Tasmiya

Here she bloody is.

Grumpy, p’d off and really crabby today. The children haven’t been obedient, mindless robots today and sadly that is what I am expecting of them today. Just today, mind. Just today I would like them to dutifully obey and not whinge or whine or cry or have a meltdown. I would like a monotone, “Yes, mother,” along with said obedience.
So I haven’t been managing stress levels very well, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? DO YOU WANNA FIGHT? DO YA? DO YA? SHUT UP!

My in-laws are visiting in one week and my house is a shambles. I’m trying desperately to get it to look like a normal person’s home but alas ’tis not working out favourably in that regard. Doubtless, there are those who will argue but in truth, my home DOES have a routine. The routine being I do what needs to be done and I make allowances for things that are not pressing. Like ironing (pun not intended and gosh I am so unintentionally clever) or the floor that needs mopping. So now those 6 years of “half doing” housework have finally caught up with me and it’s not a pretty sight.

I have neglected my blog and my loyal readership in favour of cleaning! Do you see how dire the situation is?

*looks around at neverending mess*

*cries*

So instead of writing on this blog every few days and updating my other personal scandalous blog every few minutes, I thought I would save some time and combine the two with the password protection feature. I kid! I kid! I only update the scandalous one every hour or so. In truth, I only wanted to try out the password protected thingy. It is nothing sensational, scurrilous or indecent or even that personal. I was just annoyed that a beautiful gift was carelessly dropped, sending shards of glass indiscriminately all over my floor, after having countless lectures on how some things are ONLY FOR MUMMY TO TOUCH! *sigh* I know accidents happen. I know children (and adults) sometimes break stuff but really, did it have to be MY stuff to shatter into a million and one pieces to render it beyond repair? Did it really have to be something I loved? Yes, apparently it did. If only to teach me that things are just that - things. People are well and truly more important and I have been blessed by a constant stream of beautiful people in my life. Alhamdulillah. I cannot love any THING as much as I love my any ONES.

So the password is/was - forgoodnesssake - go on, then.

Thanks everyone for their kind words after my last post. I know you luw me beddy much!

In truth, I did not watch the budget unfold and get analysed by economists and the like. I did not read much about it either. What I do know is that this government has taxed the bejebus out of everyone and THEN go around saying how good they are because there is a surplus. Then try and buy our votes (let’s face it - only the very rich or the very stupid would vote this government back in) by giving us tax cuts.

Is it not a tad strange that the government is enjoying a huge surplus while the ordinary Australian is enjoying the highest recorded personal debt? Something is not right here. I’m counting on you to sort it out, Kevin. Don’t make me come over there and sort it out for you….or wait.

Here is how I would spend the surplus:

1. A big house, new car and an overseas holiday

1. More money for education, infrastructure and HEALTH (you know important stuff)

2. Less money for fighting terrorism (BECAUSE I WOULDN”T HAVE MADE AUSTRALIA A TERRORIST TARGET IN THE FIRST PLACE!)

3. Give more money to the poor people.

4. More money for study, manufacture and implementation of alternative fuel sources. We are a DESERT country - solar panels, anyone?

So I was thinking YES MY BRAIN HURTS NOW WHY DO YOU ASK? the other day.

I hate lectures for Muslimahs. They’re either about our role as wives and mothers (nothing else of course) or even worse they’re about what we are NOT obligated to do (we don’t HAVE to cook or clean if we don’t want to, you know. The men of the household also need to help out with the housework, we are allowed to get educated, there is a shortage of Muslimah doctors etc etc). It isn’t that I don’t think women need to be educated about these little tidbits. I’m all for it. What really gets my goat is that the same Imam will not tell the MEN of the community the same thing. Why do they bother telling the women these things when it’s most often the men who need to be told. TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

I can remember when I was in highschool, we were unfortunate to have a male student who thought it was his right to touch any girl he fancied. So what does the school do? Call all the girls for an emergency meeting. I’m not saying it was a waste of time - our deputy principal told us that girls can do anything, that we don’t have to be touched in that way (unless of course we wanted to be *giggle giggle giggle*) and I’m sure she told us what to do if we were confronted with this situation (I really can’t remember, but I would hate to think she DIDN’T tell us this vital piece of information). All I kept thinking was, “Where are the boys?” (Having lunch, apparently.)

Where was the talk for the boys telling them how they SHOULD be treating women (as human beings in case you’re wondering, boys). Where was the lecture telling them that if they ever touched up a girl uninvited, that it’s a CRIME. I imagine this particular boy either did not have any male role models or just had the worst kind of role models. So what else is he going to learn if that’s all he’s exposed to? I hate to think what happened to him.

Where are the khutbahs telling men they should not beat their wives and daughters; that they should not only allow but encourage their daughters to be educated? Where is the khutbah telling men to help out with the housework once in a while you lazy sods?

I’m really tired of being “educated” of my role in society. I’m tired of being told that I have a right to walk around freely without fear of molestation. I am sick to death of being told that I don’t HAVE to cook and clean for my husband and family if I don’t want to. I’m tired of being told that husbands should not beat their wives and that women have a right to be treated with kindness.

Tell it to those who don’t get it. Tell it to those in positions of power who use their brute strength or just the whole patriarchal society to take advantage of women. Tell it to those who NEED to change because you know what?

I’m done listening.

Addendum: There seems to be a bit of confusion. Even husband read this entry and looked at me as if I was nuts. This post wasn’t supposed to be about Islam. No I do not have a problem with Islam. I’m still Muslim for goodness sake. I don’t have a problem with how the texts are interpreted.
Ok now that that’s settled. The point YES I HAD ONE, PEOPLE! I was trying to make is that you can’t just educate women on how they should be treated and what their role is in the world unless you educate the MEN at the same time. Let’s say a woman is being beaten to a pulp by her husband practically every night. A girl is being told she cannot go to school and she has to learn cooking and cleaning now because she has reached puberty. Another woman is being hassled by a man with whom she has told countless of times she is NOT INTERESTED. They attend a lecture where the lecturer (please note - no religion) tells the women, “Yo! Listen up chickybabes. Men aren’t supposed to be hurting you. Yo you young things who are going out to become doctors - the next generation need good role models..you go girl! And those men who are harrassing you. That is NOT ON. Then the next day, he addresses the men and says, “OK, Listen up y’all. Today we are going to talk cars.”

Do you see my point? Who is in power? Men. Whether we like it or not, it’s a patriarchy. There is only so much a battered woman can do to try to teach her husband another way to communicate and manage his anger. There is only so much a woman can do to tell a man to get lost and leave her alone. Men need to be taught what is acceptable and appropriate behaviour. Whether we are talking about behaviour for Muslim men or non-Muslim men, it doesn’t matter. You can’t educate women ONLY and leave the men to think everything is hunky dory.

This is why I’m not listening anymore.

Dear School that is Responsible for Educating my Child,

If there is a class activity run AT the school, I understand that you might not classify it as an “excursion.” Fair enough.

Imagine my horror though when I read your newsletter stating:

This incursion will support the work being done in the classroom in the unit, Our Living World…

The opposite (if indeed one exists) of excursion IS NOT INCURSION! An incursion is a hostile attack or invasion. If my child needs lessons in attacking and invading and being hostile, I would have sent him to be schooled at John Howard’s office (HA!) And besides, how can the children invade the school they already attend?

I know you thought you were being clever but, really. This is a classic inample (please admire this joke post haste) of what I want my children to learn.
Incursioningly yours,

Miffed parent.

Yesterday’s post (I’m not linking to it, lazy bones - just scroll down!) was a feeble attempt at getting me out of my rut. It hasn’t worked. I’m just so grumpy and miserable and please no comments about “time of the month” rubbish.

We all know PMS doesn’t exist.

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Joke! Joke! Sheesh don’t get your sanitary napkins in a knot now.

Everybody and everything is making me irritable. I’m on edge the whole time. It’s almost like I WANT to be angry so I’m busy searching for things to annoy me so I am justified in feeling so darn mad. How does that even work?

Answer: It doesn’t.

Please make dua I figure out what on Earth is wrong with me and manage to fix it so that I can get back to procrastinating study and enjoying all that I have been blessed with.

After explaining to a client the process of a skin scraping to check for mites (”I scrape the skin gently with a scalpel blade until there is a small amount of bleeding”), having to then explain that the blood dripping down her dog’s leg is not the norm for a skin scraping and does not belong to her dog. In fact, it is actually MINE because I was stupid enough to jab my finger with said scalpel.

Going to the gym this morning and getting all excited that someone put the fan on. THE FAN! Cool breezes! WOOOHOO! Then getting disgusted and nearly vomiting because the breeze brings along with its gentle coolness, the combination of everyone’s malodorous stench, deodorant and strong perfume. Getting home for a shower to figure out the smell was from MY t-shirt. Eww.