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The Evil Eye

June 17, 2010

About a year before Maya was born Ali and I ran into some really bad luck.  In the span of 1 month:

  • I sliced through my hand trying to cut an avocado in half. 
  • A week after tendon repair surgery on the aforementioned hand I caught a terrible stomach flu and proceeded to throw up for the first time in 12 years.  As a vomit-phobe this was a big deal to me, and despite being 27-years-old I obviously retreated back to my parent’s house. 
  • That was where Ali was headed the afternoon he got into a terrible car accident that totaled his car and sent him to the hospital in an ambulance with a broken foot and numerous other lacerations I believe included a burst artery. 
  • Since neither of us could drive at that point we moved into Ali’s parent’s house.  I thought we were safe but then Ali’s dad backed his car full speed into mine while it was innocently parked in the driveway, crushing the driver’s side door and ruining his bumper. 

So there we were, my hand in a cast and Ali’s leg in a cast.  He was hobbling around on crutches, and cuts, bruises, and vomit surrounded us.  In the span of 2 weeks we went from 2 cars to zero, and years later our auto insurance is still through the roof.  I think it is funny now how helpless we were for a while, with Ali’s uncle driving him to work when Ali finally got out of the hospital, and either my mom or dad driving me to work and then physical therapy for my hand.  But back then?  Not so funny.

I remember Ali’s mom saying that a “nazar” had been put on us.  Or in other words, the evil eye, a curse, or a jinx, stemming from someone who was envious or jealous.  I have never been a superstitious person but when Ali’s mom suggested a religious ceremony to get rid of the evil eye you better believe I jumped on it.  Better to be safe than sorry, right?

After that things slowly got back to normal, but I continue to wonder to this day who hated us SO much that they felt the need to put the evil eye on us.  And I’m getting a bit nervous because in the span of two weeks I smacked my toe so hard that the doctor doesn’t think my nail will ever recover, I didn’t get a job that I thought I was a shoe-in for, I still have a cold 5 days later, and Maya cannot master her flipping lowercase “j.”  Oh, and did I mention that for the second time in a year my car was rear ended and the person took off?

Will Maya ever master her lowercase "j?"

Maybe another religious ceremony is in order…

39 Comments leave one →
  1. tra permalink
    June 17, 2010 12:19 pm

    OH NO!!! that’s not a good 2 weeks! me thinks i need to see you next week to take away this hex! =D

    i’ve never had EXTREMELY bad luck…welll, not getting into ucla grad school proppelled me into the unknown! =(

  2. June 17, 2010 12:34 pm

    i have a tattoo that is supposed to ward off bad luck, i dont think it really works as i feel like im a walking target for bad stuff! lol

    one of these days she will get the lower case J.. my daughter could read chapter books before she could properly write a “p” or a “g”. she gets them mixed up allllllll the time

  3. June 17, 2010 12:45 pm

    You know, they say that when it rains it pours. Sorry to hear about the job, though. That rots. 😦

  4. Leah @ Why Deprive? permalink
    June 17, 2010 1:12 pm

    It seems like everything bad always happens at once.

    If it helps, Maya may have a rough time mastering her j’s but shes awesome when it comes to doing the dishes!! 🙂

  5. June 17, 2010 1:32 pm

    Here’s my take on it: you have one less toenail to attempt to paint, you were too good for that job anyway, Maya is just waiting to learn cursive, as no one prints anymore anyway and the cold (in combination with the toe thing) is a sign you should milk it for all it’s worth and see if you can’t get some sympathy from Ali and surrounding servants. If nothing else, maybe the dishes will once again get done.

    Hang in there!

  6. June 17, 2010 1:36 pm

    I’m sorry to hear you’re having such a bad 2 weeks Ameena. Hopefully things will turn around very soon.

    In Chinese tradition when we have lots of bad luck some people will try to turn the luck around with something good such as a wedding or birthday party. Since Maya and Zane’s wedding won’t be for another 20 years I guess religious ceremony it is then. Hope things get better soon dear.

  7. June 17, 2010 1:51 pm

    Your car was rear-ended for the SECOND time?! What the heck?! What happened with the toe nail? Yikes! Maya’s j’s look ok – you just need to use a mirror to read them. Hope things start going better soon!

  8. June 17, 2010 2:01 pm

    Oh wow… when it rains, it pours!

    Sorry to hear about all the recent unfortunate incidents… I think you need to call the in-laws for another ceremony…

  9. June 17, 2010 2:31 pm

    Isn’t it interesting how things like this happen? There is nothing more aggravating than a hand slice…I cut my thumb on a mandolin slicer earlier this year, and it took so long to recover! Typing was painful as well as every type of food preparation. But I sincerely hope that things begin to improve for you and your sweet family. I will be sending positive vibes your way!

  10. June 17, 2010 3:22 pm

    Wow, that was a bad month! I’m sorry to hear about your bad luck recently…I agree, maybe another ceremony is in order. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that your luck chanes! 😉

  11. June 17, 2010 4:12 pm

    Yikes! I will definitely keep you guys in my thoughts. No EVIL eyes allowed!

    I think Maya’s lower-case j’s are fine. I’ve seen some scary stuff in my days of teaching kindergarten…let me tell you. I hear high school isn’t much better. Comforting isn’t it?

  12. June 17, 2010 4:27 pm

    Aw, I hope things start to turn around for you. I definitely think her lowercase j’s could be a lot worse, too! At least there is improvement from the last post 😛
    Feel better soon!

  13. June 17, 2010 4:39 pm

    Yikes. That is a really crazy strain of bad luck… I guess I’ll stop complaining about the bad weather we’ve been having for a week straight, and be glad that I didn’t smack my toe or get rear ended =\… I find that when things get that bad for me, all I can do is laugh, really. Nonetheless, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to look into that religious ceremony thing again…

    And on a less serious note, I’m a complete vomit-phobe as well… I think it’s going to be like 15 years soon, and I’d like to make it another 15 at least!

  14. June 17, 2010 4:51 pm

    Oh no, I hope things get better soon. If it helps, I still have trouble writing a lowercase j. 🙂

  15. June 17, 2010 5:50 pm

    I have never been a believer of Nazar but some events in our life changed my thoughts about it too. However it is just a phase and it will pass off. I sincerely hope that everything be alright with ya’ll again!

  16. June 17, 2010 6:33 pm

    I think Maya’s lower case j is beautiful. 🙂
    Happy anniversary and hope the evil eye goes away! Whoever cast it on you was not being very nice!

  17. Med permalink
    June 17, 2010 6:50 pm

    Oh no! You got rear-ended!? Are you feeling ok? Sometimes after a car accident it seems like you are fine until a day or two later when the neck ache kicks in.
    I did not realize all those things around the time of Ali’s car accident happened in one month! I do believe in the evil eye a.k.a Haters, maybe because my mom has been talking about nazaar since I was little. The way I understood it is that other people don’t even have to feel hatred towards you, it is just them being envious or admiring something of yours and not thinking of it as a blessing from God. Such as someone telling you how beautiful your hair is without thinking “by the grace of God” and then next thing you know you go in for a regular trim and get your hair chopped off 😉 Or going to a party and having a lot of people admire your new dress, and the next day it gets ruined at the dry cleaner. So I guess the concept is that whoever puts the evil eye on you might not be doing it intentionally, but their envy creates negative energy around you.

  18. June 17, 2010 6:51 pm

    Oh my gosh that’s awful!! I’m glad you guys have come across more good luck over the last several years/months, etc.

  19. Michelle permalink
    June 17, 2010 10:04 pm

    I can not believe your luck! That is so awful. I am so sorry. I hope everything gets better and Maya can learn her J’s. For the longest time in the first grade I couldn’t get my j’s to go the right way. Just seven years later I was voted best penmenship, so don’t fret about it too much 😉

  20. June 17, 2010 11:15 pm

    Aww! The worst thing about bad things is that they tend to come in groups. Hope it gets better! It’ll only make you stronger. Or crazier. Same difference.

  21. June 18, 2010 4:12 am

    Hmmm… Maybe the Dr. is wrong? Maybe that job would’ve sucked? Maybe you are fighting off this cold so you won’t catch something worse later? Maybe Maya’s persistent backwards J’s will captivate the world of handwriting and change the English language forever?

    I believe in the evil eye, but I also believe in playing with perception. It’s easier to do when it’s not you though! 🙂 I hope you feel better soon! ❤

  22. June 18, 2010 5:13 am

    Oh my goodness, you have been through a LOT! Definitely get on that religous ceremony ASAP!!

  23. June 18, 2010 5:24 am

    OMG I too am a vomit phobe! There’s a name for people like us… it starts with an ‘e’, but I don’t remember what it is. I was sick last month for the first time in 7-8 years, so I SOOOO KNOW. Here’s hoping for a great rest of the month!!!!

  24. June 18, 2010 5:53 am

    I’m so sorry to hear you’re having such bad luck! I’m far from superstitious but if the religious ceremony seemed to work last time, I think it’s worth another shot. It can’t hurt, right?

    I think someone put the Evil Eye on me too..I guess we should stop pissing people off to a point that they want to hex us (if only we knew who it was…or what we did)

    In all seriousness though, at least you are not pregnant, vomiting, and bleeding from the hand. That sounds unpleasant to say the least. As bad as things seem right now, they always get better (your past experience is proof of that) so keep pushing through and I’m sure the cold will get better (rest and relaxation are key…let yourself have some down time!) and I’m positive that Maya will eventually get her lowercase J.

    Things can only go so wrong before they start to go right!

  25. June 18, 2010 6:49 am

    My husbands family are Indian and they believe in this Evil Eye thing too. I dont. That being said, I’m sorry things have been going a bit of a mess for you lately. I hope things turn soon.
    *kisses* HH

  26. June 18, 2010 7:48 am

    wow! hopefully this is only a sign that u will have a future roll of extreme good luck!?

    its weird because 7 years ago i broke a mirror and everyone said i will have 7 years of bad luck! now im not too supersticious but uno what? it has been 7 years of bad luck!! and for some reason now im back to good luck! .. so whether its true or not, at least those 7 years have passed..

    xoxo ❤
    hoping things turn around for you REALLY SOON!

  27. June 18, 2010 10:26 am

    AWAY, EVIL EYE, AWAY!!

    Firstly, your avocado slicing incident was really graphic in my mind and I’m sorry that such a lovely fruit was the centre of your horrid ordeal a year before Maya was born!

    While I can’t say I believe in magic and the stuff of breaking mirrors, I do understand and assure you that you are not alone–we all have periods of time where it seems like the world is against us. Well, I do, at least. But life is interesting like that… It forces us to grow in experience and in life! Sorry–I hope you don’t think I’m belittling your situation. I really hope things fare better for you soon. 🙂

    xo Aletheia

  28. highonhealthy permalink
    June 18, 2010 11:53 am

    Oh wow.. and I thought that I had bad luck! That’s insane. Yes, whoever was jealous of you was REALLY jealous.. I hope no one ever decides to put a curse on me. 😉

    Maya’s “j” doesn’t look that bad. I mean, at least we can tell it’s a “j”?

  29. June 18, 2010 1:30 pm

    Very familiar with the concept of “nazar” having heard it a bunch of times from my mother….I used to make fun of her but somehow it is sneaking into my vocabulary!!

  30. June 18, 2010 2:08 pm

    Holy cow, talk about bad luck! Hope things are looking up for you soon 🙂

  31. June 18, 2010 5:31 pm

    My favorite technique for warding off nazar? Paint a giant black mole on your baby. Second only to making said baby wear eyeliner. Do you think these two options work on adults and would you be willing to paint a giant mole on your face? 😉 If the nazar is for Maya (because she’s SO cute) painting a mole on her and photographing it would make for a hilarious picture for her wedding slideshow 🙂 Sending lots of positive vibes your way, friend! Things are bound to get better, mole or no mole 🙂

    • June 19, 2010 9:08 am

      Love the black kohl idea…and what about the black bracelet?

      It would make such a fabulous picture – you are so right!

  32. June 19, 2010 3:11 am

    I’ve never had so much bad luck all at one time! My bad luck usually comes in sporadic bursts.

    Maybe the letter “j” is a hint at who did it. The gods trying to clue you in…

  33. June 19, 2010 4:38 am

    What the heck?! The person who took off after demolishing your car rear…what a jerk! Gosh, it has not been a fine time for you….but I think a year before Maya, those times seem a bit worse than now, and you’ve survived that, so you will survive this, too. I don’t think anyone gave you the evil eye, but it’s just a hump in life that you have to overcome, as everyone do. I hope you get to slide past it soon to smoother paths!

  34. actorsdiet permalink
    June 19, 2010 8:01 am

    no no no! i don’t like hearing about all these bad things happening to you! hoping your luck will change soon…

  35. June 20, 2010 9:00 pm

    Crazy what can happen in the span of 2-weeks. I’ve had that happen to my car, too. I had just gotten off work. It just so happens that I packed my car on the street a little further than where I usually do. The hood of my car had looked like a tiny hill. Whatever truck or car had rear-ended it didn’t leave a note or nothing. Luckily my insurance covered it but in turn my premium went up. Grrr….

    I’m sending you some good vibes via the interweb. 🙂

  36. June 21, 2010 10:22 am

    I do believe in Nazar.. Do you guys burn Esfand for evil eye?

    Sorry to hear you have been having a rough couple days/weeks

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