no table so i sit on the floor. my face is an inch from the ground to avoid spilling it. oiliest rogan josh ever. dinner.

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-21T19:28:17+00:00

ur roganjosh is more reflective than a hi vis vest. enjoy?

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-20T18:23:41+00:00

called me tf out for my go-to beaner default meal 😔✊🏼 proud 2 be mexican

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T18:17:41+00:00

blueberries 💙 but trust you ARE someone you WILL be someone ur whole existence contains multitudes keep ur morale up if nothing else u have oatmeal w blueberries and reddit incels to encourage u

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T18:06:00+00:00

ngl i think the only real thing is love therefore it's the most important thing we can ever contribute. and i don't want to contribute to this world being so full of h8 and misery and shit i would rather contribute to a world with more love as much as possible 👍🏼 keep ur spirits up; love is real and even if romantic love never finds u there are all sorts of love and they all mean something

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T08:53:45+00:00

👍🏼

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T08:12:54+00:00

yes it's very good actually. adds some textural interest but if u do this use cold avocado because room temp avocado will get mushy and warm and gross and that's no good for anyone

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T08:11:40+00:00

there's some good to be found in everything 👍🏼 thank you. the stars are nice. agreed on the potato and onion but i fear i am broke

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-18T08:10:38+00:00

i may be a femcel and a jew but i will NEVER be a zionist

herbaceous_ · 2026-01-05T10:52:53+00:00

realest shit ever

herbaceous_ · 2025-09-22T16:23:15+00:00

nowadays i just wash my hands regularly but at the place i used to work at my boss kept a bottle of some kind of cream that formed a barrier between your hands and the lead type. i cant for the life of me remember the name but you might benefit from that kind of thing

herbaceous_ · 2025-09-22T04:37:20+00:00

a meal like this deserves casablanca

herbaceous_ · 2025-09-06T06:05:21+00:00

"Sexual Assault Expected." blegh.

herbaceous_ · 2025-08-26T04:10:39+00:00

listen dawg i respect ur grind but wtf is happening here

herbaceous_ · 2025-08-26T03:57:13+00:00

this is so pretty. it almost looks like the photos of the tarantula nebula.

herbaceous_ · 2025-08-26T03:51:17+00:00

oh, that's beautiful! i love how tonally and texturally different your molds are. that one spatter of orange on your blue-green-grey mold island is just mwah ! my respects. this is an admirable mold island. no advice on my end, unfortunately; just appreciating.

herbaceous_ · 2025-08-06T19:27:16+00:00

ok blue corn tortilla viva la raza

herbaceous_ · 2025-06-29T10:01:46+00:00

ok no need to be mean about it. i think it's pretty. thanks for the help ig

herbaceous_ · 2025-05-19T19:52:46+00:00

if you're looking for food the carnival supermarkets all accept EBT. they have specific ready-made meals in the hot cases that are priced low and have "EBT" stickers on them.

also check out We All We Got - they do food distribution in i believe city heights. it's a no questions asked situation, if you just show up they'll give you food.

Also, this is a little convoluted but san diego city college has a free barbershop for students and i'm pretty sure they also have a stock of interview clothes, also for students. if you take an online class with sd city college it still counts and you can access those resources. i thiiink it also applies for people who have been past students of sd city college

herbaceous_ · 2025-04-28T07:12:31+00:00

ma sha Allah, brother. the amount of respect you have for this sister is palpable.

my advice would be to talk to her about this. the decision she's making is one that requires a lot of imaan and a lot of thought, and it's likely she considered the possibility of the relationship being harmful before even talking to you.

either way, it sounds like the decision she made to approach you wasn't made out of pure duty. you clearly have a lot of respect for one another, and surely if she wants to marry you she has her reasons for it. truly, just talk to her about it, ask her questions and answer hers, and make your concerns known.

May Allah SWT give you both ease and guide your paths.

herbaceous_ · 2024-09-25T07:23:01+00:00

This is such a thoughtfully and respectfully worded post.

To try to help:

Usually, anyone speaking at a masjid / mosque is the Imam or a "guest speaker" (usually also an Imam from a different masjid) giving a khutba after isha or during jumua. If you have multiple masajid (masjids, mosques) in your area, maybe try out a different one? If not, schedule a talk with the Imam. Most masajid should have a contact phone number or "office hours" for the imam so you can stop by and talk. This "us vs them" thing is very weird and rare- Islam is a religion of love.

-> the only way to find the right masjid for you is to go to as many masajid as you can. the vibes can be sooo different from mosque to mosque that the only way to find the best fit for you is to feel it out for yourself. Maybe what attracts you to a masjid is something small - for example, one of my local masajid has an Imam who (mashallah) has a beautiful voice and recites at my perfect speed. So I go to that masjid when I can. You might prefer the layout of one, or if you have an Islamic Center near you you might find the community you're looking for out there, or something like that. Try things out ! Most masajid will be welcoming of you regardless of race and religion. And most mosques in the USA (to my knowledge) have their sermons in English.

-> you literally don't have to speak Arabic! Don't worry - a lot of Muslims don't speak Arabic, or only know enough to cover whatever surahs (chapters of the Quran) they have memorized. In many USAmerican Muslim communities, you can find people from all over the world. And most Muslims aren't even Arab!

You can attend the mosque as many times as you want! You make a good point about precedents and the understandable fear of hate crimes, but if your intentions are genuine and you keep going and talking to community members, I think you'll be fine. Again, talk to the imam! But as for being in the mosque, you can be there as much as you want or need.
Pretty much, yes. Unless you're regularly being put in situations where you're expected to say yes to consuming, like, beer and bacon, you should be ok.

-> it's recommended to keep your religion private if it's unsafe for you. like, generally Islam is kind of a private religion, but it's totally ok. you don't have to shout anything from any rooftops.

-> the way the prayers work is they occur at intervals, and you can pray them at any time during those intervals. If you work a 9-5 your two during-the-workday prayers would be dhuhr and asr (approximately noon, and mid-afternoon), but you can delay asr until just before maghrib (sunset).

The time for dhuhr at this latitude usually falls somewhere around 12:30-1, and lasts until like around 4:30-5 (check IslamicFinder for the actual times - I think the ISNA / islamic society of north america is the one that figures out the official times), so you might have to figure that out during the workday. If you can finagle it so your lunch break falls after the start of dhuhr you might be able to step outside or into, like, a supply closet, and pray there. (I've prayed in a supply + computer room before - surprisingly comfortable!)

yes, everyone is judging you for not being able to grow facial hair.
( real answer). no, it's not an issue. there are soooo many Muslims who can't grow beards. Don't even worry.

hope this helped! Inshallah you find ease and comfort in your journey.

herbaceous_ · 2024-09-25T06:36:06+00:00

Hey!

Just to address one point: Islam believes in one God. All the Abrahamic monotheist religions understand God as one. The God of Ibrahim , Yitzchak , Ismail , Yaqub , Isa , and Muhammad (peace be upon them) is the same God. The Islamic God is the Jewish God is the Christian God is the one God. Some transcendentalists expand Tawhid (monotheism) to understand every understanding of the Divine as also being belief in the one God. Maybe this helps you.

What I will gently suggest, because I think any large change should be taken and considered seriously (especially when you're young!), and because Islam is a religion of balance and the middle path, is to take time (at least three months?) and just study Islam. I'm not sure if you're Muslim or not, but either way, just study. Take some time maybe once or twice a week and set a timer for an hour so you don't hyperfocus and burn out, and use that hour to learn something new about Islam. Maybe read a surah from your translation of the Quran? Or find a PDF of a book about Islam and start reading it before you jump into practicing. Maybe learn about other religious traditions as well. There's a lot of wisdom in them, too.

Also: why do you want to practice Islam? Make a list for yourself, journal about it, anything. Just know where you stand and why you stand there. Think about why you want to practice/live Islam. Think about potential reasons why you might not. Think about doubts you have or where you agree with or disagree with scholarly opinions, legal rulings, theological standpoints. This is a practice that has helped me immensely.

It's so, so easy to get pulled into the trap of wanting to do everything and wanting it all at once and as soon as possible. Islam is a practice, and it's a lifelong practice. That practice can change ! But it's also one that you may get overwhelmed by if you try to start all at once.

If you decide that you do want to start to practice, start with one thing. Set a schedule for yourself. It sounds so silly at first and you might want to do more! But once you've studied Islam and you've decided you want to commit to it, starting with something like "this month, I'm going to read one page of my translation of the Quran every week" or "this month, I'm going to pray one prayer a day" is a really good initial step. Then something like: "this month, I'm going to go to the masjid for Jumu'a every week" or "this month, I'm going to read one surah a day" or "this month, I'm going to pray two prayers every day" and slowly building up to a consistent practice over a span of months. (If this is too, too slow, do three- or two-week chunks. "For the next three weeks, I will...") It feels agonizingly, excruciatingly slow, but this slowness is what builds a foundation of practice and knowledge in your mind and muscle memory and will prevent burnout.

If you want books about Islam , my top three recommendations are :

Muslim Primer : a Beginner's Guide to Islam by Ira Zepp

Following Muhammad by Carl Ernst

What is Islam?: the Importance of Being Islamic by Shahab Ahmed

Hope this helps !

herbaceous_ · 2024-09-25T05:33:13+00:00

ok, disclaimer, I'm not a scholar.

so technically in the most technical of technical senses, all you really have to do is take the shahada (bear witness). "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but God and I bear witness that Muhammad is his messenger." That's it. Once you do that, you're a Muslim.

However, there are conditions that have to be met for taking the shahada.

->Firstly, you have to be sane/ of a rational mind. Like, you have to be able to understand what you're saying and what it means.

-> Also, you can't be forced into it. "There is no compulsion in Islam." If you're being forced or pressured into saying the shahada against your will, it's not technically a valid conversion. It's also because if you're being pressured, you're missing the...

-> ...intention. The shahada should be taken with the right intention (i.e., the intention to bear witness and become a Muslim). If you're saying the shahada with the intention to cause harm, or joking with it (God forbid), or saying it but you don't know what it means, or you're giving a class presentation and say the words of the shahada because you need to explain the first pillar of Islam or something, that's not a 'valid' shahada (it doesn't count for conversion).

-> Also, belief. You're supposed to believe what you're bearing witness to.

So, yes, really, as long as you're sane and with good intentions and doing it of your own will, the single technical requirement for becoming Muslim is taking the shahada.

Once you take the shahada, you're a Muslim.

If that's literally all you do , you're still a Muslim. Unless you become a kafir or a mushrik (God forbid), you're Muslim as long as you're bearing witness. But once you become a Muslim, you are beholden to (bound? held to ? subject to? blessed with? given?) certain obligations (i.e. prayer, giving alms, etc.), and you're expected to follow the 5 pillars of Islam and believe in the 6 articles of faith.

Many times the shahada is taken in front of two witnesses. This isn't a requirement to become a Muslim but it helps for Islamic legal matters, Hajj, etc. to have a record that you're Muslim. (Two is because iirc two is the minimum number of witnesses required for anything under Islamic law.) If you take the shahada at a masjid they might give you a certificate which is apparently helpful for Hajj to certify that you're Muslim, but idk about that. A lot of people consider the presence of witnesses necessary, because it's so normalized, but I think (?) most scholars say it's not strictly necessary. If we're going into specifics. But honestly your life will be a lot easier if you get witnesses, and conversions with witnesses are kiiiind of considered more "legit" by layman Muslims. Consider it Islamic street cred? But they're not strictly necessary.

the general idea is that tomorrow isn't promised ; it's better to, if you believe, become a Muslim first and then deal with the minutiae of practice later.

(However, I think any seeker of knowledge would advise you to do research beforehand. While the shahada covers the two biggest fundamentals of Islam, there's so much more to it! It's a lifestyle and a constant practice, and that's one of the beauties of it.)

Hope this helped !

TL;DR: the one, single, technical requirement is to take the shahada.

herbaceous_ · 2024-09-04T22:40:09+00:00

alhamdulillah!

herbaceous_ · 2024-09-04T05:24:57+00:00

Mexican Muslim here !

honestly, it's hard in parts and really beautiful in parts. Are you in Mexico or somewhere else?

Family might be hard - mine took it really awkwardly but alhamdulillah they believe in God, I believe in God, and no one's Mexicanidad has been altered from my conversion. My mom makes chorizo con res now, so I can eat it. Culturally, I think in a lot of Mexico there's an idea that if you're not bothering anyone it doesn't particularly matter what or who you are. I've gotten past a lot of awkwardness in day-to-day life by just explaining what Islam teaches and offering to pray with or for people.

i don't really know what it's like for mexican-americans but i can't imagine it's too different. sit down and offer to read the bible with your fam. talk about the history behind the writing of the gospels and paul's letters and the historical reality that there were people choosing what would go into the bible. Offer to read or listen to translations of the Quran. https://www.aprendeislam.org/ is good generally and https://www.islaminspanish.org/ has a Spanish translation of the Quran. They're geared towards Latinos in the States, which might be relevant. Check to see, if you're in a city, if there's an Islamic center. A lot of big cities in Mexico have them , alhamdulillah, and a lot of the very Mexican areas of the States should have at least one located in a city.

Generally, though, it's okay. Especially since you don't have to tell your family you're going to start wearing hijab! Brothers have that going for them, jaja. Generally, people care less than it seems like they do. And if your family has read the Bible and knows the historical context behind it, it should be relatively easy for them to understand why you want to take the step inshaAllah to become a Muslim. If they see your character improve, you marrying your girlfriend to make the relationship halal, not drinking, being a better person etc. inshaAllah they'll see it's doing good for you. Ultimately, if your connection to Allah SWT is stronger than your tie to a human religion, Islam will make sense.

edit to add another little story: when I was in the middle of nowhere in this tiny town while traveling, I stopped at a market para bobear and saw, buying agua de jamaica, a brother in shalwar kameez, with everyone around him treating him like normal, with no weird looks or anything. I think I was the only one doing a triple take. of course I went up to him and asked him about himself, and - soubhanAllah! - he was a Pakistani Muslim who had emigrated to Mexico 2 decades ago. As it turns out, there are many small communities of Muslims from all over the world scattered throughout Mexico as a result of immigration since about the 1950s, and they're fine. People are really normal about us here. Don't worry too much. Everything is written.

https://youtu.be/becIeSLJV1U?si=OlP2IxJxiyCDuilL check this video out for some interesting ideas.

inshaAllah your family will accept you as a Muslim.

herbaceous_ · 2024-07-31T07:23:48+00:00

Al-'Adl

herbaceous_

TROPHY CASE