Ferrero Raffaello Massacre

Food have always been one of my sources for enjoyment and pleasure.

That have never been a problem,

till recently, when I discovered that food became one of my main stress relief strategy.

In the past using food as self-reward was not a problem.

First, because there wasn't much to reward myself for !

Second, I was burning everything right away.

So, basically there was no problem.

But things are not the same anymore.

Now, I am looking every day for something to reward myself for .

Let's say to be more precise every hour.

Ok, ok, I know.
This sounds stupid.

But this is one of my ways to beat the pain of expatriation and loneliness.

I tried to fight this bad habit, specially as I am not getting much time to burn out what I am eating. but it seems that my effort to fight this habit went in vain.

Whenever the wise voice begins to give advice and recommendations, about eating healthy, and stop eating chocolates and other unhealthy food. The other voice will exagerate everything and start to moan :

Come'on , expatriation, loneliness, hard study, and on top of this u want to add starvation. That is too much, that is unbearable.

The weeping continue till a piece of Lindt finds it's way to stop the cry.

Do I need to mention that the weeping voice always win ?

Anyway, as I put on top of my " TO DO LIST" : Extenction of eating as a stress relief strategy.

I decided that one way of fighting this stupid strategy is by exposing it to the public here. In the hope of getting some scolding words from my readers, that can shut off the crying voice, or at least tone it down.

..HELP ME, HELP MYSELF..

To make the picture clearer here I put a snapshot for a usual quiet study day.

Note that piece of Rafaello never touched.

The wise voice is on control in this picture.

And here where things go out of control.

Take a closer look.

And that was just the beginning of the attack!

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Like or u don't like !

Today ...

While my body was relaxing; after several hectic months of hard study,

my finger tips appeared to still have some energy.

It started to tap over the keyboard to come up with these words.

It seems that somebody has finally obeyed to Lebeeya's magnetic power !!!

The title was about the new blog template. Nice to read ur opnion dear reader.

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Google Palestine

Do u know that google started just in last Aug. to launch a Palestinian Domain... Google.PS .... Here it is, if u haven't checked it...

Click on this link

http://www.google.ps/

There is hope :)

Me , the bus driver, the bus fare, and the Hijab

Here in Puget sound area, the public transit introduced a new transportation cards that work for almost all bus companies, to make riding the bus more convenient.

As I am always do like to take advantages of new things, I purchased this card few months back. But I only started to use it this October, when I finded some time to read about how it works.

Without including too much details about how you can load it and use it.I will go directly to the story. When I rode my bus this evening the driver stopped me and my friend when we tapped our cards on the card reader. I glanced at the screen of the reader, but nothing was wrong, at least according to my experincein using it in the last 2 weeks.

But the driver has something else to say, and he started to explain that we should add additional 1$ because of so and so. He was stressing his words with confidence in a way that any one listening, and most of the bus was listening, would think either we were stupids or we were thieves .The bus driver is talking about the card, so he must be right. I got confused specially with people starting to pile up in a line behind us. The problem is that I don't carry cash. Why I would carry any if I don't need it. Anyway the driver didn't insist that we have to pay, he was explaining so in the next time we would know.
I explained to him what I know in short, but he refuted my explanation. And he started to get nervous and asked me to contact the office if I am not believing him.

We got on the bus, and now me who started to become nervous, that is bad, really bad, if not for us then for the scarf we put over our heads. I always feel my responsiblities are doubled for anything I do here in the west. for anything I do, it doesn't only reflect me. My actions also reflects the religion for which I carry an obvious symbole.

I started thinking how to solve this, only talking to myself as my friend sat far away from me. Coz the bus was almost full. I reviewed the events, I am pretty sure of my understanding of how this card works. Whenever I use something new, I have to know it well before using it.

I started discussing with myself

So, what should I do?

I have to discuss with the driver while I am getting off the bus. He has to know that I am right in a polite way, without making him nervous.

But how could you convince him?

We need a third party.

He can call his office. I see bus drivers always call the office when they have some issues on the bus.

But that if they have something like an emergency!!!

Hallow!! this is an emergency to me, I am fighting here for my headscarf, I am neither a stupid nor a thief.

And what if he proves that you are wrong ?

Then being a stupid Muslim is better than being a theif, coz Muslims should never be thieves.

Ok honey,calm down,.... then try to look for a dollar your face will look better just in case if he proves that u r wrong, you would put the Dollar he asked for.

I searched my backpack carefully but eagerly, and in one forgotten pocket in my bag, I found not only one, but two forgotten dollars.

Here we go.

It is starting to get better.

Now, be calm, realx, and talk politely, and try to ask for the third party. Try to convince him to call his office and they will explain everthing.

I prepared everything, myself , the sentences that I will say, the money ready in my hand, and breathed deeply while the bus was approaching my stop.

Few minutes before the bus stop as usual the driver announced the station in the speakers, and ....... no silence ... he is still talking ... he continued.......
please the two young ladies whom I talked with about the cards and the fares. If you please come get off from the front door, because I want to apologize from you. You were right, and I was wrong !!!

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A book hug!

I have been and will continue to be away from the blogsphere for a quite long time, or may be u will find me after few days blogging agian, I don't really know!!!

Alot of things have happened and other things are still happening in my life, I am not sure if I will be able to blog about it . I am not even sure why am I blogging right now .

May be coz I don't want to leave this period of my life just blank on my blog. I want to document it even by one short post. Or may be I am blogging coz I need to. Or may be coz I need people to remember me in their prayers, so plz anyone pass by here remember me in ur prayers.

The only thing which I am sure about is that the picture above explains to a great extent my condition in these days.

Inspite of the fact that Books are one of the source of my suffering during this period of my life; still books, books, and nothing but books; were the only thing which succeded in smoothing away some of the pain.

Come my dear book , come my precious come, hug me.

لانقنك...!

حصيلة عشرة -بكسر العين- سبع شهور مع الشراقة

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شرقاوية- غرباوية

نحن - حني

نابيدي - أني

كنك - خيرك

بكل بكسر الباء والكاف - بكل بضم الباء والكاف

واجد - هلبا

عالي واطي - زنقي دحدح
هرجة - دوشة

حمو - نو

مخربطة - مكعفصة

بكرة - غضوة

مجاش - مازال ماجش أوقاعدمجاش

مرايف - مستاحش

مرايف واحدة من الكلمات الي مش عادية بكل

نركب عليك - نبصر عليك

ليش - علاش

شوري - ليا

يان علي - حي عليا

ياحليلك - ياسعدودك أو صحا ليدك

سراق - خناب
حولي - خروف
بوشبو- زقرلو

صبي - أوقف

عدي - امشي

بحث - شوف أو اشبح

يزقب - ينقز

ارجي - استني

شيل - قيم

قمعزي - قعمزي
تبرم - تلف

عزقتها - لوحتها

دز - ابعث

يباوع - يطلع لبرا بش يشوف

نرطن - ندوي بلهجة غير مفهومة

نبص- انفرمط
يعوكر- يلعوص

لاورا - لتالي
بنة - ريحة أو صنة

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بوتاس - واركينة

كباية - طاسة

كاس - مالقي

حكية - حكة

ابريق - براد

بكرج - سزوة أو بكرج

شكارة - برزة أو كيسة أو شكارة

طفايا - طبلة

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الوكال- الماكلة

تن - طن

نص - نفص

مكرونة جارية - مكرونة مبكبكة

عصبان شمس - عصبان مقدد

قازوزة - مشروب

مقطع - رشدة برمة
بطيخ - قلعاوي

ماندلينا - الليم الكيني أو اليوسيفي

برتقال - ليم

ليم - ليم عصري

بكيوة - قرعة حمراء

بشكوط - بشكطي

الفحم - بياض

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نقرم - ننتش

يطرش- يرجع أو يرد

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دبش - حوايج
قبالي - صندل

صبات - شبشب

كاويش - سبيدرو

كراع - رجل

جمة - قصة

مساكة - توكة

روب - قفطان الحوش

سير - سبتة

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عقد - خناق

نبيلة - سوار

دندونة - خرصة

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شمسية - سحابة أو مظلة

بنينة - بيرو

قلم - لابس أو قلم

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بطاح - طانطا

قلع - عكارية

فريتشا- فليتشا

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شبردق - سياج

المارشة - شرشور

القزاز - مرش

سيمسيمة - المرشة الصغيرة

المادة - المرشبيدي
سالطو - مطب

عمود - بالو

حيطة - رشادة

ساس - حيط

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باتي - بوي

العويل - الصغار

جتي - حناي أو جداي

متزوزة - متزوجة
سمح - اقنين

بلبول- سحنون

متبلد- بليد

راجل صامت - راجل بارد

وأخيرا وليس آخرا الكلمة التي خشت في خاطري ولم أجد لها بديل غرباوي

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...لانقنك

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لانقنك يا أ.أ. لشهلولية

:)

الي عنده مايضيف يتفضل ، الموضوع قابل للتعديل والاضافة..

An update from here and there

Many of my friends keep asking me about the routine of my life here, and they are not satisfied by my short answers. I might look talkative here in my blog but not in real life. I will try in this post to lighten up some corners of my daily life activities here.

As almost all of my time is spent in the test prep. center, it is becoming more and more like home. But sometimes I get fade up from being in the same place so I move around and try some other places for study, here is one of them :It is the Suzzallo Library in the univesity of Washington, not so far from my test prep. center.

I tried this place first when it was recommended to me by one of my friends, she was describing it as a very quite peaceful place, and as I do like the quite atmosphere, I thought why not, let's try it for a change. Ok, here I am sitting and pretending to study....... but Nop ....who can study in this place, it is so huge and beautiful, it looks and feels like the school of witchcraft in Harry Potter, no need to say that instead of studying, I spent the time taking pictures for the place and for my friend while she was studying, and she was looking askance at me and I almost heard her talking to herself: "silly stupid girl... I shouldn't have brought her with me to this place" lol, that was just the first day, then I started to go there alone from time to time just for a change, and I started to look at my books and not to the surroundings.

But most of the study I do is in the study center, which is much more humble and feel more like home, manythings happen in the study center, people studying for USMLE spend from 6 to 12 hours per day in this center, so u can imaginne what they need to do there, eat, drink, pray, everything. The study is so overwhelming it takes them from their daily life, I think in this period of stressful preparation for the exams people become very vulnerable, and they are at risk of unveiling a psycological and behavioural probleams, I ask Allah if anything will go wrong at least to keep my sanity solid during and after this experience.

To give you all a clue about how the time is so precious for those who study for this exam, (those supposed to include me) , I will show the picture of this girl,, and first of all I emphasize that I have a complete respect towards her. I put the picture just to give an idea how people still able to mange and organize their lives whatever was hard the circumstances they are going through, she insisted to take care of herself and enjoy whatever she is going to have after the study hours for that day, as one of my friends said : she is truly a lady.

Yes, what u see is right, those are hair curlers, and she put them while she was studying at the test preparation center, I mean she put this in a public place not a private one, and she didn't care about what other people might think of her. I find it silly now how we complain that we can't find time to take care of ourselves, sleeping, dressing well, giving the proper time for prayer, eating , cooking for ourselves, shaving, or whatever....... get up people, have a life!

( Note: Miss class my friend back home, asked me to not put this picture, may be she is right, but I really have a good intentions in doing this, and I tried to put the blurr effect so I only reveal what I wanted to reveal, words when supported with pictures are more strong, the point is not about the girl itself, but how people should learn to live their lives, if anyone think that I should not share it, please express ur opnion, and I will consider it)

Last month April was the Tulip's festival here in Seattle, and unfortunately I missed it, I myself tend to be disorganized sometimes ( just sometimes) , and I mess things up, I really feel sorry to miss it, may be next year if I stayed at this place, I will make sure not to miss it inshAllah.

Regading my indoor and out door activities which I pointed out in my last post, (for those who was curious enough to ask ) , these activities are not big things to be mentioned, just small things whcih u do seeking for a change, sometimes just a walk in the park is enough for me, a phone call to a friend, sometimes a movie, other times buying goods at a nice grocery store like this one

Or may be just going to the kitchen without any previous plans and come up with something, and enjoy sharing it later with my friend, this was what I have done yesterday, Coffee chocolate Walnut Cake, it might look messy, but it was delicious:)

Last but not least, being abroad make you feel some how insecure, eventhough you know you are in the safest city and the safest place, u still feel a kind of insecure, in order to fight this feeling inside me, ( yeah I have to mange every feeling I experience, and beat it off, I am trying as much as I can to not let the negative feelings pile up ), for this I looked for a new keychain, a special keychain, and with some careful searching I got what I wanted, can u guess what is this? ( the thing beside the fluffy pink teddy bear)

That is enough for today, back to study, don't forget to leave a comment :)