Question Everything

I was asked a couple of questions by some friends. Really simple questions and I couldn't answer them.
Are you happy?
Where do you see yourself in 10/15 years from now?

The first I answered without thinking saying I was indeed happy, the other I simply blabbered some answer without even thinking and said I need to actually think about it.
They really got to me. When it comes to be happy or something like that, I don't like actually thinking about it and discovering what I truly feel. I'm afraid I wouldn't be happy. I'd feel as if I were a really un-grateful person. That would be awful.
But anyways that's not my point. I'm just trying to say how we need to think about those simple questions. Whether they're questions of existance, faith or anything of the sort. Let's not be afraid of the real answer, maybe they won't be the answers you want them to be. But maybe by knowing the answer, you can know more about yourself and you can improve yourself/your life and make it what you want it to be.
Try to think of some of those questions and ponder upon them. Take your time, and just go deep inside your soul. I know this might be cliche but seriously it's true. I mean, ok I can't say it's true. Because I just need to let this out so that I can think about them. But it's just that sometimes I'm afraid of the answer, and I'm afraid that I can't handle it.
What if I really can't handle the answers I get?
And what if once I look inside I won't find any answer? Hopefully that wouldn't be possible. I'm getting too philosophical and I don't want to start asking 'What if' questions. They're useless, and they just discourage you from doing things.

Let me see what questions do I want to know:

Who am I?
What is it that I'm meant to do?
Am I happy?
What do I want?
What life am I leading? Is it the life I want?

And there's this song by Jack Johnson, he's really great, called 'Better Together' and he says:

Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?

Hairspray - Musical

I wish my life was a big musical, like Hairspray. Singing all day, and dancing. I wouldn't mind that at all.
When I'm feeling blue, instead of crying or being sad, I can start singing and then my friends would join in cheering me up and we'd end up dancing and the song instead of being slow, becomes dancable (I just have a thing for adding able to words).
I have spent the day walking like I'm dancing. And it's fun, I would love to do that. Why can't our lives be a big muscial where we all sing and dance. :)

I do really wish so, excpet there's this teeny tiny little problem. I can't sing. Well, that's what people say at least, I think my voice is fairly good. But that's what everyone (most at least) thinks.

Hairspray rules and it's has a great message. Makes you wish you had a life like theirs, at least it made me feel that way.

Thoughts on workers and discrimination

This post is for some random thoughts I've been having lately. I mean I'm not getting a proper chance to actually think about anything really, but well. Here we go.
I've been thinking about exploiting workers. And, no it's not in a political ideology type, where some people think capitalism is the cause of that. I think that I've seen many workers from other countries being treated very unfairly.
There are at least 5 or so ads in the newspaper on missing workers and they're mostly: Indian, Pakistani, from Bangladesh (what do you call people who are from there?) or so. You know, I don't really blame them on leaving just like that without notice. If they're paid 80 Rials a month, and they probably send most of it to their homes. What is left for them? If they got a chance to actually go back to their country once a year would be great.
I feel like bosses and company owners are really looking down on those workers. Say someone is working in the building business, the company he works in signed up to build a road (ok just let me continue, I may not know what I'm talking about but this has been getting on my nerves lately so just nod your head and keep on reading :P). And so the worker starts working at about 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. or even more. The heat of sun is unbearable and they have to do the work by themselves. They're getting paid a very low wage. I am beginning to realize I need to take some serious economy courses.
Now with all these terrible conditions, it doesn't help knowing that their families wouldn't survive.
And the contract they signed obliges them to stay or else, I don't really know what would happen. But really, to think of it all. What I just said may not make sense but the thing is, shouldn't people appreciate workers no matter what they do for a living? There should be a minimum wage for workers not just from the country itself but from those who are from other countries so that they wouldn't get exploited.
It's a real shame it's happening.

Anyways that's what my thinking got me to, and let's move to another topic, discrimination that is based on your nationality.
Those types of discrimination never fail to azaze me but this one is just really common.
Now I may not be the biggest patriot, but I'm proud of where I come. It doesn't mean I'm gonna have to walk around thinking I'm superior just because of the place I'm from.
Seriously, there are all these stereotypes about people based on their nationality and it doesn't really make sense. I know countries have their own traditions and customs but is that based on the country or on the culture that is in there?
Say a country that is big, and there are a lot of towns and cities in it, would it seem right to call everyone that comes from that country a clever person. I'm saying clever because maybe these stereotypes exist they're not all bad, well most of them but there are good ones. Like being clever, but if you think about it it doesn't make any sense (All types of discrimination doesn't for that matter).
So let's say you come from country A, and you're living in country B. You won't get discriminated against just from those in country B. But from people who aren't from country B but they live there.
If you've got a chance to travel abroad I'm sure you'll relate to what I'm saying. Don't get me wrong, this talk isn't because I'm a huge victim of being discriminated against because of my nationality but it's because of the people around me that talk about people and label them based on which country they come from.
It's really ridiculous, and not in a good kind of way.

That had to come out, and I'm thankful it did. The way it come out maybe too plain, or whatever.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it. :)

Reading!

Hi people, how is it going?
My holidays have been going alright, they're fun of course. Wasting time is still enjoyable. I mean I know sometimes it gets to the point where nothingness becomes annoying. Well, it still hasn't. Which is fantabulous.
I watched Oprah yesterday. The show was wonderful. It was about people having ideas on how to change the world. The first was a lady starting a programme called 'The Pajama Project' or something like that. Her project aims to collect new pajamas for kids who live in orphanages and such.
The second was a man who gave up his job in Microsoft to help provide books for kids in Nepal. His org 'Room to read' has built hundreds of schools and librarys around the world.
Third was that a lady started a project helping provide food by coupons. I didn't really get that since we don't do coupons here but it's great how she managed to do that.

Now, when I watched this show, I sort of thought about something I want to do in my life time. I want to start up a public library someday.
Reading is something I appreciate. I mean I may not be the most passionate person about reading but I truly appreciate it. And the thing is, reading is being forgotten day by day here. People around me don't read much anymore, except that my dad gives me hope about it. Regardless the fact that he reads books I will never understand in my life-time unless I major in Arabic which is very unlikely. But anyways, he loves to read. And he encourages me to read as well.
But with my friends, and people around me, they hardly read. I mean books! Not gossip magazines, I'm not saying it's wrong to read them, but you have to read other things too.
Here where I live, there's only one public library. To be honest I haven't been in there because where it's located and how it looks isn't at all encouraging. We don't have any store to buy books from. In Muscat it's a bit different. I know three places to get books from. The big store, Borders, in City Centre, and the one I mentioned earlier selling used books, and some bookstore which used to have more books than it has now.
That is all I know. There may be other places that I still don't know about but books need to be more avaliable. Cheaper, and more. Arabic books need to be provided more. I have to admit that I hardly read any Arabic books, I just don't know what to read.
I know it would mean so much to me if I could start a little public library, putting the books I have and books I get by... I don't know, friends and such. I don't know where it will be, maybe when I actually have the means to do it I won't be in Nizwa, who knows? But I think I have to do it.

Well, that's something to add to my to-do-list. I mean how hard could it be? If I could get a few people who are interested in reading. Of course it has to offer books with cheap prices. No room for buying because I've learned from Paulo Coelho that a book has it's journey and needs to be passed on to other's. Maybe I can get those who read to review the books and rate them (optional).
That's what I can think of write now. I've been thinking about it since I watched that show and I really really hope someday it will come true. Inshallah it will. :)
I may have been carried away but I seriously think it's not hard to accomplish if will and means are there.
Thank you!

Realizations come after exams are through

Today my mid-term exams finally came to an end. All I can say is that they went better than I thought they would.
Anyways going through these exams made me feel I lack many things. I mean these exams are the first "real" exams I've had. They were state exams and so, they were tougher than the exams we get from our teachers.
I've came to realize there are a few things I should have been taught (I phrase it this way so that it wouldn't say it straight that I should have acquired these things or learned them).
I should have been taught that exams do not say anything about who you are. I should have been taught that if you got a question wrong, it's alright, that mistakes make you learn lessons you won't forget. I should have been taught how to deal with exams.
I have been really stressed out, I mean at times it did reach a high rate but then on times I was only a little nervous.
There's this Arabic saying that goes like this:
'In the day of test, a person is either honoured or humiliated'
Or something like that. To tell you the truth, although I am a big believer that there are much more important things in life that show the real you than your school exams, I believe in such a saying. Both tests that we get in school and the tests you get in life. I believe most of you would agree with the later, I don't know if you would agree with the former but I do.
Might seem as though I have still more to learn, and that's totally true. We all have things to learn but my things are a bit different, just like everyone else's.

If you can't relate, I will not pretend to be the one who breaks this down to you but that's the best that I can do. I know I need to get over my exams anxiety and break-downs but still they're what pushes me forward to finish up my exams in a good way.
Anyways I just had to let that out, exhaling those last bits of nervousness out of my body. Exams are over and it's the time to enjoy the holidays fooling around with nothing to do. And just on the side note, if you're wondering who should've taught me the things I mentioned earlier don't ask, not that I will be unwilling to answer, it's just that I don't have the least idea. Maybe I should've taught myself but again maybe someone else, and maybe just maybe I shouldn't have been taught these things. Maybe I need to acquire them somehow someway.

Well.... What to say I'm still a little school girl. :)

To-Do-List

I got featured. YAY!
Well, here's the story. I found this really cool blog on blogger and I've been a regular, commetning and reading other's To-Do-Lists. The author of the blog is an author of a book called 'To-Do-Lists'. I'd love to get the book.
The idea behind the book and the blog are very cool indeed. They publish other people's lists.

Celebrating the New Year, there was this sort of calling for people to send lists about the new year, you know like New Year Resolutions, 2007 Acomplishment, and so on. A few of those sent lists will be featured. I thought I'd give it a try and send mine. I sat down and wrote my precious little acomplishments.

At that time I did it for the fun, nothing more. Of course I had in mind that it'd be great if I got featured. Anyways I just checked the blog now and there my list was. On a post, with two comments saying it was a good one.
How about that?
Well what are you waiting for, check it out: http://todolistblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/2007-accomplishmentshttpwwwbloggercomim.html
And leave your comments there!
:)
Hope everyone is having a nice New Year.
PS: Here's the blog link: http://todolistblog.blogspot.com/