First Post in 2011

Ok, so I haven't written a blog in ages. And yes it really has been that long!

So New Years was rather ok! i spent it with my family members and people whom are dear to my heart!  So to jump right into this, unlike many people I don't usually set down any new year's resolutions. But I'm thinking of setting down a few for the up coming months. Kinda like having a plan for the first part of the year. Reading books is a top priority on the list!& actually rereading might be part of the plan. You see it's been eating away at me that I didn't get to finish some of the most important books of my English Lit. reading list during my AUB days. Such books include Invisible Man, Main Street, My Year of Meats and Their Eyes Were Watching God. It's also been annoying me that for the past 2 years I've had the memory of a gold fish! I can't even remember most of the stories/novels/books that I did actually finish during my BA years! Also, maybe eating a bit healthier and being more involved in cooking my own food are going to be on the resolution list.

Well, I'm keeping it short for now. I feel like I need to ease back into the habit of writing blogs instead of just blabbering; though I know I've always been a blabber hehe. So may this year makes all better, a little bit more knowledgeable and a whole lot healthier!

Relationship Rants: On Compromise

Ok, so I gotta make a confession. I always believed and felt that in love there is no compromise. I always believed that if someone was going to love you and you were going to love them it had to be for exactly who you are and for exactly who they are. But apparently i either gotta keep on believing that and end up alone or I gotta compromise my belief in order for the survival of my relationship.

I still am a firm believer that love knows no pride. Pride is the greatest of sins and a really bad thing for a relationship! And I also still believe that any relationship here on Earth has gotta be subordinate to my relationship with God. And since my relationship with God does not and cannot have pride on my behalf, I really cannot have a relationship with myself or anyone else in which pride is part of the dynamics of the relationship. However, I think I gotta change my mind about the 10 letter word, compromise.

There is no way in hell I am going to find a man who is going to tolerate every single aspect about me and I also have to confess that patience is not one of my virtues. So I guess the logical thing is to compromise. I'm also trying to embrace the notion that compromise allows people to let go of any kind of pride that may be latent in another form. So what I'm trying to say is that maybe compromise is actually good for the soul and for a relationship with God. So maybe it isn't so bad for a relationship with another human. But now my question is how much should we compromise? I don't care if people say, "Gosh, s/he compromised so much that they actually lost their identity ". Again, to me that is pride talking. But I'm just wondering how much should a person compromise? What's the average here? We are creatures of habits, patterns & numbers, so I'm sure someone out there has realized some kind of average for how much a person should compromise in a relationship.

And when does it become too much of a compromise? Are somethings/issues less in weight than other issues when it comes to compromise? If so, what are they? I would love to know where "personal space" measures in! How much of personal space and respect am I supposed to compromise in a relationship?

I guess like everything else, these things are subjective since I cannot find or figure out the answers! So maybe trial and error is the way to go here, till I figure out what works for me. Though I gotta admit with having zero patience lasting long enough in a relationship in order to figure things out is hard. 

All I know for now is that I'm going to embrace the idea of compromising..it's a good exercise for letting things go and I love letting things go. But I just hope Elisabeth Bishops' poem "One Art" does not define this compromising act. 

Why there is World Hunger & Other Bad Stuff

Just to make things clear, I AM a soccer fan, but I am not a fan of wasting money on stupid things.

So the whole world is obsessed with the World Cup..who isn't really? Everyone is a fan, it is an exciting game to watch and play. But somehow each time the world seems to take it a step further! First it's cruising in cars, honking and shouting out their team's victory. Then it's cruising in cars, honking and shouting their team's victory and banging drums at the same time. Then they added the fire works, and recently it's been gunshots.

I honestly understand the enthusiasm and I probably share it. But I think it's rather stupid to have so much money wasted on fuel, fireworks and bullets. Why not "waste" it by feeding the hungry or educating an orphan or donating money to the Children Cancer Center. But I guess to most people it's more fun to go around speeding, and may I add getting into car accidents and injuring other people, rather than donating or helping out where it counts and where it is actually needed.

So while the world watches so many different countries get together and play off against each other, I hope they actually realize that so many people in those countries, like some in their own, actually need the money to do what they take for granted. I hope they don't just watch the TV, yell at their favorite team for losing a point or cheer when their team scores a goal. I wish that people would  actually take a minute to think about the opposing team. Where does the team come from? How do people in that country live? Is there poverty? It's not just a game..It's more of a dance between two countries, which contain so many different cultures..At the end win or lose, we should at least appreciate the dance & try to pick up something from the new culture our favorite team is going up against. Hey doesn't the saying go " keep your friends close and your enemies closer? So why not bother people..bother to learn about the other..& maybe we will learn about our selves and about what matters.

Glee: A Fresher Take on Known Songs

Okay, so big shocker, after three years of not religiously following any TV series, I'm still a big fan of my old shows,  like One Tree Hill. What really was a shocker though, sarcasm aside, was how much I really like the TV series Glee!

Glee's first show aired n TV right after  American Idol on May 19, 2009 and the first season aired on September 9, 2009. The show is a musical, comedy and drama show, which centers on a high school choir called the "New Directions". The show won the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy and it also won People's Choice Award for favorite new TV Comedy.

 Personally, it's not the "high-school drama" that caught my attention. It's the raw singing talent of the actors and actresses on the show! I found myself downloading songs I didn't even finish listening to on the radio! I don't know if it was having a story alongside to go with the song being sung or all just the actors and the actresses' voices, but either way I was sold from the get go!

I actually find myself waiting for Glee just to learn what songs are going to be sung. And let me tell ya, I haven't been able to stop listening to Journey's Faithfully and to Jordan Sparks and Chris Browns' No Air.

So, I can honestly say that I am shocked to like this TV series cause i usually steer away from high school drama. Once you lived through it, you don't really want to watch it on TV. But the talent of the people on the show and the spectrum of genre of the songs they sing are what makes the show stand out! So here's a little hats off to a show that impressed me.

You're Entitled to a Sick Day from Society..or A Leave

Just a random thought / question: Why is it so weird for some people to learn that some select few in this world really dislike the plan that society sets for them?

I think it's only natural that this should happen. After all, upon the knowledge that some women are barren people don't feel it's 'weird', they just accept it & they don't make any "witty" comments about it. So, I honestly feel it's perfectly normal if someone does not want to get married or if some people do not feel okay following society's plan for their life. 

And really why is it so "unnatural" for someone to not want to get a "college education" & "a high paying job"? Why is it not normal to want to drive a simple bicycle instead of having four CO2 emitting cars to drive around? Why is it not normal to want to wear baggy clothes and converse shoes instead of wearing cigarette thin and choking clothes with pain causing heels? Why is it abnormal for someone to not want to live in an enormous mansion and instead desire to live in a simple house? Why is it impossible for some people to comprehend that for some, education is not so important and that real life experiences and perhaps actually enjoying life are important priorities? (after all, God knows most people who graduate from universities do not really learn a whole lot- a bunch of theoretical notions bundled together with no actual practical information!)

Is it such a sin to hate society's plan? Am I really supposed to be okay with the notion that I am free while in reality society has so many rules and regulations as to what kind of shoes, what type and color of dress and what kind of jewelery I can don to own graduation ceremony?How are we free really? Does the stress make us free? Or do the deadlines do that? Or is that the job of "social obligations", which have sadly replaced a loving/kind/humane gesture?

Why is it not normal to care about the environment instead of caring about having hot water for every second of every minutes I am in the house? And can someone please explain to me why is it so weird for people when I tell them I prefer self service? Is it an international sin? Did I miss the memo while I was on a coffee break? People, I honestly think it's okay to not desire to have help around the house and to not have a twenty four hour chauffeur to drive my privileged ass around. Think about it this way, your privileged asses aren't dying from AIDs or hunger :) So why not flex those muscles and ride a bike or better yet walk!

 And remember folks, it's okay if not everyone else is doing it. It's okay if no celebrity is doing it. It's okay if you sweat, p.s. we are supposed to sweat! And it's okay if the phenomenon of being less selfish and more "abnormal"  is well not so fashionable, aka common! Just try it every few weeks, or at least just try it once (That is try to go against the mainstream / just try not to get on the wagon for once!) Trust me it would be fine, cause I think everyone's entitled to a sick day or a free pass..

As for me, I think I'm going to take an unspecified leave from society for now. I do not see the point in being raised to do things with the right intention and have things come from the heart and not lie, while living in a world society that thrives on faking intentions and actions and bullshitting your way through life.

Pranic Healing and Super Brain Yoga

An ancient science and art, Pranic Healing has been adapted and systematized by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui in order to heal people by using prana, which translated from Sanskrit to English becomes 'life-force', to enhance the healing process of every being's innate ability to heal itself. Pranic healing is believed to improve health in sundry ways: increase inner peace and happiness, reduce stress and induce spiritual growth. For more information about Pranic Healing you might want to visit Pranic Healing.

Personally, I'm interested in Pranic Healing for several reasons. A main reason is Super Brain Yoga.Super Brain Yoga helps increase electrical brain activity. Basically, after the exercise, which works on both the left and the right hemispheres of the brain, thus synchronizing them, the person has better concentration, a sharper memory and an increased intellectual capacity, because the exercise promotes proper brain function. In case you were ever told to brush your teeth using your left hand, if you are a right handed person and vice-versa, as a kid then this should be a bit familiar.


Coupled together, Pranic Healing and Super Brain Yoga can be very beneficial to our modern every day lives. Both can be done quickly, thus they fit in perfectly with our busy and hectic lifestyles. Also, because in Pranic Healing every alignment has a corresponding healing technique, the healing process is thus more efficient. 

And i know a lot of people really believe these ancient techniques are either too old and thus, unpractical or are just plain bogus, but i can testify that i am aware of at least one person i am well acquainted with, whom has been healed from a rather serious disease through such techniques. Moreover, these techniques are not only advocated in the Eastern World, but they are also being practiced in the Western World. For instance, Doctors in California are using Pranic Healing as a complimentary medicine to traditional medicine in order to treat patients with serious alignments. Watch this Pranic Healing on CBS News, if you're interested to see how it works. Also, teachers in the US are using Super Brain Yoga to help students get smarter. You might want to check out this youtube video: Super Brain Yoga



I guess to most citizens of the world, such ancient techniques and remedies are just too far fetched. But for today, and why lie for the rest of my stay on this blog, i am going to ask you to have an open mind and an open heart. Don't just dismiss something because it sounds too wacky or too out dated. Give it a try. What have you got to lose? If nothing happens then i guess you didn't lose much,since nothing would have changed. And if it does work for you then you might have just gained the knowledge of how to self heal. 

on Being a Teacher

Why do people have an issue with the teaching profession? Why is it that whenever someone asks you what's your major is or what your plans and your answer is teaching, they cringe and make this weird face? Do they not know that if it weren't for teachers they wouldn't be rich stock brokers, fancy architects, scientist & witty engineers? Are they aware that in order for them to get there they needed quite a number of teachers to educate them throughout their scholastic lives?

And please people stop repeating "those who can't do, teach" cliche. When people say that it just shows how much little consideration they have for others and it shows the extent of their obliviousness. Trust me, there are other jobs as an English Literature major that we can do. From working in the media, in movies, publishing, to writing political speeches, to writing porn for the internet. There are honestly too many job titles to list them all! But rest assure, we do not go into teaching because we "cannot do" or don't have the kahunas to do "what they really want to do"

Personally, i wanted to keep my options open, so i decided to do a Teaching Diploma. But i honestly appreciate the work of a teacher. I've always considered it one of the noblest professions. Donald Quinn once said: "If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job."

If anything teachers should be given congregational honors for even choosing to go into such a profession, where not only reaching the students is tough, but reaching their parents is sometimes even worse. A profession in which society mocks and belittles you. And not to mention, we definitely do not get paid enough to be the teacher, the mother, the big brothers, the psychologist, the babysitters etc. BUT we still choose this profession. Now some of you will not understand why a person would willingly go into such a profession knowing all that we know. Well Taylor Mali, one of my favorite people, says it perfectly in his "What Teachers Make".

It is really a complex jumble of emotions that even if i could try to explain what it is to myself, i wouldn't be able to put it into a few mumbled strings of words. It's the genuine sparkle of interest in a student's eye that just hits you when you're taking a quick glance around the class that might make a person understand. So, it's really not about the money. No teacher is in denial about how low of a salary s/he will be offered. But it's about that feeling that fills you up inside knowing that you touched at least one student; that you got through to someone. We don't work with rocks, canvases, lab rats, chemicals, papers or money. We choose to work with humans; with students. So that's why I do it. The perk is a conscious human connection. Awareness of a humane communication in an isolated world where little do we know of how much affect we have on each other, both negatively and positively.