Raisins and Grapes

I don't know why, but I just felt this urge to write a post about raisins. They've been good to me these past few weeks, maybe it's just time that I returned the favour. Did you know that raisins are a natural source of fibre? (source: my little green box of ASDA raisins). Also, they should be stored in a cool dry place. They can be hazardous to young children too as they can choke from them! They're also quite bouncy. I dropped one earlier and it took me ages to find it, missed out on the 5 second rule. Then I dropped another (not on purpose) and caught it just in time. Alhamdulillah :). Also, the word 'raisin' in French means grape. Odd, ay? (Well, I think it does... maybe a member of my French fanbase can clarify that for me). I like grapes, too. It's a shame that they're so expensive. I think the Arabic word for grapes is hur. I'm basing that on that whole thing about how some feminists and orientalists re-interpret the verses in the Qur'an about wide-eyed maidens in Jannah (I don't wanna debate about that, it's written in the book of Allah 'azza wa jal, end of) actually talking about white grapes (fools). I might be wrong there though, maybe by Arab readers can verify that one for me. How are my German readers doing? I don't want you guys to feel left out. Here's a little homework for you, how do you say grapes and raisins in Deustch? 3 years of studying the language and I never learnt two of the most important words. Shameful, I know. In fact, my Chinese readers have that same piece of homework. You have 'til Friday.

It's a great feeling being so widely followed (and self-deluded)...

UPDATE:

Oh my God. Oh. My. God. I just had one of those life-changing moments. This is up there with when I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and my whole life changed. When I first started school. When I took my first step. This is just... out of this world.

So here I am, sitting in my office, and I get a call from one of my avid followers (no idea HOW she got my personal number. She said she works for a security consultancy, that's probably how..) and she told me about how she just read this post. And oh my God. Are you read for it? Are you ready? 'Cos I wasn't..

OK

Here goes..

Raisins ARE grapes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!

I know right!! Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

Alhamdulillah. I mean, raisins are dried grapes??? Who would have thought it? SubhanAllah, even when that scrumptious grape dries up, it still tastes so good! SubhanAllaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Mann, I still can't register it. Wow....

Although, I guess it does kinda explain the picture on the box. I thought those those raisins looked more like grapes... (it explains why they were green too!).

Driving Test

InshaAllah this weekend I intend to write a longer post about my trip to Marrakech, and I'll try and upload a couple of pictures too. I had an amazing time, and should have plenty to ramble about. It all depends though on whether I pass my driving test on Friday and what mood that puts me in. So please make the following du'a for me:

"Ya Allah, please allow me to get bored this weekend from reading ramblings about Marrakech on that at-taalib blog website because the writer felt motivated to write a long-winded post because he was still on a high from passing his driving test"

Whaa? I remember reading somewhere (I need to start making a note of where) that the more specific you make your du'a the more chance of acceptance :P.

InshaAllah I'm starting to feel a bit more confident about my test. I would have felt better taking the test a month ago when I had been taking lessons more regularly, rather than now when I have only had 5 hours worth of lessons in the past month due to my 2 excursions into foreign lands (2 of those were hours were only in the past 2 days). But inshaAllah, if it's written then that of course won't matter. I just want to get it out of the way really, it's become a time-consuming hindrance weighing down on my shoulders. And it costs my mum waay too much. Oh and if I pass, it'll mean I've passed my first time and so I'd have done one better than my dad and [insert large number that I can't count to] better than my sister. InshaAllah :).

Back to du'a. On a more beneficial note, on the authority of my University iSoc's du'a sheet that they give out at exam time, I can relate that "when making du'a for yourself, also make du'a for your friends by name, for every time that you make du'a for another - an angel will say Ameen for you too".

SubhanAllah.

(Notice how I said "on the authority of" and "relate that". See what I did there? See how I made a joke there by structuring the sentence in such a way that should be familiar to Muslims. Funny, right? :D).

Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli haal

I've noticed that I haven't really done any Islamic posts. That's quite strange, it doesn't really reflect how much I talk about it in real life. I don't wanna force it though, so here goes another non-religious (should I just call it secular for the fun of it?) post..

OK so I've been working for 3 days now. Alhamdulillah. And I really mean that. But I can't deny that it's pretty boring. No, wait. It's REEEEAALLY boring. Alhamdulillah. I don't wanna sound like I'm complaining, I'm very greatful (stupid spell checker, I AM NOT IN AMERICA, stop telling me to incorrectly spell it as grateful!) to have a job when so many people (especially in the current economic climate) are so desperate to find a job. I'm just trying to describe how I'm finding it so far. So let me give you a break down of how it's gone..

Day 1

1. I woke up waay too early (well it was actually on time, but generally speaking, it was waay too early).
2. Got in the car (my sister drives me, it's the Qadr of Allah that I managed to get a job 45 minutes away from home in the building exactly opposite hers).
3. Fell asleep in the car (she didn't appreciate that too much).
4. Got to work.
5. Got bored.
6. Had lunch.
7. Got bored.
8. Finished work, went hunting around the area for somewhere to pray (found a place after 45 minutes), and then waited for my sister to finish work in the car (which took about another 45 minutes).

Once again, alhamdulillah. I need to keep saying that to myself, or else I might start taking it for granted. Why was the day so boring? Mainly because of problems with setting up the computer I was working on, and so I ended up actually spending the day doing nothing but sitting around, staring, sticking out as the only bearded guy in a shirt and trousers in a building full of beardless men in shirts and trousers (the word bearded and brown can be used interchangeably there). But hey, they still paid me. Paid me to sit around all day doing nothing. Alhamdulillah :).

Day 2

A much better day. My computer was working, so I got cracking on the work they gave me. Despite working in a company that is intrinsically linked with my degree (I'm studying chemical engineering, what a stereotype..), the role I can be given can only be described as a glorified Administration Assistant. I don't mind, but the work gets pretty tedious pretty soon. But it keeps me busy.

Day 3

Went for a little drive with someone at work to a site further up north in the country. Took 2.5 hours to get there, was there for about 3 hours, and then it took about 4.5 hours to get back (plenty of traffic, we covered about 2 miles in 2 hours, no joke). Which was highly convenient as I had a driving lesson at 6.30 (my test is on Friday, make du'a!), at which time I had only gotten back to the office. But once again, I got paid. I got paid for sitting in a car for 7 hours and falling asleep and eating some raisins.

Alhamdulillah :).

Why?

I guess a good starting point would be to say why I'm starting a blog, and lay down the way in which I plan to do this thing. The why's are as follows:

1) I love writing. I enjoyed it at school, despite all the deadlines and how repetitive it would become. But this is a different kind of writing, I can just write what I want, you don't know who I am, I don't have to follow any silly rules about structure or grammar, I can just write.

2) This is gonna be cathartic for me. I can express my ideas, say what's on my mind, and let out whatever's really bothering me. You may be thinking 'why don't you just write something like a diary instead then?'. Good question. But writing a diary gets boring, I've tried a few times before and never stick to it. I need an audience. How else will I satisfy my ego? :).

3) My sister always tells me to write one so that she can read it. My blog is therefore in part dedicated to her (I'm so selfless..).

OK, so now the rules and what you can expect..

1) I don't wanna use too many big words or write all sophisticated and what not. I guess I talk like that at times in real life, but I prefer just talking like a normal person. Plus it always annoys me when people do it, as if they're showing off their intelligence, or have no idea what point they're making so instead mask it with big fancy words. But it'll happen at times, I go through phases.

2) I'll try to not use too much slang, but it'll inevitably come out. I don't wanna say something in my head and write it out differently to how I thought it, because then it just wouldn't be MY blog. I'll make a glossary post or page at some point, so don't worry about it :).

3) I'm gonna use some other informal language too, like gonna, kinda, wanna, etc. Just because I've noticed that when I type online it just comes out like that.

4) I'll use a lot of commas. I can't help it, I've always done it. They won't be in the wrong places though.

5) Some of my posts will be pretty long. I've always has a problem with writing too much (when I was 7 in year 3 I wrote a 5-page poem on the colour blue. My parents still repeat that story to me over and over again). I'll try to keep most of them short and snappy, but sometimes I'll ramble and sometimes what I write will be deserving of a few extra lines.

6) I have no problem starting my sentences with words like but, and, etc. Some people care, others don't. I don't.

7) I might sound a bit whiny at times (I don't think so, but let me cover myself just in case). Forgive me. I can't help it.

8) I'll use smileys and the word lol often. Without it, the tone of what I write may often be misunderstood.

9) Please, please, pleeeease, I need whoever happens to be reading this to understand that whenever I sounds arrogant, whiny, dramatic, etc., that I'm actually just JOKING! A lot of people in my everyday life don't seem to get that. I've grown to live with it, but it doesn't mean I don't mind it. Pleeeease understand this, and then maybe you can read my blog and laugh a little and not just think I'm a loser and start hating me.

I'm gonna be really pedantic about all the points I've just listed. If I post something, and then 4 months late I realise there was a typo, or that I didn't throw in a comma, I'll edit that post.

OK, I think that's everything.