Hi A&T. Nice to see you posting. Originally posted by Che -Guevara: Val-I'm doing great-little grumpy today but everything else is dandy. I'm at work.It is one of many sites blocked...where are you at now? Hi Che, glad to hear it. And at least it's Friday! I'm in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) at the moment but crossing over to Cambodia on Sunday Insha'Allah. Don't worry about flickr, I'm uploading most of my photos on Facebook so you'll see it there at some point. Have a good weekend.

^ Am good, thanks. How are you keeping? Do you not have access to Flickr.com?

Is NGONGE back yet? I have a present for him! Tii hii.

I saw this lady on the news but I haven't yet seen the famous video clip.

Actually it's been pretty great so far, Alhamdulilaah. Those were the only incidents of their kind and I hope it stays that way, I'A. I haven't tried fried snake yet but I've come across snake wine. It's basically rice wine with a snake pickled in it. We saw a massive bottle of wine with a great big Cobra inside - I'll post the photo soon. It was going for 15 million Dong (about USD$850)!

Welcome back Malika & Nuune. Hope you both had a good holiday. I'm still in Vietnam, having an 'off day' in Hanoi before taking an overnight train to Hue. Hanoi is lovely but completely crazy! I've been getting ripped off left right and centre and I got followed and almost mugged yesterday. Yikes!

Hi Lily, I'm keeping a journal of sorts but I haven't typed anything up yet. So far fast internet has been difficult to come across and once I do, I spend the time emailing family, charging my iPod and uploading photos.

Sabai Dii ('hello' in Lao), girls!

^ Mile high club? LoL. Congrats, JB! I hope both mother and baby are well. And btw I met a very cool friend of yours (from Hargeisa) last night. All the best!

I love the Apprentice but I like the 'You're Fired' supplement on BBC2 even more. Funny as hell. Anita was too nice. She didn't deserve to go but the others fought hard and she didn't.

Is it her second marriage? Because divorced/widowed women don't need parents' permission to get married again.

I'm still at work, trying to sort out last minute stuff and feeling totally emotionally spent. I didn't do an iota of work most of the day, what with presentations by colleagues and being taken out for lunch by my businesses. I've received something like three bunches of flowers, about 20 cards, and a whole lot of gifts. I'm so gobsmacked. I've left many a job but never before has this much fuss been made over me. I actually feel a bit sick from the effort to stop myself from crying. What a sweet bunch of people! I'm so gonna miss my job.

5. Conlinguist – If you’ve watched Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Star Trek, you’ve heard a variety of exotic languages spoken by Klingons, elves, and Hutts. As convincing as they sound, these are not languages that developed and grew naturally over centuries like Spanish or Hindi. They are constructed, or intentionally created, languages (I hate to break it to you). Conlinguists are the people who create these languages, usually for movies, books, or video games. This sounds interesting. I would be up for it, although I'm not sure if I have the necessary skills. Sucks to bring work home.

Do you want me to rate you, Faran? As I can only give 5*, do think you deserve them?

My great-granma, Ilaahay ha u naxariisto, always used to wish me 'nin fiican' whenever I did something nice for her. Maalin baan ku idhi ayeeyo lottery-ga inaan helo ii gu ducee nin waxba ii ma tarayo ee. To which she replied: 'Nin fiicani waa nolol fiican, doqonyahay'. Gotta love her. So, Amna, I too wish you all the best. May you be rewarded with a wonderful man worthy of you. Insha'Allah khayr. And please stop worrying so much, you'll make yourself sick. Everything happens at their own pace, regardless of how much you fret.

I have. :cool:

Alle-Ubaahne ma soo noqday? Waxaan rajaynayaa inuu habaarkii badnaa iska daayey.

^ I think your stars will hit the ground, mate. You shouldn't make such public announcements. I only give 5 stars. Nothing less. I think the ratings system was wiped clean because I rated a bunch of nomads years ago and they no longer show on my profile. Looks like I've only rated one user over the last year.

She sounds very interesting. I suppose the problem with 'sexiness' is it's overtly sexual. Although a lot of people believe sexiness is more about attractiveness and attitude and doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with flashing your flesh. But the crux of it all is style. Some people have it, others don't, regardless of how hard they try. Some Muslim women (and men, but we are not talking about men here) believe there is only one type of proper hijab and every muslimah should look identical to the next, others like to try different things, they like to explore and pick out what suits them, they like to stand out rather than go with the flow, basically they like to get off the beaten track. Is this Islamic or unislamic? I'm not sure what would make it unislamic. If God wanted everyone to look alike, they would have. We wouldn't have the variety of colours, textures and cultures that exist in the world if that were the case. I guess it all boils down to good intentions, modesty, kindness and good manners. All universal characteristics that define Islamic etiquette. They will stand you in good stead no matter where you are and where you go. PS: The tube is the best place for style-watching. I have seen some beautifully put together hijabis, really exquisitely dressed. Nothing outlandish or loud or attention grabbing. Just lovely outfits that you can see have been pulled together by someone with a great eye for style and attention to detail. Not an easy job when all the nice things in shops are a let down. Guess you've gotta put in a lot of work and hours to pull together a nice wardrobe if you are a style conscious Muslim woman. There's a big market out there for a Muslim stylist! I would certainly like the services of one.

Originally posted by Nin-Yaaban: 6 of the 10 moderators are dumar I think, is ilaali oo geesaha iska EEG. Wrong. 5 out of 16 are female. Hardly a feminine powerhouse.

^ No not SW19, about 15 mins out. Originally posted by Faarax-Brawn: It is either of two things: One,you live in a posch place and the rich folks have power. Or,you come from a ghetto place and even the cameras will be stolen. Waa laba mid ah? It's the former.

LoL @ 'Reer Mu'min'. Change reeraha magacyadooda and I'm sure that conversation has been had in many a household!

Originally posted by Sir-Qalbi-Adeyg: Confucius Say... Man who run in front of car get tired. Love that one. Along with: Man who runs behind car get exhausted. Man who sleeps with itchy bottom wakes up with smelly fingers.

Whatever the case, he's got the ear of a billion people. Quite some influence, I would say. What a harmful policy to advocate.

^ Do you actually live in SW19 as your location indicates? It doesn't look like they've photographed my street.