jetlag

Homehomehomehomehome. :)

... although, it's more than odd that my dad isn't here, but he'll be here in a few weeks for a short visit.

The flight to Frankfurt was pretty swell because no one flies out or into Abu Dhabi except for my family, apparently. The plane is always empty so we move around and take up at least 4 seats to sleep on. I spent the first few hours watching Hannah Montana: The Movie (oh yes I did) and Tale of Desperaux. The former, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed, namely because a) I coveted her boots the entire movie and was staring at them for a great long while (whenever they were on screen, which, thankfully, was a lot) so I could burn their image into my head for future shopping reference, b) that boy is FOINE, and c) I swear to all things good and great and beautiful and ordinary that our very own Tyler Wheaties had a cameo. DON'T EVEN TRY TO DENY IT, TYLER, YOU WERE THERE. I SAW YOU. Stalking Hannah, of course. Shame on you. Tale of Desperaux was alright, short and sweet and made me want to adopt a teeny little mouse with giant ears. A trip down to Petco should do the trick.

The flight to Los Angeles was horrific, stuffed from nose to tail with smelly humans (although flying out of Germany -- well, flying out of ANY European country is always pretty swell because there are so many pretty people to look at). And every child under the age of 3 was seated in my cabin. If you ever wanted anything to put you off children, make you want them again, and then curse the day babies were invented, it was that flight. But anyways.

We arrived, brother picked us up, and away we went, rented a few movies, started watching Star Wars Episode V and slowly succumbed to jetlag at around 7pm, woke up at midnight to some argument my brother and mom were having, fell back asleep, woke up at 5am and have been up since. My sister was up too so we watched "the Thief Lord" because she'd just read it and I read it ages ago and it was a good book and a pretty good movie to go along side it.

Now I've sat down to make a list of things I need to do asap and holy crap that list is massive and it is staring at me and oh dear. Also, it doesn't help that my laptop is the only computer in the house not connecting to the wireless. Actually, it's worse than that because it's connecting and then telling me it's not connected. Sigh. So I'm on my old desktop which is sadly outdated and all the websites come up wrong and the keyboard is like trying to type on rocks stuck in gelatin and rawr.

Anyways. Better get on that list. I'm reading Proust was a Neuroscientist, for realz this time, and I'm loving it. I want to finish it by the end of the day so I can read the rest of my giant booklist (it's what takes up most of my to-do list, duh) and then I want to see if my mom wants to see 'Julie & Julia' tonight after iftar. Oh and, I'm trying to shift this over to a tumblr (noorinmanc.tumblr.com) but due to this unfortunate internet situation, it's going to be a while. I'll still post to here but it'll be imported there because I like tumblr better, really.

It's been nice being back in the same timezone as mostly everyone. seeeeeeeya.

kuwait

Not much has changed in Kuwait except that the boys have gained guts -- they actually go up to the girls they are stalking in malls to casually make conversation. Seriously? Seriously? What do they expect to come of that? 

Oh! And I got to see a FSHAmate from California which was totally random but really cool. Her cousins were really sweet too and one of them is going to university in Liverpool soon so maybe someday we can meet up in either of our respective cities, which should be fun.

Other than that, I love my cousins and familia and excellent home-cooked food and KDD milk and would like to go back asap. 

In other other news, I'll be California-headed innnnnn two days. Oh wow. I'm really excited to go back and not but mostly excited but I wish I could just spend the next year there, at home. I don't quite feel like expanding on that thought for now so just wait till I'm feeling more articulate and I'll blast you with some homesickness, split four-ways at once. It's exhausting, let me just tell you that. 

PS Pictures will be posted in previous and future posts when I get home and have sufficient internets and all that good stuff.

xkcd

[click for full image]

Um. Does anyone else see the resemblances? Because I do these things and conclude the same thing every day of my life, hahaha.

buffy on ice

... is the show I WISH I saw tonight. "Magic on Ice" was more like a couple sparklers and overenthusiastic, anticlimactic figure skaters set to cheesy music. 

On the other hand, to help me through my trying times of stupidity and lamesauciness, I've decided to make some new friends. They go by the names of Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, and Angel. You should join us. They're pretty awesome. Particularly the 90s grunge rocker chic-ness of it all. Ahh, the 90s, how I love you so.

Oh, and by the by, I read Still Alice a bit ago which got better as it went along. Now I'm reading Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer. I say "reading" but it's more like I've set it aside for the time being to make room for "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Planet Earth" and now Buffy. I'll get back to reading in Kuwait, where even dial-up goes to die a slow, slow death.

ugh

Can I tell you all how pathetic I am? Possibly the most pathetic person on earth. I'm really kind of sick of myself right about now. This is getting ridiculous.

abu dhabi

Other than the glorious weather of 1000% humidity, the coolest (ha) thing in Abu Dhabi is that the green man actually physically walks. Like, in case you forgot how while you were waiting at the curb for the red hand to disappear and grant you movement once more. 

I guess the other coolest thing is that it brought me within driving and meeting distance of Liam, which is always spectacular.

Also, it's just cool to be in the midst of a city that's building itself up literally as I type, with the aim of "Abu Dhabi 2030." It's like I'm sitting right in the centre of this city's full hope and faith in the future, which is quite ... refreshing.

a first, a second & the northern quarter

It took me a while to figure it out after I got my grades. So my overall year average was a 67, which is a 2:1, which is what my mother graduated with and what I have as a jumping off point. I failed not a single module second semester (screw you, biochemistry! and suck it, pharmacology!) I didn't do as amazingly well as, of course, most people would hope to do (I imagine), but I done good. Actually, to be honest, I wasn't happy with my grades until I worked it out that since I had a 64 first semester and now overall a 67, I must have gotten in the second semester ... a 70! A FIRST! That's the bottom of the bottom of the bottom of a first but I got it. It may have even been a 69.5 but I'm still happy with myself. Which makes me wonder where my standards have gone because I have always been the annoying person who gets the 98 and thinks, SO CLOSE DAMMIT. But I must readjust. I've come into an entirely new educational system, which in its first year is really like I've come into second year and I came out mostly, academically unscathed. Meh. I'll let my standards realign for that one.

Now, all year I've wondered where, if anyone came to visit, I would take my friends to show them my Manchester. I think I've yet to find that spot but I am willing to bet it's going to be the Northern Quarter and Deansgate. The Northern Quarter is always very quiet and empty whenever I'm there but it's got the best shops ever and I don't understand why it's not thronging with people. It's that area of town that you don't frequent that much but when you do, you always think, "I should come here more often." The vintage shops, the record stores, the hidden chippy, Affleck's Palace or Place or whatever it is. The art store, oh my goodness the art store. The Bead Shop. And then there's Deansgate where all the ridiculously expensive flats are and the high end shops and the pretty restaurants and it just doesn't seem like part of Manchester. Plattfield Park, down in Fallowfield, is nice too. We'll go there when you come visit, even on a rainy day.

Thinking back, I think I kind of wasted my first year being miserable. Like I should have explored more because I keep thinking, since in second year I'll be more settled, I'll make more of an effort to get out of Gabs. But you're supposed to do that in first year because you have time because, who cares, you're just a fresher. I wasn't ready for it, for what I'd have to deal with, living away from home, living in the UK. Who'da thunk? But everyone here thinks I love it. Which makes me wonder if I've just gotten really good at faking it or if I think that I still have to fake it and that's the real reason I don't think I like it. Was that a little too convoluted? I'm sorry, but it does make sense. Somehow.

We've just gotten home from a 4th of July barbeque with some family friends and it was really great to see them all again. My not-really-aunt gave me a large stack of delectable books to read and I can't wait to get started on them. My mom and sister are off watching the fireworks over the Rose Bowl but I really wasn't in the mood. So I'm at home with my brother and dad, who is packing because he is leaving tomorrow morning for Abu Dhabi. I already miss my dad. We went to yoga today, for the last time for 3 months. Yeah, I really really miss my dad. 

Anyways. Happy Fourth! Go listen to some Benny Benassi, his 'Rock N Rave' album. See you whenever.

Oh, and thank you, PostSecret for being my voice, always: