Poetics & Politics

Cravings for solitude are supplemented by my realization this year that there has been a lack of salience within my relations with others. This has exacerbated feelings of existential nihilism within me. But there are ebbs & flows within this paradigm. It's certainly not conclusive, nor is it a replacement. It's like how when palm fronds become wet when beaten with pouring rain during a tropical storm, but that which the very next day are dried under a hot sun. 

"Wrong solitude vinegars the soul, right solitude oils it.

How fragile we are, between the few good moments."
—Jane Hirshfield, Vinegar and Oil

It's during these 'oily' moments where I discover, for example, that I want to sit under the sun for hours and watch Frida Kahlo paint while I swish around on her terrace in her one of her many maxi skirts. 

So the next best thing is to don a swishing maxi skirt. Channel my inner Frida Kahlo.

"I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do.

I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you." 

—Frida Kahlo

WHO WHAT WEAR?
pleated skirt, U0, $10
ruffled coral button-upshirt, Mintage, $6
sequinned vest, Mother's from the 80's
gold & green earrings, gifted, from Abu Dhabi

And in these moments you discover that poets are your long-lost friends. Each word is a reminder of this camaraderie, of this understanding.

loss.

-

"your email says

i feel like a loser a lot,
like i’ve lost.

i think about all the things i’ve lost
weight, lovers, memory, dignity, time, self respect and people 
most of all i lose people
to prison, to ghosts, to the ground
to a changed phone number
to a nothing that meant everything.
i start to count loss with my fingers
the summer we lost our home
and last year, 
my pride
my innocence and my milk teeth in the same winter
my father, my brother
my country, my accent.
the television tells us that we have to ’let go’and i do.

even my secrets   

i lose to poems."

—Warsan Shire

It is only natural to wear your feelings. Mine take the form of sequins, feathers, geometric prints, faux leather, gemstones, and colour. At once.

WHO WHAT WEAR?

blue sequinned chopped leotard, F As in Frank vintage sale, < $2

colourful geometric-print pleated skirt, thrifted, $6

feather earrings, Aldo, $7
faux-leather tights, Silence + Noise, $10
blue pumps, thrifted, $3
bag, UO, $10

Finally, twenty years of existence, and the last few under the influence of a certain set of politics and poetics, can only make one yearn for a "connection with someone that isn't predicated on aesthetic ideals."(https://disquietblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/you-cant-hurry-love/)

But then there is this wonderful reminder

"We mustn't be in love with the ritual of love."

—Vivian Gornick
As someone whom I deeply admire has put it, we instead "must cultivate healthy solitude & healthy love of self."

 ♥ ♥ ♥

Drop me a line, so I can add things to The Summer Reading List, lovers.

Formal Introduction

I don't do well with formalities but I'd say I do adequately enough with formal wear.

                                       

  

*These last two purple & yellow outfits were worn to my cousin's wedding shenanigans. The "who what wear" follows in a similar fashion to the hot pink & white outfit's one. 

{inspiration of the last little while}:

1. One of my favourite stanzas from one of my favourite poems from one of my favourite poets:

“...this thought keeps consoling me:/though tyrants may command that lamps be smashed/in rooms where lovers are destined to meet/they cannot snuff out the moon/so today/nor tomorrow/no tyranny will succeed/no poison of torture make me bitter/if just one evening in prison can be so strangely sweet/if just one moment anywhere on this earth.” 
- فیض احمد فیض (Faiz Ahmed Faiz, “A Prison Evening”)


2. This excerpt is always pertinent:

"There is no poetry in this / There are causes & effects / There are symbols & ideologies / Mad conspiracy here, & information we will never know / There is death here, & there are promises of more / There is life here / Anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, but breathing for sure / If there is any light to come, it will shine from the eyes of those who look for peace & justice after the rubble and rhetoric are cleared & the phoenix has risen 
/ Affirm life
/ Affirm life
/ We got to carry each other now / You are either with life, or against it
Affirm life.”
- Suheir Hammad, 'First Writing Since'

3. The current playlist:


All in all, just living the twentieth year of life, in this 13th year of the new century.
xx

Amidst It

Oh, where to begin?
Such is the curse of maximalism - I am a purveyor of accumulating...experiences. Damn, that was rather pompous of me. Duh - most of us are.
Anyways, a new academic year has begun.
New friends, old friends - a beautiful kerfuffle of the two I have experienced so far. I'm nearing two decades of life & have never felt more confident. Let's hope this is an exponentially increasing phenomenon. Throughout this procession, here is what I have adorned myself with - my costume for the production titled 'life':

[*note: not specific outfit photos, as will become clear. But they do a pretty decent job of showcasing my outfit.]

*beauty-related tidbit: finally donned dark lipstick! Red lipstick is high maintenance but hella feelin'-sexy-inducing.

who what wear?

• gold, shimmery shirt: $6, thrifted
• copper metallic pleated skirt: $10, Urban Outfitters
• tan, tie-die print wedges: $10, Ross
• <3-worthy work-of-art vest: $10, Temple of the Modern Girl (vintage store)
• colourful feather earrings: $3, Aldo

Look at all these hipsters I have the privilege of working with.

I'd like to share one of my favourite quotes now. Pertinent, I believe. And so damn beautiful.

♪♫ "And those who were seen dancing 

were thought insane by those who could

not hear the music." ~ Nietzsche ♪♫

*p.s. as for the whole existential crisis thing, things like this keep me sane: "Striving for Muslim Women’s Human Rights", by Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons.
 [http://thefeministwire.com/2012/08/striving-for-muslim-womens-human-rights/]

"We feminist Muslims – as our Jewish and Christian sisters have done – are bringing this insight and information to the forefront. We are arguing that Islam is NOT a monolithic structure etched in stone for eternity. We are seeking to separate Islam the religion from culture, tradition, and the social mores of the societies in which Islam arose and took root. We are reinterpreting the sacred texts anew from a feminist perspective. We are reviewing the history of the religion and are finding and bringing to the foreground earlier interpretations of earlier sects or groups in Islam whose views were more egalitarian, but were labeled heterodox and dismissed. We Muslim feminists seek to reinterpret, reconceptualize, contextualize, and historicize Islam and our societies’ rituals and practices."

One Vest, Two Sunshine Rays

Snaked my way through town

The sun hissed its rays on my skin

Clouded me with colour

with nary a cloud in sight

Eventually found the steps to the *Temple

in light of

capitalistic hallelujah.

^An ode to my recent beloved splurge on the most exquisite vest that has ever graced my upper body region. (*Bought at a vintage store fave, Temple of the Modern Girl).

Here I wear it two ways, on two different days, celebrating the anniversaries of the first cognizance of two dear comrades' existence (their birthdays). 

1.

 

who what wear?

• blue print dress: $1, YWCA thrift store (I volunteer there every other Friday; drop by Vancouver peepz! Proceeds go to a great cause. 4399 Main st.)
• 3-toned heels: thrifted, ~$3
• blue scarf: F as in Frank vintage sale, < $2
• vest of the outfit (ha ha): Temple of the Modern Girl, $12

2. 

who what wear?

• shimmer-y gold shirt: $6, Salvation Army
• tie-dye print wedges: $10, Ross
• blue scarf: F as in Frank vintage sale, < $2
• vest of the outfit: Temple of the Modern Girl, $12

^I love these comfortable darlings. I have vowed not to compromise my feet's comfort in exchange for aesthetic appeal. No.matter.how.difficult.that.will.be.

& this is how I am adorning myself in these *YOLO-y days of summer...

*(an adjective!? Drake, you are an abomination!)

Sole-Satisfying Capitalism.

I am able to justify my incessant cash-doling practices for the acquisition of accessories for three precise reasons.

One, because I don't dole out all that much cash.

Exhibit A: 4 shoe purchases in the last month, for a total of $26 (okay, okay, not including HST...).

The second reason being, most of these purchases (not in this particular post, heh) are from second-hand shops (obviously!!! You are only excused from not knowing this piece of knowledge if this is your first time on UUU, or you don't know me in real life. Or both.) Sustainable consumerism - a lesser evil.

Third, just look at them:

who what wear?

• yellow sandals, $5, H&M
• black & white polka-dotted oxford, $5, Claire's (seriously)
• suede tan lace-up heeled booties, $6, Value Village
• tan wedges with a supremely radical tie-dye print on the heels, $10 (splurge!), Ross

Déjà vu.

A near-two month hiatus from blogging has my cerebral cortex begging me to allow itself to purge the cognitive diarrhea that I have, for nearly two years now, enjoyed sharing with you all.

It is with utmost pleasure that I announce that my room smells like chipotle mayonnaise. That my rectum is soon about to burst. That the end of my to-do-list is very assymptote-ic; I will never reach it. That in the last 4 months I have argued with precisely 4 males about the legitimacy of feminism as a social justice movement and its relevance in our society today. That I recently had the opportunity to perform spoken word poetry to a roomful of incredibly inspiring human beings about how Islam complements my post-colonialist, anti-imperialist, and feminist worldviews (!!!). That if I don't go to the washroom to relieve myself very soon, my chair will be very wet. That "CLIMATE CHANGE IS A REAL THING, GUYS!" and we should seriously be worried. Or reduce our carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. And fast, y'all.

Bee-arr-bee. I'm going to go pee.

In the meantime, here, a sartorial creation:

photo credit: my lovely resident, Elysse. World-renowned photographer she will be, some day, I bet.
who what wear?

1. BROWN HEELED BOOTS WITH GOLD BUCKLE

   , $5, VALUE VILLAGE

2. GOLD METALLIC TIGHTS

   , $10, H&M

3. FLORAL DRESS

   , $3, VALUE VILLAGE

4. VINTAGE YELLOW FUZZY SWEATER

   , F AS IN FRANK

5. FLORAL VEST

   , $3, THRIFTED; SALVATION ARMY

6. PINK SCARF

   , $5, ARDENE'S

7. ZEBRA-PRINT STACHEL

   , $7, H&m                                                                     

Alright, back from lavatory-related duties.

Only appropriate to share my current playlist, I feel:

 And this addictive number: I see the video as a satirical antithesis to the exotification of the Middle East. & taking a bad-arse stance against a certain country in the world that prohibits persons of a certain gender from partaking in a certain activity associated with automobiles. AND ALSO, I WANT, LIKE, ALL M.I.A.'s CLOTHES!!!!

 And how are you all doing, mes cheries? :)

"I fancied you’d return the way you said, but I grow old and I forget your name. (I think I made you up inside my head)." ~ Sylvia Plath 

Bell Bottoms and bedroom Eyes

The word 'undergraduate' seems rightfully accurate--these undergraduate years are so underrated!

The cognizance of this fact hath made me commit acts of the socially deviant kind:

I decided to ornament half my limbs with the most ridiculous/fan freakin' tastic/groovy/happiness-inducing floral bell bottoms.

 

The two best accompaniments? A velvet blazer and a pompous, hip-jutting demeanor, of course.

  The pants also serve as a means of protection against dangerous suburban terrain.

The unveiling (pun not intended, for once) of lethargy or sexy bedroom eyes? You decide.

who what wear?

• velvet blazer: < $3, F as in Frank vintage sale
• floral fab-freakin'-tastic pants: Urban Outfitters, $10
• gold metallic, zebra-print scarf: H&M, $5

{word of the moment}  

cog·ni·zance

   /ˈkɒgnəzəns, ˈkɒnə-/ Show Spelled[kog-nuh-zuhns, kon-uh-]

noun 1. awareness, realization, or knowledge; notice; perception:  
"The guests took cognizance of the snide remark."

{phonetic gem of the moment}

This man. His voice. That is all. (When is he coming to Vancouver!?!?!?!?!?)


{book of the moment}

{quote of the moment}

"Why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?" ~ Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Till next time, lieflinges*!

 (*darlings, in Afrikaans)

It Never Gets Ti(g)ering

This post will not ooze collegiate-chic as it so rightfully should. Won't ooze sophomore collegiate-chic to be exact. No, won't ooze second-year collegiate-chic to be exact exact, seeing as I am no American (& do not particularly aspire to be. Re: Troy Davis sad-edy. [tragedy + sad]).

Instead, it will attempt to reinforce the norm of longing for summer. Please sit back & enjoy me having ascendancy over you for the next few moments in time.

 

 Longing for summer reaffirmed yet? Oh, no? Fear not, there's more captured moments of time where this came from.

 who what wear?

•     shiny blue scarf, $2, F as in Frank
•     vintage floral dress, $3, Value Village
•     gold metallic tights, $10, h&m  
•     bright blue pumps, $3, thrifted
•     bedazzled vintage vest, momma's from the 80's

 The beautiful thing about being a maximalist is that you can repeat outfits (gasp!shock!horror!) with a simple switch of accessories. Case in point: I've worn this ensemble to convocation ceremonies, birthday dinners, & summer Microeconomics classes.

[jewellery] who what wear?

•  blue ring, Old Navy, $3
• gold cuff, Forever 21
• white & gold necklace, Aldo, $10
• blue & gold necklace, Value Village, < $2

Now, here: gallivanting graciously amidst suburban terrain...or picking a frustratingly deep-seated (literally) wedgie? You decide.

p.s. Exciting Life Updates in This L'il Life O' Mine vis-à-vis Photographs

In this photo I am in the possession of the Delicious Boy, who is my 7-month old baby brother who has not made an appearance on UUU yet (!!!!!!!!!!!).

I am currently a Residence Advisor at school. In short, I get paid to have TONS OF LEGAL FUN.

Above is my Small Team. & a cheer we never get tigerd (heh) of re-enacting: "1-2 KU, 3-4 Hear us roar! *roar*)

bisou, bisou, mes darlings. Till next time (which will not be a month later. *winces*)

Summer, don't leave white away.

This summer has been the perfect blend of work, play, and all-around general lounging. This dress embodies that to a tee.
When I'm hard at work passively flopping my hands into the hands of manicurists, it's appropriate.
When I'm conjuring up wordplay spontaneously, it's appropriate.
When I lounge around all general-like, it's a little less appropriate. (I prefer to be lackadaisical in clothes that severely lack opulence).

 

*this is a satirized pose. No one in their white mind (ha) configures their limbs like this intentionally.

*this is a semi-satirized pose.

 

who what wear? 

• geometric-patterned dress, $3, thrifted 2. 
• vintage, tattered, pre-loved sandals, $2, thrifted [my Summer Sandal as of late] 3. 
• black tights, $4, Forever 21  

[jewelery] who what wear?

• blue ring: Old Navy (I know, right!?), $3
• coral & gold necklace: Stitches, $1
• silver ring: Zellers, $1.50
• silver bracelet: Pakistan
• studded bracelet: thrifted, $1.50

Hope y'all are having a fantastic summer! Connect with me, else I seldom know of your existence.
I update very infrequently (#blamethemuslims, am I right, am I right?), so the most active I am in cyberspace is over @ Twitter, dear comrades: http://twitter.com/#!/uroobajamal
Come. Follow me.
(Let me believe I have much ascendancy over y'all. *Wink, wink.) 

*attempt at winking. I refuse to believe otherwise. What! No! It is not an Awkward Face! Awkward phase? Maybe.

Toodles, mere pyarein.