How Iranian are you?

My score: 28

21-30: You've probably been living in the West for most of your life. You speak Persian with a slight accent but you're in touch with your culture. You think that there are attitudes in the West where you think are more suitable than your own and you try and mix yourself a bit. You're conscious that your not fully Iranian nor fully 'Xa'reji'. You sometimes wonder where you really belong in the world. You may have been to Iran a few times and enjoyed it but since you've lived in the West for so long you can never really go back.

The First Letter Analysis

Mine says:

M You are emotional and intense. When involved in a relationship, you throw your entire being into it. Nothing stops you; there are no holds barred. You are all-consuming and crave someone who is equally passionate and intense. You believe in total sexual freedom. You are willing to try anything and everything. Your supply of sexual energy is inexhaustible. You also enjoy mothering your mate.

Today's film: Snow Man (Adam Barfi). This film is about an Iranian man living in Turkey who's trying to get into America. To achieve his goal, he must dress as a woman. It was banned in Iran (cross-dressing is not considered to be appropriate behavior plus the film addresses the desirability of women who wear hijab). The film was multi-lingual as well: Farsi, English, and Turkish are spoken throughout. I linked y'all to the page that offers it with English subtitles if y'all are interested. It was very funny and truly showed what life is like for an Iranian in Turkey working to get the US visa (I'm speaking from personal experience as I have been in that situation myself). Also, here's a link to Bringing Down the House of Sand and Fog.



On : 6/23/2004 9:39:30 PM Samwise Tangee (www) said:

hey, I scored a 4 on that Iranian quiz!....... = | I'm, uh, sort of at a loss on what to do with it, though. Maybe I'd better remain a proud man of Chinese descent. Besides, EVERYBODY knows that everyone came from China, and as they left, they became "barbarians!" =) ...yes, I know, I will be slapped sooner or later...anywho, you know, my ancestors were royalty, I believe it was during during the Han dynasty! ...till my ancestor, who was an emissary to the emperor, decided to build a tower around his governing city instead of a Buddha...oh well!

On : 6/24/2004 5:04:32 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Sam, we share a common bond of having powerful royal ancestors until they screwed themselves over. Be proud of your dysfunctional ancestors! Oh, Sam, I would be happy to make you an honorary Iranian, but then I don't know if that would be a big honor, haha. I say just be proud of who you are, and we are all so proud of you, Sam.

On : 6/24/2004 11:37:27 PM gp (www) said:

i saw khandahar last night. i believe it was directed by an iranian.. but it was a documentary* about an afghan woman traveling in afghanistan during the taliban regime. not a great movie, but a good view of women in islam.

* not really a documentary, but filmed like a documentary and with horrible acting.

On : 6/25/2004 12:45:37 AM Sammy (www) said:

Hey, I just confirmed my ancestral history with my dad...it turns out my ancestor/emissary to the emperor was actually quite innovative building bridges across rivers and hard-to-traverse areas (only more efficient and faster than the high five construction...but I'll save that soapbox for another day!). However, building bridges were apparently frowned upon during that oh-so-entrepreneur-friendly administration, and was given the boot from Peking (Beijing) to the Fujian province, specifically the city of Xiamen, a treaty port-city that was opened after the British victory of the Opium War...that's government for you!...But in a sense, I'm happy (one might say thankful to God) that they were kicked out, as during the hostile takeover of our Commie "friends" it was easier for my grandparents to escape to the magical islands of the Philippines...interestingly enough, my great-grandpappy was a well respected doctor, who did charitable wonders for the poverty-stricken community, and to this day, the entire city still remembers him and will treat the Tan as if we were royalty

...all in all, ancestors are cool, and I want to be one when I grow up...oh, right..there's the whole getting married and having children and grand children part...bah! minor details!

Sorry!....maybe I shouldn't be commenting on people's blogs at 12:48 in the morning anymore

On : 6/25/2004 10:57:10 AM prettydoc (www) said:

gp, my parents saw Kandahar and they strongly disliked it as a film so I never got to see it. Sam, very cool history lesson. You're very diplomatic when in charge so of course you're a royal. My royal ancestor was a prince who ruled Mashhad (essentially founded the city as we know it today). He built the first school there as well as other infrastructure. His children continued to rule until the fall of the Qajar Dynasty in, I believe, 1929. But I still get to keep the title of Princess so that's pretty cool.

I watched 2 Iranian films today. The first was Bread, Love, and Motorcycle 1000(Naan, eshgh, va motor hezar). It was about a woman who's forced to marry a mechanic to get her inheritance. It was an excellent film and very funny. The second was Pastry Girl (Dokhtareh Sheerny Foroosh). It was also very good. It was about a man and woman who want to get married, but everytime they make it to the alter the girl's mom and the guy's dad start fighting and call off the wedding. By the time the film starts they have already been to the alter 8 times. There are 4 more movies left to get through.

Last night we went to Kasra Resaurant for some Persian cuisine. It opened on Tuesday and hasn't done any advertising. When we got into the parking lot and were in the process of parking our Expedition, this guy in the car behind us got out and starting saying, "You nearly hit me, motherfucker. Get out of your fucking car!" My dad just stuck his head out and said, "Sorry, I just couldn't see you" and stayed right where he was. The guy came up behind our car and kept yelling and I slumped in my chair because you never know what the other guy has in his car (reference the season finale of ER). The guy saw we weren't in the mood to deal with him and drove off. We went in the restaurant and ordered. The restaurant was beautiful and had live music (piano and violin). Half an hour later our food still hadn't arrived. My dad called a waiter over and asked him about the delay. The waiter said, "Well, have you ordered?" and my dad said, "Yeah, 1/2 hr ago." The grill is fully visible throughout the restaurant and we could see that it was empty. The waiter came back and said, "The chef just put the meat on the grill." My dad said, "He just put it on now?" The waiter said, "Uh, I mean it's been on..." My dad said, "Tell me the truth." The guy said, "Um, your food will be right out." Five minutes later another waiter came by and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but we've been out of Kabob Barg (steak kabob) so it takes us some time to make it. We have had so many orders all day and we've been having to make everything from scratch. I apologize but it will be out soon." We offered to change our order, but the guy said that it wouldn't be necessary. He then brought out some complimentary salad to tide us over. Well, 1/2 hr later the food finally comes out. What they did was give everyone their own plate of rice and then placed the kabob on large dishes in the center of the table, so it's sort of family-style. The kabob wasn't really that great, it was just OK. But we were so hungry we just ate everything. After dinner, we walked over to Talar Andishe, a small Persian cafe that also rents out movies and sells CDs and books (it's owned by J&J photography). It's located to doors down from Kasra. We rented 7 films (including The Circle and Secret Ballot) and talked to the owner who was saying how Kasra's owner had told him that he had purposely not advertised because he wanted to work the kinks out the business first. The Kasra owner was shocked that this many people had come to his restaurant after being open for only 3 days. He simply hadn't made enough food or bought enough ingredients. When we came home we felt obliged to see one movie, so we chose The Stranger (Gharibeh), about a guy who's forced into retirement by his company so he goes from job to job until he's finally screwed by his used car salesman brother-in-law.

Defensive driving was fun. About 1/2 the people there had gone to my high school (albeit graduating after me) and 1/2 of those people had just graduated last month. The rest of the people there had children who were in the same circumstances, so we could all share our Plano West experiences. The instructor had been a PISD bus driver so she had plenty of stories too. In fact, the whole class seemed like one big 6 hr storytime that was chockful of breaks. My first break I head over to Eckerd and grabbed Lemon flavored Infusion Water by Arizona. Then during the lunch break I walked over to Grandy's and had a Grilled chicken platter with green beans, corn, and coleslaw. As I was eating the green beans I realized that there was bacon in them! Totally freaked out, I brushed them aside and started scouring my corn to see what kind of porky surprise was awaiting me. Luckily my corn and cole slaw were safe. What kind of freaks puts bacon in the green beans! Well, my Grandy's lunch wasn't that great anyways. I should have gone to Burger King. See, Classic Driving School is an institution in the adolescence of all West Plano-ites. During Driver's Ed everyone would make trecks to Eckerd's and Grandy's (some girls even went to Sally Beauty Supply to buy nail polish and would give each other manicures during the second half of class). And while attending Karen Dillard's College Prep (which I regrettably did not) they often partied at Burger King or Dunkin Donuts. Ditto while at Haggard Public Library. These are definitely staples of a teen's life in West Plano, so it was totally retro for me to go to Classic for my defensive driving class.


On : 6/20/2004 5:24:04 PM diego (www) said:

ugh....i got a ticket last week on the way back from UTD (that school is frickin cursed)....unfortunately defensive driving won't be an option for me....i'll write some more about it later this week once i have all the info.

Twins break same arm, same way, same day

LONDON, June 18 (UPI) -- Identical 2-year-old British twins reportedly to broke their left arms in the same place on the same slide on the same day.

Now, Mitchell and Elliott Cocks have matching plaster casts to go with their matching clothes and haircuts, the Daily Express said.

After Elliott tripped over the base of the backyard slide doctors found he had broken his left arm. Mitchell, who had fallen off the slide earlier, complained of his left arm hurting and it was discovered also broken.

"I couldn't believe it," Sarah Cocks, the boys' mother, said.

Meanwhile, brother Kristian, 12, is also in plaster after breaking a foot last week. He'd only just had a cast removed after falling off his bike and breaking his arm.

--

Copyright 2004 by United Press International.

"Summer is the O.C. character you resemble most. Like Summer, you thrive on drama. You love to spend hours talking on the phone and you'll always do your part to keep a juicy rumor going. In your relationships you love the thrill of the chase, and are most interested in guys you see as challenges. Although you like to be the center of attention, you're not always as sure of yourself as you let on."

Click on Summer's picture to see which OC character you most resemble, courtesy of Seventeen magazine.

Another quiz: What is your theme song?

"God is a DJ" by Pink

"You love to have a good time, no matter what, and that's why Pink's party anthem is your theme song. You love being the center of attention and consider life your personal dance floor. Your top priority is to make the most of life, which for you means having as much fun as possible. Because of your contagious sunshiny personality you're always surrounded by a big group of friends—but they'd still love you even if you weren't always the life of the party!"

I've decided that if I was in the Simple Life, I'd be Paris, my sister would be Nicole, and my other sister would be Tinkerbell. That show's so funny even though it's pretty phony. As soon as I got to class today I started studying for the quiz and of course not listening to the epoxide lecture. Half way through class the professor said that he was going to make the quiz a take-home quiz. The students started saying, "Oh no, I studied all night for this!" I wanted to tell them all to shut up because if take-home quizzes are an option, I want to maximize the take-home quizzes. Then he said. "Don't be surprised if there's an in-class quiz on Monday." We're all like, ya gotta be kidding me. The thing is, when there's a quiz everything sorta stops and you put all your energy into it. Well, I was just glad that I taped my shows last night (although I did manage to squeeze in Sex and The City). Ah, thank goodness for timer record.



On : 6/18/2004 7:00:00 PM gp (www) said:

these quizes are the bane of my existance. a pox on quiz master's house.

my theme song? southern hospitality by ludacris..
no, i think probably something by flaming lips
or maybe some of the unreleased material from the flying jewfish.
or blood of abraham - the niggas, the jews

oh well.. no one will realize im sarcastic and no one will realize why my choices are so ridiculous. leave it to beaver.. giddy'up.

On : 6/18/2004 8:04:38 PM prettydoc (www) said:

I think your theme song should be "For Pete's Sake" by the Monkees: Love is understanding, don't you know that this is true, love is understanding, it's in everything we do. In this generation, in this loving time, in this generation, we will make the world shine. We were born to love one another, this is something we all need. We were born to love one another, this must be what we're going to be. And what we have to be is free.

On : 6/20/2004 4:49:03 PM gp (www) said:

are you accusing me of being fake?

On : 6/20/2004 8:46:15 PM prettydoc (www) said:

gp, I would never. I love you far too dearly.

I picked up dinner at Pei Wei tonight. After I ordered my Mongolian Beef with Brown Rice the clerk asked for my name to put it on the order. I told her and then I went and sat down to wait. She walked over to another clerk who was a guy and said, "That girl's name is Maryam. Do you know her?" The guy was like, "Who?" She says, "That girl over there with the Mongolian beef order her name is Maryam. Do you know her?" The guy says, "What makes you think that I would know her?" The girl says, "Because you seem to know all the pretty girls who come here and I wanted to know if you knew that one too." The guys says, "No, I don't know her, but I want to." Y'all, alls I gots to say is DAAAAAMMMMMMNNNNNN!!!


On : 6/16/2004 9:08:19 PM diego (www) said:

nice.

On : 6/16/2004 11:26:21 PM prettydoc (www) said:

I know, I was like, where's my tape recorder? haha, mos def a cool moment.

On : 6/17/2004 12:25:16 PM gp (www) said:

ha. nice. how could you hear them? mongolian beef is the deal on wheels.. i used to order that. pure gold.

On : 6/17/2004 2:08:01 PM prettydoc (www) said:

I was in the to-go section, so basically I was sitting right in front of them. Since it's a loud place they had to scream to hear each other. Yeah, I'm the only one in my family that likes Mongolian beef. I'm trying to convert them, but it's a lost cause. They're garlic brocolli chicken people.

I got an 83 on my O Chem test. Yay!!!! I have proved to myself that I can do it and I'm going to go farther. I have a quiz tomorrow over alcohol (tee hee) so I'll be studying. But there's a lot of great TV tonight: The Simple Life 2, Quintuplets, Bonus Simple Life 2, Method and Red, Newlyweds season premiere, and The Ashlee Simpson Show. I watched Sex and the City on TBS last night. I love how this is edited so I don't have to be embarrassed to watch it with my sisters. I used to always have to watch it alone in hotel rooms (don't ask). God bless TBS editing, courtesy of Marie Shirtnleeve wife of Rich Shirtnleeve of Kidd Kraddick in the morning fame. It's on tonight too as part of their "5 nights of great sex" marathon, but I want to watch the Simpson sisters premieres on MTV. We'll see how this all plays out. So me and flashcards in front of the tube...don't you just love summer?

Still haven't gotten my O Chem test back. I hope I did well. I spent all day in Frisco yesterday. I hit Sam Moon, TJ Maxx, and Ross. I mid a midday stop at the Starbucks in SuperTarget and grabbed an Izze Sparkling Grapefruit Juice instead of my unusual unsweetened black Iced Tea Lemonade. It was fantabulous!! I ended my day in Frisco with a grilled chicken sandwich with cinnamon apples at the Cotton Patch Cafe and a hot glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut. MMmmm, yumsters! I went threading today and the threader said, "Wow you just keep losing weight. Are you still just dieting?" I told her about how I started exercising too this past month and she was like, "so how much have you lost?" I told her it was 17 lbs and she's like, "wow, good for you girl!" How's that for a self-esteem boost?


On : 6/15/2004 9:47:14 PM diego (www) said:

awesome. keep up the good work with the diet.

Studyin hard for my first O Chem test tomorrow. My elliptical machine broke for the 3rd time, so 3 strikes and it's out. That means I'll have to work out at UTD after my test. I must make an A. Peace out.

Tonight we had some people over. They're the son and daughter of one of my dad's best friends in college. They grew up in Holland but go to college here at TWU and TCU. When my dad was in Holland he stayed with them and when they're dad came here he always stayed with us. I've only seen the kids twice before but each time we always get along really great and have a good time. We like each other very much. The son is beautiful and is one of the 4 guys I know that can stop traffic with their good looks. The daughter is equally stunning and my age (her bro is 21). We got along great tonight as we always do and I exchanged cell numbers and email addresses with the sister and look forward to getting together with her for lunch or the movies. They're really two of the most genuine people I know and I'm glad they're in DFW.


On : 6/12/2004 10:00:39 PM diego (www) said:

come on maryam, aren't you gonna introduce me to this girl? i can tell ya if she's really hot.

On : 6/13/2004 12:02:04 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Anytime, man. I'll hook you up.

On : 6/13/2004 5:45:49 PM diego (www) said:

that's what i'm talkin about

Last night was very MidEast: Turkish food, Arabic dance, and Iranian movie. We head down to Inwood village in anticipation of the highest grossing (and most controversial) film in Iranian history, Marmoolak (The Lizard). We first went to Cafe Istanbul, which is right behind the Inwood theater for some Turkish cuisine. They had great Beef Shishkabob but the Lamb was too greasy. I really enjoyed dinner. In the middle of our meal, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the restaurant had a bellydancer! She was very fit (thank God!) and was very talented. She could take a coin and move it around with her stomach muscles. Then she could lie down and put too teacups on her stomach, one full one empty. She then could pour the tea from one cup to the other without spilling using just her stomach muscles! Then she told a guy to drink from the cup while she still had it on her belly. It was great fun. She even danced to Ojos Asi! Finally, we head over to the Inwood theater to catch the film. It was by far one of the funniest movies I have ever seen! I have never laughed this hard during an Iranian film that wasn't a "Samad Agha" film or "Italia Italia." It was HI-larious! I loved the references to Spiderman and Quentin Tarantino, plus all the sexual references. Half of the laughter came from how the audience didn't expect to find those kinds of things in an Iranian film (the film was banned in Iran because of them), the other half came because they were genuinely funny. I don't know how much an American audience can appreciate this film though, but I would still encourage people to see one of the few great Iranian comedies.

I got my O Chem quiz back: 95 baby! Can you believe I actually got an A? I was so psyched that when he gave it back to me I immediately ran out of class and called my mom. She was like, thank God you called because it was all I was thinking about. This score has really made me confident about the test on Monday, but I'm still studying hard. As a reward, we all went to the best Persian restaurant in Dallas, Giovanni's. Yes the name is Italian because they serve both Italian and Persian cuisine. Well we all got Kabob Soltanis and we were stuffed. Then my sisters and I headed to the movies and watched Harry Potter. It was great; way better than the first 2. I have a strong dislike for the 2nd film, but this one rocked. Cuaron's style is much darker than Columbus's, which was a big factor in why I liked it. Also, Harry actually got pissed off in this movie and guys just look hot when that happens. I mean, when they're not POed at you, of course. Hermione was as cute as ever. I love that girl, she reminds me of myself. Emma Thompson was not used enough, but her scenes were great too. Too bad her ex Kenneth Branaugh wasn't in this one. The new Prof. Dumbeldor was not as compelling as Richard Harris and didn't seem as wise. He was more like a silly old coot than a Yoda-like mentor. We miss you Richard, whereever you are. I watched the MTV Movie Awards. They were lame. At least I got to see Adam Brody.


On : 6/12/2004 10:01:54 PM diego (www) said:

i liked the movie alot. having cuaron (viva mexico!) direct it was a great call. i liked the darkness and it was awesome how harry got pissed off at the beginning. ah, teenage angst.

On : 6/13/2004 12:04:57 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Too bad they didn't use the Lindsay Lohan on SNL technique, haha. My sister and I made some dirty Harry Potter jokes during the movie, but I'll tell you those in private.

I got my quiz back. I got a 44. Yeah, I'll be dropping that one. OK, at least I won't need to know that stuff on any tests or our final. On today's quiz his multiple choice questions were all from last year's test 1. Thank God I studied it so I know I got those right. But the last question (worth 25 pts) was to find the structure using IR, MS, and NMR. Get this: I misplaced the OH! I didn't realize this until I got home, a good 3 hrs too late. DAMMIT!!! I really hope he just takes off no more than 5 since I showed a whole bunch of my work and he said that he grants partial credit. One of the questions had to do with the IR frequency of C-N, but there is no IR frequency of C-N in our book, so I used C=N's frequency. I hope that was right. (Crosses fingers) Oh, I just checked; I am right. Yes!!

The past week's Boondocks I like all the Iraq ones. The other two strips just aren't that funny.
Oh, here are some from the week before that that are also very good.

In other news, I took my first O Chem quiz today. My professor prefaced it by stating that this quiz would only count if it would help our average. Otherwise he would drop it and not count it as our one quiz drop. That's because our quiz was over O Chem 1, another course altogether. I think I did well on it though, knock on wood. I'll find out tomorrow when I take my second quiz over IR, MS, and NMR, or as I like to call it "alphabet soup."

These are my confessions...

Today in class my professor informed me that we would have a quiz tomorrow over O Chem 1, another quiz Wednesday over Ch. 12-13, and a test Monday over Ch. 12,13, and 10. Ah, now I remember why I dislike O Chem so much: the stress! Everything just happens so fast in that class. I went to Macaroni Grill for lunch (yay!). One of my friends who graduated from Columbia this year is going to tour Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua with her sister (my first best friend [from my deep, dark past] who happens to have the same name as me). I think it would be cool to do something like that. Hopefully I can travel somewhere someday sans the parental units. That would be fun. This student loan business is such a drag. Why does my school have to cost so much? I'm thinking of changing my little webpage message from "Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race" to "these are my confessions..." What do y'all think?

Read this. It's absolutely fabulous. I've been a fan of Ms. X's X-rated O Chem site for quite a while now (I'm even using it to study for my quiz Tuesday), and I'm pleased to see that she now has a personal statement section to her site. Keep up the good work, Ms. X.


On : 6/7/2004 11:49:04 AM paranoid (www) said:

awesome

Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93
While I never fully agreed with his policies (I'm what you may call a "bleeding heart liberal"), I always appreciated Reagan's status as "The Great Communicator." He knew how to please his audience and was always ready with the words his people needed to hear. His delivery was impeccable and his phrases timeless. I think no matter what your political ideology you can agree that he was a likable popular figure with certain moments that can bring a smile to your face ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"). I have a feeling that President Bush will milk his association with Reagan for all that it's worth this election year, however. As they say, that's politics.

I got my financial aid statement today. I hate how the grants just decrease as the years go by. I also went to a scribe meeting at work and somehow got stuck working tomorrow morning. I guess it's not too bad. I am ashamed at myself for wasting 2 hrs today watching TV when I should have been studying. I will stop and spend the rest of the night studying. Really, I will...


On : 6/5/2004 7:18:19 PM gp (www) said:

hey.. thank the stars you live in texas instead of here.. grant money is almost nonexistant and tuition is going up for residence and non-residence.. basically all the state schools in colorado are going to have private tuition within five years if things dont shapen up.

I got my first speeding ticket today. I was leaving UTD and was on Floyd Rd. There were 2 cops on motorbikes waiting for people to come by so that they could stop them. When I was stopped the cop told me that I was going 40 in a 30. I told him I didn't see a sign (I hadn't) but he said he had to give me a ticket anyway. Right then the other cop stopped somebody else behind me. The cop told me w/ defensive driving I can get this off my record. That's nice. As soon as I left he stopped somebody else. My mom was a little mad, but she said she understood how Richardson PD can be (we used to live there). Now I have to "wait till my father gets home." That'll be fun. I saw that Persian guy from my lab at the UTD bookstore today. He's taking Physics (just like the rest of the premed class of 2006). He was wearing head to toe SMU gear, which I thought was a tad on the tacky side. I had a dream last night that starred Thomas Ian Nicholas and this one Persian guy I used to like who's now dating one of my friends. Hmm, if only I'd had a dream about getting a speeding ticket...


On : 6/3/2004 9:27:40 PM diego (www) said:

the only ticket i've gotten so far, i got at UTD. took a left turn illegaly. what made it illegal was the time of day that i took it at. bah. luckily it was the UTD police and i only had to pay a 30 buck fine.

On : 6/3/2004 11:04:02 PM prettydoc (www) said:

What's up with UTD and traffic tickets?

Ever since my grandma came it's been a world of 24/7 Iranian satellite TV. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet of music videos and "doctors" touting the next snake oil, uh I mean "vitamins that cure cancer." Those satellite channels used to be guilty pleasures, but now they're just annoying. To be clear, only one of these channels is actually from Iran. The rest are based in LA, thus the music videos featuring strippers pole-dancing. I was talking to my grandma and mid-conversation she says, "Wow, you look just like Jessica Simpson." Y'all may be surprised, but this isn't the first time I've been told that. Usually, though, it's attributed to my body shape. I was pretty surprised that my grandma knew who Jessica was, but then she started talking about the Kobe Bryant case and I was blown away. So she called me Jessica the rest of the day, which is weird cuz my sister calls me Mandy because she says I'm just like Mandy Moore. In 10th grade, everyone said I was "sooo Jennifer Lopez" and in 12th grade everybody said I was "soo Shakira." So just give me Britney's bod and Christina's voice, and I'm a certified pop star!


On : 6/6/2004 3:42:36 AM persianguy (www) said:

Agha Shabkhez' channel is ok. I don't like much Iranian TV channels, most of them are run by the monafeeghs (hypocrites). However, I do like Al-Manar, ITN, and Pars.

Iranians Face Crackdown on 'Immoral' Behavior

Our guest star this month is...my grandma! (What, you were expecting Brad Pitt?) She's my mom's mom and she arrived tonight at 6pm from sunny Los Angeles where she's been staying with my aunt and uncles for the past few months. I think we can show her a good time here. I started my O Chem 2 class today. The professor seems nice. He's really into BioChem and he said that he often uses medical examples because he knows that the majority of his students are pre-health. The thing is, he incorporates the powerpoints my previous teacher used with his own. Pretty strange considering those powerpoints were made by a professor at Richland Community College. Hmm... Well, at least I don't have to get a new textbook. At UTD the students have to buy their own scantrons (huh?) so I head over to the bookstore to pick those up and got a sweet UTD folder with Hawaiian flowers on it. I thought it was perfect for summer school. I also discovered Diet Snapple and picked up a bottle of Lemon Iced Tea. It really hit the spot as I made the trek to my car. My plan this week is get a parking tag and a student ID card so that I can use the Activity Center. I think I'm gonna like my new school.



On : 6/2/2004 4:31:04 PM Will K (www) said:

SMU students have to buy their own scantrons too.
I watched ... "Iran, Veiled Appearances" last night. Farsi is silly. Revolution is cool :P

On : 6/2/2004 7:09:32 PM gp (www) said:

one more question about children of heaven... is there some symbolism to the name? or is it just because they were nice kids?

On : 6/2/2004 7:44:45 PM prettydoc (www) said:

I've never heard of "Iran, Veiled Appearances." Is it a documentary? Ah revolution; it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. gp, I think there is symbolism behind the title of Children of Heaven because the Iranian movies that came out at that time that featured kids were all metaphors for the Iranian struggle under the current government. I'm not sure what the exact true meaning of the title is, but Majidi himself said that the film is symbolic of something else. There's a lot of theories out there, and I think there are some sites devoted to explaining the film.

On : 6/2/2004 10:21:02 PM Will K (www) said:

That post was at least two paragraphs. :P
Please correct.

On : 6/2/2004 11:51:53 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Right after you learn how to spell "learning" and "tomorrow."

I did not make this blog but it's interesting to read. I spent the day cleaning up around the house in preparation for the guest star arriving tomorrow. I've also been getting ready for my summer school class, which also starts tomorrow. I'm a little nervous. Hopefully I will do better in this class the second time around. UTD uses the same textbook as SMU, so I've been reviewing to refresh the O Chem in my mind. I must make an A in this course. Let's all think happy thoughts. Haha, bunnies...

Today I discovered Ben & Jerry's "diet" ice creams: Carb Karma, No Sugar Added, Light Ice Cream, and Low Fat Frozen Yogurt. This could prove to be dangerous. I enjoyed the Half Baked Carb Karma and the Strawberry No Sugar Added. Don't get the Swiss Vanilla Almond Carb Karma, it's too bland. I watched The 6th Day starring the governor of California. For some reason, these science fiction movies lose all their fun when you know the real science behind them. I mean, the idea that our brains hold info that can be transmitted through our eyes onto SIM cards and that your clone could just look at the info on the SIM cards and become just like you is rediculous. The best part of the movie was when Arnold and his clone would talk to each other. It was hilarious. I kept waiting for one of them to say, "Slow down, I can't understand your accent." I've kept up my workouts with the at-home elliptical machine that I built myself (yes, I'm tooting my own horn there). My sister picked up Sonic for me totally on a whim. She comes home and says, "I've got carb-friendly buns!" I was like, uhhhh good for you? And she's like, "No, not that! The hamburger buns are carb-friendly. And I got Diet Cherry Limeades!" She was very excited. Hell, I was excited. Seriously, the synthetic stuff can only get you so far. I'm really into salads right now. I don't want to rely on pre-packaged stuff like I did with Slim-Fast. But I've lost 15 lbs these last 2 months so I'm pretty happy. Oh, and a sneak peek: we have a guest star appearing on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

So tonight's Wedding Special has special guest stars! Who'd a thunk it? After spending the day primping for the wedding, we finally shipped off. We had only eaten salad for lunch and drove to Los Colinas with visions of kabob and shirin berenj dancing in our heads. When we arrived at the wedding the band was playing. But this was not just any band, it's our special guest star: The Boyz! Now you're all thinking, who the hell are The Boyz? Well, they're one of the bands that emerged during the Persian boy band craze of 1999 and they've been able to stick around since then. Isn't that a c-razy turn of events? They were singing an eclectic mix of songs (90% Persian, 5% Arabic, 5% Spanglish). They even did Ricky Martin's Cup of Life. Of course the bride's family made a big deal about how they got celebrities to sing at their wedding. Eh, I would have made a big deal too. So we danced and then dinner was served. So first we all got salad and then everyone was geared up for the main course. It was grilled chicken breast. That's it. No kabob, no shirin berenj, no Iranian food at all. So we bought them a $300 wedding gift for this? (See I can say that because I had never seen the bride and groom before today, and I still have no idea who they are.) The guests were a little indignant about the lack of Persian food and the dry wedding cake. The Boyz's Rojeh (AKA the "cute" one) tried to cheer up the crowd by jumping onto the dance floor and dancing with some married women. Yeah, that didn't help much. Well, I'm a big dancer, but my sisters aren't so they constantly just wanted to sit down. Thus I was forced to do the same a lot of the time. We shared a table with 2 other families that we know. The families are actually both made up of an Iranian husband and American wife. They have beautiful kids. One of the family's son goes to SMU law and just finished his first year (he's the guy we saw that one day in front of Fondren library, Diego). He's gorgeous with blue eyes, black hair, and a soft breathy voice. Every girl that sees him melts, but I've known him for so long that I'm pretty immune to his charms. His sister is also very beautiful and guys were constantly asking her to dance with them. She just graduated from UT Austin. They're both great people and not into all the crazy Iranian scene here in Dallas. Incidentally, one of the wedding guests was a certain "Prince" Payam. He had a website a few years ago filled with pictures of Dallas Persians partying. The site made him something of a celebrity among the young Persians who were constantly checking his site to see if they were on it and, more importantly, to see who else was on it. It was a pretty cool time in Dallas Persian history. At the end of the reception, the band suddenly packed up to leave. The bride's dad got up and started fighting with them. See, he had hired them to play for 6 hrs and they had only played for 5. Then one of the band members yelled to him, Thanks for suing us! The band left and the bride's friends put on Shania Twain. That was our cue to get the heck out of dodge, so we bid everyone a fond farewell and went on our way.

I think you will be a tad bit surprised by the events that I will record in this post. It's just one of the many twists in the summer season of "Prettydoc's World." So yesterday we packed our bags and said goodbye to fabulous Las Vegas. We had such a lovely time and are glad to end our trip on a relaxed note. We get in the Bellagio towncar and drive off to McCarran airport and the Boeing 757 that's waiting to take us home. We go all the way through airport security (this time I made sure to wear a bra that doesn't beep. It was so embarrassing to be felt up in front of everyone at DFW before my departure flight). Then we waited at the gate and my dad and sisters go to check out WHSmith. So my mom and I are just sitting at the gate and lo and behold the PA system comes on: "Due to thunderstorms in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area all of today's American Airlines flights to DFW have been CANCELED. Since this is due to weather, we will not be able to assist you in anyway. You are on your own, suckers!" (OK, so I made up that last sentence, but that's what it felt like.) So my mom jumps into the now very long line to make a new flight reservation and I call my dad on my cell to tell him what happened. My dad runs back and joins my mom in line. Then, a stroke of genius hits me. I grab my cell and call the American Airlines reservation hotline. I get on the phone with Anthony, the perky clerk, who happily offers me several flight times. I ask my dad when he wants and he says 3pm the next day. So I make the reservation and everything is A-OK. Meanwhile, the rest of the poor saps are still in the winding line not knowing if they'll get a flight. I love coming out on top! (Wow, I sound really evil right there.) So we stay in line and the AA guy checks us in, saving us valuable time later on. Well, while I was on the phone with AA, my dad had been on the phone with a hotel for us to stay in tonight. The hotel was not our beloved Bellagio, but The Venetian. They had been calling him for months to stay there and he thought that this would be a great opportunity to take him up on their offer. So we agree and get on the taxi and head for The Venetian. Our cab driver was incidentally a former employee of The Venetian and told us stories about how he helped build part of it, how he worked at the front desk, and how the owner didn't pay half of the construction bill. I remember staying at the Mirage years ago when the Venetian was being built across the street and hearing about how a construction worker had fallen to his death that day. Scary stuff. Well, we get to The Venetian and of course it has lovely architecture but once we got to our suite we saw that that's where the beauty ends. The shower was covered with black mold, the toilet didn't flush very well, and when I sat in the bed I felt as if phantom bugs were crawling on me. But we agreed we should not jump to conclusions, but instead give the Venetian a chance. So while my dad played downstairs we girls headed over to the pool and spa. The pool was dirty and covered with leaves and the spa was even more disgusting. The whirlpool was smaller than my bathtub and it was not shaped in a circle, so how can it whirl? The whole hotel just seemed strange. None of the staff was courteous, particularly in the restaurants. Perhaps we were spoiled my Bellagio, but when my dad caught up with us later raving about how loose the slots are here, we all begged him not to get too attached because we didn't want to come there anymore. We went for a walk outside to get out of the hotel and thought we'd cross the street to check out the Sirens of TI. TI is Treasure Island, which was known for it's Pirate Show. Well the Pirate show stopped a while ago and the name was changed to TI to give the resort a more "cool" image. The pirate show was replaced with the Sirens of TI where sexy sirens lure the pirates to their cove. So it's the pirate show with hot chicks. Well as soon as we get to the show, the PA system comes on: "Due to heavy winds, the Sirens of TI has been cancelled. HAHA, suckers!" We stop in our tracks, look at the sky and say, "What did we do to deserve this?" On the record, we felt no wind. What the hell were they talking about? For some reason, the world had decided to cancel everything. So we walked inside TI and then took the tram to the Mirage and walked around there and head back to the Venetian. The next day (Friday) we awoke, packed everything, said goodbye to Vegas (this time not so relaxed), and took the cab to the airport. Luckily we had already checked in so we went straight to security and got to the gate. Our flight was not on a 757, but instead was on one of the former TWA planes (you know the small rickety ones where there's no TV or radio and every seat sucks and the landings are never smooth and your bag doesn't fit into the overhead compartment because anything bigger than your fist can't fit in there.) But we sucked it up and got on the plane. We sat in the very last row, right by the propeller so we couldn't hear a thing. I couldn't even talk to the person next to me without shouting. I finally relax in my seat and look diagonally to my right and a gentleman is reading a magazine exactly in my line of vision. But not just any magazine, the guy was reading....PENTHOUSE!!!!!!! WTF is the MoFo doing reading PENTHOUSE on a plane?! So there in all it's smutfilled glory I'm forced to stare at unspeakable nastiness. So I try to block my poor mother next to me from seeing the magazine by turning and talking to her about random things. Of course, she can't hear me because of the goddam propellor so she looks right past me and sees the Penthouse. "Omigosh," she says, "That guy's reading porn!" I'm like, I know, I tried to keep you from seeing it. She's like, that's so gross! Well, then the flight attendant comes over cuz my dad couldn't fit his suitcase into the overhead bin because it's bigger than a fist so the flight attendant is all, sir you need to check that bag yada yada yada. Well, I'm all geared up to say, What about the perv reading porn on the airplane? when my dad finally fits his suitcase into the bin and the flight attendant makes her way down the row. As she walks by she says the spread-eagle centerfold and says to the perv, "What do you think you're doing?! You can't have porno on the airplane! Take it to the bathroom!" My mom looks at me and says, "What would he do with it in the bathroom? I don't get it." I'm like, Mom you don't want to know. Luckily the guy puts it up in the bin, but my mom and I still refused to go pee during the flight. The image just couldn't get out of our heads. So after our bumpy landing we finally made it to DFW. We get on the shuttle to our parking (which arrived 20 min after our flight did) and the shuttle is packed. So we all have to stand. While the shuttle is driving, it takes a sharp turn and I nearly fall into this couple by the window. The whole bus starts pointing and laughing at me (hey, it's the story of my life) and the woman says, "We may have to grope you" while her husband says, "Don't worry, I'm pretty soft to land on." I'm totally embarrassed and apologizetic, but everyone just keeps laughing. So we keep going and 5 min later I fall again but this time my dad catches me and the people on the bus were more worried than laughing. My sister starts saying, oh she's just tired from the flight and someone says, what did she fly the plane or something? Well that guy got shut up real fast. When I got off the bus my sister said, "Everybody on the bus gettin tipsy!" and my other sister kept pretending that she was falling on me. Finally we made it home where I was safe from thunderstorms, nasty hotel rooms, porn-reading perverts, and falling on buses. So now all I have to do is find the energy to deal with the wedding tomorrow. Oh, fcuk it.



On : 5/29/2004 11:43:57 AM gp (www) said:

i saw children of heaven.. i was right, very similar to la vita e bella.. but soo much cuter. very cute movie. =)

id like to go to las vegas some day.. but i dont think i could take it for more than a few hours. i met a guy the other day that used to work at the circus circus as a bouncer. he didnt realize the exact reason i was laughing so much, but he knows how ridiculous the place is. i think the cooler is a great las vegas movie. i never liked casino much or any of the card hustler movies, rounders, etc.

be well.
- gp

On : 5/29/2004 12:06:10 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Children of Heaven is a definite classic and one of the few Iranian films with a happy ending. I also recommend The White Balloon and The Color of Paradise. They are the two Iranian films that came out right before and right after Children of Heaven. If you watch them as a trilogy, you can definitely see a progression. I understand how the casino aspect of Vegas could get boring, but I don't participate in that so each day held a new adventure. I liked when The OC visited Vegas. It was the closest depiction to my own experiences. I think it's because they were underage so they had to occupy themselves in other ways.

On : 5/29/2004 11:04:40 PM gp (www) said:

where was children of heaven filmed? really beautiful backdrops and a fun, almost inwardly swollen city. they may have mentioned during the film where it was, but i dont remember. i think color of paradise is on my list. also by majid majidi?

On : 5/29/2004 11:53:08 PM persianguy (www) said:

Children of Heaven rox0red. Sorry about your whole "venitian" incident, God forbid you go a night under the conditions of all us simpleton non-bourgeois folk.

On : 5/30/2004 12:00:18 PM Will K (www) said:

Persian guy, Dont ever say "rox0red" again. Matter of fact dont bother opening your mouth ever again, even to breathe.
Maryam, please use paragraphs to structure your thoughts.
Your recent posts have been quite exciting, reporting on a world that truly belongs to you. Now if you could just break up the huge text dumps. :P

On : 5/30/2004 2:16:26 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Wow Will, that was really constructive (and I'm not being sarcastic). I appreciate it, and I have taken your suggestion and will use it. I hope persianguy does the same. gp, Majid Majidi is sort of like the Stephen Spielberg of Iranian cinema. He made Children of Heaven and the Color of Paradise. Jafar Panahi runs a close second and made The White Balloon and The Circle. The Circle was banned in Iran because it actually gives voice to the plight of women.

On : 5/30/2004 3:50:56 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Oh, and I'm pretty sure Children of Heaven was filmed in Tehran. That city has pretty distinctive gutters.

So a big negatory on the whole FCUK thing. The only shirt I was willing to get had FC and UK with two fingers colored like the Union Jack holding a peace gesture. They had it in white and black, but only in XS. I was like, um ok I apologize for having breasts, I know it may seem unusual for women to have but they must fit into the shirt. So there went that. So the store is in the Desert Passage mall at the Aladdin, which is a MidEast themed hotel. In previous years it was filled with bellydancers, guides dressed like sheiks at each map, Arab acrobats, and Ya Habibi music. Well, yesterday I saw that they had removed those first 2 completely and replaced the Arab acrobats and music with Rastafarian acrobats and Raggae music. Um, last I checked there were no Rasfarians in the Middle East. Oh, and their "acrobatics" was break-dancing. BREAK-DANCING?! It was so crazy! I was like, stick to the theme, people. Plus the crowd they drew was nowhere near the crowd that used to come to see the real Arab acrobats and bellydancers. They still have their Hookah store and boy was it filled. My mom was like, what's a hookah and I'm like, you know mom the water pipe. She's like, "oh ghalyoon! Why didn't you say so?" I really wonder where the hookah word came from, maybe it's Arabic. Last night we went to Aqua, the seafood restaurant here. We started off with Iranian Beluga caviar served in the traditional style. It was fabulous as always. The neat thing is that the caviar Iran exports doesn't have that fishy smell which is such a signature for the Iranian caviar that's actually consumed in Iran. Iran always exports their better caviar. I don't like how Americans don't have lemon/lime with their caviar. That was always a staple in Iran. When we asked for lemon, the waiter didn't even bring it. Oh well, whatever. Then I had the Miso-glazed Chilean Sea Bass. Mmm, great stuff. Wish y'all were with me. Then I watched American Idol and saw that Fantasia won. Well, I'm happy for her. The look on her face when she won just made everybody in the room cry. Then I watched Super Millionaire, um ok so nobody the entire week won. What kind of a scam is this? Today's my last day here. My flight leaves tonight for Dallas and then I'll be caught up in getting ready for the wedding Saturday night. This morning I was the first to wake up, so I snuck down to the VIP lounge and borrowed one of their laptops to type this out while talking on my cell. I felt very high tech and executive. Yes, my Old Navy flip-flops make me feel very executive.

In other news, this Persian guy from my school just won a role on the Young and the Restless. His name is Iman Nazemzadeh. He appeared with his brother in the Jessica Lynch movie, they played Iraqis. Then he and his bro filmed a pilot called "LAX" (the airport, not the laxative) with Heather Locklear that will air this fall, Monday nights at 10/9c on NBC. Here's a link to the CBS site where you can watch video of his tryouts and read more about the Y&R contest.

After days of eating at Cafe Bellagio, Buffet, and Cafe Gelato, last night we finally got some fine dining. This was courtesy of our good friends at VIP services, who finally decided that we were worthy to eat their strawberries. So I ate their strawberries (and brownies, they got rid of the biscotti this year), and I kept y'all in mind (and the possibility of a road trip with my homies to my favorite vacation destination). Last night we had dinner at Shintaro, which is Bellagio's version of Beni Hana. First we had salad, then Miso soup. Then we had the "Symphony of Land and Sea" Teppinyaki combo, which consisted of beef tenderloin, prawns, and lobster. It was all made in front of us teppinyaki style with the knife throwing and the oil boiling. Then the chef made shrimp fried rice in front of us too and we finished dinner with chocolate mousse. It was awesome, and the food was great. I took some pictures on my digital camera, so I'll send y'all some once I figure out how to upload pics. I watched American Idol last night, and I think I'm the only person who wants Diana DeGarmo to win. She's just so much funner to me than Fantasia. Her version of "Enough is Enough" really spoke to me, while none of Fantasia's stuff left me floored. Eh, I've barely watched this season at all (which has made me an outcast among some of my friends; see there are reasons why I watch TV). Then I head down to the lounge, ate some strawberries and headed back up to watch Super Millionaire. Tonight's the last night and Millionaire is much more exciting now than it was when I was in high school. I think today we're gonna go to the Desert Passage at Aladdin, home of my favorite store FCUK. No, read it again more slowly this time...yes, isn't it hilarious? I have flip-flops from them, but maybe this will be the year when I'm brave enough to buy a shirt that says "FCUK in Sin City" or, another one of my favorites, "Arretez looking at mes boobies."


On : 5/26/2004 7:03:08 PM diego (www) said:

i was gonna buy a shirt at Willow Bend from FCUK that just said FCUK in letters on the front and my mom was like "there's no way I'm letting you buy that." bah.

On : 5/26/2004 7:40:39 PM Will (www) said:

FCUK ... I remember that from middle school. Vaguely.

On : 5/27/2004 11:47:51 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Yeah, my mom was like, oh this French Connection...I had a French Connection shirt in the 70s when they were a new company. They're not that great. I was like, Mom the shirts are funny. I'm not buying for quality here.

I'm watching Bush's address. He's saying a lot of good stuff, even though he can't say "Abu Ghraib" to save his life. Of course, he always says good things, it's his deeds that count. His approval rating is so low, but I think this speech will get it back up. He's saying exactly what everyone's been wanting to hear. But, you know, talk is cheap, so we'll have to see how this all plays out after June 30. Today we went down to the Fashion Show Mall. They actually had a fashion show. Nothing like hard bodies in bikinis and high heels strolling down the catwalk to a remix of "The Girl from Ipanema." I snapped a couple pics on my camera phone, but they really weren't that great. We didn't wind up buying anything, but it seemed like all the clothes looked the same in every store. We walked down to the mall from Bellagio and passed through the funnest part of the whole walk, the Harrah's Boardwalk. They always have a stage with a band and dancers, today they had imitation Earth, Wind, and Fire (let's groove tonight, share the spice of life), and we even saw an Elvis impersonator. Only in Vegas.

Things are going well here. I saw something interesting today. At Cafe Gelato, one of the clerks was training another so we had 2 guys serving us. On all the employees tags, they have their names and places of origin. The trainee was from Armenia and his trainer was Alejandro from Mexicali. He was pretty cute, but the thing that caught my eye was Mexicali. So I'm walking back to the elevator thinking "Where's Mexicali?" when my sister and I come to the conclusion that it's a combo of Mexico and California, like how we say Tex-Mex in Texas. Let me know if any of y'all can shed light on this. I didn't get to go the Monet exhibit today, but hopefully I'll get to go before we have to go home. Binion's is having the Poker World Series and Tobey Maguire and Norm McDonald are there. Why can't they have this stuff at Bellagio? Well, at the Las Vegas Convention Center tomorrow they're having a jewelry convention. I really want to go check it out (free samples!). Apparently this is a big deal convention because all the rooms in Vegas are getting booked up. You know me, I go where the hype takes me. I went to the Buffet for lunch and I was very good about being low-carb (really, all I ate was meat and veggies). But then I saw my biggest weakness: creme caramel. My dad used to own a restaurant where they served creme caramel. Everytime I went there I would eat fetaccine alfredo and creme caramel. Ever since I was in 4th grade and had my first taste I promised myself that whenever creme caramel was available I would eat it. So I had to. You don't understand how good it was. Mmmm...If you've never had it find yourself a French place and eat some. Or you can have flan, I guess...no, go for the creme caramel.

While I was here I managed to finish my FAFSA and sent it off with no problem. Ah, the beauty of the internet. I'm excited to hear that Michael Moore won the Palm D'Or for Farenheit 9/11. I'll be even more excited when I see it. He's one of those people who always has something interesting to say. I like how his website has a page devoted to a petition to get Oprah to run for president. I mean, I've been saying that for years and it's cool to see that someone else was thinking that. So far LV's been going well. The exercise room was great fun, I spent 2 hrs there. There was this one young guy who was really proud of his body and kept flexing and grunting in front of the mirror. I was like, this isn't Muscle Beach buddy. Is it just me or does everybody have an iPod? The treadmills and elliptical machines have TVs attached to the front of them and you plug in headphones to listen, but a lot of people were passing on the headphones in favor of their own iPods. I guess it's just one aspect of technology that I haven't caught up with and probably never will. Tomorrow I'll probably go see the Monet exhibit in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. The exhibit's paintings are from the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, so I think it will be a treat. Last December I saw the Andy Warhol celebrity portraits here, and it was a stone gas. Wow, I can't believe I just said "stone gas."

So here I am in THE fabulous Las Vegas, NV. Bellagio has totally changed since I was last here in December. They're building a new Spa Tower, so unfortunately the spa facilities are closed. Curses, I was so looking forward to the eucalyptus steam room. It's always so nice in there. Oh, and the little pineapple juice cans that I would sip in the whirlpool. Oh, well at least now I can use the exercise center for free instead of the usual $20 fee. The exercise center is temporarily where the arcade used to be, meaning I won't get to see Dean, the gorgeous arcade manager. Curses again. The hotel is out of penthouse suites so we had to settle for 2 connected rooms. It's not too bad, that's how we did it Europe so it brings back some memories. Unfortunately, b/c we're not staying in the suites this time we didn't get VIP status, so I'll actually have to get my drinks from cafes instead of the VIP lounge and no biscotti or chocolate-covered strawberries. Triple curses. Oh, I'm sure it's better for my waistline anyway. I'm totally low carb here. No bread at all, I even had a burger last night with no bun. I'm so Atkins! Of course, I'm not going as high fat as Atkins so I'm somewhere b/t Atkins and South Beach. Anyway, the skirts are working for me and everything here is so fab. They just opened a new Dior store here and I'm dying to go check it out. Of course, I have to go to my fave Chanel boutique, plus I've got to hit the Fashion Show mall and the Forum Shops at Caesar's. David Spade's at the Mirage tonight, but we're probably not gonna go. There's enough of a show here just people watching. When we got here last night at 10 the place was crawling with pimps and hoes. Eh, what do you expect, it's Vegas baby! Oh, if you're wondering whether your multivitamin really contains what it says it does, check this site out (it was featured on CNN this morning).



On : 5/22/2004 9:20:15 PM persianguy (www) said:

Wow, great hotel. Sooooo high class of you. What is that? Didn't get VIP-status? Well sun-shine on my God damn a#%, the world is f-cking over!

Enjoy your vacation, fatty.

On : 5/23/2004 1:52:25 AM prettydoc (www) said:

You've got issues.

On : 5/23/2004 7:05:41 PM sara (www) said:

you shoulda stayed at the palms...total spot for celebrity sightings, and wicked awesome.
persianguy...khaly zetche! what's wrong, mummy & babbi never took you anywhere on vacation, hater.

On : 5/23/2004 7:54:13 PM (www) said:

You know, lol, I love it when people (especially Persians) try to be so high class -- it's funny as hell. The need for social acceptance, keep trying to dawn that "VIP status" crap. It really does shows who is/was who back in Tehran joonum. ;)

Sarah, khaly zetche? Zetche? What is that German?

On : 5/24/2004 2:08:29 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Yay, Sara saved the day! Yeah, the Palms is great for Britney sightings. I think it's funny when someone is just saying the facts and it gets construed as if they're trying to be rude and snobby. I'm sorry if you're surrounded by people who do that, pg, but I think you've read enough of my blog to know that that's not my style. Tell it like it is, that's my motto. Sara, we need to see more of you. You always have good things to say.

In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where their family member lay gravely ill.

Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber.

"I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news," he said as he surveyed the worried faces.

"The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant.

It's an experimental procedure, very risky but it is the only hope.

Insurance will cover the procedure, but you will have to pay for the brain yourselves."

The family members sat silent as they absorbed the news. After a great length of time, someone asked, "Well, how much does a brain cost?"

The doctor quickly responded, "$5,000 for a male brain, and $200 for a female brain."

The moment turned awkward. Men in the room tried not to smile, avoiding eye contact with the women, but some actually smirked.

A man unable to control his curiosity, blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask,

"Why is the male brain so much more?"

The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and explained to the entire group, "It's just standard pricing procedure. We have to mark down the price of the female brains, because they've actually been used."

SEND THIS TO A SMART WOMAN WHO NEEDS A LAUGH AND TO THE MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT.


On : 5/21/2004 8:09:15 PM diego (www) said:

ouch. nice joke

On : 5/22/2004 1:50:32 AM Jenny (www) said:

i always loved that joke

OK, franticly getting ready for LV (that's Las Vegas, not Louis Vuitton although I'll be bringing mine). The clothes are packed and for the first time in my life I'm not bringing jeans. I've got 3 skirts, 3 slacks, and a bunch of T shirts and blouses. Plus I'm wearing my cool Puma track suit on the plane so that I can arrive at the VIP desk in style. Ah, the VIP lounge, how I missed you! Oh, I can't wait to indulge in the biscotti and chocolate covered strawberries that await me there. Of course, it's always been my job to make the restaurant reservations so I'll have to do that while we wait in the lounge for our room. This is gonna be outta site! My flight leaves at 7 tonight. Oh, I found a couple of cool articles to tide you over until I can post again.

An OC Scam?

Theresa and Fox got married in real life!

Today was my last day of work for a month. I leave for Las Vegas tomorrow. As our flight time looms closer, the craziness grows. I'm surrounded with mounds of clothes while I help everyone decide what to bring. Since there's 5 of us going, we want to keep the luggage to a minimum. Now any of y'all who has traveled with me knows that I am the queen of minimization. I'm a very economical packer. It was always funny when I'd travel with guys because they'd have 3 suitcases and I'd just have one and they'd be like, how do you fit everything in one case? I guess it's just a gift. My trip to Vegas is the first in a long line of summer events I have lined up for the summer season of "Prettydoc's World." Unlike other forms of entertainment, I won't leave you with a big cliffhanger season finale while you sweat it out during the hot summer months waiting for the fall to end your suspense. I'm adopting FOX's example (inspired by The OC) of having a summer season. Get your pseudo-voyeuristic, I mean "reality" fix here. Incidentally, my dad helped me get the elliptical machine up and running and it's great fun. Too bad I can't use it since I'll be in Sin City. Eh, no biggie.

Yesterday I bought an Elliptical machine after work and spent yesterday and today setting it up. My mom was like, I'm so proud of you. You can be an engineer AND a doctor. (Her whole family is engineers.) I think all my time in the lounge (or as I call it, Engineer Central) has rubbed off on me. Anyway, so we go to test it out. It's a little unstable so I tightened all the screws and everything looks perfect. My sister gets on it for 10 min and then the crank breaks off. The thing is, the crank was one of the few elements of the machine that was pre-assembled in the factory. It was not one of the parts that I assembled. So in one sense I'm relieved that it wasn't my fault, but that also means that I can't fix it and I'm slightly POed that I worked so hard building it and now we may have to take it back. I finally gave in and asked my dad to help me, so he's trying right now to get the crank to work. It was funny cause when it broke I thought, I should call Diego, he's a engineer! Then I remembered that he's in computer science AKA worthless! Geez, Diego what are you good for? I'm sure as soon as I write that my computer will crash, and I will scream in Karma induced agony. No, it's still working. The computers at work today, however, were not. See, I overslept so I got to work nearly 1/2 hr late (the first time that has ever happened). Then 2 hrs into rounds my computer halts and goes crazy. So I had to go back to the clinic and switch it out. Then the printer I was using did not correspond with the laptop and more problems. Uh, such craziness. Tomorrow I'll work all day, but then I won't work again until July so it'll be cool. I'll be training too, so that's always fun. The girl I'm training (who I misjudged entirely and I apologize profusely) has showered me with compliments that I'm the greatest scribe and trainer around, much better than the other girl who trains her. Yes, you've discovered the secret: if you shower me with compliments, you will get on my good side, but if you piss me off, you're goin down bitch. Have a nice day! (Diet update: I cut my carb intake in 1/2 last week and I lost 4 lbs. Just thought I'd pass that on to the 2.758 people who care.)


On : 5/19/2004 10:31:27 PM diego (www) said:

ouch. i swear if that machine had a program, i could've fixed it. well, only if it were written in C/C++, Java, Assembly, LabVIEW...

On : 5/20/2004 10:34:38 PM prettydoc (www) said:

I have complete faith in your ability, oh wise one. Just read my snazzy computer code: 000111100110000001110101010.

On : 5/21/2004 5:24:04 AM Sammy (www) said:

000111100110000001110101010.....Hey, what do you mean "Sam has funny shoes"?!

On : 5/21/2004 12:27:07 PM prettydoc (www) said:

HAHA, you're the best Sam! You and your funny shoes!

Today was the first time in a while that I've worn a skirt. I was very excited. When I came home from work my mom was wearing one, so of course I immediately felt inspired. Nothing says summer like a skirt. Today's skirt is denim with small ruffles at the hem. It stops at my knees. I paired it with strappy heeled black sandles and a button-down short sleeve Tommy Hilfiger light blue blouse. Plus I had my jade green contacts in and my blue sunglasses, so I was totally ruling the upper west side of Plano. I was thoroughly summerfied. I got to train for the first time today at work and I'll keep training tomorrow and thursday. Then I can say bye-bye to my job for the next 2 months. I'm surprised Diego starts summer school tomorrow because I don't start until June 1, and my class is an 8 week session. So anyway, after I got gussied up I went to my favorite restaurant for lunch: Macaroni Grill. I love that place. I got Whole Wheat Penne pasta with asiago cream sauce, grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes, brocolli, and black olives. It was so South Beach! Then I shopped at Whole Foods to indulge in my new obsession: Soy Milk. For some reason I can't stop drinking the stuff. Which is good because it's got tons of Ca and soy protein lowers cholesterol and prevents osteoporosis. Wow, doesn't everything just feel so much better in the summer?



On : 5/18/2004 10:43:23 AM diego (www) said:

Macaroni Grill's Chicken Scallopine. Yum.

On : 5/19/2004 9:11:25 AM persianguy (www) said:

why don't you focus more on your studies than what the hell you're going to wear, or what you're freaking eating.

On : 5/19/2004 2:22:37 PM diego (www) said:

chill out dude. some of us have other interests besides studying. damn.

On : 5/19/2004 5:51:59 PM persianguy (www) said:

I'm so sure.

On : 5/19/2004 9:32:17 PM Sammy (www) said:

mmm...soy protein! [in a Homer-esque sounding voice]

hmmm...skirt eh? that's giving me ideas..what if I...;)

No worries, "I'm 100% man, and don't you forget it!" (a quote from Homer after pretending to be the purple teletubby for Maggie)

and to the persianguy, apparently YOU'VE never tried the "Whole Wheat Penne pasta with asiago cream sauce, grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes, brocolli, and black olives!" Neither have I, but I don't go around and bash what people eat before I try it. And if your name has anything to do with your gender, I'm assuming you haven't donned on a skirt this summer, so until you do, I fear your claims on what you wear is invalid.

On : 5/19/2004 9:45:37 PM prettydoc (www) said:

"Have I told you lately...that I love you." Shout out to my homies, y'all are the best! And persianguy, how should I concentrate on my studies when I'm not in school? Sounds a little rediculous. It's like telling me I should keep working on my space shuttle. persianguy sounds more nerdy everyday. I mean I'm pretty nerdy, but...well ya know, Diego said it best with DAMN. I think persianguy's school is still in session so we'll try to give him a break this time because he's probably stressed out. Or I could rub it in his face that I've been out of school for 3 weeks. Hmm...

On : 5/19/2004 11:43:05 PM Will (www) said:

Persianguy has a very good point, you come across overly concerned with shallow and trivial matters. His desire for you to "study" may seem misplaced, but i am sure if you looked at the word study as "self improvement" it would be more apropos. Learning occurs outside of school.

Regarding the the food, Whole wheat .... cream sauce? mixed signals?
Soy milk, no matter how good for you it is, it still has plenty of calories. especially when consumed en masse. Water has none; infact ice water actually burns calories.

Hezbollah TV Spot Mimics 'Passion' Trailer
Wow, using an American film to spread anti-American propaganda. Well they certainly are creative.

Interesting site

There's also an interesting article in the May 3, 2004 issue of Time Magazine about how Indians, as the wealthiest minority in the United States, are finally getting noticed by the entertainment industry. Bend It Like Beckham and it's start Parminder Nagra are largely credited with this push, but there is also a new show on Broadway. It is the first Bollywood Broadway musical and it is produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber (of Cats fame) and has a famous Indian composer. The musical was featured today on Good Morning America. Hopefully the buzz will serve them well, and they will be successful. I, on the other hand, have never been to New York City and it doesn't look like I'll be heading over there anytime soon. I have my hands full now with fabulous Las Vegas.


On : 5/15/2004 9:07:15 PM Jenny (www) said:

is bombay dreams the broadway production you are talking about? if so i saw it in london before i moved and thoroughly enjoyed it. parminder is also in ER. good character too.

On : 5/16/2004 11:17:01 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Yeah, that's the name of it. I'm glad you liked it because I'm interested in seeing it. When we watched the clips on Good Morning America my mom was singing the songs the rest of the day! Bollywood movies are a lot of fun. I like the Neela character on ER too. She really dropped a bomb in the season finale. I can't wait to see how it plays out in the fall.

Warning: Major estrogen-infused post

I just underwent 4 hours of waxing. There's nothing more humiliating than standing half naked for four hours while your skin is being ripped apart by hot wax and muslin strips. Sometimes I hate being a girl. Being a woman can be summed up in one word: pain. Emotional pain comes because we can feel more than men. Men have the ability to forget trauma, but women hold on to everything, every coarse word, every harsh glare, every indiscretion. It just stays inside and eats and eats away at her soul. Physical pain comes from various beauty treatments (waxing, threading, tweezing, electrolysis, etc.), menstrual cramps (could they find a more understated word to describe an agony that leaves me floored?), and labor pains (Kate Chopin called childbirth "the torture"). Pain, pain, and more pain is all that awaits a baby girl. Her life will be spent trying to figure out how to hide her inner pain and how to endure her outer pain to finally become stronger. Of course, there are more sources of pain than these, but I don't want to go into them right now. A Freudian would say that I am obviously suffering from penis envy, but I offer the argument that women undergo suffering period. (OK, so the pun wasn't intended when I wrote it, but I like it and I'm leaving there.) I'm not saying men don't suffer, they have their own problems. But the suffering that women endure on a daily basis is very different, much more consistent, and omnipresent. Do you know what it feels like for a girl?



On : 5/15/2004 5:25:48 PM Will (www) said:

Nothing can hurt, if you dont let it. Even those "cramps" . Its all in your mind. :P

On : 5/15/2004 7:05:21 PM prettydoc (www) said:

Yes, tell my prostaglandins and uterine contractions that it is all in my mind. You wouldn't last a day as a woman. You have enough trouble being human.

On : 5/15/2004 9:10:48 PM Jenny (www) said:

sorry will, am not even gonna hazard to back you up on that one. i have spent more than enough days curled up wiht a hot water bottle and high levels of motrin in my system trying to get over my uterus' rebellion against existance within my flesh. I'm just shocked you didnt try to blame all men's problems on the ones women suffer!

On : 5/16/2004 11:18:42 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Sisters stand strong! Don't let the Man get you down! Girl Power! (Uh, let's try to erase that last one from our memories)

On : 5/16/2004 1:35:28 PM Jenny (www) said:

bad memories of insane madly curly afro-like hair and way too high shoes! noooo! and the ginger one..... ahhhhh!

Things are winding down here a bit this weekend. It's my last weekend in Dallas before I head to Vegas, and I predict it will be filled with pursuing bodily perfection. I'm sure there will be plenty of exercising, dieting, threading, and waxing for all. Everything's getting squeezed in this weekend because Monday-Thursday all us girls will be busy. I'll be working all those days, and the girls will be enjoying their last week of school and all the exams that go with them. As soon as they're out of school we'll only have time for some quick packing and then we're on the plane. So time is of the essence and every minute counts.

Today was the last day of work for one of my coworkers because she's leaving for DC on Sunday to begin her life as a married woman. Well sort of, her wedding is still a couple months away, but she'll be living with her fiance in DC until then. Today was also the second day of training for another girl at the office. She's a family friend of one of the doctors and worked there last summer before I started. I worked all day again (6:45am-4:45pm), but for some reason I came home not feeling too bad. See yesterday I had a Go Active! meal from McDonald's and it came with a Stepometer that counts how many steps you take. The goal is to take 10,000 steps a day. So I clipped it on in the morning and wore it all day. When I came home I had taken a little over 5500 steps. So then I went walking with my mom and when I came back the total was around 11000 steps. Today's grand total is 13,616 steps. Wow, I'm way over the goal. It must be because I'm so cool. Yes...that's it...

You're a Speak & Spell!! You nerd, you. Just
because you were disguised as a toy doesn't
mean you weren't educational, you sneaky
bastard.


What childhood toy from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've never even seen a Speak n Spell before. I had a See n Say...ok, so I had 3. Stop staring at me like that.

US News and World Report has come out with their listing of the top grad schools. Here's their site with top med schools. In Research, Baylor College of Medicine made 13 and UTSW made 18. They were the only TX schools in the top 50. In Primary Care, Baylor was 20, TCOM was 29, and UTSW was 38. Incidentally, Harvard was #1 in research and #43 in primary care. It just shows you where their priorities lie.

Premeds read this:

Prognosis positive

For the first time in almost a decade, the number of applicants to the nation's medical schools has risen, a trend deans attribute in part to the fact that most doctors are very satisfied with their work despite problems with managed care. Admissions officers say prospective physicians need to have competitive grades and board scores.

Just as important, they say, is experience that proves they've got what it takes to be a caring health professional in a stressful, often chaotic environment. "We're looking for people who are altruistic," says Robert Sabalis, associate vice president of student affairs and programs the Association of American Medical Colleges. "People who are interested in assisting others."
---
So there's good news and bad news here. The bad news is the number of applicants is rising. The good news is that you can set yourself apart by gaining valuable clinical experience.


On : 5/13/2004 1:22:35 PM diego (www) said:

cool. on a related note, I believe 3 of SMU's engineering graduates programs rated in the top 50 nationwide - that's a huge accomplishment considering what a small engineering dept we have.

On : 5/13/2004 5:35:21 PM prettydoc (www) said:

That's really awesome. I like it when our school is recognized for something because it gives a sign that our degree does have credibility outside of Texas.

I went to Tinseltown today to see Laws of Attraction and guess who I saw...Diego on the big screen! Congrats, Diego, you're famous! My mom was like, poor guy, it says he's a CCCC student when he really goes to SMU. He must be ashamed. I was like, hello he's on the cinema screen. I'd be freakin out. So anyway, mad props to you homie. Laws of Attraction was good, and I really identified with Julianne Moore's character Audrey Woods, with her strengths and her weaknesses. It was kind of neat. Plus I just love Pierce Brosnan, mmm yumsters! Anywho, I kind of got a little upset with my mom today about something she said. Of course, I never let on that I was. Me, communicate my feelings? She was judging somebody that I know and it was bothering me. Then she went on and on about how great it was that Julianne Moore's character didn't think about men until she had a successful career and how it's great that I'm the same way. I don't know, sometimes I just wish I could live like other kids around me. I'm lucky in so many ways, but then I see how much fun everyone else is having and I feel like I'm missing out on something. I'm constantly in a state of resistance, pushing out my desires and replacing them with other things. Maybe that's why I relate to the Victorians so much: I live like them.



On : 5/12/2004 8:39:06 PM Jenny (www) said:

i saw d-lo on the big screen the other day when i saw mean girls. one of the girls a few rows in front of me started giggling and saying how cute he was! i wanted to say i knew him but i decided not to. in retrospect i should have, how often does a girl get to boast about knowing the guy on the screen personally!

On : 5/13/2004 11:40:38 AM Tiffany (www) said:

Wow...ashamed is a really strong word.

On : 5/13/2004 1:21:30 PM diego (www) said:

aaaaaaaargh....you girls are killing me. of course you should've told those girls you know me. hell, you shoulda given them my number. ah well...

On : 5/13/2004 3:32:49 PM Jenny (www) said:

they were maybe 15 diego! that and i dont actually have your number! lol, i'll remember that next time though.

On : 5/13/2004 8:32:55 PM diego (www) said:

oh great 0-for-15, even better !!!

On : 5/14/2004 1:38:56 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Um, I think she means they were 15 yrs old. Diego, the position of commuter pedophile has already been filled.

On : 5/14/2004 12:43:46 PM diego (www) said:

aaah. pardon my lack of knowledge of the english language.

TURNING and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
~~From Yeats's The Second Coming

This passage has played through my mind for the past week, ever since the prison abuse scandal started. The Nick Berg tape makes this passage even more appropriate. I first read this poem in school a few months after 9/11. As soon as I read it I knew what Yeats was talking about. Yeats was referring to the Irish Rebellion, World War I, and the Bolshevik Revolution, but this poem found new meaning in the War on Terror, esp. the line "the worst are full of passionate intensity" (6-7). As time goes by this poem becomes even more pertinent to today's issues. At times it does feel as if the end is near. "What rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? "

OK, I've agreed to keep using Comment This. You can all rest easy now. Today at work I started off pretty rough with the tough doctor. It made me long to scribe for my best buddy, but alas I must learn to share. Remember that premed gunner girl I talked about who came to the open house? (come on you remember...no, the blonde one...yes, that one). Well she's gonna start training next week! I can't believe the first person they hired from the open house was the one person I didn't really want to come. So I told the one guy I work with that she was coming and he's like, oh...uh...great... It was HIlarious. So I have to bone up on my training because I'll be training two girls these last 2 weeks that I'm at work before I leave town. I've never trained anyone before, but I'm authoritative enough to presume that I'll be good at it.



On : 5/12/2004 8:14:12 AM persianguy (www) said:

If you ask me...targetting an innocent girl, not wanting her to get a job because she's competition, and the rather presumptuous vibe I get when you call yourself "prettydoc" even though you're still in undergrad....seems more like - gunner - behavior.

Oh, and you still manage to act s^@##% too. Maaah-velious!

On : 5/12/2004 11:17:27 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Um, pg, I don't think you understand that prettydoc is a character that I created months before I had this website who made special appearances on another website. This site started off as a spinoff, sort of like Frasier coming off of Cheers. The name I used was central to the character that I was portraying at the time and served its own purpose. I continue to use that name because I liked that character, and I don't want her to die even though she has become more like me. But prettydoc and Maryam are not the same person, even though the boundary between them has gotten fuzzy at times. That's part of why I don't post under my name, although I'm starting to with baby steps recently. So if you get certain vibes from my posts, they are intentional and recognizable to readers who are familiar with the initial incarnation of prettydoc. I know what I'm doing.

On : 5/12/2004 11:51:59 AM Jenny (www) said:

um maryam, this makes me wonder if you potentially have mpd. different aspects of your personality but entirely different people? i'm confused!

On : 5/12/2004 12:03:25 PM prettydoc (www) said:

No, it's not like that Jenny. When I started prettydoc on someone else's site, I was purposely not speaking as myself but as a character that I created. It was purely for the sake of entertainment. The purpose of my blog is introspection, hence the entries where I speak candidly about myself, but there also is an entertainment factor so that I don't bore my readers. So, sometimes I'll say something a tad controversial that is mimetic of the original prettydoc but that is obviously not like me so that we can all have a good laugh. Since persianguy doesn't know the real me, as in me outside of my blog, he has no idea what I'm really like so he doesn't get the joke. Thus, the bashing begins.

On : 5/12/2004 8:36:52 PM Jenny (www) said:

oh right.

On : 5/13/2004 11:10:18 PM Will (www) said:

I am with persian guy. Both aspects of your chosen internet moniker extend beyond yourself in a very "over compensating/deficient" manner. Perhaps if you chose a more subtle or less "gunner type" name you would be spared such abuse, but you brought it upon yourself by titling yourself in such a manner.
Where or when it started does not excuse the hubris contained within the title, especially for an english major. :P

On : 5/14/2004 1:41:37 AM prettydoc (www) said:

Uh, that was kind of the purpose of the name. It was meant to convey that image. I thought I had made that clear.

OK, we all need to decide something. Blogger now has its own comments. Do y'all want to continue using Comment This or start using Blogger Comments? You can play around with both before you decide, and we can even choose to just leave both options available at all times. So what do y'all think?


On : 5/11/2004 6:40:46 PM diego (www) said:

hmm.. i think i'll just keep using the Comment This. if ain't broke, don't fix it.

Wow, Blogger had a makeover! So I never got around to seeing a movie this weekend (I still don't know why). I spent last night introducing my mom to the wonderful world of Schoolhouse Rock. She's trying to improve her English and writing so we went through Grammar rock and she loved it! It was very helpful to her. She also loved the book I got her for Mother's Day and immediately starting looking through the pictures. It was amazing how with each picture she had a memory attached. Each event in Farah's life ran parallel to my mother's in such a special way. It was tres cool. I had a 2 hr workout today. If I'm not svelte yet...i don't know how to finish this sentence. I just wanted to say "svelte." I want to read a lot of books. I need to get caught up in the Alias book series (I'm up to book 8), read the DaVinci Code, and read that Mary book I talked about last time. Plus I want to read the stuff in the British anthology that wasn't assigned during my course. Ah, reading for pleasure, has it really been 5 months?

I was reading an article in the Dallas Morning News yesterday about how the role of the Virgin Mary has changed throughout Catholicism and how she's re-entering the faith in a more human role. It was very interesting, esp. the discussion of the Vatican II changes and the role those have played in the North Texas churches. I thought is was really neat how Mexicans have largely ignored the Vatican II changes because to acknowledge them would minimize the significance of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Vatican even tried to get a Mexican-Catholic church in Dallas to take down their image of the Lady of Guadalupe. The church did take down their image, but then replaced it with a more ethnic image of Mary from Mexico City. The article was great; it was in the Religion section if anyone has a copy of yesterday's paper. There was a list of books just written about Mary and one stuck out to me. It's called Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother by Lesley Hazleton. The author is actually a Jewish woman who became intrigued by Mary as a person so she went on a huge anthropological/historical/spiritual quest to find out who this amazing woman was. The first step in understanding Mary, she says, is to call her by her real name: Maryam. She then gives a description of Mary that is a dead-on description of a young MidEastern girl. The author says that to understand Mary, we must remove our Raphealite image of her and replace it with the true image of a Palestinian pregnant 13 year old. I find her approach to be very fascinating, and in an odd way very Muslim. Islam does not deify people, but instead looks at the various religious figures from a humanist perspective (please excuse me if I am using this phrase incorrectly). Of course, I say that, but as a Shi'a there is some sort of a "spiritual boost" given to certain people that I find to be analogous to "sainthood," etc. I just think it's neat that Ms. Hazleton is sort of taking a fresh look at someone who has remained in the minds and hearts of millions of people for 2000 years and is always an object of intrigue and love. On this Mother's Day, I'd like to keep in mind for myself this special mother who has touched the lives of more people for more generations than any mother in history. The very thought of her brings as much warmth and safety as the thought of any mother could.

Happy Mother's Day! I can't wait to give my mom her present; she's gonna freak! My sisters failed to get anything so they want to put their name on my present. Of course, I must concede. I went to work and got out 1 1/2 hrs earlier than yesterday, yes! This one girl at the hospital said, "You've have to work on Mother's Day!" and I said yeah, and she said, "Oh, do you have any kids?". I thought that was hilarious and said, "No, I don't. Do you?" And she said, "Oh, no way. I'm only 19." I was like, dude I'm 20 but you think I'm old enough to have kids. That's crazy. Only, not really that crazy because I have friends who have kids. It's just funny that a girl who thinks she's too young to have kids would think that I'm old enough to have kids. I guess I have a mature look or something. Since I don't want to watch any TV tonight, it would be a great opportunity to go see a movie (and Diego on the big screen!), but alas...My sister has confirmed that she will be spending the evening watching the network premiere of Harry Potter I on ABC. It's 4 hours long. There goes my night.


On : 5/9/2004 8:55:57 PM Omair (www) said:

guess what i'm doing right now? hehe, watching harry potter. it's a commercial break right now so i'm posting on your blog. ironic isn't it. i love harry potter SO much!!! it's SOO cool... (i don't care if i'm a nerd/geek or whatever -- i already know).

anyway, i wanted to tell you about this ROCKING book i have. it's called white coat: becoming a doctor at harvard medical school. i highly highly recommend you buy it. it's wonderful, i bought it yesterday and i'm almost done reading it. i know you'd like it too.

have fun watching harry potter ^____^

On : 5/9/2004 8:57:07 PM Omair (www) said:

oh btw, it's written by ellen lerner rothman, md. isbn number is 0688175899. you can just copy and paste the isbn into amazon's search and you'll get it. tell me what you think of it

So I went to work today with my favorite doctor in the world and life was good. Then I got 2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the rehab hospital and life was great. Then I got to meet his wife and baby and life was the best! They're so cute; they are the best family ever! I just wanted give them all hugs. His wife is a Venezuelan dermatologist and right when I was about to go home, the doctor called me over and said that his wife would look at my arms. See, I have these bumps on my upper arms and I have no idea what they are or where they came from. She took one look at them and immediately knew what they were. She said the name in Spanish and then the doctor told me what it was in English. She said that if I use Retin-A everything will be okay, so the doctor will write me a script for it tomorrow! Just in time for the wedding. Oh, speaking of the wedding, I bought my dress yesterday! It's long and black with a cool collar that I don't know how to describe. But it looks awesome. It's sleeveless though, so I have to make sure my arms clear up while I tone them with the weights. Well, then the baby woke up and I got to play with her. She's so cute and fat and has her daddy's eyes. I just wanted to eat her! Oh, I've had too much cuteness for one day. But in case you haven't look at this: