Hey Y'all
This will be my last post from the US on this trip at least as im writing it in the lounge at houston before i board my flight..
Well i had a pretty crazy time since my last post as i left my friends in LA and headed north and then east , as I went from San Fransico to Yoshmite National Park to Las Vegas to Grand Canyon to Phoneix Arizona and now back to Houston!
I am so exhausted and just bewildered by the last 3 weeks! It feels like i been here forever..
San Fran was fun, as my friend in LA put it, if the west coast and the east coast had a city it would be San Fran, and i can c exactyly what it means, its liberal and yet hard working, its mixed and expensive, quite densley populated but good public transport, i would recommend to go, as it is a beautiful city and has alot of things to c and do! Especialy going tyo the Yshimite National Park, which is like 3 hours there, its a stunning national park and has these amazing waterfalls, and the biggest trees i have even seen in my life, there called like Sequoias trees or something and they are unbelievable, you need to google that shit seriously HUGE!
Aneway, so then heading the vegas, the real Silicon Valley, as its just full of girls with fake breasts! Now you hear stories about Vegas and you hear the ridiculous stories about how Vegas is a bit of a family destination, well those people are smoking crack, there is guys handing out cards of women2ur door on the street, there is girls wearing next to nothing just walking about and this is during the day so u can only imagine what happens at night. This is not to say all was bad, far from it, the food was some of the best i have ever had, they have top class chefs and restaurants and at verygood prices, the shows on offer are amazing,. i went to c a comedyt club which was very funny and then david copperfield and that was unbelievable and something i dont think i would have been able to in many other places, so u c it does have its postives but the gamblign and the women and night activites do overbear alot on the city!
Im not a fan of buffets anymore, but if u r, they are nuts about them, i find myself spending the same as i would on a buffet in a normal restaurant and at least then i get exactly what i want, and the concept of it, goes against my priciples and beliefs where you fill yourself up and waste alot of food, in Islam your only supposed to fill your stomach up a 1/3 of food, 1/3 of water and 1/3 of air, and so clearly going to a buffet will reduce the chances of such a feat dramatically.
Also what i find weird is how 'celebs' and i use the term lightly celebrate their bdays in one of the clubs there and the clubs advertise it, like Kim Khadasian did it whilst i was there and the girl from Friday night Lights, and the girl from Beveerly Hills 90210 is going to be doing it as well, and its just really bizare, but they at the same time manage to attract huge names, this week along, russel peters was going a night,cheer, b.o.b., shakira, amr diab and many others...so for those living there i could imagine it would be pretty cool. Talking about living here, i was told its the fast growing city in the US, partly probably bnecause there is no income tax! And locals get cheap entry to most of the shows and nights and cheaper offers so i can c the benefit!
There is this huge new development called City Centre, which is a joint venture between MGM grand and Dubai world, at first i thought it didnt contain gambling as its really swish and obviously the gambling and the Dubai element, however my faith in the relgious values of Dubai were misplaced and it turns out they have huge casions there as well! However i got to say Dubai and Vegas reminded me of each other, both are in the desert and built into huge metropolis cities and both have a very superficial level and are questioned by its neighbours on its ethics but are still kinda desired and envied and used as the local or international party destinations...
Anyway I better board my plane soon, but i hope my next piece wont be like in a few months like it often is and i manage to sustain this, and the next time i write ill be 27, inshallah, and so i need to start fixing up and looking sharp *(in the immortal words of dizzy) and ill let you know what i end up doing for my bday though right now i just want to chill, but will c once im back home in Doha...
aneway take care and
Asif
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 08, 2010
Contentment...
Hey,
So i been all over the place the last few days, well and truly nailed Cali and even went south to Mexico, which isnt that different from many places in California where there is large his-spanic speaking communities. I found out that his-spanic actually means Spanish speaking people, so technically doesn't mean Brazilian but the rest of south and central American communities, i guess it was always going to be natural migration where the south and central Americans will slowly infiltrate North where there is the land of opportunity and supposedly a land offering a better life than the one they are in. However I sincerely beg to differ, after spending time int he US, yep its has its positives and negatives like most places but for me the negatives for outweigh the negatives in living here.
I met this Russian waitress in a Shisha bar the other night in LA, and she was telling me how she works 2 jobs, and has been here a year, she loves it but says how shes always working, and its hard to make a living with the high costs of living and the way things are, i mean i think there are ways you can make money here and its an entrepreneurs dream with the opportunities available, but im quite averse to most business and money making things personally, im just not geared that way, i much prefer a normal job and just a normal salary, I really wish i was wired to be set up like a business and after seeing the social network (which i highly recommend) it shows just how one good idea and some luck and you can just be on your way, but the thing is with Mark Zuckerburg, he managed to make the right decisions, ie he didnt sell out too early or go for advertisements when others would have, and you think what if i made that decision to sell up to early. In the film, it explains the history of the guy who set up the Victoria Secret (the lingerie shop)and how basically he sold it for like something like 10 million and like 2-3 years later it was worth 500 million and he committed suicide, and the thing is he didnt even set it up in the first place for a business but something for his wife or something, and then it made me think how the most important thing one can do is be satisfied with what we have i guess and for some its to do with accepting that not everything is always equal on the surface. However as a Muslim, we must believe in equality, and so thats why i said on the surface, because we believe in a Just God and therefore the world must be just and balanced if not now, it will be later, and so that kinda gets you by, when you face those times where you think how does that person live or feel (when you see poverty or persecution)...
Contentment, is often a word i use in my life, as people ask me why i am so happy or always smiling, firstly im not, and secondly when i am, its down to contentment, there are many other people who are more fortunate than i am in every sense fo the word, relgious, better looking, richer, intelligent, etc etc but the important thing is to be happy with one self, i mean of course there are things we all want to change within each other but im really content and i guess because of this contentment i dont have the drive to do businesses i guess or like investments i dunno because at the moment im content regarding my life but i guess if I was like a new immigrant, like my father, or the his-spanic community in USA then inshallah (God willing) i would have that drive like the new immigrants have but because im 2nd generation i dont have anweay im off to magic mountain inshallah today! so will write soon!
Anyway a bit more about my trip, so i went to San Diego and its a really beautiful city, i was highly impressed it was very military centric as its right on the boarder but despite that or maybe because of it, its a really stunning place. LA on the other hand is like any other large city in that its got its nice neighbour hoods but generally its quite grimey...so not been hugley impressed! If i was to move i would either go for San Fran or San Diego as the other cities havent really done it for me!
Take care
Asif
So i been all over the place the last few days, well and truly nailed Cali and even went south to Mexico, which isnt that different from many places in California where there is large his-spanic speaking communities. I found out that his-spanic actually means Spanish speaking people, so technically doesn't mean Brazilian but the rest of south and central American communities, i guess it was always going to be natural migration where the south and central Americans will slowly infiltrate North where there is the land of opportunity and supposedly a land offering a better life than the one they are in. However I sincerely beg to differ, after spending time int he US, yep its has its positives and negatives like most places but for me the negatives for outweigh the negatives in living here.
I met this Russian waitress in a Shisha bar the other night in LA, and she was telling me how she works 2 jobs, and has been here a year, she loves it but says how shes always working, and its hard to make a living with the high costs of living and the way things are, i mean i think there are ways you can make money here and its an entrepreneurs dream with the opportunities available, but im quite averse to most business and money making things personally, im just not geared that way, i much prefer a normal job and just a normal salary, I really wish i was wired to be set up like a business and after seeing the social network (which i highly recommend) it shows just how one good idea and some luck and you can just be on your way, but the thing is with Mark Zuckerburg, he managed to make the right decisions, ie he didnt sell out too early or go for advertisements when others would have, and you think what if i made that decision to sell up to early. In the film, it explains the history of the guy who set up the Victoria Secret (the lingerie shop)and how basically he sold it for like something like 10 million and like 2-3 years later it was worth 500 million and he committed suicide, and the thing is he didnt even set it up in the first place for a business but something for his wife or something, and then it made me think how the most important thing one can do is be satisfied with what we have i guess and for some its to do with accepting that not everything is always equal on the surface. However as a Muslim, we must believe in equality, and so thats why i said on the surface, because we believe in a Just God and therefore the world must be just and balanced if not now, it will be later, and so that kinda gets you by, when you face those times where you think how does that person live or feel (when you see poverty or persecution)...
Contentment, is often a word i use in my life, as people ask me why i am so happy or always smiling, firstly im not, and secondly when i am, its down to contentment, there are many other people who are more fortunate than i am in every sense fo the word, relgious, better looking, richer, intelligent, etc etc but the important thing is to be happy with one self, i mean of course there are things we all want to change within each other but im really content and i guess because of this contentment i dont have the drive to do businesses i guess or like investments i dunno because at the moment im content regarding my life but i guess if I was like a new immigrant, like my father, or the his-spanic community in USA then inshallah (God willing) i would have that drive like the new immigrants have but because im 2nd generation i dont have anweay im off to magic mountain inshallah today! so will write soon!
Anyway a bit more about my trip, so i went to San Diego and its a really beautiful city, i was highly impressed it was very military centric as its right on the boarder but despite that or maybe because of it, its a really stunning place. LA on the other hand is like any other large city in that its got its nice neighbour hoods but generally its quite grimey...so not been hugley impressed! If i was to move i would either go for San Fran or San Diego as the other cities havent really done it for me!
Take care
Asif
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Successful...i think not..
Hey,
So i got some feedback from some important people in my life regarding the blog and how to improve it, and inshallah will try to make those improvements in the forthcoming blogs...i have felt myself that sometimes the blog can at times lack some quality (i know rare for someone with my attention to detail) and even quantity (i know rare for someone of my stature) but it has and that has to do with the time i was writing the blogs, as it usually was at the end of the day and my jet lag is still in effect. So i tend to sleep in the early evenings here and then be awake again by night, so its been quite difficult to write as im half dead during that time!
Anyway today we spent the day driving back to LA, where im currently writing this now, in the valley,which is like a suburb of Los Angles, but we just rented a ford mustang convertible for the rest of the week, as i wanted to do LA like in the movies, u know cruising blah blah, i know cheesy as hell and jus a tad cliche but for those who know me i can be pretty darn cheesy. Anyway so we are awaiting for some 5ft columbian friend, called Helmut, of my cousin/friend, called Obby, and will head down to mexico tonight so it should be intresting. LAst time i went out with these guys was in London in my first year of Uni, and its really weird as it seems like things have become fullcircle, in that back then i had a crush on a girl and then obviously over time it subsided and now that girl has gotten more into my life recently, nothing going on but and it just feels really weird, like im right back to 8 years ago...and its the same people in my life all over again, i dont know how to describe it, but i was hoping this trip would provide a welcome distraction anyway to my life and give me time to ponder my thoughts and next moves...
Often people say that you have the world at your feet, and often that person saying it is me, but when people say it to me, im not sure, as i know my weaknesses and frailties and am scared that i dont have what it takes to succeed, but then u can wonder whats the definition of success. A friend and kinda relative just had a second kid, aH, and hes 27, and im 27 in 2 weeks, and his FB status was like 27, married with 2 kids, like its his achievements and mashalllah (Thanks be to God) he has got alot to be proud of, but then u know i dont think hes like a banker or like driving a 6 series bmw or anything but he is settled and comfortable and has a strong deen (faith) in his relgion and so i would quantify him as being more succesful than most people i know. Then i look at myself, im say for arguments sake, 27, no wife, no gf, no kids (not that i know of :-p),not sure on future profession, no house (that i own myself), nothing have notable mention really, and i wonder how can people say i got the world at my feet or im successful when you look at things like that. I am not down, far from it, i am grateful to God for everything i do have and for everything that has happened, and i know he has blessed me so much with everything and im so fortunate to have what i have, but i do need to start making something of my life...
My current fb status is "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me". and its something i strongly believe in and i need to start doing it, and use it for the benefit of mankind, because i believe this is just the start of the journey and the work we put in here will only really gain the benefits later, thats not to say dont enjoy this life, on the contrary, i think if u do enjoy this life, it makes doing good things alot easier as you develop more happiness and love for this world and the people in it but its important to understand that this isnt the destination or end goal rather just the journey and theres no harm in enjoying the journey!
Anyway my journey will begin soon as the 5ft Columbian will be here so i better get ready...
inshallah will let you know what happens next time!
Take care
Asif
So i got some feedback from some important people in my life regarding the blog and how to improve it, and inshallah will try to make those improvements in the forthcoming blogs...i have felt myself that sometimes the blog can at times lack some quality (i know rare for someone with my attention to detail) and even quantity (i know rare for someone of my stature) but it has and that has to do with the time i was writing the blogs, as it usually was at the end of the day and my jet lag is still in effect. So i tend to sleep in the early evenings here and then be awake again by night, so its been quite difficult to write as im half dead during that time!
Anyway today we spent the day driving back to LA, where im currently writing this now, in the valley,which is like a suburb of Los Angles, but we just rented a ford mustang convertible for the rest of the week, as i wanted to do LA like in the movies, u know cruising blah blah, i know cheesy as hell and jus a tad cliche but for those who know me i can be pretty darn cheesy. Anyway so we are awaiting for some 5ft columbian friend, called Helmut, of my cousin/friend, called Obby, and will head down to mexico tonight so it should be intresting. LAst time i went out with these guys was in London in my first year of Uni, and its really weird as it seems like things have become fullcircle, in that back then i had a crush on a girl and then obviously over time it subsided and now that girl has gotten more into my life recently, nothing going on but and it just feels really weird, like im right back to 8 years ago...and its the same people in my life all over again, i dont know how to describe it, but i was hoping this trip would provide a welcome distraction anyway to my life and give me time to ponder my thoughts and next moves...
Often people say that you have the world at your feet, and often that person saying it is me, but when people say it to me, im not sure, as i know my weaknesses and frailties and am scared that i dont have what it takes to succeed, but then u can wonder whats the definition of success. A friend and kinda relative just had a second kid, aH, and hes 27, and im 27 in 2 weeks, and his FB status was like 27, married with 2 kids, like its his achievements and mashalllah (Thanks be to God) he has got alot to be proud of, but then u know i dont think hes like a banker or like driving a 6 series bmw or anything but he is settled and comfortable and has a strong deen (faith) in his relgion and so i would quantify him as being more succesful than most people i know. Then i look at myself, im say for arguments sake, 27, no wife, no gf, no kids (not that i know of :-p),not sure on future profession, no house (that i own myself), nothing have notable mention really, and i wonder how can people say i got the world at my feet or im successful when you look at things like that. I am not down, far from it, i am grateful to God for everything i do have and for everything that has happened, and i know he has blessed me so much with everything and im so fortunate to have what i have, but i do need to start making something of my life...
My current fb status is "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me". and its something i strongly believe in and i need to start doing it, and use it for the benefit of mankind, because i believe this is just the start of the journey and the work we put in here will only really gain the benefits later, thats not to say dont enjoy this life, on the contrary, i think if u do enjoy this life, it makes doing good things alot easier as you develop more happiness and love for this world and the people in it but its important to understand that this isnt the destination or end goal rather just the journey and theres no harm in enjoying the journey!
Anyway my journey will begin soon as the 5ft Columbian will be here so i better get ready...
inshallah will let you know what happens next time!
Take care
Asif
The Asian-Yank Dell Boy...
Hey,
So i spent the last 2 days in san fran, and i gota say i love the city! its by far been my favourite city in the usa...come to think of it im not the biggest fan of the cities in the usa to be honest, the people are quite friendly dont get me wrong but the cities arent the best for tourists and the tipping culture and the added tax in different states makes it feel like your getting ripped off time and time again...
The family im staying with here reminds me of a dell-boy style situation but much more sophisticated. Like he has all these routers and cables in his computer room, and i was told as he runs those calling cards thru his house, so u know when u buy calling cards to call a certain country well they are routed through people like his set ups, pretty random i know! Also he put solar panels on his roof, and he sells back electricty to the electrical grid, lol, its just shows how at every situation someone people see an opportunity!
It goes on to make me thing about the usa and the mentality of the people, how hard working they are and how they focus on the green, and not the kind u think im talking bout but the dollar green! They are really hardowrking and i guess doesnt surproise me how for so long that the japanese and the usa were the largest economies if there people are so hardworking and focused on earnin and living to work, rather than the enjoying life, or maybe thats their enjoyment, earning alot of money and buying materialistic things or saving it jus cause they can!
Aneway today i went to Alcatrez its more developed than robben island and it feels more like a prison where as robben island was different because of the racial elements to it if u know what i mean... and i went on a tour of the city and like i said the most beautiful city i been by far in the usa!
anyway i better go but will try to write again inshallah
take care
Stormy
So i spent the last 2 days in san fran, and i gota say i love the city! its by far been my favourite city in the usa...come to think of it im not the biggest fan of the cities in the usa to be honest, the people are quite friendly dont get me wrong but the cities arent the best for tourists and the tipping culture and the added tax in different states makes it feel like your getting ripped off time and time again...
The family im staying with here reminds me of a dell-boy style situation but much more sophisticated. Like he has all these routers and cables in his computer room, and i was told as he runs those calling cards thru his house, so u know when u buy calling cards to call a certain country well they are routed through people like his set ups, pretty random i know! Also he put solar panels on his roof, and he sells back electricty to the electrical grid, lol, its just shows how at every situation someone people see an opportunity!
It goes on to make me thing about the usa and the mentality of the people, how hard working they are and how they focus on the green, and not the kind u think im talking bout but the dollar green! They are really hardowrking and i guess doesnt surproise me how for so long that the japanese and the usa were the largest economies if there people are so hardworking and focused on earnin and living to work, rather than the enjoying life, or maybe thats their enjoyment, earning alot of money and buying materialistic things or saving it jus cause they can!
Aneway today i went to Alcatrez its more developed than robben island and it feels more like a prison where as robben island was different because of the racial elements to it if u know what i mean... and i went on a tour of the city and like i said the most beautiful city i been by far in the usa!
anyway i better go but will try to write again inshallah
take care
Stormy
Monday, October 04, 2010
Do I take door number 1, 2 or 3??
Hey
So I'm on my wAy to Frisco right now in a car with some distant relative kinda family friend, he really helped me out alot! aH
So now I been left with 3 options regarding what to do with my friend but I dont know which one to do!
1) my friends goes to the embassy on monday and sort it out asap and then come
either out here or if hes not got time then head to new york and il fly
out there and il meet him there.
2) i come to london via doha, this would be the earliest i would get
to u is wednesday and it will probably cost me around 700-800 pounds.
3) i come to london straight from here, i would get there for monday
night or tuesday morning probably, i probably would have to forsake my
ticket back to doha, and therefore would cost around 1000 pounds to
get back to doha at least...
as you can see, i have no clue what to do, and each element has its pros and cons, i was thinking of comin back to Europe but not anymore i am thinking of using the time and spend it here, for a few reasons mainly because its not like i have something to come back to England for, like apart from my family, if u know what i mean so i think i might as well make the most of it and spend time here unless things change i feel theres no purpose to go back jus yet...
Life is quite chilled in California definitely comparing to Texas and to my trip to the east coast! I don't like the whole taxation and the lack of community care and attitudes they got in the USA. also the lack of halal meat available is really difficult, I do get why so many yanks don't eat halal as it wud drive me nuts but maybe da r halal and I jus don't kno them or there in certain areas and it's the problem but like in sydeny for example u can get halal subway at the airport!
Well, i got a bit of time now to write, as its the evening now and we have driven to Frisco and are now at someones house i never met, my friend, his wife, his sister in law, their kids, and his mum all came with us and are staying at this familys house in the suburbs of San Fransisco in a place called heywood or something, aneway these trips remind me of the old days when i was growing up and we would go to like birmingham or London or somewhere and spend the weekend visiting another family and stay with them, eating proper indian/bengali food, and jus the way things are, kids running about, adults talking late in the night with the men in one room or side of the room and the women on the other, it brings back alot of memories these trips and though its a far cry from what i imagined this usa trip was going to be like i still think im seeing the usa in a way that i wouldnt have in the past, with the people who live here in the suburban environment. I still got to c the golden gate bridge and i am booked into alcateraz tour , so i think the main thing thats different from this trip than the one i wud havbe if i was on y own, is the nightlife, but i will come back and do the nightlife later on in the week!
ANYWAY i better go but inshallah will write soon!
So I'm on my wAy to Frisco right now in a car with some distant relative kinda family friend, he really helped me out alot! aH
So now I been left with 3 options regarding what to do with my friend but I dont know which one to do!
1) my friends goes to the embassy on monday and sort it out asap and then come
either out here or if hes not got time then head to new york and il fly
out there and il meet him there.
2) i come to london via doha, this would be the earliest i would get
to u is wednesday and it will probably cost me around 700-800 pounds.
3) i come to london straight from here, i would get there for monday
night or tuesday morning probably, i probably would have to forsake my
ticket back to doha, and therefore would cost around 1000 pounds to
get back to doha at least...
as you can see, i have no clue what to do, and each element has its pros and cons, i was thinking of comin back to Europe but not anymore i am thinking of using the time and spend it here, for a few reasons mainly because its not like i have something to come back to England for, like apart from my family, if u know what i mean so i think i might as well make the most of it and spend time here unless things change i feel theres no purpose to go back jus yet...
Life is quite chilled in California definitely comparing to Texas and to my trip to the east coast! I don't like the whole taxation and the lack of community care and attitudes they got in the USA. also the lack of halal meat available is really difficult, I do get why so many yanks don't eat halal as it wud drive me nuts but maybe da r halal and I jus don't kno them or there in certain areas and it's the problem but like in sydeny for example u can get halal subway at the airport!
Well, i got a bit of time now to write, as its the evening now and we have driven to Frisco and are now at someones house i never met, my friend, his wife, his sister in law, their kids, and his mum all came with us and are staying at this familys house in the suburbs of San Fransisco in a place called heywood or something, aneway these trips remind me of the old days when i was growing up and we would go to like birmingham or London or somewhere and spend the weekend visiting another family and stay with them, eating proper indian/bengali food, and jus the way things are, kids running about, adults talking late in the night with the men in one room or side of the room and the women on the other, it brings back alot of memories these trips and though its a far cry from what i imagined this usa trip was going to be like i still think im seeing the usa in a way that i wouldnt have in the past, with the people who live here in the suburban environment. I still got to c the golden gate bridge and i am booked into alcateraz tour , so i think the main thing thats different from this trip than the one i wud havbe if i was on y own, is the nightlife, but i will come back and do the nightlife later on in the week!
ANYWAY i better go but inshallah will write soon!
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Houston we have a problem...
ok so i been thinking for a while to try to write a bit more, again probably as more of an outlet to me thoughts, ideas and just to get things off my chest , regardless of how feverlious they are...
well im currently in H-town as the locals say, which is Houston for those not in the know.
You hear its a vast city, and it is but i guess as i havent got a car its hard to exactly gather just how large it is.....
i was ready to write a lengthy piece but just got told by my friend whos supposed to be coming out that he cant as homeland security wont let him, im not sure why, he claimed he got the visa and the pass and everything, so i do not know what happened or why there was a problem but im really upset there was, its lucky for him in a way as we made limited number of bookings so he hasnt lost much money, however he has my driving license and so it screws things up a bit...also the other thing is i budgeted in such a way that things would be shared so its jus foooked alot of stuff up tbh,but aH in all situations, i guess its for the best!
so now i need to decide what ill do, and how to do it, lol well will c how rthings plans out inshallah all will work out well!
not really in the mood to write much more inshallah i will feel better and more int he mood tomorrow!
well im currently in H-town as the locals say, which is Houston for those not in the know.
You hear its a vast city, and it is but i guess as i havent got a car its hard to exactly gather just how large it is.....
i was ready to write a lengthy piece but just got told by my friend whos supposed to be coming out that he cant as homeland security wont let him, im not sure why, he claimed he got the visa and the pass and everything, so i do not know what happened or why there was a problem but im really upset there was, its lucky for him in a way as we made limited number of bookings so he hasnt lost much money, however he has my driving license and so it screws things up a bit...also the other thing is i budgeted in such a way that things would be shared so its jus foooked alot of stuff up tbh,but aH in all situations, i guess its for the best!
so now i need to decide what ill do, and how to do it, lol well will c how rthings plans out inshallah all will work out well!
not really in the mood to write much more inshallah i will feel better and more int he mood tomorrow!
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