Can You Hear Me Now?

Yes, I stretched this morning, for all of 7 minutes. Standing up, holding my walker, because I can’t get up off the floor yet without a MAJOR struggle. But if my past attempts tell me anything, it is that even 5 minutes a day will make a big difference in the long run. When I can get up off the floor, that will be a sign that I am improving and it’s back to the water workouts for me. I’m shooting for May…. after the busy work season, and after I’ve given therapy a good chance (which will free up time for going to the pool!). I’ve gone 3 times and I still don’t know why, all I do is talk about stuff I always talk about, on here or to any of my friends. However, I did say I would give it a few months and see how it goes… there may be subtle changes that occur. I think it takes many visits with a therapist before they really get to know me and see through whatever wall I’m holding up that I don’t even realize I am. So far she has said that I am very open and self-aware and I think even she wonders why I’m there.

When I went yesterday, I had a driver I last saw in March. It took me a few minutes to realize who he was, but when he was putting my walker in the back he was singing in Arabic. Then it hit me - “are you Abdul?” “Yes, yes, I am” “You gave me a copy of the Qur’an awhile ago”. Ahh, yes it all came back to him, too. He asked me how I liked it. I told him it was a hard read and it didn’t tell me what I really wanted to know about Islam (the beliefs, in layman’s terms, and stories about Muhammed’s life and what he was like, for example), so I have another book to read about it (no, I haven’t finished reading that one yet either, and it’s back on my shelf with all the other books I have yet to read). He said “that is why I put my number in there! You call me, anytime, 24 hours a day if you have any questions about the beautiful Qur’an. Everything you need to know about anything is in there. Everything!” He went on to say that Muslims don’t want to push their religion on anybody, but “we want everyone to know about Islam. We want everyone to join us in Paradise! On judgement day, it is either the fiery gates of Hell, or Paradise. We want everyone to know about Islam so they can believe in Allah and go to Paradise.” I told him… “everyone does know about Islam; the terrorists have made sure of that.” Heh

Oh, I brought up a line in a passage in the Qur’an that gives “beat her lightly” as the last of 3 steps you take when your wife is “disobedient”. AHEM. His response:

“Oh, it is only in an extreme case, if your wife is unfaithful. First you talk to her and ask her to stop the behaviour. You do everything you can to work it out and make her stop. If she continues, then the ‘beat her lightly’ is actually how you would hit someone if you had a loaf of bread under your arm and didn’t want it to drop… you can’t hit very hard that way. It’s not a beating. And it is more of a public humiliation, because then you will divorce her if she doesn’t change her behaviour. And we all know, the man wins in the divorce. He can go on and find a younger woman and start over… a man can be 90 and still be a man, he can pick a girl up off the street for $100 and still do his thing. Women can’t do that.”

OH.MY.GOD.

Sure, okay, if that is your definition of a MAN! It’s not mine. And, excuse me, the woman is the one having the affair? She’s moving on to her younger man, and taking your money with her. Ha!

Anyway, I held in my desire to freak out all over him in ways he has never heard a Lady speak. I kept it all inside because we were at our destination and I was being set free. I didn’t want to argue with him and his beliefs. I just vented to AH later when I saw him instead. Hehe! He’s more modern in his thinking than Abdul, although there are certainly areas where we disagree when it comes to men and women and marriage.

I’m becoming less and less interested in learning about Islam. It was a curiosity at first, but I hear such conflicting views everywhere I look for information, it’s almost useless. People can twist every verse of the Qur’an to suit their own need. For example, the line “Beat her lightly” (which is from a verse in ‘The Women’ that states “As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds, and last, beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, do not seek against them means (of annoyance”) gives some believers permission to beat their wives when they ‘disobey’. Others (like AH), interpret that to mean it’s the last straw, and divorce is the final option. To be on the safe side, I’m interpreting it to mean “I will not be dating any Muslims in my future”.

I see/talk to so many muslims on a daily basis (AH and Access drivers mostly, plus many live in my building and shop/work in ‘my’ mall), that I started wanting to learn about Islam because of my own ignorance about it. I’ll just read that one book I’ve got on the origins and future of Islam and call it a day.

I think I have spent enough time talking about Islam today. Let’s bitch about something else, shall we?

Like the other day in the post office, I needed to send a package Express Post. I always make a point of printing very clearly marked address labels on my packages, but with Express Post you still need to fill out a to/from waybill. I kindly asked the postal clerk if she would mind doing that for me, because I have “lost the use of my right hand and am unable to write more than my signature on a good day…” As she huffily began filling out the waybill, she asked me WHY I haven’t learned to write with my left hand yet and when exactly I planned to. #$^&$%#$@%

Oh, and tonight on my way home from my little camera lesson there was a car blocking the sidewalk. I was on my scooter and saw someone was in the passenger seat, so I tapped the window and asked him if he was able to move the car so I could get by? He apologized and got out to go to the driver side. PEOPLE, seriously, do NOT block sidewalk entrances and ramps with your vehicles, ever, okay?? Please and thank you.

I watched a few minutes of what used to be my favourite Soap, Days of our Lives, today (I still pop into it once in awhile… 15 years ago I never missed a second of it. Marlena has not aged a day in that time). Baby Claire has been taken (again? I think?) When she comes back in the next few months, I bet she’ll be 8 years old. Then in another month she will be 16. And then she’ll be dating, and then she’ll get married and have her own baby, and all the while her mother will still be 22. (But seriously? Marlena? What is your secret, or who is your surgeon?)

I’m still learning the ins and outs of my camera. I need to get that “zoom” feature down.

No, I did not flip that upside down, Pepper was looking at me from that angle.

Pita has those sad green eyes.

I sat here, trying to think of a title for this post for about half an hour. Seriously not worth it.