Season Begins

NBA season is finally here! First night and the bulls are dousing the heat. I can't wait for tommorrow night. Lakers and Suns are playing now and I can't even finish watching the game cause my sis has a craving for Wendy's. You know the slogan, eat great even late. Why can't a man enjoy a good game on the telly without being bothered. Opps I mean person. Gosh, this brain of mine belongs in a man body. I got to run and take this little girl to the fast food joint and maybe put some gas in my car. Or better yet coax her into paying for my gas. My stress levels are peaked to the point that I don't care no more. Work was busy per usual but what was worse was when I looked at tommorrow's schedule and noticed I was going to fly solo without a cashier for two hours. I almost quit. The good thing was my boss was there for me to point out the unfairness of the situation. He was pissed! but I hustled and convinced one of the cashiers to work. Hopefully tommorrow should be a better day and I can come back and watch some B-Ball with my feet up cause Thursday I am OFF!! What to do with myself? Lock myself up and study for my midterm thats what. Or at least thats the plan. Wish me luck! After this week ends, I will be concentrating on pinning down the issues for the candidates in the MN races. That alone requires my calm persona coupled with my critical brain. Ha, look out political analysts.

Ps:- Don't #23 Lebrown look mighty fine. **sighs** (I had to put that in to convince myself and you, I was still a woman)

Dire needs within my sphere.

I need a holiday. I am overworked and miserable. I have never hated going to work but after this week I am beginning to despise the darn place. Everytime I walk in the place is a mess and I have to clean it up. The person in charge always find managerial things to do instead of working. She is new to our team and I am personally beginning to despise her. I have never seen my boss so wound up, never seen Joe grumbling or cussing under his breath. Something has to give. There is no system in place. The workflow is hectic and personally I feel drained by the time I leave the pharmacy. I feel like I was mining instead of filling drugs. Ughhhhhh......I am in desparate need for a holiday. I am thinking of going to Egypt and spending the five weeks from school learning arabic and maybe doing some sightseeing. Moonlight boat trip on the nile, camel ride to the pyramids, ancient & vibrant culture, islamic enviroment, beautiful abayas, all this and getting away from my life propels me to ask for the weeks off from work. Normally, I would feel guilty for leaving my poor boss with a handful of competent staff but seriously he dug himself into this hole, he can get himself out of it by firing Ms Alabama. She just is not working out and is going to drive me bananas if I see any more 30+ Rx's sitting and waiting to be filled when I walk in!

My sisters are going to send me to my grave faster than death. One of the tween aged girls decides that whenever I am home I should be in the kitchen slaving for them. Excuse me but i finally got a day off from school, I got laundry piling up and sleep to catch up on. I felt guilty waking up at 10 am but to my amazement she turns to me, in her bed mind you, grumbling when I open the windows at 11am. Then, she proceeds to watch TV instead of cleaning the house. Finally, I just tell her politely that I will throw the big a$$ TV out the patio if she doesn't clean the house. I had a couple errands to do, so I left the house and when i come back she was right where I left her. Holy guacomole, do you isbeak ingris nayaa? I was fuming but I had other things to deal with, so I did my laundry and got ready for work. Work suxed. I came home and cleaned up my room and put away my clothes when the younger ones (8 and 10 yrs) decide to help me. Everything was going ok till one of them couldn't figure out how to plug in my charger (cell) and powered off my power supply. My laptop went dead and it won't turn back on. I called the company and they think my motherboard is fried! I was cussing like a drunk sailor. All my assignments were on my laptop, my articles, my lifeee..............I could have cried. Needless to say my little sister ran to her bed and promptly feel asleep. Now I am without a laptop (not really i can use the desktop and my sister's laptop but its not the same) till Tuesday when someone will come to replace my motherboard.

To calm down, I call my friend Tricia. She is asleep but she listens to me vent then she does some of her own venting. Someone finished off her last peanut butter and she was broke. Let me put this in context for all y'all going HUH? This girl is a strict vegetarian. She doesn't eat nor touch anything with meat in it and to compound things she is broke. She has been basically living off PnJ sandwiches (PeanutButter and Jelly). For two days she has been sleeping hungry. I could have wringed her neck. She talked to me the day before and it would only take me a minute to wire her some cash to tide her over till she starts her job next week. We talked a while about things with me pressing her for bank info but she declined saying I did enough. She cited how for the whole of last semester in uni I basically paid for her grocery since she didn't have a job. Why do people get so proud when it comes to help? Seriously, if you are dying of hunger tell someone. There is no need to punish your body because of your pride.

In the midst of all this, my brother in law goes sexist on me. He asks me why I am watching ESPN all the time. Well, lemme see could it be because I love sports? Then we started discussing the NBA season starting next week. Here is the deal. I love my pistons, they my boys and all but for real the Eastern conference this year is going to be HEATED (no pun intended). Straight up, no joke, we talking caveliers with Lebron James , Bulls with the oh so sweet crew of Kirk, Gordon, Nocioni, Deng and BEN WALLACE, The Pistons and the Miami Heat. Anyways B in law picks his team but he is picking for trivial reason not understanding the beauty and art of the game, making me wish I was a dude man so I could tell him to man up ;)

I am a scatter brain. On thursday my prof hands me a personal invite to this dinner the school is hosting for some press dude or other. It was during my midterms so I didn't have time to read it but out of the whole class there were only two other people who were handed the invitation. I lost my invitation. I had it with me in my car but between my car and getting ready for work I lost it. Now I have to write to my prof and let her know I need another invite so that I can get into the dinner hall. I am absolutely enjoying her class. She is a hoot. I did a career test a few years back that said my personality matched that of a reporter/journalist then a doctor then a pharmacist then nurse. Anyway, I am thinking more and more about taking this course as a second major. I just don't know if I would contribute to the solution or compound the problem that assails the media these days. I just believe there are an elite few who control what we hear and see. There is no across the board discussion nor are there any grassroots movement. Plus I just want a reason to be traveling around the world.

Thanks for bearing through my dire needs monologue. Stay tuned for my politicking monologue in light of the coming elections on Nov 7.

The Different Faces of Muslim Artists

Names of Allah

Only fitting we start with the beautiful names of Allah Zawajal.


Nasheed - Dust is The Bed

This video is about death and nearly made me shed tears because it brought memories of my grandma and her funeral. She was the first person I actually went through funeral rites with including the washing and procession to the ground. I remembered staring at the earth covering her as we read dua over her grave and the only thing I could think of was I wish I was in there with her.


Zain Bhikha - Have you heard? (acappella)

We could add somalia to this list now couldn't we?


Burdah

Anyone know if this is wrong to be listening to. In my collection I have a few and I love them, but the other day I saw a lecture about burdah by Hamza yusuf and I haven't listened to it. I hope he doesn't say we can't listen to them. :(



Mecca2Medina

Ok are these dudes from UK and is one of them somali?


What happened to the Ummah

Great video with impactful images.



Sami Yusuf

Mashallah when he could be earning major bucks singing in bollywood with his voice, he exalts Allah instead. May Allah grant him his hearts desires.



Amir Sulaiman, the Muslim poet

This is especially for Native Female since she was looking for Amir Suleiman.



Taleal Bedru Aleyna-Yusuf islam

We cannot forget the nasheed's of all nasheeds.My little sisters' and niece favourite singer. I just have to pop this cd in for them to all stop quarelling and start singing and hugging each other. Its the cutest thing.



Ya Umi/Ya Hooyo/Ya Mama/Ya Maman

Mashallah this song/video touched my heart. I got a wonderful idea for a gift for my mother using this song as a background & a couple somali & swahili songs dedicated to moms.



The Heart of a Muslim

I hope the message came through with this song.



The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah

And we shall end with another version with english translation of the 99 beautiful names of Allah Zawajal. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Alhamdullilah Streaming Audio

The BEST lecture I have listened to

I have tried to find a way to stream this lecture so that you won't have to download it but I have failed. Download it and burn it on a cd and distribute it to your loved ones and friends. A brief bio on the lecturer.

Imam Anwar is the Muslim Imam at George Washington University. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, a M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University and is currently working on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University.

He is the author of a series of Audio lectures on the "Lives of the Prophets", covering the stories of the Prophets from Adam to Jesus (pbuh) of which over 20,000 copies have been published. The series is drawn from Imam Ibn Kathir's "Al-Bidayah wa An-Nihayah".

He was born in New Mexico, USA. His parents are from Yemen where he lived for eleven years and received the early part of his Islamic education. He has served as an Imam in Colorado, California, and Washington, DC.

Allah is preparing us for Victory Part 1

Allah is preparing us for victory Part 2

Racing thoughts

"I want to talk to the pharmacist about my racing thoughts!" asked one guest as she called into the pharmacy. We (the pharmacy crew) were amused by the mere thought. I am no longer amused because I am plagued by racing thoughts and to slow the thoughts down I decided to blog them.

V for Vendetta

The other day, I was sitting in journalism class when this thought popped in my head. I compared the movie V for Vendetta to the current state of United States of America. First off that the fascism government in place in the movie is only there due to fear. Sutler bears semblence to Bush. Prothero resembles Bill O'Reilly and V is off course the terrorist. He places bombs to further his cause. The scene that most resounds in my mind is the one when V takes over the airwaves and says:

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now,
orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on
their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for
those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is
something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice,
intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think,
and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillence
coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen?
Who's to blame? Well, certainly there are those more responsible than others,
and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking
for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know
you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of
problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common
sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now High
Chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all
he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to
end that silence.
Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words,they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot."

Adrian Peterson

Ok seriously the dude sustained a collar bone injury today. Whenever I get a chance I watch this dude because he doesn't seem to be stoppable when he is gaining yards. You can pull his legs, pull at his shirt and he will still keep going. I am sorry to see him sit the rest of the season out and hopes he is back to play @ the bowl. I don't see why this injury should factor into his worth as a heisman trophy winner. He certainly deserves it in my books and I wish him luck in the NFL. Brief bio about where he is from. His dad used to play basketball, got cocky, got shot accidentally, nearly lost his legs, got caught up in a drug traffiking ring, got jailed and look at his progeny.

Other corner of the sports world. Rookie of my month would have to be Laurence Maroney of NE Patriots. He is from the good ol' state of Minnesota. He plays in running back position and last week seem to cut through the Bengals defense. Can I mention this? For all y'all who hyped Reggie Bush, compare these two player's stats. Laurence has had 3 Touchdowns and Reggie nada. Aight, preseason games for NBA are beginning. I didn't catch Bulls game against Wizards but Bulls beat them by a point. Inshallah I hope to catch tommorrow's game against the Sonics. It'd be good to see Kirk, Wallace and crew. I definately want to see how they work as a team especially with Defensive playa of the year in the mixx!

Social blabber

So, the farmers in California are complaining that their fruits are rotting because of labor shortages. The mexicans that the government don't want to let in the country. What I don't understand is why there is no automated system in place for harvesting. I would think in a country like this (we like the easy life) there would be an automated alternative. The other way to tackle the labor shortage is an economic increase in wages for those poor immigrant workers.

How about that book? Which book you may ask. The one that talks of teenagers surveyed around the world. "Teenagers around the world believe Americans are extremely violent and criminally inclined, and they believe American women are sexually immoral" is one deduction from the survey of 1300 teenagers in 12 home countries. Sometime in the future, Inshallah, I hope to read this book. It is thus named, Learning to Hate Americans:How US media shape Negative Attitudes Among Teenagers in Twelve Countries.

How out of touch am I? I remember a while back reading about child soldiers in Uganda. Now apparently we got activists lobbying on capitol hill for intervention in Northern Uganda. A civil war has been going on for 20 years? Its between the government and the rebel forces. Go figure we were neighbours and I didn't even know about that. I really ought to check into african news outlets. I am too lax in that department.

Below is a clip showing some moves of Adrian Peterson (#28). His agility and stamina is beautiful to watch.

OU vs ISU offensive highlights

Images from the past

I was deleting some much needed pictures when I decided to create a slideshow of my past. I stopped taking pictures for a year or so now but Inshallah with a purchase of a new camera I will be back in business.

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Fragility to rememberance

It had been six weeks since it happened. Salwa smiled begrudgingly at the couple infront of her walking away from the mosque. Her marriage was supposed to happen SIX weeks ago but didn't. She had been duped. There was no marriage forthcoming nor any compensation for the time and energy dispensed at the failed transaction. Did it really boil down to the tick tock of the clock? she questioned. There was no other explaination. Opening her car door, Salwa started the engine. She fiddled around with her dials till she found the Islamic lecture she was looking for. Salwa tried in vain to focus her attention on the material but pretty soon she was back in the pity zone manning the goalpost. Her mind took a topographically picture of her failed engagement as she zoomed in on what she thought was the bend of the river, the slight curve of the foothills, the tiny speck that she didn't see when it was most vital.

**phone ringing**
[Salwa] hey lil mama (trying for cheery)
[Tania] heeeeeeeeeey girl. U ok?
[S] course I am heifer, what you think? I was gonna lie down and die?
[T] nah, I ain't said that but for reals your voice is wavering.
[S] I can't help it, it hurts even though it shouldn't
[T] Bullshit. Let yourself go through the emotional rollercoaster, you need it to get him out of your system
[S] I can't T, I wasted 4 years of my life on this.
[T] We can go over and do some body damage girl! Give me 10 mins with him and I promise he won't do nothing like this to a woman again let alone think it.
[S] He is not worth it T. He used to be the apple of my eye but now he is not worth it. I guess there is a thin line between love and hate.
[T] Go ahead girl, let it out.
[S] Anyway, much ado about nothing. What's g'waning?
[T] Nothin, just chillin...........can't seem to walk down the street without a bitch hollering at me.
[S] **giggles** I done told you before. Its the way you switch dem hips girl.
[T] Whateva yo! Punk azz men who needs them.
[S] You know ima argue with you on that point even thou I should b a man hater right about now.
[T] Youze a strong bitch. No way, no how when I broke up with Jeremy was I able to talk like this in 6 weeks. I was still crying into my cereal.
[S] God giveth, God taketh away girl. Plus he got his coming on this earth and heaven cause you have got to be evil to do what he did. I still can't believe he did it.
[T] I still think he was cheating on you. I don't care what he said. I just don't think a man gonna come off a rejected proposal and get married a week later. I mean WTF? Who does that?
[S] God knows T. I got to get up outta here cause I got to write me a paper for class.
[T] Aight girl. Call me anytime.
[S] I will. Take care of you.
[T] Take care of you too.

Salwa set the phone on her lap as she grabbed the steering wheel. A wave of grief came over her body and sure enough tears started streaming down her face. She regarded the now dark house of God and wished she was inside that cocoon. Salwa knew she did everything right in regards to Khalid and her. Her mother had said no because she was convinced Khalid didn't have her best interest at heart. Salwa had prayed and fasted all through that period asking God to intervene and he had. God had intervened by completely changing the font of the script, thats what everyone told her. She also heard the usual " you are too good for him". It wasn't enough, Salwa's heart still couldn't understand what went wrong and why so late. The long stretch of time they knew each other he could have stopped it at anytime but he didn't. He strung her along and when all was finalized with the parents is when Khalid decided to pull the rug from under her feet. She was disgraced. How was she going to face her family? Most of them were already asking her when the wedding date was. Salwa wrung the steering wheel some more. She gazed at the door of the masjid and finally got out of the car. She slid her key into the lock and set her things on the corner. Grabbing the Quran, she sat crosslegged by the mimbar and let the words from the Quran envelop her being. It was the only place she felt at peace at this moment.