A Happy 2007 to All of Us

Li’l A is DDR-ing with his friend Nuri in my bedroom. Big A can’t tear himself away--if we had an extra mat, I just know he’d be bopping too.

Nuri goes home after the chicken and salad that‘s coming up. Then Li’l A and Big A and I are going to hang out in bed with the cashews and almonds that I roasted not ten minutes ago, watch LOTR, and toast the new year with margaritas/fizzy apple cider. This year, that’s how our party rolls.

However you celebrate your NYE, a very Happy New Year to you and yours.

Love.

Hugs.

See you in '07.

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TOAST

C’est la vie
So they sail away
Waving and winded
Their hair like
Unfinished stitches.
Inheriting our hands
Our bloodied history
Our layering of apology
Like noise upon snow.
Carpe diem, grab them,
Hold them. Hold them and sing.
Hold them the way you’d mean to
If you knew there was no mourning.


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THEN FIRST THINGS

What begins with a Bee
Doesn’t always sting
It can soar, stare, sing
Like so: b. i. r. d.

What begins with a No
Is not forever loss, veto
Nap-tossed, it meets to moan
From either side: NooN. NooN.
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Sometimes life is indeed like a Bollywood movie

The family of _____ no longer talk to him following his wedding to his long-time girlfriend _____, a member of ____’s lower caste Yahar community.

Total Bollywoood ishtyle, no? Except it takes place in Somalia and reads:

The family of Sahal Abdi-kafi no longer talk to him following his wedding to his long-time girlfriend Zamzam Ahmed, a member of Somalia's lower caste Yahar community.

Most delightful points of note in the article are:
(a) the wonderfully-named Zamzam.
(b) that the title of the post isn’t me, but a quote from the bride.

Seriously. See last line of the linked article. Now i'm off to see if my sister will indulge my desire to be called "Zamzam."

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Conference It

Yup. It's me, and i'm still awake. I'm taking the earliest train to Philly for a conference in a few hours--obviously, there's not much point in going to sleep now.

The good news is that the thorough comprehensiveness of my paper title just about slays me.

The bad news is that saying "Falling Outside the Tracks We Laid: An Exploration Through Prose, Pictures, and Film of the non Assimilation of Indian-Africans During East-African Nationalism and British Colonialism" a modest seven or so times will inevitably exhaust the twenty or so minutes i'll have to present.


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www.savedarfur.org

Once there was this. Now, messy with kindness and love, there is this:

Thanks, Big A.

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Call them RIDs (Resolution Implementation Dates)

I have the feeling that I’m going to succumb to the season and put out a list of resolutions soon. Just wanted to establish this heads up that the peculiar mix of institutional timetables, personal milestones, and Hindu holidays that make up my internal calendar means that Jan 1st is only the first of many possible start days.

Here are some other possible re-start dates or RIDs:


Jan 14th
Pongal day, the start of the most auspicious month in the Tamil calendar.

Jan 15th
Start of the Hilary term.

Jan 23rd
Saraswati Puja--perfect for academic projects.

March 4th
My birthday = the inevitable stock-taking exercise.

March 20th
Ugadi, Telugu New Year.

April 14th
Putthandu, Tamil New Year.

April 23rd
Start of the Trinity Term.

--------Summer Vacation------ (what??!!)

One fine day in August
Brand new university academic year.

One Fine Day in September
Brand new grade school academic year.

September 15th
Ganesh Chaturthi, the celebration of he who removes obstacles. Start all the difficult stuff today.

One Fine Day in October
Brand new academic year in the UK (start Michelmas term).

October 21st
Vijaya Dasami, Dussehra’s day of Victory (could anything be more promising?).

November 11th
Diwali/Lakshmi Puja. Most propitious date to make financial resolutions.

Just how perfect is the procrastination that brings me scarily close to the start of 2008?



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