latest adventure: NEWPORT

On November 30th of 1987 Ahmed F Khan was born (sorry Ahmed i forgot how to spell your middle name). He was definitely one of the better gifts given to the world =)

For Khan's birthday we woke up early and headed out to Newport! It was pretty last minute but it worked out because who wants to be at an aquarium all freakin day anyway right. I remember I was falling asleep in the car, pretty much because ahmed was going on and on about something or other.. haha. jk. No, it was just early and i hadnt had my morning coffee. Us, being the cheap-o's that we are, went to Kroger to get the huge 2 dollars off coupon for our tickets.

So when you walk into the aquarium the first thing you do is go down escalators, which is pretty sweet because it feels like you are going "under the sea." The second thing you do is take a picture behind a huge jaw thing. The first picture was a normal one, which was fine. But then in the second one the dude told us to make jaws. And of course i was like "make jaws??" well good thing Ahmed understood it, but why would we "make jaws" inside of a jaw?? well the picture came out stupid anyways because i was just confused and embarrassed that i was "making jaws" with my arms.

So then after that I think we went into a theater thing to meet Santa with a bunch of other 2 year olds.. haha. It was cool though. Santa was in a huge tank full of fish, turtle, and sharks. Apparently, this year Santa's reindeer all ran away so he had to resort to using his horsefishes and travel through sea... poor Santa..

Here is one of Ahmed and the gross jellyfish. I think the jellyfish were his favorite thing at the aquarium.. not sure why it would be though since he got stung by one once AND they are like the pests of the ocean.

My favorite part was definitely the penguins. I love watching penguins. They are REALLY neat creatures.



<---This is what Ahmed would be if he were ever a sea creature: Another cool part of the trip was the birds. After we got used to the immensly disgusting smell, we got to feed the birds some nectar and they started to get really mad at each other over who would get to drink the nectar.
All in all this was an awesome trip and I hope Ahmed had a good birthday. I wasn't able to get him a proper gift because i'm a broke but hopefully he will forgive me and let me give him something later =)

picture of the day: me and scuba santa.. yea we're close buds. he definitely said i am on the good list this year.. haha

Return of the Jedi

So I've been searching

for the right answers to the

wrong questions tonight

It has been much too long that this blog has gone neglected.  It was in major need of an update.  So what has been going on in my life... I was studying hardcore up until 11/24. Thanks to Rach for keeping me sane up until then.  She made sure to check up on me every few days so I could catch my breath.  I enjoyed our random breakfasts. Especially the one where I cooked GIANT omelettes and she made awesome pancakes.

11/24 USMLE Step 1

The test was hard as was expected.  But I felt like I was much more prepared for it.  There were clues sprinkled through some of the questions that I would have never even thought to pay attention to before.  Im just praying to God that I did well so I can put this past me forever.

11/25: New Moon

I got up bright and early to eat waffles (Yayyyyy!!!) and watch Twilight (Booooooo).  Seriously the first Twilight movie was hilarious.  I couldnt stop laughing.  Not only was the acting awful and the story ludicrous. But there was no chemistry between the characters in a movie that is supposed to be all about this intense all-encompassing love... It was a good laugh.  Then after watching half of that "movie" if thats what you want to call it... I got conned into watching ALL of Twilight: New Moon.  Most memorable moment of the movie -> Edward and Bella Skipping/Frolicking through a forest with campy music in the background.  Just the thought of that scene in my head is making me crack up all over again.

11/26: THANKSGIVING.

So much to be thankful for. Good friends. Family. Needs, wants, and desires.  All is being taken care of. Its sad that a day like Thanksgiving is even necessary to remind us how much we have that we take for granted.  How much we are ungrateful for...  How much we waste......  But it is necessary as a reminder and a good opportunity for self-reflection.  I think the best way to be thankful on a subconscious level is to make the the most of every day.  Be more today then you were yesterday or else in a way you are saying that yesterday was unneccessary... a waste of time..... and time is the thing that we need to be most thankful for.  It is the thing that is taken most for granted until it slips away without us even realizing where it went and who it took with it.

Reminds me of a saying of Prophet Muhammed (Peace be Upon him)
"Take advantage of five matters before five other matters:
your youth, before you become old;
and your health, before you fall sick;
and your richness, before you become poor;
and your free time before you become busy;
and your life, before your death."

Thanksgiving dinner at my cousins in Columbus was Amazing! (Turkey dinner, raspberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, pecan pie... it was a very legit Turkey Day.)  I ate way too much and felt morbidly obese.  Days like Thanksgiving are why exercise was invented right?

11/27: Black Friday/ Eid
Haha. what a night... So after Turkey Dinner in Columbus we came home.  Madiha went straight to bed like a smart girl to her nice and toasty bed.  Me and Saarah decided to scope out Best Buy to see if a line had started.  I was expecting to check it out and then go home to catch a couple hours of sleep.  To my surprise there were already 40+ people standing in line at 11 PM Thursday night... I had wanted a Sony PS3 for a long time and Best Buy was having a Black Friday Bundle giving a PS3 along with two high quality games (Little Big Planet and Ratchet and Clank) that was selling for the normal price of the PS3.  Also there was a Doorbuster sale on videogames where games that are usually $60 were now $35.  So being the smart man I am I got in line to catch these deals.  So while Saarah chilled in the car and listened to music.  I stood in line. For hours.  Haha. It was so cold... I am just glad I dont have to do this on a nightly basis cuz it was unbearable...  Anyways 6 hours later and my toes feeling like theyre gonna fall off they finally let us in to Best Buy.  Saarah and I were in by 5 AM and out by 5:10.  We got what we wanted and left even before the line began forming so I guess that was good.  I was so tired though that I accidentally picked up the wrong game (Madden 10 instead of FIFA 10)... I ended up being able to exchange the game later in the day for the one I wanted though.

Eid Prayer.
In Islam their are 2 major holidays both are called Eid.  Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr.  One Eid is at the end of Ramadan (our month of fasting from dawn to dusk) and the other Eid is at the end of the time when the pilgrims are performing pilgrimage in Mecca.  This Eid I got to see all of my friends that I grew up with.  This is the first time we all got to spend Eid together since we all went our different ways in high school and college.  It was really nice feeling like I fit in with this group of brothers whom I grew up with.  On this day and for the next few days we spent a lot of time together and reconnected.  I couldnt have asked for more over this Thanksgiving/ Eid Holiday...

11/27: Farhan's Wedding Reception
My friend Farhan got married.  Strange to see your friends growing up and beginning a totally new life and building a family.  Guess it happens even to the best of us.  Good luck Farhan. Wish you all the best mayne. :)