"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Monday, July 30, 2012

11 Things

Happy almost last day of the month!  Any of you watching the Olympics? I hope you are enjoying them. In my area, most schools start back in August.  That day will be here before we know it - wow!

Occasionally I still see these question thingies floating around blogs and enjoy doing them myself.  It's been awhile so when I saw this one on Wafa's blog, I decided to post one, too.

Eleven facts about me...

1.  I like Facebook too much.  It's where a lot of my friends and family live, it seems. That said, I could do without all the militant anti-and-pro stances (e.g. Chick-fil-A) some days.

2. I sometimes wish I lived in another country - or even another area in the United States - just to experience something different from what I'm used to.

3. That said, I like home.

4. I don't like loud neighbors. Or rather I like them, but don't appreciate their loudness.  I have one in mind in particular...

5.  I enjoy meeting people from other countries.  Shoot, I often enjoy meeting people from different parts of this country!  I remember back in high school how infatuated I was with the folks from the North who came here to live.  I recall we used to joke about accents and certain sayings (might could, reckon, over yonder, y'all) a lot.  One guy from Connecticut even called me a "redneck" one day!  :)

6.  I believe I'm a little strange because I don't feel the need to have children of my own to complete my life. I must be missing that gotta-have-a-child gene.

7.  I usually enjoy discussing politics and religion. I always hope to learn from the opinions and perspectives of others.  I hope I have a teachable spirit.

8.  Was thinking the other day that this October marks five years since I met Samer, and my eyes were opened to a whole new way of looking at the world as I started to see things through his eyes.  In Muslim-calendar years, this present month of Ramadan marks five years since we met.  October 9, 2007 was during the last few days of Ramadan.

9.  Oddly since I met Samer, my tastes for books has changed drastically from almost entirely fiction to almost entirely non-fiction.  I really like fiction books still, but just find myself more and more reading the non-fiction variety. This is quite a huge switch for me!

10. I recently found a reservation receipt from when we went to Charleston, SC several years ago. It was addressed to me as "Suzzain." Now I'm wondering if this is really how I say my name.

11.  I always hoped to go back to Syria one day, and I hope that happens still. Unfortunately the country is in a civil war at this time.  That makes me really sad when I see stories or talk to friends about it.  When I was there, the country was so peaceful, and the people were very kind.  I remember they seemed to like Obama. He'd just been sworn in not long before we were there. Now I see how militant John McCain is about helping Syria and wonder at the irony.  If he were President, would the United States be more involved in helping the opposition? Or is McCain able to hold his more truculent stance because he is not the President.  If he were President, would he be as slow-to-get-involved as Obama has been. Just things I wonder sometimes ...

7 comments:

Wafa said...

glad you decided to do it :)

like you, I am drifting more into non-fiction books too and mostly in Arabic. It's like a new discoveries, I can not have enough of them.

As for discussions I am starting to shift away from religious topics, I guess I am changing a lot in that category. but love talking about politics and knowing more.

Thanks for sharing some of you with us, my dear :)

Niki said...

#2 - Me too! I often dream about living in another country to experience the beauty, the old architecture, a different culture, etc. If I could, I would choose New Zealand or somewhere in Europe (Italy, Austria, Ireland, Czech Republic, England.)

#4 - Our neighbors two doors down from us to the right recently moved. Thank God! The mom wasn't home much and her kids (mostly teenagers) ran wild. Heck, even when she was home. Many times I'd take the dogs outside around 2 or 3 AM and the kids and their friends would be walking the streets or sitting in their front yard. And they were loud. And it appears as if they've trashed that house. I feel sorry for the owners.

#9 - I've always read mostly fiction. I would read the occasional non-fiction book, but I've pretty much lost interest in them. I can't remember the last non-fiction book I read. I prefer escaping reality when I read to reading about things I see on the news (or on FB ha!) or in real life all the time. :-)

Susanne said...

Wafa, yes,I keep finding new things I want to know about so it seems right now, non-fiction it is! I go to a bookstore and just sigh at all the books there are and things there are to learn! Thanks for posting this on your blog so I could do it as well. I've had it saved in Gmail drafts for a couple weeks now. :)


Niki, yes, fiction is a great escape for me, too. I think after meeting Samer, I got interested in learning more about Islam and Arabs and started reading non-fiction books. Since then I've read about Germany and WW II and just all sorts of topics - it seems there are always good books out there. I'm sure I'll go back to fiction soon enough - or one day. I learn much from them as well especially when the author has researched the country or historical period in which she writes. It's actually a fun way to learn about social events and history (a good fiction book, that is.)

Yes, I know your desire to live in another country. It would be rather neat to try it - just to see how we fit in and what takes our attention, huh?

Oh sorry you can relate to the loud neighbors thing. Well, ours isn't as bad as yours so I should be thankful! :)

Good hearing from you both. Thank you!

Niki said...

That's one of the things I love most about the Outlander books - Diana Gabaldon has clearly done a lot of research on the mid to late-1700s in Scotland, France and North Carolina. She can get really detailed in her descriptions of things (battles, objects, places, etc.) and many would probably find that "too much" or even boring, but I love it. :-)

jaraad said...

I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully, the situation in Syria will return to normal soon. And when you visit Syria I will give you my address in Jordan. I am sure you will like it as well. We have Petra, the Dead sea and many other beautiful places :)
p.s., I hope you move to wordpress I am not sure why blogger make it that difficult to comment.

Susanne said...

Jaraad,I'm sorry you had a hard time commenting, but I appreciate that you tried. I always enjoy your feedback!

Yes, I'd love to visit Jordan one day!!

Rebekka @ Becky's Kaleidoscope said...

Niki I just read the first Outlander book and really enjoyed it!

I'm getting more into non-fiction as well (although I still read mainly fiction, I just find it more relaxing for me).

#6, I was actually curious about that, but I was always taught not to ask because it might be a painful subject (infertility etc.) and if it is a personal choice, people don't have to justify themselves to you.