Udhia Qurbaani time

To all those who have not, do it once with your hands. Dont pay the money to others to do it for you. Trust me it well help your iman, make you more compassionate and also you will not want to waste food again.

If you have done it once, then help others do it atleast once. Try to avoid a female goat, and if you have a choice, select one that doesnot have its tummy swollen up.

And immediately after that, get the shoulder piece (raann) home and marinate it. Invite me in the evening to the bbq :).

Ingenue

Mon-forget an anniversary and get virtually beaten up. Become a mamoo once more. Pinky had a son on Mon, and both are fine.

Mangalwaar-Think again about what we have. Alhamdulillah. Subhanallah my losses and limitations are not as painful as what Allah showed me.
Los Dos Melinos has spicy salsas but not much taste in food. Anyways mexican is not my choice.

Mittswoch-Cold Turkey Day -> standing in the cafetaria for the second cup for coffee, i decide that thats it. Buy a fruit juice cocktail, and defend my decision all day.

Thursday was two thumbs down and again there I was trying to convince myself that Allah will have something better for me.
ICEV is in that metastate again, thats depressing. it will need another posting by itself. Subhanallah later on in the day you are thankful that you dont have to walk 280 miles just so that your offspring can live. (There are other challenges tho). March of the Penguins has remarkable footage, forgetable music and narration, and the glory of Allah's creations.

Jumuah - Get a flyer, leave for lunch. Flaming Kabobs was worth it. At Dhohr, we get a flyer and 1/2 an hour llater we are over there. A must go, since it has halal hamburgers for $4! Fultoo Paisa vasool!!!!!! plus the regular mid-east choices. plenty of space. ask for more.

And why ingenue - song from great expectations - this post is so amateurish but yet finds presence here, for the sole purpose to get me back on track. "you are a survivor wolverine.." Col. Stryker..

So what did Hussein teach you?

Please visit the above link to know more about Hussein as published in the local newspaper -

Finally I visited our young Iraqi guest on Tuesday. How do you think Hussein greeted me? Hussein, who has lost one eye, his left hand and the remaining damaged eye awaits surgery!! Obviously Assalaam alaikum. But besides that, his response of "Good, Thankyou!!" filled me with amazement and removed any doubt that all this boy needed was encouragement. He carries a sense of positiveness with him, that of hope, and belief that things will be better. He had the eagerness of any 10-year old, enjoying the life that he had, rather than brood over what he had lost.

According to CAIR-AZ, the eye-doctor will perform a cornea transplant. But along with the transplant comes the risk of rejection by the body, and the need for subsequent check-ups. Also the success of his transplant depends on Allah alone. Hussein is also currently limited by his US-Visa that expires before post-transplant-treament can finish. So please make duaa for him.

More updates in upcoming posts.

malgudi days

http://www.indiaplaza.com/dvd/pd.aspx?sku=314044&c=0

 

for anyone about the simplicity of life and simple humor. The soundtrack is haunting.

 

I grew up with this serial on the national TV.

evenings paisa vasool

Monday - After 8 pm Kyrene Lanes has games for 50c and shoe rental for $1.00
Tuesday - 6-11 pm Baskin Robbins $1 per scoop
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday - halaqa time at two masjids now, icc tempe and iccp

Ijtema

BTW, Ijtema in ACA starting today till Sunday.

Dont know who the speakers are, but want to do this thing in my life, just for the know-how,(and for purifying the heart)

Tis the season of ...

... the cold and flu. Looks like a passing phenomenon as 3 from my office, A-bhai's family all had it sometime this week.

Better part - bedside service all day!!!

aashcharya chakit?

pleasing friends

how do you please your friends who work at Qualcomm and Nokia simultaneously - You buy a 6256i phone that works on CDMA!!!

The cooler part is that verizon did not want this phone on the market. It is not available in the verizon stores and beats the best of their current phones (the motorola e815). Guess why???? Simple reason it has more functionality than what verizon wants its customers to have. More Bluetooth features that dont require you to pay for sending your own photo to yourself. standard memory interface + SIM facility!!!!

It is a little boxy and does not have that night light facility (that nokia doesnot listen to). More when I explore it more.

Ok I have friends in Motorola as well, but they will just have to wait. This one was free. Anyone upgrading their phone on vzw, you can also get a bluetooth handset free. Sone pe suhaaga!!.

New Frontier

The main reason I stay away from TV is because I will see what I want to see and not what they want me to see.
Hence I like the internet where I can reach out for myself to the news that interest me, to the sports that interest me and to blogs such as these. So what bothers me ->>>> Reaching a site that stuffs music unknowingly down you. You cannot control the music that is being played if you have inadvertently left your volume up. Imagine coming back from a meeting where you needed the volume on your computer and the next moment when you happen to browse the internet, everyone is staring back at you. You all probably may already know about such sites - for example the msn.com site!!!!

So this posting is about your freedom on the internet being redifined by the people who control the fiber. First Tempe does not allow competition in this market (so Cox and Verizon both Suck). Next the ISPs are developing a two tiered internet. One for the sites that they want you to visit that will have high speed connections and one for the sites that you want to visit on your own that will be "little" slower. :). Surprisingly this is the new business model for companies like SBC/BellSouth (the owners of verizon) to compensate for their loss in revenue from traditional markets such as land-line telephones. This also supports their claim for video-on-demand and the premium it necessitates. And the most surprising part is that they are developing the technology and simultaneously lobbying the congress as a much-needed necessity!!!!

So now one more freedom is being slowly taken away from you. LIVE FREE OR...

An axe on his head

Book Review: The Pious Caliphs:
All comments and poetry aside, finshed "the pious caliphs" today. A little over 200 pages but was all new info for me. MIx has already requested for the book, so anyone else has to wait.
Good points about the book is that the author has given sufficient details about each of the 4 caliphs and events during his time. The villians in history have been pointed out. the succession and method of succession ahs been mentioned as well. It was really new to me that Aisha (RA) did not accept Ali's (RA) caliphate at the start until the battle between their armies.
Frankly I cannot comment about any of these caliphs since they have already reserved their places in that castle up there. But looking back at Uthman's (RA) rule, you somehow feel that we must not be lax with muslims but be strict in matters that can cause shirk. Uthman (RA) knew best about his times, but a general uprising that was coming about should have been exposed if muslim blood was not be shed.
Something that i did not understand is that one paragraph about the roots of tasawwuf and sufism being connected to Ali (RA) and hence to the Prophet (SAWS). Also missing was that commentary in which Abu Bakr (RA), while on his deathbed as the caliph, requested Aisha (RA) in terms of a Prophet's friend rather than her father or the caliph, to request her of the grave beside the Prophet (SAWS).

and the axe - it signifies the gruesome martyrdom of Uthman (RA). Even at the age of 82, the assassins did not have the least bit of sympathy.

gloom time

RS is out in May; C n D leave in Feb;

Reverse brain drain some may say; Loss of friends and more long distance calls is what I say.

To all who not, C and D are my jigri's from colony. more like langotiya yaar. RS was my roomie at VT.

The power struggle

Does having two sons result in an eventual split?

We saw it with the ambanis and now with the sena.Ok raj wasnot the direct progeny but he was as close as one. I remember reading an article once how godrej, tata, bajaj, hero-honda etc had only one successor. Interesting hum do hamaare do, but not two sons. So you should have one son and more than one daughter!!

Hehe. Raise two daughters =paradise; but again raise two sons and nothing is assured!!

Unanimous

T2 and T1 have a unanimous decision that Muslims from India are more suitable to adapt to USA since they were a minority in India as they are a minority in the USA, While all others are grappling with the opposite situation of being a majority accross there.

Thodi si to lift kara dey

In the midst of a group lunch YK asks me if I enjoy my job. I could not say Subhanalllah as i would normally do, and "good question" would only raise eyebrows around me. Plus it wasnt the best of days. And then YK says " i have yet to meet a person who enjoys his job".

Then one person adds overworked and underpaid in that person's job description. hmmm thats interesting. so add all this bhel puri to come up with this blog.

FRankly I scored only 3 points behind my boss in this workaholic test (see picture). And it was yesterday and things havent changed much since. In no way am i a slacker, but it also does not answer those questions above. do i love my job? First and foremost alhumduliilah for my job. Next I do my job to gain a sense of satisfaction for myself. I am working hard to lower that score. but in the meanwhile i need to complete what is in my plate. I dont always like celery unless it is with chick wings. So sometimes there are chick wings on my plate and i enjoy it and sometimes there are none and then I dont. but that celery finds my stomach eventually.............i think......gross

and how much ever i work i wont be able to afford a ferrari spyder unless that power ball is really powerful. so does that make me underpaid? one way yes if that is how you measure your salary. the other would be the experience and market condns that define your job. freshie out of college and expecting a 7 figure salary does not sound right. (unless if bill gates completes his education now). Life is unfair and will always be. If you cant beat it enjoy it. and obvi make that extra Dua late at night and before fajr :)

dunce

Guys dont be a dunce like me and dont leave your email addresses with the "@" just anywhere on your blog.
I will be good.
I will be good.

scary movie 5

It happened in France and then was repeated in Australia. Everyone put a bad name to the Indians when it happened over there and suddenly India was like this big villian. But to share the gravity of the situation, it is very scary to know that we are all sitting on a spark - a spark that is sufficient to destroy all the bridges that we aim to build.

Even scarier after seeing france and aussie is what if it happens in USA. All of us want to live a peaceful life where ladaai-jhagdaa is just something that we pester our sisters with (or sometimes bros), but a spark at the wrong time may just ignite passions that we dont want to stir. We dont want the police arresting on racial grounds and neither do we want text messages that incite violence. i always look after my neighbour's children in the case of some mishap but all the good deeds at that time are just wiped away. We do have poor neighborhoods and the riots of LA are known. We dont want any of that anytime.

But what we are seeing on TV is scary and real - more real than any of the artificial reality shows. The media has got to me this time, i must say. I sound paranoid. Maybe I am. Maybe i should watch some more disney to cheer up. maybe I should just be more active socially.

All said and done I dont see why peace cannot also be an option. I want a ribbon bumper sticker in green that says PEACE.

Family are ...

... those that know you can scare anyone with your singing but yet appreciate your azaan !!!

Speaking of family, cousin from another country should be visiting. Lets see that makes citizens from 3 countries in the same house !!!!

aajnaahb

All you people out there who pray Jumuah at Masjid Omar, should thank and remember my bhaanjaa in duaas for the cleaning/vacuuming. It includes the ladies side as well.

Eating Achaar with a Fork

While walking down my corridor, I passed a lady wearing high heels. Now why do women wear high heels? Whats the purpose of straining your footbridge? For a few inches more!! I am not an MCP (for most) but this is something I have seen among all women (hijabi and non-hijabi)

I wear shoes that help me walk and run. They have these special bridges that supposedly support such activities. The most logical reason I thought to solve this problem would be try out these high heels. I believe that at this point many people will be suspecting me.... But yet there I was trying to stand on a 1.5 inch heeled sandal, and keep both feet on them all the while trying to maintain my balance and thinking about the eternal answer for the purpose of these sandals!!! My feet were huger that them so I was getting a grip on the ground but those high heels had displaced my centre of gravity and I had to spread my arms out. Next I started getting my arms to stand normally but the entire feeling of being elevated was strange. Gasp i just think this is one of those feminine things which they senselessly invented and surely dont know why they do it themselves.

EyePopper

 

long long day

VT is losing booohooohoooo waah sob sob wail weep weep.

Could not get new tires since they were out of stock.

Had a walk in the tempe festival and played basketball with my sis and Broil at icc,tempe. my sis still is better than me at basketball . more weep weep.

Subhanallah. subhanallah. subhanallah.

I miss this bro

hait is leaving town for jordan and trying his hand at a job there. For all who dont know hait, and have been for qiyaam at the icc tempe, then you had suhur because of this brother's work in the night in the kitchen. He also helped out in the daily iftar. Mashallah a very amusing brother who kept things light-hearted even in the thick of things. May Allah help him always along this journey of ours and shine His guiding light on him at all times.

P.S. I hope he does not trouble the air-hostesses on the way back. oh wait it is Royal Jordan.