Yearly Archives: 2012

Beginning my practice exam in 20 minutes, although I’d rather be on a Ferris Wheel at a carnival on a hot summer day.

Skipped a couple of days because life has been crazy! I’ve had an hour to spend on leisure every night though and have been watching the new season of Dexter and I just want him and Debra to fall in love and be Bonnie & Clyde already. I am also tackling another practice exam this weekend. I’m off to study. I’ll leave you with a goat tonight.

Before going into The Stoning of Soraya M., I wanted to follow up on my GMAT practice exam from yesterday. I scored 550 and am all smiles. That’s 50 points short of 600, which is Schulich’s requirement. That means 50 points more of studying. I’m stretching this mathematically-challenged brain and I’m getting good and getting there. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just can’t wait to stop studying and free up some time again.

I wanted to write a bit about The Stoning of Soraya M. because I am absolutely, positively mortified by the barbaric nature of radical, fundamentalist Islamic “justice”. Here’s my attempted coles notes synopsis of the film (a true story) for those who have not seen it:

Soraya, a loving, kind-spirited, long-suffering Iranian woman, was married to a chauvinistic, abusive, tyrant of a husband, Ali. Ali, for reasons my mind will never comprehend, desired a young 14-year-old teenager for a second marriage and as a result, needed to divorce Soraya. As a woman living in a male dominated world, although mentally and emotionally stronger than we can ever imagine, is virtually helpless without a man providing for her. It sounds extreme but it is reality that a divorce would lead Soraya and her four children to starvation. The men in these societies do everything possible to strip women completely of any power so that they are eternally inferior and dependent. So, Soraya refused to divorce Ali. I’m skipping details in between but essentially, Ali, unable to obtain Soraya’s consent for a divorce, began looking for an alternative way to dispose of her. Aha! Let’s accuse her of adultery, he decided. Under Sheriah law, adultery is a crime punishable by death if the accused is unable to prove her innocence. How convenient for Ali, who then began scheming with the newly installed counterfeit Mullah (a religious leader / clergyman) to accuse his wife of adultery and then went on to blackmail several male villagers to testify on his behalf, ensuring that Soraya had no way of defending herself. A tribunal was quickly called and just like that, all literally within 48 hours, the town came to a decision to execute Soraya by stoning, the most inhumane method of capital punishment that I can’t believe is still an option in today’s day and age. Have they thought about maybe coming out of the 5th century and joining the rest of the world in the 21st century? Might be a good idea. There is just all kinds of wrong in this story, I don’t even know where to begin.

First of all, a little bit of the anatomy of stoning: the convicted is wrapped in a white gown and buried halfway into the ground with their hands tied back. The intent is to hold the greater part of the target’s body in place and keep them from flinching or moving while they slowly get stoned to death. Stoning can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours and stones are deliberately chosen to be mid-sized so that they torture rather than kill too quickly.

I am dedicating a post to this film because it hit me like a brick in the face. When they say ignorance is bliss, sometimes it really is. I like to focus on the nicer, more beautiful things in life and could certainly live without ever knowing about any of this. But now that I did rummage through a can of worms, my eyes have been opened to the injustice and such backwards thinking in many parts of the world. Life is just so different and we have it so good in the world we know. Puts my petty little problems to shame. I think I’m a tough girl until I see what these women have to go through. In the world we know, our careers, accomplishments, and ambitions often define our strength. But I would argue that women like Soraya, although stripped of opportunities to drive a career, be ambitious, and accomplish things in life, are stronger than many of us. Unfaltering strength is required to persevere through all of those mental and emotional battles, injustices, and abuse.

Anyway, watch the film and get some perspective. Maybe today, don’t worry so much about the fact that you spilt coffee on your shirt, missed a deadline, got disciplined by your boss, fought with your boyfriend, or almost failed a midterm.

I watched Chernobyl Diaries, The Devil Inside, The Stoning of Soraya M. and Sinister in the last 48 hours. My capacity for dark, morbid films have reached its limit this weekend. I enjoyed the scare from Chernobyl Diaries and The Devil Inside but critics seemed to have hated both movies. I even more so enjoyed the scare from Sinister – I’d consider it one of the better and more original horror films that have come out in a long while. The Stoning of Soraya M. was based on a true story and was a whole other disturbing eye opener that I’ll write about another day.

I am writing a GMAT practice exam today. Moment of truth. I’m excited and nervous.

Team Canada beat Team Cuba. :) I know nothing about Soccer but it was a fun time with great company. Sometimes, I would think that the ball went in the net and would jump up from my seat, cheer, scream ‘yeah’, and wave my flag around only to realize that I’m the only one doing it because my untrained eyes (for sports) have told a lie. It was okay the first few times it happened but after about the 4th time, it got to be very embarrassing more than anything. How do those guys play soccer in such cold conditions? It was -2 degrees last night. You’re bound to catch Pneumonia sweating in the cold like that. But then they have millions of dollars to get treated, so I guess it all works out.

Here’s another donkey – who knew they were so cute?

Watching the soccer game tonight with the Canon Marketing team – Canada VS Cuba. Should be fun but should also be cold. This calls for parkas, Uggs, and furry hats.

The TV turned on all by itself in the middle of night last night – it felt like a scene from Paranormal Activity. The worst part was that we tried to turn the TV off and it wouldn’t do it. Only after about the 8th time we pressed the power off button, did the TV decide to turn off. When you wake up in the middle of the night, your head isn’t all there, so it wasn’t all that scary at the time. In the morning though, and in hindsight, it is a bit creepy. No hauntings, please.

The sleeper must awaken.

I studied for 4.5 hours straight today. I haven’t done that since University. My head is spinning.

I’m blogging from the Apple Store right now while I wait for a genius from the Genius Bar. I’m trying to get my iPhone 4S replaced with a new one because it has been doing crazy things for the past 6 months, I’ve just been too lazy to deal with it. So, while I still have two months left on my 1-year Manufacturer’s Warranty, I thought I’d better get on it. :)

I’ve been busy and have been back to posting inconsistently – sorry.

First of all, I have finally retired my 6-year-old Macbook even though there is still no end in sight except for a fried battery, which six years later, is an acceptable problem to have. For those who have been Mac lovers forever, you may recall the old generation 13″ Macbooks that were dressed entirely in white – the apple of my eye and love of my life for many years – we are now parting ways. I was just itching to start anew with a pretty Macbook Pro, so I splurged on one and upgraded it to an 8 GB ram. This thing is speedy gonzales and editing my photos is like heaven on Earth. Not that it wasn’t before on the old Mac, but it is even faster now. I’m also operating on Mountain Lion and can send iMessages through my laptop – amazing. I also splurged on a Herschel laptop case (to match with my Herschel backpack) and the all new and mighty Magic Mouse, which, by the way, takes my breath away and I hereby proclaim my love for it.

Secondly, I’ve booked off the entire week up until Tuesday next week to use up my remaining vacation days this year. It’s not much of a vacation though when I’d rather be in San Francisco and am instead studying, fulfilling Etsy orders, organizing, ramping up my new Mac, and checking into work every now and then to prevent or put out fires. We’ll have to make it a vacation by sleeping in every day I suppose.

Have to make dinner for the man now. When I have time off and am ‘not working’ and am at home instead of traveling, then I would inevitably become domesticated. You know – cook and clean and stuff like that. Foreign to me on most days (lol).

I’m a couple of days late with this post, but better late than never. It has been five years since my friend passed in a car accident. I left you pink flowers, Dor. We love and miss you.