Five Things You Never Knew You Needed for College

Hello!

I now officially have a year of college under my belt. So, I thought I'd share some of the things I desperately needed, but didn't have at first when I entered int my college career. That way, all you freshman can avoid the running-around-frantically-trying-to-find-a-ride-to-the-store dance.


1.) Landyard: I have to admit, this is something I myself don't have as of yet. The reason is because I'm just simply too lazy and a lanyard is a boring candidate for things to buy when there's so many other cool items at the store. Trust me, however, when I say you desperately need one of these. When you're a freshman, you'll wish your school ID and dorm key was planted into your skin. You MUST take it everywhere with you. This is an easy and convenient way to do it. Granted, I've heard at some schools it's a sure sign way of telling who the freshman are, but it's better to be labeled as lame than losing your ID or key. I almost lost mine (because I don't have a lanyard) and I almost died.

2.) Water Jug with filter: This is so incredibly important, especially if you're living in a dorm. The water situation in college is not the best. If you're like me and don't drink sink water, your options of getting good, drinkable water are limited. You can either keep getting water bottles--which is what I tried at first--or get the filtered water jug. The problem with water bottles is that first, you keep having to buy new ones, and second, they take up too much space in your already small living quarters. The water jug is SO easy and takes up virtually no space. You can get one for as little as $11 at any store.

3.) An HDMI cord: One the biggest pastimes for college kids is to watch movies (ahem). This will come in handy because you can just play the movie on your laptop and hook it onto anyone's TV. That way, you can move from place to place at your convince. Take caution, however, that is you have a Macbook, there is no HDMI slot. Sorry.

4.) Extra Printer Ink/Calculator batteries: There is nothing worse than having an exam or having a paper due the next day and being out of ink/having your calculator die.Thankfully, my RA had me covered when this happened to me, but I learned my lesson. Everyone needs the extra ink but unless you're a science/math major, the chances of your Calculator's battery running out are slime--especially if you don't have TI-83 or 84. Still, better safe than sorry right?

5.) Ear Plugs: College is a time when you meet lots of different people. Some of these people are painfully loud. I'm not a prude, but the noise pollution in a college dorm is horrendous. Ear plugs come in handy for studying, sleeping, or simply when you need a break from all the craziness.

Hope this helped! Have an awesome and safe year at college!

Love,
Naz

Ramadan Tips & Tricks

Hey guys,

Since we're well into Ramadan, we thought we'd share some tips that we found on how to maximize your resources and fast in the healthiest way possible. Because your food source is limited this time of month, it's so important to eat the correct things in order to keep up your strength and keep going strong.

Obviously, the quantities of these items can be modified depending on your personal needs but this is just a rough guide.

When waking up for Suhoor, try eating: 
-1 bowl of oatmeal (if you don't like oatmeal, try a wheat based cereal like Kashi's Autumn Wheat)
-1 bowl of yogurt with any fruit on top and granola
-1 banana, apple, or any other type of fruit (actually, eat as much fruit as you want)
-2 boiled eggs
-Lots of water
-A multi-vitamin

and try to avoid these things:

-Any fried foods: Not only are they heavy and weight you down,  I find they also tend to make you thirstier, which you want to avoid doing to your already dehydrated body.
-Sugary cereals like Cocoa Puffs or Fruity Pebbles. Like I said before, since you're going to eat limited food, it's vital you eat the things that are going to maximize nutrients to your body. These types of cereals just don't cut it.
-Soft drinks, coffee, or any caffeine based drinks: Being avid coffee drinkers, it's hard for us not to indulge in a cup or two after Iftar or doing Suhoor. However, since you will likely be dehydrated, this is the worst thing you can do. Drink a cup, if you must, but mostly you should be drinking water more than anything else.

If you're a person who exercises daily, you can still get your workout in! Just do a little less than you normally would. For example, instead of doing 30 minutes, try for 15 or 20. Often, the best time to do this is an hour and or so after Iftar. It may seem like a time crunch (especially if you're praying Taraweeh), but if you're only doing 15 or 20 minutes, the time goes by fast and you'll still get enough sleep to wake up for Suhoor the next morning. Remember to keep drinking plenty of water. In fact, whether you choose to exercise or not, you should keep a water bottle with you after Iftar and drink it throughout the night/morning.

Try these tips and let us know your Ramadan techniques. Happy fasting!

Stay strong, friends!

-Naz

Ramadan Mubarak!

Ramadan mubarak to all our Muslim peeps out there! This month is full of reward and we hope that you all take full advantage of it. There is no time better than Ramadan to strengthen your faith and get closer to God.

To all our non-Muslim friends, you've probably heard of Ramadan, especially if you have a Muslim friend. We fast from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. But the point of fasting isn't just to starve ourselves. During this time, we humble ourselves and try to rid of our bad habits. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away! :)

Hope you all have a fantastic month ahead with your families! Keep all those who are in suffering around the world in your du'as.

Peace,

Naz and Hera

Here is a google image greeting card.

'Cocktail' movie review

SPOILER ALERT: So I don't plan on spoiling anything for you intentionally. I honestly don't think there's anything really to spoil. But some people are super sensitive about spoiling movies and whatnot, so this is my warning to you. It is completely your choice to read on or not!

Also, just an fyi, I took a film class this past semester and I can never think of films the same way again. So I don't watch films like most normal people. Just throwin' that out there.

This evening I saw the Bollywood film, Cocktail with my mom, Naz, and a few other friends. Here is the movie poster, if you're not sure what I'm talking about:

Before going into the movie, I watched the trailers and whatnot and predicted what would happen. 

Here was my prediction, word for word:  

Girl 1 is good girl. Girl 2 is party girl. Girl 1 is friends with Girl 2. Boy messes around with Girl 2 but doesn't expect a relationship. Girl 1 hates Boy, but Boy and Girl 1 eventually fall in love. Girl 2 falls in love with Boy. Girl 1 finds out Girl 2 loves Boy so she backs off. At the end, after many tears, Girl 2 lets Girl 1 have Boy. The end.

Here is what happened in the movie:

Girl 1 is good girl. Girl 2 is party girl. Girl 1 is friends with Girl 2. Boy messes around with Girl 2 but doesn't expect a relationship. Girl 1 hates Boy, but Boy and Girl 1 eventually fall in love. Girl 2 falls in love with Boy. Girl 1 finds out Girl 2 loves Boy so she backs off. At the end, after many tears, Girl 2 lets Girl 1 have Boy. The end.

There were a few modifications here and there that I won't discuss, but the core plot was basically stated above. I won't spend too much time on the little details of the plot.

Needless to say, the movie was very predictable. For example.... Wait, before I tell you my example, this might be considered a spoiler for some, so if you're one of those sensitive people, stop reading now. So there's a scene where party girl, a.k.a. Veronica (played by Deepika), gets hit by a car. The way the scene was directed, I was expecting her to be hit by a car. She was completely wasted, standing in the middle of the street, and something dramatic was yet to happen in the film. Boom, enter car. Car hits party girl and we got some action going on. I mean, what's a Bollywood film without a visit to the hospital?

Okay, moving on to cast and crew, etc. The film was directed by Homi Adajania. I would say this is his first mainstream, filmy-type of movie. Direction was okay overall. Club scenes were shot really well, but there were too many of them. I also liked how he showed the awkwardness between the characters in some of the scenes. 

The movie starred Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, and newcomer Diana Penty. I felt like Saif was just kinda there in the movie. He didn't really have much of a role except for being a part of the love triangle. The movie mainly revolved around Deepika and Diana. I'm not a huge Deepika fan but I have to say this was probably her best film, acting-wise. And she looked hot! Diana did awesome for a newcomer. I'm a huge fan already and she is absolutely beautiful. The girls did good in this movie.

I enjoyed the music! It was done by Pritam, and he hasn't been giving the best music lately but this was definitely a good comeback. The music wasn't lyrically the best, but it's the perfect music to jam to in the car or when you're cleaning your room. My personal favorites are "Tumhi Ho Bandhu" and "Second Hand Jawani." Links are here and here, respectively.

Overall, I would give Cocktail a B. Average Bollywood movie. Definitely something fun to watch with friends if you have nothing better to do. Nothing too unexpected.

If you've seen it, tell me what were your thoughts! Don't forget to follow us on twitter (@heraspeaking and @nazday) and like our Facebook page. We're also on Instagram (same usernames as our Twitter accounts).

Thank you for always listening to my rants. 

:),

Hera

And let the election times begin!

Presidential elections are coming up. I know November sounds so far away, but trust me, preparation for that election begins now. 

Last presidential election in 2008, I was not eligible to vote because I was only 16, but I did volunteer a lot and was pretty active in our "Students for Barack Obama" club. I saw Barack (We're on a first name basis now... or so I'd like to think) a few times speak in person at rallies (even shook his hand; still feel pretty cool about that). The whole process was so much fun and such a great experience, that I got hooked. When Barack won the presidency, I literally felt like it was because of me. Those phone calls I made, those doors I knocked on, those flyers I handed out, it all worked! Even though technically, he won enough delegates to become President before Indiana finished counting their votes so it basically didn't matter, but Indiana turned blue after many years and that counts! I apologize for the run-on sentence.

Needless to say, it was a very exciting experience. I encourage everyone to at least try it out once. Whichever party you consider yourself, go in one day and volunteer. If you're not into politics, I promise you that you will become more interested after the experience. It's so great to see so many energized people of so many ages so passionate and involved in their government. It's how we all should be. The environment is great.

This election, I can finally vote (even though it will be absentee)! A few days ago, I volunteered at CarmelFest, which is a small fair-type thing we have every year to celebrate independence day. I met a couple of elderly people who were so passionate about what they were doing. They had so many stories to share, and it was a lot of fun listening to them. I've decided that this election, I will be taking you guys with me on this journey. 

Not all of you are going to be Obama supporters, but maybe my experiences will energize you into participating and campaigning for your preferred candidate. :)

Have fun,

Hera

Here are a couple photos from the booth I was at:

redwhiteblue

Tea Party booth was right next to ours!