what the deal is..

So I'm finally getting into the routine of work. The station is really home-like. We get home cooked meals for lunch and sometimes dinner, our receptionist is an old school Iranian man who lights isfand, teaches children how to write farsi, and reminds you not to whistle indoors. Playstation and soccer breaks are frequent throughout the day making my work day feel much shorter than it is. I also do not have to come to work during rush hour :)

On a more depressing note my $2 Iranian shoes finally fell apart today while playing soccer.


And my brother's cat hates me.

Scaring Indians 101

1. Attack during early morning (aprox. 4 am)
2. Cover your face.
3. Use a giant sword.
4. Scream aggressively at victim while holding sword over the head.

(I made this 3 years ago with Mahdi who was my roomate at the time. There are rings over the audio of him saying his name to maintain anonymity. Our friend Arjang who lived with his Indian friend Shurid let us into the apartment to make this incredible prank possible. Thanks Arjang :) )

Home for the Summer

I am currently residing in my brother and his wife's home for the summer. I am working at a television station called SalaamTV and if you want to see the broadcast you can click on the link on my page 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
P.S. I bought a new monitor and it is the hotness. 20 inch widescreen ViewSonic. Here is the updated workstation at the summer residence.


I also just found the best comic strip ever. It's about a Muslim hijabi girl who lives in the US... Ninjabi

Mashad Revisited

So I decided to revisit my experience in Mashad during my trip to the mausoleum (haram). I visited the haram twice while I was in Mashad. I went for Namaz Zuhr (noon prayer) and did the congregational prayer. At this time the haram was packed with people. Inside the haram there are multiple prayer halls which were filled almost to capacity. After prayers my friend Sajjad advised against going to the zarih (grave) at that time because it would be much too difficult to get close to it.

We returned shortly after namaz sob (morning prayer) which was at about 3:45am. We entered the area containing the zarih and there were still hundreds of people crowding around it and praying. Sajjad, who is about 6’2” 230 pounds pushed me into the crowd to help me get closer to the zarih. After about 10 minutes I had one hand grabbing the zarih. I said some prayers but was eventually knocked off by an old man trying to get out of the crowd. I stepped back from the crowd and read my full list of prayers including names of friends and family who I was reminding myself to pray for. While I was there I saw two babies who were lifted up high to touch the zarih. One infant that I saw being raised up to touch the zarih looked like he knew exactly what to do. He reached out and kissed the zarih as if he were like any of the other pilgrims who came to see their leader. After finishing reading my prayers I went in again for a second time to be close to my Imam. Grabbing the zarih with one hand was not enough for me. It took about 25 minutes to swim through the crowd before I got a spot directly on the zarih. Once there, I felt as if the crowd of people behind me was gone and it was only me and my Imam. I have never felt so secure in my faith than I was in that moment of being so close to him. His relationship with God has allowed me to see that light, that love.

London Again

It was hard saying goodbye to family in Iran knowing I won't see them for a long time but it was a really great time. My uncle and cousin helped us out a lot and drove us around most of the time.
We now find ourselves in a Western country and it is a bit of a strange transition. My english has suffered from lack of usage but I'm sure it'll get started back up soon.
I've gained serious weight in Iran from eating an abnormal amount of beef and lack of exercise. In addition I have lost muscle mass in my chest giving me resemblance to the the Stay Puffed Marshmellow Man :(

Back in Tehran

I am currently in the US but I am going to fill the holes of the trip.... So we returned from Mashad to Tehran and stayed there for the remainder of the trip. The first photo is of the Zarih Imam Zadeh Shuaib. I went there with my cousin and his wife and son. We went to 4 other Imam Zadehs that day so I did a lot of prayers. Since the persons buried at each one of these cites were pious individuals and close in relation to the family of the Prophet people tend to seek nearness to their lifestyle and nearness to them in physical proximity. Sincere prayers said from their graves have a lot of blessings.

I also went hiking with my family and friends from Tucson. I met some new homies at this waterfall.

Mashad

No pictures of the mausoleum (Haram). I have 3 on my cell phone that I took but you can't see them until I get to Tucson. However my cousin Omid has some from his mobile so I will upload those. I also took a sweet picture of my cousin's awesome car.

Isfahan

I currently sit at my father's friend's computer in Tehran updating this blog. Internet connections were extra terrible in Isfahan and Mashad (at least at the places we used the internet).
So, Isfahan was really nice. It was significantly cleaner and cooler than Shiraz and Tehran. We stayed at possibly the nicest hotel I will probably ever stay at.
The best site we saw had to be masjid Shah Abbas. photos here----------->
Sia se Pol was really nice... we went there at night and saw a lot of old men taking turns singing under the bridge. Wish I had the video camera when I went :(