*snort* So from the description this is going to be all about football. We'll see. *cares nothing about football*
Oh! Before we get started, I had an idea earlier. There's this whole expectation for converts to behave perfectly, to take up all of Islam in one go. But when Islam was being revealed, it was a gradual process. Like with alcohol being forbidden (yes, I had this thought while drinking a Tequila Sunrise). It was revealed in stages. So even though the people who followed Mohammed believed in his revelation they didn't have to to everything at once. I know that's because it wasn't all revealed yet, but my point is: why can't converts take things in stages? It only makes sense.
Yes, the whole revelation is out there, but the covert is like the people who originally converted to Islam. They have lives that they're changing for this religion. It makes sense to me that they take things in steps. Like when I was reading about a woman who is converting to Orthodox Judaism and she said that you take on the practices as you feel called and able to. Same thing. You know what you need to do and you intend to do them, but doing them whole hog cold turkey is too much of a culture shock.
Baby steps people. Baby steps.
Though I absolutely get the convert desire to just *do* and be the 'perfect' member of that religion. And there's pressure from born members and other converts too, because they see you as a representative of the faith and there's likely some questioning in their minds about the sincerity of every conversion.
Right then.
Okay. The Convert who will not be named and His Terrible Wife. I...care little for your 'pain'. Let's move on.
How old are kids when they're expected to be able to do the whole fast? Or is there not a set age and it's just that they do it when they feel able to?
Oh, look, it's Nina's husband. Who we nearly never see. Maybe he's camera shy?
'gasoline distributor' - so many options. Does that mean he works at a gas station? Runs the tankers that move gas around? Owns a bunch of gas stations?
I do like that he's willing to support her in her desire to have a club. Good for him.
*laughs* Dear Nader: *men* need 'like 20 minutes!' at the gym. Women need a whole lot more work. And it's hard to find the time to go to the gym when you've got an infant. Or so I assume.
Football...blah...blah...
Them...blah...blah...
She Who Will Not Be Named's Mom is an awesome person on this subject.
'Hey, your husband has made a lot of changes in his life. Maybe you should back the fuck up and be a human being.'
*bitch-slaps She Who Will Not Be Named* Maybe you should have had those thoughts *before* you forced He Who Will Not Be Named to give up Wrigley.
'I would consider myself a control freak in some scenarios...'
O.O Really? I am shocked. Shocked. Nawal, I love you and I'm glad you're feeling better. But calling yourself a control freak in 'some scenarios' is understating the case.
The handshake thing. I'm with Nina: 'If you're going to shake someone's hand and get sexy thoughts, then you have a hand fetish.' And...it's not a universally accepted rule anyway.
I agree though that I prefer having a female trainer to. There are some things you do when you're weight lifting especially that can get very awkward.
If Nader freaks out about her shaking that man's hand I'm going to be at a loss. He doesn't seem like that kind of a guy. And I find the fact that she feels the need to 'confess' it very strange.
'literally felt like electricity went through my body or something' Really? That's weird.
Seriously. Nina is the most sensible person in the room on the handshake issue.
Football...blah...blah...
Commercial and then...more football. I will make a *terrible* football widow because I can't even pretend to care. Blah...blah...
He Who Will Not Be Named is on the tv...blargh. I know what's coming, and it's not helping you. So you went back and got her. Good for you. I don't forgive you for breaking her heart! Oh, but hey, fucking *compromise*, which should have been done in the first place.
And She Who Will Not Be Named - stop talking about the 'religious situation' because that wasn't your problem, you just used it as an excuse.
Moving on to More Important Things:
Ooof. That's cold. Three times in the back and once in the head when he's already on the ground? Over what? What in the hell were they fighting about and how do you feel that's the right response?
'We can't specify that murder only happens in a certain culture, or religion. It happens everywhere.'
Yeah. Just like every other kind of human evil.
I get what Suehaila is saying about wanting to be there to witness the killer being arraigned because the family can't be there.
*is all choked up*
I miss cable. But being done with school is more than worth it.
ReplyDeleteNot having seen the ep, I really only have one thing that stood out to me here.
'literally felt like electricity went through my body or something' Really? That's weird.
Was that referring to the handshake? :D It sounds strange, but I think I remember you making a post (I know I remember the post, I'm not sure if it was you) where it was mentioned that once you make a point not to touch people, the sort of very small touches most of us don't even think about are a big deal. Not so much the handshake, because that was my acceptable level of compromise, but I remember I used to really notice and was a little shaken when a guy would touch my arm in class.
I remember at one point wondering out loud why someone would think that was ok, and if I had to cover up more to make it clear people shouldn't touch me. My roommate gave me a very odd look, and I finally realized that most people don't know much about Islam and would have no reason to associate a headscarf with limitations on touching. Weird. So something that they thought was just normal social contact felt like a lot more to me at the time.
The handshake thing made me laugh because she was freaking out like she'd done something really horrible. Even my girlfriends wouldn't shake hands with men but they also wouldn't have freaked out if it happened.
ReplyDeleteWe all knew they were going to go back and get the dog. Sometimes I wonder if this was pushed by the producers. Ive been behind the scenes on a couple reality TV shows. Producers push for stuff like this. And She Who Will Not Be Named loves attention.
Great post! But what happened at the end? Did someone get murdered? I missed what happened...can you give a few more details?
ReplyDeleteLoved all the commentary as usual and the new names for certain people was awesome!
sanil,
ReplyDeleteI can see how that's a worthwhile trade off! :)
Yes, that was referring to the handshake. And she shook his hand at least twice. Maybe three times. I do remember what you're talking about, and yes that was me. It was...not like lightning but like a heightened awareness of the touch. Which would stem from being touch deprived (though not in a developmentally damaging way or anything...) since I'd stopped touching the opposite sex for a while. At least that's my theory. I think things like handshakes are only 'sexual' if you make them.
It was funny, in the little side session, Bilal was saying that it's okay to elbow bump members of the opposite sex in greeting because that's less sexual than a handshake. And Nina, seriously she was the only rational person in the room here, was laughing and saying that she thought that was *more* sexual. She was being sarcastic, of course.
LK,
ReplyDeleteI think Nawal was just...being wacky. I don't know why, but her reaction was heavily over blown for a handshake, even if she does believe that it's not permitted. It was an accident, she had no intention of seducing the trainer with her sexy, sexy fingers (sarcasm right there, people) so...what's the big deal? Then again, not my culture, not my religion, so maybe I'm just not seeing the problem from the right perspective.
*sigh* Maybe *you* knew it, but I didn't. I was too upset. I have a thing about pets and abandonment, okay?
I did wonder if the whole thing was something cooked up by the show/She Who Will Not Be Named to start drama, but it didn't really matter to me if it was. Either way, it was and is a shitty thing to do and they will forever be They Who Will Not Be Named. Only because I can't ignore them completely, though it might be worth a try.
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteA young man who lived in the community, who Suehaila knew, was shot after having an argument with another man. They don't give any details of what the argument was about because, according to the end of the show, the accused killer had been arraigned but not yet tried. The man who was killed was shot three times in the back and then once more in the head once he fell.
Do you know the term "elbow sex"? :D This is all I can think of now.
ReplyDeleteIn case the link doesn't work (it's happened before):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dxbM2AWKN0