Random Ruminations of My Mind

So as most of you (or some at least) know, I went for Hajj this past year, during the winter break. I left on the 22nd of December and returned on January 9, 2007. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life. Just standing in front of the Kaa’ba in Makkah, seeing it for the first time, there are no words to describe the emotions that overcame me. You see pictures of it all your life, you pray towards it 5 times a day, but standing in front of it, supplicating to Allah at his doorstep, its just indescribable. I would definitely recommend anyone to go as soon as they have the financial means, especially if you are in your 20s. This way you can truly enjoy the experiences that the Hajj has to offer.

So anyway, as you may have guessed, I took my cameras there also. And yes, i say cameras, plural. I took both my big, heavy SLR with a couple of lenses as well as my point and shoot camera. I probably should have only taken the p&s because there are no cameras allowed inside the mosques. Not really sure why. But a lot of people slipped a camera passed security. Many people also had cameras on their phones. So there were many people taking pictures of the kaa’ba. Admittedly, I also took some pictures with my p&s. I wish I had my SLR with me, because I think they would have come out really well. But my S1 did a decent job as well. I will be posting some of those pictures on my photo blog in the near future. BTW, the picture on the right was taken with my camera phone from the top floor of masjid al-haram in Makkah.

So back to work in a few days. Tuesday that is. Not looking forward to it. Need a little more vacation. Time to think, time to ponder, a little more time to ruminate. So much has happened over the past few days that I feel like I need a some time to reflect, introspect. Prioritize my life, if you will. I dunno…

So my boss came to my thursday morning and said “Rehan, we have to send you down to Boston this afternoon”… not exactly what I’d call reasonable advanced notice but what can you do, right?  its all a part of the job.  But, the worst part is that a friend of mine is getting married tomorrow and I won’t even be there for the baraat walking in ceremony… nevertheless, I’ll be there for the end i hope, depending on what time my flight gets back…

anyways, on to the topic at hand… the infamous, so-called, ‘random checks’.  For those that aren’t aware of these, every time you go to the airport on your way to the US, there is a slight possibility you will be subjected to a random check… this can be anything from luggage checks for certain chemicals to chemical tests on the body through puffs of air.  But here’s what gets me: the fact that i’m always subjected to these random checks, every single time!  Albeit, it is very possible that they are random with me, but highly improbable.  Its like, flipping a coin 10 times, and getting heads all 10 times: possible, but highly improbable.  Its not like I’m surprised that I get these random checks all the time.  It may not be out in the open, but racial profiling certainly has something to do with it and definitely does occur regardless of what people say to the contrary.

Anyways, that’s my rant for tonight as I sit here in a hotel out in the middle of nowhere.  Literally, this place is like 1 hour north of Boston, and yet it feels so remote from the rest of civilization.  The town is called Woonsocket.  Ha ha.  Go figure.