Category Archives: Musings

Musings

  • Travel: I went to Scotland! It’s beautiful and I had a lovely time but next time I’ll have to plan a visit to the highlands. I didn’t manage to make it to Glasgow because  decided to extend our stay in Edinburgh, we loved it so much. I’m hoping to go back next year.
  • Editing Progress: I’m on a tight schedule when it comes to writing. I’ve got a Line Edit scheduled for the 23rd and I have to hustle to meet it.
  • Fall Projects: I can’t believe it’s September! The temperature outside is still sizzling but I’m going to try to start walking around the neighborhood. As the month progresses, the temperature will cool. I can’t wait to start my project!
  • Edgar: I love Edgar! It’s super useful. I have to come up with some content. Always tomorrow!
  • Books: So many amazing books out this month! I’ve added them all to my TBR pile. I can’t wait to start Sarah J. Maas’s QUEEN OF SHADOWS and I have to find the time in between the writing to read all the rest.

Musings

  • The 27 Week Project Update: Time to confess, I only went to the gym once since Monday. I haven’t been watching what I’m eating and so I’m dreading Monday’s weigh-in. I’ll have to hit the gym extra hard this weekend.
  • Writing Progress: I had an editing deadline yesterday and another next week. It’s been a little hectic trying to get everything on time because of personal issues. Several family members are in the hospital and it’s tough finding time to do things. I’m still thankful because it could have been much worse, I could have missed my deadline.
  • Travel: I’m excited about visiting Glasgow & Edinburgh. It’s coming up soon! I can’t wait to go on the walking tours I’ve scheduled. And I can already predict I will be spending a lot of time in bookstores!
  • Fall Projects: I want to be active this fall and go on walking tours of the city. I’ve been planning ahead of what I’d like to blog about. For example, I’d love to showcase the random art that surrounds us in Kuwait. I’ll post a separate post about that later.
  • TBR pile: I have 632 books. I’m wondering whether it’s worth sitting down and trimming it down. Maybe when I have a spare minute or two…
  • More Books:  I’m super excited that Robin Hobb has a new book coming out mid-August! FOOL’S QUEST! I can’t wait to get more Fitz!
  • Movies: At this rate I feel like I’m never going to have time to watch Ex-Machina. I also need to remember to watch Dope. I wonder if any good movies will be playing when I’m in the UK. Off to check…

Eid Mubarak

Eid fell on Friday. It’s been three days of me being cooped up at home working on edits. I’m making progress but I have to hustle to meet my next deadline.

For a change of scene, I made plans to meet friends for brunch tomorrow. It would be nice to get some sun. I also have to run some errands before work resumes on Tuesday.

I’m not looking forward to going back to work but at least there won’t be many people at the office. Most people decided to take the three days off and travel; I’m expecting a light workload. I’m hoping I will have time to work on my edits during the workday.

So We Talked…

Do you remember the friend I mentioned from my Let’s Talk post?

Well, we talked…

Let me just start off with saying, I didn’t plan to talk to her. It happened organically. And in a nutshell, it was pointless. I’d go as far to say as it was a waste of time, but it wasn’t really. It helped me come to terms with the fact that this was who she was and nothing was going to change.

Maha and I were at a friend’s place (Noor). Maha came over and sat down next to me. She started asking me about how I was doing and what I had been up to. I shared some news about the latests projects I had been involved in and she gave me some backhanded compliments. I called her out on them. I wasn’t confrontational. I just asked her in a calm voice why she said her statements in that way. I don’t think saying “I didn’t know you were smart” and “I didn’t realize you had so many friends” are always meant maliciously, but Maha’s tone and when she inserts comments like these just give off a negative vibe. From her expression, it was clear that she was taken aback. She had gotten so used to making comments like that they didn’t even register as shade to her anymore. Or maybe they did but no one called her out on them and held her accountable for her words.

I explained why her comments bothered me. Maha shrugged them off. From her responses I could see why she didn’t see why I was offended by them. It didn’t register on any scale. To her, this was a normal conversation and saying those things to me was fine. I didn’t escalate the matter. I just needed confirmation that this was the type of person she was. She may not be trying to undercut me but her comments come with such negative energy that I can’t be bothered to deal with it anymore. I’d rather I have as little to do with her as possible.

If you want to be my friend, you need to be supportive. You should want me to succeed. My success doesn’t take anything away from you. Maha may think competing with a friend is normal but I value support, and she just doesn’t give it to me. This is important to me because I’m the type of person that will always cheer a friend on. I will always wish the best for them. I always want them to shine. Having them shine doesn’t dim my light. And so, I’m done with Maha and the other Mahas in my life. Moving forward, I want people who care around me and who push me to be my best instead of trying to tear me down and undercut me.

Upside Down Inside Out

Ramadan has got me turned upside down and inside out. My routine has been shot to hell. I haven’t been sleeping enough which has translated into me being groggy/cranky most of the time. Forget about being productive. It’s impossible in these circumstances.

I’m usually on top of my game at work and know the status of every project I’m working on, but for the past three weeks I have been oblivious to what’s on my plate. I don’t know what’s coming in and what’s going out on my desk anymore. For those reasons, I’m glad Eid is coming up this Friday. I will miss five-hour work days but at least I’ll have my sanity back (who am I kidding, I lost that years ago!).

Ramadan started on a sad and tragic note the first week due to the suicide bombing. Many of my friends were scared to go out the first few days after the tragedy, but then all they wanted to do was meet up and unite. It was nice to have that sense of kinship and community during a low time. I’ve been pretty active socially this Ramadan. Many people cancelled their ghabgat (Ramadan gatherings) but closer friends decided to meet up. I think I’ve seen more friends over the past two weeks than I have during the past six months.

I’ve done a lot of introspection during this month and I came to the conclusion that I need to make changes to my life. I’m going to take the steps to live a healthier lifestyle (AKA diet&workout) and be more social and outgoing (AKA date). I’ve also decided there are certain people in my circle that I have to phase out of my life. It’s not that they’re bad people, it’s just that most of their energy is negative. And I’m done with negativity. I can’t anymore. I need positive people who are out there doing interesting things. If all you’re doing with your life is complaining, I’m sorry but I can’t be around you. GYST (Get your shit together) and then we’ll talk.