half past nomad

Standing here
The old man said to me
Long before these crowded streets
Here stood my dreaming tree
Below it he would sit
For hours at a time
Now progress takes away
What forever took to find
-DMB

Orphans for sale! Orphans for sale!

For a limited time, you too can get your very own Orphan. Each Orphan that you get is individually numbered, and no two are alike. Each one is unique, and will not be duplicated.

Yes, you too can get your very own Orphan.

For a mere $39/month you can get your own choice of Orphans from: Albania, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Niger, and Afghanistan Orphans
For an extra $6/month you can upgrade to an Orphan from Bosnia, Kosova, and Palestine. All yours for just $48/month.

Currently their are specials being run this month. For the low low price of $33/month you can get Bangladesh, Chechnya, Ethopia, India, Mali, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Yemen orphans.
Check or credit card’s are accepted. Act now!!!

All joking aside folks, your $33/month can make a hugh difference.

http://irw.org/pdfs/orphan_brochure.pdf

Emotions are such odd and wonderous items. They can range from the greatest feeling in the world, to the saddest most gut wrenching feeling that you’ve ever had. What’s amazing is that certain events can take you from one part of the spectrum all the way to the other part of the spectrum in a matter of mere moments not meant to be meandered by mere mortals.

And this is just one of the amazing gifts given to us by Allah. We might get frustrated at them, or be angry that we have them, and at times feel irate that we can’t get rid of them. All in all though, it’s something which makes life worth living though.

Imagine a life without emotions. Imagine not ever having joy, or happiness, or anger, or sadness. Life would be an empty worthless void which wasn’t worth living in…but we’d be incapable of comprehending this.

It’s Eid, and I’m making my traditional phone calls to say Salaamz to everyone and wish them Eid Mubaraak. Then my cousin asks me an interesting question. What’s it like knowing that this is my Last Eid as a Bachelor.

Last Eid as a Bachelor. And it hits me, that it really is. It’s my last Eid as a Bachelor. It’s the last Eid in which I’ll be spending the day hanging out with the guys, and chilling on Eid. It’s the last Eid in which I’ll be going to some restaurant with 30 other single guys, and celebrating and hanging out until some time in the wee morning. It’s the last Eid in which I’ll be getting up early and picking up all of the international students to take them to the mosque. It’s the last Eid in which I’ll get phone calls from friends at 2am asking when Eid is. It’s the last Eid in which I can get up, get ready and go in under 20 minutes. It’s the last Eid in which my plans for the day are going to be made during the day, and might change upto 5 minutes before an event starts.
I think about this, and realize that it’s about damn time.

I once commented perhaps too briefly on the sin of Times New Roman (read all about it). That crime marked itself repeatedly on me over the years. The pain just wouldn’t go away.
Until now.

Did you know that in Google Talk you can set your font? And that font also applies to incoming messages? Which means I don’t have to read your lousy text in your stupid neon purple font no more?

I chat joyously now. It’s a pleasure once again. Ah, to type and see beautiful beautiful Trebuchet! Or the slight trembling curve of Tahoma! Let’s not forget the stern broad shoulders of Verdana. VERILY! This is joy.

Now, to convince all those people who I’ve been ignoring for years (it’s not you! just your stupid font!) to chat with me again.

Oct. 14th 1066.
Little did William of Normandy realize, that when he arrived 16 days earlier, that he’d be in the situation he was in right now. As he arrived on this strange land, he was meet with an omen. As he took his 1st steps onto the land, he tripped and fell onto his face. Quickly thinking, he stood up with some of the local dirt in his hands and proclaimed, “I now take control of the land of England.” Little did he realize exactly how prophetic his words were.

He was thinking back upon this as he and his troops stood downward of the English troops. Behind him were the combined armies of the Norman’s, Briton’s, and Flemish. Many were their for wealth, for personal glory, or because the Pope had blessed this expedition.

The English forces were weakend, and were manned only by the peasents at this time. The skilled knights, and fighters had all been slaughtered. As night was about to fall, William decided to push his forces and attack. The archers fired high and slew the ranks at the back. During this battle the English king, Harold was struck in the right eye by an arrow. As he attempted to pull it out, he was slayed by the forces of Norman.

At this point William of Normandy declared himself the king of England. Soon afterwards the remaining nobles gave in and gave him their pledge of allegiance.

Memories are like faint imprints on your brain. It’s a reminder of some past feeling, or joy that you’ve had. Viewing items from the past are memory joggers. As I write these words, I’m constantly reminded that this blog has a 2nd half.

Waleed.

Reminders of his presence are abound. His article about going to KSA and praying for us. His thoughts of having his mind turn to slush. These reminders are ever present and remind us of the joy of having Waleed amongst us.

But like photo’s hanging on the wall, they just fade into the background and we don’t actualize the full memory of the moment that they are meant to evoke.

Overtime as the memory starts to fade, you wonder if the event actually occured or if it’s something that you made up. I remember the joy and pleasure that I had in reading a Waleed original. But I’m wondering, did it really happen? Does Waleed really exist?

So I’m asking everyone for a petition. A petion based on everyone’s thoughts and feelings for the return of Waleed. Even if only for a short plug.

Waleeeeeeeeed….we miss you.