Study or Work?

I always thought after I'd finish studying and land into the world of work, I would have ample time on my hands to wander around and enjoy life. Yet, its been just a month since I started work, and I haven't even posted once on my blog! So what is the reality? Well, I come home, cook, clean a little, pray and just feel like jumping straight into bed. Having said that, I must admit it is actually very nice not having to worry about assignments at all, in fact I don't have to worry about anything (well almost), plus I can shop till I drop. The joys of not being a student are too many to count ... :D

On the other hand I am worried I will get too used to enjoying my non-student life that I will find it difficult to go back to university for postgraduate study. I have places at London universities (LSE, Imperial, UCL, Kings & City) and I've applied for PhD studentships too, but I am waiting to hear back from them (please pray for me!). I sometimes wonder, should I just pack it all up (i.e. studies) and just continue working and enjoy life (at least financially) or should I look at the long term picture and sacrifice my sanity and freedom for one to three years more ... ... What do you guys think?

BTW I do love studying. In fact just two days into work, and I was missing lectures and the academic research environment, where every day one learns something new. Whereas my current job, lets just say I've done more interesting things ... !

Shopping in the Sun

I was out window shopping today with a good friend when these caught my eye. Aren't these just gorgeous? They are even more so when you see them with your naked eye.

And then over to MAC, and I finally bought a Paint Pot, one of these. Though its a tad pricey, I think its worth it, as it'll last forever and is very easy to apply and use, and looks great!

Great Suprise

I had a great suprise yesterday ... and I haven't laughed that much in months ...

My baby sister's scrumptious cake

My sister is almost 10 years old but I still think of her as my 'baby' sister. In fact, some times when I look at her I can't believe she will be starting secondary school soon, and then before I know it she will be hanging around in high heels! Now that thought is scary. But most of all I miss her alot.

The last time I visited home she made this scrumptious cocount cake for us:




Yummy. I so want some now ...

Shukr Clothing UK: I am seriously dissapointed

Towards the end of Ramadhan I ordered an abaya from Shukr UK which was meant to arrive before Eid, and was obviously meant to be a certain colour. It didn't arrive before Eid, I contacted them several times via email and phone but they didn't get back to me before Eid. The abaya was the wrong colour (i.e they showed the colour very differently on the site) and I sent it back and received the credit on my account. They then changed the abaya picture on the site after my complaint. Anyhow last week I saw this coloured abaya and liked it, and though I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy from Shukr again, I thought as a Muslim I should give them a second chance. So I placed an order for the following abaya and guess what I received?

Courtesy of Shukr : The abaya ordered

Here is the abaya received:



Is it just me or does it really look quite different? I don't like the colour of the one I've been sent. Or am I just being too fussy and expecting too much?

And is it really OK to place pictures of products that don't match what you are selling? From an ethical point of view I think that is wrong, but even from a theological point, is it valid?

Gift

Who doesn't love receiving a gift? The Prophet (peace be upon him said):

“Give gifts, it will increase love” (Bukhari)

Yesterday I received the following gift from a truly special person:


Who can guess what it is?

The Niqab Debate

I am sick and tired of hearing people commenting on how Muslim women are forced to wear niqab by their husbands in the UK. I personally know many niqabis, infact if truth be told, I probably know more Muslim niqabis than non-Niqabis, and not one of these women has been forced to wear the niqab. In fact the contrary, I have found many Muslim women who have to struggle with their husbands or members of the family to agree to them wearing the niqab. So why can't people just understand that? Don't we Muslim women have the brains to make our own decisions, or is it just labelling it as forced by husbands makes it easy for you to understand?

Muslim women wear niqab because of their faith, it is something which brings them closer to God. Regardless of whether it is compulsory or not, the point is if Muslim women feel it is part of their religion, why should that be questioned?

Anger, Anger, Anger

I can feel it boiling. But I don't want to give in. And I am reminded of the saying of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him):

The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.

How true!

Dissertation

I am currently trying to work on my dissertation. I promised myself that I would spend the Christmas Holiday solely working full time on this project. But some how that just hasn't happened, and to be honest its not entirely my own fault. However, the good news is I wrote over a 1000 words (8000 max words) today. I've now got to get on with the 'literature review' section. But as this project is novel, and I am still creating the program, it really could go either way, so I don't want to write too much and then realise I have to now take a totally different strategy, and all the write up and exhaustive referencing (and reading at least 20 journal articles) has gone to waste. So I need to be patient until my supervisor has decided which strategy to take, but patience doesn't seem to be in my vocabulary at the present. I want things done and just want to get on with it. But that is the problem with doing a joint project - in my experience sometimes it keeps one back, especially when the other person isn't as enthusiastic as you are. Have you had any experiences of joint academic projects, and how did they go?

Reply to Emails

Once I get something in my head I want it done. Two weeks ago I sent one of my lecturers an email with a query, and he still hasn't replied. How long should I wait before I follow it up with a phone call?

I can understand it depends on the circumstances (some may not be in office, some maybe ill etc) but there are some people who will only reply if you send them another email reminding them. And with the possibility of accessing email remotely, no one really has an excuse not to check their email at least once a day, especially when that is the mode of correspondence that they have promised.

How long do you wait to follow up an unanswered email? And what is the average time you take to answer an email?

Dreaded Applications

I have to confess I don't enjoy write personal statements or job applications. There are so tedious and boring (Can writing about one self be exciting?). I spent two hours yesterday on a personal statement and I still haven't reached the 1500 word count. And on top of that, I've still got hours to spend editing and polishing it up. After having googled 'I hate writing personal statements', seems like there are many like me, who would much rather be cleaning the bathroom. And if one spend hours on it, and gets declined, it is gutting. But at least you know you can use the same statement (slightly edited of course) for the next job on offer. Or do you write your statements specifically tailored for each application?