MrEspy has tagged me with the meme tag. It’s a cute little game that requires me to share 8 random facts. I say cute because it’s a casual way of breaking down the barriers of the anonymous screen names.
Let's start with the rules.
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
So here are my eight random facts.
1. I have a 9yr old daughter, Maryam, and 7yr old son, Humza. Having a daughter as a first child is an unbelievable blessing. Maryam takes on the role of a second mother and does so much around the house as well as with her younger brother. So if ever the day comes when you can genetically modify the sex of your firstborn, choose XX.
2. I love to drive. Ever since my 5-hour treks between Baltimore and Albany during my college days, I’ve loved to drive. It’s very therapeutic. And here in Riyadh, its gotten even more special. The 8-hour drives from Riyadh to Mecca or Madina through the vast open desert really allows for so much deep thought. Like the shepherds who utilize the long hours of the desert stillness to contemplate on the deeper questions of life, I make use of the long drives for profound introspection. The craziest thing we ever did was last Ramadan, when the wife and I left from Riyadh to Mecca for Umrah, got there at Maghrib, finished Umrah by the end of Tarawih prayers and drove straight back arriving in Riyadh right at Suhoor time. My energy that day was sourced purely from the spiritual fumes of Ramadan. I have no other explanation.
3. I know I will regret sharing this, but I am a recovering Bollywood addict. During my early college years, I got caught up with the ‘wrong’ crowd and ended up watching way too many Bollywood movies (hey, cut me some slack…it coulda been a lot worse, right?). I was in between stages in my search for myself. In high school, I was all into the gangsta rap with NWA and Ice-T. Thank your Lord that you didn’t know me back then…nothing worse than a gangsta-wannabe listening to Amitabh’s greatest hits. Anyways, be thankful that you don’t know what I’m talking about when I refer to Ram Lakhan or Lamhe. And if you do, seek help.
4. I would never marry a second wife. There is no way I could handle the trials and tribulations of a second woman in my life (no disrespect to women, but ya’ll know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout). And no, my wife is not standing over my shoulder.
5. I’ve gotten very spoiled living here in Riyadh. I have a driver who takes care of the garden and the car. I have a maid who cooks and clean (no, I’m not referring to my wife...How dare you suggest such a thing!). Now, I just need to hire someone to go to work for me and I’ll be set!
6. I’ve been in the IT field ever since I got out of college and I can’t stand it. I’m only doing it for the sake of sustaining my family. If it were upto me, I would leave this hi-tech world behind and move to a village where I would live off the land, dedicating all my time to my Lord and my family. I know many of you are probably thinking that my soft self could never handle the tough life of a villager and you’re probably right. That’s why I would end up hiring someone to do all the hard work saving my hands for the real work of eating fresh prathas made with fresh ghee and fresh chai made with fresh milk.
7. I’m struggling with my love for humanity. I pray for the day that I love my fellow man the way our beloved Prophet did. I’m too selfish. I find myself praying for myself and my family, but I don’t pray enough for mankind. I so badly wish for the deep-seated concern for my neighbor that the Prophet so perfectly embodied. He agonized and suffered for their salvation, friend and foe alike. The way he responded with such love and compassion when the people of Taif ran him out of town, Ya Allah! I get upset when someone cuts in front of me at the grocery store.
8. I’ve been blessed with a great set of parents. I love both my mothers and both my fathers. All four are so different – I’ve learned soo much from them, especially since my parents are traditional Pakistanis and my wife’s parents are traditional Palestinians. Please pray that my wife and I are given the opportunity to serve them in their old age and pray that we fulfill that responsibility to Allah’s pleasure.
I'm having a hard time choosing eight people who haven't already been tagged..I hope seven is good enough.
1. Amy (sorry if you've already been tagged before)
2. TariqH (I know MrEspy tagged you, but since you haven't complied, I figured some peer pressure would do the trick)
3. Lone Leaf (Dude, where's your blog?!)
And these folks don't have their own blogs (they really should), so I'll simply ask them to give their eight random facts in the comments section here:
4. Sahra
5. Rabia
6. Arif
7. Saqib
Now that I've complied to the Meme Tag requirements, you are all invited over to my house for Mr Espy's samosa. Hey, I figure if he can make empty promises, why can't I make empty invitations?! :-)
Just don’t call it genocide
1 week ago
24 comments:
salaam. first time reading your blog. really like it. I envy your life. May Allah swt continue to bless you and your family with happiness. I always wondered if I should move to middle east after I finish my studies (doing my masters right now) but only thing that i am worried about is the treatment from the locals. From what i have heard from friends, they are not really that friendly and you have to find your own community.
8 random facts:
1. I still read general hospital recaps and I understood Naeems' bollywood references
2. i'm addicted to sports
3. i'm proud and envious of bloggers like Naeem and MrEspy. proud that they do such good work beyond just their blogs, envious that I don't do more based on their blogs.
4. im inherently lazy, I go out of my way to think of ways to get out of doing any physical work. this is a recent development, prior to marriage and kids I was not lazy.
5. I am an IT Professional, not my dream career but I enjoy what I do, i do feel I have a higher purpose in life to serve the people in some capacity.
6. I get very easily annoyed by young american muslim generation aged from 15-30 as they are a significant segment of our population and are absolutely wasting their minds, energies, and money on frivolous nonsense like clothes, music, engaging in haram or unbeneficial activities, immersing themselves in cultural garbage like mehndi's and birthday celebrations, while not having a clue or caring about what's happening in the world or preparing themselves to be a responsible adult.
7. I am very proud of our young american generation aged from 15-30 as they are a significant segment of our population who aren't wasting their minds, energies, and money on frivilous nonsense by getting involved with their masjids, MSA's, coordinating and implementing things like Conferences, Picnics, Think Tanks, doing dawah, getting involved with programs like Zaytuna and Al-Magrib, and learning our beautiful life known as Islam, becoming intelligent responsible adults who are never content with the status quo and are striving to improve themselves and others around them, who will contribute to society for decades to come making the Muslims a vital and proud fabric of the global community.
8: Keep the samosas, im not a fan of fried foods. :)
Na'eem .. BOLLYWOOD?? ahaahaaaaaaaaa
http://loneleaf.blogspot.com
arif,
I liked your comment! I was about to go off and say that while 15-30s may do some bad stuff that doesnt exclude them from doing alot of good, and then i read your last paragraph.
Naeem, interesting stuff! Can you get me a job in ME as a lawyer? Thanks, send my paycheck by next week.
Enough games. Can we focus on something critical ?
Greed or apathy : Islamic landmarks in Saudi Arabia are under attack !?
-------------------------------------------------
Greed or apathy : Islamic landmarks in Saudi Arabia are under attack !?
Please forward this to all if you have love for Islam
..................................................................................................
http://makkah.wordpress.com/2007/
08/13/makkah-s-historical-islamic-sites-under-attack-by-
money-and-extremism/
http://makkah.wordpress.com/2007/03/
08/the-cost-of-progress-commercialization-
of-islams-holiest-site/
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/
viewstory.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive
%5C200512%5CCUL20051229b.html
....................................................................................................
AA- Ibrahim,
Welcome and thank you for the beautiful prayer for me and my family!
There are many factors that need to be considered when making the move and treatment from the locals is only one of them. I am working on a blog post on life over here, but in the meanwhile you can email me directly and we can talk.
WA-
Naeem
AA- Sophister,
Funny you should ask. A lawyer friend who recently arrived here was telling me that English-speaking lawyers are at a premium....email me if you're serious.
WA-
Naeem
AA- Arif,
Thanks for the cool facts. You actually outdid my Bollywood admission with the GH recaps...classic! I'm still laughing at that one.
I really like 6 and 7 - perfect balanced outlook!
WA-
Naeem
AA- Pacific,
I'm really debating whether to leave your ill-advised comment up or not. For now I'll leave it for the content is one that I actually do agree with, but your arrogant tone is definitely not needed.
"Enough games. Can we focus on something critical?"
May I ask how are you focusing on this critical issue besides spamming blogs?
And what do you propose we do?
Looking forward to your thoughts, but I have a feeling you won't even read this.
Its really amazing to see how the Satan provokes our subconscious mind. I was so frustrated to find that the devil has kept many Muslim bloggers busy with petty issues and thus diverted our valuable time and energy from urgent issues.
So I wanted to vent my frustration , but your subconscious mind was goaded to sense the tone of arrogance !!
OK. No more quarrel ! No more ammunition to the Satan!
Let us focus on the critical issue.
You should protest according to your strength. I remember one Hadith whose theme most probably is that
when you see the injustice or anti-Islamic activities, you should protest by force. If you can not , then do it by tongue. If are weaker, then ,at least, you should hate the anti-islamic activities or injustice and this last level of protest is the bottom-most layer of Iman. There is no lower level of Iman !
May be , you can talk to other Muslims in Saudi Arabia and start a mass campaign using your IT expertise . The crooks and the devil want to work in the darkness and hate exposure. May be , you can talk to your Shaykh and get guidance.
Salaamz brother naeem -
well what can i say im honoured that you chose to tag mwa out of all of your eligible cousins and then thought well maybe he just knows nothing about me:) I dont really like talking about myself i think its a little self-indulgent and i dont want to come across in a way thats not intended. yes thats me always worrying about what other people think..HOWEVER to indulge you brother i shall start:
1 - I got married when I was barely legal (just 18 - you were there as was a tiiiiny maryam) and have been married for close to 9 years. Most people would have you believe that you dont really know what you want at that age let alone who you want to grow old with. For me though and for as long as I can remember (about 8 years old) I knew I wanted that person to be Rizwan. He is the only person in this world who will put up with me no matter what I do and never judge me for the many lapses in judgment i have made during my life. if there is such a thing as a soulmate then allah picked the best one for me.
2 - with rizwan i have 2 beautiful daughters - Sara Iman and Hajra Maryam (naeem you stole the name 'maryam' so i settled with it as a middle name!). Having them at the age of 20 and 21 was by no means an easy task but they are my biggest blessings in this life and I can only pray that I will be a good role model for them as they grow into adults. Being a parent has been/ is my greatest challenge. I have 2 brothers and always wanted 2 girls, I still complain to my mum about not having a sister. Despite the common desi misconception that your family is not complete until you have that boy (because apparently if you pray enough allah will bless you with one, and if you say like I do that 'I dont mind if I don't have a boy, you're just cursing yourself and allah will listen and I may just end up with 3 girls *gasp* *shock horror*) I actually am really happy and feel so blessed that I have 2 daughters because as we all know its the daughters who look after their parents when they are older not the sons! Sara has a condition which renders her physically ill a lot of the time - and as a parent all i want for her is a "normal" life and we try to "normalise" her existence as much as possible. But everytime she has to go to hospital or have surgery it breaks my heart and makes me angry at everything and everyone. In my mind I can't rationalise why my little girl has to go through so much at such a young age and I often (very unfairly) take this anger out on those around me, telling them that they just dont understand. And yes I know and completely agree that there are many out there who have it much worse and I am thankful to allah that she has a condition that does not affect her mental ability and even more thankful that she is such a bright, happy and well adjusted kid who takes everything in her stride and doesn't let it get her down...her future and what lies ahead for her is what keeps me up at night...
3 - im not nearly as religious as what i would like to be and unfortunately i think i fall into brother arif's category of being a 15-30 year old who is rather materialistic and selfish. i dont doubt that i can sometimes be quite shallow - my most recent example of something i got really excited about was scoring Justin Timberlake concert tickets (that doesnt give u the right to bag my taste in music!!). and i'm still excited about going! However i take inspiration from blogs like urs naeem and i've learnt and questioned more now after reading ur blog than what i have in the last 26 years..Oh and i watch too much tv and love shopping...
4 - not a day goes by when i dont think of my father who died very suddenly 4 years.. it still feels like a dream that happened yesterday and i remember every single minute detail about those days from the moment i found out he was in hospital to the janazzah ultimately held in the baltimore mosque..life is so unpredictable and this even was the kind of thing i heard of happening to other people or saw in the movies (including bollywood movies!) i never would have imagined that i would lose a parent when i was 22 years old and it brings your whole life crashing down around you. Suddenly death is inevitable and cant be escaped and every little moment counts. I was always closer to my dad than I was to mum, dad was the parent that i could go to for anything and would always say 'yes'. mum was (and probably still is!) the parent i feared more. More than anything i miss my conversations I could have with my dad about anything and everything and distance never mattered, and the fact that my children are not going to know what a great man there grandfather was...even as i write this i find the tears forming..i take alot of inspiration from my mother now, who has turned out to be one of the strongest and bravest person i know. her and my dad were soulmates they were not your typical paki parents from their generation who were together for the sake of being together they loved and adored each other and i think because i had such an excellent example of what marriage could be like growing up, i knew it was something i wanted to be a part of. i cannot even begin to imagine the sense of loss she felt when dad died, but i do remember the state of shock she went into when she received the news, how hard it was to get her out of it and how scared i was that i might lose her too..even though growing up i was closer to dad i now find myself unable to function without my mother - to the point that im making her come to pakistan with me at the end of this year because i refuse to go without her!!
okay enuf sob stories!
5 - my dad took me to a fortune teller when i was a baby who told him that i would be a lawyer one day. growing up i went through many different ideas of what i thought i wanted to be as an adult (teacher, psychologist, IT (im curry of course that was a possibility!), accounting, marketing), but when i ultimately got into law school my dad was the proudest and told me for the 1 millionth time about how he always knew i would be a lawyer. i dont know if it was parental instinct or the fortune teller who planted the seed...so anyway here i am now practising law and i actually really enjoy what i do. i know that i would ultimately like to go into something that is less about money and transactions and more about the greater good - and i would love to do something more human rights based maybe in paki although im not sure how I would survive living there..i am however told that lawyers are rated very low in pakistan and i still remember bapu jee always asking why i was wasting 5 years studying law and when i was going to find myself a proper profession...
6 - we moved around alot as children back and forth between melbourne and sydney and i was always the new kid in school. i've also lived in kuwait which i hated (but i was 13 you hate everything at that age!), went to boarding school and a short stint in baltimore (i would have preferred nyc!)...due to this nomadic existence i always swore that my kids would go to the same school and live in the same country until the finished school - we'll see how long that lasts.. i now live in melbourne and love it (don't let shana baji fool you into thinking Sydney is the better city!) but living in such close proximity to sooo many relatives can sometimes drive you absolutely insane..hence why i am escaping to sydney next weekend to your sister's place!! on the upside i can always find a trusty babysitter at the last minute!
7 - chocolate is my weakness - i get this from my dad who was an even bigger chocoholic than I....so if the samosa's can be fed exed to australia that would be great but because it is likely the oil will soak thru the box - i will readily accept any form of chocolate (reese's peices anyone?! - the only good thing to come out of america in my opinion! No offence)
8 - the last movie I watched was The Bourne Supremacy, and the last book I read was Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis, and the next movie I want to watch is The Bourne Ultimatum..
so i hope i havent bored u to tears - and sorry for turning this into an essay but i am a lawyer i like to write! i dont have a blog yet naeem but i am on facebook, where if you add me as a friend as i requested WEEKS AGO, you will come to discover how shallow i really am!!
oh and one more thing, i know this goes above the 8 fact limit but you have me on a roll now! i HATE my name, my dad named me and it was always a source of beef between us i always wanted to be named ayesha...my middle name is zainab - and clearly not a much better option...
so that's it from me- thanks for listening I mean reading and trying to make sense of what I've written and good night...
ps - will you be in paki at the end of this year?? it seems that most of the tribe from Melbourne will be...
I think posts such as these (well the way many answered with real and elucidated facts) are important for several reasons...and not a waste of time as many might perceive them to be...
It's important that we get to know each other on a personal level...therefore we can at least work towards some common ground on issues we disagree with...also to better understand what makes up one's worldview etc etc...
Case in point is that if you didn't share with us that you were an IT professional then one of the commenters wouldn't have been able to come up with the absolutely brilliant idea for you to utilize your skillset to further his passionate cause.
Salaam Rabia,
Thanks for the very insightful facts. But I think we need to draw the line here.
Listen, Bollywood was cute, General Hospital was pushing it, but Justin Timberlake?
The humanity?!?
I mean, please this is a family blog...children may be reading it. Show some sensitivity for my audience.
And just for the record folks, when she called me cousin, she was saying it in the hip-hop slang way - like 'hey cuz, what up?'
No blood relations here people....nope, none whatsoever.
:-)
Rabia,
Justin Timberlake?? I've never even heard him sing and I think how could you?? Has'nt Hassan rubbed off on you at all?
And do'nt even start me on how much better Sydney is to Melbourne.
for the RECORD Justin Timberlake is cool - naeem just wait till maryam is a few years older AND Shana baji - Hassan is going to the concert with me!! so maybe i've rubbed off on him! hehe
sydney is only beautfiul aesthetically -melbourne's beauty is soul deep...having said that can you pick me up from the airport baji?
and clarification i dont fall in br arif's category of 15-30 yr olds cause im not American! yay...
Naeem, thank you for tagging me. I am deeply indebted to you for giving me the opportunity to play this game. I hope that I am able to maintain the high standards that you, Arif, and Rabia have established.
(Deep breath)
Here goes:
1. Although I’m a lawyer by profession and anthropologist by training, my lifelong passion has always been (promise you won’t laugh)….dancing. I’ve always dreamed of being a dancer. Not the hip-hop breakdancing kind. I mean the *real* dancing. Like that Russian dude in the leotards from back in the 80’s…what’s his name, Krushchev or Taichovstky or something. I’m keepin’ it real here folks. Also I would never wear those skin tight leotards, not because of any Islamic ruling, but because I have some really ugly love handles.
2. I love sports but I’ve never had the coordination to really excel at it. You see I’m originally from India and over there its either cricket or field hockey. So, one time in high school I saw the field hockey team was having tryouts and I got really excited. You can imagine how embarrassed I was when I saw it was only for girls. How do you say dejected in Urdu?
3. I heart Justin Timberlake. Sr. Rabia, please don’t pay any attention to Naeem. He’s artistically-challenged and wouldn’t know a good lyricist if I hit him over the head with one. I’ll make a confession that I’ve never shared with anyone – the saddest day of my life was when New Kids on the Block broke up because Justin wanted a solo career….gimme a sec to recompose myself….this is….very…emotionally….draining….OK, I’m back. So Rabia, when you’re at the JT concert, please yell out his name and tell him its from Tariq from Jersey.
4. I own a tailor made Stormtroopers suit. Every Friday night, I don the suit and walk around the block making sure everything is safe and sound. Sure the neighbors think I’m crazy, but they don’t realize the inter-galactic threat posed by the Dark Side.
5. I want to get married, but finding the right sister who can really appreciate me for who I am has proven to be very difficult. If they don’t get freaked out by my weekly stormtroopers routine, they end up getting turned off by my JT man-crush. Sisters these days are so fickle.
6. Naeem Aslam is my hero. There, I said it. It’s the truth and I want the world to know it.
7. This meme tag thing is emotionally very restorative. I feel so refreshed having shared these intimate facts with you, my virtual friends. Thanks for listening.
8. Oh wait, that was only seven facts...silly me. Here’s number eight. My best friend and I show up early every Juma’a to get in the first row. You see we have this game we play where the loser has to buy lunch for the winner. After the prayer is done, we turn around and look at the all the people praying their Sunnah. Every time one of us makes eye contact with a person praying, he gets a point. You get 5 points if you get the same person to look at you twice and 10 points if the eye contact lasts for more than a three seconds. Its SOO much fun! If this game catches on, we’re hoping to have regional tournaments with serious prize money. Finding sponsors might be a challenge.
(Ed. Note: Tariq didn’t actually write these facts. I took the liberty to fulfill his obligation. However, in my defense, I feel that I’m such a good judge of character that I’m probably 90% correct. , Naeem)
Naeem...as a personal friend of tariq's I'm really absolutely floored at the accuracy of your made up facts...
as a disclaimer, I do not engage in his star wars nerd parties...
u can tell that ain't me...despite the obvious lack of my signature wanted poster, there's some other glaring issues
now i may be a great dancer, and i may be a fan of J Timberlake...but I do NOT spell Tchaikovsky incorrectly (and I also know that he's a compose not a dancer)...
also, naeem, u describe that game at jumu'a in some great detail...is that something that ur really into?
As for Arif's facts...# 4 is an outrageous lie...he would bully me into doing his chores...and this was BEFORE marriage...
just so he can watch his general hospital...oh the painful memories...
AA- MrEspy,
LOL! But seriously, I think its time you two got an intervention. This sibling spat seems to be getting out of control. I'm officially volunteering my services. ;-)
AA- Tariq,
"also, naeem, u describe that game at jumu'a in some great detail...is that something that ur really into?"
High score of 27 baby! Beat that! I was on a roll that Juma'a...two double takes and one 3-sec. I was in the zone.
Hey now, I am game for some Star Wars parties! Just tell me when and where; I've got the jedi cloak and light saber (but don't tell my roommate about the light saber part... )
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