myblog

First days

It's seven in the morning and I just want you to know that I am absolutely terrified because today is my first day of substitute teaching. But I'm as prepared as I can be, I guess, so bring it on.

It only took half of an eternity to get this subbing thing to work, but it finally did. Soon I won't be so ridiculously broke! I've been in such a good mood lately, it's very hard for me describe it. But I've been pushing Thanksgiving back in thoughts because, although it was my favorite holiday last year, this year I don't want to think about it. At All.

Anyway, let's see, what's gone on recently.

• I passed my middle grades math teaching exam (oh what an accomplishment).
• I got another A on an Arabic exam.
  
• I'm preparing for my brown belt test (yikes!)
• I bought a box 150 crayons because I'm insane.
• Oh, right the Open Bushido tournament. It was awesome and I had a great time even though they made me compete against a 6th degree black (SRSL!! what the...!? how mean.).

well I've spent 7 minutes doing this and I really can't spend any more time because I have to leave in 13 minutes! So, have a good day. much love.

Another holiday which left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled

The holiday of Eid is supposed to be a joyous occasion where people behave generously towards each other. Families gather at the mosque, share food, give gifts, and visit each other. Being the only Muslim in my family, the family visits and gift giving don't really apply to me. One of the girls in my Arabic class converted to Islam a few weeks ago (in the middle of Ramadan) and we have been getting close, as I have been helping her to learn about hijab (she asks me questions about it. I don't try to convince girls to wear hijab), salat, etc. Her boyfriend is Palestinian, so she can also ask him questions. But I think sometimes she feels more comfortable talking to someone else about it.

Anyway, we decided to go to the mosque together on Eid. I was fairly certain that Eid would fall on Saturday, but she text messaged me on Thursday afternoon to tell me Eid would fall on Friday. So, I went around looking for a mosque not too far from both of us that would hold Eid services on Friday and nothing surfaced. The majority of the Mosques here follow the Islamic Society of North America, which declared that Eid would fall on Saturday.

Before I continue with this, I want to stress that it doesn't matter to me when people decide to stop fasting. If you are non-Muslim, you might be confused by all this-- why is it so difficult to determine when Eid falls? Well, there are many reasons. But the biggest reason why there is such a variation in the day different countries Celebrate Eid (this year: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is because the day is determined by sighting of the the moon. The new moon is the beginning of a new lunar month. However, the new moon is invisible to us, so lunar months begin at the sighting of the first [waxing] crescent. This may actually vary by the geographic location of the person looking for the moon, so it is only natural that, all over the world, Eid will not fall on the same day for everyone. Now, I actually believe that it would do the Ummah (the Muslim Community) a whole lot of good if we would use astronomical calculations to determine the beginning and end of all Islamic months. Many Muslims are against this because they consider it a form of innovation, which is strictly frowned upon in Islam. I understand their concerns and opinions, and I don't bother trying to convince them one way or the other. I have my opinion, others have theirs, and that's that. This post isn't about which way is better, or which day was really Eid. This post is about how people forget the spirit of Eid when they get so caught up arguing over which day it should be.

So, back to my story. The majority of mosques over here were celebrating Eid on Saturday. "So, what's the big deal if you don't care when people celebrate Eid?" you ask. Ok, I'm getting there. My friend calls her boyfriend trying to find a mosque that is celebrating Eid on Friday. She wants to celebrate it on Friday because her boyfriend is very, very adamant that Friday IS EID and NOT Saturday. I I told her I didn't care which day we went, so it was up to her. This all would have been much simpler if  we could have gone to the same Mosque as her boyfriend. But-- She can't go to the same Mosque that he went to because of parental issues, so we have to find a different one. I am soon informed that the Islamic School of Miami is doing Eid prayers Friday morning at 9:00am. This is really far from my house, so I get up at 6:30, leave my house and 7:00 and meet my friend at her house. We head over to the Mosque, missing the turn a few times, and arrive, alhamdulillah in one piece, only to find that the Mosque is empty. The lady cleaning inside tells us that Eid is tomorrow. We are disappointed. She texts her boyfriend. He responds in a very vulgar way, insulting Pakistanis. and I'm upset.

Look, I'm not writing to villify this woman's boyfriend. I don't know him at all. I don't know anything about him, except that he thinks that his Islam is the only right Islam. But it really made me angry that he was racializing Eid. I didn't want to argue with my friend, but I had already visited Moonsighting.com, and ISNA and I knew what was going on in the US and abroad in terms of Eid. I knew that ISNA had declared Saturday to be Eid, and I tried to explain to her that that's why so many mosques were celebrating Eid on Saturday. but I'm not sure she heard me. Celebrating Eid on Saturday was not about being Pakistani. In fact, Pakistan declared Eid to be on SUNDAY. Egypt, Oman, and Morocco, all Arab countries, celebrated Eid on Saturday. But many people follow Saudi Arabia, and believe that this is the only right thing to do. Since Saudi Arabia declared Friday to be Eid, in this man's eyes only Friday could be Eid.

The thing is, I wouldn't have cared what day he insisted Eid was if he hadn't turned it into some Arabs versus Pakistanis argument.

Anyway, many of you know that I don't care for the mosques here in Miami. Most of them stick the women in this tiny little room with a TV, and we watch the khutbah (sermon) over the TV and then pray really squashed together. I also hate that this keeps me from going to the mosque because I am convinced that it's done this way specifically to keep women from showing up (it is argued that it is about modesty. and I can confidently argue back why modesty does not require women to be separated from the men so drastically). We had resigned ourselves to waking up early again on Saturday for Eid prayers, but my friend really wanted to go to Friday prayer at a mosque, so we went to the same place we had been in the morning (normally, if I go to Friday prayer I show up at  FIU, where I don't get stuck in some tiny room separate from the Imam. But even the Friday prayer at FIU can irritate me). The same thing happened-- tiny room. TV. Sardine can prayer.

The next morning I woke up, showered, got dressed, put my stuff in the car when I realized I wanted to bring sandals with me. On my way back in the house to get my sandals before I left I checked my phone and notice I had a message form my friend. She wasn't going to make it because she'd been in a car accident the night before and was very sore. Alhamdulillah she is not injured, but without her I could not see any reason for me to endure more things that really irritate me. We were going to a different mosque, one that some of my friends' families visit, but seeing as how the mosque is so packed on Eid, it was in no way certain I'd even see them. So, I went back to bed. and that was my Eid.

This is a really long post. But what I really want to vent about is racism. I hate it. It made me angry. and it has no business creeping into our Eid celebrations.

Eid Mubarak

Whether you celebrated Eid Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, I wish you Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak... Handwritten on a post-it style :D

Yep. All I need is a buffalo.

This is our garden.

Garden in the corner

During the summer, we grew about four tomato plants in it, which produced way more tomatoes than we could eat. We also have a couple of Basil plants, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, lemon balm, and penny royal. The vine growing on the overhang is morning glory. You may also notice a bird house and a bird bath. The cars are especially fond of those...

Street view of the Garden

Because we love our garden and we know how crazy people get about herbs, roses, and bird baths we hired a guard to keep our greenery safe.

Watch out, Rudy's warming up

yeah. He's merciless.

On "No, I am not a teacher's pet."

This is me.

too cool to fail

This is last week's Arabic exam, which cowered under my hands as I made it look like more like a cute picture book than a formidable midterm.

and what.

This is my bed, where I will now spend time resting.

so... tired...

 
Love to you all.

Singing to dogs

Today I sang a song to my dogs, and they got very excited about it! It went something like this:

Appy and Rudy
I love you
You are so spoiled
Everyday, someone is home to take care
of you
You sleep on the beds, and on the couch
You go on walks, drink purified water
and eat expensive, crunchy food
You have a backyard full of nice grass where
you dig holes
and bark at passers-by
Appy and Rudy
You are so cute
You have many toys
and many things that you claim
as your own
and you don't even have to work!
You lazy bums!
Get a job!
Appy and Rudy
sometimes you stink
but usually
you're covered in hugs and kisses
and also dirt
stop eating my mint
I love you
anyway

QotD: Halo 3

"Halo 3" was released this week - did you get a copy?  What are your early thoughts on this final installment of the blockbuster trilogy?

Fact: I love video games, but I have never even once owned an X-box. I've never even wanted to own an X-box. I know, it's strange. I mean, I've played a couple X-box games. I had a roommate who owned one. But really, I never had the desire to go out purchase one. Plus, the only games I will play on my computer are Age of Empires,  Age of Mythology, and the Sims. Oh, and there was also that one about Egypt.. what was it called? Yes, Pharaoh. It was a simulation game as well. Lately, I've been thinking I'd buy a new copy of it (since I lost mine.. big surprise there) and play it again.

So, Halo 3? I've never even played Halo. Actually, I did play Halo, but for about 15 minutes. I just didn't get into it.

I know, I suck at being a gamer. oh well.

Ramadan Kareem, etc.

So. There's nothin g really exciting going on in my life. I am really enjoying my classes, but I dropped one just because it seemed frivolous to take two classes that I was really only taking for fun. Also, I need time to work on finishing the incomplete I received in my Longitudinal Analysis class last spring. This means that I now have two classes: Arabic I and Foundations of Public Health Practice. I absolutely adore Arabic! I study it all the time and I often greet Oliver with some Arabic saying, which I think bothers him because he has no idea what I'm saying! Our

Sentences in Arabic

professor doesn't assign us massive amounts of homework or anything, so if you really want to learn, you have to give yourself homework. I've written a lot of imaginary conversations between people, and I write down random sentences using the vocabulary

"Conversation" in Arabic

she gives us. I also find myself doing the assignments she gives about three times each. Still, somehow when I went to the board this past Thursday and she asked to write down "This man is generous and this women is stingy" I managed to blank and I couldn't write anything! Now I'm being super hard on myself because I really want to do well in this class, plus I hate being embarrassed and looking like a moron when I go to the board!

رمضان كريم

Ramadan began a little over a week ago, but this year I am not fasting everyday. There are several reasons why, probably none of which an Imam would approve (for those of you who care about those things -- I don't.). Instead, I have three goals: 1. fast at least once a week; 2. Read the entire Qur'an; and 3. Be more diligent in my prayers. Goal

Pathetic Attempt #1037 to write "Ramadan Kareem" in a pretty way

#1 is coming along nicely. Goal #3 could use some improvement and goal #2 -- well, let's just say it won't happen, but hopefully I'll get through most of the Qur'an.  Also, I've probably wasted hundreds of pieces of paper trying to draw a really nice "Ramadan Kareem" which I could post here on Vox. Obviously, I've failed. Actually, there's one that came out nicer than the picture you see on the right, but I lost it some where in my car.

Yes, this bring us to a very big announcement. I purchased an automobile. Right before Ramadan began my sister's boyfriend's father (he's a car dealer) called and said he found the perfect car for me; a  white 1998 VW Jetta GLS. I swooned! I was on my way to study Arabic with a classmate before my 5:00pm class, when my sister called and told me. I could barely contain myself and it took even single bit of my patience to go to class instead of jumping in my sister's car, driving home to pick her up and going to buy the car. I knew immediately that I would love the car. It's in beautiful condition (I did manage to break the driver side aperture cover-- both pieces. so even though I ordered a replacement

ليلى

for the one I shattered, I still need to order a replacement for the other piece. Go me.). I named her Layla and we are now best friends. I took her to my sister's boyfriend's mechanic, who gave her a tune up and replaced the engine coil and she runs like new, with working a/c and everything! I finally feel like an adult! The picture on the left is not an actual picture of Layla -- I am far too lazy to find my camera (my sister borrowed it and I have no idea where it is now) to take one, but this is pretty much exactly what she looks like.

Other than that, not much else is new. I am currently preparing for a martial arts tournament in November. Also, the season three premier of Avatar: The Last Airbender aired last night, and I've already seen the episode 3.5 times (if you live in the US, check out TurboNick for the full episode online!).

 

Katara begins a healing session with Aang

Aang discovers the whole world thinks he's dead

Because I don't feel like it: a list

1. First day of classes yesterday. Arabic and my Women's Studies class were awesome. I really, really missed Women's Studies. I know I said this before, but if I went back to school when I'm done with my MPH, I would go
   

   Elementary Modern Standard Arabic (Elementary Modern Standard Arabic, Lessons 1-30)
   back for Women's Studies. There were some kids in my Arabic class that didn't know Arabic is written right to left. I mean, how do you register for and walk into a class like Arabic and not even know something basic like that? Maybe I am an overachiever, you all know that I spent pretty much my entire break learning the Arabic alphabet and practicing my handwriting. Eh, oh well.
2. I've been thinking more about hijab and my understanding of modesty. I wanted to write about it but I just haven't felt like explaining myself. I am in a weird state, where I want to track how I perceive, understand, and define my religion and religious beliefs, but I write these thoughts for myself and to be perfectly honest, I don't feel like posting them on the internet where Joe Schmoe and Sally Johnson can say whatever they want to me about it. It's not that I'm not interested in other perspectives (believe me, I spend a lot of time reading perspectives and opinions that are not my own), I just don't feel like answering to them. I don't even think I should have to answer to them.
3. Which brings me to: I stopped wearing hijab to Karate. And I'm really happy about it. I've always felt that hijab doesn't need to be (and isn't) this concrete idea that is either part of you or isn't. Modesty is dynamic and fluid. One doesn't wake up, put on a headscarf and become modest. Nor does one become immodest the second one takes of a headscarf.
   
4. Last night the moon was full (not to mention the eclipse, which I didn't see at all), which might explain why I had such a great time sparring last night (normally, I despise sparring). But it also means that Ramadan begins in a couple of weeks. Sanj asked me, in a comment, if this would be my first Ramadan. The answer is (albeit late) no. This will be my second Ramadan, but also, I am not looking forward to it. Actually, I really enjoyed Ramadan last year, and for some time, I was really looking forward to Ramadan this year. But I still haven't figured out how I will fast and go to Karate (or if I will fast at all on Karate days). This year I will be even more isolated from other Muslims during Ramadan (unless I get a car, which is the plan), and breaking the fast alone is quite boring and uninspired.
5. Even with the real prospect of getting a car I still don't know how I will feel about Ramadan. I've been in a spiritual rut. After having such a wonderful time at the Muslims for Progressive Values conference a few months ago, I feel some what disillusioned with my co-religionists in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. I wish I lived in Toronto, or had lots of spending cash so I could just fly up there for the Peace Iftar this year, which is put on by Salaam Canada.
6. The exceptionally good news is that by the end of the day, I will finally be the owner of a Nintendo Wii. It only took
   

   I want to play this
   ten months. It just figures that I'll get it at the very beginning of the semester. I wonder if Oliver ordered me the Avatar game like he promised.
7. Oh yeah, last night I added this double roundhouse kick to my sparring techniques. It's pretty cool.

Due for release on 10/16... Will it be any good?

It's not me, it's you

I think I am breaking up with vegetarianism.

Or rather, I think I will make it an "open relationship." Meaning, I'll eat some meat (fish or chicken, occasionally beef) once a week. So, I won't really be a vegetarian. at all. But at least I'll be eating less meat.

Man, I am lame.