Whats Going On?

March 2013

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Mom had gone out to have lunch with Rabia while Taahirah and Shareef went to class at the City of Knowledge. Me, hana, Malaika, and Juju played some badminton in the meanwhile. I picked up Taahira, Shareef, and Iman from class. Hana and her kids washed moms van, mom washed Abus truck, and I washed my car all with the new sprayer mom is raving about. It works pretty good. We played a little more badminton as we waited for Jujus gift to arrive in the mail so Hana can leave. It came later in the afternoon and Hana took off back to Florida. Good seein ya, sis! Me and mom played some more badminton as the sun was going down. Mom worked later that evening, so we didnt really do much of anything the rest of the night.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Some Jehova’s witnesses came by (a black guy and a white guy) to speak with Abu Bakr. I didnt sit with them but I heard Abu turning it around and talking to them about Islam and even talking about the Ahlul Bayt. They didnt really stand a chance at converting him. They ended up writing some notes and said they’ll do some research on Imam Ali, which is cool. Maybe they’ll come back ‘Shia’, ya neva know. I spent the rest of the afternoon working with Abu in the basement. He was trying to replace a pipe that had been leaking that lead to the hose. We didnt have much luck. Didnt really do anything else that evening and I left back to SC that night.

On my way back, the car started riding extra funny as I was driving through Greenville. It actually was riding funny when I drove down on Friday. The steering wheel would vibrate as I drove, so I had stopped to check the tires. I didnt notice any problems so I kept driving. Well as I was coming back, it started getting a lot worse so I pulled to the side of the highway to see what was going on. As I suspected, my front driver side tire was flat. It looked like it was shredded just like my other two tires. I didnt see the plastic hanging close to the tire but I guess when I drive, it had somehow reached the tire and began shredding it. I went ahead and changed the tire and got back to Spartanburg safely. Its kinda frustrating to lose 3 tires in the last few months. I think some were about due for replacement anyway, but I hate that they were caused by the car itself. I need to go ahead and just rip that plastic all the way off (which I’ve tried a few times). Oh well, back to the Mexican used tire shop.

Monday, March 3, 2014

On my extended lunch break I went to the tire shop to replace my tires. My other front tire was worn out, so I decided that I might as well get that replaced while I was at it. As I was doing that I got a text from mom saying Shahadah was in labor. I told mom before that I would take her down to Florida when Shahadah is having the baby, so I asked if I should come down there right away. We decided it would be better if we left out the next morning, so I finished off my day at work, and told my boss Im taking the rest of the week off using family sick leave (since I dont have much annual leave built up, have a lot of sick leave, they dont care if I use sick leave and dont show a doctors note or anything, and nothing is really going on at the job). After work I left back to Georgia to get ready to drive to Florida. Some might call me crazy since I just returned from Moms house only to turn right around to go back and on top of that drive all the way to Florida. Also, I was already planning to take some time off (family sick leave also) this week to go up to Philly since Mumina was in the hospital and doing worse than usual. I still wanted to go up there so I decided to drive straight up there for the weekend after I returned from Florida, and coming back to SC on Sunday...now thats crazy! But once again, aint nothin Da Muhs cant handle. Thats a lot of driving, though. Maybe I should consider some other form of transportation sometimes....nah, too expensive.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Me and mom set out for Florida. Mom was hesitant to take my car because of the tire issue and insisted we take her van. I assured her it should be ok, so we took my car. I started out driving, mom took over for a few hours, and I finished it off. As we drove the temp outside went from 40s to almost 80 by time we reached Zephyrhills. We saw the beautiful baby and the rest of the family, Alhamdilillah. Hana and her kids stopped by too to welcome the new family member. Wes cooked some spaghetti and made a salad, which was a very delicious dinner. Thanks, Wes. After Hana left, we wound down for the night.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Mom, Shahadah, and the baby left early to spend the day with Fatima in Tampa. Wes talked with me about his plans in Asheville and showed me his operation there, which is really neat. We went to the back of the yard to cut some bamboo. Fatima, mom, and Shahadah came back as we hauled the bamboo back to the house. After that me and Wes gathered some wood and started a bonfire to get ready for a barbeque. Most of the afternoon I was managing the fire while Wes milked the cow. After taking a break as the sun went down, we got the steaks and put them on the grill. It took a while to cook, but it was well worth it. The steak was very good. Hana and her kids came by again, so everyone was able to enjoy the party. That night me and mom headed out with Fatima to stay at her apartment in Tampa. She has a really neat, comfy place.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Fatima made us a nice, healthy breakfast of eggs, muffins, and coffee. Me and mom left out in the afternoon to pick up Husayn (Taahirah’s husband). I dropped mom off at a halal restaurant to get some food for our trip back to GA as I went to the masjid to get Husayn. He happened to be in town to participate in a funeral, so it made getting him very convenient for us. I got to the masjid a few minutes before he and some others arrived. I met Maulana Baig and some other brothers, including Ali Ridha, who I hadnt seen in years. He didnt recognize me at first since he hadnt seen me in so long. He showed me some of his art he’s working on. It was kinda weird meeting him, but it was ok. We left to pick up mom and the food. We stopped by Wes and Shahadahs place again before hitting the highway. They sent us off with plenty of papaya and beef, since they have an abundance. The ride was fine, although it rained almost the entire drive up. I stayed over at moms for the night.

Friday, March 7, 2014

I left soon after Fajr prayer to head back to SC. When I got back I took a shower, repacked, went to the barber to get my hair edged up, stopped at the masjid to rinse off a bit (good idea since a lot of hair rinsed off), and hit the highway toward Philly. Even after all that driving I felt pretty good. Again, I know Im crazy for trying to do all this driving up and down the east coast in one week, but its not a problem for me. Also, I know I wont be able to do nearly this much travelling once my project gets going, which could be another month or so. Anyways, it was raining almost all morning and as I got to Winston-Salem/Greensboro area, I noticed the trees were white and the ground had snow on it. It never started snowing, but I can tell that they must have had a bad wintry storm come through. I noticed several cars on the side of the highway and heard reports of power outtages in the area. They were closing all rest areas, too, so that sucked because I needed to use them. I got off the highway to use the rest room at a restaurant, but the first one I went to (Burger King) only had the drive thru open, so I was like ‘d’oh’. Then I went to Hardees. They were packed inside and had a long drive thru line. I wanted something to eat, too since I forgot to pack any food, but I didnt want to wait. I stopped at Captain Ds and overpaid for their unhealthy food before getting back on the highway. The weather cleared up some as I got to Virginia so I prayed there. I got to Philly around 11:30pm safely, Alhamdulillah.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Me and Mumina went to the mall to take another set of photos at the booth, then went to a park on the Delaware River, then went to see a movie back at the mall. We saw Endless Love, a chick flick that was ok. Cheesy, of course, but it wasnt terrible. When we came back, her cousin and her nieces/nephews were there. Her aunt and uncle came by later with some more of her cousins. They stayed pretty late, but it was good to see them again.

Sunday, March, 9, 2014

Me and Mumina went out again to another park. I tried to check out one park I saw on the map but that wasnt a good one so I drove up the road just to drive around. I happened to find another nice park down the road a bit. I actually saw it on the map before, but didnt study exactly how to get there. It was pretty chilly out and the lake was frozen. It looked pretty cool, though. We rode around that park, saw some deer, went on the swings, sat at a bench next to another part of the frozen lake, where some snow was still on the ground, too, saw some more deer, took some pictures, and saw some more deer as we exited the park. We had a nice time.

Monday, March 10, 2014

I decided to take another day off work to go with Mumina to the clinic in Philly. They had valet parking which was free for people going to the clinic, which was great because parking anywhere in Central Philly is such a ripoff. We got there at about 12:30pm and I stayed with Mumina until about 5pm as she got a checkup and some fluids into her. I drove back with no problems Alhamdulilllah except for a bit of traffic getting out of Philly. I went down I-81 rather than I-95 because I knew traffic would be terrible going through Philly, Wilmington, Baltimore, and especially DC at that time. I got back at about 5am and had to go to work at 8...no problem. I had a good visit Alhamdulillah.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

The Christian guy at my job, Josh (Im going to refer to him as that from now on rather than ‘Christian guy’) invited me to his father-in-laws house in NC for the afternoon. His in-laws are white and he’s black. When I got there, another guy was there that they met who was telling his story about being saved or whatever. Well, after that they began praying for everyone, which was alright. They prayed for everyone in general and began praying for individuals, including Josh’s brother-in-law who wasnt really into it and usually didnt join them, but wasnt resistant as they prayed over him. That went on for a while. It was good, though, I have no problem with that. They’re a little different than mainstream Christians and more spiritual and even assert the oneness of God, but just screw up by still believing Jesus as God or son of God which doesnt make any sense. Anyways, after that his father-in-law went out to get some fish to cook for me, which was nice. In the meantime me and Josh talked for a while. Later on me and him watched Passion of the Christ (kind of, because he or his father-in-law would talk a lot during the movie). His father-in-law only watched bits of it (he was in and out the room) as he is very emotional, even though he’s a big, tough guy. The movie was stupid. Its just a long, drawn out scene of Jesus being tortured then taken to the cross. He kept just staring at people and not saying anything as he is being tortured. Then they show some devil baby in a womans arms which was cheesy. Then at the end it shows him stand up with no clothes on and no scratch on him but his hand has a hole in them showing him resurrecting. It was stupid. After that I left as it was late. It was a nice visit. Good people, but just a little off in their thinking.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

I tried to join the Google Hangout with the family. It woulda been wise to work out my camera issues BEFORE the hangout. I had the webcam for almost a month, but never really tested it out. I found that the sound wasnt working and it took me a while to figure out I needed to reinstall the software. I have the same type of camera I had before so I already had the software installed and thought it would still work with this camera. Anyways, after all that it was about 12:30 and when I tried to join, it was full. I was about to type something in the chat but decided to quit. The camera should be working now so inshaAllah I’ll try to join subsequent chats.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

I received a spam text saying they saw my pic online and that Im sexy and should add them on ‘y ahoo msngr’ so we can chat. I know Im sexy but Im taken. Where did you see my picture and how did you get my number anyway? Dang it, people, have some respect. I’ve received some spam texts before but not this kind. Hopefully I dont keep receiving these. I get excited when I get a text so to see this, its really disappointing, even moreso than the ones I get from T-mobile advertising stuff.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I received a text from someone who tried to call my number but I didnt answer (I usually ignore numbers I dont recognize, but sometimes I do answer local numbers, but not in this case). They texted that they ran out of gas and will be in late. I just let them know it was the wrong number and they just said “K”. I felt bad for them even though she said she was ‘good’. I was thinking I should offer to help anyway just to be nice, although it would be hard to actually try to help this person. What would I do? Find out where in the entire upstate SC this person is, leave work, and go buy a gas can and some gas and find this person to help them out. Seems like a hassle. Anyways, we have crews at SCDOT who drive the interstates up and down (assuming she’s on the interstate) and help people on the highways (including people who run out of gas). No big deal.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

I made some orange water with sugar with some oranges that I felt wouldnt last too long after throwing one away. The rest werent so bad but they probably would end up going bad if I didnt eat them within the next few days. Anyways, I squeezed all of them (about 6 or 7) into a cup. I was originally just going to drink just the juice but decided to stretch it out. I added some water and sugar and then a lot more water into a pitcher. It tasted alright, just really watered down. Thats ok, though. Its good enough for me.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Mom, Abu, and Taahirah stopped by on their way to Durham for the program featuring Sheikh Ali. The community there invited him over to give a speech. I was originally going to join them in moms van but decided to go separately. Mumina was in the hospital and not doing well so I decided to go to Philly on Saturday to see her. I left for Durham after jummah prayer, a couple of hours after mom left my apartment. I joined them at the hotel mom booked. After praying Asr me and Abu went to brother Hajj Haider’s house where Sheikh Ali, Hasan, and some other brothers gathered for a community meeting. We had some delicious dinner and the brothers had their meeting. I didnt really have input, but Abu Bakr had a lot to say. They are trying to form an organization of indigenous Shia Muslims, which is a good idea and something definitely needed in order to have a more self-sufficient community rather than relying on foreigners for everything. Well that went until pretty late and we left for the hotel afterwards. Sheikh Ali and Abu Bakr had a room while mom also booked the boys a room at a hotel down the road. Me, Hasan, Muhammad, Abbas, and Jibril shared a room. We were a little hesitant going in because we only saw white people so we prepared to fight if we had to...jk. We went in with no problems and got some sleep.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

I left the hotel about 7:30am to head north to Philly. I had a pretty good ride. I didnt tell Mumina or even her mom or dad I was coming up so I surprised them when I showed up. I had led Mumina to believe I was attending the program in NC so she was extra surprised. I brought her some gifts, including some brownies I made. It was a good visit. I wanted to catch the program with Sheikh Ali, so it was a tough decision to miss out on it. It was worth it, though to go up there, even for such a short stay since I needed to be back to work Monday because we had a meeting regarding this upcoming project. I stayed overnight at the hospital with her. Her parents went back to their apartment. Mumina had been in there for over a week and her mom always stays with her, so my visit gave her a small break from being in the hospital.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

I had to be out of the hospital by 2:40pm because I think they would try to charge me a second day if Im parked in the garage over 24 hours. I came in at that time Saturday so I was trying to be out of there by that time Sunday. As the time was getting closer I was getting my stuff ready and we prayed. Time was really tight as I rushed out (not running, just fast walking) with two bags in my hands (my duffle bag and a food bag). I went down the elevator, then I stopped by the front desk to have my parking ticket stamped by the lady officer so I can get the hospital parking rate. She didnt seem as if there was a press for time. “Go ahead lady, take your sweet time, its you’re fault if Im charged a second day”. I rush out the front door, walk across the street, and when I get in to pay the ticket at the kiosk theres some people in line. I hadnt been checking the time so I didnt know if I was too late or not yet...all I knew was that I only gave myself a few minutes. When I got to the counter and the guy scanned my ticket, he said “$16.00” (which is crazy, but that is the daily hospital rate). I be like “thank you” otherwise I woulda had to turn into Ghetto Muhs and argue with them if they charged me a second day. I figured either I was on time or they are lenient on the 24 hour deal, but I doubt that since everything is scanning and digitized these days so theres no real customer service when dealing with this stuff. I didnt check my ticket until I got to the car and saw that it was exactly 2:40....that saved me a lot of potential crap to deal with. I wasnt done yet apparently... As I was pulling out there were two people in line at the gate so I pulled into the empty gate next to it to give my ticket. The guy in line at the other gate told me I had a bag on top of my car. I had just put the ticket in the machine as he told me this, so the gate went up and I rushed to open my door and grab my food bag, put the bag in the car, close my door, and leave before the gate closed back down. I dont know how close I came but that was another string of stresses averted. I coulda stayed in the first line and never noticed my bag until it fell off the car on the highway or coulda been closed behind the gate trying to get my bag, but this was a crazy few minutes in the parking garage. Im just glad it wasnt nearly as bad as it could have been.

The drive back was fine. Made some unnecessarily long stops trying to find spots to pray, but its all good. I made it back about 2am.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I was going into the post office and an Indian guy was coming out. He asked me if I knew where a certain tire place was nearby, which is a black people business that I stopped by before. I told him where it was but I warned him that they have bad customer service. Normally I would try to support black businesses but this one is just bad based on my experience. He still wanted to go. Hopefully they’re not as bad as I say they are. They seemed to have pretty good business when I went there and I saw a good review online so maybe they’re not so bad...I dont know. I just wont go there anymore.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

I took my car to the tire place where I got new used tires earlier this month because I noticed one of my tires was going down slowly over the past week but didnt see any puncture. They have a 30 day warranty so I took it in to have them check it out. They found that there was a small nail lodged deep in the tire which was hard to see it was there. They put on a new used tire at no cost instead of repairing the other one because trying to take out the nail would cause the tire to be damaged even more. Good customer service there, unlike the black people tire place I tried to go to before I found this one. I trust the Latinos. Gracias.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

I decided to go for a walk in the morning even though it was overcast and drizzling and looking like it could rain at any moment. I walked to the park I normally jog at which is almost 2 miles away. Theres limited sidewalks so I took a chance at walking through mud, but I didnt care. If it rained I be like “aint nothing wrong with getting a little wet.” Along the way at the one stop light on the way there were people in firefighter gear and fluorescent vests in the center of the road at each approach of the 3-way intersection. They had a construction sign up saying “Fill the boot Ahead” or something like that. The people (there were about 2 or 3 people at each approach) held out boots trying to collect money in them. I guess they were trying to raise money for a local fire station or something. I kinda dont like people in the middle of the road asking for stuff so I walked right past them and they didnt try to solicit me for a donation so that was good. On my way back I almost went up to them to give them the bit of change I had on me. Anyways. I got to the park and walked around, mom called, so I walked and talked for a lap or two. I decided to jog around one time before heading back. It was a nice walk through that old mill town neigborhood. It was cool seeing the closed down mill and another abandoned building (I think an office building for the mill) adjacent to it and thinking about how it might have been back when it was open and served as a major center for jobs for the community. Sometimes I wish I can experience what it might have been like back then and at other times and other places. Theres so much history that I feel I’ve missed out on. I figure I ought to just live for today and try to make the best of what I can for the future while Im here for this relatively short period of time. Its just nice sometimes to think of how life might be in other places and times, especially the simplicity aspect of it. I feel that our lives today are so complex comparably and filled with distractions and stresses its hard to really enjoy and appreciate anything. Soon enough, this short life will be over and we’ll look back and wonder what the heck we really did in life. I think its important to realize the reasons we’re here and try not to live such a wasted life. Anyways, I’m getting off topic. It was really nice to get out and walk and jog in the mist. Im glad the weather cooperated but I wouldnt mind at all if I got soaked (except maybe if I got sick as a result). I really need to get and stay on a routine and regularly get out and move more during the day. I’ve slacked big time lately and actually gained some weight back. Not good, Muhs, not good.

I invited a couple of local African American brothers to stay at the apartment for a little bit as both are having a hard time getting settled and on their feet. They happened to be moving in with me on the same day. One brother I told earlier in the week that he can stay here and the other one just asked this day. I had to run out and get some airbeds and sheets for their arrival. I have two bedrooms so I had to set one brother up in the living room. I strung up some sheets to partition the living room and set up the garment rack Hasheem got me a couple of years ago when I first moved to Spartanburg, so that came in real handy (thanks bro). They should only be here about a month. One of the brothers had stayed with me for a few months last year and as I told some people about him, that didnt work out too well. It was hard to have him come back but I feel like he may be able to get himself right. He wasnt asking to move in with me but he was staying in a cheap motel and asked if I could help him out. I finally offered for him to stay with me again after a while. I’ll probably be criticized for it, but Im not going to let him take advantage again. He’ll be out soon enough, especially if he tries to bring any mess to this place. The other brother is working a few different jobs and has more steady jobs (unlike the other brother). He’s 45 but he looks like hes in his 30s. The other brother is 49. The younger brother is more legitimately trying to do better and get his own place, so I trust that he’ll be ready to move out in about a month. With the other brother it depends on how hard he’s trying. If I see that he just wants a place to lounge and occasionally work (like last time) I’ll kick him out. I really dont mind helping them out, especially when I have the space. We’ll just see how it goes inshaAllah.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

This was the first day I actually got into Google Hangout with my webcam. That didnt go too well. The old computer runs slow when its connected to the internet so it acted up extra hard when trying to handle a streaming connection. I thought that may happen. I was able to connect but the computer was lagging and the sound was coming in and out so I wasnt able to have a very successful hangout. Later that night I decided to wipe out my hard drive and try to reset the computer to factory settings because the primary reason I even have the computer, internet, and webcam set up was to join the hangouts. I used a recovery disc I got last year when I needed to reset the password to get into this computer. They have an option to wipe the computer clean, but I ended up clearing it of Windows, too....oh well.

Monday, March 31, 2014

I worked on the computer and found that I can load another OS, Linux, so the computer wasnt completely useless at this point after all. It actually ran pretty good but is limited in trying to accomplish what I need it to do. I cant set up this webcam on Linux, though, so that defeats that important aspect, but I can still get on the internet at least. It runs directly from the disc so its really not a stable setup. If the computer resets, then It has to load all over again and erases everything. I decided I’ll try to save this computer and order a Windows XP reinstall disc. Hopefully that works, but if not, I guess I’ll have to figure something else out to join the hangouts. Im 0 for 3 now in trying to set up to do hangouts. The first hangout I tried to log in using my old smartphone, which doesnt have a front-facing camera, and hangouts didnt run too well on it. I next tried an old tablet, but it was so outdated and crappy that Google Hangout wouldnt even install on it. Now Im trying an old computer and I see how thats working out for me. I think there’s a common problem...old smartphone, old tablet, old computer.....hmmmm.....GET WITH THE TIMES, MAN!!!