Where do I begin to even share my thoughts on Syria. The slaughter of Syria. The human moral stain that is Syria. The collective human failure that is Syria. The suffering that is Syria. When I first wrote something public about Syria, it was a diatribe (it was) on how Friday sermons unnecessarily brought up,Continue reading “More Than>Syria”
Category Archives: Travel
VONA: Future Advice on Writing
As I walk away from VONA, I have to remind myself first and foremost that I too am a writer. I might not feel comfortable embracing this label, with all my swirling self doubts and insecurities, but I am a writer because the craft of storytelling is something that lies deep in my genetic code.Continue reading “VONA: Future Advice on Writing”
On Verbing the Workshop (A VONA Post)
I am still amused by the concept of “workshopping.” Its an actual action one can do and does in an MFA experience, or in writing. Every time I hear someone using it as a verb, chuckles start up across my mind and work hard to suppress an external expression because I don’t want to offend.Continue reading “On Verbing the Workshop (A VONA Post)”
Four Points to VONA, Or the Nagging Question: What Am I Doing Here?
I start with four points, stumble through four thoughts and end with four, gems thats where VONA presents itself so far at the end of the first full day of workshop. Today was the end of the first full day of “workshopping”, which apparently is a thing you do in a MFA program. I hadContinue reading “Four Points to VONA, Or the Nagging Question: What Am I Doing Here?”
Expectations for VONA
I just finished packing up for my trip to Miami, Florida. I will be spending the week out at the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables for the VONA Writers Workshop. I am really excited about this opportunity, as it was part of my self development goal for 2016. I was asked how I felt about this opportunity.Continue reading “Expectations for VONA”
I VONA Check-In
I haven’t been regular with posts these past couple of weeks. Rest assured I have drafted multiple Field Notes for the Millennial Quran Study Project, and have diligently worked on some other posts. Its just I have had to really buckle down and get out of the way something that I have dragged my feet on, and forContinue reading “I VONA Check-In”
Controlled Failure
I had an ambitious goal for 2015: To read a 105 books during the year. But I failed at it. I didn’t give up. I just realized that while it was an ambitious and “good” goal, it was worth allowing myself to fail, rather then make a mockery of the the intention behind setting theContinue reading “Controlled Failure”
30 Years an [North] American
Its a bit disconcerting to be in Karachi celebrating 30 years of immigrating to the United States. Yes, you read that right. I was a little under three years old when my mom and I migrated to the United States. I was born in Karachi, Pakistan. Thirty years later, here I am celebrating my cousinsContinue reading “30 Years an [North] American”
Learning How To Say Allah In Chinese
When you ask people what language they speak in China, the majority of folks say its Chinese. In the US we seem to think that in categorizing nations the simple rule to follow is that everything is derived from its name. So in China the Chinese speak Chinese. People do that with me as well.Continue reading “Learning How To Say Allah In Chinese”
Lets Meet In Quetzaltenango
“Where’d you go in Guatemala?” asked the lady behind me in the check out line at the local Superior grocery store. She had started the conversation just moments before, observing that the heat was unbearable because it was dry. “I just spent ten days in a humid heat,” I told her initially. “I was inContinue reading “Lets Meet In Quetzaltenango”
Corner Office Shaikh 