Tagged by Intlxpatr: The 7 things tag

7 things I plan to do:

1. Allow my heart to be in the driver’s seat for a change (not that it asked anyone for permission; it just shoved my head out of the way and took over)

2. Go to Malaysia in mid-May :D

3. Learn what all those buttons on my camera do :O

4. Learn to play at least a couple of guitar chords

5. Start reading Rumi in Persian (thanks A.N for the motivation)

6. Motivate my mom to start painting (I already taught her how to surf the net :D)

7. Re-lose that 5 kg I have re-gained and lose an additional 5 kg… and then decide if I need to lose more weight :D

7 things I can do:

1. Just like Intlxpatr, speak in public…don’t get nervous at all…an NO I don’t not imagine everyone sitting naked. I honestly want to know if that tip has ever worked for anyone!!!

2. Talk and talk and talk endlessly for hours and hours on end

3. Forgive and forget (of course the forgetting part is coz of my terrible, terrible, terrible memory)

4. Lie and get away with it (a skill I have recently mastered…at least I think I have)

5. Procrastinate effectively (I work a lot better when I am under stress…yep that’s my excuse

6. Speak my mind (another skill I have acquired recently)

7. A.N says I am an expert at coming up with a 1000 excuses for not-doing something

7 things I can’t do:

1. Bake!!! (it just never turns out right; but then again I don’t need to, my bro makes excellent cakes)

2. Not cry when watching most movies (it’s embarrassing watching a movie with someone, they always go, now why are you crying at this scene???

3. Give up easily

4. Sing (except in the car and bathroom…and when I want to clear the room)

5. Anything artistic, e.g. paint, draw, music

6. Dance…heck even my 10 month old niece dances better than me…actually I should add this to the list of things I plan on doing…learn Persian dancing

7. Remember where I have parked my car

7 things I say a lot

1. Magical (my favorite word)

2. Lovely ass (as in “I’m too tired to drag my lovely ass out of bed”; or when messaging friends to let them know I have arrived “my lovely ass is here, where are you?”

3. ‘Baba joon’ when talking with Persians; ‘ya ammy’ here in Kuwait

4. Extremely (instead of very)

5. What the hell!!!!!

6. Serious??!!

7. No way!!!!

(Based on my last 3 catch phrases I can see that I’m surprised quite a lot, hmmmm)

The Tour Guide

This post was written a week ago when I was still in Iran

Ever had a feeling like…well like…like you are walking with…yourself. Several times during this trip to Iran I felt this way. Those times that I floated through familiar streets, streets whose walls were like a photo album …with each brick bringing back memories…memories that though you created no longer feel like yours…not the new you anyway. Ever heard your old self talking to you while going down these streets?

Today I went to Payetakht—a mall in northern Tehran that is the center of computers. I used to come here at least twice a week years ago. It had somehow changed now. Those days it was mostly bootlegged CDs, now it’s laptops, digital cameras, plasma TVs, iphones, mobiles, macs, etc. Just like those days I stopped at each shop studying the variety of models. Before I knew it I slipped into a conversation with myself.

“Now that’s a beautiful Sony Vaio…hey I haven’t seen that model in Kuwait…why do some companies export certain models to only certain countries…oh look there is the official agency of Panasonic…let me check out their camera….”

“Hey remember this shop? This was the shop that you got that SPSS CD, remember? Remember you needed that statistics application CD for your thesis but it was difficult to get hold of the latest version? This shop promised to bring it for you? Remember?”

The memory was mine, but this wasn’t me talking to myself anymore… I almost felt her presence walking next to me…like a guide, a tour guide, guiding me through ‘my’ memories…distance memories. She also stopped with me at each shop, with each shop she painted a vision in me of the shop as it was years ago…just like a tour guide.

Ever felt this way?

More random pictures from Tehran

1. Picture of two mosques in Tehran for Intlxpatr

2. Is it too polluted for ya? :D Keep track of the amount of gases in the air in Shahrakeh Ghaarb

3. Love this idea. Tehran’s city Hall has placed book baskets on buses. This particular book is called, “Short stories from Pakistan”

4. Wall painting in Vanak Square

Close up of the same house

5. My ice cream :D

I FEEL ALIVE

Ahhhh my good old friend has wrapped itself around me again. This time though it doesn’t come alone, Who are these friends? If I remember correctly that’s the sweet smell of a wild berry tree drenched in spring rain, and aahh there’s the cool air that’s bouncing off that brick wall, just listen to that music our pure stream is playing…yeah of course a canary has to be whistling amidst this ‘earthy’ aroma. Thank you dear breeze, thanks my old friend for bringing new friends with you this time.

I FEEL ALIVE

Ahhhh yeah, today (Tuesday) was Sizeh Bedar (Thirteen gone out); it’s basically the last day of Norooz and as part of our tradition, it’s a day where THE WHOLE nation goes out to have a picnic. In every single park, river bank, meadow, gardens, or anywhere there’s a patch of greenery you would see families barbequing, playing badminton or volleyball, swinging on makeshift swings, smoking hookah, and dancing…yes even dancing but not in parks (too many prying eyes there :D)

I FEEL ALIVE

So mom and I are back in Tehran. During the past two weeks we went to Masouleh, Shomal (northern cirites of Iran near the Caspian sea), Abyaneh and Kashan. We still have to go to Isfahan, possibly next week. During this trip I have come to understand that:

1. Iranians are very sociable/talkative :D

2. Iranians favorite past time seems to be fighting and dancing :D :D

3. Iranians are neither leaders nor blind followers.

4. Iranians don’t appreciate their cultural heritage or historical sites

In separate posts I would elaborate on each. Till then here are some pix from around Tehran and places we visited.

Swing in Abasabad Jungle (shomal)



Historical House in Kashan (Borejerdi House)



Pic taken from a moving vehicle enroute to Masouleh (shomal)



A window in a Tradtional House in Kashan (Tabatabaee House)




Shop in Tajresh-Tehran selling Nowrooz stuff

Melat Park-Tehran


Abasabad Jungle-shomal




Ceiling in Tabatabee House-Kashan


Abyaneh woman wearing tradtional clothes (will post more details about Abyaneh soon)


Abasabad Jungle--shomal

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:

Our portable 7 Seens :D

Since mom and I are going to be on the road most of the time, I got ourselves a portable Haft Seen as well...love the design :D