doberman pizza. a baha'i (bahai, bahá'í) blog.

THE GREAT SECTOR 9
BAHA’I YOUTH GATHERING

Saturday April 2nd, 2005
1056 Laporte Street
2:30 - 5:30 pm
Followed by Pizza dinner (yum!)

VIDEO PRESENTATIONS - GAMES - CONSULTATION - INSPIRATION

Get plugged into the Plan and explore what’s really meaningful to
you…as well as some good food and getting to know some new faces.

All Bahá’í youth 12-19 years old are welcome. After dinner we will be
attending a youth fireside at the Howdens’ @ 172 Presland Rd.

Sponsored by the SMT of Sector 9

AKA easter, otherwise known as ‘miscellaneous chocolate holiday‘. It’s been a nice, long, well-deserved, restful weekend, full of friends, spring cleaning, sleeping in, and goofing around. highlights? hung around with old high school friends from St. Peter’s — Matt D. lives across the street from me here, and we just watched movies, ordered pizza and shawarmas, and watched friends getting smoked at cards. It was all good. We finished the evening watching a homespun snowboarding video from the “Wildcats” team - that was interesting… some of it was a little outside my usual taste in movies, but the snowboard tricks were pretty wicked. r0xx0r.

Saturday we had Misagh (aka Mees) over for dinner, to the tune of phat chicken rotini and cheesecake. We chilled, talked about our experiences pioneering and doing periods of service for the Baha’i Faith, life in Zambia, and just simply conversed the whole evening. It’s amazing how similar are the stories of people who’ve done periods of service, whether in Africa, Nunavut, or Quebec. The time one spends in service is always a time of great tests and difficulties, of frustrations and pain, but invariably it’s also sublime, spiritual, invigorating and transformative. Perhaps these blessings are something we bring with us into worlds to come?

Anyway, apparently Vafa had some sort of bad movie marathon at his place that night, but we elected not to go (having myself developed a fatal allergy to the movie Starship Troopers long ago). I’m sure it was just fantastic.

Sunday, Aref and a few other people gathered at his place to wish Aram and Natalia a happy engagement. Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, Aram and Natalia are getting married. Welcome to the 21st century.

Today, I slept in until 2 o’clock in the afternoon, because I could. It’s Easter Monday. Jesus rose from the dead so that we could stay in bed. Holla back.

Okay, I apologize if I’ve just offended the entire Internet.

This week promises to be nice and busy. Meetings basically all week, culminating in a phat day of youth activities on Saturday. I’ll post more about Saturday’s activities later on in the week, so you can know just what’s going down. Peace.

ducks are playing in the little lake outside my window. there’s one male and one female, and they’re floating away being ducks. the weather is beautiful. the snow is melting like crazy (hence the lake), the sky is clear blue, and the only clouds to be seen are wisps and tufts that float placidly above the horizon. the steady wind is sending schools of little nervous ripples skating down the water’s surface, off of which the bright sunshine reflects and lights up the ceiling with shifting, mesmerizing patterns. it seems like this is roughly what we’re in for all week. It’s a nice way to welcome in a new year, no? birds singing, ducks quacking and getting lost inside the bus shelters…

Ever checked out the Bahá’í Reference Library? You find the most amazing quotes so easily with it. Here’s one from ‘Abdu’l-Baha about Bahá’u'lláh’s love of nature and the countryside:

Bahá’u'lláh loved the beauty and verdure of the country. One day He passed the remark: “I have not gazed on verdure for nine years. The country is the world of the soul, the city is the world of bodies.” When I heard indirectly of this saying I realized that He was longing for the country, and I was sure that whatever I could do towards the carrying out of His wish would be successful. (Bahá’u'lláh and the New Era, p.35)

A happy Naw-ruz to all of you wonderful folks reading this - whether you’re Bahá’í or not, and whereever you are in the world. This weekend, I’m going out to the river to spend some time watching the water. I love nature; I always have. I seem to get more energy from contemplating the beauty of nature than anything else I do. Who else out there is a nature nut? I’m sure there are tons of you. Leave a comment about your favourite way to enjoy nature, and we’ll see if we see the same thing twice.

hi all. hope you’re all doing well on this lovely morning. the sunlight is quite beautiful this morning; opposite me right now is our east window where the glory of sunrise plays out each and every morning in divine hues of bold yet muted reds, sober oranges, and timid yellows melting into a quiet sea of calm blues. in the mornings the sun casts shadows through the trees and fills our house with shifting, branching lines that creep slowly down the walls and across the floor, until they finally disappear at sunset. today is day 18 of the Fast, so once again, no food or drink from sunup to sunset. I’m looking forward to breaking the Fast tomorrow night - this year’s fast seems to have been more difficult for me - but I know I’ll miss this time when it’s gone. the Fast gives us a taste of detachment that our otherwise complicated lives rarely afford us.

Tomorrow night, the Baha’is of Ottawa will be hosting their annual Naw-Ruz party, a celebration to mark the Baha’i new year and the spiritual rebirth that follows the month of fasting. Everyone’s looking forward to that (especially to the kebab). Just imagine a night full of music, dancing and revelry, good cheer, getting dressed up in your best duds, and eating enough Persian food to make you pop, just because you can - and waking up without a hangover the next morning. And no silly ball to drop in Times Square. Damn I love Naw-ruz.

It was three years ago, on Naw-ruz 159 B.E. (Baha’i Era; 2002 AD) that I first stepped out of the comfortable coccoon of complacent city life and began my journey of change on a year of service in Victoriaville and Drummondville. There was a blinding snowstorm that day, and still I lumbered on through the snow from Ottawa to Victoriaville in my Dad’s worn-out old Mazda 626 to begin the transition to a new life. I blogged about it one year later and reflected on the many trials and pitfalls that awaited me in the year that followed.

The process of change, progress and transformation has continued since then, as it will no doubt continue to. To be very honest, the past few years presented me with so many tests and trials that I was beginning to lose it. Eventually I had to come back to Ottawa to safeguard my health (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual - the whole kit). But once I did come back, divine confirmations began to kick in once again. And perhaps since that time I stepped back into the boundaries of this multiply-blessed city, the greatest change and the greatest transformation has begun. Not to sound prosaic or anything, but this is surely the bounty of God, a proof of the power of His confirmation and of the living waters of His mercy. I can’t thank or praise God enough for what’s happened in my life. Not particularly for the good times or the bad times - but for the change, the opportunity to grow, to become a little bit better than I was yesterday.

So happy new year all you peeps. many big ups and shout outs to all of my crew in the OT, in MTL, Gatineau, the Heart of Quebec, around the nation and across the planet. Kind thoughts and best wishes to a particular friend of mine who’s getting married today in Drummondville. Que votre union soit une lampe qui éclairera les ténèbres avec la puissance de la lumière divine. Meilleurs souhaits et Allah’u'abha.

Enfin, pour traduire en quelques mots, mes meilleurs souhaits à tous mes amis au Québec (et oui, même ceux qui ont déménagé mais qui sont encore là en esprit), et un très joyeux Naw-ruz à vous tous. Comme toujours, je vous aime et je pense à vous. Je ne suis pas trop présent de ces jours-ci mais vous restez dans mes prières tout le temps. Mes amis de Montréal, de Québec, de Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Victoriaville, Warwick, Trois-Rivières, Thetford Mines, Rimouski, Lanaudière, l’Outaouais, la Rive-sud, bref, de tout partout, je vous souhaite un merveilleux nouvel an. Je suis content qu’on soit amis et je suis content d’avoir partagé avec vous une partie de vos vies. Qu’on se revoit bientôt en circonstances des plus joyeuses :)

(PS: hé sam… sham… ou donc est passé samnsham.com??? faites pas la fugue là…)

have you been feeling absent-minded lately?
wondering what life has to offer besides the dull same-old of the everyday?
are you trying to get with the program, only to find you don’t even know what channel it’s on?
you need

THE GREAT SECTOR 9
BAHA’I YOUTH GATHERING

coming soon to a cluster near you

watch this space for more details.

Yay! The video stills from the Wildfire Dance Theatre performance last Saturday are now up, under the ottawa scrapbook. Go see!

talk about a late dinner? here are some photos from my family’s thanksgiving dinner last October. more family photos are going up slowly but surely.

what’s more, Wildfire Dance Theatre performed on Saturday night. I have screen captures from videos I took (the photos I took didn’t turn out real well because of the low light conditions, but the video captures look pretty good), so watch for those soon.

the Fast seems harder this year than in previous years. perhaps it’s because I haven’t been eating as well as in previous years (and I’ve been getting less sleep, too). today seems to be the best day so far, though - I got up early and even got into work early (around 8:30 instead of 9:00)… and I don’t feel quite as tired, thanks to taking a whole day to rest yesterday. sometimes you really need rest. I understand why Shameem always takes naps now. they really work.

Only seven days ’til Naw-ruz. Reco’nize.

It’s cold today. I look out my window and see little dunes forming in the snow from the wind that twists and snakes around, leaving pockmarks and craters from the fall of some snowy divot kicked up by the icy breeze. The sun is setting now, casting long shadows and blinding drivers on their homeward treks.

That was my attempt at sounding deep. I’m not gonna keep it up because I’m not feeling really deep right now — plus, some guys are painting the office and the fumes are starting to get to my brain. I think if I keep going I’ll end up sounding like Tolkien on crack. Anyway, I wanted to share some good news with you — Kelly, my manager, came to me today and told me that they’d like to extend my contract from the end of April to the end of September. I haven’t signed any paperwork that makes it official yet, but it’s a welcome sign that they appreciate my work. Yay!

okay, gotta go. take care now.

Pour ceux qui connaissent le format RSS, vous allez flipper: les petits Hebdos Transcontinental ont maintenant des flux RSS. Ça veut dire, mettons, qu’un Ti-Jean n’importe-qui ayant accès à l’internet (moi, par exemple) peut lire les Actualités de Victoriaville dans La Nouvelle, ou celles de Drummondville dans L’Express, ou même celles de Bécancour et Nicolet dans Le Courrier Sud, sans y habiter — et même sans visiter leurs sites web! À l’aide d’un lecteur RSS (j’utilise présentement FeedReader), les manchettes apparaissent sur votre écran à mesure qu’elles sont publiées. Ayoye! En vérité, je trippe!

Don’t ever break the Fast with coffee and a big slab of chocolate fudge cake. Ever.

The Fast began on Wednesday, March 2nd, so me and the rest of the Bahá’ís in this time zone just finished Day 3. I’m staying at work a little later than usual so I can work on a website project for one of the Bahá’ís in Victoriaville - it’s for a not-for-profit organization that does socioeconomic development work in the Bois-Francs. It’s going along well - the longer I work here at the Conference Board of Canada, the more I get to sharpen my web design skills and exercise my creative side. No matter what sort of distance I’ve put between myself and my artistic, creative side, it’s always come back full force to become a dominating mode of expression for me. It’s nice - I see this as leading me back to a better knowledge of my own identity as a special, unique creation of God - as each one of us is, no? Anyway. I’d really like to keep working at this job, it’s excellent experience. I’ve heard rumours that my contract may be extended, and hopefully they may prove to be true.

Have you visited Martin’s website lately? He’s got a neat little PHP script all hacked up for the Fast. It displays fast times for Ottawa and everything. Speaking of other people’s websites, here’s some neat info I’ve found about some interesting upcoming events:

• March 5: Vafa is having an 80’s Movie Devotional… DON’T MISS IT!
• March 11-12: MQ.com has a note about the upcoming Wildfire Youth Workshop/Social and Public Performance.
• March 20: Nika Naimi sent me the url for information on the upcoming Montréal Naw-Rúz party.
• March 26: Aaaaand of course there’s Celebration 162, the Greater Toronto Area’s notorious annual Naw-Rúz party.

Depending on circumstances (including how well I think I’ll hold up, and whether I can find my way down there), I might go down to the Victoriaville area for Naw-Rúz. If so, I’ll be sure to take pictures. Much love for les Québécois. Je vous aime et je pense à vous! Oh, speaking of finding one’s way - if you like maps, visit Google Maps. It’s still in beta, but it’s good. Darn good.

Aight I’m out. Off to have a blast. Friday night rox0rs.

Misagh is back from his service in Zambia! Post your warm welcomes as comments to this post, or in Martin’s shoutbox.

The Ottawa Bahá’í community’s Ayyám-i-Há festivities this weekend were most excellent. If you missed the super-pumped performance of Funk Master Vafa and DJ Dan Jones at the Kanata Ayyám-i-Há party, see it on Vafa’s website. Also, this week’s photo of the week is from the Ayyám-i-Há/study circle wrap-up party that Julie and Fanfan hosted on Sunday night. It was cozy and friendly and fun. The participants from the recently-completed study circle on Ruhi Book 6 were there, as well as many of their friends and family. The rest of us were kind of stragglers. Oh and people brought their kids too. The kids were money. There were a couple of two-year-olds that were just too cool, all hopping around and giggling at everything. Sahba and I sang “I’m a little teapot” to one of them. As for food, Catherine and I brought some neat middle-eastern pie things from the nearby shawarma shop, and people seemed to love them to pieces (crumbs). There was also some excellent Spanish omelette that Tonia P. made, and - gosh - so many good things I don’t even remember them all. Roasted plantains… roasted chicken… wonderful things… Oh and cranberry juice (of course). Can you tell I have an attachment to food? I’m really gonna need the Fast this year.

I met lots of new friends, as well as one of the Ottawa Bahá’ís who had just come back from Drummondville — he played African drums for an Ayyám-i-Há event put on by the Drummondville Bahá’ís. He told me all sorts of stories about what’s going on over there. Apparently it’s really amazing. Several people have become Bahá’í over there recently and many more are becoming involved in community activities - the proof is in the numbers: a community of perhaps nine or ten adult Bahá’ís hosted this event, which netted about 80 guests. Phat, no? Check back later; I’ll post up more stories (as I get them).