So I went running today.

It's part of this thing where i'm supposed to lose 2 inches in like, 12 days or something, which is ridiculous. Vaishu basically said, "will you pleeeease lose some weight? at least from your stomach?"

Damn, I didn't think I was that bad until she said that. I mean, I've gone upto a size 36 waist pair of pants before, with my lowest being 32 when I was anorexic. But I'm at a 34 right now and thought it was okay. Maybe it's a beer belly thing. Except I don't drink beer. Jack-and-coke is my thing anyway. And no Jack here.

Back to running- I expected myself to run for 5 minutes and pass out bc it's been so long. I actually ended up running for 10 and walking for another 5. Not too bad. Now the question is whether I'll lose those crucial two inches...hmmm..

*quick note- if anyone wants me to bring anything from india, email me

So yesterday I get a link from Arshy of a rather controversial picture that someone put up on a website. It's a girl who's wearing a hijab (a scarf), but the rest of her body is rather scantily covered. It looked like very suggestive lingerie or something.

Anyway, this was OUTRAGE! The whole point of the scarf is to signify modesty, respect to Allah, and so on. How dare this be exploited in such a manner?! Posters of the forum had opinions that ranged from 'nice.. i wanna meet her', to, 'the whole point of the hijab is to cover!'... and so on.

I happen to think that we're talking about the same issue that has been discussed for eons. Freedom of speech. You see, freedom of speech is a term that is so odd that it can be used to mean a broad number of things. I highly doubt that The Founding Fathers (of America) thought to themselves that freedom of speech should allow people to watch all different types of porn. But, here it is, and it's protected by the freedom of speech.

Then there's the religious aspect, and someone in the post had brought up that it's not the same as people who are definitely 'sinners' wearing crucifixes. But why not? We're not ultimately talking about 'coverage' as being the true issue here. We're talking about disrespecting the true essence of a religion and its core beliefs. One of the core beliefs of Islam is that women should be covered past a certain age. (Conservatives, that is.) And if that's a problem, it's the belief system that is being insulted. It should be just as heinous for Madonna having sex with a black Jesus in her music video Like A Prayer.

Ultimately, I think that this is it: There are always going to be those who do or say things that you don't like. If you don't like Eminem, don't listen to him. Don't like Jerry Falwell? Ignore him. Not too fond of JashdakjsdhAsd Adadadada? Turn a deaf ear. Regardless of whether one finds it offensive or not, it's another's perogative to do so.

out.

I'm heading back, ladies and germs. That's right, I'm going to be back in the US on December 30th. It feels like a relief and a sense of nervosa at the same time. It's not to say that I'm not excited to see everyone- no problem with that at all. It's just that when I've gone the last few times, near the end of one week, I was ready to bounce. Why? Because I started getting bored. It's like when you go through winter or summer break. At first it's awesome because there're no projects or papers or any annoying students around that you wanted to kill during the semester. It's just you and your old buddies and family. You sit back and watch TV, and whatever else entails that whole relaxation period.

And then.... you get antsy. We're all so brainwashed into the idea of needing to do something to qualify our worth that it just becomes difficult to think of doing...nothing... for three weeks at least. (There's even the possibility I'll be there for two whole months.) Here I've got a job, things to do, blah blah blah. I know that after a day that completely exhausts me at work, I did something. So yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. But I'm definitely looking forward to my family, Casper, and my internet connection. In that order...I think.

Peas.