My American Journal (2)

I couldn't wait all day, so I went ahead and picked the right trail. I hoped the right I'd chosen was the right right. As I went farther down the trail I realized the day was getting dark. Oh no, I wish I'd started the story with me carrying a flashlight in my pocket. Never mind. The bush was getting thicker, thornier, the surrounding getting creepier. At this point I'd lost count of how many scratches I was getting all over my body. I looked up, even the moon was eclipsed in half. I thought for a while if I'd made the wrong choice after all. But whining right now is futile, I've got to keep going, hoping that the end to this pricking thorns is just several steps ahead. Unfortunately, the end was never showing up. I was extremely exhausted, my legs were killing me, I was not going to last any longer. Just to top it all, I suddenly tripped over what seemed to feel like a rock, and "Dushh!" I fell hard on my knee. Now at least I know I had one bruise on. That's it! I give up! Where on earth is this place anyway? Wonderland? La-la Land? I almost passed out when a familiar glow glided over my face, emitting pleasant warmth. "It's you, butterfly buddy! Did you just come to my rescue?" She just did what she does best; hovered around and around and swirled playfully, which I found quite amusing sometimes, especially at this very moment. I got back on my feet, unsteadily, ready to follow her lead. "Here we go again buddy." I followed the glittery trail that she left behind as she flew ahead. Her glow looked even brighter and remarkably more beautiful in the dark. "Hey, you shouldn't have left me by myself back there you know. Some bad guy could've kidnapped me or something." I expected her not to answer, and she did exactly that. ^^ After a while, we finally made it to the end of the jungle of thorns. I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw a pond. Err..this time it was just an ordinary pond, no glitter, no glow, no flashy lights, no nothing. But I couldn't care less. I was so much thirsty that I just dashed to it and drank from it at that instant. To my surprise, the water tasted really sweet and good. Not only that, as soon as I took a sip of it I became rejuvenated and fresh again. Weird? Peculiar? Strange? Alright, I don't know what else to expect from this place. I turned to the butterfly and remarked, "You must know this place pretty well to have guided me twice. Why don't you lead me all the way out of here then?" Instead of responding to my request, she made the same goodbye gesture as before. Soon afterwards another butterfly similar in nature flew into the scene. I soon figured they were a pair. Now they both were saying goodbye. But this time I didn't ask why she had to leave, nor did I try to persuade her not to. She's a butterfly. A butterfly is meant to be with another butterfly. Why should an earth-bound creature like me get in the way. So I watched as they flew away over the pond, swirled around each other, and then vanished in the distance. "Well I guess this is goodbye?" I turned around. Before me a sign read, "You have completed stage 1 of this journey. Please proceed here." I was dumbfounded, speechless. All this Indiana Jones-like adventure I had gone through, and it was just the first stage of the entire journey? How many stages are there altogether? I thought to myself, "Man..I could really use a pair of wings right now." -THE END-

KauBoLEh (4)

This time around I think I'll go miscellaneous, since it's getting kinda tricky to group the parts into specific clusters.


Negative Statements with 'since', 'for', and 'in':

Ex1. Sara hasn't worked in the US since 1998.

Ex2. Edward hasn't seen his parents for a year. OR Edward hasn't seen his parents in a year.

Ex3. Sara felt bad for not giving him a chance to explain.

Ex4. Edward was sorry for not being able to be sincere.


Note: We often say 'in ages' to mean 'in a long time.'

Ex. Hi Sara! I haven't heard from you in ages! OR Hi Sara! I haven't heard from you for ages!

My American Journal

I've been wanting to write this out, but I didn't know where to start and was worried that if I did start I wouldn't know how to wrap it up. So many emotions have been bottle up inside me, to the point where, if any more minute pressure is added, the content will come gushing out. Oh, so I started. Now I need to figure out how to finish.

When I first came here to the US, I thought I knew what I came here for. But then as time ran by, I came to realize there was a lot more to that purpose I originally set my mind to. For a while I waded through a swamp of uncertainty; the sludge was pulling me down and my movements were jerky. At last I hit a hard land again. Then I groped my way through a pitch-dark tunnel, feeling the wall, taking baby steps so I wouldn't trip over. Then I saw this glowing butterfly. She was so beautiful that she got me lost in thoughts for a moment. I snapped back to my senses. Then she hovered over my head. At first I thought she was just teasing me for being helpless, but then as the hovering kept up I figured she was trying to tell me something. Soon I realized she wanted me to follow her. So I resumed my walk, this time a lot easier guided by the butterfly. "Hey butterfly buddy, where are you taking me?" I asked. Guess what she replied? She didn't. Butterflies don't speak. Finally, after a series of one-way dialog, aka monolog, the tunnel ended. Now the butterfly was saying gesturing her farewell. I persuaded, "Aren't you gonna stay? Please, hang around a little longer." Again she didn't answer. I never knew if butterflies have a mouth, but if they do, I think she would be smiling at this moment. So she left, and yet before my eyes, there was this huge gateway structure preceding a narrow, bushy, seemingly endless walkway. Man..and here I thought this journey had ended. I traveled the path, looking around as I tried to find something nice to lay my sight on. Bingo! My eyes caught sight of this glittery tree, which bore so many fruits. I thought to myself, "Now that looks yummy. I've got to try one of those." So I plucked one off, rubbed it against my shirt, and ate a bite of it. And guess what..it tasted..nothing. Not nothing as in tasteless, but this was plain 'nothing'. Now I wondered why a yummy-looking, sweet-smelling fruit should taste 'nothing'? I pondered over this as I walked on. What happened to the fruit? I left it on the ground under the tree. Before I could even scratch the surface of my lingering bewilderment, I jerked to a stop. Now I was looking at a split path, one heading right the other heading left. I scrutinized the nature of both paths, trying to figure out a difference, but they looked so similar that I met a dead end. I wished the butterfly had stayed for I needed her help...

KauBoLEh (3)

I wanted to pick up on the Present Perfect Continuous but there's nothing else really to be discussed. So, I'll just move on to the Past Perfect Continuous for this entry.


The Past Perfect Continuous is used to show the connection of a continuous action that was completed before another past action. The amount of time of the continuous action is expressed with 'for'.

Ex. 1: The fire had been burning for a week by the time it was controlled.

Ex. 2: They had been living in Rochester for 3 years when I came.

Ex. 3: The love letter was sent by a guy who had been stalking her for 3 months.


We use the past perfect continuous:

When an action took place over a period of time;

Ex. By the time the fire was put out, it had been burning for over a week.


We use the past perfect, instead of the past perfect continuous, with:

Nonaction verbs;

Ex. When the fire started, Rochester had had very little rain.


An action of no duration;

Ex. When residents returned, they found out that their homes had been destroyed.

A multiple or repeated action;

Ex. By the time the first half ended, Torres had scored 5 goals.


P/s: My college career has come to an end? I'm still in denial. -__-

boys day out

Shish invited us over to a end-of-the-quarter BBQ at Rustic Village public park near his house this afternoon. We had a great time, thanks to the nice and warm and windy weather. It's nice to be able to have some outdoor activities again after having remained dormant throughout the cold half of Rochester. Those who came were college students from Rochester area, mostly from University of Rochester (UofR). Well..I don't want to type the whole thing out, I guess the pictures can speak for themselves.

Putting teams together for a game. At some point I was worried I was gonna get squeezed between these muscle-bound fellas. ^^"

Me shooting hoops again after a long long while. I ran out of gas just after the first 5 minutes, no kidding.

The earth has been made clean for us to prostrate on..so no excuse not to pray, wherever you are!

This was awesomely delicious! But it would go better with some gravy. :D

I don't know what this is..it's some sort of dessert we had last before we left.

Flocking around for food..Err, I'll pass for now.

Husain Bawani, a doctor to be, an eloquent speaker.

The broiler, and volunteer waiters. Great job keeping the flame burning guys!

Later in the evening, we met this American guy who, I believe, were just stopping by at Islamic Center of Rochester (ICR) from a Lilac Festival that was going on nearby. He wanted to find out about Islam. He said he found the concept of Trinity confusing and that there are so many things in the Bible that don't seem to click. So we had like a small discussion with some other brothers to help clear his confusion. He seemed very interested in knowing the truth about both Islam and Christianity. May Allah lead him to the truth, for He always responds to those who are sincere in their intentions. Ameen. ^^