I Hate Wars...

& I'm afraid for those who are involved & I'm frightened that my country may burst into the war again.
War is the ugliest word I've ever encoutered. It's the ultimate destructiveness of human beings. No other species kills his kind for such unimportant reasons like who has more right to love God. No one has the right to take away somebody else's life but Lord himself. Where are the love-lessons we learend?
What happened to the 'Song of Joy'? I'm afraid that we all have forgotten that we all have one earth, one destiny, one goal....
I hate this power games that political men play. I hate that people have to be killed so that 'some' people gain the 'right' over the 'holy' Land.

A War...

Is Middle East is bursting into another war? Will we be able to see peace one day settled here?

To Care...

Is there any reason I should miss a relationship I ended myself? I mean we were not right for eachother. & honestly I did not like the fact that he had become dependent on me, yet sometimes I miss his presence... some tiny moments I think well, if he was here... & that is not how I like it to be.
My friend Kat tells me it's only natural. Yet it does not ease the pain. What shall I do?

Hairdresser's

Well, That is one thing I love to do... Go down to my hair dresser & let her praise my hair while giving it a new style.
I usually keep my hair short but right now I'm growing it out for the few weddings I'm about to take part it.
Anyhow, I re-highlighted my hair... It's kinda brownish honey & a few shades lighter than my natural hightlights so my apearance in slightly changed. I like the new look by the way.
It's starnge how a very little change can totally invert your mood to a much better & more relaxed mood. It's refreshing to look good.
This Sunday would be the first Wedding I intend to go to. Both Bride & Groom are younger than me & that is somewhat strange. How the guys I consider as kids (They are 22 & 24 respectively) are ready to commit for a lifetime? Well, it's not my place to be questioning the motives... I wish them happiness & meanwhile I'll ride my own life.

The Riders

A friend told me the other night:
There are 2 types of people: The ones who let the life ride them & the ones who ride the life... which one are you going to be?
The question is which one are you?

World Cup, ITALY & I

So Italy won the soccer world cup & we, Italy fans around the world, are celebrating.
Sometimes I think about the unity football brings to our lives. We laugh & cry & we enjoy one moment together all around the world.
Isn't it beautifull: you feel connected to millions others watching the same thing. Even imagining this would have been impossible a century ago & a century is a relatively short time in history of men. How far have we really come?

Oh Yeah & another nice sms:
Life is just as long as a short nap under an apple tree.
Just thought to share that.

Dear Pantra,

I dont know who had said that saying... It was just on a note smsed to me. & By the way I can not check your blog due to the word that is used to describ your blog. It's my stupid proxy at work.
I hope you would be fine.

How life can become better....

I read a saying today which really cought my attention:
I'm the only one who can make myself complete.
I need to ponder on that.

Iranian historical disks to be sold by Chicago University:

Regardless of the point of how & why Iran is involved in the bombing & the reason that Iran has to pay instead of Palestinians; it is ethically wrong to sell a nations root. Thos discs are from some at least 2500 tears ago & they belong to Iranian nation not one person, not a government or idea. They are part of what any Iranian was, is, & part of what any Iranian would be. They are not some worthy items to be sold to pay penalty. They value more than some *million $$$* they are our pride & pride is not something u can put a price tag on.
This is humiliation to all mankind for if one does not care for history of a region, he wont care for the future of man.

The stupid thing about proxies:

Well, come to think of it, it’s not right to write blogs from work yet it does not mean that the word ‘blog’ should be filtered! I gain a lot of my knowledge & information from Food Industry blogs & Blogs which write about cooking & sanitation. They keep me updated. They keep informed. So why should I not have access to them?
During world cup the word sport & also the category had been filtered at work & it was stupid cos I was the one who had to update the sport page of our intranet & I had too gain info from TV! Wasn’t that funny? & now again there is no filter on sport!

What is about the simple life that fascinates me?

I don’t know… simple as is, I don’t have a clue why I love life. & dreadfully enough sometimes, I don’t understand my own motives for living. Yet life goes on & I love it & I do not give a damn why.

In of some Fresh Air

Sometimes all you have is the leftovers of a dream…. & sometime you’re living the ‎dream of someone else. I don’t want to be that dream, all I want is the right to breathe.‎

The weather is sizzeling hot!

Last night it rained. Well, rain is not the word... It poured! Dont get me wrong, I'm in love with summer rain & I enjoyed the weather alot last night.
What I dont like about these summer rains is the fact that it gets too hot right after it. I had been on field, auditing & monitoring some stores & honestly, I feel like a boiled egg right now!
Life is back on track & I love the new freedom that I have.
Here I go to enjoy my life.

It’s officially over.

We broke up & I feel free. I feel like I can fly. I never knew commitment could become a prison suffocating someone’s freedom to the extent that the soul begins to wither.
We’re still friends, if that would be what he could manage with & I don’t like to think that I hurt him. I just hope he would well-off on his own merry way.
Having a boyfriend was the stupidest mistake I ever done in my life.

Never Been the commitment type?

No... Commitment is good as long it does not cut your wings!
I'm the bird you cannot keep... You can only enjoy the song!

My Job Account has banned blogspot!

You wont believe it! They have found a word in the address as the 'Adult Maretial' which is blo..gspot. I can post in my blog through blogger & read the comments by turning on the comment moderation but I cannot view my blog myself! Isn't it strange?
I'm off to a trip this week & I'm looking forward to it. After the whole things that happened here at work I really need a break.
Sometime ago I thought "ok... maybe it's me who cannot work with jerks" but now it seems that the Jerks cant work with me.
My crew had gained an acknowlgment for our 'outstanding efforts concerning improvements on health issues' & yet the acknowlegment had turned into a tool to justify the wrong-doings of the contractor. We work hard, design healthy foods & struggle to make it as we are planned & someone else take credit of it!
It seems that I'm risking my job being 'the extreamist'! Whatever....
By the way, I need to exercise more. I started walking to the tower (my workplace) in the morning & that means I have to wake sooner! I had never been an early bird so that's kind of a problem. Yet I'm determind to do it. I need to find a way to let out the stress.

Being indifferent?

Ed you asked me why I was being indifferent to the whole situation going on in Iran. Why I did not mention anything about Women’s Right Demonstration where ladies have been beaten up by women! & why did I not react to the news that Government is going to classify minor religions over here? And why I act like ‘the only important matter you’re dealing with is the bastard over there at work’? you wanted to know if I had been there in the demonstration, if I consider the general atmosphere dangerous?
Yes! I had been there…. & yes I have seen my fellow-country-mates getting black & bruised. But what is the point of my writing? Over here is blog-land, where news is up-to-second there are hundreds of people (men & women) writing about it. I do appreciate their work of art as they enlighten the world about the situation we are in; however, there should be people like me who show the world the daily, uninteresting, tedious life.
Yes I had been there & I had witnessed the soldiers in that part of Tehran. I was not brave enough to join the demonstration but I had been there. And yes, I do participate in some NGOs regarding social matters, yet I do not live in fear on a daily basis.
What all these information does to Iranians outside Iran? They feel the ones down here are living in a hell, & they don’t have freedom to express themselves. That’s true to some extent, but you have to be here to understand the situation…. It’s not that dark here & we are not suffocating, At least not the ones who don’t want to!
I do face a lot of injustice everyday…. I’m looked down on cos I am woman. I see the needy trying to survive & I do find it hard sometimes to shut my mouth up on the racism against other religions than Islam. You are right! But could you tell me it’s different somewhere else?
Can you ensure me that if I immigrate to some idle place I would not face any of these injustice? Can you tell me that I would not be overlooked due to my religion, race or sex? Can I have the freedom to argue about the political policies of the government over there? Do you have the freedom to shout what you think of environment status, & if you do, does it make a difference?
I’m not being indifferent! No! I’m just trying to write my dairy here in world wide web. The daily life of someone who is not sophisticated enough to get caught up in the complicity of the world around her. People outside Iran need to see the routine life under the pressure. They need not to worry more than what they do now. I don’t want nice people like Alice worry themselves over us. We are still living… still fighting & still hopeful of a better life!

WorldCup & Me!

What the heck! I mean I had always been a soccer fan... a hard core one on that. & I guess it does not help that my national team is playing in the event! Soccer World Cup is one event where a lot of people all over the world take part in. When you are Iranian, Football ran through your blood like politics. You cannot avoid it!
However, today I am much disappointed in Team Melli's Coach, Goal-Keeper & the Attacker. Due to personal mistakes we lost to Mexico last night.... Which evokes the question that why would our coach put the one goal-keeper in the main who had recieve 11 goals in 2 not-so-important-home matches while there were younge & talented ones wasting their watching the show?

Keeping in Touch with Friends

I had been reading dear Lynn's Blogs a few days ago & I came across with her post about keeping in touch with friends & since I cannot leave her comments (due to the fact that my internet supplier filter them), I thought I leave it here for her to see it & maybe share it with others.
I have a friend whom I haven't met since 4 years ago & haven't talk to since almost a year ago, still I consider her my friend.... Cos friendship to me is not about the time you spend with eachother, it's more about the way they stand up for you & the way you feel about them. I know that she will be here anytime I need her & visa versa if she goes (God forbid) into any trouble I would stand by her till the End. Friendship as Lynn had mentioned needs working on. You need to stay in touch & to give in order to maintain it, however. There is saying in Persian which goes: "One who is out of eyes (in not in sight), is out of hearts (is forgotten)." & that is true most of the times.
Yet there are times when I dont feel like being nice to my friends. There are times I wish to be left alone & I wish to abandon everyone & close up. A good friend will definitely understand my need for loneliness. They will understand that I need my own time to rearrange myself. & a while later I will go back & make it up to them.
On the other hand, sometimes spending time apart would enforce the friendship. It will let you consider the possible ways to improve the relationship & figure out the points that you could not see while inside the relationship.
Anyhow, Dear Lynn I'm gratefull that you keep in touch with me.
PS: El... if you ever get to read this post, I just want you know I still love you & You're always in my heart. Your Twin.

Nostalgia

Well, I want to dedicate this post to my friends on whom I have not updated for a while. It’s not that I have been ignoring them; it’s just that I never wanted to believe that we have changed.
What happened to that old gang who used to play around & have fun? We set out to find what life has stored in bag for us.
At school we used to hang out & do almost everything jointly. We managed homework, projects & curricular activities together, doing our best creating a world of success around us. WE were invincible.
Then life moved on; & we moved on as well. Boys attended military service & we started working each one in a different field. The gang still meets up every now & then however the time is too limited for us who used to be together 24/7.
Pat, Mat & Lolly-pop have started their own hydroponic Strawberry farm & are planning a packaging unit for their farm just as they got out of military services. Ava works for a reputable confectionary factory as R&D manager.
Miss Poetess is getting her masters degree & is about to get married to wealthy guy. She & Teddy sort of fell out of the gang & they headed their own way.
Miss Sensitive had gotten married a while ago & moved to north of Iran with her husband, though she is still attending our get-togethers as much as she can & have stay in touch. She is the technical manager of a preserving company.
Mamoosh is now working as the head manager of one of our friend’s factory. She is very well respected & very successful in her career. Her boyfriend is planning their wedding in the near future.
And then there’s me, who still work as food hygiene expert & I try to do my best but sometimes it’s hard to cooperate with the stupid guys around me.
& yeah, I’m breaking up with my boyfriend… there is nothing wrong with him or our relationship but I feel bored & disappointed cos love was not what I always thought it would be. There is no argument, no harm, not a single disagreement yet I feel caged & sentenced to commitment at the verge of suffocating. I need my privacy back. I need to be on my own. I need to feel free of the guilt that I don’t share my time & interests with him. He had been a very nice guy, too romantic sometimes but I feel like throwing up whenever I heard a sentimental word. Isn’t that strange? I had always been the touchy-feely one, however I move away from him recently.
It’s not him. It’s me. & I don’t know what to do. I tried to talk him into breaking up but it’s not working. He is not ready to let go & that’s bad. What shall I do?

The Caricature

Well, you might have heard of the offending caricature that has been published in a news paper here in Iran. A group of our country-mates had been offended since it has been written in a local language of west-north of Iran.
Since it had been published a lot of protests & demonstrations has been going on around the country. Yesterday, some had been gathered in front of the national TV to show their protest. I still wonder how that would help to solve the problem.
In the first place, the caricature shouldn’t have been published but now that the jobs done, what’s the use of all these fuss? The Chief editor in charge of the news paper is held under supervision of legal forces & the paper itself is banned from being published. An apology had been written even before the protests begin.
I hope one day we all learn to respect others & forgive their mistakes. It’s not like that a little mistake can’t be overlooked.

My Job Account

Well, AT last!
I've got the internet account over here at my office which means I would be updating more & more.
Tehran has had a few cool nights in the last week & I went out of town for the weekend. The weather is still nice & we had a lot of fun.
I'm not still adapted to my new schdual at work. but hey, as long as I have internet access that does not matter.

Changes

I wonder if I had changed into something I don’t want to be. Sometimes it’s like I don’t even know myself. It’s pretty unnerving when I find myself in a situation & I know that I’m acting in a wrong a way.
Isn’t it strange? During the last year, sometime during developing my job, I have turned into a judgmental, skeptical & guarded fellow who is always watching her back. My naturally easygoingness had altered to a rigid, up-to-a-limit decision making which had reduced the creativity in my job.
& that’s exactly what I’m supposed to be: a good-for-nothing OFFICER who only does what she is told or else she might lose her job. Due to some wicked lies of an addicted fibber I have transformed from an energetic young force in the site to a malicious melodrama queen who only seeks her own profits. & I guess I have my role in it: I had been over reacting to the wrong that was going on around me, & I had sticks to the ethics & morals I have been brought upon. It was not in my power to be leisurely oblivious to the deficiencies in my field. I could not sit & wait for people to do their jobs.
I have my mistakes too. I take business personal. I take my job as if my life depends on it; as if the whole free world destiny depends on accuracy & perfection of it. What’s more, patience had never been one of my practical virtues. I need to get to results in the shortest time possible.
All these had led me to land of doubtfulness. Indeed, I don’t know where I am going right now. There is no job-security, no job-satisfaction & nothing to start the day for. The pay-check is ok… it pays the bills & I get to have a lot fun. (& that means I earn enough to be able to afford the luxury of leisure.) However, as one of my colleagues once said: “We are all lost in the daily usualness of our lives.” We wake up, Go to Work, do the same job every day & come back home unsatisfied & hurt only to sleep & then wake up to yet another routine image of life.
Yet, I feel I need to set off to find new opportunities. Maybe it’s time I spread my wings & fellow with the wind & let the luck lead me away.
Iran’s critical condition is one of the few reasons I don’t like practice the idea above. Any move in the misty & uncertain situation we’re hanging in, can lead to a total disaster, cos there are no means to calculate the right moves. & I had lost the ability to risk. The funny point is, ironically not making a move too can lead to a catastrophe!
My contract will be over this week & there are talks of expanding it for the next 3 months. Till then I will have my Masc. exam results & shall be able to choose a right way out. Whatever may come, I don’t like the changes in me. I need to get back to the person I was before & soon.

Mr. Bluff

I really need to practice more self-control. I need to practice patience, which honestly has never been one of my not-so-many virtues.
What is THE matter? Simple: recently a colleague is getting on my nerve! Although I am much younger, he is the one who is inferior in rank. What I mean is that actually, I happen to be the boss & he happens to be under my supervision; which seems to be incomprehensible for him. It had never been one of my tactics to boss around or give orders. It’s more like me to ask for a favor rather than directing a command & that has gotten me in the situation where he shouts at me in front of a crowd. Thus, I feel it’s really time I did something about it.
The point is that ‘doing something about it’ means I have to go to mattresses & pick up a war & I have to neglect the respect I show him due to his elderliness.
It’s not the first time he had tried to interfere with my duties at work. I try not to be judgmental yet he never did his job the way he was supposed to do & when I tried to cover the part he must be doing, he felt in danger & tried his best to keep me out of the situation.
It’s partially my fault too. Being the perfectionist that I am, I never feel satisfied enough with the situation. & also I did let him overtake me because of my boyfriend.
You know that I supervise the cuisine contactor in my company. My boyfriend happened to be the contractor representative at the time we started going out. Due to the situation & the fact that in Iran having a boyfriend is kind of a TABOO for government (I work for a governmental company), I preferred to keep my relationship down low. Joop & I never let our relationship get in the middle of our jobs & soon he resigned & left the place. The colleague I’m talking about who is also an overseer figured that we were friends & send the reports to the heads which only led to me staying more in the office instead of the site & that made the quality of food so bad that the complains made them put me back on site.
I never mentioned a thing to him though. & I never mentioned that it was his fault & flaw, which made them put me back on site. Heaven knows it was much easier for me to be in the office cos basically that meant more power for me with less mess.
Now that I am back on the site again, I guess he feels terrorized, & he looks scared of losing his job because almost everybody knows he is an addict. & that is why he is getting on my nerve. He fears I try to get even! & I don’t know what to do really… he is preventing me from doing my job but I don’t think it’s fair to his family to have him out of job. Anyhow, he must learn a few lessons & the first is to know who the boss is.

I'm Just Back from a vacation...

Well, if you are a somebody here & you want to hang out by the beach in your own country... Kish is the place to go!
Ok you always have the Caspian 2 hours away, BUT Persian Golf is really something else. I always liked the south beach more than the north one.
However, I must admit that this trip had been sort of disappointment this time. I did have a ball at the Dolphin Park & the trip around the Island was absolutely fantastic; yet it didn't stop me from being a pain in the neck for my companians. & it didn't stop my friend either.
It was like we intentionally wanted to hurt each other which considering the fact that we've known eachother practically our whole lives, seemed rather odd. Yet that was a very good exprience.... I learened that even my closest friend sometimes doesn't understand my needs. & I learened that I am the one who has to deal with it. No matter what, I shouldn't have let small things ruin our time.
Anyhow, just leave it that. I know some of the readers may know her & they might get upset.
WE stayed at the 5-Star Shayan Hotel & due to the renovations undergoing very slowly we faced some incoviniences. Yet it is the hotel you stay in if you want to have fun. Although kish is an island, Shayan is the only hotel which accomidate you with private beach. & you can enjoy a lot of water sports as well as a good service. However, the bulding itself is old & you may find it not as neat as a 5-star is supposed to be. Besides it's the nearest one to the Malls so....
BTW, It was too windy for us to go jetskiing but a lot of people were wind surfing which was really nice.
This week is going to be a hard one at the office. We're swiching contractors & everything's a mess.
Wish me Luck.

Three Earthquakes Level Iranian Villages

& That's that?
I mean it's unbelieveable that a colugue of mine just called me up to ask if I was back from my vacation & if I was harmed & "fortunately the number of deads were low"! By Lord, how could he say such a thing?
The point is that I know the number is not even comparable to Bam earthquake yet... 1200 people are dead! & beside that... lots of others are homeless & need imidiate help. Westren parts of Iran is very cold in this season & I dont think without help the survivers can live long. Survivers... isn't this word supposed to be beautiful & give u a sence of secureness? Well, right now the only thing I can see is the ugly part of the word. I was just on the phone with my boyfriend & he tried to calm me down a bit with no success! He says I worry too much about the things I can not control....
There I said it! I mean the big news was... MY First Boyfriend! I'm not sure why we started dating! Anyhow, I've been dating this guy for 3 months now & well, it seems kind of ridicules now.
Forget it.... I may write about it soon. I just wanted you to know I am safe & sound.
And dont forget to donate.... These people need whatever you can get.... & most of all they need our support.

Is there any reason I cannot post on blogger?

I've been dieing to tell everyone the news but I could not log in to blogger.
Anyhow happy Iranian new year & I shall be back soon.

Plane Crashed...

I was not even in Tehran at the time. But it came to us as kind of a shock because it crashed in a residental area near airport. The whole crew & passengers of the plane passed away but the late captain did a very nice job & tried to land the plane with minimum destruction. Yet only those who have a little knowlege of poileting will understand this.
Right now the question is why the plane had taken off in the first place cos there had been soemthing wrong with it before. & the Defence minister has been called to Parliment to answer the questions.

My TOEFL Score Has Arrived!

& I do not believe my eyes! I got 657 out 0f 670 on the paper based test. Although as I reckoned before my TWE (Test of Written English) score is not good & I just received 4 out of 6 which is very low considering the score I expected. Well, that’s not surprising cos the time run out before I could write the conclusion for the writing test. I wish I could use other parts’ time to finish up my writing but alas. If I could, I would have around 15 minutes added to my 30-minutes time for writing & it would have been more than enough for me to complete my test.
I am still shocked for my general score, however. This means that I only had 3 wrong answers in the whole test! Which is absolutely crazy! I really didn’t think I would be able to perform that well on the test due to that fact that I was fasting. Besides, 657 is … I don’t know, it’s like a dream come true.
I’m not usually one to make a fuss about scores. Yet even the most self-obsessed part of me could not imagine this. I would have appreciated 630 but after seeing my friends’ scores, I assumed that mine would be around 600 or less. So either I have gotten lucky or the test score is wrong!
The funny point is that this particular score will do nothing for me. English knowledge is not appreciated very much at my company, not in my section anyway. & there would be no way I can use this score as long as I am in Iran.
That’s why I have seriously started to think about studying abroad. I don’t know where I can find a good university with low costs. & honestly, right now I feel it’s really unfair that my friend who has a lot of trouble making a sentence in English has the opportunity to study abroad cos she has become an immigrant due to her father’s status. I know I should not write this & I definitely understand that I should not envy her for the things she has. That’s not the way friends should feel about each other. But right now, I don’t feel like practicing the morals I have been brought up on.
I wish I could find something that she, herself had achieved without the help of her parents, so that I could relate her privileges to them. Life is not fair. & I have to shut up before I give in to this bottled-up-silently-screaming anger that I feel right now.
Adios.

Loneliness

And the emptiness is lethal. & the more I isolate myself, the more I feel hallow. & the more I try, the less I find a way out….
So everyday I just put off waking up to avoid facing arid days & I linger in my bed while my thoughts fly away to the nothingness land.
The ridiculous point is even in my dreams I am not content. I run away to fantasy yet even there, there is no comfort. So I just lie there in my bed & try hard to concentrate on an empty void…. Since it really doesn’t matter what I’m pondering about, the result is the same: I end up in emptiness & emptiness is lethal.

These is of our Garden's Pix

Dreams

I’ve been writing down my dreams ever since I can remember & it had led to me writing some pieces. Some time ago, I was searching through my notes & I found some of my old ones, one is based on a dream I had.
I wonder if it is right that our unconscious mind shows it’s creativity while we’re asleep. I mean right before I fall asleep all these ideas float into my mind & if only I could catch one of them, I would be able to write a masterpiece.
I gather some dreams are the ‘to-be-continued-s’ of my pre-sleep story-weavings. It is like I see the first episode when I’m still half-awake & in my slumber I make out the outline of the fantasy & then I dream it.
Do we have command on what we dream? I read Freud’s book of dreams recently. & he didn’t seem to think that human can control what they see in dreams. Well, he thinks that ‘we’ partially make dreams during the day. Yet he defines it as an uninhibited process. My question is if anybody else has ever controlled his or her dreams.

I Promise to write in a week time....

Life just had been hectic around here! Although the fasting month meant I should have more time... alas for my *how-can-I-put-it-politely-that-he-is-a-pain-in-the-neck?* had to assign me to some unrelevent subjects so....
Forget it! I have to run now... be back soon!

There is an issue on my mind…

Iran is one those countries where anything related to se* is taboo. I mean even talking about marital problems related to it is somewhat rude & is considered offending to some.
This attitude is changing among younger generation though. Most of my friends are comfortable about discussing se*ual relationships & are very open-minded toward the whole thing in comparison to others. Being in a relationship with someone & love-making out of the wedlock (which used to be a HUGE shame) is becoming more & more practiced & most of young generation accept that as part of a relationship.
I’m not saying that the idea & the whole situation is right or wrong. Here I’m just trying to draw a picture of how step by step we’re walking toward this kind of freedom to live our own lives regardless of what others think. Good or bad this has been the trend for sometime & although most parents are somehow against it, it seems to be fashionable to be in a se*ual relationship.
I myself don’t have any issue with people who consummate out wedlock. Basically it’s their right to do whatever they want to do & it’s none of anyone’s business. While I’m not comfortable to practice it myself, I do hate it when people try to force others to go their way & stay in some kind of a mind frame whether it is for or against se*uality.
This is not the issue I want to discuss right now, because heterosexual relationship is on its way of acceptance. It is homosexual relations which need to be discussed. What I don’t understand is why the people who understand the relationship between male & female & are bragging about being humanist & believing in the extreme freedom of human rights, have such big issues with homosexuality.
I know that it’s not the natural way of having a relationship to say the least. But who are we to oppose the nature of someone & tell them what to do?
Looking at it from religious point of view, both consummating out of wedlock & homosexuality are referred to as sins. So if anyone wants to stick to the orders of religion then they must not practice either of them. Boasting about one’s ability in one area & bashing the other doesn’t seem right.
Furthermore, homosexuality is not a disease which needs quarantine. I mean homosexuals should not be abandoned or be treated as some kind of a trash or germ. They just go after something which is not practiced by others. They have a right over their body & they have the right to use it the way they want to.
I know that even in modern countries homosexuality is still regarded ‘unnatural’ & I don’t think in very long time it will be considered ‘normal’ in my country. Still I feel the need to state my opinion & stand up for their right. While I have to admit it is weird for me to have gay friends, I don’t necessarily find it disgusting. They are humans like us, they only behave differently.

What’s going on in my life?

A lot actually! First of all there had been big changes around the country & our new president is introducing his cabinet. Everybody in the office is concerned about who will be the next OIL Minister (since I’m working in a governmental company supervised by Oil ministry). Honestly I didn’t have the chance to watch all the debates going on in parliament regarding the qualifications of ministry candidates, which is a shame. I only get to watch the summery in the news & it’s not enough for me! Therefore I don’t know whether these people are good or not.
Now that it’s mentioned, the fact that most of the candidates are new to the territory of public politics is not much of help either. Pr. Ahmadinejad has vowed to change the whole ‘big names get the job’ situation of the government & he seems to stick to his vows.
As much as Sticking to the vows is a plus to his presidency, I still have some issues with the way he dresses. After pr. Khatami with his elegant manners, it’s kind of hard for me to look at the new president & don’t think of buying him a comb & some razors!
The other big matter around here is cholera. It seems that we have been attacked by quickly-spreading microbe & it makes my professional life a living hell since I have to control every article of raw material coming to the company. I had to announce that we are in the red 4 weeks ago & all kinds of fruit & fresh vegetables are removed from our serving line. I have to admit that it is easier said than done when it comes to practicing ‘high’ hygiene procedures. Most of the time, I have to argue with chefs & cooks to obey the strict hygiene rules & it’s really unnerving to see them take it lightly.
Next big thing going on is that we’re renovating our house. Although we’ve planning for sometime now, it is still very hard for us to manage & complete everything before fall. I don’t want anyone touching my stuff & it makes it even harder for me to get through everything.
MS entrance exam results would be out in about a week & it’s pushing my patience to the edge. It’s not like I’m expecting to get admitted, still…. In my humble opinion, I’ve done a practically good job, being in the one third who got the green lights for the interviews. Yet something inside me is hopeful for the fighting chance I might have been admitted. Let’s I like to dream about it!
Now… I missed writing for my blog. I missed the whole concept of being able to voice your opinion without having to worry about what others think (not that I cared A LOT about what others thought!). & I missed everyone here.

Are Moslems terrorists?

We had been discussing the issue lately with some of my Christian friends. & it absolutely amazed me how wrong the world interpret some basic rules of Islam. & self-acclaimed Moslems do help that idea! They threaten & terrorize the mass who had nothing to harm them.
Islam basically says if anyone attacked you, you must fight against them, either that or if you’re threatened. There is no such rule as to attack street done to Islam? innocent people! What harm had people in the
The point is that most of these self-acclaimed Moslems firmly believe that west government had done a lot of harm trying to isolate Moslems. Yet I don’t see why they punish innocent civilians instead of the powerful government ruling their lives!
Where is the mercy Islam order for us to practice? Islam says love your neighbors! & we believe in all the prophets who had been before Muhammad & we believe in all the religions before Islam.Why would we want to hurt others? We’re not terrorists! Believe me… it’s the hardliners who never understand Islam. I’m sorry for all the hurt they brought the world.

London & the bombs:

We were shocked. We really were shocked to say the least. When my cousin told me about the bombs in London, I thought he was making fun of me. I thought he was joking! Then we turned on the radio & it was on everywhere.
I feel sorry not only for people who suffered in the attack but also for people who planed it. Why in the name of God some people commit such huge crimes? Killing innocent people won’t get anyone anywhere. Terror is nit the answer!
The first thing my cousin said after hearing the news was “we’re going to get attacked”. & that’s how some others think too. I have no idea how the bombing would be related to Iran but if President Bush is waiting for a reason to continue the war against terrorism, this would be a good one to attack my country.
Well, I’m not going to think about unreasonable nightmares we might be facing in near future. My career is on the rocks & I’m starting French lessons so I supposedly don’t have the time to worry!!!!!
Moreover, before I sign off this post, El if you’re reading this post anywhere on the earth, give me a call or leave a message or something. I’m dead worried about you & Alex. I tried to call your cell phone but it was off! I hope you would not be hurt in the bombs! I’ll call New Castle tonight, hopefully you’ll be back home by then!

See the pic?

Leila...

is a nice movie. Did u know that the actor & the actoress got married after the movie?
Ali Mosafa (actor) is the grandchild of an Iranian poetess & both his parents are university lecturers. Leila Hatami (actoress) is the only daughter of our great movie maker Ali Hatami. The movie is rather old & the first I watched it, I cried my eyes out!

I'm still alive!

Well, Don’t Go Making Promises You Cannot Keep!
That’s all I have to say about the whole situation right now in Iran!
Tomorrow will be a day to make better or worse!
& oh yeah... the bomb didnt hurt me although I had been around where it exploded earlier which caused a major heart attack for my mom!

Presidential Election:

Well, honestly you didn’t think I would forget something as big as this, did you? It had been about a year that we have been getting ready for this election. Since Parliament elections last year & the change toward Islamic hard-liners, we’ve been expecting this election to be a huge step backward in our politico-sphere.
During president Khatami’s era, social participation in political affairs had been reducing day by day. That could be due to disappointment the nation feel…. “There never would be a change anyway,” one of my friends told me, who had been in President Khatami’s campaign for his first election with me. “Khatami’s a great person but he is no rebellion.” He continued. & this is how most of reformist’s fans think about the situation in Iran.
Most people I know gave up voting a long time ago, which led to hard-liners victory in parliament elections. They say no to the system by not voting & participating in political matters. I’m not saying I would vote or not, but I don’t know if Boycotting the election would solve anything. On the other hand, participating won’t change the basics either. Another friend says: “Boycotting will only let you blame others for a decision even they themselves didn’t make”. He is right in a way… the boycott only omit the responsibility.
Mr. Hashemi (Iran’s ex-president) is participating in election & he seems to have the greatest possibility to win by the polls taken by governmental system. However these official (& since distrust-able) polls show that more than 50% are not participating in the election. This number is very vague yet everybody is expecting him to win.
His most powerful rival Dr. Moeen had been Education Minister during the infamous military attack to the University of Tehran. He is a very knowledgeable gentleman & seems to be a man of high caliber but unfortunately, he is not a decision maker like his fellow politician Pr. Khatami. This factor makes most hesitant reformist fans doubt his ability “I don’t want another Hashemi era for sure” declares a friend “but I don’t want a Khatami era either”. With this trend of boycotting the election by reformists, I personally doubt he can pull off in the election.
Mr. Ghalibaf is…. What can I say about him? He is a Military man, a pilot & has a Ph.D. (!) (Although he doesn’t have the Masc.)…. Ironically, he was in charge of Tehran Military force during the attack to university. Well, he has a very important privilege! He looks good. He is one the most handsome middle-aged men I’ve ever met. & he is elegant. Yet hmmm… a handsome military president is creepy….
Mr. Larizani, ex-head of Governmental Media, is another candid. He is a true politician, an Iranian Churchill. He seems to be a good manager too but he belongs to hardliners & well, most hard-liner fans will vote for Mr. Hashemi, so there is almost no chance for him to win.
Mr. MehrAlizade is the ex-head of Sports Organization & the recent Iran’s National Football team victory is a very good propaganda for him. He has proved that he is a very good manager but I doubt anyone even give him a fighting chance since he is in reformists campaign & reformists are trying to back up Moeen to defeat Hashemi.
The last but not the least is Mr. Ahmadinejhad, the Mayer of Tehran. Honestly, I don’t know much about him. He had been a university lecturer & he seems to do fine for the year he’d been the Mayer. There is only one point about him, which might be a major problem. He is well to put it bluntly, ugly. It’s not that physical beauty is that important, I know better to be this much superficial yet; the matter is he can improve his looks a lot by just combing his hair & dressing more elegantly. My cousin decided to leave the country if he wins the election. “People will think Iran is a big zoo,” he says, “if our president looks like a monkey”

FOOTBALL

Yes baby! We won! Iran is the first country to join the world-cup 2006 in Germany! They did it!
Last night was a very exciting night for Iranians all over the world. We tend to be in-love with soccer & Iran is called Asian Brazil for having so much football fans. Last night Iran national team played against Bahrain in AZADI Stadium, Tehran. We only needed 1 score out of six scores possible from two remaining matches. & Iran defeated Bahrain 1-0 & scored three scores & yeah we’re on our way to Germany!
ZENDE BAD Iran! That is ‘long live Iran’ in Persian. I’m so proud of my country. Going to world cup may be nothing for some teams but for Iran, it is a huge step. I pray for my national team success in the world cup.

Where on earth I have been?!!!!!!

Nowhere special actually! I had been where I have always been, doing what I always did. However, there had been one BIG change! My computer needed a heart surgery! Therefore, I had to back up ALL my files & programs & then we format the hard & re-partitioned it. & right after we were done, I went & plugged my modem into the electricity outlet! & that’s how my poor PC almost died! We had to take him to CCU for intense care & finally he got back today. He is still weak & sometimes passes out while working but we’re coping ;) .
So this is how I disappeared for more than a month. I’m back though & hopefully I will be able to update more. I’m about to get an internet account over at my job but I’m not sure I would be able to update the blog from work.
My boss had been the pain in the neck (sorry) & he gave my account password to Apple-of-his-eyes (who is one of the employees) & wanted to make me share the net with him. Now I usually don’t get annoyed & I don’t care about small things. Yet internet usage (especially in Iran with all these filtered sites & such) is a very private matter & is not something I would like to share. What if the other one feels like checking the taboo sites (like political sites) under my name & get me into trouble for something I haven’t done? I’m not saying that he would do that, but I know for sure that he is chatting on Yahoo & it’s against the contract. Therefore, I asked MR. Moody Boss to give that account totally to him, insisting that I can connect to internet from home. Unfortunately, Apple-of-boss’s-eyes is not permitted to use Internet yet so my boss kindly (!) asked me to let him use mine although I had changed the account type & such. However, when I told Mr. Apple-of-boss’s-eyes he got upset (!) & he is not talking to me since!
Anyway, I am back & there are many issues to talk about presidential debates & campaigns, Election Day, & FOOTBALL!

I'm Checking my Hello acount!

Zoroastrian

Thanks to my dear Green Mind for correcting me. Truth is I had forgotten Zardosht's name in English (Zoroaster) while I was writing the post about it. & I was too lazy to look it up so I just went with the Persian pronunciation & jot it down the way we call him here.
Another point is that Zardosht is an Iranian messenger & Zardoshti (Zoroastrianism) is an Iranian religion. Therefore the correct forms of pronouncing his name would the Persian form, come to think of it. I mean that is what the original name is so why change it?
I remember once in my Food Chemistry course my professor kept using the French pronunciation of 'Millard'. (He is a great food scientist & a very important reaction is named after him.) One of my fellow students asked why he didn’t use the English pronunciation. "Do you like your name to be pronounced in English? He is French & so his name is French" Professor answered. I believe it's very true; this is what called Persian dignity.
On the other hand, Green Mind had a good point in the comment: so many people would not have heard the Persian name of Zardosht (which in many cases is a shame), while they would have recognized the English word of Zoroaster. Hence that would be inconsiderate to use the Persian words without introducing the English equivalents (that is if they exist).
Anyhow, I was just playing devil's advocate here. I didn’t mean to get philosophical over a simple issue of using a word. :)
Talking about the days back in school reminded me to announce something: I passed the first level of Masc. entrance exam in MBA major! I just don’t believe it! I had not studied a bit for it! & as you know that's not my Bs major! I don’t know how I did it but I did! Now I have to take part in some bloody interviews & some written tests for different universities. I don’t know my rank in the entrance exam yet & that would not be very good I guess which means I have to show off a bit in the interviews.
I'll have another test next week for my own major at my own university. & that would be a double time test: Friday morning would be the basic course tests which include Food Chemistry, Food Microbiology, math & English Comprehension. & in the afternoon Food Technologies (e.g. Dairy, Cereals, Oils, and Preservations &...) & Food Engineering would be the main courses on the test.
Yet I have to wait till September for the interviews to begin. It's kinda good since I'll have time to work more on my skills. To be honest, I have my eyes set on one particular school (Industrial Management Institute) where Masc. courses are offered in English. This makes it a rather hard place to get admitted to for most people. But I shall think about the upcoming exam instead of the interviews.
Quick update on the Gang!
Well, it's been long since last I wrote about my crew. Honestly with our busy everyday life schedule, we don’t get to hang out as much as we used to. Well, we used to practically live together to think of it! Now it's time to put some quick updates here since we had gone out a lot during last weeks.
Pat had been the usual concrete angel he was. He tried to cheer everyone up but kept his face straight all the time. It takes a lot for him to remove his stone mask & let us see his emotional side. Though I had a chance to see the face behind few times, but I wish I wouldn't, not that he is not nice or something but due to the eerie situation we were in. he is by far the most affected one regarding the Mr. President's departure. They had always been extremely close & he tries to cope with his absence with planning gatherings for the crew.
Mat had been the good-looking stubborn head he was. He looked especially cool during our last get-together for Miss Poetess birthday. He is keeping his distance though. & he laughs less than he used to which makes us all miss his infamous laughter. He had been a pain in the neck for sometime but he is trying to get better. Personally he had me worried all through last year & I believe he needs to learn a few lessons or two. But he is still very much loved, much more appreciated & we need him to be around. (Mat if by any chance you read this: Stop holding the grudge over her... it's not worth it)
Miss Poetess is studying in Master Course right now & well, we don’t really hang out the way we used to. She had changed a lot. & I have changed a lot. We are still close if we get time to see each other. Our friendship is strong enough to survive our lack of time or least that's what I like to think. She has to do a few things though. She has to talk to Ava & get over whatever had happened with Teddy & them. Speaking of Teddy, he left the crew a while back & didn’t even bother to give us explanations. Heck, I think he is prohibiting himself from a chance of having an everlasting friendship. His loss!
Mr. President left for Toronto two weeks ago. We keep in touch with him & his parents. Yet... hanging out without his annoying mischief is not the same anymore. Who would drink my coke & eat my fries? & who would ask me to read his coffee cup? I miss him somehow. I hope he is well & coping with new environment. He is the sore point of the crew right now. His name kinda keeps repeating & his absence is so obvious you won't miss the feeling that something is not there without him.
Lolly Pop has turned into a totally new person from the shy quite lad he was back at school. He can actually flirt! & not get as red as rout beet when he is talking to a girl other than us!!! Hmmm I have to admit that he had always been ignored in the group but well.... He is getting noticed more & more every time we hang out. What can I say? Why didn’t he get discovered sooner? Alright right now he needs a trim. He is kinda growing his hair longer for the new cut & is in the transient (that's the exact word he used!) stage!!!!!
Mamoosh seems to be the cool girl she was. She's always been there for us & she keeps giving her support to anyone who needs it. Go Girl!
Ava, the last but the most important, has been kinda down recently. It had been due to Mr. President Departure & the exam pressure. Her job is in the rocks too & she is just tired. I wish she could take a break from everything & leave for a short trip to somewhere. & when I say a break I don’t mean just a break from work or study, I'm thinking about a break from EVERYTHING! She needs to lay back a bit and relax! You hear me Girl? RELAX!

To the End:

"Ta Enteha" (To the End) is the name of a Live TV program in Iran News Channel aka irnn, which surprisingly happen to be a worthy show to watch. The basic objective of the program is to discus the main economical, social or whatever else concerns of the whole society. It somehow reminds me of "Hard Talk" but there are experts as well as normal people commenting on the live show. Yet the presenter never fails to give the person sitting on the hot seat a really hard time & that's what I like most about the show. No one's safe sitting on the hard seat of "to the End"!
Mr. Heydari, the presenter of the show, knows how to talk about the issues discussed on the show. It seems that he always studies about the subjects of discussions & have at least a good command over the unclear issues. He insists on clear & straight answers so it's rather (well, more than rather) difficult for the guest to get away with the issue.
What makes the show worth-watching is the fact that it, unlike most other shows on TV, doesn’t follow the political & therefore unfair & biased trend toward the issues. If there would be something wrong, then there is no way it would change it to RIGHT & if at any rare chance the issue discussed would be based on a wrong assumption, Mr. Heydari is courageous enough to declare & accept the truth.
It might not be the most perfect or rebellious program I've ever watched, but nonetheless it is a great step toward respecting viewers common sense & judgment. It tends to stay away from touchy issues like politics (especially now while we're getting ready for Iran's presidential election) & facts concerning the leader of Iran or other big names. Yet, in all honesty, I must admit that never once it let me down on the subjects. If an issue is discussed, then there would be no presumption or prejudgment about it. There is no way the show would reach to the end in a traditional trend where you can guess the results & don’t have to watch it.
Tonight for example it was about Iran buying the Rover Company in Britain which has declared bankruptcy earlier this year. It had been the main subject of the show for the past few days & the discussion is still open. Mr. Heydari's last question of the night was "Is this a political move? & what is the role of Iran's ambassador in London in it?" The guest (head-manager of Iranian company offering the bid) tried to avoid the first question by answering the latter & getting away with it but he asked again: "Is it or is it not?" & the guest didn’t have a choice but to say "Well, it had not been a political issue when it had been brought up, but in the present situation it can be used as one..." & the Mr. Heydari forbid the show saying: "This was to the End, wait for the political aspect of it to be discussed"
Alright, I wanted to write about this program a long time ago & I don’t know why I put it off this long. I'm not one of those couch potatoes who watch TV regularly. There are only a few programs I do watch like "All Saints" & the 7 pm news. TV programs rarely attract my attention; they're either lame, poor-planned dramas or biased news. Most TV series shown here shows violence more than what I can tolerate. Se* on the other hand is banned so I don’t have to worry about that (Although if I had to choose, I would tolerate se* more than violence). Now I have to write a post about TV & other Medias. But that have to wait for another time.
Ps: a little personal post: C, you really have to take less offence about everything. There are a lot of people who don’t understand Spanish & a lot more who don’t understand Farsi! It doesn’t mean that we can't communicate with them. There's always sign language for those who don’t know English ;) write a post about it.
Pss: Dear Grandpa, thanks for the very nice comment you left for my last post. I'm definitely honored. & I have written some very short texts in English (beside from the very stupid story you read) which I might post here. It's just that I'm rather unconfident due to the issue. But I'll try to post some of them.
Now that I'm actually leaving personal comments here, I must leave a message for my dear Lynne (the last but definitely not the least). Thank you so much for all your comments. You & grandpa Doral are the main reasons I keep writing stuff here. & if I don’t leave comments on your posts it's because my stupid ISP is playing a bit with T-blog. I can't open the site most of the time. It's due to internet ban here & sometimes I can open your blog but not the main site & so on.... I tried to get the windows send your posts to my email. (This works for some Iranian blogs) but it had been rather hard work with T-blog. I have no idea why there had been a ban on T-blog; some other blog providers & Net-space providers are on the ban too like geocities. Blogspot was banned too but we tried & released it. So please don’t think that I don’t read your blog! Every time I do get to open your blog I check the Archives for what I've missed. May everything be fine with you.

Have you ever been felt so out of place you didnt know what to do?
I did! Today I just learened that I dont fit in the area I'm working in. It is suffocating me! My boss is very moody & he seems not to be able to make a decision at ALL! He needs to hurry up & do something about the sanitary issue in the proccess room but he keeps ignoring my reports.
Today he told me: "we've been doing fine for the past year so why rush to change?" & this rush means 3 MONTHS of reporting & disscussing a major problem!
Lord Save me please!

Zardoshti

Who was Zardosht? We believe that he was one of the messengers from God. He was an Iranian prophet & he has a holy book Avesta & some other related writings like Yasnas.
There are three basic rules in the Zardoshti religion: Good Words; Good Thoughts & Good Behavior.
Zardoshtis believe that there is Ahoora Mazda (as God) & Ahriman (as devil). Fire is holy in this religion like the earth, the water & other natural elements. Zardoshtis are free to practice their religion in Iran.
I'm still trying to contact the friend I mentioned & to find more information about the actual religion. It is hard for me to define what is basically Zardoshtism & what is Iranian old belief as they are totally combined together. I mean to be honest Norooz or Tirgan or a lot more practices like yalda are ancient Iranian traditions that are practiced by all Iranians no matter what religion they have. So as an inexperienced little girl, I don’t have the right to judge about the whole issue.
What in actual fact makes it harder for me to differentiate between the tow is the point that my family practice some of these traditions that others don’t. Tirgan, Mehrgan or Froodin are rarely celebrated among other Muslim families while we do participate in them. Still that could be the pan-Iranism hard core in us!
Enough of me talking nonsense about one of the oldest religions in the world, Zardosht goes back to even before Moses. There are few BIG changes happening around me lately. First of all, my cousin is getting married to her boyfriend of 5 years. This leaves me the oldest single kid in the family. & it had been kind of a shock for me. It seems that everyone is growing up so fast here that I can't put up with them. Still it was not as shocking as my other cousin marriage & then becoming a father. I can remember clearly when he told me that his wife was pregnant, his eyes were glowing & he had a broad smile on his face. I just blinked at him & said "Have you gone mad? You shall not kid me like this! She can't be pregnant!" & then totally freaked out!
Secondly, Mr. President (my friend from the crew) is leaving Iran forever next week. We met up to say goodbye last night & it was very hard, harder than I imagined. When I wanted to leave, we hugged & I had to run away not to let him see my tears. He will be missed greatly. I hope wherever he is & with whomever he befriends, he would remember us cos we definitely going to remember him for the rest of our lives.
I guess I have to learn to say goodbye to my other friends too. Most of the crew is working on leaving Iran in future. That is sad but we all have to admit that it is inevitable to grow apart & to leave the bond we share behind. Someday we will be together again & till then....My job is still a pain in the neck. I really need more space & a clear work chart! No! I'm not gonna talk about it cos it only make me sadder than what I already am!

Zardosht

Well, I definitely like to write more on this subject. Most of Iranian like the old religion of Zardosht & we still celebrate some of the holidays as national holiday.
A family friend of mine is Zardoshti & I will have her word to put here.
Just bear with me please. I STILL don't have the net access at work & it's killing me. I do my best to put a post before the end of the Weeks.
PS: Dear sydaus I read your blog & honestly I have learned not to get offended about the whole Islam issue. Although I genuinely believe that the religion most people consider Islam has nothing to do with the real points of the religion. Never once anyone tried to show the gentle points in Islam. Anyhow, over here I'm just an Iranian defending my Nationality of sorts, trying to reveal the real person behind the biased media image. So nope I didn't get offended.

Nutrition 101...

Alright at last I got enough time to write this down. And I decided that it would be best to publish it in my blog too (Criss I hope you don’t mind). This is a very simple method to calculate your body needs & rearrange the amount of food you're consuming. Just take in mind that this is only about the energy you gain from the food not the vital nutrients you are supposed to get. That shall be discussed in another topic. (I don’t promise but if I would find the nutrition charts on line, I'd post them here. Mine are in Persian & it's no use to post them.)
To start our nutrition 101, we must learn a few expressions:
* Cal: in nutrition Science energy is measured by Cal (with capital C) which indicate Kilo Calories. So if I would write 9 Cal, then it means 9 kilo calorie. (Note: each Cal is 4.8 joules)
* REE: Resting Energy Expenditure: this is the minimum required energy for natural body reactions without any kind of physical action involved (like when you're sleeping).
Ladies generally need 0.9 to 0.95 Cal per hour for each Kg of body weight to survive. It means if you're 50 kg lady then you need: 50*0.9*24= 1080 Cal per day just to live on.
As for gentlemen the figure is 1 Cal per hour for each Kg of body weight. For example a 50 Kg man needs: 50*1*24= 1200 Cal per day.
The first step to start a diet is to calculate your REE. & no matter what, you shall not take a diet with less energy than REE (that is called straining diet)
REE is affected by some factors like fever, pregnancy, Lactation, growth age, stress, emotional experiences &.... in these cases REE might be raised up to 13%.
* Required Energy for Physical Activity (PA Coefficient):
Now comes the important part, how much Cal do you need to really get by per day? There are Coefficients which would determine your body need:
- sitting without Strenuous physical activity: 1.4-1.5
- sitting with Strenuous physical activity: 1.5-1.6
- standing: 1.8-1.9
- intense physical activity: 2.0-2.4
- Sportive physical activities 2 or 3 times per week for at least 30-60 minutes will add 0.3 to each figure.
If you multiple these coefficients (depending on your situation) by your REE, you'll get your required energy expenditure.
For instance suppose a 50 kg salesman who is standing most of the time:
REE: 50*1*24= 1200 Cal/day; 1200*1.8= 2160 Cal/day
This means he at least needs 2160 Cal per day to be able to do his job.
* TEF (Thermal Effect of Food): this is the heat released by your body after you consume food. TEF is usually around 10% of required Energy Expenditure.
So in the above example, it will be 2160* 10%= 216 Cal/day

Now we get to calculate the real Energy Requirement of your body: you shall add TEF to the Required EE. (2160+216= 2376 Cal/day in the example)
Therefore there is this simple equivalent for your body energy need: (REE*P.A) + TEF
Obviously, if you consume more Cal than the figure, you'll get fat & the less you consume, the thinner you become.
If you want to lose weight healthily, your diet should contain 10 to 15% (on top) less Cal than the figure you calculated above. Remember that a diet with less than REE Cal can damage both your health & sanity.
When you're done calculating, then it's time to manage your diet. You shall consume 40% of your Cal during lunch time. It is said that you can have 25% at breakfast & 10 to 15% at dinner time & divide the rest into 2 or 3 meals along the day.
You're supposed to receive 60-65% of your Cal through Carbohydrates (like sugar, Starch, Rice, Potato, Bread & Fibers), 20-25% through fats & 10-15% through proteins.
I hope this very basic information about Nutrition would help to somehow managing the diet & food consuming habits. Remember that this is just about the Cal you get. In a healthy diet there are other factors involved like the need for vital micronutrients, maximum & minimum level of consuming the three basic nutrients (Carbohydrates, fats & proteins), your health state & a lot more.
Please, please do not follow a diet before consulting your family doctor &/or a nutritionist. For an optimum diet you shall take into account different aspects. Even if a diet had worked fine for someone else it does not mean it's good for you too.
Yeah & remember to EXERCISE. That is the Magical Charm to lose weight.
Well, if I should be of any assist, Proshat@gmail.com is where you can leave me a message.

There are a lot of things in my mind; I don’t know which one to pick.

First of all there is Norooz & the New Year & all the traditions related to it. this year however, I don’t feel the mood for the spring & New Year. It is sort of weird cos the weather is like heaven & the sky is clear, the birds singing & you know the usual stuff... still it fails to reach my heart somehow. I gathered it would due to the new job & the whole unstable, still adjusting I'm in.
On the other hand, my mind keeps bothering me about the whole nuclear power thing going on in Iran. I'm frightened & unsure of what lays ahead for my country. We really don’t need another war. Honestly, I doubt US would attack Iran due to the new tone in the public speeches of US politicians. Yet if the government would clutch to unreasonable discussions, then another ban on Iran would be underway. & heaven knows it's the last thing this country needs.
Apart from general worries, there are some quite personal issues running around in my life too. it is kind of related to the gang & the way we all changed. Now I'm hearing some sort of disappointing news about the whole group & I wonder where we went wrong. I wonder what happened to the innocent friendships & trust between us. I still have my friends but the gang is shattered to pieces. We would hang out but it's not the same. There are hurts & disappointments, unspoken frustration which is building itself up & it seems to be undefeatable. We all need time to get used to the changes. I hate the fact that an unpredictable misery made us drift apart instead of bringing us close & unite us. Enough said about that.
There are bright sides in life too. I met P- the pampering wife today. (he was a friend in my CLC class) & she is such a sweet girl. We seemed to bond quickly & that was cool. I hope she liked me too. & I hope to see my other friend's fiancée too. (The one who had a crush on me!) & that would the more important one cos I want to leave a good impression to save our friendship. Let's pray it goes smoothly.
Well, now I get to go & sleep... tomorrow would be another day at work... correction another hard day at work!

What had happened to me?

I'm still alive... well, at least I can say that I'm breathing & everything is fine. The weather had been pretty cold here. Tehran had not had the amount of snow it snowed in 50 years or so. & in some parts of the country the electricity were shut off due to the heavy snow & cold weather. & in one particular area in the south coast of Caspian the capital of Gilan province, Rasht, was isolated & the unexpected natural disaster comity had to take charge of the city.
However, right now the weather is pretty nice. It is sunny & a cool breeze is blowing. The air pollution is under control & you can actually behold the great Damavand from the city center. I wish I had a digital camera & I could post some pictures from Tehran these days.
It's going to be New Year here in less than a month & this means everyone is out there buying & getting ready for the New Year & spring.
Among all the rush in the streets & the strollers who pass by chatting & window shopping, I feel like a complete freak. The New Year rush had not hit me yet. It might be because of the fact that the new job is kinda separating me from the usual stuff. Typically I should have started my spring cleaning up by now; but alas, spring cleaning is becoming more of a burden than the joyous job it once was. I'm at work from 8 to 4 & most of my evenings are spent out either I have classes or there is a gathering somewhere I had to attend or simply my friends want to hang out. So it's almost 8 pm when I get home.
This very last weekend the Masc. entrance exam was held. I participated in two different majors: Food Engineering & MBA. This means I had exams on Thursday & Friday. It was kinda straining, cos I didn’t get enough sleep & it sure affects my job.
Now I shall stop whining & get some sleep. It would be another full time, hectic day tomorrow but I promised myself to write more (if only I get the time & energy to turn on my pc!)

Voting:

As we get closer to the date of enrolling for presidential candidates, the debates on who is going to win the election heats up. The interesting fact is that the number of famous & might-be-next candidates is more than it usually is.
Neither right winders nor reformists had agreed on a single main candidate yet. & the so-called supportive parties have chosen different candidates with diverse qualities & points of view.
During the last election, right wing hard liners won the parliament & ever since then government had faced so many problems due to the fact that parliament doesn’t see eye to eye with them. Few of our ministers including the transportation minister had been interpellated, while it's only 6 months to the termination of the Khatami's cabinet.
Most people I know did not vote in the last election. This is a way to show objection to the whole régime. Forbearing the validity of the governing system & the whole I-agree-I-agree-not issue, not participating in the political events has another reason to. "What you choose that had been chosen for you before" this sentence can be used to describe all the elections over here.
The parliament of elites (!) has to confirm legitimacy of the candidates & the elites tend to filter anyone who doesn't appeal to them either with or without a real reason. It is a trend to find your desired candidate forced to run off the election due to vague reasons like not being sincere in Islamic rituals. Thus you will have limited chosen candidates to run for the election.
On the other hand, nobody really pays attention to the Parliament of Elites election. In my personal opinion, the Elite Council election is where we can choose the rest of the government heads. Although that one is validated by Observing Council & is no better than the others, yet we could make small changes if we needed it.
Back to upcoming presidential election, if Shirin Ebadi the noble-prize winner runs for the election AND she gets validated, I'll vote for her, though the chance is very low.

A New Job:

Wow I hadn't been online for so long! & I missed being on line & browsing the net. I have to find a way to manage more time on line.
Um... yeah, finally I got a new job & it is much related to my field of study. Recently I had been working with a team on some factory plans but I quit the job & now I'm working as a food-inspector in a huge governmental company. It's pretty hard & I have to work in a time frame of 8am-4pm which is not my cup of tea. I always preferred jobs with flexible time tables. Yet it's a quite good job & the facilities are good.
It can get rather stressful cos a thousand lives will depend on my accuracy. Healthy food & food safety can get very crucial concerning health issues. The job requires more on site supervisions along with the paper works. I hope I can get through the first month of training-examining, and then I shall become an official employee.
The worst point of the job is that I don’t any internet access from work. & usually I get home so tired that I can not go online. Even if I had the access to internet, it would not be easy to check my favorite websites or blogs. Although private net usage is allowed to some extent in governmental companies, the number of sites one can check is restricted due to the fact that no one is sure which sites are illegal & which are not. For example, I would like to check JC Source (I have been a JC fan for quite some time) but it would probably cause problems for me.
Unfortunately, most of the time people's private passions & ideas are questioned here & they are judged base on personal preferences.
At the same time, people contacting with foreigners (except for business contacts) are thought to be untrusting & not reliable in governmental environments. I don’t know but the general mood is like that especially when you are working close to the head of the company. (My situation is like that right now, beside the position is newly added to the organization chart & actually I am the first to do the job so...)
Anyhow... I don’t know how long I can survive but hopefully things will get better by time. May God help me through this one.

Nostalgic

A few moments ago I had a talk with one of my old friends. He is a friend from college days & used to hang out with the gang whenever he was around. He just called me up out of the blue & we talked a good half an hour.
This suddenly made me really nostalgic. I miss the school days... I miss my friends. Why couldn’t be forever? We grew up & drifted apart, going on different ways. Sometimes our roads cross & I always wondered if we could maintain our friendship; whether the intimacy would survive....
Tonight I learned that friendship never dies; it never subsides.... the friend mentioned & I had not been talking for over a year, still the conversation wasn’t formal or cold. It was like the old days that we used to talk about nothing forever. So yes; I believe true friendship survives....
Ps: Mat I wish you could read this... I wish you would read my Persian blog... I miss you a lot. We need your friendship.... I wish you would be back to yourself... don’t let your emotions for someone else come between us. If you want to avoid her, that's fine but don’t ditch us... you mean a lot to us.

It's Freezing here......

It's snowing heavily here & the weather is really nice!
I LOVE SNOW!

Are Iranians racist? (Please note that this post is not based on my personal opinion & hence means no offence by any means to anyone. Please take that

(Please note that this post is not based on my personal opinion & hence means no offence by any means to anyone. Please take that in mind that this just my observations.)
To put it bluntly: YES! Most Iranians tend to think that they are of a "different blood" than others. It doesn’t mean that they don’t respect other races, visa versa.... It's just that they are 'different'. & being different doesn’t necessarily mean 'being better'.
It doesn’t matter how long one may live with Iranians & it doesn’t matter how many real-blood-Iranian does one have as friends or in-laws, s/he would never be IRANI. S/he would be treated respectfully, would be loved & befriend with & would feel at home around Iranians yet there would be a boundary that s/he cannot cross. I don’t know how I can explain it... it's not that the person would be treated out of the ordinary... but s/he remains a guest (a beloved & appreciated guest on that).
My late great-grandmother was from Russia & she, still, after 4 generations is referred to as 'Russian Princess'. Even in my family- which happens to be very broad-minded about other races- the boundary shows when it comes to certain aspects like getting married. Recently a cousin of mine was about to get married to an American & surprisingly some of the elderly people opposed it! She got married anyway & we the younger generation supported her. However she is lucky that she is accepted into the family; when my great-aunt decided to marry a Swiss, she was banned from attending any kind of family union.
Nevertheless the case is really cool with Westerners (Europeans & Americans) when it is compared to Arabs or other nations. I have Arab friends & I also know people from other nations & I don’t mean to put down anyone here. However most Iranians tend to think really low about them & that is due to some historical conflicts between the two nations. I know that most of us get a bit prejudiced over the nationality issue especially when we are compared to or taken for Arabs. & as a very small part of Iranian society, I try to change that.... if I would ever have any children, I shall teach them to love everybody regardless of the nation, religion & race.
Tonight we discussed the question over our dinner & my father answered the question: definitely! He said that he might 'tolerate' & befriend with a foreigner but he can never think of him as Iranian. This kind of shocked me since my father is known for his hospitality toward strangers. Then he explained himself & I'm trying to translate his words as accurate as I can. He said that being friend & respecting another human is one thing & ignoring the differences is another thing. Accepting a foreigner as someone who is grown up on our culture is like forcing a black to change his skin color (either because one do not like the color or thinks it goes more with the person). When it comes to differences we must accept people they way they are not the way we want them to be. Then he asked me that if I would live in another country (e.g. America) would I be American or Iranian? & my answer was clearly the latter then he asked if I wanted to be known as 'American' in the situation which I definitely not. Thus he concluded that if I respect human beings the way I claim to, then I shall respect the diversity of cultures & nations & not to 'uncategorize' people. Honestly, I never thought about the matter like that before so I thought I would share my dad's word with you. He sometimes can get rather philosophical as you can see. But all in all that's why I love him so much.

Reading habits:

As I have written before, Iranian culture is rather verbal than written, hence most Iranians find it rather boring to read. They mostly prefer to *hear* words & stories than to *read* them. So the reading time is very low in my country or at least that is what I've seen.
Reading time in my home, however, had always been an important part of a day schedule. Ever since I was very young, even at the age of 3, my dad & I used to lie on my parents bed while he read out books to me & later to my sister. Books in my little world, represented warm & cozy feeling.... One of my best memories are based on the time my dad was reading "One-Leg-ogre" or "DIVE-YE-LANGOO" as we call it, to me. It is a folklore story & is one of my favorites.
As time passed by & I grew up, books became essential part of my life. My mother thought me how to use the dictionary when I was 6 & first started to read books in higher levels. & from then on, I kept checking it for my answers to everything. I never asked questions but rather find them on my own. Maybe that's why I'm so obsessed with books! I carried them everywhere & being an intense reader, I was never satisfied with the amounts of books I was reading. I always wanted more, more & more. Having very diverse interests, the books I read were about different subjects... novels, science, math, history, geography, philosophy & a lot more. I remember easily when I first read Nietzsche; I was hardly older than 10 & I kept checking my dictionary & encyclopedia but it was an amazing experience. Later when I was 17 I read the same book again & honestly I was wondering how I could have read it at that time!!!!!!
Most my friends (well except for Katherine) are not much of a reader. & that's a shame. The few of them who do read, mostly stick to novels or text-books. They are mostly *too* busy to do a serious reading & that somehow disturbs me. I love them all dearly yet I do have the right to criticize them. That's really a shame that most of the books in most Iranian families are either text-books or superficial novels. But well, I am not the one to talk to, cos maybe they do the right thing sticking to one subject rather than having a taste of everything....

Family time:

How do we spend family time together? Does this mean what we do when we are at home & have nothing to do? We watch TV, read books, play cards & talk.
Perhaps I can explain it more by telling you how my family spends the evenings: my mother is retired now so she is home most of the afternoons. My dad comes home at 5 pm. & that's usually when every family member is home. We, unlike most other families, have dinner in early evening. & the dinner usually takes an hour since everybody talks about their day & stuff. Then I usually come to my room & others watch TV or read books depending on the situation. My dad likes to play cards a lot. So it is a family tradition of ours to play in the evenings. & most of the time my mom & I play against dad & my sister. Sometime dad plays with Fabiulla (my sister) or my mother. Spades is one of our favorites & I like to play hearts too. We play other games too like poker, 21 & some other games that I don’t know the English word for. Backgammon is game originated in ancient Iran & is very popular though I rather playing chess when it comes to play board games. In family gatherings we play bingo a lot.
Hmmm... This post has turned into a post about games more than spending family times together! My folks don’t like to go out very much. We rather stay home & chat away the evening than going to a restaurant, Movie Theater or something. When I was younger, we used to go to movies & watch kid-movies but nowadays we prefer to watch CDs at home. Instead of eating out, my parents prefer to order food & have it in the quite of the house where we can easily talk. Going to theaters though is different... once in while we would watch a good one in the main city theater hall.
Weekends which is considered family time too, is usually spent with my close relatives. We hardly stay home at weekends. If the weather would be nice, we would go out to my aunt's mansion in Alborz Mountains. & if it is not, the whole bunch of us, would gather in one of the houses. So on weekends either you are a guest or you entertain them.
What else? Oh, yeah, my parents *love* to shop together... even for smallest things they would go out together. My dad is known for his extraordinary shopping habits though; he might buy the most useless objects & find a *use* for it while my mom tends to buy the most useful ones & not really using them. Well, they are quite a pair!

Divorce in Iran!

Very interesting subject! Actually this bizarre friend of mine keep popping motivating questions & honestly never ever these subjects would have crossed my mind without his help*.
We live in a somehow traditional country where by default divorce is considered a taboo. Unfortunately for most Iranian woman, divorce is the last approach. Though I understand the benefit it has for keeping the family together, I feel that some ladies go under a lot of unnecessary sacrifices while they can save themselves the pain. But that is just my personal opinion....
The process of getting divorced in Iran is a long, painful procedure.... & it is meant to be to avoid the breakdown of the family. & I know that most of the laws are unfortunately for men & it leads to unhappy marriages. Living in a loving & happy family, I am far from talking about the results of an unhappy marriage on children... yet through watching others it is obvious that everybody involved in the marriage (including the poor children) is affected badly.
Interesting point is that getting divorce is the easiest part considering the post-split problems that may occur. Women suffer more from these post-split problems as I like to call them. Our culture is mostly based on man-dominance & though it is slowly changing still the stone-age rules shadows some aspects of our lives. (Ridiculous as it is, in stone-age Iran was mostly governed by women.... *sighs*) So a divorced lady has to be very cautious & self-conscious about her behavior in the society.... she must "behave" herself! A widow is not usually welcomed. She is sometimes treated like she has a disease & must be kept in quarantine....
Well, that's not the whole society notion. We have quite a few family friends who are divorced & we never did have a problem with them. & they do live the way they want to still even the most laid-back of them claims to have a lot of problems.
In my generation however, the attitude toward divorce is changing quickly & although it's sad to see all the numerous divorce files filling in these days, it is good that we have learned to accept the fact.
I personally think that it is due to the fact that the new generation is more self-centered than our parents. We like to consider our own benefit more than the whole society's. Hence we tend to walk out when there is something threatening our own happiness... the same fact can be mentioned about brain drain & immigration. Iranians are the most highly-educated immigrants in the world. That is tragic.... well, that's a totally different issue I might want to talk about later.
Meanwhile, two are my friends are getting divorced in USA.... they are both family friends & we are all the same age as each other. I had been there when they fell in love; when they decided to get married; when they said their vows but I can not be there for them now. & it is hard for us who remained here.... we thought that they would last forever. They lived our dream alive... being so in-love & so young & charming. Where all the love goes? The girls has been one of my best friends... when her soon-to-be-ex (how sad it sounds) called me last time he said: "I'm happy I took a chance & lived with one of the best girls I knew... but there was no way we could work things out. We grow up & it's time to live as adults we are not as the teenagers we used to be!"
Enough of me posting sad thing.... I shall keep my happy mood! It's Christmas time for heaven's sake! & my birthday is coming up so... yeah; I shall live it up a bit & maybe go out with my crew!
* Remember the friend who asked me about boyfriends? He is the one who asked for a post on Divorce! C. you're a socialist, aren't you? Go find the answers yourself hun!

Yalda:

Yalda came & went. I always wonder how little facts makes this night memorable. We listened to traditional music & read Hafez which is always the best part of it. & I got to eat a lot & I mean a lot of stuff! Mom says that Yalda is the ideal time for gluttons! I love Yalda night! This year for the first time I was the one who read & interpreted the Hafez poems. It is a custom that an elderly member of the family does this. My mother is usually the one who reads the poems & I usually read one or two for myself & sometimes for friends. This year however, it was my honor to do all the reading....
We had a pretty cool discussion about Ferdowsi too. Shahnameh reading is a fading Yalda custom, which we like to practice. I wish we could read something by Nezami Ganjavi who has great poems about famous lovers like KHOSRO-SHIRIN & SHIRIN & FARHAD. & to think of it, we didn’t read anything from Mollana either.... instead me & my sis played some parts of Arash the bow-man which is one of my favorite myths.
Just one regret for me though, I didn’t make a wish! Well, I can always save my Yalda wishes for my birthday so....
Ewwww.... its 1 am again! I must catch some Zzzz. Tomorrow will be a long day since I have so much to do! Good night....

Breathe by Faith Hill

I CAN FEEL YOU BREATHE...
sorry the song had got me bad!

Marriages in Iran

Or how do we get married? Well, that's a fairy good question. Marriages are being dealt with in tow systems in Iran: first would be the traditional way & the second, the usual (modern) way.
I am not going to talk about the traditional system since it is not that much practiced nowadays or at least in the part of society I am living in. in this way, usually the family is the one who choose the spouse for the child. However if you are interested in knowing the details I would be happy to help.
In the latter method, the person him/herself chooses. Most of the time, the boy & the girl know each other before hand & either had been boyfriend/girlfriend or intimate. & most of the time when they mutually decide they want to share their lives with each other, they inform their families. Family blessing still plays a very important factor in our society & although I know quite some people who eloped to get married, it is not considered a common practice.
Usually the boy's family visit the girl's in a session named KHASTEGARI. This session is borrowed from the traditional system & is aimed for the two families to get to know each other. People typically talk about the whole marriage concept, the place the newly wed would live in, the parties & ceremonies & usual stuff in this session. & it is mostly formalities since mostly the couple had talked about it all before.
The next step is engagement. There would a small party for close relatives at the bride's house & the groom's family brings gifts for the girl & announces the engagement. & the bride & groom change the engagement rings. Some people will have their religious blessing at this ceremony yet others wait till the wedding ceremony to say their vows.
Then it is time for going on a shopping spree for the wedding... buying bridal gown & accessories, the traditional mirror & candle-holders, the wedding rings & other jewelries. In this step it is a tradition that groom would buy the girl's things & the bride would pay for the groom's.
The wedding ceremony is usually held along with the religious vow exchange. & it is generally held at nights. The guest would forbid the couple late at night to their new home & the marriage life begins. The next day, the guests bring in the gifts for bride & groom in PA-TAKHTI, which is a ceremony held at the newly-wed home & then the couple leave for the honey-moon.
In large families, like mine, the post-marriage parties take about a year to be fulfilled, since it is a tradition to invite the newly-wed couples for the first time as PAGOSHA. & yeah, this is the way Iranians get married in a nut-shell.
Well, I must admit I don’t like this kind of approach either. If I am ever to get married, I would take my fiancé's hand & go to a trip & then I would go & live in my own place with him. I hate parties & ceremonies & the way they would be aggregated into galas sometime. & it would leave the bride & groom weary & tired all through the honey-moon.
Forget it... aha! Anyhow did you know that we use the same word for both month & moon in Persian? We call them both: MAH. So the word honey-moon in Persian has a double meaning, it means a month of sweetness too!

Life's not a bed of roses...

I didn’t even knew I could be so disappointed & nor did I ever think I would want to leave the city, the country I adore so much. Honestly I never comprehended a simple hurtful experience could cause so much hatred that would lead me to consider the option of immigrating.
I really don’t want to talk about the horrible. & I don’t intend to act on impulse & let my anger take the best of me. Yet there are some good reasons for all of us who had been involved to take our leaves & say goodbye to the land we love.
Immigration would be like saving oneself & let others drown but what else we really can do? If only I could make my family leave with me... but I cannot. & I know in time, this intense urge of running will subside & I will get back to live in the same old frames I had been living for the past 24 years. However, I know that something's changed & some other things would never change.
Still I will remain & fight. I will make a change & I will make my generation see the freedom, it is seeking. Let's join our forces to defeat the despair.... we can do it!

What's this Again?

Arabian Gulf? Check It Out Please! It's a Way to Show objection...

How do we get married!

Dear Lynne the movie you refer to is rather an old one.... It had been a very successful movie in it's time cos it refers to a social problem that is hardly talked about: girls who run away from home.
Well, it's not illegal for people to date but it's not legal either! I mean we have some kind of a cultural barrier in this special area. The Islamic hardliners do not agree with "dating" or "courtship". They tend to believe in stone-age rules & set-up marriages in which the engagement time is the time to know your supposedly future spouse.
However, hardly anyone I personally know had got married with a set-up marriage. Even my grandparents knew each other & sort of dated before they got married. My own parents had been BF/GF & all of their siblings had courtship time & dates!
Governmental forces still tend to pick up on young people from time to time but it is becoming less & less.... I mean we are going through changes & dating is widely practiced nowadays. Folks go to movies, restaurants, picnics & all... (except for clubs for we do not have them). & they talk on the phone. You can find hand in hand young couples everywhere....
I will write more about it.

Cheating

It's the one thing I am not good at! Cheating is a cheap way to gain victory & that's not my style. While most of my friends are specialized & have master degree in Cheating, I am proud that I had never cheated...; well, practically anyway I cheated once; However in my opinion that didn’t count... since it was a way to show the class objection to an obligatory test. (Everybody actually was cheating... I just wrote the whole answers & passed them on!)
There is no point in cheating in my opinion anyway. You either know the answer or you don't & there is no other option there.... I have heard a lot about learning by cheating; & for sure it works but to me it's only an excuse. You have to deserve what you gain & you have to do it the right way.
With all said & done; it seems that I would know nothing about cheating techniques which happens to be totally untrue! I have learned a lot from my sister & friends! So I don’t think my young students would have a chance to commit cheating in the final exam!
Yeah, BTW Thursday would be the last session of my class!
Ps: To Shahram: it was hilarious! I mean it! The "it's just me... don’t bother yourself" comment was one of the best I have heard over the years! Well, everyone my dear friend made a very (I mean VERY) silly mistake & there he goes: it's just me... don’t bother!

IT'S PERSIAN GULF

What's this with Arabian Gulf? there is no such a thing as Arabian Gulf! It's only one thing: Persian Gulf & it will Stay forever Persian Gulf....