hello delightful friends, fans, family, and assorted random people. I just want to warn you all that to make my stretch of silence even longer, I'm going to go live with Dr. Doom for the next week or so and be entertained by her and her obsession with anime. Should be an excellent week, but I will be incommunicado.
Follow-ups to... well... follow.
Ciao!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Reading Lists
I've been doing very little the last couple of days, but I've gotten some embroidery in, some reading in, and a lot of thinking. I tend to vascillate a lot on things like religion. I grew up with such an atmosphere of cultural relativism, and the prevailing politically correct view that if it has anything to do with religion then you have to accept it and not try to criticize it or use rational thought on it.
Ibn Warraq, in his Why I am Not a Muslim makes a bunch of good points which I don't entirely agree with. I'm glad other people have very strong opinions because if they didn't I wouldn't be able to feel so good about being in the middle on all of these issues. There's no point in mediating unless there are people strongly articulating all points of view. But I think it's a book that needed to be written, I'm glad it was, and I'm even more glad I'm reading it. And I don't disagree with everything he says. I'm not done with it yet so I can't make any sort of official statement, but I'm sure I'll mention thoughts as they come up.
Arguments are so much more fun with people who disagree with you. Of course, they have to be people you can reason with, otherwise arguing becomes a frustrating exercise much like bashing your head against the wall. But somebody who likes to reason, and who also believes something completely different from you, will spark an amazing conversation. About pretty much anything. D and I were discussing this out at brunch today because we realized we agree on lots of things.
Either that, or I'm too careful in what I say. I really do watch myself fairly carefully. Around everyone except my family, I think.
Ibn Warraq, in his Why I am Not a Muslim makes a bunch of good points which I don't entirely agree with. I'm glad other people have very strong opinions because if they didn't I wouldn't be able to feel so good about being in the middle on all of these issues. There's no point in mediating unless there are people strongly articulating all points of view. But I think it's a book that needed to be written, I'm glad it was, and I'm even more glad I'm reading it. And I don't disagree with everything he says. I'm not done with it yet so I can't make any sort of official statement, but I'm sure I'll mention thoughts as they come up.
Arguments are so much more fun with people who disagree with you. Of course, they have to be people you can reason with, otherwise arguing becomes a frustrating exercise much like bashing your head against the wall. But somebody who likes to reason, and who also believes something completely different from you, will spark an amazing conversation. About pretty much anything. D and I were discussing this out at brunch today because we realized we agree on lots of things.
Either that, or I'm too careful in what I say. I really do watch myself fairly carefully. Around everyone except my family, I think.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Aramco Pictures Have Arrived!
Vacation is here, hip hip hooray! I spent today sleeping, reading, and embroidering. And listening to music, of course. I feel that this was an excellent use of my time. Now, to shower, listen to some more music, perhaps embroider further and watch some TV.
But first, I'm just had to post one of the pictures from Aramco. I have a bundle, but I figure this one of me and Dima at breakfast is just too good to pass up.
Don't I look like a good Saudi girl?
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Happy 2006!
Happy New Years, everybody. It's 2006. That's frightening. Why, I still consider 1995 to be a futuristic year, and here we are 11 years later. I mean, okay, I was 11 in 1995, but back then 11 was an old, old age to be. I was practically all grown up. Here I am, nearly 22, and I feel younger and more inexperienced than I did back in the days where I still talked about myself, in all seriousness, as a "big girl" who shouldn't have to play with the "little girls".
First, a couple of interesting tidbits that you probably are already up-to-date on, but if you're not, you need to be.
Stupidity, in its most entertaining form. I'm not sure what this kid thought he was doing. Or rather, I am sure what he thought he was doing, and I remain astonished that anybody could ever actually think of doing that. I guess I'm not as adventurous or wild-spirited as I thought I was. It reminds me of my father's campaign to have me go to Iraq in highschool so that I could write a college essay entitled "I was a human shield for Saddam Hussein". Shoulda done it. CNN might have made me famous.
And, victory! Or, partial victory. But this is just a continuation of the royal family's tendency to move forward via pretending not to move forward. They never actually passed a law making phones legal in the country, they just made sure that the first things those phones were used for was Qu'ranic recitation. Same thing with television. And women's education, as I have learned to my great interest, started out almost the same way. Girls were only allowed to go if their respective male relatives permitted it. Of course, once Queen Effat got involved, it became cool and trendy to get your girls educated, and here we are today. Give it a generation and the same thing will probably happen with driving.
I had a fantastic new years, as I hope all of you did as well. I love that particular night. Wait breathlessly until midnight, scream with joy, and for once in our stupid fast-paced goal oriented lives everybody celebrates, for a few seconds, that we've all been alive another year and we're still here to celebrate. And then it's January 1st, and you haven't made any mistakes yet, and everything is rosy and beautiful. How can you be unhappy in the beginning?
And I had a great new years. We all went over to Dr. Doom's house and watched movies and laughed and listened to music and played Uno and generally had a fabulous time. And then did the Xena yell to celebrate the new year. The Xena yell is the one all the Arab women know how to do, and do it at weddings and to warn that men are coming and all. By some strange luck, I managed to pick a group of Arab girls who were total failures at this yell. But hey, it was fun to try. We didn't sound that bad, to my untrained ear. But someone who knew what they were talking about probably would have cringed.
And then we ate cheesecake and toasted each other with bubbly peach stuff. More fabulousness.
Of course, this resulted in us all skipping classes the next day, but really, you should be focusing on the important things on January 1st. I came home and danced. Almost all day. Well, I slept a little too. And read. But mostly dancing. I feel that it was a day well spent.
Basically, even though all of my plans got ruined and I couldn't go home to spend New Years with my family and friends there, I had a great set of holidays with a bunch of fantastic girls. They wouldn't let me sit in my room and cry hysterically, which is what I was tempted to do. Instead, they dragged me out and forced me to have fun. It was terrible.
And now, finally, classes are over and it's vacation time. With GREAT amounts of luck, I may yet get to go home. But what is more likely is that I will stay here. And I guess I will live with that. I will spend a bit of time at Dr. Doom's house. I will go out and shop and do something entertaining on a regular basis, hopefully. I will study for my exams, I will read, I will embroider, I will listen to music. I will generally relax and get myself back in gear so that I am enthusiastic about next semester. And when my visa comes, I will take a vacation and see some people I need to see, recharge my batteries, and come back totally thrilled with everything even more than I already am.
I am extremely glad I chose to stay the full year here. I knew that it would take me about a semester to get really comfortable here, and I was pretty much right on target. So this semester has been spent getting comfortable, getting happy, and generally making myself feel at home. Now I have friends, I am less scared about making a total fool of myself in Arabic, and I can focus my wants more. Next semester, I will be more active outside of school, work more with Mrs. West, if I can, work on my senior thesis, and LEARN ARABIC. These are my plans. Also, of course, party wildly with the fantastic girls that I have found.
And, just to whet your appetites, there are a few interesting things coming up. First, I will receive, hopefully, a bunch of pictures from Aramco (remember that?) so I can post some of them here. And secondly, I have the lyrics to a soon-to-be-famous rap song (if you can call it that) produced by Dr. Doom Productions.
But now, the music is calling.
Goodnight, moon. Good morning, Vietnam!
What I mean by that is HAPPY 2006 EVERYONE! May it be the best year any of us have ever had!
First, a couple of interesting tidbits that you probably are already up-to-date on, but if you're not, you need to be.
Stupidity, in its most entertaining form. I'm not sure what this kid thought he was doing. Or rather, I am sure what he thought he was doing, and I remain astonished that anybody could ever actually think of doing that. I guess I'm not as adventurous or wild-spirited as I thought I was. It reminds me of my father's campaign to have me go to Iraq in highschool so that I could write a college essay entitled "I was a human shield for Saddam Hussein". Shoulda done it. CNN might have made me famous.
And, victory! Or, partial victory. But this is just a continuation of the royal family's tendency to move forward via pretending not to move forward. They never actually passed a law making phones legal in the country, they just made sure that the first things those phones were used for was Qu'ranic recitation. Same thing with television. And women's education, as I have learned to my great interest, started out almost the same way. Girls were only allowed to go if their respective male relatives permitted it. Of course, once Queen Effat got involved, it became cool and trendy to get your girls educated, and here we are today. Give it a generation and the same thing will probably happen with driving.
I had a fantastic new years, as I hope all of you did as well. I love that particular night. Wait breathlessly until midnight, scream with joy, and for once in our stupid fast-paced goal oriented lives everybody celebrates, for a few seconds, that we've all been alive another year and we're still here to celebrate. And then it's January 1st, and you haven't made any mistakes yet, and everything is rosy and beautiful. How can you be unhappy in the beginning?
And I had a great new years. We all went over to Dr. Doom's house and watched movies and laughed and listened to music and played Uno and generally had a fabulous time. And then did the Xena yell to celebrate the new year. The Xena yell is the one all the Arab women know how to do, and do it at weddings and to warn that men are coming and all. By some strange luck, I managed to pick a group of Arab girls who were total failures at this yell. But hey, it was fun to try. We didn't sound that bad, to my untrained ear. But someone who knew what they were talking about probably would have cringed.
And then we ate cheesecake and toasted each other with bubbly peach stuff. More fabulousness.
Of course, this resulted in us all skipping classes the next day, but really, you should be focusing on the important things on January 1st. I came home and danced. Almost all day. Well, I slept a little too. And read. But mostly dancing. I feel that it was a day well spent.
Basically, even though all of my plans got ruined and I couldn't go home to spend New Years with my family and friends there, I had a great set of holidays with a bunch of fantastic girls. They wouldn't let me sit in my room and cry hysterically, which is what I was tempted to do. Instead, they dragged me out and forced me to have fun. It was terrible.
And now, finally, classes are over and it's vacation time. With GREAT amounts of luck, I may yet get to go home. But what is more likely is that I will stay here. And I guess I will live with that. I will spend a bit of time at Dr. Doom's house. I will go out and shop and do something entertaining on a regular basis, hopefully. I will study for my exams, I will read, I will embroider, I will listen to music. I will generally relax and get myself back in gear so that I am enthusiastic about next semester. And when my visa comes, I will take a vacation and see some people I need to see, recharge my batteries, and come back totally thrilled with everything even more than I already am.
I am extremely glad I chose to stay the full year here. I knew that it would take me about a semester to get really comfortable here, and I was pretty much right on target. So this semester has been spent getting comfortable, getting happy, and generally making myself feel at home. Now I have friends, I am less scared about making a total fool of myself in Arabic, and I can focus my wants more. Next semester, I will be more active outside of school, work more with Mrs. West, if I can, work on my senior thesis, and LEARN ARABIC. These are my plans. Also, of course, party wildly with the fantastic girls that I have found.
And, just to whet your appetites, there are a few interesting things coming up. First, I will receive, hopefully, a bunch of pictures from Aramco (remember that?) so I can post some of them here. And secondly, I have the lyrics to a soon-to-be-famous rap song (if you can call it that) produced by Dr. Doom Productions.
But now, the music is calling.
Goodnight, moon. Good morning, Vietnam!
What I mean by that is HAPPY 2006 EVERYONE! May it be the best year any of us have ever had!
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