Un Bon Voyage

Tonight my family and a few friends got together for a bon voyage party for me and it was absolutely wonderful. I really have an awesome family and awesome friends and they are a blessing from Allah swt and a light in my life.

And honestly these were not even half of all the people I count as good friends and family either, but basically as much as my mom could afford to feed. I won't be able to say a good farewell to many of the people I will miss while I am gone, but I'm trying.

It was a wonderful night filled with a lot of laughter, hugs, and love. I could never fully explain the extent to which I have been blessed in my life. Alhumdulillah.

The one down point of the night was when my paternal-grandmother handed me a brochure from ACT, a blatantly Islamophobic/xenophobic group backed by little to no research and filled with incindiary claims that are never really proven with facts, or well names or citations for that matter.

In example (quoted directly from the brochure):

Did you know...

-Hamas terror cells are in place in dozens of cities across America?

(Really?? Like where?)

-Islamic Militants have infiltrated the FBI, CIA, and our military, and some have been arrested and convicted for terrorism and related charges?

(Really?? Like who?)

-Universities throughout America indoctrinate students with pro-Islamic, anti-American, anti-Israel bias that whitewashes the truth about militant Islam?

(Really?? Which Universities are those and how come I never got accepted??)

Anyways, you get the point. Visit the website for more of their enlightened ideas: www.ActforAmerica.org because everyone needs a little xenophobia in their day.

One racist a day keeps the darky away.

I never blogged about how this grandmother also ambushed me at Oogie's bridal shower and told me she was not ok with my decision and that she thought I needed to do more research and talk to her pastor.

The same pastor whose apparent authority on all Islam-related things comes from ACT!, who gave her this brochure and must have thought this very well-written piece of golden 'truth' would set me back on the 'right path.'

Uhm, yeah.

But, this was only a minor speed-bump on the road which was my bon voyage party and all the love that was showered on me. I saw my dad, I went and picked him up actually and brought him with me and dropped him at home again so it was nice to spend some time with him.

Some of the family that came tonight I may not see until I return from Egypt, but some of them I will see again at Oogie's wedding two days before I leave.

Their love for me astounds me, I wonder how I'm worthy of it, but I love them just as much and will miss them so, so much while I am gone.

My maternal-grandmother wrote in her card to me:

"Do you remember when I told you that you will learn to fly your wings?! Funny, I meant down the street. Not around the world.
We will miss you."

I'm going to miss you all too.

Until we meet again...

Zoos and Carousels

Are what every girl should have on her birthday. And awesome friends as well.

My birthday was one of those days where you get this pang of grief because you know that its eventually going to end. I had so much fun it was absurd and I'm certain that it was not the kind of birthday a 25 year old should have, you know, all respectable and whatnot.

It began kind of cold and grey when I went to meet the Divine Miss M, my cousin Oogie, her sister the Pampered Chef, and my Aunt and Uncle at the Como Zoo.Yes, the zoo. Miss M even brought me a pink fuzzy hat that said "Birthday Princess" on it and yes, I did wear it. It was entirely preposterous and thoroughly enjoyable, and I got quite a few funny stares, thumbs up, and compliments on it. I'm sure it looked especially dashing on top of a hijab.

First we walked around the Conservatory which has quite the collection of gorgeous spring flowers right now, and then we took a turn on the carousel. I will post pictures of this on my flickr account at some point. Afterwards my Aunt and Uncle and the Pampered Chef took their leave and headed out to their lake property in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend. Pitching a tent in the woods is definitely not my cup of tea, but the property is absolutely gorgeous. I'll post some of the pics I took there last fall on the aforementioned flickr account as well.

Afterwards the Divine Miss M, Oogie, and I set off to walk around the zoo and look at the animals and by this point the clouds had burned off and the sun was shining in full force. We molested the turtle statue at the front entrance and then set off to wreak havoc amongst the crowds. I took quite a few pictures of random animal behinds since that seemed to be the side most often pointed at me throughout the day. After a certain amount of buttock it just became a game.

I also wanted to ride some rides but when we got to "Como Town" we found out that they had revamped it into munchkin land with nary a ride big enough for adult-sized people. Instead we carpooled to Fridley in search of a carnival in which to make merry. We also had a horrible dinner at Olive Garden but were given free dessert to make up for it. In Northtown Mall's parking lot a very small carnival was running so we bought some tickets and lined up. My specific desire was to ride the Tilt-o-whirl and the Scrambler, but only the Scrambler was up. Only... it wasn't the normal fun Scrambler, it was the cracked-out version where the operator cranked it up to warp speed and you spent most of the ride holding on for dear life. I personally found myself wedged into an uncomfortable contorted position with Oogie unwillingly plastered to my right side. I emerged from it shaken, bruised, and unable to walk a straight line. Still today I have the most God-awful bruise across my stomach in the shape of the lap bar. Without the lap bar I probably would not have survived, however I'm certain that its not the goal of a carnival ride to cause bodily harm.

Needless to say we did not ride it again and instead used the rest of our tickets riding the Mega-Slide which was fun as we made it into a race.

It was a delightful day, made more so by the company of my two closest friends. The Divine Miss M again proved the inherent rightness of the nickname I gave her as she spent ridiculous amounts of money on me stating that its my birthday and I shouldn't have to pay for anything.

Thanks dearest.

It was a good birthday, alhumdulillah.

Am I really 25?