Homeeee

Ok well i know ive been a terrible blogger my last couple weeks in DC...but i was never home. and i was super busy...

Well, i'm home now :)

My last day of work at the NWPC was really nice...boss took us to this amazing mexican restaurant for lunch..and we all just reflected on our summer. ill miss my coworkers and my boss..shes such a great woman. really, shes one of those people who will brighten ur day with a simple "hello"

Packing my bags was so tough...i couldnt beleive that i was actually leaving my prison cell lol... i sat on my empty bed...for a while...and just thought about all the crazy things that happened in our dorm. ill definitely miss my room mates...ESPECIALLY lizelle... itll be weird not sleeping 5 feet away from her
loll

The night before my flight, i slept over at khala sima's house...she took me to la madeliene in the morning...for breakfast <3

I totally miss her...she made my DC trip soooo much easier!! i really dont think i spent any weekends at my dorm. i basically lived at khala sima's house from fri-mon. she's the bestttt.. i miss her..but she's coming out to cali in a few weeks :)

So my adventures in DC have come to an end. I really feel like ive learned SOOO much in these 2 months. i became independent. i learned how to be responsible. and mostly, i just grew up. POP!!! the oc bubble no longer applies to me. i've been out in the real world now.

Its REALLY nice being home.. but i miss living in DC. Honestly, its just such a motivating city. Supposedly, 80% of the working people in DC have a masters degree..and everyone is focused on their career...its a different world from OC.

Who knows...maybe ill end up back in DC one day. I've said many times that i want to be a Senator or an Ambassador...so ill definitely have to go back! Until then, VOTE 4 ME.

Thanks for reading my blog :)

Better Late Then Never

Yesss, i know zayd left like 2 weeks ago. but ive been busy. hadnt had a chance to blog. so ill do a quick update of what him and i did while he was here...After Mailan left, Zayd came back to my dorm with me. We dropped off his stuff and jumped in a taxi to go the the Spy Museum. i had heard that i was a pretty cool place to visit so Zayd and i decided to go check it out. They charged 18$ per person to get in..and told me to turn my camera off (which i obviously chose to ignore). The museum was decent. Nothing special..we just walked through and looked at stuff, took pictured, watched a few movies on being a spy..and thats honestly about it lol. Afterwards, we walked to China Town--one of my favorite places in DC--and i took Zayd to Matchbox for dinner. Yummmm :) I ordered the same thing i always order (calamari salad and a chicken/mushroom pizza). Zayd loved it. So after, we decided to walk around a little. and to burn some of the calories off, we found a bowling alley. Lucky Strike Lanes. i know there is one somewhere in LA but i have never been. Really cool place. Bowling for adults. More like a lounge than a bowling alley. We played one round...and i was up the entire game...but Zayd got lucky with a strike on his last try, and beat me...lol.. After bowling, we went to a movie theatre next to the bowling alley. watched Hancock. we both loved it...really good movie. And we walked home...poor zayd wasnt used to the humidity and all the walking lol. But i made him a grilled turkey and swiss cheese sandwich when we got back to the dorm...and he said that my cooking is better than mom's LOL (haha)

The next day, Zayd went out with our uncle Omar and Soraya. They went to a few museums while i was at work. i met up with them after. and we went to a great Chinese restaurant for dinner. Dinner was nice..we laughed a lot...and after, we went to ESPN Zone to play in the arcade...lol...NO, we are not too old for arcades. We spent a couple hours there and went back to my dorm afterwards.

The next morning, while i was at work, Dawoud Waziri aka Diz (our cousin) and his friend came to my dorm to pick up Zayd. The 3 of them walked all over DC, looking at sites and exploring. I met up with them after and we all headed to the Metro Station to go back to Khala Seema's house in Springfield. We went to dinner with her at a pizza place near her house. And then just hung out in her basement for the rest of the night...

Friday afternoon, Mateen Etemadi, 2 of our cousins (Belquis and Omar) and our khala came over. We went to this place in Maryland that was near the water. Walked around, watched an outdoor concert, ate. And then we headed to Downtown Alexandria to walk around some more and got ice cream. Downtown was really cool...a bunch of small shops and it had a really cool area right on the water. We found some guy that looked like an older version of Zayd. Except with a beard...basically, he was a mix of napolean dynamite and Zayd...lol.. i have pictures to prove it. It was fun hanging out with cousins that i like neverrr see. After coming home, Zayd Dawoud and I went to a Hookah Cafe with a few of Dawouds friends.

(Don't ask about the tie...he found it in the car and of course, he HAD to wear it..It's Zayd loll)

The next day, a few more relatives came over for lunch. We all sat around khala seema's house and chilled. My buddy Nader came over too :) And later that night, Zayd, Dawoud and I started to get ready to go out...Dawoud was invited to this huge party with his old VA friends...but since he didnt want to leave me alone, he ditched the party and the 3 of us headed to our other cousin Dawoud's club (Thanks again, Diz! Love u!!) So we got on the metro, all dressed up, and of course we took a bunch of pix to kill time lol..

So ya, Zayd and Dawoud are both under 21...but when ur cousin owns the club, thats not a problem ;) lolll.. We met up with the other Dawoud at his older club, 1223, and he met us outside...walked us in, past the HUGE line of people..and gave us a tour of the place. it was realllly nice. i hadnt seen this club yet. but ya, he showed us around and took us up to the 3rd floor. gave us this really nice table in a VIP section, and we all sat there sipping on our RedBulls loll. After like 1/2 an hour, he asked if we were ready to go to Josephines (his other club). So we walked to his car and he drove us there. We got to Josephine's and we walked right in. He showed us around...introduced us to the DJ. And gave us another table by the bar. He sat with us and talked for a while. Totally took care of us. He was soooo awesome. Zayd and Dawoud just loved being VIP at the club. And i kept telling Zayd that NOT every club is like this loll. (this was his first time at a 21+ club) Later in the night, my room mate Lizelle and her boyfriend Chris met us at Josephines. They absolutely loved it. We sat at the table and did a little people watching.

So Lizelle and i are dancing...and i walk back to our table to check the time...its 2:43. And the last metro leaves at 3am!! So Zayd Dawoud and I jump up...we try to find our cousin dawoud to say byeee..but no luck..so we jetted out of the club. Found a cab...told him to step on it..and the driver drove as fast as he could...and honestly, we made it by 30 seconds! Otherwise we would have been stuck looll.. we didnt realize how late it had gotten. But ya, we made a stop at 7/11 after getting off the metro, bought some snacks, and went back to khala seema's house to sleeeep. very fun night :)

The next morning, Zayd left to go back to Cali :( I was pretty sad...but it was so great seeing him. So yaaa, thats pretty much my week with Jones <3

**Thanks Amena & Khaled (aka Mom & Dad) for sending Zayd out here. we had a lot of fun**

So i think i need to find a new bus stop...

Yesterday, while i was waiting at the bus stop to go to work...there was this homeless man sitting on the bench that i wait on. and he talked to me for a few minutes..and we parted ways. no big deal..

Well today, i was sitting on the bench. And the same guy came up to me and asked if it was alright for him to sit down, and i said, "ya of course, no problem." And he took a seat. Well, the man didnt recognize me from the previous day. but i remembered him..and i sat there, waiting, minding my own business. But this guy felt compelled to have a conversation with me. First, he asked me where i'm from...and i said i am Middle Eastern...(which brought about an unpleasant look to his face) He asked me to elaborate...and i really wasnt in the mood to listen to this guy bag on Afghanistan. So i tell him that i'm Persian...Case Closed. No questions asked...lol.

So the guy leaves me alone for a few seconds. But then asks me if i have read the Bible...well, i couldnt lie to the man...so i told him, "You know what sir.. i cant say that i have...only a few bits here and there"

He then informed me that i NEED to read it. Because the end is near. And he knows this because apparently, he is a Prophet. Yes, he informed me that he is a Prophet, like "Jeremiah"

and he muttered under his breathe that he was going to destroy me.. niice

Well at this point, i realized that the man is nuts...so i pull out my cell phone and pretend to text.

Then he open a can of beer, in a brown paper bag (classy) and started rolling what i believe was a ciggarette. He asked me if it was ok for him to smoke next to me...and i didnt want to insult a "prophet" so i said no problem...lol

The guy then took a drag of his "cigarette" and took a good long look at me. And shared with me that he thinks im a Secret Agent. Because, apparently, i was acting like a secret agent. And i told him that i wasnt...and he replies, "Thats what they all say...."

Great...So now this guy thinks im a spy...

And he mutters under his breathe again that he hates Muslims...so i just smile :) lol

So then he asks me if i'm married. And i told him, nooo not yet...and he said that im smart. Told me not to get married. But said im pretty...But then assured me that he doesnt get with white women...b/c thats not how God intended it to be..

Well, we sat there for a few more moments..and i keep checking the time on my phone. B/C my bus was obviously late..and i just wanted to get away from this man. But then i decided that i wanted a picture of this guy...lol...so i pull out my camera, turn off the flash, and pretend to be playing with the buttons while he is looking down, when i'm really taking his picture...He saw my camera (im sitting 1/2 foot away from him) and he asks what im taking a picture of..but i assure him that im just fixing some of the settings...and he generously informs me that if i wanted to take a picture of him, he would only charge me $50. What a great guy....lol

Ok, so now i'm really praying that my bus shows up... so i get up off the bench, to look across the street...and the guy tells me, "You know what?? You are actually VERY pretty. Its your smile...damnnn.." Wonderfullllll... and he continues, "I cant believe that a man hasnt swept u up already..b/c you are a looker. But let me tell u, lady. Do NOT marry a player. No, No, dont get with a player. And if you do marry a player, dont let him take u to the 22nd floor and throw you out the window. And then let him claim its an accident." (WTF???)

And my bus is STILL not there. So the guy turns to me now...looks at me very seriously. And tells me that he knows a few extraterrestrials. And i say, OH really?? And he tells me that they talk to him sometimes..b/c he is a man of God. although they hadnt spoken to him in a while. But he does indeed know some extraterrestrials. And they have space ships. And he told me not to call it a UFO, b/c they hate that. And the space ships come down from heaven.

So i nod...and smile...and pretend that this conversation we are having is totally normal...I get up now, b/c i see the bus from afar..and the guy is checking out my legs (i was wearing a collared black dress). And i say goodbye to him. Jump on my bus. And laugh.

These are the type of people i meet in DC. If you would like to also have an intellectual conversation with this man, he is at the 18th & F Bus Stop after 9:30am.

Tourney Weekend

So after Zayd arrived, we went to my Grandma's apartment in Alexandria, VA. We had dinner at Soraya's apartment (which is ONE floor above my grandmas) with a few family members that Thursday night...and Mailan, Zayd and I went downstairs to get our sleep on.. Jones needed to be well rested for his games :)

So Friday morning, we get into Soraya's car and drive out to Chantilly for the tournament... the gym was kinda strange... it had rubber floors.. they first people we see are the West Coast Hoops team, consisting of all my cousins and friends :) Yayyy, it was so nice to see everyone after so long! Then we walked over to watch the games and hung out with a few of our Payaam friends (more on their immense success at the tourney later)... so Zayd and his team warmed up, and mailan and i went to go find seats to watch their first game.

I think they beat the first team by like 20 points... its awesome when they are up by a lot b/c then the young guys, including my brother, get to play more minutes. We stayed to watch a few more games and after WCH won their 2nd game by a large number, we all headed out to find a place to eat... me, mailan, and soraya accompanied the team to Chilly's...we had 2 big tables. and we all just sat there, joking around, chatting, and eating. Here are some pix from our lunch:

Their team had the best jersey's at the tournament by farrr... LRG, a pretty big clothing line, sponsored them...dont know how..dont know why...but these guys got jerseys, shirts, and throwbacks. Ok, so after eating, we drove back to the gym... Mailan and i made friends with this really nice girl named Sara (she's Nasir's fiance- the guy running the tourney) and she asked if i would help keep score for the games...so because im such a humanitarian and do-gooder, i agreed...lol. The first game i scored went smoothly...of course the loosing team complained a few times, but thats typical... the ref's were really nice and they made sure that Sara and I knew what to write down on the score sheets and they made sure to keep checking if we had everything down correctly...so that game ended..and a new one was starting... Afghan Ballers v. Payaam. It sucked cuz i'm friends with most of the guys on both teams... so the game started.. and it was a great game. both teams are playing amazing basketball...but unfortunately, Sara and I are sitting in an awkward area near the court...so it was hard for us to see what the refs were saying. and then i had like the whole Afghan Baller's family members standing all around me...and they're trying to tell me that the score is different than what we had up, etc etc... once again, everyone is complaining lol... WHY do i get myself into these things??? haha...Haroun Arefi, from Payaam, fouled out...and he was sooo upset. the refs let him stay in the game an extra 4 minutes b/c they wouldnt listen to me when i tried telling them he had 5 fouls. To this day, Haroun still swears he only had 4 fouls... anyways, long story short, Payaam lost...Afghan Ballers won...and it was clear that the top contenders at this tournament were West Coast Hoops, Afghan Ballers, and The Outlawz.
Ok, so day 2 rolls around..and its at a different gym...this one had normal courts :) WCH only had one game...which they won..and after the last game at 3pm, we all left to go to Maryland for the big ASF Soccer/Basketball tournament...Yes, there was 2 different tournaments going on at the same time...dont know why... but ya, we got there..and there is literally 5000 Afghans! Where did they all come from??? Didnt know anyone...but it was so weird walking around the big gym. i swear people just look at u...not to check u out...but just to observe u and see who u are... awkward... anyways, Afghan Ballers made a brilliant decision in playing in both tourneys during the same weekend lol...but lucky for them, they won the ASF tournament :) Great game, btw... After the game, we headed outside to the soccer stands. Found some seats in the front and watched the final game. Honestly, i didnt pay much attention. Our friend/long lost cousin Abdullah came and sat by us..and seriously, this guy is the funniest person ive ever met! He's pure humor...doesnt stop..and we sat there, watching people walk by, making fun of their clothes, hair, etc lol...here's a picture of a guy who was standing by one of the soccer teams:

I have no idea who this is...but honestly, he looked ridiculous..he was wearing some sort of Sergeant get up...regardless, he looked stupid..and im putting him on blast on this blog :)

After the soccer game, we all went back inside the gym and waited for awards to be given out. and there was some random concert that i wasnt interested in...so my friends and i took pictures instead:

After leaving that night, we met up with the Payaam guys at a Wendy's near Lina's house. My cousin Dawoud came with us too to keep zayd company lol. We just hung out in the parking lot, playing music, telling jokes and stuff. BTW, let me go on the record and state that PAYAAM came all the way out from San Diego, Ca...and LOST every single one of their games... 0-4. LOL.. these guys used to be reigning champs...but ya, without a doubt their worst tournament ever..

Ok, so now its day 3...this is the most important day. One loss and your doneeee. We are back in Chantilly, Va. And WCH beats Afghan Ballers in a really good game..and take a spot in the Finals game (Afghan Ballers were probably exhausted by the 3rd day...considering they had played like a dozen games for both tournaments). And their opponent: The Bay Area Outlawz.

Zayd did a lot of sitting during the last few games...lol... he had a great moment the 2nd day.. where the team was up by 30...and zayd gets a wide open look behind the 3. And he takes the shot...and the ball hits the poll behind the backboard...hahaha

So we all know that i need attention once in a while. And i decided that i needed to play basketball LOL..we found a bunch of girls from the soccer tourney who were willing to play. And a lot of them showed up with their bball gear. So we made 2 teams of 6. And got ready to play. Honestly, the only people that really knew how to play was myself and Maryam Ahmadzai...she's really good...really intimidating... we played on opposite teams to make it fair. and my team was a bunch of ladies from the Afghan Baller's family (sisters, aunts, cousins). Well they brought jerseys..so that was cool...but unfortunately, my jersey didnt match with my wonderful green shorts lol...

Whatever, i pulled it off lol... so i go up to my team..and they're all girly girls (which is totally fine, i am too)...hair, makeup, and nails done lol..so im really impressed that they were willing to play. I ask my team, "Ok guys..who wants to play point??" And they all look at me with confused expressions on their faces...Niiiice... this is when i realized i was in trouble lol..i really cant play point...so the game was gonna be interesting...i explained a few rules to the girls quickly and we went to go warm up. One of their younger relatives, Rishad, was our coach...he would have been a pretty good coach if we knew what he was talking about lol...so the game starts..and thank goddd the other team is full of girls who dont know how to play either. Honestly, it was SOOO much fun. We all just went out there, with our little bball skills, and played for our family and friends to watch. No one took it seriously...except that mariam girl...the rest of us were just laughing and trying to make a basket. So this khala on our team, who is probably my mom's age, gets open a few feet from the basekt. I see her there, pass her the ball, and she makes her shot!! yayyyy we were all cheering and high fiving haha...I scored the next basket which was soooo exciting!! Zayd, Mailan and our younger cousins were all sitting on some bleachers going crazyyy everytime i touched the ball. At half time, the score was like 4-4...LOL...we only played 10 min halves. So after half time, the girls and i go back in the game and we decide that we want to win...but there was chaos out there! Rishad and i tried to explain how to play defense...instead of everyone attacking the girl with the ball...but it wasnt working very well... i kept getting WIDE open under the baskett...but no one could pass me the ball...another person on our team kept picking up the ball everytime she got it, parked it on her hip, and would walk around...LOL..regardless, it was still super fun. I scored one more basket and i assisted another...plus, i got SOOO many rebounds...and of course i tackled a girl on the opposite team...but we lost...lol it was like 8-10. Honestly, none of the girls knew how to play but i was soooo impressed that they didnt care how they looked out on the court. Everyone tried...and everyone had fun :)

And everyone kept coming up to me after the game, all the girls, telling me how im SOOO good and that i lied about my bball skills...and honestly, all i could think is, "YA guys...YOU all made me look like KOBE Bryant out there, compared to everyone else" LOL... i swear im not that great... just cocky...and im all talk when it comes to basketball

Ohhh, funny story! So half way through the game, Ali Noorzad came over to help us...his sisters were on my team..and we all huddle up..and he asks, "so who is ur best passer???" And we all just look around at eachother...lol...so he decides to set up an inbound play for us. Basically, one girl was going to inbound the ball...the rest of us were to stand back to back...in a line...and as soon as the ref gives the inbounder the ball, i was supposed to slide to the left, someone else to the right, someone else was supposed to set a pick, and the other was supposed to roll and get the ball....thats what it was SUPPOSED to look like...What actually happened: I slid to the left...everyone else crashed into eachother LOL!! Nice try tho..haha

After the game, i went over to my "hooligan" cousins...as Mailan refered to them...and waited for the final men's game.

The finals game was really good...close game the entire way...in the last few seconds, the score was tied 43 all...and the outlawz missed a shot...so WCH got the ball back with 2 seconds left... Yo Etemadi went to inbound the ball, but somehow threw a really bad pass, it got intercepted by a guy on outlawz, and he went up for a last second layup...GAME OVER. Outlawz won?? Yes... lol they won by a lucky buzzer-beating layup. OH Well...C'est La Vie.

I think the guys were a bit stunned...but they got over it. Hmmm. so what else...after the games, we were all exhausted...me, lina, her sister sabrina, mailan, zayd and soraya went to cheesecake factory for dinner. And then back to my grandmas. Zayd slept at Mateen's...it was REALLY nice just hanging out in our beds and talking to mailan :) I really miss just hanging out at home and laughing and talking with her... Well, the next day, mailan and i went to Tyson's Mall to shop a bit... afterwards, our friends Homyra and Mariam met up with us at Panera. We had lunch..and hung out with them. Zayd and Mass ended up goign to the mall too..so we gave them a ride back... and we all went to my grandma's place and hung out there. it was a fun night :)

That night, mailan and i stayed up till like 4am just talking..and the next morning, she left me :( I was seriously soooo sad for her to go home... but the only good thing was that Zayd was still in DC for another week.

So this concludes tourney weekend :) It was so nice seeing everyone. I forgot how much i missed home <3