Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Sooo... how was the weekend?

Mine was arite... nuthing special... Sunday went to Halaqa... then MFest Picnic... it was was pretty good! Sun was shining, the bees were everywhere... Musa was there.. he's the cutest lil thing ever, Mash'Allah. We took Anisa to the playground then we got some ice cream.. then Sahar and Naila came back and then we didnt tell them we already had ice cream so we went out for more ice cream.. haha!

How was CAMP... lets hear the actual happenings... cuz I've heard a bit from both sides. How was Montreal? or anywhere else you may have gone... everyone seemed to have gone outta town this past weekend. So Share...

Friday, August 26, 2005

Mini-Roadtrip thru the GTA

Today was YM's Feed the Streets Event... for those of you who don't know of the event, it's when a group of us go down usually to the downtown TO area and distribute meals to the homeless. Insh'Allah, I hope more of you can come and join us next time :) Ofcourse, firstly we do this for the sake & pleasure of Allah, but when you see the sincerity of their appreciation, you realize just how fortunate we are to not have to worry about our next meal, something I KNOW I take for granted. And it really is a humbling experience.

Ofcourse, we ran into the odd "odd" people... but what can you do, it's a HUGE city, full of people for all walks of life.. it's times like these I really wish we had more guys helping us out.. so yeah, there were these group of younger guys... we contemplated approaching them.. but then realized it would look bad if we didn't approach as we were walkin straight towards them.. so we went upto them... we could smell it on them and saw the bottles... but too late to turn back. They only took a coupla bottles of water. The worst is when we run out of food... and then see a mother and a child... which actually did happen today.. all we had left were water bottles, apples and muffins... but no real meals... so we jus gave them everything we had... breaks your heart man. The plan for next time: more manpower, more food insh'Allah!

After that, we (Maddy, Naya, FBI and I) drove down to the Mohammed Al-Shareef lecture in Scarborough... Mash'Allah, amazing speaker and topic (Tawbah). Then we were hungry... so we went to Burger King.. haven't eaten there since like High School... veggie burgers... Mmmmmmmmmm! I rem last Feed the Streets back in January, the soundtrack was 786... Nazia's van.. this time the soundtrack was Yusuf Islam's Bismillah ... which Maddy selectively chose all the Zain Bhikha songs to bop to and hate on the rest.. which was when we switched over to Shaam... they're pretty good, a bit of a paki sound to them.

So that was our lil' mini-roadtrip.. Brampton to Sauga to TO to Scarb and back :) Had a great time guys :) I am gonna miss the van, Naya...

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Light Rhythms: "Expressions of the Heart" on Saturday, September 10, 2005



Should be an awesome event insh'Allah! 786 will be awesome as always...and they'll have their NEW album out by then... so they'll be singing their NEW stuff (can't wait to hear nasheed medley 2)!! and I've heard a few of Shaam's nasheed... pretty melodious. Sahar really likes their stuff! Aa'shiq-al-Rasul... I have only heard one of their nasheeds from Bismillah (Yusuf Islam's CD -- Asma' ul-Husna) was a pretty nice and rhythmic but LONG nasheed (about 11 minutes long)!!

1,2,3 be there ;) You know who u are! Insh'Allah hope to see y'all there.. should be a good show! :) And if you need tix, lemme know... actually I still need to get tix too... ticket prices range between $15-35.

BUT MuslimFest's still better baby!!! ;)

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Kashif & Umber's Walima!

What an elegant and chillin' wedding! Firstly, Kashif & Umber looked simply dazzling together... I am such an advocate of a bride and groom matching.. and they did it perfectly! Finally, got a chance to talk to Umber... she is sooo funny! Kash's sibs and cousins made the most hilarious video about the two of them... prob one the funniest ones I have seen at a wedding ever.. and they made it literally the night before at 2 in the morn. The best lines in that video were: "2% sale at Prada!", "Buy one get the 2nd at regular price!" .. apparently Umber is a designer shopaholic... We never did find out what was in that bag that Kash's friend had with him durin his speech...

Anywho, here is the lovely couple!



The couple of the evening! Her set was stunning... who needs gold anyways...



Tan (Kash's sis) and Umber...



Me, Aunty and Ammi



Auspar and Tariq... having a moment.

Friday, August 19, 2005

MuslimFest was amazing!!!!



For all of you who missed it... sucks to be you!! :P Unless, you were studying for exams or some family thing was takin place that day... then it's okay... BUT, it was such an amazing day Alhumdalillah!! Met so many people (new and old), finally put faces with names, made hundreds of calls and shopping trips (for the purcolator!!). I must say MuslimFest has been the biggest highlight of my summer. I can't wait until next year!

So yeah, it was a longggggggggg, crazy, exciting day! I went to sleep the night before at 2:30 (came back from Aisha's wedding around 12:30); had a lot of last minute things to take care of. I put my alarm on for 5 am.. but stupid me SLEPT thru it... but thank god for the alarm I put on my phone to call Madihah @ 6.. so yeah not a great start to the morning :S. But we got to LAC by 7:30 so it was all good. I was crazy hungry tho.. no time for breakfast :(

Spent the rest of the day running around from the volunteer Room to Indoor to Green Room... cuz yo we got backstage passes! But was definitely no picnic, so many last minute issues came up during the day which jus added to the stress.. but what can ya do.

So anywho, we met all the performers, Irfan Makki (he brought his wifey), 786, Dawud Wharnsby, Native Deen, Azeem and Preacher Moss! They were all sooooo nice & down to earth Mash'Allah... we were so surprised. I didn't think they would even come out of their dressing rooms (which smelled crazy funky, we had to go in & spray some of my fruity spray so they smelled decent)... but they were all pretty friendly and chillin! And soooo appreciative... didn't want us to go out of our way to get them anything. I think we overfed them... haha... we had wayyy too much leftovers.

We caught a bit of the first concert backstage... WOW.. they were all so amazing that me and Roohi decided to check out the show from the audience in the evening. I'm soooo glad we did, it was a complete and utter unbelievable experience!Unfortunately, Zain Bhikha wasn't able to make it :( his son had become very ill but he had sent a message via satellite; Insh'allah hope he comes soon!!! I must say, I never really gave 786 much credit before but actually seeing them perform live and acapella made me realize these guys are truly talented, Mash'Allah! Their new album drops September 3rd 2005!


786... Shahaab, Zafar, Saeed, Saad & Omar


Irfan Makki sang a coupla new and urdu influenced nasheeds... I really liked the naath one and "Waiting for the Call"; he's got some killer urdu skills! Native Deen (formerly MYNA Raps) totally blew the crowd away... these guys were the best performers of the day; they got the entire audience involved and def made fans out of me and Roohinder!

Native Deen... Abdul-Malik, Naeem, Joshua & Drummer guy (he did some good drumstick moves!)


DWA and the Fletcher Valve Band were so energetic and exciting to watch and hear... hey guys rem that guy (with the long hair and beard) who was saying Takbir.. he's Muslim (subhan'Allah)!!

Ended up selling my comedy show tix to my Farah... so then we jus went backstage to catch the show... but couldn't hear so well back there. But for the most part, it was pretty funny :) The Clean up wasn't so funnn.. but we had a coupla superstar helpers help us out ... haha... thanks guys!

All in all, a truly AMAZING day where we learned a lot about what we're made of... enjoyed every minute of it and will never forget it!

Friday, August 12, 2005

MuslimFest 2005 is TOMORROW!!!!!



It's FINALLY here! I am sooooo excited... a bit tired at this moment... haven't slept much the last few nights.. but whatever... it all comes down to tomorrow!!!

All the crazy lonnggg meetings at Madihaha's & Roohi's.. all the pizza & chicken wings...all the shopping trips.. making and remaking lists... scheduling and rescheduling... I think I'm gonna miss it. I love being involved in such an amazing event... I hope you guys can all come and check it out.

Admission to the Bazaar, Art Exhibit itself is FREE!

Puppet Show $9.99 @ 11:00 am

Sounds of Islam Concert (Zain Bhikha, Dawud Wharnsby, Native Deen, Irfan Makki, 786) @ 2pm & 6pm $19.99

"Allah Made Me Funny" Comedy Tour (Preacher Moss, Azhar Usman, Azeem) $9.99 @ 9:00 pm

I'll be there bright and early! If you're around OR if i have some tix for you... gimme a ring! Hope to see you all there, Insh'Allah!!!

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Kashif & Umber's Mehndi

Went to Kash #2's mehndi last night. Their wedding is the biggest wedding of the summer for us, as we are really close family friends! I don't think I've seen Kashif look so genuinely happy.. EVER! Mash'Allah... Kashif is such a great guy... always comes and says Salaam whenever we run into each other. And such a good sport... we embarassed the hell out of him on Eid after finding out about the engagement :) but he took it like a man... and threatend to kick our butts if we didn't stop.. haha.

Guys look so cute in shalwar kameez... esp sherwanis!

Man, the girls' side totally killed us on the dholki songs ... but yo they had professional singers... cheaters! Ran into all the other fam friends... always a blast with them :) There were a few dances... Kash's cousin danced to "Tauba Tauba" from Kaal... she was amazing for a 10 yr old.. i can't even move like that.. actually I can't even dance so whatever... Food was awesome! But I only got thru half of my mango ice cream bc had to go. I had issues with keeping my eyes open yet AGAIN... and I thought I kept them open bc Kash & Sara were clapping and stuff.. but turns out they were just being sarcastic!! In my defence, it was a longggg day and the flash is crazy bright on my camera.

1 more day until the wedding!!


Umber walking in with her parents... she looks so gorgeous Mash'Allah... and that's a rose petal in midair on her mom's forehead not a bindi :P


The adorable couple themselves... awwwwww.. check out that rock!!


My cutie, Farah... and Kash #1... what is that? Kashif with an empty plate? :O and someone's been using Crest Whitening Strips.. shaabaash! And that's Farah Bhabi to you Kash!!! I don't care how much younger she is than you.


This is the best I could do... 1 and a half eyes open :S everyone loved my chooriyan :) I sure know how to ref it out...

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

I think i lost my moose :S

My moose is on the loose!! My moose pen that is... that Sahar got for me :) I made fun of it when she gave one to Madihah... and then later she gave me one too... it's cute tho and now it seems i have misplaced it.. OR someone has stolen it!! It was last seen in my house on the kitchen table before I left for work.. so the culprit is a family member :O!.. when i returned it was nowhere to be found. I miss it.. i can't do MuslimFest work without it :( It's just not the same. So many memories... from Sundays meeting until today...


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Funniest thing happend after i got home from work today. I went into the kitchen, and on the counter there was a package of sesame snaps. Azfar was making some eggs (for me and him) and so i figured it was his, so I asked him if I could have some... he goes that it's not his (in an annoyed tone.. my bro had asked him the same)... that it's probably Ammi or Papa's... so i decide to help myself to one piece of them. They are sooo good.. we used to eat them alot when we were younger (memoriesss). So whatever, we're eating and my mom comes into the kitchen and then she asks if she can have some of the sesame snaps... lol... i almost choked on my juice! Me and Azfar were laughin our heads off... if they weren't any of ours... whose were they? How'd it end up on the kitchen counter?! I dunno if this story is actually funny... i guess it's one of those stories where u had to be there. We (my fam) we always have these moments where we are laughing so hard that we're crying... i think it was one those moments today...

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Happy Berday to me :)

I am officially 22 years old! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh... seriously tho, this bday has made me realize that i need to start figuring out my life and the future. So far, I have always let life take take wherever it has .. kind of just adapted to the changes. But now I am almost done school... I think i need some direction and goals... ahhh that dreaded word! Being an adult sucks sometimes... and apparently now that I'm 22 I am out of my prime (u know WHO u are!!!) I gotta start looking into botox ... damn the paki culture! Nahhh... no botox ... yet.

Had dinner with the family @ Singapore Gardens... Mmmmmmmmmm... I love that place and their szechuan chicken! I'm not really a birthday person, when it comes to myself... i like planning other people's bdays and stuff. And getting their presents last minute at Shoppers Drug Mart .. haha..

Anywho... a few pics from my 3rd bday partay in Karachi... I was like a princess there ... Sarah does mean princess (in Greek & Hebrew)... I love old pics! I was so cuteeee...



ME in my cool golden dress... almost about to drop all of my food. Don't u jus love how my hair is sticking out of the ponytail?



MMmmmmmmmmm.... samosa! Jus me and some of my cousins and nephew and neices.



My Birthday party :) I think that is 1/4 of the khandaan there... Abba is feeding me cake. There's my Ammi in the red.

Monday, August 01, 2005

Asif & Mariam's Walima

Congratulations to Asif and Mariam!! Mash'Allah they make an amazing couple...

It was definitely a huge wedding... I ran into a lot of people... it was exciting! And def a Hydro (Hyderabadi) wedding as they had Mirchi ka saalan haha. Everyone looked gorgeous.. especially ME... haha jk. I don't know what got into my bro tho, (actually I think I do!) he actually wanted to get there at 7! Who goes at the time stated on the card... so we got there around 8... and it was PACKED! Thank God, Sahar and Shabina had gotten there early and saved us a table..

The slideshow was really funny... I esp liked that part about Omair being Asif's 3rd love but Mariam as his true love! I can't believe guys thought of that... we all took madd pictures... so here they are!



All the girls: (front)Rang sisters & Roohi;(back) Sameera, Deej, Romana, Sahar & me. Everyone's eyes are open.. awesome!! Usually one person screws it up ... usually me :P



Some of the girls with Asif and Mariam. Mariam looked amazing Mash'Allah... that colour was sooo her colour! It's funny how half of them are looking at one camera & the other half into Deej's camera... (i'm borrowing this pic from you Deej, hope u don't mind.. and it's too bad anyways :P)



Khadeeja and me... Deej looks gorgeous, Mash'Allah! BTW, this will be ur official rishta photo (minus me ofcourse!) I look kinda whack ... I was trying not to blink! I need help with my blinking problem.. u think they have a support group for that?



Shaz and me :) Shaz was trying to dance with me.. in public! I think she wanted to lead .. haha.

Sorry to everyone who had to have a "photo shoot" with me bc I couldn't keep my eyes open! Haha.. especially Rafia .. i think we took like 10 pics and the best shot was of me with my eyes semi-open. The flash on my camera is crazy bright.. i blame the camera.