The light is obviously horrible (like I told you before, the fabric is actually blue... ), and a ton of other things are wrong, but I'm dead tired and it's dark in the house anywho, so it'll have to do.  Besides, it's not like I'm trying to win an award with the pic; I just wanted to show those of you who don't know what it is what a shalvar-qamiz looks like... (Well, it is my very own Finnish-Pakistani variation, so it might not be fully traditional, but anyways... (;)

So here it is:

And now I'm off to bed!  (Oh well, gotta clean the kitchen first....  But by the time I'm done, it'll most certainly be my bed time! )

I stayed up all night last night — but unfortunately, not to study like I should've, but to sew... See, yesterday, I went to a fabric store, just to see if they had something I could buy a piece of and use as a head scarf, but after going thru the fabrics, I just couldn't resist the "urge" and ended up buying this blue, flowery one... (I don't normally like dark blue, but this fabric was cute. ) And being the way I am, having bought the fabric, I had to start working on it immediately, just like I also had to finish what I had started no matter how much time it'd take me... I just can't put stuff (like this) down and continue another time! () So I stayed up all night — which ended up being worth it, though, since I do now own a nice (if I may say so myself... (;) qamiz (Pakistani style shirt... I might post a picture later (:). 

The bad thing is, I really should study now, yet my hands are itching to get started on the shalvar ("pants"), too.... And if I do start, you guys know that I won't be "able" to stop until the shalvar is ready!  

Just a quick post before I head to bed....:

I was reading something some time ago (er... I guess it was Herder's Against Pure Reason, some time this or last week? ), and I "came across" this funny word... Erred.

Seriously, erred??! I mean, I knooow it's an actual word and everything, and that it's logical, too, but still... Just try and say it out loud: eeeerrrrred.... Now, does it, or does it not, sound idiotic??

...

You look at your girlfriend, and she has some of that famous belly fat. Do you

a) keep your mouth shut
b) tell her she looks pregnant?

"Yea... Guess which one I got?? "

[Ps. Check q #1 on Feb 05.]

Who needs The Fockers or other strange family comedies when we got my Dad...?

My Dad:
Like vice-CEO or something in this big company;
has to negotiate big deals so I guess he has to be tough when doing that;
supporter of Kokoomus, the Finnish right-wing party
(well, ok, they do say that the right in Finland does seem quite leftish to people in many other countries... but still, he's one of these people who believes people are in charge and responsible [why do I always feel like I should write responsible with an a?? ] for their own lives, and that we shouldn't "pamper" the ones that are lazy, and all that.
[personal comment: .])

My Dad with Leevi (my Mum and Dad's new puppy, see post on January 24):
'Oh, whos' my dog, who's Daddy's dog...?? You know soon Mr. X [a friend of my Dad's] will come over, yes, and he likes dogs veeery much... '

It's hard to explain, but it hilarious to see how a person can be so tough with some stuff, and such a softie with other.... puppy (; And this is the man who, a few years back, hated dogs and complained every time he had to take the [old] dog out.... Go figure!

(Actually, I'm planning on filming him playing with Leevi, and keeping the tape for whenever I might have to blackmail or embarrass him.... )

(Recebi isso por email e achei interessante...)

O morto

Eu estava dormindo e me acordaram
E me encontrei, assim, num mundo estranho e louco
E quando eu começava a compreendê-lo
Um pouco,
Já eram horas de dormir de novo!

Mário Quintana

lan·guor  n.
Lack of physical or mental energy; listlessness. See Synonyms at lethargy.
A dreamy, lazy mood or quality: “It was hot, yet with a sweet languor about it” (Theodore Dreiser).
Oppressive quiet or stillness.


languor
n 1: a relaxed comfortable feeling [syn: dreaminess] 2: a feeling of lack of interest or energy [syn: lassitude, listlessness] 3: inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy [syn: lethargy, sluggishness, phlegm]

 

— Dictionary.com

 After class today, I had to go shopping (what for, I'll tell you in a few more lines)... And I don't like shopping when I need to find something specific! It is fun if you don't have anything more important to do, and just decide to go and see if you'd see something nice to take home with you (which, often, you do...), but it sucks when you need something specific that you have a clear idea in your head of what it's going to look like. Of course, you can't find that anywhere!

What I was after, was one of those tiny "purses" that you carry around when you're wearing an evening gown (and that you can't fit absolutely anything in). Aaaand, the color I was asking for, wasn't so difficult either: black. But still, it took me more than I could take.... (3 hrs +! ) And it's still not what I was hoping for... But it is nice (much nicer than what my Mum has home — and what I would've had to borrow if I hadn't found anything), and I like it (:

Trying to find a pantyhose also proved to be a task.... At least if I wanted to find a nice one. (Not that they'll show so much from under the dress, but even so....) So I ended up paying 10 euros for stay-ups (which might actually be good because I h-a-t-e wearing a pantyhose.... but it might also prove to be a bad idea if my socks start falling while I'm at the fanciest party I've ever been in ) — and just a few minutes later (well, ok, the gap might've been a little bigger... say, an hour? ), I come across these perfect on-sale pantyhoses for less than 2 euros! And they were nice... So I bought one, just in case the stay-ups don't work out — or I get a run  two minutes before leaving the house...

While trying to find that darn purse, I came across these silky gloves... And I just couldn't resist because I knew how chic they would look, and went ahead and bought them.  Aaaand, while I was at it, I got myself a fake ring to wear under the gloves.... (It even sparkles a little thru the fabric! (;)

I can't wait to wear all this stuff.... (; (Oh, and as for where I'll be wearing it all.... I'll have to leave that to another post, sorry! )

Happy Valentine's Day to all the love birds out there....  Ja hyvää ystävänpäivää kaikille suomalaisille

(Ok ok, I know it's already past midnight, but I hope you'll let it go unnoticed.... [Especially after I so cruelly [[?]] pointed it out myself.... ])

Read some Mandeville (some 15 pages out of 'Fable of the Bees'), and am now off to bed... Although I am feeling that maybe I should stay up and read some more because, for once, I felt the reading was going fluently  (you know how sometimes you find yourself in that 'flow' that makes you read pages and pages without even taking a break... whereas other times, you stop at the end [and in the middle... and after three fourths] of each sentence to check how many pages you still got left to read ), but I figure since it's almost 4 Am, it might be a good idea to 'hit the rack'...  And the text is not so difficult, either, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get the 'flow' of it tomorrow, too. (, though.)

Anyways.... Shub bakhair for now , & kauniita unia!

Ps. To read some Mandeville (not the same pages I was reading, though), go to http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~landc/html/mandeville.html...

When you girlfriend tells you she thinks she's fat, how do you reply?

a) 'Oh, but you're not fat, sweetie!'
b) 'You know I don't care about that.'

Yea... Guess which one I got??

And he goes on...:

"... I [a lady Ferguson 'quotes'] tremble at the prospect of bad weather; for then the gentlemen come mopping to us for entertainment; and the sight of a husband in distress, is but a melancholy spectacle" (Part I, Section VII).

My baby () is sleeping , and I'm reading Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society... Should you like to, you can take a closer look at it at http://www.constitution.org/af/civil1.htm — but before you do, I'd like to give what I think has been the funniest few sentences so far:

"The men of this country, says one lady, should learn to sow and to knit; it would hinder their time from being a burden to themselves, and to other people" (Part I, Section VII). [Color added. ]

 — because there is some truth to that, ain't there, boys...??

Ye.... I was supposed to study; yet, I ended up cleaning the room...  Not that it didn't need cleaning, cos it sure did  , but it's not like I don't need the education, either....  Oh well, I do usually study best late at night, and it is only 9 Pm. So who knows after dinner and a shower (preferably not in that order, though ), I'll dig into some Mandeville or Adam Smith...

Tchau for now

In Turku — for the first time in like a month.... And what does my janoo do? Go to the gym with his friends!

I'm not (or at least I hope I'm not.... ) one of those girlfriends that doesn't want her boyfriend to go anywhere without her; on the contrary, I do normally 'embrace' him going and having fun with his friends, too. It makes him happy, and I like that.

But not the first night we see each other after four weeks! Especially as he did go to the gym yesterday, too, and with the exact same friends — who he's also going to see again this weekend. He can't possibly be missing them as much as he oughta be missing me.... Right?

Sometimes I just don't get him: where does he get off??

Well.... He oughta be back home soon  Allah hafiz and a good night  to all

I went to see my Grandma today... (Or last night, to be accurate.) It's always nice. I just get to sit there and watch TV — and feel like I'm doing something nice  But that's not what I go there, really... I do really love her , and while I do go there partially to make her happy, I does also make me happy. And it is nice to just sit sometimes

Anyways, she's going to have surgery this Friday... They tell me it's not a big one — they'll 'just' be removing her gall stones or something  — but it'd still be nice if you took a moment to wish her good luck (in your minds, that is... I doubt that she'll be reading any comments posted on this site )...   

Niinpä...  Onnea matkaan, isoäiti!

Citação de UOL Notícias — Reuters (http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultnot/reuters/2005/01/31/ult729u43876.jhtm):

"31/01/2005 - 21h00

Jovens texanos fazem mais sexo após aulas sobre abstinência

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Os programas de educação sexual que pregam a abstinência completa, um dos pilares da política educacional do governo de George W. Bush, não tiveram impacto algum sobre o comportamento dos adolescentes no Estado em que o presidente fez carreira política, o Texas, segundo um novo estudo.

Apesar de assistirem a aulas que enfatizavam a abstinência sexual, os adolescentes de 29 escolas de ensino médio estão cada vez mais sexualmente ativos, seguindo a tendência geral do Estado, segundo a pesquisa feita pela Universidade A&M.

"Não vimos nenhuma forte indicação de que esses programas estejam tendo um impacto na direção desejada", disse Buzz Pruitt, que comandou o estudo, encomendado pelo Departamento de Saúde do Estado.

O governo federal deve gastar cerca de 130 milhões de dólares neste ano com os programas que incentivam a abstinência sexual, apesar das dúvidas sobre sua eficácia, afirmou Pruitt.

"Ainda não se pode concluir nada, mas a maior parte do que descobrimos mostra que não há evidencia de que a grande quantia gasta esteja fazendo efeito", afirmou.

O estudo mostrou que cerca de 23 por cento das meninas do primeiro ano do ensino médio, em geral com 13 ou 14 anos, já haviam perdido a virgindade antes de terem aulas sobre abstinência. Depois do curso, 29 por cento das meninas no mesmo grupo disseram ter feito sexo.

Entre os meninos da segunda série (idade média de 14 ou 15 anos), o aumento foi ainda mais acentuado, de 24 para 39 por cento, depois de serem orientados a evitarem o sexo.

Os programas voltados para a abstinência, que vêm ganhando espaço nas escolas de todo o país, não podem oferecer informação sobre métodos anticoncepcionais e devem destacar os benefícios sociais e sanitários da castidade.

Pruitt disse esperar que a pesquisa provoque mudanças no conteúdo desses programas, "que parecem muito mais voltados para a política do que para a garotada, e precisamos superar isso".

Uma das técnicas usadas nesses cursos é tentar melhorar a auto-estima dos jovens, partindo da premissa de que, mais confiantes em si mesmos, eles não fariam sexo. Esses programas, que às vezes nem mencionam o sexo, não têm efeito concreto, segundo Pruitt, acrescentando que outras propostas, voltadas para normas e expectativas sociais, parecem mais adequadas."

* * * * *

Bom, não sei né... Poderia ser que, sem essas aulas, o número de jovens que fazem sexo estivesse mais grande ainda?  E também: não é lógico o número de jovens "não-virgens" subir quanto mais velhos estes ficarem?? Imaginem só a cena: o Bushizinho, querendo provar que o seu programa é um grande sucesso, fornece as seguintes chifras: "Antes de terem participado das aulas pró-abstinência, 23 % dos nossos jovens tinham feito sexo. Depois do curso, o número desceu para 12!"

Agora falando a sério... Não acredito nessas aulas "pró-abstinência". Acredito que, para um(a) jovem que preferir ficar virgem até o casamento, a decisão vai, e deve, partir dele(a) mesmo. Bem que acho que o jeito de pensar dos pais e dos amigos também influencia, e bastante às vezes, mas quanto a esse curso... Acredito que dificilmente vai influenciar alguma coisa — e mesmo que haja alguém que deixe de fazer sexo por ter assistido a essas aulas, nunca vai acontecer com todos os alunos! Por isso, acho importantíssimo eles ouvirem sobre o "sexo seguro" (algo que não está incluso nesse programa do Texas), para não surgirem mil e um casos de HIV e milhares de gestações "teen" não-esperadas.

E sabem o que acho mais absurdo ainda?? O Bush Jr. deve perceber que o seu programa não é pra lá de bem-sucedido e que não contar aos jovens sobre o sexo seguro só faz mal — mas ele não pode admitir isso e mudar as aulas por razões políticas! Que liiiindo, centenas de jovens texanos sofrendo não só por serem burros mas também porque, para o seu Presidente, a política é mais importante do que a vida deles....