I got my driving license

Martin called a friend last night and asked him to bring his car for my today's driving test. We went to the driving test center today in the morning. The officer was a black woman who was laughing all the time. I was not in the mood today as I couldn't sleep after my morning prayer. I was shocked about yesterday's accident, and I was reviewing the entire accident moments to figure out what happened last night. In this condition, I took my driving test, and I passed it. I was not good with my parallel parking, but I could pass the test. She asked me to keep more distances from the vehicles that were parked next to the road. There was no other problem with my driving.

Talking to Ella after that accident

ME: "Hi Ella. Unfortunately, I can't give my car to you for this week."
Ella: "No problem. I can go by bus."
Me: "I was willing to do that, but we had an accident today, and I need to fix it first."
Ella: "Oh, what happened? Anybody injured?"
Me: "Nothing important. It was an accident. Nobody injured, but the car is not operable any longer."
Ella: "I am sorry for that. Thank god that you are healthy."
...
I hung up the phone, and I cried after that. This car was useful from the first day that I bought it. It doesn't deserve it. I was careless for a moment, and I didn't paid attention to the road signs, and it happened. I should have taken care of this car better.

A car crash - first experience in my life

I and Martin, Justin and their wives went to the driving test center today to practice parallel parking. Someone shot someone else in the Walmart near there, so the police asked everyone to leave that place. Then we went to a lake near that place, and a park after that.

I decided to show some other parts of the city to my friends  suddenly a car hit my car. I was crossing a cross road slowly that a car hit the side of my car, and the car turned and went to a column near the road. He took off the car and said you didn't stop on the stop sign, so you were caused it, and I have witnesses about what happened. I couldn't say anything.

He didn't hit the break at all. He was driving fast, and didn't stop. He could easily prevent this accident, but he didn't. Nothing happened to his car, but my car crashed badly. I have insurance, but I need to pay lots of money out of my pocket to fix the car, and my insurance rate will go high after this accident. I felt scared about the people who were in my car. Martin's wife, and her little daughter could hurt. Hopefully, nobody injured, but I didn't want this to happen. Martin's wife said, "Our day ruined, why this is happened?"



The police officer said that it was not safe to drive the car, so I paid for a truck to tow my car to my home. A friend of mine brought Martin and others with his car to their homes. When I came back home, I felt very sad. It was my mistake. I should have stopped before that sign, but I didn't see that sign. In fact, I was driving very very slowly maybe about 10mph, so, I didn't expect anything to happen. I just wanted to be alone, but Martin came to my home, and we went to Justin's house. I didn't want to join them, but they insisted a lot. I thought that it might be rude to not to go there. His wife cooked something for dinner. They also called some friends and asked about the rules about a car crash, and their previous experiences.



I wanted to take the test with my own car, but it is impossible since it should be fixed first. It was my first accident ever. I watched this Taylor's movie tonight to forget things that happened.

Iftar at Martin's house again

I went to Martin's house again for Iftar. His wife cooked Shami kebab this time. She also cooked some Zlebia that was awesome.

ALDI store

We went to ALDI store after that because they found some good offers in that. Some prices were lower than Walmart. For example, we buy one gallon milk for 2.79$ at Walmart, and it was 1.99$ in ALDI. The catch was ALDI doesn't take credit cards.

We went for driving test today, but ...

We went to the driving test center today. It was a rainy day, and I couldn't believe that I was going to take the test in this weather conditions. I didn't have an appointment for today, and the officer told me that it was impossible to change my appointment. Martin and Justin took their knowledge tests there. Then, the officer told Martin that there are two positions available on Monday. I took one, and Martin took the other. We need to go back on Monday for the driving test.

Feeling weird about marring an American woman

We went to Iftar last night. I met a university professor, and his American wife, and their American girls there. He was a well-known person in the Iranian community. He talked about Rumi and about fasting in Ramadan. He had selected some poems from Masnavi related to the fasting, and talked about it. He said, "According to a research, more than 80% of Muslim people in the world are fasting in Ramadan. (Excluding Iran, South Arabia and Afghanistan"

He talked about these things, but I was thinking about his family. "His wife is very beautiful. They have a very adorable daughter. They seem to live a very happy life. But it seems that his wife can't understand even a single word of his speech. It seems that she lived in a different world. What about their daughter? She is young and beautiful, but does she understand anything about these subjects? Is it a kind of family that I am looking for? Maybe I couldn't find a girl as beautiful as her wife, or I couldn't have an adorable daughter like theirs, but if I had, is it what I want?" I thought to myself, but I had no answers.

I said goodbye to her once I was going to leave there. "Happy Ramadan" she said. "Happy Ramadan" I said, but I had lots of questions in my mind.

I bought a printer

I bought a laser printer this time from Criagslist website. It was very cheap and only 50$. I could find a new one with the same model for 300$. Ella gave me a ride with my car to their place. She was a good driver. She told me that she drove her car for many years in a crowded city like Tehran. Once I saw the printer, I freaked out. I was twice as bigger as what I imagined.

The seller was an Indian man who was living in a large house. They don't walk with their shoes on the carpet. It was amazing for me. The room was crowded with many stuffs. When I brought it home, I figured out that it was broken. I think that it was the reason that he wanted to sell it, but he didn't tell me anything about the problem. Hopefully, I found the problem, and I fixed it.

One day in Park with Justin and Martin and their wives

I have my car for the weekend. Since Martin and Justin don't have a car, I wanted to give them a ride, and brought them to a park near our home. We went there, and it was a beautiful place. I ate my Iftar there.

The moon was awesome tonight.

Airbnb website

I found another website called Airbnb. This sounds to be the same as couchsurfing, but it is not free. You will pay for the room you get. It is not as comfortable as a hotel room, but for those who need a place to sleep, it could be a good option. I got a room here for nine days for 28$ each night in LA near Hollywood. There was no hotel less than 90$ per night in that area. 

I will go to L.A.

I will go to Los Angeles this August. It is the first time that I am going to go to a long travel. I will go LA for 9 days, and I will go to San Diego for 5 days. I feel really tired, and I need some rest. I hope that this travel helps me to recover from tiredness.

My research

I started to work on my research project finally this week. They showed me a demo of their application, and I think that I can do all they did during these three year in four months with better quality. I know how can I do this project with the best possible way. The negative point is that it is not really a research project. I just need to do something that I could do for the industry. I hope to do a real research in the near future after completing this platform.

I figured out last week that the professor has not registered for XPrize yet. I expected to work on a real competition. He had told me that they had registered, but they had only pre-registered for it. They were not even sure about participating there. It was a kind of heart-break for me.

Ramadan here

It is my first Ramadan in the US. It sounds that nothing is different here. No one fast, no one even care. I was willing to have take advantage of this month, but I couldn't. The only good thing that happened was yesterday morning of that accident. I expected more from myself, but I was lazy. My mom went to Mahhad, but I can't go anywhere. Every year I promise to myself to have pray more in this month, but I can't. My feeling was strange here. I could feel the month, but I couldn't feel that people around me care about it. 

Hostelworld.com

I decided to try Hostels for the first time in my life. I always used to get a hotel room, but the only thing I need is a place to sleep. So, I booked a hostel room for my San Diego stay from Hostelworld.com website. I could find another private room in Airbnb website for the same price, but I decided to experience something new. I hope it to be a good experience. Maybe I could meet someone new there. However, I will spend my time with my friend and his wife who come to the US to enroll in UCSD.

couchsurfing website

Since I am a student, I can't afford expensive hotel costs. I decided to find cheaper travel options. Henry suggested me to find a place from couchsurfing.org website. People offer their extra rooms for travelers for free in this website. They expect to get a room if any in traveler's house once they want to visit their town. I found some places in LA, and I contacted someone, but I got no answer. 

Iftar in Martin's house

Martin invited me for Iftar in his house twice. Her wife had cooked some Persian foods. I played with their daughter after eating my Iftar. It was Ramadan, and I got lots of invitation for Iftar more than anytime. She also had cooked Zlebia that I didn't expect it. Thanks guys.

Letters and painting from my children

I received lots of letters from my children today, and I felt very happy. I specially liked my American girl's letter as I haven't heard about her for a while.

These are from my American girl:

And these are from my American boy:

Iftar in our university

Our university had a special program for Iftar last night. Justin called me, and informed me about it. We went there together. There were lots of delicious Mediterranean food there. I also called Henry to join us. I liked it.

Iftar with Ella and Henry

Ella came to get my car. She told me to join them for Iftar in Henry's family. I thought that it might be a great idea to spend a night with some friends. I went with her and we had an amazing night. I bought some special confection, and Doogh that was very rare in the US, and I brought it there.

Ella cooked some Persian foods, and we ate them together. After that, we came to a beautiful area near Henry's house, and we drank tee. It was a great night in Ramadan.

Visiting a Persian store

Justin suggested to go to a Persian store near us today. We went there, and it was kind of awesome.

There were lots of Persian foods, and raw materials for cooking. For the first time in the US, I found Doogh, and Zlebia, a special confection for Ramadan. It was the best thing that happened there. I always wanted to have it in Ramadan. Although they were expensive, I bought it.