Virtual sailor

“We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can alter our sails”. (Anonymous).

I came across this quote today and thought I would share its brilliance with you. I will inform you of my own personal “sailing” experience soon. Let’s just say…I was never meant to be a sailor, that’s for sure!

“Eye Candy”

So, I have been meaning to write this post for ages, but I thought the timing was slightly inappropriate. And I guess I really shouldn’t start a post by writing “So”. Maybe it is my way of casually starting this post, without making a big deal out of it in my mind. Sometimes the more you think, the worse it is. For me anyway.

The reason for me getting a kick-start with this post is because of an unexpected occurrence that has come my way. And random unexpected occurrences are what I like. Well they are what I have been told to ‘wait for’ anyway. I have been told “it happens when least expected!”. But how can you wait for something unexpected? Somehow I have done just that.

What is this unexpected occurrence I am talking about? Well it is a possible match-making scenario between myself and Mr “Eye Candy”. Excuse the tackiness to his new found nickname, but my justification is that it is well suited.

I have now figured, there is a possibility I am going to be swept off my feet soon, so I may as well get in early with this post. I am possibly jumping the gun. Okay, I AM jumping the gun. And Allah knows best. I have had many enquiries from the male specimen come my way, so without sounding prude, this may just be another attempt at match-making gone wrong.

It is always a nice short lived thrill anyway; a ‘possibility’. A moment in time that will perhaps soon be forgotten. A moment that will grind the nerves within me, forcing me to somehow feel them in the pitt of my stomach. Hey, did I just say “pitt”? Eye Candy does somewhat resemble Brad Pitt actually. Hmm. But that is beside the point. Or is it? These types of random occurrences have let me down in the past. They may seem like the biggest deal in my life at that moment, only for me to forget almost every waking event, emotion and reaction involved only months down the track (or days or weeks, depending on whether I am able to successfully block it out of my memory).

I am a Muslim bachelorette. As a practising Muslim, I don’t ‘date’ as such, yet more often than not, get introduced to ‘possible candidates’ through either family or friends of mine. After many failed attempts, I have convinced myself that practising Muslim guys with great personalities and great looks are in the rarity. I have convinced myself I will have to ‘settle’.

That was what I thought, up until the other day…

I was told about Eye Candy the other day, possibly at the worst of timing (in the toilet of a hospital) by my very eager sister. It has been a few years since I have seen Eye Candy, yet will have the opportunity to see him again soon.

I will keep you posted Insh’Allah (God Willing!). For some reason, I am a little bit more positive than usual.

I wonder why :D

Beep, Beep, Beep

So, fasting the month of Ramadan has Alhamdulilah (praise be to Allah!) so far been quite easy.

I thought I would give you all a snap shot of a typical (or not-so-typical) morning of a fasting day (during the month of Ramadan), in the life of yours truly:

3.30am:
Setting: My bedroom
Situation: Beep, beep, beep. This is the sound of my alarm! It is NOT the sound of me swearing and the ‘beep’ censoring the swearing out

3.31am: Consider how my stomach feels so full from the feast from the night before, that I possibly might not be able to fit in a Ramadan breakfast (called ‘sahoor’ in Arabic)

3.31am and 20 seconds: Convince myself that no, I need to eat, otherwise I might get too hungry throughout the day

3.31am and 30 seconds: Knock something over in the dark

3.31am and 50 seconds: "Ouch" (yes, my pain receptors are delayed at this time in the morning)

3.33am:
Setting: Bedrooms of siblings/parents
Situation: In a croaky voice, wake up the family to come and join me for sahoor

3.35am:
Setting: Kitchen
Situation: Sit down at the table with eyes glazed over, trying to decide in a half-asleep state what I feel like consuming at such an early hour

3.36am: My brother and sister enter the kitchen, followed by my father

3.37am: My brother, sister, father and I sit there, wondering what we should eat. I decide to do the unthinkable, and open our overly-packed-with-Ramadan-food refrigerator

3.40am: Wet my whistle with a glass of cold milk. The milk has to be ice cold!

3.50am: Consume a light breakfast of 2 toasts with either honey, peanut butter or Nutella.

3.51am: Find the secret stash of chocolate that we are hiding from my father. Devour chocolate when dad isn’t looking.

3.55am: Realise that my mother is still asleep!

3.55am and 20 seconds: Run upstairs in a frantic state

3.55am and 30 seconds:
Setting: Parent’s bedroom
Situation: Tell my mum to "get up!"

4.00am:
Setting: Bathroom
Situation: Brush teeth

4.02am: Scull some water just in case I die of thirst during the day! (Yeah right! It would be a bit hard dying of thirst sitting down in an office all day!)

4.03am: Make the intention that I am going to fast for the day, asking Allah to make it easy for all Muslims and myself. Ask Allah that He accepts this fast of mine and all of my fellow Muslims

4.05am:
Setting: Kitchen
Situation: Tidy up food and wash dishes (or just place dishes in sink if we are feeling lazy)

4.06am:
Setting: Bathroom
Situation: Wash up for the morning prayer Fajr by performing ablution (called ‘wudu’ in Arabic)

4.10am:
Setting: My bedroom
Situation: Upon hearing the prayer alarm-clock go off with the beautiful sound of the ‘call to prayer’ (called ‘athan’ in Arabic), I commence praying

4.15am: Fall back asleep (it doesn't take too long). Tummy is happy. My belly button smiles.

6.30am: Beep, beep, beep. Censored out swear words at the thought of going to work. Kidding! This is the sound of my alarm going off. I am one slightly groggy young lady wondering what the day will bring.

___________________________________________________________________

It has been reported by the way of Abu Hurairah (raa) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) reported that Allah (SWT) said in a Hadith Al-Qudsi: "All services of the son of Adam are for him except fasting. It is for Me, and I will reward him for it. Fasting is a shield. On the day you fast, do not use obscenity, nor yell at others, nor act ignorantly towards them. However, if anyone abuses you verbally or attempts to draw you to fight with him, say 'I am fasting' two times. The Prophet (saas) then states: I swore by the One (Allah) in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the faster is sweeter to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the scent of musk. The faster experiences enjoyment twice: he is pleased when he breaks his fast, and he is pleased when he meets his Maker" (Muslim)

My Dear Nana II

My nana passed away on Monday (10th Oct). May Allah grant her with paradise InshAllah (God willing). Ameen.

Why ‘Veiled Ninja’?

Okay, well I have been alerted by my siblings, that they absolutely cannot stand ‘Veiled Ninja’, as my alias through my posts. They have muttered words such as “violence…psycho…” saying that my alias would bring on all of these thoughts to those who view my blog at first glance. I agree with them, now that I have given it more thought, to a certain extent, but wouldn’t tell them this of course. Perhaps the alias is somewhat deceiving, but to those who read into my posts further, you will get an understanding of what I’m all about.

I am obviously a veiled Muslim lady, dressing modestly in my clothing, and wearing the lil head covering that everyone fusses over, hence where the ‘Veiled’ bit comes into the equation. Secondly, I am a lil feisty one at times, full of energy and stamina, and I fight through my words (if need be) rather than invoking physical violence (I got over that stage when my younger brother grew taller than I, and I knew my girly strength would be nothing compared to his), hence where the ‘Ninja’ part comes into it. Also, I have heard the term ninja used to describe Muslim women before, whether they be donning the hijab or the niqaab (face covering). Maybe my humor is just whacked out, but I actually find that quite funny.

So, this one is to the lady who looked at me funny in the supermarket once (yes, my memory serves me well at times). I glanced up at her as if to say “what are you staring at?”, whilst a whole pyramid of tissue boxes on promotional display simultaneously came crashing down behind her. She looked shocked, perhaps thinking I put a spell on her! Well lady, I don’t do spells, but it serves you right – gawking at someone is very very rude!! Dear lady in the supermarket, don’t you know that you cannot muck around with the Veiled Ninja?

I am now left smirking at the stupidity of my alias (as my feet do their own thing by escaping me under my work desk and practicing some ninja kicks!).

Fun Questionnaire

Previously I had the below (or similar) questionnaire filled out. I have now deleted my answers because I noticed the questionnaire was in high demand, and I am sure you would appreciate a blank questionnaire rather than hitting the delete key fifty million times ;)

Share the questionnaire with your friends and loved ones and learn a lil more about each other!

Have fun!

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Please complete the following FUN QUESTIONNAIRE!! Answers can simply be “yes” or “no” or one word answers in some instances, but generally try and ELABORATE on the answers!

Once completed, forward to as many friends as possible, including the person who sent it to you!

Enjoy!


PERSONAL
Full Name:
Age:
Birth date:
Siblings:
Pets:
Nicknames:
Schooling/degrees:

FAVOURITE..?
Colour:
Food:
Beverage:
Ice cream flavour:
Chocolate:
Class:
Teacher:
Number:
Flower:
Day:
Book:
Movie:
Actor/Actress:
TV show:
Fast Food Restaurant:
Store:
Board Game:
CD:
Singer/s:
Musical Instrument(s):
Cologne/Perfume:
Computer Game:
Pastime:
Thing to do on the Weekend:
Word/Phrase:
Holiday:
Sleeping position:

LEAST FAVOURITE..?
Colour:
Food:
Beverage:
Class/Subject:
Teacher:
Movie:
Restaurant:
Word/Phrase:
Day:
Chore:

HAVE YOU EVER..?
Been In Love:
Used Tobacco:
Drank Alcohol:
Smoked weed:
Done Drugs:
Broken the Law:
Thought you were going to die:
Run away from home:
Broken a bone:
Lied:
Had a Medical Emergency:

DO YOU BELIEVE IN..?
Love at first sight:
Luck:
Aliens:
Ghosts:
Horoscopes:
Heaven:
Hell:
Yourself:
Angels:

WHICH IS BETTER..?
Coke or Pepsi:
Oranges or apples:
One pillow or two:
Pools or hot tubs:
TV or radio:
Paper or plastic:
Summer or winter:
Day or night:

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU..?
Cried:
Went to a movie:
Talked on the phone:
Read a book:

WHAT IS/ARE...
Your most prized and important material possession:
Your biggest accomplishment:
Your biggest fear:
Your biggest talent:
Your biggest weakness:
The first thing you do in the morning?
The worst thing you did as a child?
The best advice you have ever received?
The best yet worst thing about you?
The characteristics you inherited from your parents?
Five words to describe yourself?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The most pleasant thing about you?
The most unpleasant thing about you?
The first thing/s that attracts you to a person of the opposite sex?

WHO..?
Makes you laugh the most:
Is the most psychotic person you know:
Is the nicest person you know:
Do you go to for advice:
Do you hate:
Knows the most about you:
Has it easier, guys or girls:
Sends you the most emails:
Would you love to play in a movie?

WHAT MAKES YOU?
Happy:
Really Sad:
Really Angry:

WHAT ABOUT..?
School:
Your friends:
Being male/female:
Life:
What is something about you that nobody knows:

ARE YOU...
A rebel or do you follow all the rules:
A leader or a follower:
A good friend:
A good listener:
Shy or outgoing:

Meaning of Ramadan

Today is the first day of the month of Ramadan!! YAY!!

What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar; a month of fasting for practicing Muslims. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and during those hours we do not eat or drink at all, whilst we monitor our behaviour so that we represent the behaviour of pious believers of Allah.

Why do we fast?
During the month we are able to strengthen our discipline and our belief in Allah as well as remember the less fortunate people in the world (who often have food shortages). It is a month of seeking Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, and spending many nights at the mosque praying to Allah. During the month, we gain an even greater sense of love and closeness to our family and friends seeing that much of the month is spent inviting people over for dinner (‘iftar’), and being invited by others.

Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him), said "Anyone who fasts during this month with purity of belief and with expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have his previous sins forgiven”.

My Dear Nana

Lying in her bed with her eyes glazed over staring up high, beyond the white hospital ceiling, and out into a place unknown to me, it was declared “I can see the Golden Gates of Paradise, and the beautiful gardens!!” by my critically ill grandmother yesterday morning.

My “nana” has always been one of the strongest believers in God that I know, mentally strong, very sweet and giving, yet very tough and stern in her character at times. My nana, now lying there, I have observed to be even stronger in her belief than ever before, mentally delusional, still very sweet, yet perhaps even sterner in her character than I can remember. Her sternness I have learnt to love about this beautiful old woman, a woman who knows what she believes, and will not let anyone get in the way of that, even in her dying days. Her arms are now covered in dark purple and blue bruises from all of the poking and prodding of needles, whilst her sagging yellow looking wrinkly old skin shows the parting of the bone from the flesh without a muscle in sight. Her hands and fingers are strangely swollen, yet she is still able to lift her plump index finger from time to time whilst saying the ‘Shahadah’ (Declaration of Faith) in Arabic “Ash hadu anlaa ilaaha illallaahu wa ash hadu anna muhammadar-rasulallah" ("I bear witness that there is no god except God and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God ").

Nana has always been scared of death it appeared. She has always been very careful to make sure she is well dressed all year round, wearing several layers of mended clothing in order not to catch the flu or a common cold. With her woolen clothing layers and heavy blankets in winter, her regular flu injections and home-made apple cider and honey medicine, she was always well equipped for all that winter had in store for her. I tried explaining to her that the flu and colds can only be brought on by catching it off others, yet she always insisted that under-dressing is the cause of these problems. I found out the other day why she was always paranoid about keeping warm. When nana was very young she had no choice but to walk through dense snow covered roads on her way to school. With the severe icy weather, she caught a condition that weakened her heart, ultimately leading her to get a valve replacement in her heart in her days living in Australia. The revolutionary treatment in Australia at the time was said to expand ones life by 20 years. My nana is still alive 30 years after this surgery was performed. A miracle indeed. Nana was always paranoid about eating healthy, making sure to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and red meat to keep her very low iron levels up. Whenever she would speak about death, she would cry. In fact, nana always cried a lot when it came to religion. Formerly being a very devout Lutheran Christian, and later on through choice, a very devout Muslim, tears would fill her little green eyes every time she mentioned Allah’s name. I do not know of anyone as strong as she is, in her faith. I always thought perhaps she was afraid of dying, but when death has approached her more recently, it seems she is very ready to face whatever comes her way. And honestly, InshAllah (God Willing) there is no reason for nana to be afraid, for she has performed the 5 major pillars in our religion, namely: 1. Her belief in the Shahadah, 2. Praying five times a day (everyday!), 3. Fasting the month of Ramadan, 4. Giving charity every year (she gave lots of voluntary contributions as well as assisted with the building of several water wells) and 5. Performing the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

My nana taught me how to pray, she taught me several short prayers to recite in Arabic, one very long prayer also that I learnt whilst holding her hand as she walked me home from primary school, fought with another customer over a hot pink skirt she intended to buy for me (of course she won), was the one to sew my first set of hijabs when I secretly decided I would soon wear it, the one who always insisted I put on a “thick jumper” before I step out of the house, she formulated her own home-medicines to help cure my bad cough as a teenager, helped me with my German homework all throughout high school, taught me of how it was to live through WWII in Germany –how she originally thought Hitler was a good man (before he showed his demons), and how she narrowly escaped death by fleeing on the last cargo train to leave her town whilst she held onto snow covered logs for dear life.

If it is my nana’s time to go and leave us for a better place with “Golden Gates” and dark green gardens which she would admire so much (oh how she loves her gardens!), then may Allah make death approach her now, when she is in no pain, and she can go quickly and quietly.

I love you nana, with all my heart. May Allah bless you always and forever. Ameen.