tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27700386408095653632024-03-13T19:39:25.224-07:00PhilAsify 101Life, Islam, religion, sports, politics, education, social issues and other observations from the perspective of a young Muslim American.Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-15601786923278343192020-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:002020-09-04T15:12:47.466-07:00Dating In Islam: Why Muslims shouldn't Date and why YOU shouldn't either.<div>
<i>Note: Though this article is directed towards Muslims, it applies to everyone in the realm of dating, those looking for love and coming up unsatisfied etc.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Dr9gfcae3dyWtomIArPy_Zx4lYIWDNmDnEyp_WkAZPFWpQUftvHZZbiCIfiwk2ylxKJvufE7em573pkita8_tP4WjmUNND_sB6zKl-tY4LzmjwAqsgU6eVkt_Jjqh-hxf0bi3aHfhVM/s1600/Holding-Hands.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Dr9gfcae3dyWtomIArPy_Zx4lYIWDNmDnEyp_WkAZPFWpQUftvHZZbiCIfiwk2ylxKJvufE7em573pkita8_tP4WjmUNND_sB6zKl-tY4LzmjwAqsgU6eVkt_Jjqh-hxf0bi3aHfhVM/s320/Holding-Hands.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>
<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Staggering Statistics: </span></h3><span style="font-family: georgia;"> -<b>More than 50% of marriages in America end in divorce (Source: New York Times) <br /> -Cheating and casual no string attached premarital sex are at all time highs. (Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">USA Today</a>) </b></span><br /> <br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Is dating against the Qur’an? Believe me, I have spent many nights racking my brain trying to figure this one out for myself back in my teenage years. I yearned for that one magical verse or explanation that makes everything clear. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me break the suspense by saying that I have yet to find that one verse. The good news is that my search has given me a much better understanding of this difficult question. My findings brought me to the realization that dating is a process which occupies a great deal of your emotions and tempts you physically so fast that you don't realize what hit you. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To put it bluntly: It sucks out your soul. The "game of dating" --especially if you're a Muslim-- inevitably spins out of control and becomes very hard to maintain. The real challenge to your faith starts when the attention shifts away from the needs of your soul to the needs of your body and drains your efforts to increase your remembrance of God. </span><br /> <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The Soul Drain </span></h3><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Typically, the word dating is used when a guy and a girl develop both an intimate physical and social relationship together. The physical part is as simple as holding hands and gradually evolves into hugging, kissing and eventually S-E-X. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What's the big deal with a little kiss or hand holding? Yes, I can certainly relate that it's innocent and very common, but I can assure you it's more involved than you imagine. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /> For one thing, there are verses in the Qur’an which regard this type of interaction as much more serious than we would like to think. All the mushy stuff--unfortunately for those unattached--should only be reserved for husband and wife. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hate to take something from a song, much less a Beyonce song but in this case, "If you want it, then you better put a ring on it." (Of course when it comes to Muslims, you don't need a ring to get married but you get my point.)<br /> <br /> In addition to having to deal with the Quranic aspect of this issue, you are cluttering your mind with sensitive and powerful emotions that do not help you in remembering God and growing your soul.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Holding Hands: Looks innocent but it really screams DANGER!</span></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Basically, Dating makes you forget about Allah (obeying him, doing the right thing). The daily challenge of obeying Allah and doing the right thing becomes harder and less active in your mind as you become increasingly attracted to your mate with your thoughts, emotions, and time. <br /><br />Although you may use good arguments to comfort your mind that your actions are harmless, your soul feels the energy being zapped away and becomes weaker and more vulnerable. The time and attention you give to your emotional attachment is the precious strength your soul needs to grow. And since you're so caught up in the euphoria of "being in love", you can't hear the weak calls from your soul. <br /><br />I am pretty sure that no matter how strong you think you are, this soul drain is bound to happen when you invite the process of premarital dating to your life. If you feel you can date someone without the physical stuff, you gotta be real with yourself. <br /><br />For some, there may be a sincere intention to have only a platonic social interaction with a person. In this case, the relationship should be called a friendship, not dating, and all parties involved should have a clear understanding of this from the very beginning without any room for guesswork or temptation. <br /><br />Even then, what one day seems like just a friendship may develop into something more. (See: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">The Truth about Why Women and Men can't be "Just Friends" [VIDEO]</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Clear Evidences</span></h3><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are some folks out there who date but due to factors like religion, trust, outrage from parents etc. withhold the physical aspects. That may be admirable to some extent but Lord knows there's this lingering feeling deep inside the psyche; the growing desire for contact and romance. </span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When that's the issue, you should ask yourself one question: "What's the point of winning the battles of avoiding the physical stuff while your soul is losing the war from all the energy and effort that's being drained away and spent?” Why go through the hassle? You either remove yourself from the situation or end the guilt and get married. </span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /> However, if you are giving in to your urges and satisfying your physical desires, I suggest you fasten your seat belt before continuing to read some of the verses I come cross in the Qur’an.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are clear verses in the Qur’an against the natural results of dating; from the seemingly innocent kiss to the more obvious. God instructs all of us eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to maintain our chastity until marriage (Quran Verses 5:5, 23:5-7, 24:30-31, 70:29-31). </span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Chastity is defined Quranically in 23:6 as avoiding sexual relations. You may try to ease your mind quickly by defining sexual relations as intercourse only, leaving all other contact as fair game. It's a pretty good argument I've tried to use myself more than once.</span>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;">According to the Qur’an, however, sexual relations include any intimate physical contact. Let's look at if from another angle. How can we justify holding someone's hand romantically or kissing them when God asks us to be extra careful by subduing our eyes/lowering our gaze (24:30-31) and even avoid meeting secretly unless we have something clean/righteous to discuss (2:235). <br /><br />The classic argument to support physical relations is claiming that the person is "rightfully yours." You convince yourself that the person you are dating, which happens to be a fellow Muslim or a potential convert, will be your future spouse which is exactly what I had done when I first had a serious relationship going with my wife of 3 years. <br /><br />Based on the flawed reasoning, sexual relations with someone who is rightfully yours is not as bad and makes you feel less guilty about your actions. If you think about this line of reasoning carefully, you will find some big problems.<br /><br />The least important is the fact that you are probably years away from being ready to tie the knot. Of course, completing your education, having a source of income besides your weekly allowance , and setting up a place to live other than your parents' house are useful little details which may have skipped your mind.<br /><br />And aside from that, how about learning the Islamic basics of marriage, the rights of the spouse and readying yourself to making a lifetime commitment? Some time would definitely have to be invested on your spiritual education which should be a higher priority than your financial and career development. <br /><br />By that time, the "rightfully yours" dream date may be out of your life and you realize your useful excuse provided temporary pleasure at a great expense to your soul. The main problem with the rightfully yours argument is that this Quranic statement has nothing to do with supporting dating intentions. <br /><br />Unfortunately, I have even seen parents use this argument to ease their mind or justify dating for their child. Instead of encouraging their child to focus on God continually (20:132) and avoid the temptation of dating, they give in to peer pressure and the common practices of today. They reason that it's better for their child to start a relationship with someone they know, especially if it's a Muslim, rather than remaining single and being vulnerable to others. <br /><br /> Ahhhh, the "he/she’s a Muslim" argument. We have all used this at one time for one reason or another. Surely, it can't be all that bad if two young and innocent Muslims are dating? Actually, it's much worse since both should be fully aware of the consequences of tempting God's advice knowingly.</span><div style="line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
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<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Consequences </span></h3></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Speaking of consequences, what does the Qur’an say about this issue? There are some very strong words used in reference to having sexual relations and deciding not to maintain your chastity knowingly. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">God uses the words transgressor, a sinner, a rejecter of faith, all your good deeds will be in vain, and in the Hereafter you will be with the losers (5:5, 23:7 and 70:31). These descriptions definitely caught my attention too. We are not talking about a simple slap on the hand! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Allah mentions that all your works will be in vain. After putting these pieces of the puzzle together, the dangers of dating start becoming much more clear. Of course, we know that Allah is Most Merciful and is the acceptor of repentance. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">But why should you bring yourself to the point of having to repent when you have the power to steer clear of the problem from the very beginning? </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Keep in mind also that the example you set when you date as a Muslim is very damaging since you are supporting something which is against the faith you should be practicing everyday.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <br /> What explanation do you give to your little brother, sister, or Muslim friends and youth who are striving along the path of submission with you? What about those non-Muslim friends of yours who get confused from you dating when they've heard that Muslims don't date or have a friend who's Muslim who doesn't date. All it creates is confusion.</span><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When the Right Time Comes...</span></h3><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Where does this leave you? You are a single young and attractive Muslim with your emotions and hormones revving in high gear. All you see around you are images of love, romance, passion and sex. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your friends seem to jump from relationship to relationship like a buffet and you wonder if they are beginning to question your sexual orientation. The prospect of waiting to get married feels like a hopeless eternity. You begin to ask yourself why you should have to endure such temptation? The answer is very simple.<br /> <br /> Allah has blessed you with the light of Islam while your friends and the rest of the world are dancing helplessly down a dark and dangerous path. God has given you the chance to strive for an everlasting life that radiates with happiness and peace.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before you begin to feel sorry for yourself, ask yourself if you are willing to trade this awesome blessing for the temporary enjoyment your friends are experiencing? I don't think so. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your path is rare and requires you to work hard and strive. You have to demonstrate with your actions and intentions that you are worthy of being a true Muslim. You have to use all your strength, patience and faith to overcome the challenges that are testing your faith in God. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Passing your test can as simple as avoiding dating and controlling your physical urges. This action may be extremely hard to tolerate and the challenge is difficult, but the outcome is worth every effort. Know that God does not burden you beyond your means. The weaker you feel, the more you are being signaled to pull yourself away from temptation and towards God.</span></div></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Dating distances you from the soulmate that you're meant to be with. Dont go looking for love. God will bring that special someone to you when you're good and ready.<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br />The beauty of God's system is that He not only rewards you for your efforts in the Hereafter but also showers you with all sorts of rewards in this life for your commitment. God promises a deep and meaningful happiness that is far greater than any temporary romance can ever bring you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This relationship with God is strong and stays with you forever unlike the short relationships that bring quick pleasure but end in disappointment and emotional pain. For this reason, following the example of a Muslim is a rare and beautiful honor that we should be proud uphold. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our example can be a source of inspiration and guidance for our friends. After all, we know that everyone can date easily. But, who can demonstrate the strong character and personality that comes only from a meaningful relationship with Allah?<br /><br />How can we stay clear of such an attractive temptation that is so common among our circle of friends and community? The best way to avoid a dating situation starts by accepting Allah's advice from the very beginning without any hesitation or doubts. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This understanding means you leave no doubt in your mind that dating is out of the question for you. If you leave any wiggle room or gray area in your thinking, you will soon find yourself trying to convince your mind that certain aspects of dating are just fine. Before you know it, you are in this blinding cycle that takes control of you. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The next step is to keep a close eye on your emotional attachments and, what I call "soap opera daydreaming." You may have accepted that dating is not right for you but you may find yourself fantasizing about the perfect relationship, a romantic encounter, or the classic made for television love affair. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are not in a position to get married, it's better to put these thoughts on hold since it makes the process of staying single much harder. Such thoughts can cloud your judgment and can make the smallest encounter appear as the start of a great love story. These romantic affairs and tearjerkers we see in the movies are made to sell tickets and popcorn, not our souls.<br /><br /> Keep in mind that the true love you will experience in marriage is nothing like that dramatic "crush" who dominates your life until he/she evaporates into thin air. When you sense your emotions are running away from you, take a time out for a reality check.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Drop the idea from your mind and analyze the situation as if you are asking God for advice. Know that God is aware of your innermost intentions and that He is the Best Supporter. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Finally, I must point out that we seem to notice only the positive images of dating. The flip side is often very disappointing and, in some cases, devastating to the emotions.The saying "all good things come to an end" is especially true with dating. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is the pain of separation, the feelings of rejection, denial, depression, and dealing with the reality that you shared the most private experiences of your life with someone who is now a stranger to you. Of course, we also have the very likely possibility of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases to deal with. I'm pretty sure no one wants to be on an episode of Maury, right?</span></div><br /><h3><span style="font-family: georgia;">Life Without Dating</span></h3><span style="font-family: georgia;">What is the alternative to dating? Believe it or not, there is another world outside dating that is even more rewarding for your soul and your emotional needs. Once you place your trust in God's system, you can see everyone from the filter of true friendship. There will be no pressure to impress others, to change your ways or act differently. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can start having many meaningful friendships instead of spending most of your time with only one person. You will experience the beauty of this diversity, the fun of having such different personalities in your life and the blessing of being able to turn to a strong social network in the time of need. These friendships will be there for you and last through times of difficulty.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Most importantly, you not only save emotional energy, you gain even more strength from your friends; strength that you need in your path of submission to Allah. <br /> <br /> If you are eager to start a relationship or are finding yourself in a questionable situation now, make your intention clear that you desire only friendship and avoid situations which trigger your physical or emotional urges. Spend your time in larger group settings or in a family environment. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Avoid one-to-one encounters until you know deep inside that the relationship is clearly friendship. Even then, it's always better to involve your other friends when you want to do something. You know what they say, "the more, the merrier." <br /> <br />If you think you're missing the boat by not dating and that you will never meet that "dream" person, I have some great news for you. Your boat is in perfect condition and is not going anywhere without you. Allah is in control of everything. He knows the best time for you to get married and He has already picked out the perfect mate for you. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No matter how hard you try on your own or rush the process, you will never find the perfect match that God is waiting to give you.All dating does is drift you further and further apart from the true soulmate Allah has already picked out for you. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">All you need to do is place your trust in God, have patience, and stay firm in your commitment to keep purity of body and mind. Once you are ready to share in the blessing of marriage, you will appreciate why Allah has encouraged you to stay single for such a special occasion.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b> Update:</b> Staying single in a dating-minded, hookup-oriented world can be tough but there is a way you can be single and happy as a Muslim. There is a great article available which details this from Seeker's Elite. Check it out below.</span><div style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">LINK TO THE ARTICLE: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://seekerselite.com/happy-single-muslims/&source=gmail&ust=1504876851810000&usg=AFQjCNFmqfur5S1xNbbMieG0fXsEFCP1Mg" href="http://seekerselite.com/happy-single-muslims/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://seekerselite.com/<wbr></wbr>happy-single-muslims/</a> </strong></span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-71341120036696108512019-05-29T13:05:00.001-07:002019-05-30T07:30:10.739-07:00Allah Wants Us To Win<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbB8nv_tUq7JARstwPXjGziKXKp32d0Gs481S2E6N1XuHnprEo8RWXrPa5ndG9m1iOKDlSfPG4NcFW3ARMnCc8-zallWP1zlIILxEnD86Fef11QL-TKOlRO_r_wkQ-mMM8UZQmREwZAc/s1600/AllahWantsUsToWin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbB8nv_tUq7JARstwPXjGziKXKp32d0Gs481S2E6N1XuHnprEo8RWXrPa5ndG9m1iOKDlSfPG4NcFW3ARMnCc8-zallWP1zlIILxEnD86Fef11QL-TKOlRO_r_wkQ-mMM8UZQmREwZAc/s1600/AllahWantsUsToWin.jpg" /></a><i>Note: Guess who's baaack! I know what you're thinking. I've had this ridiculously huge gap between updates. I know I've been MIA but life has kind of gotten in the way of regularly posting. Don't expect this to be a normal thing for now, but I really wanted to just come back because I had such a great thought that came to mind during this blessed month of Ramadan that I wanted to share it in blog form. </i><br />
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While up at night during one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, I was thinking very deeply about Allah's generosity. Like, man, oh, man, it's crazy how much we can underestimate that Allah is Ar-Rahman (The Most Compassionate) and Ar-Raheem (The Most Merciful). Let me elaborate.<br />
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Good Deeds vs. Bad Deeds</h3>
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So one night before bed I was talking to my little 5-year-old son about Allah and how generous he is. I had already been telling him in bits and pieces about good deeds and bad deeds and how there's an angel on each of our shoulders: one that records all our good deeds in a book, and one that records our bad deeds. </div>
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While I told him he didn't need to worry about his deeds being recorded right now because he is still a young child, I told him of how important it is to have a large book of good deeds and have our bad deeds book as small as possible because there's a great reward in store for us if by the end of our life our good deeds are more than our bad.</div>
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I didn't want to overwhelm him too much at such a young age, but in the middle of giving him a bit of this education I couldn't help but tear up in amazement at how amazingly generous Allah is and how Allah wants us to attain paradise and basically stacks the odds ever in our favor with all these opportunities to score some huge points.</div>
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The Stats That We Can't See</h3>
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Now being a sports fan, I love stats and numbers. When I'm catching an NBA game, I love to check out the box score and see the stats and how well a team or player did. I'm also a big video game fan and of course video games are big on statistics too--high scores, how many "kills" you get and so on and so forth. </div>
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I actually used the analogy of points and scores for my son when explaining the good deed and bad deed system that all humans have and how the main goal is to rack up as many good deeds as we possibly can before our time is up.</div>
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What's even more interesting is that in this age of social media, numbers and statistics mean so much to everyone. Trying to get likes and subscribers and followers and friends—all of these are numbers and statistics that people closely look at and even obsess over.</div>
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But the one stat that we cannot see and will not be able to know until the afterlife is our good deeds and our bad deeds. And these are the most important stats of all.</div>
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Whether we believe it or not, we are all competing with each other and with ourselves to try and outscore our bad deed book with good deeds. And while we don't have a ticker or scoreboard we can see of how well we're doing, believing Muslims can at least have peace of mind that Allah has stacked the deck and has given us a huge advantage to succeed.</div>
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Allah is rooting for us. Allah wants us to win!</div>
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How Allah Gamed The System In Our Favor<br />
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Now I'm not a scholar or anything, I'm the farthest thing from it but I do try my best to educate myself and grow my knowledge to the truth that comes from the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith and how it applies to life and our purpose--which is to worship Allah, be grateful to him and strive our utmost to do good. Our salvation depends on it.</div>
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<i>Every one pursues his goal. Compete with each other in performing good deeds. Wherever you are, God will bring you all together. God has power over all things. </i>(Holy Quran -Surah Al Baqarah 2:148)</blockquote>
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So our mission? Do more good than we do bad. We're imperfect, flawed humans so we're going to do bad deeds, we just need to do more good deeds. Simple enough, right? </div>
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The awesome thing about this simple task is that Allah has gamed the system. He's bending the rules. It's not necessarily cheating because, well, Allah created everything so he makes the rules. But Allah has gamed the system FOR OUR BENEFIT.</div>
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Picture this. OUTSIDE OF RAMADAN, every good deed counts as 10 (MINIMUM) and every bad deed counts as 1 (MAXIMUM). On top of that--every good dead also erases a bad deed! Don't believe me? Let's go to the hadith.</div>
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Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: </blockquote>
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إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ ثُمَّ بَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ فَمَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عِنْدَهُ عَشْرَ حَسَنَاتٍ إِلَى سَبْعِ مِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ إِلَى أَضْعَافٍ كَثِيرَةٍ وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ سَيِّئَةً وَاحِدَةً </blockquote>
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<b>Verily, Allah has recorded good and bad deeds and He made them clear. Whoever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, then Allah will record it as a complete good deed. If he intends to do it and does so, then Allah the Exalted will <span style="color: red;"><u>record it as ten good deeds up to seven hundred times as much or even more</u></span>. If he intends to do a bad deed and does not do it, then Allah will record for him one complete good deed. If he does it then Allah will record for him a single bad deed. </b>Source: Sahih Bukhari 6126, Grade: <a href="http://dailyhadith.abuaminaelias.com/2012/05/22/hadith-on-intention-allah-rewards-good-intentions-but-he-does-not-punish-bad-intentions-unless-the-evil-deed-is-done/">Muttafaqun Alayhi</a></blockquote>
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SubhanAllah isn't that amazing? With this being the case, our good deeds, no matter how minor (saying salaams, being good to our parents, neighbors, family, praying salat, giving charity) racks up points like Super Mario when he is in the bonus round surrounded by coins or jumping and grabbing the flag at the end of a level. And this is outside of Ramadan!</div>
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And don't even get me started on the amount of good deeds you can rack up from just reading the Qur'an. You don't get 10 good deeds per word of Qur'an recited, you get 10 good deeds per letter!</div>
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Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: <b>The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah,<span style="color: red;"><u> he will receive one good deed as ten good deeds like it. I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is one letter, but rather Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter.</u></span></b>”<br />
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2910</blockquote>
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The Ramadan Bonus<br />
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<b>During Ramadan</b>, all good deeds are multiplied times 70. If you screw up during Ramadan and partake in some bad deeds, guess what? Your bad deeds during Ramadan are expiated via paying the Zakat Al Fitr. Why? Cuz...ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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On top of that, Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power), the night better than 1000 months, gives us the reward of 82 years of worship (good deeds) that can make our good deeds multiplied to astronomical amounts that we probably can't even put a number on. ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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On top of that, if our fasting and worship are accepted during Ramadan, ALL OUR bad deeds are erased. And every year when Ramadan comes around we can basically blank out our bad deed book annually. It's absolutely ridiculous how the system is gamed for us to succeed and earn paradise. Why I ask again? ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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Allah Even Wants The Worst of Sinners To Win<br />
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Hey, we all sin. We were made that way; built to screw up. Anyone who says they don't is either not human or lying. Fortunately for us, Allah continues to shower us screw-ups with opportunities to redeem ourselves.<br />
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I'm sure everyone has heard of the story related in the hadith of the prostitute that gave water to a thirsty dog. She was forgiven for her misdeeds and given paradise from just this act. She was a prostitute for crying out loud, but still, Allah forgave her and rewarded her. Why? I know I sound like a broken record at this point but it's because ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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How about the story of the man who killed 99 men and wanted to see if he could ever be forgiven by Allah. He went to a learned scholar and told him he killed 99 men and asked if Allah would pardon him. The man, shocked, said that Allah wouldn't. Homeboy didn't like what he heard and killed him too, bringing his kill count to 100. Long story short, this man went to another learned person who said he would be pardoned by Allah if he sincerely repents and leaves the wretched town where he stayed to the town of good people.</div>
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He died on the journey and the angels of punishment and mercy debated over who would take his soul. There was an agreement that the spot where the man died be measured and whatever the man was closer to--the good town or the bad town, the angels would take him to his fate. </div>
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He was closer to the wretched town and Allah moved the earth so he was closer to the town of the good people. I relay this story as a reminder that no matter how bad our deeds are, we still have a chance for mercy and reward because ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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"This Is Like, So Not Fair" (Says Shaytan)<br />
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There's only one entity that hates all of this information: Iblis and his shaytaan minions. They are pissed! This "gaming of the system" by Allah in our favor drives Shaytan nuts. Allah being so forgiving and so lenient and so generous frustrates Shaytan's plans to ruin us and make us hellbound.</div>
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He probably spends a good majority of his time screaming and whining that this isn't fair. In fact, a story is relayed that when the following verse was revealed, Iblis cried.</div>
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And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins except God? And they do not persist in their wrongdoing while they know. (Holy Qur'an- Surah Alay Imran 3:135)</blockquote>
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How Can We Lose?<br />
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If on the day of judgment your scale of bad deeds outweighs the good, you had to have screwed up in a royally bad way because everything that Allah has set forth has set us up for victory. This is a gigantic blessing that we should all be grateful for. Allah gives us opportunity after opportunity, chance on top of chance to be forgiven and to rack up those good deeds.</div>
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Just imagine you're an athlete. We've heard from many athletes that there's no better feeling than having an entire arena cheering and rooting for you to succeed. When you have a whole crowd behind you, you feel unstoppable and you don't want to let them down.</div>
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We ALL have Allah in that crowd, rooting for all of us to win. Isn't that something?</div>
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And Allah just happens to be our number 1 fan as well as the owner of the league and the rulemaker that tweaked all the rules so that we practically CAN'T LOSE unless we make an epic blunder.</div>
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I give you and myself this reminder to not screw this up and to most of all be grateful. Be grateful of Allah's generosity, His amazing leniency and his continued blessings that we did nothing to really deserve aside from being his prized creation.</div>
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In this test and trial of life, no matter how hard things get, if we stand firm, be patient and work hard, we got this! After all, ALLAH WANTS US TO WIN!</div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-46500563827895756052016-12-15T05:17:00.000-08:002016-12-15T05:17:22.921-08:00Back with a Bang (And a Book)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Holy criggity crap. Boy, has a lot happened since I last posted here. I took my quarterly laziness hiatus from blogging and when I returned, Donald Trump became president, Dave Chappelle came back to television and Glenn got his head bashed in on The Walking Dead. I'm glad I'm taking a seat.<br /><br />Things are getting crazy and rather than be in on the action and share my thoughts and opinions and rants like everyone else has been doing, I've been laying low and just focusing on getting accustomed to my new work schedule. However just because PhilAsify hasn't been churning out fresh content doesn't mean I haven't been writing. In fact, soon after the election I went into hyperdrive mode to finish publishing my very timely and relevant first book, <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vicegerents-Divine-Responsibility-Importance-Engagement-ebook/dp/B01MTLDC4X" target="_blank">Vicegerents: The Divine Responsibility, The Importance of Muslim Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility</a>. </i>It's available right now on Amazon so please feel free to check it out (It's only 99 cents). It's a smooth and short read and definitely packs a punch.</span><div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vicegerents-Divine-Responsibility-Importance-Engagement-ebook/dp/B01MTLDC4X" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Buy It Now on Amazon</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had this on the shelf in limbo for a while since I at first was writing this for a possible publisher but once I stopped hearing from said publisher, I decided that I'd eventually self-publish. With the twists and turns of life, I just put it on the backburner to focus on other pursuits (namely a job to take care of my family). But Trump winning the election and the racist Youtube Commenters that supported Trump becoming emboldened and coming alive out in public to attack and unleash hate on Muslims at an alarming rate made me swiftly get this book published.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To put it bluntly, this book is an educational tool about Islam and Muslims to the average non-Muslim reader while also serving as a kick in the ass of the passive and timid Muslim living in the West, namely in America. It's a wake-up call for Muslims to get it together and be part of the change they want to see in the world. Muslims are under a microscope and we're being grilled from all sides and most of us are the problem because we are not engaged enough in the fabric of society and even our own neighborhoods to be known and change the erroneous perceptions people have of us and of Islam as a faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In <i>Vicegerents</i>, I break down the various aspects where we are lacking and rather than just air grievances on where we as an Ummah (community) are falling short, I present practical solutions to those issues. Some topics covered are what a vicegerent is, what our role is in society, voting, local community engagement, how to use media as a tool, and addressing the issues we have at our mosques.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So please give it a read and a review. It'd be much appreciated. It's my first officially published work and I hope it will not be the last.</span></div>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-74572799708745301842016-10-24T04:37:00.000-07:002016-10-24T04:37:42.713-07:00How Things Can Turn Around On A Dime<div>
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So here marks another one of my unexplained hiatuses from blogging. What a big surprise. While I tried to hold myself to writing weekly through thick and thin, I just couldn't write until now because I was in the middle of a transitional period. I was hired for a job! Alhamdulilah (All praise goes to God). More than one actually so, of course I was really busy.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wanted to check back in to give you that update and tell you all that things can turn around on a dime, bad times don't last. There I was struggling for months unemployed, just barely making it and the future was totally uncertain. I didn't know whether I'd have enough to pay the rent at the end of the month, I didn't know when things would get better. But that just reminds me that it's not my job to know the future. I'm just a player in this script of life and I can't turn the page until I get to the bottom, when everything on the current page has played out. That's on Allah's time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Waiting for the 180</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For months I was just doing my best to tie my camel in the form of filling out job applications and shooting my resume around and then praying and hoping for the best. Months would go by without any responses from jobs, but I kept on churning and do the only thing that was in my control, which was to keep blasting out resumes for jobs I found.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the time finally comes for Allah's plan to come alive, things move FAST. I shot out a job application as was the norm for me daily and suddenly, BOOM. I get a response from the job, like truly within hours wanting to set up an interview. I go to the interview and I do the best I could to make sure to convince them I was the best person for the job. I later discovered that nearly 50 people applied for the job which intimidated me a bit. But within days, I was informed that I had been selected!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So yeah guys, if anything can be taken from this update it's that no matter what sort of crap you are dealing with or what difficulties your struggling through, things can turn around and get better and when the times comes for it, it will move so fast it'll make your head spin. It doesn't matter how tough it is, how much it hurt, how sucky things get, how big the obstacles, how hopeless it feels (in that moment) because God said so Himself:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm living proof of the phrase and it's a humbling feeling. Now for me the struggle now is finding consistency in my spare time to invest in posting updates and blogs here as well as my creative endeavors which I do not want to put on the shelf due to laziness. Yeah I have two jobs I have to keep up with to put money in the bank and food on the table but I can't let my creative outlet which gave me so much solace be neglected nor should my ideas and plans (books, screenplays etc) remain just that,<i> ideas and plans</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So while I work on finding that consistency zone, bear with me, because if I go on a roll, big things will be poppin'. Of course, it's all if God wills it, like He willed it for me to finally get out of the hole I was just in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keep striving, ya'll.</span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-1657968477075686432016-09-10T05:50:00.000-07:002016-09-10T05:50:10.296-07:00Overcoming Negative Inner Voices and Realizing Your Potential<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For some reason this title can't help but make me be reminded of Randy Orton's entrance theme:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I digress. This is not really the video I wanted to share with you, the video below is. I came across this video on YouTube a couple of months ago titled "Overcoming Negative Inner Voices" and boy was it tremendous and really made me ponder life and just how your mind is the biggest thing holding you back from achieving the life you want to live and do the things in life you want to do to be fulfilled. Here I will post the video and then come back with my thoughts after the jump.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Reflections</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This video made me ponder various negative voices I have inside of me and what struck me in the video was that one's negative inner voices didn't just come out of nowhere, they were essentially implanted their by something someone said in the past that cut one holds onto and repeats in their head until the voice fades away from the person who said it and becomes one's own self talking trash to themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I applied this logic to some of the negative thoughts I have about myself over the years which contributed to issues with my self-esteem I could pretty much pinpoint the person or persons who said something to me that hurt my feelings and made me feel a certain way about myself. What's unfortunate is that often times it's not a bully or a stranger but someone you really look up to and even love that cuts you down. For me some of my worst inner voices taken from something someone said to me were people in my own family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would go even further to say that those negative comments and remarks don't even need to be directed at one self. Someone could indirectly say a mean judging remark about someone--whether you know them or not--and it can stick with you as well. For example you hear an uncle say: <i>"Man, your cousin is a bum, he's never going to amount to anything" </i> or even overhearing a teacher having a conversation with another teacher about a student: <i>"He's just the worst. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up a janitor after he graduates". </i>Despite it not being directed at you, it'll sting like it does. You might even think <i>"Well damn, if they are saying that stuff about such-and-such, what are they saying about me when I'm not around?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hurtful things people have said to me were comments and jokes about my weight leading to self-esteem issues and me being very critical of myself. That's because a person being made fun of their weight, an assumption is also made that they are weak, undisciplined, unsanitary, not good looking or beautiful, lazy, don't have anything to contribute to the world. So it carries, no pun intended, heavily on a person's psyche. Some mean remarks about weight have been made towards others and I've felt the same blow as if it were directed at me. And that's why I've always been hard on myself for my weight struggles and have carried a lot of shame and guilt over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another mean remark made to me were from people who basically criticized my passion and desire to be a writer. <i>"You wanna be a writer? Writers don't make any money" </i>Writers are already highly critical of themselves by design but when you add someone elses biting remarks, it makes it all the more worse. Because of remarks like this, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would get an even more critical inner voice that would have no faith in my writing ability and I would put writing as a profession on the shelf. And I tell you, it killed me inside! I told myself that <i>why bother? You're not going to make any money, so screw it. No one is going to pay you to write something for them. This isn't going to pay the bills.</i> And it was all perpetuated by someone's harsh comments that crapped all over my dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But this year this inner voice was killed when I began to pursue freelance writing. My lack of confidence over writing as a living made me avoid even the thought of freelance writing like the plague. <i>"Someone paying me actual $$$ to write something for them? Yeah right" </i>But I finally gave it a shot this year and I made money, I tried again and made even more money. So that voice in my head was total BS. I do have the skills to make money as a writer. People can find my writing valuable. Same with PhilAsify and the comments and remarks I've gotten in the past and present from people appreciating my posts, as few as they may be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So it may sound cliche but don't let what people say crush the way you view yourself. <b>You have value. You have something to offer the world. You have unique gifts, talent and qualities.</b> Like the video said, something may be going on with them and they lashed out and you felt the brunt of their blow because of their personal issues. I'm sure most of them, if they knew the type of damage they were doing to a person, I would like to hope they would keep their mouth shut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Overcoming negative inner voices can only be fixed by applying the opposite: creating positive voices. And that can happen by saying positive things about yourself TO YOURSELF. Repeating certain affirmations in your head like "I AM good enough" to combat those feelings that you're not good enough or "I have the tools to succeed" to combat those voices that say you won't amount to anything. If you maximize the positive, you can chase away that negative bull that has been fed to you by those people who damaged you in life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You shouldn't hope others like a friend or family member or colleague say something good about you to kill those thoughts. Chances are you'll still feel negatively about yourself and nothing anyone else can say can fix the issues you feel inside and the strong negative voices. In cases like this, you gotta be your own best friend, your mental health and well-being depends on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So with that being said, that's it for this week. This is your friendly neighborhood PhilAsifer signing off. Take care of yourself (<i>Really.</i> <i>I mean it</i>).</span></div>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-90061389612248351552016-08-31T18:16:00.000-07:002016-08-31T18:35:37.308-07:00A Sprained Knee With a Side of Bruised Ego, Please!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Xf3Crkq58LV-1UTVi6tBN03ur0e-Z2NFM4_YTKFqbSVyhC8dO1Ob8HBG_4WV3pN6e6fbiAB4o4HUR1V4Oh2U3O7MpAXwpKecml6Ou31Fo_uaZpUqI3WKBKYQ7EvqymQ07xyfz-bq_dA/s1600/peter+griffin+knee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Xf3Crkq58LV-1UTVi6tBN03ur0e-Z2NFM4_YTKFqbSVyhC8dO1Ob8HBG_4WV3pN6e6fbiAB4o4HUR1V4Oh2U3O7MpAXwpKecml6Ou31Fo_uaZpUqI3WKBKYQ7EvqymQ07xyfz-bq_dA/s320/peter+griffin+knee.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I didn't get to write an entry last week. Big surprise huh? Aside from being consistently inconsistent, your trusty old PhilAsifer is also consistently getting hurt. This time it wasn't a phantom injury from coach potatoing it up, however. I decided to dust off my sneakers and played an impromptu game of pick-up basketball.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's some news for you: I Injured myself, AGAIN. I injured myself because I'm out of shape. Meaning I'm overweight at the moment. Meaning I'm too overweight to be playing basketball. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hey But Wait a minute, Asif, look at this!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maaaaan. Number 1) That guy is about 6'10. I'm 5'6 on a good day. Number 2) He's DEAD! (RIP Escalade) He died from heart disease which I'm positive had to do with his unhealthy weight. and Number 3) Thanks a lot for making me feel like a schlub when even immobile obese heavyweights can ball better than me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Back to the subject at hand. What I mean by being too overweight to play is that I'm too overweight to play the way <i>I like</i> to play. My problem is the way I play basketball has not evolved from the way I played it when I was 16 basically. Which needs to change! I resort to trying to be quick and high energy and going hard in the paint trying to do acrobatic layups and And1s. When you're about 50+ pounds overweight, your knees are going to hate you for that style of play, which in my case, they want me dead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I was playing basketball and I was feeling myself, having a good all around game. I decided to get a little fancy, went for a pump fake. The guy bit on it and I glided into the paint for a driving layup when, CRUNCH! I came down on my leg and yelled "OH, SHOOT!" (This was a masjid/mosque playing area) and went down on the pavement. I got flashbacks from when I was 17 and I tore my ACL the exact same way. I got up and my knee buckled. I couldn't put weight on it. I was helped back home by some brothers at the mosque and went immediately into RICE mode. The way it felt, I was sure I tore something. I don't have the funds or resources to go get it checked at the moment so my doctor became Experience and Google working in tandem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I come to the conclusion that it isn't a serious tear and can be anything between a bad sprain to as serious as a partial meniscus tear. I hope to God if it's the latter, it doesn't require surgery. So I'm recuperating at the moment and trying to heal up.</span></div>
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What I've learned:</span></h4>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Give Basketball a Break:</b> And I mean a break as in a break from it being my main source of cardio. I have been trying to lose weight and basketball has been my go-to which I am learning is a bad idea when I am overweight. My knees need a break and doing all this high impact cutting, twisting and jumping with all that extra weight is just asking for stuff like this to keep happening. The fact is that I bore easily when it comes to jogging and ellipticals and crap. But I need to invest in changing my routine so I can play ball WHEN I'm at the optimum weight to play and when that extra pressure is taken off of my knees.<br /><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I'm Not Invincible: </b>This injury made me reminesce on an older and more serious injury I had when I was 17 and tore my ACL and meniscus in my left knee. At the time I was probably in the best shape of my life. I was weightlifting, doing cardio and at my athletic peak. And yes, I had a little bit of a big head about it. I was feelin' myself. And feelin' myself led to lots of irrational fantasy thinking. I felt like I could stop bullets, beat up 20 guys at once like Jackie Chan and prevent 9/11 from happening with my glorious pecs. I tried dunking constantly at that age but couldn't quite get there and it took a toll on my knees. I felt like I was unstoppable. And reality hit me that fateful day I tore my ACL. Sucked the arrogant right out of me. That "other people get injured, not me" way of thinking. God has ways of humbling people and that was his way of doing that to me and I feel that he was giving me a refresher course even though I'm not in prime physical condition like I was then.<br /><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I'm not 16 Anymore: </b>It's just reality. Even if I get in shape again and drop all the excess weight, it's true. I need to suck it up and adapt an "old man" game when it comes to bball. That means stretching a bunch before I play, covering myself in knee supports and sleeves and taking jumpers and passing mostly. Hero ball, my sweet comfort, must go by the wayside. Let the young boys do all the work and I just park at the three point line. I don't get paid the big bucks to play a child's game and there are no cameras so what am I trying to prove?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So boys and girls, that's where I am right now. As I sit here finishing up typing, stinking of Icy Hot and guzzling down some Ibuprofen, my ego has conceded to the truth. We are all fragile human beings, we are not masters of the universe and we will be humbled from time to time to remind us in case we forget. Basketball, we will keep seeing eachother, but it isn't going to be intense and passionate like old times. I will miss the feeling but, it's for the best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Better start YouTube'ing a low impact alternative for me to get back into shape. Oooh, this looks intriguing.</span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-32705692988686732722016-08-17T20:33:00.001-07:002016-08-17T20:51:29.496-07:00It's Hard Out Here for a Pim-- Err...Freelance Writer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdq2JG7oAX27knnHmoiQUFwdDTkdaJ7T9xflZYrAuJPlOrAEbhLZboreyI1HX93qGFY8gWEFavITSbyJA9wcjeaJGGExD3XUA6LsWBH7i4W7FqT-LCu0-SAAE2UNvoP8zaW-BiHFzrxWY/s1600/will.write_.4.food300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdq2JG7oAX27knnHmoiQUFwdDTkdaJ7T9xflZYrAuJPlOrAEbhLZboreyI1HX93qGFY8gWEFavITSbyJA9wcjeaJGGExD3XUA6LsWBH7i4W7FqT-LCu0-SAAE2UNvoP8zaW-BiHFzrxWY/s1600/will.write_.4.food300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hey gang. A little bit late on my goal for a weekly post, that's because I'm still trying to figure out a way to make a decent living as a freelance writer. As I expected, it's no walk in the park starting out. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Before I even <a href="http://philasify101.blogspot.com/2016/05/why-getting-fired-from-my-job-was-best.html" target="_blank">lost my job</a>, I was looking into freelance writing as a possible next career option because my job hunting had fallen into that terrible catch 22 conundrum. All the writing based media jobs I wanted were looking for someone with 2 to 5 years experience and there I was wasting my life away shuffling papers at a tax firm NOT GETTING EXPERIENCE. Freelancing looked to be the best option to 1) write , 2) build a solid body of work with a portfolio and 3) eventually get noticed by those same media based jobs that were denying me because of my lack of experience.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Getting into the freelance writing game, I faced pretty much the same trouble because I needed to show experience as well and show that I've written and had things published in various arenas. Even with the little experience I've carried in that realm, despite my efforts to draw up enticing proposals, no one wanted to give this ol' guy a shot. I felt like with each rejection letter and notification that a potential client had gone with someone else, I felt more and more discouraged. It was coming to the point where I wanted to go to these guys and just bust out that A Capella like I'm Andy Bernard and sing "Take a Chance On Me"</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All the experts and all the blogs I wrote stated that if one was to make the jump from working the typical 9 to 5 and get into freelancing full time, they would be wise to save at least 3 to 6 months of monthly expenses in case a dry spell occurs. Being terminated of course kinda took the attempt to create that luxury for myself, obviously so it's a pretty tough racket right now.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm confident things will come around though and I'm grateful for all those generous hearts that have helped me along the way as I work to make the transition. I may have to get a part-time job someone just so there's some steady money coming in but I at least have found my calling. Now I just need to put the work in to get myself noticed, be patient and leave the rest up to God.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until next time gang.</span>Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-81832354585835790162016-08-08T05:39:00.001-07:002016-08-08T13:30:00.430-07:00"I'm Getting Old" Says The Man Under 30<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pmpcSty-Pt_IKZmH4qBx5gUWJla8RAmh4CijLgD-aiZNzzMfKDMCFcQAAccp75QJxIxZUlmE3zvlvM1gjb117mL6-1y2ZigdDTaKPsnSjLX0EvYNO9cnjjU2hW0YK91-JY94vA9zsBQ/s1600/hip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pmpcSty-Pt_IKZmH4qBx5gUWJla8RAmh4CijLgD-aiZNzzMfKDMCFcQAAccp75QJxIxZUlmE3zvlvM1gjb117mL6-1y2ZigdDTaKPsnSjLX0EvYNO9cnjjU2hW0YK91-JY94vA9zsBQ/s400/hip.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So for over the last week or so I've been getting over a really painful hip injury. A sharp, nearly unbearable pain has been shooting from my right hip, making it hard for me to lift my leg, walk or even get into bed without groaning in agony. Sleep has been terribly uncomfortable and I had a few days of sleepless nights because of the stabbing pain and discomfort caused by my ailment. At first, I thought it was just some freak injury and the pain would disappear in a couple of days after implementing the RICE method. When the pain didn't go away, I went to look up the injury online and listed the symptoms to find out that it may very likely be a hip strain which is typically a sports injury or caused by a fall.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gEuiDI_GcfPAK73BczDiEpSkkUgC56iTjt9MUF_G9bLHXtYeHEt2HjQ1dq3MQfrWr8RXPg03fG1kP0bT29SqJEQKoP3nnOmmNqLOU41BxR7ipHdwKvouSQIrRKC365QCZppOKAoT5YM/s1600/hip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what was the cause of my hip feeling like crap? Nothing. I have no friggin' clue why it's been hurting like the dickens. I haven't been outside playing sports in Houston's sauna type heat, are you kidding me? It's hotter and more humid than the undercarriage of a sumo wrestler out there! I've been a couch potato lately. The only thing I could think of is that I went to sleep after doing absolutely nothing active and woke up to feeling like Hulk Hogan after dropping 90 patented leg drops on cement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Usually these type of ailments and pains leads to my wife teasing me that I'm an old man. It doesn't help my cause that I've been reeking of Icy Hot all week and been popping Advil daily. But I guess it is true. It's life's wake-up call that I'm not an invincible 17 year old anymore. When I'm feeling like a cripple when all I did was watch several episodes of "Louie" on Netflix, change my daughter's diapers and ate Taco Bell--I AM getting old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boy back in the day I felt unstoppable. In my teenage years, I was finally getting my fat butt into shape, weightlifting a ton, playing lots of basketball, trying to be a Pakistani Nate Robinson by trying to work myself up to dunking on a 10 foot rim. I was full of myself. I was stuck in that fantasy sort of thinking--as if I were some heroic He-Man. All puffed up with pride from gaining muscle mass, I dared someone to challenge me to a duel so I could bodyslam them on the pavement. But then one fateful day, I tore my ACL at the tender age of 17 playing hoops and the recovery process brought me to the realization that the human body is fragile. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is that teenaged John Cena in the middle there?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On top of that, another reality dose of me aging is my once thick plentiful mound of hair thinning out. I'm most likely going to be bald a lot sooner than 40, probably by choice because I don't want this terrible patchwork of thin balding spots and thick hair. I've read about it long before I had to even worry about it and I thought at the time I wouldn't really care but yeah man, losing your hair is a really humbling experience. Like geez, I'm literally seeing my youth fading away every time I shampoo and see follicle after follicle get caught between my fingers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I get that I'm still very young and ideally have a lot of healthy years left. I'm only 28 as of this post and I'm ruminating about this crap that's really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Aging happens to everyone, some faster than others. Some people mask it well or take care of their bodies and intake to the point where they can postpone it, but it hits us all sooner than we'd like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the end, I'll take it as a reminder that this life is temporary and that our spirits will outlive our bodies. After all, we are spiritual beings and our body is just a temporary vessel in this life. Just like our favorite whips (cars to the non-hip. Or maybe that term is outdated and it's something else) paint starts to wear off and get scuffed up and engine eventually fails on us, our bodies will do the same and show us our fleeting mortality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I'm at peace with the fact that I'm going to be a baldy sooner than I'd want and Icy Hot may very well be my cologne in the very near future. It's cool, at least it's gonna be fun crapping on all the stuff that the youngins are into and telling "back in my day" stories.</span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-77823188749914738292016-07-29T09:56:00.001-07:002016-07-29T09:56:47.039-07:00College: The Unnecessary and Avoidable Evil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxa0y28qPqSqT7A7jfmhFcoy6Gc2Y4y0iZovACCkklIFMIhXlbr-4iC1_YPhjLgM1Lt-ez6JOIC7W0UExoiR1xBzFXmouIHB1tyzTfDYs1HEE7RLux9YZpKSph67ntEzQic0rACr-DTM/s1600/wikpedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxa0y28qPqSqT7A7jfmhFcoy6Gc2Y4y0iZovACCkklIFMIhXlbr-4iC1_YPhjLgM1Lt-ez6JOIC7W0UExoiR1xBzFXmouIHB1tyzTfDYs1HEE7RLux9YZpKSph67ntEzQic0rACr-DTM/s320/wikpedia.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm a little over two months into my freelancing career change and at the moment it's not going all that well. I haven't been hired for any steady jobs and the jobs I have been hired for haven't paid all that well--though I'm grateful to have gotten them, something is better than nothing. <br /><br />However, I am in pretty good spirits and I am learning a lot about freelancing and a lot about myself. I still couldn't be happier and I am positive things will get better.<br /><br />I have been listening to podcasts and reading blogs and articles about how to make it as a freelance writer and it's mind blowing how a lot of these folks share my mindset when it comes to college institutions. All of these freelancers want the same thing: they want to be their own boss, run their own life, make money the way they want to make it without being a slave to a corporate paycheck.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So Naive I was...</span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sooo not worth it. Keep your diploma, I'll take that money back.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I WASTED four years of my life to get a Communications degree. Don't get me wrong, I am somewhat proud to have graduated college. I was the first in my family to get a diploma. (Well actually I still don't have it, it's in a vault with my school because I have to pay $150 bucks to get it out. Just to stick it on my wall? Nah.) If I could do it over again though, I wouldn't have gone at all or at least not go on my own dime.<br /><br />When I signed up for college, I was truly I naive fool. Although I received some grants and scholarships, I still had to take out loans to help pay for the tuition costs because I chose to go to a terribly expensive private college that I just on a whim decided to go to because I liked the way the campus looked, not knowing that the campus was so pristine and beautiful because it was built off the blood, sweat and tears of gullible undergrads.<br /><br />I wish that I had thought about work-study programs and additional scholarships, but I was only 18 years old. I didn't have a friggin' clue what I was doing, and my immigrant parents weren't savvy enough to point me in the right direction. There was no one around to evaluate the wisdom of the decisions I was making, and no one making sure I actually understood the borrowing process and the clusterfudge I was getting myself into.<br /><br />College to me really just brought me nearly $50,000 of debt that could've been avoidable had I just invested my time in google searches, YouTube tutorials and Wikipedia to learn what I wanted to learn rather than pay an institution to teach me (poorly).<br /><br />The degree is utterly useless to me. The only benefit it brings is to my resume and even that is pretty insignificant. No employer effing cares about what degree I have or where I went to school or my damn GPA. Employees only care if you know how to make them money which you can't really prove by telling them you've been in a classroom for 4+ years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's NOT a Safety Net</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">People and even kids these days are practically brainwashed to say that college is, "a safety net so you could get a job." I bet if I were to ask them who told them that, they would be flabbergasted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I read today that employers are caring less and less about degrees and there are companies that post jobs that are not putting a college degree as a requirement to be hired. Google has stopped looking at degrees and other companies are following suit. So what's the friggin' point of getting one now?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So What Should We do instead?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually my kids are going to get to the age where they are going to contemplate going to college. Heck, society will still implant it in their naive brains that it's a MUST if you want to be successful even though a lot of highly successful celebrities have done without it. So I will give them this advice that I will give you.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Do what you love.</b> Figure out what your passion is and figure out the best way to pursue this passion. You'll likely find that college is actually an obstacle and not a prerequisite to doing what you want to do in life.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Study, study study.</b> You don't need to be in a school setting to study. Study things you enjoy. The internet isn't just there for social media, porn and other distractions. Like I said above, Google search, Wikipedia and YouTube tutorials beat the crap out of college because you learn the same stuff in a BETTER and QUICKER way for FREE.<br /><b><br /></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Work or Intern in your field</b>. You wanna be a lawyer? Work or intern at a law firm and see if you'll really enjoy it. Whatever you want to do, find a place in your area that does it and inquire about working there even if its to fetch donuts. You'll see how things are, people may be willing to teach you a thing or two and you'll be a 100 steps ahead of those undergrads that are stuck in classrooms.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Read every day.</b> Five pages a day of anything. I read in an article that after college "80% of people never pick up a book again." If you don't want to read, listen to podcasts about things that interest you. The mind needs to continously develop and you can't do that sitting in a cubicle doing crap you hate for 40 hours a week.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Learn the following skills</b> which are crucial in every aspect of life but are never taught in classrooms:</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">a. Sales (particularly selling yourself)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">b. Negotiating</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">c. Self-care/Self-love (Positive self-thinking)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">d. Interpersonal Communication</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I'm not ruling out college completely. Some people do actually benefit from college and enrolling in a program that they are interested in. But that's few and far between. If you do go to college and I will tell my children this too, don't PAY FOR IT. Make it fully covered via scholarship so you don't pay a cent for it. If you can't do that, DON'T GO.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a child of immigrant parents, I know how much parents try to influence you to do things you don't give a flying freak about doing. College is the holy grail for these unsuspecting parents. Here's an interesting tidbit from a blog I read:</span></div>
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<blockquote style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #232323; font-family: "Open Sans", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 27.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
I was at a dinner once. Someone who was working for Mayor Bloomberg asked me, “Would you let someone who didn’t go to college give you brain surgery?”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #232323; font-family: "Open Sans", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 27.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
I said, “It’s not about me. Would you let your son who has no interest in being a doctor, go to four years of school and another 4 years of medical school just so he can operate on my brain even though he hates every minute of it and gets a million dollars into debt?”</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Enough said.</span></div>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-3726776204864634552016-07-18T05:40:00.000-07:002016-07-18T05:54:17.750-07:00Procrastination, Our Terrible Friend<h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">An interesting theory on Procrastination and How To Stop it From Killing Our Goals</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I was procrastinating all week when it came to figuring out what subject I was going to write about this week and while trying to avoid brainstorming I came up with a brilliant topic: procrastination!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While mindlessly scrolling my Facebook feed--my go-to procrastination tool in my unproductivity utility belt--I saw an article post entitled, "<a href="http://blogs.psychcentral.com/hollywood-therapy/2014/10/9-ways-to-stop-procrastinating-on-your-screenplay-now/" target="_blank">9 ways to stop Procrastinating on Your Screenplay</a>". Interestingly enough, that is exactly what I've been doing! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seeing as how the article was relevant to my exact situation, I gave it a quick look-see and was fascinated by an insight about procrastination that was articulated in a way that I have never heard before: </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Procrastination is ultimately a fear of being judged".</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Suffice to say, I was intrigued.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now to clarify, this isn't the kind of procrastination that you would typically think of, y'know, the sort of unpleasant mundane crap that comes with being an adult: doing your taxes, renewing your drivers license, getting an oil change, going to the doctor for an annual check-up, taking out the garbage, paying bills etc. We don't avoid those chores because of "fear of being judged". We avoid it because all of that stuff sucks. It's no surprise people hold it off until they absolutely have to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The article was talking more about personal goals though like a writing project such as a screenplay or novel (or a blog post on PhilAsify 101 :p), studying for an exam, starting a business, changing careers or some artistic or creative endeavor. People ultimately procrastinate because they fear being judged. I'd go even further than that and say that people procrastinate on creative goals because they fear sucking. We're all perfectionists in a way and so if we work and put effort into something and the entire world isn't gushing over it, than we're failures who just invested in a colossal waste of time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The articles goes on to say that rather than obsessing over it that we should write about procrastination, as if we are writing a letter to ourselves or having an internal dialogue with ourselves and our reasons for procrastination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>"Ironically, often just writing about procrastination gets a writer writing, and, this is in itself a cure."</i></b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As you can see, that's what I'm doing right now and hence the cheap blog post! (tee hee <img border="0" src="http://www.pic4ever.com/images/4chsmu1.gif" />)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So yeah procrastination is often a stress reliever, but it's often a placebo that heightens stress when we realize we aren't meeting goals and deadlines. I get the fear that whatever we do is going to stink and it has many a time kept me stagnant. But a lot of peoples attempts at creativity stink. Famous screenwriting doctor Dov Simens as humorously stated that, "You may be worried that what you write is going to stink, well let me break it to you gently. It WILL STINK." It will be TERRIBLE but artistic masterpieces, scripts, novels, successful businesses or any type of content creation doesn't strike gold the first time around; they are worked on repeatedly and tweaked. You have to go back to the drawing board and revise and work out the kinks until it's just right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I described procrastination as being a "terrible friend" in that in a way procrastination helps us like a friend would, but the terrible part about it is that they are doing more harm than good. Procrastination is a friend because in a way procrastination is helping us by protecting us from the fear of rejection and criticism, so it's shielding us from pain we may feel. But as the saying goes, "no pain, no gain". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can't progress in life or with your dreams and ideas if you don't go through growing pains in the development stage. Imagine procrastination as a terrible friend </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">who tells you to stay home and watch TV when </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">you'd rather go to the gym and get in shape. Procrastination's reasoning is that being sweaty and stinky sucks and you don't want to tear something. Listening to procrastination may prevent you from being all sweaty, but it's not going to get rid of man-boobs and love handles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I'm telling myself this before any of you readers out there, don't let procrastination hold you back from changing your life and reaching your dreams. We have to kill the perfectionist mindset of wanting to hit the jackpot in one fell swoop or else not bother even trying. It's unrealistic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In reality, it takes a lot of work to reach success and procrastination avoids having to put in work to attain desired results. We want to do the least amount of work possible and get full results and reap in the benefits and the world just doesn't work that way. So with that being said, let's get to work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yeah, I'll try to actually come up with another topic next week and not procrastinate again which will result in writing about procrastination, hence another procrastination blog, rinse and repeat. Blah. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Peace.</span><br />
<br />Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-70523104019412428272016-07-11T06:18:00.000-07:002016-07-11T06:42:06.364-07:00The No BS Guide to the 2016 Presidential Election for Those who Despise Politics (Like me)<div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIA8t9vjAN_0v_Fb-SfGf9TGMgmAWiQhEe4CX3T1y1JHW4KmpDf-0GU5DLSBpFcMEsUfsNwKaJJvzsT-0BnR_2VImBgMPivPDLNvRRTZ_Efdbk6DYrBlP9qvZDG5W9jpEJLFnTaNLQU/s1600/Trump-Hillary-or-Death.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIA8t9vjAN_0v_Fb-SfGf9TGMgmAWiQhEe4CX3T1y1JHW4KmpDf-0GU5DLSBpFcMEsUfsNwKaJJvzsT-0BnR_2VImBgMPivPDLNvRRTZ_Efdbk6DYrBlP9qvZDG5W9jpEJLFnTaNLQU/s400/Trump-Hillary-or-Death.jpeg" width="400" /></a>Yeah I know what you're thinking. It's the middle of 2016 and I'm just <i>now</i> writing about the election. So I'm jumping into this a little late alright? Being on hiatus for so long, I have to play catch-up on a lot of hot blog topics so here goes.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">First, a disclaimer. As the title says, this is a guide for those who despise politics. I would be one of them. Trust me, I've tried to get into it and feel like it's my duty to be at the very least be informed but cot' damn I can't stand the garbage! As a child, I used to think that I just needed to get older to care about politics and that soon enough I'd be watching CNN all day like my dad does but NOPE--almost 29 years old and still can't stand CNN, C-SPAN, and all the talking heads blowing hot air either lambasting political leaders or being engaged in a circle jerk. This is my good faith attempt to breakdown the election and the candidates and the implications of the upcoming election(which aren't good either way). Without further ado...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So it's election season, Obama will finally be moving on and a guaranteed new President will be ushering in a new era. Some are naturally excited about change happening, others are a bit pessimistic. Than you have the few, mainly the younger crowd, that doesn't give a damn either way and are too busy being glued to their phones on the all-important hunt for Pokemon monsters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">America is hurting right now. The financial crisis, the ever increasing gap between the rich and poor. The Middle class getting completely reamed by taxes while Corporations and the wealthy are spared by loopholes. We have cops across the nation killing black people left and right on camera and getting let off scot-free. We have Islamophobia getting out of hand because of ISIS and these other lunatic groups. Public shootings abundant. Racists are coming out of the woodwork like the civil rights movement of the 60's never happened. And because of a law that has passed, some folks are up in arms about this over all the more important issues:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So folks are wanting some serious change to happen on both sides of the political spectrum and believe that electing a new figurehead of the country will bring about radical change (lol). The primaries are behind us and it's been narrowed down to two candidates for the parties: Hillary Friggin' Clinton and Donald Friggin' Trump.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Seriously, These are Our Best Options?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Man, out of all the politicians that America keeps churning out, these were the "best" of the bunch. And folks wonder why the majority of young people don't bother voting or people start claiming that they are leaving the country after "so and so" is elected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Donald Trump</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I still think this is a joke being played on the world. I feel like Ashton Kutcher is going to announce that we've all been punked. I am begging for this just to be a big publicity stunt and that Trump is really just promoting a reboot of <i>The Apprentice. </i>But yes, Donald Trump beat out the other crummy Republican party candidates and may very well be our next president. It was funny for a little bit at the beginning seeing him sound like an idiot during the debates and parts of his campaign but now not so much. The guy who's most known for calling Rosie O'Donnell a "fat pig", his bright blond wig and perving on his daughters is potentially our next Commander In Chief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I shouldn't be surprised. I mean I was scratching my head when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That's a pro wrestling Hall of Fame people. An event that he has no business being in and he was INDUCTED. And here he is now being a part of another thing that he has no business being a part of as a legit candidate and because of a lot of low-life ignorant people showing up on election day, may be ELECTED.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Donald Trump is the epitome of a buffoon. He hardly talks about real issues and instead makes fun of the appearance of his opponents like a child. Not to mention the fact that he is prejudice as hell and his rallies are inciting the most bottom-feeding types of people to come out of the shadows and pledge their support of him. It's like his main supporters are made up entirely of YouTube commenters, the absolute scum of the earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now I don't necessarily think that him getting elected means that it's the end of the world. He's not the anti-Christ or anything but he will make for a pretty shi--y president and further make the USA the laughingstock of the world. The guy can't even take a Stone Cold Stunner correctly, and people expect him to run the country correctly? SMH.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can get used to seeing this on a loop, though.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Hillary Clinton</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the other hand we have a perpetual liar who will say anything to get herself elected. I honestly don't know what Hillary's obsession is with being President so badly. She's been trying forever to run and has failed and dropped out time and again. You would think this would be her biggest shot against a total rubbish candidate like Trump but she very likely could lose because there's a lot of stupid people in the country willing to vote for Donald. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I question her competency as well since apparently she doesn't know how email accounts work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hillary claims to be a woman of the people but her financial backers make her appear otherwise. As an article on Citypages entitled <i><a href="http://www.citypages.com/news/meet-the-mutants-a-presidential-guide-for-people-who-hate-politics-7806570" target="_blank">Meet the Mutants: A presidential guide for people who hate politics</a></i> hilariously stated, "Her biggest donors read like the starting lineup for the Apostles of Satan softball team, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley." In debates with Bernie Sanders, it was revealed she was paid $200,000 to give a speech to Goldman Sach execs. Sanders also busted her out on a lot of her BS but for some reason she still wound up winning the primaries because people feared Sanders actually, y'know, wanting true structural change to happen in the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The majority of people want these corporate entities and to be taxed fairly and stay out of politics and for those on Wall Street to be held accountable for their reckless behavior but if Hillary is being bank rolled by them, it's highly likely that she won't be doing a thing about that. I truly feel that instead of inciting true change, she's really just doing this for the glory of being the first woman to be president and to toot her own horn to Bill rather than using her executive powers to shake things up a bit. I wish there was a video of Hillary getting a stunner too, but I'll just settle for Linda McMahon subbing in for her. Stone Cold, will you please?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just as bad as Trump. (Hillary's New Campaign Slogan?)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There's some Hope At Least</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My boy Bernie Sanders is out of the running now but he could still be written in. There will be third party candidates as well I'm sure since no one wants there to only be two choices that are essentially two different flavors of sh*t sandwich. Either way, no matter if Trump or Clinton win, we'll be alright. The Presidency isn't a totalitarian dictatorship and has to deal with the all the checks and balances of government. (And by God if Trump wins, please government, check and balance, "the sh*t out of him")</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm sure many folks will consider not voting, I admittedly didn't vote in the last election in 2012 because I didn't really see a point. My stance has changed since then and I'll be voting once again and I urge a lot of the young, apathetic crowd to get into it as well. We can't have a bunch of old farts being the majority of those who turn out to vote. If more young people voted than almost certainly candidates would change entirely to fit our wants and needs and we'd have a voice on issues that concern us rather than some rich gray haired white guys. We would have the power to drastically shift the political landscape where the focus would be more on stuff we care about that is actually important and will bring about structural change to truly make the country great again, and not have it be a campaign slogan for Donald's inept behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll end with this quote that really sets things in a neat perspective by late author David Foster Wallace:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4339.David_Foster_Wallace" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">David Foster Wallace</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3122478" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Up, Simba!</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now to go wash this bad politics aftertaste out, blah. Peace everyone. </span>Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-74786112476030835892016-07-04T13:39:00.000-07:002016-07-04T14:15:10.166-07:00Back From Ramadan Hiatus <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hey everyone, your favorite PhilAsifer is back at it again to give you a quick update in regards to my absence. So I couldn't keep myself to a consistent writing schedule AGAIN, but this time I have a pretty valid number of excuses. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First off, Ramadan has kinda put a pause on my blogging. With it being a month of spiritual reflection and trying to devote more time to the Qur'an, PhilAsify 101 had to take a backseat. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Plus some of the topics I've wanted to touch on are political and worldly issues and I didn't want to get into that stuff during Ramadan.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secondly, I've been trying to focus more on my freelance career and establishing myself. The best way to do that is to put myself out there and find work and deliver top notch quality writing. That's not an easy task so I had to put my regular blog posts on the shelf that way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lastly, I have had other writing projects and developments that were more pressing. For example, I finished writing an E-book! The first I've ever written and it's one I will let you guys in on in the very near future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So there you have it. That's why I haven't written anything after promising to post weekly. Please forgive me. If you don't then you can just stick it up your...ah man---</span></div>
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I am fasting, I am fasting</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With it being the last day of Ramadan today, expect me to be back at it again next week with a new installment and regular weekly posts of new PhilAsify 101 content thereafter. Stay tuned and stay patient cause I'll be coming at ya next week with a doozy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ramadan Reflections 2016</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As for my reflections for this years Ramadan, it was a good month spiritual-wise but I feel I did not spend enough time with the Qur'an. I didn't hit my goal of reading the entire translation of the Quran with a juz a day, I didn't do enough tajweed reading, I didn't get to memorize a new surah that I had been doing consistently during Ramadan for years. I didn't participate in any taraweeh prayers (though they are sunnah and can be prayed at home)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's a lot more different now being the father of two really young kids and trying to really get your Qur'an studying on and doing extra prayer and meditation. My two little ones make it a bit difficult and I noticed that I have to be a bit more strategic and pick my spots when I can read a little or pray longer (when they were asleep mainly).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My children are both a tremendous blessing though and I find solace in the fact that God knows my intentions and he knows that I have responsibilities and rights my family has over me. Running to the masjid and confining myself there because "I GOTTA PRAY AND READ OK?" would be selfish and inconsiderate because I'd be making things difficult on my wife and I'd be neglecting my kids by this sort of self-righteous type of behavior.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So while it feels like this Ramadan is a wash because I didn't do the traditional things like taraweeh prayers, or doing a masjid retreat (ihtikaf), and the whole nine, I don't see it that way. In the past I would've felt guilty or beat up on myself but I'm in a better place now where I won't sweat it too much. It's not about the quantity though its a plus during this time of year. It's always has been about the quality. In Islam, quality always trumps quantity. I do believe I had some good quality prayers, duas and meditation time to really spiritually connect with God on a level I previously hadn't done before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Often times people use Ramadan to really up their rituals they've been neglecting and then unfortunately drop them as soon as the month is over. But the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH( did say that it's consistency on spiritual activities that God loves the most, no matter how small and minute they are. Consistency is the key and I hope that outside of Ramadan I continue to do those little consistent bits of good and not sweat that I'm not doing these big heavy rituals that most folks who take part in them do really to toot their own horn or do them blindly without really feeling or appreciating the significance behind an action. That's my take away for this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope everyone had a good Ramadan and I hope also that everyone has a great Eid! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Catch ya later.</span></div>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-32546206974925427172016-06-13T12:37:00.000-07:002016-06-13T16:42:46.531-07:00Another Muslim, Another Setback: The Orlando Mass Shooting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvAhzszPz-Tr-apCUfreys7GETjG5onS63_kYkXIji4CcSv9FhxD7pu8D7dEEZUcO3cuX0D3x45E13DqCe90nrIQ6oizbhS8OAowATDS0yUlhU2uWbU_dbuyOZ23yJOUc2i3jCQL_eak/s1600/doh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvAhzszPz-Tr-apCUfreys7GETjG5onS63_kYkXIji4CcSv9FhxD7pu8D7dEEZUcO3cuX0D3x45E13DqCe90nrIQ6oizbhS8OAowATDS0yUlhU2uWbU_dbuyOZ23yJOUc2i3jCQL_eak/s320/doh.jpg" width="272"></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Aaaagh! It's another friggin Muslim guy!" I blurted out to my wife while sitting on the couch scrolling the news sites to find out information early Sunday Morning about the Orlando Mass shooting. My family and I woke up and turned on the TV to news of a tragic shooting at a gay night club in Orlando where a whopping 50 people were killed and 53 were injured. Those were the headlines plastered across the screen of a scene where it showed men, bloody and injured being carried away from the club by friends. Others were traumatized, crying from the carnage they had just experienced. It was horrifying. All we could say while captivated by the coverage was, "Man he (the shooter) better not be Muslim."</span><br>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's what prompted the search on my phone and sure enough, the idiot was. And sure enough, I reacted like Homer Simpson would when he heard something horrible happened and is praying to himself "Don't be the boy, don't be the boy" and then when it's revealed that his son Bart Simpson caused the destruction, he reacts appropriately.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Tale of the Tape: Muhammad Ali (A Real Muslim) vs. Omar Mateen (A Fake Muslim)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>IN THIS CORNER!....a surefire resident of paradise, the greatest heavyweight CHAMPEEN in the world, of noble mind and fine Muslim character...Muhammad Ali!</i></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">America (and Muslims) were just coming off of mourning a loss of a great global hero. Muhammad Ali, boxer, entertainer and activist had passed away and the world weeped and paid tribute to the great man. At his funeral, many attended, celebrities and people who looked at Ali as a role model. Millions also watched the funeral at home. It was performed in the traditional Muslim way and notable Muslim scholars were there to eulogize Ali. It was a great look into what Islam was all about and who Ali was all about. Ali was an exemplary American Muslim and was the standard barer for how a Muslim should conduct himself in America while proudly being a follower of the Islamic faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Aaaand in this corner, he's surely hellbound, a conceited selfie taking prick, a homophobe and abusive intolerant jerk, he's a pathetic excuse of a Muslim, Omar "jackass" Mateen!</i></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now in contrast, we have this prick Omar Mateen who happens to have a Muslim sounding name (because the jerkoff certainly wasn't Muslim by action) who killed innocent men at a nightclub-- DURING RAMADAN no less--before getting killed in a gunfight with police and setting the Muslim community nationally and worldwide back even more. Muslims and Islam is being bashed left and right as extreme, as intolerant of others, as being barbaric, bloodthirsty and vengeful and critics of Islam are going, "I told you so" about us because of this act. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Frankly it pisses me off and it collectively pisses the entire Muslim ummah off when some a-hole like this does some dumb crap like this. Details and unconfirmed rumors surfaced that he did this to show his allegience to the terror group ISIS and ISIS also claimed responsibility. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The father of the shooter claimed that he had no terrorist affiliation and this wasn't motivated by any terror group but was merely a hate crime because his son was a homophobe who was ignited by seeing gay men kissing at a beach with his children and being offended by it. His ex-wife has come forward and has said he was violent, intolerant and abusive and he wasn't a devout Muslim. Whatever the facts are, this was totally uncalled for and the POS went off and did this unnecessary crap. In his mind he may have thought he was doing the world a favor, but all he did was make the religion that he erroneously followed look worse in the eyes of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Muslims are sick of apologizing for pieces of shit. We shouldn't have to. We have nothing to do with these kinds of people. Nothing about our beliefs says to go killing innocent people for no reason. And especially during the month of Ramadan where we're not supposed to even argue or cuss much less grab a damn assault rifle and take people out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's like notable scholar Khalid Yasin said best, Islam is like a corporation and Muslims are all employees. If a employee does something scandalous or against company policy, the corporation has every right to cease ties with that person and put a disclaimer that the employee acted on his own, does not represent our culture and our values. Omar Mateen is not from us. He's not a Muslim whether his name sounds like he is or whether he prayed salat the day before or fasted, he's not Muslim if he's doing shit like this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Islam is more than just rituals and clothes to wear and not eating pork. It's about character more than anything else and it's of character modeled off of someone with exemplary character, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Muhammad was tolerant of others, of non-Muslims. He did not get angry and advised people to control their anger, he dealt with people justly. He defended innocent men, women and children. Muslims are to model themselves after the noble characteristics of the Prophet. And the beloved Muhammad Ali who is adored by many for his character was only doing his best to emulate the characteristics of the man he <i>named himself after</i>, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What Omar Mateen did broke company code, it voided his effin' contract! He's terminated, he's finished, he's no longer an employee of the faith. The only thing we as Muslims are sorry for--and it was beyond our control-- is that we're sorry he ever filled out an application and it was accepted. Allah will sort his ass out in the next life. That's the way it should be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My heart goes out to the families of the slain and I'm glad to see Muslims in Orlando and nationwide stepping up and reaching out in solidarity and support. The Muslims now have to deal with more hatred and vilification and likely hate crimes against us because of this scumbag unfortunately. Being in an election year, this event probably got Donald Trump more voters. It's a damn shame. The whole thing is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We'll bounce back because like Muhammad Ali, we know where we stand and we live everyday making sure the people know where we stand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Winner by knockout, Muhammad Ali!</i></span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-14555833516672532622016-06-04T13:11:00.000-07:002016-06-04T13:12:40.390-07:00The World Loses A Legend: The Passing of Muhammad Ali<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1uX0sQqi4qKl1Ssgp3jNfaDCpQ4An10DR1oTNDW849zZnbgLBjGHzN_tY-KbdhhrthdTrKT4PXP93ViOWadY_CLSu8T_gt5G-qm_IMLVBUXarf0rmevCqN3RZ7mACBWhUHSccsgQ1ZE/s1600/muhammad+ali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1uX0sQqi4qKl1Ssgp3jNfaDCpQ4An10DR1oTNDW849zZnbgLBjGHzN_tY-KbdhhrthdTrKT4PXP93ViOWadY_CLSu8T_gt5G-qm_IMLVBUXarf0rmevCqN3RZ7mACBWhUHSccsgQ1ZE/s320/muhammad+ali.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cassius "Muhammad Ali" Clay passed away Friday at the age of 74. He was known as the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People's Champ and for good reason. He won the hearts of the public with his character. He was the fiery fast talker, charismatic and opinionated but could back up his wit and verbal jabs with legit lightning fast jabs in the ring. He's proclaimed as the greatest boxer in the history of this sport, but it was his personality and actions outside of the ring that made him the famous influential figure that the world will never forget.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Social media has had an overwhelming outpouring of messages, tweets, and tributes to the fighter. He was a universally loved athlete because of his intellect, his sense of humor and his bravado. In a day and age where the world looks so disapprovingly at Muslims and Islam in general, it's ironic that someone seen in such admirable light across various creeds, ethnicity and backgrounds for his life and body of work and his activism was a Muslim. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's so many quotables, so many soundbytes and memes that highlight his exceptional character that I can't do it enough justice packing it all in on this blog. What I can do is give my own personal tribute to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unfortunately, I missed Muhammad Ali in his prime when he was a star-attraction, a headliner and controversial hero. But thankfully, with the benefit of videography, a lot of his greatest moments were captured on camera. His interviews, his epic fights, his poetry, his humor was captured for us all to marvel at. He had documentary after documentary made about him and his life. He had a Hollywood biopic made about him. It was through these means that I came to appreciate just how great of a man he was and how proud I was to know that we shared the same faith and that made us brothers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This young scrawny kid from Alabama became one of the greatest figures in our lifetime by working hard, having his eyes set on a vision of greatness and busting his tail to go after it. Sure he was brash and confident and had a swagger about him, but he could back it up yet at the same time he was so down to earth unlike athletes these days who put themselves on a pedestal and look down upon commoners (Money Mayweather). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">His conversion to Islam ultimately humbled him and made him a lot more introspective. I'll never forget an excellent clip of him talking about Islam and his view on the purpose of life and death and the afterlife. What's amazing was that he was on a national stage, in front of tons of white folk, talking Islam in the friggin '70s to people who didn't have a clue about what the faith was all about, and he schooled them and they just were wowed by his commentary. Here it is below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />It wouldve been delightful for him to be able to be vocal and nimble in his old age, God knows he'd be a fiery spokesperson til his last breath for Islam, for Muslims and for the injustices in the world against African Americans and other minorities and railing against corruption in government like he did in his heyday. I wouldve loved to hear from him.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, just three years after his last fight of his phenomenal boxing career. It was sad to see that the man who become world famous for his quick footwork and loud mouth had those very gifts hampered by the disease, his movements slowing, his posture shaky and his voice practically taken away. . But even he had a humble sense of humor about things, as he stated in vintage Muhammad Ali fashion:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God gave me this illness to remind me that I'm not number one, he is.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The man forever known as the "greatest" was reminded of the phrase that Muslims all around the world, utter during every prayer, who ACTUALLY is the greatest: Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest). And Ali reponds with the most humbling quote summing up his reaction to the Parkinson's disease he was given. It's just out of this world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Muhammad Ali will be missed dearly and I pray that he is given the highest station in paradise and that one day I could meet him on the other side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">RIP Muhammad Ali</span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-80673941409144672402016-05-25T16:15:00.000-07:002016-05-29T12:22:50.112-07:00Why Getting Fired From My Job Was The Best Possible Thing That Could Happen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></i></span></i> <i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"It's just not working out."</span></i><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That was the reason I was given when I walked into the conference room where my Supervisor and the HR Manager sat and had me sign off my termination papers. Nothing else was stated between my boss. She got up and briskly walked out of the room. My reaction?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well...I didn't exactly say that but that's the vibe I gave. And as cool as a response as that is to getting canned, that wouldn't have been my reaction a year back. A year ago, I would've been floored by getting fired. I could see it now, my heart sinking, my voice cracking as I would pathetically beg them to reconsider. Anxiety would take the wheel and I'd be terrified with the outlook since there was no backup plan or steady income of any kind that I could fall back on. What would I tell my wife? How would I pay the bills and the rent? What are we going to do!?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nope. None of that happened. I was truly at peace with the decision. And it was the right decision. They were absolutely right in firing me. In fact, I shouldve probably been fired a month into working there, and I had worked there for four years! I brought absolutely no value to the position anymore because I checked out long ago. I was the definition of a slacker. In fact, I was actively using company time coming up with an exit strategy to get the hell out of there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I had a talk with my dad later that day informing him of my pink slip, he looked at me and laughed stating, "Usually people are sad and this is bad news. But here you are, you're so happy!" I was, I was effing beaming!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>"Formal Apology" to my Former Company</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And actually I want to apologize for robbing my former company of all the money they payed me to keep my half-assed working self on payroll. I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to do my job. In fact, from 9 to 6 I tried my best to AVOID doing my work because it was the antithesis of everything I was interested in and passionate about. I felt the work was beneath me and my millenial sense of entitlement resulted in me doing the least possible work as a sort of passive rebellion to the corporate world. The corporate politics, the asskissing, the pretending to like people and strike up conversations with people you can't stand. I wasn't having any of it. I didn't deserve to be there. What they needed was a robotic sweathog to lumber through all their crap, nod his head, not complain and be grateful that lunch is catered for free everyday and that there are free coke machines (aka the only true perks of the dang joint). That wasn't me. So yeah, I robbed them of company time, I used their internet to surf and avoid work, I took them to the cleaners with the laziest of work and for that I want to thank them for letting me slip under the radar for so long and providing me a steady yet crummy pay and I apologize for not earning a cent of it with my demeanor and approach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So yeah, sorry bruh. I hope the next file clerk who replaces me does better. I'm certain he won't because the whole system there is flawed and the place is a revolving door anyway, no one's going to stick around there for long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Why Staying at a Job you Hate will slowly Kill Who You Are</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's my main takeaway I learned from the whole experience working at this joint. That's what happened to me, I lost myself. I systematically broke down little by little until I didn't know who I was anymore when looking in the mirror. Looking back, it would've been best to just quit because nothing about the job, the company or the culture reflected my personality. The analogy I usually use to describe my stay there is,"Imagine William Shakespeare working at a Car License plate stamping factory." I'm pretty sure the day Shakespeare gets hired, is the same day he blows his brains out. I on the other hand gritted my teeth and chugged along for four years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A few months ago I took one of those <a href="http://16personalities.com/" target="_blank">free personality tests online</a>. You know, the one where you end up being defined by a bunch of letters. I remember taking them a long while back while I was still in high school and I didn't think too much of it then. This time around it blew my friggin' mind. So I'm an INFJ (Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging) and they described me as "an advocate". What was interesting was that what followed was a 9 page detailed report of my strengths and weaknesses, and how my personality type fares in romantic relationships, friendships and parenting. The report also touched on my personality types career paths and workplace habits. And by God, it was like reading a revelation. The report was as if my inner self wrote it and was reading it to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prime example is what it said about my personality type and how my personality meshes in the corporate world:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">INFJs are likely to find that most <b>corporate career paths are not designed for them</b>, but for those focused on status and material gain...many INFJs struggle to begin a career early on because they see ten wildly different paths forward, each with its own intrinsic rewards, alluring but also heartbreaking, because each means abandoning so much else. INFJs need to find meaning in their work, to know that they are helping and connecting with people. INFJs crave creativity too, the ability to use their insight to connect events and situations, effecting real change in others’ lives personally.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://cliparts.co/cliparts/pT7/dkb/pT7dkbLGc.png"></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://cliparts.co/cliparts/pT7/dkb/pT7dkbLGc.png">
</a></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These needs are hard to meet in a corporate structure, where INFJs will be forced to manage someone else’s policies alongside their own. As independents, sole proprietors in the parlance of business, INFJs are free to follow their hearts, applying their personal touch, creativity and altruism to everything they do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>INFJs often pursue expressive careers such as writing, elegant communicators that they are, and author many popular blogs, stories and screenplays</b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Well, well...</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Where INFJs fall flat is in work focusing on impersonal concerns, mundanity, </b>and high-profile conflict. Accounting and auditing, data analysis and <b>routine work will leave people with the INFJ personality type fidgety and unfulfilled, and they will simply wilt</b> under the scrutiny, criticism and pressure of courtroom prosecution and defense, corporate politics and cold-call sales...to be truly happy, they need to be able to exercise their insightfulness and independence, learn and grow alongside the people they are helping, and contribute to the well-being of humanity on a personal level.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wow. Reading it again even, WOW. Again it was like a revelation and an explanation of why I was being such a slacker, even when I was trying hard not to be and fall in line. I truly fell apart inside and out in that type of environment because it was in direct conflict with my personality type. I was disinterested and like it said above, I was fidgety and unfulfilled. This job confirmed that I have some sort of ADD because it was so hard to stay focused on shit I didn't want to do. And I did wilt under the culture of the daily 9 to 5 grind doing what I didn't want to do day in and day out and the unfulfillment and settling for mediocrity ate into my self-esteem, my self-confidence and just everything I held dear to myself, breaking me down and sending me to a dark place where I didn't recognize myself. I was dying inside and something needed to change.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The personality test was a catalyst towards my change of direction in life and it facilitated the change I needed to make to myself and made me embrace myself again and not settle for mediocrity. I returned back to writing, I started to pursue freelance writing as a possible career path, something I did not have the self-confidence to do before. I now see it as a viable option for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Granted, getting fired is not what I wanted. I ideally wanted to both find a solid direction and have a viable fallback to where I had no choice but to quit to pursue it. I didn't get that and in fact my job firing me kinda hit the fast forward button, but I still thank them for doing so! Getting fired was potentially the best thing that ever happened to me and here's why I think so:</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></b> <br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. <b>Getting fired lit a fire under me.</b></span></h3>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I got the news, I immediate texted my wife to inform her of what happened and I let her know that everything was going to be okay. A few months earlier, I started dipping my foot in freelance writing and I discovered something--I can make some serious dough doing it. It reignited the idea that my God-given talent to write and tell stories is my bread and butter and I haven't been utilizing it because I had been distracted and hampered by my fears and insecurities. Where one door closes, another opens and getting fired felt like getting released from prison and coming out to a whole new world of possibilities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. I got my family back</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Right now I'm working from home with my writing. (#hustlefromhome). Working at my corporate job, I was gone a total of 11 hours from home. Family is a important and critical thing that corporations frankly don't give a damn about, so it's the first to go in effort to increase their bottom line. On top of losing my mind, I was losing my family daily. When I came home I was so beat down mentally that I just wanted to crash when I got home. Freelancing has allowed me to be close to my wife and kids and work on being a better dad. It has given me a chance to give my wife more breaks so she could find herself and be more than just a mom looking after our kids. I can play with my son and still get work done and put money on the table. It's a beautiful thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. I realized my potential.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People usually (and erroneously) define themselves by their job. I'm more than a file clerk. I'm more than just a guy working a desk job doing busy work. There's so much more to me than that which wasn't seen in a corporation where you're expendable. As much as it seems like I'm mud slinging my job as the source of all my problems and depression, the main person that was holding me back was myself. It was just the environment that made me more of an enemy to myself and provided it with ample daily ammunition to lay into me. I was squandering talents and prime years where I was at, because I kept myself there and my negative inner voice gave me destructive self-talk that I couldn't do better than this. That I wasn't good enough. That I sucked. That I was a loser. And it's just not true. No more settling.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
4. It does get better </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As cliched as phrases like “Something bigger and better is out there waiting for you.” “These things happen for a reason.” “You’ll find something even more exciting.” are, it's actually true! During my stay at the corporation, I wondered often, "Why of all places, am I here?", "Why ain't I doing better than this?" I felt like God had hit Pause on my life. Now, I really see my 4 year stay at the corporation as a lesson from God that I needed to learn before I could move on to the next chapter of my life. In a lot of ways it was a painful lesson, but beneficial. A sort of way to get my stuff together internally before God could hit Play. In the Qur'an it says,</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Truly, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. (Qur'an 13:11)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Things weren't changing inside of me so I was stuck on pause, stuck in the rat race at a soul-sucking dead end, go-nowhere job. Once I woke the hell up and started working actively on internal change, battling my negative inner voices and not settling anymore on mediocrity did things finally get moving again. And I'm so glad it did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you crummy corporation who shall not be named, thank you my Supervisor who finally gave me the axe and thank you God, for the life lessons that I have learned and will continue to learn.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sbk4HMPQr5SznYEMsQB4uSd4D2nfkRzTmueKYNUZuEdLbw_EFsf4NFY1FXyDWJtvqe2CRWt1PCfjAzTjPHGc0C4VkKBrPg2tWqDpgcRzNryeTkd-w8oUbrN_pSFRWelN0VJ5T8NMs0M/s1600/comeback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sbk4HMPQr5SznYEMsQB4uSd4D2nfkRzTmueKYNUZuEdLbw_EFsf4NFY1FXyDWJtvqe2CRWt1PCfjAzTjPHGc0C4VkKBrPg2tWqDpgcRzNryeTkd-w8oUbrN_pSFRWelN0VJ5T8NMs0M/s320/comeback.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**Door creaks open, all is heard are the faint sounds of footsteps. A light turns on...SURPRISE!**</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm Baaaack! Did ya miss me?</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hmm...well I anticipated this happening so it's all good. It's been a solid year since I've last updated PhilAsify101. In this fast moving, content-dependent world of YouTubers, vloggers and bloggers if you even get a hint of inconsistency, miss out on a weekly post, and don't give solid regular updates of SOMETHING, ANYTHING--you lose your audience. A whole year passes well, then it's rebuilding time. Surprisingly though it seemed I got a consistent readership of 100 or so views of my old posts, so that's encouraging.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That being said, I have made my return and hopefully by Allah's will, it will be for good. I hope to regularly deliver to you consistent, thought-provoking posts. And just as was the purpose of PhilAsify101 when I first launched it, I write mainly for myself to keep my fingers moving and actually be <i>A WRITER WHO WRITES, </i>whether I have an audience or not.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Where were you at, doe?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alright, TI, I knew you would ask what everyone else was thinking: where have I been in the past year? Well a lot has happened since then, some ups, A LOT of downs. I was going through a personal crisis and I really just couldn't write anymore. I had to do a lot of soul-searching, pause and look inside myself and see what character flaws are holding me back from my true potential and what things about my mindset and everyday life do I need to change about myself to ensure a better outlook upon life. I also realized that I have a tendency to get easily distracted with things I have no business being distracted by and it effected my daily living and my relationships with loved ones. You really have to pull away and get away from obligations like a blog to make time to fix that kinda crap up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When it comes to accomplishments, I was in a slump but managed to complete personally writing my first feature-length Hollywood-ready screenplay, which I'm very proud of. I'm hoping to work on a few more projects before really starting to pursue the next step of getting those screenplays looked at by the right people and establishing my dream of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter. That takes discipline and setting aside time to write and I'm hoping to do that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A big ground breaking change in my life is that I GOT FIRED from my job! So of course being unemployed is going to give me ample time to write. Don't feel sorry for me though, I'm all smiles! I will touch on that more in my next blog post coming soon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So rest easy everyone--all 12 of you--PhilAsify101 is back to deliver to you more thoughts, opinions, inspirations and reflections from this point forward.</span><br />
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<br />Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-73385466543015550472015-02-27T09:01:00.000-08:002015-02-27T11:12:49.562-08:00Keepin' the Love Alive: My Tips for Re-igniting Your Marriage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIVHsWH4WcEmUpFevEytWu7syhtXLn543zLqFyJJ_4Br5TJotNO3fw74QTP5p7Hj20Zfl_5njB3l2L85G3eVI8Vpn-8pRb_aLZEJQ4v1CVnjDRIvLEnDdNJepB6uie80drq3PS0rIkpM/s1600/reignite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIVHsWH4WcEmUpFevEytWu7syhtXLn543zLqFyJJ_4Br5TJotNO3fw74QTP5p7Hj20Zfl_5njB3l2L85G3eVI8Vpn-8pRb_aLZEJQ4v1CVnjDRIvLEnDdNJepB6uie80drq3PS0rIkpM/s1600/reignite.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alhamdulilah I've been married for 6 years to the woman I was crazy about since I was in High School. When I did marry her, I was met with resistance from family and friends saying that I was too young--I hadn't finished college yet, had barely any money, and was still living with my mom and dad--but I wasn't going to budge. I had found the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and didn't want to waste any time making it official.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marriages, I have learned, are not easy. (A collective "duh!" from everyone reading, I know.) A piece of advice I received recently is that marriage is a 24/7 Job. That is not a bad thing at all. It just means that it's something that always requires work and is always a work in progress. There is a deception that when you have finally snagged the person you're in love with, everything will be effortlessly perfect and easy; problems and arguments will be either small or non-existent. Every year things will get even better and perfect and lovey dovey until you leave this earth. There's theories where the only time you have real problems is if you married the "wrong" person.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fact is even if you're with the love of your life, things won't be all sunshine and rainbows. Just like you need constant maintainence and upkeep and progression as an individual, your relationship with your significant other needs to be worked on and evaluated all the time whether you've been together a couple of years or over a decade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Complacency is a real issue. I read about relationship complacency in articles and heard about it in movies and such and you would think, "Hey It'd never get like that with us, we're crazy about eachother!" But it can happen to ANYONE. Why? Because of life that's why. External forces can effect your relationship and at worst, can make you lose the spark or fire that you once had. Job problems, bills, having children, money issues, personal issues etc. can become such a distraction that you lose sight of your spouse. You get into a routine and get so used to it that you don't evaluate anymore. It just becomes normal. And if you describe your relationship as "normal", that's not necessarily a good thing even though it isn't bad either.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I look back on the quote/unquote "honeymoon" phase and how in the beginning when I first met my wife I was a hopeless romantic. Cute little gifts and presents and thoughtful things I'd do all the time whether long-distance or up close. For a long while that ended and I made excuses which had to do with money, with my time, with stressing about work, not being in the mood because the bills are due or I have to pay a parking ticket or something or the other. And I have learned that's the worst thing you can do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I read about couples who are in love and have children and raise them and work themselves to the bone raising their kids and doing it all for them until they're off to college and out of the house. The house is empty again and you're back with your spouse. Just the two of you and you dont KNOW THEM anymore. They're like a stranger and people divorce after the kids are out. That's tragic and it could've been prevented by fighting complacency and viewing your marriage as something that is ALWAYS going to need attention, a tune-up, evaluation. You can't sit idly by and be satisfied. You should always strive for better. The only way to do that is to honestly communicate with your spouse, put aside your feelings and insecurities and TALK. Constantly. You have to recharge the batteries and re-light that spark from time to time cause it'll die out without even knowing it if you're not too careful. Regular maintenance is vital and here are just a few of my own personal tips on how keep things fresh:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1. Play</b> - my wife and I are goofballs and our senses of humor are what brought us together and had kept us in love and striving through good times and hard times. It's important to play, joke and laugh with your loved one even in the middle of all the serious things like child doctor's appointments, figuring out the budget, paying the bills and maintaining the household. Life would just be boring if we were just dealing with the serious stuff all the time and the relationship can suffer if playing arou</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">nd is looked down upon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2. Get away from it all</b>- My wife and I have a toddler and he needs a lot of attention and for some time we were afraid of leaving him alone with anyone and just having time together. It's vital ESPECIALLY when you have children, to have dates like when you were younger before kiddos came into your life. It could be as simple as dropping the kid off with your folks and walking to the park to going back home and just watching Netflix together to going out for dinner and catch a flick at the theater to even taking a mini-vacation where you can spend some quality time. Just getting away from the responsibilities and the stresses of everyday life will do wonders for keeping the spark alive and the fire burning bright.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3. Mix it up </b>- You just can't do the same old same old all the time. And that's been a problem with me at times. Being indecisive, afraid of trying new things or even trying new restaurants to eat because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed and waste my money with something that might suck. If you over think things and become rigid, you'll keep things the same and the excitement will just be zapped out. We tend to forget that when we were younger we always loved to explore and try new experiences andd enjoyed the mystery of doing things that we haven't done before and don't know what to expect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4. Take pride in the little things </b>- It used to be the little things like a text or a note that would go a long way with my wife when we started out. Then once I got settled into the marriage and got too comfortable, I didn't think those little things were necessary. "Do you really EVEN want flowers?" I'd say to her. I didn't think the little things were worth it anymore. But my wife noticed it and it effected her that I stopped. Sometimes people worry about the big picture, some big expensive gift or some huge romantic act when really a simple gesture of love is all thats needed to keep things flowing and keep the bond strong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No matter how much people try to hide it or deny it or act like things are fine, EVERY COUPLE struggles at some point with a stale relationship. And the key is to recognize it and not be fine with it and be passive about it. You have to give it a kick, REGULARLY, to keep the passion going. Fixing that staleness doesn't require a lot of work, it just requires a mindset of always wanting to improve and advance the relationship and make it better than it was yesterday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's your little bit of romantic PhilAsify for the day, lovebirds, until next time. </span><br />
<br />Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-89543941041916514812015-02-12T10:59:00.000-08:002015-02-12T12:07:44.112-08:00PhilAsify the Love Guru?<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a terrible, terrible movie.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though I haven't blogged much during my hiatus from PhilAsify 101, I did keep up with the activity the blog had gotten over the 6 months I was inactive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was surprised to see that I would have on average 100 page views daily of people clicking on PhilAsify from all over the world. A modest amount sure, but for me it's pretty huge that at least 100 pairs of eyes read my blog or come across it everyday which is humbling to say the least cause I can't even get my close friends to even read a Facebook status I put up much less my blog. For strangers who don't know me to click on an article of mine they found interesting and check it out is really astonishing to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also despite not having new content up during the timespan, I noticed I would get comments for my different blogposts. Most of them would be comments on what I've learned has been my most popular blog post to date: <a href="http://philasify101.blogspot.com/2012/05/dating-in-islam-why-muslims-shouldnt_03.html">Dating In Islam: Why Muslims shouldn't date and really why you shouldn't either</a>. Which I guess shouldn't be surprising to me because if you go into google or any search enging and type "Dating" and "Islam" together, my article will likely be on the front page of results. I'm sure it's my top viewed article because the muslim youngster go ahead and search the topic using those keywords because they're just curious to have a perspective on the matter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's funny because the commenters would vary from hating the article and saying "Screw you! I can date whoever I want!" to loving the article and agreeing with it totally, TO asking me for advice on what to do with a member of the opposite sex like I'm some type of Muslim Dr.Phil love guru! Like I really get tripped out that they are wanting my advice on a girl or guy they like or on getting married or whatever. I just give them the best advice I can from a Muslim prospective but I tell them that I'm not a scholar by any means and am faaaar from it. It has been interesting responding to the comments to say the least.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do want to stress though: I'm not some Muslim know-it-all. I'm not a scholar. I haven't taken any Islamic studies courses or have a degree in the subject. I'm just your average Muslim joe who loves to write and likes to write about things that are relevant to what's happening today and am given my personal opinion and commentary on the subjects I choose to discuss. I don't have all the answers and I make mistakes. So if you want to know what Islam says about a topic, go to an Imam or a scholar, not me! But if you just want blunt advice from a blogger who's a stranger in your life, then I'll just give you my thoughts, take it or leave it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope that clears everything up.</span><br />
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-33944728692481945682015-02-11T14:32:00.001-08:002015-02-11T15:43:18.105-08:00My Thoughts on the Chapel Hill Tragedy: Islamophobia Rears Its Ugly Head<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Internet was going nuts today after tragic news broke of three young Muslim students who were gunned down by a older white man over what the news glossed over as a "parking dispute". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can read the full story at the link below. LINK: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-three-young-muslims-gunned-down-in-north-carolina-at-their-family-home-10037734.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-three-young-muslims-gunned-down-in-north-carolina-at-their-family-home-10037734.html</a></span><br />
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Police say a dispute over a parking space spurred the murder Tuesday of three North Carolina college students, but the Muslim father of two of the victims insisted Wednesday that his daughters' neighbor and alleged killer had menaced them before and was driven by hate.<br />
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Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after turning himself in to police in Chapel Hill overnight. Although a Facebook page in Hicks' name that described him as a supporter of “Atheists for Equality” and blasted “radical Christians and radical Muslims" for causing strife in the world prompted rampant suspicion the crime was motivated by hate, police said Wednesday it was about a parking space at the condominium complex where the murders took place.<br />
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Those killed were Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Raleigh, N.C. resident Razan Abu-Salha, Chapel Hill Police said in a statement.<br />
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“It was execution-style, a bullet in every head,” the women’s father, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, a psychiatrist, told the <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/11/4547742_chapel-hill-police-arrest-man.html?rh=1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s linear; box-sizing: border-box; color: #183a52; transition: color 0.2s linear;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Raleigh News-Observer</b></a>. <br />
“This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime. This man had picked on my daughter and her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt. And they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.”<br />
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Abu-Salha said his daughter, who lived next door to Hicks, wore a Muslim head scarf and told her family a week ago that she had “a hateful neighbor.”<br />
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“'Honest to God, he hates us for what we are and how we look,’” the distraught father quoted his daughter as saying.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">May Allah have mercy on their souls and admit them to paradise as martyrs. The three not only were excellent students but they were humanitarians, working tirelessly to help those less fortunate both domestically and overseas. We lost some good ones, but I'm certain they'll be happy with where they end up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the most beautiful things about social media is that people have the power to bring things to the forefront when the media isn't giving it the proper coverage. Twitter and Facebook blew up sharing this piece to the point where the main outlets needed to give it the coverage it deserved. The trending hashtag for the story was #MuslimLivesMatter as people all around the internet gave their condolences for the victims and condemned the killer for his hateful act.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We hate to bring up this argument. Y'know, the "If it was the other way around" argument, but it consistently rings true. If a Muslim went ahead and blasted away three white people over a "parking dispute" we all know damn well that news outlets would spout "he's a radical Muslim nut who hates Infidels--that's what they're all about" and it'd be all we hear about from everywhere and terrorism would be the keyword, but this story was being swept under the rug because Muslims were the innocent victims. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Craig Hicks guy is a proud card-carrying atheist, but based on his Facebook profile, he was a militant atheist and hated Islam and Muslims especially and made it known. So for this incident to be over a "parking dispute" is pure bull. The father of one of the victims confirms he hated and harrassed them and would be very abusive towards them. So if it did start out as a parking dispute, for Craig Hicks, it was an excuse for him to go get his gun and shoot some Muslims just for the sake of killing Muslims.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as is the case for gun-carriers who have a gun for protection or cause it's their Amurrican right, they just can't wait to use it for the first time FOR ANYTHING, even when its totally unneccessary. I know if I was a policeman and had a gun, part of me would be excited (yet also friggin terrified) when I'm finally in a situation that calls for me to pull it out the holster. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So one can only imagine the average joe who has a gun in their house or carries one but has never had to use it; the thought of "I wonder when I'm gonna finally have to pull this out" lingers. More often than not bad guys aren't killed over it, innocent teens with skittles in their pockets are killed for looking too ghetto or those pesky Muslim college students get blown away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm smart enough to know that not all atheist white folks think like this so I'm not going to demand Caucasian atheists to condemn the actions of "one of their own". It should go both ways though especially with all the headache Muslims get with the "You need to condemn *insert bad crap that went down involving a brown guy*". When an ISIS member or Al-Qaeda kook does something stupid and kills somebody, we're supposed to apologize for that bastard? Get outta here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Islamophobia is definitely to blame for this incident and similar ones like it because these anti-Muslim groups influence the media to scare the hell out of the general public over what Islam's about when they really have no idea what the religion stands for. The majority of people don't think critically enough to go read for themselves and eat up whatever the machine feeds them. So these scare tactics are just creating folks that are afraid and hate Muslims blindly and when they see one, they put their dukes up or in this case, draw their weapons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another takeaway of this story for Muslims living in the US is to BE CAREFUL. Because of Islamophobia, people are on edge and the unreasonable idiots like Craig Hicks may jump at the opportunity to let their true feelings be known. Craig Hicks is like a YouTube commenter in real life: a vile, unrelenting, hate-filled moron. You think you'd never meet one of those guys in real life because they stay in their basement all day commenting but occassionally those idiots go outside and if they are really ballsy they'll do something like what Craig Hicks did. We have to be careful and keep our heads on a swivel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My heart goes out to the victims and their families and hopefully this man is brought to justice. Let's stop the hate and educate ourselves and get along. #MuslimLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter.</span><br />
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-15905617354285120732015-02-05T08:42:00.001-08:002015-02-05T08:42:37.818-08:00I'm Baaaack...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB_1A4B-CgShlFsrC3-u88hf1nCgelNXhxjK-Y8_fpP-hA7Six52RdaTT-OLapvFd3GSF93r7pi5dqa8dM1LMqthiy1ImRT-Bc4V4qOKdlmH6E3OvMSe8W30GiqYKuI7KjFuhyphenhyphen2eBboU/s1600/fined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB_1A4B-CgShlFsrC3-u88hf1nCgelNXhxjK-Y8_fpP-hA7Six52RdaTT-OLapvFd3GSF93r7pi5dqa8dM1LMqthiy1ImRT-Bc4V4qOKdlmH6E3OvMSe8W30GiqYKuI7KjFuhyphenhyphen2eBboU/s1600/fined.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back from an extended sabaatical once again is your favorite PhilAsifer. It's been six months since I've posted new content on PhilAsify and I can explain, if you'd just let me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My time away from writing was a mixture of several factors:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1) My job. I've been working longer hours lately to pay the bills and it's been eating away at my free time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2) Fatherhood. Being a dad is great and all but it's tough when you're a writer because you need peace and quiet and a block of time to get cookin' and that usually isn't going down when there is a toddler amongst needing to be entertained and put to bed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3) I've just been in a general slump that I had to work on. I wasn't feeling productive. I wasn't managing my time. I felt I was stuck in this hamster wheel and getting nowhere. SO I needed to re-evaluate myself and my goals and start taking steps to get out of that debilliating rut I was in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't want to come back to churning out new blog posts until my mind was right. The whole point of PhilAsify 101 was to be an outlet for me to express myself creatively through my passion of writing and telling stories and sharing my observations and commentary on today. To take on such a task you have to be in the right frame of mind to do so. I wasn't, so I didn't write.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also while I was away, I was hard at work on a screenplay. Those who know me well, know it's my dream to write for Hollywood. But that's all it was. Just a dream. Dreams just stay in a persons head and don't translate to real life until you put in work. So that's what I did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I buckled down and started to take the necessary steps to make this dream a reality and long story short: I've completed the first draft of my first feature film. It still needs a lot of work but I can at least revel in that accomplishment because it's a big milestone for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I actually told myself that I wouldnt return to blogging until I finished the first draft. Now that I have knocked it out, here I am. I'm actually kicking myself because a lot has happened in the world while I was away that I could've given my two cents on. But let's not dwell on that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm back to give you your regular dose of PhilAsify. So stay tuned people because like Marshawn Lynch I'm coming at ya, and coming at ya hard (only to not be given the ball when I need it most to win the big one).</span><br />
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-67104125485966457162014-08-01T08:43:00.002-07:002021-05-21T12:16:22.399-07:00Ceasefire - A PoemNote: I actually wrote this poem about 5 years ago in my college poetry class. With all the continuing bloodshed and relentless violence and the fact that a ceasefire in Gaza only lasted 90 minutes, it's every bit as relevant now as it was then. #freepalestine<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Ceasefire</b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>by Asif Balouch</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Across my TV screen<br />
the evening news invites me <br />
to a world where smiles do not exist. <br />
Where all that lies is images of horror,<br />
devastation that knows no bounds.<br />
<st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place>,<br />
where blood flows more than water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sad story follows tragedy repeatedly<br />
in a torturous cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve seen enough <br />
and am not the only one<br />
that cries out for those liable<br />
to bring forth a ceasefire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To city halls we go and march,<br />
embassies and consulates.<br />
The demand of a resolution we sought<br />
an end to the conflict.<br />
Cardboard signs with words big and <br />
bold spell out our disapproval.<br />
A clear message to those in power:<br />"How much more lives must be lost<br />
before you’ve had your fill?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That would get you out of your passive state into actual
activity?<br />
Save some lives and save your souls,<br />
bring forth this ceasefire!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seemed the demands had been met,<br />
the ceasefire had finally come.<br />
Talks of peace now possible, rather <br />
than a pipedream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Short-lived, however,<br />
is what peace came to be<br />
as violence and bloodshed <br />
reappeared uninvited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Guns rattled,<br />
bombs blasted,<br />
bodies dropped,<br />
and families returned to being<br />
depleted of its members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Children now orphans and only Childs,<br />
while parents childless.<br />
All due to the triggers of transgressors,<br />
violators of the ceasefire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A dispute over real estate becomes<br />
a clash over faith and tradition.<br />
Those that follow their holy books,<br />
claim justification of their actions.<br />
Yet they overl</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ook the most important verses of their scriptures</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">a blind eye to God’s commandments,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
a deaf ear to the consequences.<br />
Religion is not even required as a guide,<br />
use your common sense!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At a young age we learn to share,<br />
to bond,<br />
to coexist,<br />
compromise and work out differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Skills that are supposed to be instilled,<br />
in the framework of human hearts and minds,<br />
now another casualty of this war.<br />
A call for resurrection,<br />
for those fallen tools of world peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For if they were to return,<br />
would there be a need to order a ceasefire?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-14215268871099583032014-04-17T13:22:00.002-07:002014-04-17T13:22:53.284-07:00RIP Ultimate Warrior (There goes my childhood)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A sad start to the month of April. One of my favorite childhood wrestling hero's has passed away. The Ultimate Warrior died at the age of 54 from heart failure while walking with his wife to his car at a hotel. This was just 24 hours after he was on Monday Night RAW for the first time in 18 years and more than 48 hours removed from being honored at the 2014 Hall of Fame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ultimate Warrior was my gateway drug into wrestling when I was a little tyke. My dad liked watching wrestling and I think when I was around 2 or 3 I got my first glimpse of wrestling either on a Saturday morning or Saturday night when my dad had just got home from work and was relaxing. Who was on the screen? The Ultimate Warrior. The long hair, the crazy promos, the colorful facepaint and tassles the big muscles I thought he was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Sure a lot of the times you didn't understand a word he was saying but the dude was a ball of energy running to the ring and that music was awesome!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">WWE did a tribute to him this past week and it is one of the most beautiful packages I've seen them make for anyone. When it gets to the part where they show his daughters, that's when I lose it, being a new father myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What's crazy is that his last address to the fans the night before his death was almost prophetic, like he <i>knew</i> he was going to die. I read that his family had a history of heart disease and his father even died at 57 from a heart attack. He had to have known from doctors that he didn't have much time left. So I'm guessing that's why he put behind his bitterness with his former employer, WWE, and accepted the Hall of Fame invite. He may have known his days were numbered but probably didn't think it'd be so soon as he had signed a multiyear deal as an ambassador for the company. My heart goes out to his beautiful daughters and his wife. Despite his criticisms, they lost a good man.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll miss you Warrior!</span>Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-53746989504359844522014-03-07T10:17:00.000-08:002014-03-08T09:11:28.656-08:00Charitable Viral Videos: Noble or Boastful?<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeRIx9vDlIT012oG8S_M_MiiX0xTSlKkpiLOSyEyOxVY1-TB4-tvnCdXyjuJ79aiYSm9sZiTxNgIyItgSKK4EVsZLRKC5nWFu2QDdCc4DEJzXHkU9gDgpCHAB1FBFvFmeYlhWiR3g-vY/s1600/bragging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeRIx9vDlIT012oG8S_M_MiiX0xTSlKkpiLOSyEyOxVY1-TB4-tvnCdXyjuJ79aiYSm9sZiTxNgIyItgSKK4EVsZLRKC5nWFu2QDdCc4DEJzXHkU9gDgpCHAB1FBFvFmeYlhWiR3g-vY/s1600/bragging.jpg" height="200" width="176" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">A trend that is starting to catch fire on the interwebs are viral video pranksters going off the beaten path and showing off their charitable side by recording a video of them either helping out the homeless with a makeover, some money, groceries etc. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;"><br /><br />Popular Youtubers like Vitalyzd, FouseyTube, MagicofRahat are just a few of those folks. Look at this recent video just released of MagicofRahat giving a homeless man a fake lottery ticket and following him to go cash his winnings.</span></div>
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The heartwarming video above I must admit brought tears to my eyes. These videos are usually very inspirational and emotional. It's no surprise videos like these go viral because it's not common for charitable acts to be seen up close and personal from a third person perspective.
The majority of folks appreciate the random acts of kindness but others expose a different side, one that is usually disliked or overlooked. I'm talking about comments such as these:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa22iXCvoE5ko5TW1rFoaQhLuud3MYd2Gec2xL6_ZRP1os1LV8u92cN2pJWCeigJxA75sStns0y8mYs_kzqg0D9kDcUPCamgV80RUBagl_xmWtGsdG8vSz1QgYV2Ki-QbY7_bRZB5ZsE/s1600/comment+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa22iXCvoE5ko5TW1rFoaQhLuud3MYd2Gec2xL6_ZRP1os1LV8u92cN2pJWCeigJxA75sStns0y8mYs_kzqg0D9kDcUPCamgV80RUBagl_xmWtGsdG8vSz1QgYV2Ki-QbY7_bRZB5ZsE/s1600/comment+2.JPG" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bN_596KPBX6JnFJrn9EHwtlC14Ri2ucmPJ6EkGa54MZMo_HSLkcVoMJcN3Yh0uokwcOGIRx5HnFXezHJ9THiZpoV6UNJEJHe_Din04mWEHOOqELLx_tS1zOz_nE4eHDatolslQTC7Sc/s1600/comment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bN_596KPBX6JnFJrn9EHwtlC14Ri2ucmPJ6EkGa54MZMo_HSLkcVoMJcN3Yh0uokwcOGIRx5HnFXezHJ9THiZpoV6UNJEJHe_Din04mWEHOOqELLx_tS1zOz_nE4eHDatolslQTC7Sc/s1600/comment.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emotional porn? That's a new one.</td></tr>
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While I do respect and appreciate the ultra-kind gesture that MagicofRahat and others like him did, detractors do raise a valid point and it is the reason why openly giving charity is kind of a slippery slope. You try to do something nice but when you publicize it, you're bound to get responses such as this and accusations of being a hypocrite, self-righteous and exploitative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a tough situation to be in especially if your intentions are to inspire others, raise awareness or get people reach into their pockets and give a little more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't think MagicofRahat or those like him are trying to say "Look at me, I'm a good person!". And as for those who say they are benefiting financially by having these videos go viral, while it may be true it's merely complimentary. They were getting PAID with their viral prank and comedy videos long before releasing videos of their noble deeds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I feel they are merely giving back because if it wasn't for all the views and subscriptions and support people gave them, they probably wouldn't have the income and fame to put them in a position to give like they do in those videos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being charitable or doing any good deed does trigger a response in our brain which emits a warm satisfied feeling within us and for some people it can be a drug. They want people to know about their kind act and be recognized and put that dopamine-induced pleasure their brain gets into hyperdrive.
I know in the past when I have done something charitable and I feel all virtuous and whatnot, one of the first things part of me feels like doing is letting the world know. I feel like tooting my own horn and shouting "Look what I did, what have you done lately?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I learned real fast that not only does it make you come off like a jerk and a hypocrite, but it's a dangerous line to cross because you're pretty much removing any credit you were to receive by Allah because you're seeking praise of others. I'd much rather have Allah's reward than a "Cool story,bro!" from my peers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Situations like this really gives you a better understanding of the phrase that both the Qur'an and the Bible mention: giving charity in such a way that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing. It's much more respectable being the anonymous donor; the guy who swoops in, saves the day and just disappears into the night before anyone can ask for his name. It's why superheroes are superheroes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If Superman was a real person and started spouting off all the times he saved the world from utter destruction, stropped that schoolbus full of children from falling off a cliff and the countless other acts he's done, we'd all be calling him an A-hole. If Spiderman took every opportunity to show folks a highlight reel of all the cool heroic crap he's done over the years, we'd all be throwing tomatoes at him (though he'd successfully dodge them all and wrap us up in his websling).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSTlG63pXNSuOxRiKdhRAJLhcwi7KN3j-IIl7ePs83tD37jmnPZx5M6Ay6iAHE2xMzWOcdg1EqGeck3kQlo_5fOkwlt5gROkQFa2PMb26arVkJRpbqihWhbFVK3oZBmgBzOd-yQ5jtKU/s1600/97972578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSTlG63pXNSuOxRiKdhRAJLhcwi7KN3j-IIl7ePs83tD37jmnPZx5M6Ay6iAHE2xMzWOcdg1EqGeck3kQlo_5fOkwlt5gROkQFa2PMb26arVkJRpbqihWhbFVK3oZBmgBzOd-yQ5jtKU/s1600/97972578.jpg" height="305" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever, dude.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The best way I can conclude are with reminders given from the Qur'an:
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you give charity openly, that is good. But if you keep it secret, and give it to the needy in private, that is better for you. It will atone for some of your misdeeds. God is cognizant of what you do. (2:271).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">O you who believe! Do not cancel out your charitable deeds by reminding others of your generosity...like him who spends his wealth to be seen by the people (2:264)</span></blockquote>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-44706538525253793242014-02-24T09:03:00.000-08:002015-01-09T07:54:06.130-08:00Jinn Official Trailer Breakdown: Trenchcoats, Swords and CGI equals Jinn movie?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_6i9aTxbmCVJ42dbRGG4t1dvt1OBnrebQVriGkAtX1nCsZpajcm10nvc0Qw1D32GpEGWa46XzXMWUTCYjm5BMVI7VfsOokkMGnFYcbHe3PKgom0pOVk2lM8B6TbM5II9uhMn_tTuihg/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_6i9aTxbmCVJ42dbRGG4t1dvt1OBnrebQVriGkAtX1nCsZpajcm10nvc0Qw1D32GpEGWa46XzXMWUTCYjm5BMVI7VfsOokkMGnFYcbHe3PKgom0pOVk2lM8B6TbM5II9uhMn_tTuihg/s1600/Capture.JPG" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That about covers it...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week, Exxodus Pictures released the brand new trailer for the much-delayed </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">movie</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jinn. </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The film--which had been in developmental purgatory for nearly 4 years (originally supposed to be released in 2011)--finally has a set date for release on April 4th, 2014.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I expressed my thoughts on the initial teaser trailer <a href="http://philasify101.blogspot.com/2012/09/jinnhorrormovie.html">over a year ago</a> and said from the looks of it, the movie is not going to stay accurate to the Islamic teachings of Jinn but instead veer off into the typical "fantasy monster" movie genre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lo and behold the brand new trailer confirmed my suspicions. It's friggin' <i>Highlander </i>meets <i>Fast and The Furious</i> meets <i>Blade</i>. They are even marketing it as a supernatural thriller adventure? Ugh...</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fvc9ng70dvc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br />A few questions that have me scratching my head:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why the hell is a Catholic Priest the knowledgeable one about Jinn when material on the Jinn are exclusively Islamic based? <i>"They've been around for a long time and some of them want the world back." </i>says Father Smartypants.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why does the story make it seem like the Jinns are some ancient relic when more than a billion Muslims believe not only that they exist but have always been on Earth along with us?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Protagonists dealing with the Jinn are not Muslim but just your average white guys who are skilled in swordfighting, martial arts and wearing black trench coats. If you're going to go that route, you might as well call Wesley Snipes up.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The only Muslim in the story, at least going off the trailer, is a guy in a loony bin?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hero of the story is using a lightsaber sword to fight off these Jinn monsters? Don't tell me the main Jinn is going to reveal himself to be his father...</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another line in the trailer "<i>They come generation after generation looking for the prophecised one" </i>that will basically help them take back the Earth and rule over it. Huh? So the Jinn's main purpose is to go searching for the Anti-Christ or something? I thought they were supposed to whisper at us to go watch porn or skip our prayers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This movie has some type of Jinnmobile used to outrun Jinn. Why bother going through the trouble if you're not going to have it fully equipped with fold out autocannons of holy water and blasting Surah Al-Baqarah from the subwoofers? Be prepared, jack!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The end of the trailer has a ton of swordfighting with fiery lavamen that turn into the big smoky monster from <i>Lost </i>all ending in a funny final shot of the Protagonist yelling "<i>Aouzubillahi Minash Shaytan Irajeeem</i>!!" (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan) and charging towards a Jinn monster.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Seriously, what the eff are we watching here? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things get more messy when you read the synopsis of the film which the trailer doesn't really make clear at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Jinn" follows Shawn (Dominic Rains), an automotive designer whose new wife Jasmine (Serinda Swan) is mysteriously abducted after he receives a VHS tape containing a message from his father, who died in a fire decades earlier. Shawn's father warns his son of a curse afflicting his bloodline, which has us thinking that Shawn might be "the prophesied one" the Shayateen are after — and poor Jasmine might be what prompts him to go after them.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The story is all over the place and seems to not know whether it's a horror movie, a fantasy adventure flick like <i>Highlander</i> or <i>Underworld</i>, or a little bit of everything like the <i>Mummy </i>series.<br /><br />Muslim director Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, wrote and directed the movie. I don't know if this was his vision from the onset or if maybe to get producers to finance the flick he had to turn the story about Jinn into what it became because it would gain more mass appeal this way. Maybe the producers saw no money in a straight up accurate representation of Jinn, which I think would've been tons more interesting than the fictional Hollywooditized depiction of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I do have to commend Ahmad for actually succeeding in getting this movie produced and completed as it's extremely tough for a Muslim to break into the industry, much less make a movie. I also have to give big respects for him to make a movie about Jinn, the first of it's kind. I am going to reserve my judgment until I see the movie in theaters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />I was personally hoping for a mainstream Jinn movie to be more along the lines of a traditional horror based flick like the <i>Exorcist</i> or <i>Paranormal Activity </i>while staying true to the Islamic depiction of Jinn but I'll use this film as motivation to write my own screenplay which is in the works and is the reason why I haven't been updating my blog as much. Inshallah I will finish it soon and one day get it made. In the meantime, I'll grab some popcorn and check this out April 4th.</span></div>
Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2770038640809565363.post-73768058812384136222014-01-16T08:57:00.001-08:002014-01-16T09:00:06.115-08:00PhilAsify101 Year in Review and Looking Ahead<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66I4PRLAbqbPVQUuSIJl4D7WWM13VQRr3JabSjVMzAjTx3tUjcgKQoZPuK6iZ0iZM1G7hGuGgp9RLPk6C07V9uxZ0s5_vUpqggMgEY3Et-cU7Rjg_AYpmAQYHRdO5eaAHqz8we4i8Kt0/s1600/YouShouldBeWriting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66I4PRLAbqbPVQUuSIJl4D7WWM13VQRr3JabSjVMzAjTx3tUjcgKQoZPuK6iZ0iZM1G7hGuGgp9RLPk6C07V9uxZ0s5_vUpqggMgEY3Et-cU7Rjg_AYpmAQYHRdO5eaAHqz8we4i8Kt0/s1600/YouShouldBeWriting.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know guys, I know! Don't ya'll have movies to go make?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hey gang, it's your friendly neighborhood PhilAsifer again checking in (late, as usual) with the first post of the new year. In between work and being a daddy, I haven't had an ample amount of time to sit myself down and come up with some creative posts. It's really left a void in me because just a year ago I was rolling with content on a consistent basis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2013 was quite a ride. It will mostly be remembered as the year that I made the final leap into adulthood by being a father, accompanied by gray hairs, aching joints and a receding hairline (yippee!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After coming home from a 9 hour grind, there's little time to devote to the writing room when theres more important things to deal with like giving my wife a break from spending all day with sonny boy. I love spending my nights with the little dude but at the same time I do miss that free time to buckle down and move my fingers--which more often than not wasn't devoted to writing/typing but rather wasting hours on the Playstation. I've recognized the dire need in striking the right balance between doing dad stuff and getting back into a productive writing groove.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that's one of my main goals for 2014. Others include:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting back in pick-up basketball game shape. (That's about 30 pounds from now.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hitting the weights again. (I don't know how my aching wrists feel about that :s)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Start and FINISH a screenplay (Finally!) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Buy a new car (for the wifey)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Get back on the deen more by reading and memorizing more Qur'an, reading more in general.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kill some debts so I can get me a PS4! (Uh...for my son)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Continue churning out some exciting new blog posts for PhilAsify101!</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are your goals for this year?</span>Asifhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17763483447275044760noreply@blogger.com0