the burninator

she/her

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

Trying to tell people that I don't listen to country music is hard when I can't stop myself from singing every word to Boot Scootin' Boogie

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

I haven't watched that movie in at least 10 years but that is my instinctual reaction to even Life is a Highway

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

It's strange how without realizing it, I have categorized all songs as either good (featured in the Cheaper by the Dozen soundtrack) or bad (were not)

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

Guys I've peaked. I'm finally in my local birdwatching groupchat

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@emartys_party Lol I totally did that with our old vacuum

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

It should be illegal to switch audiobook narrorators in the middle of a series

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@emartys_party I just started a court of throns and roses but I just finished fourth wing and iron flame and holy tits

[e-jules @emartys_party]

STOP SENDING MAIL TO “mr and mrs HUSBANDS FULL NAME”!!!! I AM STILL A PERSON!! I STILL HAVE MY OWN FIRST NAME!!! STOP IT!!!

[Cincinnati 💔 @CincyProblems]

R.I.P. to Coney Island... End of an era. 🌊🛝

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@emartys_party It does not but I consider it a lead-in

[Sharmine Narwani @snarwani]

When I was young, I never really understood my parents insistence to only use olive oil imported from Palestine. It took a long time and a great distance in a process that was neither cheap nor convenient. The oil came in old beat-up containers that did not look appealing to me at all. In my head, if they wanted to support distant family back home, they could just send them money and save us and them a big hassle. We could just use the nice looking olive oil containers from the nearby store. Yet, this was never an option in our household. The only olive oil we used at home was from Palestine.

As I grew up and started a student part-time job, I worked with olive oil a little. I knew all about olive oil imported from Spain, Italy, and other countries. I knew which ones were better and more expensive. I also learned to tell, based on the pungent taste, which ones were extra virgin. I was tempted to use my employee discount to bring home one of the fancy bottles and use at our kitchen. I could not get myself to do it, and I did not exactly know why. I felt like it would be disrespectful to my parents even if it didn’t make sense to me. It did not feel right. It was not an option.

After living in Palestine for a year during the olive picking season, something changed. The olive picking season in Palestine is holy.

Palestinians relate to the weather based on how it would benefit or harm the olives. There is well-known unspoken rule about treating olive trees with respect. There is a day off from work just to pick olives. On public transportation, it is not unusual to hear someone on the phone telling their friend to stop by for their share of this year’s olive oil stored in what used to be a Coca-Cola or a liquor bottle. A driver will stop in the middle of the way to give his brother- in- law a jar of olives that are so close to one another that they start to crush showing their insides.

In Nablus, the owner of the Nabulsi soap factory takes pride in how picky he is about getting his olive oil. He insists on filling a cup to let me smell how authentic it is and smirks as he sees my diasporic facial expressions transform in appreciation of its strong smell running through all of my brain cells.

I started noticing how olive oil is an essential part of so many dishes. “Palestinians drink more olive oil than water” I would jokingly say and they would laugh in agreement. Olive oil is truly an everyday ritual.

They fantasize about its color when it’s fresh and remind me that it starts to change as it reacts with oxygen over time. They dip their bread into olive oil, just like that and without any additions, and enjoy it more than the sweetest of all foods. I can guarantee that every lunch invitation (عزومة) I received during the olive-picking season was a chance for my hosts to share their olive oil using Msakhan (a traditional Palestinian dish).

I now have a deeper understanding of the psychology behind the burning of olive trees by Israeli soldiers and why farmers moan at the scene as if they lost a loved one.

Wherever you are, if it’s accessible to you, make sure your olive oil is Palestinian. Your ancestors would want that.

-By Dima Seelawi

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

Bagpipe weddings rule

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

I love that if you pay a little extra you don't have to take your shoes off in public. But you do still have to watch a grown man walk barefoot!!! through security

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

Flying is cool because you can be hot, cold, sweaty, dehydrated, & have to pee all at once.
Bonus: you can make friends with the little old lady in the window seat

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@sammerhammer16 OMG you're already there?!! Also that is SO Ohio. There's literally no escaping it 😳

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

It is the Ohio existence to be in a small pub in Ireland and see someone in a Cincinnati Reds shirt

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@emartys_party Do it bc I'll feel bad if I tackle you in white

[the burninator @I_Have_Abs]

@golf4miami So tru