X-rated: For the girls

I thought how gross it might have been for them if any member of my family read this. Then again, I'm bored of my goody-goody-ideas, and I thought, HEY, knowing how generally sexually uptight we are [come on now, statistically speaking, only 1 in every 5 of our uncles and aunts aren't divorced or remarried or estranged!], I thought a couple of these tips might help you, 'Cuz.

Consider it, a relative favor?

---

Can a girl have orgasms more often than PMS?
Yes, if you want to. And if you're not getting any with your partner, get a vibrator.

Note: Every time I state in a masculine term, it refers to the giver, who is not necessarily a guy. So lesbians, devour. Just so you know.

Don't you wish...

General rules.
In order to reach orgasm, a girl

• Must feel safe. Don't expect too many fireworks from one-night-stands.


• Must feel loved. If you don't trust him, you don't love him. If you don't love him, don't expect too much of him.
  
  [Hence, it's not how much money either of you has, but how much contentedness is what matters.]


• Must be (gently) led into it. Set up a mood for it . If he loves you, he'll want to please you. No man is man enough until he can make his girl happy. Quickies might work, but they're overrated blahs.


• Clear from clutter.The only time you should leave a misplaced item on the kitchen counter is never.

25 Quickies to Swoon
_{Here's the nitty gritty you've been waiting for, eh?}

1. Size does NOT matter. It's what you can do with it.


2. His mouth and hands can do magic.


3. Do not indulge his honest mistakes.


4. Speaking of which: a) Talking helps. b) Honesty is the best policy. c) The best conversations occur after an orgasm.


5. Be specific. "I like it when you (causal verb) on my (name of body organ), it makes me (effect verb)."


6. Don't ask for it. Demand it.


7. Reading helps faster.


8. Immediate application after reading is highly recommended. So read together.


9. Letting out (some or a lot of) noise is actually helpful.


10. Tell him to listen carefully. "Ouch" should not be translated into "Oh".


11. Faking it does NOT get you going. (Dude, do you want to know if she's faking it?)


12. Have the patience and balls to teach him. Yes, masturbate in front of him for once!


13. Tempt multiple orgasms with Ylang-ylang oil. I don't know how it works. It just does.


14. Be prepared to have an open mind: Experiment.


15. Be prepared with equipments. No, not cuffs. I'm thinking ice cubes and mint candy.


16. Don't stop when you shouldn't. Allow yourself to be swooned.


17. Know your secret places. Kiss and caress. Every part of your skin. There might be a highly sensitive area right on your ribs.


18. Curl your toes; because it stretches your pelvic muscles.


19. Throw your head back, because it stretches your breasts. Boobs are related to pelvic contents.


20. Be clean. So that you can enjoy having sweat glands when it's rocking, and after-glowing.


21. Have a monogamous and consistent partner. Sexual experience quality is conditioned to the history you share with each other.


22. Be married to your partner. This is the one time where legal issues can be sexy: It gives less restraints.


23. Keep trying, once you get it right, it'll only get better; the sex and the nature of you relationship. Not to mention your health.


24. Orgasms are the climax, not only of a sexual intercourse, but of a relationship. If it's happening, and happening often, something good is going on between you guys. Keep it coming.


25. You can, of course, neglect the need to cum and say, sex isn't about the O. You can say it twice in a row. You can say it for a month. Anything longer than that makes me wonder if you're having it satiated somewhere else. Are you? After all, you are a woman, aren't you?

What did I miss?

---

How to know how good an orgasm she's had?

Clue: Boobs. After an orgasm, there should be a paler shade circling her areolae. The brighter shade the outer circle, the bigger the "O".

This tip was discreetly mentioned in the unillustrated version of the KamaSutra. Didn't I tell you that reading is good for you?

...slide back up to beginning of "25"...

PhiloFaith: Between Faith, Religion & Hope

This post is response for the cool question that Diana asked under "definitions of Faith". I had to be publish it as a separate post. It's that cool a question. This deep a thought she stirred.

---

...my, this is gonna be a mouthful...

"What is the difference between Faith, Religion and Hope, then?"

Let's play with allegories.

Let's say that your consciousness is a country. Faith is the monarch, Religion is the constitution, and Hope is the People. Like all good deductive thinkers, we’ll discuss this from the bottom...

Hope
"The promise given was a necessity of the past:
the word broken is a necessity of the present."

Hope can shift the country's behavior. Ungoverned, hope can go on childish carnage. The People are the hardest to please: Nowadays, they want to legalize abortions, marijuana and same-sex marriages. They want free education plus allowances without ever giving back. They want things, and after these things are provided, they want more.

In return, the People feeds a country. The People are the economy, the history, the very life of a country. The People build ideas and buildings, grow trees and chop them off for furniture, or dig wells that will later spurt black stuff that can drown entire villages.

On a good day, Hope is individually governed by logic (which in this post, is nonexistent!), publicly governed by the constitution or/and the monarch. Usually, the People settle, if not grudgingly, between the conditions of the constitution and their personal wants. At least as far as convenience goes.

Religion

"There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt."

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, 

or more uncertain in its success, 

than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." 

Religion, as the constitution, is like a bigfat textbook, filled with rules and codes of the People's conduct. Constitution needs to be steady and reliable. Constitution must also be pro democracy: Providing what the People needs.

Sub-Analysis: So why do people switch constitutions? Why do people switch religions? (Click here to follow that thought!)

The main outlines to any constitution are known to the public: What is legal, what isn't. What's tax deductible, and what aren't. Just like religion, a good constitution, one that has stood the test of time and diversity, is the kind that encompasses all possible changes, climates and conditions.

You can believe in a religion, but if it damns you every Friday, Sabbath and Sunday, you might want to switch to something more convenient or start a (spiritual) revolution. And as far as the public, king and constitution are concerned, as long that your deviations remain private in practice and consequence, you're on you own.

Faith

"To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, 

and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people." 

Amongst the three, Faith acts as the Monarch: the King. In countries of absolute monarchy, the King holds the final decision. The King's decrees are based on a number of considerations, but all of which are in accordance and consented by the constitution and the Majlis as-Shura (the Congress: Representatives of the Public).

Any monarch wanting to prolong his reign and unity of the nation would have to balance between both. You can't have loyalty for a monarchy if it doesn't go hand in hand with your hopes or constitution.

The power struggle – if any – between the elements we've discussed can shift between the spectrums, depending on necessity. History books are thick with examples: The French Revolution. The Balfour Declaration. The Obama Election.

Are we clear?

So, basically the only question left is:

If there was a god in this allegory, where would He fit? 
Fill me with your thoughts.

---

Sub-Analysis: The thought got me into a couple of conclusions:

1. The Old Religions are great. They've been around for centuries for some good reasons. Plenty of generations have practiced and proven its value, many of whom have sacrificed lives for, just to uphold the right to practice.


2. A Catholic once told me that, anyone who switches between the old religions, either from Islam to Judaism, Hindu to Christianity, is either doing it for convenience or lack of understanding for the original religion.


3. The closest allegory I have to interfaith conversion is my Reverse Immigration. First, I became Saudi apostate. Then I converted to Indonesianism, and started sounding like a patriotic newbie. I hope that at some point all of the fervent neo-patriotism is gonna cool down. It's fun, but it can also be a mouthful!

But again...
...life's just a chain of phases to grow out of once the lessons are learned. Isn't it?
...click here to go back to where you left off...

Footnote:
All quotes in this post are from Machiavelli's Il Principe, available as eText for FREE at Project Gutenberg.

Blessed Beyond Comprehension

Simple

The person I live with listens to ailments and complaints everyday, twice a day, for two hours each. I once sat for a cup of tea, just to listen to the words exchanged between him and his "Patients". It fixed my day. 

"Pripun?" He'd start.

And they'd say, without fail,

My wife left me.
My lover refuses to divorce his wife.
My business is failing.
My daughter is dying from cancer.
I can't sleep
They're counting on me, and I don't think I can keep up with their expectations.
We're having second thoughts about our lives.

It's no wonder that after listening to hundreds of human ailments and complaints like the above for a week(?), a month (?), a life of calling(!), the world would mean nothing much to him.

So, in return, the world, for him, has provided.

We are blessed beyond our ability to comprehend.

PhiloFaith: What is faith?

How Faith Failed.
You could claim that you are Hindu or Deist or Hedonist. You may show us that you observe the eclipse and worship the seas. You may find peace in merging your soul with the higher beings. But does faith bring food on the table? Can faith unplug a sink or reverse death, or renew a life?

When it comes to life and death, it really doesn't matter what faith you believe in. How many times did the death come and we yelled "Oh God!" and He did not bother to bat a mighty, omniseeing eyelid for our sake?

Isn't He, in moments where He is desperately most needed that He proves Himself most uselessly absent?

This is how a lot of us lose faith in any omnipresent being and argue with dogmatic religious systems. Because the belief systems for the masses have failed us as individuals; in our most intimate moments, when a god or a miracle was most needed to flaunt some sparkling miracle.

What Faith Is (Or Should Be).
Let's have some stuff straightened up.

Concrete. Faith doesn’t disappear altogether with the fall of a god or religion from our graces, it just shifts into something less abstract and more relevant. So, just be.

Sure. Faith – unlike religion – is inarguable, until a deep dissonance occurs and we are forced to reconsider its terms. The terms of faith may come in the form of religious text. It may also come from personal convictions, until a group of people think and recognize the truth in that same thought. So, think.

By the way, that's faith in democracy.

Wealthy. Faith – just like money – has no religion or god, because it is dumb and neutral. Religion is just the bureaucrats of faith. The cool thing about Faith is that never runs out the deeper you dig into its well. It'll just multiply itself. Until you are taken and spent. So, share.

Loyal. Faith – similar to a faithful lover – only needs attention to grow. make friends with it. love it. undress it. For the more you know about your faith, the less insecure, the more trusting your relationship becomes. So, dare.

Instinctive. Faith – just like hope and the natural instinct to survive – is inherent in the human psyche. Yet, unlike hope, faith is doubtless; for Faith is the only guide and friend when all compasses and expectations have gone berserk and awry. So, believe.

Cool. Faith – in contrast to what the preachers have heatedly fed us every Friday, Sabbath and Sunday– actually has no direct impact with day-to-day life encounters and decisions. Faith's work is gentle and subtle. So, lighten up.

What about conflicts?
Then again, who cares about gentle subtlety when survival is hard enough on its own? Aren't you supposed to be driven and successful? Aren't you supposed to be loved and socially accepted? You have to be a dentist, even though you want to be a musician. You have to act normal, even though kinky is all that you wanna do tonight. Damn those weekends when you are faced with time to think for yourself. Damn them.

The personal conflict between the fulfillment of social regard and individual wants is where Faith settles. You can't understand language structure had there not been any spaces and commas between the words, right?

Simple. Like any other supplement, Faith is the natural drive to preserve what's already right and amend what isn't, in what matters to the unseen, unexpected, and unwanted. The soul. The small stuff. The silence.

Simple as that.

Why I Don't Live in Saudi

Mount Bromo, Java

Is this right, living here with you and loving it?

Is there anywhere else you prefer to be?

Isn't there any other place I'm supposed to be? Kids my age are busy doing other things, like climbing a career ladders or making money or just getting married and stuff...

Like the kids in Saudi? Your mother would've loved you moving back there.

Yes, sir, she would.

Hmm...Saudi is such a small place compared to this village.

Sir?

The buildings there are bigger and prettier compared to the ones we have here. But it's still such a "small place". You might busy yourself with your job, and shopping and friends, but it's still such a small community and selection of things to do.

Whereas here…

You don't have a lot of things or conveniences, you don't validate your existence by being proactive...but you have the world. You have the entire world to respond to.

And it's enough?

Don't you think you have more than enough?

I just don't feel that I deserve it so soon.

"The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment."

---

Other posts about not living in Saudi:

• Why I Left Saudi in the First Place


• Lifestyle of Choice

3 Types of Personal Bloggers, and Their Readers

Senèn Pon, 19 Mulud

Image: MartinPoole

So every blogger crashes on that existential wall, right? Wondering why in the world they followed the trend and started blogging. Whether you are a serious or a casual blogger, every time you struggle with a new post you start wonder: Why the hell are you doing this to yourself and the people who'd bother reading this stuff.

Personal blogging comes on a couple of levels. On each level there's the market for it. First and always, there's the…

• Verbal Farts.

_{I love the way that sounds, and a lovely amnesic writer I might as well add.}
Verbal farting is the photographer's equivalent of taking pictures of your feet. Or drawing the outline of your less-cocky hand. The examples to this kind of blogger is plentiful, and the question of purpose in their existence is unimportant. Verbal farters don't really need a plan or a mission statement to maintain their blogs because most of them are posting on a mood's basis.

Audience to this kind of rambling:
Your desperately bored relatives and psychotic fans. If you want sustainability with this kind of writing, you have to be ridiculously good looking or rich or famous for no good reason to maintain an audience with demand for eye candy. Simply existing must be good enough for your readership to bloat and fatten. Post pictures often, dramatize your breakups, and don't worry so much about spelling or grammer (ha!); your readers want you, not your ideas.


• How-to & List Posts.

_{Oh, I get my kicks when I can nail this kind of posting right. Nothing beats the smarter than thou feeling.}
You know the gist about internet writing, right? People are here for clear simple, clear facts. How do you serve a knock-out conversation in 7 half-lines? How to bait a girl into taking off her bra in public? How to…Well, you get where I'm going. Of course, you can only take it so far, because eventually someone will come up with something smarter than your idea, or the novelty wears off and you are no longer fascinated with bras and girls.

Audience:
Easy and gullible clientèle. This kind of writing is the crux of internet audience. Normal people get online to know about the things I mentioned up there, and information chunks. Whether it is written based on your personal experience or a passed on knowledge, this is the kind of writing that is bound to bring the audience coming for years to come.


• Deep Probes.

Some things need to be clarified in a couple of mouthfuls. Probing Posts inseminates the bigger chunks of your more evolved-self: your more-advanced thoughts and individuality. The trick is in finding a method of speech that is both clear and at the same time thorough. This is the kind of posts that certifies your intellect, authority and experience; which you will want to work on from time to time, just to make sure that you're not stuck on verbal farting or how-to thinking.

Audience:
Hardcore researchers. Your best friends. The kind of folks you can't please all the time, and the most honest with their opinions. The kinds who are there for the long term conversation. Good luck in finding them. I love mine a lot.

Rule of Thumb
Ideally, as a blogger in this niche, you rotate between the types. Nevertheless, even if you stick to just one type, always keep Form and Readability in mind.

And even if you're just a verbal farter for most of your writing career, don't worry too much about it. You know that I'm reading you anyways.

So, what's your stuff about?

Why You Shouldn't Post Everyday if You Don't Have a Creative Team

Akad Pahing, 18 Mulud

Image: A. Hyman

So after all the troubles that I had to go through, was is worth a 10-day experiment to write-and-post everyday?

I'm a skeptic: Mostly No.

Blog posting everyday when your niche is your tiny palm-size of a world is ridiculous. Nobody should be allowed to talk about themselves so much. Ever. You wouldn't have so much to talk about in a day, everyday, if you were Michelle Obama. And even that is against protocol. Even Oprah had a creative dream team who wrote the lines for her on pieces of cardboard.

Fact is, this is not just a self-filling blog that we're maintaining here. This is a thought journal, something that is served after much shaking and stirring to your venerable audience's pleasure. When talking only requires half of the feminine ability to quickly fill up spaces with gobbledygook, writing shuts that self-entertaining and intellectual mastubatory process in thunderous, thoughtful pauses.

Writing is a two-way tricky craft, you see? You have to shut up and think. Reflect. Solve a world problem or two. Try to get over a terrible hoodoo fever and then some. You have to let it marinade a bit to let it – how my lovely friend Lamya woulda called it – sizzle. Then get back on that engine you trust so well.

And then still get kicks out of finding out just how enjoyable it is to kick the engine against a rainy afternoon background.

So, we're good?

_{I miss riding my bike in the rain.}

Places I've Slept

There is still the feeling that women's writing is a lesser class of writing, that what goes on in the nursery or the bedroom is not as important as what goes on in the battlefield, that what women know about is a less category of knowledge. - Erica Jong

Marahm tagged me about about my sleeping space. I've been against memes, but bedrooms are interesting in a gossipy kind of way. You know when your friend just got married and she just moved to a new house, the conjugal court is what makes it bearable to endure touring the dancing hall, the kitchen, the 18-guest dining room. Just so that you can take a peek at the bedroom - hoping to take a glimpse of whips and handcuffs?

I've been moving around a lot in the first 2 years of living in Indonesia. (And who would have expected otherwise?)This has been my impression about beds:

1. Big Beds are awfully lonely when you have to sleep in it alone. So bring everyone and everything to sleep with you.


2. Hotel beds are sexy. No matter how shabby or sad or motel-ish, the single-serving-homeliness makes it all the sexier.


3. When living like a refuge, sleep like one.


4. When working as a relocated staff in disaster prone area, expect to receive nothing less than a mansion. Something is wrong with the office that you're working for if they don't serve you 3 course meals, 3 times a day, and accommodate you in 9 bedroom mansions. This a question of your self-value and safety.


5. Finally, when the bedroom scene and roomates don't change for more than a year, be grateful. There's a big chance that you're finally settling down.

Brebes, Central Java

Sigli, Aceh

Jeddah, Saudi

Sigli, Aceh

Meulaboh, Aceh

Jeddah, Saudi

Meulaboh, Aceh

Brebes, Central Java

KL, Malaysia

Petogogan, Jakarta

Erica, this is to prove to the rest of them that bedrooms are no lesser topic than the rest of the house...or the writer, to talk about.

Obviously...

Selasa Pahing, 13 Mulud

I HATE BLOGGING EVERYDAY.

There's the kind of people who talk when they have something to say, and there's another kind that just have to say something.

Blogging everyday is the latter.

Day 09: Can't Write

Senèn Legi, 12 Mulud

• It's Prophet Mohammed's birthday today.


• In Indonesia, it's a national holiday.


• In Java, it's like Jesus' Ascension Day: the celebrations begin right from the start of the birth month, hence they call this month Mulud ('Birth' in Arabic).


• In Saudi, the fact that his death coincided with his birthday, that made it offensive to remember him on his birthday.


• We're supposed to remember him everyday, you know?


• Maybe that's why Saudis and urban Muslims take his Prophecy for granted, dead or alive.

---

Remember when they said that March's Theme is giving (up)?
Today was one of those days I almost used the parentheses.

I've been feverishly sick since Friday.
But I managed to post and write anyways. I've had my plans, right? Sickness is something manageable, something you can paracetamol-your-way-through.
I'm better now, thanks for worrying, but writing today turned out harder than the past couple of days.

My Big Daddy's sick. Picking it up from me, for taking care of me during the weekend.

This totally tripped my balance.
I can't write to you today, love. My closest kin needs physical presence and looking after. I know I can get him out of the woods just by being with him (stuffing him with paracetamol).

Hope you understand.

Day 08: When You're Done Being Mad, Believe Again

Akad Kliwon, 11 Mulud

Where to look?

Coming from a monotheist religion hosted in a country that promotes damnation and hell with every other scripture, is one of the greatest ways of saying "fuck this".

I found a Saudi Deist, and I want to tell him "Dude, don't stop there, go all the way." Sure man, don't believe if believing is only going to tweak your disappointments and make you bitterer.

I totally feel for him.

Saudi Arabia is a great place to promote Atheism/Disbelief. You see folks living and working right around the holy mosques pickpocketing and beating up their wives and going against (even) the most basic scriptures to the religion they claim to follow. Cognitive incongruence is the word for it, folks.

Really, if the world and the news is all your only frame for faith and conscience and lifestyle, not having a God or a religion is probably easier to maintain your sanity.

For a while at least. At least until you're tired, sick or lonely. At least until you are nearly dead and you wonder about im/mortality: "Have I been good?"

You see, when all doors and windows are closed, the only direction left for you to look to is either up or down. The older you are, the more suffering you have been through, the less likely you'll want to live without the cohesive effect that only faith can give to all the crazy stuff that life is about.

But you have to be "old" to get there. You have to be done with all the arguments, unveil your arrogance so you can let some light in.

So wait it up.

Day 07: Disbelieve

Setu Wagé, 10 Mulud

Which box keeps your sanity?

I know you're busy, and you shouldn't be online because it's the weekend wherever you are. So I'll make this short. I just want you to renounce religion and God.

Don't believe. In anything.

If you haven't noticed, Ancient belief systems are impractical, irrelevant and often ridiculous for everyday conduct and to common sense. The world is becoming too crowded for rigid intolerance.

How can philosophy and religion still be relevant if you can barely manage to find means to eat? How relevant is Heaven and Hell if you're miserable with your life today?

How can you be Catholic and love a bunch of superstitious Javanese relatives?
How can you work and not believe in Money?
How can you be a good Jewish if you only wave back at Muslims who are threatening your tax-paying citizens?
You could be Hindu, but your neighbors want to grill cows on the weekends.
You might be a pious Shiite, but you fall for a Sunni, and you lose that sense of equilibrium: Is what I'm doing really correct?

---

What are your other options?

A: What if we just merge, try to get along, work together, and not believe in anything?

Unless you don't have a television or internet connection. Unless you are Amish, or Bedoine, or a monk. I suggest you not to believe in anything. Because whatever you are going to believe in, someday somebody will point to you how wrong and silly you beliefs have been. And then you're gonna have to argue about why you think you're right, so that your belief systems don't get disrupted. Or your religion doesn't get insulted.

It's a long spiritual journey to start from scratch, which you shouldn't; for others have been there and done all the arguments, and all you need to do is refer to them. Or Google your way to clarity.

B: What if you just need something and anything to believe in?
Don't go there, unless you are willing to let go of boundaries, and accept that ALL religions and belief systems are correct.

Say: The Christians are correct, the Muslims, the Jews, the Psychics, the Psychiatrists, the Profiteers, the Thieves, the Politicians, the Fascists and Communists and Gamblers, the Saints and Sinners. They all come from a valid standpoint. They all believed that everything they lived for were as correct as their conscience could agree with them.

C: If anything, go back to your path with this:
One day Hell will be empty because Heaven is where eventually all of us are going to end up. It's just a bunch of unpaid debts that will stall your Heavenly Arrival, and you know what? The Angels and Apostles and Saints will wait until we're all there, before bothering to close the 8 gates of Heaven.

When you're done nodding to this piece, either you come up with something that is larger than life; something that binds us together.

Or, depending on how much information you can process in a life time, a cramped neck.

So, how have you been classifying your heart?

Day 06: International Women's Day (2 days from now)

Jumuwah Pon, 9 Mulud

So I wouldn't have known about this event had I not worked for gender-equality-minded office in Aceh a year ago. A colleague made a very fancy interview video out of it, where people fell for my wit and good looks.

Don't know if anything I said was worth a dime.

Anyway, it's the women's day again in a couple of day, and on the occasion, I got me a message from BloggersUnite.org reminding me of the event. In case you haven't made a blogging plan for the rest of the month. In case you haven't already gathered wordy gunk and research material on the subject, mostly from IWD's main site. In case you haven't known what to write about on March 8th.

So there.

This year's theme is "Women and men united to end violence against women and girls".

A Conversation with Critics

Kemis Pahing, 8 Mulud

Blabberess

Dude, your blog needs to get off the religious theme. It's kicking out readers.
It's MY BLOG!! I write what I want and I'm proud of my stuff! Any one who don't like can leave anytime they like!

Dude, you're not making any sense in your arguments.
I don't care! ALL my arguments make sense. It's your stupidity that's making it difficult for you to understand.

Dude, don't write too long articles. Nobody has the time to read all that gunk.
Yeah, so don't! BACK OFF!

Dude, your articles are all five-stars, but you gotta fix the blogging form just a little.
I'm only human, I'm entitled to make mistakes. So, like I said, BACK OFFFFF!!!!!!

Dude, you forgot to add the "n" on the title in the post about romance defintion.
SHUSH! No one saw. Besides, I took it out on purpose.

After thought: Critics, no matter how well-intended, are every egomaniac blogger's nightmare.

Day 04: Rythm

Rebo Legi, 7 Mulud

“Order is repetition of units.
Chaos is multiplicity without rythm.”

One blogpost a day. That's all that it takes.
This is one. No matter how short, this counts.
Satu.
واحدة.
And a grand link to an encyclopedia of quotes that was.

::<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<::::BTW::::>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>::

If you're wondering about how I'm doing blogging-wise, Reader, I'm doing fine. Sure, it was a bit intimidating to post on a daily basis at the beginning. But this is my 4th simultaneous post; while words/thoughts/ideas are still pouring cats and dogs and donkeys.

I'm actually worried about you, Reader. I'm worried that if I post too "heavily too often", you don't manage to breathe between posts. This is one of the things worried me about posting everyday.

The idea of you being here - reading this, being with me on so many levels - is to learn from each other. Blog posts are supposed to be conversational; and it's an understatement to say that engaging with you is one of my favorite activities in blogging. The things I learn from you is as humbling as it is invigorating. And I don't want to be the bitch who gets all the fun.

So, how about 3-4 "heavy" posts-a-week, and the rest is serious play? It's actually stated in one of the well known blogging bibles: More posts, lesser words vs. less posts, more words. So we might as well give it a try, shall we?

Besides, it's Wednesday. We should start making weekend plans, for Thursdays and Fridays are my favorite days when I was in Saudi. Those were the Weekend Days. Smooching Days. Socializing Days. Cheat Days. I wonder how breakfast in Casper's & Gambini, Jeddah, sounds to you. Shall we meet there? Just bring your cameras, and leave your laptops. We'll go on dialog diarrhea and idea marathons. We'll bring up the dentist, and the past and current lovers, drop the headdresses and act as if we're Saudis-in-Denial-in-Beirut. We'll speak in no other language but cool.

Thursday morning. Eight-o'clock sharp.

Right?

---

_{Image pattern 10 by ~incolorwetrust on deviantART}

Angels Gossiping About Man

Selasa Kliwon, 6 Mulud

After Hajj...

"So, did you know how many performed hajj this year?"

"About 600'000 of the Lord's servants."

"How many of those were accepted?"

"None, except one. And - get this - he didn't even make it to Mecca. He actually got stuck in Baghdad, but his graces were equal to all of those 600'000 Hajjis in Mecca."

"Dude, how come?"

"I heard that, when he was about to leave for Mecca, he found his neighbors hungry. So he spent the money and food for Hajj on them. Simple as that. Pretty cool, huh?"

---

_{From Paulo Coelho's: When Angels Talk
Image: Getty}

Day 02: Prophetic Taste in Women

Senèn Wagé, 5 Mulud

Why The Prophet Risked Being Called a Nymphomaniac Satyr by Taking a Child as His Wife ¹

1. Because she was a fresh slate and very bright; she soaked up knowledge like a sponge.


2. Because she was a woman, and choosing her as the keeper of his legacy was a response to anyone who'd say that women has half of a man's brain.


3. Because she had a long and childless life ahead of her; thus the time to spread the Prophetic knowledge, even the most private habits.


4. Because her father, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, was The Prophet's best friend. This emphasizes the importance of genetic and genealogical heritage in choosing a spouse.


5. Because she was feminine. She expressed jealousy when she felt like it. She cooed to him and enjoyed his attention and kisses (so much that she bragged about it). A lesson for you boys to never underestimate the power of feminine beauty. Or (Hershey) kisses.

Why Jesus Took A Former Prostitute as One of His Closest Disciples ²

1. Because she had a past. That's a lesson in forgiveness and sins redeemed.


2. Because she was beautiful and wealthy. An age-old lesson in female currency: You can use it for right, or for wrong.


3. Because her past made her strong enough to endure the sight of her beloved prosecuted.


4. Because she, "of all those whom Jesus had left on earth, was his beloved...was the one who stayed and wept".


5. Because her life made it all the reasonable to spend the rest of it on a different cause, other than childbearing and housekeeping.

So why were women never called to prophecy?
Despite the Lord's acknowledgment in feminine intellect and strength (remember the Prophet's aunt, Sophie?), there's never been a Holy Call for a Prophetess. Doesn't the Lord believe in equality? Does the Lord think that childbearing could interfere with her career as His Messenger?

I'll leave the lines below empty for you to fill up, as much as you want. Every time someone tells me something reasonable, I'll add it, crediting it to your genius (or deviation).

And if I've tagged you on Facebook, it's your thoughts I'm specifically interested in. And if I don't, go ahead anyways. The invitation to thought is indefinite.³


Responses (so far):

• Because men and women have different roles to play. Important in their own ways, the roles complement each other. The nature of Prophetic job is suitable to men.
  
  All that aside, the question is: Who has chosen to have men as Prophets? God. None can question His actions, but we will be questioned about ours. Plus His Wisdom and Knowledge is perfect, so there is no question of injustice, inequality.
  
  - By Saudi Lives

Day 01: Begin Self-Inflicted Torment

Akad Pon, 4 Mulud

Message from NaBloPoMo The theme for March blogging is GIVING (UP). If you choose to blog on the theme, you can write about what you give to your friends, your job, your world, or yourself every day. That "up" in parentheses gives you the option to also write about things you're throwing out, quitting, recycling, or eliminating from your life right now.

That was to tell you that I just joined Post-a-Day challenge for March 2009.

Which means: more pictures, lighter text. Which means that I gotta really be working/writing everyday. Which means that I should have a lot of excuses on skipping meals and drop a pound or two...as long that my blogging company aren't edible.

I want to post daily is because writing everywhere and everyday, does not improve practical form or discipline. I spend days cultivating ideas in my head without turning them into the concrete post. Besides, I'm intrigued by the idea that someone can actually post daily that - just by looking at their latest post - I know what day it is on the calendar.

Speaking of which, and on the side theme of recycling, the other reason why I want to post daily is because I want to reintroduce the Javanese calendar, and how superstition is still relevant with modern, everyday conduct. An idea I've been toying with for a while now. :D You'll see what I mean.

In the mean time,
Thanks to everyone who chipped in on the survey. It's a nice assurance to know that I'm not just talking to my self or to the wrong audience. I'm glad to have you here, and I'll see you tomorrow, and everyday that follows. For a whole month.

Wishing you a positive day!

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_{Afterthought: What the hell am I thinking?!}