Marriage migration

What's going on???

What is it with everyone from the UK and the USA going over to areas in the east to get married? This last month or so, I’ve seen an unusually large number of people (especially the asian population) going abroad. Or has that always been the case and I’ve only just realised it now? Is there something going on that I don’t know about?!

Graduation Day!

I can’t believe that the day of my graduation turned out to be the hottest day of the year! The fact that I had to wear a huge black robe was not good, lol!

My horoscope for today..."Grab that crazy idea that's been simmering in the back of your mind, because today is a day when the impossible is possible! Whatever windfall of money, attention or credibility you receive right now will provide the tipping point and pave the way for success. It's in your best interest to get involved with other people. Reach out and put on your best networking personality. Ask the people in power a lot of questions, and get yourself noticed. Things are in motion. ".... Hmm, yea well I'll be waiting!

The start of the day was panic as usual at my house! Aisha is still in hospital and although she’s recovered well from her chest infection mashAllah, she wasn’t due to be discharged until Thursday which is tomorrow. Mum and Dad got up early to go and see Aisha in the morning, whilst Billy and I were at home. Just as I was about to step into the shower, Saeed Mamoo and Abdullah came and Bilal decided to stop getting ready and started playing with Abdullah instead.

I knew my parents would be late as usual so I got ready earlier as I had to go and get registered at uni and collect my gown etc. Picked up Dina on the way and of course her family were also still getting ready (I think lateness is a common asian thing!) Got to uni and found a parking space quite quickly, which was quite surprising (3 years at uni and everyday was a struggle trying to find a decent space to park… my final day at uni arrives and all of a sudden it’s stress free parking… a bit ironic really). Got our robes and hats sorted (got laughed at by shiraz as I was adjusting my robes and also met a lot of parents (not random people but the parents of my class friends such as of Dee, Indi, Hafiza and a few others). Met up with the rest of the class outside the hall, Maria, Dee and a couple of other people from different courses (Mukhtar with literally his whole family having a family portrait taken… such a classic moment! I can’t believe they all fitted into one portrait! Still gobsmacked about that!)

How weird is it to finally be a graduate! Most of us had worn suits today plus with our robes over the top, we were practically being baked! Make up was also not a comfortable thing to be wearing today, lol! We then had to walk (very carefully seen as most of us had heels on… over the cobbled path) to the opposite end of the campus to the hall where the ceremony was being held. Had a bit of panic because the students had to go and be seated before the guests and my parents and little brother still hadn’t arrived and I couldn’t go until I showed them their seats. Dina also in similar panic. Finally my family arrived and I went and sat down in my seat next to Liz (Elizabeth), soon accepted the fact that the air conditioning was soo not working and also managed to panic a little when we then realised that we were up first as alphabetically our names were at the top of the list. Had a bit of a giggle when we saw our lecturers enter the hall in their ceremonial robes… especially Dr Harrington who looked um… err… different, lol! At 1.45pm in the Great Hall, the ceremony soon got started, apologises were made for no air conditioning (lol), speeches were made, apologises from Mr Imran Khan, as he was attending a cricket match in Headingly. Honestly some people! Actually I'm not that bothered to be honest as I got to meet him earlier on, lol.

Besides the man who gave me my degree was the vice chancellor Chris Taylor and I’m glad it was him, as he’s an extremely nice man and even managed to share a joke with me when I was up on stage (I was a bit nervous, but did manage to mumble something funny/sarcastic back in reply, which did make him chuckle… But I can’t for the life in me remember what he or I said … poor memory considering it was less that 24 hours ago!) So pleased that I managed to make it off the stage without falling over and smiled at my parents as I made my way back to my seat. Relaxed after that and clapped and cheered for everyone else as they came and went. I just realised that the second ceremony that took place after ours had a honorary graduate called Mr John Player… I saw him on my way out (you know that feeling when your a bit slow on the uptake?) and realised that it was my high school headteacher from the Grange Technology College. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him but I just thought how weird is it that he received his award on the same day as my degree?!

After the ceremony, mum and dad went and had something to drink seen as it was so hot! We decided to take the family portrait at a studio at a later date when Aisha comes out of hospital. Unfortunately mum and dad couldn’t stay for long as dad had to get to work and mum wanted to go back to the hospital to stay with Aisha. I wanted to stay for my group photo which was to take place at 3pm. After my family left, I spent the majority of my time drinking plenty of water to stop myself from passing out, seriously it was that hot! I spent my time catching up with lecturers and friends that I hadn’t seen for quite a while (and meeting their parents as well for the first time in 3 years… parents of my friends not the lecturers, lol!) A lot of posing going on for pictures today! Had a lot of fun (despite the sweltering heat!) and have plenty of pictures of the day, which will soon be uploaded onto my Flickr account.

It feels slightly weird that this group of people that I spent the majority of my day with for the past 3 years won’t be there from now on. I mean I know we will still take the time to keep in touch and meet up with each other every so often but it’s not the same as well basically living in each others pockets like we have done for the past 3 years! I’m just amazed at how quickly the time flies by, I mean it feels like yesterday that I just started uni and got used to being a uni student and the freedom and it’s all gone by in just the blink of an eye. I have truly loved every moment of it and have so many memories of my time at uni. I’ve done a lot of learning (I don’t just mean in my lectures) and all in all the experiences that I’ve had I feel have helped make me the person I am today. I intend to carry out some further study in the future inshAllah to further my career but even though I am sure I will enjoy that period of my life when the time comes, I know deep down that it won’t be same as those previous moments. I guess it’s true what they say about taking life each day at a time and enjoying and making the most of the it as best as you possibly can. I’ve included a poem that I got from Dee basically of the good times we’ve all had together.

As I sit here in class,

I observe my friends

And look forward to the year

Coming to an end.

It's gonna be sad

To say good- bye.

I'll miss everyone.

I know I will cry.

I remember the day

When I came back

To be with my friends

And get on the right track.

We had so many moments;

Some bad, most great.

I'll always remember the love

And erase the hate.

I don't wanna say good- bye

To all my friends

I don't want this year

To come to an end.

Some of the biomed group will be graduating this December either through personal choice or because of certain circumstances. So hopefully the rest of the girls and I will be joining them then, just like they came along today to celebrate the good times we’ve all had. University truly is a great experience and I would definitely recommend it everyone. I’ve some of the best times of my life during my years at uni and I hope there are many more to come, inshAllah!

Graduation Ball!

Date and time: Friday 16th June 2006, 7pm onwards.
Venue: The Victoria Hotel, Bradford
Occasion: The Biomedical Sciences Graduation Ball!

What a fantastic night and I’m so glad that we decided to go! So pleased that most of the biomed girls turned up, shame about the boys but then that’s their loss. A big thank you to Li and the rest of em' for all their hard work and help in organising the ball and a special thanks to one of my best friends Meera for accompanying me to the ball. I'm definitely gate crashing Meera, Mahria and Zahida’s ball next year as it's a shame that we couldn’t spend our final year together. Although I had a fab time with the rest of the girls, I did have some of those moments where I really missed their company at uni or just having thoughts like that they would have really enjoyed this moment! (Memory: Meera and I in the uni refectory with a pack of cards, lol! God it annoyed the hell out of Mahria!)

Anyway back to the ball, the hall was decorated so nicely and the lecturers were all really relaxed and having a good time! It was nice to see a few familiar faces such as Isabella who had taken a year out to go on a placement. The DJ was great, however the food wasn’t as great as we would have liked. The starter was a posh version of a pizza with goats cheese (urgh!), the main course was either the veggie option of a mushroom risotto (I’ve never actually seen grey food until that night :P) or the non-veg option of halal chicken with a potato thing (the sauce was so rich that I think we were all feeling a bit sick after, lol!) The desert was a chocolate tart (Dark not milk but hey chocolate is chocolate after all, lol). Not meaning to complain but it gives me new meaning to the GGM sketch of wanting the blandest thing on the menu! The food was the only thing that was not quite right but it didn’t spoil the night one bit.

After dinner, the DJ started to get more comfortable, lecturers started to relax… with rather large amounts of alcohol and EVERYONE got up to dance. I think we all had a bit of a giggle when Dr Brinkworth became a bit too inebriated at one stage and began doing some kind of chicken dance, lol! Bless Dr Thornton as she stood by him whilst he did his um...“dancing”! During the dances Marya decided to go up to Professor Tobin to see if he would take a picture with Meera and I, which embarrassed us both to no end. We look so sheepish in the picture! The night was followed by a lot of dancing students and drunken lecturers! Marya did however stop for a rest from dancing and as she put her scarf down on the table, she managed to burn it on the dinky little tea lights set in the middle of the table. I’ve never seen something burn so quickly! Marya was slightly hysterical but the girls managed to calm her down by um… well dancing a little more, lol! The PhD students also managed to set fire to their menu’s and so after that it was decided we should put out all the tea lights. Everyone had a great night, took loads of pictures and soon it was time to go home.

As we got off towards the cars, we saw some of the other biomed people outside. Apparently they had ditched the biomed ball for a party at the students union – shame on you! Anyway Dina and Iffat decided that they would stop off at the uni party to see what was going on whilst me and Meera stopped in the car. I think we might have been slightly overdressed for uni considering the number of looks we got. Finally Dina and Iffat decided to return and we all got home slightly late. Can’t wait till graduation day – hope it’s just as much fun! All in all a top night, from start to finish and a lot of pictures and memories to keep for ever! :)

A perfect quote from one of Dee’s emails…

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!"

…and we most certainly did. So perfect for our night out! :)

The Fallen

I was recently watching a rerun of a channel 4 documentary entitled “The Falling Man”. It was based on the September 11th attacks that took place in the USA in 2001. Although I wasn’t in the USA at the time or connected to anyone involved with the incident; I was actually quite surprised at how upset I got just by watching the documentary. Thoughts about all the people who had died and how their families must have felt at the time.

I had one of those flashback type moments to the day of the incident. September 11th, my 2nd week of life at sixth form… so excited and looking forward to fulfilling so many dreams and ambitions! I remember coming home early because I had a free period (Sorry…err study period) and switched on the TV to watch the lunchtime BBC news. I remember seeing scenes of the planes crashing into the tower and I initially thought that it was some scene from a movie that the public were probably so enraged by that it had made it onto the news. Then I realised that this was a reality and not some movie scene. I remembered the weeks after the incident… awkward to say the least. People were so much quieter and everyone watching and analysing each other, such an uncomfortable atmosphere. People just seemed so unsure of what to say or how to act around each other. Uncomfortable times for everyone in society and not just the followers of Islam. Even though certain things will never be the same again, communities were beginning to forget… well no not forget but forgive or something along those lines.

Unfortunately the London attacks that took place in July 2005 seemed to stir up the hatred and uneasiness again. Today is the anniversary of that unfortunate incident and seeing those same images on the news again was so sad. I can’t imagine how the families of those who died must feel everyday of their lives. Hopefully time will heal and things will begin to improve in the future, inshallah. It’s a shame that because of a few misled people in society, how they have created such unfortunate circumstances, how they have fallen. My love, thoughts and blessings to everyone out there.

Tell me what you want!

At the risk of sounding like I’m having a rant, I still decided to post this. This may sound a little arrogant but throughout my academic life I’ve done well in my exams (mashAllah) and maintained a good academic record. I try and do everything to the best of my ability. I get on well with people, whether as a team member or as the leader. I admit I am a bit of a perfectionist, perhaps bordering on being a bit obsessive at times, lol.

I think back to my first of year of uni and remember how I attended probably about 95% to 98% of all my lectures. I was so afraid I might miss something really important but I’m glad to say that this fear eventually died down in the following years. Over time, I developed my own style of learning that I was comfortable with as did my friends. In contrast, some of my year hardly ever turned up to lectures as they were busy enjoying what the student life had to offer. I guess everyone has their own way of learning and my point is that I’ve always tried to be the best that I can be and I know that there are many others like me.

Bearing that in mind, don’t you just hate when you give something your all and it still isn’t enough! I studied my arse off this work and just missed out on an A grade by a couple of percent! 2%! Now I know how that sounds but my god, I did everything that was expected of me and then some. I think I did more than was required as per usual, but this time I didn’t get the grade that I wanted. I went over and over it in my head and still couldn’t pinpoint where I could have improved! I know how arrogant this probably sounds, but honestly I’m not like that, lol. I’m not even sure why this got to me so much. I’ve calmed down since I received the mark, but I guess I just needed a place to vent so I don’t end up being all crazy about it, lol.

Right I’m done now :)