It's been the best Norooz so far! Even though we're staying in Tehran, we're getting the most out of it. We have been going to Chitgar park almost everyday. We went biking, jogging and today, camping! They got new bikes there by the way! We also went to Azadi movie theater twice this week. It's awesome! It's in seven floors and it's got two cafés and a lot of space that's gonna develop into supermarkets and stores. This is a picture I took inside of it. The English movie screening there is "Children of Men". Both me and Sara liked it very much. I don't know how to insert more than one picture in one entry, so I added one of today's pictures to one of my old entries that didn't have a picture! Peace!

! سال نوتون مبارك

I just got the most painful shot ever! The doctor wouldn't prescribe penicillin cause it f****** killed someone years ago! Instead, had me get these huge long shots never would I take another in my ***!

I'm so HOT! :D Me and Sara both got the flu and we've been having really high temperatures over the past couple of days. It's like the worst flu I've had in years. We're taking pills and eating chicken garlic soup and boiled turnips! We might go to a clinic if we see we CAN!

Just to cath up on what's been going on, we had a great day at Chitgar park last Friday with all of our friends where we played soccer and basketball. They wouldn't rent out bikes though, cause of the mourning! Which is pretty odd to me by the way. Last night, we were invited to my cousin's engagement party. It was the worst ever. I was so sick and the party was so long and boring. So boring! Everybody spoke "boring" to each other, cause apparently, being excited and positive is considered immature in our culture! To top it off, they served dinner around midnight! Today is the parliament elections day. I was hoping to vote, but I'm not sure I can. Now, this is definately my saddest blog entry!

It's getting warm and summery. I've never liked the warmer half of the year, but I've decided to do what it takes to enjoy it this year. It's no use feeling down half the year!

We went to our favorite shawarma place (BiBi) again last night and guess who we ran into. The same Iranian-American guy we met the other night. It was such a coincidence. I went up to him and asked him if he wanted to join us and he said he'd appreciate it. So, he sat with us and we had a good talk. His name is originally Kamran, but then he's changed it to Cameron. He's a businessman and apparently makes a lot of money. He left us his business card and we said we'd leave him our contact information, so he gives us a call next time he's around.

We had a small gathering in our apartment last Friday. Hamed Y came with his bro and Safaneh with her friend, Farzaneh. We had breakfast, watched Friends, played poker and then watched the Oscars repeated on Dubai One. It was pretty cool.

Today, I was so free. I spent the entire day with Hamed Slasher. We went to Highland and tested different colognes just for the fun of it. By the time we left the store, we had some forty testing cards in our hands all with labels and prices written on them. I got to choose a favorite cologne, Ambré! I'm in Hamed's room right now and am writing this blog on his Ferrari laptop which is wirelessly connected to the net. Everyone around me is getting this technology and I feel so left behind.

For those of you interested in Lebanese food, there is this Shawarma place I recommend called BiBi. It's right across from the main entrance of Mellat Park. The food is superb, the atmosphere is pleasant, and if you are looking for a chance to hook up with foreigners or Iranians residing abroad, there is a good chance you will meet them there. In fact, we had dinner there last night the two of us and Damien. There was a couple sitting two tables away from ours who were speaking Persian, but when they heard us speak English, they turned to (sucky) English! And then, there was this oldish guy sitting next to us who could hear us speak. He suddenly interrupted us to ask a few questions. In English! He was definitely not the nicest guy you will meet, but still, it was cool speaking English to someone who'd lived the most of his life in America. I bet he was pretty surprised to find out we'd learned English in Iran! God we rock! Damien was pretty upset last night and I have to admit, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn't be feeling any better. He'd just been through what he called "the worst day of his year". I'm not gonna violate his privacy and give any details, but for one thing, he broke his iPhone! I haven't spoken to him today and don't know if it's healed (!) or not. But I'm so hoping he can get his neat gadget back ASAP.

Something about today's picture; I got it off Google Images. It shows a guy who's just broken his iPhone. You are not alone Damien! I hope this helps!

The guy you see in this picture - right behind the heart! - is the most upbeat guy I've ever met! Introducing Hamed Slasher! Happy birthday dude!

I'm excited about the best picture award winner. I thought No Country For Old Men resembled Fargo in many ways and I highly appreciate both movies. Each scene was so well-constructed and created an emotional suction that drew me to the next scene. And I just loved the dark humor in it.

 

Sara and I watched Juno just now. It was so cute! I liked the photography, Ellen Page's acting and the soundtracks. I should be thanking Damien for letting me borrow it. Peace bro!

I had Masters' Konkoor yesterday morning. I kinda blew it since some of the questions were wrong and I got so mad I lost track of time and didn't get to do the last twenty tests! Next year again!

Sara and I went over to Hamed's place last night. His brother, Mohamad was there too. We watched a few episodes of Friends and then Mohamad taught us poker and we spent the rest of the day (and night) playing poker.

I had interviews all day today. It's a new evaluation process at the place where I work. The students first give an oral exam and then go for the written one. I thought it'd be easy and fun. But it turned out to be extremely hard, but still fun! You can't imagine how beat I am right now after 4 hours of Konkoor, 6 hours of poker and almost 8 hours of interview! Somebody kill me pleeeeeease!