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"The signs of his power and wisdom are spread out in the heavens and on the earth, but only people who have conviction in the truthfulness of His laws can perceive them." [45:3] |
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sunset
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Eid Mubarak
Another month of Ramadan came to an end yesterday, and Muslims all around the world celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr. I'm sad that Ramadan is over, as always, I didn't feel like I made the most of it. Especially this year - I missed quite a few days of fasting due to bad health. But I did learn something new this year, I learned to be grateful for the good health that God has bestowed upon me. I have certainly taken good, stable health for granted all these years. I'm glad I can say that I'm back to myself now and doing well. Here's hoping that God continues to bless us and that the virtues we practiced over the last month continue all year long. Remember that in this world, it is not what we take but what we give that makes us rich.
Eid was simple this year, with all the lives that were lost in Pakistan recently and in memory of 9/11 victims. But Eid is always festive - it is not what we do on Eid that makes it so special, it is how we feel. Especially this Eid that celebrates the end of Ramadan. Eid is always so festive and cheery, and it means good family time and great food for a lot of us (Alhamdulillah). Both of which, I absolutely love and cherish.
Eid starts off for me on the night before Eid - the eve. I always go out and get henna done on my hands the day before Eid. Eid without mehendi is like what Christmas would be like without a Christmas tree. I absolutely love traditions and rituals associated with Eid. The colorful outfits, the bangles, and all that jazz. Eid mornings always consist of morning prayers with the whole Muslim community. Following prayer, we had lunch at our house with some relatives. Spending time with family on Eid gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. The love, laughter, and happiness associated with Eid are the feelings I truly live for.
After the festivities of the day were over, it was time for all of us to pass out and take a very long nap! My whole family was running on 3-4 hours of sleep. And like every other year, I was the only one who could not fall asleep during the day. I have this issue, I can't seem to go to sleep when the sun is out regardless of how sleepy or tired I am. I know, my strangeness is very strange.
For dinner, possibly for the first time in my whole life, my family decided to go out on Eid. Usually, Eid meals are made at home or at a friend or family's house. Never at a restaurant. The family decided Chinese was on the menu for tonight, and we headed to a fantastic Chinese restaurant on an hour long drive. Let me just tell you that this is a great Chinese restaurant. Chinese being one of my absolute favorite cuisines, I live to eat their Mongolian Beef, Kung Pao Shrimp, Orange Chicken, and Spicy Lo-Mein ... mmmm, right? Okay, okay, stop drooling, someone's probably watching you right now! The only problem is that this restaurant is a buffet. Buffet, what's wrong with that you ask? Well, when we went to the restaurant (a lot later than we usually would might I add), we were expecting a quiet dinner at a quiet restaurant.
Boy, were we wrong or what! There was a line outside the restaurant of people waiting to be seated. We all looked at each other and my mom and I exchanged very meaningful glances. What should we do? Should we go back? But we drove a whole hour to get here! And we were all hungry for some really good Chinese food! We decided to stay. This is the part of the book (or movie) where you whisper to the protagonist "don't do it, don't do it". But as usual, the protagonist doesn't listen, and like the protagonist of whatever book you're currently reading, we also got in line, waiting to be seated.
No big deal, right? You are asked to wait to be seated at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill or any other restaurant all the time. Yeah, well, what you forgot was that this restaurant caters to desis. And desis are possibly the most ill-mannered, careless, rude, and impatient people that you will ever come across in your life. I'm a desi girl myself, so trust me when I say that I can vouch for the ridiculous desi mentality that I see around me at all desi events.
The restaurant was so packed that there was no room to sit. There were no plates to get food on. After 30 minutes, when they managed to bring some plates out, there was no food on the buffet table to eat. We paid full price to eat leftovers. And on top of that, we listened to rude desis complain and harass the poor servers doing their best to provide everyone service. You would think that at a buffet, food would not be wasted as much. You can eat "all you want", so therefore you would get only how much ever you can eat, right? Wrong. To desis, sinful buffets mean grab anything and everything you can without thinking twice about whether or not you can actually eat the food or not. I mean, c'mon, you're paying for it so you have every right to waste food, don't you? No, silly desi, you don't.
Buffets are meant to provide you with variety. Not to encourage sinful gorging and excessive wasting of food. I absolutely detest it when people waste food. It makes me furious. Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good as it usually is. My favorite dish - Mongolian Beef - was quite a bit disappointing yesterday. But the Kung Pao Shrimp and Orange Chicken were delicious. Despite it all, I would like to thank God for allowing us at least this opportunity to eat out. And on this occasion, I consider myself so, so, so grateful. I hope God will ease the suffering of all those in misery around the world and provide them with a similar opportunities.
Despite the desi guys who feel the need to check you out from head to toe, the overtly-friendly desi uncles, the loud, gossiping desi aunties, the girl who received my oh-so-famous death glare, the desi couple making out in the parking lot hidden from their parents' view (yeah, I know!), and the number of times I rolled my eyes during dinner yesterday, I must say Eid was very nice. And I thoroughly enjoyed the family time yesterday. Thank you God for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me and my family.
I wish all of you out there Eid Mubarak, and I hope you had a just as wonderful and joyous Eid. Boston Globe's The Big Picture has gathered pictures from all around the world to portray Ramadan this year. Some of the most beautiful pictures I've seen in a while. Do take some time out to see them when you get a chance.
Also, I've been following this blog, 30 Mosques, all throughout Ramadan. Its about a very unique Ramadan experience and its definitely worth the read!
Eid Mubarak!
Eid was simple this year, with all the lives that were lost in Pakistan recently and in memory of 9/11 victims. But Eid is always festive - it is not what we do on Eid that makes it so special, it is how we feel. Especially this Eid that celebrates the end of Ramadan. Eid is always so festive and cheery, and it means good family time and great food for a lot of us (Alhamdulillah). Both of which, I absolutely love and cherish.
Eid starts off for me on the night before Eid - the eve. I always go out and get henna done on my hands the day before Eid. Eid without mehendi is like what Christmas would be like without a Christmas tree. I absolutely love traditions and rituals associated with Eid. The colorful outfits, the bangles, and all that jazz. Eid mornings always consist of morning prayers with the whole Muslim community. Following prayer, we had lunch at our house with some relatives. Spending time with family on Eid gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. The love, laughter, and happiness associated with Eid are the feelings I truly live for.
After the festivities of the day were over, it was time for all of us to pass out and take a very long nap! My whole family was running on 3-4 hours of sleep. And like every other year, I was the only one who could not fall asleep during the day. I have this issue, I can't seem to go to sleep when the sun is out regardless of how sleepy or tired I am. I know, my strangeness is very strange.
For dinner, possibly for the first time in my whole life, my family decided to go out on Eid. Usually, Eid meals are made at home or at a friend or family's house. Never at a restaurant. The family decided Chinese was on the menu for tonight, and we headed to a fantastic Chinese restaurant on an hour long drive. Let me just tell you that this is a great Chinese restaurant. Chinese being one of my absolute favorite cuisines, I live to eat their Mongolian Beef, Kung Pao Shrimp, Orange Chicken, and Spicy Lo-Mein ... mmmm, right? Okay, okay, stop drooling, someone's probably watching you right now! The only problem is that this restaurant is a buffet. Buffet, what's wrong with that you ask? Well, when we went to the restaurant (a lot later than we usually would might I add), we were expecting a quiet dinner at a quiet restaurant.
Boy, were we wrong or what! There was a line outside the restaurant of people waiting to be seated. We all looked at each other and my mom and I exchanged very meaningful glances. What should we do? Should we go back? But we drove a whole hour to get here! And we were all hungry for some really good Chinese food! We decided to stay. This is the part of the book (or movie) where you whisper to the protagonist "don't do it, don't do it". But as usual, the protagonist doesn't listen, and like the protagonist of whatever book you're currently reading, we also got in line, waiting to be seated.
No big deal, right? You are asked to wait to be seated at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill or any other restaurant all the time. Yeah, well, what you forgot was that this restaurant caters to desis. And desis are possibly the most ill-mannered, careless, rude, and impatient people that you will ever come across in your life. I'm a desi girl myself, so trust me when I say that I can vouch for the ridiculous desi mentality that I see around me at all desi events.
The restaurant was so packed that there was no room to sit. There were no plates to get food on. After 30 minutes, when they managed to bring some plates out, there was no food on the buffet table to eat. We paid full price to eat leftovers. And on top of that, we listened to rude desis complain and harass the poor servers doing their best to provide everyone service. You would think that at a buffet, food would not be wasted as much. You can eat "all you want", so therefore you would get only how much ever you can eat, right? Wrong. To desis, sinful buffets mean grab anything and everything you can without thinking twice about whether or not you can actually eat the food or not. I mean, c'mon, you're paying for it so you have every right to waste food, don't you? No, silly desi, you don't.
Buffets are meant to provide you with variety. Not to encourage sinful gorging and excessive wasting of food. I absolutely detest it when people waste food. It makes me furious. Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good as it usually is. My favorite dish - Mongolian Beef - was quite a bit disappointing yesterday. But the Kung Pao Shrimp and Orange Chicken were delicious. Despite it all, I would like to thank God for allowing us at least this opportunity to eat out. And on this occasion, I consider myself so, so, so grateful. I hope God will ease the suffering of all those in misery around the world and provide them with a similar opportunities.
Despite the desi guys who feel the need to check you out from head to toe, the overtly-friendly desi uncles, the loud, gossiping desi aunties, the girl who received my oh-so-famous death glare, the desi couple making out in the parking lot hidden from their parents' view (yeah, I know!), and the number of times I rolled my eyes during dinner yesterday, I must say Eid was very nice. And I thoroughly enjoyed the family time yesterday. Thank you God for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me and my family.
I wish all of you out there Eid Mubarak, and I hope you had a just as wonderful and joyous Eid. Boston Globe's The Big Picture has gathered pictures from all around the world to portray Ramadan this year. Some of the most beautiful pictures I've seen in a while. Do take some time out to see them when you get a chance.
Also, I've been following this blog, 30 Mosques, all throughout Ramadan. Its about a very unique Ramadan experience and its definitely worth the read!
Eid Mubarak!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Fortune Cookie
About three days ago, I made my last post about the rainfall. I mentioned in that post that if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain first. Today, I ate a fortune cookie, and the fortune read:
"If you want the rainbow, you have to tolerate the rain."
Coincidence much? I have a feeling God is trying to tell me something. Either that, or I'm psychic. Either way, I don't just want to tolerate the rain, I want to dance in it!
"If you want the rainbow, you have to tolerate the rain."
Coincidence much? I have a feeling God is trying to tell me something. Either that, or I'm psychic. Either way, I don't just want to tolerate the rain, I want to dance in it!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Rainfall
Its been raining constantly throughout this week. Terrible rainfall. I usually love the rain, hearing it splatter against my window makes me happy inside. But driving through such heavy rainfall, barely being able to see the lights on the car in front of you on an interstate highway isn't exactly my idea of fun. Walking around campus half drenched isn't all that fun either. Unfortunately.
But as they say, if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain. Figuratively speaking, I'm doing the same. Putting up with the rain and waiting for that rainbow to come and shine over my head. I know it will. *Fingers crossed*
With Labor Day off, you would think this week would feel shorter, but on the contrary, it feels like a really long week. Maybe it's just me. The semester is picking up now. I started this week by stepping outside of my house with my glasses, rather than my usual way of using my contacts. You know it's going to be a very slow week when I step out of the house with my glasses.
This week, I'm hoping that the rain will wash away all my worries. People say that when it rains, the heavens seem to be crying with us. I disagree. I think that when it rains, the heavens are trying to wipe away our tears and to give us that one ray of sunshine.
Overall, life is a little down these days, but that's okay. If you want something in life, you have to gather the courage to get up and go get it. So what are you waiting for?
But as they say, if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain. Figuratively speaking, I'm doing the same. Putting up with the rain and waiting for that rainbow to come and shine over my head. I know it will. *Fingers crossed*
With Labor Day off, you would think this week would feel shorter, but on the contrary, it feels like a really long week. Maybe it's just me. The semester is picking up now. I started this week by stepping outside of my house with my glasses, rather than my usual way of using my contacts. You know it's going to be a very slow week when I step out of the house with my glasses.
This week, I'm hoping that the rain will wash away all my worries. People say that when it rains, the heavens seem to be crying with us. I disagree. I think that when it rains, the heavens are trying to wipe away our tears and to give us that one ray of sunshine.
Overall, life is a little down these days, but that's okay. If you want something in life, you have to gather the courage to get up and go get it. So what are you waiting for?
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Inspired.
I'm back. After almost six months of vanishing from the face of the planet, I've decided to return. Now don't ask me where I've been or what I've been doing because I'm trying to recollect that myself. Where did the last six months of my life go? I could sit down and ponder upon that question for many hours or even days, but I don't believe in looking towards the past for answers. It's gone. Live for the moment, this moment, and live it well.
I spent the last hour or so on this blog trying to change things around. I read all my old posts from the time I started this blog and constantly nodded my head in disapproval. I tried to change around the layout, the template, and the background, but found nothing appealing. Blogger is begging me to adapt to one of their newer templates, but I didn't find anything worthy of this change. The only down side to this current template is that its limited - I can't change anything around on it anymore, its that outdated. Either it all stays or it all goes.
Now you're probably wondering why I'm so caught up on making these changes. I don't know, but things didn't feel right. Some of my old posts are making me roll my eyes and seriously wondering what the heck I was thinking when I wrote that! I want it all to go away. I want a fresh start, I want this. I want that.
Well sucks for me, doesn't it? Life doesn't care what I want. There's no such thing as a fresh start in life. And that's what I learned today. You can't change the past, its become a part of you now. The past defines you, who you are, and what you stand for. Granted I could cheat online and start a new blog or edit/delete my old posts, but now I'm not sure if I want to do that. I stared this blog in August 2009, around this time last year. I have about six months of my life recorded on these pages. Things I've felt, things I've written, and things I've shared. Why would I possibly want to give that up - no matter how irrelevant or ridiculous it may seem now.
I've always embraced everything about myself, including my flaws. I feel that even my flaws make up who I am. If I changed that, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Okay, I know, good excuse to continue being stubborn for the rest of my life, right? Yeah, I guess. But its also more than that - more than just accepting the negative aspects of your life, its more like embracing those negative things.
I'm going to do just that from now on - embracing the past instead of trying to erase it, living for today, and working towards the future. Because, really, that's all you can do.
Okay, enough about that. Going through my old posts and this blog in general, I've realized how awfully depressing it really is. Quite honestly, I'm not half as depressed or sad in real life as this blog makes me seem. Of course, I have my days and so does everyone else. The problem is that I usually come to vent to this blog on days I'm feeling down, so it carries this depressed aura in my posts. I have to change that and start coming here more often, even on days when I'm happy. Because really, I should be sharing happiness, not sorrow, right?
I spent the last hour or so on this blog trying to change things around. I read all my old posts from the time I started this blog and constantly nodded my head in disapproval. I tried to change around the layout, the template, and the background, but found nothing appealing. Blogger is begging me to adapt to one of their newer templates, but I didn't find anything worthy of this change. The only down side to this current template is that its limited - I can't change anything around on it anymore, its that outdated. Either it all stays or it all goes.
Now you're probably wondering why I'm so caught up on making these changes. I don't know, but things didn't feel right. Some of my old posts are making me roll my eyes and seriously wondering what the heck I was thinking when I wrote that! I want it all to go away. I want a fresh start, I want this. I want that.
Well sucks for me, doesn't it? Life doesn't care what I want. There's no such thing as a fresh start in life. And that's what I learned today. You can't change the past, its become a part of you now. The past defines you, who you are, and what you stand for. Granted I could cheat online and start a new blog or edit/delete my old posts, but now I'm not sure if I want to do that. I stared this blog in August 2009, around this time last year. I have about six months of my life recorded on these pages. Things I've felt, things I've written, and things I've shared. Why would I possibly want to give that up - no matter how irrelevant or ridiculous it may seem now.
I've always embraced everything about myself, including my flaws. I feel that even my flaws make up who I am. If I changed that, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Okay, I know, good excuse to continue being stubborn for the rest of my life, right? Yeah, I guess. But its also more than that - more than just accepting the negative aspects of your life, its more like embracing those negative things.
I'm going to do just that from now on - embracing the past instead of trying to erase it, living for today, and working towards the future. Because, really, that's all you can do.
Okay, enough about that. Going through my old posts and this blog in general, I've realized how awfully depressing it really is. Quite honestly, I'm not half as depressed or sad in real life as this blog makes me seem. Of course, I have my days and so does everyone else. The problem is that I usually come to vent to this blog on days I'm feeling down, so it carries this depressed aura in my posts. I have to change that and start coming here more often, even on days when I'm happy. Because really, I should be sharing happiness, not sorrow, right?
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