Day 35 and Counting

It's been 34 days since the last time I've seen my fiancé, my older sister and the kids.. Bookish left to Germany to study for a Master degree, and my older sister left with her family to Baghdad where her husband will be studying and practicing for two years.

My sister hasn't been around much in the first place; she'd been living in the suburb for a while before they left to Baghdad. She's also still relatively close and will visit every month.
I have been occupied by missing Bookish so much that I don't have time to miss the kids!
For a while I was happy just to know that some people will be around tomorrow and won't leave.. Now I'm adjusting with the situation and finding all sorts of ways to stay in touch so as not to feel very lonely.

I had my second term exams in April.. My birthday was during the exams as usual. I've turned 21 already!

Looking back at this year's photos I feel like it's been forever since the beginning of my third year in college.. This year was hard especially because I could not adjust with my lecturers.. but now the final exams are approaching and soon enough I'll be busy preparing for these.

This year was full of changes but I'm happy with most of them, and more than happy with the most important change of all :)

What's happening?

This week went much better than expected.. Only two professors showed discontent about the days we skipped before Eid, but only one of them considered the lectures he had planned to give as given and done..

We had a microwave exam few days ago, I didn't do well but I can't care less! I'm done with damage control of the material we have taken but I still can't memorize few really long and complicated equations that are actually scary to look at.. Mom was surprised to see that we were required to memorize them and told me not to, and I'm more than willing to follow her advice for the moment!

******

Yesterday was the introduction party of the new first year students but there were no prizes unlike last year. One of my classmates and a dear friend brought me a bubble from the party after my whining about wanting and expecting a present :D Which was very cute but I didn't know what to do with it and ended up giving it back to him.

Also yesterday, mom invited us for lunch in the Science and Literature Forum: one of Saddam's palaces near the university, now includes a restaurant, a conference room, and few rooms for CISCO lessons.. I'm not sure since I've only been to the restaurant.

So, dad came and picked me up from college to the restaurant where mom and HNK were waiting.. Upon arriving I realized that a BIG number of my professors, and the dean, were gathered in the restaurant for lunch too.. Quite a coincidence :)
I wasn't comfortable eating but was absolutely the happiest person in Mosul (let's not exaggerate and say the world, though it's also possible)..
Now mom and dad just WISH they didn't bring me to the restaurant for I've grown so big-headed the house can barely fit me :D
If I recite the details one more time the keyboard will go on a strike :D So I'll surprise the keyboard, and mom, and keep them to myself this time!

******

And also yesterday, my sister and the kids came for a visit. Aya has started learning Kurdish at the preschool in the suburb. Ayman is extra cute, he speaks very nice and so gently! Anas hasn't learned to walk and has very few activities, smiles the whole time, rarely ever cries, and is very squeezable :) That's a photo of him at the top of the post.

Top 5 Reasons I Should Not Be Your Child's Godmother ;-D

Hey Blog Sisters,

Here's the scoop. In my outer circle, my friends are popping out babies faster than the Palin family. In my inner circle however, my girls are all deliriously happy indie artist single goddesses unburdened by the darling delight that is motherhood.

Many of those wonderful outer circle girlfriends are trying to carefully choose who should raise their children should something horrible befall them. Others are trying to figure out which potential godparents would give their rugrats the best gifts. While some may be competing for these prized godmother spots, I write this impassioned plea to let you know, my pregnant and soon to be pregnant friends, when it comes to godmotherhood I am not your woman.

I have 2 godchildren, one nephew and a cat. Add to that trying to still trying to raise myself and my best friends and my hands are pretty full. I was blessed to have the best parents on the planet and then to add to my embarrassment of riches my Uncle Patrick and Aunt Ena ROCK as godparents. When I took off for LA to seek my fortune, telling my parents to kiss the back of the $300 jeans that they'd bought me, my Aunt Ena saw to it that the floor I was sleeping on was padded with a comfy mattress and silk sheets. And my Uncle Patrick was no slouch either. When I was that annoying brat in the first row of 2nd grade raising my hand before the questions were asked Uncle P kept me stocked in Highlights magazines so that I could be the chick lit writer I am today! Alas, my friends, this is too much to live up to. I am selfishly enjoying life too much to commit to helping you raise your children. Lest you doubt me in this area, I offer you this:

TOP 5 REASONS YOU SHOULD CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE AS YOUR BABY'S GODMAMA

5) The Blooming Plants. I adore plants and greenery of any kind. I have been known to annoyingly remark during rainstorms, "well the trees need water too." When my EFH (Ex From Hell) aka SGF (Still Good Friend) and I decided to part ways (meaning he cheated on me with every cheap trick available) I was forced to leave my lovely houseplants. They all had special meaning to me and were gifts from people I cared for. Fine, I thought as I packed to move to an apartment with no window ledges, you keep the bloody plants. In my mind, the plants would miss my tender affection and all quickly drop dead, forcing EFH to realize that I was the glue that held the very threads of life together. Instead, when I returned a year later to collect the bulk of my things, I found a virtual greenhouse! The plants were flourishing like they never had when I watered them with PUR, fed them and even spoke to them. The plants were glad that I was gone. Imagine how your kids would feel if I was left in their care.

4) K & R. My current godchildren. Wonderful as they are I am embarrassed to say that I rarely see them. One mother tried to ply me to visit with guilt by saying that poor little R asked how come she only sees Auntie Abiola inside the TV. How did I deal with this? Did I pack up a bushel of toys and books and head over? No, I apologized and felt guilty for 5 whole minutes before reiterating Goddess Maxim Number 3 - Guilt is a Wasted Emotion. Then I met my inner circle girls for Tuesdays at Tilman's- a delightful feast of networking and debauchery in Manhattan. Whatareyougonnado? Let your child fall to this same fate? Not recommended.

3) Better Alternatives. If something were to happen to you, might I suggest a nunnery or that uncle you mentioned who lives in your basement?

2) The Pets. When I was a kid, I never took to the baby dolls. Instead I turned my toy refrigerator on the side to make a file cabinet and turned the toy stove into a pretend desk to write on. When I was bored with that, my refrigerator was Barbie's second townhouse. True story! The Abrams family did have pets from time to time. The two I remember the most are the dogs Rocky and Flirt. I can honestly swear on a stack of Bibles that I never ever had physical contact with either of these animals. I am embarrassed to add that 2 years ago when my sister was shocked by and opposed to me getting a cat, Flirt's name came up and I asked how was he. Flirt is a girl, my sister explained. Oh, I said. When I did get a cat my sister and cousin came over and threatened to rescue her if she showed any signs of neglect! Again, true story.

1) My Beloved Kitty Anabelle. My daughter Anabelle is the only child that I can contend with at the moment. She is loved, well fed, happily spoiled and cared for. (When I sit writing for 14 hours and forget to feed her, she reminds me ASAP.) I am leaving soon for Guyana Fashion week and luckily I have friends that remind me to find a sitter for her. Those friends unfortunately are also the same inner circle single childless friends who give me horrible cat mothering advice like put olive oil on Anabelle's back to make her clean herself better. (Don't ask. I'll share this one day.) Your kids don't need this. And besides, Anabelle doesn't really like children.

Think carefully about who you choose as a godmother. I may appear on the surface to be a great surrogate mom catch. However, if you take the time to look deeper I think you'll agree that there are others who are much more deserving of this honor. If some disaster were to befall you, I could be entrusted with your wardrobe, however.

Love / Hugs,
Abiola
Curator of the Goddess Factory Lifestyle

What's happening?

Between 2006 and today, we've had so many events and a whole lot of visitors.
Ayman was born.
I finished my sixth year at school.
Grandma and grandpa came to live with us thus we had the most busy Eids for two years.
Grandpa died.
Anas was born.
HNK finished her sixth year at school .
Dad had two operations (people come before the operation and after the operation) .
Grandma left to the UAE .
Mom's uncle died few days ago.
and today my aunt is coming from Baghdad to attend my cousin's wedding but she's staying at our house thus people are visiting her here.
Thousands of visitors, and no, I'm NOT exaggerating! I am likely to throw a tantrum if any more events happen soon.

Mom has noticed that we've had little to no freedom these two years, herself too, especially under grandma's dictatorial regime.. and since we've already been to Syria three times the plan was to visit Turkey this year.. 15 days in Turkey inshallah, early next month, finally. We had planned to visit Turkey 3 years ago, paid the money and were all ready but then the tourism company had problems and all was canceled. We'll see how it goes this year.

This vacation has been, nonetheless, very good for me.. I have been enjoying my time and I don't think I ever got bored. I got myself busy with reading novels and learning Visual Basic .NET and both were enjoyable. Few days ago however, my uncle lured me into learning Java instead of Visual Basic .NET, he said if I get really good then next year he'd give me work. /*See uncle I've already documented that so you wouldn't forget :) */ Today is day 4 of reading Java (I started the very next day he told me to learn Java, successfully overcoming what I think was separation anxiety!) but I'm not sure I'll be able to read anything today. I have stopped reading novels and devoted all my attention to learning Java and I really don't want to go to Turkey until I have some decent knowledge of the language.