Weekend Reads

I plan to enjoy a hassle free weekend doing some relaxing, learning some new things and painting hopefully. While I am terrible at painting I'm quite good at typography if I say so myself so the sisters and I are making little quotes this weekend. While I'm gone here are some handpicked articles you might enjoy from blogs I like. 

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While I'm generally very optimistic about Maldives but I can relate to everything in Shaha's blog post about the perks of being a Maldivian. She's really funny and pretty and all her blog posts are so true!

Chantelle's photo challenges are seriously fun and I plan to do it on March. I kind of failed the February one. 

Maxie's guest posts on Carly's blog is always refreshing. This time, she's talking about uptalk, something I have noticed that I've been doing lately too. 

Victoria is the queen of thrifting and her new post about saving money is something that is applicable to us twenty somethings very much. 

This might get addicting. Google Hot Trends is just everything that is happening right now. I may or may not have spent way too much time on it already. 

On an unrelated note, I think Ukraine's politician Yulia Tymoshenko has the most princess-like hair on a non fictional person. Also she's so well dressed, how have I not heard of her before? I mean look! 

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I hope you have a great weekend. What are your plans for the weekend?

NOTE: THIS IS A SCHEDULED POST.

Things I Love Thursday: The Little Things

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I love opening my window after waking up and seeing the blue sky. There is just something magical about the sky and how it has so many mysteries and how it is always there. 

People watching on my way to walk. It's kind of weird I never seem to walk into the same people everyday, am I the only one who's following a routine here, haha.  

The adorable old lady who sits outside watching people go by, it reminds me of granny and how every evening she would sit outside and say really sarcastic things about passerby's. 

Tea and hedhikaa on evenings over either an episode of what I''m currently watching or reading. Never a bore. 

Quality family time doing what we do at 10' o clock. 

Instagram accounts of Youtubers/Bloggers and seeing their life and obsessing over two people and how they look so amazing together and shipping them

Green shopping bags. I think I might have a slight obsession with them. 

New episodes of Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom. One can never be too old for animated series. 

Making to-do lists. Lists make me extremely happy. I love some lists more than I love some people. 

Taking some time off to clear my mind and just spend some much-needed me time.

NOTE: THIS IS A SCHEDULED POST

22 Things

I can't still come to terms that I am 22. Everyday I walk past people, past trees and look over clouds that seems just like the ones I saw five years ago, I wonder where all that time went. It all seemed yesterday that I was barely making my way past stairs in Ahmadhiyya or enjoying magnums with my 18 year old friends when they turned 18 but looking back now and today being 22 and seeing everyone around me in big shot jobs and having to think about things like rent and masters, I'm just stunned. Can I be forever 19? *sigh*

Anyways, since I am not getting any younger, I shall be making more of this year and as you might already have read, this is my year and I plan to spend a lot of time on myself instead of focusing on others and their problems. In keeping tradition with my yearly goals, here are 22 things I want to do before I turn *shudders* two-three. :| 

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1. Have Rainbow Hair

2. Help someone else fulfill a bucket list dream | anyone out there has things on your bucket list for which you need a partner in crime (except for robbing banks, which I would be really bad at), let me know! I'm up for throwing parties, bungee jumping and having food fights and more.

3. Buy a pair of white shoes and doodle on them

4. Learn to write with my left hand. 

5. Take a photo of the same place every month, and turn into a calender for next year

6. Throw a Barbie themed birthday party

7. Read every book by Nicholas Sparks

8. Throw a masquerade party

9. Witness a wedding proposal | Also if anyone's planning to do a flashmob proposal or going to do it in a restaurant or something, let me know. I can discreetly sit in a nearby table and witness it and you don't even have to know. I swear I'm not that creepy but pretty please?

10. Meet president Maumoon

11. Tell lesser lies

12. Take better care of myself

13. Start doing my MBA

14. Stop lying to myself

15. Prioritize more

16. Be there for my friends and family

17. Keep my promises

18. Make a time capsule with my friends and family

19. Appreciate the little things

20. Better my relationship with god.

21. Support my family in every way I can.

22. Enjoy being 22

So, there goes in no particular order. What are your goals for the year? I feel like this is better than making new year resolutions. So much easier to keep and more fun! 

NOTE: THIS IS A SCHEDULED POST

MINDTalks

A couple of months ago, I first heard of MINDtalks from a friend and thought it was like TEDtalks, experts in an area giving little talks but when I went to my very first MINDtalks, I realized it was much more than that.

I didn't even know what I was looking froward for on that breezy night in July when I went in and was surprised to find my friend Hishko and sat next to him, already fashionably late listening to Leena talk about her life. Her journey through her education, her little victories and the way she dealt with everything was brave and I sat there listening to her talk about how she braved one train ride all by herself and her two little kids.

I was even more interested in the next talk when Jawish came on and gave what may be one of the best MINDtalks yet. He was fun, energetic and had so much to share and his story of how he became what he is today was nothing short of extremely extraordinary! Hishko is a total astronomy junkie and while I would never consider myself anything even remotely related to science, I was very intrigued by his talk and it made me re think on technology a lot.

Since then, I've been to a couple more (the Zombie crowd and I try to make every MINDtalks night free so we can immerse ourselves in some astounding talks and be a part of their journey) and while some talks were a bit bland, every MINDtalks night is really something we look forward to and we always end up learning something new or just getting really inspired to change the world, haha.

So, be sure to check them out on Youtube and maybe attend one sometime soon. They have one every month and three people would come and tell you about their life and the lessons they learnt and hopefully will give you some much needed inspiration.

NOTE: THIS IS A SCHEDULED POST. 

Why I Leave Books Half Read

In a previous post about some facts about me just three weeks ago, I told you guys that I can never leave a book half read. I have put myself through some very terrible books and movies because of that habit but ever since turning 22 (actually a week before that while I was doing a whole personal yearly review) I have stopped doing that. 

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Part of me is still not accustomed to it and I feel like I am disrespecting the books (yes, I get all worked up on the ethics of things like that, sigh) but I was just about done with this book I was reading and I was not interested in it at all. The only reason I kept reading was so I can finish and cut it off my reading list. Then, I decided that I was actually wasting a lot of time when I could be doing other things I enjoy such as reading books I might actually like. 

So, in that fashion, I went through my reading lists, and removed a LOT of books simply because I didn't want to read them and I am not going to put myself through any movie/book that doesn't live up to my enjoyment. I owe at least that to myself.

A year ago, I would not have even believed I would be doing so, but this year is all about bettering myself, of being the best person I can. It's going to be a year of self discovery. No drama, no nothing, just me and myself and learning to feel comfortable in my own skin. 

NOTE: THIS IS A SCHEDULED POST.

Family Traditions

In some ways, I'm still a very old fashioned person. I prefer letters over mails or short texts and I am sucker for traditions.

My family has a couple of them and one of my favourite one is that every academic year, they would give us kids a trophy for doing well. Even if we get a B, we still get a plaque because it reminds us that we did good, but that we can do even better. I absolutely loved it and looked forward to that at year end. Mick just got her very first trophy this year for completing LKG and she's extremely happy about it. I hopefully want to do something similar with my kids. 

Another tradition is that we always have family meals together on weekends, especially evening tea. Now that we're all extremely busy there really isn't time everyday to sit down and eat (I try to eat while reading or watching something to save time) and so weekends are just really good for the family to come together and have a good time. 

My family moved quite a bit and we used to live apart from dad for a couple years and those were the years when I learned what letters were capable of. My dad would write a letter every week and send to me and I would write back and I looked forward to that latter every week. It was like golden ticket to me, something that was just beautiful and even when dad was telling me off for something terrible I did, it always made me feel good. Written words kind of have that effect on me  

This one, is personally one of the things I love, but a lot of people have different opinions on it. It's more of proper manners and upbringing rather than tradition but we always talk to mom and dad using the "emme mathee dharaja" as in saying "aadhe" for yes and so. No, it doesn't go as farther as using "naaneyfulhu fillevun" (haha, that word cracks me up every time) but I love talking to my parents like that, I was brought up to talk t everyone like that but obviously as I grew up, different circles because different but this one thing stayed the same. Some people would just make fun of me for picking the phone when mom or dad calls and saying "assalaamu alaikum" instead of hello, but that feeling of actually showing your folks that you care is what matters. I know different people have different ways of caring and some would argue that just because I talk to my folks in that way doesn't make me any better than anyone who doesn't and I would agree because it doesn't. No one's better or worse for that matter and I strongly believe that comparing one life to another to decide who's better is a meaningless task to do so I prefer not doing it and sing my time to do things that are meaningful to me, like writing letters.   

I have so many plans of family traditions I would want to do with my kids it's crazy! I mean yes, the whole marriage, kids, blah blah thing is so scary and I don't even want to think about it but sometimes when you see someone passing a heirloom to their grand daughter, you just want to be that person. Maybe it's just me. haha

Do you have any exciting family traditions? 

Your favourite T-Shirt on Again

Life has been kind of a roller coaster lately, lots of ups and downs. This weekend, I thought I was going to turn off everything and just enjoy drinking lots of tea, catching up on books and TV shows but the complete opposite happened. Sometimes, I guess life has better plans for you. 

As most of you know, my birthday was this week and I had a nice day (a bit dull compared to some previous birthdays, I guess senescence is getting to me! but also a lot better than last year, so it's all good) and enjoyed with the family. The rest of the week has been pretty routine. Work, home, sleep and back to work. *sigh*

The week started pretty bad so to cheer myself up, I painted my nails burgundy and added a little sparkle | The day before my birthday was just a terrible day. It seemed like a series of unfortunate events were happening. I woke up late, I was a minute late to work (don't you just hate when that happens?) and lots of other terrible things kept happening but I was really humbled when my good friend Sifr brought those chocolates (I still have one left, because I sometimes keep chocolates forever, haha) and just made my day a bit brighter. I do love little things like that. | On my actual birthday I went out dressed like the TARDIS because why not? Also, It feels like the perfect time to dress up like TARDIS, cos I'm feeling 22! Anyhow, China and Timmy met me on the road and gave me a cake so I had to shop while carrying the cake in the TARDIS dress, I feel really brave for actually surviving because people kept giving me these looks and making weird comments | On Friday night, the zombie crew surprised me with *cue really bad music* yet another cake (you know I love you guys!) and this really pretty card they made! Ahh, they know me so well. We had a blast playing Blitz (while Hishko made me a white dwarf by reaching level 10 in QuizUp, thanks galhi!) and having a tea party with lots of cake! They also made fun of me because I cut the cake in half instead of cutting a triangle piece, haha. 

This weekend I've watched way too many episodes of Desperate Housewives (Teenage Preston and Porter are so cute!) and re-watching my faovurite scenes from old movies and drinking hot cocoa! 

I seriously feel so blessed to have all these amazing people. I hope you had a great week! I'm looking forward to enjoying being 22 but I also feel really sad because the other day I had this sudden realization that I'm now really old. *sigh* 

So what did you do on the weekend?

FAQ

I don't know what is about me, but a lot of people tend to ask me the same questions, especially in regards to things I like. So, to make things easier, here are some Frequently Asked Questions so I can show this blog post if someone asks me that again. 

1. What do you want for your birthday?

This is honestly the most asked question ever. I am indeed fortunate to have people ask me so they can give me what I want and I always make wishlists for this very reason. 

HERE, HERE and HERE are things I always want (and these lists will always be updated) and in case you wanted to get something, you can never go wrong with shoes (size 37), notebooks, mugs, necklaces and flowers (except roses, which I don't fancy). 

2. How old are you? How did you finish O'levels at 14?

I turned 22 just a few days ago, and I'm a 90's kid! (92 ROCKS!) I did not skip any grades or get double promotion or anything. I started to read at a really young age, (thanks mom and dad! They told me I used to read about everything from notices on walls to people's love letters!) and back then my island did not have baby nursery or nursery, so I started at LKG just like other kids but at 2 years earlier than the rest so I guess I always was 2 years younger than all of my classmates at all my grades. To be honest, I did not know any kid of my age (except for my cousins) till I met Aru on a trip at CHSE and since then, I've been fortunate to actually meet people my age and work with them which is crazy fun! 

3. Why do you like Harry Potter/Doctor Who/Any TV series or movie?

Well, I don't know. Why do anyone really like anything? There's no once answer. I guess I just enjoy them because of several reasons. Sometimes I like things for no reason too, I really don't know how to answer this question.

4. Is that a uniform? 

Whenever I'm wearing a blazer, I would get asked this question. No, it's a freaking blazer. People who work on corporate offices usually wear blazers, get a dictionary or watch an episode of Project Runway maybe?

5. Why are you wearing the Maldivian Flag?

OK, so I got asked this only today, but by three different people. SO, what? You can go around wearing British flags and American flags but you can't wear you own country's flag? Who made up that rule? Besides, I actually genuinely love the Maldivian flag and I would wear it as often as I want to! 

6. Do you dance?

Yes, I dance and I sing and I write poetry and I write novels (well, at least start novels) and I make mistakes and I bake and I drink lots of tea, and I do puzzles, and I clean a lot, and I collect postcards, and I talk to people and I sometimes say sarcastic things and I get sick and I watch a lot of TV series and I smell flowers. I am a person who enjoy the little things and the big things. 

7. Why do you read?

Really? Do you even need to ask that? I read because I enjoy reading. It takes me to new worlds, to new people, to new adventures. I am not one of those pretentious people who believe that anybody is better than the other because they read, or play games, or something but I honestly believe that reading makes the mind grow, it's food to the brain. Being a reader has made me a better person in so many ways. 

8. Why do you have a wand? What does it do?

It does magic, you muggle. It's my weapon. I love my wand and I will carry it wherever I want to. I don't care what you think about it, I love it and it makes me happy so that's all that matters. 

9. Are you the TARDIS?

The most asked question at Shinzou Con! YES, I was and I had a blast being the TARDIS. Why was I the TARDIS? Well, It was one of the easiest to make in a day's time and also because I always want to travel to far off lands, to see the worlds, to have adventures, to be part of a lot of people's journey, and what better than to be the thing that does that!

10. Do you actually like Country music? You probably only listen to Taylor Swift! 

YES. I actually honestly love country music. I do love Taylor Swift and yes, she was the first country artists I listened to and she made me love the genre, but since then I've listened to old country like Garth Brooks and love country bands and songs. Some of my favourites include Hunter Hayes, Brooke Shields, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker and Florida Georgia Line. I don't think liking country music makes me any lesser than you and your death metal or indie rock. I like a whole lot of genres and country happens to be my favourite, maybe I'm a bit too romantic and likes stories and some tragic tales over a sunset and a car ride. 

Do you have any questions you've wanted to ask me? Let me know and I'll try to answer them!

Top Three TED Talks

I am one of those people who only listen to select TED Talks. I seriously try but some topics are just not my cup of tea and I often end up more confused than inspired so now I only listen to ones I think I'd enjoy and the results are better. Of course, I am open to suggestions on what to watch and normally find a lot of interesting stuff from what other people share and so.

Here are some of my most favourite TedTalks ever;

The first four minutes of this is my life, seriously. I first heard it a couple months ago and discovered Sarah Kay and started loving her since. I know the poem by heart and I agree with everything. It has inspired me so many days, made so many mornings better and hearing her story has been the true form of inspiration. 

I've been following Tavi since her Style Rookie days and all through Rookie magazine and she reminds me of myself a lot. I love her talk and how genuine and sincere she was and to have that kind of strenth to talk to millions of people is something not a lot of teenagers can do. She's fearless.

I don't know how I came by this video, but he talked in such a nice way that I really felt like I knew him from a long time back and his idea is extremely interesting. 

What TEDTalks have inspired you?

10 Movies, 1 Post

For some reason, all the weekends have been spent watching movies and lazing around. I really like spending time alone, in the company of movies and good tea.

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Sometimes you really look forward to a movie but then it disappoints you and other times you kind of don't really think you'd like something but end up loving it. The Spectacular Now is the first and Stuck by Lightening latter. I kind of disliked TSN a lot, even though Shailene was alright. Why is she always playing an Amy? Is it like Salman and Prem kinda thing, ahaha. Chris Colfer was amazing in SBL, it was seriously just such a good movie even though it wasn't exactly a happy movie. Kinda makes you think about life and dreams and goals.

The Art of Getting by, as I've talked before was absolutely fantastic. I really liked the acting and the story.Can I please have a George? Blue Crush 2 was also nice, even though I'm not big on surfing movies, I'm a sucker for the nice guy getting the girl in the end. Little Manhattan is seriously the most adorable movie ever. Josh Hutcherson is just so adorable, no wonder he turned out so good!

You Again was kind of weird, but me being a Kristen Bell fan, that girl can do no wrong, I liked it. Like Minds, a random British thriller was well, rather interesting. Why people kill other people kind of fascinates me. The Cake Eaters was actually not too bad, and Kristen was rather good in the movie. Imagine Me and You was well, a bit uh sad, I felt bad for the guy but that last meeting scene was just whoa whoa whoa. Alfie, oh Alfie. Why did I even watch it? He's cute but the movie has nothing really to offer. Surf School is a terrible idea for a movie, another terrible movie that teaches people that life will somehow change when you go on an adventure, that even though you know nothing about surfing, you;ll somehow beat the pros and win everything including the girl. No, real life does not work that way.

Sigh. I think I've watched too many movies. I am looking forward to watching some Hindi ones because it has been too long. I hope you have had a better experience with movies than I have. What have you been watching lately?

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22

It's my day! :D Aren't birthdays just amazing. It feels like carrying a bit of sunshine in my pocket all the time. I'm so grateful to everything and everyone in my life. I'm so blessed to have amazing company and people who love me around me, it does feel so good.

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Today has been filled with lots of great things. Thanks to Allah for blessing me with everything and for making every year more rewarding. Everyday I live, is a blessing. 

Thanks to my family for the mini surprise, I seriously did not expect that. Thanks for always standing by my side through thick and thin and no matter what anyone says know I will always put family first.
Thanks to Thutha for the cake and for being just like a big sister to me all these years.
Thanks to relatives for loving me like you do, especially Kuda and twins. You guys are amazing. 

Thanks to my great co workers, working with you is a pleasure and I enjoy every single day. 

Thanks to the sisters for being a source of constant fun and enjoyment. You both are my world. 

Thanks to my former classmates and friends always especially Timmy and China cos you guys totally took me by surprise. 

Thanks to Wuffy, for calling me all the way from Aussie. I love you and stay beautiful. 

Thanks to all the friends for the constant wishes making me feel all loved. Especially those of you who know me so well to leave custom birthday messages.

Thanks to the twitter love. You guys are my fifth family. <3 

and I'm sorry if I forgot to mention anyone but y'all know that I love you and all that cheesy mushy stuff. ;) 

Here's to more of being fun and happy and being the best selves we could be. My thoughts right now seriously are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.

Shaha-Con: Who's Invited?

So, if I had some sort of an elitist convention where I invite only the people I think are the coolest, who would be on the list? Am I running out of things to blog about? Maybe. haha.

Ninth Doctor because he is fantastic and he is my doctor and I seriously love him so much. 

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Richard Castle because he will bring Kate Beckett and Alex and they will be super cute. I am slightly obsessed with that show. 

Hermione Granger obviously. Also her plus one, Ron. Do not tell me they do not belong together because I choose to believe John Green when he said that books belong to their readers. 

The Zombie crowd because I love them so very much! 

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Augustus. Because his thought are stars he cannot fathom Into constellations and because he is not in the business of denying himself the pleasure of saying true things.

That girl from the poem Choosing a Name by Charles Lamb because she seems so confused over a name. 

The cute guy from 7th grade who sings so well and maybe if he knew me now, he'd think I wasn't so pretentious. 

Mick because that girl is my life.

Coroner so they can call in a broken heart. 

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Sarah and Phil because they are two sides of a coin.

My third grade mean girl so she can see how totes awesome I am now. Hahaha

Liz lemon because bleurgh! 

And all my friends because even though I can be a total Draco Malfoy at times, I'm a Harry Potter at heart and I love them. 

 If you could invite anyone to my con, who would that be and why. 

Favourite Maldivian Twitter Acounts

Ah, the Maldivian twitter scene, how it has grown. I was one of the lucky firsts who was able to see it from the start. From the tweetveelun's to graveyard shifts, from the twitter crushes to twitsals, from the political parody accounts to the trolling, I have seen the best of it and the worst of it and I choose both (if you know this reference, you are very cool!)

So, in no particular order, here goes.

@eamamoosa This girl is my spirit animal. She's so fierce and funny and she one day randomly saw me in a shop and introduced herself, how sweet! Her tweets are seriously hilarious.

13 year olds crying out, "All men are same !" Kids, the only 'men' around you are probably the father, uncles & if very unfortunate, a Qari.

— Eama Binth M. (@EamaMoosa) February 15, 2014

Oh this tweet! She continuously tweets so fun things it makes Tumblr look weak.

@nadvva I feel like I can relate to this girl on an emotional level. She reminds me of a modern day Jane Austen heroine.

So I'm either just terribly bitter and mean or people are just annoying. Not sure which one it is yet.

— Nadwa Naeem (@nadvva) February 16, 2014

I have often felt this. So many times.

@vichalhey He's pretty cool and sometimes his tweets seems like he's either trying to write a song or keeps finding the meaning of life in every tweet.

Cloaked pirates

— Visham (@vichalhey) February 15, 2014

Is this a name of a trilogy or some deep meaningful words that mean that we are all in reality people who are trying to loot everyone but look like we are innocent? You never know, but isn't it just so interesting?

 @joospetty Everyone's favourite colourful frozen drink! This twitter handle is seriously genius. Who came first? @juxyn or @joospetty? No body knows.

no breadfruit sap on coconutekels, no noosecarpet trap set on the grass, just i,sittin here with a joospetty & a longin heart. o iruvaiwind.

— joospetty (@joospetty) December 30, 2013

Such beautiful poetry :')

@mrifgar She's so pretty and she blogs and her tweets are so funny. She's like a Maldivian Tina Fey. I really admire this girl and I think she would top among my retweets.

sometimes in my head, i have soul baring conversations with ryan gosling.

— Rifga (@MRifgaR) February 15, 2014

Me too, ahhh. She gets me, every time.

@lucasjalyl I''m not even sure if he is real or not, but he amuses me a lot. About 25% of drama in my everyday life is actually because of reading his tweets, haha.

FUKYE! I QUIT TWITTER.

— Luke (@Lucasjalyl) February 16, 2014

 Haven't we felt like this sometimes too?? Only to tweet in a couple minutes beause we can't really stay away from it.

@mdvbookreviewer She's absolutely darling and reading her reviews make me want to read more.

Sometimes I find the heroes are more 'feminine' than the heroines themselves. To make them more sensitive to the reader base. #Sigh

— MV Book Reviewer (@mdvbookreviewer) February 14, 2014

I do feel like this too, it's kind of become the politically correct version eh. 

So, that's just a select few of those that I can remember. Of course I purposefully did not include any of my real life tweeting friends (and those I met on twitter and became pretty good real life friends with) because otherwise this post would go on forever. You guys know who you are and you'll always be my favourites no matter how many hashtags you use or how many song lyrics you post.

Are you on twitter? Do you have more to add to this list? Let me know, I'm always looking for funny people to follow. 

Currently: February

Sometimes real life can make you all exhausted, by the dullness, by the drama, by the lack of meaning, by the morbid fascination to all things you wish to accomplish and that's when I sometimes go into what I call "deep fantasy obsession". In the last day, I have watched five movies and I am not sure how I feel.

Anyhow, here are a couple things I am watching/reading/listening to;

Vampire Diaries S2 I'm really not a big fan of this, but I like some characters like Caroline and Tyler. Honestly, I can see by people can get so hyped up about it, Ian is hot and his smirk is only second to Flynn Rider's and the story isn't half bad, but I just don't have the morbid fascination (also morbid fascination is my phrase of the day!) people have with vampires. Nevertheless, I am trying to keep up with it just because I want to see Caroline's story.

Desperate Housewives S5 I seriously don't even remember how much I have to catch up on this, it used to be my guilty pleasure. Bree's story was my favourite and sometimes when watching I'd just feel so bad when something terrible happens to her, which is kind of pathetic, but that's me with my love for fictional characters.

The Art of Getting By I don't know how to sum up my love for Emma Roberts other than to say that I think she could be my celebrity counterpart. Minus the black shoes. I really adore this girl and any movie with her would instantly become my favourite and Freddie Highmore is just whoa whoa whoa since Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This movie made me feel so meaningless at the same time made me so happy. It made me question everything and when that happens you know that you have watched a masterpiece. 

The Cuckoo's Calling The moment I heard this book was written by my favourite author using a pseudonym, I had to add it to my to read collection and I got it the other day and started reading. So far, it's going alright and I'm liking it. 

Where'd You Go Bernadette? I have been hearing rave reviews about this book so I had to get it and see for myself. The cover is cute and I really do judge books based on their cover, sorry not sorry. What is with me and coming of age books? Sometimes I feel like a teenager trapped in a twenty something body. *sigh*

Selfies - Nina Nesbitt I feel like a total cliche' because I relate to this song so much. Nina is one of my favourite musical gals and this song is just so fun and I love it and sometimes when I am at work, I'll be playing this non-stop, I'm not even kidding. It's addicting. Like peanut butter and apples and lighting candles and watching clouds go by. 

I've been lounging around being sick (which sucks!) but on the bright side I can listen to depressing music like there's no tomorrow. 

What is keeping you occupied this month? Let me know so I can check it out! 

Worst Movies I Ever Watched

Since becoming a teenager, I have been watching movies and enjoying them quite a lot. In fact, I have re-watched a couple and while my taste in movies is a bit bland (I prefer Disney, chick flicks and romantic comedies) but lately, I have been moving into much serious and diverse movies. 

I used to have this goal to watch all movies released after 1992 but this seemed an impossible feat paired together with my undeniable fear of horror movies, I have decided to ditch a couple ones that I don't like and only watch ones which I like because honestly, life is too short and previous to do things you don't want or don't enjoy. 

But within the last few years, I have come across some movies that are just downright awful. I'm not talking just those parody Scary Movie types (which I kinda like watching just to see the jokes) but some movies that I just feel should not have been made and if that money was used for a better cause like a better movie, it would be much much better. 

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Bluberella

This is quite possibly the worst 87 minutes I have ever spent. With such a terrible plot with a half vampire half woman (what is that even supposed to mean) travelling across Nazi camps. I think Hollywood is running out of Nazi ideas to incporporate into movie plots. Everything about this screams horror and not the kind that is paranormal in nature. Do not watch it, unless you don't mind wasting 87 minutes watching something that makes no sense, has absolutely nothing to offer. 

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Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Maybe it's just me. I kinda liked the beginning and the idea of it, and with Elizabeth Banks in it, I had to obviously watch it, but it just felt bland. Bad jokes, bad everything. Maybe people who enjoy the kind of awkward teen sex movies and stuff like Knocked Up would enjoy this, but I am so glad Banks moved on to better movies like Hunger Games.

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Bitch Slap

Again, a horrible deicision. I don't even know why I watched this, probably because I was trying to watch all the movies that came our in 2010. This movie has a few good action scenes I guess, but then again any kind of action makes me feel indifferent, so I guess it was not my cup of tea. 

There are a couple of other ones that were kind of terrible but it also had good elements and so didn't make it to this list. I really need to read more about a movie before I watch, but then again I'm also the kind that likes to be surprised. 

Anyways, what are the worst movies you have watched? 

Snacks I Love

I'm not really much of a snack person. I just eat during the regular times (and sometime even forget to do that! I swear, I like food ) and in between I would drink lots of tea and milk and that's about it. 

But ever since I moved to a new place last September, I have started to eat snacks between meals and I even have a snack drawer now, how weird? haha. 

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My all time favourite snack (especially during midnight when I am am almost to bed, but still have that one more episode to watch, two more pages to read and stuff) is peanut butter and apples. I used to dislike peanut butter a lot. I still dislike some brands but I have found this one brand which I actually like and since seeing this on Pinterest, I have wanted to try it and goodness it tasted awesome! I have yet to try the choco-chips tho. 

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Whenever I host parties and gatherings at my place, especially during Ramadan you should expect this. People have even gone as far as telling me I can't even cook (which is not true, just clarifying. I prefer making cup noodles and baking to actual cooking but when I am determined to cook, I turn all Martha Stewart) but make these and honestly, they taste so good so no one's really complaining. Bread (I prefer normal to toasted), nutella and banana slices. Super duper easy to make. 

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Let's not forget the drinks. Even though I love tea, there's just something great about making a cup of hot chocolate and filling it with lots of marshmallows! It's delicious. I love curling up with a good book with a cup of hot chocolate, it's a must-do, especially during rainy days because honestly that is one of the best feelings ever!

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Another of my favourite snack that my mom sometimes makes is fries! I do love me some fries and hot sauce every once in a while. Even when I go out to eat, I don't actually eat the fries but mom makes them with salt and it's not as oily as in other places, so I justify it like that, ahaha. Mick and Myra are huge fans of fries and they can be seen munching on a whole bag of them whenever mom makes them. 

On the subject of snacks, I don't really buy snacks too much but I do enjoy them. My snack drawer has lots of wafers (which I don't particularly like; they are alright but mom thinks I love them and she keeps buying them and I haven't yet told her I don't really want them ) and better biscuits which I love love love! I also love onion rings and whenever I go out to have ice-cream, I buy onion rings instead because they are just so good! 

What are your favourite snacks?

and who do you think you are?

Who am I? The age old question. I really honestly don't know. There are a few things that define me as a person like being a Muslim. No matter what, no matter where I go, I'll always be a Muslim and all decisions I make (and mostly not make) is because I am one. Being a Maldivian, being a girl, being in my 20's, etc. But as everyone else, I'm not just defined by one label and I hate when I go to places and have to define myself as just one label, like I'm some kind of a 2D character that only exists in a story book.

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Who I am also is different to different people. When I am at work, I am a different person than when I am at home, or with friends and that is perfectly fine. My personality does not change, I merely just adapt to be able to do what I do and there is nothing wrong with that. Sure, people at work doesn't really know me as this extremely weird, fandom obsessed person (maybe a few people know, because they are friends with me on Facebook) and that is fine. My friends don't really know how I am at work (except for the fact that I do not know where the scanner at work is, which is a shame I know. Thank god for Scanner apps!) or how I am at home and that is fine as well.

Honestly, I don't know any one person who's always consistent no matter where (Perhaps only fictional characters like Sheldon Cooper can do that) and everyone is always slightly different with different crowds and that does not mean they are not being themselves. I don't have to yell song lyrics and make Harry Potter references at work for me to be myself and vice versa.

The point is, you are a three dimensional character who has more than two friends and you are more than just one role. You are someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's brother, someone's mentor, someone's employee, someone's significant other, etc and unlike all these fictional characters you can't really truly be just one thing to everyone because you have different roles with each one. Life is not a story book where your character only has one job. Life is much more than that and who you are changes every now and then. When you discover more about yourself, sometimes you don't like certain things and you change them and maybe you might pick a skill or two, date a person or not, eat that last piece of cake or just go swimming. You are a person with so many sides it would make a square jealous and no one should tell you any different.

When the world tells you that you are not what they want, remember that you are who you exactly want to be. When the lights seem dim and you feel like nothing is right, remember that the sun always shines bright. When you look up at the sky and wish for a mad man in a blue box and he doesn't come, remember that he's never met anyone who isn't important. 

Shinzou Con

Last night was such a great start to February, my month! Jensys Alumni Maldives (JAM) organized one of the best things to happen this year yet, the Shinzou Con and DYM was the event partner. So proud of DYM! :')

I was going to participate in the cosplay competition but decided against it as I just wanted to meet people and have fun without the added pressure but mom helped me come up with a last minute costume for Mick and I and we had a great time. Mick got too overwhelmed because there were too many people so Dad picked her up and took her home by 9 and then I joined the rest and night is history! 

So many awesome people, so little time! The people were such a fun bunch and the best part was all these strangers coming and asking to take a picture and making general conversations. 

Here is Mick in her pretty TARDIS dress. She was a bit scared of the many Grim Reapers but I think she had a good time. That dress was super easy to make. Just cut some rectangles and stuck them and the hardest was the mini TARDIS in the headband which took about an hour and looks so cute! 

and ofcourse, my favourite people showed up. Jin was a dementor and Hishko is looking most Hisko like and Abe is always Abe. These people are amazing. I love you guys. 

And cue, some of the coolest cosplayers! Joker, Harley Quinn, Captain Jack Sparrow, Katniss Everdeen (who was just so adorable!), Sheldon Cooper (Al is perfect for this and it was just the most well done, easiest costumes ever!), Velma, Dementor, The Doctor and my two doctors, 11 and 10! I didn't actually know 11 but he and his friend came over and wanted to take pictures and it was just so excitiing!

Overall, a brillaint event and I can't wait for next year. I think they might have to get a bigger venue! Great work everyone involved.