I have a very neurotic family, and they love to pin point every single detail. Even the ones that are not important, or useless from the distant past.

However, bringing up the past made me realize that maybe I had a problem since I was little that was not addressed. What else would you expect? I was born and raised in an Arab household. Anything strange or not right in a child means nothing but a phase of “growing up.”

Today, I was walking downstairs, and I saw the front door open. I atomically locked it. My sister saw me and said, “Who cares if it is open? We are all in the house.”

I told her that I am a complicated person, and I have a problem with front doors being open. I have to close them. It is a habit, even in the car! The moment I get into a car, I close the door manually. Maybe I like to feel secure? Who knows!

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My parents over heard us, and then came to pin point the past. They hysterically laughed and blurted out, “Mona had a bigger problem when she was little. She used to take thread and tie door knobs together and make spider webs all over the house. Why did you do that Mona? Maybe you have a problem.”

I look at them, and remember the days when I was 5 or 6 years old. So what that I played with threads and made spider webs all over the house? The door knobs are where the strings got tied at. Hmm. So? Do you see a problem? I just see a child bored to death and does not like Barbie dolls.

Unfortunately, my parents keep reiterating the same story, and I keep remembering the past. Reading this post, and seeing what the hell I just wrote, made me realize that I may suffer from some weird ass infatuation with spiders or door knobs. Or maybe I like to lock things to feel secure all the time?

Who is a psychologist out there that wants to interpret my problems for me!

Advice, Blah Blah, Confused, Funny, They said what?, Whatever!

Yesterday, I took a 30 minute break from designing, and watched a bit of Arabic Satellite TV. I watched a glimpse of a TV series where a woman discussed her childhood growing up with a father’s wife.

I noticed in the Arab world she is not called step-mother or referenced as a mother, although she would have raised her husband’s children from infancy, because the maternal mother would have died giving birth.

Why the hatred?

What puzzled me, and always have been, that the father’s new wife is always mean, hateful, and mocking of her husband’s children. She hates them with a passion, and treats them poorly. It’s like the evil step-mother from Cinderella, but in every household. I don’t think you hear an Arab marriage with a step-mother as a “good” one filled with love towards the children. It is rare to hear, or maybe that is the way Arabs portray the new father’s wife and over exaggerate the situation.

In some cases, it is true and not over exaggerated. Many women that marry a man who has kids, treat his children as inferior to her. She makes them work day and night, and hates them with a passion. Why?

Avoiding hell on earth

Many Arab families, when they lose the mother when the children are still in their prime, refuse and make sure their father does not re-marry, because they don’t want “a father’s wife” to treat them like dirt. I guess it is so common, that they try their best to make sure it does not happen. I guess the stories are true, and the way Arab women who do marry men with children act this way are so common within the culture. Why?

Treat others the way you want to be treated

Even though the majority of Arabs are of Muslim faith, you wonder why these Arab/Muslim women act this way towards children with no mothers. Why can’t they take the role of a mother? Is it the children’s fault? Isn’t it wrong to treat them this way? Some of these children are also victims of divorced parents, and are stuck between two step-parents. However, I don’t understand why the hatred? I don’t understand why those women would do such a thing. Can’t they put them selves in these children’s shoes for once?

Avoid the marriage to begin with

What puzzles me is that a woman accepts to marry a man that has children, and hates his kids. Does she love her husband then? Or she married him for “other” reasons? Arab women really confuse me and make me wonder how shallow and arrogant they are. If you cannot handle such a life, why did you go into it in the first place?

What do you think? Is it a common thing within many families, and not just Arabs?

Blah Blah, Confused, Culture, Random Thoughts, Religion, They said what?, Whatever!

Ladies and gentleman! Arabs and non-Arabs! I have returned home and writing from my beloved blog office!

Yeah baby yah!

The Goodbye

I hate saying good byes, especially when my 2 year old niece starts crying her lungs out and keeps calling my name. “Mona, Mooonaa.. MOOOONAA!!” My heart stopped, and I tried not to cry at the bag check in. It was just horrible. Now you guys know why I don’t like trips sometimes, or having to deal with such situations.

It can get a bit worse you know

On a lighter note, but is actually at a different tangent then saying good byes, something ALWAYS has to happen to me on a plane! Seriously, if I hear the word turbulence one more time, I am going to have a major anxiety attack. Coming from Calgary to London was the biggest and longest flight that I had to ever endure in Canada. It was awful! Above the province of Alberta, it was crazy weather. The plane wouldn’t stop shaking. It got to one point where I didn’t tighten the seat belt enough, that I felt my body lift up from the chair. My sister was going to cry and kept holding my hand in those awful seconds.

Then, when we were above the US State of Minnesota, more crazy turbulence. I didn’t understand how people were sleeping on the plane. The flight was late to leave anyways, it was delayed till 1:15 am local time, and we were supposed to land around 7 am in London local time. However, we reached London at 9:30 am. Ask me why? SURE! I will tell you why, and maybe if you were following my Twitter this morning, I sort of said why. This morning, we landed in Toronto to fill up gas!

A plane filling up gas 200 km further then its destination?

If you are still asking your self what the hell, then I will give you a simple answer, LONDON WEATHER IS HORRIBLE! If it is not raining, it is hot and humid. This humidity and crazy hot weather causes severe fog in the mornings. However, you ask your self, Gas? Weather? Umm? Mona, do tell us!

Ok, here it goes. We flew around London 6 or 7 times in circles. The captain was not allowed to land in London Ontario International Airport, and had to wait 30 minutes till the weather cleared up. Then, after 30 minutes, the captain said, “we will try to land. We were told the weather is permissible and cleared up a bit.” We looked out the window, the flaps of the wings got into position, we dropped in elevation, the plane barely touched the clouds, and two seconds later, VOOM! Accelerated upwards so fast and flew higher up! I felt I was in a rocket ship! I am like great, can’t land! Clouds are too thick and no visibility.

No message from the captain on the intercom. Nothing! I was like, umm, we are way higher up now than before. After ten minutes, the captain goes on the intercom and says, “Umm, we have bad news. We are going to land in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport because we can’t land in London, and we are running out of gas.”

You all know what went on my head in that very second! @#!@$#@!!@$!

After one minute, we saw Toronto’s CN Tower, and I thought, “yah, took him that long to spill it out that we are in Toronto. Someone would have panicked looking outside within a second of seeing that!”

So, we landed at the Toronto airport. However, we did not land in the domestic flights area, but in the international section. The captain came on the intercom and said, “well, we are in Toronto, but in the international section because we couldn’t land anywhere else. And none of you can get off the plane in this area anyways. So wait till more news.”

“Oh GREAT,” I thought. “I am in Toronto, and was supposed to be at home by now! I AM TIRED! NO sleep! I am scared shitless and I HATE planes!”

Fifteen or twenty minutes pass, and the captain comes on the intercom and says, “I would tell you guys Welcome to Toronto, but I don’t want to be here and none of you do either. We are going to fill up gas now, and be on our way back to London.”

Wohooo!!

The flight took 20 minutes, and we landed in London’s humid weather around 9:30 am. My hair went kaboom in two seconds!

The mother is back!

When we got home, mom started lecturing me on work, and told me to go study something else, or something extra, or whatever. I got instantly mad, since I have only been in the house for like fifteen minutes, and I said, “Listen, I don’t want to spend money now on more courses or whatever. I don’t have an income. The plan backfired mom. I need to start something on my own. There are no jobs. The economy is horrible. People are losing jobs left and right, and I am sick of going to interviews in companies where the owners are jack asses who had a simple plan, and became rich off of it. I am ten times smarter then them, and I am sick of this life and all this job hunting crap. No one wants to hire me! I will HIRE MY SELF!”

Mom wouldn’t stop arguing back, and from the lack of sleep and no food, I couldn’t move anymore. Then, I felt dizzy and extremely light headed. Unfortunately, the worst thing happened, and I was hoping I would not experience that again. I starting having uncontrollable heart palpitation. Did I tell you guys that I will die from a heart attack soon? I give my self another 10 years. Give or take a few if I CONTROL my ANGER!

So, I went to the living room and put my hand on my chest, and I tried 4 or 5 times to take deep breaths. The awful plane ride, the crazy weather, and crazy mother, have really put me on the edge. I stayed calm, and after a minute or two, my heart beats went back to normal. I think I had a lack of oxygen in my system.

Anyways, enough is enough. I am back, and ready to take over the world. One blog post at a time.

Blah Blah, Confused, Depressed, Thank you, They said what?, Travel, Whatever!

This morning, about 30 minutes ago, I was having a weird dream. Then all of a sudden, I felt my entire body being pushed down and shaken. I opened my eyes, looked outside, and my heart stopped. It was cloudy, gloomy, and somewhat fuzzy. I started looking up and down, and I felt the world was spinning.

I put my hand on my chest, and prayed. I thought that the hand of God touched me and pushed me down, and I am about to DIE!

At that point, I felt my heart is about to jump out of my chest from the rapid uncontrollable heart beats.

Few seconds later, I heard shuffling noises and little talk behind me. Oh no! It is true! Judgment Day is here and everyone is saying their final prayers!

Out of curiosity, because I am Mona, I turn my head a little bit behind me, and see my brother walking around grabbing stuff. Then I suddenly feel my 2 year old niece’s hands under my pillow. She was trying to grab whatever is hers that I slept on.

I was like what the hell! Get away!

Do you guys think she jumped on me this morning and shook me? I am 99.99% sure it was her. However, I believe the world is coming to an end, and Judgment Day is here too!

Blah Blah, Confused, Funny, Random Thoughts, Sleepy Post

I don’t know if I am the only person that noticed this, but maybe I am just unlucky and end up with weirdos questioning me all the time.

So, why do cashiers comment on what I just bought?

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I am serious! Every time I am at the check out, and about to pay, some old woman or punk ass teenager comments on the items that I just purchased.

Who asked them?

One time, long ago, when I used to be on drugs and suffered from severe insomnia, I bought a pack of sleeping pills. Those over the counter ones that have an extra dose of drowsy goodness. Oh the good old days! Anyways, I was at the cashier wanting to pay, and this middle aged woman looked at the box, and started lecturing me.

I am not joking!

She told me that those are not good for me, and maybe they won’t work, blah blah. Then all of a sudden, she changed her mind and said, “well, my daughter just left to University, and I have hard time sleeping as well. Maybe it might help me.”

Can we say, moody?

So, yesterday, we went to a boat tour on the lake. Before then, we decided to grab some munchies from the drug store near by, and save some cash from ridiculous on boat prices. So, I had a chocolate craving, and bought a couple of boxes of Maltesers for everyone. (Those are addictive!)

I went to the cashier to pay. The cashier was a punk ass teenage tiny girl. She looked at the boxes, and swiped them, then said in a very sarcastic tone, “Chocolate craving eh?”

In my head, I automatically said one thing, “Bitch!”

I didn’t reply to her and just gave an unsatisfied smirk, paid and left. At least I am not a drug addict at age 16 with bad attitude!

Have you ever had an experience like this with cashier’s un-welcomed or unnecessary comments?

Blah Blah, Confused, Random Thoughts, Ranting as usual!, They said what?, Whatever!