Let it be

Life is a mystery Everyone must stand alone... I played squash for the first time in like 8 months or so on Sunday. It was fun. I played against these 2 guys and they were roughly my skill level so it was good. It pushes you to play harder and better. I feel so sore though! Oigh, my legs and..back and yeah my body just is sore. It hurts to walk up steps. I'm so dumb. I was hungry but it was early to go for lunch and I didn't want to go early for lunch in case ppl notice (not that it really matters) but I was takign off work to go out early today anyways. So I'm waiting and then finally Pete and Andrei say they are going for lunch (early yay!) and then Aaron asks if I want Sirtaj, the closest indian place that he normally gets food from. So yeah I order some food through him and give him some cash. And right after he leaves, i remember, I brought lunch today! My newest hat, The Dentist. Ok, so on msn there is a plugin, the stuffplug-in actually. It gives you a wide variety of things to do, mostly larger display pictures and message size limits, and transparency of windows, and hiding ads, etc. But also it can tell you when someone has excited the chat window with you or closed the chat window on you. Its interesting the sort of behaviour you see from ppl. In the old version you could see when ppl open a chat window with you. Many ppl open a chat window to you and then close it without saying anything. Are they just checking out my picture? Or my name? odd. Found out about that feature from Darrin. Side note: not much reason to mention darrins name here at all. it doesn't really add anything. But apparently he only reads this blog for pictures of if his name is present. So Thus, its present. He'll probably only read this paragraph and call it a waste of his time :P. I can't really argue either :P Anyhow, whats also interesting is when ppl close the window. People message and say something or ask something and then without waiting for a response close it on you. Like for instance, I had a conversation something like: friend: Hi? me: Oh hey friend: Hey! How are you? I've missed you! I haven't talked to you in so so long. MSN: friend has left the conversation Me thinking, huh? Seems odd to tell someone you miss them and close the window on them. But i know, its habit for a lot of ppl to just press esc after the message. I've done it before myself. Oh, I just thought of a good prank on Anojan...maybe its a bit mean though....hmmm....i'll wait til april fools. I got a haircut on Sunday. My hair is now much much MUCH too short....hopefully all will be good in about 2 weeks time though. So it'll soon be done. My old cell phone service is almost up. 4+ years, about 24k minutes, i can't recall how many calls. Its over, over and done with. I haven't transferred any numbers over. I haven't given my new number out much either. I guess I should do that. Its not a rush though. I don't expect anyone that doesn't have it to try and call me. People that live and work close to home, close to family are lucky. Very very lucky. You miss out on so much being away. You miss out on tons...

I've got Sunshine...

Ok, so I don't feel like sitting down to blog everything that happened over the last few days. If you really want to know well just contact me directly and I'll be happy to share my stories. But I'll share a bit here and there of various things if I can't think of other things to write. For now, here a mini-story. I sat down on the F train coming home from...not sure, probably work. I sit down and its a fairly empty train, maybe a dozen ppl in my compartment if that. This one black guy comes with a bag near me. I know he is going to ask for money before he says anything. I dont really like to give money on the train. If I have food I'll give that, but most of the ppl are scammers. I look at him briefly and look away. If you look too long you feel more obliged to give money. He is smiling a huge smile. And looks genuinely happy. He states aloud to the ppl in the compartment, he's going to sing a song and please give him some money since he is homeless. He sounds very happy. And he starts to sing and I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't the most amazing singing ever, though it was very good, but he sang with a smile and energy and his joy was contagious. I glance up quickly and look at him a couple times while he sings. I can't help it. I notice the girl sitting across from me. I catch her eye and see she is also smiling now. He finishes his song. I gave him some money. For the smile and happiness he brought, I probably underpaid him. I should have watched his entire performance as well. Oh well. I had that song stuck in my head for awhile afterwards too. It goes a little something like this: grr...can't get the formatting right....dah well I've got sunshine On a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May. Well, I guess you'll say What can make me feel this way? My girl. (My girl, my girl) Talkin' 'bout my girl. (My girl) I've got so much honey The bees envy me. I've got a sweeter song Than the birds in the trees. Well, I guess you'll say What can make me feel this way? My girl. (My girl, my girl) Talkin' 'bout my girl. (My girl) Ooooh, Hoooo. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. I don't need no money, Fortune or fame. I've got all the riches, baby, One man can claim. Well, I guess you'll say What can make me feel this way? My girl. (My girl, my girl) Talkin' 'bout my girl. (My girl) Talkin' bout my girl. I've got sushine on cloudy day With my girl. I've even got the month of May With my girl.

Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures!

Ok, the past few days were a blast. So much fun. Thanks to Jenn, Jane, Darrin, and also Caitlin for coming down for the weekend. We have to do it again inshaallah. Tons of stories, tons of things we did. And I'll fill you all in later, but for now I'll give you all what you really want, the pictures. And here are a lot of pictures indeed. Oh and if you happen to be my 3000th hit (the counter is under the list of friends and previous posts in the right column) Leave a Comment Yo! And if my 3000th hit goes by and you notice there is no comment (stupid 3000th person punk) then its ok, lie to me, and leave a comment stating you are the 3000th person :P haha, just leave a comment anyways, tell me what you think of the pictures. After looking at them myself...I think I need a threadmill....but my friends left me some chocolate....I'll finish that first. Jane & I at Spice. Freezing outside on the way home from Letterman. Jenn & I outside CBS Studios waiting to go in for Letterman Its Rupert! And Darrin, Jenn, myself, and Jane I'm just chilling in the massage chair...aaahhh...so nice... Oh, the cake at Spice is SO Good!!! More Desert Jane, Jenn, Darrin, Anojan, & Myself at Serendipity They have some nice deserts there! Mmm... Don't ask how many calories we all had... Darrin punching out Jane, we're at the Westside Theatre to go see a Broadway show. It was really good. We went to KittiChai a Really Super Nice restaurant. Anojan, Darrin, & I waiting to be seated. Still waiting. But wow, it was amazing inside! Nice choice Jane! Anojan, Myself, Darrin, Jenn inside the restaurant Jenn and her monk fish. Anojan's dinner My vegetable tofu stir fry The Pineapple rice. Jane & Jane in Times Square Caitlin, Jenn, and Jane on the way to Jersey Gardens for shopping Jane, Caitlin, Anojan, Myself, & Darrin We went to the Soup Nazi, though he wasn't there that day. The soup was delicious. Jenn, Anojan, Myself, & Darrin eating outside the NY public library. Anojan, Jane, Myself, & Darrin chilling in my room Anojan doing his eyelashes, making sure he's ready to go out tonight. Anojan admiring his work Jenn, Darrin, Caitlin, ready to head out for the day.

Pictures from CT

I was going to write some stories to accompany this. But blogger was giving me issues and now I don't feel like it. So for now its just pictures, yeah yeah you guys are so disappointed I know. Dont worry. maybe tomorrow I'll add to this or probably just post again. "Please open...." Caitlin, after locking the keys inside...with the car running! Me in some new clothes from outlet shopping. Crazy Conneticut Caitlin attacking me!!!! Anojan wants to try on some new clothes too!! Anojan...what are you doing? haha kidding, i'll vouch for him, it was a scratch.

The Card and Lend Me Your Hand

Ok, so I told one of my friends that I would put some pictures up but....oh well she'll have to wait a couple more days and so will all of you. Today I'm going to just put up a couple of stories that I just like. And given todays date, they seem to fit well enough. =) The Card It's Wednesday the 12th of February. It's early evening. Sally and I are sitting in the living room. Sally has asked me to do something the following day. Harry: 'I can't, I'm afraid. I'm going into town.' Sally: 'Why? What do you need to go to town for?' Harry: 'Oh, I have to get some stuff.' Sally: 'What stuff?' Harry: 'Just some stuff... things.' Sally: 'What things?' Harry: 'Various things.' Sally: 'What things?' Harry: 'What does it matter?' Sally: 'What things?' Harry: 'It's not important what specific things, is it? I have to get things or I wouldn't be cycling into town, would I? All that's relevant here is that I have to go, not the details of the individual items I need to get - there's no point wasting time giving you a big list, when the only significant point is that I need to go to town.' Sally: 'What things?' Harry: 'Oh, for Christ's sake... Pizzas. I need to buy some pizzas, OK?' Sally: 'We've got pizzas.' Harry: 'We've got a pizza.' Sally: 'So? How many do you need?' Harry: 'Several. I want to have several in the fridge.' Sally: 'Why?' Harry: 'So that we have a stock of them.' Sally: 'Why?' Harry: 'So that we don't run out, obviously.' Sally: 'What would happen if we ran out?' Harry: 'I'd have to go to town.' This flings itself out of my mouth while my higher brain is still racing along behind it frantically waving its arms and shouting, 'Wait! Wait!' Sally responds with just the tiniest movement of her eyebrows. Absolutely minuscule. Sufficient in size, however, to make me wonder if I could get a UN resolution to have her bombed. Harry: 'I have to get other things too.' Sally: 'What things?' Harry: 'What the bloody hell does it matter? Why can't I go to town if I want to, for God's sake?' Sally: 'Why are you being secretive? What are you up to?' Harry: 'I'm not up to anything.' Sally: 'Yes you are.' Harry: 'Like what?' Sally: 'I don't know.' Harry: 'Because there isn't anything.' Sally: 'Yes there is - I can tell.' Harry: 'There isn't.' Sally: 'You bloody liar.' Harry: 'You bloody mad woman.' Sally: 'Tell me.' Harry: 'Stop talking now.' Sally: 'Tell me.' Harry: 'I...' Sally: 'Tell me.' I think we've both risen to our feet by this point (it allows for better voice projection). Harry: 'OK! OK! You want to know why I need to go up town, you relentless harridan?!' Sally: ''Yes! You lying swine!' Harry: 'So I can get your Valentine's Day card! So I can get your bloody Valentine's Day card and post it to here - so it'll arrive as a nice surprise through the post!' A tiny flicker. It's the merest stutter of hesitation, though, then she's back on track before the beat is really lost. Sally: 'You don't need to get me a bloody Valentine's Day card!' (I can't imagine what makes her think she's going to get away with this move - she must be getting old.) Harry: 'Too bad! Because I'm getting you a Valentine's Day card! And I'm posting it to you! Tomorrow! When I go to town!' Sally: 'THERE'S NO BLOODY NEED!' Harry: 'WELL IT'S GOING TO BLOODY HAPPEN - GET USED TO IT!' And, indeed, I do go to town, buy her a card, and post it. Inside I write, 'Surprise!' She gets it on Valentine's Day and says, 'Thank you,' to me, through gritted teeth. (She gets me one too, by the way - it reads, "I'm not interested in a nice, normal relationship... I like ours better.") Odysseus and Penelope? Pah - lightweights. Lend Me Your Hand A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river." The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand." "What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father... "There's a big difference," replied the little girl. "If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go." In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. So hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours.

I am learning.

First I'd like to thank the anonymous commentor on my last entry. That was very very nice of you to say. And thanks to you and all others that read this. And for those that know me personally, feel free to leave comments as well. I encourage and would enjoy getting more comments, its fun to get comments. Also, I would like to say most posts are just random thoughts that come to me, things that I'm wondering or dreaming about, or just the events that befold me. But I do quote others upon occassion. My lastest 2 entries (the ones after the NY, CT, DC recap blog) for example. I do not mean to take credit for that work, just most things I find and wish to share are done anonymously. Anyhow, I was going to do a little blog of recent events but its late and I want to read a bit before I sleep. So here is the extra short version and then another little something I found online. The last week has been very busy but fun. Researching cell phones, arguing with Amazon visiting cell phone stores, 2 product releases going on at work, trips to conneticut to visit caitlin, went to a meet and greet or mixer type event thingy with maria, went to ikea to look around, sleepies, back to ikea to order furniture, my bed and table are to be delivered on thursday!, to researching france and europe, long discussions with mike, spending hours at barnes and nobles looking over planing and well of course browsing and reading a bit, going to shannons for a superbowl party, oh i bought the cell phone (a razr, ask me for the # i won't post it here), getting lectured by my younger sister (amusing, yet sigh), actually being busy enough to have to turn down an event, planning the visit of some friends to visit, and then some more, and then how they are all going to fit, meeting noah for dinner in brooklyn no less!, meeting co-workers for a sunday lunch, and talking to friends on my new phone and well lots of other things. fun times, busy and tiring, but also makes me think....of what? I'll keep to myself for now. I know, breaking my own rule. If you want to keep something private, don't mention it at all...hehe oh well. Now here is another thing i came across online. I like it. Hopefully all of you do as well. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, I asked Allah to take away my habit. Allah said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up. I asked Allah to make my handicapped child whole. Allah said, No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary I asked Allah to grant me patience. Allah said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned. I asked Allah to give me happiness. Allah said, No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you. I asked Allah to spare me pain. Allah said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me. I asked Allah to make my spirit grow. Allah said, No. You must grow on your own! , but I will prune you to make you fruitful. I asked Allah for all things that I might enjoy life. Allah said, No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things. I ask Allah to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me. Allah said...Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

How many marbles do you have?

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, of maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself. He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom". I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital. " He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles." "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years." "Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. "Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part. "It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. "I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. "So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. "I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. "I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones...... "It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!" You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special," I said. " It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

Nothing

I think I'm back to daily updates. Almost. To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self. To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try at all is to risk failure. But to risk we must, Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

Rainy NY scalpers, DC Knife Ladies, Crazy Conneticut Caitlin, Cell phone woes

Ok, so I there is a backlog of stuff to talk about. Oh well, its been long enough that this will be a very condensed version. Cause really, oh well, I kind have new things on the horizon now. so my cousin Rasheed came down to NY. Day 1 we kinda got a bit loss and walked around brooklyn for almost an hour. In the rain. Hey, welcome to NY Rasheed :) We ate a ton. A new restaurant everyday for dinner. Lots of good food and great service. Except for Bubba Gump Shrimp. I didn't care for the food there. Went to catch a Knicks game. Getting tickets from a scalper was easy. Madision Square Garden is really nice. I really like the area ceiling. Seats were good. Got them at cost basically. The game was alright. Not the most exciting game cause it was a bit of a blowout, but the Knicks did win, which I guess is a good thing. Empire State Building we went to at night. Scary bit the elevator moved like a good 3-5 inches while I was stepping in....hmmm...But the view was great! Much better than I thought it would be. And it was night so just pure lights all over the place. Tres cool. We decided to take a day trip to Washington. Left pretty late in the day though and didn't get there til about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Ate some food at this interesting little spanish place. And then it was getting late and Freezing. Brr, super cold. So we start heading in the direction of the capital. We see Capital Hill buildings and then want to see the White House. Ask a few ppl, a cop, all sending us in different directions. Finally time is running out. We jump in a cab and he takes us to the White House and the Lincoln Memorial and a few other things. We get back to the bus place at 645, 15 mins early for the 7pm bus. EXCEPT it was a 630 bus...Someone read the schedule wrong. Next bus at 1145. So we walk around but the area is pretty dead, surprising cause the MCI Centre is right there. We catch a movie, eat a bit, then go sit in Mcdonalds. Now in Mcdonalds we just chilling and talking. And there is this one weird old lady (though she doesn't look much older than late 40s) talking to random ppl. Now rasheed and I are in a booth and the crazy lady is right behind me in the aisle. And all of a sudden she and this other guy get into an argument. She starts yelling "I'm CIA, I'll mess you up. Do you know who I am? I'm CIA. I will mess you up." The guy is just like "I bet you would, I bet you would." THEN she pulls out a knife! Not crocodile dundee knife but don't confuse this for a simple butter knife either. And she is like "I am CIA I will cut you up! I'll cut you up!" I've omitted the swears btw. Then some other woman jumps in and starts yelling at the guy as well. Eventually, the guy leaves with his friend. The woman puts her knife away. And starts to leave. Only at this time do I feel see some Mcdonalds staff come. They tell her, 'oh you don't have to leave.' WHAT? Americans make no sense to me. They side with the crazy lady wielding a knife. I mean, mcdonalds, family restaurant, kiddie restaurant, no one calls cops, no authority steps in. Oh well, that was my visit to the Capital of this country. Sometime in the future, well last weekend now. I went to go visit Caitlin in Hartford, Conneticut. Fun and Funny times! I get there Friday night and we decide to go out with some of her friends. But first we go to this Mexican place for dinner. I get out lock and close my door. And Caitlin does the same and then says 'oh no'. The keys were locked in the car! AND AND the car was still running! haha. We called a guy though and got things fixed so it was no harm. Well $40 harm, but nothing serious. There were some much more interesting and funny adventures that night too. But I don't want to embarass Caitlin so I'll just keep those to myself. haha sorry. Saturday Caitlin and I went to the outlet mall. 5+ hrs of walking and shopping! wow, my feet were dead. BUT I got some really nice stuff for super cheap. 1 got a brown nautica coat, white polo sweater, white perry ellis shirt, track pants and track jacket from aeropostale, brown pants from banana republic oh and of course some chocolate from lindt! So thin, so good. I wont' say how much, but trust me it was super cheap! I want to go shopping some more now! Sunday I caught up on a seasons worth of OC almost and...I'm liking it. Not as good as season 1, but its like a nice enjoyable show to watch still. Its not crazy and dumb, its good. Speaking of shopping I've been shopping for a cell phone. My goodness its so much trouble. Amazon has a promotion but its complicated and I can't make use of it. And trust me have I tried. I argued with 2-3 customer reps, 2 ppl in cell phones, I think 1 manager, and then finally with 1 area manager. So yeah, in the end I was like oh well. And I purchased it for almost regular price. AND since I have no American Credit History I had to put down a GINORMOUS deposit that I only get back after a year. sigh. So oh yeah, the phone is Razr, black. Its getting kinda common (or so I hear) but I like it, thats all that matters. I do NOT like having multiple entries for the same person though. Like seperate entries for cell, house, pager, etc. BUT I figured out how to fix that! I am too good. haha I'd put my number here, but I don't want to. I haven't really give my # ot my friends yet cause well, its only been 1 day. And I have 30 days to return the phone if I don't like it. So just in case of that I've only shared with a couple so far. Hmm...what else? I know I'm forgetting countless things. But most ppl already know most things going on with me anyways so thats ok. Today should be an interesting day as well. Perhaps I'll write about that next time. Well we'll see out it goes. I still think I need to stop thinking and just start doing.