Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My Happy Place

This is a picture of my happy place.

Its at Signal Hill, and this is as the sun is setting..

Monday, November 15, 2010

Wasting my Time

What is it about places-of-work and workshops anyways?

You sit in one place, for the entire day, listening to one, or two or more interminably boring people telling you things you can either google or already know. Really, what on earth is the justification for wasting an entire day of 25 people or more's time.

What else could we have been doing? Saving lives for instance. Getting real 'work' done.

And there's another day of this mandatory bullshit to look forward to tomorrow. Great.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

How my garden grows

I love gardening. Theres something about the richness of soil under your fingers, the green fresh smell of the leaves and the coolness of pretty flowers to an overstressed mind.

Recently, Ive been trying my hand with roses. Delicate creatures that they are, they require specific conditions to flower.

That being the way it is, I've begun to notice that gardeners are a friendly and giving bunch. Ive recieved shoots and advice and help and seeds and compost and well..everything.. From virtual strangers who walk past when Im busy in the garden. Its amazing to exist in the kind of pay-it-forward little gardening community that keeps on giving.. Not only to myself but to the environment as well..

Friday, November 05, 2010

Blogging hiatus

Hello everyone

I'll be on a blogging hiatus due to exams.. until the end of November Inshallah.

I'll still be popping by to read your blogs, but wont be doing many comment-athons, and for that, I apologise.

My emails still the same, and I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers..

Much love,
Lamya

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

My Kittehs

Another post dedicated to MOCHNESS!! <- thirty foot high dedication in neon lights





This is Layla. She is my teenage cat, and loves spending time outside.. She isnt afraid of dogs, and here she is hanging out with Roxy, my dog..




Then theres my little cutesy and very naughty baby kitteh, Zeen Q. Wierd name, I know. Dont ask. Isnt she adorable?



Monday, October 18, 2010

Weekend

What a chilled out weekend. Cant believe that Ive gone from sandboarding and go-karting to half-past-BORING!

My weekend = visitors, movies, beach, walking, tae-bo, lunch, and home.

I resolve to do something exciting next weekend. Like maybe going to look for sharks on a dive :).. Yes, the water calls.

For the moment, this post was brought to you by flu-lamya, from bed and pillow news.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Purpose

So coming back to blogging a few years after I left off leaves me with the thought..why?

Why have I come back? Why do I keep writing? What am I writing about.. In short, what am I aiming to achieve by writing here?

And the answer is...Nothing.

In my daily life of constantly doing my best, constant goal-setting, and the motivation that keeps me going, I need a place where I can just..be. Everyone needs that. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

I write here because I can. And in the mere pleasure of being able to set my mind free, to write without fear of reprisal, my spirit soars and rejoices.

Even if its a few minutes every week, I seek that expression.. In mundane topics, that allow me to ground myself. That lets me focus on the joys around us, instead of replying to email, talking on the phone, and typing that oh-so-important document ALL at the same time. I'd become lost in the doing.. and even though this blog may not be about a specific topic, its my way of letting my soul have its 'chicken soup'..

So. In the few minutes in a queue, in a commute, lunch-time at the office..take a load off. Do something useful. Just. Be.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Girls Gone Mild

So theres a revolution out there, one that espouses the modest in us, one that enhances our natural state of being.

Coming from a period of wild days, I feel like I've come full circle, like the modesty in my life is precious and I cant say it better than this:

"When I chose to embrace modesty I wasn't just choosing to change my wardrobe. There honestly wasn't a whole lot that needed changing. But finding the few things that did need changing helped me to identify the attitudes that REALLY needed changing, for it really was my attitudes and beliefs that needed to be brought under the cover of truth about modesty, not so much my clothing.

When I chose to be more modest, I was shocked by what I saw in myself. I stopped obsessing about what I saw in the physical mirror and finally began to grieve about what I saw in the spiritual mirror. I had exchanged the truth about real beauty, the beauty that comes from being honest, intellegent, compassionate, confident and whole for lies about the importance of waist size, bra size or any other size. While choosing modesty helps to protect us from revealing our most vulnerable parts to the outside world, it also allowed me to reveal some of the most vulnerable and desperate parts of myself to the person who most needed to see them: Me."

Link for the above quote

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Eid

So, lets talk about Eid in Cape Town:

Eid in Cape Town is amazing. Although its not an official holiday, most Muslims are able to get the day off work and celebrate with their families and friends. Eid preparations start about two weeks before Eid, generally after the 15th night of Ramadaan.

General preparations include a complete spring clean of the home, painting inside and out, washing windows, changing all curtains and bedding, SHOPPING for Eid clothes and special Eid groceries. Most mom's get extremely stressed by their kids wanting a very specific outfit, and having to co-ordinate all of the Eid efforts. Usually the house where the grandparents are staying at (like all other Muslims, Cape Townians generally do not send the elderly to old age homes, but the eldest son or daughter usually looks after the parents in their old age). This is the house that usually has the most visitors on Eid as well.

From the time that thousands of Muslims gather on the BEACH, in a public area, to have iftar together, pray maghrib and then sight the moon, the excitement about Eid starts building.



There are two Muslim radio stations who broadcast the Athaan, and various other programmes in Cape Town. These radio stations usually broadcast the moonsighting event live from Three Anchor Bay. There is lots of excitement around this event, it has become a picnic of note for the year and a sort of unofficial kick-off to the Eid celebrations.

After the moon has been sighted, and the official announcement is made that Eid is the next day, women rush their families home to start with the food and other preparations. It is at this time that the men usually realise that their thawb's need to be ironed (lol) and that they need white socks to match their thawb.

That evening, women prepare the meat for the next day... and a pie for 'after eid prayer' breakfast. But the days's menu will be discussed later on..

Men usually have two outfits for the day. They wear a thawb to the mosque in the morning, and then change to apants and shirt or suit for the rest of the day. Lately, men seem to prefer the thobe as an all day outfit. Women usually also follow the same idea, with a decorative abaya for the morning, and a pretty dress or suit later on in the day, depending. Women who are 'hosting' for the day find it easier to keep the abaya on and not worry with a formal dress and heels. Children, the same.

All children are given money and candy on Eid, and some children, especially those who have fasted all month for the first time, may get an extra special toy or treat as a reward. Any child knocking on any door will get their Eid money. This also means that non-Muslim children will join the rounds to score on Eid day.

So, the MENU and Eid day routine:

After Eid Salah men go to the graveyard to pray for the dead, and then they come home for breakfast. They then have tea/coffee and steak and kidney pie. Also, fresh baked bread and grated corned beef sandwiches are on offer, as well as cream cakes, pastries and biscuits. Some homes serve a sweet milk drink called "seer" and have more indian-inspired traditional treats like burfee, dodery, chana magaj, and so on. I personally had some chicken pie and of the most diviine pavlova. Other homes serve some prawns and guacamole, depending on the preference of the household.

After breakfast, you start with greeting your neighbours. The term used for this, is going to say 'selamat'/'give mubarik'. Text messages abound, and the networks are usually held up by well wishers sending Eid messages. After the neighbour stint, one moves around the area to greet family, or stays home to receive visitors, depending on which your preference is.

In every home, the table is laid with little nibbles for any and every guest that may come to visit. The nibbles include: chocolates, home-baked biscuits, candies, nuts, dried fruit, something called 'meebos', also can be described as dried fruit, but rolled in sugar. The nibbles are accompanied by juices and soda. In most homes, the table will be covered with a net to keep flies away from the food and its is uncovered as soon as guests arrive. Oh. And I have to mention 'slangerchees'. This is a savoury 'thing' made with flour and water, pressed through a rice colander to form little 'ribbons' and fried. Its then spiced and really tastes great!

Lunch is huge deal. Eid lunch is usually spent with your parents and as much family as you can gather. So, whats on the menu? Usually a leg of lamb, roasted. The leg is usually accompanied with a sweet yellow-coloured rice, roasted potato and vegetables. Sheep tongue is also an essential part of this meal. Then theres usually also roast/fried chicken or a roasted stuffed turkey/duck, accompanied with gravy and fresh salad. Other families have a biryani or curry as well, but no Eid table is complete without copious amounts of roasted meat.

Then, dessert: Usually three of four different kinds of pudding. Favourites are cheesecake, strawberry pudding, caramel and mint fridge tart for the summer, and if Eid is in winter then hot favourites are malva pudding, milk tart and bread pudding. Ice cream is always on offer for the kids, and adults usually have some too.

Dessert usually happens around three or four o clock. After that, there is one more round of family visiting, and then the teenagers split from their parents to continue visiting friends. Recently, teenagers have been hanging out in all their Eid glory at malls, and they meet up with large groups of friends there. Older people in their twenties usually have dessert parties, or meet up at one pre-arranged house and then stay there until the early hours of the morning.

This Eid was fantastic as we had a whole weekend to celebrate, and so Eid continued the next day with friends visiting those they couldnt see on the first day of Eid. Usually it isnt that way though.

Well, thats Eid in Cape Town. Any requests for a next post?

Monday, September 06, 2010

FOOOD POST!!!

*spoiler alert* All fasting people beware, food ahead!

Blog DJ POST DEDICATION: Mochness

So, we were talking about the gatsby in the previous post. While googling for images, I found that someone actually wrote down the unspoken rules for eating gatsby!

Find the modified version below:

1. Keep the time between purchase and consumption of the Gatsby as short as possible. Cold chips are no one’s friend.
2. Cut the Gatsby into a maximum of four pieces. Anything smaller is a gross injustice to the Gatsby because there’s no way you’ll be filled by a fifth or less.
3. Any chip falling from any given piece of the Gatsby is considered fair game. The ruling on this is final.
4. When separating the Gatsby, note the point of division: practice absolute precision here to avoid taking the bottom roll of the next person’s piece. Ask for assistance if necessary.
5. You must finish your share. Besides it being a terrible waste, you’ll be scorned by the Gatsby Fraternity for all time.
6. Grip is critical. Cup your piece in your hand so that loose bits have nowhere to fall except back into your hands. Avoid the scenario described in Point 3.
7. NEVER leave the Gatsby unattended.
8. It’s best to accompany the Gatsby with a beverage, ie Jive, Frulati or Cabana. Hearty burping guarantees relief.
9. Observe relative silence when consuming the Gatsby. No one likes to talk and eat at the same time. See Point 1 regarding cold chips.
10. Always wash hands with soap and water at the conclusion to avoid getting a spicy finger in the eye, a condition commonly known as Gatsby Eye. The only cure is self-induced crying. No one wants to see that, so just make the trip and wash your damn hands.
11. The person that contributes the least towards the gatsby gets the smallest piece.
12. The Gatsby is not supposed to be eaten out of a plate, so make sure you ask the pB.Sc (Person Behind Shop Counter) to doublewrap the Gatsby to ensure enough paper for everyone.
13. Avoid eye contact with anyone not eating the Gatsby for fear of them asking for a “piece”.
14. When sipping on the Frulati, make sure you only have 2 sips then pass… anyone attempting more than 2 sips forfeit the next round.
15. Nothing on the Gatsby is to be wasted (refer point 5), that includes any salads or sauces still remaining in the paper… lick it up!



Check out the original article and pics here

Friday, September 03, 2010

Fun things to do in Cape Town

Another post dedicated to Mochness:

Part of the installment on 'Why Africa is special, and this would be Part Two'

So, what do we do for fun at night in Cape Town? For those who are interested, theres quite a hip and happening party scene, complete with alcohol, loud music and pretty people.

However, this Lamya is not usually found partying. In Central Cape Town, the party street is called Long Street. Apart from clubs, Long Street also has its fair share of shisha cafes, bars, coffee shops, all buzzing till the early hours of the morning. And theres a mean shwarma stand in the middle of the street, all fully halaal, of course. So I'd much rather be hanging out at a coffee shop than a club.

There are a few theatres with lovely shows, too. The Baxter and Artscape are two of the biggest, while quaint little theatres dot the rest of the city..depending on the show and the vibe you're looking for, its all good, clean, fun.

Obviously, theres movies too.. There are quite a few movie theatres throug the city, and they offer quite a variety. Cinema Noveau offers the more artsy non-commercial type movies, while others focus on commercial movies, and some even do full feature Bollywood films.

The restuarants and other coffee shops, well.. they're all there to be discovered. From beachside to mountaintop, theres a whole variety of food just waiting to tantalise your tastebuds. This post wouldnt be complete without a mention of authentically Cape Townian fast foods. There the 'gatsby', which is a huge french loaf type thing, filled with fries, salad, chicken or steak, and usually divided in portions amongst a group of friends. Other fast foods include 'chip rolls' which are fries on bread rolls, 'salomee', essentially curry rolled in roti and served as a type of sandwich.

Okay before this degenerates into a complete food post, Im going to just mention a new Cape Town ramadaan tradition, its called a 'facebooka'. People invite all their facebook friends to 'booka' (see meaning in previous post), its usually held at the beach.. People all bring their own food and blankets and chat and have shisha late into the night. Nice way to meet new people and make new friends. This is done to socialise as its very frowned on to be seen at the movies or in Long Street during ramadaan..

Next post will entail fun things to do during the day, in Cape Town.. Hope you enjoyed this..

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Why Africa is special..(part one)

This post is dedicated to Mochness:

There is something in the air of Africa, an interconnectedness that you dont feel elsewhere. Its like I feel Im close to the pulse of the Earth. There's a smell that hits you when you get off the plane, a feeling of homecoming, even though you are only visiting the first time. The air embraces you, and the sun even feels different.Yes, Africa is special.

I have settled in Cape Town, South Africa, a beautiful gem of a city. I love this city because of many reasons. Lets start with the history.. Like Ive explained before, Cape Town was a little watering and refilling station for the Dutch East India Company, on their way to and from various spice and slave destinations in the East. It was 'discovered' in 1652, by Jan Van Riebeeck, who completely discounted the fact that there were already natural inhabitants to this stretch of beach, called the Khoi-San.

The Khoi-San were inquisitive and warm people, who had a penchant for shiny objects.. And had wonderful bodies which enabled them to live in this climate. They could store some food in their cheeks and when they feated, they built up a supply of fat in their buttocks to keep them goin when they didnt find anything to hunt or gather. They were awesome hunters and trackers, and could mimic bird and animal calls with uncanny accuracy. Well, the Khoi-San people were initially tolerated by Jan Van Riebeeck, but were eventually hunted down almost to extinction, enslaved, and the remaining part of the population driven far into the interior.

Also, the interesting part comes when the Dutch East India Company decided to establish a watering station at the Cape of Good Hope, as Cape Town was known back then. they started vegetable gardens, and built a few homes for their farmers.

A few years later, the Cape of Good Hope became an area where people started to settle down.. A castle was built, and a town established. Around the same time, slaves from Java and India were brought to the new settlement for their craftwork, and handcarved beautiful wooden bedposts and weaved baskets and obviously cooked and were healers, too. Many of these Javanese and Indian people were Muslim, so the Muslim heritage of Cape Town holds strong for more than 400 years.

Muslims at the time were persecuted for having their own religious beliefs, and so learnt to recite the Quran and various athkaar quite melodiously.. Which also sounded like singing.. obviously the 'master' did not realise these people werent singing and actually worshipping their Creator.

Anyways, there are various people through Muslim Cape Town history who risked their lives to teach Islam to others, to encourage hafath al quran, and to make sure the legacy of Islam lived on. Well, their legacy lives on even today..

Part of living in Cape Town, is that you are not persecuted or questioned (even since 9/11) for practising your religion. Also importantly, you practice because YOU WANT TO, not because the government tells you to. There is an abundance of halaal food restuarants, major supermarkets all run lines of halaal meat in seperate fridges, men get off from work early on a friday to attend Jumuah prayers. A few major malls have prayer rooms for salaah. One mall even has a full taraweeh programme. Families openly go and break their fast at the beach (its called 'booka'). At the end of Ramadaan, thousands of Muslims descend on Three Anchor Bay to hear the verdict of sighting the moon, and pray Maghrib together, in the thousands. Friends hang around and have shisha.. Its not odd to see a family praying somewhere at a beach or picnic.. So we really have alot of religious freedoms here in Cape Town. You are protected by the Consitution of this country, and can wear your hijab to work, and wherever else you may choose to go.

That was just a picture of a little of the history of this city, and some religious insights which make it easy to live here. On the next installment, I'll tell you about the fun things we can do here..

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Cycles..

Today, I went to my hairdresser.

She works from her home, and I prefer it that way. Commercial hairdressers have huge open windows and its not always the modest thing to do.. So I met this lady, Yolanda, and she used to do my hair whever I needed her to. No appointment required..and without fail I'd always look fabulous. She didnt live in the most savoury part of the city but..

She's the kind of person that held together her whole impoverished neighbourhood. All the children in d neighbourhood were raised by her, when their mothers were drunk, on drugs, working, or just too young to know what to do. She fed everyone that came to her door, hungry, and she never complained about the kind of life she led. She looked after the sick, and listened to everyone's problems..

Today I went to my hairdresser.. And walked into her funeral.

God bless you Yolanda, you will be sorely missed..

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Its my.. SISTER!!..

I have to tell u guys about this.. Amazing moment that filled my chest with warmth and awe..

Alright, this all begins with a craving for home-made pizza. I only realised this like an hour before futoor, and wore an abaya and shayla, with baggy tracksuit bottoms and sneakers underneath :) this has relevance to the story, trust me..

So off I go to the closest mall to get the bases, as anyone who had ever made pizza bases knows that an hour before futoor may NOT be the best time to start..lol.. So the closest mall is closed and i zoom off to another mall, and its 40 min before futoor..

Get there, grab a pack of halaal bases and rush to the queue.. And a kind Muslim gentleman sees my shayla and abaya and one item in my hand and rushed look, and he gives me a place right at the front of the queue..

*insert* in Cape Town, where I live, the law of the queue is utterly respected. Nobody jumps, bumps their way up, or does anything else but join the back of the queue.. And jumping or bumping is regarded as horribly rude, and people WILL protest..LOUDLY.. !

I pay, wish the kind man Ramadaan Kareem and turn around.. And all over the store (its a store kind of lke Tamimi, or Tesco), I see Muslim people giving other Muslim people a place at the front of the queue.. Someone did dare to protest.. And a lady turned around (clearly unrelated to the person she gave a place to) and hissed..'Its my SISTER'..

I was so proud to be Muslim at that moment..

Monday, August 16, 2010

Im in love!!

Just got my new pc casing: Gigabyte Sumo..5115.. And its worth every single cent! Oh my word. Its tool-free, comes with great accesories and a mesh cover for extra cooling..

Flip.

Cant wait to get my I7 now.. Many happy hours of gaming await :)

And yes, Im goin to get 3 new monitors too. Just for eye-finity. Happiness!!!!

*UPDATE*
Why this case is so awesome:

-Supports SLI, crossfire dual/quad multi graphic cards
-Supports 12'' by 13'' motherboard.. So u can use ATX, CEB, E-ATX or micro ATX.. But no micro ATX for me.
-Its aluminium with hair line brish anodised finishing.
-When u switch it on, its got a personalised image projector, so u can shine UR NAME out from d casing :)
-Front and back fan is illuminated in blue LED lighting
-sooo the transparent side panels come in handy for showing the lighting
-The aluminium alloy chassis accelerates system cooling performace, in addition to feeling and looking really mean and awesome!
-It has a front panel that's a door design, so it opens to reveal the slots for (5.25'' drive bays) dvd drives etc.. Its got about five slots, so u can STACK EM UP!!

I wasnt joking when I said its an awesome casing. Im building my own pc, so this is why im so excited with the casing, it arrived first..

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Goodbye

No, this is not goodbye to blogger. After a tumultuous two, or so, years, I have decided to blog again.

So I guess it is kinda fitting to start up again with a goodbye.

One of my very good Saudi male friends has gotten married. This means that he is not allowed to have any female friends. After worrying and stressing about him for about a month, I mailed him and he gave me both shocks at once. Anyways, I had just read hnings post on 'breaking up smooth' and decided to use that as some inspiration for the following goodbye letter (edited version):

"I guess congratulations are in order, and I hope everything works out for you, I really do. I cant seem to feel like Ive been short-changed somehow, because it should be the happiest time of your life, and even then, the one person who will always have your best interests at heart (Im referring to me, silly, not YOU!) cant even be there for you when things get tough. Im kinda glad ur living the 'Saudi Dream' (arranged marriage, living with parents, and ur wifes probably pregnant by now, too) even though its a choice I wouldnt easily make for myself, or anyone I really cared about, but eventually, we all do as the Romans do and take our chances at a shot for a happy life.

Not everyone has the chance to be 'Lamya' and screw the world and find our own way, no matter who says what.. sometimes the best and most honourable fight is just to be where we are and make the best of it. Give it all you've got, because without you, someone wudnt have a person to wake up next to in the morning. Someone wouldnt have been able to look at their son with pride and say, he's married to so-and-so's daughter. Without you, a wedding wouldnt have existed, two families wouldnt have come together, and without your contribution, Saudi ways would wither and die..And somehow, your wired to fit right in..

So Im proud of you for fighting the fight I was too much of a coward to face, for settling in and taking the good and the bad with it..

I think that no matter how long or short this email is, or how Ive tried to hide it, Im feeling a little heartbroken, and quite a bit sad. You've been a huge part of my life, and Im reluctant to say goodbye, but in parting.. just remember that the breakup of a friendship like ours is not the end of future involvements, not the end of respect and kindness for each other. This breakup is an acknowledgment of unconditional love, no matter what the time and place may be.

Have a good life. "

Yeah. Welcome back to Lamya's World

Coming up: 'Escaping the World Cup in South Africa'