Questions

ALL of you people have to answer these questions…it’s funny the different kinds of answers you can get from all sorts of people and tastes…Here goes:
1. Do u prefer it when someone gives you bottled water or water in a glass?
2. Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?
3. Favorite car?
4. Favorite actor, and actress?
5. Favorite color?
6. If you had enough money right now, to buy ONE thing only, and it could be anything in the world, what would you buy?
7. One object, device, insect, animal, or whatever that TRULY disgusts you?
8. What is your worst recurring nightmare?
9. Would you rather live in an apartment or a villa?
10.Favorite historical hero?
11. Favorite feel-good movie?
12. Favorite tear-jerking movie?
13. What is your biggest fear?
14. Girls: Knight on a black horse or knight on a white horse? Guys: Princess in a silk black dress or a silk white dress? sorry I stole your question Maha, but it seemed appropriate ;)

Here are my answers:
1. Bottled water
2. Disney World (Yeh, no Paris or The Maldives for me, fun is what I want)
3. Porsche 911 Turbo
4. Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts
5. Red
6. A mansion
7. Blood (just makes me dizzy)
8. Drowning or falling down (I wake up right before I hit the ground)
9. I would rather live in an apartment
10. Hercules, the most famous of all Greek heroes
11. Love Actually
12. Legends of the Fall
13. Buried alive (awake in my coffin six feet under with no one to heed my call) and my mom dying (because without her we’re completely helpless).
14. Kinght on a black horse sounds good

Ok people, your turn, and you can’t keep any secrets, spill all...

Him...Not you

When I dream about my future
Like all girls do
And I daydream about my wedding day
Like most girls do
And I envision my knight in shining armor
Like a lot of girls do
I see him on that horse,
Not you.

In the middle of the night
When I crave for someone to talk to...
To keep me company till the sun comes up, talking about nothing…
And I struggle with my white covers,
I imagine that I am getting a whiff of his perfume
And hope that one day his cologne will linger on my pillows
Long after he’s woken up and gone.
Him, not you.

When I am mixed up in a perplexing part of my life
And am touchy and exasperated
He tells me things I may not want to hear
But I listen intently and carefully
Because those words are coming from him.
Him, not you.

He is the only person I know
Who loves me the way he does
And he is the only person in the world
Who can really hurt me.
Him, not you.

And if he leaves
(even though he won’t be the first to leave, and may well not be the last)
I will miss him.I would be lost without him.
But I’ll get over him, like I got over you.
And yet the wound in my heart caused by him will be everlasting.
Him, not you.

I may have been deceptive and misleading.
This may not be the finale you had foreseen.
This may be coming too late.
And it’s my fault.
I know sometimes you may think
That you are on my mind
And perhaps there is room for you
But you overlooked the facts of life: Survival of the fittest
He suits me
I have never left him for anyone
I never will
He is bigger than anything I know
And there is only room for one:
Him, not you.

Derniere Manifestation de Puissance

"Poor Girl...tsk tsk"

I spent time with my Aunty and Grandma (my dad’s sister and his mom) in AD. They both live out of the country (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Tanzania, respectively) so I don’t see them much, and yeah I missed them. I feel very close to my dad’s side of the family in part because I look exactly like them (and regrettably nothing like mom whom I think is absolutely gorgeous), and partly because I hardly ever see them and when I do they remind me of my dad. But, and I don’t find this hard to say: I dread meeting them: I have this remote feeling that they pity me. It’s tremendously wonderful meeting them, but one thing I can't stand is sympathy. I do not need to be pitied. Just like I hate it when adults go: “Oh my, when will you stop growing?” (which they still do even though I have stopped growing at 17 and have remained at 171.5 cms for the last 3 years!!!) or when they say things like: “Sooooo (wink wink), When are you going to get married?” Especially when someone in the family gets married, and they look at us singletons and say: “Your turn is next, don’t worry.” I’M NOT WORRIED. I’ll get married when I want to and when I do I will be the one who finds my husband, not them. But worst of all is pity, and the one time I get pity is from my dad’s side of the family, who, granted, don’t see me much, so maybe think that I am experiencing some sort of suffering since my dad left, but still should know that I’m doing quite fine without my dad. Don’t get me wrong, I love my dad, and things would have been AMAZING if he was still here, but he isn’t, and my brother and I turned out fine. In fact, wicked as this may sound, I don’t think I would have had the kind of life I’ve had if my dad stuck around. There would be more rules, and less of what my mom and I share now that there’s no dad around. Plus my father would have totally spoiled me and I predict I would have been even less independent than I already am (if that’s even possible, I depend on my brother FOR EVERYTHING). But when they say: “Oh my, Poor girl, I keep telling your dad to come back and take care of you,” or: “He’s a crazy man for leaving two kids and a wife behind,” or: “Look what he’s done, he doesn’t know what you’re missing because he left.” Don’t they get it? It’s not us who missed out, it’s him. He missed out on seeing his two kids grow up. And I’m not resentful; I just wish they would stop brining it up. I wish I could tell them: why are you saying this? I’m FINE. My brother is FINE. If dad was around then great, but he isn’t and you end up just fine. People ALWAYS cope with the kind of life they’re dealt, and some do better than others, but I’m not about to sit and feel sorry for myself. I'm blessed with a great mom and live a better life than most kids I know with both parents around, and I can think of a LOT of people who are far worse off than me that perhaps need pity. And I’m not about to take comfort in they’re pitying me because he wasn’t around. God 50% of marriages end in divorce, seriously I'm not the first girl with a single parent and I won't be the last. They should know better. I just found out that my dad has two little girls now, one is 6 and the other is around 4 months old. My uncle who saw him recently said that he was doing well, totally adored both his daughters, and always spoke of how the youngest one looks just like me. And when he was telling me I kind of felt that they expected me to feel upset or saddened maybe…but I was truly delighted. I have two little sisters! When he was around he was the coolest dad EVER, and if my sisters ( I think I like saying that) can get even half of what I got as a kid before he left, then they’re lucky. And one thing I made sure to tell my dad a few days ago when I finally reached him and talked to him: he is always in my prayers, he should not worry about us, we’re doing good, and all I want is to see him and the little ones, even if it was for a short while. He promised me he would try to come visit. He told me he felt guilty about leaving, that we were always on his mind, and no matter what he does he can't get himself to feel better. That broke my heart. I knew it was the people around him making him think that perhaps we're not ok, and it's all his fault. So I made sure he knew that we were doing great. And then I made sure everyone here knew I am truly happy with my life, and that is the message they should send back to him when they see him again. I think I’m very well-rounded, my personality is identical to my mom’s, and save for some parts of my behavior that I know are largely due to not having a father at home (especially that I crave attention and want a man in my life to be much older and in complete control, which is also the case with some girls I know who have pretty passive fathers), I think I turned out pretty well-formed…So for all you out there who might feel sorry for others who seem slightly less well-off, or have missed out in life, don't pity them. You can show them you care in other ways, but pity just makes people feel small.

Dad

My Week

I’m baaaaaack! The wedding was wonderful. Saeeda and I danced all night long. We salsa’d, tango’d, rumba’d, boogie’d… you name it! I’m serious they had all kinds of songs and it was great. It was the first time I danced so much, and with those heels! At some point during the night my feet were in so much pain I just took them off and danced barefoot. When it was time to go home I couldn’t walk with the boots on (I swear I got blisters) and I walked barefoot to the car. I made Saeeda bring her camera but every time Maha and I would be ready to take a picture, we couldn’t find Saeeda, or whenever Saeeda and I were ready for a picture, we couldn’t find Maha, and whenever…Well, you get it. But I did take one with the groom and bride, so there. A record of the night is available. And yes, the bride was absolutely gorgeous. Amazingly huge brown eyes, those were the first things I noticed. Round lips. Such white skin. Typical Arabian features, she did look Omani. What else? The food was incredible. Everybody looked perfect (Yusra, the sister of the groom, and I have this ritual where we sit at the end of the party and see who is dressed really badly so we could make fun of them. But every body was dressed flawlessly, so no fun.) After dinner Maha and I sat on our chairs facing backwards, and tried to wave to as many people who were dancing as possible, and see who would wave back. I don’t know if they thought we were silly, or they hadn’t seen us, or they were just plain rude, but no one waved back! It was like they would look straight at us, see us waving, and turn back to dancing! Well, to be honest we got a grin from one of my aunts, to which we burst out laughing, and she turned back quickly. I think she thought we were making fun of her heheh. Basically the wedding was a blast. Later on I spent the weekend with Maha and Saeeda, and we spent it talking about this one girl who danced like you wouldn’t believe. Wawie this chick could beat Shakira in a belly-dancing competition 10 times over. She was that good. Everybody just stared at her when she danced. Maha and I were so jealous. Although to be honest Saeeda and I did more than enough dancing for that night. That was the best part of it. I usually leave regretting that I hadn’t danced enough, but this time I made sure there were no regrets. On Friday Maha had to go back home cuz she had to work on Saturday, and Saeeda went off to take care of her niece. So I spent the rest of my time in AD with my aunts, a great deal of time with my baby cousins. One of them is Sara, she’s 3 and EXTREMELY HYPER. The other is Ali and he is 3 months old. I have yet to hear him cry. Such a happy baby Mashalla. By the end of 3 days I was so fed up with all the giggling and cheery chuckles, I wanted him to cry! So I kind of gently shook him when he was all unruffled and still, and he just happened to be saying: AAAHHHHHHHH, so while I was shaking him his voice came out all funny and crackly, and he thought that was hilarious. Instead of getting annoyed and crying, he laughed! Now it’s become a habit, when I carry him and shake him he starts saying: AHHHHHHH so he can hear his voice crack. I miss them already. I can’t wait to go back. I missed you all, I missed your blogs, I missed your comments! I just got home about an hour ago so I’m going to unpack and sleep. Updates tomorrow.

Sketch

Beautiful

Dream

Till Next Week

So I’m all set for the wedding. I got my cream-colored dress (backless, sleeveless, and knee-length, can you believe it? It's the first time I’m not wearing an evening-gown to a wedding). I got my cream-colored shawl, my cream-colored killer-heeled boots that are knee-high, so I won't look too "skanky" with a really short dress and all that leg showing. I broke them in yesterday, my feet are in so much pain, why do I do this to myself?. I just got my hair cut, and my nails done (which I’m ruining right now on this keyboard). Actually I’m a bit high on the smell of nail polish, so excuse me if this post is not up to accustomed standards. I got my cream-colored purse and my cream-colored hair clip (in the shape of a huge cream-colored butterfly). I got my pearly lipstick and cream-colored necklace. I got my cream-colored rings (two, in the shape of infinitesimal butterflies) and my cream-colored bracelet.
Ok, I really need to go get some fresh air and salvage what remains of my mental stability. Anyway, I probably won’t be posting on this blog till next week, seeing as the wedding is in AD and I’m planning to spend the rest of the week over there with Maha. So this is a leave-taking post I guess.

P.S. It’s my cousin’s wedding, not mine… ;(

Fire signal

Dark Waters

Listen, we need to talk...

Recently I noticed a habit among the people I love. For some reason, I’ve observed that when there is bad news to tell me, they take their time. It’s like, they want to caution you, to tell you: brace yourself, it’s bad news, and then they tell you what the bad news is. On the contrary, when there is some good news, they can’t wait to tell you. (Of course, there are those insufferable meddlers who take pleasure in torturing you when they know something you don’t, and tell you: “Guess what?”, and try to keep you guessing what the good news is. THAT’S NASTY! STOP DOING THAT. I usually say: “I don’t know! Khalas I don’t care, don’t tell me I don’t want to know.” And the fun comes when they are dying to reveal the good news and I go: “Stop! Don’t want to hear it. Really I don't. Don't tell me.”) I can be really annoying when I want to hehehehe.
So I’ve figured there are two kinds of people. The ones who take plaster off a wound at a snail's pace, bit-by-bit, allowing themselves to feel the minimal amount of pain, until the whole plaster comes off. And then there are those who take the plaster off in one big pull, allowing a whole lot of pain, but it’s done immediately and swiftly. That’s what I am like. I hate the waiting; I cannot endure even the least amount of pain if it’s for a long period of time. I HAVE to take the plaster off quickly, and I can handle any amount of pain, as long as it’s in a brief period of time. Kinda like waxing I guess.
And it’s the same with news. I insist on hearing bad news right away. I abhor, detest, LOATHE it when a person comes up to me and says: “Listen, I have something to tell you. Please sit down. Promise me you won't react too quickly. I don’t know where to start, but here goes: please don’t get upset. Let me finish the whole story and then tell me what you think. Ok, so here’s the bad news:…”
Or: “Look, I know you’re going to get upset, but I have to tell you. Most people wouldn’t agree to me telling you this, but I feel you need to know.” (OH GOD JUST TELL ME ALREADY!)
Or: “Hey, I heard something, I don’t know if it’s true, but you won’t like it, is it true that…”
(ARE U KIDDING?)
The ultimate favorite: "Have you talked to **** lately? I mean, have you heard anything new?"
(IF YOU’RE GOING TO TELL ME ANYWAY, WHY DO YOU CARE IF I MIGHT/MIGHT NOT HAVE ALREADY HEARD THE NEWS?)
Even: (listen -big sigh- we need to talk)pisses the hell out of me. I really feel the need to clarify that I, unlike others I know, hate pre-bad news intros. Just hit me with it. I will love you for being straightforward and unambiguous, and telling me right away.
I can take the bad news. Really, I'm tougher than I look. It’s the waiting to hear the bad news I can’t handle. I am extremely impatient. Maybe some people do need time to hear bad news. I’ve heard so many times, when a loved one departs this life, an adult (of course, I do not consider myself a grown-up yet, and hopefully NEVER) would say: Immortality is for God, our time here on earth is short, I’m really sorry to tell you this, but….
Please spare me that courtesy. Maybe when I’m older and need time to prepare, but now I’m ready for it all, and will only "need time" AFTER I hear the bad news, not before.

4 the gaals

Early Days

Day after day, right outside my window, I take notice of these kids playing. Sometimes it’s the little show-off kids with their fancy scooters and bikes, who’s parents have basically omitted the best part of their children’s youth, which is using their imagination to keep them occupied, not their money. But most of the time it’s 2 sisters and they’re older brother (maybe around 7), fooling around and occupying themselves, sometimes with friends, most of the time on their own. And it reminds me so much of being a kid. There are so many values that you shake off once you cross the threshold of being a kid and more significant things take over your life (in my case, guys), but I’m lucky I still remember some of them. Castles, dragons, princesses, superheroes…They’re all fantasies that I quickly let go off. I don’t know many people who remember. You kind of just move on and stop thinking about them. I wonder if even my brother remembers. I've listed the things I remember from my childhood adventures, I think all of us had believed in these too…
- I remember we believed that our cats had the ability to communicate with us, and we were the only ones who understood (although for some reason mom still talks to our kittens and cats when they’re meowing for food: okaay, okaaaay, don’t worry, your food will be ready right now. Very amusing to my brother and I).
- I remember we believed that we had superpowers that were yet to be revealed, and each of us had their own top-secret power that well matched our individuality.
- Superheroes existed for sure.
- Beasts existed too, and at night they would show up but because we were secretly endowed with superpowers they would try all night but we still woke up unharmed.
- Our favorite blanket had unknown powers and protected us from all harm, and we had to carry it around wherever we went.
- Our teddy bears/toys/dolls could hear and understand everything we said, and whenever we were out of the room they would resume their normal lives, and when we came back they pretended to be motionless so we wouldn’t tell our parents that they were living. Of course, we knew they exited because they would never remain at the same place we left them. But we didn’t tell our parents anyway, because we were on the toys’ side.
- I remember we lived in a world were there was so much to find out, and we had so many quests to live through from the moment we woke up till we went to bed, and new journeys coming up the next day.
- Most of all I remember that our make-believe lives were real, and we only pretended to be ordinary to our parents because they would never understand, but the moment they stopped watching we had to resume our imaginary lives, which were actually more real to us than anything else.
I usually forget about all this, and get irritated at the kids outside my window for making so much noise. In my head I’m thinking: God! Don’t they ever get tired? I forget that I was exactly the same, I had the exact same adventures, and they were endless too. I also adored the older girl who lived next door who never went out, and seemed always to gaze at us from inside her room, and we’d pretend we couldn’t see her so she knew we weren’t intentionally making all that noise ;)

Quote of the day: Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.

Islands

I figured since I have SO MANY amazing pictures I might as well share some with you...keep this blog interesting...

Mystical Castle

I love pictures/paintings like these...you have to look really carefully to see all the details..like the two fairies having a chat over there, and the lovely castle I would love to see for real...

Pizza Man

My brother introduced me to this song…and even though I got these lyrics in a message before, it sounds a million times better when you actually hear it with an Italian accent…It makes him sound like he’s swearing but he’s not...
Try reading this with an accent, it’s so funny:

Pizza Man
By Cisco Kid
Onna day Imma going to Malta to bigga hotel
In the morning I go downa to eata breakfast,
I tell the waitress I wanna two pieces of toast,
She bring me only one piece,
I tell her I wanna two piece,
She says: "Go to the toilet",
I say: "You no understand, I wanna piece ona my plate,"
She says: "You better not piss on your plate you son of a bitch",
I don’t even know the lady and she calla me a son of a bitch…!

I-DON’T- NEED-THIS-SHIT!!!

Later, I go to eata at the bigga restaurant,
The waitress brings me a spoon and a knife, But no fork,
I tell her I wanna the fork,
She tella me "Everybody wanna f***,"
I tell: "You don’t understand, I wanna fok on my table",
She says: "You better not f*** on the table you son of a bitch",
I don’t even know the lady and she calla me a son of a bitch…!

I-DON’T-NEED-THIS-SHIT!!!

So I go back to my room in a hotel,
And there is no sheets on the bed,
Call the manager and telling him I wanna a sheet,
He tella me to go to the toilet,
I say: "You don’t understand, I wanna sheet on my bed",
He says: "You better not s***on my bed you son of a bitch",

I go to the checkout and the man at the desk says 'Peace on you',
I say 'Piss on you too you son of a bitch, I’m gonna back to Italia,
Ariva derchi!!


And for those of you who already know this song, don’t make fun of me, I know it’s ancient, but it IS uproarious…! (Yeh, this is a sure sign of my utter boredom!)

Fed Up

Bored to death. Steady and recurrent brain-freezes from all the ice chewing. Eyes throbbing from too much television. Dropping IQ due to heat (I think my brain is slowly melting). Along with not doing anything even faintly constructive for my intelligence. All those TV shows have gradually destroyed my brain cells. When will this suffering be over?

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."

So, crack up even if these jokes aren't that funny...

What is the difference between men and E.T.?
E.T. called home.

A magician was driving down the road..then he turned into a drive way...

Once upon a time there were two muffins in the microwave.
Suddenly, on of the muffins says: "Man it's hot in here!!!!"
The other muffin exclaims, "Look a talking muffin!!!!"

Q. What's pink and fluffy?
A. Pink fluff
Q. What's blue and fluffy?
A. Pink fluff holding it's breath

What does a fish say when it runs into a wall?
DAMN!

Summer Heat

The summer is eradicating my will to live! I’m thankful we have no sea here because everybody tells me that they’re dying from humidity in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Fortunately for us countryside people, even on a bad day Al Ain still has a pleasant gentle wind that blows all your problems away every once in a while. But today isn't just a bad day. It's hell! The thing with Al Ain is that it’s too desert-like: the high temperature is a killer but now it’s summer it is also especially windy and the sand just keeps coming in your eyes, you have to wear sunglasses all the time because it’s too bright to go out with your eyes exposed, unless you enjoy squinting. And even though it’s exceedingly hot you still have to really cover up from top to bottom to avoid the sun scorching your skin…my hands are shades darker than the rest of my body! But it’s not the heat that’s upsetting me so much, I’m a desert chick I’m used to it, it’s the powerlessness that comes with the heat. You’re parched all the time, grouchy, annoyed, and just exhausted. The heat renders you incapable of any useful activity. All I do is take cool showers and drink juice filled with ice all day long. My mom keeps laughing at me cuz I walk around in the skimpiest clothes and chew on ice cubes (oh shut up you perverts!) but only true ice-cube chewers know the beauty of it! I love keeping my hair down but now the heat just makes everything irritating, so right now hair falling down my face and shoulders is just REALLY annoying, and I have to continuously tie my hair up in a pony tail, but it’s long so throughout the day I have head aches because it gets really heavy up there! My skin is dry because I keep splashing water on my face, and my lips are chapped and I have to carry a moisturiser and lip balm wherever I go around the house. I have my little protection against the heat kit: ice cubes in a large glass, strawberry cream, cherry lip balm, and a coooooooool towel. Today all I did (I SWEAR) was sleep, watch tv, had some cookies and juice, and went back to sleep. I just woke up because…well DUHH, it’s too hot to sleep. I really hope that this is the worst part of the summer and it goes away soon, because more often than not in Al Ain, even when it’s hot, we have this dry, uplifting breeze that blows through just before night fall. Now it’s just too hot to even go out and enjoy that.
What would we do without air conditioners and tv?

Quote: Wilfred Thesiger, from Arabian Sands
No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry, however faint, the imprint of the desert, the brand which marks the nomad; and he will have within him the yearning to return, weak or insistent according to his nature. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match.

I hope

I hope that the reason I have met so many ‘wrongs’ is that when I finally meet a ‘right’, I will be grateful.
I hope that when an opportunity closes its door in my face, I will be aware of another door opening, and with any luck I’ll be sharp enough not to keep gazing at the closed door.
I hope that I get pleasure from such closeness to a person that spending a day with them devoid of any dialogue will still make me feel like I have the greatest chats ever with them.
I am superficial, but I hope one day I will not go for looks, because looks can be misleading. I am materialistic, but I hope one day I will not go for wealth, because money doesn’t last. I hope that I will be able to find a person who makes me smile until I beam. (I REALLY hope that I can find a person who can make me smile who is ALSO handsome and rich hehehe).
I hope that I will be able to visit all the places I want to visit, do all the things I want to do, and become whoever the hell I want to be, because this is my life, and my chance.
I hope that I am not so self-aggrandizing that one day I will forget to put myself in someone else’s shoes, and hurt a person without knowing.
I hope that I am always cheerful and in high spirits by making the most out of everything and not always thinking that grass is greener on the other side.
I hope that this appetite to learn always stays with me, and the more I discover, the hungrier I get.
I hope that that people recognize that I am, right now, who I am, and not who I used to be. I hope that I can look to my future not based on a forgotten past, but on a past that I can learn from, and then let go.
I hope that, since at the dawn of my life I was brought into this world crying, and all around me were in good spirits, that one day, when I breathe my last breath, I will be in good spirits, and all around me will be crying.
I hope that I am not always in such a rush in this hurried world that I miss just “existing”, and taking in a lungful of air, that I miss the sound of raindrops, that I stop watching sunrises, that I miss out on the world.
I hope that when I have children I shall not ever let them down by saying: “We’ll do it tomorrow,” and be so occupied with other things that I will miss the disappointed look on their face.
I hope that I forever remember to hold close the person I love when I am happy, so that they can know how happy I am to be with them, or so I can show how much I yearned for them when they were gone, or so I can make a going away easier.

Quote of the day: The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Life Value

So, my brother finally persuades my mom to let him drive. I’m in the car and he wants to show his driving skills off to me. They switch places and I’m thinking, he promised her he’d drive leisurely, otherwise she’s never gonna let him drive again. So I’m safe.
It’s like sometimes I forget who my brother is.
Anyway, we’re driving a bit too fast for my mother’s liking, I’m cracking up at all the wild jokes Ali’s making, and there are some Indians on bicycles and walking by on the road (remember those Indians who are always hanging out by the Dukkans wawie?). Ali doesn’t slow down and mom’s like: Ali you’re gonna hit them! He just looks at her and just keeps driving fast. Mom goes: ALI SLOW DOWN YOU’RE GOING TO HIT THEM! And he just looks at her and says: Mom, we have SO many of them! Don’t worry one or two gone missing won’t be noticed. I’m like ALI SLOW DOWN!!!, and he’s like: Basma, don’t worry, plenty more where they came from. Like cockroaches. And even though this is EXTREMELY racist, he meant it innocently (plus local mentality is pretty racist, isn't it?) and I’m laughing my head off. But he slows down a liiiittttle. Soon we come upon a bunch of local girls, like 5 or 6 years old, playing around. My mom and I are both looking at Ali and wondering if his theory of cockroaches applies to the little girls too, but he grins knowingly, goes on saying whatever he was saying, and slows down a little bit more than he did with the Indians. “Ahhh, so the little local girls get special treatment, huh?" I tell him.
“They’re kids, Basma, what’s wrong with you!" He says, making me look soo bad. I usually smack him in the back of his head when he says things like that, so you can check him for bruises. Then we come upon a few cats messing about having a good time, and some kittens THAT WEREN’T EVEN ON THE ROAD, but just amusing themselves in the pavement, and Ali? He stops the freaking car completely. This is how much he values kittens’ lives. More than little girls. Way more than hard-working Indians. Kittens, in Ali’s world, rule. He stops the car COMPLETELY, gets out, shoos them far far FAR off the road and the pavement and anywhere remotely close to where he was driving, gets back in, and starts driving. My mom and I could NOT stop laughing. He really needs to get his priorities straight.

Random Questions about Love

What is love? How do you know that someone is telling the truth when they say they love you? Do you “see it in their eyes”? (Yes, I’m being cynical.) How long does it take for someone to fall in love? A month? A year?
At first sight?
And how do you know you’re in love? Does it slowly creep up on you and then jolt you with the feeling? Or do you feel it progressively escalating from partiality to complimentary to worship feelings?
And if you doubt that you’re in love, does it mean that you’re not in love anymore, or does it mean that the person you love has just been away for a while (emotionally or physically away, whichever) and the moment he/she comes back all returns to normal?
If you discover that you’re not in love, do you leave the person that you’re not in love with? Is it that easy?
Or do you just stay and start believing what your mother told you about love never lasting? If it doesn’t last, then why fall in love in the first place?
“When you’re in love your world turns upside down, and you think with your heart.” Well, if love turns you into a slave of your feelings and emotions, what good comes of it? Won’t it just be less complicated not to fall in love?
Can’t people just really like each other, and avoid the whole concept of unrestricted, self-sacrificing, Romeo and Juliet love? Isn’t love just a mixture of approval and s**? Why not call it by its real name then? Why do people like the whole fancying things up into something extravagant, over-the-top and really just phony?
I don’t think I believe in love. I’ve seen too many successful arranged marriages that it kind of makes me question this concept. I believe in getting used to someone. I believe in feeling good or happy when some one is around. I believe in getting to know a person. But this whole desperate, dreamy, I-can’t-breathe, I-can’t-live-without-you, you’re the ONLY one…this stuff really doesn’t make sense to me.
You think you’re in love with some one cuz there’s no one else like him/her- well, the truth is, there’s no one else like anybody else. We’re all different. That’s just a play on the way things sound when u say: “There’s no one else like you.” OF COURSE THERE IS NO ONE ELSE LIKE ME!!! What’s your point exactly?
The thing is, I am in no way against happy couples that do live by the concept of (you’re the only one for me). I just think it’s a bit forged when someone says: you’re the sun, the moon, and the bright bright blue in my sky. Maybe it is true that I’m a bit practical in my love life. For me, I would always look at a person in terms of: wealth, looks, personality, and his love for me (not necessarily in that order). And then, there’s this moment when you decide: should I give in to this? And if you do you’re a goner, and if you resist well, you move on. But corny, clichéd, everlasting, perpetual love never has made any sense to me whatsoever.

p.s. if you guys are gonna comment, please don't give me answers like : Love makes the world go round, or Love is Everything, or whatever confusing answers people come up with that aren't really answers at all.