A Tie!

The Venue
The Man (before)
The tired man (after)..
Wasil plays really good racquetball. Good game, Wasil!!
We'll play again next Sunday!!
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Morning Blues

What time is it?
Good Morning smartbiru!!
Food for the table. Good Ayah!!
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The Yale Interview

Wasil's Yale Pose
OK, here goes...

This one was Wasil's numero quattro. It was held at the HYP Club in Downtown Pittsburgh. I have never been here before, but I trust my GPS enough to leave home by 7:30 am, not by choice, either. Just a couple of minutes into Sixth St., smartbiru's TPMS light showed up. Whupps, so I turned around and headed back home. I parked by the road to visually inspect the tires and they all looked like they had decent air in them, but I headed home anyways. The light, much to my relief, went out as I drove home, but I got my air pump from the van and resumed the journey towards Pittsburgh, just in case.
Brr..
We arrived at 8:45, parked at the garage and went to that little old red brick building that Wasil'd noticed earlier as we were looking to park. The club was on the ground floor with the door on the left side of it, in a little enclave. Through the windows, I saw people in it already even though it'd opened just minutes earlier. There was standing room only, and when Wasil got his name down, his was about the tenth on the second page of the yellow notepad.

I helped myself to the breakfast spread in the middle of the lounge, getting a pastry piece and the five kinds of cut fruits, and the OJ and grape drinks.

I think I went to the table three times in the two hours I was there waiting for Wasil to get and finish his turn. When Prakesh, the alumni-interviewer, called him out, I'd already sorta guessed that it was his turn. The wait was about half and hour and I thought I was going to be sleeping it off, since the lounge was now relatively quiet.
But one Mr Patel and his daughter, on vacation, too were waiting for his son, so we talked for a bit. He told me of two places; one eatery and one grocer (Indian Bazaar) that I should go to.

Wasil was finally done at 10:35. WE bade Mr. Prakesh goodbye, and the Patels, and went off into the street. Let me say it again: "Brr it's cold!"

After buying some stuffs (durian, rambutan, daun kesom, bawang putih, kucai) from the Vietnamese store on the Strip, we left for Indiana. ToA: 12:45.
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Weekly Report

I was going down 422....
when I saw THIS in my rear view mirror..
Looks like it has teeth!!!
Not teeth, but fangs! Lariiiii!!
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Got My Sabbatical!

Yeaaahoooo!!
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Wasil's Big Week

Wasil's College Admissions Interview Week:

Tuesday: Harvard (Obama's alma mater)

Thursday: Princeton

Saturday: Yale (GW's alma mater)



Go, Wasil! Show your stuff!!
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Return of PA-MD-VA-DC and Back

I sent Dr. Mohamed to Dulles International Airport yesterday. Unlike the other times, this time I went into the terminal. He needed assistance in finding the US VISIT office. Turns out that he's too old to be registered into the system.
Don't lose your car; note down the parking section..
My first time in..
Qatar Air opens at six..
So what next? Yehaaa, jalan-jalan cari makan.. Super H, best Korean grocery store in DC..
Haven't seen this kind of display for a while..
Got my bluefish (sekor, $20.00@10lbs!), my baby octpussies, my pomfrets, my ikan pari, my shrimps with heads on, my galanga, my red chilli peppers, my shallots, my mandarins with leaves, and the list goes on...
Not bad, not bad. I will return!
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PA-MD-VA-DC and Back

Mishal and Mishail are two brothers from Riyadh who were trying to get to Indiana from DC after their arrival. I said I could help. So that was what I did..
On my way: Saw an A-Frame bldg, my earliest dream house, before the geodesic...
What it sez, at Blairsville..
Approaching Summit, PA.. can you see the wind-powered generator?
On I-70, in Maryland...
Approaching bridge crossing the Potomac and into Virginia..
"Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... " (what song?)
A Virginian (horse?) farm..
In Herndon, looking at one of the many Halal grocery stores. A complete store, with fresh meat. Got 10 whole chickens..
It also has rotiserrie chicken thighs @1.50 a pc...
Arrived at destination (Comfort Inn) a couple of minutes early...
Now to get back home!
Reached Sylvan Glen Apts four hours later...
A good drive was had by all!!
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Sharkey Chain!

Luqman made this..
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Community Service

Last Friday, for the second time in two weeks, the parking lot at the masjid was not plowed of the snow. We had to push half a dozen cars out. Here's us getting to a brother's car (Masood) out of the snow..
Today, I went to the airport to pick Dr. Mansur up. He always asks me...

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Today's Breakfast Menu..

A spread consisting of Teh Oh, Rotti and kari ayam yogurt! NyummFinished it off with half a goblet of grapefuit juice!
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Luqman's Helix

He was bored, but a bagful of clothes pins did the trick!------------------

Nothing Specific

Breakfast today...
Wasil was here for the County Concert, 3:00 pickup...
Visited Bassam after that; had tea with him.
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Washed!

Looking fresh!All three of them.
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Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah..

It was 30 years ago today. The president -- Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan was taking over in a few days. I was fresh off the plane, getting out into the cold in St. Louis, at the RAMADA, waiting to have breakfast. I did, at the cafe there, two eggs, a toast, and OJ, before the rest of the party of 110 got down.

We were put on two Greyhound buses which went down Route 3 and stopped at Murdale's McDonald's. I got more OJ and a packet of apple pie. What do I know then! A few minutes later, the two buses were at Faner Hall D, at the roundabout. Then I heard someone from outside asking for 'the guy who missed his plane'. That was me!! I went down, got ahold of him, and soon enough, I was in his beige Ford Torino, my two bags in his trunk. His name: Burhanuddin Wahid, 3rd year Econs, from Sabah. He took me to his apartment at Pyramids B where I bummed for a week before the 'community' leaders found a gang of three ex-ITM grads who'd accept me into their apartment. Their names: Roslan Latif, Abdul Hasib and Shaharain Shaharuddin.

That was the beginnings of my US odyssey, thirty years ago today.

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Melting Icy Spears

Ten days ago..
Next five days.. yehaaa!!

Soon to be gone
Going, going... the pathway I made for the mailman..
Don't get stabbed in the head!!
Who's there?

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