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!