Eid Report - Part 1

Hey yaars!

It's only mid-day and already I've got a tale of misfortune to begin my Eid!

After waking up at 7 AM (for the first time in like 2 months!), I managed to shave and make myself prim and proper for today. Upon my exit from the bathroom, my lovely mother managed to pour me a batch of dood-sehvia (cooked vermicelli mixed with half and half milk). It's a Pakistani tradition on Eid, and has been going on in my family for generations. Seeing as how tonight will be going against the grain in terms of culinary treats, I was relieved to see that some traditions still remain!

Upon enjoying the breakfast, it became painfully obvious that things were running late. And for once it WASN'T my fault! My brother took his sweet time bathing and fixing his hair! Because of him, we left at 9:15 with the goal of reaching the Toronto Congress Center by 10.

While driving on the 401 westboud, I was thanking my lucky stars that there was no jam throughout, and was counting the exits until Dixon Rd., where we would exit. RIGHT when we approach the exit (at 9:40), we saw a MASSIVE line up of cars stretching about 2KM going towards the Dixon/Martin Grove exit. I knew we were fucked.

Stuck on the exit ramp moving only a metre a minute, I managed to see way too many cars either trying to a)cut me off from the left, or b) try to drive on the shoulder to cut cars off at the front. After about 25 minutes of seeing this, I decided to get back on the 401 and head back home, as there was NO way we were going to make it with that line up!

Of course, upon getting off at the next exit, we managed to see signs to the Congress Center. We followed it and VOILA, the Congress Centre was right in front of us, with NO LINE UP! It seems all of the Ahmadiyyat community had the same directions, while not knowing that there was an alternate route! We quickly had to drop our mother off at the ladies hall (so she wouldnt have to walk the dreaded 30 steps). And while she managed to read her prayers, my brother and I had to sprint to make it during the middle of prayers. We made it during the first rukuu (essentially the half way point), and tried to blend in as best possible. I was just glad we didnt miss everything!

Our Missionary-in-charge for once gave a short and sweet speech, forgoing his typically long and drawn-out tales. Essentially the message was to not forget to be humble and pious during the rest of the year, and to remember those less fortunate than you at times other than Ramadan. We then all joined in silent prayer, where I must admit I managed to ask God to bless all my good friends and family with Health, Happiness, Peace, and Prosperity for being so good to me! I hope me mentioning this doesn't negate my good sentiment!

Upon completion of silent prayer, tradition dictates that we find family and friends and embrace them and say "Eid Mubarak" (a.k.a. Happy Eid to you). We saw NOBODY we knew in the whole hall. After arduously searching, me and the brother decided to go to look for the mom in the ladies' hall, in hopes of meeting someone along the way. We ended up meeting a few family friends, and of course found our mom with her best friend coming out of the ladies hall. Both our families embraced, my brother was noted for his big pimpin-style (which YOURS TRULY chose for him!), and headed our own ways.

Once again, there was a massive b-line for the exits, with a pack of cars trying to get out the same way. Of course for some reason your boy managed to trail a van going in the complete opposite direction, and managed to get out of there within seconds! Stupid ignorant suckers! I ended up reaching home within 20 minutes! I'm sure if I were to have taken the "typical" route, I would still be in line!

Well that's about it for part 1, I'm going to take a quick nap and get prepared for my Oriental food adventure later tonight. Stay Tuned...