I nearly fainted before First Lady Michelle Obama walked out onto the stage at Adams Field, at Wayne State University yesterday.
Literally.
It was estimated 5,000 people were waiting for Mrs. Obama to show up. We waited since 8 a.m. The guest of honor did not arrive until a little after 11 a.m.
It was blazing outside. The temperature lingered around 80 degrees.
I noticed the EMS hustling through the crowd four times. The Detroit News reported eight heat-related emergencies.
The only thing provided to the crowd was water. Lots of it.
I took my mom along for the historical moment.
Little did I know I needed her there.
As I was standing in the first few rows in front of the stage, my stomach felt tight and my head felt lite.
There she was, my loyal mother pouring water on my head, telling me to sit down and fanning me with my reporter's notebook. What would I do without her?
We made our way out of the crowd to get fresh air.
I saw two babies and one pregnant girl.
We returned to a side wall that was close to the front stage. I sat down.
I found another girl propped against the wall.
"Drink a lot of water, people are passing out," I told her.
As I sat down, avoiding body heat from the thousands who had gathered for Michelle Obama, I thought about the Day of Judgment.
It's going to be blazing.
Everyone will be waiting...
There will be no escape and truith will prevail.
What a scary reminder on a historical day.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Arizona!
For 99 cents you can sip on a cool green tea with ginseng (something you would've otherwise not have tried), orange and green tea, or even lemonade iced tea.
You probably didn't even know it was good for you.
Green tea helps people with everything from headaches to losing weight. According to an article "The Miracle of Green Tea," the Chinese have been using this tea for medicinal uses for over 4,000 years.
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm
Pomegranate, a beautiful red fruit with compartments of red-ruby looking pulps, is good for: fighting breast cancer, slowing prostrate cancer, prevents osteoarthritis, lowering cholesterol, and even prevents plaque build-up (who would've known?).
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/11-health-benefits-of-pomegranate-juice.html
I remember on 80 degree summer days, I used to walk 4 blocks for a fresh cool taste of Arizona drinks. I didn't mind spending 99 cents on a can, double the size of a coke can, that could easily fill into 2 1/2 8 oz. glasses.
Yum.
My favorite flavors are watermelon and fruit punch. Oh and I love strawberry kiwi too!
After looking at the Arizona company's website, www.drinkarizona.com, I was hynotized by the beautiful spread - mimicking the green tea and gensung bottle design. It's a beautiful green design with pink-brushed flowers, all too much of a coincidence to remind you of the Asian touch on the bottle.
Some of the more expensive bottles, which can be picked up at classier restaurants, including La Pita in Detroit, for $2.95, including the pomegranate green tea drink.
The great thing about Arizona drinks are, its an American drink with an Asian feel and exotic tastes that arouse your taste buds.
The company says their secret to success is their great taste, nice designs, inexpensive price, larger quantity of juice, real ingredients and less money wasted on competitive business ads. They also said, "We make stuff we'd want to drink ourselves."
Drink Arizona!!
www.drinkarizona.com
You probably didn't even know it was good for you.
Green tea helps people with everything from headaches to losing weight. According to an article "The Miracle of Green Tea," the Chinese have been using this tea for medicinal uses for over 4,000 years.
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm
Pomegranate, a beautiful red fruit with compartments of red-ruby looking pulps, is good for: fighting breast cancer, slowing prostrate cancer, prevents osteoarthritis, lowering cholesterol, and even prevents plaque build-up (who would've known?).
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/11-health-benefits-of-pomegranate-juice.html
I remember on 80 degree summer days, I used to walk 4 blocks for a fresh cool taste of Arizona drinks. I didn't mind spending 99 cents on a can, double the size of a coke can, that could easily fill into 2 1/2 8 oz. glasses.
Yum.
My favorite flavors are watermelon and fruit punch. Oh and I love strawberry kiwi too!
After looking at the Arizona company's website, www.drinkarizona.com, I was hynotized by the beautiful spread - mimicking the green tea and gensung bottle design. It's a beautiful green design with pink-brushed flowers, all too much of a coincidence to remind you of the Asian touch on the bottle.
The great thing about Arizona drinks are, its an American drink with an Asian feel and exotic tastes that arouse your taste buds.
The company says their secret to success is their great taste, nice designs, inexpensive price, larger quantity of juice, real ingredients and less money wasted on competitive business ads. They also said, "We make stuff we'd want to drink ourselves."
Drink Arizona!!
www.drinkarizona.com
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Arranged marriage & misconceptions
After a recent conversation with one of my childhood friends, I realized how short life is.
So short that decisions should be made quickly. Not slowly, over time.
They should encompass what you believe in. Not what you detest.
Just two years ago, my husband and I were wed by an arranged marriage. I know a friend who said she'd rather say, "we met through friends," than say "we had an arranged marriage" to avoid rolling eyes and gasps.
I rather tell it like how it is, to clear up the misconceptions of "most" arranged marriages that take place.
Misconception list (in bold) and corrections
a. People get forced by parents to marry a stranger. They are usually not by force. Many arranged marriages are with "someone who knows someone through the family" aka kids of mutual friends or community members.
b. The guy is not 40, the girl is not 12. The age difference among spouses is roughly between 0-10 years apart, in the Bangladeshi culture.
c. They do end up falling in love. In the Quran Allah says "He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put Love and mercy between your (hearts), verily in that are signs for those who reflect (30:21)." Basically love comes with the package.
d. It's not always miserable til the end. In fact, the marriage lasts longer. Multiple analysis have been done, showing arranged marriages last longer than "love marriages" or ones in which both partners chose one another since the marriage is based on compatibility; virtue, attraction, status, and/or family background.
e. People in arranged marriages do not get divorced. The Muslim divorce rate is at 33 percent according to "Blissful Marriage" by Ekram Beshir and Mohamed Beshir. The US divorce rate is 50 percent.
f. People in arranged marriages are not happy. Happiness is fixated with compatibility, making the couple work harder to keep the marriage going than resort to divorce. Divorce is the least acceptable deed to do in Islam. In a hadith it says, when people get divorced on earth, the seven heavens shake.
g. Arranged marriages are oppressive. Forced marriages are not allowed in Islam. While women are to take care of the home and men are to provide financially for the family, there are many rules in-between that allow both spouses to grow independently. At the same time, women are given the freedom to spend their money as they wish and/or to support family but they are to be taken care of rather than work on top of taking care of the kids (what the guys always shy away from doing anyways). Knowing who does what helps decrease the strain on relationships.
So short that decisions should be made quickly. Not slowly, over time.
They should encompass what you believe in. Not what you detest.
Just two years ago, my husband and I were wed by an arranged marriage. I know a friend who said she'd rather say, "we met through friends," than say "we had an arranged marriage" to avoid rolling eyes and gasps.
I rather tell it like how it is, to clear up the misconceptions of "most" arranged marriages that take place.
Misconception list (in bold) and corrections
a. People get forced by parents to marry a stranger. They are usually not by force. Many arranged marriages are with "someone who knows someone through the family" aka kids of mutual friends or community members.
b. The guy is not 40, the girl is not 12. The age difference among spouses is roughly between 0-10 years apart, in the Bangladeshi culture.
c. They do end up falling in love. In the Quran Allah says "He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put Love and mercy between your (hearts), verily in that are signs for those who reflect (30:21)." Basically love comes with the package.
d. It's not always miserable til the end. In fact, the marriage lasts longer. Multiple analysis have been done, showing arranged marriages last longer than "love marriages" or ones in which both partners chose one another since the marriage is based on compatibility; virtue, attraction, status, and/or family background.
e. People in arranged marriages do not get divorced. The Muslim divorce rate is at 33 percent according to "Blissful Marriage" by Ekram Beshir and Mohamed Beshir. The US divorce rate is 50 percent.
f. People in arranged marriages are not happy. Happiness is fixated with compatibility, making the couple work harder to keep the marriage going than resort to divorce. Divorce is the least acceptable deed to do in Islam. In a hadith it says, when people get divorced on earth, the seven heavens shake.
g. Arranged marriages are oppressive. Forced marriages are not allowed in Islam. While women are to take care of the home and men are to provide financially for the family, there are many rules in-between that allow both spouses to grow independently. At the same time, women are given the freedom to spend their money as they wish and/or to support family but they are to be taken care of rather than work on top of taking care of the kids (what the guys always shy away from doing anyways). Knowing who does what helps decrease the strain on relationships.
Monday, May 17, 2010
'Do Not Break Family Ties'
Family, it's what binds us and holds us together.
Like glue, things get sticky.
Like rocks, family can hurt us.
And like paper, sometimes family is flimsy.
But family is the single most important function of our life.
We need parents, or we're orphans.
We need guidance.
Psychologists Kolb and Cavanaugh in Human Development 3rd Edition say when a mother passes away, her function of keeping peace between her children also fades. Children feel a loss of guidance and have a hard time getting along with siblings.
Children.
Children are a sense of joy. For those who have many, it can be stressful to maintain order however they are the light of our eyes.
Like glue, things get sticky.
Like rocks, family can hurt us.
And like paper, sometimes family is flimsy.
But family is the single most important function of our life.
We need parents, or we're orphans.
We need guidance.
Psychologists Kolb and Cavanaugh in Human Development 3rd Edition say when a mother passes away, her function of keeping peace between her children also fades. Children feel a loss of guidance and have a hard time getting along with siblings.
Children.
Children are a sense of joy. For those who have many, it can be stressful to maintain order however they are the light of our eyes.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Emotions and Pain
After completing my developmental psychology class today, I realized I'm an emotionally stress, a Type B personality.
In other words I'm lazy, late, and get anxious over little things.
Emotions are what we feel. Emotions make people who they are. They are sometimes uplifting, sometimes nerve-wrecking and at other times...they are just what they are. Feelings.
Feelings and pain can often blur between the lines.
Pain is something we experience emotionally or physically.
God made us in different ways.
For those who do not feel physical pain much, as far as getting hurt, bleeding, soring, and require less Tylenol or Motrin, he gave us emotional pain in the form of stress.
He made us different to test us.
In other words I'm lazy, late, and get anxious over little things.
Emotions are what we feel. Emotions make people who they are. They are sometimes uplifting, sometimes nerve-wrecking and at other times...they are just what they are. Feelings.
Feelings and pain can often blur between the lines.
Pain is something we experience emotionally or physically.
God made us in different ways.
For those who do not feel physical pain much, as far as getting hurt, bleeding, soring, and require less Tylenol or Motrin, he gave us emotional pain in the form of stress.
He made us different to test us.
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