Memories

Just a few moments ago, my brothers, my mum and myself were looking through old pictures of us in Dubai, and there was this feeling of strange memories coming back. For one thing: Muhaimin was SUPER thin! I just can't believe how much he changed. Plus, his large ears dissapeared, somehow or rather. I'm sure my mom missed them.
Then I saw Saif and myself and WOW! There was this picture from 2002... just shocking how much we grew up. 7 years ago; a very long time! I was SHORT! I was just about Saif's shoulders in height back then but just like Muhaimin, I had skinny arms with no meat or muscles.
I couldn't help but smile as pictures of my past friends came up: school friends and not school friends. A few pictures brought back so much memories that I have a headache right now. One of the pictures is the one with Ali and Najwa's family and Jalil's family when we went to the MBC stationplace. Najwa, Ali, you remember that? Stupid question, of course, you do! It was a major event: we went to a TV STATION and got a tour AND a souvenier t-shirt! Remember Muhaimin's tooth? *wink*
Right next to that picture was a picture of me dressing into the F1 costume! Man, that brought back soo many memories... That was, I think, my last time riding a Go-Kart. And it was also the time when my Kart blew up on my 3rd round! hahahaha! Then, Najwa crashed into the wall right infront of me! She said she was trying to see who's Kart blew up. A reminder to all: Keep your eyes on the road!
Flicking through the album, I saw pictures of us when we were even younger! It was the 2nd year here;2001. Saif was being the Imam for Ala', Nasa and myself. It was horrible how young we looked! There was that overall resemblance-I wa still dorky; Saif still with that hair; Ala' still a bit rounder than the rest of us; Nasa with his long arms and legs- but we all grew up into something much different from what we were then.
There was alot of family pictures as well. Most of my family also did change in appearance; Ayahcik looking like a teenager, Danial looking like Ishraf, Wajdi looking chubby and round, and loads more! I was just laughing at the pictures and felt weird at looking at my family in the past.
The point is, taking pictures is a great thing. Even pictures that seemed useless at that point of time. Heck, I saw a picture of Muhaimin on the pot! So, don't be shy of the camera as they keep your memories alive for a very, very long time.

The Calm After The Storm

That was just plain old FREAKY! There was absolutely NO warning! Sure there were rain clouds, but I just figured it'd be like always and the rain clouds would clear themselves out. Big mistake!
Never, ever underestimate the weather in UAE! For the past month or so, there was all sun and heat and clearly no rain. Yesterday night, however, rained so hard that my house actually got flooded! Some parts also had HAIL! That is awesome Rare. There was obviously ligtning and thunder, and I heard SOME people were scared of it;P
Ok, how I knew my room got flooded.
I was actually watching T.V. when d rain started. First it was just a few pellet-like drops, then it came down harder and with more reinforcements! Before you know it, the T.V. is on maximum volume and I could still hear NO sound! It was SuperRain! Coming down on Earth with all its might! Flash! Lightning! BANG! Thunder!
So, I decided to make sure the window in my room was closed. I was intent on making sure it was closed so when I heard the water crashing down louder than it should, I thought the window was open. I rushed into the room, saw my window was closed and was completely dumbfounded when I finally noticed that my roof was leaking!
One event led to another and soon enough, there was no T.V., no internet, and Abah, Muhaimin, Saif and I were sitting down in a circle, playin Scrabble. At least some good came out of the storm.
Forecasts: storm will happen in the next 5 days. Basically, we're going to have to endure storms until Sunday! Insha'Allah nothing too bad will happen.
I'm going to try to update as soon as I can on the storm.

Aqad Nikah

My first ever experience of a Muslim style Wedding! First impression: Awesome! Of course that migh just be the fact that I hung out wit my greatest friends...It felt right! This was where I completely fit in.
Anyways, Aqad Nikah is translated from arabic to english to mean Marriage Contract or Bonding Agreement. And it's the vocal agreement of the bride's dad and the groom on the marriage that basically takes place. And this wedding took place at one of my best friend's house. The reason wh is still a mystery to him.
First, we wait for the Qadi(Judge) to come and pray Maghrib with us. Then, he gives a ceramah(speech) of the wedding and Islam. Then he asks the groom something like: Do you agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage? He has to reply: I (name) agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage. And of course since there is no paperwork, the Qadi and the audience becomes witnesses of the event.
Afterwards:FOOD! There was like awesome loads of food including CHICKEN and rice and CHICKEN and oh yeah cake obviously. Ayam masak merah...sedap!
After we were bored and full, we(me and my friends) decided to play some basketball, and just in case anyone's wondering; we are all horrendously terribly at it excluding the house owner. But of course my team never lost once! *grin*
We spent most of the night playing basketball, but once we started getting hurt and tired, we went inside, and inside is where I met two more friends, one of them a friend I missed a lot. The rest of the night was spent laughing and joking around, just like the good ol' days. *grin*
P.S. I'm bald now!