October: The clothes that (may) make the wo(man)

image from wikipedia

I was never particular about the clothes I wear from a young age. I have not changed. People around me criticize me but I turn a deaf ear. It’s after all my life I tell myself and no one has any right to find fault with what I wear.

I believe those who aren’t happy with themselves try to reprehend others who to them look content.

I guess the phrase ‘mind your business,’ was invented for them.

I had preference for the colour blue, whenever Mom asked, ‘what colour would you like I’m going shopping for your dress.’

My reply was always blue. I don’t know why my older sister would get irritated. On one occasion Mom asked the same question about the colour I prefer. Of course, ‘Blue Mom,’ was my instant reply.

It seems each time my mom or dad asked me a question, my big sister was waiting to contradict me. If I said I like the colour blue, she’d immediately say, ‘Red mom.’

No one asked her, but she’d say her two cents worth any way.

I never picked up any style for instance, if I chose a sari to wear and couldn’t find a blouse to match, I’d pick black or red. Suddenly out of the blue the dear sister’s voice sounds loud and clear, ‘the blouse and sari does not match, Ranu.’

There were comments about me I know not how to wear a sari, I should wear so it could sweep the dusty streets of the city. Well I thought I must make a big sign which says, ‘Y’all Mind Your Business.’

On this subject I’d like to use a quote by my dearest teacher Sr. Rose Bernard. She took me aside one day and said, ‘ Chaman do not feel sad if someone criticizes you, they are jealous of you.’

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Daily Prompt: I Pledge Allegiance

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

I think I am patriotic. To be patriotic   means to support my country through thick and thin. Sometimes it’s not easy to do when my country’s politicians make wrong choices.

It means to buy products that have made in Canada label. This again is not working out for me, there aren’t that many products that have the label I’m looking for. For example most of the clothing we buy have foreign labels.  The reason the businessmen make more money outsourcing.

So you see even though I want to,  the circumstances are beyond my control.

When it comes to sports, my favorite team in ice hockey is  the,”Boston Bruins” you may argue they are not a Canadian team,my argument in this respect is, the players in this  team are mostly Canadian.

My favorite baseball team is the, “Toronto Blue Jays” it’s a Canadian team but the players are not from Canada.

This is my dilemma, the clothes I buy are not made in Canada, of the sports team I support, one is an American team with mostly Canadian players, the other one is a Canadian team with majority of players from different countries.

Am I unpatriotic is a question , I ask? 🙂

………………………………. 🙂

Daily Prompt: The Clothes(May) Make the(wo)man

How important are clothes to you? Describe your style,if you have one, and tell us how appearance impacts how you feel about yourself.

There was a time in my early childhood I did not care much about what I wore, I was contented to wear anything as long as it was okay to go out and play.

As I grew older my outlook changed. I was concerned about my clothes, “was it presentable to go out visiting my parents friends’  homes for dinner,” I’d ask myself.

In the university I did not want to look shabby among other students, I had special clothes to wear for that kind of environment.

My work clothes were different, I always wore a different set of clothes every day, it probably made my kids curious about my clothes. I remember one of them asked, “Miss how many of these do you have?”

I was amazed they noticed, “Why do you ask?” I said.

“You wear a different one every day.”  The kid replied.

Sometimes wearing casual clothes has its disadvantages, even if you go shopping, the sales lady will look at you once and decide almost instantly, “she’s not going to buy anything, I do not want to waste my time with her.”

I have my own set of clothes for different occasions.

…………………………….. 🙂

 

 

 

DP Daily Prompt: Cupid’s Arrow

Write an ode to someone or something you love.Bonus points for poetry.

I’ve been to a number of cities, the one I love the best is Montreal. It is neat and clean, there are places to go and see.I never get bored here, once I land there, I take a trip to the farmer’s market, watching people buy and sell is a lot of fun.

There are chocolate shops, vegetable stands, fresh bread of all kinds  on display. I buy a small basket of vegetables to cook and eat in our rented apartment, I remind myself not to waste food, I stick to buying enough for one day.

I visit the chocolate shop, it has so many varieties, I’m tempted to buy a few of each variety but I don’t. My mind whispers,”Ranu sugar is bad for you.”

I leave the shop right away.

Next I visit the famous bread shop, I buy my favorite cheese bread to bring home, one for my neighbor and three for me. I put them in the freezer to keep them from getting stale.

I always promise not to buy clothes, it is tough to stay away, so I buy one ,two or even three. Next thing I realize, I do not have enough space in my suitcase, so I go off to buy a suitcase.

Oh my, I remember the lines I learned in “Moral Science”, temptation is an inclination to commit sin which needs an effort of the will to resist it.

I certainly lack that will power when it comes to shopping. Shopping, visiting different places in Montreal makes me happy.

Then on my walks I hear the locals speaking French, I cannot join the conversation , I’m lacking fluency in the language. I walk away thinking I must devote some time to learn French.

Before we know it we are back home, talking about how much fun we had and also make plans to go back next year!

“Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone :).

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/dp-daily-prompt-cupids-arrow/

 

 

DP Daily Prompts:

Someone or something you can’t communicate through writing( a baby, a pet, an object), can understand every single word you write today, for one day only. What do you tell them?

This is what I’ll tell, Raphael and Gabriel, our two feline pets:

Look at me Raphael and Gabriel, today I want you to be very good boys.

1.    You must not try to open my closet and pull my clothes down on the floor.

2. You will get one treat if you behave.

3. If you sleep all morning I will give you moist food.

4. If you stay awake you will only get dry food.

5. Do not jump on the piano, your claws are too sharp you will make scratch marks.

6. you can go to the window and look out.

7. You are good boys I will give you an extra treat.

8. Do not eat paper , Rafa it’s not good for you.

These are a few things I tell them every day, if they know what I’m saying it’d be great even if  it’s only for a day.

ermalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/dp-daily-prompts/

 

 

365 Writing Prompts: The clothes that(make) (wo) man

How important are clothes for you? Describe your style, if you have one, and tell us how appearance impacts how you feel about yourself.

Clothes are I am sure important to everyone, and to me as well. I have my own style, whether it is acceptable or not I am happy with it.

I wear different outfits as the circumstances demand. I wear my native clothes when I visit people who are from my original home, I wear a sari, so I won’t look strange in their company.

When I go for grocery shopping I wear trousers and top to avoid being stared at. Now a days it’s not too bad with travels in various places people are used to seeing different types of attire worn by travelers, so they do not find it as shocking as before.

When I applied for a teaching position,one of the questions I was asked was whether I’d wear a sari to work,when I gave him a surprised look he immediately said: “Do not misunderstand me your dress is gorgeous I was thinking about the students what will be their reaction.”

I did not want someone to criticize me  about my clothes indirectly, I went to the principal the next day and told him I did not want the job.

Six months after that incident the superintendent of a school board interviewed me and offered me a position to teach grade four kids, I accepted the job, I wore my sari to school the first day and all the years I taught, the kids were fascinated with my dress, they were not narrow minded like the adult.

I also wear Shalwar Kamiz when I go to a party hosted by Pakistanis.

I do not have a particular style, I dress differently depending on where I’m going.

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/365-writing-pr…hatmake-wo-man

 

 

 

365 Writing Prompts: No Fair

Tell us about something you think is terribly unfair— and explain how you would rectify it.

What was terribly unfair was when my mom told me, she could only afford to get new clothes for my older sister for our “Eid” celebration.”

I rectified by telling her, it was not fair, I said I won’t wear the clothes she bought for me two months ago, I want new clothes .

She had to buy new clothes for me too!

Permalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/365-writing-prompts-no-fair

DP Daily Prompts: To Do? Done!

Quickly list five things you’d like to  to change in your life. Now write a post about a day in your life once all five have been crossed off your to-do list.

Here is a list of five things I’d like to change in my life:

1. unclutter my clothes closet.

2. Fix the basement.

3. change the living room furniture.

4. clean out the refrigerator.

5. Read the books I have in my shelf.

My clothes closet looks half decent. I put my clothes in order, the ones I won’t wear I  put aside for the clothes line people to come and pick up.

I have ordered new furniture to replace the old ones. I’ll call habitat for humanity to pick up the old furniture on Monday.

I am hoping the refrigerator can be cleaned in a day.

Reading the books will take a lot more time,I’ve already started one of them, hopefully I may finish reading them in a couple of months.

So about four months from now I’ll have a decent looking clothes closet, I’ll start getting rid of the unimportant things in the basement.

In a week’s time the furniture store will send the furniture we ordered.They are responsible to unpack and put them where we want.

I have to take out all the food out of the refrigerator clean it and put back only the ones that are in good shape.

Once four things on my list are crossed off my to-do list. I’d relax and start reading the books I haven’t read yet.

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/dp-daily-prompts-to-do-done/

 

 

 

 

365 Writing Prompts: Luxurious

What’s the one luxury you cannot live without?

A clothes washer to me is one luxury I cannot live without. Hand washing clothes is a very tedious task, especially the bed sheets and towels, they are so heavy when you put them in water, even if I use soap flakes to wash, to use my hands to wash would take a lot of energy.

The washer takes care of the rinse cycle and the spin cycle, all I  have to do is load the machine and put the detergent and turn it on. The clothes get done in thirty minutes. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be if I did not have a washing machine for my clothes and sheets. This is one luxury I cannot live without.

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/365-writing-prompts-luxurious

 

365 days Writing Prompt: Green-eyed

Tell us about the last time you were really truly jealous of someone. Did you act on it? Did it hurt your relationship?

I can remember once my father told my mother to buy new clothes only for my big sister, this was for our yearly religious festival, you see we have two important ones ,one after Ramadhan and the other one two months ten days after the first one.

All of us kids would get new clothes for the first one, but the second one we’d have to wear the same clothes,which was fine by me, but here is the catch, my big sister was the only one who would get new clothes for the second one as well. 

At age eight I felt something was weird about this arrangement, why was the first question I asked,mom said because your dad cannot afford to buy new clothes for everyone. I was a cheeky little kid this explanation did not bode well for me, so I put my foot down and said, “then she shouldn’t get new clothes either” .

At that age I only knew what is right and what is not, the word fair did not enter as one in my vocabulary. To make long story short I said, “if she gets new clothes, you must buy for me as well because I will not wear the old ones”.

Whether my mom and dad had any discussion I am not aware but I got new clothes as well.

My relationship with the big sister was never cordial, the idea of having a sister was a sore subject for my sister, she was ruling the Sabeth family as the one and only daughter among five brothers, my arrival was hated by her, she made it known every living moment. This relationship had a crack from the beginning which grew wider as the years went on.

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/365-days-writi…mpt-green-eyed/