and then our exile

The human voice: a miracle. Truly. Abu Khalid led part of taraweeh again tonight--and, I can say that I do not doubt that the hearts of every one of the people at the MCE were affected. Deeply. The man's love for the Qur'an, his immersion in its message, and total sincerity, along with a voice that is a gift to humanity--all combine to produce a glorious, beautiful time among the clouds. {for the uninitiated, much of taraweeh is standing in prayer with one person reciting aloud from the Qur'an. Styles of recitation differ, as does every voice.}

Today once more I spent working away at absolute-value equations, from morning till evening. And finished midterm, though soured by experiences described in a novel of father mine.

On one front, I'm still divided as to whether I spend tomorrow morning skiing, doing physics prep, or in sherwood park. probably a combination of all three. I've got Usman, though, so we'll see how that changes plans. I think I shall turn mail-man for a little bit. Eat your breakfast before 9am, all ye who wish to be uninterrupted.
But. Divisions on deeper fronts as well, though not to turn expose here.
I am, though, host to an exposition which..makes sense. I must still digest parts, though I *am* glad it has been made. And I begin to remember a dream I had, many months ago, which verifies everything: L and J were in our car, parked outside the masjid; I was----but no. Dreams are private. And that one especially so. I know not why I have begun typing of it--I had trouble enough forcing myself to write it in my diary. And so will hurriedly change the topic:

Me: [lying on bed, watching ceiling]: I wonder what it would be like to, having never walked before in one's entire life, just get up and start up on one's own two feet. Kind of like the first amphibians must have felt, as they crawled up onto land for the first time, so many evolutionary light-years ago.
Noor: [watching Usman walk]: Um, no.
Me: Okay, no.

The NDP has once more won a majority government in my dear birthplace of Saskatchewan Of The Skies! And the (pseudo-)Liberals didn't even make it in! Take that, Paul Martin! (Even the Harder family, which has for decades been Liberal-supporting ever since they brought the Ukranian Mennonites into Canada, has nearly completely turned to either the NDP or the Saskatchewan Party. Which shows something.)

Abu Hammam to Usama: So, your parents are in the States now, aren't they?
Usama: [blank look]: uh, no. My dad's in Baghdad right now...
Abu Hammam: That's what I said.
What ensued was a discussion on how much of the world is now "the States". (For the moment, that is: Iraq will not be occupied for long; the world begins to wake up. There are, for example, reports that the Afghan province of Khost has been liberated from American rule.)

I also today got back my lowest mark yet, this year. High 70s. Math. Everything else, with one exception, has so far lived in the happy-sphere of the 90s. Pseudo-depressive.