I'm Having Daymares

So, the final grades came in from freshman year. I finished with the 3.2 I need to meet the CAP requirements to get into UT. But, every day a scenario plays out in my head, and it goes something like this:

- I am rejected from UT, and it's because somehow I didn't meet the requirements. Perhaps it's because one of my classes secretly wasn't part of the list of classes for CAP; or perhaps it's because one of my classes' GPA was rounded down or something unfortunate.

But, the way I feel is that if I made a 3.2, they should not reject me. That would be entirely ridiculous. If I don't get in, I think I will spend a day crying, or sleeping my sadness off in my bed. To do all the work, to work so hard, and be rejected even though I made the 3.2 and took 2 extra hours above and beyond the 30 hour requirement...that would be cruel on their part.

However, I've reviewed the CAP requirements and all the classes I've taken are the correct course numbers. 

At this point, the anticipation is messing with me. The stress is all in my head; it has My Mind Playing Tricks On Me, like the Geto Boys. 

I've been trying to find ways to unwind, these consist of playing basketball almost every day with my buddies David, Zach, Chris and Scott, chill time with Khaled and his sisters (Summer, Jawaher and sometimes Yasmin), and helping my parents out around the house.

For now, I cope with this song by A Tribe Called Quest.

Freshman Year is Over

A lot has happened since I last blogged!

I made 300 dollars DJing for a sorority and fraternity at UTSA, I got my iPhone replaced, and I experienced 2nd semester finals for the 1st time!

I also had the first of three birthday parties. This first one was at Ryan's, and it was probably the best party I've ever been to (thanks to our list of Ryan's House Rules). I'm glad it was so successful, there were no problems and no one got drunk and passed out. Everyone was there, and Zach and Jill even came up from A&M to see me! 

The Cool Kids released their second mixtape, "Gone Fishing," and I was thoroughly impressed; but neither of their first two mixtapes ("Cool Ass Ninjas" & "Gone Fishing") have been able to compare to their first release, the Bake Sale EP. Here's to hoping the album is greater than all three combined!

Then, finals week came. My concerta, Red Bull, and Whataburger's breakfast biscuits got me through the week (not to mention my brothers from other mothers: David, Jeff, Jonny, and Tony). All that's left now is to wait for final grades to come back in, and then I'll know what college I'll be going to next year (Cal State or UT)...I'll be making the official announcement here on my blog, so stay tuned!

Her Name is Suheir, and She Said I was Cute!

I know it's a bit late, but here's my weekend update!

Thursday:

I drove home from San Antonio and met my dad at his work in Katy; from there we drove straight to the El Dorado Ballroom (during the trip I managed to get my dad into one of my favorite rap groups, Black Star) for the opening night of the Houston Palestinian Film Festival where we saw three amazing slam poetry performances; one was by a woman named Empress, the next was by a man whose name I've forgotten :( and the final, headlining performance was by an amazing poet named Suheir Hammad whom I later found out would be the lead actress in the headlining film of the festival. We were able to meet up with Suheir afterwards and talk. She is an amazing Brooklyn-born, Palesitnian poet and actress. Her thoughts are in the right place and, might I say, she is beautiful! More on that later...

Friday:

It was quite rainy that day, yet I still spent the day doing errands. I got my oil changed, my tires rotated, my amp fixed, and my dash panel radio repaired. And, on top of all that, I got my iPhone replaced and my mother bought me an amazing iPhone case! 

Friday night would be the screening of Annemarie Jacir's amazing movie, Salt of This Sea, at the HPFF (which was held at Rice University). The movie was amazing, that's all I can say...Suheir gave an amazing performance, and Annemarie's script was beautifully written and shot. The film was Palestine's submission for Best Foreign Language Film. Why it didn't receive at least a nomination, I don't know. If you ever get the chance to see it, I strongly encourage you to do so. I'm sure it will eventually make it to DVD, so you have no excuse for not seeing it!

After the movie was over, there was a  reception in the adjacent room; Friday evening, the picture I took with Suheir was less than stellar...so I had been hoping to get a better picture with her the following evening. When I finally made my way over to find her, I swear to you she remembered my name! She told me I better have a good excuse for saying that the picture didn't turn out so well, and then after we took the picture she told me I looked cute :)

Friday evening, my crush on Suheir was reinforced and I found a new Love: Common's album "Electric Circus." I'm still jammin' it this week, it's just so abstract and eccentric. I love the sound. 

Saturday was a boring day of studying, but Saturday evening was nice because Zach came and surprised me with his friends Matt and James. Also, Jill came and hung out with us at Zach's place. It was great to see my best friend Zach :)

Sunday, Sunday was another positive day. I worked on homework for most of the day, and visited my friend Khaled's family with my family in the evening. Khaled wasn't there, but I got to hang out with Khaled's sisters Jawaher and Summer, they are awesome! 

Monday, as I drove back to San Antonio, I received a text from Jill saying that her brother's project (which I directed) had been a huge success! His group received one of the few 100s, and apparently his teacher cried (I'm guessing out of laughter?) when watching the movie.

Thanks for reading :)

Peace and Love,

Sama'an

Sama'an, The Director

This past Saturday, I helped my good friend Jillian's little brother with his English project. It was to be a video project on Romeo & Juliet, Act 3. What's crazy is that my freshman English project was over the same Act. Here's the YouTube link, I have to say this result was much better than the original (which I'll try to dig up one day...let's just say it features yours truly rapping along with the Beastie Boys' "Ch-Check It Out"). Here's version 2.0:

Hello, bloggers and blog readers, a little about myself

I'm Sama'an, 

At times I'm a brother, son, friend, cousin, psychologist, political analyst, and DJ. It's also no secret that I'm a joker, a smoker, and a midnight toker. I'm a Palestinian-American, looking for every opportunity to absorb the culture. I want to be fluent in Arabic by year's end. I believe in human rights, civil rights, and Hip-Hop with a message. 

Who are my influences?

Banksy, Beastie Boys, Beatles, Bob Marley, and my parents.

I'm at a crossroads in my life, and I'm not sure what my next move will be; if you're reading, thanks, and I hope you continue to do so.

Peace, Love, and Thanks,

Sama'an