When baes collide.

Right now there's just so many things going on with my life, with our country, with my friends, with everything. I wish I could just block everything for a day, just sleep or maybe stay watching the sun rise and then set again but life must go on. I was going to write a very deep dark post and then realized that's just not me, and I should not be letting the monsters under the bed get the worst of me so I'll tell you about something that I like to call when baes collide (like when world's collide but since I'm super obsessed with the word bae, I use that). 

When baes collide basically means that in pop culture/fiction or real life, when people I love talk about or mention other things/people I love. Basically one of my baes talking about another bae. 

I first noticed this when I was watching this one episode of Dr Who where the Doctor meets Shakespeare and he also references to Harry Potter in that episode and I felt so very anxious. Good anxious and honestly that feeling was really good. It was the kind of feeling you get when you taste that very first taste of an ice-cream right out the tub or lick the cone. Except it was like you were licking three ice cream cones at the same time and you have a brain freeze now. 

I like how it's not under my control because these things I can't control and I like that. It's also a surprise and I like finding out these things. Maybe it sounds super weird to you but I like it. I am a sucker for sentimental things like that, maybe that's my hamartia. Every time Hannah Brencher mentions Taylor Swift, or that time Bethany Mota danced to Shake it Off on Dancing With the Stars or Mindy Kaling and Emma Watson being on the same frame in that movie that I can't remmeber the name right now, I feel the same way. I love how we are all so connected and yet so far away with our thoughts. 

For now, I am happy knowing that there are so many great things with life and I thank Allah for blessing me with everything I have, and everything yet to come. I tell myself that everything is a test and that Allah never gives anyone more than they can handle and that this is a strength of how strong I am and I will take it as exactly that. 

September in a Nutshell

Okay, I know I say this all the time but September was seriously the busiest month so far and I loved it very much. I might actually be a workaholic. *screams*

Hung out with the kiddo. I really need to do it more often | Finally wrote to my pen pals after the longest time. I hope they reach safely | Since September was Hipster Sister's birthday, I helped mom to decorate this cake. To be honest, mom baked the cake and I decorated it with these chevron lines. It's way too pink for her liking but oh well | I also got the chance to visit H.Alif Dhidhoo on a seminar and has a very wonderful time there. It was excruciatingly hot | Hoodh delivered a nice session on project planning, man I'm proud of that dude. My session was on leadership and I was very nervous but Masha Allah I was able to have a very smooth and fun session | Baked biscuits with the family. These actually taste better than it looks, believe me | Celebrated Oony's birthday with the kids. It' very rare we get all the kids together these days so I make it a point to cherish all the moments we spend | Also celebrated the twins birthday, it almost seemed like we brought them home just yesterday | and as always, no month can ever be complete without some good tea. That teacup is my Eid gift to myself and I don't have tea as much as I like nowadays because I'm hardly home.

Overall, it was a busy month as usual. As I write this, the state of this country is becoming worse and everyday is a struggle for us and I pray that we see a better future ahead and remember my twitter friend Moyameehaa and hope that he will be returned to us safely.

How was your September? I hope your October is filled with great things and love. 

Letter from a Paper Person

This is a part review of the book Paper Towns by John Green. I love Mr Green, he is fantastic and I loved TFIOS so just putting it out there. 

image credits

Dear Margo Roth Spiegelman

You make me really sad. You make me furious and you make me hate my own kind. You are the ultimate manic pixie dream girl and while Mr Green says otherwise, this is one instance where I disagree with him because you see Margo, you think you are this very deep person who can uproot someone else's life, not talk to them ever and then one night like a dream, come to that person and go on a manic pixie adventure with them only to pull off the most extensively planned disappearing act ever. Margo, YOU are not the center of the world but you can never see that because you don't even want to get off your high horse and you see the rest of us as paper people, living in our paper towns and eating our pretty cornflakes while you go and shave off people's eyebrows and leave dead fish everywhere. 

I am not impressed. You dragged Quentin along this whole thing and didn't look back to see how he was doing. If you really care about Q, perhaps that was not the way to do it. You like to romanticize pain, which is okay to some extent. I do too, but Margo YOU do not exist just so you can get some guy out of his misery. YOU are a person who has people but you push them away and then run. You leave notes and clues and live off on your own which I actually really liked but the way you chose to do that was awful. You missing your graduation, classes and life so you can get away and live on an actual paper town is everything you tend to stand against. 

I tried to understand you Margo because I thought I could relate to you but in between road trips and missing a whole senior year, I liked Q's friends more. At least they have things they beleive in and when things don't go the way they want, they don't run away. They face their problems and don't drag their neighbors into a mess of a Nancy Drew debacle which you would call an adventure. Afterall, Q coming after you is the best thing to ever happen to Q right? Wrong. Q cares about people, especially you and that's his hamartia. His blinded love for you makes him weak but also strong but you have no right to drag him into your mess while you never ever involved him in your life before. 

If you really didn't care about being popular, when why did you always hang out with them and date the hot guy and basically treat everyone else as crap? If you so dearly love the metaphors and you want to have the deep understanding of life, why didn't you actually do anything to change yourself that way or change the people close to you? 

What a hypocrite you are Margo Roth Spiegelman and that's the lowest form of insult for you. One thing I'm glad is that Q realizing that you are not some precious thing nor a line of poetry and that you are just a girl, I would more put it as a selfish brat. 

Sincerely, 

One of the paper people you dislike so much.  

Also, this is the best sum of of the book I found by a Goodreads member, Lev." Guy wastes his senior year to find a girl who likes to sleep in random places" hahahaha. I'm sorry Mr G, but I kinda hated this book with burning passion. 

August in a Nutshell

Last month has been my busiest month yet, but I am probably jinxing it because I have a feeling this month I'm gonna wear myself out. If I was a phoenix, this would be the month I set on fire. *sigh* Between lunch meetings, way too many classes and drinks around town, I has a pretty eventful yet routinely month.

Lunch with Moonz featuring yummy pancakes, chocolate syrup and bananas. I really need to lunch more at home with friends | Watching way too much series including White Collar, Rules of Engagement, Desperate Houweviwes and more over desserts. My teeth has been complaining | Even through our busy month, we managed to leave a couple love letters around town. I wonder if anyone actually found them helpful | Also recieved one very pretty letter from my penpal but I haven't been able to send any yet. I really need to make my way into the post office | Learning Gallifreyan has been hard but very rewarding and really interesting | Lastly, we spent way too much time at Cafe Ier ice-creaming and Granini-ing. Also I bought a pretty new book which is keeping my teaching work very organized. 

Overall, August have been a rather nice month and I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends including going to see Guardians of the Galaxy which was really good. Also I got a lot of work done and am actually going to start something exciting soon and once it's started I shall blog a bit about it. 

I hope you had a great month. How was your August?

Dear Mr President

Note: You guys know that I don't really blog about the problems in our country (there are many, like other countries) or about political things but here's one thing I feel very strongly about and I think I need to say this out loud, I have been thinking about this for far too long.

Dear Mr President,

I like you, I do. As a person I think you are a a good-natured person and I respect you a lot because I was brought up to respect elders, especially the people who are leading the country. Your brother is again someone I dearly respect and love. I remember writing letters to him on his every birthday when I was young and it would make my day to get that thank you letter back from the presidents office. My childhood was rather happy and I also did not know about any of the problems or anything because children are children and they are innocent.

I can't even understand how much pressure you get from people far and near. Being the president must be hard. You are always trying to do the right thing but everything you do, you get picked on. You have always lived a public life and I can't imagine how it must have been. Let's not dwell on that. I just want you to know that I appreciate every good thing you do for this country.

Moving on, I met moyameehaa for the first time on twitter a couple years ago when the Maldivian twitter scene was first starting. Though I don't know him enough to call him a friend, we have been aquaintances through some twitter meet ups and others. His love for the Dhivehi language has always been an inspiration for me. I have known him to be a good hearted, kind soul who always tries to make people happy, by sharing jokes and just being himself. The last time I met him in person was this February during the Shinzou Con where he and Juxyn commented on my TARDIS outfit and we shared a joke or two. When I heard he was missing, I didn't actually realize what it meant. I mean, we see kidnappings and things in movies and in real life, it just don't add up. Somehow I always think that the police would find them before the episode ends, like in an episode of Criminal Minds but this episode is too long. It has been more than two weeks and this is a very small country.

Mr President, you hold on your shoulders, the responsibility of the population of Maldives and that is far too big for one person but alas you knew that when you applied for the post, you knew that when the majority of this country voted for you, you have known that growing up with your brother who carried that responsibility for thirty years. When there are so many problems going around, this missing human being might seem small but dear president, I have been taught that no person's problem is too small or too insignificant. The Doctor, in his many years of travel has not met a person who was not important. You, Moyameehaa and I, we are all the same. We are human, we are Muslims and we deserve everything this world has to offer to us. Please do everything in your power to help him, to return a son to his mother, an uncle to his nephews and nieces, a friend to his friends and a citizen to this country. I hope, I dearly hope that police is trying very hard, looking through every nook and cranny to give us some good news. We have not lost hope, at least I haven't. I'm still that same girl who writes letters on your birthdays and the same girl who believes that at the end of this episode, Rilwan will be found and all would be right with the world. It's not an easy thing being a dreamer when the rest of the country is so cynical and fighting with their brothers and sisters.

All I ask my dear president is to not let the people of this country down. Be the president this country deserves, be the kind of hero that the little children would happily write letters to, be the man those little boys will be inspired to grow up to be. If all fails, know that there is still one girl who trusted you, who believed in you when the rest of the world doubted you, who will stand by you through thick and thin not because you are the president, but because you are a human being and your deserve to have a cheerleader and I will always try to be that girl.

May Allah bless us with the truth and guide us in our journey to find Rilwan and also in everything we do to make this country better for the coming generations.

Sincerely,

Shaha

#coolstuff

I'm currently very very obsessed with Hindi things again. :| I always have been I guess, I mean I love most Bollywood stars before they became buff so. Anyways, here are what's on my radar this month. 

1. Charger Adventure by Aal

This guy is brilliant, and he is hilarious and on top of that he is a Maldivian. It's so nice to see young talent in the Youtube community. Make sure to watch his earlier videos as well. 

2. Nawaf's Crazy video

Obviously no list of mine will be complete without a video from Wuff. This one I can relate to so well and so probably can all of you. 

image from buzzfeed

3. Imaan's Article about K3G

For anyone who knows Bollywood, this movie is something you must have watched and Imaan from Buzzfeed (who is my new favourite columnist) sums it up so hilariously well. I was laughing so hard reading this at work the other day. Also check out her other hilarious reviews of B-town movies and other fun articles. 

4. Word Crimes by Weird Al

If you have not been living under a rock, you must have heard Al's comeback into his rightful position. This song especially is so well done. I love all of the parodies and this guy shows class and wit while doing what he does best, bravo. 

5. Balam Pichkari

I watched this movie only recently and have been obsessed about the soundtrack, especially this song. It reminds me of the good old 90's when I was completely in love with Bollywood. *sigh* 

What are you currently loving? Found anything cool? Share with me via twitter/mail. 

July in a Nutshell

Whoa, July has gone in a whim and now that Ramadan is over and everyone is trying to adjust into that post Ramadan routine, I am also trying to get some work done because I have been lazing off the last week and sleeping basically the entire time. *sigh*

July was Insha Allah a wonderful month. It was also pretty hectic and as much as I love Ramadan, hunger can really get to you, especially when you are running between work and classes and thinking of menu plans and all. Now that it's over, I'm pretty excited to plan for mid day snacks and lunch plans. 

I had some nice letters coming in from my pen pals and even sent some. Pen palling is really so nice, getting to know people across the globe feels amazing. Also, I really need to buy some post cards and get my Postcorssing cards sent. 

Dad bought a carrom board and I suck at it, seriously. Even Mick is a better carrom player than I am. It has however never stopped me from trying. Hopefully one day, I'll be as pro as I was when I was 13.

One of the highlights of July was DYM roadhaveelun which happened at Villigili neru which was pretty awesome. Great company, great food and an hour and half of taking about life and everything while we contemplated about how amazing everything is. I'm looking forward to next year's one. 

We also celebrated Naaif's (also known as Jin, pfft ) birthday by buying him a Naruto which he apparantly already owned *sigh* why are gift buying for guys so damn hard. 

and lastly, Eid was pretty nice. I love Eid prayers, the whole environment is just so mellow and beautiful and amazing. The whole vibe is so fetch. 

Apart from that, we had several game nights, learned a new game, made a couple new friends and basically had a rather nice time. Also, three new batches of fresh students (which kind of sounds like an ingredient for a stew, ouch) and lots of watching Cougar Town and reading new books.

I hope you all had a fantastic July and hope that August brings even new more exciting things your way. I'm looking forward to Mum's birthday and some new developments in my life. 

With Love

A snippet from a letter I wrote to the beloved Shaampots. I think this is good advice to myself and everyone.

image credits 

Don't ever let this world tell you that you are anything less because you are the wind and the bells of hope and every single struggle you overcome, you make it rain down like a desert that gets one day of water but enough to keep it going. Yes, there are many obstacles. Every road you turn, it might seem like a dead end and every step of the way might seem like a bend in the road but every every river you cross and every victory shows that you are sunshine, you are the clouds and when it rains, that little voice of when the droplet hits the ground is reason enough to keep going because you are braver than you think and you are kinder in every way. 

It's been 24 years and you've accomplished so much! Don't compare yourself to others because you are more than enough and your hard work and struggle is real and this world is cruel but don't let it harden you. Take it by the sleeves and wear it like a protective armour. If you let your inner insecurities burn down and wear a coat of ashes of all that others have said about you, it cannot make you weak because they were wrong. They have to be because you're still kicking an you are an inspiration. 

To this one girl who still thinks she can write inspiring letters but fail. She still thinks you're the bees knees! 

The Fault in Our Stars

A friend of mine (and then several friends, random people, readers, goodreads, etc) introduced me to The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS) so I had to read it and like a lot of people, I fell in love with the book, not slowly at first but gradually from beginning till end. I read it in one go, I was awake at night till I finished the book and yes I shed a tear or two. It was an emotional book. I was a bit late into the club so everybody pretty much had read it by then and we were obsessing over it and it was already in the movie production.

image credits

So when the trailers started coming out, I religiously checked on them, got the soundtrack, watched way too many fan videos, etc and basically just had really great vibes about everything. As a reader, you have the whole book in your head the way you want to be which is why I agree when John Green writes that books belong to readers. TFIOS was mine, I knew it. I knew the story in my head and I knew the lines enough to know when to laugh and when not to. Also as a reader you are never fully satisfied once a book becomes a movie. I have been having so high expectations only to have the movie be an experience of something that I don't even relate to in the book. But then again, as a movie watched I realize that all the inane details in the book cannot be summed up in a 2 1/2 hour screen time, it just can't and even if it did, it would still not be the same. The book reading is a different experience than watching the movie. It takes up so much of you, not just time but so much of your emotional space. Movies also do that, but in a rather different way so I'll stop comparing these two. 

Let's just say the movie was okay and I'm not saying this in a hyped up way that TFIOS fans overuse the word "okay". It was actually okay. Good okay. I liked how the story was brought together, it was sensible, it was emotional but it was also cheeky and lovable, just like how the story I had in my mind. This is not a cancer story it's a story about people who happen to be cancer patients and I like that the movie stuck to that. It was heartwarming. Maybe the trailer just put together all the best quotes and that's why the movie experience didn't add up to my utility. Maybe the people who were at the cinema with me was insensitive to moments when they should be silent or maybe I as a reader think that the moment should be a different way. 

I really liked the Amsterdam parts, it was sad, happy and yet brought in a way that you know they are Hazel and Gus and it was just beautiful and it made you hate Van Houten as a person and made you love understand Hazel so much more. As a fan of the book, I am so happy it got made into a movie because so many people who wouldn't read the book/are unable to/don't want to read the book now has the chance to experience the same story that I fell in love with and that is brilliant. Instead of making people apart, books and movies should bring people together and I think TFIOS did that in its own way. 

I am not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasures of saying true things so I will say this; this story is phenomenal and there will always be people who think it's pretentious (to be honest, it is a little bit) but it is beautiful and it shows the story of people with cancer in a very normal light an shows life through a very different pair of glasses. Whether you loved the movie or the book or both, I'm glad you did and if you hated it, again I'm glad you did because at the end of the day it's just a story and so are we. 

Rating: 3/5

Perks of dating Chuck Bass

Girls are girls, a lot of the times they cannot stop liking or falling for that rich guy with style no matter how much of a douchebag he is. Chuck is the douchebag-est of them all but we still flock by watching his every move, by-hearting all the details in his signature scarf and oozing over his vests, his smirk and the way he talks. Here is why dating him would just be amazing!

He is super duper stylish. This man is never underdressed. Even when he's underdressed he is way more overdressed than anybody you know. With him by your side, you know you'll make headlines just because he's pulling off that $2000 vest so well. 

He understands the importance of gifts. You know he would totally buy you that diamond necklace you have your heart set on and he makes up for his behavior by the lavish gifts he buys. This is the man who would buy you the dress of your dreams even when he knows you'll wear it to be someone else's queen. *swoon*

His smirk is almost as sexy as his smile. This man knows when to smile and when to say just what you need to hear and he does that with so much class you now have the whole male gender in two groups, one Chuck Bass, two everyone who is not Chuck Bass. 

He will always be there when you need him and when your friends need him. This is the man who understands that you make mistakes, that you are no saint but he will stand by you and he will tell you that you are you and that he's Chuck Bass and that he loves you and that's that. You can call him no matter what and he will solve all your problems.

  

He's a family man above all and he values people so much he loses but still he keeps going. We cannot resist a man who is sensitive. Chuck Bass has it all. 

When everything else is going wrong and when the world is against you, he'll wait for you near the bus stop with a dozen roses and you know that everything will be fine because

He's Chuck Bass. Nuff said. 

Would you date Chuck Bass? You know you would! 

The People Project

image from florianweiler, DeviantArt

People are not statistics. 

They are not the sum of the percentages that you give them. 

They are not the squares in your boxes and they are not the pictures in the frames you build out of words fabricated by your own insecurities. 

People are a vision of the things they don't show you. 

People are the truth that you don't want to admit because it would make your argument worthless.

People are the cracks on the sidewalk that you don't notice. If only you looked closer, you could see the little sprouts of new life among old cracks, just poking their head saying "I'm here, notice me!"

Most importantly, people are the total of what they do and don't; flaws and all and people need not be labelled but accepted as just what they are - people. 

Tea Party with Little Red Events

I have always wanted to host a tea party so a couple weeks ago, I decided to do just that. Nattu from The Little Red Events helped with everything of the event. The only thing I had to do was show up. It was seriously one of the best days and I invited three friends along to Hulhumale and we had a great time sipping tea, eating yummy things, getting photographed and having a great time!

How adorable is this invite? Love that it's on a doily. 

Also these cupcakes are just the most gorgeous. Love the little bow and details. 

My lovely ladies! Thank you so much for coming and making it a wonderful day. 

The pretty dessert table. All those little details just makes everything come out together and give it a garden vibe.

Uh I can't take the cuteness! That cookie jar was great, and the cookies were delicious!

And, the tea table! The table setting is to die for! Little tarts with out names? YES please! 

I mean look at that preciousness. Everything was so on-point it made me feel like a princess! 

The best part, getting to play hostess and pouring tea and enjoying it, what a delight. 

and of course, no tea part would be complete without the favours. I added some candles, a letter, cute things, tea bags and more to thank the girls for attending. 

Overall, it was so amazing. Thanks to Nattu and Naphoo from Little Red Events for everything. Official photography by Toby from Monkeygraphy. If you are looking for event planners, or wedding planners, I would highly recommend them. Great people, such lovely hospitality and amazing service. Check them out on Facebook! and if you want to buy the tins, cookie jar or lanterns, check Little Red Shop. 

How to Make Letter Sets

Ever since starting snail-mailing I've seen so many cute Instagram pictures of people with so pretty letter sets I get so jealous because it's very hard to find nice stationery items in Maldives so I was inspired by some photos to make my own stationery and it looked quite good plus it was so easy to make. Here's how to make your own stationery. 

What you'll need: letter paper (or any kind of light paper you want to write letter on), glitter foam, hard colour paper, double tape, scissors, glue (optional), hole puncher, washi tape of any theme you want. 

I wanted to have a theme of silver and blue so I chose things that would match with that theme.

Step 1: Take you letter paper and use washi-tape to decorate it however you want. I chose to so a bold design on top and to lightly put washi around the bottom.

Step 2 and 3: Cute a heart from the glitter foam and stick it on the top. This will give the letter more definition and make it look super cute. 

Step 4: If you want to decorate the other side too use the same washi tape to create even more designs. I didn't like this side as much as the front.

Step 5: I love making little tags that go along with the stationery. Cut little tags using your hard paper into tag shapes and use washi tape to decorate the front of the tags.

Step 6: Punch a hole in the tags and if you want you can even use ribbon to decorate and put through the hole but I left it just like that.

Step 7: This is optional but I also decorated the envelope to go with it. How cute is the envelope? AHH. 

It's so easy to make personalized stationery and if you can't find washi tape, you can instead use some pretty ribbon, or colour/patterned paper or use just about anything.

PS very sorry for the quality of the pictures. I'm still trying to use my phone and figuring out how to take good pictures plus Hipster Sister is my photographer and she says she has a shaky hand problem. 

I hope you enjoyed this. I have made some more stationery and I'm so excited to make even more! 

If the world had a mother like mine

Ramadan is coming and I'm very excited. The month of blessings, the month of iftars, family rituals and more. :) I love the feeling of it, everything seems so mellow and lovely and the days might seem a bit longer because of hunger but the nights are the best because there is great food, laughter and the air seems to be just a bit more "airy". 

It's been sometime eh. I have been keeping myself occupied with the usual things. Thutha was in town last week so we went shopping a lot and she took me out for food twice. Also, I got my very first pen pal letter from Indonesia which is filled with so much pretty. I sent a reply to her and sent some more letters this week. 

how cute is that wishbone necklace? I wear it all the time. 

Last Friday was my Hijri birthday (The day I was born according to Islamic calender. My family always celebrate it. I'm a mix between 22 and 23 :|) so Thutha took me out for waffles at Heaven's Treat and it was so good, really. We enjoyed every last bite and it was worth the hype and the price. We also shopped till we dropped, buying stationery and way too many body mists. 

this is chocloate waffle and it's divine. 

On Saturday, I met up with some old friends from high school days, Lulu and Ty and it was fun filled pancake eating, instagramming, nostalgia inducing talk of life and love and all things precious. These people fill my heart with so much happiness I feel like there's happy running in my veins. 

eventhough it looks good, I didn't like it that much. Maybe I'm too biased cos mum makes the most yummy pancakes.

I did a lot of crafting this week. Making personalized stationery is my new hobby. I'm not even close to being good but I think it looks really pretty. I haven't been leaving as much love letters around town, but I try. If you every have some free time, sit down and write someone new a letter. It's very medicinal and stress relieving. Food for the soul, if you will. 

I can't write like Hannah Brencher does but I hope my words can make someone happy. 

I have very exciting things lined up for the weekend. I really hope that I can finally free sometime and actually relax because I feel like I've been tiring myself with too many things. I need to take sometime to sharpen the saw. 

How was your week? I hope it's going well. 

Currently: June

This month's quite low on entertainment actually. I hardly find any time. My weekends have become busier than weekdays. Also, I've been pursuing other hobbies which makes less time for books, movies and TV shows. However, I try to watch a movie every now and then keep up with my reading list. Here's what's on my list this month. 

Glee S2 | I love Glee. Songs, dancing and really really weird things going on? count me interested. I started watching S2 all excited to find I still have to get a couple more episodes so it's on hiatus now. I do love the new songs they are coming up with, also Darren Criss! Man, I've loved that guy since AVPM days. He makes a great character and since Kurt is my favourite, I am totally a Blaine + Kurt shipper. 

The Secret Life of American Teenager S4 | Why am I still watching this? Probably for Ben. It's such a weird series, everybody's too hormonal and angry all the time and there's so much drama hahah also I hate Amy's character so much. I guess, I can't just stop watching it even though it's terrible. Oh well. 

The Vow | I started watching this movie the other day but I got busy and haven't gone back to it but I am looking forward to watching it on the weekend. Channing Tatum is nice, I do get the hype about him and ah Rach is perfection. They make such a cute couple. 

The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer | I'm in currently reading it. It's written in a very genuine way and so far, it's a bit slow and I haven't decided whether I like it or not. I've only read 10% of it. The main character is quite Interesting (haha) and the whole time period it's set in makes me rather giddy. 

The Longest Ride -  Nicholas Sparks | For someone who has the whole NS collections, I have become the worst of his fans. I like a lot of his books (well, the three I've read anyway) and I am definitely looking forward to reading this. I guess the only reason I haven't read the other books is because they are paperbacks and these days I only read e-books (gasp! I know, I have become that person) because I read while eating or waiting and I always have my kindle so. 

Somebody to You - The Vamps ft Demi | Love love love this song. I thought this song could not get any better but then Demi happened and that girl has a voice to swoon over. Its my current summer anthem and I always have in on repeat making me feel all happy and excited. The Vamps are my current favourite boyband. 

What is keeping you entertained this month?

Orgazing Tips: Mail

We live an era of technology and eventhough I live by snail mail, I still interact with people through good old e-mail and keeping my e-mails organized is very important because a cluttered mail box will usually distract me. I have three e-mails (work, personal and dym+other official things) and I use both gmail and outlook and I find both very easy to work with. Here are some tips on how to keep your mailbox organized

image credits

1. Use labels/categories

In my work mail, I have color coded all my mails accordingly. My categories include "new arrivals, customers, social media, current campaigns, finance" among others. Everything has a colour and it's really easy to search mails and everything looks pretty neat. Outlook software has the categorizing function and you can even categorize something twice or more if it falls into several categories. 

2. Use the flag button

Ah, what would I do without this button. I love that outlook will put all mails in a separate "task" folder when you flag it so you can easily access it and see what's due and when you are finished with that task, you can click the flag again and it'll appear as a completed task. This makes it so easy to keep all your to-dos in one place and keep track of things.

In gmail, I don't really use the flagging function (is there one?) so I just have a tab called To-do and move my mails there so I can easily access things to do and do them. 

3. Keeping inbox clean

I hate getting spam mail so I always delete any useless messages that I absolutely do not need. If there is a mail that is not work related but I might need it, I keep them the label "misc" so it stays organized. Since my gmail is used to create several of my other accounts on websites and things, lots of mails and updates that I don't need come there so I have created filters to make sure that all of them gets deleted and does not enter my inbox. You can easily create filters by clicking the filer button and following the instructions. You can also get rid of spam by filtering your e-mails every now and then. It's seriously worth spending some time doing that. 

4. Having a separate mail for social media accounts

I don't know about you but whenever there are new sites, I always want to check it out and register but I don't want updates of those sites on my work or dym mail, so I use a personal mail to do that so any updates, subscriptions or any other things like that will not go to more important mail boxes. This saves lots of time when you are going through mails and also helps you be more focused when doing work. If I got subscriptions and newsletters on my work e-mail, I would be inclined to spend more time checking them out rather than working so it's pretty cool. Also I can easily subscribe to my favourite blogs, newsletters and more using my personal mail and keep pen-pals and it is pretty convenient as well.

5. Using mail clients on you phone

This is seriously a life saver. I don't usually log onto my laptop unless I am at work so I can't check my mail that often but since getting a smart phone, I've installed both outlook and gmail (I still don't have my personal mail on my phone which I am trying to get but since both my work and personal is outlook, it's kind of hard and uh so many complications) and it seriously is so so easy. I can easily look up mails, do quick replies, get rid of junk and flag important mails on the go. 

6. Get rid of the "Sent from" signature line

Maybe it's just me but I seriously get bothered when I see that people don't change the default signature. I don't need to know where you sent me the mail from, whether it's your iPhone or microwave and I feel like it's a very weird thing to do. So, the very first thing I did after installing both mail clients, I removed the signature from the phone. 

7. Have a signature

I think it is very important to have a signature and while my work one has a set signature for everyone (which I think is pretty cool!) I used to have one for my DYM one which all DYM people ave but since I also use that mail for classes, I didn't want my students knowing about all the other aspects of my life, so now I just have my name and I'm thinking of getting rid of it too but always have a signature ready when you are mailing certain people (like clients) so they can easily reach you and it looks very profesh. 

So that's some tips and how I organize my mail. Do you have any more to add to this list?

Monday Playlist: Inspirations and love songs

I've seriously discovered so much new music the past few months it is insane. I try to keep it to two songs maximum per day because I don't want to overdo it. Here are some songs I'm loving at the moment. 

Can't Raise a Man - K Michelle

This song is very true. Once a man is grown, you really can't change him. K Michelle knows whats up. I really love her voice, it isn't sweet but it's got flavour and this is a fantastic song to just listen to in the morning because it can get your blood pumping right. 

Ain't It Fun - Paramore

Such a good song. Great beats, great message and absolutely adore the video. The lyrics are tough but in the real world everything is and this song sums up growing up and how cruel and hard life is. I haven't heard that many Paramore songs but the minute I heard this, I knew it was a keeper. Mick loves that line "Don't go crying to your mama". I think she follows that advice. 

Wake Up Lovin' You - Craig Morgan

No week can be complete without at least one country song. I d love the genre and how mellow and sweet it is. This song is no different. Nice rhythm, great voice and I just feel like swaying whenever this song comes on and it has become one of my new favourite love songs. 

Chainsaw - The Band Perry

These three are so amazing and I've been following them since If I Die Young. This song is more pop than country but I do like the story and the video is really nice. It's a great song to bob your head to any time of the day. 

I Choose You - Sara Bareilles

This song is the best, really. I love it so very much, I've been playing it non-stop. The video is so cute! ahh, I love that one line in this song "the very first words of a life long love letter" so much I've decided I want it to be the name of my biography/autobiography. Sara really knows how to play with your feelings using music. 

Dare (La, La, La ) - Shakira

Ah, this song has really great dance beats. I'm not really a big World Cup fan (I love the unity, football not so much) but this is great song and well it's Shakira so yeah. She's cool. I like the video too. 

Raging Fire - Phillip Phillips

This man has a great voice and he sings the most inspirational "singable" songs. This one is no exception. The lyrics are strong and true and the video, so good. I do love me some stop motion. 

What's on your playlist this week?

Perks of dating Augustus Waters

Ah, I am so so excited for The Fault in Our Stars. I'm patiently waiting for the day when I can watch it, hopefully Schwack will bring it, if not I'll have to wait for DVD release. Either way, I am one of the millions of people completely obsessed over the story; the book made me cry so hard and maybe the movie will too. Keeping them tissues ready. 

1. Augustus will always be there for you, no matter what.

He will meet you with a bunch of tulips, he will listen to your story (not you cancer story, your REAL story) and even though he fears oblivion and even though he talks in his own pre-funeral, he will make you feel like you are the only thing in the world that matters, and most importantly he will give you hope when everything else seems gray. 

2. He can take your breath away - literally.

He took Hazel's. He's handsome (uh can I just sigh about the fact that I can never ever meet Ansel but the fact that he exists is amazing!) and he understands your favourite book like no other. He might be a bit narcissistic about his looks but ah don't you love a guy who knows he's beautiful but he thinks you are more. 

3. He's the master of metaphors

He will not let cancer get the worst of him, but he will make sure that he will not give the power to the killing machine. Also he has the best advice and he makes you feel like this world is only about you.

4. His thoughts are stars he cannot fathom into constellations. 

but he will try, for you. His mind is as beautiful as he is and he always has something witty and comforting to say. Why can't we have a Gus in our life? *sigh*

5. He's not in the business of denying himself the simple pleasures of saying true things. 

This is my favourite line in the book and I love Gus's honesty. Often we say white lies, but that's not Gus. He's not afraid of radical honesty and that's why I think he's perfect. You will always know you can trust him. 

6. He will give his last wish to you because he knows that the world is not a wish granting factory. 

And most importantly, he will take you to meet the one person you want to, and even if that person turns out to be the opposite of what you thought, he will hold your hand and kiss you soft and make you feel all warm and fuzzy. 

7. His smile. 

AHH, guys with the half smirk smiles are the reason I watch TV and the reason I lay awake at night thinking how nice it would be to wake up to that kind of smile everyday. 

8. Nothing will lessen his affections for you. 

Not even you trying to keep your distance from him. He's your crazy manic pixie dreamboy and those the boys that are the hardest to find. 

9. He will make you cry your eyes out

because he cares about you but he knows he can't be there forever and maybe when he's gone you'll never know a love that's as wonderful as him and that's fine because you can tell yourself you once knew a boy who is utterly unprecedented and who loved you from the very bottom of his heart and that is what matters in the end. 

10. No one will ever be good enough

because you once fell in love with a fictional character and now no boy in real life can make you feel tingly and you will constantly keep comparing everyone to Gus and cry over the fact that Gus is only fictional. :'( 

May in a nutshell

Last month went by in a blur. The days are short and time so precious, ticking away so fast it seems like I am always in competition to squeeze more life into each minute before it passes away. It was a good month, despite having some terrible days. 

For most part, I was sick and there were so many nights I slept because of medication when I had so many things on my to-do list and once my nose bled, it was terrifying but masha Allah, I have come out stronger than I knew I was. 

how adorable are these? Mum made them and I used an empty egg carton to make a make-shift cake ball tray!

There were great achievements and some sad ones. I had to get rid of my previous 101 things list, but I managed to write up a new one with even more dedication to cross off more things. I started writing a weekly e-mail in hopes of sharing love within a small group of people and being each other's strength in times of hardships. So far, it is going well. I was able to leave 33 letters of encouragement, also known as "love letters" around Male', a task I was so scared of but was still able to do so with the help of some very cool people that I have the privilege of calling my good friends. I hope that at least one said letter was able to make someone smile, make someone's day, anything. 

I started a new batch of students. Macro Economics. They are rather nice, but then again so are everyone eh. Students are always students and so far I've been blessed with some very nice students and I hope I am doing a good job of making them understand things that I have to tell them. 

These people are the bees knees! we talked about Lego movie and fought over the last cookie like pros.

On the last day of May, I finally did something I've been planning since last year; a picnic in the park with friends. It was most fun. We gathered and made our way across the sea to Hulhumale' and we ate good food, shared many a laughter and had a great time. It was one for the memory book and stories to tell children. I feel so happy to know these people and to have the pleasure of their sweet company. 

how amazing is the post card, it looks like a pencil drawing and this tea tasted different but so very good! 

Also, I received and sent quite a number of postcards from places that I long to travel, places that I've never been but am homesick for. My mother things me crazy to get so many cards and even a pack of tea from people I've never met and don't even know but I bonded with my father because he was once like me and wrote to strangers as well. It was so nice to know this, to have a bit of his history and to know that he like me was once crazy, and still is but in a nice way. 

I watched through several TV shows, movies, read a few books, ate a lot of good food and shared great moments all around and it was a very bustling month full of wonders and I'm so grateful to Allah for bestowing me with so many great things. 

How was your May?