i like you

last night i needed to review a restaurant for an article i'm writing, so taher and i went to check it out. it's called Tavern on Rush, which many of you might have heard of; it's pretty good food and we had a nice time, sitting by a window, safe from the rain, taking our time.

and then we drove home and listened to a CD and sang along and i notice that a lot of my favorite moments are when it's the two of us in the car, with good music, watching the local city streets fly by outside the window. i love that scenario so much.

eid mubarak

sunday was the Chicago Marathon; 40,000 people ran past my window in their last quarter-mile of the 26 mile marathon. looking down from my window, i could see an endless stream of people about to complete the very last leg. 26 miles of personal motivation, triumph and spirit.

everyone runs their own marathons; monday was eid, the very last leg after a slightly different tournament of personal motivation, triumph and spirit..uality. like everyone else, i was excited about eid. spending time with friends and even more important, spending time with family. i got to see people i never get to see, and i enjoyed myself so, so much.

i also learned a few things this ramazaan and gained some insights into the nature of certain people; and people in general. i became more involved in writing khidmat than ever before, and i hope this trend continues; i have enjoyed being actively involved in the jamaat via my own strengths. i watched talebaat grow by almost half and felt genuine excitement at just how much we can accomplish when we put our pretty little heads together.

anyway. more on all this later. ramazaan is over and as always, it's been an experience.

you can be many colors, but i like it when you're blue

i have always felt a connection with the lake. it began in college, when i would go to Piper Hall (this gorgeous old house on the edge of campus that had been converted for university use), and sit on its sprawling balcony, mere feet away from the lake. i could spend hours just gazing at the water, and it never failed to inspire me. i felt that this time, sitting by the lake, was one of the most creative periods of my life.

one of the things i love about chicago is that the lake is for everyone. for various reasons, most of the lakefront has been preserved as public park. downtown, it will never be encroached upon; the ground cannot support buildings. and therefore the lake is public domain. thousands of feet of green grass and trees and bike paths and benches. you don't have to buy anything to own the lake.

and for years now, i have known that it is mine.

when i sit by the lake, i realize that things are simple. i feel every single one of my years; yet i feel as young as a morning. i am able to forget small issues and weed out things that aren't working for me. i feel as supported as i do after a conversation with devon/farida/meryam.

i don't know what it is about this endless body of water that affects me, but i have come to regard it almost as a familiar face.

Pink For October

To draw attention to Breast Cancer Awareness month, a movement has sprung up; to convince as many blogs as possible to go Pink for the month of october.

in other news, the bravada is officially sold and gone from my life. end of an era. i know it seems sentimental but that was my first car. and i totally LOVE it.

siiighhhhh.

thanks for the roses and the text message too

i want people's thoughts on this one- it's something i have been thinking about lately.

when the chips are down, who is really there for you? i consider myself pretty lucky in that i have people who truly care about me- people who will give me their time and concern if i am even a little bit upset. they are people i can expect this from. whether i thank them or not, they are there for me.

that said, i have noticed the presence in my life of fair-weather friends.

there will always be people who stand by and wait for everything to be okay- who don't really come through when things are not okay. do you, reader, have any people like this in your life? what are your thoughts?

tell me. i want to know.