Last Blog.

Things I’ve learned this semester:

•If you have a business, never hire family members to work for you.
•Don’t give yourself a break after high school; just go straight to college so that you can get it over with.
•Writing is not as hard as we’ve been brainwashed to think it is. Punctuation is.
•Sitting on your butt watching TV is not a hobby.
•Reading doesn’t always educate you.
•Keeping close family ties is important, regardless of how annoying family is.
•People who seem to have it together, don’t.
•Gardening is hard, but rewarding. It is also a workout (ouch!)
•Trying to become a vegetarian is HARD.
•I have only three semesters to go.
•Good communication skills are important.
•I’m addicted to eating out.
•People just need to breathe.
•Marketing is awesome, and I’m glad I’m majoring in it. Statistics is hard but good to learn.
•Spending time with my grandma isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it is the most boring thing.
•Having a father around (alive) is important.

Thanks Ms. Smith for the blog requirement; I’ve really enjoyed reading and writing blogs. It made this online class more personal. Blogging has helped me vent, contemplate, and just share. I’ll probably keep it for future venting purposes.

Ichiban Vs. Sushiko

Today, I went to Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant, for lunch with my younger sister, Amineh. It was nice to spend time with her, because we’ve kind of drifted apart the past couple of years. We used to be real good friends. Anyways, Ichiban used to be my favorite restaurant to go eat at. I’ve been going there since 2002, but every time I go I end up regretting it. Besides the quality of food falling, and their service that sucks most of the time, their food quantity shrinks EVERY TIME I go! Yet, the price keeps rising. I understand that they have established their reputation now, but they risk losing many customers if they don’t step it up. They probably would have gotten away with it before when there weren’t many Japanese restaurants around, but they have much more competition now. I end up paying more than $30 for lunch at Ichiban, and an hour later I’m hungry again. I honestly think this will be the last time I go, because their main meals are smaller than appetizers at other restaurant chains.

Sushiko at the boardwalk has awesome food; it’s just too far away from school. At first I went to Ichiban for their sushi, but Sushiko’s sushi is MUCH better, and you get more for your money, so if you don’t mind making that drive to the boardwalk, I would recommend going there. Get the Miso dressing for your salad, yummmm.

Hobby Lobby

My week has just zoomed by. I am so glad we did not have class today, because I really didn’t want to drive while it is raining; I saw way too many accidents yesterday. The weather yesterday reminded me of the night that Shreveport “flooded”. How did that happen anyway? I’ve lived here 10 years, and I can’t ever remember it flooding before that night. I am looking forward to the weather getting cold. I say that now, but as soon as it starts getting too cold I’ll start nagging.

I’ve been feeling like there is something missing in my life. Maybe I need to develop a hobby, because I need something new to do. My days consist of doing the same things over and over again: wake up, breakfast, school, visiting my mom, homework, dinner, and then sleep. So much excitement—so little time. I haven’t found something that I’ve been really good at, but I’ve been told I’m a good cook, and that I take awesome pictures. Hmmm… I can start taking pictures of random things. I heard Dee’s studio offers a small course on photography, maybe I should join. Besides photography, anyone know of anything interesting to join in Shreveport?

A Little Teary

The Slate article I chose is an advice column. I added it as a hyperlink; I hope this is what you meant, Ms. Smith. The question asked was interesting in a weird way. You’ll understand if you read it. I’ve always wondered what makes those “advisors” qualified to give people advice. Sometimes their recommendations are ridiculous.

This week I’m a little lost for words, and that’s not like me. I’ve been distracted for the last week, but I’m not surprised; we always get so busy when my sister comes from out of town. This time she brought an essay she wrote, and I’d like to share:

The Last Hair

Today my husband’s last hair was gone. I couldn’t help the sadness that surfaced from seeing it. If you’re thinking my husband & I lived a long life together and this hair is the last one on his balding head, I say to you: I wish it was…but God’s will is superior to all. My husband passed away years ago.
We lived a normal married life. We had our ups & we had our downs. The rooms of this house are filled with memories. They have laughter from all the funny moments we shared. There are dried up tears on the couches where I clearly remember crying & thinking “Did I make a wrong choice in marrying this man?” There are all types of screaming hidden in these walls. The happy scream when he surprised me with a ticket to visit my family. The girly 5th grader scream when he tried to pick me up (& almost dropped me!) because I joked about wanting a “piggy back ride” during our newlywed years. The screams of anger filled fights.

No matter the emotions though, these rooms had another thing: Hair. My husband was a hairy man. Nothing abnormal, just your typical “non-Western” guy. I live in a non-carpeted beige tile house. I used to mop, vacuum, pour water and squeegee the floor, then mop with an old shirt, then grab a cloth to clean tough to reach areas….I’d walk into the room seconds later & find a hair on the floor. AHHHHHH! Beard hair! Chest hair! Leg hair! Head hair! It didn’t make any difference when I cleaned, how I cleaned or how often. Every time I sent food to a neighbor, I imagined the embarrassment if a little hair flew in.

After my husband’s death, we did the normal process: funeral, friends visited, I grieved, and then I took it day by day. The first year I hung on to everything that reminded me of him. The second I donated some of his clothes, until the years passed where the house had little traces of him except what little memories I kept. I adjusted slowly and of course as any woman, I cleaned when I needed to.
I was so used to cleaning up hair when I mopped that I didn’t realize they were disappearing….until now. I stood there starring at this small curly hair. I saw it among the dust I swept, and I froze. It had been a while since I’d seen a hair when I cleaned. I picked it up with the delicacy I held our first daughter when she was born. How long ago it seemed that this little thing bothered me? When I cleaned, my mission was to rid myself of the hairs once & for all…but now that I did, I sat in amazement.

I sat on that floor for what felt like hours…and cried. I cried because I missed my husband, hair, laughs, fights & all. I cried because I spent so much time stressing on something so useless, something that was a part of him. If given the choice now, I’d deal with it differently. I cried because, at that moment, I just needed to cry. ---Fatima Ankoud.

My brother-in-law is alive, but this essay was just written from Fatima’s heart in dedication to my mother who lost my father. My sister’s essay made me cry, because it made me think of the small things that aggravate me about my husband, and how much I would miss every annoying thing about him if he were to pass away. It made me appreciate my husband so much more, because I truly could not imagine life without him.

Umbrella

God, I hate when it rains! I hate the bottom of my jeans getting wet; I hate the water drops on my glasses (that are very hard to wipe off); I hate that it causes frizzy hair, and I hate my books getting wet. I know you are probably thinking, "Well use an umbrella!"-- I see no benefit of using an umbrella, because I always have to play tug-o-war with it, when I'm getting back in the car. By the time I win, the inside of my car door and I would have already gotten wet. Plus, I look retarded fighting with an umbrella. So God, PLEASE make the rain go away.
^^^^ I feel the same as he does when I use an umbrella.^^^^

I'm pretty caught up on school work; I have three tests to study for during fall break. I probably won't have time to study though, because of work and my sister coming from Saudi. She lands tonight, and when she's here, we are usually very busy with guest invites, catching up, running errands for things she can't find in Saudi, etc... Basically, I need to sneak away for a while and catch up on work when I feel that I'm falling behind.

I didn't get a chance to go to the Revel this year, but I'm not too disappointed. I never find the revel to be fun; I just go, because it is something to do in this boring city. My goal for this year is to go to the corn maze though. I've never been, and I would like to go see what the big fuss is about. I just never got a chance to go, so hopefully I will be able to this year. Anyone been there? Is it as scary as people say it is?

At the moment, This is what's on my Mind.

Anthony Robbins said, “Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.” I don't know if this is the kind of majoring Robbins was talking about, but this quote reminded me of my sisters. My older sister majored in sociology, and the younger one in psychology; neither of them are doing anything in their life that has to do with their majors. Moral of the story—don’t major in anything ending with –ology. I’m just kidding, but I often question if they chose the right path for education. I also don’t feel that they should have majored in something they enjoyed learning about, over something that would have helped them financially. A big part of why people get an education is to feel a sense of security, so what good is the education if it is not backed up by security? I’m not saying they aren’t doing anything important with their lives; I just feel like they wasted money on their majors.


I am proud of my sisters, though. My older sister is happily married to an educated man, lives in Saudi, and founded a nonprofit Muslim organization. My younger sister finished college in three years at the age of nineteen. Maybe my sisters did not set goals for themselves after graduation, or maybe this is exactly what they want to be doing. I don’t know, and I’ve never asked them about it. I guess all I can do is worry about myself. I’m a business major, and I have businesses, so I’m already putting my education to good use.


I would recommend going to Monster.com and searching for jobs in you field of study, to figure out what employers are looking for. You can also figure out if they are looking for concentrations. For example, my sister majored in general psychology, while most employers are looking for a concentration in organizational psychology, etc...


By the way, my husband’s immigration appointment went well. Our interview only took 10 minutes, which our lawyer said was really good. My husband’s friend’s interview took an hour, and his immigration officer separated him from his wife. It’s bad to assume things, but I’m pretty sure I know why. Well anyways, our lawyer said that my husband would get his green card in two to four weeks.

*** I didn't know that Anthony Robbins is that hot guy from Shallow Hal. Haha, I was only looking for a picture to add to my post ***

Immigration.

My husband and I will be going to New Orleans on October 4th. He has an immigration appointment on the 5th, and I’m his sponsor so I have to tag along. He has been in America on a worker’s visa for 7 years, so he has not been able to see his family for that long. The immigration officer will interview me and my husband, and he (or she) will ask us a series of questions, to determine if our marriage is a real marriage, which it is :-). Then, if everything goes well and we “pass”, it will take about a month after the interview for him to get his green card.

I am a naturalized citizen, and I feel blessed that I had to experience the immigration process in the United States. Otherwise, I do not think I would have appreciated my citizenship as much as I do now. It’s a long, complicated, annoying process, but totally worth it. My family migrated from Lebanon when I was a year old, so I had to wait until I was eighteen before I could apply for citizenship. One year abroad made me wait such a long time to become what I knew I always was—an American. I’m proud to say that my family and I all came to this country legally with green cards, because that doesn’t happen often. The only thing harder than the immigration process IN America, is the American immigration process over-seas, where you apply at the American embassies. Living here has been a blessing, because we have had better opportunities, and we are more financially stable than our family that is still in Lebanon.

In January, my husband and I will be going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Bombay, India. YAY! I am so excited. I have always loved traveling, but traveling with my husband is a whole new experience. I am happy we will get to travel together; it will be like a third honeymoon. Also, he has been to a lot more countries than I have, so traveling with him should be tons of fun. My husband grew up in Dubai, which means I couldn’t have picked a better person to go with. Since I am planning on living in Dubai after college, this is the visit that will either make or break my opinion of Dubai life. My in-laws are social people, and I’ve heard they enjoy going out a lot. I really hope I like it there.

Random Thoughts.

Ramadan is over, and I have 11 days of fasting to make up (check out Dana Bader’s blogger for information regarding Ramadan). It has not been hard to fast, but everyone in my family thought it would be, because it came during the hot August weather this year. In fact, it was the easiest Ramadan I can remember fasting.

Eid, the 3 day Muslim holiday, started this past Sunday; I spent it doing homework and working on a research paper. Then Monday and Tuesday I went to class. Fun, fun. However, my husband and I went to a friend’s house Sunday afternoon for a night-time bar b q. It was great. I was the only non-Indian at the whole get together, but I didn’t feel left out. My mother and sister are still having fun in Lebanon; I know they spent a nicer Eid than we did here. I love living in American and being Arab-American, but I just wish I could change the way Eid is celebrated here. To understand how I feel—Could you imagine celebrating Christmas in Saudi Arabia?

I feel sad being so far from my mom. My mother is my best friend, and I’m used to having her presence around. She’ll be coming home soon, so I can’t wait, and the only person more excited about her coming back is my husband. Good mother-in-law—son-in-law relationships are hard to find, and I feel blessed that my husband and my mom have a GREAT relationship.

It’s usually after I leave Lebanon that I miss it so much, and yet I hate Lebanon when I’m there. Blugh, the traffic is so horrible, and the weather is so hot, and in the winter, traffic is the same, only it is freezing cold weather. Then I remember the nice people that will bend over backwards to be “at your service”. Is it in their nature or is it the American dollar talking? Is it just me or does it seem like customer service has completely disappeared in Shreveport?

End of 4th week.

Well, the fourth week of school is coming to an end, but it seems like the work is never ending. I’m not slacking, but I feel like I am barely able to keep my head above water. I’m glad a month has elapsed since the first day at school; I’m ready for this semester to end. It has been a good week overall, Dana and I got our brief presentation for management out of the way. If feels so good to be done with it. I was so nervous though, my hands were shaking. I’m not sure why I was so nervous during the presentation; it was the 100th “speech” I’ve had to do in my life. I was so nervous, I forgot how to spell “discount” on the board. Yes—DISCOUNT! Oh God, how embarrassing.

I’ve been extra busy this semester. This month we opened a third kiosk in the mall, and it was probably a mistake. A mistake I’m hoping will pay off in the end—literally. Plus I probably shouldn’t have opened it in September, the slowest month of the year. There are advantages and disadvantages of having kiosks over in-line stores. In-line stores in the mall have to pay for their electricity and all maintenance to do with their stores. AC breaks down, too bad, you got to fix it. Toilet not flushing properly, too bad, you got to fix it. Ceiling leaks when it rains, too bad, it’s your responsibility to fix it. The in-line stores are also big, and they have to be filled up with more merchandise, so more money is invested in those stores. Kiosks are good for people who are looking to make money, but want to avoid the big investment. I was able to open my kiosks without borrowing a dime from the bank, or anyone else for that. Of course, I worked hard for five years and saved all the money I made. I didn’t have much of a social life, but I’m glad I had enough discipline to avoid spending money for temporary joy. Now I enjoy almost all of my days, I constantly go on trips. My husband and I go out about five times a week. About the only disadvantage I see having a kiosk versus and in-line store is that I don’t get the comfort of a private store. We have to use the mall bathrooms, well I don’t have to, I know a lot of people in the mall, and I just go use the bathrooms in their in-lines. Also, I pay higher rent than in-lines.

Being in the retail business, I’m excited about the holidays coming up. I, obviously, like the holidays because customers are spending more money, and they aren’t hassling me about “what’s the best you can do on the price?” Also, the mall is full of people during Christmas. I love seeing a lot of people walking in the mall. I’m in the mall as I write this, and it is so depressing to see the mall dead. It seems like all the money we make during Christmas goes on rent, which triples during November and December, and on taxes in January. Plus I’m a cash paying LSUS student, so I also have spring’s tuition. Because of the expenses, we don’t save anything from the money we make during the holidays. Hopefully this year will be different.

2nd week of school.

Its the start of the second week of school. I have to admit that for a Monday it hasn't been so bad. I'm just on a break between classes, one more class and I am done with school for a day. However, I won't be done with schoolwork any time soon. I plan to go sit in those clostrophobic little rooms in the library so that I can concentrate.

Ugh. Last week was really hard for the first week of classes. I have so many "active" classes, you know, the ones that require way too much energy from you. My MADM210 class feels like a 400 level class, the professor has us packed down with work. Absolutely no room to breathe. Small (and I mean small) overview of the course:

A) Interview of business professional, then writing a paper about it.
B) Creating a career portfolio--resume, recommendation, and participation in a mock-interview.
C) Self-assessment memo- self-evaluation, give the reader a complete picture of your contribution to class discussions..etc.. (Talk about bragging rights).
D) Individual presentation to the class. (I'm having a panic attack already), and aparently we'll do case presentations throughout the semester.
E) Business research Term Project-- 6 page single spaced paper, with a minimum of 12 sources. Then an oral presentation.

Now this list does not include the quizes we will have often, nor the moodle assignments we have due every Friday. I know everything in that class is to help us in the business world, and don't get me wrong, I appreciate it 200%, but I feel this should be a 2-part course, maybe a 210 and 220! I'm getting a headache just thinking about everything I have to do for just ONE of my classes. I guess this is growing up.

I think I am in desperate need for some prayer :-)

Get Outta My Head!

I don't know why.... but I have that freaky phrase from The Silence of the Lambs stuck in my head. "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again".

Close Call.

When someone converts to Islam, they are allowed to keep their name as long as it is not offensive to the oneness of God (the basic belief of Muslims). I was born Muslim, so I didn't think I would ever have that problem. While I was researching the meaning of my name for the diagnostic essay for English, I came across a website that said Nivine meant "the saint worshiper".

I looked for two days for another website and in baby name books for a different meaning to my name. I found nothing. I was sad, and I was stressed. If I could not find another definition, I mean a real interpretation, I would have to change my name. I was almost in tears. I couldn't, and still can not, imagine being Nivine one day and then being Samantha, Renee, or Ruth the next. It would be as though I have lost a sense of my existence, and not to mention all the paperwork I would have to fill out to change my name.

I gave up hope, then I started to look at various websites to find another "stand-out" name, one I wouldn't have to change later. My sister, Fatima, found an Arabic baby name website for me. I scrolled down to the "N" section; I figured I might as well find another name that starts with an "N".

I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! THERE IT WAS! As I read: " Nivine-- originated from the word Nivea, meaning snow-while like the moon", I felt this overwhelming joy. It had to have been the happiest day of my life! I never realized how attached I am to my name, until I lived through this experience. This is proof that we do take the small thing in our life for granted.