All Things Me

This year during the summer holidays I went to Malaysia!

My response to this charming character, though unfortunately I couldn't send it to him.

It reads, as follows:

Thanks for the message—though I couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. You’re critiquing a typo, yet your message is a grammar disaster. A few things stood out:

“...full of richness and blessings always and greatness as always.” – Ah yes, repeating “always” like it’s a sacred chant. I’m not sure if you’re trying to sound profound or just ran out of adjectives.

“I am going to unmatch you as you spelt your incorrectly.” – First off, “spelt” is fine in British English, but your sentence structure here is totally off. It should read, “You spelled you're incorrectly.” I’m sure you see the issue—though, for clarity’s sake, “your” and “you’re” are not interchangeable, no matter how “valuable” you are.

“...with proper spelling as it is respectful.” – This is a classic case of “too many words, not enough meaning.” A cleaner version: “Proper spelling is respectful.” Simplicity, my friend.

“I am a highly valuable man and I do not tolerate any sort of disrespect whatsoever.” – That’s a lot of self-praise. But I’d say the true disrespect here is the lack of basic punctuation and sentence flow. Repetition doesn’t make your point any stronger—just makes it sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.

Honestly, if your idea of respect is nitpicking a typo while ignoring basic grammar rules in your own writing, then we’re definitely not on the same page. But hey, I’m sure your value and greatness are beyond words.

A question I asked someone one day. The response : "childish and unattractive"

My response, "plenty adults play video games"

"Yes, the socially awkward ones"

This past year feels so exhausting...

We celebrated New Year's in Tunisia this year, its already 2023. Why is time fleeting by so fast?

Anyways, we saw many things in the one week that we had. We did 2 major tours, had to get up early which I hate to do. But I guess it was worth it.

We saw a mosque which was 1400 years old, here the Prophets (pbuh) barber/hijamist laid. The mosques reminded me of Palestine and very much the streets too. There was a roman arena, the tour guide said gladiator was filmed there. And the best place I went to was the hot natural spring. Apparently it was a volcano underneath and the water gushed out at 59 degrees which was absolutely boiling. The water is supposed to have healing benefits so I poured the water on my mums feet and knees by cupping my hands and filling them up with water. My hands felt like they were going to melt off but I managed somehow.

We went on a pirate ship too with the classic Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean music blasting in the background, the actors did a show for the people and they would collect money for it. There was a lively atmosphere but my cousins kids mainly male were hating it, maybe it was too loud and the actors were being a bit boisterous.

At the bazaar I noticed that the tunisian shopkeepers were rather short fused. I don't know weather it was because of covid and the loss of income or what but they certainly had an attitude.

I haven't wrote anything in a long time, I do miss my creative writings at times but somehow I end up being distracted.

So many things have happened in these past two years. Both my parents have fallen ill. Mum is now a heart patient and dad had a stroke recently.

Going through all the struggles with them makes me realise how important they are for me and how much they must have struggled raising me to this age. As humans we don't realise the importance of relationships until its too late, then later we are always regretting.

This year was supposed to be full of new beginnings but what unravelled in this earth was a disease unknown, coronavirus aka covid19.

Never before have I seen such a plight on mankind. A disease which spread to all corners of the world. Killing so many in its path. You can't see it so you don't even know if you carry any germs. What a terrifying thing to witness.

I witnessed first hand the effects it had on people. People were panic buying supplies of all things from the supermarkets, shelves quickly became empty. There was lockdown after lockdown to try and limit the amount of people becoming infected. Mental health deteriorated so much, loss of jobs, loss of sanity, loss of hope. There is now a vaccine but even then we don't know the long term effects it will have upon humans.

This year was supposed to be my year, but as I look around all I see is a never ending disease taking over. Will it ever end? Or is this the way of life now? Why did it have to happen now? So many questions ponder my mind. Questions without any answers...

Today is new years 2021, what will this year be like? Should I even bother to hope for a better tomorrow?

My first hijama was quite an unique experience. I remember I was so excited to have this detox, plus its a sunnah so I'm always hungry for those extra blessings.

The lady explained what she was going to do then she told me to put the gown on. I was then seated on a chair, whilst she prepped the skin on my back.

There were charts of tajweed rules on the wall in front which I was reading whilst she did her work. From time to time she would ask me questions about my life etc too. Such a pleasant woman, very social.

After she prepped my back she put the cups on in the points which were appropriate. Everything seemed very relaxing, she then took off the top cup and started to do the small cuts to cleanse the toxins. She then put the cup back on.

She repeated this step for the other cups too. Whilst she was doing this, I was reading the chart in front when suddenly I found myself somewhere else.

A beautiful white place, everything was just so white it felt like heaven. Not a care in the world, no worries about the world. There I saw myself all dressed in white with a hijab and this unknown guy who wore a white thobe. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was tall, and had a black beard, he seemed handsome. We embraced with such a loving hug, the hug was filled with protection, the type of hug a dad gives to his daughter but... This guy wasn't my dad, so who is he? I don't want to leave this embrace ever, it was so peaceful. Suddenly the embrace, turned into the hijama ladys embrace. She was calling out my name to wake me up from my fainted state and she had embraced me. Pulling me up to the bed to lie me straight.

My eyes opened, I thought to myself where am I? Then realised I was back on earth, I thought damnnn I wish I was back in that other world. The world with no worries, no complaints.

As I put my neice to sleep she muttered something under her breath, but I caught what she said. I asked her, what did you say? She shyly said "nothing."

"Didyou say the M word?" I said.

"M word? What's that?" whilst giggling.

I heard you because I have quick ears. Then she repeated her question. "When are you getting married?"

"See, you said the M word, the M word stands for marriage" I explained. She found it hilarious, the cutie.

"Well, only Allah knows the answer to that question. No one really knows when they will get married" I replied.

Why don't you go out for walks on Sunday's and meet some cute guys along the way? She enquired.

I laughed, "meet some cute guys? Well, first of all the person has to be a Muslim. And guys are not just wandering around waiting for someone to bump into them. Anyways lets leave that for now, why do you want me to get married?"

"I want to see your babies" she said coyly and laughing at the same time.

Hajj, November 2011. I went with my folks, aunties and uncle. As you can imagine, with a group this big there was alot of luggage but we slogged hard and endured.

When we arrived in Makkah, the weather was so hot. Even though it was winter for them, I was sweating.

There were crowds at the airport, so much commotion, truthfully I didn't really know what was going on. But, we just had to follow the tour group leader.

We got to our hotel, dropped all the luggage and started on our sacred journey. I won't go through all the rites of Hajj, but the experiences which I significantly remember.

It was a long time ago but what I remember the most is the waves of people reciting labbaik Allah humma labbaik... It is a majestic chant which is rather emotional and overwhelming to the point of tears especially when you are there.

Walking to complete each rite, now believe me when I say you need to be fit as a fiddle. Trust me, it really does help going to the gym, training for this pilgrimage.

The first sight of the Kaaba, so big and majestic. When you're in front of it, its like a dream, you're not sure if you really are there or not.

Sleeping under the stars in muzzdalifa with the whole of humanity it seems. Abit uncomfortable, but fun at the same time. The only thing is, the queue for the toilet is horrendously long. So... Make sure u have a good bladder, or go well in advance because you will no doubt be in a queue for what seems an hour.

The fun part of the journey was Mina, there are huge tents, and basically you will be there for 3 days. Girls and boys are separate. So its like a big sleepover, you get to meet different people from various places. And basically you pray together, eat together and chat together.

We went to Medina after completing our Hajj. It was a long coach journey there, but well worth it. I managed to go inside the mosque and got as close as I could to give my Salaam to our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The mosque is so beautiful and alot of it is marble. Very grandly built, and designed to the highest quality.

I gather my things ready for the gym. My nephew sees me, recognises my gym attire and we have the following convo..

Nephew: "You off to the gym?" (flexing his arms)

Me: "Yeh, I'm off to the gym"

Nephew: "Are you looking for a muscular man to get married to?"

Me: (shock face) "Who have you been talking to?"

Nephew: "No one, I thought it myself"

Me: (slight pause) "hmmm, I wouldn't mind a muscular man".

Then he nods and walks off.

I hear my sister walking down the stairs. I confront my sister.

"What have you been saying to him?" I said.

"Nothing, why what's going on?" she replied.

So, I told her what happened, and all she could do was apologise saying shes in shock too.

Which makes me wonder...

I think his telling me that I spend too much time at the gym! And, that I need to be looking for a muscular man 😂💪

My recent trip abroad was to Lanzarote, right before the xmas holidays which is a quiet period for the island.

What can I say, the weather was glorious, landscapes were amazing, all inclusive package holiday that was cheap (my favourite word lol).

So, when we arrived to the hotel, we decided what excursions we were going to do in the short time we were there.

The first full day, we decided to go on a submarine, a yellow one just like the song lol. It was amazing going in the water to the deep depts of the ocean, it felt like I had entered a different realm altogether. There was no hustle and bustle, no noise, no distractions just calmness and the beautiful fishes swimming along. Definitely a must try for people that go.

Later we all went to the beach, this is where we met some Chinese ladies that massage people on the beach. Both me and my cousin got our feet massaged. They seemed to put alot of oil on simply because I spoke to them in their native tongue. A bit of extra service 😂.

The second day, we went on a grand tour, a long 6hr day but totally worth it. It consisted of a trip to the heart of the volcanos, we were shown just how hot it still is with a water demonstration. It was so cool. The man poured water into these chimney holes and the water turned to steam almost instantly. We also went to a natural green lagoon, had a camel ride and went to the highest peak of the island.

The third and final day came like a flash, but we still managed to go to the bazaars. Every Sunday they have a big market where people from surrounding areas come and sell their goods. Bags, clothes, jewellery, souvenirs. Here, you get to see the locals doing their traditional dances in the marketplace and enjoy the electric atmosphere.

It was a short but fun filled trip, with amazing views. ❤️

Each time I'm reminded of my passing youth, a splinter enters my heart, wounding it.

So in turn i shed a silent tear

Hidden behind my fake smile

An ocean has formed as deep as the drowning sea

The capacity of my love unabated

Homeless, yet undeterred

I seek through the wilderness of lost souls

Hoping to finally meet who was ordained