What does it mean to forgive?

Hmm...what should I eat today. I want chocolate cake. No, I'll have some junk food at the movies. I hope its good. Reviews were mixed. But Waqas planted the idea in my head it won't be good so my expectations will be low. So I should enjoy it. I remember seeing the matrix and that blew me away. But then Iwalked into that not knowing anything at all about it. Hadn't even seen a commercial. I dont' know why I went actually. Just something to do I guess. I went with Aamir and his sister back in the old Erin Mills theatre. That was a good theatre. I miss Canada. Tomorrow is Canada Day! Oh Canada, my home and native land...hehe. I dont remember Canada day last year. But the year before wasn't great. Saw some fireworks and stuff. But other stuff I found out and experienced....no good. Was upset for a couple days. Hmm, I'm still hungry. I'll decide on the way what I want to eat. Whats taking this elevator so long? Summer summer summer Time. I need to download that song. I'll take a look at what Anojan has on his computer and download a few of those. I want more 80s and 90s songs. I need to move Syrianna to my zen as well. maybe tonight. Although i might try some jogging tonight.....more than likely not though ok, so subway, nah no more subway for awhile. ok i'll go left. cart food or kebab king, it was closed last time...or the broadway cafe..hmm....oh where am i. oh i guess i went right...so no cart food...mmm...do i have money...yep 20 plus...ok cafe it is...maybe they have the whitefish again...nope no white fish. ok grilled salmon...and corn, have to avoid the water...needless weight on the scale...maybe i should have tried the pizza place...but they didnt' have fish last time...hmm....some string beans...ooh i'll try some salad this tiem...plain or with croutons..ok both...what else...sushi..nah, ok tofu..is it the fried kind, i miss that from hot pot...need to find a halal hot pot and bbq oh they have spicy tofu...nah. ok i need better ear buds...wow the fried fish is gone already..strange...what else...hmm...ok more salmon....its bit light...oh well, that means cheap hopefully. i can use my 1's. nice the line is 1 long. i wonder if other ppl carry food the same way i do. thats a nice shirt, i should really check out these stores sometimes. is that jeep gonna stop, ok good it stopped. hmm. can cart guys setup shop right beside hydrants? i wonder where the other guy is, this guy isn't as friendly. meh, nice elevator was right there. i'm getting hungry. standing on the edge of forever forever...today! i wonder if they'll make season 6 of scrubs. although it doesn't seem as good as before. flip boing hhe where'd my fork go, mmm tofu's not bad. eating makes me hungry lately. not good. i need a case for my zen...i'll go to future shop after work. maybe i shoudl study at the star bucks. but if every one leaves work early i coudl study right here. then i can take the F train to 42 but I think the A train is closer..but then i got to walk to 8th avenue..hmm...this tofu was good i should have got more. what else, i need to clean my room before my gets here. room is ok, bathroom...stupid floor. maybe. ok i was getting full, and then i ate some corn and now i'm hungry again, wahts with that. well i'm only half done lunch so its ok. i hope the weather lasts. look sunny right now. too bad this weather can't last year round. i need more shirts, well laundry, maybe tonight, while i jog! that could work... but i probably wont get home til almsot 12 so probably not. hmm, how do i get to leguardia...i think theres a shuttle bus somewhere...oh right the bank, need to do that too...well i could go to duane reade...stupid 2 dollar charge...but then they do have those guylian chocolate bars taht are soo good. i want some hagen daz thgouh, that would be good right now...mmm....this luttuce is awful, blah ok thats enough of that. i duno what that was. just trying to something a bit different. though really, when i think about it now. its hardly different at all. i'll see what happens in the future. i just realized what style it reminds me of. meh. my friend farheen started a blog. i'll have to ask her if i can link to it. i'm behind in stuff. i need to clean. and i'm behind in my studying already. good thing this week is a catch up week. i need to email maria, i planned to monday and everyday stuff comes up. tomorrow is Canada Day. wait i mentioend that didn't i. yes i did. hehe. I need to give Dina a call and wish her a happy birthday. I havent talked to her in awhile either. Find out how her trip to Jordon was. The pics of it reminded me of India a bit. BBQ is like 1 month away. I'm really looking forward to that. A few ppl complimented by songs/poems i've been putting lately. None are mine, just things i've come across or are in my head so i put them done. And how do I repay such compliments? Im going to try and come up with some of my own stuff. Simple stuff for sure. But I want to give it a shot. Though whenever I come across osmething interesting I'll still put that up as well. There is no revenge so complete as Forgiveness. How's that? Sounds cool. Do I agree with it? You know, I do. Sometimes I don't entirely know what it means to forgive though. Do I wish another ill? No. Does that constitute forgiveness? I don't think so. What does it mean to forgive? Does it mean that things go back to the way they were? Thats much more difficult. I accept apologies. And I can be friends once more with people. So in that sense I say I forgive, I just don't always forget. Its like another favourite quote of mine, I'll forget what you said, I'll forget what you did, But I'll never forget how you made me feel. Now I don't hold grudges or bitter feelings or anger and the like. At the least I try not, its very very rare...and usually I don't know. Anyways, does this mean I'm only accepting an apology but not forgiving? The more I think about it, the more I think it is about forgetting it in the sense that it doesn't play a part in how you deal with a person later on. And while I remember peoples past actions, I usually don't remember or think about it when dealing with them. So I guess I have forgivne them. I'll have to think about this more. Right now my thoughts all seem to be a bit convoluted. Opinions on the subject are welcome. hehe, I kind of went off on a tangent there. But is it a tangent when the entire piece had no real direction?

Lets Chat

I'm still tired. But today its the I want to go to bed tired. But I didn't get enough done yesterday so today will be even more busy. And today is Golds day so I need to do that and I took meat out in the morning so I have to cook that.....sigh, well at least I'll have lunch made for tomorrow. And tomorrow I'll go see Superman! I'm looking forward to that. I need new glasses. Had a good talk with Caitiln today, just catching up on stuff and discussing problems about various things and observations. I also talked to a few ppl the other day about organ donation and the islamic stance on it. That was really good too. Helped me learn a few things. This is my 80th post on this blog. Is that all its been? It seems like so much more. The weekend is almost here....I just want to sleep...and then do all my work. I want to do stuff, just need the energy...sigh, I'll do it anyways. There will be plenty of time for sleep later. Speaking of conversations, here are a couple recent ones....how much is true? maybe all, maybe none. But they're funny. Msn Me: OK, alright gotta go. Stop typing for a bit lol brb Friend: Why is ur boss there? Friend: Is he sitting right there? Friend: Is this msn box blinking and you’re manically trying to distract him from looking at your screen Friend: I know. Why don’t u write down one of his action points on a Post-it, and then stick it on your screen over the msn bar Friend: I am full of good ideas Friend: You’re welcome Friend: ….you been sacked yet? (I come back to the screen) Me: Pure evil runs through your veins. Me: Are u going out to watch the match tonight Friend: I really want to, bunch of ppl are going to a sports bar to see it Me: So go what’s the problem Friend: I want to I can’t Me: Gonna be stuck at work? Friend: No Me: Then Friend: I really cant, I have this huge spot. Me: haha….are u being serious? Friend: Dude its huge, I can’t see everyone tonight. Its like a bloody third eye in the middle of my forehead Me: you worry me Friend: My spot worries me Me: Paint an Italy flag on ur forehead Friend: Shut up Me: Put black felt pen on it and make it look like a mole. Ignore ppl asking you why u look different today Friend: I should’ve known I wouldn’t get any sympathy from you Talking to a friend- basically I had an opinion which at the time, she thought I was crazy to have (enough explanation- the rest is personal lol) It was all very trivial stuff, but I expected her to be surprised. Me: Yo. I’ve suddenly realised that I can’t believe I ever thought that! Friend: Yeah I was wondering when that would happen Me: What? Friend: Well it was so ridiculous. I thought you’d take around a month..but clearly you were more disillusioned than I thought ha ha Me: you could’ve told me at the time Friend: I did… anyway…mistakes. Learning from them. Always better. Me:Er, ok yoda. Friend: I’m glad you’ve woken up now though Me: whatever Friend: hahaha Me: there’s this Indian place round the corner. I’m gonna go get a lassi Friend: wth. A lassi? You’re not still in india yeah..go get a coffee for lunch like the rest of us Me: i don't drink coffee Fried: are you wearing your chappal at your desk? Me:Hahaha Friend: Wipe that paan stain yaar… your at work for gosh sake… Me: You want a lassi? Friend: Mango please. ….and the rest - Talking to a friend on my moto Me: look I told you what I think you should do, bite the bullet Friend: yeah but...but like what if (re iterates his issues AGAIN) Me: Dude...I can’t hear you... Friend: Why, is your reception going?...are you breaking up? Me: No, cause I’m not listening.

Sand

I wrote a post not too long ago that had a song which referenced Alladin and his lamp...Its strange how you associate things sometimes and how those same things or events can reoccur in very parallel ways and yet represent and mean such entirely different things... Today is the NBA draft. The Raptors have the top pick. I use to be really interested and excited about such things. And yes, I'm still a big raptors fan. And who they pick interests me. I look forward to their success in the future. But I don't feel any excitement. Trust is.....very important. Hard to come by and easily lost. It takes time to establish. But when you exhibit trust or its placed in you, it brings you closer to the other person. Yesterday was a good day for that. Actually, much of this last week has. I'm tired today. My leg was hurting a bit today so I couldn't walk as fast as I normally do. And I worked out yesterday. And I didnt' get enough sleep last night. But thats not what I mean. I just feel a bit tired today. Every night as I toss and turn Worries and thoughts begin to burn A hole into my troubled mind I seek to leave my life behind Me so I can go where I am free A place where I can simply be Myself for all the world to know The inner me I never show You all for I think I am scared Of what you'll say if I shared Will you laugh, and point, and stare Or will anybody even care? Is there a chance you'll like my friend? That this is the start and not the end? Do I dare to dream of being free? Of a place where I can simply be? Am I destined to toss and turn? Will anybody ever learn When will people realize There's so much more than meets the eyes...

Enough to smile =)

Little town It's a quiet village Ev'ry day Like the one before Little town Full of little people Waking up to say: Bonjour!Bonjour!Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! There goes the baker with his tray, like always The same old bread and rolls to sell Ev'ry morning just the same Since the morning that we came To this poor provincial town .....There must be more than this provincial life I suppose it may be ironic that I state that while living in NY.... I had a rather productive weekend. Vivian and Ben and others were thinking of coming down. And while I would have enjoyed that I was thinking I could get a lot done if they didn't. And it just ended up being that they didn't. So yeah I did get a lot done! It was great. I went to the gym twice, had a great leg workout today which I'm sure to feel in the next 2 days...oigh...I got like..I duno 9-10hrs of studying in I think. Didn't get as much work done for work as I would have liked though. but I also did my grocery shopping, some cleaning and I did some cooking. It was great! Next weekend my Mom and Nana are visiting! I can't wait, should be fun! They'll be visiting me for a day and a half and then we'll all be going to New Jersey for a day. =) I have another friend visiting in early August for about a week too. That will be awesome. I can't wait for that either. They are the common herd And you should take my word You are unique: creme de la creme No matter what you do I'm on your side And if my point of view Is somewhat misty-eyed There's nothing clearer in my life Than what I wish and feel for you And that's a lot... No matter what Oh and the date has been set ppl. Saturday, July 29th. The 4th Annual BBQ / Picnic potluck! Yay! Thomson Park in Scarborough again. So far I think about 18 ppl are confirmed. 2 are maybe. And there are about 20-25 ppl on the yet to reply list. I don't expect too many more to be coming. I think last years final tally was 25ish. So probably going to be roughly the same this year. She glanced this way I thought I saw And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw No it can't be I'll just ignore But then she's never looked at me that way before Well, who'd have thought? Well, bless my soul Well, who'd have known? Well, who indeed? And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own? It's so peculiar. Wait and see We'll wait and see A few days more There may be something there that wasn't there before You know, perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before There may be something there that wasn't there before... I'm a geek and I don't care. I like happy endings... hehe =) Its nice someetimes to just sit and smile. You can sit and remember things. And it doesn't even have to be full things. You rmember about things and though the memory maybe faded or old and you can't remember entirely what happend. You remember it was a good memory. And thats enough. =)

An Old Tale & 70 Thousand Angels

An Old Tale An elderly Cherokee man was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside of me; it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too." They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee replied simply, "The one you feed." This has been a long long week. But its been a good week! Lets see.... Congrats to Miami for winning the NBA Championship (I know they all probably read my blog...) Congrats to Maria for getting into Med School (if she reads this) Congrats to Farheen for turning even older, hehe happy birthday (she won't read this so i can make fun of her) Congrats to Zania for winning the privilege of buying me ice cream :P haha, I told you Miami would take it Hmmm....I'm on a roll, lets keep going Congrats to Romana for getting into Nursing school Congrats to Sahar for basically getting engaged Congrats to Omar for being captains chair ab machine excercise thingy king Congrats to Manpreet for starting residency Congrats to Me because ....I dont want to be left out of this =P Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. I talked with Manpreet on the phone last week. That was fun, catching up how things were going. Sounds like she's really enjoying Austin and everything. :) I had a good conversation with another friend, from back home, also catching up and talking about life. Talking about the here and now and about the future. And talking about temptation. It was a fun and interestign conversation. Also talked about hell...scary when you really thik about it. Frightening. I wont go into details about it here though. Friendship is an amazing thing. It makes life so much easier. I know that and have experienced that a few times over now. I really am blessed to have everything that I do. And the people in my life that I do. People tell me that but sometimes you have stop and really think about it as well. Things aren't perfect. I am not always happy. But hey, haha, I got 1 hand in my pocket (holding my zen vision m!) and the other making a peace sign! :P lol Its fun when you make new friendships too. You have to let things put a smile on your face. I should smile more. I took a test earlier this week. Just for some practise and indicator of where i am before starting to really study. I scored between a 640 and 660. Maybe its beginners luck but I don't care. It gives me more confidence. Now I'll actually start some studying and we'll see where that takes me. InshaAllah. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. For now though, I have the I am the man song stuck in my head. haha Can't recall what else I was going to say. So let me leave off with this. Til next time peoples, byee. 70 Thousand Angels Prophet Muhammad said that whoever says, "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-hearing, the All-knowing, from the cursed satan" then, when he wakes up in the morning and recites the last three verses of Surah al-Hashr: "It is Allah beside Whom there is no god, the All Knowing, the Hidden, the Evident; Allah is the Most Gracious the most Merciful. It is Allah beside whom there is no god, the King, the Pure, the giver of Peace, the bestower of Safety, the Protector, the most Honourable, the Compeller, the Proud; Exalted be Allah above the wrongful things they associate to Allah! It is Allah alone who is the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer of all; to Allah belong all the good names; and all that is in the heavens and earth proclaim the Purity of Allah; and Allah is the most Honourable, the most Wise" such a person will be assigned 70,000 angels to pray for him until the evening, and should he die that day, he would have died a martyr"

Perception

"Be what you would seem to be -- or if you'd like it put more simply -- Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise." -"Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carroll Quick weekend recap. Friday went out to dinner in Queens with Romana, Ehsan, Saubia, Nadeem, and Romana and Irfan joined as afterwards to go to Ehsan and Saubia's place. We chilled there for a bit then went back into the city and went here and there. Or at least tried to, hehe. I'll leave out the details but we even got kicked out of deli! haha. mmm....chocolate haggen daaz....mmm.... Saturday, Ken and June were in town so went to Spice with them for lunch and then Coldstone! mmmm.....coldstone.... Sunday, Finished watching battlestar galactica season 2, now i have to wait for season 3, sigh...Met up with Sadia, Romana, and Irfan and watched Faana. It was a good movie but just not something I really like. Stop now if you don't want a spoiler, if you don't care well, I'll just say i prefer happy endings. One of my friends made a not so nice comment about me not liking the movie. They will not be on my goodside for at least a week! hmph. I got my Creative Zen Vision M! Now just go to throw more of my own content on there. I copied a few things quickly from friends this morning. But I want my own music choices...that will take some time...i don't have too much right now. nd I still have to test out the video. But cool! I need to buy a case as well. Woo Miami! Zaina, I think I'll order some Chocolate ice cream. Maybe the chocolate devotion mix they have at Cold Stone. Lies are ugly things are they? And hate. I think a people dont realize what they say sometimes. The power behind their words and even actions. And murder and killing and you know, I just dont get that stuff. I can imagine rage and anger and (sidenote: despite all my rage I am still just a rat in cage....i like that song, i can get use to this zen vision thing) all that but still....it doesn't make sense. Perception is a very interesting thing don't you think? Have you ever looked at someone and thought, this person is waiting to die... Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. I have work to go do now. Not work work, but other work nevertheless. Nervous? Nope. Just ready to get going. I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine On a cloud of sound I drift in the night Any place it goes is right Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here Well, you don't know what we can find Why don't you come with me little girl On a magic carpet ride You don't know what we can see Why don't you tell your dreams to me Fantasy will set you free Close your eyes girl Look inside girl Let the sound take you away Last night I held Aladdin's lamp And so I wished that I could stay Before the thing could answer me Well, someone came and took the lamp away I looked around, a lousy candle's all I found Well, you don't know what we can find Why don't you come with me little girl On a magic carpet ride Well, you don't know what we can see Why don't you tell your dreams to me Fantasy will set you free Close your eyes girl Look inside girl Let the sound take you away

An amazing story

This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa. One night I had worked hard to help a mother ; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator. (We had no electricity to run an incubator.) We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. "Your job is to keep the baby warm." The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, Allah," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, Allah, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Ameen?" I just did not believe that Allah could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The holy book says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way Allah could answer would be for a package to arrive from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted cotton jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out -- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle, I cried. I had not asked Allah to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. the ten year old was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, If Allah has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Allah really loves her?" That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed Allah's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before -- in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon." "Before they call for prayer, I will answer all prayers!"

Can you feel the beat?

Can you, Can you feel the beat Can you feel the sunshine through the dark Can you feel the love go straight to your heart So the next few weeks should be fun. Caitlin was going to visit this weekend, well first I was going to go down there, but then that changed. And now she is obsessed with the World Cup so thats been postponed. But it works out well cause I have plans to hang out with some other friends in Queens Friday and then Saturday I think i'll go do some shopping. Next weekend, well lets start with next week first. I get my Creative Zen Vision M!!! woohoo! I was originally planning on getting an Video Ipod but I kept doing more research and this seems like the better buy. Better Audio quality, better screen resolution and colours, and longer battery life. Plus a few other features the Ipod doesn't have like fm radio and well other stuff but i probably won't use those. I mainly wanted the longer battery life and better screen. Anyhow I get it Monday (or earlier)!! Can't wait. I've had all these different songs going through my head, It'd be nice to actual be able to listen to them. Next week I also go into serious mode for gmat studying. As someone I know would say, Its time to put my game face on. Anyhow, as I was saying next weekend I think Vivian and possibly Dave are coming up. That should be fun, no idea what we'll be doing yet but visitors are allways welcome and fun to have. The weekend after that, my mom and nana are coming for a day and then the three of us will go visit relatives in NJ. Fun stuff. Time is going quickly. This week started a bit slow. But I had lots to do, just the way I like it. And this morning and yesterday especially I wanted to get so much done, but man those overseas guys. So many questions and requets, half my day is gone before I get started on my own work. But I got it done so is cool. I have a friend, She's kinda pessimistic and melancholy a lot. Very much the opposite of me kinda. I'm not a bubbly person by any means. But I'm definitely optomistic and idealistic. At least in some regards. I believe I am anyways. I like to think that way about myself and the world. Is that not enough on its own to make me one? I admit though, its hard not to be cynical or down at times. I've had a lot of weird dreams lately. Doubly weird since I usually don't even remember my dreams. I'd share some....but no. They're just kinda weird and not really funny either. Just odd. What strange things emerge from the subconscious mind of.......well me. Well I suppose not so odd considering what emerges from the conscious mind as well. hehe :P Oh BBQ! yeah! the 3rd or 4th I've lost count but I'll guess 4th Annual BBQ is on! Probably July 29th at our usual park in Scarborough. All are welcome, though I think the crowd will be different this year. Probably some new faces maybe? and less old, unfortunately. Not everyone can make it all the time. Should be fun though! I'm looking forward to it. So tired of broken hearts and losing at this game Before I start this danceI take a chance in telling you I want more than just romance You are my destiny, I cant let go baby cant you see Cupid please take your aim at me Chorus: Cherish the thought Of always having you here by my side (oh baby I) Cherish the joy You keep bringing it into my life (Im always singing it) Cherish your strength You got the power to make me feel good (and baby I) Perish the thought Of ever leaving, I never would I was never satisfied with casual encounters I cant hide my need for two hearts that bleed with burning love Thats the way its got to be Romeo and juliet, they never felt this way I bet So dont underestimate my point of view (chorus) Who? you! cant get away I wont let you Who? you! I could never forget to Cherish is the word I use to remind me of your love Romeo and juliet, they never felt this way I bet So dont underestimate my point of view Who? you! cant get away I wont let you Who? you! I could never forget to Cherish is the word I use to remind me of your love (chorus) Give me faith give me joy, my boy I will always cherish you

The Necklace

So I thought i'd take a break from the pictures for awhile and just put up some random thoughts. I'll put up the India pics later on. Lets work backwords, today is Sunday, went out with Noah, Lisa, Anojan to this Middle Eastern place which was pretty good. The rest of the day I did squat all. I was suppose to go visit the Ipod store but I found out pretty much all I needed to already, I tried out skype and its not bad. I can call ppl in canada with it! For free! And they can call me! ...but they wont....those punks...grr.... Saturday, I met up with Romana and Romana and we went to Hairspray. It was good. Songs were good and it was funny. But its still middle of the road compared to the other shows I've seen. Avenue Q is still my favourite for sure. So yeah did that, and then Romana, Mr. Romana (I don't know his name), and their niece and I went to go see Cars. That was good too. Very good, though didn't have the magic feeling of a classic. Still good. I'm thinking of buying an Ipod. Thoughts ppl? The Video Ipod w/ 60gigs is what i'm thinking. A lot of people, they go on trips to 'find themselves'. Say a trip to europe perhaps sometime after graduation. haha, but no my trip was not about that. I wasn't looking for that. And frankly, I don't entirely know what that means. Or do I.... I didn't realy learn anything new about myself. I just kinda remembered who I am and who I want to be. A few things came up, situations or possibilities, or whatever. Where you can choose to do 1 thing or another, or well infinite choices I suppose. And I don't know what I'm saying. I guess its easy to get away from who you are sometimes. But I like who I am and I'm not going to forget that. During the week, nothing much happened. Work is work. Last weekend, hmm...what did I do. Oh yes. Saturday I met up with Romana, Romana, and Sadaf for dinner. The place was near Park Slope I think, it was good but nothing too memorable. And then we went to The Chocolate Room, mmm! The chocolate cake! soo good! Its suppose to be one of the best cakes in NY and yeah, it was really good! I'm going to have to go again sometimes. Maybe try the brownie on ice cream as well. Sunday, Nadeem was chairing this Islamic Seminar about relationships between men and women. So I met up with the Romana's in Queens and drove down from there. The 2 speakers were young guys near my age and they did a good job connecting to the audience as well. I like the approach they took as well. Lots of time people question why, or how come, or other questoins because they don't want to follow something. This holds true for my friends in any religion. But basicaly, for the other muslims, the guy was saying. Question if you believe in God, question if you believe in the prophet, question if you believe the Quran to be from God. If you accept those things, you can't question the rest. Who are you to think you know more than god? And basically, saying that while no one is perfect, realize that you are making choices that are right or wrong, Don't rationalize things and try to make wrong things right. You can not. And thats not to say dont question, but question to understand, not to determine if right. Anyways, thats enough religion talk. What else? hmm...i need to lose weight. i'm fat. :( But I feel like some ice cream...i was good though i didn'tget any...and now its too late. I can't think of what else I want to write, so I'm just going to leave with this story I cam across. Til later, take care ppl. The Necklace. The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma." As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday,Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green. Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite." "That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time.. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with God. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures. Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of? Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing. God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam!

Alright so the conclusion of my Europe trip. Pics are below if you want to skip down to them and ignore what i have to say....punks! meh. Lets continue. Ok, so Rasheed & I got to this place called Paris. Quite a famous place from what I hear. We stayed at this hostel called Love & Peace or something like that. It was....probabl the worst hostel we stayed at. But the area wasn't bad. We actually weren't very far from the desi area of Paris. What are the odds eh? (More on strange odds later). So yeah, we had some good Indian food a couple times. Though of course we tried Paris food as well. Croissants great. I wasn't able to find a good baguette, though didn't have much time to look. The Crepes were just ok. The salmon was good. Enough about food. Paris I didnt have high expectations of but it was actually really nice. Louvre was massive! and really quite impressive. Sacre Ceour was cool, the Notre Dame, the old prison i forget its name, Arc D' Triumph, Pantheon, forgive my spelling btw ppl. Paris people were also a lot more friendly than I thought. Everyone we spoke to was nice and helpful. Also, although I play around with a bit of french here and there on msn sometimes, when you get there you truly realize that man, i don't know anything haha. hmm....theres actually a lot more that happened in paris, but in this case, what happens in paris, stays in paris. =) Brussels was a cool place. We only stayed there 1 night. The old buildings in the city centre were quite cool. But really, the main thing on my mind was chocolate! And it was sooo goood!!!! I spent like 60-80euro at least on chcolate. And I ate it all there and in india. I miss it....oh the belgium waffle was also great! On to amsterdam. 1st yes there is pot available everywhere. Local corner stores, gift shops, everywhere. 2nd No I didn't try any drugs at all. 3rd the city has a ton of canals. 60-80% of the place use to be water and was drained. crazy eh. Its a really nice looking place though. ok now on to the big coincidence. So Rasheed & I get there and we decide to cehck out this improv comedy show called Boom Chicago. We're seated and looking at the menu and not 2 mins later the waitress comes and seats to other guys beside us. Both are from Waterloo! AND 1 is Rohit, the guy that also went to India to work for TCS when I did! Like crazy what are the odds we are both in Amsterdam, both seeing the same show at the same time and then that we are seated beside each other in a place that holds a couple hundred! So what else? So some people say I'm a bit...blind sometimes. I think I have a weird sense of observation. Not exactly bad at it....just I pick up on different things. So my cousin and I are walking around Amsterdam. And we walk down a few streets and...Districts. So we walk down the road and at the end my cousin says, did you see that? its so open. I'm like what? the the flyers on the walls and the video stores? he stares at me blindly. guy, come on. and we walk through again. hehe Seriously, i only saw the flers and open doors to video stores the first time. i didn't think about looking through the slightly tinted windows. I'm sure you guys can figure out what was there. Or rather who. hehe. I saw the Anne Frank house. It was a lot bigger than I thought. But now I know more of her story and its just a sad and dark time in history. Though sometimes I think other aspects of history just as dark that occured during the same general time period get glossed over. Now to devalue the importance of any of one of them, just saying that the others are just as important. I saw Rembrandt, and Van Gogh, and Caravaggio and simply amazing! I don't even know art and I was blown away. Van Gogh is not really my favourite but I loved Caravaggio and Rembrandt. ok, I think I'll stop here for now. Next time will be some India pics I think. Paris! Looking down from Sacre Coeur The cell of Marie Antoinette (Let them eat cake) Outside the Pantheon The Louvre is massive! Angel something.... :( I forget... The pyramids! A top the Arc d'Triumph The Arc itself eeep! thinking... The Venus De Milo (no gummi de milos anywhere) Rasheed trying to look French The Effiel Tower, sparkling at night. Brussels! and Chocolate! And more Chocolate! aahhh, I can't resist... mmmm....Belgium Waffle... Windmill in Amsterdam The houses are soo skinny A wooden shoe boat! Its Rohit! The city looks great Another city shot mmm.....cheese.... 1 more city shot very cool, I like this Rembrandt guy

Florence, Venice, Interlaken, and Bern!

Ok, quick post. Pictures from Florence, Venice, Interlaken, and Bern. Some small notes of stories, mostly to myself to remember. - Cool guy from Napoli that showed us Spanish cards, - Can't find a hostel, or cheap hotel, or open church = me being bum on the floor - Awesome restaurant in Tuscany - Knocking on ppls doors, hey sir can we see your vineyard? no? but...umm...please? -Bugging the hostel guys to see if we can stay there -Bugging the hotel girl until we could stay there - And Zaina just interupted me so now where was I... - oh the best showorma place is in florence? haha - ppl stopping at 3am to let us use their cell phone - ppl stoping on the street to help us look at a map - a guy driving by, stopping, reversing and asking if we needed help - us talking to a bus driver, blocking traffic for 10mins and NO ONE Honked!! - The david being so much bigger and more impressive than i thought - venetian masks are actually native to florence and so much more but i'll leave it at that for now. next up will be paris, brussels, and amsterdam We got to Florence really late, couldn't find a hostel, hotels really expensive, we sit down and rest at the station infront of the newstand And like a bum I fall asleep on the floor....hey I was really really tired! and it was only for 1hr! Florence was an amazing city. I think I remember 1 of Darrins pics from here too which was cool cause i recognized it when I got here. Manpreet trying on a mask Tomatoes in Italy were soo good!! The country-side was really nice too. We went biking in Tuscany, such a nice day. Manpreet and Rasheed wanted a bit more speed at night. Enjoying the night by the water. Posing on our bikes haha Fooling around in the baggage room at the hostel Then we say good bye to Manpreet and head out to Venice Venice! And more Venice and me and Venice And now on the way to Interlaken, Switzerland. The train ride had amazing scenery. Rasheed can't believe it. Its really georgeous. We rented a car, went driving, and well...my driving scared rasheed a bit. But hey, its a small car what could happen. Rasheed happy to be alive after. We're just goofing around haha Now in Bern, thinking what my next move should be. I decide to go Einstein for help, but unfortunately, he's not in.