Anahid Hojjati

Dear friends

Anahid-e aziz, my dear Khar and Roozbeh aziz

So sorry to have upset you but somehow Anahid's blog got it out of me. Meanwhile, life must go on.

God bless you all.

FR

Yess

Very much so.

"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% what we make of it" 

Appreciate your kind comments Yolanda.

Yes, as a family and residents of Southern CA, we spend most of our weekends oudoors. Not a big fan of volleyball myself though. I developed a passion for Rugby football whilst living in England as a student, which I hope I can pass on to my boys! 

"Personal business must yield to collective interest."

.....

Thank you, RG, for the great post!

    It was absolutely cool to witness the glorious uprising of Ashura 2009 and to be part of the history!

    Wow! 4 boys plus the mom and dad......you can organize a family volleyball team or bastekball team with one back-up player......or you can make your boys play tennis double or beach volleyball against each other!

It is a great idea to count blessings!

Thank you for sharing!

The past two years have been great for me...

 Some good events I can think of in no particular order:

1) We were blessed with twin boys (Khosrow and Bijan), and decided to give up trying for a girl after having a total of 4 boys!

2) I did not get laid off during the recession despite my open criticism of corporate US values of greed and selfishness whilst employed by a prime example of corporate US.

3) Witnessing the glorious uprising of Ashura 2009 on the streets of Tehran, being there whilst it was all happening, re confirmed my absolute belief in human will power as the greatest and most potent force in history.

Last, not least, I discovered iranian.com!

Dear Farah Rusta, despite my idelogical differences with you I was saddened reading your comments. I really hope nothing serious and we can continue reading your comments for years to come....  

"Personal business must yield to collective interest."

As much as I tried to keep

As much as I tried to keep busy with "stuff", life found me. So a seperation, a sold home, a consulting stint in UK, travels and here I am back home in Toronto :) Life is good to me.

-Whatever you can coceive of, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it! -- Goethe

I think.....

I've have been smack right in the middle of my very own mid-life crisis for the past couple of years and I think I kinda like. I think the whole experience made me more realistic and grounded in some ways, yet I became more uninhibited in other ways.

thanks for the thought provoking blog.

Life is ...

Life is what you make it. You can make sweet by compromising and lowering our expectation  or it can be miserable if we don't use our brain and not being able to control our emotion -  it can get bad and undesirable.

Souri jan, thanks for sharing

Souri jan, when I met you few weeks ago, you seemed energetic but everything is relative. You are comparing with how you were some years back. I think there are so many factors different that it is hard to know role each one played. You mentioned aging. There is also possibility that cold weather has something with it. Another fcator is that for some of us the first city that we arrive at after leaving Iran becomes like a second home and sometimes leaving this second home and starting over again can be difficult.

Say it ain't so Mrs. Rusta Aziz

I'm so sorry to hear this sad news, it breaks my heart.

My life has been changed....

It has changed totally since I live in Canada, means 12 years ago.

People who knew me in US (or even in France) will never believe I've became this person, if they see me now.

I was more energetic and overall more hopeful and happier.

But I believe this might also have something to do with the "aging".

We get older every year......and this is hard to bear especially after the 40's.

I wish I was 25 to 30 again to restart anew!

Dear Farah, I am sorry to read this.

Dear Farah, recently you wrote a blog related to death. And now this comment. I am truly sorry to read this.

Exponentially decaying

I am coming closer to it, slowly and frustratingly. Death is in sight. 

FR

Dear yolanda, I am w/ you for your first 2 lines and last parag.

Dear yolanda, I am not working overtime nor do I have 9 days off for Thanksgiving. However, I am hosting some relatives for Thanksgiving.

Dear yolanda,you wrote:".comparing to 5 or 10 years ago, a lot of career goals and personal goals have been reached". This is great.

I am also with you as far as your last paragraph goes. Two years ago, I was not member of IC. Not only that, but I was not writing that much. As a kid, I always loved literature and I am glad that now I am in company of other writers and poets. And yes, quitting IC is difficult.

dear divaneh, please don't try to be depressed

I think sometimes you have to try not to be depressed. Just few days ago, as I was starting to feel down, I told myself not to be depressed and instead made a to do list, crossing off some items on To Do list made me feel better.

....

Hi! Anahid,

   Due to the furlough, I will have more days off this year than 2 years ago.....a little less money and less stress.....but I was able to compensate that by working over time......I will have 9 days off for Thanksgiving.....I am excited already.......comparing to 5 or 10 years ago, a lot of career goals and personal goals have been reached.....of course, there are new goals and challenges ahead.....so I am working on those goals and dreams......one of my personal goals is to visit Iran......right now I am working on the disposable income I need! I will try Kaleh Pacheh for sure and do a photo essay if I visit Iran!

Another thing, 2 years ago, I was not an IC member...now I am,...I think quitting IC is harder than quitting smoking! The patch, hypnosis, Zyban, the will power, chinese medicine and acupuncture won't work for me! I am trapped!

take care

Same shit

I am now trying my hand at being depressed.

Dear Rea and Bavafa, thanks. Indeed these are major changes

Dear Bavafa and Rea, thanks for your responses. Financial changes and change in marital status are indeed significant changes.

Dear Rea, your status is shared by millions of people all over the world. Past several years have not been years of improving financial conditions for most in Europe and North America.

Bavafa jan, glad to hear that you are happier as result of being married.

Mine changed significantly four years and a week ago

This is when I met my wife and considering that I already had a pretty darn good life (based on my own goals and things that made me happy) the last three years that I have been married has been by far better and happier.

Mehrdad

Thanks No Fear for your important comment

Thanks No fear for responding and also letting us know how your life is now different. It is very informative that you and Sargord are telling us how your life has changed. However, if there are friends who do not want to go into details, a Yes or No answer is also good. In case you decide to share how your life has changed, I thank you for it and I am sure IC readers will appreciate it.

Speaking from France

Less work, hence, less money. Bills, however, remained steady.

Mine too.

I quit smoking two years ago. It was the most difficult thing i have ever done. I tried everything at once. The patch, hypnosis, Zyban, the will power, chinese medicine and acupuncture, and i finally kicked the habbit after over 20 years of smoking a pack a day.

Now i feel a lot healthier. My morning coughs are gone. My family is happy. My life has truely been a lot better and i feel a lot better about myself.  This was a turning point in my life. I had to part with a bad friend who was there with me at every thought, every sentence and every book i read.

Thanks Sargord for your response.

I have seen in your comments,sometimes you mention about your motorcycle. Thanks for reading my blog and for answering.

Yes, significantly

Yes, significantly different. Bought a new motorcycle. It's great!