First time for everything...

Oooh, how could I possibly forget to record the first day I start driving??!! That was yesterday, and boy was that fun. Now I truly know why people go drag racing …(don’t worry folks, I ain’t tryin’ that … yet) …I just hope that my instructor wouldn’t have to keep her hands on the steering wheel or press her brake so much next time.

A topic of a different nature:I've been blog-hopping lately and I've stepped on the blogs of some quiet intellectual people. They come across as knowledgables in Islam and practicing Muslims. But almost all of them have at least one entry in their blog that their branching minds are branching out a little too much, into the darker side of the forest. It's dissappointing even though I'm aware of the fact that all of us concentrate on some good things so much that we get a little lax on some others. No one is safe from this. It's so hard to walk the middle path.


Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I didn't crash into anything on my very first day of driving! Alhamdulillah! ... Well, I hadn't really expected to do that. I mean, it's pretty silly to put the gear on drive when you're backing out of the garage/driveway, which a certain someone did.

Oddity

It seems that I'm the only one keeping up with my blog when all else have fled. Nonetheless, let me share with you a few things odd and random that have been captured with my phone:





Aaaah, my Bird Brain Hugo. I miss him ever so much. This is the picture of him sitting in the shoebox, on her way to an unknown land, afraid and unaware of what fate awaits her (the last of which was to see the hungry face of a cat. ... Waaahahahaha! ... it was all my fault ....... *sniff* ...





Now that I've grown attatched to birds,
<--- these are the next batch of birds I plan to get. They're finches; about 10cm in size from head to tail. A very cute bunch of birds. They sit all squeezed next to each other. But when I can get them is another matter. It depends entirely on when I get a job and when I eventually make a big bird house in our backyard.
Can you imagine? - 4 finches for the price of 1 budgie! ... (No offence, Hugo)
(Photo taken from one of the local pet shops)





Another finch. Loking at this bird from such an angle, you'd think the name is inappropriate, but the other birds in the cage (of grayish colour) have a red line on their throat, as if their throats have been cut, hence the name "Cut-Throat Finch". I'm thinking of keeping a range of different finches, including these.






If any Bangali does not know what this flower is, you don't deserve to know all things beautiful in Bangladesh. This one is from our backyard.







Meet Cocky - the CMS mascot. Beat that SUMSA; I don't see your mascot. I've already said much about him so I'll refrain from repeating myself. Btw, he's not a freak bird taken from the local freak show; he's grooming himself.

About time ...

It's about time I stopped bludging around and start taking things seriously. Who agrees? C'mon, lemme have a show of hands ... - ... oook, I see countless hands.

Life is random, and hence, so is my post

Assalamu alaikum all,

Firstly, I thought I'd try the different-colour-each-subject approach in this post. And just for amusement, I've put a secret message in my post. Anyone that can tell me what it is, gets a lollipop ... even if I have to parcell it overseas. I think I just saved a couple of lollipops for myself. And yes, this is the secret message.

Did you girls know that "Welcome" also has its shades of gray? I mean, there's the term "more than welcome". And here I was, thinking that there's only "You're welcome" and "You're not welcome". By the way, my fellow blogger buddies are all welcome here.

... So there I was, walking down to the bus stop from the station when I noticed an unfamiliar girl who was wearing a top of a very familiar pattern. And here it is...




Anyone else recognise it? That's the pattern of my scarf!!! THE ONE I WAS WEARING STANDING NEXT TO HER ON A LONG WAIT FOR THE BUS!!! Aiiiiii!!!

No more time to stay and chat. I have things to do, people to see. Speaking of which, doe apu and I are going to have our first Tajweed lesson today, Alhamdulillah. Let's see how it goes.

Ah, missed a news. Penalope is coming over next Friday. Plans to make Pizza and give her a little taste of Bangladeshi food too, in what I like to think of as 'a mini reunion'.

Until next time then. Toodles.

Ma'assalama

Ps. Catherine has a skull on her dp.

Born Identity-less

Watching a lot of death kinda makes a person start acting like a zombie, eh? Well, I happened to watch a fair bit of The Bourne Identity - low level romance (surprisingly, Alhamdulillah) lotta action, high level violance (for any Muslim/ah at any rate), few deaths. Few deaths, but those few kills mercilessly piled up in my mental morgue tonight (may be writing this is releasing some burden). And thus I come to the decision that this is the last "big people action movie" I'll watch. Mind you, that's not to say that I'm turning towards the pinken' flowery movies, whatever of those are out there.

I, Emu Martian, Hereby Give Allowence To Anyone Of Slapping Me Silly If I Ever Bring Up The Suggestion Of Watching A "Big People Action Movie", Or Even Speaking About Such A Film.

The request is ironic, I know; but it's to serve as a reminder ... in a cheery way.

Aiiiii, I'm about to have a nervous break-down 'cos I've started to replace cartoons with "big people action movies"...

ps. ya' know, writing feels different when there's no one reading...

Salams all, young and beautiful (...or otherwise)

.... Now, where to begin ...... of course! The very beginning!!

The very beginnins was unlike any other holiday morning. I had to rise dark and early (like any other day) but had to stay up and rush about, for I had less than an hour to get ready for a 6:55 AM train ... did I mention the fact that it was AM? ... Anyhow, not surprisingly, I missed my train, but managed to get to uni 5 minutes after our president. So, O'week begins ... but noooo, it appeared that we were misinformed! O'week wasn't supposed to start before Monday!! So what to dooooo ..... Well, we set up a table anyway when all of us got there (until which point I was cockatoo-sitting Da'wah The CMS Mascot .... that's right folks, Cumbo MS has a mascot; take that SUMSA, what with your high and mighty tower-looking and intimidating buildings and its peoples .... *sticking out tongue*)

Anywho, we thought about spray-painting the cockatoo orange, at least it's .... what? - crown(?). But we didn't have the resources, nor did we want to intoxicate the poor bird.... And boy-oh-boy, what a bird it was.

.... Before I go any further, does any of you think that I have a voice like a bird???? That's what a passer-by thought when Da'wah yelled "Hello!".

Moving on ... Da'wah's vocab includes - Hello; Hello, Cocky; Hahaha (when someone laughs); *cough* (when someone coughs); and apparently some swear words, but, Alhamdulillah, he seemed wise enough to keep from saying those in the line of action. Oh and he makes occasional jumps of joy, and he'll dance, moving his head from side to side, to any music or beat, and will nod his head like a silly bird if you're silly enough to nod your's in front of him. Heh, gives a whole new meaning to the term bird-brain. I highly recommend that anyone who can to come and see this attraction on Monday.

Believe it or not, we actually got a few students signing up, including non-Muslims, because of Da'wah. We got a few sisters to sign up already, Alhandulillah. Insha Allah there will be more next week.

And here ends the Cockatoo/O'Week chapter.

... nuckles crack ... hands stretch ... sit back down, there's more ... much more ...

Let's come to visiting the Flynn Residency, already briefed by Flynn herself, and believe you me, it was indeed a briefing. Apart from Flynns queasinesseseses, loss of apatite, Emperor's New Groove (Boom, baby!) and the creme de le creme, the tip o' the iceberg - the stray budgie ..... now would you look at that! That just about sums it all up. Flynn, you silly dudette, you stole my show. No wait, you missed out the part about your caring mother found another person to feed after being unsuccessful with you. Really Flynn, I recommend that you see a doctor ... although I would recommend crossing the seas to do so.

Well the budgie being introduced, I'll tell you all about him. He, of course, is a he; and he has been scared out of his wits till this afternoon, when he finally came to a somewhat doubtful conclusion that I wasn't going to cook him up and serve him to his huntress (previously pictured). But let me tell you one thing - I'm not in the cruel practice of keeping a bird in a cage, so as soon as Budgie (suggest some names peoples) can fly, if he can at all, he's off into the wilderness of I'burn ... unless one of Flynn's neighbours claims him.

All that said, let's now come to the final and third chapter of my eventful day. The train-ride home. I managed to pull myself into a discussion with a Christian elderly lady and a younger man, who, I later learned, was a revert. Practially the whole conversation she was insisting that we turn to Jesus as our saviour, and would hear nothing else. Imagine her surprise when she found out that Mr. Max (that was his name) was a revert from Christianity. Her delight sure scaled extremely negative. Anyhow, when we attempted to tell her the Islamic concept of Allah and 'Isa (A), she attempted to sing to me!!! We hardly got any discussion done, but at least I met a revert.

Apparently, he was a Arab Christian and become a Muslim a couple of years back; his parents are also Muslims, though not fully practicing ... yet. An international Med student at SB/Flynn's uni, he's currently deferring to work and save up enough money to pay for his course next year.

..... streeeeeeeeeeeetch ... *scratch scratch* ... eehehehe ... please tell me you knew that that was a joke ...

"Enough said" I tell myself. "But it feels as if something is missing..." ... at this point you, the reader (unless you've falled asleep), should say to - "Uh-huh. Well, that was a novel; a very bad one, at that". And yet, here I sit, convinced that I have indeed left somethings out. I can pin-point, but I'd rather not as it's getting late and this post is getting waaay past it's limit.

Salamu alaikum and goodnight from me to me.

Yours troolee,

Emooooooooooooo..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

ps. photos can wait till tomorrorow.