The Ramadan Diaries: Eid!

I think I should start this post by saying EID MUBARAK (belatedly).

Eid is the religious holiday which Muslims celebrate after Ramadan, the month of fasting. As a result, it is celebrated in a unique spirit among all Muslim households. Eid starts off with the Eid Prayer which is in the morning, around 7 to 8 am.

This year's Eid was a little toned down in my family due to a very recent death, the death of my father's uncle who was a main elder in our family. He had been diagnosed with cancer at it's last stages and despite all efforts to combat it, he succumbed two days before Ramadan started. The entire illness lasted maximum four or so months. (Innalillahiwainnillaihirajiun)

Another reason for the somewhat lack of festivity was the fact that a good 1/3rd of our relatives had decided to celebrate their Eid in Karachi instead of Islamabad.

After the Eid prayer, we usually have lots of people coming and going but that wasn't the case this time. Around 12pm we went out to meet some relatives. During Eid, such meetings usually involve eating all the yummy stuff made and collecting Eidi. Eidi is money that adults give to children to celebrate.

On the second day of Eid, we were mostly at home until 6pm because that's when the Family Variety show started. The FVS (I shortened it :D) is a sort of program conducted by my uncle with help from some of my cousins and it involves lots of competitions and games. I didn't really participate in anything except the 3D art category because I'd REALLY wanted to make a pinata D: also, I felt kind of embarrassed to go and do anything else- not with tons of younger kids to 'compete' with. So I've decided that next time, I'll get my younger siblings totally prepared so they could do something worthwhile.

The pinata I made was somewhat a success. Nobody hit it with a stick though- children were given one chance to punch it and it kind of broke (I'd attached a string to hold it up with but it collapsed within the first five punches) and then it was broken by the time the kids' turns were done. It started spilling out candy and all the kids were like "Wooooww" and they collected whatever they could find and I felt rather pleased with myself. (The pinata got me first place, no surprise there)

Overall the event was great, it was lots of fun and really entertaining. I think my family has the greatest Eids ever and I'm extremely grateful for that. Not many families have such creativity displayed on their festive holidays.

Eid Mubarak :D

The Ramadan Diaries: Third Ashrah

Here's the third installment of my Ramadan Diaries. I am posting this pretty late because the last few days of Ramadan were pretty busy and then Eid is entirely another affair as well.

This week, I finished a couple of books and struck them off my reading list.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Sekret by Lindsay Smith

I also went to the Academy regularly, including the Sunday of 20th July. I was also supposed to go on the Sunday of 27th July but the timings were changed from 9am-1pm to 730am-1030am and I was like "They're totally asking us not to come so I'm not going, haha"

You can get a better look at my week by seeing my planner. I have always kept a planner but after seeing a couple of blogs with really cute and adorable planners I thought I'd neaten mine up a bit so it actually looks like a neat planner instead of a bunch of scribbles and crossing over on words.

I've color coded it a bit. The light blue is for the "important thing about today" which in this week's case was the date of the Islamic calender. Purple is for the tests I would have at the academy. Blue is for my study plan and the orange is every thing extra, like books, shopping and episodes.

On Thursday, we had went to a lot of shops to look for clothes for Eid and I got a dress too. I'd show you a picture of me wearing it but that isn't very possible because I don't have a full length mirror and also I'd never be satisfied with some one else taking the pictures.

I wore this with the dupatta as a scarf and my black jeans underneath this because the dress came without trousers.

Oh, we also met this cat on the roof before Iftar one day.

~Gave kitty some milk~

~Gave kitty some meat but kitty not interested~

Oh, and I also started making a pinata for the Family Variety show we were having on the second day of Eid- but I'll describe that more on the next post xD

BookShelf; A Tale for the Time Being

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in a ways she can scarcely imagine.
Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki’s signature humour and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.

~Taken from Goodreads

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This book was amazing. Let me tell you why.

It's a story about a person reading a story, but you know how you wish you could interact with the characters you're reading about? Or how you wish you could- somehow- reach through the boundaries of ink and paper and let the character know "Hey, I'm reading about you and I think you're amazing, no matter what the secondary characters who bully you say". This is literally what happens in the book and I thought it was magical. (yes, it really was magical). 

(did you see the sarcasm there) (i don't think you did)

The book's narration is divided between third person Ruth and first person Nao. Personally, I didn't really like reading Ruth's parts because although she is a main character, she seemed to pale in contrast to Nao- who really stood out with her diary entries and her musings. I used to read Nao's narrations eagerly and then wait for her to come back again when it was Ruth's turn. Ruth wasn't boring or anything. It's just that you know how you put a glass of air and a glass of water together? The glass of water will take your attention, even though air is much more important. So Ruth was important too (hey, she was the one reading the diary. If she didn't read the diary, we wouldn't have been able to read it either!)

Nao's diary is really the most interesting and unique diary, fictional or otherwise, I have ever come to read so far. She talks about how she used to live in California, how she had to suddenly move back to Japan, how she can't seem to fit in, how she realizes her parents didn't tell her about their situation, how she gets by with bullying and how Jiko, the Buddhist nun, turns her life around and changes her perspective.

I related with a lot of things that Nao talked about, like trying to stay in contact with friends who now live on the other side of the Earth, her "homesickness" for California and her thoughts on forgiving people. Nao really pulls you in to her situation, which seems pretty hopeless but she finds her ways to combat it (with magical help from her reader, Ruth).

The book covers way more than just Nao's every day life and Ruth's reading. It talks about war, how it turns young boys into soldiers, and humanity, how you could still be yourself even when all your "choices" have been taken from you because there is always a choice, no matter how bleak your circumstances might be (lesson learnt from Haruki #1).

I think my favorite parts in the book where when Nao spends her summer with Jiko and when she realizes how her dad (Haruki #2) made a choice, just like Haruki #1 and even though it was a good choice, it left his family in a not-very-good position, how she misjudged him and how proud she feels when she realizes what he actually did. Nao's dad is an amazing person (don't judge him by the first half of the book) and the whole story is just.

Go read it. Put it on your list and READ IT.

The Too Much Information (TMI) Award

When I first got this award from Yasmine at ~~ Cloudy Dreams ~~ I thought TMI stood for "The Mortal Instruments" whereas it actually stands for Too Much Information. *facepalms* Apparently, it's a Youtube award which has decided to migrate to Blogger and it involves answering this fixed set of fifty questions (thank God they're fixed, it would have been horrible making fifty new questions Q.Q)

Q1) What are you wearing?
I'm wearing a yellow polka dot long kameez with white lace at the bottom end, which my mother sewed, with a white dupatta and the jeans my father brought for me from his last trip to the US.

Q2) Ever been in love?
Ever since I touched my phone and laptop- yes.

Q3) Ever had a terrible breakup?
My first personal laptop was a netbook and it went out of action in a rather sad sort of way so yes it was terrible. My mother was using it (and she was sitting on the floor) and my little brother was sitting on the bed besides her with a cup of tea and he spilled it all over the keyboard. Ever since then, the keyboard has been demented.

Q4) How tall are you?
Ah, about 5 feet and three inches. I'm told I need to be a liiiiittttlleee taller and then I can stahp.

Q5) How much do you weigh?
Much less than average probably. The last time I weighed myself- which was last year ish- the machine said "40kg" and I honestly doubt if its changed. On the contrary, since I'm fasting, it must have dropped to 38-39 kg ish.

Q6) Any tattoos?
Nope, tattoos are haraam (forbidden) in Islam. The philosophy behind it is that you're not supposed to wreck or scar the body you have been gifted with by Allah.

Q7) Any earrings?
Right now, no. I have my ears pierced though. I recently took off my earrings (gold studs. yes, real gold) because it was annoying me. I don't know if this is common or not, but my earrings were really dirty when I took them off (after like, six months) so I was horrified and didn't put them back on after cleaning. Yet.

Q8) OTP?
Well, ever since the latest Naruto chapter, maybe Sasuke-Sakura. (I can't believe I am saying this. I used to be totally AntiSasuSaku)

Q9) Favorite shows?
Right now, it's Doctor Who, Sherlock and The Legend of Korra.

Q10) Favorite bands?
None. :)

Q11) Something you miss?
My friends Q.Q It's been a month almost since I last saw them. We talk though.

Q12) Favorite song?
Answered here.

Q13) When is your birthday?
May 9th :D Taurus!

Q14)Zodiac sign?
Whoops.

Q15) Quality you look for in a partner?
Well, if you mean crime partner, I'd like a sniper! And if you mean life partner, I'd like them to be complete and utterly dedicated pest exterminators. (I cannot stand cockroaches and lizards and other.. things)

Q16) Favorite quote?

Q17) Favorite actor?
DAVID TENNANT. And the Sherlock crew.

Q18) Favorite color?
Red, black and purple :D

Q19) Loud musics or soft?
Soft! I already have a not-very-loud voice!

Q20) Where do you go when you're sad?
I go into my mind palace xD (Sherlock reference)

Q21) How long does it take you to shower?
15-40 ish minutes. It depends on what kind of shower (like, quick shower or bath?)

Q22) How long does is take you to get ready in the morning?
When I was going to school, I took 45 minutes. Now that I'm going to academy, I wait till there's 10 minutes left and then go super fast mode xD I just can't be bothered waking up earlier.

Q23) Ever been in a physical fight?
Maayyyybbeeee ;)

Q24) Turn on?
When you watch the same things as I do and we can talk about it all the time.

Q25) Turn off?
When you're super mean and being ignorant.

Q26) The reason you joined Blogger?
I wanted to blog. There's a long explanation for this actually, but perhaps I'll talk about it later.

Q27) Fears?
All classes of household vermin.

Q28) The last thing that made you cry?
That one wave of helplessness I felt while writing the blog post for Gaza.

Q29) Last time you said you loved someone?
I can't remember, honestly.

Q30) Meaning behind your Blogger name?
I did a post on that here.

Q31) Last book you read?
A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

Q32) The book you're currently reading?
I just finished reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.

Q33) The last show you watched?
The Legend of Korra.

Q34) The person you talked to?
There's a family discussion going on right at this moment.

Q35) The relationship between you and the last person you texted?
Lilly and I are pretty close friends :D

Q36) Favorite food?
Biryani!

Q37) Place you want to visit?
China, Japan, England and maybe Germany.

Q38) Last place you were?
Before I got home? I was at the academy.

Q39) Do you have a crush?
I have my sights set on an android phone.

Q40) Last time you kissed someone?
I can't really remember.

Q41) Last time you were insulted?
Please, I'm insulted all the time. I just laugh it off.

Q42) Favorite flavor of sweet?
Strawberry! Or watermelon!

Q43) What instruments do you play?
None xD

Q44) Favorite piece of jewelry?
Bracelets and necklaces :) I would love rings too but my fingers are too slim for them :(

Q45) Last sport you played?
I can remember this either.

Q46) Last song you sang?
I can't remember this either D: dang, I've got terrible memory. Well, now you know why I blog xD so I don't forget the major stuff!

Q47) Favorite chat up?
Uh... I don't usually start conversations.

Q48) Have you ever used it?
Uhhhh....

Q49) Last time you hung out with anyone?
I haven't really had time to hang out with anyone cause of academy and then Ramadan and stuff.

Q50) Who should answer these questions next?
Yes, who should I bestow this Herculean task on next? Well, here's my list.
Envy
Whimsical Youngster
Natasha
Have fun :)

The Ramadan Diaries; Second Ashrah

So 2/3rds of Ramadan is already over, although it still feels like it just started. I don't feel as apprehensive about fasting as I used to feel in the beginning and that's because I've got used to it. I was listening to a lecture by Nouman Ali Khan earlier and the gist was something like 'Your stomach tells your heart "I'm hungry! Let's eat something!" and your heart says "Shut up! No food until Maghrib!"'

So Ramadan is basically you being able to tell your body to shut up and endure it which is pretty amazing because normally, you don't endure it. Whenever you're hungry, you automatically go to the fridge and check what's available but in Ramadan, you just steer clear of the kitchen- you don't even bother to check what you could have eaten if you weren't fasting.

If it's so easy to control your food and drink intake, it shouldn't be too hard controlling other things your life totally doesn't depend on.

Anyway, this week was pretty busy in the sense that we had invited people over for iftar two times and both times involved a lot of people. That obviously increases the work load and preparation three times and I can't help but get rather cranky. That's what happened the first time. Its like, I get told we're having about 8 people over and then when I'm almost done preparing the fruit dish I make, it turns out that there are 5 more people coming and that I'd better accommodate for them as well. Believe me, I love having loads of people come over but I don't like having what I've planned turned upside down.

When I cut the fruit, it's all really ordered and mathematical, such that every dish gets the same amount of apples and bananas and peaches and it really makes me mad when the balance is upset (is it OCD? Maybe o.o)

There was supposed to be a seminar on 14th July which I really wanted to go to. It was about the MCAT (medical college admission test) and it was being held in Rawalpindi Medical College. The main reason I wanted to go was because the only medical college I have seen so far is Shifa. Anyway, Monday morning- I'm going to academy and I'm half asleep and I meet my friend in the hallway and she's like "Aren't you going?" and I didn't understand what she meant because I'd totally forgotten about the seminar.

When I remembered, I kind of panicked and started texting my parents.

Me: TODAY IS MONDAY 14TH JULY.
Baba: Ok. Don't panic. It's okay. We'll get the form when available.

Me: I was supposed to go to RMC (Rawalpindi Medical College) today at 10 o'clock!
Amee: ok.

^My reaction.

So I didn't go which wasn't really a problem but its just that I wanted to see what that medical college looks like but I'm sure I'll get loads of chances later when I try to get admission in there.

My MCAT classes have been going alright. Did I tell you about the new English teacher we have? This new one is younger than the old one and he's super energetic and he likes demonstrating what he's talking about to the point that it gets extremely awkward. Like, I can't tell if I should laugh at him or just be embarrassed on his behalf. For example.

Him: Question twenty seven.

Him: After our dash criticisms, we were asked to leave the stadium.

Him: The correct answer is-

Everyone: Alpha!

Him: I wouldn't say alpha is wrong, I mean "After our vocal criticisms, we were asked to leave the stadium" is correct.

Him: But beta, "Hurled" is a better word because hurled is like throwing insults.

Him: Hurl is like

Him: *roars* YOUR GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT AND DESPOTIC AND WE NEED A REVOLUTION!!

Everyone: *pin drop silence* o.o

Him: See, that is hurled.

One thing I don't understand about the academy is why it has to be so difficult sometimes. We had a "self study" counseling session one morning where the counselor guy came in and he was like "So kids, you have to study!" and then he outlined this plan which, in my opinion, made us look like nothing less than beasts made for studying. First he's like "Study everything you learned today at home" and then he's like "Ask the teachers what they're teaching tomorrow and then study that as well" and then "Don't forget to study for the daily test you get assigned" and "You should study 8 hours" and "Try maxing it to 10" and "Finish one course book in one day"

^My reaction

Like, excuse me, I do not exist for studying, are you trying to pretend my summer vacations don't exist, do I look like a nerd to you. Anyway, I DO study what I think I should study but to be honest, it's maximum two hours because I only study for the daily test and when I'm done, I think I'm ready for the test but it's an extreme understatement when I get the test sheet the next day.

It's horrible. I don't think I'll be able to pass this test. I'm just hoping my A grades from O Levels and A Levels carry my overall percentage up to the bare minimum (If I even get As in my A2 result, InshaAllah) because I'm starting to lose hope on the MCAT. The studying is way too fast, there's too many things I haven't even studied ever and my mind is on the O/A Level study track where I give importance to concept and knowing the numerical alone. But in the MCAT, you need to memorize -what I call useless- facts and figures. I hate memorizing facts and figures. Why should I care about which scientist discovered what or what the three frontiers of science are.

I disagree with the frontiers of science questions from the depth of my heart. There's this ONE sentence in the physics book which says "There are three frontiers of science which are.." and proceeds to name three frontiers as first, second and third and if you ask me, the order doesn't matter but if you ask the MCAT, order TOTALLY matters.

^I think I'm going to have to rewire my brain and have it  obsess over totally useless bits of information that makes me, currently, twist my mouth in disgust at its utter uselessness. I'm sorry, but I think this is turning into a rant again D:

We went out shopping one day for shoes. It didn't go very well. There was this one pair of shoes I really liked and wanted but my foot was too slim and kept sticking out way too much from the front. I tried getting a size smaller but it wasn't available. All the other stores had shoes that were too open. I like covered, closed shoes better since my feet aren't exactly what I'd class as pretty enough to parade. So I just walked around pretending to look interested in shoes I did not like.

^My reaction.

I've finished the third season of Sherlock and a book I was reading, called "A Tale for the Time Being" which I'll review soon. That's all as of yet. :D

Ramadan Mubarak.