True story. Well, most of it, anyways. I am really unable to see without assistance, and they were lost for a month. This gets annoying after a while. *whew*

I never watch TV, but this season I’ve been staying home more in the evenings, and as a consequence of this have actually gotten pulled into several shows.

Grey’s Anatomy- I don’t need to say much about this. Drama, pure fluff, and I love it.

Heroes- Can anyone say SUPER POWERS?! Finally a show that I can relate to, considering my fantasy/sci-fi geekiness.

ER- Ok so my beloved show is hardly recognizable, and I don’t really understand what is going on, but oh how I love it still.

Shows I used to love, such as Gilmore Girls and Scrubs, I haven’t yet had the chance to watch. *sigh* I am looking forward to Jericho, maybe.

Well, this is your glimpse in the life of Sholeh. Exciting, no? I mean, sure, I have many things to do. Tonight is Feast, tomorrow night is another Baha’i meeting, and there are people coming through Chicago all the time that I want to spend time with! Not to mention family, friends, chores, errands, cooking, and the things I need to do before December. But you don’t want to read my list of things to do, because you have things to do, too.

Posted in Humor | Comments (5)

My feet are happy.

Thanks mom!

Also, another perk of working at a large corporation:

Paid corporate lunches. Especially chocolate milkshakes.

Posted in Thoughts | Comments (1)

This article by Michael Rogers was brought to my attention a few days ago. It puts forth the idea that in the future the need to analyze and extrapolate a complex book will not be a skill that most people need.

It’s time to acknowledge that in a truly multimedia environment of 2025, most Americans don’t need to understand more than a hundred or so words at a time, and certainly will never read anything approaching the length of an old-fashioned book.

It is hard to tell whether the author is kidding…for example:

The nation’s leaders must be able to read; for those who follow, the ability should be strictly optional.

In any case, this is a subject that I am passionate about. I remember arguing with my high school English teachers over the choice of reading material, whether it was Grendel or Catcher in the Rye (not that my teachers had any control, it was set up by the school district).

(used book store back home)

I was raised to love books, to dive into a 600 page book with no thought to the fact that it was bigger than my head. I tend toward fantasy & sci-fi, but love everything else nearly as much. I would not have the ability to write as I do, the ability to edit documents and read as fast as I do if I had not been encouraged from a very early age to read anything I could get my hands on.

It isn’t necessarily that someone must be a “book-worm” to learn to enjoy reading. Kids are often given books that are boring in school, forced to read things in class that they can’t connect to, and thus the process of reading is turned into a chore.

Thoughts?

Posted in Technology | Comments (6)

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!

Posted in Thoughts | Comments (6)

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.

Posted in Thoughts | Comments (3)

let the past haunt in its way
pale eyes shining
we’ll run and I’ll taste the reasons we died
little pieces of plastic and glass
I let them wedge into my heart
pry out the molecules left
dispensing in the soup kitchen lines of fervor
these streets are mine!
these shadowed trees and dreams
tiptoe across bare asphalt, melting in the heat
so we fade with time
promises of secrets kept, whispered through tears
so maybe my trust was misplaced.

I guess there is a lot that is new, a lot of things changing in my life, but this blog has never really been a place for that. The lists I make to help “organize” my life always get longer, but now I’m excited about these lists. I’m working toward something, toward my goals in life, and I feel like I’m finally making the drastic changes I knew I needed (and some completely unexpected ones).

So summer ends and I smell leaves and everyone is shifting. I’m waiting, but the wait is not long anymore.

Posted in Poetry | Comments (2)

try to warn away the looks
dissuade the conversation
i’ve never been good at this
maybe because i’m so good at this
don’t know how not to
continue to fall from grace
every time i’m in this place
every road i choose
i know the crossing signs
before i arrive

Posted in Poetry | Comments (3)

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

Posted in Thoughts | Comments (7)