Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Warning: I am going to act like a total bitch right now and say a few mean things. So don’t read if you don’t want to. I warned you!

Grammar? Do you guys know what grammar is? I am not the best at it, but I can put a few sentences together and make sense. I studied English all my life. Also, I am bilingual. I studied two languages growing up, Arabic and English.

I am going to admit, I suck at writing Arabic now cause I don’t practice it. However, I can read and write, but I will not write in Arabic because it will be embarrassing for me since I can’t write well. So I avoid it, and only write in English. Hence, my blog is 99.99% English.

Why am I discussing grammar? What’s the point? The point is, that if you cannot WRITE English well, don’t write it! Screw spelling. I can live with your spelling mistakes, but grammar? Seriously, DON’T comment or email me trying to write a couple of sentences or paragraph and except me to understand it. I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT! I am gibberish illiterate and I look down upon HORRIBLE grammar! Please, don’t WRITE in English. Write it in Arabic. I can read! Or write in English phonetics. I can read it, and I understand it. I am fluent! Don’t worry! However, DON’T write in English if you think that directly translating from Arabic writing to English writing would make sense. It doesn’t at all!

Let me point out the most common problems I see.

1. In English, there is no feminine or masculine nouns! We use pronouns he/she/it/they for that!
2. In English, “a” is used before a word that starts with a consonant to suggest the singularity of an object, and “an” before a word that starts with a vowel!
3. In English, singular and plural verbs don’t all end in “s”. It is not “they wants!”
4. In English, apostrophes are used for a reason, especially in “its” (possessive) and it’s (it is).

I can write more grammar problems I see every day, but my fingers hurt right now from banging on the keyboard! So if you are weak in English, don’t write it thinking that a direct translation will work! It doesn’t. I remember from elementary school that Arabic grammar is not so easy. It is very different and complicated. So don’t bother. No one will understand it. Either you sit down and learn some basic grammar, or save me the trouble of scratching my head trying to figure out what you are trying to say. I am not so bright when it comes to gibberish. So spare me the trouble, and just write it in the language you are familiar with. I can READ both languages and comprehend them!

I got an email yesterday from a loyal reader who gave me some suggestions for topics to write about. He said that he wants me to do polls and stuff, and one of them was this, “if you can give Mona or her fans a gift, what would it be?”

So far I got great gifts from my readers. I got amazing music made on my behalf over a month ago, and I get wallpapers, and great emails. However, what would you give as a gift for everyone else? For those who read my site?

I already gave them a gift of writing what they can’t say, or don’t know how to say it out loud. However, what would you give as a gift to online fellow readers and commentors. Hmm.. ? Pretty much to strangers you don’t know in person, but you had such a small interaction with through my site? A song? A melody? A poem? A picture? I don’t know. I think it is hard to give a gift to a broad audience.

Anyways… here is some music for you.. Tableh (derbakeh), or the Arabic drum. (From a Lebanese party!)