When I first started out writing, I really thought that you could write ANY story as long as it was logical and made sense. I didn’t understand the idea of mainstream talking points. At any one period of time the zeitgeist has a certain agenda. The vast majority of people–the mainstream believe certain things as […]

I love that serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. “ The older I get the more I realize the only thing I can change is myself. My attitude. The work I choose to focus […]

I confess I feel a little conflicted celebrating the sesquicentennial of Canada! I’ve been reading a graphic novel about Louis Riel, and I think all Canadians can put away any smugness we might feel about being ‘kinder’ to the native Americans. We weren’t. And a hundred and fifty years later, we have a handsome charismatic […]

I’m sorry for taking so long to do a blog post. I’ve been away on vacation and it’s been so overwhelming catching up upon my return that it’s taken me a while. It’s like I’m digesting all the things I saw in Spain and Portugal, all the ideas that percolated through the sand in my […]

Last Saturday I was presenting at a one day workshop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called Muslim Journeys. It was a great opportunity and I had a wonderful time! It was well attended by educators from all over Wisconsin and even other states nearby! And one of the ladies exclaimed to me afterwards that she […]

I think I mentioned how busy I’ve been. With May being South Asian Heritage month, it’s to be expected. Throw in Mother’s Day and an Islamic Society of North America/Canada convention, and yup, I was real busy. From May 7th till May 18th (that was yesterday) I had only one day off, and that was […]

This is going to be a long post! I have so much to tell to wind up my trip to India–but bear with me I think you might find it pretty funny! So I went to the Taj, straight from Delhi airport on Monday, Dec. 3rd. Our flight from Pune get delayed because the system […]

is as hot and steamy as Delhi was cool and dry! It’s been a whirlwind to say the least! Got in yesterday morning, met with the people picking me up without incident, yay!!! And took a bumpy ride into the city. People had told me that Bangalore airport is about 2 hours outside the city, […]

It’s never a good idea to criticize yourself. Especially if people are raving about your presentation. Don’t criticize yourself publicly, don’t diminish their exuberance or their compliments by putting yourself down, but in the privacy of your own room…yes, think of what you did wrong. Analyze, assess, and fix it for next time so it’s […]

Back in December, when I was in Singapore, the librarians took me out for dinner to a fancy schmancy buffet kind of restaurant. And as we gathered our food and sat down to enjoy we began talking about this that and the other, and somehow the topic of the privacy of emails came up. And […]