Biography 326: Food for my parents

 My parents never asked me anything. Though I have started earning before my MSc results come out. I was use to take money and treats from my parents. However, I have bought food a few times for my family, I mean for my parents and siblings. I found they became very happy. I felt good. At least someone appreciates my efforts.

Gifts

 

Gifts from a kid's birthday

Gifts from a kid's birthday

I like gifts. I like to have them for every occasion, like birthdays, Eid, or any other celebration. That's why I try to give gifts to others, because that's one way to show my liking for them. Even if I sometimes get a gift I may never use, I still like having something.

You can't take the land with you

 

‘You are not going to take any treaty land,’ says AFN national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

Stay good, even on social media

 When social media first started, I actually found it good. We can connect with our friends, families, and other people too if we like their thoughts. Then a huge population joined social media. They found that they could reach anyone they couldn't in real life. Their mindset is that they can abuse anyone they like because some people laugh at them and give them support. These kinds of people have no civic sense, no humanity in mind. They might not do this much in the physical world because they might face consequences, but on social media they can hide behind a fake ID or a virtual image. 

So, the social media platform that was very strong became very dirty. Some good things are still going on, and some good groups and people are still there. But it has lost its safety and goodness.

Preparation for the birthday

 I used to prepare a complete meal on my birthday. Every time, I tried to make something new on my menu. Then I enjoyed the food with my family members. These days, I don't have that strength, but I still try to make something. I just don't invite anyone because I never know whether I will be able to make something or not, or whether that food will turn out tasty.

Biography 325: Because I am following the rule.

 My father has given me a ride many times on his bike or motorcycle. I always felt he drove very carefully and smoothly. He started driving a car in Saudi Arabia. Again, I have noticed he drives carefully. I think he has had only 2 accidents in his life, and in both, he was not at fault.

I have started driving in Canada. From the very beginning, I drive carefully and smoothly. In this country, when it is written Max 50k, people drive at 60k. Police consider up to 10k/20k. I always drive 50k in that situation. I feel the rules are made for safety, and everybody should maintain them. So I always see other drivers get angry. They pass my car, giving me an angry look. Not because I am breaking any rule, but because I am following the rule.

Winter Storm

 My phone is giving me big alerts about the upcoming winter storm. I was wondering what I can do about it. My main concern is hydro power. If we have electricity, hopefully we will survive well, because our house might be warm then. But if we don't have power, we will be in an extremely cold situation within a few minutes. We can't stay like that. We have to go to a shelter. Here is another issue: if we get 30-50 cm of snow, no vehicle can rescue us. All will get stuck in the snow. So how can we go out, or can anything come to rescue us? If the storm wipes out the house, the situation will be much worse. I hope we won't fall into that situation.

May Allah protect us, always.

Local Temporary Shaheed Minar

 In Bangladesh, people build many local temporary Shaheed Minars to honour those who gave their lives to keep Bangla as the national language. I was watching one of our local Shaheed Minars. Photo credit goes to my brother-in-law, Ashique.

Biography 324: My father was cooking in the kitchen.

 I was studying at our local school. Our school was very close to our house. One day, during the lunch break (we used to call it tiffin break), I came home with some of my classmates. On that day, my mom wasn't at home. She went to Faridpur to her parents' house.

Generally, when my mom isn't available, my father used to cook. He used to cook very basic Bangladeshi food, like rice, chicken/beef/mutton curry, and daal (maybe). No vegetables, because he didn't like them. His curry was great. We used to say it was better than our mom's. Mom never felt happy about that.

When we came to the house, my dad was cooking in the kitchen. He was wearing a white lungi. He felt a little awkward in front of our classmates. Later, he told me, "When your mom wasn't present at the house, why did you bring your friends home?"

Our classmates were very surprised. On those days, even now, Bangladeshi fathers don't cook. It was all mom's duty. My dad helped my mom cook in Saudi Arabia first. He used to say, "Now I've learned how to cook. When we go back to Bangladesh, I will help you cook. You will never feel alone." That didn't happen, actually. My father only cooked when no one else could. When my older sister grew up, she took responsibility for cooking if my mom wasn't around.

One of my classmates also said she felt my father was Hindu because he was wearing a white lungi.

Not intentionally

 I was very irritated with someone. I told them, "You can write a book called 'How to Irritate Shahana in 101 Ways.'" It seems my words hurt them. They replied, "I don't do it intentionally." But things didn't improve much.