stories

there is a beautiful man who works here...who has actually served in the Holy Land since 1979. the other day, a question popped into my head: since the building i work in used to be the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, and it has only had air conditioning since not that long ago, i figure it must have been extremely hot. i wondered what they wore. now, you only see House Members in suits, and i was sure that this was becuase of a policy mandate created when the Seat was relocated to the Arc. but what did they wear before. so i asked one of the people here who would have had first hand knowledge. i was regaled with stories for half an hour, hilarious and heart warming stories of this building. oh, and the House Members used to dress quite casually, even sandals. i mean it gets really hot here, especially if there is no air conditioning. of course, they dressed formally when they went to the Shrines or had appointments, make no doubt of this, but when they just had to work around the office they made sure they were comfortable. what a treasure of memories this man is! it was so wonderful, and humbling to hear of the conditions that worked and suffered in. right now, there are approximately 15 or 16 people working this building - there used to be 55 people serving in this building alone! incredible, simply incredible. roger white, apart from being a fabulous poet, was apparently quite the character too.

for those close to me, but far; an ode

gibran says that friends are "your needs answered...For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit." i felt compelled to take a moment to express my love and praise to those special, special individuals further from me than i wish them to be.

Accurate...anis, you know what i mean
Neopolitan
Is kind, soft, and funny
Saichiro...wishes he was a samurai, and will sometimes attack you to prove this

Eggcellent, beautiful friend
Laughter personified ;) (one more "l", and love her so so much)
Hammy
A brilliant lawyer
Minute by minute mindset

Loves kids
Energy...lots of it
Is a great singer and ami
Loves children (*notice the difference)
A spontaneous ruhi queen

Nederlander
A linguist to the max
Dancing fool
Is the biggest fliert in the world
My best bud

Shaadster
Hopes to marry someone that is _____ and _____
A true, sincere friend
Advice, lots of good advice
Doctora
Is a gtalk master

PHWOAR!!

so after a couple of questions that have come to me like "who the heck is that on your bulletin board in your office", i will take a moment to explain. the picture of the couple on the right is composed of Mr. Omeed Rameshni-Khamsi and Mrs. Kathryn Rameshni-Khamsi. Omeed held the position, before me, which i know have. he left a FANTASTIC legacy here. he improved the office dramatically, and i'm finding it hard to really keep up with his flury of accomplishments. he is, in short, a beautiful man. BUT he is nothing compared to his wife :). Kathryn is so intelligent and real...she really keeps Omeed in his place, whose head is just sort of everywhere most of the time. they are both wonderful, wonderful people and completely committed to the Faith.

the couple on the left is of Omeed's sister Amelia and her husband Shingo. There is only one word to describe these two: cool...EXTREMELY cool. they ooze it; from the way the dress to the way they carry themselves and interact with others. they even produced a cool baby. Shiori is beautiful and amazing...incredibly talented herself. if i had pictures of Amelia and Shingo's art work i would put it up. what an incredible family!

i had about a month with Omeed. it was a fun-filled learning experience, and he trained me quite well. we had one favorite game though which is worth mentioning. it was called XBC. because of the sensitive nature of this information, i cannot divulge the rules and concepts of this game. IF however, you ever find yourself in haifa, and stop by the office, we may just play a round or two.