First, of all, here is the joke played with readers on the June 23, 2021 blog. Mention was made that a photo featuring my face self-painted as the Canadian flag being posted but the image could not be found immediately and the rush was on as I had to be on time for my man and pedi but wanted to send the blog and photos to my UK based Computer Guru. In the rush of the moment the only face painted me that could be found in the photo library was the one painted by AAA where I appear as the Qatar flag. Laughingly, with my rather sick sense of humor I included it instead. However, If you look in the Gallery section of this blog you will find a photo or two of me in all of my Canadian face painted glory. This substitution did make me laugh, sometimes I am such a brat. At this moment in time feel no affiliation for either country so the substitution is not critical. What is afffiliation? It is attaching, connecting, joining, bonding, uniting, combining, associating, aligning, allying, amalgamation, amalgamating, merging, incorporation, incorporating, integration, integrating, federating, federation, confederating, confederation, coupling, fusion; connection, relationship, fellowship, partnership, association, coalition, union, alliance, alignment, attachment, link, bond, tie, yoke; communication, rapport, sympathy, cooperation, collaboration, belonging. No feeling of bonding, uniting, nor goodness knows, with Canada due to the revelation that even more bodies have been found in Saskatchewan – genocide of the Indigenous population. I am not feeling a coupling, fusion, connection or relationship to Qatar of late as the country appears to worship the God of money and wealth and has lost a great deal of humanity. Examine its dismal vaccination numbers, visitation there would be impossible.
But back to ordinary life,. My nails incidentally are most stylish. They are a wonderful shade of blue to match my blue unicorn ring. Such style, Holly, the owner of a Place for Nails is so helpful. My toes are a darker shade of blue, almost black. Do think I shall include a picture of both so you can get the full effect. It could be said that I enjoy life. Definitely do! I do have my serious side and moments of sadness and reflection but get me around people and the fun loving Alexis appears. I do think that I am the most fun-loving Muslim woman in the world, but could be wrong. Definitely the most fun-loving Muslim woman that I have ever met, but I have only met two others, t is not exactly a representative sample. Both women did enjoy my sense of humor, one said that was the one quality of character she most admired. I do no longer see either of these women – it is a sad story. This blog is short on sad stories and long on happy stories. At one point it might be told but first healing must take place, now too raw for the telling. I was wronged, not so much by them but by the husband and father, but they were complicit which means “involved with others in an illegal activity or wrongdoing.” It was both illegal and a wrongdoing. The two went along with it all, perhaps in blind obedience to strict Muslim tradition but certainly such is not found in the Qur’an, which had not been read by the husband and father despite his rigid adherence to all the rules of the religion. Did have an interesting conversation with my neighbor yesterday who paid me the most incredible compliment. We were speaking of my commitment to now wear a headless.
She: But you do not have to wear a headless to show that you are a Muslim. Within five minutes of a conversation with you it is apparent.
Me: Thank you so much. What an incredible compliment! A Qatar Princess was admonishing me for not wearing a head scarf. I correctly informed her that the Qur’an does not demand it, and asked if she had read the Qur’an. She insisted she had but she is only loyal to the trappings of the faith.
She: Yes, it has to come from the heart, the superficialities of appearance do to matter.
Me: I so agree!! She looks like a Muslim in dress but all she does is shop, be driven in cars, have her nails done , drink and picture coffee on Instagram.
I do admit to having my nails done but do on a daily basis preform charitable acts, and use the gifts that Allah has bestowed upon me.
But now onto fun, happier and joys times and past times. I do admit to being surrounded, saturated and enveloped in Schitt’s Creek, the absolutely fantastic Canadian series now being shown on Netflix. These days it is my only entertainment, although it does embarrass to admit to this. No high-brow Shakespearean drama anymore, no historical reflections, not a documentary in sight – instead it is Schitt’s Creek. Even more embarrassing – this is not my first viewing of the series, formerly an ardent admirer while in Canada. I do have a T-shirt gifted by my CPI my Canadian high school and Uni friend. So absolutely cute and can be found on Instagram., a video of me and my Alexis T-shit. You can hear my voice and laughter. Believe me, I am not alone in my adoration of the program. Yesterday I popped into nearby Nothing Bundt Cakes, purchasing two bundts and a candle unicorn. Yes, everyone, another unicorn. Do think that this one’s nickname shall be Light My Fire Horney. Stephanie, the manger of the Corte Madera store, is also a fan, the second time around for her as well. The two of us are We greatest Alexis Rose imitators on earth. Often I slip into character speaking and gesturing in Alexis Rose fashion. Stephanie and I are thinking of forming a comic team, telling jokes, pointing, G gesturing and shrugging in Alexis fashion. It is a little early to begin such a partnership, for although California is open technically in practice it is ajar, which means slightly open. Its synonyms being: half open, agape; unfastened, unlatched, unlocked, unsecured, off the latch. ANTONYMS closed; wide open. So California is agape – rather humorous actually. Why are so many folks mesmerized by Schitt’s Creek? The actors, the script, the humor, the sets, the predicaments. But more than that – they are a family who hit rock bottom, adversity struck but rather than wallow, they took command, made the best out of a horrible situation (horrible situations as they keep growing.) But out of it all, they became closer to one another, became a real family growing as individuals. Alexis, particularly, blossomed becoming competent, making good choices for herself and those around her while retaining her bizarre mannerisms.
I am very ‘into’ Instagram these days. Well, not all of it, that is for sure. The superficiality, usury, lies and ads are clearly not my cup of tea, that is for sure. Into Instagram, what does that mean. Well, I did two Reels and apparently got 1K views on each. My goodness that number is almost equal to my blog numbers and it does take less effort. But I shall not let my Instagram fame go to my head. There is an extremely amusing New Yorker article: Resignation from a Wide-Brimmed Hat. It begins: “Please accept this as my formal resignation from the role of big hat you wear in every photo you post on Instagram. I am grateful for all the experience I have gained; however, I feel it is necessary to share why I’ve chosen to leave my position. When I initially became your hat, my primary job was to block the sun from your eyes and occasionally to hide a bad hair day, but, as your Instagram usage began to increase, so did my responsibilities.”
Then it ends: “All I ever wanted as a hat was to help add a little pizzazz to someone’s outfit, not to add stress to your followers’ lives because they can’t live up to your curated existence.
If you need to discuss anything further, you can find me at the local church clothing drive, where I hope that a nice, elderly woman with a flip phone will snatch me up and wear me for gardening.”
But in between the beginning and the end, there is a fantastic description of all of the people and thing superficiality of Instagram. There are positives that is for sure, but Instagram is a tool that must be used with care – rather like an electric drill. The New Yorker article may be found at:
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/resignation-letter-from-a-wide-brimmed-hat
The light-hearted photographs shall picture my nails with blue unicorn ring, my toes and my newest unicorn. You will notice I have tanned feet – it is due to the time spent in the jacuzzi in the sun.
