Tagged again... Seven

Tagged by Loulou, Wonderer & Around the clock ... thanks :-)


InshAllah (God willing), I plan to :

1. Start going to Tajweed Quran classes regularly.
2. Do an MSc. in Engineering Project Management.
3. Find my dream jobs. (in progress :-D)
4. Do Omra.
5. Go to the gymn and start "walking" regularly.
6. Eat more veggies.
7. Change my hairstyle.

I can't :

1. Stop believing in God.
2. Control my tears when a loved one is crying in front of me.
3. Pin and fix my veil while talking.
4. Stop buying silver rings.
5. Eat something sweet when I'm reeeeaaalllly hungry.
6. Swim.
7. Stop reading blogs !!!!

I say most often:

1. InshAllah
2. El7amdulilah
3. Ya salaaam
4. Okie dokie
5. Begad ?
6. I mean
7. Mmmmmmmm (different versions of it - long, short, diff .tone etc)

I think everyone I know has been tagged already... but if you haven't done this yet, and are reading this, and feel like it ... you're tagged :-)

Mama's will to learn...

My mum has never used a "modern day computer" ... the last time she dealt with a computer it was one of those ones with "punch hole cards" back in the US around 30 years ago!!!
but she's always been around us while we're working/surfing the net .. whatever .. and she hears all these terms and expressions we use... lately with all of us in different countries.. connecting has been via the internet... be it emails or voice chat or anything else ... so my dad would be the one sending emails and saying "mama says this and that ... etc" , or signing in chat programmes...but sometimes he'd be at work and mama would want to check on us or send something or whatever and she wouldn't be able to ..till he got back ... so mama could take it no longer... and after only two "2 hour" sessions of sitting teaching her the basics (before I left Libya) ... mama was ready to go !!!!

Now she sort of surfs the net, sends emails, and uses Skype ... she is no professional yet.... (had no idea how to use the mouse, and to her... the keyboard was all jumbled up....being used to the typewriter when she used to work) ... but she insists on trying and learning while she can...
She has been and always will be... an example of "it's never too late to learn"...

Thumbs up Mama ... Go Go Go !!!!


Update: My dad just sent this

"Although mum is doing fine with the net, there is something weird about dealing with the mouse, moving it is by using two fingers only as if it may be a live one and one is afraid of it to wake up from a deep sleep !!"

LOL ... even so ... Go Mama Go !!!!!

Mixed feelings...

El7amdulilah (Thank God)... here I am in Alex, Egypt... sitting at home ... but which is home? Here or there... in Benghazi, Libya? Where I'm starting a new life or where I spent my whole life? I guess both are "home" for me but each in it's own sense...
Was hard leaving my parents at this time of the year ... during Ramadan and with Eid coming up... but inshAllah, God Willing, it's for the best...am really looking forward to spending this last week of Ramadan here in Alex... have never experienced it before :-)
Met all my old friends in Benghazi... had a nice time ... felt how much I'm loved and missed... while here in Alex my newly made friends were bugging me to come back !!! Old friends... new friends ... lovely...
Was called to start work today (a sort of "on call" job I have here) ... so I went today .. then I had to come and clear the mess little bro has here... the fridge is a disaster !!! and fix iftar to eat ... good thing my mum has left some semi-cooked stuff in the freezer ;-)

Don't know what to say really... just mixed feelings...

Commenting...

Why do we comment on each others' blogs? Actually what I've been thinking about lately is why sometimes we "don't" comment...

I read quite a number of blogs... there are some I read daily (unless I'm awfully busy... as was the case the past couple of days) and some I check every now and then... I usually comment on the ones I read daily... sometimes I don't really have something to say so I don't write anything...I comment when there's something being discussed that interests me... when the blogger is asking for advice or needs support...for fun..etc..Gradually I've started to feel some bloggers are actually friends... virtual maybe.. but friends nonetheless...

However; there are a few blogs I read every now and then.. yet I NEVER comment!!!! Why? It's like I read them like a magazine or something.. I don't interact... why? Don't they interest me? Obviously they do... otherwise I wouldn't keep coming back would I? So why don't I comment?!?! I don't know if it's just me or if there are other people out there who do the same thing!!!

More on little bro

Was supposed to be writing more on little bro H... wanted to write so much that day.. was quite filled up with all sorts of emotions...
Don't know where to start though...will just let it flow randomly...

He's one of the few people I can be completely and totally myself with ... I mean never thinking that "maybe if I say this he'll get upset" or any things of that sort... I know that whatever I do or say will never be misunderstood... when I don't agree with him on anything we can have these huge arguments and maybe get annoyed at each other during them ...but never ever hold grudges thank God...

He knows almost everything about me and vice versa... was scared that when he left Libya 2 and a half years ago that our relation would change and we'd drift away but el7amdulilah we didn't ... when I moved to back to Egypt last May and it was only us living in the flat ... we got closer even though we were both verrrrrrrrrrry busy ... maybe now he doesn't have as much time as before... but we always have these "open up" talks every now and then... I remember when a building collapsed last May in Alex... I was really perturbed ... wanted to collect donations.. wanted to visit the people in hospital etc... but I'd just reached Egypt... didn't know anyone yet...didn't have a network... nothing .... he stood by me a lot those few days... helped however he could... I remember standing in the balcony crying with frustration.. and he came out and held me ... was so supportive... el7amdulilah...

My big bro S and his wife M always joke around saying that he's so busy and they hardly get to see him ... and that little baby N doesn't know she has an uncle!!! But when he goes to see them and carries baby N she stops crying and becomes soooo peacefully quiet... one of the times big bro's mother in law saw H carrying baby N .. and she said something like "Eideih feeha 7enneya ... eltaree2a elli shayel beeha N 3omri ma shoft ragel shayel baby keda" ...

One of H's bad habits is utmost forgetfullness... he's a joke when it comes to that.. well he does remember things that are near the top of his priorities list .. but I think he needs to concentrate a little more sometimes...always having fights because of that issue...

I love his sense of humour ... he's so "dammo khaffeef" ... and he has this really funny way of laughing that's so contagious... and his humour is so unpredictable sometimes !!!
I know I can turn to him whenever I need to .. be it for a good serious chat or to have some fun...

I've said so much about him ... do love him a lot... but mind you, he's not an angel... full of flaws ... but then not time for that now is it ;-)

Happy Birthday little bro !!!! :-)

Doshar just wrote yesterday about her little sis... it so happens that I want to write today about my little brother... coz it's his birthday today !!!! Not so little any more ... 25 years old today ... currently living alone in Egypt while I spend some time with my parents here in Libya...and older bro with his family in Saudi...the funny thing is he'd forgotten it was his birthday ... only cause we called and sent sms's and ecards... he remembered ... sent me a thank you email saying "Hey thanks...wasn't on my mind .. thought it was tomorrow or something..." Hehehehe ... he's hilarious ...him and his friends don't bother with birthdays any more.... here at home we made an "upside down pineapple cake" and pizza... did the family ritual of singing happy birthday to you in English and in Arabic... then I made a fool out of myself to divert my mum's attention so that she doesn't start crying (which she does sometimes after the singing and blowing candles).. it may seem weird to everyone that we do this ritual even when the person isn't around...but we've been doing it on my big bro's birthday ever since he left in '98 ... and little bro .. the past 2 years ... next year my parents will probably do it on my birthday ... which really worries me coz I won't be around to divert my mum's attention from crying ... Rabena yostor...

Was supposed to writing about little bro wasn't I ? drifted off a little ... So much to say about him .. let's just start by saying I am proud of him .. very proud in fact... he's been growing up sp fast... we were really close as kids .. and el7amdulilah still close...now it's a bit different though...when we were little I was the "big one" ...and he wanted to be like me and "do" like me ... now there are loads of times when I want to be like him ... I love the way he never gives up... love the way he has a clear vision of what he wants to do ... love the way he leads a team to do all the work he's been doing lately ... he's part of an organisation of Engineers (yes.. he's an engineer too *sigh*) and he organises workshops,seminars,scientific trips .. etc ... how he gets it all done is beyond me...doing a Masters degree in Electronics & Communications and teaching at the same time at the Uni...mashAllah...There's just this teeny weeny little thing which drives me up the wall... he's soooooooo messy at home and oblivious of the fact !!!! But even then... "Rabena yehdeih we yekhaleeh leena"

To be continued

Miss my adorable baby niece...

I've known her for only 2 and a half months ... a newborn baby girl born on the 11th of July 2005... so small and tender at the begining... growing so fast mashAllah... was so addicted to her I'd go to see her almost every day at the beginning... by the time she was 2 months old I was actually having a conversation with her !!! I know I'm hallucinating here :-D... at that age she only recognises her mum... but anywayI used to really feel there was this connection between us.. I mean she'd turn her head to where I went ... if I moved away she'd move her head with me .. and even sometimes smile at me and sort of make these baby sounds like she's talking... was once sitting next to her and playing about with her .. then I got busy talking to someone so she started making sounds and was about to cry till I looked back at her... I'd like to believe that this happens with me coz I'm special ;-) .. but I know babies crave attention from anyone .... whatever it is .... I love her like crazy and miss her like crazy...my desktop is a photo of her... screensaver is a slideshow of pics of her... they left to Saudi Arabia last month... will be coming for a visit inshAllah on Eid Al-Adha ... can't wait till then ....
"Rabena yekhaleeha leehom we yebareklohom feeha isA"

Tagged

I've been tagged by Jane and Roora to do this meme ... "5 Random Things About Me" mmmmmmm let's see how it goes...

1. I'm a middle child .. an only girl...I don't remember ever feeling I wanted a sister ... was so close to my brothers ...especially the younger one (1 yr 9 months difference)... had all of the "girly" things a little girl could have ...AND enjoyed "sometimes" being a tomboy... loved group games with my 2 brothers... as much as I loved being with my friends (some of which I felt were my sisters.. only they didn't live at my house!!)... I just sometimes used to feel a tinge of guilt for thinking that I love my younger bro more than the older one... don't feel that way any more thank God...

2. Learnt a bit of Bengali when my best friend was a Bangladeshi girl... was taking it really seriously with tests and quizzes and all!! I loved the way the letters were "drawn" under the line and not on top...used it as a secret code between us...too bad I've forgotten most of it ... just a few letters,words and how to write my name are what I remember...

3. Used to "picture" the English translation while praying until around high school... was a really unique experience coz I studied Islamic studies at my school in English ... with all the Surahs, Hadiths etc in English...so for me .. praying and reciting would be in Arabic.. visualising in my mind the English translation !!!

4. I LOVE creams,lotions,shower gels,powder... you name it...

5. I studied Civil Engineering because I loved it.. loved the thinking, the calculations.. the designing.. ... the seeing your design "grow" in front of your eyes later... then.. I started teaching English as well .. basically for the same reasons... loved seeing my students "think" how to use the language, then "calculate" and "design" sentences and talk... then let the language "grow" in them ... InshAllah (God Willing) will never give up either career...

Oh and 1 more thing .. it's not really about me... we have this cupbaord we bought from one of our Polish friends around 15 years ago... just realised that to this day we call it the "Polish cupboard" !!!

I'm supposed to tag or "kluk" people to do this ... so all of you on my "Blogs I enjoy" list ... if you've not been tagged already ... you're it !! ;-)

Forgiveness

Watched a programme today where the guy was talking about forgiveness... especially in Ramadan... he said when one forgives (ya3foo) people who've wronged him it's one of the noblest virtues and a very high level of "humanity"... Allah is of course "Akram" .. more forgiving, generous, kinder ...so He forgives the person who forgives his fellow brothers...

I'm not the type of person who doesn't forgive easily ... I do forgive...and I usually forget... things fade back in my memory and my heart clears... but sometimes I just can't.. things do start to fade.. but I do know deep inside that it's not over yet.. that whenever I think of the matter or the person ...I know I haven't forgiven and that as we say in Egypt "albi lessa shayel" ... this is the case with him and his mother ... Dalulla was telling me the other day that I should try and forgive him and I said I still can't now ... I'm going to try hard this Ramadan... want to resolve this thing once and for all...if Allah with all His Splendour and Might forgives His creations for the millions of times they've wronged him...then the humble me should forgive somebody who once hurt me...

"Allahoma eghfer lee thanbi, wa ath-heb ghaitha qalbi, wa ajerni min alshaitan"

Ramadan Kareeeeeem Everyone :-)

Currently reading....

Am currently reading a book called "Women in Islam Versus Women in the Judaeo-Christian TraditionThe Myth and The Reality" By Sherif Abdel Azim ... really simple style.... and what the author wrote in the introduction is so true... here it is

"I would like to emphasize in this introduction that my purpose for this study is not to denigrate Judaism or Christianity. As Muslims, we believe in the divine origins of both. No one can be a Muslim without believing in Moses and Jesus as great prophets of God. My goal is only to vindicate Islam and pay a tribute, long overdue in the West, to the final truthful Message from God to the human race. I would also like to emphasize that I concerned myself only with Doctrine. That is, my concern is, mainly, the position of women in the three religions as it appears in their original sources not as practised by their millions of followers in the world today. Therefore, most of the evidence cited comes from the Quran, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, the Bible, the Talmud, and the sayings of some of the most influential Church Fathers whose views have contributed immeasurably to defining and shaping Christianity. This interest in the sources relates to the fact that understanding a certain religion from the attitudes and the behaviour of some of its nominal followers is misleading. Many people confuse culture with religion, many others do not know what their religious books are saying, and many others do not even care."

I like this part too...

Ambassador Herman Eilts, in a testimony in front of the committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress on June 24th, 1985, said, "The Muslim community of the globe today is in the neighbourhood of one billion. That is an impressive figure. But what to me is equally impressive is that Islam today is the fastest growing monotheistic religion. This is something we have to take into account. Something is right about Islam. It is attracting a good many people."

Doing a search ... I found the book online... for those interested here's the link