kids here, kids there, kids everywhere... nothing wrong with it of course, it's just new to me ... probably should get used to my friends becoming parents, since I sure can't undo it! ;) if only I could find a way to be a cool aunt at least, it would make things much more fun. Looks like I can't communicate that well with kids after all...
Read the rest......Baking.
and I'm not kidding.I feel completely weird about this one, but recently all I can think about are cookies, pies, and cakes. I think in a few months I'll be 10 pounds heavier, and of course still a student. However, if you could taste the "warm sticky toffee cake" I made today you would know the reason behind this obsession. I'm actually good at this baking thing it seems! :D
getting older... and more cynical... happiness is tainted with guilt when your friends are in trouble. It's my birthday, and I wish the world were just a bit more fair.
Read the rest...As any reader of this blog knows, I've spent a good deal of my time, and my nerves, pondering on relationships, and I think I will continue to do so. It's just that when you're heart broken, sad, and angry it's much easier to write a post that can touch another person. On the other hand, when you're relatively happy and calm, as I have surprisingly been in the past few months, you don't get inspired as much!!! pretty sad and pathetic, but true... at least for me. So do I need a relationship that works, or do I need one that inspires me by being dysfunctional? I'm beginning to wonder if I really need the drama... I hope not.
Anyway, I've said all this so you understand why I need to write about movies again and here are some of the ones I watched recently:
Avatar: Well, need I say anything? I think the experience of watching it in "real D" was amazing... even if the story wasn't the greatest. I don't think there is any point in writing about it since everyone will probably eventually watch Avatar. Although I'm not sure how it would feel to watch it on TV. Loved the soundtrack by the way.
Nine: Well, if you ever watched 8 1/2 and thought it was not as interesting as everyone said it would be, then you should watch Nine and reconsider. It is basically 8 1/2 for dummies (like myself) and I don't mean it in a bad way. I think it conveyed the confusion of the uninspired director very well, the soundtrack was great, and of course Marion Cotillard was just a treat to look at. As a musical I thought Nine was great, and if you do like musicals you should definitely watch it sometime.
The Blin
d Side: well, this was a typical well made Hollywood movie. Sweet story with some touching moments, a few jokes, and a happy ending. Of course it was based on a true story which made me really admire the main character, however I felt like something was missing from the movie. It might be just me though! anyway, watch it on DVD.
Paranormal activity: hmmm, it may come as a shock to some people, but I didn't understand what all the fuss was about? I didn't get scared even a little and I was watching it on a wide screen with a good sound system and lights off! Although, it might have been because everyone kept saying it was the scariest movie they've ever watched and how you couldn't sleep at night after watching it... high expectations, very little satisfaction!
9: loved it! great great animation and the little mechanical tricks were really fun too look at. definitely recommend it if you like dark animations.
Mary and Max: a very sad and somewhat depressing animations that you'll either love or hate. I enjoyed it very much... it's a bit more serious than you'd expect an animation to be, but it's worth watching. You'll certainly appreciate all the work it took to create the little hand-made figures and make the animation.
hmm, I watched a few more movies: District 9 (loved it), Bist (liked it a lot), 2012 (lame lame lame), Bandslam (funny and melo, not very well-made though). Ok... I think that would be enough for now. Will be back with more movies soon I hope!
don't you think it's amazing how moms just bring the feeling of "home" with them wherever they go?
my mom has been here less than 6 hours and it already feels like our house is a warmer place.
Life is truly good now. :)
ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ...
Read the rest...... and knowing you're not gonna have it. One of those feelings I absolutely hate, and am powerless against. I can not look at the big picture, can not be grand and "learn from it"... I can only be mad as hell, and wish for a miracle I know won't happen.
Read the rest...So here I am again, after a LONG time. I've had so much going on with me that just thinking about blogging all of it was scary! So this post may turn out either extremely long or stupidly short!!!
1. I did the Landmark Forum three weeks ago. It was a very different experience than what I had expected. And I learnt a lot, but don't feel "transformed" yet. They have their own language for describing their mission and what you'll accomplish after the forum and I can't really explain what it was, expect that it could help you become extraordinary. I still feel very much ordinary of course! I do recommend you check out the centers near you (they're in many places) and attend an introduction session if you can.
2. I went to Japan last week! It happened without much planning beforehand but turned out to be one of the most amazing trips I've ever had. Nazly and I went to see Kyoto and Tokyo which were two completely different aspects of Japan. Kyoto was a peaceful place full of old temples and parks, while Tokyo was a metropolis like I'd never seen before (and I've been to New York city). We even stayed in a temple while in Kyoto which was an amazing experience.
Japan must be literally the most developed place in the world... including both technology, and the people. They had the perfect combination of old (and I mean OLD) traditions and history, and high-tech stuff. People were extremely polite, kind and helpful. We were amazed how many of them could understand the basic English words to understand us, even very old people. Strangers in the street would go out of their way to help you get to your destination. and everything was spotless and extra-clean. city streets were amazing, especially when you noticed the fact that there were no garbage cans in the street which meant you had to carry your garbage in your bag until you got home! every single person had a colorful cell phone with accessories hanging from it. I saw women as old as my grandmother texting in the subway! In general, I was shocked at how much more organized and efficient everything was compared to Canada (and the US, as far as I know). also, nothing felt fake, even the crazy Japanese fashion! Japan is like a different planet and Nazly and I concluded that: Japanese people are too good for this world! I know my respect for them has increased 100 times after seeing what they have accomplished in their country.
I can go on and on about how great Japan is, and still there would be more to say. So I just say this: save up your money and pick Japan for your next travel destination. you won't regret it.
Of course, we stayed in three different places in one week, and just moving our luggage without a cab was a major hassle. By the end of the trip I hated my suitcase, my camera case, my backpack, and even my fluffy jacket!
3. I turned 28 while in Japan! I didn't get a chance to feel sad or happy about it really. I wasn't sure when my actual birthday was because of the time difference so Nazly and I decided that it must have been somewhere around the time that a free park deer was eating our only map of Nara (a city near Kyoto)! no kidding! We were walking around admiring the beautiful animals and then decided we'd like some pictures of us with the deers. Of course we had no idea that they would find paper delicious, and this was how our map ended up as deer food. The coolest birthday memory ever, right?
Oh God, this is already too long, so I'll leave the Oscars out of it. there was nothing extraordinary about it anyway.
and I had almost forgotten the experience. It's funny how your memory sometimes can't do justice to reality.
I'll never give up "adas polo" for such a long period of time, ever again!!
The one thing that is worse than breaking up with someone is when you see evidence of them having a fling with someone else before/right after you broke up!!!
Of course there's always a chance that you're totally paranoid!!
along the line of me becoming so spiritual and forgiving (!) (read previous post), I have been thinking about something that the yoga instructor in my class mentioned the other day:
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.
She had learnt this from her teacher, I'm sure it's a very famous saying but don't know who said it in the first place. Anyway, the point is: pain does not have to bring suffering, if we chose to act upon it and bring something positive out of it ( i know, i know, a lot more easily said than done). Instead of hurting, we can try to deal with pain consciously, something I personally never do. I usually suffer for a long time, and then run away from pain, and try to let it go away without me noticing. It never does though, it'll just go hide somewhere and when you least expect it, will come back to torture you.
Hmmm, I have to think about this process more carefully, who knows, maybe one day I too will be able to stop suffering consciously.
hating people is so much harder than loving them! you have to keep reminding yourself that you hate their guts and it takes way too much energy. Not sure if it's worth it unless it comes naturally to you!
Read the rest......when we first started school some ten years ago, that we'd be here now? Who would have thought that those innocent, inexperienced and sometimes weird kids would end up being us? some of us never even became close friends until after graduation... but there was the intertwined web of human relationships that connected us all in unexpected ways. Over the years, people I knew in separate worlds ended up being best friends, partners, husbands and wives. Friends collided and overlapped with family. Some got distant and some got inseparable. Some got into rough patches, some glided on smoothly on their way. some found happiness in their own special way, some are still searching. I've seen my friends grow up and through them, I watched myself grow older. But I'm sure of one thing: they may not be innocent or inexperienced anymore, but most of them are still the same weird kids inside. I know I am.
Read the rest...I am in the middle of making this presentation for a meeting tomorrow, and suddenly I get carried away by my daydreams as usual. remembering great moments spent with friends, I realize something obvious: love makes you drunk. and I don't mean the romantic kind. I mean the love your family and friends give you, and how it makes you feel light headed if you receive it intensely in a period of only a few weeks long.
How simple moments become colorful and simple conversations turn hysterically funny and simple plans sound exciting. It makes me wonder: do I miss the routine life I used to have back home, or do I miss the drunkenness that comes from overdosing on love and friendship?
I'd love to contemplate some more and come up with a theory, but the slides are waiting ... maybe later.
... and nothing really changes. nothing progresses. nothing happens.
It's all nice and sunny in Vancouver. Hope all is well with you.
whiningly yours,
S.
It happened one rainy afternoon in a downtown coffee shop, while talking to a friend. She had just started complaining again when it suddenly hit her: she was complaining, AGAIN!
There is a time to snap out of everything: love, hate, excitement, boredom... and apparently even emptiness!
Not that she's suddenly all happiness and energy. She's definitely not jumping up and down. But maybe she'll pick up her camera after ages and takes a few photos, maybe she'll start writing more often...maybe she'll even start planning a trip.
Everyone has the right to feel down every once in a while, right? sometimes it just takes a long time to feel better.
Well, it's pretty obvious that I can not think of anything to write anymore! It's mainly because I'm feeling like Sh** most of the time, and when I don't, I'm usually outside doing something else! I don't know if it's the fact that I'm going to miss yet another "eid" with my family, or is it the PhD stuff not going too well, or what? all I know is that I can not think of anything fun to write about!!! I even watched a couple of good movies, but still nothing!
emptiness prevails... at least for now.
