on Small towns

Living in the suburbs has plenty of perks.

For one, it is much safer than big cities. Unless I'm parking the car for the night, most of the time I leave my car doors unlocked. Nobody steals cars here.

But I'm afraid I've overstayed my welcome.

I have nothing against staying in Kentucky. It's just that I was raised as a city person. Living in a small town/suburbs like this gives me an endless sense of boredom. Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking how beautiful life would be if I could just pack and move to some nice cities such as Washington DC.

Seriously, it's dull living here. No excitement, no nightlife, nothing. Unlike back in New York, you can't find Chinese restaurants open past midnight.

Even the McDonald's close at Midnight.

I need to move out!

Granted that everything goes according to plan, I am slated to graduate with a Bachelor degree from university in 2014. At the point of which I am thinking of resettling in Charlotte, NC or Savannah, GA...where the tropics and the beaches are always within reach.

Or even the birthplace of my sister...Richmond, VA.

Damn, I absolutely love that city!

An ideal one would be a city that's not too expensive to live in (in terms of housing and groceries), has a metro train system (I love commuting by train since it reminds me of Singapore) and does not speak Spanish.

This leaves most of Florida and Texas out of the equation.

Let's just see later, I guess.

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Shafia Family and the Delusion of Honour

First of all, take a look at the picture of this young woman below.

Zainab Shafia

An exceptional beauty, isn't she?

Unfortunately, she's dead.

Being a regular reader of the Canadian magazine Maclean's, I have recently taken some interest in the Shafia family murder trials, which covered honour killing committed by a wealthy Afghani-Canadian family in Kingston, Ontario.

In 2009, Mohammad Shafia, his second wife Tooba Yahya, and their first son Hamed allegedly drowned three of the oldest daughters in the family, Zainab (19), Sahar (17), and Geeti (13) inside a Nissan Sentra in a river in Ontario. The first wife of Moh. Shafia, Rona Amir, was also drowned inside the car, apparently as an "throw-in" prize for Tooba, since Tooba is always the "preferred wife" of that polygamous household.

The victim's "crimes"?

Those three daughters of Moh. Shafia had "disgraced the family name and Islam" by "wearing make-up and Western clothing", "dating boys", and "hanging around with Canadian friends too often".

In other words, the daughters are merely "guilty" of teenage misdemeanours that, had it occurred in other ordinary families in the West, would not provoke the slightest angers from their parents.

Eventually, the verdict on 29 January 2012 stated that all three suspects are guilty of four counts of first-degree murders. In Canada, it carries an automatic life sentence in prison without a possibility of parole for 25 years.

Seriously, how sick can those trio be? If they can't cope with having their kids Westernised, why not return to Afghanistan and implement their honour code there?

To note, I have absolutely nothing against codes of honour implemented by families anywhere else in the world. However, any immigrants to a Western country should always remember that the local law triumphs. There is absolutely no place for such barbaric brutality here.

Meanwhile, it is with deep sadness that I see the pictures of the three deceased Shafia girls. This is the only one news that kept me thinking: what a waste. What a shame. They could've had a bright future ahead.

Instead, the family is broken up. Four are dead, three are in prison for first-degree murders, and three of the younger children are placed in foster homes.

May Roona, Zainab, Sahar, and Geeti rest in peace.

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"Habibi" by Craig Thompson

This graphic novel is replete with references to the Qur'an, hadiths, and Rumi poetry that one would be forgiven for thinking that it was penned by a Muslim.

However, "Habibi", which is targeted more towards a mature audience in the West, can serve as an excellent introduction to plebeian's lives in the Islamic world.

Yet the messages are universal.

The story revolves on an epic love story which follows a couple from their shared childhood of struggle together in the lower stratum of a fictitious Middle Eastern country called Wannatolia (which I suspect is modeled on today's United Arab Emirates). In Wannatolia, the citizens have mostly forgotten the true path of Islam (or any other faith, for that matter) and submitted themselves to lecherous ways of life, filled with greed, corruption, and deception.

However, the two protagonists of the story always try their best to stay true to the path of Islam. Being poor, they are neither literate, nor do they own a copy of the Qur'an. Even the people of Wannatolia seem to have little (if not nonexistent) interest at all to their glorious Islamic past. But Habibi and Dodola keep reminiscing on the stories of the prophets (e.g. Adam, Abraham, Noah, inter alia) so that they could differentiate what is right and wrong in the injustices of today's corrupt world.

Perhaps to make some stories more familiar to Western audience, the reminiscences are sometimes paralleled to Judeo-Christian stories too, such as when there is a difference between Abraham's intent to sacrifice his son (was it Isaac or was it Ishmael? This book includes both).

The conclusion, which ultimately results in a poignant ending, is granted to leave the audience deeply inspired. It leaves non-Muslims in the post-9/11 world with a better understanding of the soul of Islam which is steeped in tradition, compassion, and peace...a far cry from the supposedly "violent" jihadist ideology that the mass media display on a daily basis these days.

Perhaps by understanding Islam better, we Westerners can have more better relations with the Muslim world. Because in case we don't realise it, we have more in common with them than we think...we strive and struggle on the same path of suffering for the cultivation of peace too.

As an outsider to the belief himself, Craig Thompson could not have conveyed it better. Kudos for such a magnificent work!

Verdict: 8 out of 10 stars

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Facebook Timeline's Top 6 Friends

Before we start, take a look at your "Top-6-Friends" display on your own Facebook Timeline.

Odd, isn't it?

Of the 15 people who constantly show up interchangeably on my Facebook timeline display, I have not interacted with eight of them for at least the last six months.

Which means that either I stalk their Facebook profiles regularly, or they stalk mine.

What an odd algorithm.

(This is just my speculation, though...)

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The Blues of March

Since becoming a librarian at one of the main public libraries in Kentucky, I have been working two jobs. It was fine so far, until the manager at my first job decided that she won't accommodate the schedule around my library job any longer.

Hence I am quitting.

I shall deliver the company my resignation letter before the end of this week, which would mark me quitting the one job I have been working the longest (for 26 months).

Plus, I am still enrolled as a full time student in this nondescript Midwest community college. After two months at it, it has come to my realisation that working two jobs while still at college is a tough call.

I will be transferring from my two-year-college to either one of the two biggest public libraries in Kentucky...either Northern Kentucky University or University of Kentucky. As of today, I have not yet decided which university I am going to transfer to.

Well, I still have four months to go before I go there anyway. After the point of which, my main concern would only be to graduate latest by Fall 2014 semester.

By the way.

Blogger has changed! It looks much simpler now (kinda MS Word-ish), and frankly I like it.

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