National Beg -for- Candy Day

So obviously today is Halloween. Kids everywhere are excited to go trick or treating and get bags and bags of candy. All the bratty kids at my school were super excited, wore their costumes to school, and couldn't stay focused on any of their lessons. They had the cutest costumes on too. You had your witches and goblins. Princesses and superheroes. Rock stars and rappers. You know, the typical stuff. But there were some kids that were really creative and didn't go for the typical. One girl was a candy corn. Another a geisha. Another was Hannah Montanna, with a full blown blonde wig. (I swear I thought she was supposed to be Tina Turner and when I asked her just that, she looked at me like I was an idiot) And another that was the "popular girl in high school".

If there is one Western holiday that I would have loved to celebrate, as a kid, it would have been Halloween. (Muslims don't celebrate Halloween.I do believe it's obvious why we don't. But just in case it's not so obvious, we don't believe in this pagan holiday of witches and souls of the dead being resurrected. I don't think we're the only religion that feels this way though. I'm sure devout Christians and Jews are the same way. Probably Hindus and Buddhists and Catholics and other religions have similar beliefs too. I think. )

As a kid, I didn't understand why my parents were so boring and didn't let my siblings and I go trick or treating. The thought of being deprived of free candy drove me crazy. And I was super envious of all those kids that got to do what I couldn't. And in order to compensate that which we were being deprived of, my siblings and I went to the store and bought loads of candy for ourselves.

Even though we got all the candy, it still wasn't Halloween. I wanted to dress up just like everyone else. My lame attempt (every single freaking year)to fit in with my classmates during Halloween was to wear shelwar kameez to school and say that I was an Indian princess. I cringe just thinking about that..My parents didn't mind that I "dressed up" to school on that day. They probably just thought that I wanted to show the school my ethnic side. HAH!

Anyways, I used to get this same feeling for every single holiday during those days. Be it Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Easter. I wanted to participate. And again, didn't understand why we were the lame and boring family that didn't do it. I don't know if I ever asked my parents why we didn't celebrate certain holidays, or whether or not they discussed it with us. However, I do know that it's a difficult decision to make for a parent. Do you allow your children to have "fun" with their classmates during school hours, but not allow them to participate in the actual holiday, outside of school? Or do you just keep them home from school and shelter them from these different ideas and beliefs (There were two moms that actually did that today). It's a difficult decision to make especially when your kid wants to do those things that they see everyone else doing.

As a student teacher, I felt all those memories come back to me today. The kids at school were pumped and excited about Halloween, and it made me feel giddy and happy inside too (Not to mention it allowed me to experience the psychotic-ness of a "holiday" celebrated at school and parties in the classroom. It was one longggggggggg day today). But it also made me ask myself, what would I do if my kid wanted to "celebrate" or enjoy these holidays?

Talking about change

Morning all,

So, giving that the elections are coming up, and people are getting more consciously aware about their social environment (hopefully!) I wanted to share this hadith of the prophet of Islam:

Abu Sa"id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) had said: "Whoever amongst you sees anything unjust (evil), let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith." (narrated by Muslim)

Meaning, inaction is not an option!!!! A person must strive to act in order to change the bad things in society, i.e. poverty, illiteracy rates, crime, and so on, if they cannot ACT then they need to try and change society by their words... so wield those pens (or keys?)... and well if you can't even speak out about something than you must hate injustice in your heart...

THEREFORE!!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Join some advocacy coalitions, work with your student groups, do something as an individual... DO SOMETHING!

I guess I'm a huge believer in local politics, since they are the most easily influenced by their constituents... people can influence your local politics, they need to just get together, you know collective action. Grassroots efforts, one-on-ones, these things will bring about change... you just need to do something, say something, or honestly dislike it in your heart.

It's not about politics, but about social conditions... which are deemed by politics... so change your social conditions... But anyway, the prophet isn't telling us to sit around and twiddle our thumbs, minds zoning off... but to really think about the conditions of society around us, and address the issues that need to be changed..

So do something.

-one amongst the voices

Yumm Yummmm YUM!

Penne with Green Beans and Goat Cheese!

I'm just starting to get into goat cheese which is actually pretty good if you know what to combine it with. So I found this recipe from that guy Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen) and it was deeelicious!

1 box penne
salt and pepper to taste
6 T butter
1 red chili seeded and minced
1 rosemary sprig leaves chopped
9 oz green beans trimmed and cut diagonally
olive oil for drizzling
5 oz goat cheese
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (optional but pretty good)

Boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta. Cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan, add the chili and rosemary and heat over low heat for 2 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the beans, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring until tender but not too soft.
Drain the pasta and toss with a little olive oil, then mix with the beans. Take the pasta off the heat and mix in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and top with the pine nuts.

I am 62 ...in soul years.

6.4 magnitude eatrthquake hits southwest Pakistan this morning killing 170 people so far, leaving 15,000 people homeless and scores more buried beneath the rubble. Rescue efforts have begun with the military and medical aid being deployed to Baluchistan. The government is not asking for international aid at this time.


45,000 refugees are fleeing a refuge camp in Goma within Democratic Republic of Congo, because of the onslaught of rebel fighters. The UN General Secretary has said that the violence is creating a "humanitarian catastrophe". What's basically going on is that there are 2 political parties at odds with each other, the government and the rebels. The rebel leader, Nkunda, is gearing for an assault on Goma with his renegade militia.

Syria accuses the US of launching a raid against them from Iraq, killing civilians. The US may close their embassy in Damascus after the deadly raid. They have no comment on the attack.

I'm with stupid

Or should I say I am stupid.

I wish I was smart. Everyone around me is really smart and intelligent. (Mashallah)And good for them. I have family and friends who know what they're talking about. Me on the other hand, completely and hopelessly B.S. my way through certain situations and sometimes seem to lack common sense. I'm the idiot that answers every question with a shrug of the shoulders and "I dunno".

(This is kinda like another "catch" phrase that I should really stop using.)

(Me admitting this in no way gives anyone permission to call me an idiot or stupid. I'm sensitive. So don't call me names)

Majority of the time I really don't know the answers to questions. Sad? Yes. Pathetic? Heck yeah.

However in certain situations, when I think I know the answer ,I hesitate. I hesitate because I'm unsure (and because Google is nowhere near me....I kid. I kid....Errr... Kind of)

And I hate being put on the spot. And also because I don't like giving people wrong information. So my solution thus far has been to take the easy way out and give the best possible answer that I can come up with, which would be -- I. have.no.idea.

So being busy with student teaching and all, and actually becoming the teacher, saying "I dunno" and shrugging my shoulders, is just not gonna fly. Especially since this is what I will probably be doing for the rest of my life and all I ever hear are questions from eager little brats.

I need to be able to answer questions. Because me becoming a teacher and what not,again kinda, sorta, maybe, goes hand- in- hand with being able to answer questions efficiently and correctly. No?

Could you imagine if I said I dunno to every single thing my students asked.

Ms. Attitude, the fire alarm went off and the school is on fire, what do we do now?

-Hold on one second, while I Google that question.

Ms. Attitude, why do we have to learn how to read?

-I dunno. Read that book and I'm sure you'll find the answer to your question.

Ms. Attitude, how do we find a certain word in a dictionary?

-You know, I'm really not sure. You should really raise your hand before you ask a question.

Hopefully, I'll get over this ASAP. If not, here's a comforting thought for you: Just think I could be your kid's teacher one day.*


----------------

*Disclaimer: This post was written in jest, I am not really this dense. Occasionally, but not always. So no worries yo, your kid is in good hands ;)

Teenyboppers....

Dear Blogger,

Recently I promised my friend I would do something with her. But it just seems so WRONG, and everytime I picture the moment, I wanna start fake crying.

I really don't want to do it, but my friend guilted me into it, and now I have to.

I blame this completely on teeny-boppers. If it weren't for them, they would be no too-lame-for-words movies, and if weren't for the too-lame-for-words movies, my friend wouldn't wanna watch High School Musical 3. And if she didn't want to watch it, she wouldn't guilt me into promising to watch it with her.

MANNN
I think I'm about to start fake crying, like I did when Disney Channel announced, a couple days ago, that there were three more days until High School Musical 3.

And you know what else isn't helping right now?
My baka brother going around the house singing "OOOHHH if I could talk to money. How great my life would be. We'd tell each other secrets...something something "
(It's a song from spongebob, sung by Mr. Krab-if you've ever watched it, you understand what i'm talking about)

Anyways, here's the best part. Do you know HOW she guilted me???
Apparently, when I watched all three of the Lord of the Rings movies in theater with her she was dying. Well, not literally of course.
Apparently, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible every time.

But I didn't know this. I couldn't possibly conceive the thought that someone could actually NOT LIKE Lord of the Rings . I mean they're only one of the best movies ever. Then later on, when I was ranting about how I loved the movies( i thought I was talking to a fellow LOTR lover, sadly I was mistaken) she revealed to me that she was so happy she's done with them.
And that's when I went like "WHAT????"

So then, last weekend, she calls me while I'm studying for a stupid exam, that I'm pretty sure I failed anyways (stupid chromosomal aberrations). She starts off by saying,
"Hey do you know how I sat through all the LOTR movies with you?"
And I go like yeahh
"Well can you watch a movie with me?)
Note: The caller starts off by mentioning something she did that she apparently disliked, and makes it seem like she did it completely for you. She also uses the word ALL, to make it seem so much bigger. She also uses a very meek tone, making you feel like some horrible bully. Also when she asks the question, she makes her favor seem so small, and easy. Thus, effectively making you feel guilty.

Ok so when she asked the question, I knew what movie she was talking about. And of course, as a good friend, I felt it was my duty, regardless of whether or not she watched LOTR, to come through for her.
Who knew, that later when I came to my senses i would regret it.
sigh
Maybe it isn't so bad?
Maybe the gayness won't kill me?
Maybe I'll end up liking it?
Maybe I'll end up becoming a Zac Efron fan, and you'll see me wearing his T-shirt 24/7 and squeal with the highest pitch everytime I see his picture?
God, please don't. I really should start praying now.
If I come back and say that it was kinda cute, you know that the movie did something horrible to me. Like send subliminal messages to poor old me while I was innocently watching.

I guess we'll find out. I hope my friend doesn't all of a sudden decide to get up and find and read my blog. I'll just add it to my list of 150 billion things to worry about.

Trapped mainly by wanting things to be exactly as they are, only better

trapped mainly by wanting things to be exactly as they are, only better, originally uploaded by Rabujee.

I'm probably violating rules # 4,5, and 32 by posting twice in a row... but no one else did yet so I grabbed a spot again (sorries lol). You can arrest me afterwards.
Anyways, another short one as all I'm here to do is share this [rather confusing] photo which was taken with someone specific in mind...
i think you know who you are ;)
actually, i think we all know

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

Life is but as brief as a drop of dew wavering on the edge of a petal.

Life is but as brief as a drop of dew wavering on the edge of a petal., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

So why are we rushing it even more?

Coconut Macaroons !!

Ok so I've been making these cookies for a long time. And this is the ONE recipe I can make confidently without being afraid of screwing it up. It's so easy (6 minutes to make, and 20 to bake!), and they're so yummmy (yumm). This one time I decided they would taste better with chocolate, and so I drizzled them with them chocolate. And I was so happy with the result, that I declared myself to be a cooking genius.

Then that week I watched an episode on Oprah and apparently, chocolate drizzled coconut macaroons were like the biggest thing. Whatever.

Anyways, this goes out to all my fellow coconut fans! (and if you don't like coconut...you're missing out yo.)

Coconut Macaroons

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut... get the sweetened kind if you can
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites ...just save the yolks for an omelet for breakfast, or as a face or hair mask
(I know that's ew, but so many people say it all the time)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or imitation vanilla)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Dump all the ingredients together in a bowl, and mix well. Use a teaspoon, and drop into a GREASED cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until they are pale golden.
They should look like this.
Let them cool. Melt chocolate, and either cover or drizzle your coconut macaroons!!

So goooood. Warm and fluffy and sweet and so yummy.Ok that's it. I'm making them..

P.S. So I did end up making them the other day, and here's another tip to make them taste a little more chocolatey. Add cocoa powder!!! Personally I like them without it. And also don't use stale flaked coconut... :( But they still tasted fine (ahh the power of the coconut macaroons)

P.S.S.The picture isn't mine. http://nicole.grigor.ws/2008/05/16/orange-coconut-macaroons-in-chocolate

Life as a Second Grader

Not only do I teach bratty kids, but I also observe them. Get to know them. Their personality. Strengths. Weaknesses. Etc. Even when my students don't think I'm watching them, I am.

And lately I've been thinking about what I've observed and I've come to the conclusion that if life was like second grade, it would be so much simpler.

And peaceful.

And fun.

Most of the time. Or at least in my opinion.

Case in point:

As a second grader, you never have to worry about anything. Everything is basically taken care of for you through like magic or something. Some unknown force. You go to school and knowledge is magically dispersed to you. You go home and food magically appears in front of you. Same goes for clean clothes, warm meals, snacks, toys, T.V., baths, bed time stories, Christmas presents, birthday presents, and so on and so forth. You get the point.

If life were like second grade there would be no bad guys on the loose. How? Because second graders don't like cheaters and liars.And also because you always have your tattle tellers and snitches who like to report every single wrong thing that they see. They don't care who the person is, if it's wrong. It's wrong. End of story. And if it's wrong, and you're doing it, you shall have to pay the price.

If life was like second grade, there would be no such thing as getting married to an idiot. Because at this time, all boys have cooties. They are so gross and annoying. A nuisance to society. And they smell. Like feet. And you don't want anything to do with them. Now or ever.

There would be no selfish people in the world. It's all about sharing at this stage. Have a penny. Leave a penny. Need a penny. Take a penny.

Global warming would be jibberish that only old people talk about.

At this age and time, school is fun. Henceforth, not so much.

The world would be a more peaceful place if life was like second grade.The boy that pushed you in the playground and made you cry, is your best friend two seconds later. (I've seen this happen multiple times. Believe me) Imagine if this were true, there would be no such thing as war and fighting. What a wonderful world that would be.

Cartoons would be the only thing playing on T.V.

If life was like second grade, and you thought just like my students, Barack Obama would become the next president.

In this world, everyone is smart too. Second graders always, ALWAYS ask questions. They want to know everything. God forbid a question or concept is left unanswered.And if everyone in this world is smart, there are no dumb people. And if there are no dumb people then there would be no George Dubya Bush. And if there were no George Dubya, America would not be in the situation it is currently in. And if we weren't in the situation we are in now, then life would most likely be awesome for America and the rest of the world, and maybe just maybe, we would be able to watch the news and our biggest problem would be that we have new potholes---just like Canada.

But that wouldn't really affect us either, because if life were like second grade,we wouldn't be driving, now would we?

Whose going to lift us up?

Whose going to lift us up?, originally uploaded by Rabujee.

The other day I posted this shot to Flickr in my way of reminding people how important it will be to vote this year. I know that every time elections come around, there's a whole lot of negativity in the news. Sometimes, its nice to just find out the basics about a person and their attributes. Anyways, take some time out to read this article please. I hope that its a true account because it really gave me a nice feeling.

MMM MMM GOOOOOOOOD

Ok so I wrote this post for a very special person...you know who you are :P

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
It is that time again!! Pumpkin time!! I made these last year and they were soooo good.

You will need:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (optional but better)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.
2. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft and stiff. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.
3. For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
4. For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.
5. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Then Voila! Enjoy! Lol seriously these are delicious :)

News Update!

OPEC Meeting!
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has brought forward an emergency meeting from Nov 18 to Oct 24 because of the financial crisis affecting the oil markets (really?). With oil prices skydiving from $147 a barrel in July to below $67 a barrel. The oil companies hope to get the prices back up to at least $80 a barrel otherwise the way that the prices are going it could affect Saudi Arabia's budget. True story. Oh right I forgot to mention that this whole meeting is about price manipulation..obviously.

Wow We Do Have Friends
Germany is set to deploy another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan and extend their commitment by a further 14 months. After a vote of 442 to 96 the German Parliament decided to help us out and bring their troop levels in Afghanistan to 4,500. This is all part of the 50,000 strong NATO soldiers.

Azerbaijan
Bordered by Iran, Turkey and Armenia, just held their Presidential elections. Unfortunately for them the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), declared their elections failed to meet democratic standards. With accusations of the government "forcing" their people to vote (77% of the population turned out to vote which is more than we can say for ourselves). The opposition boycotted the elections and the media was severely censored. So who won? Well the son of the guy who was in power for the past 30 years. His name is Aliyev and he secured 90% of the vote (shocking.) And on a sidenote, Israel's been selling them arms which ironically has Armenia up in arms!

Talk About Drama
The former Mayor of the Afghan province of Herat, has turned taliban leader. He is the most powerful local commander at the moment. Ghullam Yahya Akbari will not negotiate with the government until foreign troops leave. The 20 mountain bases that he now controls are the same ones that were used to drive out the Russians back in the '80's. He has also threatened the Taliban leader, saying that if Mullah Omar (that is his name) would have peace talks with Americans- Akbari would turn his guns against him. They are now holding three young policeman hostage.

Not That It Really Matters, It Just Fascinates Me
Paul Krugman (a guy you've probably never heard of), has won the Nobel Prize on Economics. A Princeton University professor and columnist for the New York Times, has been an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration's economic policies that has led to whatever the hell's going on right now. We see where the world lies on the matter.

Joe The Plumber
Evoked by both presidential candidates last night in the final debate 25 times, was small business owner, Joe the Plumber. Although some interesting topics were discussed that had not been previously discussed in the last 2 debates (i.e. charter schools, abortion, abortion and abortion), they were affixed on the problems affecting Joe. So much were they trying to pander to Joe, I was left wondering why the hell am I watching this?? Anyways after an aggressive performance by McCain, it turns out it didn't help him...at all. I was actually surprised at how partisan he was. Insta-polls that were released right after the debate gave the debate to Obama by 13%-16%. So all in all the final debate of this loooooong Presidential campaign, was no game changer. Surprise, surprise.

SO those are the things I happened to be thinking/reading/musing about today. Oh one last note, as i'm watching Late Night w/Conan, the actor in Oliver Stone's new video W is on and I just remembered that the movie's being released tomorrow...I want to see it...the end :)

Let me walk three weeks in the footsteps of my enemy,
carry the same burden,
have the same trials as he,
before I say one word to criticize.

Mrs. Cullen: The Overspender

Dear Friends,

Yes that is a word. Anyways. I have a problem. A big fat problem.  No, I am not talking about my weight.  Okay, so about this problem of mine.  As you can tell from the subject of this post, I am an overspender.  For those of you who don't know, that means that I spend more than I can afford.  But who wouldn't? In a world like this?  Such yummie things everywhere.  I cannot control myself. I spend all my money on food.  Sometimes I'll buy clothes, books, or um other stuff but mostly its food.  It would make sense if I had a wonderful job and made lots of wonderful money, but no.  Thats not the case here [sigh].  The one thing my parents always yell at me about is this problem of mine.  Not only does it bother them that I don't save my money from the many jobs I've had since I was 16, but also that I spend this money on FOOD FOOD FOOD.  I love food. I love eating.  

You all already know what a genius I am [from reading previous post thingys] but now you will have no doubt at all.  So.  I have a credit card and a debit card. [I do not recommend having both cards, please don't.  In fact, don't ever do anything I do.]  Once I spend my $500 limit on my credit card, I begin using the debit card.  When it comes time to pay my credit card bill at the end of each month, I wonder why there is no money in my bank account.  I don't know how it goes away so fast, seriously.  All I eat is Taco Bell.  Thats like max $3 a day.  I just don't understand.  So yeah.  This month I was in the same situation [of course] but I kept using my debit card thinking I had money in my bank account.  But one day I come home from a long day of school and my mom throws the bank statement in my face [actually it was on the kitchen table and she just pointed to it but it felt like she threw it in my face because it hurt me inside].  "Here we go again," I thought.   I have a negative balance of $135.98 [sigh].  And my mom said the bank is gonna keep charging me until I make it positive but I think shes just saying that.  So yeah, I went to deposit my paycheck but they told me it wasn't dated for another few days [that made me so mad because my boss was already giving it to me 2384938 days late so how dare him date it a later day, sigh].  So then I went to the bank today to deposit it but NO, its Columbus Day.  Happy freaking Columbus Day.  Lets all sit here and thank Mr. Christopher Columbus for discovering America even though the Indians were already here. Thanks Chris.  Thanks for discovering something that had already been found. You are such a genius.  Thanks to you my bank teller had the day off.

Yours for the sake of Peace, Sisterhood and Pocahontas,

Mrs. Cullen

Joker: "...You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I tell the press that like a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all, part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos"

So I'm driving home, and my brother tells me that apparently Iceland declared bankruptcy. And I was like whaaaaaat?

Ok I may have been like whaaat, but I knew why. America's economy is in a huge recession, and thanks to globalization and capitalism, the rest of the world is also feeling huge effects, and not the positive kind. (I just think it's funny that capitalism is biting us in the butt, nothing against it)

This made me think, things are bad. REAL bad, and they're getting worse.

I have friends whose fathers lost jobs because of the recession. But at the same time, I have nothing more to complain about than the fact that gas is too expensive (You know you do it too).
And it's not just me, a lot of people I talked to are saying the same thing, that it sounds like we should be freaking out, but it's not really effecting our lives. This is also from a friend whose father was recently laid off from an American Motor Company. I mean everything else is still going on, life is still going on, and chicken little isn't running down the street screaming "The economy is falling ! The economy is falling!"

But you listen to the news, or go online, and you're like
"... Hmmm where is that guy (or chicken little) that should be running down the street screaming, and then everyone else goes like: Oh. Hey ! Great Idea!" (Only for chicken little, no one believed him, BUT this time Gosh Darn it, we will)
But there is no mass panic, it seems to be contained to wallstreet, wherever that is. Notice the sinking feeling you get by reading this excerpt from BusinessWeek:

"Searching for a way to describe the current stock market meltdown? Call it the "Panic of 2008."

In the past century, the world has seen countless financial crises, economic downturns, and market crashes. But the last major event to be called a 'panic' was the Panic of 1907.

If ever it were appropriate to revive the term "panic," this is the time. The day-after-day declines in the stock market are unprecedented...

Normally even falling stock markets take a break from time to time, as the vultures swoop in to pick up stocks at bargain prices.

But now, the market's psychology is anything but normal.

Every time the stock market rallies—as it did on the morning of Oct. 9—"there are tons of sellers everywhere," says Dave Rovelli, managing director of equity trading at Canaccord Adams. "People just want out."...

By contrast, Subrahmanyam is more convinced the markets are behaving irrationally. It's not as if we've had a nuclear war and "real" assets were destroyed, he says... "The real, nonfinancial base of the economy is still fairly strong," he says—far stronger than during, for example, the Great Depression... (Random note: It's good to have some positive, but still it would be better to NOT have to come to a situation in which we have to compare to the Great Depression of all things)

"Financial panics don't last forever," says ING's Gendreau..."Either we're going to go into a Great Depression, or some of these assets are trading at very attractive prices," he says. (Again, not helping with the Great Depression thingy)

So when might this downward spiral end?

Because of our flight-or-flight instincts, Subrahmanyam says, "things are very quick to crash." But "the recovery takes much longer."

"The market ultimately reaches a bottom," says Georgetown University finance professor Reena Aggarwal.

By its nature, a crisis is a time of uncertainty. It could be months before we know whether markets are crashing because of irrational fear or because of real economic problems. And that's scary."

So yeah scary. So WHY aren't we yelling down the streets running? And why aren't we forming torch carrying mobs (granted we wouldn't know what to burn, I mean seriously, where is the Stock Market, the newspaper?) Is it because we're too civilized for that now? Hah. I wish (no seriously I do). I think the reason is stated in one of the best movies ever by the creepiest villain ever-Nobody panics when things go according to plan.

That's simply it. (ok MAYBE among other things). But still, during the rest of my drive I realized that it could be the reason(and now i'm convinced it is) why there is no chicken little (even though i love the little guy, I mean who wouldn't. So Cute and panicky). We're being informed, and told what to expect, it's still going according to the plan and rules of the stock market, and our beloved capitalism.

That's all. Wow that was boring..Promise it was so much more interesting in my mind. And I was all like "Whoaa I'm a genius"

Oh and have you guys seen the latest in bumper sticker fashion? Which apparently seems to be only in Michigan?

"Out of Job Yet? Keep buying Foreign!"

...ouch...I have a Toyota...I'm scared to approach these drivers thanks to a study by Colorado State University ,drivers with bumper stickers are more likely to be aggressive and confrontational.

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Batman: What did you do?
The Joker: I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. Y'see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little...push.
[laughs]

Meet the Parents.

Being a teacher is not all about babysitting children. It's also about the parents and guardians. I think half of the job requirement is kissing the parents/and or guardians butt. But that's just my opinion.

Anywho, it's been almost(?) a month since I've been doing student teaching and stuff, and I've gotten to know and recognize alot of the parents of students in my class. And vice versa. I think alot of them like me. I would hope so, because them liking me is a huge deal. It could totally affect me getting a job at this school.

(Did I mention I would like to get a job at this school. It would be totally awesome if I did)

So seeing and interacting with them for the past month or so has led me to categorize them. Not in a negative way. But more of a I'm- just- observing -how- you- interact- with- your- kid- so- I -can- determine- whether- or- not- you're- the- reason- why- your- child- is- an- amazing -or- annoying -student- so- don't- mind- me kind of way. You know?

And this is the list I have come up with:

• The Hovering Parent-This is the mom or dad that drops their child off to school and does not leave even after the child has entered the classroom. This parent is spooky. They just stand at the doorway of the classroom, watches not only their child, but you and the other children. It's creepy as heck. A couple of times this dad stood at the doorway, and disrupted the flow of the classroom because he was yelling at his son to get "back on task" and stop daydreaming. You would think that after this traumatic experience of having your dad hover around and watch you in the morning, the student would remain on task ALL the time to avoid such embarrassment. But noooooooo, the child still wanders off to La-La land. I guess that kind of embarrassment only works with teeny boppers.
  
• The Mom that does everything for her 7 year old "baby"- This mom annoys the heck out of me. She comes to school in the morning, and puts all of her child's things away for him/her and does every. Single. Thing. For. The. Child. Same thing happens at the end of the day.This is in no way helping the child. Now or in the future. The child does not learn responsibility and in turn expects THE TEACHER to do what the mom has done for them. And I am sad to say that some of these parents even do their kids' homework for them. It's so obvious when they do too. And believe you me, Ms. D and I can tell the difference between chicken scratch and nice penmanship.
  
• The Psycho Parent-This is the parent that yells at their child for everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. I'm scared this parent will start yelling at me sooner or later because they are psychotic! I swear I think they require some much needed Anger Management sessions.

PsychoParent: Where is your lunch bag?
Child: I left it in the classroom.
P.P.:*shouting at the top of their lungs in front of the entire second grade department *
WHY WOULD/DID YOU LEAVE IT IN THE CLASSROOM? WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DOING THAT?

Seriously, they need to relax. It's just a freaking lunch bag. And all they have to do is turn right back around and enter the classroom, and retrieve the freaking thing. No need to burst a blood vessel.

• The Overachieving-Perfectionist-I-want-my-kid-to-be-just-like-me-parent: This is the parent that wants their kid to excel in every possible way. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting the best for your kid. It's when you want your kid to be just like you, an annoying perfectionist, when there is a problem. I've seen one mother get upset with her daughter because her daughter was reading 106 words per minute (The requirement is 107 words per minute). Cut the kid some slack. Hell, at least she knows how to read.
  
• The Single Mom/Dad who has everything under control: Self explanatory. This type of parent has alot of pressure on them. And majority of the time, they are working two or more jobs to make ends meet. But they have everything under control. They don't show any type of stress, don't yell at their kids if they do have personal problems, and encourages and motivates them and studies with them. And best of all, their kid is usually one of the smartest student's in the class.
  
• The Teacher/Employee of the school parent- It's bad enough for the kid that you work at the same school. Do you have to come around and check on your kid throughout the day too? And embarrass them .And tell them "I love you honey". And wipe their face. And make sure they wear their jacket when going out for recess. And kiss them goodbye, all while the other kids are staring and laughing?
  
• The Power Couple Parents-These are the parents I love. (Not that I don't like the other parents). Most of the time I see one or the other parent come in with their child. But the Power Couple come in together all the time. You gotta admit, just by looking at them, you can tell these types of parents know what they want for themselves and their kids. And work hard for it too (Again, not that the other parents don't) They have everything together. They balance each other out. They send their kids to school prepared and ready to work, converse with the teacher regularly on their kids' progress, donate necessities to the classroom, AND volunteer their assistance whenever needed. I've only seen one of their kind so far. Not to say there aren't many other power couple parents out there. I just haven't seen the rest, perhaps?
  

On a kinda sorta related note, my brother and sister in law had a baby daughter yesterday. Their first. I still can't believe my brother is a dad. I wonder what type of parent he'll be.

I love...

Salam (peace) everyone! I haven't written in here in forever! Things have been busy and blahblahblah..You know, it's not important for me to recap on the last 3 months so I'm just gonna cut to the chase and introduce you to the [current] LOVE OF MY LIFE:
*drumroll and scrollbar down please*

PUPPY!!!!!!! Isn't he SOOOOOOO cute? Masha'Allah

Yeah, yeah, I am very very aware he is not a puppy.

He's my first pet and I've had him for a little over a month. I think he's like a year old? *shrugs* When C.C. first got her kitty, all she would do was talk about him..her..IT. (I forgot, don't kill me!) And I never understood why, until now! Everytime someone comes over, I show Puppy off -- like he's some kind of prize. And I kinda wish he was more like a kitty. I wish he would sleep at the foot of my bed and respond to his name. I wish he was able to walk around the house without pooping and peeing everywhere. He's just kinda..useless, BUT useless and adorable so it's ok! And he's also mute. I guess I assumed bunnies had a unique sound of their own... like....well I really dunno what I thought it would sound like but he's soo quiet! Unless he's sneezing. I'm sure I can train him but I don't have the time so he just sits in his cage all day. *sigh* OK, not ALL day (I'm not inhumane! And his cage is 5x bigger than he is, just like the humane society ordered!) cuz we let him out to exercise and stuff. And he has his own leash so we can catch him if he's lazily hopping away. Anyway, he loves it when I pinch his cheeks (I can tell cuz he closes his eyes) and the whole thing about carrots and lettuce for bunnies??? Puh-lease! Mine absolutely loveeeeessssss to eat bananas and strawberries (yeah, he's kinda high maintenance). It's not really a lot of work taking care of him but my sister think's it is so his death is a constant topic (She's 11). "If he dies, I wont' really care." "If he dies, we can bury him in the backyard." She seriously wanted to return him the day after I brought him home and what's ironic about that is SHE was the one begging me to get it in the first place (guess she's at a confusing time in her life). But I know deep down inside her soul, she would care if something happened to Puppy. She has to care cuz I mean she wants to be a vet for crying out loud!

But seriously, you know what's the best part? I know this might be silly but I feel blessed to be able to take care of one of Allah's (God) amazing creation. And if I neglect him for a little bit (for instance, say I'm feeling lazy to clean his cage), I immediately start feeling horrible because I know Allah wouldn't be happy with that. He would want me to be kind and gentle with His creation so yeah...I'm tryin'! Cuz I know I wouldn't wanna sit in my poop all day. Shooooooooooooooooooooooooot.

Newsy Poosey!

I feel high so if any of this post makes no sense..you have been forewarned!

Signed Sealed and ....Delivered!
The $700 Billion bail-out plan passed the House this afternoon and was signed by Speaker Pelosi five minutes later and then sent to the President who signed it into law in the Rose Garden. Interestingly enough it took an added $100 billion of pork for the House Republicans (fiscal conservatives anyone?) to vote for it- and even then, majority of them voted against it.

Pakistan at war! with...itself?
After sharp criticisms of Pakistan's "blind eye" towards Taliban militants in it's tribal areas, the army has finally decided to something, they've been attacking these areas for the past two months with really nothing to show for it except for the deaths of 2 minor Taliban militants as compared to hundreds of civilian deaths in the NW province. An estimated 250,000 people have fled to Afghanistan to escape the fighting. The army's General Ashfaq Kayani, says that the militants are extremely well funded and the Red Cross has declared the area a war zone. Civil war anyone?

Unemployment rises..has it ever gone up during this administration??
America sheds 159,000 jobs in its 9th straight monthly drop. With people who have been laid off and no longer looking for work, not counted into the statistics the estimate is that the unemployment rate is far greater than 7%.

And now the debate from last night...
Other than the fact that I wanted to smack Gov. Palin's smile off of her face during all of it, and other than the fact that she told the moderator in essence that she wouldn't answer any of the questions that she might be asked; she did pretty well. She exceeded expectations in which most people thought she'd set the stage on fire..I wish she had. One thing she did do though was to say, in essence, that she wants to control the senate by expanding the powers of the Vice President...Dick Cheney anyone? Ohh and also she's decided that she won't allow anyone to interview her anymore (Katie Couric anyone?)...So um yeah

The last thing I wanted to talk about were pirates! Yes pirates!
So Somali pirates stole a Ukranian ship laden with 33 Russian made tanks and is holding it up for ransom, along with the crew. They want $20 million. Russia's already dispatched a war ship to the horn of Africa and the EU has taken anti-piracy measures that won't go into effect until November. Now the pirates are surrounded by US Navy warships, with Malaysia sending warships to join in surrounding the pirates. We wait for a UN resolution (really??) to resolve this. On a side note Somali pirates have already taken $30 mill in ransoms so far this year.

I want to see religulous!!!!

The End.

My Eid...

My Eid..., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

Hope everyone had a happy, fun, blessed one! If there's one thing I love about Eid (and there isn't just one, there are many) its the fact that we make it such a colorful and pretty day =)

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*Edited because I didn't have the time to properly explain what Eid means when I first posted*

For anyone that's wondering what "Eid" is, its one of two annual holidays in the Islamic faith. The first which just passed, is a celebration at the end of the holy month of fasting (Ramadan) and its full name is "Eid-ul-Fitr." The meaning of this word is to celebrate the breaking of fasting...literally coming from "Eid" which means festivity and "Fitr" which means to break the fast.

Although, Eid begins the night of the last fast at sunset, its officially celebrated the next day. That night is spent in breaking the last fast, preparation of the next day, and then for girl's many get together with their friends, sisters, cousins...any female basically to apply henna on their hands and feet.

The morning of Eid starts with the family getting dressed in their best attire and going to the local Mosque for Eid prayer and "khutbah" (lecture). At the same time, we get to meet and greet with our neighbors and friends. After that most people have their own plans for the day: some spend their days visiting different friends and family to eat, drink, relax and conversate (is conversate a word? whatever...I'm too lazy to look it up). People also exchange gifts if they like or mostly elders in the family give children money (and I don't think there's any age limit on that hehe).

Spiritually, it should be a day to remember what you've done the past month while you were fasting and spending your time in prayer. And it should be a day to mark your accomplishments and to make sure you maintain that routine of prayer and remembrance of Allah in your life for the remainder of the year.

Also, its usually a 3 day celebration but for most Muslims living in non-Muslim countries the celebration is cut down to 1 day as most people have to return to work or school =( (especially for Eid's like the one that just passed which came in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday).

Oh and on this day, if you want to greet a Muslim with the proper greeting you can say "Eid Mubarak" or "Eid Sayeed" and if not, you can always say "Blessed/Happy Eid!" and it will all be one and the same. =)

The other Eid, "Eid ul Adha" , will be explained later when its time to celebrate it =). Sorry for the rather brief explanation, but if anyone has a question you can always ask by posting a comment =).

EID MUBARAK!!!

I can't believe no one said this on here yet.
tsk tsk

I dont want...

I hate change. Seriously. Story of my life.

And I'm a selfish person. Get over it. I'm the first person to admit that. It's not that I don't want others to be happy. I do. I really do. But life would be so much easier for me if I was happy and my needs were met.


That being said, I dont want or need change.


I don't want a new phone. My old,ghetto, broken phone with it's old,ghetto, put-back-together-with-masking-tape-by-my-dad charger works just fine.Thankyouveryfreakingmuch.
I don't want to look at my parents and see them age and see lots of gray hair and new wrinkles that I haven't seen before.
I don't want to get married...just yet. I feel like this is an impending doom.(Save me the marriage- is- something- we -all- have- to- do- sooner- or- later- it's- half- of- our- Sunnah-and-we-must-procreate speech. Been there, heard it all.) Seriously. You know how there is a phrase that goes something like, "There are two guarantees in life : death and taxes." I think they should revise that to say "There are three guarantees in life for a Muslim/Desi/Arab/any other culture that likes to get their daughters/sisters/nieces/ married A.S.A.P.: death, taxes, and marriage.
I don't want my parents stressing themselves out trying to find me the "perfect guy" (idiot sounds so much better, no?) for me.
I don't want to have conversations with my brother that start off with "Remember when we used to..." or "Let's do this, just like old times"
I don't want Sue and Billy (my niece and nephew) to grow up and become bratty toddlers. They're so cute and adorable just the way they are.
I don't want my friends throwing stupid phrases at me like "Keep in touch". Are we in high school or something?
I don't want my friends telling me "Wow, it's been so long since I've seen/talked to you."
I don't want my friends to go off and get married or go to grad school and move to some God forsaken state or country.
I don't want to look for a new job even if I hate my current job
I don't want to call X University my alma mater and receive annoying phone calls asking for donations.


I don't want change. I want it to go away.

I just want some things to stay just the way they are. Is that too much to ask for?


But I do know that some things are inevitable and there's nothing you or I can do about it.

Except complain.

So that,my friends, is what I will continue doing until I am satisfied.

I know I can just suck it up like a big girl and except it, but seriously, who wants to do that?