My List

I was inspired by reinventingsandyb's blog to go back and look my list of things I want to do before I hit 30 years old.

I wrote it about 4 years ago and thought I'd post it...

1. Master the classical Arabic language (working progress)
2. Memorize the entire Qur'an with meaning and understanding (working progress)
3. Travel every continent of the world (working progress)
4. Swim and snorkel in the Red Sea
5. Cross a glacier
6. Paint my room
7. Sleep in the Prophet's Masjid in Medina
8. Write a book and get it published
9. Go for Hajj
10. Buy a savvy camera and become a photographer on the side
11. Ride a camel
12. Climb Mount Sinai
13. Be an inspirational Arabic teacher, inspiring others using the beautifully rich language of the Qur'an
14. Lose 30 pounds and be in really good shape
15. Sleep under a starry night in a desert, a beach, a mountain, a field
16. Volunteer in the Peace Corp
17. Read at least 3 complete volumes of classical tafseer (explanation of the Quran) books in Arabic
18. Go racing on a horse across the Sahara
19. Make someone smile everyday
20. Write a gratitude journal every night
21. Teach English in a the Middle East
22. Go skydiving
23. Live in a studio apartment with spiral stairs either in a big city or by the beach
24. Learn to snowboard
25. Go sand boarding
26. Write all my secrets and send it as a message in a bottle across the sea
27. Take a hot air balloon ride
28. Live by a motto and revise it time to time
39. Live without internet for a week
30. Learn to cook like my mom


8 down, 22 more to go :)

quicky

Wassssup party people???! I had the randomest urge to share that. OK soooo my birthday's next week..yaaay. I already feel 20 so i'm not expecting a huge shift or an epiphany *shrug*. Something I AM excited about though, is this recipe I found buried in my phone that I had made a year ago on my brother's birthday. Think coconuts and limes mmmm, my too favoritest flavors ..together! lime coconut cupcakes, a tingly, tangy, sensation! I must share!

4 oz butter
4 oz sugar
2 eggs
2 oz coconut
3 limes zested and juiced
6 oz flour
1t baking powder

**warning** this does have a very lime-y flavor so if your not a big fan of limes you can mix in 1 1/2 limes and a quarter cup of water :)
on with the recipe! it's really quite simple:

Preheat oven to 350f, whisk butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and whisk. Mix in coconut, lime zest/juice. Fold in flour and baking powder, spoon into cupcake pan. Bake 15-20 min.
Easy peasy lemon squeezey!

Relationships

You know that thing when two people have some sort of emotional connection?

Relationships?

Yea, that!

I think the best way to affect someone is by forming a relationship with them. In the process you learn so much about yourself too. The Prophet Muhammed (Peace and Blessings be upon him) once said, "'The best among you are those who have the best manners and character." Growing up I never really understood this. I was always taught at Sunday Schools (which I hated going to) that Islam is all about the five pillars. That's it. Wonderful...now I can list them off the top of my head: declaration of faith, prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage to Mecca. Seriously people I think that's the worst way to tell a person about Islam.

So why is it that so many people were turning to Islam during the Prophet's time? People were drawn to him, not necessarily through his teaching of Islam, but by his beautiful character. I read books about him and different stories and it amazes me how much he actually cared for people. There's this one story where the Prophet was on his way to run some important errands. On the path he came across a little boy who was sobbing and grieving over the death of his bird. So the Prophet stopped to console the child and tried to make him smile. He didn't leave the boy until he was smiling again! In this day and age I feel like many of us (included me for sure) are so self-absorbed. We're always busy, always have a million errands to run, and always on the go. When was the last time we stopped, took a deep breath, and thought about someone else?

Relationships with others, how we treat each other, whether we think about each other in each others absence... those are the important things. God is all Merciful and as such we should spread mercy throughout the world. Imagine what a difference it makes when you smile at random people on the street? Its truly contagious. Once I was in an elevator and this lady looked at me and said with a huge smile, "You have a great day!" and left. It was simple but it totally made my day.

So lets go back and start reconnecting with people...our family, our friends, our neighbors, even that random kid you walk past everyday on your way to school/work.

Mrs. Cullen: The Wise One

Dear Friends,

I look like a balloon right now. My face is all swollen up and it aint pretty. Thank you everyone for your concern about my mom. She reached safely to New York and she just came back home tonight=) The first thing she did was laugh out loud when she saw my swollen face. Sigh. And my grandma laughed too. My grandpa didn't. He just immediately started naming people that he thought I looked like. FML. Anyway, I went to the bank today and as soon as I took a look at the little boy that was there with his dad, he started to cry and came running to his dad. I'm serious. It was because of my face. Everyone was staring at me. Even my T.A. (Teacher's Assistant) was laughing at me, when he was talking to me. I told him, "Thanks for laughing at me." And he said, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you." But I wasn't laughing. I wast just sitting there and staring at him. And looking like a balloon.

Ok. Why is my face all swelled up? Cuz I got in a fight. I know, I know. So unlike me. Well kinda. But its true. I was walking at school, minding my own business when this girl got in my face. She was all like, "Gurl, why you be tryina get wit my man?" And I was all like, "Huh, what you talkin about woman?" And she was like, "Gurl you know what I'm talkin' bout!" And I was like, "No I don't! I was mindin' my own business and you came all up in my face!" And shes like, "I saw you talkin' to him and I read your text messages to him. Girl, you betta stay away cuz he my baby daddy!!!" And I was like, "I aint stayin away. I love him. He treat me like a Queen!" And then she punched me and then I punched her back.

Ok. Um. Just kidding. Nothing like that happened. Nor did I take anyones man or anything. (Because thats not allowed in Islam. Oh. Not that I would take someones man away.) Anyway. I got my wisdom teeth removed yesterday morning. I got three removed because I already had the last one removed two years ago. Anyway. One side of my face looks normal. But its not. It is also swollen. You just can't tell because the other side is OH SO BAD. So you think this side is normal. Sigh. The more swollen side looks like I stuck an egg on the left side of my mouth. FML. Somebody thought there was gauze in there and thats why it looked so big. Sigh. No. Thats just my face.

Anyway. Even though I have gotten one of my wisdom teeth removed before, I will still so nervous. I was shaking and in so much pain when the dentist was giving me shots to numb me up. He gave me like a zillion shots. The assistant let me squeeze her hand. Haha. And I did. I'm so lame. Anyway. After the shots he went to take out someone else's teeth, while my face numbed up. I was shaking oh so much. Then finally, it was my turn. The first two teeth came out in like a second! It didn't even hurt when he removed them. I just felt some pressure. At one point the dentist asked what the problem was. And thats when I realized I was making awkward painful/moaning noises, for no reason. Because it didn't even hurt. I felt so stupid. So, I stopped. But the last tooth took some time. First he tried to take it out just like he took out the other two. That didn't work. Then he used some sharpy thing and there was a lot of blood. Then he used this wrench like thing. Then he used this plyer. Omg. That scared me. Finally he got it out. Half of it. Then he took out the rest. Then he stitched me up. All done.

Sigh. Anyway, it was the most painful thing ever. Sigh. Don't ever do it. The bleeding is supposed to stop in 3-4 hours but mine didn't stop for 24 hours. Last night, I didn't sleep. I kept waking up to myself choking on my blood. It was terrible. And I felt like a vampire. And the diet is terrible. I've only been eating pudding, soup and yogurt. I WANT CHICKEN AND RICE AND REAL FOOD. On top of that I wasn't even prescribed Vicodin. Only Tylenol 3. FML. Anyway. It has been quite an awful 36 hours. I just hope it gets better. Please pray that it does. Thanks. Anyway, this is something my friend just sent me and it made me happy. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor anxiety, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.”

Yours for the sake of Peace and Brotherhood,

Mrs. Cullen

Confidentiality is a virtue of the loyal, as loyalty is the virtue of faithfulness.*

I've been pondering over this issue for a while now. Maybe some of you guys can help me out with this one.

Trust. Actually not really trust. Let me be more specific. Trust in confidentiality.

It's a very rare characteristic to own these days. I'm not about to hate on people who have broken other people's trust. We all make mistakes. But I am wondering why people would continuously, purposefully break a persons trust.

Why are secrets no longer secret? Why aren't there any secret keepers out there anymore? Why do we have to think five times before we tell anyone anything anymore. People can't talk about their problems anymore for fear of it getting out.

Why is it that when someone tells someone, "Don't tell anyone," they get an uncontrollable itch to run to the first person they see and vomit out everything they just heard, with the addition of {not so tiny} exaggerations.

Why is it? Is it that they have their own problems and low self esteem they like to bring others down to look better and feel better about themselves? Is it that they just thrive on gossip and like to be the official 411 girl? Or are they just forgetful...all the time? What is it that makes a person tell other people secrets?

And I'm not talking about mutual friends either. I'm talking about acquaintances and other people that haven't even met. I can't figure it out.

I'm very lucky to have a lot of trustworthy people in my life. But these days, I think twice before I say anything to anyone outside my trust friends circle. I'm talking about non-secretive stuff about my personal life. Actually, I can't think of any secrets I have at the moment. Just stuff I don't want the whole entire world to know right now. I prefer not to have my whole life story out there. Unless, maybe I do want the whole world to know everything about me.

It's just annoying. I'll run into someone and they'll be like, "oh yeah hey how's that thing going for ya?" and I'll be like wth how do you know? If I wanted my life advertised and everyone to know everything about every detail of my life I'd facebook it every 30 seconds.

Maybe I'm fed up of everyone being obsessed with gossip. It's not just gossip though. Gossip tends to turn into slander and I don't like that.

In Islam, trust is a huge thing. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was known for being trustworthy. Even people who didn't believe in Islam and thought him a liar when it came to religion trust him with their gold, money, houses and etc when they were away. He said that there are 3 signs of a hypocrite:

1. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
2. Whenever he promises, he always breaks it (his promise).
3. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest.

There are a few people I know. This girl has told me everything about her best friends. Stuff that I know for sure that they would not want anyone to know. And they whole time I was thinking to myself why is she telling me? I thought it sucked that they have no idea. But being a hater of drama I didn't do anything about it. I feel bad. What should I do?

Remember this and never let this out fo yuor head. If a person talks smack about her best friends to you, what makes you think she's going to have anything nice to say about you. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE. Don't say I didn't warn you. it's all there in red, bold and caps.

And then there's the infamous, "I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you this but don't tell anyone.." line I've heard. STOP. If you do not know then do not tell. It's better to not hurt people and lose their trust. I may have pulled this once or twice. Thank God it wasn't a problem and it was tell-able stuff. It was good stuff. But like me, people might be pretty selective when it comes to sharing personal stuff. I've stopped because I don't want to get myself into a cat fight. I'd totally win, except maybe against CC, because she knows Kung Fu. But, no thanks.

I've only known one instance about my trust being betrayed, but I don't tell people anything anymore. That was enough to close me up. Well, I'm not a hermit. I just don't go into details of my life anymore. Only a select few deserve to know. I don't think it's worth the heartache of knowing someone you trusted completely had blurted everything out to people you don't even talk to but will talk about you. It spreads like wildfire, this stuff. And maybe I wouldn't have minded but it's the exaggerations, the false details the lies intermingles between that got to me.

So, people, tell me. Why do people do it? Have you done it? Have you been betrayed? Have you ever been able to trust that person again? Do you trust anyone anymore? Please tell me what youy think. :)

* quote by Edwin Louis Cole

Mrs. Cullen: The GPS

Dear Friends,

I am so. freaking. frustrated. right now. My mom, grandma and grandpa went to New York to visit my sister. They left this morning at 7 AM. The GPS stopped working while they entered Ohio. Oh never mind. Actually, thats when my mom decided to call and let us know it wasn't working. Apparently it wasn't even working when she left the house. Sigh. My mom didn't print out directions or anything; she was simply relying on the GPS. So, since then I have been on the phone with her giving her directions. On top of that, her cell phone is about to die. And shes in the middle of Ohio. Sigh. I feel really bad though cuz I was getting really frustrated with her and yelling. I almost lost my voice. Well I wasn't yelling at her, I was just yelling out the directions for some reason. I probably looked and sounded like an idiot, yelling into the phone. It was my day to sleep in. So after I woke up at 6:30 for the morning prayer, Fajr, I went back to sleep. So, I was quite frustrated when I got a phone call at 7:45. Then another one at 8. Another call at 8:20. After that I gave up on sleep and just stayed on the phone with her.

Ok. I'm not stupid. Initially I had her write down all the directions. But then she got lost. Because my dad and sister kept calling her over and over again. So she became frustrated. I told her to ignore their calls. Ok. Another thing. I rely on Google for everything (including this blog). But Google maps sucks!!!!! I was helping her with Google maps but it was causing her to go into circles. So then I switched to Yahoo maps..soo much better!!!

Oh. In case you're wondering why the stupid GPS stopped working..Well it keeps saying "Searching for GPS satellite signal." There is no way there isn't any signal anywhere. My dad thinks my mom did something to it. My mom is blaming in on the GPS brand; Tom Tom. What kind of freaking name is Tom Tom. Would you go to the store and buy a Tom Tom brand GPS or a Garmin brand GPS???? I know. I know. Garmin. It just sounds so much better. Anyway. Now shes driving on I-80E. She has to drive on this for over 500 miles. Sigh. Please pray that she makes it to Staten Island, NY. Thanks

Yours for the Sake of Peace and Sisterhood,

Mrs. Cullen

The Column of Narcissism with No Refunds

Hello there

This is controlled chaos with a guest.....post.....from....ImnotBenny!!!!!
:::crowd cheers::::

If you haven't checked out his posts. You really should. He's hilarious. And we wanted to share his hilarity with everyone out there.

And I promised him followers if he guest posted for us.

Haha no I lie. Completely.
But this is what he said:

So I set my post linking to yours to go up around noon tomorrow, so I predict by noon and three seconds, you will have the most popular blog on the planet and also will have multiple book deals thrown your way!

And preferred restaurant seating!

And discounts on girl scout cookies!

And free eggs from local grocers!

Sweet.

While the popularity part would be really cool, let's be serious here, who cares about that if you can have free eggs from Kroger. As long as they're not being thrown at me.

Truthfully, it's the promise of cookies that I will be holding him to. Girl scout cookies are so yummy. If I don't get a single offer I'm asking all of you to start a spam movement against him.


So with the risk of him being spammed, I present to you Mr. I'm not benny's guest post!

(Oh and P.S. Fat Pogo and Blind Shana are his dogs...I think)
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I spent twenty minutes looking for my keys this morning and they were in my back pocket the whole time.

I'm pretty sure that qualifies me for some sort of state aid for the mentally incompetent.

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Usually in the morning when the alarm goes off and I'm still half asleep, I grab the remote and turn the TV on to MSNBC and listen for a while before I get up. Last night my DVR recorded something and so the TV was on a different channel.

So I press the power button, and am instantly bombarded with the sound of:

- about ten pre-teen girls screaming at the top of their lungs.

- Fat Pogo rolling of the bed and crashing to the floor.

- Blind Shana freaking out, jumping straight into the new vertical window blinds I just put up, and then turning and smashing into the night table.

Then the remote got tangled up in the bedsheets and I couldn't get it out, so I jumped out of bed to run to the TV and turn it off, but I'm wearing these over-sized pajama pants because they only cost six dollars, and when I took a step the legs of the pajamas were way past where my foot actually is, so I stepped on the pajamas and tripped and fell to the floor and landed on top of Fat Pogo.

Dear makers of the Barbie Pink Ticket Party commercial,

I'm pretty sure if I ever see any of you walking down the street I'm going to run you over in my car.

Sincerely, ImnotBenny,

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Dear Blind Shana,

I don't care if you're blind. Pooping in the driveway right in front of my car door makes you a jerk.

Sincerely,

ImnotBenny

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So my buddy Kevin came over last weekend, which was pretty cool since I don't get a chance to see any of my friends anymore since I'm always studying.

Kevin: "Man, I wish I would have remembered to bring that new Rambo movie with me."

Me: "I haven't seen it yet- how was it?"

Kevin: "Pretty good. I feel like watching a movie. Hey, what's that one?"

So if your friend who was just wishing that he could watch Rambo asks what movie you have from Netflix that you left sitting on top of your cable box, you will have to tell him that it is a World War Two documentary that you can't even watch because it was cracked when it got here, because if you tell your friend who wants to watch Rambo that what you actually ordered from Netflix is a copy of Fiddler on the Roof, there is a good chance that he will beat you up and you will pretty much have to take it.

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I just flipped on the news, and the first thing I heard was:

"It's nothing more than a watered down bill written on Republican toilet paper!"

Then I turned the TV back off because there's no way to top that.

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Some lady from a collection agency keeps calling my new cell phone and asking for Todd. I've told her a couple of times that I am not, in fact, Todd, and this is a new cell phone so please stop calling me. I've told her this twice already.

Today she called again.

I've decided that the next time she calls I'm going to tell her that yes, "I AM TODD, I'VE BEEN TODD THIS WHOLE TIME, AND I'M NEVER GOING TO PAY! NEVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Then I'm going to hang up.

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I like to watch the Asian channel because it's oddly entertaining to me, and I figured that I would eventually learn flawless Chinese this way.

It's become obvious to me over time that every single person in China speaks gibberish.

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So Blind Shana has vestibular, which is a nerve disorder that causes her to lose balance, and she constantly has to hold her head cocked to the side, plus her eyes sort of point slightly away from each other. She looks like a cartoon.

It's pretty sweet.

She basically spends her entire day walking around like she's drunk and bumping into things. Most of the time, I keep an eye on her and can catch her before she walks into a wall or a guest, and I'll sort of yell "OOP" and she'll veer away, or "There you go" when she hesitates, so she knows it's okay to keep going.

I have a remote control dog.

I'm trying to figure out the right pattern of yelling so she will go to the kitchen and return with a sandwich.

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Conversations with Fat Pogo, part 982

Fat Pogo: "Tim, I need to talk to you about something important."

Me: "What is it, Chubbs? If you're planning on asking about treats, the answer is no."

Fat Pogo: ".....Why must you always demean me? I wanted to talk about Shana."

Me: "Shana can't have a treat either, and even if she could I would not let you carry it to her."

Fat Pogo: "You realize you're affecting my self esteem with your mockery, don't you?"

Me: Sigh, "Okay, Chubbs, what do you want to talk about?"

Fat Pogo: "I'm worried about Shana's health. She's too skinny. I think she needs to eat more."

Me: "What do you mean? Shana's fine. It's nice of you to be concerned, though. I'm proud of you, Chubbs."

Fat Pogo: "Well, I still think she should eat more. You should make her eat more."

Me: "....Why?"

Fat Pogo: "Well, I was watching this movie earlier, and these people crashed in a plane on top of a mountain, and they were starving and had to eat each other. What happens if we get snowed in this winter? Shana has no meat on her."

Me: "......"

Fat Pogo: "......"

Me: "Go away, Chubbs."

Fat Pogo: "You know, you won't be so flippant about this when we are snowed in and staring at each other while holding forks, and you're all: Wow, I wish Shana was meatier. Woe is me."

Me: "GO."

Fat Pogo: "Fine, I'll go......I'm really more concerned for YOU, you know..... maybe we should try to get on Judge Judy and let her decide which one of us is right. She's smart."

Me: "You're not allowed to watch TV any more. Go away."

Fat Pogo: "Okay, but the forecast calls for snow. I hope you know what you're doing."


BOTSWANA

Fort Hood

Front page of every news revolves around the shooting that happened in Texas. I don't even need to go into details for all of you to understand what I am talking about.

News reports started breaking out about a shooting spree from several gunmen. Which eventually turned into one gunman. Instantly people on twitter started betting it was a muslim. Prayers were being read for those involved. Others tweeted about how they were appalled.
It wasn't just twitter though. News articles involving the story where constantly being updated. Everyone anxiously waited for news about those involved in the incident. And still do.

With the country watching every piece of information coming out about the horrific shooting spree, people are once again examining Muslims. With that Muslims in America are coming out to condemn the incident. But others question why is it necessary for us to condemn everything someone else is doing? Just because they are Muslim and we are Muslim? Shouldn't the focus be on "the psyhciatrist and issues he had with deployment and that fact that he needed help/therapy himself"?

Anyways, so instead of presenting a single muslim voice to you, speaking about the event at Fort Hood, I had a few individuals type up blurps. They might not know everything but it's their own opinions, thoughts or just covering the facts that took place at Fort Hood yesterday.


I'm sure we all know what happened in Texas yesterday. It's such a tragedy. I don't know what to think. It seems like there's no break in the cycle. The same thing just happens over and over again.Why must Maj. Hasan be referred to a "muslim" "arab" and "terrorist" every single time? What happened to plain old "American"? It's stated he was a "US Born Muslim." Was Timothy Mcvey every referred to as an "US Born Catholic"? Were the Columbine shooters labeled as "American Protestants?" No, they were not. How come that was irrelevant? These words are brainwashing everyone and causing so much more fear. Do we really need that right now, especially with the lack of evidence for the shooters motive??

Do you guys remember when General Cone mentioned that witnesses supposedly saw 3 shooters? I understand in the moment of panic, you see things or THINK you saw them. But how do people mistake that? These 3 shooters were interviewed and let go, to find out it was a single shooter incident. So if people thought they saw 3 shooters but were wrong, then it seems witnesses could possibly be wrong about these statement too:

"Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — before opening fire, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander. He said officials had not confirmed that Hasan made the comment." (Yahoo News)

"The commander of the base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, Mr Hasan had shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" [God is great] before opening fire." (BBC.co.uk)

Why mention an unconfirmed statement? Let's get our facts together FIRST before jumping to conclusions people. I urge everyone to be open minded and to not believe everything the media says.

I'm angry. I'm angry that he did this. I want to know why. What was going through his mind? I'm angry that this guy killed/hurt so many people. They were so innocent. They didn't deserve this. No one did. I'm angry that the media, never ceases to accuse Islam (indirectly and you can't argue that they're not) and I'm angry thinking of how many people are probably in fear of their life right now.

Why are we, as humans allowing this to happen? And with "this", I mean allowing the demonization of Islam, allowing the military men to go untreated, allowing wars to happen, and allowing the unfair treatment of others? I don't like to lose hope but sometimes I feel as though I don't know what else to do to prove to everyone that Muslims are SANE. Sometimes I want to hide in a cave and sometimes I wish, really really wish that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was alive. sigh.

I pray that all the families, including Maj Hasan's family find peace and may God make this easy for them. May He expose the truth behind this matter and bring justice to all that rightfully deserve it.

---Simply Me



Yesterday a cousin of the Army psychiatrist spoke with CNN over the phone. He kept repeating over and over that his cousin was a "Good American." I wouldn't call him a good American or even a good human being. What this man did was terrible but I have a hard time believing it was for religious purposes. Yesterday the news didn't mention that the man screamed "Allahu Akber" (God is great) right before his attack, so how come they are saying it now? I dunno. I just have a hard time believing that this man really said that. How could a man do so much damage and no one stop him? Ok, maybe they tried to stop him but they couldn't manage to kill him? I dunno. I'm one of those people who doesn't believe most of what she hears on the news. If anyone did what he said it would be huge and be on the news, just as it is. However, its so much of a bigger deal since the man is a Muslim. Sigh

--Mrs. Cullen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8347501.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/nov/06/fort-hood-shootings-hasan-muslim

These articles discuss how Major Hasan was horrified after he found out he was to be deployed to Afghanistan. I think it's clear that he was deeply troubled and unstable from all the work with mentally-distressed and traumatized veterans, and his own military tours. He most likely just wanted to do anything he could to not be deployed...

It can be hard to understand how troubled some soldiers are; it's an issue quite hidden from the mainstream. My friend commented, “A Muslim.. and a mental health professional. What are the odds?” Well, how about the odds that eighteen soldiers commit suicide everyday (according to the Veterans Administration). Here's an enlightening article about suicide and PTSD issues.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/cbsnews_investigates/main3496471.shtml

Couple such mental issues with a confused, Palestinian-American identity and the additional troubles this brings of dealing with the violence and acts one may have committed or seen as a US soldier.So yeah, the odds look alright to me...

And while religion and spirituality could bring stability to these problems... people point to this man's religious identity while being totally silent on these issues. How many American veterans are unemployed or completely homeless after serving their country? How many suffer from PTSD and receive no support whatsoever? How many are casualties of the nation they thought they were fighting for?

At the same time, I just wish people would have the same uproar over violence against innocent civilians as they do for military personnel. Though of course, all loss is unfortunate. It's just that reality here in the American bubble is somewhat distorted.



---Provoking Invoking


Yesterday I was at the mall and the giant tv screen, which was on mute, had "BREAKING NEWS: MASSACRE AT FORT HOOD, scribbled across the screen. I was like, whoa, what happened? And then I started getting texts about this Muslim Major who went psycho and started shooting everybody on this base. They were reports that he had been to Iraq, that he could have been emotionally deranged, oh and also that he was probably working for a terrorist Muslim group.

Here is what we know:Maj. Nidal Hasan, is a 39 yr old Psychiatrist who spent most of his career at the large Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A processing center for soldiers returning from and about to be sent, overseas. He opened fire with an automatic pistol and another weapon, killing 13 people and injuring 31. Hasan, had been shot four times until he finally went down, by a wounded Civilian Officer. At first believed to have been killed, he is now recovering and on a ventilator. He was born in Virginia, got his medical degree from a military academy in 2003 and has been at the Washington Army Medical Center for 6 yrs before being transferred to Texas.

There are reports that he was "deeply, fundamentally opposed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq" from an un-named former colleague, which I am skeptical about. Every other source, his commanding officer and the nurses he worked with, were identified. I don't know what was going through his mind as he shot and killed so many people, if/when he regains consciousness.

---Snake Charmer

And those are the blurps I have for you today.

And those tweets wondering whether every Muslim they meet might be a foe? I am not even going to respond to that. What would like me to do? Plead to you I'm not a foe?

Personally? I truly salute the woman who brought him down, feel sorry for those that are suffering, for their pain, but I also wonder about the man who went from being a good neighbour to someone that seemed to have lost their mind.

To quote Simply Me, "I pray that all the families, including Maj Hasan's family find peace and may God make this easy for them. May He expose the truth behind this matter and bring justice to all that rightfully deserve it. "

--controlled chaos