Why you should be properly rested before gift wrapping

Because then as you drone out address labels for your holiday work gifts while on 4 hours of sleep you might go from perfectly acceptable labeling such as the following...
..to a mindless slip of the pen while watching the Gilmore Girls engrossed at the meanness of Lorelai's mom on her 35th birthday and thus submit to the head honcho of your job a gift with a label such as this:
And no it was not his birthday. Ofcourse I changed the label once I realized it (much later). I added another label atop this one but I am slightly concerned he might see the hint of another label underneath and a) Think I'm a bad regifter and proceed to despise me and my tacky ways or b) unpeel the top label and see my faux paux and... I dont know or c) Nothing because he's a guy and I'm so over thinking this... Oh well. Happy Holidays!

And the streets are paved with gold

How does it work that a child flees with her family from war torn Afghanistan, hiding out briefly in the crime ridden slums of Pakistan, to the USA where she is afraid to check the mail because the drug dealers next door look at her funny, and must sit crouched trembling on the night before Eid, in the corner of her bedroom because bullets flew through her bedroom wall, mere inches from her head?

When the war in Iraq was still a debate I remember a reporter's interview with a man in a troubled slum in Chicago about his take on the war on t-rror. I'll never forget his response "Its strange to fight t-rrorism there when we have t-rrorism here in Chicago" Interested, the reporter leaned in "You mean, you know of t-rrorist cells?" He responded "Yes, they are the gangs doing drive bys and killing our children with their stray bullets, they are the drug dealers who keep our youth numb and broke. We should get these t-rrorists, they're the reasons we lie in fear each night, the reason most of our men don't live past 24"

Yes, we should. Eid Mubarak Madiha. I wish I could take you away from it all but I can't, and I am so sorry Madiha.

State of Emergenc..yawn!

Pakistan's State of Emergency is over. You know the one spoken of in troubled voices on CNN? The reason many non-desi friends asked in hushed voices if it was really wise to go to Pakistan considering? The way the media covered it you'd think the residents of Pakistan were spending their time trembling under beds watching the news with their binkie blankets. My relatives who my folks are staying with are one big military family with my chacha/chachi/cousins ALL in the military and all living in Islamabad... so I figured they'd be riveted and catching the play by play of this international scandal, but apparently not...

Me: Sooo, the State of Emergency is over!
Ami: The State of what?
Me: Emergency?
Ami: Oh...that.. is it over?
Me: Yesss... its all over the news here... How are people reacting?
Ami: hold one second beta... *speaking to relatives* Uh huh, that Emergency thing, its over. Yes, Aisha said. Yes, she's doing good.
Me: You mean you didn't know? People aren't cheering in the streets?
Ami: No, people are busy doing their Eid shopping beta! But that's nice!

Homesick

Have you ever felt homesick for people you have never known, or places you have never been? Two opportunities have come and gone. First was Hajj last year. Visa issues and then the lack of plane seat resulted in not going. Now its Pakistan, my parents went after 20 years. I wanted to go but new job = not enough vacation.

Yesterday my little brother described with excitement his experiences so far, "Api! Its like on CNN! But I'm there! There's meat hanging in the bazaar! And I saw a buffalo I think? It was just wandering and people didn't even stop to stare at it!" I laughed at his descriptions, his sense of wonder and his culture shock. I told him, "Don't experience this as a 'them' thing experience it as 'you' or 'you could've' thing. But not for the decision to immigrate this would have been your world as mundane as the manicured suburbs you were raised in. This might not be you, but it is a part of who you are."

Hearing my mom share with me her trip to the bazaar, observing a saas and bahoo engage in a passive aggressive exchange on the price of her valima outfit... to hear about vendors calling out for hot chai that isnt Tazo Chai, or Chai Latte, or Chai Tea, but CHAI, real chai the way chai is supposed to be... Here Ive learned to compartmentalize the different parts of me but what would it be like to be in a place that is all that one compartmentalized me? Is it freeing, or suffocating? Will I ever find out? My parents track record for going back isn't good and I wonder what impediment will come up next year. Will I ever see Pakistan? Will I travel from South America to Europe and never see the other half of the Pakistani-American equation thats me? Its dramatic to say that when I think of Pakistan and that I might never go I feel an ache in my heart that feels much like a bruised wound but its true, because I do

Movie Reviews, Updated!

At last I've updated one of my review sections! Clicking on "Movie Reviews" up top will take you there but I also linked to the updated movies below:

Waitress**updated

Superbad

Enchanted

American Gangster

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

3:10 to Yuma

Bourne Ultimatum

Knocked Up

Disturbia

The Good shephard

Stranger Than Fiction
Blades of Glory

Next Project? Updating the book reviews... there are a LOT more books to be updated.. so one of these days it shall happen... *gulp*

The Goes Around Comes Around Effect

My first night in Brazil, sitting under the stars outside an eatery in Ipanema with newly acquired friends I took in the tropical scenery, the ocean sounds in the distance when suddenly, "Aisha?" It was my professor. We all looked up at him. "Aisha, your mom called. She was very worried. She wanted to know why you didn't call her. She wanted to know if you were okay. I told her you're fine and you're a great student, but she wants you to call her okay?" It was a very I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole moment as I sat there feeling like a pigtailed bracey faced 4 year old in a booster seat at Pizza Hut and NOT a 26 year old law student quite capable of watching after herself thank you very much!

My mom always does that. She's notorious for the incessant calls to make sure we're okay and ofcourse growing up you rolled your eyes a teeny bit and said in an exasperated tone, "Mom, I'm okay.. Jeeeeez!" Its funny though, the "goes around comes around effect" My brother and parents are going for a three week trip to Pakistan. I called her at least three times last night and twice today. Now I just learned their flight is delayed leading to all sorts of complications and that they didn't take a cell phone. Though I know deep down they'll be okay (insh'allah) I can't lie and say I'm not worried, that they're not totally on my mind and that I'm not distracted. Because I am. I guess I just want to know they're okay.

Thinking while dieting

Ipods while running on a treadmill is great but if not securely fastened you might jerk it as you take it up a level and it will then literally, fly to the other end of the gym. It's physics-ly possible folks. Not that I had any personal experience in that area.

The gym is a hopeful place. Either you're getting in shape or keeping in shape. Today I saw a kid (If you're 18, you're ten years my junior, I think I can call you kid). He had black rimmed glasses so thick they made his eyes pop out, gym shorts tied awkwardly around his chest, and socks that went well past his knees. I saw him as he walked in, his mouth agape as he looked around in wonder. I wager 10 crisp dollars it was the first time he set foot in a gym, and as walked with determination towards the treadmill, I couldn't help but feel a little hopeful myself.

Eating out is the death of a diet. Even the seemingly healthy options aren't necessarily healthy. Case in point, considering PF Changs I said to the guy I live with "There's nothing healthy there" to which he responded "Why yes there is, there's salad" to which I went to their site and discovered they have nutritional content and people, their salads were MORE FATTENING than the entrees! I'm not saying that all seemingly healthy options are unhealthy, but you'd be surprised. The big healthy logo next to the Turkey Salad might seem like a sound option, but may also have a teeny tiny disclaimer saying "Not including the dressing, nuts, croûtons, and oh yeah, the Turkey" And the bread basket they place before you as you sit there with your stomach growls the National Anthem... its hard to resist! Its quite a dieting conundrum.

Wall charts work. So far. I hung it up right by by bathroom scale on the wall to chart my progress day by day. Its a really motivator to work out and watch what you eat because you really want to chart your progress and you really want it to look like a downhill mountain in the Himalayas and not the flat prairie lands of Kansas. Plus, it reminds you if you had three days of flat lining that it happened three days before and it did go down. Its a good perspective-izer.

Cool links rock: Lifehack, Chris.Porillo.

And that is all.

Ferdinand the Lawyer

Growing up Ferdinand the Bull was one of my favorite stories. Ferdinand is a bull, but unlike other bulls who fight and snort and butt heads, Ferdinand preferred sitting under a tree smelling flowers. So un-bull-like.

I feel Ferdy's pain. I hate confrontations and I'm a lawyer. I wanted to be a lawyer to fight for justice. Cheesy? Perhaps. The truth? Absolutely. The problem is that even when fighting for what you believe in you're still fighting. I thought confronting for good wouldn't feel so icky. Its not that I feel terrible, it just leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth kind of like a splenda cheesecake and I didn't expect that. I thought Aisha who hates confrontation and Aisha the Lawyer! would be best of friends but have their own rooms. Not quite. Today was my first solo confrontation. It went well, but I'm drained by the drama. The confrontation was so unnecessary. But its part of the job,. Maybe time will teach me how to embrace it. Maybe 2 years from now I'll eagerly hop into the boxing ring like Muhammad Ali.

Meet Marvin, my muppet.

It all began innocently enough. I'm a sucker for sentiment so my walls are filled with meaningful mementos. This was to be our wall of musical mementos.

First was the Turkish Ukelele acquired via vigorous bargaining at the Grand Bazaar:


Then came the Brazilian Bongos from Rio's Hippie Fair:

In Costa Rica we saw maracas and, well, we just had to! All seemed fine til one wintry eve when while reading a book I got that strange feeling I was being watched:

Doesn't it look like a muppet? A very somber serious muppet?

Some people have scarecrows, I have a no nonsense muppet lost in thought. Welcome to the family Marvin.

On Smarmy Bugs

There is a roach in my garage. A big one. I have paperwork in my car. My car is in the garage. When I open the door it flies. I hate roaches. I'm so scared of them I'd rather stand in an ant pile while watching baseball rather than encounter one. I can see the headline: Girl fails to meet deadline due to roach. I could explain the law on squatters to said roach and begin eviction proceedings (I live in a nonjudicial eviction state) but a) I doubt he'd listen (he's an evil roach) and b) He's scary and knows it (why else would he come flying when he knows K is asleep?) Sigh. I think I'll name him Smarmy.

Random

This was the first weekend in months that I didn't have ten hundred places to go and things to do. It was a weekend of pink pajamas and purple socks and the aim of remaining in this quite stylish getup for as long as humanly possible. Though not a 100% success, I'm still quite pleased with what I spent it doing:

1. Watching two entire discs of Gilmore Girls Season 1.

2. Celebrating my nanowrimo win by re-reading the story and despising it to an unholy degree and telling myself NOT to throw it into a burst of flames though my personal fireplace hasn't been turned on for the past four years because of the questionable nature of the floot.

3. Organizing the pantry. Its not a good sign when your spouse opens the pantry to procure a pretzel and yells at the top of his lungs OH MY GOD- ITS CLEAN!!!

4. Drinking chai that I simmered on a stove and strained through a strainer on cold wintry nights and was oh so divine.

5. NOT watching The Namesake for which I was counting down to for months. Three months ago I actually drove to six different movie selling locations in search of it and 5 out of 6 thought it was a scifi horror thriller, why? I do not know. At any rate, curiously upon purchasing it, I have yet to stick into my dvd player and actually watch it.