What's next?

Ever since I came back from my break to the Goldcoast, life's been utterly boring. Despite the fact that nothings really changed. I suppose its the aftermath or retrospective of such an amazing trip. Sighhh.. when's life going to be back to normal. Fine maybe uni kept me busy, but I'm not so sure I want to start again.

Having to work out after stopping for nearly 2 months turned out to be just as I suspected. A painful experience. I always dread the first couple of days of working out after a considerable period, but I just have to wait until my body's ready for the impact once again. Oh well, that's one thing that'll keep me busy. But I just can't wake up and go back to bed knowing that all I've done in between is eat, watch tv and work out. It's not like I haven't done that. But I want to try to do all the things that I'll be tempted to do once uni starts.

Oh did I mention it's so boring it's not even funny anymore? Well it is, and the net just isn't as it used to be. I figured that I feel much more addicted to the net whenever I've got things to attend to or work to worry about.

I'm open to any suggestions... so spill! (I'm that desperate)

§¶ Myths about Islam ¶§

That was the title to a post on some random blog I came across, and it immediately caught my attention. I'm not sure that I have much to say about the following, its all pretty self explanatory. They were seven, but I chose to mention these three in particular. Some could prove to be rather repulsive to the passer-by. Enjoy..

There are verses of toleration in the Qur’an: Sura(chapter) al-Baqarah:256 says “there shall be no compulsion in religion;” Sura al-Furqan:65ff says that Allah will be merciful to those who repent and do good works; and Sura al-Nisa’:19ff enjoins Muslim men to provide financially for wives and ex-wives. But verses such as these are arguably outweighed by others: Sura Anfal:12ff and Sura Muhammad:3ff command the beheading of unbelievers; Sura al-Nisa’:34ff allows for beating of one’s wives and in verses 74ff and 94ff, promises great reward for those who die fighting for Allah; Sura al-Ma’idah:51 says “Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends.” Of course there are violent sections in the Bible—or at least in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament (Joshua and David were military leaders as much as religious ones). But no one denies that, as many—both Muslim and non-Muslim—deny these violent and misogynistic passages in the Qur’an. Many arguments can be made against such verses (they must be contextualized, they are applicable only to that time, they are metaphorical, etc.) but one cannot say they do not exist. Someone who simply rehashs that “the Qur’an teaches peace” obviously hasn’t read it.

Third on the misinformation parade is the allegation that jihad does not mean holy war. This falsehood crops up often in text books and in the media, where the politically-correct tirelessly repeat that jihad actually means only “striving to be a good Muslim.” This is half-right. But early on in Islamic history, jihad came to mean fighting against unbelievers in order to expand the territory under Muslim rule.

And finally, we have politically-correct mendacity number seven, which even British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently repeated: that Islam has been “hijacked” by terrorists. In this view Bin Ladin, the ayatollahs in Iran, the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the Saudis with their Wahhabism (a particularly puritanical brand of Sunni Islam)—all are twisting a “moderate” religion to suit their purpose. The “Islam = peace” brigade essentializes Islam as peaceful. UBL essentializes it as jihad. Although there are Qur’an verses, and sayings of Muhammad, on both sides, many do support Bin Ladin and his ilk. Also, Islamic history is replete with Muslim scholars whom the modern Islamic fundamentalists draw upon. The most famous is Ibn Taymiyah who, 700 years before George Bush said “you’re either for us or against us,” divided the world into the domain of Islam and that of war. The only good ruler is a Muslim ruler, asserted Ibn Taymiyah. And by that he meant one that enforces shari`ah, or Islamic law. Most Muslims do not agree, but some do. (And only 10 percent of 1.3 billion is 130 million.) But it is no use pretending that the UBLs of the world have falsely “hijacked” Islam. Indeed, their view of the faith—however intolerant and violent it may seem—has a basis in Islamic theology and history.

Love Story or otherwise?

I can't recall the last thing I did before writing this on impulse. I did put some thought into it though and I came up with two alternative continuations to the very first part. Have a read through and let me know what you think :)

“Why does this have to happen?” she said in a trembling voice with tearful eyes.

There she stood in the moonlit courtyard seeming unprecedentedly vulnerable. It was a breezy night and all she had covered her pristine body with was a delicate dress. She hugged her body as a cool gust of wind passed us by. By the time the wind had settled, her honeyed hair covered part of her face. Suddenly one or two tears had rushed down her velvety cheeks. I could not resist gently wiping them off, and as I did she grabbed my hand and clinched it.

“I know how you’re feeling dear, but it hurts me just as much. Believe me it does.” I replied.

Alternative continuation 1:
I had no other option. I started loading the gun. As I raised my gun, all the memories of the times we had spent together quickly flashed before my eyes. And in what seemed like a blink of an eye, it had started to rain and I was lying in a puddle of blood. It seemed as though even the sky was grieving for her death, and poured onto us. I carried her onto my lap, and gently stroked her hair for the last time. I looked up to the sky in grief, hoping to awake from this nightmare. She was shivering, and the rain stopped her from keeping her eyes wide open. She struggled to keep them open as if this was the ending she had always been waiting for. It obviously wasn’t. All of this wasn’t meant to happen. Is this who I am? Is this what I have become? A soul that no longer cares about nothing or no one? It was an obliterating ending for her and a contemporary beginning for me, or is it vice versa? At that very moment I had become a “made man” and was taken under the dark deceptive wing of the mafia, the consequences of which I chose to overlook. Nevertheless they are bound to catch up with me and embed themselves in a puzzled and undetermined future of mine.

Alternative continuation 2:
I was swept with a sudden stir of agony and sorrow. I could not bear the sight for much longer. I could not even bear the thought of not being there by her side, or not even being there when she needs me. Despite the numerous times that we have talked this over, she seems unwilling to give me up. It seemed to her like I was happy with leaving everything in the past. I had no other choice if I were to move on with my life. I thanked her several times in the past for the most amazing memories and emotions. I wasn’t sure how I could do it again though. It was nice falling in love with her, and it is certainly something I would never regret. How am I to forget that dazzling smile, those benevolent eyes or that mesmerizing scent? I expect them to fade away with time, and if time fails to do so then I am left with an everlasting burden for parting with a broken winged angel.

Audacious

It's been over a week and here I am back from an unforgettable trip. I had so much fun on this trip that I wouldn't know where to start if I was to remember all the good times! I was hoping I'd enjoy myself on this trip, well I got what I asked for and more :)

I got the chance to meet up with friends, catch up with them and spend some amazing times. I also met some new amazing people too that I became good friends with in a short period of time. Although I didn't really manage on doing everything I had in mind for the trip, they were all replaced by other crazy doings =D Prior to leaving, I thought that a week would be a tad bit too long, as in I'd run out of things to do (or money, whichever came first :p). But towards the end I realised that I could've spent another whole week and still have a blast!

Well they say some things are better left unsaid, but I think there's just too much to mention that I'll leave it at that ;)

A week off!

It saddens me to break this to you guys...

No it doesn't! :p Well the title pretty much says it all. I won't be around for a whole week. I'm leaving on a week long holiday to Goldcoast (Australia), and obviously I wouldn't have regular access to the net. However I might get the chance to post something throughout the week, no promises though.

I've been waiting to leave for quite some time, especially after the hectic exam period. I'm expecting this to be one hell of a vacation, and if it's not then I'll make sure it turns into one =D

So until my next post, take care of yourselves and of each other :)

(Who the hell is Jerry Springer? :p)

What is love?

Being possibly the most trivial question of all time, this is one hard question to ask.
Love is not a bond, or a relationship, but more of a heart to heart conversation. When the conversation grows, the bond and relationship forms. Therefore, love creates the bond and relationship. Still, that leaves us with the main question, what is love? Love is no ordinary thing. It is not voluntary, but when it begins, you will know. There are three types of love. Infatuation, love of family, and love of your spouse.

Infatuation, most commonly known as "Puppy Love", is basically love at first sight.
Infatuation can be the beginning of a future spouse love. Though most often infatuation doesn't amount to much.

Love of family is loving your mother and father, and any siblings you may have. You want to protect them, watch over them, and fill their lives with an unbounding joy. The parents have an innermost feeling for their children, which in my case, they express everyday.

Love of your spouse means loving someone you are married to. Whether husband or wife, you support your spouse with a deep modesty, and you treat them with great respect.

Okay, so I told you the three types of love. But I still haven't told you what love is. I told you a definition, a heart to heart conversation, but does that tell you much? No. So, I will put it straight. Love means to care, to protect, to watch over, to pray for, to make sure the loved person is happy. But to tell you the truth, those are all parts of love. Not love itself. So, I will tell you what I think of love. Love has a meaning, but we will never know. Many philosophers have tried, but all their attempts have failed. Every single one of them!

Love is actually never the same thing. Your destiny, your future path, what you choose to do, that all determines what love is. Love is never the same, you make up the meaning of love by how you choose to use it.

(quoted)

My new template!

Just like anything else, this deserves an independant post. More importantly the creator of this template deserves a post of gratification and deserves all the credit to be honest.

I was very hesitant about asking for her help at first. I thought it would be rather rude of me to ask for a new template out of the blue. But somehow she found out, obviously someone must've told her (right toxic?). Anyway I think its very sweet of her to offer me her help, and she was willing to create a new template from scratch, for those Blogger template users out there.. this is hard workkk! :p However I'm still trying to figure out whether she did it out of pity for me or because she could no longer stand the sight of my previous template. Hey, who's complaining? =D

When she was all done with making it, she actually made it very clear to me that I had to mention it on my blog and I had to inform everyone that she was the creator. Weird..? I don't know, maybe its just her way of showing everyone what she's capable of coming up with.
LOL.. ok fine I'm kidding. I couldn't resist the urge to do that :p
On the contrary she actually refused that I mention her. Believe it or not she even asked me to not mention a thing about it. But I thought this was the least I could do... :)

(I'd be really happy to tell you, if she gives me her permission (",) )

The Lion King (Review)

"The award winning broadway musical The Lion King!" *tadaaa*

Its very clear why its an award winning musical. It was spectacular! The audio-visuals, performances, gimmicks and the show as a whole never failed to astonish me. There were so many things that exceeded my expectations, and one or two ofcourse came short of meeting my expectations. However it was a great experience nevertheless. I never expected it to be exactly like the movie, by that I mean even the dialogue was word for word. Yes believe it or not I even remember the dialogue of some parts.. ok fine and some songs too.. hey I was a kid alright so give me a break.

Oh and another thing.. the entire theatre was packed.. totally sold out for the night.. full house. What amazes me is that we went on a weekday. They've also been performing since June of this year here in Melbourne and they will continue to perform until the end of January I think. The thought of them recieving such a number of people throughout this period of time is incredible!
But just as Lym mentioned, the show catered for people of all group ages and lifestyles. So many families, elders and youngsters.

I'd give it a 8.5/10.
I'd happily give it a higher rating, but the actual show, being The Lion King, was obviously aimed at a younger audience and to me personally it was somewhat like watching the movie over again. Highly recommended though!! :)

The Lion King (Broadway)

Not the cartoon.. this is actually the broadway show. It's been very well advertised for the past month or two (?) here and I was quite interested. I asked around to see who was interested in attending it and at first I got so many replies. Long story short its just me and another friend now, and I couldn't care less who I'll be watching it with now to be honest.. it is tomorrow afterall. Yes thats right.. tomorrow. We bought the tickets almost 3 weeks in advance and I've been waiting ever since. Can't wait.. I have high hopes for it :) I'll be back here to tell you about it.

Apologies...

First and foremost I apologise for what might've seemed like a sudden absence. Many have been wondering and asking for updates, and this is the least I could do :)

I just finished my last exam today, and boy does it feel good! I tell you if there's any one feeling that doesn't fade away with time or reoccurence its the feeling of finishing exams =D (ok there might be others but this is all I'm willing to believe in right now!) The minute I left the exam I was very sure of one thing, and it was that never (in my whole life) have I written so much bullshit during almost 2 hours. I'm tying to sound cool by using the term "bullshit", but I mean it literally.. I suppose I went well though :p

(I had a glance or two at my blog during that period however never actually attempted to reply to any comments, I was afraid I'd get carried away and waste more time online.)

The first day of eid here really made me reminisce. But obviously it loses its essence if it isn't spent with family. Nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves on the first day. The afternoon period was spent in visiting a friends house and having lunch (Omani food! =D). To my surprise I actually had 3ursiya and qalya on eid... no see the part you guys don't get is it wasn't back home.. it was here!! Alright fine.. I think I made my point.

Last day of exams... went out with a group of 6 friends and it turned out to be way much better than I had expected. We went to this lebanese cafe which we had previously visited. In Arabic I'd say "shelna il-makan 3ala raasna" (literally translated to: "we carried the place on our heads") .. a figure of speech meaning we caused a racket. There were 2-3 other tables with people seated once we got there, and a couple of the guys were quite familiar with the guys that work there. They asked for a... "6ranga". I'm sorry if you don't know what this is then ask me and I'll be glad to help. I think we kind of put on a show for the rest of the people there which we all enjoyed. Haven't had this sort of fun in a very long time. It was a really great night!

I'll be back with more!