I’ve had quite a busy week, friends.

Monday, I spoke at the World Affairs Council of Oregon on Muslim women and media activism. It was a wonderful crowd and I felt really positive about the presentation–so positive, in fact, that my cab driver asked me why I was in such a a good mood:

Me: “I just gave a great lecture!”

Cab driver: “Congratulations. What was your lecture on?”
Me: “Muslim women and media activism!”

Cab Driver: “Are you yourself a Muslim woman?”
Me: “Yes, I am!”

Cab Driver: “Well, you don’t act like a Muslim woman!”

Me: “What does a Muslim woman act like?”
Cab Driver: “Well…you don’t have an accent.”

Me: “That’s because I was born and raised here.”

We went on to have a very pleasant conversation about his 55-year-old girlfriend (he himself was a very sharp 79), and how he thought I was “just too smart to stay at the master’s level.”

I hope I gave that cab driver something to think about, and I hope he remembered me if he saw Rep. King’s hearings yesterday. While the hearings proved themselves to be a farce, I was heartened by all those who spoke out against them, especially those outside the Muslim community: Rep. Mike Honda, J-Street, Sen. Harry Reid, etc.

Meanwhile, I’d been battling an insane cold since Tuesday: coughing, phlegm, the whole nasty nine yards. Thankfully, that kept me away from the King hearings and the inevitable blood pressure issues that could ensue.

Unfortunately, it also kept me from dealing effectively with MMW’s server issues. The website has been down for about a week now because our servers have been malfunctioning. Our team has been working pretty hard on it, and I’m confident we’ll be back up and running by Monday, enshallah.

I think I’ll be back up and running by then, too.