Blade Runner

I've finally understood the meaning of the question, "Do androids dream of electric sheep?"

Well Played.

What Hassan Bhai said to each one of us on leaving once the elections were over. I couldn't have said it any better.

After having tea with the Awan girls from Garh Maharaja and hearing all their complaints of what exactly happened on election day, I am beginning to understand just how well we actually played, alhamdo lillah.

The one thing that is left is those 65,000 people who voted for a change and were overshadowed by illegitimate ballots that warded of any kind of help to this area. Alhamdo lillah for such a number, since it gives Abu the drive to try setting this right with the help and guidance of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala.

Coming back to the original statement, alhamdo lillah I'm glad to have played well, and glad to have Abu and all my relatives to have played well too, and alhamdo lillahe Rab il Alameen, for we truly don't know how else to play.

Home Within, and Home Without

Lima didn't have to come. Here's how I found home in gaon.

"An old juhi chawla movie is playing on tv n im remembering u.haha.try escaping tht! bought my first heels frm cnk.ibrahim pooped n peed in his new potty." Texts Umme Ibrahim.

Terms of Endearment

Sometimes when I'm reading one of Ryz's emails, I can tell that he's signed off in a hurry. That's when he writes phrases like, "have fun" towards the end. Reading such words while sitting in my village make me want to find where the party's at, probably an elusive location I may have missed and Ryzvan knows about.

Books That Make Me Dumb

A friend sent me a link to a list of all the books that make me dumb. Well supposedly anyway. There are books within the list that I would like to carry with me everywhere, or maybe I already do carry a bit of those books within myself each day.

Tag to anyone and everyone who reads this post: let me know if you get a rush of nostalgia with the following book titles as well.

Catch 22

Atlas Shrugged

Life of Pi

The Great Gatsby

1984

The Catcher in the Rye

All Quiet on the Westernfront

Alice in Wonderland

To Kill a Mockingbird

Brave New World

A Farewell to Arms

The Bell Jar

The Count of Monte Cristo

Running With Scissors

Lord of the Flies

Animal Farm

Anthem

Great Expectations

A Separate Peace

Hamlet

Night

The Outsiders

The Color Purple

Each title brings back a memory with it, and I grow to appreciate the books I read in Umreekan ISKool all the more, and make me miss the library even more than that.

The Funk Soul Brother

With taglines such as, "Peri peri, sixie sixie" to mark its sixth anniversary, and "Peri-fy your soul" during the month of Ramadan, behold the latest brainchild of the Nando's advertising team: the lid for the aluminum box for take-out orders. What. Absolute. Genius.

Scrambled Eggs

The fever has got to my brain and my thoughts are all scrambled. Now I know how Humpty Dumpty must have felt after falling off that silly wall.

Commit to Memory

Anyone who knows me even vaguely must know that I will never be able to relate to Ryzvan as my 'hubby' - my mind draws a blank each time someone uses that word and I drop everything to correct that person. I can't imagine using that word for him, ever: it's too... commonplace. Just about every woman in love calls her husband her hubby. I beg to differ.

A friend asked me to elaborate and after having looked into the reason why having to hear Ryzvan as my hubby makes me cringe, I came up with this.

I have this thing with nicknames. I am already very selective both about giving nicknames to people and assuming names for myself. Being of that thought myself, for anyone else to assume a nickname for my husband or fiance before my saying so is kind of eerie.

I don't mind anyone else calling her husband her hubby, that's entirely her business. But what I call mine, is my business and he's Ryzvan when people speak of him to me, or Ryz at the most. Any other name I give him, is my name to him - not anyone else's for him to me. Three's a crowd.

Rung

Am going to play cards with the cousins again. Last night six of us tried playing Rung by taking out the 2s and ending up with 48 cards to deal evenly. After having explained the game, I dealed the cards to Haris so he could pick which suit (rung) and he said, "Red." This was after I had explained the game and had all of us had a practice round. On hearing Haris choose his 'rung', Ibrahim who was sitting down to be his partner, stopped midway in his seat and mildly commented, "Hum bahut burri tarah haarnay walay hain." To make up for his occassional fumbling, Haris cheats shamelessly by claiming he's out of a suit to play a trump and ends up with three cards of the same suit in the end, getting beaten up by the rest of us in the process. Playing cards can be an extreme sport in the Quraishi household.

Oh Snap.

Sehyr sent me my own Webkinz pet! I've decided to name him, "Snap" and his cheeks are just adorable. Now Sehyr, Arooj, Waseh and myself have Webkinz and we can all play together online in summer '08 insha Allah. Rafeh and Meher don't have any as yet since they're too young to sit online. And I, well no one is too old for a Webkinz.

The Face that Adorned a Thousand Brides

If only she knew the vast extent of her beauty.

Sixty-four

The number of days I had spent without being behind the steering wheel. Driving was never as much fun as tonight, alhamdo lillah.

When All Else Fails, Run

It's been a while since I've ran. Wanting to gradually build my cardiovascular strength to par, I had no intention of running today as well. Just that today, walking on the treadmill didn't seem enough. So I ran, and when I started to get tired, I ran even faster. I ran until my chest started to ache and I felt that my heart wouldn't be able to take more stress. I ran for about a minute after that as well for good measure before slowing down to a walk once again. Alhamdo lillah running felt so good. I was out of aching and out of breath and I loved it.

Thinking that insha Allah the next time I were to try the same routine, my heart would be stronger and more prepared for the pressure. I don't think I've ever made a cognitive decision such as this when upset, not a damaging one anyway. Certainly not one that I know I will come out of feeling stronger and strangely relieved, alhamdo lillah.

I doubt I speak for myself alone when I say that I am capable of worse things to release stress, pressure or heartache. Of all the detrimental things to do, I guarantee this to be the most exhilirating. This hardly counts as being masochistic, because willingly allowing oneself to be hurt more than once by the same aspect, or not shying the fire after being burnt once is far worse. Each one of us puts ourself in such a position so many days of our lives. This one actually did my heart some good.

Pfft

So I chose to 'audit' everyone on Facebook with SuperPoke today. That's got nothing to do with anything. Really.

Monogamy

Ever since Ryzvan got himself a diving watch, I've stopped looking at new styles for him in my emails from Fossil.

Blissful Ignorance

You know you haven't heard of any songs or music in a while when you read a track on IM and are unable to tell the artist from the song.

Spoilt Rotten

You know you're addicted to your pocket PC when you start a chat conversation on your desktop and stop at, "Assa" waiting for the AutoComplete to finish the greeting for you.

An Itch

I have this urge to send a truckload of postcards with, 'Wish you were here' scribbled on the back to so many people right now. To mail them these cards and magically have them travel this way, this much, with me.

Predictably Home

Predictable is hearing Baji beat eggs over the phone and knowing it's a Sunday morning in FL and she's making the sweet omelet for Bhaijan.

It's Ami getting someone's name wrong when narrating an incident and even telling a joke all wrong.

Home is Ami laughing while she's telling a joke because she knows she might mess up any minute.

Home is also Abu quipping in his version of the Indian soap Ami is watching so intently. As is Ami's promise to return the favor the next time Abu tunes into the news.

Home is both Baji and Omar Bhai accidentally calling out my name before their chidrens' when they're up to their usual mischief.

It's SMSing a hug to Mayyam and getting one back almost immediately.

Predictable is Billie saying, 'Qasam se' or, 'Seriously!' to every 'Nahin yaar!'

It's knowing Maina, Afshan and Nazia will go out of their ways to respond to a call for help despite the distance from myself.

It's having to know that we need not catch up.

It's squeezing in rushed conversation with Rabia and feeling great afterwards, everytime.

Predictable is knowing Zairah will coo back a hello when I call her in a sing-song voice. For her to carry poignant memories of my past as if they were her own.

It's Halima being flaky on popular request.

Ashi, sobering up to be more a sister than a friend.

Homeis Ryz woh na telling me something I want to hear before gliding into what he wants to share with me. Ryz returning my coy girl routine with a cheesy line that breaks a previous record set by himself.

Peter Pan

Part of the weaning process involves myself not sleeping in Ami's room when Abu's out of town. Insha Allah this move will help my weaning and hers as well.