Back in Apt. 534
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
A belated "Happy New Year" and Eid Mubarak to all...
There havent been updates on the blog for quite some time and for a good reason too, my amazing vacation in Dubai. It was a blast from day one to day eighteen. Not saying that everyday was a party but even a boring day in Dubai is a party compared to days in Purdue.
I mostly hung out with friends from school, chiiling at hookah joints, going to amusement centres and playing bumper cars like 5 yr olds, swam in the community pool, went to the beach and pigged on food (home cooked or otherwise) but made a point to eat stuff which did not resemble a burger or a pizza from a 50 ft distance.
Managed to scratch up a side of dad's Lexus in the few days that he trusted me with it :P and have to say my good friend Tahseer also helped me by doing her part in trashing the car :D...
It was lovely meeting family and friends, however I do feel guilty about spending more time with friends than with family. In my defense I must say that I had limited time and I was making up for a year of boredom and family is fine for a day or two but they surely dont do much in the way of fun :).
Now let me talk a lil about my journey. On my way to Dubai via Istanbul I almost missed my flight to Istanbul because of this stupid thing called NSEERS. Basically I need to report to the US customs when I'm leaving or entering US. Why? Because Ive lived in UAE and who knows, I might be a terrorist, coz you know, terrorists use the legal means of transportation when they plan an attack.
Anyway, I check my luggage in, have a nice lunch and go past security checks only to find out that the only US customs office in OHare is in Arrivals area which outside the Departure lounge, far far away. So I go there and people take their sweet time in checking me and other poor souls out of USA. When I return to the departure lounge, the security check line is half a mile long (being the holiday season and all). Now I have just one hour to flight departure and the line aint moving at all. I stood for a good 45 mins and then had to beg people and show them my boarding pass to let me cut in front of them. Made through security with 5 mins to gate close. Reached the gate with no breath inside of me and the world growing darker by the second. Boarded the flight and heaved a giant sigh of relief.
The best part is yet to come. When I returned to USA, without fail I was escorted to a separate immigration lounge because of the whole NSEERS thing. After waiting for a good hour with, again a few poor souls who shared the same plight, the officer calls out my name and gives me a piece of news which pissed me off and made me jump for joy at the same time. He told me that I was on the NSEERS list by error (so hey Im not a terrorist after all, yay!!) and that I do not need to do this special immigration thing from now on. I wanted to cry (but I didnt, genetic problem). So in essence they made me run around for nothing, NOTHING!!!
Ok this should do for now..btw new additions to my photo gallery in Nature and B&W sections...
at 10:25
u poor kid. but ur "home" now so thaz all dat matters. scratch on the car?? howwww?? that sucks. still cant cry, eh? i told you that one day i WILL make it happen. not sure how but i have some ideas. be afraid. be very afraid.
oh and eid mubarak. u kno ammi didnt even know its eid today, abbu was gone in da morning....most boring eid ever. oh and about ur comment on the xanga, yes the "cryptic paragraphs" are related. sad but true.
i'm hoping that you took some pictures of people while in dubai and not just the artsy stuff? if so i wanna see.
hows my essay so far? i can keep going. but i wont since you've prolly dozed off, had a dream and are groggy by now. byee.
AAAAa.... i said i was sorry!!... shessh man... i am never driving...i hate u... hate hate hate... u should also feel guilty spending more time with some friends than others.... your suffering gives me satisfaction and tranquility
It's sort of like our travels in the US.. they put Ammi, Papa and me down for SSSS - some special security screening rubbish. Though, it was probably not as bad as your situation.
We miss you a lot here.