Month: June 2015 (Page 1 of 2)
Do you ever find a song that just clicks?
“I can’t sleep and I feel down, cheer me up?” Said my e-mail to my #friend. I quickly received an email back with a list of things that I could do to “cheer oneself up”. Mr. Methodological would, of course, send me a list *internal chuckle*.
I glance through it, a book recommendation, things to think about, the usual… Then there’s a YouTube video. I open the link, fully expecting some sort of meditation to start playing.
Midnight,
You come and pick me up, no headlights
A long drive…
You’ve GOT to be kidding me. This guy is the biggest nerd (in a nice way) I have ever come across. I did NOT expect TAYLOR SWIFT! (He had described it as “Crack for the ears” and “didn’t care what people thought”.
I called him the next day to tell him how unexpected and hilarious I found this. Of course, he went on to analyse why he loved the song so much. “Sometimes you just like the beat and the chords that are used. I was listening to it all day at work”. Interesting kid, that one.
I would have shrugged it off, but all day I have had a craving like a pregnant woman to listen to Ed Sheeran’s “One”. Literally, a pregnant woman; a crazed hormonal woman that went around on a frantic rampage at markaz searching for any type of headset so that I could listen to this song on repeat the moment I sat in the car. Why do I like this song so much? Perhaps it’s because I like the beat and the chords, or perhaps it just makes me feel good. That’s a strange concept isn’t it – liking something for no other reason than it just makes you feel good, just because it gets the endorphins pumping. Maybe there’s a reason why it makes me feel good – but I’m not bothered enough to figure out what it is; maybe it’s the catchy beat, the meaningful lyrics, the perfect strum of the guitar or the sublime voice. I just trust my emotions, knowing that there’s a reason that I feel this way, somewhere hidden inside.
While logged into my facebook account, I decided to check my “Other” inbox. It was the usual messages: random perverts saying “Hi, u lk v cute in ur dp. What’s ur name?” (Hint: It’s at the top of the message that you’re sending me. Also, what do you have against vowels?)
I saw this message:
hello Mariya! i am sorry to say but your blog has highly disgusted me. by using social media platform so strongly u are not only demeaning our religion but also our beloved moula .. this can cause u serious problem. i sincerely request you to please stop writing such blogs .
Here was my response:
Hi, I’m sorry you feel that way, but I am just expressing my opinion, which I am fully within my right to do. If it has offended you then I do apologise for offending you, but I stand by my viewpoint and my right to speak my mind and have a voice. As you can see from my blog, I’m not really concerned with the “serious problems” that this can cause, as it is just my opinion and I am not afraid of voicing it. There is no personal attack on maula at all, so I think perhaps you are being slightly oversensitive. I think it would be good for you to be a little bit more tolerant of the beliefs of others, as you are quick to ask me to do that of you. There is nothing I write that demeans our religion, that is your interpretation. I hear your request to stop writing my blogs, but I kindly turn down your offer. I hope that you enjoy any future posts with a more open mind.
Ironic that I wrote a blog post the other day about not intending to offend anyone, I guess that post wasn’t read 🙂 I’m assuming that this message was in response to my (very emotional) post on FGM and my views on it. So just to clarify – I wasn’t taking issue with the religion at all, I was simply expressing my viewpoint that is formed by my own and many others’ experiences. I do however take issue with the fact that a petition has been signed to stop this and it has been openly ignored and rebuked in a very nonchalant way, even though this issue has affected so many innocent girls in such a negative way. I would like to point out though that this is in no way an attack on Islam (I clearly pointed out in my blog post that Islam does not mandate this practice), nor is it a personal attack on any one person. It is in fact not an attack at all, it is simply me pointing out that I disagree and am disappointed at the apathy that is shown to such an important issue. If that “disgusts” you, well, then, I’m really sorry. Not sorry.
Men’s Rights. I suppose if I think of someone who says that they believe in Men’s Rights, the first word that comes to mind is chauvinist, which really doesn’t have the best of connotations. As a self-proclaimed feminist, I am a staunch believer in women’s rights and equality, however, I think people lose sight of the fact that sometimes it’s not particularly easy for men either. I seem to be into making lists nowadays, so I’ll continue to use this MO.
Reasons why it sometimes sucks to be a man
- Affirmative action. Women are given preference
- You’re always shitted on for the glass ceiling and pay gap, although the majority of you have no part in it
- You’ll never get maternity leave
- Nobody really cares about you at your own wedding
- You have to pay to get into clubs
- You don’t get to wear makeup to make yourself look better – think dark circles and no concealer
- You have to shave
- Hairy chests
- Beer guts
- Pressure to have a six pack
- Hairy armpits
- The potential to develop moobs
- You can’t wear a bathing suit so you have to go topless (See points 8-12)
- Regular haircuts
- Business casual means shirts, regardless of the weather
- You can’t wear heels if you’re short
- It’s hard for you to get away with overtly checking women out
But on the plus side, at least you can pee while standing up.
Perspective.
Am I a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kinda person? I definitely try to be in the former category, but in all honesty, sometimes I like to sit and wallow in self pity. Sometimes, I like to moan. Sometimes, I just like a break from the world being a perfect place, because it really isn’t. Yes, there is a lot of good in the world, but bad things do happen to good people and good things also happen to bad people. It sucks and it’s okay to be annoyed about it.
Life has taught me that there is justice and karma for everything. What goes around comes around, but when the bigger picture isn’t visible, I really think it’s okay to have a day when you just think “man, this sucks”. It’s okay to acknowledge it’s not fair and sucks without being admonished for not being happy every second of the day. It’s okay to feel bad emotions, process them and then shift gears to being positive. From my experience, if I keep trying to be positive about something that I really should be hurt by, eventually it all just catches up with me and I’m engulfed in an avalanche of self pity, victimisation, self blame and a feeling of helplessness.
Sometimes I just like to have an international life-really-sucks day in Mariyaverse, where I curl up with a duvet, watch Bridge Jones and spend some quality time with my two favourite men: Ben and Jerry. Which I think is perfectly acceptable, but I guess it depends on how you look at it.