So what's your number? (NOT a movie review)

This post is actually not meant to be a movie review, it's more of my opinion on Ally's relationship. So yesterday was girl's night out and as usual the majority wanted to see a chic-flick.  Believe it or not I'm pretty anti-chic-flick.  It's not that I'm anti chick-flick exactly, it's just that most of them happen to suck.

ATTENTION: SPOILER ALERT.  However I wasn't completely disappointed by our pick: What's Your Number?  In this movie Ally's younger sister is getting married and this forces her to evaluate her own relationship status and whether or not she's headed to be a spinster.  Perhaps she's been too available to too many men and as a result might not ever get married.   As to not add to "the number", she digs up all her past boyfriends in an effort to see if one of them was meant to be "the one".

So during this time she enlists the help of Colin-her very sexy single next door neighbor.  Colin is immature, unstable, a broke struggling musician, and seems to have a of one-night-stands.  Needless to say, Colin is a fun guy but not exactly marriage potential and Ally is well aware of that. As predicted, Colin and Ally can't help but start falling for each other.  During the movie Ally actually successfully gets in touch with an ex from high school, Eddie, and they totally hit it off.  He's a successful world-traveling philanthropist and he takes Ally on expensive dates and treats her like a lady.  He's definitely marriage-minded and sees Ally as potential.  However something isn't quite right and that's Ally feels like she's not quite herself around him.  She acts a little more proper and like a lady and can't quite let loose and act crazy the same way she can when she's around Colin.

So how does the movie end? She decides to "follow her heart" and leaves Eddie for Collin, STUPID GIRL! I'm sure I was the only person in the theater who thought that.  She might be in love now, but what kind of life is she going to have with Colin?  He's still immature and broke.  Although the movie ended there, I'm pretty sure he's not going to be proposing to her anytime soon.  Eddie could take care of Ally in a way that Collin never could and Ally needed to use her brain a little more in order to see that.  I'm not saying girls should change themselves and who they are to be with guys like Eddie, but there is a middle ground here and Ally didn't give the relationship with Eddie a proper enough chance to see if that middle ground can be reached.  She felt a bit out of her comfort zone and just ran off.  I call that being a little stupid.

stories to come

I decided to not blog during the holy month of Ramadan as to focus all my free mental and spiritual energy into gaining as much as I can.

But I have not abandoned this project, I'm back with my stories.  However I'm looking to change the title and the URL of the blog.

In case noone ever told you this before

Don't leave something good to see if you can find better because once you realize you had the best, the best found better

Breaking down the walls

At this point me and Juice had hung out casually a couple of times.  I was still battling the guilt of doing something wrong, but I was getting over it because I thought of him as my future fiance.  In fact, I was getting more and more comfortable and bold with him.


Shortly after our lunch together we met for breakfast at a charming French cafe and bakery.  He had never been there and I wanted him to try it; it was in the university area so we assumed it was "safe enough" (meaning less likely to bump into family friends).    These are the types of things I would imagine myself doing with a a guy while I was in my boy-crazy phase: dress up in light colors and high wedged sandals to go eat crepes and sip cappuccinos in cozy, hidden places.


While we were standing in line looking at menus I felt someone touch my arm and turned to find an old friend of a friend from college whose name I actually couldn't remember right away.  We embraced, said our hellos and asked how "so and so..." were doing.  Juice intentionally didn't look up and even conspicuously took a step away from me so that I didn't feel obligated to introduce him, but it was too late and obvious to her that we were together.  When she left I told him I'm not worried, she's not even Arab or Muslim anyway.  When I told my mom about my encounter she reprimanded me and told me I need to be more careful so that people we knew didn't get the wrong idea.


On a pleasantly gloomy afternoon we wanted to visit this downtown museum.  Actually it was something that I wanted to do, and he just kind of wanted to do whatever I wanted.  We had to walk a couple of blocks from where we parked and partly on an uphill slope so that I was holding on to his arm.  I spotted a Muslim, Arab-looking family walking opposite us-an elderly lady in hijab with an elderly man and a few younger children.  Juice had was very laid back (a little too laid back-but that's to come later) and his demeanor was unaffected, but I certainly tensed up for a moment.  I studied them from a distance and to my relief I was certain I didn't know who they were.  So as we passed each other by I confidently greeted them with "salaam alaikum" and a big smile while still holding tightly on to his arm.

There's only 2 things guys want

The more guys I know the more I believe all the crap my brother tells me is so very true


Aha...


My brother eloquently explained to me that there's only two things a guy wants from a girl:
1)sex
2) genuine affection-like listening to him when he wants to vent, caring about his bad day, etc


No I'm pretty sure they also want hot cooked food and babies


Well hot cooked food goes under the affection category, and babies goes under sex.  Trust me it all comes down to sex and affection for guys.


Well then you'd think more of them would be serious about wanting to get married then

The first time I went out with him

It was a rainy spring day the first time I went out with Juice.  I'm a hopeless romantic by nature and was slightly disappointed when I noticed he didn't have any flowers for me in his hand.  It was a lunch date and I chose the place- a downtown artsy sandwich shop that was popular amongst tourists.  It was early in our relationship and I figured I would least likely bump into anyone I knew there.  Neither of us had an umbrella so he pulled the car up in front of the restaurant and let me down then went to go park and walk on his own.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous,  I was very nervous but I tried so hard to act carefree and confident.  I asked questions in an attempt to lead conversation but I looked slightly down or slightly off to the side as I was talking.  It was very hard for me to look at him directly for more than a second without giving myself away.  His sparkly green eyes were intimidatingly beautiful and when I looked up at him he was always staring at me and smiling.  It didn't help that he smelled so good either.  I would blush and look down pretending like I was very interested in my sandwich.

He knew how nervous he made me.  He told me I looked beautiful although I was quite underdressed next to him.  I was wearing a shrug over a T-shirt and jeans.  He was wearing a crisp white shirt and gray dress pants.  I asked him if he liked the place I picked, and he answered that his sandwich was good but what's even better is the company he was sitting with.  Then he looked up and smiled at me and I got butterflies in my stomach.

The most wonderful experience life can give

Last week a colleague of mine came back from a weekend trip with the boyfriend with a new sparkling accessory on her ring finger.  She was beaming and I couldn't be happier for her

A colleague of mine surprised us all when he proposed to another colleague who is also his long-time girlfriend.  He had made this animated video of their story vague enough that we couldn't immediately tell what was going on but sweet enough to catch our undivided attention.  The video concluded with this message: 

Despite all the amazing experiences and world travels, it's just BEING with each other is the most wonderful experience life can give.  

That's when we realized what was going on.......and here I am crying again.  Soooo simple yet so heartfelt and touching.  Although I wanted it so bad at the time I've accepted that this isn't my story and won't be.  I can't say we met ten years ago in an elevator and became inseparable ever since.  I can't say that on my first birthday together he arranged for John Mayer to serenade me.  I can't say that we packed up and traveled the south continent the day after our graduation (also that wouldn't be halaal).

That's alright.  My story will still be special in its own way and today I'm happy.  I hope and I dream and I wish and that makes me happy.

The signs are everywhere.