A 9-Day Hajj Holiday Activities and Reflections

At last, it is the start of a 9-day no-work day! It is my hope that it would be filled with exciting activities and productivity, creativity and inner-searching.

I have some plans going in and out of Riyadh with people here, will practice photography and dare to collect as many pictures as possible and have it critiqued and selected for my plan of holding my own mini photo exhibit when I go home for a vacation next year.

Be creative and try to redo my room and finish some projects I already put on hold for quite sometime. Organize clutter in my room and in my mind!

Finish some books, hang out do movie marathons,  and the rest would be for sleeping and resting.

But I will try to find time to reflect about my life here in Saudi Arabia, up to this point I still don't know if I am a success or a failure here. I must admit four years is less time to evaluate, but I know myself, when I start to ask questions about my existence in a particular place and time, it is time to think, to weight things, the pros and cons.

To start with my reflections I will admit is that I failed tremendously in establishing friendships here. I think there is something wrong with me. Maybe I try to get too close and eventually got too comfortable and didn't think about the words I say and things I do offends. Maybe because I always see the bad first before the good, and no matter how I bring up the good, the bad always turns me off. Maybe sometimes I talk too much and too little. I really don't know, but I am left with almost nobody here. It is lonely.

I hope these holidays will bring some good in me, irregardless. Will let you know in these coming days.

Reflections

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I ' ve learned.... That when you ' re in love, it shows.

I ' ve learned.... That just one person saying to me, ' You ' ve made my day! ' makes my day.

I ' ve learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I ' ve learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I ' ve learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I ' ve learned .... That I can always pray for someone when I don ' t have the strength to help him in some other way.

I ' ve learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I ' ve learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I ' ve learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I ' ve learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I ' ve learned..... That we should be glad God doesn ' t give us everything we ask for.

I ' ve learned.... That money doesn ' t buy class.

I ' ve learned.... That it ' s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I ' ve learned... That under everyone ' s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I ' ve learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I ' ve learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I ' ve learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I ' ve learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I ' ve learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I ' ve learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I ' ve learned ... That life is tough, but I ' m tougher.

I ' ve learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I ' ve learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I ' ve learned....That I wish I could have told my Father that I love him one more time before he passed away.

I ' ve learned .... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I ' ve learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I ' ve learned.... That when a newly born child holds your little finger in his little fist, that you ' re hooked for life.

I ' ve learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you ' re climbing it.

I ' ve learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.