Exciting News

Today I found a cookie in the shape of a heart. If you look closely, you just might be able to see Elvis, a goat, and a lion in a boat on Lake Ontario.

stuff de duff duff duff

This Ramadan has been tough for me. For some reason it's harder to fast these days and I've been getting easily frustrated with things and people. Or rather, I've been tested in so many little ways. I always assumed that the more years you fast, the easier it gets. But it doesn't work that way.

Updates with me...working temporarily, looking for a permanent job. Taking in Ramadan, being disappointed at the lack of colour on the trees this fall, writing poetry in my mind but never getting it on a piece of paper, trying to learn how to be more patient (why is it so hard?) and grateful. And making dua that there is something better for me in the near future. It feels good to put your full trust in Someone besides yourself.

Yeah :) I will make it my objective to post something substantial soon.

Baggy Pants Offend White Folks

I was furious when I read this article in the Toronto Star the other day. Here's an excerpt:

Proposals to ban saggy pants are starting to ride up in several places. At the extreme end, wearing pants low enough to show boxers or bare buttocks in one small Louisiana town means six months in jail and a $500 (U.S.) fine. A crackdown also is being pushed in Atlanta. And in Trenton, N.J., getting caught with your pants down may soon result in not only a fine, but a city worker assessing where your life is headed.

"Are they employed? Do they have a high school diploma? It's a wonderful way to redirect at that point," said Trenton Councillor Annette Lartigue, who is drafting a law to outlaw saggy pants. "The message is clear: We don't want to see your backside."

Besides the mind-numbing wordplay, where are human beings on the evolutionary scale when we have to fine people and throw them in prison for dressing a particular way? You think it's about decency and modesty that they're doing this? Think again. It's clear that the folks over in New Jersey feel that sagging pants are an indication of unemployment and high drop-out rates. They are also targetting only a certain population with this new law. Namely, young black men. It's no wonder that there's unemployment and school drop-out rates in a city that is so biased against the black population. Perhaps policy makers need to take a few sociology courses. Or, they could just try really hard to stop being bigots. Either option would work.

I wonder that the folks in New Jersey didn't feel the need to institute a law again females wearing mini-skirts that are so mini, they show your "backside." I was downtown today and saw a female wearing an absurdly short skirt, it was like wearing nothing. Or the numerous times girls flash their thongs or wear brutally innappropriate clothes. Why is there not a law in New Jersey about that, pray tell?

The answer is clear, because white girls may dress this way, and we wouldn't want them to end up in jail for 6 months, would we? And of course, the black men will end up in jail anyways, right? So why not just put them in ahead of time? What a contradiction. This is one of the most blatant racist laws I've seen recently. And law-makers down there are trying to justify it by assuming that males who dress this way are dangerous people. They define the clothing as "an indecent, sloppy trend that is a bad influence on children."

Heaven forbid the children want to wear low pants. What they are really teaching children in the long run is that if you're white, and in power, you can make up whatever laws you want, and not care about the impact on the affected population.

I'd rather see the kids wearing pants at their knees.

Strength in Diversity

I was at the first night of tarweeh yesterday. I was in the back and I looked at the rows of women in front of me. The Somalian women and their big hijabs and colourful clothes, the younger girls wearing basketball jerseys and hoodies, babies crawling around between the rows. And then the Imam prayed witr at the end and made dua, asking Allah to forgive us in this month and accept our fasting and prayer.

And it suddenly struck me as beautiful that throughout Ramadan, every single night, these people come out for the sole purpose of worshipping God. Next time you're in your mosque, look at the rows of people and how each of them is different. From the old men in thobes to the young thug-like teens, every shade of black, brown and white. The diversity within our community is beautiful. It just adds to the amazing spirit of Ramadan; all of us being so different, yet more alike than we sometimes care to admit :)

Ramadan Mubarak.

Halal Skittles

Muslims are obsessed with halal skittles. Whenever they're in a Muslim country they come back with skittles. Whenever their friends go to Muslim countries, they ask them to bring back skittles. Skittles this, skittles that.

Back to my point, I jumped on the bandwagon (partly because of peer-pressure) and decided to bring back some halal skittles from Egypt. (See the Arabic? That proves they're halal)

I brought some back and I gave them out to some friends, who will now apparently love me forever (or until their skittles run out). So here's the deal. I have exactly one handful (see picture) of skittles left. That means 10 packs.
Today may be your lucky day because I am now auctioning them off. Meaning, make your best offer. And I expect to hear some quality offers, like maybe your first-born son.

Worthwhile Literature

I went to the library today because I could feel a rattling sound in my brain due to lack of reading. Once I was there, I got a couple of books, but it didn't seem right. Something was missing. Then I realized I hadn't read a Garfield comic book in years. So I got a couple.

My basic conclusion is that Garfield is my hero. Please do not confuse this admiration for the comic with that of the Garfield movie, which was about as entertaining as a cute baby seal stuck in a thick layer of ice.

I'm pretty sure the laziness, sarcasm, food-addiction, etc. are the reasons I love him so much. He's basically the cat version of me. On that note, my mom told me that I remind her of Garfield. And way before that, she told me I looked like Stewie, the evil baby from Family Guy.

Oh, familial love.

yo-yo

I can't wait for Ramadan.

In my (thus far) unsuccessful ventures to find permanent employment, I've been a yo-yo. I'm up, I'm down. I'm "man I need a job" to "maybe I can take time off and work on my writing/painting/sleeping." That second option sounds good, I know. But how long can it last?

There is something so desperate about making plans, making plans for your entire life, and then coming to a point where they're just not materializing, they are beyond your reach. And all you can do is seriously hope and pray that there is a better plan for you, even better than what you've been dreaming about.

Which is why I'm glad Ramadan is around the corner. Amidst the chaos of everything, the confusion of being, sometimes you need to clear it all out, vacuum your mind, wipe away the cobwebs (you get the metaphor), and get a new perspective on things.

Random doesn't always cut it for me. I am dying for a new perspective.