Mother’s day

Mother’s day, emotional day to say the least. But what really struck me was at how quickly my little brother, Bilal, has grown up and I didn’t even realise it! Past years have seen more of the family attention diverted to Aisha, but not once did Bilal ever act up. Instead my baby bro, accepted the situation and actually became a great help by always staying cheerful and helpful, mashAllah.

As Billy get older, he’s becoming so much more aware of the world and gets especially excited at family holidays and occasions. So Mother’s day was a big thing for him. I got mum my gift as usual but Bilal wanted to make breakfast by himself (bless!) had a go at vacuuming the house and even went to extent of cleaning his own room and seriously cleaning Bilal’s room is just.... YUCK!

So as well as Mother’s day being a special day for mum, it also made me realise what a sweet little boy Billy can be :) I may not share with him the same level of understanding that I had with my other sibling, but I hope one day that will change, despite the age gap. The relationship I had with my sister is irreplaceable but I look forward to the day, where the big sister-baby brother thing we have at the moment, will be replaced with a more understanding relationship between Bilal and I, inshAllah.

Technical Dinner

A big fancy dinner to mark the end of the Bio2work training programme; it was a fabulous night. Again we had to present our team ideas and findings but I’m finding that I’m beginning to gain more confidence each time I’m forced to present, which can only be a good thing! Good food, good company, pictures were taken, prizes were won and rather fittingly I received a plaque inscribed with the words “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” A firm believer in fate but slowly realising that to get ahead in this world, I need to make my own opportunities and be a bit more self confident; something which doesn’t come naturally to me. Here’s hoping that will change :)

In a way, I was glad that the training programme was coming to an end as it meant that I had successfully achieved my goal and I could move onto the next phase of my life. But at the same time I felt slightly sad as well as I would be leaving behind this new group of friends that I had made. It’s been a fun few months with a fun group of people (despite being scientists!) that have taken my mind off some of the not-so-happy events of the past year. I hope to keep in touch with all of them but realistically I know everyone drifts off along their own paths, which makes it harder to keep in touch with absolutely everyone. It got me thinking of all those people that I was close to at one point or another in my life, those that have drifted away over time and those that stayed by my side through thick and thin.

One feeling was recurrent as I relived all those memories; a feeling of delight. That I had met all those different people who I believe in some way or another all had a part to play in shaping me into the person I am today. Good or bad; I’m truly thankful for all those people who entered my life as I learnt something from each and every one of them, whether or not I realised it at the time is a different matter! Hmm... hindsight is such a wonderful thing isn’t it? :)

Lifts

Or elevators, whatever you what to call them. Designed to get you from one floor from the next without having to use the stairs. Perfect in rather tall buildings. However with this practicality comes an unseen set of rules and some embarrassing situations such as...

a) You’re the last person in the lift. Whilst everyone else is comfortably stood against the safety of the lift walls, you have to stand in the middle like some sort of social outcast.

b) You’re late for something and so you take the lift as it will be quicker and you won’t look a dishevelled mess when you arrive. So you enter the lift only to find that some fool has pressed the button for every floor thus it takes the lift twice as long to get to where you want to go.

c) Dodgy smells and sounds – you know what I mean!

d) The lift door opens to be confronted by someone making out/ having a domestic argument/ applying make-up/ getting dressed/ looks a bit demented. (Yep I’ve personally witnessed all the above) So do you get in or tactfully retreat and take the stairs?

e) Embarrassing ringtones! (mine went off whilst in a lift full of giggling school girls who then decided that I was their new best friend! lol) I won’t share with you what my ringtone was at the time :P

f) Your phone rings and it’s an important call do you...
i. Disconnect the phone call and risk upsetting the caller?
ii. Ignore the call and let everyone in the lift hear your ringtone (usually set at the highest volume) for the next minute or so?
iii. Take the call and let everyone in the lift listen in on your conversation?

g) You’re running for the lift and some kind soul holds the doors open for you. Naturally you feel obliged to run faster... only to get trapped between the closing doors (Ouch!) Now you have to stand with the very people that witnessed your crushing moment! Eek!

h) Similarly you see people running towards the lift so you either hold the doors open for them (and get exasperated sighs from the back of the lift) or let the doors close (and feel guilty for not helping the other person out).

i) My personal favourite... the lifts at uni have a female voice that informs us when the lift is overloaded (student are lazy!) and won’t move until someone steps out to reduce the load. Recently a friend of mine ran to the lift, barely making it in time only to be promptly informed by the lift lady that the lift was now overloaded. Never have I see my friend blush so much!

Feel free to add anymore, lol!