Beautiful People, ISNA 2009, Washington DC Edition.

by HijabMan :: posted 5 July 09

Most of the time, I don’t like depending on other people. There are times, however, when sometimes you just need to call in a favor, and accept the help of those who offer it. This is most definitely true during my yearly stint at the Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) Yearly Convention— where I am currently in Washington DC, sitting in the thick of what people deem, “Club ISNA.” This just happens to be the nearest hotel lobby where all sorts of young people hang out till the wee hours of the morning doing all sorts of nutty things. It is both fascinating and refreshing to sit silently in the middle of this crowd after a long day of sales and performance.

This story begins 30 minutes outside of DC. I was riding along MD-295, when I realized I forgot a some very important signage for my sales booth. After a few short expletives muttered, I wondered how I could fix the situation.

Option #1. I drive back and forth from DC in the rented cargo van – roundtrip 5 hours.

Option #2. Find someone driving down from the northeast to go to my house and pickup the signs, using a key I have hidden somewhere.

Option #3. Forget About It

Option #4. Try to Re-create the signs (Nearly impossible with the time/resources I have).

I picked #2, and began calling around. After a few dead ends, I called Brunette. She explained that she took the train down from Massachusetts so the chances of her being able to exit the train and get signs in my apartment wouldn’t work. I wished her a lovely trip, and continued calling people. Five minutes later she called back. “My train stops in Philadelphia before going to Washington. We stop for 3 minutes. If you have someone bring the signs to me, I’ll get them.”

What. A. GENIUS. I called an old family friend, Sh., and offered him $30 dollars to go to my house, find the key using a hanger or something, retrieve the signs, and then meet Brunette at exactly 8:22 PM @ 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, so they could do a hand off. For the next three hours, I coordinated some txts between them. Brunette was riding in car 3, and she wouldn’t be able to leave the train.

From what I understand, at 8:22, Sh. tried to get downstairs to the platform at 30th street, and they wouldn’t let him. A phone call occurred Sh. and Brunette. The only way to make the hand-off was for Brunette to use the 3 minutes to run up some stairs, to get the signs, only she didn’t know where to go! She ran back and forth, while people gave her some confusing directions— and after pushing past dozens of people and getting the signs, she ran back down the stairs and caught the train to DC. Later on that evening, I picked up Brunette and the signs.

While that was happening, I was stuck in a line of cargo vans and SUVs next to the loading dock of the convention center waiting for my turn to unload. Sara & Abbas randomly joined me in the loading dock area for a quick chat. The only thing that would’ve made it better would be chai.

An hour or so later, L, arrived. She helped me set up part of my booth, and then we had a delicious gluten-free dinner. At dinner I
got a message from Sara. Some water spilled on some of my shirts, so she and Rima took them home and threw them in the dryer! Next, L. and I picked up Brunette from the train station, signs and all, and I head back to Baji’s house. She and her husband graciously offered a room in her house for me to sleep, despite it being such a late hour. There is no better feeling in the world than staying with a family after long, hard days. Smiling warmly at you even at midnight.

Half of ISNA is over now, and Sarah And Yasmeen are responsible for how my beautiful booth set-up as well as maintained. I am so unbelievably grateful for all these people that went out of their way for me to make my ISNA Booth a success. If there is anything I can ever do for you. Let me know. I’m game.

Thank you. I love you all more than words.

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1. baji at 5 July 09 :: #

   it’s always a pleasure to host you because you are so low-maintenance and kid-friendly. you know your way around the neighborhood. AND you give out cash – no questions asked! all excellent qualities in a friend. :D xoxoxo

2. Imran J Khan at 8 July 09 :: #

   hey salams,

   good meeting you, in DC. You ended up using the picture, great to see!