18th December, 2005
Chargers steal Streak!
All good things, eventually must come to an end. The Indianapolis Colts suffered their first defeat today, taking away hopes of a historic perfect season. My only solace is that their loss was handed to them by none other than, Drew Brees - how ironic! The Chargers dominated the game early. Though the Colts scored 17 straight points in the 3rd quarter (within 6 minutes!) and took over the lead, they couldn’t hold on to it. It was Michael Turner who sealed the Colts’ fate deep in the 4th quarter rushing for an 83 yard touchdown, giving the boys from San Diego a 26-17 win.Stats: Brees completed 22 out of 33 passes for a total of 255 yards, while Manning completed 26 out of 45, for a total of 336. Rushing yards, however, were a different story. The Chargers rushed 206 yards versus the Colts’ 24!!! The Colts lost 1 fumble and threw 2 interceptions, and lost 67 yards to 8 penalties. The Chargers, on the other hand, lost 2 fumbles, threw 2 interceptions, and lost 75 yards to 11 penalties.
My message to the Colts: It ain’t over till it’s over. Rest up boys, and concentrate on the Super Bowl. You’ve done a great job so far! (chineh ga3deen yesem3ooni o waiting on me to tell them this!!)
Posted at 9:16 pm | Comments (2)
16th December, 2005
لبيك اللهم لبيك - Part II
The Bahrain-Saudi Causeway: We left Bahrain around 12:30 pm on Monday January 17th, 2005. The whole drive across the causeway, I was lost in a different world. “What is it going to be like? I’ve gone to 3omra before, how difficult could this be? Will I know what to do? What if I forget something? What if I do something wrong? What if God does not accept my 7ajj?!!? What will happen when I return? How will it be coming back and facing the same life, from a different perspective? Will I change?”
So many questions, but the overall emotion was that of fear and excitement.
Dammam Airport: When we arrived, it suddenly all became too real. At first, it seemed like we were going on a trip and so many other people were there with their families doing the same. I looked at people’s faces. There were those who seemed like they had no idea what they were doing there, others happy beyond belief, some nervous, and others who just seemed to want to help in any way possible.
Those in charge of the 7emla were great. They were organized, they had people all over the place, they took care of us and made us feel welcome and taken care of!
Taif Airport: Once we got off the plane, I suddenly wasn’t sure where I ended up. It felt like a bus station! So many people everywhere, no organization, bags all over the place, children running around, complete chaos! Somehow though, we all got funneled into our appropriate busses and we made the trek to go and “na7rem”…
E7ram: What an amazing feeling… to sit there and cleanse yourself physically, mentally, emotionally. To know that the minute you’re done with e7ram, you suddenly are a person who has to give up so many things: no getting upset or mad, no getting frustrated, no killing of any insects, no pulling any hairs out, no looking in the mirror, no to a lot of things, and yes to a lot more. Yes to purifying your soul. Yes to praying and remembering the teachings of Islam. Yes to being good to your fellow humans and helping out.
It’s funny how this is how we SHOULD be every day of our lives, but for some reason, it’s so much easier when you’re in Hajj/close to Bait Allah. Now that we have cleansed ourselves, it was time to head to Mecca and start 7ajj.. this is it!! We’re going to Bait Allah.. I’m finally starting the 7ajj journey and there’s no turning back now. Suddenly, all fear was gone. I could barely contain my excitement. I couldn’t wait to see El Ka3ba!! I was dressed in all white, and that’s how I felt from the inside as well.
El Ka3ba: We finally arrived at Bait Allah around 2 a.m. and organized in small groups. It was time to prepare to go in and perform the 3omra tasks first. We lined up and el murshid explained to us what we were going to do: “When we go in, we’ll line up. I will read the neya and you have to repeat it after me. We then will walk towards the Ka3ba in the same formation. Stick close to each other. Women, lock your arms together and don’t let go. Men, surround the women and try to protect them so others don’t bump into them. Let’s go.”
As we started to walk in, my heart was beating so loud, I could barely hear anything. “I’m ready for this,” I thought, “nothing to fear or worry about.” Then, a flood of tears gushed down my cheeks. I was suddenly standing in front of el Ka3ba and I couldn’t contain myself. I felt 3athamat El Khaleq around me. I felt this great rahba that I can’t even begin to explain to you! As I said the neya I suddenly forgot about the whole world. Nothing existed in my mind except what I saw in front of me and the reason I was there. No work, no worldly troubles, nothing. All of that was a distant memory which didn’t seem to matter anymore. Why did I get so annoyed with my boss all those times? Why was I upset with my friend? Why did this and that get me frustrated? Those all suddenly seemed like stupid things which, in the bigger picture/in the big scheme of things, were SOOO irrelevant that I suddenly felt stupid for even getting bothered by any of it.
We started walking towards the Ka3ba to begin el 6awaf…
to be continued…
Posted at 9:10 pm | Comments (13)
12th December, 2005
13 - 0
“We’rethisclose”
The Indianapolis Colts had a busy week! They just won their 13th straight game this season, got their third straight AFC South title, and clinched the AFC’s top playoff seed.
With 3 more games left in the season, the Colts will host the San Diego Chargers (8-5) on December 18th. Good luck boys!
Posted at 9:27 pm | Comments (5)
10th December, 2005
Hajj - Part I
As Hajj season gets closer, I feel a myriad of emotions upon me that I just can’t seem to explain. So instead, I’ll take you back with me on a journey that I embarked upon a year ago:
February 2004: As people left for Hajj in 2004, every time I said bye to someone who was going, I felt this constant ache which kept getting worse with each goodbye. I was envious. I wanted to go! And as cheesy as it may sound, I felt a ‘calling’. For years of my life I always thought that I would eventually want to go when the time was right. Suddenly, it felt right! It was time.
March 2004: Talked to my sister and told her that I really wanted to go. Upon further discussions, she was convinced and she decided it was time for her too. Next thing you know, a total of 6 family members made the decision to go to Hajj 2005.
May 2004: The decision was made. Am I really going to do this? It’s not a small thing. With Hajj come a lot more responsibilities. This is a turning point in my life. To me, this isn’t something that I’ll do now and then come back from it the same person who left. Was I really ready for this shift? I thought I was.. but that’s not good enough! I had to be sure!
June 2004: Yes, of course I’m ready.. actually I’m ecstatic and excited. I can’t wait to go to Bait Allah & join the millions of others to fulfill one of our religious duties towards Allah. Listen up everyone, I’m going to Hajj! I’m going to be Hajjiyah!!!!!
September 2004: I’ve always said I would at7ajab before going to Hajj; that this is how I wanted to face Rabbee when I went to Him asking Him to forgive all my sins. This means I only have a little more than 3 months before I have to put on the 7ejab. To me, this is no joke. Once the 7ejab is on, it’s on for good! Am I worthy of wearing it? I don’t want to wear it as a symbol. I don’t want to wear it the way I see many women do, casually! I want to wear it as a sign of conviction, of belief, of succumbing to a greater cause.
October 2004: That’s it, it’s almost final. We’ve paid the deposit to the 7emla we’re going with. This is happening! It’s real! I’m FREAKED OUT now. I’m not ready. I’m not ready for this. I want to be, but this is such a huge responsibility. What if I’m not up to it? What if I fail? I can’t fail!! Failure is not an option! I’m scared out of my mind!
December 2004: It’s happening soon. I can barely breathe! I can’t think of anything other than this. I’m going to face Allah and live up to all of the mistakes of my past. I am going to face my Maker and ask him to not only forgive me for those mistakes, but to believe that I am a better person now; that I will not continue down the wrong path!
January 17, 2005: I put on my 7ejab for the first time and declare to my mother that I am now officially met7ajba! We get our things ready and head out. We’re on our way to Mecca… on our way to the journey of peace!
Stay tuned for part II: The Pilgrimage!
Posted at 12:32 pm | Comments (2)
10th December, 2005
No Time
I find it very amusing how we never seem to have time for anything, yet we complain that we’re bored!First week back after vacation rushed by and it was a ‘busy’ week. First of all, I tried to catch up at the office with all the work that’s piled up awaiting my return. Second, I had a graduation to prepare for (WOHOOOOOOO! IT’S OVER!!!! That chapter is CLOSED!). Third, my sister’s engagement is upon us and those preparations never seem to end. Fourth, of course, is trying to catch up with family and friends (whom I vowed a few posts ago to keep in touch with more than before! Why do I make such public promises?? I never learn!)
Yet, as busy as this week has been, I still felt bored; I still sent the occasional sms or email declaring ‘MALAL!’ So what does it take? Why does it seem that I’m not fulfilled?
I’m on a hunt now to find something to keep me occupied where I don’t feel malal. I will try to see if it’s just the Gemini in me that’s constantly bored, or if I just haven’t managed to fill my time with the ‘right things’. I have a few ideas of what I want to do, but I’ll let you in on them when the time is right.
Posted at 12:08 pm | Comment (0)