Aquarium and Sea World Shows

As Salaamu Alaikum and Greetings of Peace:

Well, I'm all packed and ready to leave for Istanbul tomorrow morning, Insha Allah! My cats are sitting on my suitcases as I write this, Alhamdulillah, breaking my heart! How I will miss them while I'm gone!

I am so grateful to our hosts (more on this later) for inviting us to their wonderful city, and for preparing a great itinerary for us while we're there.

But, before I leave, I'd like to say a little something about the tragic death of Sea World trainer, Dawn Brancheau, who died while working with the whale "Tilikum."

I pray that Allah swt grant peace to the family of Ms. Brancheau in their mourning, and guide them to the Straight Path/Ameen.

No matter where someone stands on the subject of places like Sea World, everyone can acknowledge the horrible situation of the animals in our seas, lakes, ponds, rivers, and so on. Habitat changes, environmental changes, pollution of waters, and hunting, etc., all man-made offenses, have taken a tremendous toll on aqua life.

As a lover of Allah swt's nature, I have enjoyed many a programs on National Geographic where they take people out on boat tours where they can see the whales and dolphins jumping up and swimming in the wild. How I wish I could afford to experience that!

But I did go once to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. While we were there, we went to a dolphin show.

This occurred at a time in my life when I was separated from my husband, and experiencing a lot of depression and sadness.

Let me tell you, when those magestic dolphins jumped up out of the water and did their flips and such, I experienced a JOY that I have not felt since childhood. I was acutely aware of the emotion. I remember how a lump rose to my throat, and "oohs" and "aahs" escaped from my lips in a manner beyond my control. I sat there on that bleacher seat in the Aquarium and tears just streamed down my face.

I am, to this day, painfully aware that I seldom experience true JOY and ECSTACY in my life!

I don't know why. I have much to be grateful for. Allah swt is truly merciful and generous to me, Subhan'Allah.

Perhaps gratitude to Allah swt is a conscious decision! The intention made each day, to appreciate the joy and blessings that come our way.

Even when supposedly "bad" things happen to us, there is still a benefit in it from Allah swt.

Sometimes Allah swt takes things or people out of our lives. At the time, we may not understand the wisdom behind it.

Sometimes He does for us what we can't do for ourselves, Alhamdulillah.

How you will thank Allah swt today? (See you in a few weeks Insha Allah!)

iPhone Photography

Masha Allah, I absolutely LOVE my new iPhone! The camera on the 3G iPhone exceeds my expectations.

This is a shot of one of my cats, Hawaa. She's a tortoiseshell, or "tortie," as some people call cats with this kind of coat. Her coat is mixed with warm colors: greys, creams, reds, browns, greys ... and just look at her pale green eyes! She and her brother, Samir, were born in Masjid Ikhwa, Brooklyn, NY.

Insha Allah I am leaving for Istanbul this coming weekend. So I probably won't be posting much except for some photography until I get back.

Insha Allah I'll have great shots of Istanbul and a lot to tell you about our trip. I am told that Istanbul is one of the most visually stimulating cities in the world. Everyone who has ever been there lights up when I tell them we're going!

Verizon - We Want You Back! LOL

"Come back today and get up to $100 off any phone or device when you sign up for any calling plan $55 monthly access or higher. Or get up to $50 off any phone or device when you sign up for a calling plan $39.99 monthly access or higher. With a new 1 or 2 year activation. Nowhere else can you get America's Largest and Most Reliable 3G Network connecting you to the people, information and entertainment you want with the latest technology. Switching back is easy. Call xxxxx and take advantage of this exclusive offer."

Now see! What did I tell you?!

Why didn't they just work with me in the first place, lol?

Verizon - You Suck! I LOVE MY iPHONE!!!

What's in a Name?

I've been noticing a trend among some Muslim writers. In magazines. Online articles. Books.

Allah swt is being referred to simply as "God."

The other day, my copy of Yahiya Emerick's "A Journey Through the Holy Qur'an" arrived. I was very excited to receive it because it has received great reviews by some Muslims. May Allah swt reward Brother Yahiya because his effort was almost 10 years in the making.

Brother Yahiya's books about Islam have helped a lot of Muslims, especially new Muslims. A quick review of his new effort reveals that "A Journey Through the Holy Qur'an" will probably help a lot of Muslims to understand the Qur'an. It is written in very simple English.

But he refers to Allah swt as "God."

This, I don't like.

Why do Muslims do this? Allah swt does not refer to Himself as God. He refers to Himself as "Allah," i.e., Al-Lah. The God. The One. The Unique. There is none like Him. He is different from any God or god(s). This is the essence of tawheed and Islam.

So why use a name for Him that is like the name that others use to refer to their Higher Power?

What's the big deal you may ask. Some claim it's good dawah. Others claim the use of "God" is simply English translation. But I disagree.

We are Muslims. Why not call Him what He calls Himself in the Qur'an?

Have you ever heard an imam refer to Allah swt as "God?"

Have you ever heard a khutbah where the name "God" was used for Allah swt?

So why, I wonder, do some Muslims have no problem using "God" when writing?

I knew a Muslim sister who had a son named Yacoob. When he started pre-school, she told the teacher that his name is Jacob. Why name your kid Yacoob if you're going to have everyone call him Jacob? Why not name him Jacob in the first place? Jeez.

Brother Yahiya does encourage everyone to learn Arabic and to read the Qur'an in Arabic to get the full and rich meaning. But I just don't understand why he chose to use "God" instead of Allah swt?

Maybe I'll ask him :)

What a Day!

I intended to wake up and get a few things accomplished. For one, I have to put my contract together for my chaplain position. I am waiting for an endorsement letter from my imam to come in the mail so I can put everything together and turn it in.

But ...

No mail today. It's President's Day.

And thus went my plans to go to the bank, and to mail my completed tax returns at the post office.

Arggg.

So, I decided to do something about my smart phone.

I had a Blackberry Curve:

I really liked this phone, and it served my purpose. But with my MS and resulting fine motor control problems, it was a nightmare to send a text message or email. Also, my right thumb was cramping up doing all of that scrolling up and down. So, I thought I would look into a touch screen phone.

I was only one year into my two-year contract for the phone. My husband suggested that I call Verizon and explain my problem. So, I called and ran it down to the customer service representative. I told her that MS and arthritis can impede fine motor control and also cause muscle cramping. I told her that I knew it was not time for me to get a new phone, but wasn't there something they could do for me?

Well, the bottom line was "no." Not really. The only thing they claimed they could do for me was to give me a "deal" that would have resulted in me paying $219.99 up front and after a mail-in rebate, my final cost for a touch screen Blackberry Storm would be $119.00. (I needed the Storm that was a GSM phone so I can use it overseas.)

You know, I don't know what I was thinking, but I just thought that they could have done a little better for me. I explained that my MS has progressed to the point that my current phone is nearly impossible to use.

To tell you the truth, she laid so much salesperson/marketing double-talk on me that I was so confused and couldn't grasp my "fortune" of what she was trying to describe as a "deal" for me.

I was hoping that they would make some type of exemption and renew my contract early based on medical/disability urgency. I know they don't have to do it, and it's not their fault I have issues, but ...

I then asked the salesperson how much it would cost me to break my contract. She said, "are you really willing to break your contract for that reason?"

Well yes, lady. I have been a customer of Verizon for years. My husband also has a cell phone through them, and they are our internet service provider. I have never been late or missed a payment. I know that their business is a competitive one. I still think they could have done something better for me.

A strange walking into a Verizon store would have got a better deal than what they were offering me, a loyal customer.

SO!!!

I went to AT&T and bought a 3G iPhoneI just LOVE the touch screen! It makes all the difference in the world for my hands.

So, I'm going to break the Verizon contract. I don't care that it's going to cost me an early termination fee.

I'm sorry. It's the principle for me.

I'm like that. I have said elsewhere here that customer service really means a lot to me. I think I'm a customer service representative nightmare, lol.

I also have bottled distilled water delivered to my home. A few years ago when gas prices were starting to rise, I noticed a "fuel surcharge" on my bill. It was only like 50 cents or something like that. But again ... it's the principle. I called them up and told them I wasn't going to pay it. I told them that I could not charge my employer for the increase in fuel for the cost of me doing business (i.e., going to work). They sent me bills for months with fuel surcharges on them. I nicely deleted the surcharge from the bill and sent the balance to them. They finally gave up. Now, I don't have fuel surcharges on my bill. And they never bugged me for the money. LOL, they did carry it as 90+ days overdue for awhile, but they gave up. I told them if they insisted, I would cancel with them and get another bottled water provider.

These people piss me off when they think they can screw people because they think they're the only game in town.

Blizzard 2010

Here are a few shots I've taken ... for real, I don't feel like editing the rest of them. Power keeps going in and out, making computer work a bit frustrating. But these give you an idea of what we received! All in all, it was okay as long as a person was able to stay in the house, lol. We were lucky: we only got 15 inches.

The old bathtub I use to start vegetable seeds:


Side of our front porch:

Buddy sure is a trooper, isn't he? Okay, he's a bit of a sis. I had to make the initial tracks and then he came through:

No soda sales today:

Some neighbors never clean their snow. What are you going to do?

Saudi Bakhoor

My husband brought this beautiful gift back for me when he went to Hajj, Alhamdulillah.

It's from my first attempts at light box photography.

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