"I put a spell on you."

-Hocus Pocus

Oh, Halloween. The night of candy and creeps. Of fun and treats. Of ghosts and ghouls, of fiends and fools.
Of laughing and walking, of jubilance and talking. It's a very fun night, although sometimes it can be a bit of a fright!!

I feel like I should stop rhyming now...

Of course Halloween's no fun unless you're all dressed up and in the mood. I was a magician! AVADA KEDAVRA! Just kidding, not THAT kind. Just the kind that has a black stick with a white stripe I liked to say was my wand, a top hat, and a cape. I would take my hat off, spin the stick in circles and say: ABRA KADABRA! Then, after the remnants of the sparkly purple smoke dissipated, a cute white bunny would just hop out of my hat.

How did I do this, you may ask? The answer is simple....magic.
Now, there are some of you out there who may think I'm making this up.
You're right.

So I was a magician, my friend was my assistant, and another friend of ours, well he was my white rabbit. We decided that before we'd get the real party going, we'd make some rounds across a few neighborhoods and pick up some candy.

Now this brings about another age old topic: Should teenagers be allowed to trick or treat?
It's a question that has brought about countless numbers of debates. People have cried, fought, and probably even DIED trying to provide answers for this question.

However, I've found a solution to both sides.
"As long as he donneth a costume, tarts and treats shall be put in his pillowcase."
That's what my grandmother used to tell me.

Actually, they don't even have Halloween in Algeria (which is where this blogger's from), so I doubt that she would have had anything to say on the matter.

Well, I hope you had as good of a Halloween as I did.
Alors, a bientot mes amies!

“People who have lost relationships often wonder why they can't just let it be 'water under the bridge'...

...it is under the bridge-the trouble is we do not live on the bridge, but in the river."
-Grant Fairley

Relationships in high school make just about as much sense as the homework my chemistry teacher usually assigns.

Most sane, functional folks would agree that chemistry is about as senseless as it gets, therefore that would complete the analogy that relationships in high school are usually pointless and end up leading nowhere but heart ache and all the pain that goes along with it.

That's the general rule. There are a few exceptions, like, for instance the people who date all through out high school and then end up getting married. However, that's just a small percentage. What people need to understand is that high school's the one time in our life where we get to act as crazy as we feel like.

I just feel like serious relationships should be reserved for our adult years. We should just take high school easy, and not get involved in anything that could seriously hurt us.

A friend of mine usually always has a significant other in her life. Whether it's a small fling, or a serious relationship, she's got that special some one. However, this summer was a lonely one for her. She had nobody that she felt even the least bit attracted to. You know what she told me? That it was the best, most 'chill' summer that she's had in a very long time. Problems were almost nonexistent to her.

Hmmm, let take a quick look at the correlations in this situation.

Boyfriend=drama.

No boyfriend= (almost) no drama

After a lengthy analytical review of this tid bit of information I've come to the conclusion that boyfriends are the causes of drama*.

Isn't everyone looking to reduce the anxiety they feel. Well, is the month or two of bliss you feel with that special some one really worth the feelings that come with the failure of your relationship? Because, honestly, your relationship will probably most likely not succeed. It's tragic, I know, but that's just the way life is.

I propose a solution to this dilemma. Do you really have to be committed to the one you cuddle with? Why is it so unacceptable in society to have a bit of fun with no strings attached? Not that I would get involved in something like that, but I'm just saying. It's stupid really, it goes back to that whole issue of conforming.

But that's another topic for another post. This one will have to end here. Besides, my sixth hour class is about to start.

*Drama is a slang term commonly used by most high school students to refer to the stress and troubles they feel in their lives.

"If you are not in fashion, you are nobody."

-Lord Chesterfield
(Ouch.)

Guys often wonder, as do girls, what exactly the opposite sex finds attractive. I know I do all the time.

Besides the obvious (good looks, sense of humor, sensitive, and a nice personaity), I'd say that a quality I look for in the guy whom I've given my heart to is that he's a good dresser.

For example, I think one could accurately assume that this fellow sure knows how to dress himself in the morning.

I mean, seriously. Check out that cardigan.

For those few men who are oblivious, the surest way to winning over the apple of your eye is what you put on your body. Most girls would agree in saying that sweater vests are about as sexy as it gets.

So, the overall idea of this particular post is: BOYS. Go out, and buy an ensemble that's sure to make 'em swoon. Take a girl with you. They'll know exactly what you're in need of. They'll know how you can dress yourself in the most flattering.

I know what I'm talking about. And you should, too.

"People are more inclined to use the word "like" in absurd demonstrations of stupidity."

-Andrew Jensen, Associated Content


*THE FOLLOWING ENTRY IS RATED R FOR, LIKE, DISTURBING CONTENT AND INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE. SOME MATERIAL MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW...17.*

Have you ever really listened to a girl's conversation without mentally trashing all the unnecessary filler words?
I never really had set out to do so, and one day, the word "like" caught my attention in a conversation I overheard between two girls near me.

Girl #1: Omg, like, did you frickin see (insert male name)'s new girlfriend. Like, seriously, what was he even thinking (no question mark at the end of this sentence because really it's just meant to be a statement to this girl). It just really, like, surprised me, you know? I was just like, how in the world did they end up together.

#2: OMG! I LIKE TOTALLY KNOW! What the heck? It's, so, like, you know, like...RANDOM! They, like, never even talked. Plus she's like fugly as hell. She was like ALLLLL over him at the football game. It was like nasty. I had to turn my eyes. They're so like....ewwww together.

#2: Like seriously, man. What has the world, like even come to? I don't even know. It's all just like, so messed up.

This conversation actually happened. Maybe a little less exaggerated, but it did. And I didn't exaggerate the use of the word "like".
But don't get the idea that, because I'm criticizing these girls' word choice, I am not guilty of making the same mistakes. You'd find that I, like, use the word "like", like a whole lot.
And "man", even if I'm talking to a girl (which my parents advised me against, telling me it'd make me sound too hippyish, which made me want to use the word even more. Hippies are awesome).
And "fuckin" (excuse the bad language).
And "seriously" (even if I'm not being serious)
and "Oh"
and "My"
and "God"
and "you know what I mean?"
and "I don't even know" (although sometimes I do exclude the 'even')
as well as a variety of other useless words that don't add significance to whatever I'm trying to say.

Seriously, like, sometimes I just make myself sound like so fuckin stupid. I don't even know, man. I like, want to sound, smart. You know what I mean? I want people to think I'm, like, intelligent. I don't want them to be all like: "Oh my Goddddd, this chick's so fuckin stupid." I just really don't want that, like seriously, you know?

That, unfortunatley, is something that one may hear coming from my mouth. It's tragic, I know, but alas, very true.
I wish my speaking was more refined and made me sound a little less similar just another catty high school girl. From this moment forth I will do my very best to eliminate useless fillers from a conversation. The "L" word will be totally eliminated from my vocabulary. I will now, when comparing something, use the following: 'such as', 'similar to', etc. etc.
When I want to talk about the emotion I feel towards somebody I will use the words "fond of".

And so it begins...

This guy sure agrees with me.

"No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap."

-Carrie Snow

I sit here at my computer at 9:57 PM. I've got an AP Psychology test that I have to study for and another blog to complete. I've got Pre Calc homework that needs to be done, and sleep that needs to be caught up on.

I have not slept more than 8 hours this whole week, basically. Well, let me revise that. I actually went to bed at 9 last Thursday. This whole weekend however, has been nothing more than a great disappointment.
Friday was a birthday party I was unable to attend because I had to work.
Saturday I enjoyed a nice evening with some good friends at Tomaso's pizzeria, where we were almost kicked out for being too raucous.
And Sunday I helped a good friend get over a lost relationship.
And all three days I worked.

Saturday and Sunday I had to wake up at 7. Both nights before I went to bed extremely late. I can't begin to tell you what lost sleep feels like.

Imagine finding the answers to life's most deepest question, but leaving the slip of paper you wrote them on in your back jean pocket. Your mom then proceeds to put your jeans into the washing machine, wihtout thorougly checking the pockets. Needless to say, the paper and the content that was on it are destroyed.

That's how my sleep deprived body feels. Destroyed.

Well, have a good night, and sleep tight.

"Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned."

-Unknown

If you're a person and you somewhat keep up with modern pop culture in the least bit, you probably, most likely, are aware with the name Brad Pitt.

You're also probably aware (again, this is saying that you don't live under a rock), that he's a phenomenal actor. I've always thought this, but I my point was reiterated this weekend after having seen Se7en.

He was glorious in Inglorious Basterds, he was so badass in Fight Club, he made me swoon and weep like a little girl in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (I purposely made sure I mentioned that certain movie title to up my word count;), he manages to fit his roles so completely that you'd think he might be just a little crazy.

Now, the movie Se7en, was a very, very, very disturbing film. And it made me think a lot about God.

In case you haven't seen the movie, it's about a very devoted Catholic who believes that he has a greater purpose than the rest of the lowly human beings that surround him. He believes that he has to preach to the world.

He does this through the popular 7 Deadly Sins. He first finds an appropriate example of a person who fits each category. In case you don't know, these sins consist of:

Sloth

Gluttony

Greed

Envy

Lust

Wrath

Pride

He first kills the gluttunous man. How does he do this? He forces him to eat to his death. Literally.

He makes him eat and eat, with a gun pointed to his temple the whole time. Finally the poor, overweight man passes out. Then this guy, who thinks he's doing the world some good, gives him a good, firm kick to the stomach. At which point, the victim's stomach explodes.

Ouch.

Well, he basically tortures 5 people to their death in accordance to their sin. The ending's twisted. You've got to see it if you haven't already. And when you do, we should talk.

Anyways, it made me wonder. Isn't what this maniac did exactly what the holy books of our religion (well, if you're a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew) say that God's going to do to us when we die? Only these victims were able to die. In hell we are just tortured and reborn so we can be torutured again.

Religion says that the nonbelievers will suffer in hell fire for eternity. For not believing, for claiming that God is nonexistent. Which is definitely not what I'm saying. I'm a firm believer in God. It just got me thinking.

It just seems like an extremely harsh consequence for a matter of belief.

“Salsa has now passed ketchup as America's favorite condiment."

-Jay Leno

Sunday night was a special night for me. It was the night that my closest friends were going to come over to celebrate a trademark event.

My seventeeth birthday. It was to be a night of glorious fun. Of singing, and laughing, and dancing and having an all around good time.

For any occasion there are to be preparations made. One must provide the necessities all party goers look for at a fest. Primarily-food. So my mother and I piled into our family van and made our way to Hy-Vee, a popular grocery store, to look at some possibilities for the cake we wanted.

As I am still just an apprentice, and not yet able to be on my own, my mother actually, for once, let me drive. That helped make the experience all the more enjoyable.

So there we were, in the Hy-Vee parking lot, about to make our way in to preview a variety of all sorts of tasty tarts. We went inside to the brightly lit store, and were just hit by the rhythmic and soothing sounds of all sorts of foods and other items being checked out. To the chatter of customers and employees, and to the rolling of shopping carts. To the sizzle of food in the Chinese section of the store, to the awkward, yet strangely tranquil background music.

Going in there, I personally knew seven people. Lots of students work there. I've heard it makes for a good after school job, with flexible hours and understanding bosses and lots of people to ask in case you need somebody to cover a shift.

Well, my mother and I made our way to the bakery section. All of a sudden, I stopped. Right in front of me in a little half spherical case, was a plate of tortilla chips with a side of salsa. Taped so intricately on the plastic lid was a sign that read, "Sample".

Now, I have to tell you. I love tortilla chips, especially with salsa. I couldn't pass up such a treat. One thing, though, did confuse me. I would assume that the majority of the population share my sentiments on the deliciousness of chips and salsa. That did not support the fact that the plate of chips and the bowl of salsa was nearly full, a rarity for free samples so late in the day. But of course, my stomach won the battle and I took a chip between my fingers and scooped up a healthy amount of salsa.

Oh, the explosion. The salty, grainy taste of the chips mixed with the almost sweet taste of the salsa. It was an orgasm of the nutritional kind right in my mouth.

The feeling of ecstacy was immediately over shadowed by something else in the back of my throat. I realized then that there was a trail of fire leading from my stomach to the remnants of the salsa on my lips. And oh, how it burned. My nerves screamed for water, but there was none to be found.

My face and my eyes turned red and tears streamed down my face. I could not move because the pain was crippling. My mother's eyes widened as she turned and took in my gruesome appearance.

"Asmaa! What's wrong?"

I was parched. I could barely respond.

"The salsa..." was all I could manage to reply with. My voice came out raspy and dry.

My mother's face relaxed and she looked at me with an "I told you so" expression, I could only see no traces of sympathy, just amusement, at my situation.

"Water..." I tried shouting. But, alas, there was none. None to be had for the poor girl who put the wrong kind of salsa in her mouth.

My mother took me along and went back to the table on which the salsa was resting, she wanted to look at the salsa's description. It read:

Hy-Vee's Super Spicy Signature Salsa

Sample at your own risk!

"See, Asmaa, you never just eat something without at least looking to see what it is, first," she told me, exasperated. By this point, the ravaging effects of the salsa were subsiding and I was beginning to get the use of my mouth back.

"This experience has taught me a valuable lesson, Mom," I told her. "I will never eat salsa that spicy again."

To this day I have kept that promise to myself and never again will that salsa ever touch my lips.