Table for two at the teahouse in Cordoba, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz
Today is my 30th birthday. On this wonderfully sunny day that I’m enveloped in gratitude for the life I live, I’m most grateful for those who most helped shape me into the woman I am today — my parents. As I celebrate my birth […]

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A vespa the color of tangerines; Madrid, Spain, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
[I am slowly returning to writing again, and for that I have to blame J — who has somehow harassed me into agreeing to post snippets for the “3 Beautiful Things Thursday” category over at HijabMan.com — as well as everyone else who has […]

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Tangier, Morocco, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
Those of you who don’t follow my Rockstar Links & Things over at tumblr (and why do you not?, is the question) are missing out on some lovely reminiscing going on today, so I thought I’d cross-post for you here.
If you click here, you can hear the Adhan [Islamic call […]

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I’m en route to Toronto for the RIS conference, wasting time in Charlotte, NC, during my little (5 hours long!!!! multiple exclamation points!!!!) layover, thanks to a delayed flight. Canada, why must all travel to/from your frozen tundra drive me insane?
Meanwhile, Benazir Bhutto has been killed in Pakistan. Blogistan is already on it (SepiaMutiny also […]

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Sunshine-y orange, to cheer me up on rainy days like today, by yaznotjaz
Sometimes when I am bored or tired or stressed, I hit “compose” on a new email window and type nonsense. Like this one at work today:
This is one example of the ways in which we can collaborate on projects based around shared issues […]

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Near MACLA, downtown San Jose, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
I was taking BART into San Francisco one Sunday a few weeks ago when a young man got on the train at the MacArthur station and glanced curiously at me for much longer than I was comfortable with as he made his way down the aisle.
A […]

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“Not that I’m a handwriting expert or anything but that handwriting looks kinda needy,” originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
I came across the above Urdu sign last fall while wandering around with friends on the infamous-amongst-Desis Devon Street in Chicago. My buddy, Zana, calls the sign “dodgy.” The translation reads: “Girl needed for computer work.”
Speaking […]

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All photos originally uploaded by yaznotjaz; collage created last summer by Hashim_A, rockstar (and tea-lover. gross!) extraordinaire. Photos may be individually viewed in the Muir Beach photoset.
-Tomorrow is the sister’s birthday, and in ten days it’s mine - and I’m so horrible at this birthday business, mine or anyone else’s. Last year, all I wanted […]

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Originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
My new business cards came in at work today, and the first thing my friend A (he of the Halloween GMail chats) said was:
A: Think of all the guys you can now meet at ISNA* conferences.A: “Salaams brother…here’s my card…fax me your biodata.” **
*ISNA = Islamic Society of North America’s annual convention, […]

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Eliza’s, at California & Divisadero in San Francisco, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
This is just to let you know I’m alive and well and constantly complaining to friends who apprehensively fear for my safety - not to mention my soul - about this winter weather business. (My favorite whine of the week: “Winter is stupid. What […]

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Having ordered and paid for a caramel pecan cream pie at Baker’s Square last week, I was idly checking out the tattoos on the young man named Brian who was boxing up and bagging my purchase. Suddenly, Brian glanced at me across the counter and asked, “Do you know what sundar means?”
“Sorry, what was that?”
“Sundar. […]

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Year-round shoes of choice, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
A couple of weeks ago, I went out to dinner with the very few friends from high school whom I like enough to engage in such activities with. Remind me to tell you stories about why I disliked high school, and why my fifth-year reunion last December was […]

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In light of my recent post on personalized license plates, these plates, which I saw on my way to work this morning, are the best ones ever:
RAADHEY.
Raa dhey. Get it? For those who don’t, raa dhey, in various South Asian languages, translates to something like, Make way. And the driver - Desi, of course - […]

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Yurt at Zaytuna Institute, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
[You can check out some more Zaytuna photos from a few weeks ago here, if you are so inclined.]
I spent most of last Saturday with my sister, as we went on a manic event-hopping spree that consisted of the Birth of a Prophet program at UC Berkeley, the […]

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Originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
Islamic Relief has recently been sponsoring a series of six dinners around the United States, in order to raise funds for continuing support for the victims of last October’s earthquake in South Asia:
The earthquake which devastated the South Asian subcontinent in October has affected millions. Islamic Relief is working hard on […]

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