“Wait, Anna Nicole died?!” – At lunch yesterday.

Now, in the grand scheme of life, this little tidbit of information can’t really even be considered news. In fact, it makes me rather sad that this is considered newsworthy back in the States. The point is that here in Haifa, if you do not make an active effort to seek out the news in the world, it might just pass you by. It can be a little insulating. Things that we would have not been able to avoid in the States completely pass us by even after 2 weeks.

I try to make an effort to check out a couple different news sources every day just to keep up…but it can be difficult to weed through the silly stuff.

(This makes me happy…I see these flowers on the way to work every day.)

When there are no tangential people surrounding me, I lose my grip on the strange and random. Those conversations are close to my heart. I miss the artists and dreamers and odd little occurences sometimes.

So I’m pretty much without things to blog about. I started reading this book about Cambodia called “The Lost Executioner” at Barnes & Noble tonight, and got about 50 pages in before I had to leave the bookstore.

There are SO MANY books I want to read. *sigh*

1. Does anyone has an old Verizon phone that they don’t want? I might not be able to get a replacement.

2. There is STILL a room open in my house, and if you have a friend that is looking for a place, please let me know.

Also, don’t forget about the Halloween Party this Friday night! Last party that I’m throwing before I leave for Haifa!!

My feet are happy.

Thanks mom!

Also, another perk of working at a large corporation:

Paid corporate lunches. Especially chocolate milkshakes.

Apparently a pigeon was trapped on our sales floor for 2 hours yesterday. I missed the excitement because I was home sick. Most Chicagoans have a hate-hate relationship with pigeons…they’re always getting in the way and making a mess. I’m amused by them, they are inherently silly-looking animals.

I have been sick for more than a week, and staying home yesterday was a great idea. When I was at my parent’s house on Sunday they took care of me so well (thanks Mom & Dad!!). There is just something about being home, I didn’t want to leave.

I woke up this morning and headed downstairs to the kitchen. My roommates had left me honey, lemon juice, and packets of tea on the counter with a note: “For Sholeh”. Lauren brought me tea yesterday morning, Maysoon brought me tea at 1 am, Chineze offered to get me medication, and Amber keeps asking if there is anything she can do for me. So sweet!

The sky and the slate roofs of the warehouses are almost the same shade of grey, blending into each other today. A good weekend of family, friends, the Baha’i House of Worship (always home to me, no matter what and how much time passes).

Phone call from friend currently traveling across the United States by car: “Sholeh, can my friend stay with you? She is stranded in Chicago for a night and needs somewhere to sleep. We were hanging out in Ohio, but she is from Portland.” Ok! It is always fun to have random people around.

I am no longer surprised that the vastness of our world is continually reduced. Everyone is connected somehow, you just have to unravel the threads.

Do any fellow Chicagoans remember the Great Flood of 1992? I remember watching footage of people in scuba gear and hard hats looking very grim. I went on a boat tour of the river & lake in the Loop on Saturday…the history of places is interesting and necessary to understand. I look forward to travels to places where the layers of cities and villages seem endless, buried under dirt and time.

Happy Birthday to me! What a wonderful birthday…I ate so much chocolate I can’t even move. mmm.

Thank you to everyone who called, left messages, texted, and sent smoke signals. I am surrounded by amazing family and friends.

September seems to be a time of change for me, and this year is no exception. So blessed!

“True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His Hands is the destiny of all His servants.”
~Bahá’u’lláh

“O people of Bahá! The source of crafts, sciences and arts is the power of reflection. Make ye every effort that out of this ideal mine there may gleam forth such pearls of wisdom and utterance as will promote the well-being and harmony of all the kindreds of the earth.”

-Bahá’u’lláh

How often do we think of these verses when creating art, or even just working in our jobs?

Speaking of jobs, I dodge flatbed trucks every day on my way in to the office. I’ve gotten pretty good at listening to distinguish when they’re accelerating or heading in my direction. The truckers try to watch out for pedestrians, but it can be difficult to stop a truck with a couple thousand pounds of steel on it.

The doors of the plant are open during the summer and as I walk by each morning and afternoon, the acrid smell of steel (especially in the processing centers where it is burned). 250 pounds of steel is, to me, a paltry number, not even worth mentioning. When did this happen?

I accidently recorded a conversation the other day and I was shocked to hear how much I sound like my sisters. I think every sales rep should hear a recording of themselves talking to customers, just so they can see how weird/annoying/crazy they sound.

And now, for a lunch meeting.

(By Buckingham Fountain, click here for a larger image.)

I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people lately about transition. I had a shocking moment the other day when I realized that a vast number of friends I formerly thought of in the singular form have turned into a unit of the married variety. Theoretically I knew that this was the case, but after the announcement of yet another engagement (I’ve kind of given up counting), and the realization that I would be attending one wedding in Chicago in a week and another in Texas in 3 weeks…well. I sat back in my chair, put my hand over my forehead in a dramatic way, and proceeded to enact a very Shakespearean scene, complete with swordfights and swooning maidens.

No. Not really. I was just amused. It happens to everyone, haha. And I love the chance to watch my friends happiness first-hand and dance at the weddings. Really, the dancing is the most important part. 😉

Other kinds of transitions are taking place. I have friends going to grad school, or deciding not to go back to school. Friends moving overseas, and friends returning from being abroad. There are career choices, lifestyle changes, moves, babies being born (oh yes, that is slowly starting to happen, too!). How very wonderful!

In the theme of my post about search, we learn a lot about our decision making styles and ability to commit to a path once we start on it. The factors that play into these choices (family, responsibilities, friends, jobs, service) all have to be weighed.

However, do we sometimes wait to take action until we have everything figured out? “Life is busy right now, I’ll wait to ____ (get married/change careers/do service/etc) when life slows down.” Or fear can take over, whether it is fear of failure (which, as we know, has no place in the path of service), or fear of injury/heartache/complications/the uknown. This is not to say that fear is not a valid feeling, but that we must overcome it to reach our goals.

So then, for me, it all boils down to detachment…especially detachment to our ego & self. Resignation to whatever is the Will of God (Insha’allah, in Arabic), while taking action in the best way we know how.

Answering questions is such a difficult thing sometimes. I have such an open face, you can read my soul in my eyes and smile most of the time.

This is both good and bad. Sometimes we have to be just a little bit private, hold things close to our hearts. It’s ok to do this.

I’m tired of asking what is new with people. I am tired of being asked what is new with me. I’m becoming weary of myself. The personal surface level has been discussed so many times before. What has happened to intelligent conversation? I’m not saying any of this in a whining way, nor am I berating people. I see it in myself as well, and I write to figure out how I want to take action on things in my life.

So we’ll laugh, and I’ll laugh, and be happy to see you. I promise. I’d also like to talk about the article I read in Business Week or the way stars are disappearing from our lives or the way flowers hold their shape in the sun and the velvet smoothness of wind off of Lake Michigan in the summer when we sit on the beach or maybe even we will sit quietly and that is ok too. I promise. Silence is not scary for me. We’ll read books on the grass because those are the kinds of memories that last, ice cream unplanned and talking until our hearts feel full again.

I am writing new songs in that clumsy way of mine
hoping that the words spoken have a purpose
and take apart the little glass pieces that work their way
under our heart’s skin.
Wishing I could sing one note with clarity
knowing that this muddled mash of awkward phrases
is enough to help me hold on
remember.

Most relaxing night EVER. I didn’t get home until 9:30 pm but it was for a good reason. Sometimes you just have to take care of yourself, to take the time so that you’re a productive member of society again. yay.

I was reminded last night (again) how much I love Chinatown. I got a huge dinner (that was also breakfast) for $4.

I looked at my stats for the blog and I had 29 unique visitors yesterday. I’m also realizing that I have some international visitors that I never would have thought I had. Um, could the person from somewhere in South America please stand up? hahaha. Awesome.

I have at least 3 blog entries that I’ve started and not yet had time to sit down and finish/post. So y’all get this filler entry for now. 🙂

*waves to the masses that read but never comment* Have a great day!

I was reading this article called “Signs you have a great job … or not”. The following questions are asked.

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1. Do I know what’s expected of me at work?

…Of course, job satisfaction isn’t a one-way street with a department either meeting your needs or not. In order to answer the 12 questions honestly, you need to know what it is that makes you tick and not blindly blame your department for any job dissatisfaction…
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So it makes me think about how we rate our jobs. Pay & benefits are important to everyone, of course, but how do we know what we are truly looking for in a satisfying job? What is our criteria for a job? Are we realistic about what we want?

In other news, expect me to be using this lot if I ever pick you up from the airport. Thank God.

Anna Quindlen’s Newsweek article, The Face In The Crowd, talks about the facelessness of today’s communication experience.

She notes that, “A face-to-face meeting often means the difference between understanding and estrangement.” How often do we send an email or a text message and the meaning is misunderstood? How many flame wars have started and friendships damaged because people can’t hear the inflection in a voice or see someone’s facial expression?

The other part of the article that I appreciate is the concept that we are not allowed to have time to ourselves anymore:

“So many of the old conventions have gone the way of the TV antenna—privacy, downtime, the line between work life and home life that was once delineated by the ride on the train or the closing of the apartment door.”

My cell phone is always next to me (as many of my friends and relatives can attest). The insistent ringing of the phone, the alert that I have email, or the buzzing of a text message all make me leap toward the offending bit of electronic equipment to respond. I have to make an effort not to answer my phone, instead of the other way around.

The expectation by others that I will always be available is fueled by my behavior, of course, but I also believe it is quickly becoming a societal virus. We expect instant gratification, but I think that our expectations are lowered, as well. Quality is sacrificed for speed.

Although I have both feet firmly planted in the modern world of communication, I still like to reach back to postcards, letters, and packages as a way of maintaining truer friendships and relationships with relatives. Everyone loves getting tangible letters in the mail…but can you remember the last letter you got that someone spent time writing?

I have one friend that takes time away from the internet for an evening or weekend. She doesn’t log on to check anything…it is a way for her to maintain a focus on the real world, I think. The times I have done this I have felt a sense of freedom from stress and the demands of others.

One of my closest friends is overseas right now, studying abroad. The other day we were surprised to learn how much we depend on each other for solid advice, support, and understanding. She and I have had to learn how to maintain a friendship as she first moved across the country, then across the world. Our friendship is not based superficialities…we talk about all kinds of subjects and do service in the Faith. She is one of those friends that will tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. I feel blessed that I have so many people in my life that have these attributes.

There are times that I find myself stretched too thin between friends. How many people can one person maintain true, lasting friendships with? How has our definition of friendship changed with the advent of the internet and the way people constantly change locations? Do we take our friends for granted because it is easier to create new friendships, since we are no longer limited to the people that live in our town?

After the success of the last “I Like…” post, I decided to talk about more things that make me smile. I often read the news to keep up with what is happening with the world, there is a distinct lack of simple, joyful experiences that are shared.

roses that are any color but red or white
whispers
children learning to crawl
strange objects
creating something new

watching someone accomplish something for the first time
looking into eyes and not wanting to look away
progress
spending hours in a craft/fabric store
making things by hand
history

when I am about to fall asleep
dresses
lazy Sunday afternoons
fancy chocolate (especially with raspberries)
holding a small baby while they sleep
strange signs

silence

My house was built in 1889. How strange to realize that many people have lived here before me, and I don’t know their stories.

History makes me smile. I read Streets of the Near West Side a few weeks ago, and now I’m reading City of Big Shoulders. I also skimmed through Iranians in Chicagoland, which actually mentions some Baha’is (both historical and current). These books are in addition to a couple of fantasy books, Child of the Covenant, and a book on a sect of Christianity.

What do you like to read about?

I look at the calendar and realize that it has been 10 days since I posted.

Work, a 102 degree fever, preparing for a friend’s wedding, spending time with those I have missed, and trying to organize my new lifestyle (being a responsible adult) have left me unable to write coherently. This whole “8 am – 5 pm” type thing is nice in that my schedule is pretty set, and I don’t have homework anymore…but I am not a morning person.

New hobbies: reading things about the history of Chicago. Reorganizing my room (too much clutter aaagh!). Thinking about goals in my life.

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I’ve been tagged to do a survey, so I’ll do it…but only to make certain people happy. 😉

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Inside Sales Associate
2. Barista
3. Marketing Assistant
4. Resident Assistant

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Princess Bride
2. The Dark Crystal
3. The Fifth Element
4. Empire Records

Four places I’ve lived:

1. Northfield, Minnesota
2. Aiken, South Carolina
3. Naperville, IL
4. Chicago, IL

Four TV shows I love:

1. Scrubs
2. The Daily Show
3. Gilmore Girls
4. ER

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1. China
2. Israel
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Toronto, Canada

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Gormeh Sabzi (persian stew of greens w/beef cubes over rice)
2. Most Thai food
3. Snow crab dipped in butter
4. Flan

Four sites I visit daily:

1. bbc.co.uk
2. the andropolis/lay-c families of blogs
3. calmstorm.net (my site, mostly to get rid of spam!)
4. a large variety of online comics, such as MacHall and Scary Go Round.

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Charleston, South Carolina (preferably in a mansion overlooking the water)
2. Florida
3. a castle in France
4. In Italy hanging out with my girl Carmen (waah I miss her!)

Things are right with the world. Little things unbalance and make themselves apparent, and then you pray and talk about it and you know it is ok. I may not be able to heal everything, but I will always do my best. And I know all of you will, too.

I see my dear ones and that is what matters. We move apart and come back, the love is always there. The comfort that comes with home, wherever that is. For most of us, it must exist with us, because home cannot be a place or time.

Read this: Doctors challenge baby feeding myths

Some excerpts:

“There’s a bunch of mythology out there about this,” says Dr. David Bergman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. “There’s not much evidence to support any particular way of doing things.”
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As research increasingly suggests a child’s first experiences with food shape later eating habits, doctors say battling obesity and improving the American diet may mean debunking the myths and broadening babies’ palates.
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Parents elsewhere in the world certainly take a more freewheeling approach, often starting babies on heartier, more flavorful fare — from meats in African countries to fish and radishes in Japan and artichokes and tomatoes in France.
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The difference is cultural, not scientific, says Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ nutrition committee who says the American approach suffers from a Western bias that fails to reflect the nation’s ethnic diversity.

Interesting! I am not surprised by this, but it is good to find something like this on CNN.

THOUGHTS?

but then I didn’t know what to say.

Starting with: No one really knows what I am thinking. Obvious, sure. But what I mean is that even if you think that you understand, I’m almost guaranteed to have left something out. I’m starting to confuse myself now, too. 😉

Also, I want to leave (this may or may not be related to the above paragraph). I want to go somewhere no one knows me. This may mean the middle of a jungle in South America or a desert in Africa. At this point, I really don’t care.

I have a midterm in 4 1/2 hours, and I am afraid to fall asleep, because I worry that I’ll not hear my alarm and miss the test.

Wish I was more coherent. Yay cryptic 5 am entries!