Godmothers and Grandfathers

Why, yes. I do have the cutest cat in the world. And I sure am going to miss my little buddy while Bert and I head to Starkville this afternoon. However, I cannot wait to baby-sit the most precious children in the world Saturday and spend time with my grandfather after he recovers from being very ill. My Abbu is my second father and I love him dearly. And so, I shall leave his great-grandson at home to fend for himself. Well, that's not exactly true. Matty's godmother will check on him and spoil him.

I mean, all pets have godmothers, right?

Labels: family

Barack the Vote

“Barack is actually Swahili for ‘that one.’ And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I’d ever run for president.” - Barack Obama

Love his sense of humor. I'm glad he can make light of all the disgusting smears on him. He's got his eye on the prize - changing this great nation of ours. Making it the America we all know it can be.

I didn't hesitate to vote for this man. I was a supporter from the first time I ever heard him speak. I believe in him. I really do.

A lot of you I know in "real life" are voting for McCain/Palin. After all, isn't that what white people from Mississippi do? But seriously, I beg you to take some time (regardless of who you are voting for) and educate yourself as much as possible before you vote.

Please don't vote based on your pro-life or anti-gay stance. Why? Because in our country, religious beliefs are wholly irrelevant in dictating policy. They are relevant in your personal life choices, but have no place in deciding what everyone else can and cannot do. Let's leave the judging to God. Our country was founded on religious freedom. Let's keep it that way. Look around the world; it's not good when politics and religion get muddled together. At all.

Please don't vote out of fear. Muslims are not evil. I am Muslim. I know lots and lots of Muslims. None of them are terrorists. In fact, I bet we probably hate the terrorists more than you (non-Muslims) do. Why? Well, because of them, we are now hated too. Lumped right in. Yes, there are extremists. No, that is not the majority of people. Yes, our President needs to be willing to talk to other world leaders - good and bad. No, Barack Obama does not want to make BFFs with Ahmenidijad. JFK was able to talk it out; this has worked before. It can work again. Can't we at least talk before bombing? I don't think that's too much to ask.

The point is that I sincerely hope that the majority of people vote for change. We desperately need it. And P.S., please check out Snopes when you receive crazy emails instead of spreading the hate.

Remember that you are making a vote on behalf of the world. That's a huge responsibility and an amazing privilege. Please make the choice for tolerance and hope for our future. Our nation and our world desperately need it.

Oh Yeah

I am done. And I think I hopefully kicked butt. God willing. Don't want to jinx it, of course. ;)

PANIC

Yes, I'm cheating. I'm breaking my own probationary rules. I'm burned out. My eyes hurt. I am so nervous about an exam I will take in less than 12 hours. And so I needed to see what was going on with you fabulous people.

I stayed away from all of you lovely people for 8 days. That was actually excellent for me. But now, here I am, and I'm in a complete panic. I'm coming clean that I am here before I should be. Forgive me.

A lot has happened since we last visited. My grandfather has been in the hospital the entire time. I cried buckets. Praise the Lord, he's going home tomorrow or Saturday. I am so happy and can't wait to see him soon.

Work. Can't elaborate.

This exam. Extreme stress.

Not to mention this pesky sickness I seem to have picked up. Thank goodness I went to the doctor yesterday and got a cortisone shot. I am convinced it's the only reason I'm able to function.

But I'm not really functioning. I am completely freaked out.

I called my mom last night, stressing. My mom is an aerospace engineer with her Ph.D., so I knew she must have been in a similar predicament before. I told her that 4 classes was a ridiculous amount of information and I had to be ready for any of it.

She then told me that she took a preliminary Ph.D. exam that covered ELEVEN graduate classes. Holy shiz.

Anyway, I must get off of here and get back to it. It's going to be a looooooooong night.

Labels: school

The Flip Side

It's a sad day, but the time has come.

I am placing myself on blog probation until Oct. 24. That is the day I take the comprehensive exam for the Master in Public Administration (with emphasis in Higher Education) degree. You see, I will somehow lose myself in blogland and/or Facebook for 2 hours just to procrastinate studying. It's a problem. So, I am being tough on myself and imposing no blogging and no Facebook on myself until after my exam. It is over the FOUR core courses in the program. This is a daunting task and I am super stressed. It is a massive amount of material.

So, I will miss you all, but I figure that with this extra time, I will either 1) study or 2) go to sleep earlier. Either has to be a good thing, right?

All I know is I cannot wait until I log in to this page again and check my blogroll. Because then, dear friends, this insanity will be over.

As long as I pass.

Oh boy, here I start to stress again. Time to sign out, pray and study my butt off. See you on the flip side.

Labels: school

Wake Up Wake Up

First of all, just wanted to say in regards to that situation from a few weeks ago...well, your prayers worked. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. God is good.

***

So, as I was driving to work to work this morning, I caught the tail end of "Head Over Feet" by Alanis. Next was a quick radio commercial in which the announcer said, "The Morning Mix...you never have to worry about it being anything but family-friendly! You'll never have to worry about anything being inappropriate for those little ears!"

I thought, "Oh great. I'm old. I listen to family-friendly now. Super."

But then, I was perlexed. Because as soon as that announcement finished, "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye started playing.

Huh?

What Matters

Many of them were born in either India or Pakistan. For many, English is not their first language. But it didn't matter.

And although my cousins Naima and Sarah (above) are just "as Americanized" as you and me, many of the other people there were not. But it didn't matter.

The food was spicy and my aunt Subhui made sure she had some milder food for me. When I tasted the palau, my mouth was on fire. But it didn't matter.

We got home late and I felt tired this morning. Many gas stations were completely out of gas on our way home, and I started getting worried. But it didn't matter.

I couldn't have been happier. To celebrate with my extended family last night was the greatest gift I could have received. These are my people. That was all that mattered.

Labels: family

Longing

Imagine that it Easter and you have just finished up Lent. Imagine that you really denied yourself of something and it was a hard month, a prayerful month, a transformative month. And here you are, Easter - a joyful day and the holiest of the year to you.

Now imagine that no one else cared. However, you did hear people mention the Chinese New Year all day long. And you aren't Chinese.

That was yesterday for me.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am happy that Rosh Hashanah was recognized so widely. I am happy to see the inclusion of Jewish holidays alongside Christian ones. That is a very positive step.

But after abstaining from food and drink for the past month from sunrise to sunset (around 6am-8pm), yesterday felt so lonely. We woke up early, went to prayer and went on about our lives. I went to class, as I had a paper due. Then, I went to work. Then, we went grocery shopping and watched "House." Anticlimactic. Why didn't we take off? Well, because you don't know when Eid will be until right before it...it was either Tuesday or Wednesday this year, and frankly, I thought it would be today. It's based on the Lunar calendar and it's a long story of tradition vs. science as to why we don't know until right before. I'll spare you. But the point is, we had to go to work and school because we had obligations and not enough time to prepare.

I am very happy, though, that we are driving to Atlanta tonight to eat dinner with my extended family. I shall wear my new mint green top with Indian beadwork around the neckline. It will feel good to have on that sparkly top. It will feel like something. I will be surrounded by people who went through what I went through, people who love me - people that are celebrating. Maybe, just maybe, tonight will be what my heart is longing for.

Labels: religion