The importance of being Earnest

How do parents do it????? Not the raising the kid up properly part…that’s easily done…they should just invest in a good international satellite dish and let the kid be brought up by the old box in the corner.

No I’m talking about the hardest part of having kids—choosing a name.

I’m trying to pick a new name for my new blog and I'm stuck.

Scratched and scratched and scratched my head all day yesterday and came up with no name that ‘felt’ right.

Then a Youtube buddy of mine emails me that a friend of theirs has just given birth and they are looking for a suitable Persian name. So I gave him my fav Persian names…then a lightbulb came on…hmmmm how about a Persian name for my new username? I can’t use my own coz well of that eerie feeling… so why not another one?

See as a kid I never actually really liked my name coz it rhymed with my brother’s. I felt that the only reason my parents gave me this name was so it would fit in nicely after my brother’s name on some kind of list —hey I’m a Cancerian…we are weird.

So first name that came to my mind was Delaram. It means a peaceful heart or a quiet heart. I used to have a colleague in Iran with this name and she really was calm and peaceful.

Other names I have short-listed are:

1. Shabnam: I like the ring to it …oh and the meaning? Well it means dew …which is what I meant by magical droplets. Oh and I also have a very sweet friend called Shabnam so there’s good aura attached to the name :D

2. Darya=sea. Me lova da sea :D

3. Kimiya=Alchemy. I like the way it sounds and the meaning.

I’m gonna sleep on it tonight :D

Shoo, shoo be gone you pesky conscience!!

I need a new conscience; I’m fed up with the one I currently have; it’s way too loud, obnoxious and never ever shuts up…oh and the stupid thing never takes my side!!! Seriously, anyone knows where I can get a new ‘inner voice’ or better yet interested in exchanging yours with mine :D

[Background to my plea]

So around 7:00 pm I logged onto Facebook and I see that there’s a lecture by DADI JANKI on “Secrets For True Wealth” at Salwa Al Sabah Hall at 8:00.

Me: Mom get dressed; we’re going go to a lecture on spirituality

Mom: Ahhhhh what’s the point? They don’t say anything I don’t already know. If you are in the mood to be lectured I can go on the mambar for ya. Here we go: Be good, be nice, be honest, let go of the past, be forgiving, be satisfied, be…

Me: Hahahaha very funny…come on… it starts in an hour.

[Blank look from my mom]

Me: Well, Dadi kinda looks like Lata Mangeshkar

So 30 minutes later we walk into the Hall, and who do I see sitting right on a couch as I enter—the only person I have ever treated not so nicely in my whole life and never apologized to. The same dude I was talking about in this post.

Me: Why, oh why God? Why do I have to see him here..and tonight of all nights.? Is this a sign?

Inner Voice: Yep, come on, this is your chance to be good again.

Me: I ain’t walking over to him…no way!!...and you have been seeing “The Kite Runner” way too many times!! WTH is with “you can be good again”?!!

Inner Voice: Fine, have it your way.

[A few minutes later]

Dadi: Honesty…I myself have never lied…why should I? What’s the point of lying? What are you afraid of?

Inner Voice: See? What are you afraid of?

Me: Shh…I’m trying to listen…hey hold on. I NEVER lied to him.

Inner Voice: Nope you didn’t lie; but you weren’t completely honest with him either.

Me: Huh? Look what I did wasn’t all that bad. Besides I don’t owe him any explanation for my action.

Dadi: Parents have to spend time with their kids to teach them morals

Inner Voice: See, your parents taught you better than this.

Me: Would you please Shhhhhhh. Seriously get off my back. Look this story goes back to my ‘dark’ days, and anything I did during those months cannot be held against me now.

Inner Voice: Do you think you ran into him here by accident? Why of all the nights, do you think you saw him tonight?

Me: Seriously, bug off….I'm trying to listen...ok fine…I’ll talk to him later.

Inner Voice: No you are not. At least be honest with your own inner voice. You never do the things you say you will do later.

Dadi: We have 3 enemies: carelessness, procrastination, and…

Me: ok, that’s it. I am out of here.

Inner Voice: Hehehehe…see I told ya so.

Here a video clip of Dadi...not the lecture she gave in Kuwait though

UPDATE: Thank you Grey for pointing out that I misspelled "conscience" :D :D ...opps

Back Home from Home :D :D :D

Mom and I are on a plane back to Kuwait. A family emergency has forced us to cut our trip short.

“So, what were you dreaming about?”

Still dazed, I could barely make out the face that asked me that question…it took the daze a few minutes to settle…moments later I could make out my mom’s bright big eyes.

“Huh?”

“You were smiling in your asleep…so..tell, tell?”

Tell, tell I will. In the next posts, but in the meantime here are some posts I wrote in Iran but couldn’t publish them coz blogspot was blocked:

Goodbye 1386

Twelve hours ago

It came, the morning breeze, the first breeze of spring. It whirled in, into my room, into my solitude, it twirled around, around my being, around my aura,, it surfed in, surfed careless into my being, into my soul. I am light, I am happy, I smile.

Only a couple of hours of 1386 is left. I close my eyes, tilt my head back, drop to my knees and the sigh lets itself out. A sigh that means…that simply means…thank you.

Thank you 1386. Thank you for 365 blissful days.

Remember the day I said hello to you? The day I wrote this post: “Happy Nowrooz 1386: My personal 7 seens”. Little did I know that my ‘inner’ journey started when I published that post. Little did I know that when the year 2007 ended I would publish this: Goodbye 2007.

And now, at exactly 9:18 and 19 seconds, I would be bidding farewell to 1386. My ‘inner’ journey will end with a physical one. I came to Iran to take a long overdue trip with my mom. A trip that I KNOW will be uplifting for my mom after a difficult year.

The goldfish on our 7 seen table smiles back at me; it winks, it says: Noroozetan Pirooz

Drops of Tears

This little drop of tear fell coz your gorgeous baby smile won’t brighten up my day anymore,

This little drop of tear fell coz your cute laughter won’t fill our house anymore,

This little drop of tear fell coz I won’t have the joy of seeing you dance by jumping up and down,

This little drop of tear fell coz I won’t laugh every time you shake your head side to side refusing to eat baby food, but would take delight in eating grown up soup

This little drop of tear fell coz I won’t rejoice in seeing your little chubby hands clap every time you are happy

This little drop of tear fell coz my cheeks won’t get wet every time you try to kiss me

This little drop of tear fell coz your dark black eyes won’t penetrate deep into my soul every time you stare at me

This little drop of tear fell coz you won’t fall asleep on my chest anymore

My little angel left yesterday :(

UPDATE: The above tears fell coz my 10 month old niece went back to the States after a two-week visit to Kuwait.

Divine feeling

Is there any feeling more divine than when a baby falls asleep on your chest?





...especially if that baby is your 8 month old niece








PS. Net is slow so would be adding pic later

UPDATE: Apparently there's a feeling more divine...having your own kid :(
*goes to find the father of her child*

Week in review and the week ahead

Week in review

1. Sis b-day and a free yoga video

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. She’s the kind that makes a list. One of the items on her list was a yoga DVD, so I gave her this link: http://yoga.org.nz/yoga_vidoes_download1.htm

Happy birthday sis :D

PS. Oh, and in case you are wondering, yes she did make me get off my ass and go out and buy her and actual gift. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could just give people links as gifts :D

2. Getting signs to start taking pix again

I got this personal belief that either do something with a passion or don’t do it all. So that’s why I haven’t picked up my camera in such along time. So when I got an email from some dude who is writing a book and wanted to use one of my pix; I’m like…hey maybe I could establish a relationship with that little thingy again. But this DSLR thing is too complicated so I went shopping for a good point-and-shoot camera. So far found nothing I like. Waiting for exhibition on feb 4^th to buy a camera and a laptop. Oh and thanks hamid for that email a couple of weeks ago also pushing me to start picking up that camy.

3. Thought of trying to develop a passion for cooking

Since a lot of people I meet these days seem to love cooking—even guys—I thought maybe I need to see if I can find the joy of slaving over a hot stove as well. So I thought of checking out you tube videos. Love this one :D

Week ahead

1. Gonna see my niece

My bro who (I don’t like using whom) I haven’t seen in over 15 years is coming this Tuesday :D :D :D…with his wife aaaaaannnnnddddddddd my niece :D :D :D This little angel has her own website!!! Damn times have changed, when I was born all I got was a bunch of pictures taken with a regular camera :(

PS.

FREE DVDS Yoga Online

Visit the Yoga.org.nz Online yoga website
heaps of cool yoga stuff including a free downloadable Videos and DVDs.

Happy Eid, Christmas and Yalda Night

Ouch my poor tummy. Yesterday (21st of December) I ate so much nuts (especially tomato toasted cashew), pomegranate, grapes and melon that I...hold on a sec...[censored]

Ok, now I am feeling better. I can go...so where was I? Oh why did I ate so much you ask..well coz last night was Shab-e-Yalda :D :D :D....Translation==Yalda Nigh

Instead of me explaning what Yalda night is, let me take the lazy (aka immoral) way out and copy the explanation from other sites ;p

From Payvand (including the pix)


Tehran, Dec 21, IRNA - Iranians throughout the world will celebrate the longest night of the Iranian calendar year, Yalda, in a tradition welcoming the birthday of the Goddess of Love, Mitra.

Yalda, the last night of autumn and the beginning of winter, is observed in every Iranian family here or abroad with ethnic roots to Iran. On Yalda night, which this year falls on December 21, members of the family stay together, narrate old stories told by ancestors, play traditional games and eat dried and fresh fruits symbolizing various things.

Pomegranates, placed on top of a fruit basket, are reminders of the cycle of life -- the rebirth and revival of generations. The purple outer covering of a pomegranate symbolizes "birth" or "dawn" and their bright red seeds the "glow of life." Watermelons, apples, grapes, sweet melons and persimmon are other special fruits served on Yalda night and all are symbols of freshness, warmth, love, kindness and happiness.

The Syranic word "yalda," meaning "birth," has its origins in ancient Persia and has come to symbolize a tradition observed since a thousand years ago in any Iranian family. Ancient Iranians believed that the dawning of each year is marked with the re-emergence or rebirth of the sun, an event which falls on the first day of the month of Dey in the Iranian calendar (December 21). On this day, the sun was salvaged from the claws of the devil, which is represented by darkness, and gradually spread its rays all over the world to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.

Since Yalda night is the longest and darkest night of the year, it has come to symbolize many things in Persian poetry -- separation from a loved one, loneliness and waiting. After the night is over a transformation takes place -- the waiting is over, a new life begins and good triumphs over evil. Reading poems of the Iranian poet, Hafez, is one of the most familiar activities on Yalda night.

I am thankful for

The day is looming, the eye spots the pen, the hand picks up the pen, the heart writes:

Thank you for bringing down my wall

I’m no longer a prisoner of my own

Thank you for glorifying the magic of life

I now savor the divinity of it all

Thank you for injecting the zest for living in me

Reality is now more welcoming than my dreams

Thank you for rekindling the bond with my dear ones

My soul has reached the haven it so longed for

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Idiot no more

To Maman and Baba,



I'm sorry for:

Not realizing why you got so upset with me last night for preferring to stay home rather than joining you guys out. I now realize if you hadn't missed me so much you wouldn't have got so angry. I now realize your anger was the translation of your love.

I'm such an idiot