Late With My Rant, So Here It Is

For the love of God, will someone please send me some Malayalam phrases, preferably, "You've got the wrong number jackass. STOP CALLING ME!"

Every single day I end up with atleast 5-6 messages on my answering machine all in Malayalam.
Now, I dont know the language at all as it is quite different from Urdu/Hindi, and all languages are beautiful to me in their own way, but one time I swear it sounded like I was being yelled at by a woman for what I thought in my mind to be her husband's transgressions.

I only wish I was kidding. I cant say it enough: No South Indians at this number!

I feel like the Geico Gecko: Im a lady, not Malayali. (ok thats lame)

So if anyone's befriended any Malayallers, be a doll and hit me up with some... words. :)
I will leave an outgoing message on my machine in Malayalam and then iA people will take the hint.
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Has everyone adopted a position on the Don Imus deal? So of course being home from work today I got the opportunity to check out all the daytime shows and the news and people are still talking about this. At first I thought it was as simple as, Yeah, good riddance! He shouldnt be on air with that talk! But the more you think about it, the more you realize the problem is deeper and Imus is just the surface issue. The thing is that this guy consistently makes fun of everyone. No one is safe. Its like SNL comedy/MAD TV. They're constantly making fun of people and exploiting racial/religious stigmas. If you allow some and not others, then I have a problem with it. I agree it sucks to be the minority being made fun of, and if he had said something about Muslims or Islam, yes I'd want him fired (and stoned.. jk). But you have to remember his audience; those who wish to listen to him and can tolerate him do tune in. None of the people involved ever would have heard it on their own. How do you censor something someone might be saying about you when you dont hear it yourself? Thats unsettling. It didnt hit me until the anchor person said something to the effect of, "All those who write or appear publicly are prone to censorship that includes my blog. Granted, its not read by a huge number of people but it is publicly accessible to everyone. Its my blog but Im not entitled to display personal thoughts?

Anyway, getting back to the question at hand: What good will firing Imus do? What issues will be solved? You have rappers, for the sake of selling records calling women all sorts of obscenities, and they play on the radio too. But thats ok? Im not an Al Sharpton fan either.

I think people need to take heed to what they say about themselves, the image they portray as a guide for what others should recognize them as. Even Muslims, in jokes calling each other terrorist is not a good thing because the minute someone non-Muslim says something, we'll be throwin' blows.

And I hate to say it but when you take away someone's freedoms for something they have said or done, we as a nation have no right to criticize Taliban and the regime for enforcing certain laws which keep the peace in their land. Right?
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I know you guys have probably heard enough about my hair but something happened this weekend that I cannot let go unstated.

While on tour in Philly we noticed a lot of horse drawn carriage tours. I think horses are soo nice to look at and it isnt everyday that I get to show love to one so we picked a horse for a photo op and took lots of pics with it. I went up to him first and petted him. I suppose he liked me because as soon as I turned away for the shot, he nudged me with his muzzle as if to say, "Stroke it again. Just stroke it." HAHA. Yeah Im joking, but he really did want me to pet him. Everytime I turned around he'd nudge me and itd ruin the shot so we had to keep doing it again. At one point I turned around and was ready, he didnt nudge me and we got the shot done. Then one of the girls turns around to look and says, "OMG. He must really like you. He's smelling your hair!"
Little did they know just how funny I thought the gesture was because they dont read my blog. I couldnt help but share with you all.
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Over the weekend I found and sent a picture of myself as a child to my family because we were trying to figure out who Idrees, my nephew, looks like. I think when he smiles he smiles exactly like I did in my childhood pictures. My father sent me a message back in response saying,

"Beta, I don't mean this in a negative way or biased way because you're my daughter, but I could circle the world endlessly and I will not come accross a single woman who possesses your smile, generosity and good nature. No one comes close. No smile has the same effect on me as yours does."

Altogether: AWWWWWW! Thats my Pops! He's my number one fan! (yes, theres more than one.. hahha.. two to be exact. I think Im my second biggest fan! ahaha)
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I had a conversation with a friend who had such extensive knowledge of his ancestry that it got me thinking: I want to know where Im from too! Now, I know we all look alike somehow, but for some reason my sisters and I seem to standout at desi functions and I never could figure it out. I asked Pa about your heritage and I got a response that I was not quite prepared for.

Pa said that, of course, my paternal family (Dadaji's side) was from India, Gurdaspur to be exact. Gurdaspur is a district in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It borders Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir, the Punjab districts of Amritsar and Hoshiarpur, and the state of Himachal Pradesh. My father's village is Mari Buchian. The maternal side of my paternal heritage came from the southern part of the then Soviet Union. My Dadiji's side (the maternal part of my paternal heritage) was from Kashmir.

For Indians, its easy to trace back centuries but for mussafirs migrating to Pakistan, much of their history has been lost. The topic of separation is still so touchy that asking questions is like ripping bandages off wounds, that even 50+ years later seem fresh. I dont want to be called insensitive. If Papa would allow me to go to India, I'd love to go to the village and look through "city hall" documents that might shed light on who my grandfather was.
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Sometimes Sobia Forums are amazing! Its this online forum site that allows members to post topics and communicate with people all over the world. Members are given a status (new, jr, Sr. etc) depending on how much they post/interactions. I joined in March and I am up to Senior status already -- I love it soo hard -- and when new members reach milestones they are giving parties! The theme for my party? Bollywood. How fitting for my drama life? It was really cute, people posting dances from youtube and singing... Dina the bellydancer... and an Indian mystery man? OH MY!! Am I that see through? Online at that. Now, all they have to go by is my posts and my blog but the forum leader was pretty darn close. What exactly, Im not going to say... Im still working on my story plot. When it's ready, I will unveil it here. Anyway, we also got to choose outfits (here is mine: http://www.zarichannel.com/shop/images/Red_jamawar%20lehgna.jpg) and I had to give a speech.

All in all, great fun was had by all. It was just a coincidence that I was off haha)