No Regrets!

Though I have no idea what I want to write about, I just felt like writing. So, if you're reading this, good luck in taking this ride with me.

I'm currently on vacation, away from home, work, family, friends. While it's been nice and relaxing, a part of me misses it all. Ok, not the work part! But the family and friends, the trying to spread my time between them, work and other obligations. Having friends getting upset at me cuz they haven't seen me in so long.. the weekly family meetings.. all of it (ok, not people getting upset at me!)

I guess sometimes we don't realize just how good we have it, until we step away. Even though I get frustrated at times with certain family members or friends, I miss them! I miss our fights and annoyances. I miss getting that sms from them, phone call or email yelling at me asking where on Earth I've been hiding.

When I was home, they tagged me as "me5tafya" cuz I was always too busy. Now that I'm far away, I regret not putting in the effort. I regret wasting time on stupid things, work included, as opposed to spending time with those who love me.

We only get one chance at life. Every minute we waste, we'll never get back. So, if you're a family member or a friend and reading this, I miss you! And I'm sorry that I've been so bad at keeping in touch. Hopefully, when I get back at the end of the week, I'll put in more effort.. so back off and stop complaining ;)

To the rest of the readers out there, stop wasting time with those who don't matter so much. Remember the people out there who love you and would do anything for you; remember those who, when the chips are down, will be the first by your side. Give them your time, before it's too late. Prioritize. No regrets!

Light's Out

This blog will be on vacation for the next 3 weeks.. Till then, enjoy! :)

Life's Lessons

(consolidation time.. moving some old posts from my other blogs onto this one)

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Why do humans interact? Why do we communicate? What purpose are we trying to serve? Do we even really need to?

Different people have different needs. Some communicate in order to connect and build relationships. Others communicate due to an inner need to just talk, to just speak, to just say what's on their mind.. as if keeping that information in will cause it to fester and rot.

Knowing WHY we reach out to others is vital. The reason behind someone connecting to you can help you better understand their motives and expectations. Every action warrants a reaction, sometimes equal, sometimes more extreme, other times, completely misled!!

Some people will put up with everything, others will put up with nothing, and some very few unique individuals will actually measure everything, and base their decision on your total net value, as opposed to an isolated incident.

My advice, get rid of expectations. It makes life a lot easier. You can't control how someone acts, but you can control how you react. If your expectations are non-existant, then you can reduce the possibility of being affected when caught in the human guillotine.. when someone decides to turn you into a disposable human!

Timing is everything in life.. when the tide comes in, and if it's not worth sticking it out, turn around and walk out the door.. and never look back!

Trust Me!

Ok it’s time for me to be a girl (i.e. mushy!!) So if you’re allergic to kids, stop reading now!! :)

Typical to family gatherings, especially during Eid, the kids come over and they’re all excited about their new clothes and the money they’ve collected. They go around running all over the place with an unlimited amount of energy until… one of them bangs his head on a table!!!!

Suddenly, everything changes - screams, crying, tears, the whole 9 yards - but in the midst of all of that, something amazing happens. When you go up to that crying kid and he looks at you with trusting eyes, pouting lips, and arms stretched out for u to pick him up.. when you grab him and he wraps his arms around u, sighs, and rests his head on ur shoulders.

They trust u. They know that ur supposed to protect them from harm. It’s that unconditional innocent expectation of protection that gives us no choice but to comply and do all we can to keep them safe.

It’s sad how as we grow up, we go from that complete trust stage to getting so used to disappointment, that we stop expecting ‘good’ from people, and always wait for “that other shoe to fall”. With each betrayal we encounter in life, that look of trust changes to a look of suspicion! Gone are the days where you leave your door unlocked without thinking twice.. gone are the days where you leave the car running with the key in the ignition!

At least we'll always have the kids, that innocent look, and that priceless trusting hug that makes everything else fade away!

Insomniac :|

Yes, world.. I'm an insomniac, by choice (I guess!).

Not sure what it is, but for some reason, when night falls, I find it very difficult to sleep. Not that I don't want to, not that I'm not tired, but somehow I always manage to find something else to keep me busy - no matter how insignificant that something is. The bigger problem is that I don't even fully realize just how insignificant what I'm doing is till the next morning when I'm fighting with my snooze for those extra 9 mins of sleep!! I literally lay there with 1/4th of an eye open thinking "if I sleep for another 3 mins, can I still make it on time?" (yes, those 3 mins are VALUABLE!!!)

Do you wake up in the morning thinking 'why did I do that to myself?' Do you yawn throughout the day & feel like a creature of the night? Do you wonder what possesses people to wake up before noon on their day off (why, oh why, would anyone do that)?!

If your answer is "yes", then welcome to my world.. and welcome to our club! We are those who refuse to spend 1/3rd of our life sleeping! Think about it, by the time you turn 30 (ummm, in 25 years for me!!) you'll have spent approximately 10 of those years sleeping!!! :O

I'm sure I can find something better to do with those 10 years!

(please note: sleep IS my friend, during daylight! sleeping 500 hours during the day is fine, it's just not ok to sleep that much at night!! )

Questions Answered

I love how the comments/responses to my questions (from the previous post) contain questions within them!! :)

I agree that the longer we hold on to the past, the more difficult it is for us to move forward. Yet, for our past to have held greater value, we need to at least have learned the lessons it taught us.

There are no guarantees out there. We learn best from our mistakes (hopefully!) So I guess MY answer to my own questions is: put yourself out there but keep your expectations in check. The possibility of disappointment is always there. However, that only affects us in as much as we allow it to.

You can’t control the world or what people do, you can only control the way you respond and react to what happens around you. And make mistakes.. so what?! It's not the end of the world. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on! (so cliché!!)

What If...?

Do you ever wonder what you’re doing with your life? Do you ever wonder if what you think you want isn’t really what you need? What happens when you get what you’re working so hard for, only to find out that it’s not what you thought it would be? What if it was never worth the effort to begin with?

Then again, what if you think 'forget it' and your life is fine the way it is..? So you let it go and move on, only to wake up one morning and realize what a big mistake that was! But, by then, it's too late!

Unfortunately, while life is so quick in presenting us with questions, it’s not very eager to provide us with the answers that go along with them. It’s all about risks; the risk of going after it versus the risk of just letting it slip away.

We all know in order to gain something, we need to take a risk. In business, and in life, the biggest risks come with the biggest rewards. Yet, they also come with the biggest losses.

So what do you do? How do you know when to move forward, and when to just sit back and watch?

This time, I have no answers for you. Just questions!

Epiphany !!

Ramadan; my favorite time of year! One of the only times that I can truly reflect on my life, what direction it's heading in, and where I'd like for it to go. A time for cleansing, breaking free and fresh starts.

This last week has been hectic, on all fronts. Yet, it's done nothing but increase my faith, al7amdl'Allah. It's amazing how little worldly things affect you when your spiritual bond is strong.

It's also been a very strange, yet productive, week.. so many 'coincidences'!!! Let the resurrection begin! :)

To my dear friend who's getting ready to pack it all up and go on a journey half-way across the world, best of luck!! Don't forget, many - not one!! ;)

Tabula Rasa

With time, you begin to realize that life is just way too short to waste on the wrong things and the wrong people. I guess at some point my tolerance level has gone way down. Why should I waste time on people who don't truly value me or appreciate what I have to offer?

Well, dear friends, it's time for a fresh new start. We all need to get it through our heads that we can't change people unless they want to be changed. So, when the signs are as clear as day, listen to what they're telling you. Stop being stubborn cuz no one is gonna end up paying the price other than you.

So save your pennies, turn over a new leaf, and keep in mind that starting a new page is sometimes a lot easier than erasing and rewriting on the same one over and over again!

:) :) :) :)

I introduce to you, myself.. Miss MBA!!!!!!