Smorgasbord

Third Year of Law School!!!!

2010-10-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, I started a journey down a road that will hopefully lead to a law degree and a career in law. I can still recall the feeling of happiness, pride, and gratitude as I walked into the Boyd School of Law. Now, three years later, I sit in my secured transactions course trying to recapture that feeling of motivation and enthusiasm I felt during my first year of law school. I have to admit that while I'm still grateful to have this opportunity to be in law school, I am quickly losing steam. With only one more year to go after this one, I believe that I am catching an early strain of Senioritis. My classes are not any more difficult than they have been, but I am finding it considerably more difficult to remain engaged during the lessons. A perfect example of my inability to focus on the lecture is this moment in time right now. Currently, my professor is doing a great job (I'm sure) of discussing how to perfect a security interest by filing. However, I am obviously not paying complete attention, as I am on the internet blogging. In fact, as I look around at my peers, I see that they too are on the internet off task. It's not just this class either. In all of my classes this semester, I and my peers are finding it hard to stay off the net during the lecture. One guy told me that he was going to have to leave class early because his computer battery died, and he could not bear to remain without the internet to entertain him.

I am so happy to be in my third year of law school. Other students have dropped out or failed out by now, and I'm still here, yawning and playing on the internet. Woo hoo.

The Best Tuna Fish Recipe Ever

2009-10-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a great way to liven up your same old bland tuna sandwiches, this recipe is definitely a Godsend. Tuna is a great snack to have when you're on a low carb/low fat diet. This tuna recipe delivers a sensational taste to an old favorite.

1 can albacore tuna

1/2 cup of mayo or Miracle Whip

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 tablespoon of garlic pepper

2 tablespoons of raisins (better if sauteed in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray)

2 tablespoons of dried cranberries

Combine all in a bowl and mix. Enjoy.

*This is also really great on buttered raisin bread*

Letting Go

2009-10-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in all of our lives when we have to let go of someone. It may be because the person has passed away or because the person has simply passed us on, but we all go through the painful experience of letting go.

I have had my share of the experience. Last year, I had to let go of my father. And while I don't think that I will ever completely let him go, I have moved past his death. Now, I am dealing with another letting go experience; I'm letting go of a dream.

Dreams of two people together can only come true if in reality the two actually stay together. Sometimes the dream of something is so cherished that the dreamer clings to the dream despite all signs of it not coming true in the horizon. I used to be that type of a dreamer; I thought of myself as an optimist. I believed in the power of love- until reality slapped me across the face and out of my daydream. Love isn't everything, and it can't save the world. Loving someone doesn't mean that they will love you back just as much or at all. Being willing to spend your life with someone doesn't make the rest of the world ready to agree with the union. And, even when you give it your all, love doesn't always work out. Sometimes, sometimes you just have to let go.

One of the times that you know you have to let go is when you've been let go. When someone has cut you lose and wants you out of his/her life, the only thing to be done is make a graceful exit. Yet, it's never quite that easy, especially when your dreams are involved. When you have made someone your dream of happiness and that someone has said that life with you is a nightmare, your life becomes a strange, unsettled universe where nothing makes sense or adds up right. How can you let go of something that means everything to you? How can you give up a dream that you've had forever? You just do.

They say that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit. If a person is a bad habit, maybe letting go of the person can be done in 21 days as well. Somehow I don't think so, but if you're in the habit of talking to someone or seeing them, then maybe after 21 days of not seeing the person, you'll let go of something.

I'm going to call this Day 1.

Looking Back on My 1st Year as a Law Student

2009-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

I started my first year of law school in August 2008. Prior to the beginning of the semester, I went to the public library and checked out two law related books: Constitutional Law in a Nutshell, and some book on why lawyers write the way they write. I had no idea of what to expect from my law classes; I didn't know if I was expected to read the US Constitution prior to my first classes or whether I was supposed to have already memorized the Bill of Rights. As it turned out, I didn't even get Constitutional Law as a class until my second year. Full-time students on the 3 year path took Con Law their first year, but the part-timers, like myself, were off the hook.

I went into my first year of law school blind, and I came out of it with 20/20 in retrospect. Before I started law school, I had a plan to blog about my first year in law school during my actual first year. Obviously, that didn't happen. The reason it didn't happen is because I didn't have the time to blog; I barely had time to sleep. At the first year law student orientation, a professor warned that law students had to schedule in free time. I thought that the professor was laying it on a bit thick, but as it turns out, she was right. Full-time law students take five classes their first year; they are under an agreement to work no more than 25 hours a week; and, they don't have to take classes during the summer. A lot of the full-time students, if not most of them, do not work at all. Yet, because they take two extra classes, they think that they have it so hard. Part-time law students take three classes a semester during the regular school year, attend two classes during the summer, and the majority of part-timers work full-time jobs. If I had my vote, I would say that the part-timers who work full-time have it a lot harder than the full-timers without day jobs.

My first year of law school, I worked as a high school English teacher from 6:50 a.m. to 3:30 Monday through Friday, and on days that I had law school, I went home for two hours before heading to class from 6:15-9:40 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, and 6:15-7:40 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. I found myself looking forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays because those were the days that I might actually be able to get some extra sleep at night. The weekends were supposed to be a reprieve, but how could they be when there were over eight hours worth of reading to cover and on top of that research to be done. The weekends were my only real time to study and work on my law school assignments. I had no free time. Over the course of my first year, I took Civil Procedure 1 & 2, Lawyer Process 1 & 2, Contracts 1 & 2, Professional Responsibilities, and Family Law. The hardest classes were the Lawyering Process classes. Lawyering Process is a legal writing class that teaches students how to write memos, how to write briefs, and how to research the law and apply it to legal problems, amongst other things. The class required hours and hours of research before any writing could be done. The research process was laborious to say the least. With only two hours to spare between work and law classes, the weekends were the only time that I had to work on LP assignments, and with those assignments went my social life. Free time meant compromise; the comprise usually amounted to me staying up late hours on a work night to finish assignments at the last minute. I can honestly say that the Lawyering Process classes really helped me in the long run. Everything I learned in those classes will help me as a lawyer in the future. I'm sure that Contracts and Civ Pro will help me in the future as well albeit not as much as LP. And, that's the beauty of law school- all of the classes, all of the assignment, all of the lectures, they're all relevant to what I'll actually do as a lawyer. Most of the classes that I took during my bachelors and my masters degree were completely unnecessary. Law school has been the best educational experience of my life.

I am now in my third month of my second year as a law student. What I know now about law school is that it requires all of my free time if I want to do my very best. I also know that if I don't want to give up all of my free time I can still do okay. The reading can't all be done before class in two hours, and a research paper for law school cannot be done in one night, even if it is all night, not even two nights. Professors don't expect you to memorize the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. But, professors will expect you to memorize a bunch of legal rules and the facts of a bunch of cases. Professors will call on you unexpectedly and ask you to provide the facts of a case or your analysis on a legal issue. The work in law school is not hard; there's just a lot of work to get through. It can all be done. It just takes time.

30 at Last

2009-10-14T23:59:00.002-07:00

Al humdulilah. Landing on the other side wasn't so bad. I'm 30. I have been blessed to live 30 years. I feel pretty fortunate. How could I be sad about this?

1 Minute Until 30

2009-10-14T23:59:00.001-07:00

I'm bracing myself.

2 Days Til 30

2009-10-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

There's a birthday card that has the message, "30, it's all fun and games until it happens to you." A friend received the card some years back, and I found it hilarious; the message has been popping in my head a lot these past few weeks. What's funny is how true-to-life the card's message is. A week ago, a friend of mine had her 30th birthday on October 4th; on her birthday, I blasted her with jokes about being 30. And, now- it's my turn to undergo the change from my 20's to my 30's. I told a student that I was turning 30, and his response was, "Oh my God! You don't look that old!" Yeah, thanks buddy, way to make a lady feel good!

I think my biggest problem with turning 30 is that it changes how other people, especially those younger than 30, view me. It's like being 3o is an illness. When people hear you're turning 30, they're like, "Oh, that's big." And, the pity in their voice is a thick as syrup when they say it. "Uh, 30! Poor dear."

Society has expectations of each age group; there are certain things that you could get away with in your 20's that you just can't get away with in your 30s. I remember when I was younger, really young, I thought of 30 as being so old and grown up. I can't help being a little amused at life on the other side. I look at my friends who are mothers and fathers, and they are my age. I can still see the middle school personalities in my friends even now; we haven't changed all that much. We are just wiser and a lot less naive. We are still learning.

As this is one of my last days as a twenty-something-year-old woman, I feel I should commemorate my 20s with a list of all the things that I loved about my 20s.

1. Having a father that was still living.

2. Turning 21

3. Living with my godson Drake when I was a nanny.

4. Monthly trips down to California

5. Nights out Dancing

6. Weekend dinners at Dave's.

7. Playing Open-Mic nights

8. Getting my Mustang!!!!

9. Getting my house!!!!

10. Feeling optimistic

11. Graduating College

12. Getting my masters degree

13. Getting a job as a teacher

14. Producing short films

15. Writing screenplays while working at Spectrum Apartment Locators

16. Hanging out until late hours of the night with my friends

17. Having friends that still called weekly

18. Going to Canada

19. Going to Europe in 2007

20. Going to Hawaii with my mommy

21. Going to Maine with my mommy

22. Going to Europe 2009 with my mommy

23. Paragliding in Interlaken, Switzerland

25. River rafting in Colorado with my mommy

26. Going to Wet 'N Wild with Sidney, Dave, and Rena that one time :)

27. Getting my first iPod

28. Getting my first Apple laptop

29. Getting Bizbee

30. Not being 30

Spark People

2009-10-13T15:28:00.001-07:00

Most successful diets include calorie counting. It's just a part of the drill. When you count calories, you can avoid consuming more calories than your body can burn in a day; eating more than you burn leads to weight gain. If you're looking for an easy way to track your calories, sparkpeople.com might be a good place to start. The site is free to join and offers access to a free calorie counter and much, much more. The weight conscious online community includes several weight loss tools, and it even provides users with a nutritional plan suggestion. You can use the site's tools to personally select your own nutritional plan and set goals for yourself. I'm aiming at 10 minutes of cardio a day and drinking 8 ounces of glasses of water per day. The message boards are also fun to dabble with if you're the type to like a little competition or friendly support. Some members create challenges, such as losing 15 pounds by December, that others can accept. I think it helps some people stick to their diets when they are a part of a group aiming for a common goal. You can link to sparkpeople.com on the right side of my blog.

The BEST Low Fat Honey Fried Chicken Recipe Ever!

2009-10-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

How many of us dieters crave some delicious fried chicken but have to go without because of all of the fat involved? They say that the best creations and inventions come from those in need, and I was in need of some fried chicken this past Friday. I stopped for gas at a station located next to Popeyes, and the smell of the fried chicken stirred up a strong craving within me. So, I went home, and I got creative. The outcome was quite frankly amazing. Here is what you do:

1. Use a bag of flavored croutons (I used garlic flavored) and ground them into a powder almost. Ground them into as small of pieces as you can. I poured mine into a ziplock baggy and then used a hammer to just pound them into powder.

2. Take skinless/boneless chicken breasts and slice into strips.

3. Season the chicken the way you like- I like a little garlic pepper and salt.

4. Using about a cup and half of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (ICBNBS), fry the chicken strips until they are near done.

5. Pour the powdered croutons on a plate,

6. Heat up a cup of honey and 4 tablespoons of ICBNBS in a bowl using the microwave, about 30 sec.

6. Dip your strips into the honey/ICBNBS mix and then roll the strips in the powdered croutons.

7. Put the strips back in the pan and continue to fry.

8. Drizzle honey over the frying strips of chicken and sprinkle more of the powdered croutons on as the chicken fries.

9. Crisp both sides of the chicken and you're done.

If you do it right, it will be dee-lish, and far less fattening to your typical fried chicken dish. Enjoy.

* You can use chicken pieces with skin, but it is more fattening that way.

Pork in Cheese?

2009-10-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Remember the days when vegetarians ordered cheese pizzas because they didn't want to eat meat? It's ironic to know that cheese pizzas are not necessarily vegetarian foods; in fact, there is a high probability that the cheese on the pizza was made with pork or beef enzymes. It's becoming harder and harder for people who do not want to consume animal products to avoid eating foods that are made with pork or beef. A grilled cheese sandwich used to be the substitute for vegetarians during lunch at my old elementary school; how ironic that those kids were chewing on the insides of a calf or pig's stomach. When did eating only the foods that you want to eat become so hard? If you're a vegetarian, you might as well go completely vegan to be safe. But, if you're not a vegetarain and are instead a Muslim, a Jew, or Hindu, you may not want to give up cheese; however, if you want to follow your faith and avoid eating pork or in the case of Hindus, beef, then you just might have to give up that dairy product.
When people order cheese pizzas or a vegetarian pizza at that, they may not be getting what they want at all. Instead, they are getting cheese that contains rennet which comes from the stomachs of slaugtered animals, such as pigs or calfs. Sounds delicious right? Wrong.
I miss the days when cheese was from milk and not from pigs. As a Muslim, I am finding it impossible to eat at any restaurants outside of those that are halal. I simply don't know what ingredients are used in restaurant foods. Does the bowl of clam chowder that I'm ordering have mono-dyglicerides? Does the bread and butter that I'm served have mono-dyglicerides or pork enzymes pervading through the food? I don't know. And because I don't know does not excuse me to eat the products when I do know of the possibility of those products being haram.
I am calling for action from all of those out there who believe that people deserve to know what they are eating. I said it before, and I say it again- it is time to start calling out all of the food restaurants that claim specific items to be vegetarian when those products are indeed made with animal products. Complacency will get us no where. We must act. And, we must act now. First, stop eating at resturants that cannot provide a list of ingredients that go into their foods, and more specifically, a list that is clear and identifies animal products unambiguously. Second, call up restaurant companies and demand to know if they use animal enzymes in their foods. If they do, and you have consumed a product that was labeled vegetarian (vegetarian pizza, vegetarian sub, vege burger, etc), but it wasn't, then get a lawyer and sue. Your rights have been violated. Third, spread the word to others who do not know about this issue. People all over are ignorant about the fact that cheese is not a vegetarian product. Furthermore, neither is bread a vegetarian product. And finally, if you have the ability to do so and you are Muslim, only shop at halal grocery stores and restaurants.

Here is a link to a list of brand of cheese that only use vegetable rennet. http://cheese.joyousliving.com/CheeseListBrand.aspx

Days 11-15 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-10-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with a blog, a diet, full-time teaching job, and law school has taken it's toll on me. Unfortunately, I'm finding it very difficult to blog at all. What this means that instead of daily updates on my my diet, I may have to post weekly. I will try to post as frequently as possible, and hopefully soon, things will be a little easier for me allowing me more time to blog.

Day 11

1 slice of wheat toast 70 calories . 5 fat

1/2 banana 55 calories .5 fat

1 bag of light popcorn 110 calories 1.5 fat

Chicken and rice 360 calories 7 grams of fat

1 bowl of Corn Flakes 160 calories 0 fat

Day 12

1 1/2 bowls of Reese's Puffs cereal 200 calories 3 grams of fat

pretzels 200 calories 1 gram of fat

1 bowl of oatmeal 160 calories 2 grams of fat

Left over Chicken and Rice - 360 calories 7 grams of fat

1 Weight Watchers Chocolate Cake 100 calories 3 grams of fat

Day 13

Cheat Day

Day 14

Another Cheat day

Day 15

1 slice of wheat toast with jelly 90 calories .5 fat

1/2 banana 55 calories .5 grams of fat

yogurt 100 calories 0 fat

pretzels 200 calories 1 gram of fat

Garden Burger Sandwich 300 calories 12 grams of fat

Weight today 128.3

Day 10 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-09-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

As I write this entry, my butterscotch nibbles are chilling on top of the counter. That should give you a clue as to how well this day of dieting went for me. It started off really well, and then I got to my night class. One of my classmates had a batch of butterscotch nibbles that drew attention from other classmates. Soon, I could not resist the excitement, and I asked to sample the treat. It was dee-lish, and it was addicting. I couldn't bring myself to ask for more, so I sat the rest of the hour craving more and planning my stop to the grocery store later. Needless to say, I am now way over my calorie and fat allotment for the day. I'm not going to bother stating what I ate, but I will post the recipe.

Butterscotch Nibbles

1 package of butterscotch morsels

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup chocolate chips

8 cups of Chex Cereal

simply heat the peanut butter and butterscotch in the microwave for a minute and afterwards stir in the cereal and chocolate chips. Spread onto wax paper to chill.

Common Ignorance

2009-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, my niece called me to tell me about something that happened to her at her school. This year is her first year in high school. She was really excited about being in the ninth grade, and for the first few weeks, all I heard from her were good stories about her days in the ninth grade. But, three weeks ago, she had a run in with an ignorant hall monitor. The hall monitor asked to speak with my niece; she wanted to know what nationality my niece was. My niece informed the hall monitor that she was half Pakistani and half African American. The hall monitored responded with, "Oh, well you can't wear that thing on your head. We have a no head dress policy." My clever niece responded by telling the hall monitor that she was Muslim, and that she was required to wear her hijab as part of her religion. The hall monitor scolded my niece and said, "Girl, when I asked you what your nationality was, you was supposed to say Muslim"

My niece was shocked that an adult could be so ignorant. But, unfortunately, I was not surprised. On more than one occasion someone has either assumed that I was from the middle east because of my head cover or asked me what my nationality was and then responded with, "Oh, I thought you were Islamic" when I inform them that I'm African American. Muslims are not a nationality; they are followers of the religion Islam. Yet, so many people assume being Muslim means to be Arab or foreign, not American, and frequently, not black.

There are millions of Muslims living in America. Muslims come in all races and nationalities, and their presence exist in every state across the country. If this is the case, why is ignorance of the Islamic cultural so prevalent, especially in US public schools? Muslim girls should not have to be singled out and told they can't wear their hijabs because of "No Hat" policies. Teachers and staff at public schools should be educated about Muslim students' First Amendment rights to practice their religion without interference from the government, and they should recognize a Muslim girl when they see her in her hijab. I'm sure that most teachers would clearly recognize a Jewish student in a yarmulke. How is it that in this day in age, especially after all of the publicity Muslims have received in the media since 9-11, people are still ignorant about Muslims and their cultural traditions?

Day 9 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-09-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to check my weight again until Sunday; I have been so rushed in the mornings that it has been hard to even take the time to get on the scale. Today, I stayed within my calories, but I had too much sugar. Tomorrow I need to make it a healthier meal day.

Breakfast

Corn Flakes 160 calories 0 fat

Snack

4 long stick pretzels 200 calories 1 fat

Candy - 400 calories worth 11 grams of fat

Dinner

Chicken Sandwich 300 calories 7 grams of fat

Granola Bar 100 calories 3 grams of fat

______________________________________________________________

1160 22 fat

Day 8 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-09-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I was upset to see that I weighed 129.2. I felt extremely bloated, and I know it is from all of that greasy popcorn I ate last night at the movies. Oh well, nothing that I can do except keep on trucking.

Today I did well and got back on track.

Breakfast

Corn Flakes 160 Calories 0 fat - I find that Corn Flakes make me feel full for longer throughout the day than waffles.

Snack

pretzels 100 calories .5 fat

Monster Coffee 1/2 100 calories 1.5 fat

Linner

Chicken Sandwich w/potatoes on the side- 420 calories 13 grams of fat

Snack

blow pop - 45 calories

Jolly Ranchers - 50 calories

Granola bar - 100 calories 3 grams of fat

Total 975 calories 18 grams of fat

Happy Dieting. Goal for next week 127 by Sunday.

Day 7 of My 30 Day Diet - Cheat Day!!!!

2009-09-27T22:33:00.001-07:00

A diet isn't a diet without a cheat day. I like to have my cheat day on the weekend. Today was that day. I started off healthy, and I didn't overeat throughout the day. But, this was because I was saving my cheat moment for the movies. That's right. Buttery, salty, crunchy movie popcorn, that is what I was looking forward to eating all day. It was great. The movie was good too. If you haven't seen Surrogates, go see it. Bruce Willis still manages to look good even when he looks bad. I wonder what his diet is like...

Breakfast

1 waffle w/sugar free syrup 110 calories 3 fat

1 veggie sausage patty 70 calories 3 fat

1 slice of wheat toast w/jelly 100 calories .5 fat

Lunch

4 corn tortillas with leftover ground chicken, 1/4 cup of 2% cheese, 2 tablespoons of sour cream- 545 calories 22 grams of fat

snack

4 pretzel sticks 200 calories 2 grams of fat

blow pop - 45 calories zero fat

Movie Popcorn - approximately -580 calories 47 grams of fat.

Ridiculous- I'm not even going to bother adding it all up.

How to Fight Back in The War on Pork

2009-09-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

After a trip to the grocery store and finding almost every common grocery store packaged product has either enzymes, mono-diglycerides, or natural flavors, I became even more determined to find a way to get the FDA to mandate products be clearly labeled "Contains Pork" or "Contains Animal Products."

The majority of cheese products list enzymes as an ingredient. Enzymes can come from the porcine enzyme which is derived from pigs, or the enzymes can come from other sources, such as cows or vegetables. How are consumers supposed to know if the enzyme comes from a pig or cow or vegetable? It's nearly impossible without calling the product distibutor and trying to get someone to inform you. This is just ludicrous. Muslims, Jews, and Vegetarians should not have to call the distributor of every product that they wish to purchase. It's not only unrealitic for them to do so; it is also fundementally unfair. Grocery shopping shouldn't be a research project.

There are a few ways that consumers can fight back. First, contact the FDA and file a dispute. The more people we have out there contacting the FDA about this issue, the better our chances are at bringing about a change. Second, start filing more lawsuits. To do this, you must do some more research, but it's worth it. McDonalds paid out ten million to compensate Hindus and Vegetarians who were upset about the fries being cooked with beef in the vegetable oil. Call up a pizza restaurant and order a vegetarian pizza. Then, investigate whether or not the cheese has been made with animal enzymes. If they have been, you now have a case. You can do this with almost any product that claims to be vegetarian. Chances are that thousands of companies are putting out products that supposed to be vegetarian but have been made with some type of pork by-product in the seasoning or cheese. Third, stop buying products that list enzymes, natural flavors, or mono-diglycerides in the ingredients. If more people refused to purchase these items, it will eventually put a dent in the pockets of the people distributing items with natural flavors, enzymes, and mono-diglycerides. While it is true that more people would continue to abstain from purchasing the items if the product had a label stating that it contained animal or pork products, companies have altneratives so that they can regain income- they can stop using pork and other animal products and use vegetable products instead. This may cost the company a little more money than the cheap pork alternative, but paying more to make more is a part of business.

Help fight the war on pork. Spread the work about enzymes, natural flavors, and mono-diglycerides. Fight against companies that claim to be vegetarian when they aren't. And, stop buying products that are likely to contain pork because the product contains enzymes, natural flavors, or mono-diglycerides.

If you know of other names of ingredients that contain pork, please list them in the comment areas.

Day 6 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-09-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

This morning the scale showed 128, and yesterday I was 127.4. I'm sure that I have not gained weight, so I'm thinking it's from all of the liquid I continued to drink last night. I'm not really worried about it. Today, my friend told me I was going crazy with my blog. So, tonight, I'm going to get straight to the point. Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast

Corn Flakes w/fat free milk 160 calories 0 fat

Linner

Chicken breast (140 cal 3 fat) Pita (90 cal 0 fat) filled with cucumbers (10 cal), tomatoes (20 cal), onion (20 cal) and fat free sour cream (20 cal) - 300

Potatoes sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and seasoned (200 cal)

Snack

mini Baby Ruth - 50 cal 2.5 fat

Tootsie Pop 50 cal 1 fat

veggie bacon bits 60 2

Coffee 20 calories

grand total 840 calories 8 grams of fat. I am way under my calorie and fat allotment, but it is fifteen minutes until midnight, and I'm too tired to eat.

Google Me Google You

2009-09-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

Have you ever googled yourself? I think my mother googled herself before I googled myself. She told me to look up her name on Google; she wanted me to see that a Google search would bring up information about her and the book club she started for children. I did the search, and it was true- a google search of my mother's name brought up several links that were actually related to her. So, tonight rather randomly I googled me. I typed in my name Zarinah Muhammad, and taaa daaa, the return brought a few links truly related to me. The second link was more about my dad than me; I was just listed as one of his daughters when he passed away.

There were several links that were not about me but about other women who share my name. I find that rather puzzling, other women sharing my name. When I was a little girl, I never met another Zarinah, yet alone another Zarinah Muhammad. When I was 18, a sister from the masjid told me that she named her daughter Zarinah. I remember feeling a little irritated by it. I liked that my name had always been unique and original. Someone else having it seemed to diminish my name's value. When I was 19 years old, I went to audition for Singled Out, that old MTV show with Jenny McCarthy, and I saw my name on the audition list; only it was the signature of some other girl who was a year younger than me. That shocked me. I was like, "Wow, a Zarinah living in Las Vegas who shows up the same day as I do to audition for Singled Out!" It was really crazy to me. Years later, I called California traffic court about a ticket I received while driving through Baker. The officer on the phone pulled up another Zarinah Muhammad who had also gotten a ticket; however, she was three years older than me. Again, I was amazed. I wasn't the first Zarinah Muhammad? I know that it was narcissistic of me to want to believe that I had been the first Zarinah Muhammad to have ever existed, but my whole life, it had felt like I was.

I wasn't surprised tonight when I saw the significant numbers of Zarinah Muhammads out there. I was surprised, however, to see Zarinah Muhammad, J.D. It was like seeing myself in the future. I know it's weird and silly, but I felt like it was a sign, this sign that everything is going to turn out the way I want it, a sign that I'll finish law school. I clicked on the link of Zarinah Muhammad, J.D., and it brought up a pdf page from Alabama Metropolitan College listing Zarinah Muhammad, J.D., research analyst, office of of institutional research, planning and assessment. The connection between the Zarinah Muhammad, J.D. and myself continued to strike me.

When I was working on my doctorate degree, one of our professors stated that with our Leadership doctorates we could one day work in the field of institutional research; listed above Zarinah Muhammad, J.D. is Mark A. Cunningham, PhD. The funny thing is that the two together merge two aspects of my life, my past and my future. Before I got accepted into law school, I was working on getting my doctorates degree. I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer, but I didn't want to waste time that I could be spending earning my doctorate if by chance I was not accepted in the Boyd Law School at UNLV. So, I continued on with my doctorate program until I learned that I had made it into law school. The day the acceptance letter arrived, I remember being so nervous after pulling it out of the mailbox. After I read it, I felt my heart skip with joy in circles for days, never ending. I still smile when I think of how blessed and happy I felt knowing that I was being given the chance that I had always wanted. I wonder if the other Zarinah Muhammad felt that way when she got her acceptance letter from law school, and I wonder how she met up with the institutional research doctorate.

I wish now that I had never went to work on my doctorates because that is why I don't have anymore financial aid eligibility. If I hadn't taken loans out for the year I spent on my doctorates, I would have enough to get me through at least another full year of law school. Although when I really think about it, there is a good chance that having that year of school towards my doctorates under my belt was a part of the reason I was accepted into Boyd. It's probably best just to be grateful and lose the regrets.

Googling yourself may not bring up information that you wanted to see, and it may bring up information that you wish weren't there; but, googling yourself allows you to see something greater: a view of the many possibilities of you. Right now, I'm Zarinah Muhammad high school English teacher and law student. Three years from now, I pray to be Zarinah Muhammad, J.D. and mommy.

Google yourself, and post here in the comment area the types of people out there that share your name. Who are the Google Yous?

Day 5 of My 30 Day Diet

2009-09-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning: 127.4

Weight yesterday morning: 127.9

Fridays are my favorite day of the week. Usually, Friday is the hardest diet day because of the feeling of a need to celebrate the weekend. However, today I did quite well. I started the day off right with a cup of Corn Flakes for breakfast and a cup of coffee. The coffee I sipped on throughout the morning, and it abated my hunger. I didn't bother with a snack at all which is a little amazing. After work, I made dinner instead of lunch. I had a medium sized potato which I sliced and fried in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (ICBINB) with garlic pepper seasoning, garlic salt, raisins, and diced onions. I then cooked some ground chicken, again fried in ICBINB, and included some taco seasoning. To accompany the chicken, I heated up three corn tortillas. The corn tortillas are 132 calories for two of them and contain zero fat. I made little corn tortilla tacos topped with fat free sour cream and sprinkles of 2% fat shredded cheese. Here's what the nutritional values look like:

Breakfast

1 cup Corn Flakes w/fat free milk - 160 calories 0 fat

coffee 20 calories 0 fat

Dinner

1 cup of ground prepared ground chicken 301 calories 17 grams of fat

1/4 cup shredded 2% fat cheese 80 calories 5 grams of fat

3 corn tortillas 198 calories 0 fat

3 tablespoons of fat free sour cream 30 calories

Medium sized potato 164 calories .5 fat

1 tiny box of raisins 45 calories 0 fat

1 cup diced onions 64 calories 0 fat

snack

1 cup of sugar free Mandarine Oranges 40 calories 0 fat

grand total 1102 calories 22.5 grams of fat

Exercise

I danced around to a great techno song "One Night in Bangkok" by Global Deejays for 11 mins. The song is awesome, and I just might do one more dance before I go to bed.

How Obama's Plan Helped Modify My Loan

2009-09-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

In April 2008, I sent a letter to my lenders requesting a permanent postponement of the impending increase in my mortgage payment amounts. I purchased my home in June of 2006 for 270,000. Like so many Americans, I was eager to purchase a home and obtained an Accelerated Rate Mortgate otherwise known as an ARM loan to do so. My realtor assured me that after two years I would be able to refinance my home and get into a fixed rate loan so long as I made my payments on time. By the April of 2008, it was clear to me that I was not going to be able to refinance my home although I had made the payments on time. At that point, my house had already lost $50,000 in value from the time that I purchased it, and housing prices were continuing to rapidly decline. Because I was upside down in my loan, I could not sell the property unless my lender would agree to a short sale. I was warned that if I did a short sale on my home I would still face paying taxes on the deficit between what I sold for and the amount that I paid to purchase the home. Knowing that my ARM was set to go into effect in June 2008, I sought to protect myself in advance.
My loan increased in July 2008, and I had yet to hear back from my lenders about my request despite several attempts to get an answer from them. They continued to tell me that my request was under review. Over ten months later, my lenders told me that my request was denied and that they could not modify my loan because I did not make enough money to show that I could afford the home. It seems oxymoronic when you think about it. Lenders will not help lower the payments of existing homeowners if the homeowner does not make enough money. It seems obvious to most people that the way lenders reason is counter productive. Obviously if I made more money, I would not need a loan modifcation to begin with. I was furious that it had taken almost a year to get back a response only to be denied.
When my request was denied, and my loan payment increased for a second time within a year period, I decided to make a drastic decision. I was going to stop paying my mortgage. A few people from home modification companies told me that the lenders didn't see any reason to work with people who were continuing to make payments; in the eyes of the lender, I was paying, and therefore, I did not need a modification. Another reason that I stopped paying my mortgage was because I didn't see the point in continuing to make payments on a home that the ARM payments were going to force me out of eventually. And, to top it off, houses on my block were being sold for over $100,000 less than what I originally paid for my home.
My hopes were dismal. I didn't know what to do, and I was too embarrassed about my situation to tell anyone. I called several companies for help, and I was told that because of my debt-to-loan ratio, I would not be able to qualify for a modification. My lenders advised me to short sale, but I wanted to keep my house. It was my home afterall.
Help finally came when Obama was elected into office and enacted the HOPE for Homeowners Plan. At first, it didn't seem any lenders were going to use it, but then it became mandated for lenders to try to help homeowners stay in their homes. I hired an attorney to help me modify my loan. At first, I was leary because of all the modification scam artists out there, but after careful research, I found a legitimate attorney who had a moneyback guarantee.
Getting a modifcation offer took longer than the attorney originally stated it would take. I was told it would take from four to six months. It was over six months before I got a modification offer from my second lender. The offer stated that after I made three probationary payments on time (this is a part of the Obama plan), then my mortgage would be modified. Last month, I made the final probationary payment, and my loan modification is currently underway.
The lender on my first loan, the primary lender, only now has just offered me a forebearance plan. It contains the same probationary period payments, and then after the three month probationary period, my loan is to be modified to a fixed amount, God willing. The lender did include a warning that after I submit the documentation required to get the probationary period started, I might still be denied if the documentation I send doesn't qualify me for a modification. My attorney believes I will qualify, and I'm praying that I do.
I still don't know what my ultimate mortage payment total will be, but I do know that whatever the payment is, it will remain the same for the rest of the life of my loan without any increases- And, that is a good thing. The forebearance payment on my first loan is already $600.00 less than it was prior to my obtaining a lawyer. I'm praying for good things to happen for me and all others in my same predicament.
I wanted to share my story so that others who are facing foreclosure know that there is really hope for homeowners to save their homes. It is likely that if you are a homeowner facing foreclosure you will have to hire a lawyer to get your mortgage modified. Lenders are more likely to negotiate with a trained attorney than a desperate homeowner with little knowledge of the current laws.
Best of luck.

Demand Letter Sent to FDA

2009-09-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Zarinah Muhammad, and I am a Muslim US citizen. I would like to bring a dispute against the FDA for allowing food and product distributors to disguise pork ingredients under aliasas that the average consumer would never associate with pork. Consuming or using products that contain pork ingredients is prohibited by the Islamic and Jewish faiths. Muslims and Jewish consumers are being denied their 1st Amendment Right to practice their faiths because they are being unduly burdened by companies that do not clearly label their products as containing Pork ingredients. For example, many breads contain mono-diglicyerides which may may come from pork. Because the average Muslim or Jewish consumer has no background knowledge about mono-diglycerides, he/she may buy bread products containing the ingredient unaware of the fact that the ingredient is derived from swine. A Muslim or Jewish person should not have to possess the vocabulary awareness of a food scientist to be able to practice his/her faith freely. Just as consumers with food allergies to soy, lactose, or peanuts have the right to be clearly warned of such contents in a product, so are Muslim and Jewish consumers entitled to the same clear warnings about pork ingredients being in products. Surely the right to be warned of something that endangers someone's deep rooted religious convictions is tantamount to the right to be warned of an ingredient that may endanger someone's health. Products that contain peanuts or soy are clearly labled without aliases; however, products that contain pork have ambiguous and vague name labeling.
I urge the FDA to cease allowing companies the ability to use vague and ambiguous names for pork ingredients on their labels. If products do contain pork, the ingredient label which is meant to inform consumers about what they are eating should be just as transparent as those products containing soy or peanuts. The label should clearly state "Contains Pork." Muslims cannot have any type of contact with pork products, this includes products made by using pork enzymes or other similar bi-products. Muslim and Jewish consumers have a Constitutional right to practice their religions without undue burden. When products have labels that require the consumer to do extensive research in order to discover the product contains pork, there is an undue burnden placed upon Muslim and Jewish consumers, a burden that is not placed on consumers with food alergies to soy and peanuts. This is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and also the 1st Amendment.
I request that the FDA immediately reform their mandates to obligate companies to clearly print "Contains Pork" on the labels of products that use any pork products in the making of the product; this includes not only food products but any and all other products that use pork ingredients, such as body soaps, shampoos, and toothpastes.

Day 4 of 30 Day Diet.

2009-09-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 127.9

Weight yesterday morning 128.8

I was almost there, and then I crashed. This morning, I left my house in a haste without time to meal plan or cook breakfast. Luckily, I had a granola bar in my purse and pretzels in my desk at work. But, by the end of the day, I had major cravings for something sweet and chocolate flavored. I think these cravings may have been brought on by my lack of hydration; I hadn't had any water or anything else to drink yet. Or, maybe the cravings were hitting me because I knew that I was going to be baking brownies today. I bake brownies once a month and distribute them to my students with birthdays that month. The kids love them, but they're not the only ones. I adore brownies, especially topped with Hagen Daz Coffee Ice Cream. Hmmmm....sigh.

I got home from my cleaning at the dentist (my gums hurt) and set to baking. Once I got the batter all whipped up and placed in a pan to bake, I couldn't resist licking the spoon and whisk. I should have known then that I wasn't going to make it through the day without eating one of the brownies. But, trying to do the right thing, I made dinner, a hot dog on a slice of bread with mustard, ketchup, and onions, and 1/4 cup of baked fries. My dinner was good, but I still had a sugar craving. I had tasted the batter and it was like heroin. I needed more. Still resisting the urge, I carried a box of Mike n Ikes and a blow pop with me to class so that I wouldn't eat the brownie. I was low on fat grams left for the day, but I had the calories to spare; that is why I went for the Mike n Ikes, just sugar, no fat. After class, I got home, and I thought that I would have a bowl of cereal to satisfy my sugar craving, but after one bowl, the craving only intensified.

I don't know why I even tried to fight it. When I finally gave in and ate a brownie, I realized it was all worth it. It was pretty dang dee-licious. Sometimes you have to give in to your cravings, or like me, you'll overeat in other areas trying to resist, and just end up way over your calorie and fat limit instead of just a little over. If I had eaten the brownie when I first had the craving, I would never have eaten the Mike n Ikes or the blow pop, and probably not the cereal either. We'll see how it all affects my weight tomorrow. The breakdown of my food journal today is below:

Breakfast

granola bar 100 calories 3 fat grams

Snack

pretzels 230 calories 2 fat grams

Lunch/Dinner = Linner

hot dog 90 calories 9 fat grams

Bread 120 calories 2.5 fat grams

ketchup 30 calories 0 fat

mustard 0 calories 0 fat

Baked Fries 75 calories 4 fat grams

Snack

Mike n Ikes 130 calories 0 fat

blow Pop 30 calories 0 fat

Snack

Cereal 320 3 fat grams

Desert

Brownie 170 calories 8 grams of fat

coffee 20 calories 0 fat

grand total 1,315 calories 31.5 grams of fat

Ultimately not horrible, but I still fell off the wagon. Sometimes, the closer I get to the weekend, the hardest it is to stay dedicated. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

The Attack of the Pig on Muslims, Jews, and Vegetarians!!!

2009-09-24T23:21:00.001-07:00

Who expects to be consuming pork ingredients when they're drinking a beverage? Most people would never think that when they are drinking a smoothy they might be imbibing pork bi-products. But, the unfortunate reality for many people who do not want to ingest pork products is that pork ingredients are in a plethora of products that most people would never think contained any animal product, let alone pork. Pork ingredients are no longer listed on lables as Pork. This is a travesty because it inhibits many people, especially Muslims and Jews whose religious faiths prohibit the consumption of any pork products, from being able to make the decision to refrain from eating or drinking pork products. The entire purpose of a label is to inform the consumer of the ingredients within a product so that the consumer knows what he/she is eating. "In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act went in effect. The USDA and the FDA designed the requirements so that consumers would have useful information about the food they eat." Health Check Systems: What's in a Label?(http://www.healthchecksystems.com/label.htm). The purpose of a label is undermined by ambiguous and vague ingredient names, such as rennet, mono-diglycerides, and porcine enzymes. The average person would never associate pork with mono-dyglcerides. The majority of people who don't want to eat something will observe the product label to see if the unwanted ingredient is listed. If it is not, that person will buy the product, but if it is listed, then the person will not make the purchase. With the knowledge that millions of people, such as the masses of Muslims and Jews, will not purchase a product if Pork is listed as an ingredient, companies have become sneaky and underhanded about their product labeling. Instead of labeling pork ingredients as pork, companies have created new names for pork products that consumers have no background knowledge about to trigger an association with pork. For example, gelatin is made from animal hide, skin tissue or bones. Most often, it is made from a pig's hide, tissue, or bones. If a person does not know this about gelatin, he/she may eat a product, such as yogurt or Gelato, and unknowingly and against his/her will consume a pork product. Even people who have no prohibition against eating pork are unaware when they are. For example, Skittles contain gelatin, and whenever I tell someone that I can't eat Skittles because they have pork in them, the people are amazed and surprised that Skittles have pork. Mono-diglycerides may come from an animal source, such as the pig or cow, or it may come from a vegetable source. However when the ingredient is derived from a vegetable source, the product states vegetable mono-diglycerides. Natural flavors is perhaps the most ambiguously named ingredient; it could imply natural flavors from vegetables, fruits, or animal products or a combination of the three. When a consumer sees natural flavors listed on the label of a fruit juice, he/she would likely conclude that the natural flavors were derived from a fruit, when it is very possible that it is actually from swine. Food distributors have a significant awareness of the mass amount of Muslims, Jews, and Vegetarians who do not wish or desire to eat products containing pork products. Yet, these companies continue to disguise pork products under the aliases that the average consumer would never associate with swine. By allowing companies to list pork ingredients under aliases without notifying the consumer that the products contain pork, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing these companies to infringe on the civil rights of consumers with religious or personal convictions against eating foods containing pork ingredients. A religious conviction against eating pork is analogous with having a food allergy to an ingredient. Just as consumers with allergies to specific ingredients are entitled to a clear indication of the inclusion of that ingredient on the label of the product that contains it, so are Muslims, Jews, and Vegetarians entitled to the same right to avoid an ingredient that their religious faiths or personal convictions prohibit them from consuming. The right to guard ones health is no more important than the right to practice ones faith without undue burden. All people must eat, and all people have a right to be able to refrain from eating an ingredient that they don't want to take in. When food companies label their ingredients with ambiguous names, they cause many consumers to unintentionally violate their religious faiths.

When consumers who have against their wills eaten an animal product come to realize that the seemingly innocuous products they've been ingesting contain unwanted animal products, they become offended and outraged. In the 90's McDonalds was sued by Hindus and Vegetarians who were incensed when they found out that a beef addictive was an ingredient in the natural flavors of the oil the fries were cook in. In 2007, many Muslims were furious when they found out that many Frito-Lay Products contained pork. According to Aurora Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Frito-Lay, the majority of cheese products are made with by using an enzyme that may come from pork; the pork enzyme is used in the milk that goes into making the cheese seasoning. Abdelkader, Rima. Muslims now in their late twenties complained on their blogs that they were upset because they had been eating these Frito-Lay products that contained pork since they were kids. I myself ate Skittles until I was 13 years old. For more than a decade, I ate pork without knowing it. That is how long a pork product can remain hidden in a product before the consumer finds out that he/she has been eating it, decades. Muslims, Jews, and Vegetarians have been eating products that contain pork for decades without knowing and against their will.

Through the method of disguising pork ingredients under aliases, companies are denying citizens a right to choose to refrain from eating swine. People should not have to be food scientists in order to be able to refrain from eating pork products. Products that contain soy or peanuts have the ingredients clearly identified as containing Soy or Peanuts on the label. Soy is not disguised in a name like mono-diglycerides or rennet or natural flavors, and neither are peanuts. Products that contain pork ingredients should be labeled with the same transparency.

I believe that the FDA is obligated to mandate that food distributors label ingredients that contain animal products clearly as either containing pork or beef. I intend to fight for this cause, and God willing, there will come a day when reading labels doesn't require a degree in bio-chemistry in order to avoid eating animal products.

To see Frito-Lay products that do not contain pork read my blog http://zssmorgasboard.blogspot.com/2009/09/frito-lay-products-that-do-not-contain.html

If you like this article, please donate.

References

Abdelkader, Rima http://www.arabisto.com/article.cfm?articleID=511

Frito-Lay.com

Health Check Systems: What's in a Label?(http://www.healthchecksystems.com/label.htm).

Frito-Lay Products That DO NOT Contain PORK.

2009-09-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

Many Muslims have stopped eating Frito-Lay products because they have heard that the products contain pork. Frito-Lay has a page listing of their products that do not contain porcine enzymes which come from pork. A lot of the Frito-Lay favorites do not contain pork. Cheetos puffs are one of my favorite Frito-Lay products, so I was happy to see it on the list of products that DO NOT contain Pork. The Frito-Lay list of products that do not currently contain pork are posted below. However, they have a disclaimer warning consumers to keep checking the website for updates in case the product ingredients change. Here is a link to the Frito-Lay site: http://fritolay.com/your-health/for-special-dietary-needs.html

Products Made Without Porcine Enzymes

Most cheese is made using enzymes as part of the process to develop unique flavors, and depending on the flavor, enzyme sources may include vegetable, microbial and/or animal. Pork enzymes may be used in the milk that makes the real cheese for some of our cheese seasonings.
Please note: The information provided pertains only to products made and distributed in the U.S. Products sold in other countries under similar brands may be made using slightly different recipes and ingredients to accommodate local needs and preferences.
For those in the U.S. choosing to restrict pork-related ingredients from their diet, the Frito-Lay products included here do not contain pork enzymes. Another guide that may be helpful is the list of Kosher products which may also be found on this website.
Products Made and Distributed in the U.S.
Last Updated September 3, 2009
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