10 Misconceptions about Texas

1) We ride horses everywhere.

I don't how or even why this is still a misconception in today's time, but for some reason people assume all Texans have horses and they actually travel places with them. For the most part, few Texans actually own horses and I've never seen anyone ride them to get to another city. The only people who do own horses house them on ranches that are far from the city.

2) It's just a bunch of plains.

NO. Texas is fairly flat, however, we are very urbanized as well. We have tons of cities and beautiful landforms. We have lakes, rivers, natural pools, mountains, hills, whatever you can think of! Texas is a place where you have to really search to find pretty sanctuaries, but when you do find these sanctuaries, it will most likely be breathtaking.

3) We say "Y'all" a lot.

This is FALSE. Most Texans do have the habit of saying "y'all" but not all. (Hehe that rhymed) I for one, do not say unless I'm poking fun at Texan culture. I've heard people who aren't even from Texas in different states who say this word.

4) We all have an accent.

The only people I know who really have an accent down here are George Bush and Rick Perry. Most Texans do not have distinct accents and if they do, they are not Texan accents. I've heard tons of accents but nothing similar to how the former president and the current governor speak.

5) We always wear cowboy boots and hats.

I have never owned a pair of cowboy boots or a cowboy hat in my life and I have lived in Texas for a good majority of my life. I have never seen anyone wear cowboy boots/hat unless they are from West Texas. Otherwise, seeing a person wear these is pretty rare.

6) We are just a bunch of republicans.

Although Texas is primarily a "red" state, not all of us are part of the Republican party. In fact, there's tons of us especially in North Texas who are part of the Democratic party. Texas is primarily a state made of up people from many other states.

7) We all want to secede.

OKAY. Just because our ridiculous governor suggested to secede, does not mean the entirety of Texas wants to. In fact, the majority of us thought Perry was crazy.

8) We put butter in everything.

Just because Paula Deen puts an unrelenting amount of butter in all of her dishes, does not mean every Texan/Southerner does. Sure, there are probably those few "Southern delicacy" dishes that I don't even know about that might have a large amount of butter in them. The only use of butter in my house is in baking shortbread cookies!

9) It gets really hot down here.

FALSE. I gets hot in Texas, especially in July, but the high is usually 95 degrees and on a really sunny day, it gets to 101. This is hot, but not as hot as other Southern states. Plus, at one point during this past summer, it was cooler down in Dallas, Texas than it was in Chicago, Illinois. It's actually not that bad if you cover yourself, wear a sun hat, and mostly just stay indoors! When I was in Chicago, I thought it was super hot up there!

10) Everything we eat is deep-fried.

This is only true if you go to the Texas State Fair. Very few places deep-fry their foods and the South follows the rest of the nation's trend into eating healthy! We may seem like a totally different species down here, but we're actually just like you.

Here's just a few misconceptions about Texas. The last few I put together hastily since I am getting super tired so I apologize for lack of explanation or any grammatical errors. If you've never been to Texas, I definitely recommend you take a trip here! It's actually much more beautiful than you think. Texas is full of quirky people, great culture, fantastic food, and just overall beauty in the oddest of places.

~Misbah

Why I Will Never Again Fly With American Airlines

Before you read on, here's a few things you should know about this post:

• It is super long due to such a long story about what happened with my flight from ORD to DFW
• At times, I may not even make sense but I tried to proofread and fix things as much as I could.
• I did contact AA and have not received a response yet, probably because there were so many angry people who also contacted them, aside from us. 
• I get violent in this post so beware.
• I absolutely am disgusted by American Airlines and their #$&@ service. 

Our flight issues began from the VERY beginning of our trip. On August 13th, flight 2341 was supposed to depart from DFW at 7:45pm. So, our family all gets to the airport at around 5:45ish and by the time we pass through security and check in our bags, we get to our gate at around 6pm. Boarding was supposed to start at 7:25pm, but after 15 minutes of sitting at our gate, the flight was delayed an hour and would depart at 8:30ish. Nobody made an announcement at the gate saying our flight was delayed, but because I was aware of the crap service AA has, I made sure my phone notified me of anything ridiculous happening with our flight, which it did. So after one delay, another came, and another and another. We had about 5 delays, NONE OF WHICH any AA agent notified us about. When people finally started questioning what was wrong, the agents first told us they were having maintenance issues. Then the next delay, they said the screw was loose on the co-pilot's seat (WTF???). Then the next delay, they said they had to entirely replace the co-pilot's seat. After much patience and four hours later, they finally fixed whatever issue there was and we boarded our flight at around 11:30pm and arrived at our hotel near ORD at precisely 1:41am. 

UGH. 

So here's what happened when we wanted to come back to DFW:

On August 17th, flight 2374 was supposed to depart from ORD straight to DFW at 8:50pm. (The beginning of these paragraphs sound like an upsetting CNN documentary) We arrive at ORD at around 6:15pm and get to our gate. We wait and wait for our boarding to happen and then I get a notification that our flight is delayed until 11:30pm. Once again, nobody notifies us at the gate. Prior to getting a notification, I noticed that ORD staff began setting up cots with pillows and blankets. I thought they were for those who have an overnight layover, I was wrong. After waiting around at our gate, my family and I decided it would be more comfortable to lay down for a couple of hours until our flight would board. After 30 more minutes, I get another notification saying that our flight would depart at 11:50. Then after another 30 minutes, I get a notification saying our flight is CANCELLED. So you may be thinking, "Yes, Misbah, flights do get cancelled. It's not really a big deal". Yeah, keep reading. 

When I get the notification, the AA agents at our gate FINALLY announce it and say we all have to go to another gate (K10 or K4) and visit the rebooking center. They also said it was weather related, even though there was only light showers Sunday morning and everything was clear that night. So everyone disperses and rushes to the rebooking center where there are absolutely no flights available (I find that really hard to believe, but AA is known for lying). To make matters worse, we not only had a handicap with us but also someone who had a medical emergency (of course AA doesn't care). When we checked our flight status, apparently AA had already put all passengers from flight 2374 onto different flights on Monday to reach DFW. None of these flights were direct and they were not at preferable timings (2pm with 3hr layover in Kentucky). 

I go back to our original gate from the booking center and stand in line to get some compensation. I obviously was not about to stay overnight at ORD which meant I wanted a hotel, I wanted food, I wanted a refund from AA. And if you know me, you would know when I get mad, I get really angry. It's like the kraken is released from my body and you don't want to meet it. So I stand in line and I only have to wait maybe 20 minutes (better than 3 hours right?) and I ask the agent what the heck happened with this flight and if there are any flights available tonight since both my parents had work and I just wanted to get home. One of the agents tell me that it was weather related and that the small rain shower that went on Sunday morning was apparently enough to disrupt the entire flight system. THIS was a downright LIE because all of my other family members who also flew with AA all got directly to DFW that same night. So AA was just giving me bullshit and their agents were so kind and gave me an attitude. So another agent takes over after I give the other agent a look as if I'm going to tear her face off and he tells us that there are no flights available tonight, BUT he would give us a stay at La Quinta all the way in Schaumburg (?!?!?) as well as food vouchers to be used at ORD and a taxi to and from our hotel and ORD. I wasn't complaining at that point because at least I had a free place to stay with free food and free fare. Then he said that AA really just cancelled the flight for no reason and that's what AA does often. 

So we get to our hotel, spend the night there, and here's the taxi issue when going back to ORD:

The hotel receptionist booked a taxi for us since not all taxi companies were going to accept the voucher AA had given us. When the taxi finally comes, my sister shows him the voucher and asks, "Do you take this voucher?" and he says, "Yeah!". So we get in the taxi and about 5 minutes into our ride, the taxi driver says, "I can't take this voucher. I have to go to AA headquarters all the way in Washington DC to cash this." I was about to rip his head off. 

So we start yelling and asking him why he gave us a ride when my sister showed him the voucher and he said he accepted it. 

He's says, "I thought you meant the American Taxi voucher! I didn't know what voucher this was!!" 

So then we tell him, "Then just take us back if you don't take it because we're not paying for the fare!!!!!!!!" 

He says, "Okay then you pay the fare back to the hotel!!!". 

And we say, "NO. We're not paying anything!!!!!" 

So he pulls over and says, "Okay then I'll call the cops." 

And we're just sitting there and we tell him, "Yeah, okay. Call the cops. Cool." 

He then calls dispatch to ask if they take the voucher and guess what? THEY DO. So after all that, he then says, "Oh, I'm so sorry. It was a misunderstanding. Sorry sorry". 

Sorry doesn't fix the fact that I want to rip your head off mister. So I called his taxi company and sent in a complaint for not only threatening us but also relentlessly texting while driving - against IL state laws. 

**If you've made it this far in the post, I applaud you**

When we finally got to ORD at 12pm, we waited for our flight. While waiting, I decided to use the food vouchers and while in line to get some delicious veggie bagels, I see the following on my voucher:

Right above "EXPIRES", you can see that it clearly says: Delay - Mechanical. 

So pretty much, AA was tweeting me that it's been a difficult day for air travel, AA agents were telling me that it was weather related issues, and my food voucher was telling me it was mechanical issues. Way to lie, AA. 

Our flight finally left from ORD at 2pm and we reached Lousiville, KY at 3pm. We had a 3 hour layover which was extended to 4 hours after AA delayed our flight AGAIN and said it was due to weather. They were just making excuses. Also, I had once again tweeted AA asking what exactly had happened with flight 2374. They told me due to weather, the crew was displaced. OKAY. SURE. It may have been the truth, but I wouldn't know since AA is the equivalent of the boy who cried wolf. We finally reached home at 11:30pm. We could have driven quicker. 

Here's why I know for sure AA was lying the entire time:

1) Clear skies over Texas that night, nothing happening in Chicago

2) When they began to set up cots at ORD, they knew the flight was cancelled but didn't tell anybody and said it was delayed

3) While telling us it was delayed, they were already placing all 2374 passengers onto different flights for Monday

4) If it was really weather related, none of the other DFW flights my family were one would have departed that night.

This entire thing was deliberate and I want a full refund. AA caused both my parents to lose a day worth of work and money and we pretty much just wasted our money paying for a nonexistent flight. 

So that's my experience with AA and why I will NEVER fly with them AGAIN. My family keeps joking that Chi didn't want me to leave since I love it there and I was born there. Although I consider Chi to be my first home and a chunk of my heart will always be there, pieces of my heart also lay in Dallas where my real home is. I hope all parts of this post made sense and if it didn't, leave a comment. 

~Misbah

Chicago Trip + College Life

Hello everyone! You may or may not have noticed that I was on a short hiatus for the past week. Last week, my entire family took a trip to Chicago for my cousin's wedding! I have so much to tell and so many complaints about all the mishaps that occurred with our flight, but in this post, I'll be giving a short run through about the trip and the upcoming school year! 

C H I C A G O  T R I P:

8.13.14 Wednesday: Our flight was supposed to depart around 7pm Wednesday, but after 5 delays we finally reached Chi at 1:41am. Crazy right? Yeah, my next blog post will blow your mind.

My henna!

8.14.14 Thursday: By now, all the guests have been trickling in and settled in the hotel my aunt had booked for all of us. In the morning around 11am, we took a trip to the bride's house to eat brunch and deliver presents for her! At night, we had a small dinner at our hotel where the bride's family came and everyone showcased their personal gifts to give to the bride and groom. Prior to this dinner, the girls from the groom's family got our henna done! 

My sister-in-law and I at the brunch at the bride's house!

8.15.14 Friday: In the morning, both parties showed up at a local masjid where the nikkah (marriage by Islam) took place. This meant that the bride and groom were officially married! It was a very stretched out ceremony but nonetheless, filled with happiness. At night, a pre-wedding party took place which is called the mhendi (another name for henna). This is actually a Hindu ceremony, but our culture grasped it and for some reason felt it necessary to include this in religion. At the mhendi, people just dance and celebrate. Being a more conservative family, we left early.

The nikkah ceremony minus everyone.

8.16.14 Saturday: In the morning, we finally had NOTHING to do in terms of the wedding. Everybody decided to go sightseeing and do their own thing. We all had to be back at the hotel and be ready by 6pm for the actual wedding ceremony (even though they were already married). My family and I went to the Cloud Gate since Chicago was our previous home and we had seen almost everything already. At around 7pm, we finally left the hotel to go the venue. It was at the Bristol Palace, which was decorated wonderfully. The night was long and I was so happy to know that they had Nescafe instead of chai. During the entire week I probably drank around 50 cups of coffee/chai. This was also the night that all the cousins decided to stay up all night at the hotel and just hang out. We ended up staying up in the hotel lobby until 4:30am and by that time it was time for all of us to pray Fajr.

8.17.14 Sunday: In the morning, someone from the bride's family hosted a post-wedding brunch at the Hyatt Lodge on McDonald's campus (IT WAS SO WEIRD). The staff had "Hamburger University" badges on their shirts. It was so pretty there though! It was so quiet and beautiful - a much needed ending to such a loud and busy week. After the brunch, everybody pretty much headed out. My family's flight was with my aunt (the groom's mother) and it was scheduled to be at 8:50pm. Until 6pm, we chilled at the hotel and then headed out. What happened next is so ridiculous but long story short, our flight was cancelled due to no reason and we ended up staying another day in Chi. We left Monday afternoon and reached home at 11:30pm.

Hyatt Lodge @ McDonald's Campus

Although this past week was filled with mishaps, I'm so happy for the bride and groom and wish them the best! It was a week filled with joy and I was so happy for family to reunite :)

C O L L E G E  L I F E:

Alright so I begin college tomorrow! I'm a little nervous/excited because I'm not sure what to expect regarding the intensity of my classes, but I've been praying it won't be something that I can't handle. It's really weird to think, "I'm about to start the rest of my life tomorrow". College is so much more than going to school for another four to six years. It's about getting a degree to start the rest of your life. It's about gaining a new group of friends who share the same interests as you and who will stick with you. It's about beginning new again and dipping into the surface of what a non-sheltered life is. It's about finally being independent and taking your future into your own hands. Now that I'm in college, I can slowly feel myself maturing and becoming independent. In a nutshell, I'm super excited to get started working the education field. Inshallah (if God wills), I will be able to graduate in three years, with honors. That's my plan, and it will probably be one hell of a ride, but I'm going to do it. 

~Misbah

10 Travel Tips You Need for Your Next Trip

Hello everyone! As you may, or may not, know I will be traveling back home to Chicago in a few days! While packing for this trip, I've been met with so many challenges concerning how to fit everything in a carry-on and dealing with flight restrictions. After much trial and error and about 3 days of packing, I finally have everything stuffed in my suitcase and ready to go! Here are ten tips I found super useful to pack right and make it all fit!

Tip 1: Flatten out your clothes as much as you can, or roll.

I find flattening out your clothes the best way to save space. If you're traveling alone, I highly recommend stuffing your carry-on as much as you can since, typically, there are no weight restrictions on carry-on's! Don't waste extra money checking in a bag. If flattening out is not an option, or you're just not savvy at folding clothes, go ahead and roll your clothes! This will save you some space and will not wrinkle your clothes.

Tip 2: Place chargers in old glasses cases.

Woo glasses!

I don't know about you, but when I travel I bring all of my electronics. I need my iPad charger, laptop charger, and most importantly, my phone charger! I used to stuff all of these into a bag and place it in my carry-on, but they would get so tangled inside and it was just a mess. I have tons of old glasses cases because my family was blessed with imperfect vision. I stick the wire and the wall charger in them and bam! They save space and they don't get tangled. Plus, they're super organized.

Tip 3: Don't bring anything that's unnecessary.

This might just be the golden rule for any trip, but trust me, you probably do bring tons of unnecessary things. Don't bring your toothbrush/toothpaste! Hotels ALWAYS have toothbrushes and toothpaste you can use. Some even have mouthwash and floss. I never bring mine because it's just unsanitary. Don't take the entire bottle of contact solution/hair products especially if it's just a weekend trip. Don't bring your entire jewelry/makeup collection. Try to pick a few pieces of jewelry that fit with almost every outfit and wear them to the airport! It saves you the fear of them breaking. Also, I recommend buying small eyeshadow pallets that are in neutral colors so you won't have to bring every color out there. Bring one or two lipsticks, one eyeliner and maybe even some mascara. My BB cream that I use from Rimmel London is already travel friendly so try to pick up a smaller bottle of your foundation or BB cream.

P.S. if you'll be attending a wedding at your destination, do not follow this tip because girl, you need your entire jewelry/makeup collection and your closet to come with you.

Tip 4: Bring a large personal item.

I believe this was on sale for maybe $7? 

Okay so this tip is kind of cheating the system, but hey, they allow it. For travel, I don't bring my purse. I usually put my purse in my carry-on and my personal item becomes a small backpack I bought from Clarks. I place everything that doesn't fit inside my carry-on and other delicates into this bag. My jewelry, iPad, phone, wallet, and other just random small things go in it. I recommend buying a small backpack or larger purse to place everything else into. As long as it stows, it goes.

Tip 5: Put shoes in shower caps.

Honestly, I squish my shoes in by laying them on their side. They look like all nice due to pictures.

I'm a shoe addict. I have to have a different pair of shoes for every outfit and if you're like me, it becomes an issue. Packing shoes is not an easy task. I found that placing my shoes either together or individually into shower caps protects my clothes from getting dirty and it allows more leeway for me to stuff my shoes into smaller corners and nooks.

Tip 6: Layer your clothes to the airport.

When you're low on space, I highly recommend wearing some of the clothes you were going to pack, to the airport. For example, I packed two cardigans which were taking up quite a bit of space and I had packed my pajamas. To save space, I wear my pajamas to the airport with one of those cardigans and change into my nicer clothes when I land at my destination. I also wear the same thing when I come back home. This saves tons of space and honestly, who cares what you look like at the airport? It's the airport, not a fashion show.

Tip 7: Bring a book and some headphones.

Favorite book + representing Samsung

Long flights are THE WORST especially if you're sitting next to somebody who may be snoring or making odd noises. Personally, I've always sat with my sister on flights so I've never had a problem. However, that could change in the future! Either way, it's always a good idea to bring a good book or magazine. I also love to bring headphones for music and audio books! Plus, they block out most airplane noises.

Tip 8: Bring an empty water bottle! 

TSA has a rule against liquids higher than 3 fl oz. They never said I couldn't bring an empty water bottle to fill water with! So on my flight departing from Sea-Tac, a TSA agent kindly told us that they will let empty water bottles go through so you can fill it from a water station in the terminal. I find this so helpful because I drink water ALL THE TIME and I'm not about to pay for overpriced water at the airport or on my flight.

Tip 9: Buy a travel weigher.

A while back, my dad found this travel weigher thing at Kohl's. All you do is strap is onto your suitcase, lift, and it will tell you the weight in kilos and pounds. It's so helpful if you're like me and always worrying whether your checked baggage will be overweight or not (hehe overweight...).

Tip 10: Do not forget.

Last but not least, double and triple check that you have EVERYTHING. I forgot my facial moisturizer when I went to Vancouver and it was not okay. I always forget the tiniest thing when going on trips and it's the worst. I now use travel apps such as PackPoint to create a checklist so I will no longer forget and regret.

Hopefully these travel tips are helpful to at least one of you out there! Let's share travel tips together :D

~Misbah

Summer Hotspot for 2014

The day after I graduated, I left for vacation to the Northwest! This was the first time my family and I were going via flight on a vacation in the US and the first time we were traveling up to Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver, BC. Here's a few reasons why I recommend you go on a trip to the Northwest, because after all, #NorthwestIsBest :)


1. IT'S FRICKIN' BEAUTIFUL.

This was taken in Canada, on our drive to Vancouver. Mountains, plains, and low-lying clouds was the norm. It was truly a scenic drive up to the city! Since we went to BC our first day on our week-long trip, I thought this was gorgeous. Little had I known where I would be in a few days. 

2. It was the perfect weather. Perfect for my curly locks and dry skin. 

This was taken from Canada Place and I've never seen such beautiful clouds in my life. That day, everything was perfect and serene. There was this amazing aura of calm. I am one who loves clouds and tries to stay out of the sun and heat as much as possible. If you're like me, you will LOVE the northwest.

3. It's almost like heaven on earth.

Yeah, so this was breathtaking. This is named the Sunken Garden at Butchart Gardens. The gardens are located on Vancouver Island, near Victoria. We took BC Ferries to get to the island (which was awfully pricey for a round-trip with car). However, it was worth every penny because this was a sight to see. I highly recommend reading up on the history of the gardens. You will be shocked. 

4. There are volcanoes and the Cascade Mountain Range.....everywhere. 

The first picture is of me in the lava destruction path zone of Mount Ranier. Yes, we did go up to Paradise Point at 5000 ft and we would have gone further had the road not have been closed. And yes, I am not afraid to climb up these things. It was truly amazing to look down and see the Cascade Mountains. The second is of Mount Saint Helens from the Johnston's Ridge Observatory viewing deck. I honestly wish we had enough time to trek down into the valley, however, we didn't since night began to fall and the drive to the volcanoes are all filled with animals jumping around on the road. The last photograph is from the first viewing deck of Mount Saint Helens. You could see elk down there (I didn't see any though). 

5. You will conquer your fear of heights. 

All of the above are from the Capilano Suspension Bridge park. The first one is called the Cliff Edge Walk and it's exactly what it's called. You walk on the edge of a cliff and your are amongst 50 ft tall trees. The second and third are of the one and only Capilano Suspension Bridge. The bridge sways back and forth as you walk across it. You are suspended and you are so high you can touch the tops of some of the pine trees! My father and I are the only ones in our family who are not afraid of heights. This experience for my mother and sister was a bit much. It was fun though! 

6. You cannot get enough of the Oregon Coast.

All of the above were taken at Cannon Beach where the famous Haystack Rock sits. The reason so many people love Haystack Rock is not only because it's this giant bolder in the middle of a beach, but it was constructed entirely from volcanoes. In fact, the entire Oregon coast was! The tide pools and sea life are a must-see at Cannon Beach. When the tide is low, you can walk right up to a starfish and touch it! There are anemones and urchins as well. Also, let's not forget about the volcanic rock sitting everywhere. 

7.  The constant scenery will make you never want to leave.

The Columbia River Gorge tour with GreyLion Pink Bus is AMAZING. It takes you to multiple locations, including Multnomah Falls. 

8. Portland lives up to its weird vibe.

This is Pioneer Courthouse Square, one of the most normal places in Portland. However, Portland is never really normal that's why there is a punny Ikea advertisement along with a bunch of other oddities. 

9. Seattle is a gorgeous city.

Seattle is one of the best cities around mainly because of the food. The first photograph was taken atop the ferris wheel near the bay. The ferris wheel is similar to the London Eye in that it has individual pods for you and your family to sit back, relax, and enjoy the cold, cloudy, and mostly rainy city of Seattle. The second was taken atop the Space Needle. Honestly, the Space Needle was a waste of our money. It didn't feature much but a view of the city - a view that seemed much to familiar to us. Unless you've never been up in a skyscraper, ditch the Space Needle and save the money for eating. The last photograph was taken at a restaurant called Falafel King. We ordered the shawarma and my goodness, it was the best shawarma I've ever eaten. Right across from where we were sitting, was coincidentally the first Starbucks! This was located right in Pike Place Market, by the way.

10. You will never want to return home.

Our trip to the northwest was the best vacation we have ever taken. It even completed our "Travel Around the US" bit. We have officially traveled to every region of the US and hopefully we'll be able to go around the world soon! We took Alaska Airlines and when we were coming back, we witnessed Mount Rainier, poking out from the low-lying clouds. Beautiful isn't it?

Also, be sure to follow my adventure and all my pictures from this trip on Instagram using the hashtag #trekthenorthwest

~Misbah