TARGET dressing rooms have rocking red walls, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.
Last June, my buddy A left me a voicemessage late one night after having watched the film, Paris je t’aime, which actually consists of eighteen short films by 21 directors, each of the stories taking place in different arrondissements (municipal boroughs) of Paris. Walking home through downtown San Jose, he talked into the phone about the short film with the Muslim girl – she trips and falls, her headscarf flies off, and a nice young guy runs over to assist her. “He tries to help her put her hijab back on, but he wraps it around her head like a bandanna.” Retelling the story, A started laughing. “Yaz, if your hijab fell off, I don’t think I would ever be able to help you. Probably, no one would.”
Listening to A’s voicemessage later, I laughed, too. And replayed the message a few times. And retold the story to several friends. My coworker-in-crime, B, pointed out, “Yasmine, your hijab’s pinned so tightly, I don’t think that thing could EVER fall off.” I ending up watching Paris je t’aime three times – once with A, the second time with N and AyeshaZ and B, and finally just last week with my sister, who had heard me mention this film often over the past year. Every single time, I have laughed my way through the short film about the Muslim girl and her hijab.
B is right – my hijab is its own free-standing structure. It has stayed put through running and rain storms and lecture-hall naps while slumped in my seat and roller-coaster rides at amusement parks and hiking (and hitchhikes) and skipping down the street and crackstar nieces crawling all over me while bombarding me with their botanical carnage.
HijabMan has harassed me for a long time about collaborating on a headwrap-how-to video. We briefly talked about it over IM during the last year or two, and in Philadelphia and DC in July, and in Chicago in August. I just kind of nodded along vaguely. “Yeah, okay, sounds like a plan.” But when I was stranded in Philadelphia for the night last December, on the way to DC after Ottawa, HMan and I hung out with his friends, then pulled J into being my model for a headwrapping session.
I was drunk off boulani and gelato and the incredibly rich drinking-chocolate from Naked Chocolate Cafe, apparently the best dessert place in Philly, J off her bowlful of chocolate chip cookies & milk; HMan was his usual hyperactive self. It made perfect sense to create videos past midnight. I was groggy and tired from what had been a sh*tty day of travel involving many expletives, but when rockstars come along and pick you up from the airport and take you out to dinner and made you laugh and open up their homes to you, you too would do whatever they want you to.
So, the headwrapping video that came out of that night is sort of a thank-you to HMan and Philadelphia for their rockstar hospitality and open-hearted lowve. It’s also a thank-you to every single person who ever stopped me and asked with genuine curiosity, “How do you do your hijab like that?” I’m honored they took the time to ask. The question came up at an ice cream shop in Washington, DC, last summer; at a conference in Chicago last October and at December hanging-out sessions in Ottawa and Toronto; and at a friend’s wedding just last week. Not to mention the grocery store, the sidewalk outside my workplace, places I stop by for lunch, and all kinds of events and gatherings I attend, as well as questions on flickr and facebook. Since I’m pretty ridiculous about properly responding to compliments or any sort of warm comments regarding the way I dress, I usually just laugh a bit and shuffle my feet a little and toss off my twenty-second explanation of how the headwrap stays in place. Then, I smile brightly and run away, usually to find food.
This, in contrast, is a much better explanation. HMan has posted the video HERE. Check it out:
I’ve already watched it about three times because:
1. I’m surprised I managed a pretty smooth explanation while doing J’s headwrap. Multitasking is usually not my forte, and the fact that I spent six minutes explaining headwrapping techniques while actually implementing them on someone else is slightly mind-boggling.
2. All the references to “stabbing” amuse me. J was so patient with me. I would have been freaked out if someone kept wielding safety pins near my head and cackling gleefully about stabbing.
3. My laugh makes me laugh.
4. My favorite part is my verbal smackdown of HMan.
Highfive to HMan’s camerawork!
Let us know what you think.
PS: If my hijab ever fell off, I now hope you would know how to help me with it, if necessary.
yay, the wait is over! great job. i too love the reprimand in response to hyperman attempt at attention-getting. HEE!
Thanks, Baji!
Yep, this is my favorite bit: “Stop with your random ad-libbing. THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU.” hahaha
“Hyperman” is such a rocking nickname. I think we should use that on him from now on. Highfive!
hee hee, something to add to the FAVORITE crackhead references and inside jokes list!
http://sweepthesun.com/2005/02/17/see-im-all-about-them-words/
Aps, next time you watch it count how many times you use the phrase, “so basically…” HAHA I love it! =)
Baji,
Thanks for those crackstar connections!
Bean,
Oh, man. So basicallyyyyy… =)
Note – Conversation with HMan from December, soon after I had returned home to CA:
me: also, send me a copy of that headwrap wideo. i want to see how that went
HMan: you’ll see it when it goes on youtube!
me: okay, fine fine
as long as my face isn’t in there
HMan: don’t worry, yaar
you are just as anal as me
i always say:
“TOP SECRET, OKAY?”
and you always say:
“NONE OF MY FACE, OKAY?”
me: HAHAHA
yep, those are pretty much our lines
we’re pretty predictable
I lowve this wideo because HM did such a rocking job keeping the camera off my face, for the most part. I’d rather have my voice up on YouTube, than my face. =)
I have analyzed your voice and figured out your true identity. Your name is Bo Jangles and you live at 222 Wrapthatassup Terrace. I AM COMING TO STALK YOOOOOOU
hahahha like I always say, when it rains, it pours! two updates in one day!! i’m so proud :) and since it’s extremely past my bed time, i am only commenting on this post, although i read both of them. The internet search comments on the other post cracked me up hehe and i guess right now is a good time to tell you my deep dark secret: i’ve googled you before. bwahahah! i dont think i came up with anything juicy though…unfortunately! haha
I should keep my big mouth shut :)
ahahhaa – its AWESOME! and aww, it makes me miss you!
and as i said on fb.. my fave part is also the “THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU” comment =)
wonderful! and she did look stylish afterwards!
i knew you liked paris je t’aime, but didn’t realize how much until now. also, and i’ve mentioned this already, but awesome video, yaaar!
Love this! Now…off to check out “Paris, je t’aime…” :)
This video is a work of art! :) I do love your style of hijab–it is quite unique if I do say so myself. I do not see many girls at all, if any, wearing it as you do!
Four Stars!!! To big thumbs wayyyyy up :) And you are realllllly cute :) I could tell :)
Ya Haqq!
yOU;RE back!!!!!!!!!!!
iI’m so excited I even misspelled.
i made her come back. its all my doing. i deserve all the credit. yay. okay nevermind.
finally dude, finally you updated!
Thankgoodness I was busy playing hostess with my out of town friends otherwise I could have turned into a wreck , if I believed you email that you are updating soon. ;)
Dude, i am HELLA amused by this update- I feel more learned and empowered over scarfs. I have to try this. AS much as i LOVED your verbal smackdown of HYPERman, I have to give him credit for asking very intelligent and smart questions about length and type of hijab. See they make a lot of difference for extremely slow people like me.
three cheers for Yaz and hijabman :)
seriously ROCKSTARS!
“Im-port-tant”
This is like how hijabi’s do stuff like French-braiding.
this is the best thankyou speech, EVER.
Watched the lesson through and thank you, this New Zealander could probably wind a hijab in an emergency :)
umm…even after watching the informative video, i have realized that it’s just easier for you or your sister to personally tie/wrap/magic my headwrap whenever it strikes my fancy. thaaaanks!
Yasmine, what camera are you using for your pictures? There’s some major color going on in them! Would love to be able to get pics like that!
hehehehehhehehe love the video, woman! That’s hilarious, and done so nicely, i shant deny!! :P So I’ve tried the headwrap method before, but never out, because no word of a lie, I think I look like a tough jamaican woman with a really thick accent that will threaten to beat you if you step on her lawn, or something.
hahahah it looks great on qamer and mahwash though! I just can’t pull it off!! Me gon’ terrarize ya bee-hind if you step ova on me lawn buay!
Salaam! hello from Singapore. been reading your blog for 2 years now, and i’ve always wondering how that hijab on you was always done. rarely do you see such hijab worn over here. GREAT VIDEO!!! i didn’t think it was SOOOOOOOOOO easy! =)
ma’as salamah!
*goes off trying*
That is some lovely hijab-wrapping there. Never could quite get the hang of it…
Super cool, looks so funky and colorful. I can never get it to stick where it should, I think I move my head too much.
I like this piece you wrote, very funny. But I wonder, what’s a crackstar niece?