Welcome Ramadan

Yeah, so Ramadan kind of crept up on us, but alas, today is the close of the first day.

Well, second day, actually, 'cause we missed the first. Once again with the split in opinions about when the first day actually was, some ended up starting on Friday, some on Saturday. However, in contrast to last year, this was much better. I think it has something to do with the major embarrassment in the variety of starting days last year, the arguments between groups, to the point a Sheikh went ahead and sent an email to Islamic leaders everywhere and said that's IT. There are two ways you figure it out, either is right, do not squabble over it because you're missing the point. We are supposed to be a united front, after all, this is supposed to be a religion of brotherhood/sisterhood, etc.

Life is pretty good, I guess. First week back at school, the homework has been loaded on, but that was to be expected, right? Oh, but some interesting stuff has happened.

For example: most of you must know that a lot of Muslims have a fear/hatred of dogs. We shouldn't, because the only hadith is that we're not to keep them as pets, but I guess in a way of trying to encourage us to stay away from them, our parents instilled fear, and it's been running for generations. Not all, but some.

So Star has a dog. I'm pretty okay with it, mainly because I know she has Shadow under control. My poor cousin, however, does not. Because he's fresh out of the Curry land, he has no concept of this dogs-as-cuddly-pets thing. Dogs on the street, yeah, dogs as guards, yeah, but not as pets. So when Star came walking to my house as per usual with Shadow, well, it was pretty hilarious. Like, she had kept Shadow at the bottom of the stairs, on the grass, but because of my sisters' & cousin's curiosity, she called Shadow up. Shadow bounded up the stairs, and I knew she would stop right beside Star, but my cousin was like O_O and he bolted. 

Like, to me, so far, he's been the fearless one. I have never even seen him flinch. And here, right in the face of a leetle doggie, he did a runner.

I was cracking up and feeling pretty tough. I mean, my sisters ran too, and I'm just chilling out.... hehe. And because my sisters kept begging, Star went ahead to put on a show of Shadow's tricks (Star is SO good at training her dogs). They were oooh-ing and ahh-ing, and my cousin was so fascinated he was filming it on his phone (how embarrassing) and then it got to the last shebang. Star has this trick where she stands some distance away and calls Shadow, and Shadow will come running and literally jump into her arms; it's really cute. So she went ahead to do that, but she was standing towards our door, right? My cousin was out filming, just a little behind her, and because he didn't know what she was planning to do, when she called Shadow and Shadow came running, he bolted for the second time... like... aw, it's so hard to explain. Kinda have to be there to appreciate it. Still, awesomely hilarious.

Right. Okay, so there's this show called Dumb, Drunk & Racist, which is a stereotype for Aussies. Basically, this guy takes four Indians who have fairly negative opinions or have heard only negatives about Australia, and he gives them a tour of the best and worst of Australia so they can formulate their own view and figure if we're all really 'dumb, drunk and racist'. So far, it has been a pretty good sort of thing - the only drawback is that my sister accidentally invited my cousin to watch. Now, we can handle this stuff, we're kind of used to it. My cousin is not. Seeing girls in bikinis on the beach is just shocking to him. Hearing the swearing and abuse is frightening. So far, the only concern he's mentioned to me about being here is that he's worried that at the universities, they won't accept Sri Lankans well. Little does he know that's nothing compared to everything else. Australia is going to rip out what innocence he has and tear it to shreds just before setting it on fire.

Now, we keep missing the show on TV, so we watch it on the internet. A few days ago, we were doing some catching up, but I could only watch one episode with them because I had to do my homework. I'm glad I missed the second part, because it was just vile. So firstly, my cousin was introduced to the concept of homosexuals. He's 19 and he didn't know about them - that's how sheltered he was. I'm not going to preach about my opinions on that, but that wasn't the vile I was talking about. This is:

So I'm sure you guys know the concept of a hen's night? Like a bachelorette party? Girl getting married, has a 'girls night out' thing? I've already heard about the stuff they get into, and I already thought it was disgusting that they hired male strippers. I mean, please. You're getting married. You're going to have your intimate pleasure time. Why do you need to have that male stripper experience like you're never going to be able to get it on ever again? Just.. disgusting.

But the one that these Indians got taken to was on a whole new level. I'll just say one thing, because I don't want to go into the rest. Straws. The straws - for drinks - were shaped as male private parts. 

How vulgar is that? I don't get it. I really don't. It's just trashy and disgusting and ... ugh, feral. Does anyone have any dignity or respect these days? Am I the only one who didn't know that happened and feels that there is something just completely wrong about that? I honestly... honestly don't GET IT! PLEASE. If you do: EXPLAIN.

I don't get a lot of things, actually. Remember Operation Abby? Yeah, well, that's a fail. See, while I'm trying to play the 'good angel', Abby's got an even tougher 'bad angel'. This girl advocates for the ban of marriage, promiscuity and getting drunk as much as possible. The thing is, I like this girl. I like her because she doesn't deny what she does. She doesn't try to sugar coat it, and she's dead honest about it. She's confident. And you know, she doesn't really preach it, but because Abby saw it as glamourous, this girl has taken her under her wing, and this girl is much more convincing than I am.

But I think I know Abby. Abby is clearly that girl dreaming of a fairytale wedding one day. Maybe not a white picket fence family, but a guy who will treat her like a princess and stay loyal. But she just... doesn't seem to...well, she thinks she will find it by continuously throwing herself around. She thinks she will get it by playing sexy at parties, getting drunk, wearing skimpy clothes and flirting outrageously. I may not have been in a relationship, but I think it's fairly logical to assume that when you act cheap, make yourself too available to every guy who looks your way, chances are that guy is not going to be Prince Charming. That guy is going to be Prince Looking-for-an-Easy-Target. Prince Opportunity-to-Get-Laid-Without-Commitment. If you want a guy whose loyal and all that, you have to set a standard. It's just... tragic. Like the picture I've got on the side there:  

It is better for a girl to sleep a hundred years and be kissed and awakened by the right prince than to stay awake and be kissed a hundred times by the wrong frog.  

I'm not going to draw lines around the dating game, everyone has different values. But I don't think any person can believe that acting like an s-word-rhyming-with-mutt is going to get you someone decent.

I'm going to stop about here ^^ I was going to talk about other stuff, but I think the more I write in one post, it puts you off reading. I can delay it. 

That being said, last year I had a theme in Ramadan. I was putting up Islamic songs, I think? This year, I'm gonna go with pictures :) (I don't have direct links to where I got these pictures from, but they're mostly from weheartit ^^)

ATM:

Writing: Chipped. & Star and I are working diligently on planning our collab novel. It's SO AWESOME.

Reading: Skulduggery Pleasant and the Death Bringer. Derek Landy. The guy is hilarious.

Listening to: Hands. Racheal Leahcar cover. Original by Jewel? I think it's a beautiful song, through and through, and I highly recommend you listen.

Feeling: Peaceful. Ramadan has that vibe ^^

If I could tell the world just one thing

It would be, that we're all okay

And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful

And useless in times like these

I won't be made useless

I won't be idle with despair

I will gather myself around my faith

For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small, I know

But they're not yours, they are my own,

But they're not yours, they are my own,

And I am never broken

Peace in,

Laila