A Thousand Farewells

I finally finished Nahlah Ayed's A Thousand Farewells. The book is written like a true journalist. Impartial, and concise. Fact-based and informative. I loved that it was an easy read. While I was a little disappointed that it was not a comprehensive analysis of the Arab Spring, Ayed echoes the voices of dissent in the most humble and humane manner. Such, that it was almost haunting to read. She is a very descriptive writer. What I enjoyed most, was her capability to intertwine an autobiography to the events in recent history she witnessed, which gave voices to those trapped between wars.

Her heritage and background worked to her benefit, and in many instances she would capture the essence of middle-eastern culture in the book. I appreciated the bits of poetries, songs and arts which depict the richness in civilization and culture many of the Arab countries possess. This is something frequently overlooked by the media's projection of the middle-east as barbaric and chaos.The atmosphere during the Egypt protest was probably my favourite, along with the Libyan gratitude towards foreign intervention, which very much surprised me. Although there is much tendencies to homogenize the series of events as the "Arab Spring", Ayed really highlighted the differences in character each tumultuous occasions had. From Iraq, to Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Libya....

It made what Mr. Breen, my Canadian History teacher in grade 10, said rang true. "Countries are a lot like people."

Just a catch up

The fence in my backyard is fully completed. So are parts of the flower bed. Except there are no flowers blooming yet. Rocky is seated beside me, sleeping on the green couch with a blanket underneath him. He's become a grown cat, and sometimes I wonder if he thinks he's one of us. He seems to be appreciative of human things more than we do. In some odd way, I think his behaviour and crankiness as he matures is sort of reflective of how I've become.

It has been six days since school ended. I have a little over a week left at home, until I work full-time all summer. Spent some of my time reading Nahlah Ayed's A Thousand Farewells. But I've picked it up, dropped it off, and picked it up again. At times my mind feels too overwhelmed. Maybe exhausted. Maybe I should have picked up a fiction novel instead. I have strange a way of dissecting things in my head when I read non-fiction....it is as if my mind would run on double the energy. I promised myself I'd do little thinking during my two-week "holiday". But I am slowly finding myself a little bit restless....

He bought me six stems of red gerberas on Thursday. And that was one of the many sweetest thing ever. The ones in my Ottawa room had shrivelled up and dried. I am hoping this one will last at least two weeks, until I return to Ottawa....it has been making my day, every morning.

I pitched in for Irah's guitar on Friday. Since we both have partial ownership on Plankton, it would only be fair to do the same with this new Fender.

I am glad to spend the next four months away from school. As much as I enjoy learning, I was slowly finding myself suffocated by it. It seemed almost unhealthy to be stressed ever so often. I've done more this year than I ever did in my previous academic career. Between working part time, overloading in my courses, planning the cultural night, fundraising and preparing for my trip to Guatemala......

I have little to be proud of. This was not the greatest year, academically. I have been too caught up stabilizing my financial position that I think my marks suffered.

It is summer. I will think about school when it comes again. I should stop worrying....for now anyway.

Simple Things That Keep Me Happy

1. A bouquet of red gerbera 
2. A cup of berry tea
3. Random bursts of inspiration urging me to write
4. Staring out the window of the bus while driving towards the sunset
5. Life talks over coffee
6. First barbeque of the year
7. Freshly cut grass
8. Fair trade chocolate bars
9. My favourite song playing on the radio in the car
10. The smell of my hair after a hair-cut (pineapple scented)

War drum

Hark, cries the night to the soul silver moon,
Let silhouettes of valleys be stranger
For coyotes sing, without knowing tune
And I, the sole vagabond-
My heart beats like the war drum,
But softly, like the paws of a sprinting deer
My soul croons.

Sweater

Wear humour like your favourite sweater,
Knitted between your little fingers-
By your sweet & bitter experiences.

Nietzsche

Nietzsche believes moral altruism stems from resentment.
Well let's just say I resent him right now. Now does that make me a moral altruist?

Say

Words can enslave & liberate.
& it happens more frequently than you'd like to think.