My Wrist Band

I wear a green band around my wrist. On it, it reads "Free Iran". I wear it to express my love for my country. I wear it to honor those who lost their lives trying to have their voices heard, those who fought for a better life for themselves and for their countrymen. I wear it to feel that I am also part of a movement, a movement to free the people of my country, a movement to make wrong right. My green wrist band represents the love that we all feel for our country, it represents pride, honor and faith. It is a memoir of the good times, the bad times, the past and the future. It brings me closer to my root, to my soil, to my life and to my people. I wear a green wrist band to remember those who were beaten and killed in the streets of their own city, those who are imprisoned and tortured, only because they were tired of not living. I wear a green wrist band in order to say to my Iran and to the people of my Iran: I love you.

Marriage

I am a fan of tradition and culture and try hard to uphold customs and rituals. I am one who wishes that she was born hundreds of years ago when things were simpler. I like social norms and become uncomfortable when they are crossed and when I am faced with rebels. So although my questioning thoughts surprise myself, I try to justify them with current times and the evolution of social systems.
In this day and age when men are marrying men and women are marrying women, when women are being impregnated by a frozen sperm that comes out of a bank, when a man in surgically transformed to an actual woman, when a couple has a child using a third person's body, how can the institution of marriage stay strong and relevant, or even make sense?
I wonder, why did marriage originate? Why the cold legality? Why the court, the signatures, the contract, the official promises? Why the ritual ceremony? Is the love and commitment that two people share not enough? Why does it have to be sealed into a legal contract? I wonder, is it so that they would not be able to breach it? So that others know not to cross any boundaries? Does that not dismiss the true essence of what love holds, trust and faith?
My romantic heart likes to believe that true love would not need a contract to stay committed, it would not require a judge and witnesses in order to keep promises. My innocent heart would like to think that two souls who have found their missing piece in one another would not want signatures to join those pieces forever. Love, joining of two hearts, bonding of two souls is too great to be stained with ugly things like legal papers and labels.
So why do we do it? To prove to the world that we are in love? To show the world that we are committed? Do we do it to ward off other possible interests? Is it to secure the permanence of the relationship?
The institution of marriage is not about love, it is about security, status, fear and conforming to the social norm, it is about giving in. This is not to say that those who are in the contract of marriage do not love one other, but the point is that marriage is not about love. My proof is Prenuptial agreements, extramarital affairs, the countless number of unhappily married individuals and divorces.
At the end, marriage is always the easier path to take rather than going against one of the biggest social norms and having to live the rest of your life explaining your decision. Yet love has little to do with marriage, two unmarried individuals who are in love and committed to one another could be much happier than two who are together with a dead bolt contract. I think that the institution of marriage is an insult to true love.

Overpopulation - Solved!

This world that we live in has many many problems that range from poverty and famine to genocide and war, and of course there is the ever so popular environmental decline. But the one problem that effects each and every one of us on a daily basis and the one that I have chosen to address today is overpopulation. Yes, too many damn people in this small world!
This problem originates from far too many people having multiple children, which results in a lower level of quality of life for the rest of us. It is from uneducated and uncivilized woman having sex with other uneducated and uncivilized men, not using protection, resulting in more and more pregnancies year after year. It is from teenage girls who have not been taught about self respect, having sex with hormonal fifteen year old boys, resulting in pregnancies.
Overpopulation has many negative effects on our society, such as crowded classrooms and higher crime rates, but also another important negative effect that touches every single citizen is cost. If you think that the uneducated, the uncivilized and the underage are the ones who will pay for their pregnancies and their babies, you are dead wrong. If you are a hard working tax-paying citizen of this country, I have news for you: You are the one paying for those children, their education, their health care, their housing and their damn diapers. It truly amazes me that the American society which claims to be one of the more civilized ones out there is so dysfunctional where people who can-not afford to have children are allowed to have as many as they want, and the rest of the society has to pick up the tab for them.
It baffles my mind that not only you have to shell out your hard earned cash out of your shallow pockets for these people, but you also have to send your kids to overpopulated schools where the ratio of kids and teachers are thirty to one. Your child will not have a chance to get a good education because there are too many damn kids in the classroom!
Now, I am not against smart, educated, qualified adults who are contributing to this society reproducing. I am against idiots with low levels of brain functioning popping out babies one after the other. Also, I have learned that it is not constructive to complain about a problem when there is no solution offered to solve it. So guess what my dear readers, I have a solution! Here is my proposal to the government of the United States:
The first step is the most important one. As soon as an individual hits puberty, by law their tubes must be tied. It does not matter if one is a female or a male, if they are capable of reproducing, their tubes will be tied. This way no one needs to worry about the different types of contraception, their effectiveness and costs. All the excessive energy, time and money spent on teaching kids (and adults) how to prevent pregnancy could be saved for a more productive task. You have to understand that people are not as smart as you think they are. They will never learn, so stop trying to teach them and focus your attention on more productive areas. Their hormones take over them and they do not care, so just tie their damn tubes and get it over with. This way the hormone crazed boys and girls can hump like rabbits and the “slow” population can continue living life horizontally, and we will all be safe from having to raise their kids.
Next, if someone decides that they would like to have a child, then there will be a process for them to follow. There will be an extensive application to complete with detailed information and necessary back up will have to be provided. The application will entail information such as income, support system, mental health status, childhood experiences, parenting skills and other crucial information regarding necessities needed for bringing a child into this world. The application’s purpose is to make sure that one is capable and competent in every level to raise a child. It will ensure that not only they will not inconvenient the rest of the world with their child, but that they and their child will contribute to the society, the population and the world. Along with the application there will be a steep fee to pay in order to secure permission to reproduce. This will cover some of the costs of their decision to have a child as well as the processing fee. If one is not able to pay the fee, they may re-try when they have raised the total sum.
If one’s request to have a child is approved, then they will be granted permission to untie their tubes in order to carry out the task. After childbirth/conceiving, tubes will be tied again. All of the fees for these processes and procedures will have to be covered by the involved parties and no other entity.
If one decides to have a second child, there will be a longer, harder and tougher application to complete which will require them to provide sufficient reason for their request, as well as a higher rate to pay. They must be of a very high status, mentally, socially and financially in order to obtain approval for a second child. If approved the process will be the same as child number one. After having child number two their tubes will be tied permanently and they will no longer be allowed to apply for any more children.
I can confidently say that after the implementation of this regulation, you will see a more beautiful, peaceful, quiet, safe and prosperous would. The world will thrive and the quality of life will soar! The population count will decrease significantly and there will be more room for everyone to live a more comfortable and fair life. There will be no more unwanted children, no more foster care, no more children waiting to be adopted by strangers. The entire population will be civilized, mature, educated and smart.
If you are thinking about freedom of choice, take a moment and think about what exactly freedom of choice has brought for us. Some examples are gangs, murders, unwanted pregnancies and taxes! It is as clear as day that people are not smart enough to make their own choices so choices need to be made for them in order to have an improved world. People are idiots, and that is why the world has so many problems.
Having children is the biggest responsibility that one could take on, yet it is the easiest thing for any idiot to get themselves into. Having children will change one’s life and it will effect the entire world, yet it is easier than getting a driver's license or buying a house. This concept just blows my mind.
If the government of this country was smart at all, they would carry out this genius plan. I promise that the world would be 100 times improved and I will guarantee that all of the other problems threatening this world would disappear as well.

ITHACA

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)
translated by Rae Dalven

The Zahir - Paulo Coelho

Mr. perfect from Starbucks

There is a man who goes to Starbucks in the mornings at the same time that I do. He is relatively handsome, always has an immaculate haircut and a razor shaved face. He wears a perfectly pressed button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, usually light blue, which is tight enough to let you know that there is a six pack and toned biceps underneath , but not tight enough to be vein. He wears a pair of perfectly pressed black pants, tailored exactly for his height, which also gives the hint of his other tight muscles. His shiny shoes are always nicely buffed and waxed and never fail to match his belt. The only accessory that he carries on him is a masculine and stylish watch. His nails look like they have been cut and cleaned with care and his hands look soft while keeping their strong shape. His posture is confident but not arrogant, his look is respectful and friendly but quiet. He communicates with grace when ordering his coffee and demonstrates a comfortable ability to socialize when he engages in small talk with the Barista. His voice is strong by being deep yet sensitive by being soft. He carries himself with elegance as he walks off, coffee in hand, to his black, shiny and sexy car. I have never been close enough to him to get a whiff of a scent but if I had to guess I would say that there would be a hint of masculine aftershave, just enough for the effect but not strong enough to linger.
As I am standing in line to order my double short vanilla latte or waiting by the bar for the Barista to call my name, I wonder about what kind of person this man is. I imagine that he is on his way to his big window office at an affluent corporation where he is one of the top employees who enjoys an above average paycheck. I assume that after work he goes to the gym where he meets his equally perfect buddies and that is where he shapes that six pack, the big biceps and those tight muscles. He probably then heads home to his bachelor pad, super clean and fashionably decorated with the colors of dark blue, white and black, where he cooks a gourmet (healthy) meal for dinner and eats it with a glass of high quality red wine.
I imagine the parts of this man that I do not see such as personality, morals, beliefs, habits and hobbies to be just as perfect as the parts which I do see. I assume that he is kind, smart, funny, outgoing, fun loving and deep. I can see him as one who would appreciate art, classical music and a good book, one who could hold a conversation and would have lots to offer. He looks like he would be romantic, one who lights candles, buys flowers, is thoughtful and attentive to a woman.
Then I am abruptly smacked back into reality by Kim's voice yelling out my name (Jackie) to come pick up my double short vanilla latte off of the bar. I thank Kim for my coffee, leave Starbucks and go about my day not giving another thought to Mr. perfect from Starbucks.

Passion

Do you remember when you were in love? Not just any love, but real and true love, deep and passionate love, crazy and desperate love? Do you remember how it felt? Do you remember the throbbing pain in your heart, the ache that you thought would never ever end? Do you remember the overpowering joy that gushed out of your body, the warmth you felt in your soul? Do you remember gazing into a set of eyes and wishing for the eternity of that moment? Do you remember the spark of a touch, the extreme heat rising from your skin? Do you remember those feelings, those smells, those tastes? Do you remember young love? Do you miss it?
I hope that you have saved a piece of that precious feeling with you and have kept it through out the years. I hope that you carry with you a bit of that tenderness from your past as you have grown hard and cold. I hope that once in a while you take it out and look at your old feelings to remember the young, innocent and lovely days when you had the ability to actually feel them. I hope that you take the time to reminisce about the time when your heart was soft, open and absorbent. Maybe by looking at those feelings, thinking about them and remembering how they felt, you can give a little pleasure to your soul, enough for it to continue living a life with out passion.

WTF?!

Things that make you go... WTF?!

When it rains on a 97 degree day.
When people treat their pets like babies.
When people treat their babies like bosses.
When people live in the same place that they were born and raised.
When people do not care about what goes on in their birth country.
When people demonstrate against deporting ILLEGAL immigrants.
When people have a 4Th child.
When people believe the media and advertisements.
When people get lost with out a GPS.
When people are addicted to their computers and cell phones.
When people have a cell phone conversation while having lunch with friends.
When a Hollywood celebrity news is on CNN.
When a car parallel parks on it's own.
When Golf is considered a sport.
When Futball is called Soccer and an unrelated game is called Football.
When Americans think that they are the center of the world.
When people think America is civilized.
When Stoning and hanging still exist.
When today people believe that a person parted a sea and a virgin became pregnant.
When people fall for scams such as Valentine's day and Christmas gifts.
When nothing is done when a government beats their people for talking.
When a trashy hick runs for Vice President of the Unite States.
When people still eat Twinkies.
When people are forced to pray.
When women do not raise their own children.
When one must communicate with an automated machine through the phone.
When people living in California (USA) must know Spanish in order to land a job.
When illegal immigrants are able to use American government benefits.
When schools are blamed for a child's misbehavior.
When people wear sweats to work.
When people put couple pictures as their Facebook profile picture.

And the list goes on and on and on and on and on...