I came to Mississauga for winter break. It wasn't my idea. I really wanted to go to Chicago. Everyone and their mothers were going to there. So yea, I wanted to jump the bandwagon and go too. My parents were insistent on visiting family in Canada instead.
So I'm here right now, chillin with little cousins who are obsessed with jumping up and down, telling stories, and getting piggy back rides. I'm tired and I want to go home!!!!
Okay anyhow...the day after Christmas is "Boxing Day," right? Everyone flocks to the malls to shop til they drop. It's actually pretty ridiculous. My sisters and I decided to go just to get entertained.
I used to live in Mississauga back when I was in 9th grade, just for a year. My dad had a short job transfer. The thing that amazed me most was how ethnically diverse Mississauga is. For the first time in my life I didn't feel like a minority! For the first time I wasn't the ONLY Muslim in my class or the ONLY brown-skinned person in the school. It was quite refreshing.
Going to the mall was such a great experience. There were people of all colors and languages. I mean I was looking through clothes at Urban Behavior and heard English, Urdu, French, and Chinese being spoken at the same time and no one thought twice about it. Personally, I usually get embarrassed to speak Urdu (my parent's native language) in public. Mostly because I suck at it, but also because people may think its weird. Yet here I was in a Western country and speaking a foreign language outside is completely normal.
I decided that as much as I miss home sweet home I really do loveCanada. A lot.
God says in the Qur'an, "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." [49:13]
In one of the classical explanations of this verse, its said that the word in Arabic "to know one another (تعارف)" implies 'that you may acquire knowledge of [the customs of] one another and not to boast to one another of [whose is the more] noble lineage.' I hope that all of us are able to attain this quality of getting to know one another and not being so prejudiced. It's easy to find different cultures as weird or abnormal. But the reality is that we are afraid of things we don't know.
So the solution?
Get to know people of different backgrounds! The more we learn about each other the less strange the differences will seem.
My dad has been trying for a number of years to bring his brothers and sister and their families to America. Over the past five years, it finally happened and they are all here, all 20 members (minus a few here and there).
It's funny to meet relatives that I've never met before. My siblings and I feel kind of famous when we're with them sometimes. They know so much about us. And you can totally see the resemblance between all of us that it's downright freaky sometimes.
The place that my family is from overseas, is not exactly the most caught up with the Western world. My family is from a very small, very rural village of Bangladesh. A place where electricity and running water are new. And a place where you'll be lucky to find a doctor that can treat you when your ill and provide you with the correct medicine. The past ten years, this place has not made much progress and advancements. But it was/is home to my father and his family. My uncles were highly-qualified teachers who taught the community about the religion of Islam and its fundamental practices. They were affiliated with the local mosque since it was founded. Their children were all part of that community as well and went to school there with their friends.
Of course I've never been there, I'm just going off of what others have told me.
So since they've all come to America, they have been asked countless times:
What do you think of America?
Not everyone is like me and says they love America and cant get enough of this place. My Aunt actually thinks it's too cold here. Well of course she would. This is the first time they've seen snow. The first time they've had to layer and wear socks, mittens, and boots. It's the first time they've been in a car with a female driver and the first time they are able to visit another relatives house without an incredibly long journey ahead of them. It's home to me, but not to them. It's a foreign world where everyone speaks a funny language, wears different clothes, and eats weird birds. (They all had turkey for the first time the other day at our house.)
My uncles think it's extremely boring here. With the cold weather, they are cooped up inside the house all day long. It's also a culture shock. Over in Bangladesh, they only saw Bangladeshis. And now here in the states, they see a multicultural world. Black, White, Polish, Yugoslavian, Bosnian, Syrian, Palestinian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Indian, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans. Not to mention the different languages they hear too.
My cousins say they love it. I think they're just saying that for fear of offending us.
It sounds like my family is a bit Amish, if you ask me. Minus the riding buggies and electricity bit.
Seeing them out of their comfort zone makes me feel sad at times. America is my home. Not theirs. The only reason they came here was for a better life. Same reason a lot of people came/come here. Our family is just a generation late with the process. My dad wanted to bring them all here for hopes of them gaining a good education. Let's face it, education in the area they are from is not up to par with what it should be. Lack of books. Lack of teachers. Lack of resources.
And it sounds like they came from a totally different era, not a different country. But this is real. Although we're living in the 21st century and it may be hard to believe, people out there still live in areas where something as minuscule as electricity, is a luxurious item.
I just hope as the years progress and as they become familiar with the Western world, they can at least call it their second home.
Whoever created the website, Post Secret, is a genius. It sucks though, because sometimes I look at some of these websites and really think that if I was faster, then I would have been that genius.
Anyways, I kinda wanna send in some secrets there but I'm too cheap to buy a postcard and a stamp. Also I get paranoid that someone might find it and find out that its my secret and expose me to the entire world.
I mean, not that I have some deep dark secrets to get out of my system anyways. Maybe one or two that are semi interesting.
But not really.
Recently I've been thinking. I've been thinking a lot. I have nothing better to do seeing as my holiday vacation is being spent at home instead of out of town like everyone else who's in Toronto or Chicago or Texas or NYC or wherever the hell else people who go out of town go.
So here I am, thoughtful and all and thinking that it sucks when you drift away from certain people.
And I don't mean in the sense, like "Boohoohoo, we're not as close as we used to be" but in the sense like "Oh crap. I don't talk to him/her anymore, but she knows so much about me, what if he/she tells others."
Don't get me wrong, yeah its sad and you get emo and sentimental thinking about not being as close to someone as you once were.
But that's when you're PMS-ing.
When you're back in reality and fully in control of your emotions, though, then you're kicking yourself in the head for revealing so much about yourself to another individual.
And you wonder, "Can he/she keep a secret?"
Let's hope so.
The final Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) says: If anyone removes (one of the) anxieties of this world from a believer, God will remove (one of the) anxieties from him on the Day of Resurrection; if one smooths the way for one who is destitute, God will smooth the way for him in this world and the next; and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim, God will conceal his faults in this world and the next.God helps a man as long as he helps his brother. If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise. (Muslim).
I have/had family/friends that know certain events, incidents, or stories about my life that many don't know.However it comes a time though, when you literally pick and choose who you don't tell things to. Not because you don't trust them but because you would just rather be safe then sorry.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Guard your affairs by concealing your secrets, for indeed every blessing has one who will envy it.’
Right now, there are about a handful of people that I know I can be completely honest with and know that if we were to go our separate ways, whatever I left with them would be safe.
Now is it wrong to conceal things about yourself for fear of it being revealed?? Whether it be intentionally or accidentally???
Personally, I dont think so.
I feel like others would disagree. Actually I know others would disagree. Because others have disagreed. I don't ask to know personal things about others. Yeah I want to know but that's just my nosy side. Do I constantly pester them to tell me? Maybe. Sometimes. But if they truly didn't want me to know, I would leave it at that. It really bothers me though, when the roles are reversed. You didn't want to tell me, I respected that. Now you respect me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I need to watch what I say these days. And to whom I say it to.
I wish I didn't have to feel this way. And its nothing personal against anyone. Just me and my thoughts and probably some over-analysis on my part.. To each his own though, right?
P.S. Here are some post cards from Post Secret that I found amusing:
I think I'm obsessed. Honestly, I am. With traveling. It's like I have a traveler's itch. I've been back from my ventures across the Middle East for only 3-4 months now and I'm ready to fly out somewhere else.
So I bought the Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring. This book is over 1,000 pages of pure amazingness. I asked my parents if I could get permission to go backpacking across Europe for my college graduation. They would pay for my flight and I would pay for everything else. My mom gave me permission so long as she knew my completely itinerary. Then my dad just last week told me some old Asian fable at the dinner table about this man dreaming about something that would never be. Something about goats, milk, and land. I think he was trying to hint something at me but I'm currently choosing to ignore it.
Anyhow here's the list of countries I want to tackle at least: UK, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and Turkey.
I keep highlighting places I'll go and the buses I'll take from country to country. I should probably stop but I can't help it.
A girl can dream can't she?
In other news...I started reading graphic novels. My sisters and I discovered a plethora of them at the library and ended up borrowing about 10 all together. We're crazy. Ohh and we watched the movie 'Up' which was one of the cutest movies ever. When the wife died in the beginining I was so upset that I almost stopped watching it.
Anyhow, this is random but I came across this awesome video on this website I absolutely LOVE.
Friday was our last day of school before Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/New Years/ Holiday/Winter break.
I felt like crap the whole time. And I'm usually super happy and excited on Fridays, since the weekend is basically here. I greet my students in the most enthusiastic manner. They look at me like I'm a freak because I'm so happy.
But since that morning, I kept feeling dizzy and nauseous and really, truly did not feel like being at work.
I told my students that I did not feel well and asked if they would stay on their best behavior seeing as I was dying and it was the last day for break.
8 hours of pure torture lay ahead of me.
Most of my kids managed to stay on their best behavior.
When telling them I wasn't feeling well, one student rose her hand and asked,
"Ms. Attitude, can I give you a hug?"
Which makes me smile every time I think of it.
The couple of kids that didnt give a crap how I was feeling, felt my wrath throughout the day. But two of them redeemed themselves by writing me these cute notes (I couldnt upload the originals. BLAH): Dear Ms. Qume (that's not how you spell my last name), I hop you fell better by time it is your birthday.I hop you have fun! You area nice teacher. I am sorry that I am misbehaving.
I am kind of sick.
and Dear Ms. Q,You are the best teacher a child could ever have and lucky I was on green on wensday because my dad was going to whoop me.
And usually on Fridays we do this thing called "Fun Friday" for a good hour and a half at the end of the day where kids who remained well behaved or on green and yellow throughout the week got to participate. If you reached blue or red, you were sent to detention.
Being in the holiday spirit, and not wanting to bother ourselves with having a seperate detention room, the first grade teachers, including myself, allowed every kid to participate in Fun Friday.
And so we had a dance off.
This is what the kids were jamming to. ( It wont let me embed it.SIGH)
I've decided that there are two ways I could look at what's going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A) with sadness an trepidation or B) like a very good Dan Brown novel. I think I'll go with B, I mean as long as I feel better right? ;p.
When I pick up the New York Times, I read the headlines like a 3D adventure that the media is taking me on. And whose to say I'm wrong? My views don't hurt anyone, they're just my opinion. Along the same lines, I voted for Obama-obviously-and I can tell you now what I will twenty years from now, I will vote for him again and again and again. Why? Because I would rather have a centrist, cerebral President than a "maverick" with a psycho right wing Vice President. You don't like Obama's policies? Let's take a stroll down the 'what if' lane, shall we? What if McCain and Palin won? What if instead of putting regulations on the financial sector, they didn't? And what if these financial institutions that were on the verge of collapsing, taking down our economy with them, were allowed to fail? What kind of America do you think we would be living in?? What if McCain followed the Bush Doctrine and decided a pre-emptive strike on Iran would solve all our problems? (bomb bomb bomb Iran, anyone?)
Ick. It's no fun traveling down the what if lane. So in conclusion, I don't regret my vote. I never will. Does that mean I love every decision this man has made?? NO. But it's still 100 times better than any decision the other man would have made!
Off to enjoy my New York Times!
Taa
snake charmer
We were driving home. I was sitting in the back left seat of the car. Absentmindedly, I was listening to the coversation my mom was having with a family friend. She was also in the car with us, right next to me.
I don't even remember what it was about. But the car in the right lane, slightly in front of us, caught my eye. It was night time but for some reason the driver just caught my attention. He had blond hair, and kept on running his hand through his hair aggressively. As we slowly passed him I watched as he kept wiping his face, switching arms while driving and then running his hand through his hair again.
He looked extremely stressed out. So stressed out that it seemed like something terrible just happened or was about to happen. And I couldn't help but watch him as our car drove by. He even caught the attention of my family friend who paused in the middle of her conversation as she glanced at him.
It just got me thinking. About what he might be going through and the weird thing is, it felt like such a common sight. With the recession and everything going on, from commercials to people we know, those actions showing frustration have become a common almost like symbol. A symbol of the times the world is going through, families are going through, what our economy was going through.
We all know that's how people express frustration but I feel as though it's become something common in most households. Or at least in many households.
The first thing that popped into my head while watching him was that he probably lost his job. I just felt bad for this random guy driving his car looking as though he had no idea what to do. Couple minutes later I had forgotten about him and went on thinking about my own problems.
And he might have gone on to screaming in his car or driving to his friend's house or tried avoiding the problem. Or he might have gone on and started crying or even gotten into an accident.(insh'Allah/ God-willing hopefully not)
I'll never find out.
I guess there really isn't a point to this post. But thinking back the experience did make me feel insignificant. To somebody else I'm that guy with the blond hair stressing about my problems and wishing the world would stop and help. Okay so instead of blond hair I have a scarf. And I'm a girl...despite screaming and sneezing like a guy.
But do you get what I mean?
In those 30 seconds I saw into a stranger's life. I didn't see much but it didn't seem much different from mine. I don't know how his story will end and most of you out there will never know how my story ends.
We've all got our own stories to worry about. But there's 6.7 billion other stories going on at the same time. Some starting and others ending.
While I feel insignificant and even feel bad for those that need help but can't find any, it feels good to know that each of these stories is at least significant to God. Because they are.
Anyways, regardless if you believe in God or not, I believe everyone you meet has something to offer to your life. Even if it is you glancing into someone else's life for 30 seconds. It all depends on you and what you take away. But it makes our lives feel like threads. And these threads sometimes connect with other ones, or cross each other's path, maybe only once in its entire span or sometimes get knotted together. Okay I don't know why I'm talking about thread. I mean, I do. But I'm going to stop here before I confuse myself with talk about thread.
There is a song I've wanting to share with everyone for a long time. It's by a group called Outlandish (made up of two muslims and a catholic from Denmark)
To everyone that might take offense to their lyrics, they are not trying to attack American citizens but are trying to shed light to lives that we are ignorant to.
The lyrics of the song are a poem written by a teenager from Palestine.
But this song in my opinion represents voices from many different countries.
Once again, don't sit there and start saying, "How dare they?" or "they don't know anything"
It's a song. It's meant to inspire us and make us think. And it's true. And I can admit that.
So close your eyes and open your mind. Imagine yourself from a different country under different circumstances. You don't need to agree with everything but take what you can from it. I really was impacted by this song.
Look into my eyes Tell me what you see You don't see a damn thing 'cause you can't relate to me You're blinded by our differences My life makes no sense to you I'm the persecuted one You're the red, white and blue
Each day you wake in tranquility No fears to cross your eyes Each day I wake in gratitude Thanking God He let me rise You worry about your education And the bills you have to pay I worry about my vulnerable life And if I'll survive another day Your biggest fear is getting a ticket As you cruise your Cadillac My fear is that the tank that has just left Will turn around and come back
Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes? Do you let the media deceive your mind? Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows? Has our world gone all blind?
Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes? Do you let the media deceive your mind? Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows? Someone tell me ...
Ooohh, let's not cry tonight I promise you one day it's through Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters
See I've known terror for quite some time 57 years so cruel Terror breathes the air I breathe It's the checkpoint on my way to school Terror is the robbery of my land And the torture of my mother The imprisonment of my innocent father The bullet in my baby brother The bulldozers and the tanks The gases and the guns The bombs that fall outside my door All due to your funds You blame me for defending myself Against the ways of my enemies I'm terrorized in my own land (what) And I'm the terrorist?
Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes? Do you let the media deceive your mind? Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows? Has our world gone all blind?
Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes? Do you let the media deceive your mind? Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows? Someone tell me ...
Ooohh, let's not cry tonight, I promise you one day it's through Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters, Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
Americans , do you realize that the taxes that you pay Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day So if I won't be here tomorrow It's written in my faith May the future bring a brighter day The end of our ways
(pause)
Ooohh, let's not cry tonight, I promise you one day it's through Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters, Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
[with kids] Ohh let's not cry tonight I promise you one day is through Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters! Ooh shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
Constructive Attitude here, with tidbits from the lives of some of the SD authors.
Spotted: Artistic Logic finally crossing the stage and completed her undergraduate studies and is now officially a mechanical engineer!! We have a teacher, social worker,dentist, doctor(s), and now an engineer in our midst!! She also has some really awesome friends that attended the ceremony with blow horns in full swing.
Spotted: Controlled Chaos still suffering from tendonitis. Will she ever recover from it and be able to live a normal life?
Spotted: Mrs. Cullen sporting the same pair of pants for the past two weeks because finals and studying for a huge exam that could determine the course of her future, have taken over her life until December 29th. She even went so far as to delete her facebook and twitter. ::gasp:: Please keep her in your prayers.
Spotted:Simply Me bumming around her new home, until she begins taking classes again starting February 2010. But this time up in the NYC area instead of the Midwest.
Spotted:Falling Up currently MIA because med school likes to take over people's lives.
Spotted: Yours truly wanting the winter break to begin as soon as possible (December 18th) and kinda thinking about begging her parents if she can attend an Islamic retreat in Chicago since they declined her request of attending another Islamic retreat in Toronto. Maybe they'll say yes to something that is in the continental USA. Who the heck knows.
Hello hello. I've missed writing posts for you guys so much, I'm sure the feeling is mutual =)
*stares awkwardly*
Well Okay then! Here are some random funnies I noticed around me recently:
Yahoo news headline: "Obama defends US wars as he accepts Nobel Peace prize" I had to laugh when I read that one, its just so contradictory/ironic that I don't even know what to say. --------------------- CC and I pulled up to the university parking garage where we have to swipe a student card to pay and get in. Basically this card has a magnetic strip and it stores all your valuable information and we can use it anywhere in the university, in stores, vending machines, fast food restaurants, and mostly for parking as long as we put money on it . So as I'm rolling down my window to swipe my card at the gate, I see this note posted on the machine that says in big red letters "No Credit Cards!!" We both kind of paused and wondered what lame-o would have tried that. --------------------- I was driving home two days ago, when on the side of the road, outside a strip mall I saw this placard with the words "H1N1 available" and an arrow pointing to a building. It was sort of hilarious thinking of people lining up to get themselves sick. Ha Ha. -------------------- And last but never least, I so so so badly wanted to do a post on Switzerland's ban on building minarets on mosques (say that fast, 20 times). But then I thought this video is way better and says all the things I wanted to say. CLICK IT! I promise you will have fun.
There's something cool about doing a good deed for perfect strangers.
Because the fact is, you don't know that person, probably will never run into them again and won't expect them to return that favor.
So it's all on you choosing to do an of kindness that might never be recognized, except by God. There is something magical about it. You feel as though you're one step closer to making the world a better place.
Maybe it doesn't feel magical to you when you do something. But have you ever been the person on the receiving end? It's like feeling something magical just happened.
I'm walking down my campus one day when I did a slight trip over nothing. I looked down to see that my flip flop had came off. Confused, I stopped and raised my foot and saw that my flip flop had broken.
I heard laughter while I picked up my shoe to inspect it. Yeah, I probably did look funny to them.
It was broad daylight, and there were several there people that probably saw what happened. Curious though, I glanced slightly to see where the laughter came from. Seemed like a group of girls but I couldn't care enough to make an effort to look at them.
It was hopeless, there was no way I could fix it and walk around in it. But they were my favorite slippers, so I stuck it in my Mary Poppins Bag (the bag that holds everything).
Sigh. I really love these slippers.
I looked down, trying to figure out what to do. I decided that my jeans would pretty much cover my foot and save me from too much embarrassment. I mean, besides from those that had seen what happened, and had found it amusing.
My dad was around the corner waiting for me anyways. I’d be there in another five minutes. I picked up my head, and kept walking.
Good thing I didn't drive today
Still, I was a bit conscious when I realized that my jeans weren’t doing a very good job covering my foot. And I looked kinda lame walking with an awkward shuffle.
Shuffle...slide...shuffle...slide... Awkwarddd
Surprisingly, I refused to let it bother me and kept walking.
Oh, well...Just walk. It's gonna be okay. Da dada dada da. Just walk. Walk. Walk.Walk.
While I was lost in my Lady Gaga song, I hear running behind me.
Why does it sound like someone running over to tackle me? Should I turn and look? It's coming closer...
I glanced around to see a Muslim girl running toward me.
Maybe she’s going toward the garbage....and is in a real big hurry.
So I kept walking.
“Excuse me! Excuse me!”
I stopped and turned around.
“Would you like to trade shoes?”
“Huh? Um... but...” But I’m missing a shoe, why would she want to trade shoes?
Still confused, I looked at her flip flops, and then lifted my pant leg to show her my empty foot.
“No my friends just saw what happened. They said that your shoe broke. I can trade shoes with you”
“OH. No it’s okay.” Oh…the laughing sound I heard was probably them.
“No really. My car is right here, and it looks like you have a bit of a walk. And it would be dangerous for you to walk without your shoe…”
“Oh no. Thank you so much but my dad is right around the corner…But thank you so much”
I hugged her, thanking her.
“Thank you again”
“Oh it’s not a problem”
And she walked away. As I kept walking happily thinking of the incident, I realized that I never asked her, her name.
Whoever she is, she is the sweetest person I have ever met. And wouldn’t it be great if everyone was like that? I wish I had gotten her name.
So the other day was a perfectly normal day. After my morning class I bought some soup, read a book while eating, then met up with a friend. We walked around for a bit, prayed, visited a super cool professor, prayed again, and next thing you know it was time for my afternoon class. My friend had nothing to do so I told her to join me and listen to the professor discussing STD's.
A half hour passes by and we're now talking about gonorrhea and how women need to get ask to get checked for the infection when getting their Pap smear. (Note to women out there: the noticeable symptoms of gonorrhea in women are almost nil!)
*THUD*
A loud sound emanated from the left corner of the classroom...above the ceiling. The next thing you know a dark yellow liquid starts dripping down, forming a brown pool on the dirty dark carpet below. Liquid is now streaming down the walls.
At first we're thinking... is it coke or something?
Wrong.
How did we know we were wrong? Because the tile in the ceiling starting collecting wet dark brown pellets and the liquid that was seeping through came down as really brown now.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
The classroom was in uproar as the professor called maintenance and yelled over everyone, "Due to the disgusting nature of this situation, class is canceled! See you all next week!"
OMG. Thank God there was a second door to the classroom. Imagine being stuck in the classroom watching this and smelling the fumes ...
Or worse: imagine being the next guy who walks into that door only to step into urine and have fecal matter fall on his head from above.
And boy was it interesting because it was open bar and karaoke night.
Even though I'm a teacher, it's weird to see other teachers in this type of setting and in their own elements.
I felt like an outsider observing the whole time.
First of all, I was dateless. Everyone had a wife/husband, fiance, or boyfriend/girlfriend. I really think having a husband or at least being engaged would've came in handy yesterday. As each person entered, they walked in arm in arm with their significant other and took couple pictures by the ginormous Christmas tree.
So being all lonely, two of my teammates had pity on me and saved me a seat with them and their fiances.
All the staff was dressed up in their finest holiday attire. I couldn't recognize some of them with their cigarettes dangling from their mouths and beer bottles in their hands. And as I approached the bar to get a drink, a co-worker asks me:
Are you getting a drink? -Yeah Good for you!!! Sometimes you just have to unwind. -......umm.....OHH.... I am getting a drink. But not that kind of drink. Oh come on! Why not? -Oh, well. Cuz...I dont drink. ......Oh...........
One teacher got so drunk that she was making everyone around her so uncomfortable. And it was only 6:00. Dinner hadn't even been served. She's a really quiet-keeps-to-herself kinda person and once she was drunk she couldnt stop talking and was going around hugging everyone and saying I love you so effing much. Her boyfriend had to drag her away from each person and then she forgot her purse.
That's another thing. Apparently teachers are known to have real potty mouths. The eff bomb was dropped repeatedly throughout the night from just about everyone's mouth.
Karaoke was hilarious. The administration (principal and assistant principals) kicked it off with Dont Stop Believing by Journey ( I really like this song btw. Prob one of my favs). Afterwards one of the asst. principals and the Music teacher did a duet and some very very veryinappropriate dancing while serenading people in the crowd. Quite shocking to witness.
But the whole night everyone kept asking me if I was doing ok. Haha. I think they all knew that I wasnt used to this type of environment and they all wanted to make sure I was comfortable. Which I appreciated a lot. I ended being the first one to leave and was teased for having a curfew. Which really isnt far from the truth. And I wanted to leave before things got a bit..wild. Apparently and according to stories from the last holiday party, as the evening progresses, it does.
The Kid at http://kidinthefrontrow.blogspot.com contacted us sometime ago with an idea for post. And we thought it was pretty cool so we jumped on to The Kid's bandwagon.
Instead of explaining the idea, I'm just going to copy and paste the email:
Hello All,
Anyways, I thought it'd be nice for us to blog, collectively, on a theme - and on December 3rd. I'd like for us all to blog, in our own way - with a blog title - "One Night At The Movies Long Ago" I'd like for you to blog about a memory you have of going to the cinema. You may have been 5, you may have been 32, it may have included your first kiss, or a friend getting arrested, or you may have accidently set fire to the screen. Whatever it is - I want December 3rd to be the day we blog with this title, a personal memory of a cinema experience gone right/or wrong/or funny/or tragic.
So today isn't December 3rd and we're super late. Just blame it on me ( C.C.) And to the Kid-I'm really sorry if I killed your movie bandwagon with our delay. Please forgive me.
So without further delay here our posts:
My first cinematic experience...hmmm that's an easy one to remember. When I was a kid, a couple of my summers were spent entertaining some overseas guests. Not my guests, but my aunts'. You see her only child was a teenager at the time and her best friends who visited from Pakistan had kids my age. So my aunt would steal me for a week or two whenever they came. This one time, the family took me out to the mall and we watched The Lion King...best movie everrrrrrr!!! This was when it first came out. It was awesome. We had popcorn and slurpees and a whole lot of bathroom breaks. All in all the experience was fun, except for the part where Mufasa died, at which point I was hiding my teary face. *sniffles* Afterwards we went out for dinner at KFC, where I had my first experience eating fried chicken I wasn't supposed to eat =(. (Because it was not zabiha i.e. prepared the Islamic way). Butttt that's a story for another time.
-Artistic Logic
Last year I got roped into seeing a movie that was not something I would EVER watch. I mean like EPIC FAIL. Anyways so I allowed myself to be peer pressured into going, about twenty minutes into the movie some random 16 yr old boy shows up on screen and the entire audience (the theater was packed) erupts into applause and hooting! It was soooo funny to me that I myself erupted into laughter, spewing my cherry icee on my very unsuspecting friend, Mrs. Cullen. Highlight of the evening. The End.
-Snake Charmer
One night at the movies long ago…Well, it wasn’t too long ago. Actually, it wasn’t long ago at all. It was this summer (I think). Oh and it wasn’t nighttime either. I think. I remember it being light outside. And the story starts at school, not at the movies. Okay, back to my story. One day at school this summer…I was sitting with one of my friends at the library. We had to go to work in an hour, and we didn’t want to, of course. We called off work. Giving some lame excuses. I think I said that I had to drop my dad off the airport or something. So, we decided to see a movie and called one of our friends to join us. We drove to the theater. Oh oh! That’s when we realized the problem. A few of our friends were already at this same movie theater. We didn’t want to run into them. They had invited us to the movies but we said no because we had work. So, I guess we felt kinda bad?I dunno. Anyway. How were we gonna get inside without them seeing us? First we drove around and found their car. Yikes! They are defiantly inside the theater. Then we parked not too far away from their car. Stupid idea. Finally we walked to the theater, but didn’t dare enter! What if they were going to walk out any moment? What if they were getting popcorn? Ahh. So we just stood outside the theater. Well we hid, on the side for…I think an hour? Then we went back into our car. First one of my friends was on look out for our friends to leave the theater. Then it was me. Finally, probably after another hour, they come out of the theater and I spotted them!! Yay!! ….Oh no..They’re walking towards us. DUH. Their car is parked so close to us. Crap. We get into our car. And duck. The windows are down. There is a spider in here. My friend’s car is such a mess. Eww. We duck down for what felt like another hour. We didn’t know what to do. Where are they? Are they still in the parking lot? Did they leave? Sigh. So we decide to drive. Two of us stay under cover while the other drives. And she still sees their car parked. They are still here! What the heck. What are they doing here for so long??? Are they in the car? Did they enter the mall (that happens to be next to the theater)? We park again. Far away. Really far away this time. Ok. Its time to man up and just enter the theater. Whats the worst that could happen? Ok. Lets go inside. Not like this of course. We dress up like men. Well, I think one of us did. I remember stuffing my stomach and hunching; to look like a grandma. Oh. And I remember wearing a trench coat and popping my collar. One of us left the car and began to walk inside. Then the other friend. Then finally, I left. Keeping my eyes to the ground so I didn’t make eye contact with the friends (incase I run into them). Finally. We’re inside. Uh. There is nothing good to watch. We watch a really stupid movie. We are so stupid.
-Mrs. Cullen
One night a long long time ago my mom took my sisters and I to the theater to watch Shrek II. It had been out for over two weeks by then so we expected few people at the showing. We got there, bought our popcorn, and walked into the runway lit theater room. And lo and behold no one was sitting in for the show. Literally. Not a single person!!! We walked the whole movie alone, just my mom and sisters! I don't know what was more fun....laughing loudly without hestitation or running up and down the aisle switching rows! =D
-Youthful Wisdom
For 21 years, I never stepped foot inside of a theater. Never. I don't know what it was that kept me from joining my friends and siblings. My dad told my siblings and I never to go to "cinemas". It wasn't exactly the type of setting he wanted us to get accustomed to.
My siblings all did it though. They all went with their friends all the time. However, I really really wanted to listen to my dad (I feel like I didnt listen to him in all other aspects, so this was the one thing I had).
Anyways, one summer my brother and sister in law, coaxed me into going with them. I thought I was going shopping but they wanted to watch Iron Man instead. And I tried resisting and that was a fail. For some reason, seeing my brother do it, made me feel ok. I know. It's weird.
But I had fun. Yes, I felt odd. But it was a good movie, and the atmosphere was nothing like how I imagined, i.e. people making out and doing shady things. I guess.
It wasnt a one time thing.(Although that night something awful happened and I was sure that God was punishing me for going to theater and going against my dad's wishes, and I told myself I would never go ever again) But I've been to a bunch of movies since then. And actually love going to the theaters. And have had some interesting experiences each time :)
One time two of my friends and I had the entire theater to ourselves.It's an awesome feeling to walk into a theater and to your surprise, no one else is there. Another time, my friend and I watched a really depressing action movie and counted how many times the eff word was said---100+. And watching Twilight with my sisters and CC was a blast. The entire movie was awkward and hilarious.
And then there's other moments that I'm too stingy to share.
There's something cool about doing a good deed for perfect strangers.
