Assorted Thoughts

So the wedding was awesome. My flight was late as usual (Rasheed jinx'ed me I say!) and I went straight from Pearson airport to the hall for the Mehndi. I grabbed my clothes from my parents and snuck into the bridal room to change. As soon as I step outside Alia's right there and gives me a big hug. She looked great and very happy. Oh and I looked excellent if I do say so myself :P haha. I go say salaam to my Dadi and some relatives. Many of whom said that I'm next. :S ....meh, its nothing I'm not already use to really. And then I introduced myself to the guy and he seemed really nice and friendly so thats wonderful. I'm happy. The next few days were crazy hectic running around, driving around, to get errands done. Staying up late to finish last minute preparations and then getting up early to do even more. But it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. And seeing all my relatives was really nice. I must admit when returning I just felt down and depressed...you know its been a year now since I arrived. Yep, 1 year last week. So much has changed and so much hasn't. I've made some new friends....and I've lost some as well......sigh...well whats that saying of musashi's....onward and upward......always getting stronger.... Speaking about returning. Seriously, sometimes I get so sick of customs. ARGH. Like at times I'm like forget it. I'm going to leave this stupid country. Its not worth it at all. I got held by customs again though I got up at 430am and made it to the airport early enough that that I still had plenty of time for my 830 flight. But then at the gate they stop me and ask to see my documents again. Not the freaking X number of ppl before me (least for the time I was watching) and I don't know about after me. But I don't care. They did stop me. And while it only took 2 mins.....sigh...its just tiring. Side note: What the heck is wrong with some ppl. Learn to walk and stop gettnig in my way. Sheesh, I love how I can walk 4 blocks getting 3 red lights and never have to break stride but I hate how some ppl don't know how to walk and cause me to break stride 5 times just trying to get around them. I don't like to use the word hate. I dont' really hate. Its much to strong of a word. But I dont' care right now so hate is the word i'll use. Its strange how some ppl don't know you at all and yet they should know you so well. And others know so much and you don't even remember how that happened. I went out with friends last night for dinner. It was very impromptu and it was nice. I don't do very many things like that. Its hard when you're in the city and don't know many ppl. But it was nice. Met some new ppl. It makes me feel a bit old when I can sit and talk about politics for an hour. I use to get so bored of such talk when I was younger. Its still not my favourite subject. Its interesting now. But it just makes me upset at the state of the world. Seriously, ppl should just make me king :P When is enough enough? Soon enough. Ever be standing on the platform waiting for the train, music in your ear and smile on your face quietly singing to yourself. Perhaps tapping the beat. on the train, shifting side to side. shoulders moving a bit. dancing to the beat........no...me neither. Ok so ISNA is a no go. But Bostons looking good now. Oh pictures from the wedding, yeah I'll put some up later. You'll have to come back to look. I had a doctors appointment while I was back. No surgery for now. I'll re-evaluate things at my next appointment with him. Who knows when I'll have time for that. I did a test on patience and forgiveness. The results said I'm a Balanced Forgiver. Balanced eh? hehe who knew...

My Celebrity Look-alikes

Ok so Saara had me try this out....I did it with the first few pictures I could find....I'm not too sure about the results.....I might have to try it again....hmm...there was no overlap between any of the pictures...what do you think? I think I'll try some more where I'm wearing glasses later...and maybe where I'm smiling and showing my teeth.

Smile! - Alia pre-wedding party pictures

Ok, so I had planned to have this whole post about smiles. How smiles are so much fun and contagious. And I was going to have a huge bunch of pics of family and friends smiling. Different pictures from trips, vacations, school, etc. But then the pictures I selected got cleared from the list I made. So ok, np I'll try again. Then picasa crashes...so...oh well. I'll just go with 2 pictures instead. Both very recent and both with my cousin Alia's pre-wedding parties. Alia & Saara Umber & Alia

The Full Story - The Waterloo Witch Project

Ok, I decided its just easier to post the whole thing at once, despite its size. WARNING WARNING DANGER DANGER!!! Disclaimer The following story is intended for Geeky audience only. The characters in this story do not portray any resemblance to real life individuals. This story contains stupidity, pathetic-ness and immature content. Viewer Discretion is Advised! Over the weekend Gabriel tired of working on his work report so in order to have a lil fun he decided to play some video games, during which the girl of his dreams walks into his room. He drops his video game, looks at her and says "HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ......I mean.....you are just like an anime character" and then realizes....that she IS an anime character. He was looking at his TV this whole time. After wiping away the tears, he get a call from Vivian, who says "Hi Gabriel, I was just feeling a little bored and was wondering if you wanna come over and play some basket ball with me" Gabriel replies, "Sure...but first I have to smother myself in vaseline to make sure that, hahah, well you know." Vivian: "teehee teehee, oh in that case....lemme get some grease because grease will help me in......" Gabriel replies, "Umm...I don’t think grease would be the appropriate lubricant for this job." Vivian: "whoa whoa whoa....what kind of 'job' are you thinking of buddy?" Gabriel: "well, I duno....just figured it would be an inside job since its such a nice day outside." At this point, Vivian hangs up the phone and decides to give Anojan call, who had just finished writing a totally useless program about everyone's purchases at Futureshop. The two start a heated discussion about anime. Vivian: "You know what Anojan, Everyone's right you know, Umu, Mohammed, Darrin....ESPECIALLY DARRIN!!! Animes are just cartoons but for some reason messed up people like you, me, and Gabriel can't help but love them. I think the reason we like anime so much is because...oh, can you hold for a second there’s someone the door." Vivian walks to the front door and looks outside and thinks to herself "Damn, its that stupid person's body who killed when I was driving back from Waterloo" She goes back to tell Anojan about it, who by now has written program which could tell a person, how long they have to hold before a person like Vivian comes back on the phone" When Vivian was about to tell Anojan about the dead person, who has come for revenge the doorbell rings once more. She looks through the peephole to discover Gabriel standing outside completely covered in vaseline. Just then, Vivian's mom comes out of the kitchen and says Vivian, why are you on the phone at 4:30am and why is there a boy dripping something in my driveway? i think you should....call the homeless shelter people. This boy needs to go there". Vivian asks Anojan to hold on while Anojan starts running his program.Vivian then meets Gabriel and tells him"Getthe#$%#out of here! You're scaring my mom. I think you should gohome and take a shower. But afterwards, let's go swimming, cause it's nice and cold, and it looks like it's about to rain. How does that sound?" Gabriel: "Well I suppose that could be fun, but can I invitesome more people? and how about we go swimming at.....Wassaga beach ?" Vivian: "Sure, you could invite more people but I can't go to Wassaga beach cuz i'll get burnt if I go there. Can we just go to your place?" Gabriel gets excited and calls Anojan. The phone is busy, however, seeing as how Vivian still has him on hold. His program continues to count the minutes he is on hold. Vivian remembers Anojan is on hold, smacks herself on the forehead and then smacks herself across her face, then she smacks herself on the forehead again, then drops to the ground spinning in circles, all the time uttering the words, kenshin..... kenshin...Ken......shin... .shin....Ken......I can't go swimming at Wasaga.....I don't want to get those little white things in my mouth and ears." Then out of nowhere, Darrin and Remil burst on to the scene moonwalking backwards up to vivian and gabriel and shout ".....How ya doi'n?"and exit out. Vivian and Gabriel look at each other trying to figure out what happened when all of a sudden Gabriel smacks Vivian across the head. Vivian: "Ouch! Aiya! What was that for Gabe?" Gabriel: "Oh, don't deny it, you know you...want to go to the beach" Vivian replies, "What does smacking me over the head have to do with me wanting to go to the beach?!?!" So Vivian retaliates by smacking herself across the head and says "That'll show you" Gabriel puzzled, decides to reconsider going to the beach. Gabriel thinks to himself, "This girl's a lil messed up. Maybe..." and then suddenly he starts smacking himself on his cheeks as well. Suddenly Anojan comes to visit Vivian and sees both her and Gabriel smacking themselves and decides to write a program that smacks himself in the face so as to not feel left out. As the three of them are whacking away a knock comes at the door. Vivian and Gabriel have beaten themselves so badly that Anojan has to write program to answer the door. the door opens and Umair and Darrin walk in while Remil keeps moonwalking outside. Darrin and Umair together: "Anyone up for some Demetres?" In the meanwhile, Mohammed has pulled up in his van and shouts "let’s go!" so Darrin, umair and Mohammed head towards Demetres, while Remil moonwalks towards Demetres. Vivian, Anojan and Gabe are still smacking themselves and wondering why on earth is Remil moon walking. They shrug it off and decide to follow Darrin, Umair and Mohammed to Demetres. Wanting to arrive there first, the four of them get into's Vivian's car, and start heading to Demetres. Vivian's driving fine until all of a sudden Vivian thinks to herself, "hmm... its such a nice day outside, what with the lightning, rain, thunder, and 8degrees temperature...i think i'll open the sun roof, i wonder why they call it a sun roof, i mean who would ever open it on a sunny day...". As Viv opened the sunroof, she decided to stand up in her car, while driving, and then out of nowhere lightning strikes the car hitting vivian. She survives the lightning but her hair is burnt like in the cartoons you see on TV. (but its all ok because now her hair matches her face). They finally arrive at Demetres to discover that Mohammed, Darrin, and Umu, have already finished their ice cream, and are geting ready to leave. Anojan and Gabriel are so mad, that they start smacking Vivian around, while Remil moonwalks over her. Mohammed, Darrin, and Umu, see this going on and then promptly forget about all of them as they see Shaq's caribana float suddenly coming down the side of the parking with music blaring, a fantastic lights and pyrotechnic display, and girls galore. Darrin sees the asian girls and goes "HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!", Mohammed sees the girls and goes "HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!", Umair sees the artist formerly know as prince and goes "HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Anojan sees the computer controlling the float and the show and goes ""HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" After witnessing all this, Mohammed, who was actually looking at brown guys and Umair and Darrin, along with Remil decided to leave that place. Anojan was still excited about computer controlling the float while Gabriel and Vivian were nowhere to be found. So Darrin says to himself, "I can't believe the Raptor's lost that game against the Sixers. Man......It's all Vivian's fault. It's a good thing Gabriel went to talk to everyone to get everyone to meet for mini-golf in 5mins, otherwise i would have seriously...." So at the mini golf place, Vivian decided to take a wild swing for one of the shots and misses the ball completely. The putter slips off her hands and hits Mohammed in the head. Vivian: "That's what you get for sending distasteful e-mails to me at work. Though I really really liked the pictures of those girls in the string bikini's, it's still very very distasteful. you should no better.....and another thing....." Before Vivian could finish her sentence, Mohammed picks up the putter and tells everyone to give it a rest already, and then proceeds to get 18 consecutive holes-in-one after which he decides to go back to demetres and eat a 5scoops ice cream, with 2 scoops chocollatta, 1 scoop vanilla, 1 scoop taramisu, and 1 scoop mint chocolate chip, with bananas, chocolate fudge, and strawberries, with extra mini-cones. After finishing the ice cream he decides to go to the washroom to brush his teeth with his new tooth brush that he had bought right before coming to the amc area. However, once getting to the washroom he sees a strange guy with red spots all over his face throwing up and think to himself "ok, maybe i'll just brush later..." Meanwhile, back at the putting-edge on the 3rd hole Remil is now.... trying to get his ball out of the pond. The ball had conveniently landed there as Remil tried to hit but it rebounded of Anojan's head (who was busy writing a golf program) and had landed in the pond of water. After this, Umair, Darrin, Remil and Mohammad decided to go watch a movie while Anojan started writing his movie program and Gabriel and Vivian followed not too far behind. They checked what time the movies were playing but to their dismay, all the movies were sold out. So they decide to go home and watch some channel 7 on t.v. Though everyone wanted to watch real movie, Vivian insisted on it. But then suddenly, without warning, the earth is hit by a meteor that kills everyone on the planet, except for Darrin, Jessica Alba, Rachel from S-Club, and Beyonce. They decided that this is the perfect opportunity to create a new world, and everyone....well, the 4 people left alive, live happily ever after. THE END!!!! ............................... ....................or is it........out of no where there’s a big bright flash and Darrin himself outside in a place he's never been before, he looks around and sees 6 of the most amazing vehicles he has ever seen approaching him at a furious speed. He spots Vivian driving down in a pink malibu and quickly jumps out of the way at the last minute as she comes screeching to a halt. Then anojan pulls up beside her in a car resembling a cross between the batmobile and the knight rider car but with more computers, followed by Remil in a red porsche, Umair in a Chauffeured rolls royce (he still hasn't got insurance to drive himself), Gabriel in a yellow Ferrari, and Mohammed in a black Hummer. Darrin astonished asks them "whats going on? i thought you had all died! whered you get these cars. and Damn, where'd Rachel go?" Umair: "yo, guy, at the last minute we finally got vivian to flip the channel and we saw back to the future part 2 so anojan quickly wrote a tv to reality conversion program and we jumped into the Doc's Delorean and went back in time stopped the meteor, but then while we were back there we decided, hey why don't we make ourselves rich too!" Mohammed: "yeah along with a few other things, i am now commissioner of the nba. Lam is the first vietnamese player in the pro basketball....unfortunately he was only good enough for the wnba....." Anojan, "yeah and i just made my own version of windows. called window kenshin, you must use it honourably! dont run it on less than a 2gigahertz computer with 512ram!" Gabriel "yeah and i went back in time and took all the time i wanted in finish my work report. sigh...took me forever." Remil "yeah, and i'm not president of raptors. richard peddie is my lackie. haha. oh and i made it a law that girls can not drive with out training wheels on their cars!" Umair: "yeah, i became a full acc sci, got really rich, and moved west edmonton mall, the cn tower, the acc, and niagara falls (that one took a while) to milton. and i'm now living happily with julia roberts. We're expecting" said umair proudly. "Twins!" Darrin "nice stuff, did you do anything for me?" Vivian: "yeah we brought you........an appointment letter to work as a trainer for Lam and to clean our cars. I hope this is good enough for you" After hearing this, Darrin got one of his crazy fits. He started scratching his hair.......... started pulling them off and kept jumping as if he is dancing on that "Nothing to lose" Scat man song. Soon, Rachel and all those people he was with came and slapped him a few times and decided to go with viv, mohammad, umair, remil, anojan and gabriel and Darrin decided that for him the only option left is to...........WORK for THEM!! THE FINAL END!!!!!!!!!! This is the original work of Darrin, Mohammad, Remil and Umair and cannot be reproduced, copied and /or pasted. Copy rights DRUM Productions Ltd. Summer 2001.

Maya Angelou

I was just reading some stuff from about Maya Angelou and decided to put down some of her perls of wisdom. It was just a cool coincidence that the last item she mentions happens to be one of my favourite quotes. "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow." "I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights." "I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life." "I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as "making a life." "I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance." "I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back." "I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision." "I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one." "I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back." "I've learned that I still have a lot to learn." "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

A Bird in Hand

I find too often people are not happy with what they have obtained but rather are still upset and disappointed about what they never had and still do not. I am at times guilty of this myself. till, I hope feel that by and large I am grateful for things I've been blessed with. I don't have anything in particular I want to write about right now. I just kinda felt like writing. I'm in a good mood. And not just about myself but about the world. There are so many amazing things in this world. Its so cool. And I've experienced many good things and inshallah will get to see and experience many many more. Another thought that ran threw my mind earlier a was how things can be so close yet so far. But that doesn't really fit in here. Oh well. Part 2? I think i'll just put the whole story up later instead of breaking into pieces. Its just easier for me in the end. It'll be up later this week. Unfortunately, I'm getting too many spam comments so I'm going to have to turn on that word verfication thing. :( Not like ppl comment much anyways...punks.

Waterloo Witch Project Part 1

5 years ago or so, some friends and I while on our first co-op terms and not too incredibly busy decided to write a story by email. One of those things were everyone writes a line or so at a time. I've decided to post it up on here. Its full of old inside jokes but maybe ppl will enjoy it anyways. Its too long to put up in 1 shot so I'll do it in a few pieces. The writers were Remil, Umair, Darrin, and myself. WARNING WARNING DANGER DANGER!!! Disclaimer The following story is intended for Geeky audience only. The characters in this story do not portray any resemblance to real life individuals. This story contains stupidity, patheticness and immature content. Viewer Discretion is Advised! Over the weekend Gabriel tired of working on his work report. So in order to have a lil fun he decided to play some video games, during which the girl of his dreams walks into his room. He drops his video game, looks at her and says "HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ......I mean.....you are just like an anime character" and then realizes....that she IS an anime character. He was looking at his TV this whole time. After wiping away the tears, he get a call from Vivian,who says "Hi Gabriel, I was just feeling a little bored and was wondering if you wanna come over and play some basket ball with me?" Gabriel replies, "Sure...but first I have to smother myself in vasline to make sure that, hahah, well you know." Vivian: "teehee teehee, oh in that case....lemme get some grease because grease will help me in......" Gabriel replies, "umm...I don’t think grease would be the appropriate lubricant for this job." Vivian: "whoa whoa whoa....what kind of 'job' are you thinking of buddy?" Gabriel: "well, I duno....just figured it would be an inside job since its such a nice day outside." At this point, Vivian hangs up the phone and decides to give Anojan call, who had just finished writing a totally useless program about everyone's purchases at Futureshop. The two start a heated discussion about anime. Vivian: "You know what Anojan, Everyone's right you know, Umu, Mohammed, Darrin....ESPECIALLY DARRIN!!! Animes are just cartoons but for some reason messed up people like you, me, and Gabriel can't help but love them. I think the reason we like anime so much is because...oh, can you hold for a second there’s someone the door." Part 2 coming later......hmm...I think the story works better when as whole than smaller pieces...but its too long and I don't want to format it all right now....so...oh well.

Sand and Stone

Take my hand...Live while you can.... The brief version (or as brief as I can make it). Friday L hung out with 1 of her friends and I had a good chat with some of my friends. Saturday, L & I went around Battery Park and then Licoln Centre. There were some free performances going on in the court yards. 1st an African beats and some singing/dancing thing which was really nice, energetic, and fun. Funny to see little kids dancing around. 2nd, Wire Monkey Aerobatic dancing which despite the name was actually rather dull. We then walked over to Bloomingdales to say hi to Caitlin & Mike and chat with them for a bit. I got 2 polo shirts (yellow and green) for just $18.50! Hazaa! I'm not really an hazaa type person, I just felt like throwing in today. So then we went to dinner at a viet/japanese place. It was meh, ok. Now, its 830. We're on 62nd and 2nd avenue. And we start heading to Central Park cause there is the astronomy show at Belvedere Castle. Now, I'm not entirely sure where it is...but I figure I'll find it. AND I did!.....but it was 10:10 by the time I did and no one was there....oops. Walking and talking was fun though. We hop on the train back to brooklyn and go to the Chocolate Room. Which man, has the Best chocolate cake! I want more right now. Its moist and flavourful and chocolately, but not heavy or too sweet. And the icing was great too. Not too sugary or sweet, but still a rich chocolate taste. Mmm...so good. Sunday, I caught up on studying and L went to hang out with her friend again. Alia's wedding shower was this past weekend. Umber said she'll send me some pictures so I might put some up when I get them. Its so crazy how fast time flies. Faster and faster as well. I came across this story and I like it. So I'm putting it here to share. Let me know what you think. Laters. Sand and Stone A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face. They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life. The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it. Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone. -Anonymous

Simple vs Real Friend

A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears. A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument. A real friend knows that it's not a friendship until after you've had a fight. A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call. A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself. A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could blackmail you with it. A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend expects to always be there for you! Agree, disagree? Add more?

The International Etiquette Test

So L arrived yesterday, yay. I picked her up, we went back to Brooklyn and then we went into the city cause I had to go to work. And I showed her a cafe to get a bite and we decided she'd walk around and I'd meet up with after 3hrs after work. I get back to work and all of a sudden it starts to rain, hard. I'm like man, L's gonna get soaked. But it didn't last long. She was fine, she waited it out. We met up after work and walked to Times Square. And then it rained. And we both got pretty wet. Decided to come home and order in. Man, same thing happened when Rasheed visited. At least for the 1st day. But it was nice we ordered food and talked, and a bit of a political debate, it was good. Though staying up til 3+ and then getting up for work.....not fun. I'm gonna leave this as a short post today, the first in ages I know. But here's a neat lil test I got from Benson, I got a 5 I think...i forget...but there were like 3 I knew but then 2nd guessed and got it wrong...grrr...hehe. Laters. The International Etiquette Test

Right around the corner

We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.....We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it. -Atwood hmmmm..... My blog is gonna hit 5k soon. If you are the 5,000th person. Leave a comment please. You win no prize though, I still owe benson chocolate about 1k and 2k on my old blog. haha Check the counter by looking at the counter down the rightside column --> Yesterday, I stopped to get a haircut at a nearby barbershop I've gone to twice before in the last year. The guy remembered me! And said the usual? I'm like, if you remember it yeah. My hair is shorter than its been in ages. So....I guess he only kinda remembered. I don't mind it. I like it. It'll grow back fast, anyhow so the barber-man is muslim and we start talking about religion and stuff and he's a very nice guy but a bit too preachy. And b/c I'm born here he assumed I didn't know much which was kind of annoying but I didn't want to argue with him. But I did find out there is a Masjid much closer to me then the one I've gone to in the past which is awesome! ps. I keep feeling like capitalizing IF and THEN b/c I'm so use to doing that in my specs now. haha Anyhow, I'm quite tired of the places I'm eating at for lunch. So I decide to go look for something new. And I hear there is a place on 29th and 5th. So I start walking there and I see it. YES! A Pakistani/Indian/Bangladeshi/Arabic HALAL restaurant! Woohoo. Its so nice to be able to have meat and different varieties. And it was nice and cheap too. AND right beside it, a Masjid! So I have a place to go on Fridays now. So awesome! So Awesome! So all that put me in a better mood. I feel a bit of anxiety. I have to ask some questions and its a bit nerve racking. This is vague but thats ok, I don't want to detail it here. My friend is visiting tomorrow! For a week! I can't say who since they wish to remember anon. Let us call them.....D? Nah. L, lets go with L. So L is coming tomorrow and hanging out for a week, I'm not sure what we'll be doing yet. Depends what she wants to do. I'm glad the weather has cooled down some. It'll make exploring the city much nicer. Caitlin might come down on friday as well so that'll be cool. I'm also a bit stressed by some other things. Its annoying and stressful. And its also another blah. Like go away blah, go away. It'll work itself out eventually. In the meantime I don't need any pressure. I'm glad ppl trust me to come to me for advise. :) Or at least appreciate it when its given even when not solicited haha. Thats not often. But its kinda strange to be in this position as well. I still dbl check with others about their opinions from time to time. But for the most part, I feel good.

Picture Archive

Here are all the pictures I've put up on this blog. I'll update this page as I put up more. And this post will be permanently linked in the left column somewhere over <----- There. 2007 7. 5th Annual BBQ! 6. Katie, Vivian, and Miss. Peacock visit NYC! 5. Museum Mile 4. Dancing My Way Home! 3. Amazing Race NYC! 2. Food! 1. Mosaic & Old old pictures 2006 19. NYC Halloween Parade 18. Cookies! (and Caitlin, Mike, Anojan, myself) 17. San Francisco 16. Its a small world & a BIG universe 15. Alia's Wedding Parties 14. Alia's Pre-Wedding Parties 13. 4th Annual BBQ 12. Mike, Caitlin, & I chilling in NY 11. India Pictures 10. Florence, Venice, Interlaken, Bern 9. Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam 8. Rome 7. Pompeii 6. Pisa 5. Visiting Caitlin in CT 4. Darrin, Jenn, Jane, & Caitlin Visit 3. Remembering 2005 2. Cousins - Group Picture 1. New York & Washington - Rasheed Visits 2005 3. Going Home for xmas holidays & New years 2. Friends &amp;amp; Family & Convocation 1. Soon after first arriving in New York

The Bridge -- A Metaphor

The story of my life.... There was a man who had given much thought to what he wanted from life. He had experienced many moods and trials. He had experimented with different ways of living, and he had had his share of both success and failure. At last, he had begun to see clearly where he wanted to go. Diligently, he searched for the right opportunity. Sometimes he came close, only to be pushed away. Often the applied all of his strength and imagination, only to find the path hopelessly blocked. And then at last it came! But the opportunity would not wait. It would be made available only for a short time. If it were seen that he was not committed, the opportunity would not come again. Eager to arrive, he started on his journey. With each step, he wanted to move faster; with each thought about his goal, his heart beat quicker; with each vision of what lay ahead, he found renewed vigor. Strength that had left it since his early youth returned, and desires, all kinds of desires, reawakened from their long-dormant positions. Hurrying along, he came upon a bridge that crossed through the middle of a town. It had been built high above a river in order to protect it from the floods of spring. He started across. Then he noticed someone coming from the opposite direction. As they moved closer, it seemed as though the other was coming to greet him. He could clearly see, however, that he did not know this other, who was dressed similarly except for something tied around his waist. When they were within hailing distance, he could see that what the other had about his waist was a rope. It was wrapped around him many times and probably, if extended, would reach a length of 30 feet. The other began to uncurl the rope, and, just as they were coming close, the stranger said, "Pardon me, would you be so kind as to hold the end a moment?" Surprised by this politely phrased but curious request, he agreed without a thought, reached out, and took it. "Thank you," said the other, who then added, "two hands now, and remember, hold tight." Whereupon, the other jumped off the bridge. Quickly, the free-falling body hurtled the distance of the rope’s length, and from the bridge, the man abruptly felt the pull. Instinctively, he held tight and was almost dragged over the side. He managed to brace himself against the edge, however, and after having caught his breath looked down at the other dangling, close to oblivion. "What are you trying to do?" he yelled. "Just hold tight," said the other "This is ridiculous," the man thought and began trying to haul the other in. He could not get the leverage, however. It was as though the weight of the other person and the length of the rope had been carefully calculated in advance so that together they created a counterweight just beyond his strength to bring the other back to safety. "Why did you do this?" the man called out. "Remember," said the other, "if you let go, I will be lost." "But I cannot pull you up," the man cried. "I am your responsibility," said the other. "Well, I did not ask for it," the man said. "If you let go, I am lost," repeated the other. He began to look around for help. But there was no one. How long would he have to wait? Why did this happen to befall him now, just as he was on the verge of true success? He examined the side, searching for a place to tie the rope. Some protrusion, perhaps, or maybe a hole in the boards. But the railing was unusually uniform in shape; there were no spaces between the boards. There was no way to get rid of this newfound burden, even temporarily. What do you want?" he asked the other hanging below. "Just your help," the other answered. "How can I help? I cannot pull you in, and there is no place to tie the rope so that I can go and find someone to help me help you." "I know that. Just hang on; that will be enough. Tie the rope around your waist; it will be easier." Fearing that his arms could not hold out much longer, he tied the rope around his waist. "Why did you do this?" he asked again. "Don’t you see what you have done? What possible purpose could you have in mind?" "Just remember," said the other, "my life is in your hands." What should he do? "If I let go, all my life I will know that I let this other die. If I stay, I risk losing my momentum toward my own long-sought-after salvation. Either way, this will haunt me forever." With ironic humor he thought to die himself, instantly, to jump off the bridge while he was still holding on. "That would teach this fool." But he wanted to live and live fully. "What a choice I have to make; How shall I ever decide?" As time went by, still no one came. The critical moment of decision was drawing near. To show his commitment to his own goals, he would have to continue on his journey now. It was already almost too late to arrive in time. But what a terrible choice to have to make! A new thought occurred to him. While he could not pull this other up solely by his own efforts, if the other would shorten the rope from his end by curling it around his waist again and again, together, they could do it! Actually, the other could do it by himself, so long as he, standing on the bridge, kept it still and steady. "Now listen," he shouted down. "I think I know how to save you." And he explained his plan. But the other wasn’t interested. "You mean you won’t help? But I told you I cannot pull you up myself, and I don’t think I can hang on much longer either." "You must try," the other shouted back in tears. "If you fail, I die!" The point of decision had arrived. What should he do? "My life or this other’s?" And then a new idea. A revelation. So new, in fact, it seemed heretical, so alien was it to his traditional way of thinking. "I want you to listen carefully," he said, "because I mean what I am about to say. I will not accept the position of choice for your life, only for my own; the position of choice for your own life I hereby give back to you." "What do you mean?" the other asked, afraid. "I mean, simply, it’s up to you. You decide which way this ends. I will become the counterweight. You do the pulling and bring yourself up. I will even tug a little from here." He began unwinding the rope from around his waist and braced himself anew against the side. "You cannot mean what you say!" the other shrieked. "You would not be so selfish. I am your responsibility. What could be so important that you would let someone die? Do not do this to me!" He waited a moment. There was not change in the tension of the rope. "I accept your choice," he said, at last, and freed his hands. - Edwin H. Friedman

BBQ Pictures!!!

Pictures from the 4th Annual BBQ/Picnic/Potluck. Unfortunately didn't get a group shot, but oh well. It was fun. The food, the games, even the being chased around the park. The dinner at night. The games at night. I miss that, just being able to get together with ppl and play board games. And hang out. Good times. Some ppl can't wait to eat mmm....the food was great!! Everybody eating Random bbq pic Myself & June Vince with some "Special" Brownies Ken, ?, Myself, Seiji Soccer baseball was fun Jessani & Ben at the restaurant for dinner Darrin, Adil, and Nadim

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day On the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply? When the day is done Do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores Running through your head? You'd better slow down Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, Not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die Cause you never had time To call and say "Hi"? You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. When you run so fast to get somewhere You miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift.... Thrown away. Life is not a race. Do take it slower Hear the music Before the song is over. -David L. Weatherford

Flying fun

So this past weekend I went back to home and it was great. The weekend involved quite a bit of long waiting but overall went quite fast. I flew back Thursday night. I didn't have time to pick up a book before going to the airport so I thought no problem, I'll pick something up at the airport. But once I get there I'm looking around and there was nothing I wanted. I saw a M.Crichton book I hadn't read yet but I figured, meh, the flight is only 1 hr I can wait. The flight did get delayed 30mins in the terminal but we finally boarded the plane. The plane taxi's out and then....lines up behind 30, yes 30! planes also waiting for takeoff...I ended up flying out at 930, 3hrs after the initial take-off time. Flying in was also a problem. Rasheed, my mom, my sister are telling that something always happens when I fly. Rasheed jokse that I'm cursed. Obviously we dont' believe such nonsense but I do seem to have...bad luck. More on that later. Friday I went for my TN visa and other than the long waiting time it went smoothly. I then met up for Darrin for lunch in Hamilton which was nice. Just caught up on whats going on. And got some pasta from him. Thanks man. I'll let you know how it is when I try it out. The rest of the day I just spent with family. Saturday was the day of the bbq/picnic. Weather reports were saying a 60% chance of thunder showers. But it barely even drizzled and that was only for 2mins. The weather was awesome overall! Somewhere around 27-28 ppl showed up and everything went really well. The food was great and we played some games. I definitely got a cardio workout that day. I'm still feeling sore actually. Played some football, soccer, and then went back to the good old days of Soccer-Baseball haha. And then the inevitable. The water / shaving cream fight. I was again chased around the park and then some by mostly Adil and Jessani trying to get me. Jessani did manage to get me a bit in the back but nothing major. It may be that they will get me, but I still refuse to make it easy on them. I won't go down without a fight. Although next year, I think I'll do less running and just stand there and we both spray each other. After the bbq we all went for dinner and chilled at Ben's place. Good times. I of course won at Settlers and then got accused at being Evil again before even taking a turn. Somethings never change. Sunday was a bunch of last minute errands and spending time with family before taking off. Where again I had problems flying. 2 years ago I flew to India. It was my first time flying in over 12 years and it was so exciting. I still enjoy flying, its a trip and I enjoy going places. But I've taken like 15 or so flights in the last 2 years now and yeah its fun, but I think I do seem to have some bad luck flying. Looking at my flights for the last 2 years (Not counting layovers, just flights) 1. Toronto -> Amsterdam - Delayed 5hrs, get switched to low-end alternative airline in the end. 2. Amsterdam -> Delhi - Delayed 2.5hrs 3. Delhi -> Hyderabd - Luggage is lost, got it back 2 days later. 4. Hyderabad -> Chennia - Delayed 3hrs. 5. Hyderabad -> Delhi = Delayed 2hrs. 6. Delhi -> Amsterdam. Yay, no problems. 7. Amsterdam -> Toronto - Customs makes me open my luggage for inspection. 8. Toronto -> NY. Customs Deny me a TN visa and I can't fly out. (went to niagara border and got it w/ np) 9. Toronto -> NY. Yay, no problems. 10. NY -> Toronto. Yay, no problems. 11. Toronto -> NY. Yay, no problems. 12. NY -> Toronto. Yay, no problems. 13. Toronto -> NY. Yay, no problems. 12. NY -> Toronto. Yay, no problems. 13. Toronto -> Amsterdam - Delayed 3hrs. 14. Amsterdam -> Rome - Delayed 1hr. 15. Amsterdam -> Hyderabad - Delayed 1.5hrs, my cousin's ticket gets cancelled. 16. Hyderabad -> Amsterdam - Delayed 2hrs. 17. Amsterdam -> Toronto - Delayed 2.5hrs. 18. Toronto -> NY - Customs stops me for further questioning, search my carry-on and wallet. I miss my flight and get put on a later flight. 19. NY -> Toronto - Flight delayed 3hrs. 20. Toronto -> NY - Customs stops me for further questioning. They tell me they know this happened previously in May, its b/c my name is similiar to someone they have on a list and they need to veriy some info about me. They don't ask me any questions or search anything this time but I miss my flight and get put on a later flight. And they tell me this will probably happen 9/10 times so I should come earlier to make sure I don't miss my flight. Woah, thats more flights than I thought. And basically something happened 14/20 times. So 70% of the time...anybody else have some fun flying stories?