I'm back...

Hi, all. Sorry I've been pretty out of commission the last day or two. I was so bad yesterday... I made a buffalo chicken pizza for lunch yesterday and it was soooo yummy that I ate the whole thing, and ended up making myself sick. That's what I get for eating too much, though. : P

Oh, darn...I thought today was Thursday. I just realized it's Friday and I missed jummah prayers. *sigh* I was planning on going, too. Darn this not having a job... I can't seem to keep track of the days any more.

The weather here has been AWESOME. A cold front came in on Tuesday afternoon, and it hasn't been over 68 degrees since. I turned off the a/c and opened the windows. My cats are loving it, too. They run around the house and jump on my bed, then on the window sill, then onto the bistro table on my balcony. I sure am glad it has cooled off... I like the heat okay, but it's a bit much when it seems to be around 8 months out of the year, you know?

I'm still cleaning out my apartment. I'm trying to eliminate the clutter in my house, and that includes paring down my book collection. *weep* So I managed to read 6 books in the last 2 days. I read "Succubus Takes Manhattan" by Nina Harper and "Kitty and the Midnight Hour", "Kitty Goes to Washington", "Kitty Takes a Holiday", "Kitty and the Silver Bullet", and "Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand" (all by Carrie Vaughn). "Kitty" is a pretty good paranormal (werewolf) series, and there's not a lot of sex - and what there is, I just skip over - but lots of action and cool stuff. I give all the books I'm not going to keep to my friend for her book store, and paranormal romance is a very popular category.

That said, I'm trying to figure out what to read after I finish the sixth (most recent) "Kitty" book. I was thinking of maybe re-reading the Left Behind series. I read the whole thing several years ago, when the books were very popular, and we've had so many people buying the books at the store that I want to read it again.

*start rant*

I read one of Amber's posts earlier, and it kind of raised my ire, as it talked about censorship and the invasion of privacy, etc. That kind of stuff really ticks me off.

Then I got to thinking, well, it's like that in real life, too. I mean, I can't even wear hijab to a job interview if I want to have a chance at getting a job. I could be the best one for the job that they talk to, but a hijab would almost definitely rule me right out, and there would be nothing I could do to fight it. If you don't believe me, did you hear about the hijabi muslimah who tried to get a job at Abercrombie & Fitch? As much as I would love to be able to have the luxury of giving a big "F-you" to the conformist establishment that is American society (different is NOT good) and go right ahead, financially it's not a good move.

Standing out is only allowed if it's in a "normal" way, like the kids who look like they spent their whole allowance at Hot Topic. They're what I call "conforming non-conformists". They may think they're rebelling and being all original, but...seriously. Those outfits and accessories come from a MALL CHAIN STORE. There are 5,000 other kids in the city wearing the Exact Same Thing.

How did I go off on the "non-conformists" tangent? Anyway, in the U.S., by wearing hijab (and especially niqab), you really do buck the system and stick it to "The Man". (LOL!!!)

*end rant*

Still talking about Hot Topic...who was the moron who decided that GUYS should wear SKINNY JEANS? They're CHICK PANTS. Granted, very immodest and unflattering on any girl with even a teensy weensy hint of curves (that would be pretty much anyone size 6 or over), but still...chick pants. *sigh* I can't decide if the "saggy, hanging-below-the-rear-and-I-don't-know-how-to-wear-a-freaking-belt gangsta pants" that never seem to go away or the "skinny jeans on guys" fad is worse. I totally DON'T want to see anyone's undergarments, but guys in...chick pants. *shudder of revulsion*

And a guy wearing them just walked in. *face plant on keyboard*

So, how are all of you doing? : )