Whats Going On?

December 2013

Sunday December 29, 2013

At moms, me, mom, Ali and Taahirah watched some football and played some badminton. I played Ali twice and split the matches. The first game was tight, but I came out with the win. The next game started out close but he kicked my butt. It was fun. Hasheem needs to come maintain his stadium, though....it could use some sprucin’ up. Well I headed back to SC that night. Good to see yall.

Saturday December 28, 2013

I went to moms house and met Husayn (Taahirahs guy). He was in town for a few days and was headed back to Orlando that night, He’s a pretty nice guy. He has my approval so far. We only got to spend a little time together since he came in late in the afternoon and had to go a few hours later. I drove moms van to take him to the bus station downtown along with mom and Taahirah as passengers. It was really rainy so it was tough to see. It was a long, slow drive but Alhamdulillah we made it back alright. Maybe next time we’ll get some more time together but it was nice to at least meet the brother. Insha’Allah it works out for them. Welcome to our family, bro.

Friday December 27, 2013

While I was driving back from Philly I decided that I was only going to work the weekend job for two or three more weeks before calling it quits. Working every day was kinda wearing me. Since they werent opening up the night shift that I wanted (which woulda been tough to transition to but woulda opened up Friday and weekend daylight to maybe get things done) I felt I was ready to stop. If they woulda opened it up I woulda worked there for the rest of the season (which would end about March like when I worked there last year). Also, my 90 days woulda been up in the next few weeks and they might try to hire me full time rather than through the temp agency. That way I wouldnt be fired, but I would kindly decline and go out with some dignity, BUT..............

I got into town about 3am and woke up after 6, which would put me over the points limit if I came in late again. They have a point system where if you’re late by a certain amount of time or take a day off you get points tacked on, even if its by a few seconds (which Im guilty of a few times). So thats it. Job over. I just smiled and got up to get ready for my regular job because technically I was supposed to show up since we need 40 hours a week and we got three holiday days (24 hours) and I worked Monday (8 hours) so I was just planning to use leave time this day if I was gonna work my other job. Well I enjoyed the day. I made it out for Friday prayers for the first time in a few months. That was nice. I know I kinda ruined my relationship with the temp agency and Exel, but I dont mind. I just hate that Im another black guy that couldnt make the cut. I’ve seen a few black guys come in and last only a couple of weeks...no surprise. Now Im just a statistic...dang black people. We need to get it together.

Tuesday-Thursday December 24-26, 2013

I went up to Philly again to see Mumina as I had originally planned but even though I just went I decided to go again. Unfortunately she was back in the hospital because of severe back pain. Again I spent the night and entire next day with her while her mom went back home, but I had to go back Thursday to prepare for my weekend job on Friday. Mumina stayed in the hospital, but she wasnt doing too bad. Again I had a nice visit. Its worth the drive to come up there even if its just a few days. I like driving anyway, but I know it’ll catch up to me and I wont be able to do that so easily. In the meantime, this is something Da Muhs can handle.

Tuesday-Thursday December 17-19, 2013

I went up to Philly to see Mumina because she had to go back to the hospital. Apparently they increased her dosage on her medication and it was an overdose. So she was out for a little bit but she was okay. I still decided to go up there to see how she was doing. Since I really wasnt doing anything at my job I took the rest of the week off using family sick leave which we get a bunch of and my annual leave is low and technically she is family (Islamically at least) so no big deal. I left early, got there late (about 11pm). That was the first time I visited her in the hospital. The hospital is in downtown Philly and its impossible to find on-street parking so I parked in the garage nearby. Her mother came out to help me find a spot but we ended up just going to the garage despite the high parking rates. Her father came to get her mother while I stayed with Mumina overnight (which her mom had been doing). I spent all of Wednesday with her but had to go back Thursday to get ready for my weekend job on Friday. When I went to pay the parking ticket I screwed myself over on top of them screwing me over. The rate for hospital patients and guests is $16/day which is ridiculous but for non-patients/guests its $26/day. When I went to pay, the attendant asked if I was a patient but I answered no (at the time I wasnt sure if I counted or what the rates were or anything) so I had to pay $52....crazy. I knew I shoulda just said yes, which would have been $32. I didnt know if they would ask for proof or anything. Anyways, I just wanted to get outta there. I dont care. I let myself get screwed all the time. My new years resolution is “DONT GET SCREWED!”

Mumina was discharged Thursday so I took her back home in Bensalem. I had a nice visit, but wish it was under different circumstances... it is what it is. It was worth the trip.

Tuesday December 10, 2013

I picked up a package at the post office at my PO Box address (PO Box 34 Arcadia, SC 29320 if anyone wants to send a brotha somethin). It was a cell phone I ordered. I got a Blackberry. I’ve used a really old model earlier this year but this one is a little more updated, but still an older model. I think I can get used to it. My other phone has been having a variety of problems since I got it last year, but lately its been having problems receiving some texts. It hasnt been terrible...it still works and all... but I figure its time for a change. Its been had a noticeably cracked screen for a while (which is just fine with a screen protector) so as far as aesthetics its long overdue. I’ll still use it as a backup phone if need be. Anyways, when I went to pick up the package I knew it came there today (with USPS tracking of course) so I went to my box and got the package slip but when I came back around front the postal worker had my package in his hand already to give to me. He was talking to someone else, too. I guess he knows me well enough and we’re that sort of community where everyone knows each other. I probably coulda just went straight to him and he would hand me my package without checking my box and only him saying “Here you go, Muhs” and me saying “Thanks, Bob” and we go about our business. This is a really small post office and theres a few other post offices nearby right down the street from each other. They each serve their own little community, but are adjacent to one another. Theres one thats a little bigger and serves a larger area being near the mall and in a typical suburban shopping area and uses Spartanburg as a name, but theres a few literally right down the road from each other that serve really small communities in the area and have their own name (Arcadia, Fairforest, Una) despite being adjacent to each other and might as well be called Spartanburg, too. I like the small community feel. It reminds me of a time where everything was within walking distance and everyone knew each other and blacks and whites lived separate...the good ol’ days.

I was leaving the office after work and a cute little black kitten was by the door just outside the office. It looked pretty rough, like its been through a lot but it was really cute. I think it was looking for food. It was pretty scared of me but it kept staring at me as if it wanted me to help it. I tried to get it to come to me but it kept running back. I probably shoulda done something. I woulda tried to take it with me if I was allowed pets where I was staying. Plus it was dark and cold and I was trying to make it out to the masjid. I was the last person out my office but I think there were still some people in the building. Someone from my office actually left right before me so I know he saw the kitten too. Thinking back I shoulda brought it some food. Animals need love and care too and I feel bad for not taking time for it. It makes me want another cat. I had one before in Greenville but she ran away when I moved out my apartment. I may get one whenever I get into another apartment. Its nice to have a companion around.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

I was mistaken about Pat at my other job. I’ve now determined that it is a guy. I saw him go in the guys bathroom (no I didnt go in after him to confirm it...ha ha). I was on my way to the break room. I guess he must have been logged in under someone else’s name since they just recently started and may have not gotten a login ID yet. Well, at least I wont think of him as a girl anymore. Good thing I didnt try to mack on him...that woulda been awkward. He passes better as a guy anyways, so that puts me at ease. But dang it, guys, grow a moustache or beard or something. Geez.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I got on the elevator with some black lesbians that I see around. The dread-locked man chick with baseball cap and nig clothes was standing behind the more feminine chick and began tickling her. It was disgusting. C’mon now. Its not cute. I don’t wanna see that again, please.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I received a tablet I ordered from Amazon. Its a Dell Streak 7, an older tablet that came out in 2011 apparently. I was hoping that I could use it for Google Hangouts and other things. It got decent reviews so I decided to get it. I put it on my T-Mobile Plan and replaced one of my phone lines with it since I was paying for a second line that I wasnt using. Since I still had a contract, it would cost $100 now (used to be $200) to terminate the line. I would end up paying about the same amount per month to use an internet device (the tablet) on my plan as another phone line, so I decided to do it this way. I probably should have switched to T-Mobile’s new simpler plans to get rid of my contract since they told me there wouldnt be a ‘migration fee’ of $400 which they had before in order to switch to a no-contract plan. I think I coulda terminated the line without the fee if I did that. Anyways, I decided to get a tablet to use as an internet device since I dont have internet for my computer and Im replacing my broken, crappy phone with a non-smartphone (ordered a $30 Blackberry earlier in the day). Anyways, I hoped it would work out but I found that the tablet is a piece of crap. Some apps I cant even use (such as Hangouts or an updated Youtube...have to use an outdated version) and the browsers behave just as badly as on my phone so it really doesnt do me a whole lot of good except its a bigger version of my crappy smartphone, but without voice service (it has text service though). As of this update I was looking at ways to get it updated (it runs Android 2.2) but they didnt have any manufacturer updates for my tablet in particular and theres some people on the internet who say theres a way to ‘root’ the phone (whatever the heck that means) and update to Android 4.0 or whatever. It seems too complicated and it seems that there are issues with it and it probably wont fix the fact that I cant do Hangouts since in Goople Play Store it says it isnt compatible with my device. Well, Im about done with trying to get it working right so I’ll probably sell it. I can probably get my money back because I actually got a pretty good deal since the cheapest one on Amazon now is more than I paid for it and there used to be a few at the price I got so I guess people are still buying them. I may put it on ebay. Im not sure if I’ll try to find a more updated tablet and pay more than I want to or just figure something else out. We’ll see, but Im not going to rush it. I hate all this technology stuff consuming people’s lives. It seems that they purposely phase out older products so people have to get the latest products to be able to do anything. Since Im a sucker I’ll likely end up trying to keep up with the times somehow by getting another more contemporary gadget, but I’ll take my time on it.