giving

We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.

-Winston Churchill

for the boys who never became men

so you can grieve and move on with life ... i am sorry that i can't be beside you in your pain ...

well in case you failed to notice
in case you failed to see
this is my heart bleeding before you
this is me down on my knees
these foolish games are tearing me apart
your thoughtless words are breaking my heart
you're breaking my heart

- Jewel, foolish games

فال شب مهتابی

کنار آب و پای بید و طبع شعر و یاری خوش
معاشر دلبری شیرین و ساقی گلعذاری خوش
الا ای دولتی طالع که قدر وقت می‌دانی
گوارا بادت این عشرت که داری روزگاری خوش
هر آن کس را که در خاطر ز عشق دلبری باریست
سپندی گو بر آتش نه که دارد کار و باری خوش
عروس طبع را زیور ز فکر بکر می‌بندم
بود کز دست ایامم به دست افتد نگاری خوش
شب صحبت غنیمت دان و داد خوشدلی بستان
که مهتابی دل افروز است و طرف لاله زاری خوش
چو می در کله جامست وساقی در نیامیزد
که مستی می‌کند با عقل و می‌بخشد خماری خوش
به غفلت عمر شد حافظ بیا با ما به میخانه
که شنگولان خوش باشت بیاموزند کاری خوش

harder times

I haven't been writing for a while and the reason, unfortunately, is mostly sad events rather than happy ones. I've been distracted, preoccupied and stressed. All of this being said, I should mention that the "situations", for the lack of a better word, I have been dealing with were mostly related to my loved ones rather than me. I don't mean to downplay their dealings with all of this but for my side, I guess, it just all came at the same time and took me by surprise.

I'd like to take a step back to the happy event before I think about the sad ones. We, as Sharif graduates, had our fifth international reunion in Vancouver. I was on the organizing committee and we hosted over 300 people. It all ran very smoothly. I learnt about the origin of the Sharif University of Technology Association (SUTA) and met a few of the people who had actually started the whole thing. We even had a surprise birthday on the last day ...

But the problems! Since it's people's personal matters it would probably be a better idea for me not to delve into them too deep. I'll just point to a few things.

I, for one, have never been that big a fan of marriage. It never quite made sense to me for someone to commit him/herself to someone for the rest of their life when they didn't know what the rest of their life would bring. You may say that it has worked for so many generations in the past, but that is exactly my point. That was in the past. In my opinion our parents were probably the last generation that could, as a society, live up to the old definitions of marriage. In today's world man and woman change so fast and independent from one another that they can easily evolve into very different beings with little commonality.

Now, my opinion is not meant as an invasion on the institution of family but more of a cry for the need to move around the boundaries and find something that would fit the mold of modern society. Just think of it this way, an average successful marriage in North America is estimated at around 5 years and we are promising our partners until death do us part! I would understand something along the lines of I promise to love and cherish you until the day we are happy and I will fight for being happy with you ...

Despite my pessimistic views towards traditional marriages, I was shocked to hear of so many of my friends having issues. I guess theorizing about matters and understanding them logically is far from accepting them emotionally. Some relationships have run their course, others are hanging by a thread and some are slowly working their way to getting stronger. At this point there is no saying where we will all be standing once the tide is gone, all I can hope for is that one day when they look back at this they can say I am pleased about the decisions I made ....

for the past

and I'm so sick of love songs
so tired of tears
so done with wishing you were still here
said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
so why can't I turn off the radio?

- so sick, Ne-Yo

life

Give me books, fruit, french wine, fine weather, and a little music ...

- John Keats