised though, when speaking to some of my friends they just laughed. For the guys it went something along the lines of " there are guys to protect you, why do you need that for anyways." " when you're in that situation all you're going to be able to do is scream." which just made me roll my eyes. To me what was even more surprising was when the girls said they don't need it cause they "have a whistle!!!"

So I'll definitely be continuing these classes. Maybe start a martial arts course.

wooooot body bruises here i come.

one of those moments

2010-11-02T22:53:00.000-04:00

Sometimes i get so frustrated that my emotion can't even be put into words, or if they, then they're unintelligible.
Do you ever feel that way, feeling that words fail you?
all you can really do then is sit with those words floating around in your mind in a chaotic manner.
In no particular manner.
when all you want to do is spew them out
in any given manner.
instead of being imprisoned in your own mind.
speechless to say the least.
well, this is one of those moments.

dreams

2010-10-31T14:41:00.000-04:00

I love the fact that one little thing that you succeed in and didn't expect to can motivate you to do so much more.

I absolutely LOVE it!

It just goes to show you that it's all in your mind, what you can and can't do.
Just the other day someone told me, that to make your dreams come true you need to wake up first.
How true is that.

I love falll!

ahhh smells so freshh!!! um that's the sewers.

2010-10-30T17:34:00.000-04:00

I wish we could capture smells the way we capture pictures.
you know, if we could pull em up whenever we want and take a whif.

Ahh life would be so much easier. I think i learned somewhere before that the strongest link with memory is the sense of smell. Tell me about it!

I miss Egypt so much to the extent that when i go down this street near university campus with all the restaurants and food vendors the aromas overwhelms me and my mind just turns into time-warp back to Egypt.

If I'm walking and i get a whif of the sewers you can bet you that i'm gonna start missing Egypt ( My mom just told that this is rude to say, and will insult Egyptians... really though if it insults them, who are they kidding! we all know what Cairo smells like.)

The short of the story is...I want to go to Egypt!

The End.

Excited about riding the bus...Omg don't call me lame

2010-10-30T17:07:00.001-04:00

Riding the bus for the first time, so I'm sitting here, kind of nervous. I know it's only the bus, but I'm still excited.
Although I'm starting to think maybe its not a good idea anymore. maybe right now was not the best time. Who tries out the bus for their first time on a Sunday night and on the last running bus for the day? getting lost at night, well i guess it could be an adventure. Haha. Not.
I hope my phone is charged and for the record, I'm wearing some very uncomfortable flip-flops. I better get home tonight all in one piece, just so i don't have to listen to my mom say " I told you so." but then again if i don't come home all in one piece I really don't think my mom will be doing in rubbing in my face, cause that's just not nice.
So I'm sitting here at the bus stop, it's been a while i thought the bus would come earlier but i don't mind much. I get to see the sun set and with the fall leaves, It's beautiful. Haven't had time to do that in a while.
so here comes the bus

Wish me luck!

Pink is the new...Pink!

2010-10-27T19:08:00.001-04:00

I had so much to write about, all these posts that were on my mind, but i had mid-terms and after i was done....i pretty much forgot what it was i wanted to write about hmmmm. Isn't it weird how during mid-terms we have all these things we want to do, i kid you not, i get urges to clean my room and clean the house! I know it's crazy!

so today was Pink Hijab Day since its Breast Cancer Awareness month. My professor actually after class came up to me and asked if it was pink hijab day since i was wearing a pink hijab. I got overly excited :p

so who wore a pink Hijab?

Dear Political Thinkers Professor, I hate you!

2010-10-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

You thought you were so cool, handing us that one sheet of paper, giving us hope that maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all, only to see the instructions saying to write an essay for each of the posed questions.

3 Hours.

On butt-numbing seats. You are so cruel.
I hate you.

Those questions weren't any questions. I fail to see how they even related to the course.
yes, I recognized the Name of Marx, Hobbes, Rousseau, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche in there. That was about all i recognized.

When you told us to make sure we knew how to spell these political thinkers' names, it made me feel that maybe this was a significant tip for the exam, and i took it to heart. oh and did i.

You were there each class at 8:30 in the freakin morning, with your too perky smile and excitement for such a time. and you would talk about Machiavelli like he was your homeboy.

I totally get that it is necessary for a leader to totally crush their enemy, and that a viper crushed beneath your foot but left alive, will rear up and bite you with a double dose of venom. Machiavelli was the shiznet.

I almost felt a bond with Rousseau when he spoke of the evils of theater and the mixing of men and women, i almost felt like it was my parents yelling at me, you know.

Marx totally urged me to go and revolution it up in Egypt, Nietzsche cracked me up with his statements of humans being their own God. Cause cotton candy was no human invention. It was purely the work of miracles, angels and all things Godly.

Despite all that, and more you decided to torture us with your nearing on gibberish exam. I came out of there with nightmares. I was scarred for life! It was worse than being made to eat your vegetables while sugarcoating it with mustard. Lots worse.

Love,

Your now-corrupted-ex-student

To the people who won't and don't care to understand other people

2010-10-15T19:15:00.000-04:00

Being born into a religion isn't a leap of faith. Mind you i don't think it's much faith at all. Don't get me wrong, i consider myself lucky to be born a Muslim but that's my big ego talking. It's not something that i had a hand in, just like my race, color and gender. On the other hand, searching within your religion and other religions is a leap of faith. Doing so objectively is pure craziness, but such a mind opening one. I know we're living in a time where nothing is considered purely black or white, where everything is relative. yet people are still acting with the mindset of, " I can't help them, they're going to hell anyways." People use religion to justify their actions when it's purely their close-mindedness speaking. then they turn around and call everyone else close-minded for not being accommodating of their religious beliefs. I'm in no way pointing fingers at anyone or religion in particular. Most religions are guilty of doing this. so can we, as they say, take a leap of faith and start seeing the relativism with which other people live their lives.

On marriage, age and acting my shoe size

2010-09-24T14:19:00.000-04:00

Bonjour, ca va?

End of French.

so here i am, nothing too interesting really. Just school, catching up with friends that i haven't seen all summer and not to mention congratulating all the friends that got either married or engaged. It's crazy, I"m used to having friends and thinking of ourselves as kids, teens but now It's the stage where my friends are getting married, my circle of people! It's really hard to explain and I'm not sure how i feel about it. I don't think i like it too much. It's not that I'm not happy for them, contrarily I'm ecstatic, but now it's different, we're not kids anymore. We're adults. Adults. I don't like the taste of that word in my mouth. It comes with obligations, responsibilities, loss of innocence, lack of fun. It forces me to change my mindset from the kid i still think i am at times to a person who has commitments. Am i being too dark here? Maybe it's because I'd rather act my shoe size and not my age.

despite all that, here's to all the beautiful and strong ladies in my life, may it be a marriage full of bliss and many adventures <3

gimme your stuff

2010-09-18T22:28:00.000-04:00

So i just randomly stumbled upon this blog called gimme your stuff. The basic idea of it is to list some stuff that you'de be willing to give to a person from a different country that shows the culture and what not of your country, in exchange of stuff they're offering from their country. it could be anything the both of you decide on, like magazines, clothes, jewelery, candy, food, stickers, snacks, whatever, you name it. I've totally fell in love with the idea and can't wait to try it out.

Stuff i can send from Canada:

- Magazines...people, vogue, etc.
- Snacks!!!! so much candy..everywhere
- Postcards, key chains, something that says CANADA...literally :p
- jewelery, shoes, certain clothing items.

if there's something in particular that you're looking for as well.

I'de probably ike to receive

- souvenirs ( key rings, post cards, etc. )
- clothing style items known for that country
- posters
- candy, food from that part of the world
- surprise!

soooo if anyone is interested, leave a comment below and we shall work it out.

What do you do on Eid?

2010-09-13T11:42:00.000-04:00

P.S : Can you tell that there are a lot of Paki/Indian people in this community? lol

one, two, back to school

2010-09-13T10:48:00.000-04:00

ahhh wow, it's crazy how time flys by so fast. Ramadan's over, Eid's over and school is starting...well actually started. Alhmdllah this summer was satisfying, interesting, and who can forget the awkward moments. I've been so busy these past couple of days that i didn't have time to go online so happy belated Eid!.
I know as crazy as it might sound I'm looking forward to starting this school year. so here's to making this year an adventurous one, full of interesting events.

Children left unattended will be given a free puppy and caffine to go along with it.

2010-09-01T12:15:00.000-04:00

Can you tell that they love kids in this Masjid here? :p

My one day adoption

2010-09-01T12:12:00.000-04:00

So the other day we were driving along the road when as calm as could be we see a turtle crossing...
y'all it was being very precautious, it looked left and right like 5 times, except that it was in the middle of the street. too precautious maybe
we stopped and picked the little fellow up, and i decided to adopt him.
i named him Franklin.
Franklin and i had such a good time, oh the memories that we made. They bring tears to my eyes.
I tried feeding him lettuce but Franklin was too shy
He sat in his box and after pleading with him to eat something he eventually peaked his head out of his shell.
and then we had a blast and bonded and stuff.
At the end of the day, like all mother do, i eventually had to let go of Franklin.
He now roams somewhere in the woods behind our backyard

Franklin dear, you shall be missed

Shy Franklin

Franklin with the rest of the family

Franklin heading out on his own.

P.S Franklin might have been a girl.

Soul Seeker

2010-08-31T17:14:00.000-04:00

It amazes me that at the height of such a holy month as Ramadan for Muslims, you have people who could care less to take advantage of it. You find people fighting in front of the Masjid while "fasting". Throwing plates and plates of food in the garbage, missing prayer and gossiping like there is no tomorrow. It has become all about the food, the different types and how much of it to make in order to impress the guests. Like many holidays in different religions that in the start were about purifying one's soul, it has turned into a commercialized one.

For me it only makes sense that having an opportunity to feed and grow your soul, one would do so. Just as we take time to feed our bodies, minds, and other human desires, the soul needs to be nurtured as well, more so than anything. Instead of using our bodies as just vehicles and shells to grow and care for our souls, we have instead suppressed them and taken every precaution to take care of our outwardly appearance, and at times I'm just as guilty.

It's like simple math. Except for some, 2+2 doesn't always add to 4.

May we all find our inner peace and attain serenity

What is our own

2010-08-23T15:50:00.001-04:00

What is our own?

Can we in this day and age or in any day and age for the matter, claim to have ideas that are ours and ours alone?

Is there really such a thing as "Unique"

our ideas and minds are a scramble mix of media, newspapers, books and t.v

not to mention the main role of family ideals, culture that one is raised in, and taboos.

and how could we forget the role that friends play in molding us into who we are.

As to one of the biggest players, Religion and school.

In all of this, the question I would like to raise my fellow Internet users is

Are we really that much different from each other?

Girls don't sweat, they glow!

2010-08-11T18:57:00.000-04:00

So this was a conversation between my sister and one of her friends

Sister: Guys are disgustiing

friend: why? because we sweat?

Sister: What! no, girls sweat too

Friend: Girls don't sweat!

Sister: ummm yes they do

Friend: Girls glow, they don't sweat

His sisters have taught him well

The have to Ramadan post

2010-08-09T11:06:00.001-04:00

Who else is excite that Ramadan is here...almost!!!!
I swear it feels like time flew by since last Ramadan. I def. love the spiritual high that comes with it, gatherings at the masjid, and the Qiyams of staying up all night.

this reminded me of last year when at the masjid there was a qiyam on the night of the 27th, so of course the masjid was full of people. Being used to taking a few moments outside alone just to get the full effect of the serenity of that night, i did so, only to have people come up to me every few seconds to ask " are you fine?" wait "are you SUREEE you're OK?"
"like, really!"
really

I wanted to yell out " PEOPLE!!! seriously i only wanted to make dua"

except that yelling at people and telling them to get back inside wouldn't have been exactly going with the spirit of things.

رمضان جانا

2010-08-09T11:06:00.000-04:00

I wish i was in Egypt for Ramadan!

Ramadan Kareem Ya'll

One Japanese husband to go please!

2010-07-13T16:17:00.001-04:00

My Birthday's approaching in a couple of days and let me tell you my little brother is far too worried about it more than i am. He thinks that because my mom got married at 20 that means every other person who turns 20 has to get married!! The other day i had the following conversation with him.

LB: so what are you gonna do on your 20th birthday?
Me: ummmm...
LB: are you gonna get married?
Me: huh?
LB: do you want me to build you a house?
Me: no thanks, i'm gonna live in a box
LB: but how are you gonna live with the person you're moving away with
Me: I'm still here!

he leaves for a while then comes back,

LB: didn't you say you loved Sushi?
Me: yea
LB: so you can marry a Japanese guy and he can make u Sushi!

Good thinking kiddo, Japan and sushi here i come!

Camping while Egyptian part 2

2010-07-11T15:15:00.000-04:00

"Ok, so tents go here and here" I say making two marks on the ground.
"Also we better hurry" i say glancing up at the sky, "looks like it’s gonna rain"

My brother takes hold of the bigger tent and goes on to setting it up, while my sister and I pick the other one, pull it out and stand there looking at it.

"I have no idea how to set this up!!" I say looking at the tangled mess.

After what seemed hours of struggling, we finally made what seemed to resemble a blob.

“K, so wanna head to the beach for a while?" my sister asks

We head over the sand dunes and to the most spectacular view. Best of all we had the whole beach to ourselves.

I took a chair, plopped it into the sand and extended my feet into the icy cold water.
We sat there with lightning and thunder in the background, trying to calculate how far off it was.

Now that I think about it, it was probably a not so good idea being wet holding metal fishing poles with lightning in the sky, despite the attractiveness of the combination.

When it started to rain we decided to get back to the tent before we got seriously wet ( only reason was, I didn't want to break my record of not taking showers for the longest time possible...i kid, i promise)

The thunderstorm was like a faucet that would not shut off, best of all one of our tents was not waterproof, so all of us were stuck in the other tent. We called it family bonding time and we did what any other Egyptian family would have done. Played cards!

As we fell asleep, my mom asked from her corner of the tent, “Did anyone actually check the weather?"
Ah small details, they get me every time.

storm approaching

sand dunes

setting up the tent

Chai and fooul( beans)

their catch

Painting Walls at 4:00 A.M

2010-07-09T17:01:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I had a friend who wanted to paint her basement, so my sister and i volunteered to help, considering we're such experts we should be awarded the label of interior designers. Our experience goes as far back as painting the Masjid walls, oh and did i mention the Masjid walls?

So anyways, we head over LOWE'S to pick out the colors and that alone took like 40 minutes.

My friend and I wanted to go with a reddish color

her mom was like, over my dead body!

She showed us a light yellow and we told her she might as well tear down the basement.

Finally, we decided on a light pearly pink and a maroonish color and to work it was.
Since it was getting so late we decided to sleepover and pretty much spent the next few hours telling scary stories about jinn and listening to my friend’s mom telling us stories of things she saw with her own eyes when she lived back in Pakistan.
I don't know about others but jinn stories beat Zombie takeovers, Alien attacks, and sparkly vampires combined.

ya'll, my stories wander all over the place but I promise painting the basement and Jinn stories actually ties up

SO anyways my friend’s mom decides to go get some sleep and after a while we decide that we're gonna go and work on the basement since we weren't tired.

In the morning my Friend's mom wakes up and goes to check the basement to see if the colors coordinated and finds a finished wall! She almost got a heart attack thinking some Jinn were in the basement working on the walls in the middle of the night.

Although if you ask me I wouldn't mind pair of handy Djinn like that.I know the house could use some help.

Camping while Egyptian part 1

2010-07-03T18:30:00.001-04:00

" Yalla omo wghzo ray7een camping, 7gtkom tekon gahza fe nos sa3a*"

ahh lovely way to wake up. Saba7 elnoor to you too Mama.

seriously, only in my family does a camping trip get decided like that and we get half an hour to get ready? the generosity!

I was not complaining.

" mama where to?"
"ma3rfsh, your father didn't tell me anything"

ok, guess that's fine too.

An hour later my dad comes home and we start listing stuff we might have forgotten.

tent? check.
sleeping bags? yep, got them
lantern? mhm
everyone have their clothes, toothbrushes, and shoes? yeaa

and then the unfortunate happens, we move onto the kitchen. and true to being Egyptian they start packing half the kitchen. Enough to last us the next two month.

"Do we really need the 3 pans? and Omg, mama all this Fooul!! we're only staying like two days"

we were just a 7alet ma7shy* away from being true to our roots of Egyptianese

well, i told myself,If we happen to get lost at least we'll be able to survive.

My dad looked at the time.you guys, looks like we're going to have to head out tommorow, what do you think?

rolling Arab standard time, i think we're pretty accurate.

* get up and get ready, we're going camping
* 7alet ma7shy- An Egyptian dish

way too many exclamation points!!!!!

2010-06-27T16:49:00.001-04:00

Sometimes i get those dreams that stick in my mind, purely because of how weird they are.

So the other day i was reading about King Henry VIII. That same day i was thinking about one of my friends for some reason or another.

That night i had a dream that she was trying to marry King Henry VIII!! seriously the things i dream of.

I should start a dream journal, make it into a book and become rich!!!

sounds like an awesome plan? ya i thought so too.

Excuse me while i go dream some more dreams for my book. This is serious work.

My List of 70 Random things to do

2010-06-24T18:36:00.002-04:00

I've always at one point or another come up with something that i wish to achieve before i die, or something that i've heard another person has done and since it was so awesomly awesome, i thought to myself " I HAVE TO DO THAT!"

It came to a point where i was like " i should just probably write down my list" so here it is

1. Graduate from university
2. become a lawyer
3. work for human rights
4. learn a martial arts
5. scream at the top of my lungs
7. go skydiving
8. bunji Jump
9. donate blood
10. run a marathon
11. write a novel
12. open a (successful) boutique
13. swim 500 yards in under 6 minutes
14. get my nose pierced
15. sleep under the stars
16. teach English in South Korea
17. find the roots of my family tree
18. Visit Japan
19. backpack through Europe
20. ride a horse in the middle of the night
21. Ride a camel around the pyramids in the middle of the night
22. camp in the Sahara desert
23. raft through the grand canyon
24. get closer to my dad
25. shower in a waterfall
26. visit Greece and Turkey
27. feed birds in Italy
28. send a message in a bottle
29. get an answer
30. plant a tree
31. fall in love
32. Marry the person I fall in love with
33. pray fajr on a beach somewhere
34. Stay out all night at a beach and build a bonfire
35. help build a house for battered women in Egypt
36. sponsor an orphan
37. Spend three months getting my body into optimum shape
38. Visit the holy land
39. learn a new language
40. learn how to make sushi
41. scuba dive in the red sea
42. Go white water rafting
43. Ride an elephant through the jungles of Thailand
44. get a job that I love
45. Ride in a gondola down the Grand Canal in Venice.
46. run for student council and have fun doing it
47. Stand on the Great Wall of china
48. learn how to surf!
49. go yak skiing
50. write an article for a major publication
51. get on the cover of a magazine
52. participate in poetry slam
53. live like a local for month
54. visit Niagara falls
55. people watch in central park
56. travel anywhere with a friend
57. ride a boat down the Nile
58. pay the toll for the person behind me
59. partake in a Japanese tea ceremony
60. visit the Prophets grave
61. drink an espresso at the chansa` le zait
62. swim in the dead sea
63. get all As in a given semester
64. make an impact on someone’s life
65. take part in the world’s biggest water fight during Thailand’s New Year’s festivities
66. Bike the Pacific Coast Highway.
67. memorize the Quran and learn its tafseer
68. milk a cow
69. make hajj inshallah
70. be at peace with myself

And i hope there's a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow!

2010-06-22T18:43:00.000-04:00

This Summer was not what it was set out to be but i'm not complaining.

Started out visiting my dad and found him getting ready to move from his apartment. Seriously how much stuff do you need when your only two people in an apartment! The place was full of stuff that for lack of better words, had no use.

when i say my dad and brother can open a fishing equipment shop with all the stuff they've collected that would be an understatement.

During all that, I started teaching Arabic and Qur'an at their Masjid here. This is probably one of the most patience trying yet satisfying things to do. At times you'll have to repeat a verse 50844 times( slight exaggeration...maybe) before the kid gets it. Once they do though, and recite the whole surah back to you it feels good to know that you've helped them memorize a surah they're gonna be praying with the rest of their lives.

I figured i should also step up my religious game a bit and read Islamic books. I started from square one, Islam in general. What it means to be Muslim, and not just Sunni. I began reading into Shia, Sunni, and Sufi theology. It was interesting to say the least. I’ve read the generals but I wanted to go into historical depth. Then it became too many books to keep up with so I figured if a book should take precedence it should be the Qur'an. So Qur'an understanding and memorization it is.

Then during all that, I realized that "oh hey, I'm planning to go to law school. I need to take the LSAT exam for that". Yea, so I’m cracking open the books.

hmmmm, lets see what else.

I promised myself that i would try being healthier, and i swear its not easy! I don't know how my sister eats so much fruits. Seriously, like that has to be unhealthy or something. forget eating 5 fruits or vegetables a day. I'm trying to get it to 2 first! and running a mile everyday.

ummm, we'll see how far that goes.

Yep. so thats life.

I'm not much on the blogger scene anymore.
I barely get an internet connection as it is.

Happy 2nd day of summer Ya'll

<3

lets give it a C-A-R-R-O-T!!! whats that spellll! umm.....apple?

2010-06-08T15:42:00.000-04:00

The other day we were driving a 12 hour drive to Virginia. To pass time i decided to play a game of I spy with my siblings, when it came to my little sisters turn it went something like this.

Little Sister: I spy something green!

Me: That tree.

Brother: that other tree

sister: Your shirt

Little Brother: her pillow ( pointing at my blanket)

Little Sister: No, NO you guys let me give you guys a hint. It starts with K

Brother: ummmm

Me: (Jokingly) Mama's eyes.

Little sister: YAAAA!! you win!!

Me: :S that doesn't start with K

Little Sister: Yah? but its greeeen!

No one can blame me for my spelling and grammatical errors. It's in my genes!

checking in

2010-06-07T21:02:00.002-04:00

Alive and thus thankful.

black with white stripes that must be a...how the heck did you think Zebra!

2010-05-30T03:39:00.005-04:00

I saw it when I was trying to find a way to sneak out my window

I know, i know i sound all rebellious trying to sneak out of a window

but actually all i was trying to do was see if there was a way i could go sit on the porch and watch the stars w/o actually opening the door because that would have made too much noise and everyone was sleeping.

it all sounded perfect in my head

so there i was at my window trying to figure out a way, when i thought i glimpsed something on the porch. Since I'm totally blind (even with my contacts in) it took me a while to adjust.

Lo and behold, 10 minutes of blinking later...it was a SKUNK! I was so darn excited, i wanted to whip out my camera and flash it at the skunk. I'm not sure my mom would appreciate the smell tomorrow morning though.

I'm not sure why exactly i think people would want to see a skunk eating the cats' leftovers on the porch but heck that seemed exciting to me.

Green as a red pepper

2010-05-27T12:57:00.001-04:00

St. Patricks day, people really get into it around here. I snapped this picture on campus; some of the many wearing green that day. He just went all out though :D