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[ Friday, October 24, 2003 ]

 

Walking the Streets of Berkeley

As salaam u alaikum

I've been trying especially hard not to blog lately. It helps that whenever I check my blog, the Ramadan post is here to remind me that I've got lots to improve and need to use my time more wisely. I've been pretty busy lately with school anyway...had papers to write, lab reports to complete, and a midterm that I still need to study for. Plus, I feel guilty about not posting my halaqa notes for Sana yet (Sorry, they'll be up soon insha Allah!).

I just got back from feeding the homeless. Alhamdulillah after Jumma salah (the place was packed!) and eating at Julie's, a small group of us MSAers met on Sproul Plaza and made bag lunches. It was so much fun (and messy) making peanut butter sandwiches. I've got to give the brothers props because there were more of them helping out, although alhamdulillah the brothers are very active in general. Hehe, I had to put my Ramadan to-do list to use especially today (feeding others, no ghiba, talking less, lowering my gaze, etc.). The lunches included sandwiches, drinks, and potato chips. A brother wrote messages on the bags: "Peace be upon you," "Have a nice day," etc. Most of the brothers and sisters left after cleaning up, so there were like five brothers and Sis S and me handing out the sandwiches on Telegraph and at People's Park. Subhan Allah, we were all pretty much carrying boxes full of lunchbags, but we still totally ran out! The homeless families were very friendly and man, they got so happy by such a simple thing! One lady in particular was just ecstatic! As usual, as Sis S and I walked by, that guy asked us if we want tie-dyed burkas, but instead of getting annoyed, we just chuckled to ourselves. I guess we know all the regulars on Telegraph by now.

Earlier this week as I was walking to my car, one homeless guy asked no one in particular, "Do you ever listen to the birds at night?" At first, it seemed like a crazy thing to say, but then I had to admit that although it was pretty random, it was also pretty profound. How many of us take the time to listen to the birds at night?

Sis S started coming to Chem tutoring with me now, so I'm happy about that. We take breaks from tutoring to do salah (pray) together in the next room...Alhamdulillah, I'm so lucky to have a friend like her. We're pretty alike and have the same views...I guess we're also more conservative than most of the freshman sisters. Masha Allah all the sisters are cool though. Sis S is the type of person who listens to tapes of the Qur'an, does all her prayers on time (even if that means praying on the lawn on campus), and is too modest to talk to the brothers (which is great, because it helps me to also keep my distance).

I also wrote an editorial for the MSA newspaper...It was kind of done at the last minute, so it's not as well-written as it could've been. It's all good though. I wrote about my first semester experience, and I think I might post it on my blog.

Anyway, I'm being kicked off the computer because it's closing time...gotta go do salah anyway.

Fi aman Allah

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