Good Morning!

I was getting my morning coffee and breakfast in Brooklyn, in preparation for my long day of two back to back lectures.  The lady behind the counter tells me "Jesus loves you!", after giving me a long deep look in the eye.  I say "thank you", and thought to myself "why would not he anyways?" ;-)
She was not satisfied: "Do you know who he is?"
I told her: "Yes".  (happy now?)
She seems a bit relieved, or maybe she finally gave up: "Good! Because many people do not.  Where are you from? Russia?"
"No, Iran!", I told her (now what?).
She still continues: "You look like Russians".*
I tell her "We are close" (so what?).
Not sure if she was trying to figure something out and solve a mystery or was just interested in talking to me.
I was there just to get my breakfast before preaching some math and science, without having to tell all my life story or religious beliefs.  Is that too much to ask?


* Later that day after my talks, I went to get a cup of tea before my train left.  The guy handed me a tea cup, and asked  "ruski?" with a smile.  I guess I was Russian on that day.

Happy....

I think I just kicked some a$$!! :-)

دهكده جهانى

اين همكار پاكستانى ما، امروز به ما يك ايميل فروارد كرد كه ما به مناسبت عيد فطر هر سال يك ناهار سر كار داريم و امروز اين ناهار هست و غذا خوبه و خلاصه دعوتمون كرد كه بيا (احتمالا بلكه به راه راست هم هدايت شوم چون من هفته قبلش وسط ماه مبارك رمضان  ناهار ايرانى سر كار ترتيب داده بودم، بماند كه از ماه ها پيش رفته بود توى تقويم بدون توجه به ماه رمضان و بماند كه ايرانيان عزيزهم با روى باز شركت  كردند ).  من هم سر ظهر بلند شدم رفتم و آنجا خواهران و برادران مسلمان از اقصى نقاط دنيا، از بنگلادش تا هاييتى حضور داشتند، و من تنها نماينده كشور عزيز اسلاميمون بودم!

همينطور كه همكاران را ميشناختم و خودمون رو به هم معرفى ميكرديم، خانمى هم گفت كه اسمش آينور است.  من هم كه يك پا ترك شدم ديگه، با ذوق و شوق پرسيدم، اهل كجايييد شما، تركيه؟ چون اسمتون تركى هست و يعنى مهتاب و از اين حرف ها.  و جوابمان داد كه كجاى كارى من اهل "تركستان" هستم،  ما جد و آباد ترك ها هستيم و اصيل تريم و از اين حرف ها.  كاشف به عمل اومد كه مملكت اينها از سال 1945 جزو شمال غربى چين هست و اين خانم مسلمان با حجاب ترك اصيل، شهروند چين هست و در مدرسه چينى ياد گرفته و زبان مادرى در تركستان اوى غور هست، اما تركى هم دارد ياد ميگيرد و عربى هم بلد است.  خلاصه خيلى جديد و جالب بود برام و دلم ميخواهد يك روز تركستان هم بروم !  بعد هم فهميدم اين همان توران  توى شعر هاى ماست.  يك خانم پاكستانى هم به من گفت كه در مدرسه بهشان فارسى ياد ميدادند و فعل آمدن را برايم صرف كرد و با من به فارسى احوال پرسى كرد.  خلاصه خوب بود، خوش گذشت :-)

Dedication

Love and dedication is the care and attention s/he gives to every single sentence of any paper or presentation I email them with the same care, patience, and urgency that they used to when I first entered grad school, years after earning my PhD.  I am a spoiled child that never graduates from her lifetime mentors' and professors' classes.  How lucky and blessed I am for having such academic parents, and how wise I am to know how lucky I am to never let them go ;-)

Thank God for them.

Sweet Natalie

When grown-up Natalie looks out for aunt Nargess:

"Does he qualify to be your boyfriend? Is he high up in society?" :-)

Relax!

This was sitting in my drafts, a note I wrote a while back when I was juggling so many work, personal, and family tasks and get togethers.  It is good not to forget this note. 
 
I have recognized an issue recently that I need to resolve for myself: I tend to create so many personal deadlines and obligations for myself that I then try to fulfill with a sense of urgency. I stress myself over the self imposed deadlines and tasks, and then get upset when people involved in those tasks do not even care.  For example, if I have not seen a friend or a family member for a while, I feel guilty, I feel it is my duty to make a plan, make things happen, or that it looks bad if I do not.  I compromise the much needed alone time, time to relax, do the errands, or even work, just to realize later no one really cared if I did that or not, and the whole thing for me to stress over was such a mute point.

I know the problem, but I do not know how I can make myself care less, relax, let go. Maybe like B tells me sometimes: "Do not create work for yourself!".

آب روان

عاشق آب زود مى آموزد،
كه راهى جر روانى و زلالى،
براى همراهى با آب نيست،
واى به روزى كه سد راهش شود،
تا از او مردابى بسازد،
كه بماند و بگندد.
آب پر ميشود و لبريز،
و از سد ميگذرد،
بدون نگاهى به پشت.