I am not a happy camper these days [split]

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Re: I am not a happy camper these days [split]

Rabia..............YOU HAVE TO PICK UP KITE RUNNER........ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you're gonna like Kite Runner better than A Thousand Splendid Suns. Kite Runner truly is a powerful book and while you read it, you can tell that the author put sooo much thought into all the details and character personalities. It's amazing! This book will make you angry, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry. You know the names that author chose for the characters in the Kite Runner relect irony. In other words their names contradict their personalities. For example, one character in the book is deformed and ugly and his name means beautiful. Another character's name means leader....but he's actually a coward. It's AMAZING how well thought-out this book is. I'm glad that I read A Thousand Splendid Suns first and then Kite Runner....that way I got to save the best for last.

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Hi girls! Ive been thinking about Mina today...........hope she is well. Her big day is in less than 2 weeks so the woman must be hopping!

Aisha, what are you upto today? I didnt have a great day today for some odd reason...it was all wrong...lol. I need anew start..............................................:)

The author....Khalid Hosseini right? I havent read his books yet, saw Kite Runner and cried like crazy through it all. I cry through everything though. Someone says BOO and I cry...lol.

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Hey Reha,

I hope you have a better day tomorrow. If it makes you feel any better, my day was so-so. I'm thinking of a new start as well....need to kick-up up the working-out routine...and my new start includes a make-over.....and getting back to the tedious job search process....and picking up creative projects where I've left them.

I went to Michael's Craft store today and bought some red, black, and white mosaic tiles and some tile glue. I almost bought a sketch book and a set of oil pastels. But then I changed my mind. I think this would have been my third oil pastel set so far; they are my favorite medium to work with. But I let it go because I can still get by with the set I have at home and before I start a new art project, I need to finish the one I've already started. I'm making a red/black/white mosaic vase. I take the tiles out to the garage and pound the hell out of them with my hammer. Then I glue the pieces onto a small glass vase. When I'm done gluing the tiles, I'll fill them in the spaces with grout. So far, I really like the way it's turning out. The colors are so bold and it kinda looks like an African or Hispanic vase. But it's rather tedious. And I can't wait to be over and done with the gluing so that I can set things with grout.

I also went to Border's today and used one of my several gift cards that my students gave me. I've got $50 in Border's gift cards from 2/3 years ago and I've just used one today. I've sooooo many young adult books/novels at home that I felt I should buy some picture books. So, I bought Horton Hatches the Egg. It's my favortie Dr. Seuss book. I was never too fond of The Cat in the Hat (who I think is creepy) or Green Eggs and Ham.....but I LOVE sweet, innocent, faithful, good old Horton the elephant. And I love that phrase he keeps repeating throughout the book, "I said what I meant. And I meant what I said. And elephant is faithful. One hundred percent." If you haven't read it, it's really an adorable book.

The other picture book that I bought is The Paper Bag Princess. I LOVE this simple tale of woman empowerment. It contains a lesson for women of all ages. So, I bought it and I thought to myself that if i ever have a daughter one day, I would read her the Paper Bag Princess to teach her about confidence. You know how in most fairy tales, the princess is always the royal damsel in distress waiting for the prince to slay a dragon and rescue her? Well, not in this story.

In the story, Elizabeth is a beautiful princess who lives in a beautiful castle and is going to marry a beautiful prince named Ronald. Things are going according to the usual fairy tale rules, when all of a sudden, a fearsome dragon destroys her castle with his fiery breath and kidnaps Prince Ronald. Everything has been burnt down...even Elizabeth's clothes. She searches for something to wear and can only find a paper bag. So, she fashions a dress from the paper bag and goes out to rescue Ronald. Elizabeth outsmarts the dragon with her wits and courage....and then she enters the cave to free Ronald. She finds Ronald is in the cave, looking all neat and prissy....the way a prince should look. Taking one look at Elizabeth, Ronald tells her that her hair is a mess and that she's dirty and that she's wearing a paperbag....and that she should come back to him only when she looks like a beautiful princess. And Elizabeth tells Ronald that his hair looks nice and so do his clothes......but he's a bum. So, she leaves him there and prances off into the sunset in her paper bag.

^ It's a classic Robert Munsch story and a favorite for many kids. I showed it to my sister and she thought it was "stupid" and asked me why on earth I'd buy it. But...then again....my sister is not into picture books. She's a serious, practical, med-school student, lol. And she couldn't understand that the book is about girls being strong and looks not being the be-all/end-all to a person.

I was trying to watch the movie, Atonement, which is set probably in the 1800's I'm guessing. And while I was watching a soldier curse up a storm with every other word being the** "F" word....I started wondering if people really cursed as much in the olden days as they do nowadays. You girls ever wonder that? I mean....back then....during regular conversation.....was every other word the **"F" word? For some reason, I don't believe that. It doesn't seem realistic to me. I imagine them using the word, "blasted" instead. **"Where are my blasted spectacles. Hand me that blasted rifle will ya. And will you try not trip over the blasted dog" **KWIM?

And I was just thinking.....is it only Disney movies and a couple of chick-flicks and holiday movies here and there that are totally devoid of the "F" word? Maybe it's because I've taught language arts for two years........but anytime I hear someone using the "F" word **after every other word in a sentence......I tend to think that the person has a very limited vocabulary and must be an **ignoramus. Is it just me who feels that way?
I wonder how Mina is doing? I have yet another headache. BUT this time I will not write an ode to my headache.....because the last time I did so.....my headache got pissed at me.....and attacked me with a vengeance. So, instead, I will try to compose a poem for Mina.

Hey Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiina!!!
Girl, where are you?
You need to come back
Cuz we miss you!

But before you do
We hope that you
Take it eeeeaaasy
Nice and breezy

Shake your shoulders
And let your hair down
Do some cartwheels
And just clown around

Rent a movie
Do some accents
Hang out with Fuschia
She needs a good friend

Shake the stress away
Everything'll be okay
You know it will
So relax and chill

Everything will fall
Into its place
Everyone will sigh
When they see your face
As a beautiful bride
With so much grace

Only two weeks away
Is your big day
You know you're all prepared
And all your loved ones will be there

And we'll be here too
Cheerin for you
On our famous thread
Your friends, Bonbon and Red

And Reha's reading this
And shaking her head
She's hoping I won't
Write her a corny poem as well

But tooooo bad, Reha
Cuz I don't disriminate
I'll write you a poem too
And it'll be worse than this!

Thank you....Thank you very much
No applause....please....it's not necessary
You want me to take a bow?
Oh, okay, only because you insist.

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*LOL @ discriminate. Have you ever done any open mic nights anywhere? LOL. You're gooooooood! And you better write me one too, I want my poem. Mina Dearest, I hope you're keeping your sanity. Try to delegate tasks as much as possible so you're not the one running around everywhere all the time! I know you're stresssing! *:)

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OMG! I just spent like 3 hours posting random pictures in the BRIDAL PICS. thread. Do you ever get so overwhelmed, when you have SO much to do, that you decide not to do anything at all? And just do dumb, frivolous things because its easier and it brings you some peace?

Aisha, you wrote me a poem! Did you know that I wrote one to you too? I also wrote up a post earlier, did you miss it? Let me link you to the poem at least: http://www.paklinks.com/gs/6346936-post218.html Yours is much better! It made me giggle a lot. Especially the part about Reha reading it and shaking her head. Teeheehee.

I’ve decided to keep the chairs bare. My decorator found some brown chair covers instead, but I am SO FRUSTRATED with her, that I don’t want to give her the business. I am happy with the bare chairs and I’ll have the lighting guy paint the room so that they have some color. But lets not talk about my wedding stuff because it can go on foreva.

Lets talk about how freaking hungry I am. I feel like having chicken breast and a light pasta side. Or even some salmon. My mom made liver today. I never liked liver growing up as child, but my parents owned a restaurant franchise (Reha, you’re probably familiar with it as it is based in Chicago, Brown’s Chicken & Pasta) and they made these breaded and fried liver baskets. And those were pretty darn yummy. Especially when they were covered in hot sauce. Yum. So my Mom made liver today, although, not breaded, just fried in olive oil. It was yummy with some light seasoning, salt and lemon. We ate it as a late night snack because everyone was kinda hungry. One thing that impresses me about my Mom is how quick she can whip things up. The woman is incredibly resourceful!

Aisha, I am so intrigued by your hobby of painting/arts. I didn’t know you did that! A mosaic vase sounds beautiful and as you must know, tile mosaics are were very prominent in historical Islamic art. It seems like you’ve done other mosaic pieces before, care to share what they were? And what types of paintings do you do? Still art, portraits, abstract? That is SO cool! Reha, I’ve always wanted to take up calligraphy and I don’t know exactly where to start either. Do you feel like you’ve got the raw talent Reha? Some people are great at drawing, sketching and working with colors, I am not, so I’ve never tried to pursue it.

As for my own personal hobbies, I used to act. I’ve done quite a few stage productions. About a year ago, I stopped auditioning and stuff. It was around the time I was planning my wedding. Actually, let me share the story. Growing up, I did a few things here and there and I knew it was something I enjoyed. About 2-3 years ago, I was going through a sort of emotional break-up, I moved to a different town with my family, and I didn’t have many friends locally. So that’s when I started to audition and look for an outlet. After that, it was one play after the other. And I loved it. My favorite part was always the rehearsals. I loved interacting with other actors and learning my role and my character. So last November, I decided to take it up again, and auditioned for a local production. I got a great role. But it became very hard for me to find time for, what with working, planning a wedding and my service work. But more than that, my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t get the same rush, I didn’t feel committed. It just didn’t do it for me anymore… So I told the director that I couldn’t stay on and he was a little miffed but he understood. I realized that I used acting to fill a void. And now that I had my fiance and my new life to look forward to, it wasn’t as fulfilling anymore. Now, that’s not to say that I will never act again. But only if I feel really compelled to, if a part appeals to me. I always acted because I needed it and it’s not like that anymore… Have you guys experienced anything like that before?

Reha, what kind of part time work will you look for? Have you considered a temp agency? It’s kind of depressing being without work, or a routine, as you mentioned Reha. It makes you feel useless. If I am out of work for much longer, I will have to find things to fill my time. Make me feel complete. I have a friend who wants to teach in Pakistan over the summer. I know my new husband will not be happy with the idea of my leaving him for a month or two, but if I am not working or back in school, I think I would seriously consider it. Its something I’ve always wanted to do. So we’ll see.

I don’t like cursing either. It does sound very ignorant, indeed. Sometimes, when I am around people with potty mouths, though, it rubs off on me. But I feel dirty inside using the bad language. How about offensive words in urdu? My good friend has been saying h-a-r-a-m-i a lot. And it slipped out of my mouth in front of my Mom. While she is not one to chastise, she did stop me and say that it was a very inappropriate word and asked that I not use it again. Man, I’m gonna miss her. She is so nek. She hates cursing and foul language and has been known to walk out on movies if the language is too abusive. BUT I made her watch Russel Peters, though. She loved it and watched it two more times, once with my sister and once with my father. HA! Can you girls suggest some comedians whose acts I can look up on youtube or the likes? I haven’t found very many that really make me crack up, yanno? And do either of you watch The Office? So FUNNY!

Do you girls like jewelry? I never cared for it much, but when we started shopping for engagement rings and wedding jewelry I got really into it. My fiance’s family is also in the jewelry business so some of it has really rubbed off on me. I like learning about the properties of diamonds and how to critique its quality. Its such a fascinating subject to me. I’ve been wanting to get certified to appraise gemstones and diamonds. So that’s on my list of things I’d like to do. I also want to learn to become a photoshop pro! I think graphic arts/design are really fun. I can’t do much with a paper and pen (in terms of sketching) but I have great ideas in my head. I feel like if I could learn graphic arts, I would be able to bring my ideas to life! I may consider a going to a community college part time to pick up some skils. I took acting classes like that and found it to be very beneficial.

Its cold here in Texas. How are you ladies holding up?

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Thanks for the suggestion Rabia! The only thing is, I didn't like Kite Runner. It was just too emotional for me, and it seemed like it was delibrately written that way. I don't care for Khalid Hossein's writing style, but I've heard a lot of good things about A Thousand Splendid Suns. Unfortunately, I don't think I would like it myself. I don't like a lot of "bestseller" books. I prefer mystery/legal thrillers and classics. And anything that Aisha writes ;-)

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I've been hoping that travel plans to Dubai in the near future would work out, and a primary motivation was so that I could meet you. You've been a great friend Gina, we couldn't ever forget you! Do you get to the states often?

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Re: I am not a happy camper these days [split]

I haven't been sleeping much girls, and mostly in bits and pieces, a few hours here and there.

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i also love james patterson stuff...he writes mostly mystery/legal stuff...do u read them?

Pakistani Taleban: Run by foreign agencies
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It's been pretty chilly in FL these past several days.........that I'm beginning to doubt if this is really FL i'm living in. It's just not like her, you know? Yes, I think Florida should be a "she." It's March, where's the spring? And the weird thing is that it gets especially chilly around 5'ish in the evening and around that time, I like to go running.....except I'm not motivated to run in the cold. In my opinion, cold weather is the worst to run in....especially if it's windy too. Cuz the wind blow against your body that's trying to propel forward....so you feel like this deadweight that's not making any progess....you feel like you're moving slow. And then the worst part is ears hurting. I'm sure you're used to it, Reha. I don't know how you Northeners can handle freezing ears. But I think they're the pits of cold weather. It's quite painful. Your ears sting, they literally hurt....and when you get back inside to the comforting warmth of your home thinking your ears will immediately feel better........NOPE! They hurt even more while they're slowly becoming warmer. WTH is up with that. Nevertheless, I shall brave even the weather and go jogging today because I've had way too much chocolate, pizza, and chicken, and .....soda (which I had been good about until just a couple days ago)!

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Yes, I do! He's quite good. I finish those in like a day!

Any other suggestions Rabia?

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^^ i knw i finish them pertty quickly too, i need to pick up a copy of # 5,6 and 7 from the womens murder club series of his.

there is also John Grisham, but i have read few of this titles here before...so i m guessing he has been talked abt already.

i love harry potter and my best friend just finished the twilight series...she keeps telling me to read it, she thing i will love edward frm it..like i love harry from HP, i highly doubt anybody could ever take Harry's place but edward can try...hehehe

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i knw what u mean, i hate running in the cold/windy weather, i hate how my throat gets all dried up frm the wind...but i m in houston n there aren't too many of those days :)

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Aisha :wave:

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Hey Collide!

How are you doing? I hope you're feeling better. You know, everything that you've posted about your wedding, reflects that you are well-prepared. And I know that this might not help the jitters, that are only natural, to go away.......but the details seem lavish and beautiful. And all that preparing is going to come together soooo nicely, you'll see.

As far as art work is concerned, I like doing stills and landscapes. My future goals for oil pastels is to create a night life scene......because night time is like my FAVORITE time of the day. I've always LOVED how streets seem to come alive at night. Maybe it's the millions of street and commercial lights that are shining brightly against the dark sky.....or maybe it's just the conflicting sense of calm and liveliness that night time seems to create. But I love it.....and I wanna create a nightscape, soon. I also want to paint a rain scene. Because overcast, cloudy, rainy weather is my favorite. Rain can be so romantic and invigorating and fun, even. Having lived in Saudi for so long, we rarely saw any rain there cuz it's a desert. But on the rare occasion that it did rain, I remember my family and I would go for a drive ........just to see how much rain water had collected in the streets. I know, it sounds strange. But that's how much of a novely rain felt like over there. And then I moved to Florida.....where it rains almost every other day.....and I love it. I love the premenstrual weather of Florida. It's exciting. Keeps you on your toes. One minute the sun is shining, the next minute its pouring and a week later there's a hurricane.

I also like making odd pictures as well. I have this graphite drawing I made of a hammer comming down upon an egg. I'm really proud of it cuz I worked hard on it. And my art teacher loved it as well and that's the drawing that made me me his favorite student, lol (i'm a nerd). But it's one of my favorite drawings cuz it's soooo weird. I used to have it up in my room and it was fun to see people come into my room and admire all the more "realistic and normal" drawings and then they would see the hammer striking an egg......and their gaze would be transfixed in utter confusion. It was a simple drawing that captured their interest. And I find their reactions to be funny, I got a kick out of if. BUT nothing sticks on my walls, and I'm thinking of digging up the egg and hammer and framing it.

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Mmmmm......strawberries and nutella.......sigh. Do I feel guilt? Oh no, not yet. Not while I'm this state of delirious bliss. But I'm sure I'll chide myself later for giving into this temptation when I'm planning to shed a few pounds. For right now....I'm proud of myself for providing my body with vitmin c and antioxidants from the strawberries....and erm....the protein from the.....erm, Nutella. There needs to be Nutella rehab center.

I've yet to try raspberries. They look so adorable with their little-red-bubbles exterior.

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Wishing it was summer. :slight_smile:

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I used to about twice a year, but ever since Ami's kidney failure I stick within the UAE :) but u all need to come down!

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So I checked out this book from the library which is a Pulitzer Award winner. And so far, it's really boring although the summary sounded rather interesting. But why is it that some award-winning books are soo boring? And I know that it's a matter of personal preference and taste as well, but it makes you wonder if the only reason the book received the award is because it succeeded in being soo dry and dull.

Someone from up above asked about my hair. I think it was Reha. Since I have a small face, I went for a super short hair style like Katie Holmes. I had cut my hair reeeeeaaaalllly short when I was 15 and it loooked so hot! And I thought of going for the same look, but it just didn't turn out as good as it did back then. So, now I'm stuck in that awkward stage which i like to call, "Death of Short Hair Cut" stage. It's that weird stage where your short pixie-like hair cut starts go grow out......and things are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Your hair is neither a pixie......and nor is it medium length. It's in the middle of nowhere as it grows out. It just.........is what it is! So, now I'm letting it grow. I wanna grow it long and get chunky layers all over.

I've been very temperamental with my hair these past couple of years. It was almost till my waist two years ago. And I dyed it Burgundy, this pretty purply brown shade. Then I dyed it a reddish brown and cut the sides of my hair to my jawline and let the remainder stay long....sort of like a desi 70's look. My students really liked it. Then I cut it to my shoulders and dyed it burgundy again. Then I let it grow out and got it permed. And that turned out realllllllly NICE! And then the perm died......and now I'm stuck in "Death of Short Hair Cut" phase. But it's growing fast.....cuz I'm oiling it....and taking my vitamins. And only a few more weeks (fingers crossed)....and it'll get to my shoulder.......and I can go around saying it's a bob.

Next time I get my hair cut, I'm going to the Vietnamese stylist that my sister and other girls her rave about. Back in Saudi, my hair was cut by Filipino women and they always did a fantastic job. Should I generalize that being Asian, they understand desi hair?

Because over here, I've been unsatisfied with my hair cuts. Then I found this guy stylist and I thought, "Wow, he does a great job".......until he messed up my current cut. And some women believe that guy stylists cut hair better than lady stylists.

And then not too long ago I saw this Mandy Moore movie on tv where she gets a friend to cut her hair. And they made it look soooooooooo easy in the movie. Needless to say, it inspired me to grab my scissors and give myself a nice chic asymetrical hair cut.
Well.................at least I got the asymetrical part right. The chic part was not so evident. I then learned that my artistic abilities DO NOT extend to hair. I was forced to hide the mess I made with my hair in a pony tail for quite some time.

What do you guys think? Who understands desi hair better? Male or female hairstylists? Asian or non-Asian?

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**Aisha…dont cut your own hair!!! Oye goodness, you and another friend of mine…baalon ke dushman! I think women understand our hair better then men but Ive only gotten a haircut from a guy once. He was an ex-engineer working for Tricocci salons, lol. He did a good job but I just didnt find anything special about my haircut. OH and a gay guy too…but again…nothing special. Nothing popped at me…which is what I expect when I get a cut. My haircuts mean a lot to me…they have to bring about a drastic change and give me an oomph or something…KWIM? Its got to make a statement!!! **