I have received congratulations over the last week more than I have received in my entire life, from the close relatives around me to all the friends spread around the globe who flooded my facebook page with their congratulations for my "engagement". The day of the "tolbeh" was last Friday which was pretty busy as I had to wake up early to go and pick KJ who was coming from Dubai and was staying in my house. We went and watched an ex-blogger's baseball game who has become more serious, especially after he got hitched. It made me think a bit of how much will life burden me with its endless commitments and whether I'll be able to keep my spiritual young spirit or not. As we were in the mood for an exquisite delicacy for lunch, we hit "shahrazad" in downtown and sat to eat from their famous "3arayes", a meal that was too heavy and left my body agitated and my mind handicapped. By the time I got home, I was too cold and tired that I thought that the best way to shake this off is by taking a nap. I woke up 15 minutes before my actual meeting for reading the fat7a. my mind was still recovering as it was set on "auto-pilot" and tucked myself in my navy blue suit. I was the last one to get into the car and my body was still trembling from the chilly weather rather than stressful situation. We were three cars when we arrived at their house. I realized that we had my grandparents, my uncle and my aunt (who I see for the first time since I arrived to Jordan). I went and greeted them and without any further introduction, we rang the bell and we went in. I scanned my surroundings. Parents –check. Grandparents –check. And then an unfamiliar face. I noted to myself that I need to investigate more and I was hoping he is not the guy I have in mind. My grandfather started with his quiet voice making the official proposal in the form of a speech , which was welcomed by her grandfather. Upon the agreement of both parties, we had to follow the tradition of drinking the coffee… Wait a minute…I have to drink the coffee? As her brother got near to me, I start communicating to him with the silent language similar to that scene in "how I met your mother". I tell him not to pour me coffee, and he nods with his eyes "oh yea, you have to drink the coffee". So as everyone raised their cup to drink their coffee, I raised mine, looked at the dark liquid simmering the cup and placed my lip at the cup and raised my hand at the same proportion I raised my head. I am fine as long as my mouth didn't have to make any contact with it. After reading the fat7a and had few moments of silence, my grandpa started. "sob7an Allah how Amman changed over the last 100 years, Back in 1920, when I used to work in Landscaping…", oh here we go, my grandpa went on to narrate for us a story that I've heard over 10 times about how he was asked by Government to divide the lands among the citizens of Jordan who did not understand why he was doing that and how the circassians have put a bounty on his head before he fled to Syria. During that time, I felt I was being studied by the "unfamiliar face" I referred to earlier. He is sitting still studying every detail of me with the only thing moving is his thumb that touches the pebbles of his rosary that never seemed to finish. Other than my cheesy smile, I couldn't make eye contact for more than 10 seconds. I noticed how he knelt down and whispered to my fiance's brother something in which the brother said my last name. 10 minutes later, he whispers something and my hometown is mentioned. After each response, I notice how he nods at me as if I have passed the required checklist. In my head, my doubts were confirmed. He was definitely the protective uncle who have spoilt her since she was a kid and he is the one who is going to be very picky especially after he realizes that a stranger is taking her away. His feelings were the least of my worries. What concerns me is the fact that he is going to be the guy who will definitely kick my ass if I ever fight with my fiancé or hurt her. When my grandpa reached the time where he was being shortlisted by the University of Damascus for studying dentistry, I got called by the ladies. The excuse was to supposedly get introduced to them. I knew deep down inside of me that the true motive was for me to sit still and be amused at like an ancient statue in a museum. Sitting in the center and in front of 6 women whose eyes are fixated on me with no words spoken, whose hands sat comfortably over each other over their chests were enough to catalyze a chain reaction that reached its prime in my face that felt like an exploding sun that radiated its surroundings with the heat of my blush. My aunt was looking straight at me and made things worse as her hyperness made her whisper for me to get closer to my fiancé. My misery was over when the discussion was somehow shifted to Turkish Series. Thankfully, i know what I am getting myself into. I know what should I expect and I am ready for that. One thing that I didn't anticipate is how frequent will I have moments like the time I was changing sim cards for 3 phones and my dad passed by me and said: "baba, why are you changing the cards in darkness? Turn on the light so that you can see better" My uncle shouts from the end of the room…"leave him alone, the guy is getting married, he needs to learn to see in darkness. HAHAHAHA" Ba$t**ds
The Beginning
Burj "Dubai"..What's next?
4th of January 2010 was a special day. Not only for Dubai, but for UAE in general. Many of us, who were unfortunate to join the masses in celebration of opening the tallest tower in Dubai, were glued to their TVs and were thrilled with the opening ceremony, especially with the fireworks that enlightened the tower. However, The fireworks were not the only surprise we saw. First, we were all taken by surprise when we saw Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum declare in his opening statement the new name of "Burj Khalifa". If you saw the opening statement, the Sheikh looked a bit startled. I don't know if he was thrilled for the significance of the event or is it because of the announcement he had to make of renaming the tower. Was it like the surrender and giving away one of Dubai's unique babies as a gift to the Government for its continuous support (through Abu Dhabi) especially in its bail out when Dubai were faced with the Dubai World Restructuring minor hiccup? On the other hand, offering the name might have been a sincere gift to show the unity and the synergy among all the emirates who cooperate rather than compete. Personally, I still have my reservations on the "Khalifa" tower. The Tower is a Dubai project and part of Dubai's vision. I think it is unfair to see it being taken away like that and being named after the Ruler who didn't even bother to attend the opening of such a world class event The second surprise was in the announcement of the final height of 828 meters. Deferring the announcement could probably be to avoid leaking any info pre-completion of the tower to any potential competitors especially after the announcement by Saudi Arabia to build the "Mile" Tower, who didn't commence their operations awaiting the completion of its rival "Burj Dubai". It is too early to say whether Burj Dubai will achieve between 80 to 90% occupancy considering the challenging living environments at the higher floors. I wonder if building the "Mile" tower would be feasible or not and whether it would be worth it or not. It would be silly to see buildings being erected to compete on who has the tallest tower. I won't be surprised if the future holds for us apartment ads providing "Cloud view" or ads saying "You can now bid farewell to your loved ones as they board their flights and fly by you...RIGHT from your room". Earlier this day, I shared with a colleague of my thoughts on this. He said: "حفاة عراة يتطاولون في البنيان" (referring to an old Hadith by the Prophet PBUH describing one of the signs of Day of Judgement are those who slander in structures). Well, many people might share this opinion. Despite all of that, I think that UAE should be applauded for their continuous achievements in development and in setting another icon in the form of highest point built by humanity.
What are YOUR Standards?
2009 marks the end of the first decade in this century. A decade that was full of life changing experiences. Thankfully, 2009 was a successful year for me on many aspects especially on the personal level. I've talked about some of those here. So what's next? the keywords for the next decade would be career progression and stability. Workwise – fast paced vs slow paced, systematic vs adhoc. I've been working in the same workplace for the last 2 years. Despite few mishaps here & there, I am relatively happy. I am empowered to a certain extent and I have access to a lot of resources to learn. I've learnt a lot over this period. My concern remains on my marketability in the job market and how I should always thrive to build myself without getting too comfortable and laid back in my current position. It would be pathetic if I reach a stage where I spend 8 hours daily with the only motive is receiving my paycheck at the end of the month. On the other hand, there is nothing that guarantees that any other workplace will not be worse. I could end up working in a place where you are competing with your colleagues who might attempt at succeeding in their career by riding on your shoulder and stab you in the back. That's just an example of things I haven't experienced yet and plan not to. Friendship- shallow vs deep. You have the friends who are there just for fun, for a game of cards, or for a pool game. Their probable reaction for your expression of "this is worrying me" or "I have a problem" would be either sarcastic or "good luck". Well, the positive thing about such friendships is learning how to become independent as you keep your problems to yourself without having to rely on the influence of others. At the same time, it is sometimes a blessing when you treat others the same way without feeling obliged to be nosy on their day to day activities or problems. On the other hand, your deep & close friends are there when you least expect them. They feel your pain and would jump at any opportunity to assist you when possible. The feeling is mutual. I can't deny my joy when I feel that I've managed to assist someone in overcoming a hardship they face. Part of that depends on the community you live in. The kind of friends I had in a social community similar to the one I had in my Bachelor Degree was entirely different than the ones I had in my postgraduate degree society. Lifestyle - Experiences are relative. A Jeddah resident's lifestyle is different than a Dubai resident's lifestyle. Someone may claim that the standard of living in London is higher and expensive than Jordan. Then maybe it is time to question your benchmark. Did it ever occur to you that if you are paying 0.60 SAR (0.16 CDN) for a litre of gas in KSA ( making it cheaper than water), compared to the 0.95 CDN per litre for gas in Canada, that you are living in a relatively cheaper place than the world's average. In a world where majority of countries impose income taxes, you should be thankful for living in a place with 0 taxes. Few luxuries here & there make a difference. Living in a landlocked place with no access to sea vs a city on shore, living in large cities where commuting between work & home can be hours vs a small city with access to necessary areas is in minutes. During my brief time in Canada, I recall how commuting from my college to home and then rushing to finish errands before the shopes close at 7 or 8 p.m. Night life is usually concentrated in few areas and mainly on weekends. The only form of night life there would be in form of clubs or bars. On the other hand, here in the gulf, people start dining after 10 p.m. Shops don't close before midnight. Night life is always there with the addition of a little spice & extra events on weekends. I am concerned that I might get too comfortable here that would make it hard for me to maintain the same desired lifestyle in case my situation change where I may have to relocate to somewhere new. Somewhere that I'll probably find relatively costly compared to the current situation. While I think over those, let me ask you, what are YOUR standards?
But let's start with 2010. I'll keep my resolution simple and focus on just revising my own standards. I need to draw a line and focus more what would interest me and make me comfortable rather than adapt and accept my surroundings.
Yellow
Memoirs of Sharm El Sheikh
I don't want my blog is slowly turning to a travel guide blog. This could be due to the lack of any action here in Jeddah. This time I will highlight some of the funny/awkward moments where I expressed my known discrimination and sarcasm against Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians, Russians and mostly myself. So that's another warning disclaimer to stop reading if you think I am offensive. First Day in Hotel, morning buffet Apparently, we are not the only ones. The hotel was being assaulted by a shami group. One of the annoying kids (who regularly features on the other events of my stay) approaches me: "3ammo 3ammo..7otelli min hadi….7otelli min hadi….katerli min hadi…7otelli hay…hadi labneh willa jebneeeh? 7otelli 3ammo" – sara3 rasi and I filled his plate with all what he wanted Noon session after playing on the tubes: I am waiting for my brother to go and get the money to pay while I sit waiting. Next to me, I managed to overhear An egyptian guy sitting by the beach bar attempting the following: WHAT THE..this was just his 2nd line I hope she is understanding him. The rest was awkward as he/she escorted him to one of those beach beds where she introduced him to her parents and they all shook their heads. I had to leave by then, I wish I stayed there to watch the rest of the scene Second Day, morning buffet: The Syrian Kids are in action again. Apparently one of them is being introduced to mushrooms for the first time. So, here we are waiting at the omelet queue, and these 2 kids are screaming at each other: Snatches a peace with his bare hands and shoves it down his mouth: Second Day, noon session: This guy is talented. I will leave this video to say it all Second Day, Night: Sunday night, the night of the big game of Real Madrid vs Barcelona. I was sitting with my brother by the bar who was supporting his favorite team in the company of other fans who have been watching quietly…… Till we hear familiar voices: Third Day, Diving Trip day I had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. We were supposed to go to Tiran Island but we ended up going to Ras Mohammed. It seems that trip was scheduled yesterday but has been postponed to today because one of the divers was drunk yesterday. Damn the Russians and their vodka. As we were passing by hotels to pick the divers, I realized that most of them were Russians. The universal conversation with all of them was something like that: The Russians were heavy smokers and looked fishy. The most threatening was "Katrina" with a standing posture similar to this girl from sin city (without the gun of course) Me and another guy from holland were the only non-russians. Communication was difficult as none of them spoke English. My heart was slowly sinking to my feet as I saw the Russian white army flag being raised on our sailing boat 4 hours later… At lunch, I was approached by the Egyptian cook. "where yooou from?" – rush of thoughts to my head..If I disclose I am an arab, then the Egyptians workers will be all over me, if I don't, then I can't say I am European, I have curly hair…I kept talking my brain the way Homer simpson does "don't say something stupid, don't say something stupid, don't say something stupid" An hour later What the? Where am I? Last thing I recall, I was still on the boat reading "sophie's world" and watching the Russians play dominos. It looks like I slept for a bit. I look around. Oh I see, our boat is anchored next to another Palestinian-populated boat and what's with the name MUNTAHA? I thought that name extinct with Muntaha Al RAmahi the famous news anchor 3rd Day at Night: How nice..they are having a movie night outdoors with the projector and a big screen in the roman theater. They are showing "no reservations". Me & my brother were the only ones who slept by the mattresses of the big screen to watch the movie till… 4th day morning: I just finished my parasailing (the first I do in my life) and I pass by the beach bar, and I find the waiter talking to a familiar guy: On the other side near the beach, the Russian girl from the first day is still sunbathing and I wondered how the rest of the day will unfold. 4th day noon in the Zen Spa Aroma Therapy Massage session for 50 minutes. She did every body part with the exception of arm pits and ……. Unfortunately, she wasn't very fluent in English. I wished if I could talk to her to let her explain difference between Thai and Swedish massage. We only spoke 3 times: My response on the 3 statements was: 4th day at night: Dad was another funny troublesmaker. Throughout the days, he would unleash comments like… One of the cab drivers got excited and my camera had no mercy on him. He3 he3 he3 he3 Last day, morning buffet: Checking out: I was on my way to the lobby and I happen to pass by the Egyptian guy. This time he was alone. He was looking around, scanning his surroundings with the hunter eyes for his next prey while scratching his….. Kudos to the Russian girl who either is very smart or that this guy did something dumber than his lame 2nd line on the first day. Oh well, I guess we are back to square one
Four Seasons in 10 days
In my last holiday, I have experienced an unimaginable new level of thrill. The timing, the weather, the locations, the activities and the planning were all factors that made this one of the most memorable trips of my life. Geneva (2 days) – Spring Season (18-20 Sep) Our first stop was in Geneva. It was very green and exceptionally colorful. Geneva is known for its great lake and for being a good city for cycling. As you walk in the streets of Geneva, you feel its classy style, its richness, their prude care to discipline. You feel that the city is speaking to you and telling you "you are lucky to be walking my streets". Geneva is a quiet city but not a boring one. The streets are busy with people who are walking, dining, sitting in the parks or by the lake side. As I've said earlier, the best way to explore the city is by cycling as the roads are wide and it is well facilitated for that. Personally, Geneva has a special place in my heart. It is where I learned cycling for the first time. Yea I Know I know. I was lame and I didn't know how to cycle when I was a kid. After half an hour of trying and falling, I learned how to balance myself on the bike in spite of the mockery of a group of bystanders who were waiting for me to get frustrated and return the only bike available for rent to the store. Oh well, I toured the major parks in Geneva for over 3 hours before realizing how stupid I was for dehydrating my body while fasting. Yea, my consciousness was killing me and I felt obliged to fast the remaining days of Ramadan Interlaken (4 days) – Fall Season (21-25) The place may not sound familiar and that is what's great about it. It's a small town in middle of Switzerland. Its residents speak German. The best thing about this place is its location. What more can you ask for from a place that is between two lakes (on the east and the west) and between the Alps Mountains (from the North and South). They have one major central park and the views and the sceneries and the landscape you experience are among the best you might ever enjoy in your life. Four days were barely enough for Interlaken. There was not much to do at night other than dining (such trying the infamous "cheese fondue") and relaxing, which was compensated by the variety of activities that you perform during the day that can range from skydiving, paragliding, hand gliding, canyoning and skiing. I personally did paragliding (a very relaxing and enjoyable activity. You are in the air before you even know it) and canyoning (rappelling and doing impossible jumps is not my thing. I will leave such stunts for Lara Croft. But the water was refreshing despite its temperature being 3 degrees Celsius). Another must see site that I happened to know about when I was there was the "Mystery Park". I caught three shows there: "The Contact", "Maya", and the "Megastones". Each show is 15 minutes in general shown where they use holograms and 360 screens to narrate to you a brief and simple introductory about the history behind each story & site. Jungfraujoch It was a one day trip to the highest railway station in Europe. It is referred to as "top of Europe" with an altitude of 3471 meters. It is in one of the summits in the Alps Mountains. There are 3 basic sites to visit here. The Ice Palace – a small walk through a gallery of sculptures made of ice, The sphinx observatory – a place with a 360 panoramic view of the mountains. You will find a variety of restaurants that you can choose to cater your food appetite. Finally, the open area where you get to hike, play winter sports such as sledging and airlifting. And of course, nothing beats getting an "ice sun tan" (tan that you get from reflections of sunlight on snow..or whatever they call it) Nice (3 days) – Summer Season Away from the luxuries and quality life, the extreme sports, Nice is a city that target tourists with a special appetite to the sea. Like many of its sister cities, Nice's life revolves around its " Promenade des Anglais" coast. Every traveler who comes to Nice for the first time will notice the rough landing of the plane. This is mainly because of the small runaway. After all, the airport is surrounded from three directions by the sea. Another great thing about going to Nice is that it is right in the middle between Cannes (30 minute metro ride to the West) and Monaco (30 minute ride to the East). In Cannes, we spent half a day to tour the city and be educated about the famous celebrities that visit each hotel during the Cannes Festival Ceremony. From there we took a boat cruise to the small island of Ste Honorat. Being on a small island gives you the luxury of solitary, whether it is hiking around the island or swimming by yourself. At night, we explored the city of Monaco and Monte Carlo. I hardly classify Monte Carlo as a city as all I can see there is Casinos. The city has an exceptional road structure as the city has 3 main roads. Those 3 main roads are parallel and run above each other. While walking around, there were areas that we could only reach by using elevators from one road to another. Sometimes if you are unlucky and get lost, you might find yourself taking an escalator to a casino and exiting on the other side to go where you want. Swimming on Nice's beach wasn't a pleasant experience. First of all, the beach is very rocky. It is hard to lie down without experiencing some sore pain in your back. Other than that, my swim didn't pass by without some distractions. For someone, like yours truly, who has been swimming in beaches in the Arab region where women bath in normal bikinis, the sight of women swimming topless was an odd one that you try to avoid. I could not deny the constant internal temptation to keep an eye on the beach in case I catch a woman who does not want to deny her twin assets their share of sun tan. Unfortunately, most of those who did were oldies who are in their 40s or 50s and the sight of their aging wrinkled boobs can be a horrifying sight that you would wish if they remained sealed. Overall, let's say that I started appreciating the value of bras. Our other activities included a visit to Eze village – you walk in small alleys on a mountain where you are surrounded by souvenir shops all around you before reaching the top mountain to enjoy a panoramic view of Nice & Monaco. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read about a 'Cactus garden'. There they were showing you all different shapes and sizes of cactuses. Another thing worth doing is the tour of the Fragrance factory there. For a city populated by the youth, Nice is more of a partying city with a high unemployment rate. A great activity to watch at night other than dining was the sight of roller bladders who were doing stunts around ice cream cones and dancing on musical beats. One exceptional guy was doing the moonwalk with his roller blades while dancing on Michael Jackson's "Scream". He even portrayed him with the hate and the infamous white glove. Some of the guys were really talented. [P.S: this post has been in draft version for the last one month. LOL]
Geneva 
Interlaken
(1 day) – Winter Season (23 Sep)
Jungfraujoch 
Nice 2009
Ramadanian Thoughts II
I know that we are reaching the end of ramadan and this post might appear later but I was inspired after publishing last year's Ramadanian thoughts and this year I had few more
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for the last couple of years, the radio stations in the area no longer plays songs in ramadan. They would play some of the silly 10 to 15 comic shows, and between breaks, they would play "anasheed". The Nasheed genre is a growing genre and at a certain point in time almost all arab artists have done at least a nasheed or two. But really, what's the difference between a nasheed and a song? there are 2 definitions I've heard so far:
nasheed - is a form of songs with limited use of musical instruments. Usually there are no melodies, electronica and tunes and the beats tend to be drum based only - I don't know what's the source of this but I heard of a hadith on the prophet where Aisha was celebrating Eid and there were of girls who were celebrating with only drums and the "arabic daf" - so maybe that's why those forms of instruments are accepted. I don't know if they had piano at that time, would it be allowed or not?
The other characteristic is that the topic is not about love and it should be about islam or religion.
However, over time, I saw that there are many anasheeds that are using more instruments and are covering different topics like kids, marriage and parents. So really, I can't see where do they really draw the line and the difference between a song and a 'nasheed'.
Some of the favourite anasheeds tha I like are for sami yousef "you came to me" and this one.
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Another habit that some people adopt in ramadan and especially the last 10 night is the act of "i3tikaf". It was encouraged by the imam of the mosque in his last jumaa prayer. Unfortunately, when I went to pray the other day in the mosque, I was shocked by the bad smell and how dirty the mosque was. I am not against the i3tikaf but the sight of dirty laundry, smelly blankets and pillows is just not acceptable and unless there is a mechanism to keep the mosque clean, then I'd prefer that i3tikaf is not performed.
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Leilet Al -Qadr is better than the prayers of a 1000 months. If you do the calculations of 1000/12 = then this is equivalent to 83.33 years, which is more than average lifetime of a person. So my idea is if you manage to catch one leilet qadr in a lifetime, then this is more than enough.
So for all the potential travel partners who use the argument of "but if we travel, we will miss Leilet El Qadr which is probably the 27th night", I confront them with my logic. Assuming that you sincerely pray on the odd night numbers of Ramadan, I guess that the chances of scoring one Leilet Al Qadr night is higher than gambling on the Roulette.
P.S: it is ironic that I convinced my travel partner to fly yesterday (i.e. before 27th night) and my inner conscience couldn't help me but to schedule my flight today after I prayed last night. Gosh, I am such a hypocrite. Oh well, he will be enjoying a day more in the Alpes Mountains before I join him. :D
Status Update
2 months of no blogging.
I was just not in the mood
between vacations in jordan and in palestine
yep - palestine for 4 to 5 days where I roamed toul karem, beit la7m, ramallah
too bad I couldn't go to jerusalem
but at least I went to the nativity church
loved it
spent 2 weeks in jordan as well
wanted to go to syria but...
passed CFA Level I
which is bad news
this means I am now obliged to finish level II and level III to continue it.
I am planning preparation for that in November
workwise, I got promoted. :D
I am on twitter as well.
although I don't like it. you have to tweet daily and frequently otherwise, your tweets will be surpassed by other twitters
overall, I am happy with my personal achievements in year 2009
I anticipate updating my "relationship status" soon. :D
TAG: Eight Meme
I was tagged by Asoom around one month ago. At that time, there might not have been many interesting things to talk about. So here it is:
Toronto's Miracle of Runway 24L
It has been over 2 weeks since the incident of the Air France Flight 447 that departed from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. I am sure that many of us are either following the case or at least aware that it happened.
Brain Implosion
My life is about moving from one obsession to another.
Bewildering interruptions on the beach
I have given up. I wish I can find a peaceful place where I can enjoy reading my book. I can't read at home unless I am going to bed. We don't have many bookstores here (actually, we have only one) and if you read there, then you'd most probably be kicked out during prayers time.
A moment where I wished I had Moses Staff
Few days ago, I was asked what was the most embarassing situation I was ever in. I drove on my memory lane where I passed by many (and they are alot, trust me) incidents that left me red-faced in embarassment. But nothing is comparable to what happened to me on the dawn of my 5th semester at university.
As I lie...
As I lie in my bed and myself I tug
I cuddle In the cold and the pillow I hug
an ephemeral sleep induces my eyes to wither
like the flowers that hide from the chill of the winter
Soon I fly on the sea of dreams
that reflect on its surface our hopes in light beams
Those threads of gold awaken me
I rise and whisper: “will he”?
But the dazzling wind brings me the answer
to all my doubts and I no longer wonder
The alternate dimension of Wikipedia.
haven't you always wondered how people have the time to go and actually update wikipedia? Now wikipedia grew to be among the top and most reliable sources of information.
Well, you've seen nothing.
Go and Give Uncyclopedia a spin. It is organised by a bunch of people who have the energy the wikipedia organisers have with only one difference; absurdity.
Check out Uncyclopedia. They have some amazing articles. I loved what they wrote on : , "Lara Croft", "Caffiene", "Facebook", "Psychology", "Religion". But my favourite article is what they wrote about "Wikipedia" itself. LOL
P.S: YES...I did it..I wrote a short blog post. :D
Slavery at its prime
I can never forget this day. It was the first time I rent a car in Canada. I was running low on gas. I pass by the Gas Station. I waited there for half a minute before I realized "oh damn..here I have to fill gas on my own". See, that's the problem when you live in the middle East and in the gulf for too long. You have people that are employed with the silliest job description ever. I walked to one of the restrooms in a 5 star hotel the other day and there was this guy who all he does is just hand you a dry towel to dry your hands after you are done. What amazed me is there was this local guy who shouted at him "the towels are not warm enough". How about the guy at the gym? He sits by the stairs and monitors the people who use the treadmills. As soon as one of the runners is done, he runs with his cleaning tools to wipe out all traces of sweat and germ on treadmills. As much as I appreciate the high level standards of hygiene that the gyms abides by, it amazes me the silliness to hire a guy just for this. So overall, how do you handle such a situation? I believed that as long as they are content with what they do and I don't abuse them, then we'd be ok. I don't think so. Wait till you hear about my tea boy. When I first joined the new department (around 7 months ago), the teaboy approached me and asked me if he could serve me anything. I told him that I'll make his life easy since I don't drink tea or coffee. I only drink water. On the 2nd day, he served me my water. Along with the service came an envelope saying "monthly contribution". Ok, fine. That's weird. It is like asking for tip in advance. I don't mind tipping as long as it is from my heart not being forced upon me. Anyway, I chipped in. In the following day, he served me water at room temperature which I don't like. I prefer cold water instead. So he said, he doesn't have cold water. That pissed me off, but I let it slide. Few days later, I asked for water at 3 p.m. and he shrugged his shoulders saying :"sorry, sir. I already did the dishes". What the? So if you do the dishes, you never serve others. Ok fine. Nevertheless, I kept tipping him although I don't feel he was doing his basic duties. Few months later, I went for 3 week training outside the office. During that month, I only went to the office for just 2 days. On the 2nd day, he gave me the "tipping envelope". I was furious that I wanted to piss him off. I just put one riyal in the envelope just to anticipate his reaction. As I expected, he came back to me complaining that I might have mistaken by tipping only one riyal. I couldn't help it. I lost my temper and exploded at him. Since that day, we no longer communicate and whenever I need water, I go to his kitchen and fill my own bottle without his help. The other day I went to the cafeteria for lunch. I saw the teaboy having lunch with one of the senior managers. I was impressed that he actually bought him lunch. Later I realized that he makes the tea boy carry his bag all the way to the office. I can't believe how some people can convince themselves of abusing poor people like that. On the other side of the spectrum, my sister came to me one day expressing her frustration: "Hamza, I am very annoyed with the way you treat our maid." "huh?" "she keeps complaining that you never acknowledge her presence. You always arrange your bed. You always prepare your own food. You never let her do anything" ":S :S :S" "like today. You came from work. You stayed in your room for 45 minutes. When she went to her room, you went and prepared your food. Why not just ask her..? "but…I wasn't avoiding her. I was just in my room trying different knots with my ties. I am bored of the "Windsor" Knot. I was practicing the "St Andrew", "Victoria" and "Cavendish" knots. "huh?" "nevermind" Next day, I went to her and actually requested something for the first time in 7 months. "Could you iron this shirt for me?" She said "sure" with a big smile on her face.
Making the impossible possible
That's what Israel succeeded in by waging its war in Gaza It has been over 28 days ever since Israel decided to go all ballistic on Gaza. During the days of the war, I decided to be among those who'll be on stand by and watch what will happen. Mainly because I always believe that politics is too complicated and have infinite conspiracy theories because of the lack of truth. This could be either because of biased media or the hidden agendas that each party has. That's why I refrained from theorizing about what I don't understand and I left it for those who are more knowledgeable than me. I have to admit that the daily coverage done by Ali was among the best I've seen especially in its presentation of the case coherently and objectively. The thanks goes to the rest of the bloggers who contributed in whatever form possible, whether it is in form of demonstrations or updates on campaigns of what could be done. As it was mentioned by many, we played the cards right by utilized the tools of Globalization. It is through facebook, blogs, you tube and emails that made our voice be heard and reach throughout the Globe. The world has not been as supportive to the Gaza Cause as much as they were during this humanitarian crisis. So thank you again. From the beginning, I knew that this war won't last long enough for Israel to be able to break Hamas. I knew it would end when Obama steps up to the White House. Israel was just playing in what I call the 'lost time'. Israel was being a bully kid who took advantage of the absence of Big Brother (U.S) that was busy sorting out its own mess. What has gotten to start this is something I couldn't comprehend till now. Maybe the Israel leaders were sitting in a round table discussing their achievements and their economical growth compared to what was budgeted till they arrived to their target of killing Palestinians. They realized that "Oh, we haven't killed enough. Let's start another holocaust and get rid of some 1500 filthy Palestinians". Another idiot would go like, "oh yea, we can use Hamas as a cover story. We have 25 days before Obama comes and we can even try those new weapons we have". The Brutal and loathsome attitude that Israel had towards the Palestinians was astonishing to say the least. They bombarded them with the air strikes, the Ground Defense Forces and even White Phosphorous. If Gaza was an island on its own, I bet they would not have hesitated twice before firing the nuclear. How can we ever co-exist, as called by International Community, with Zionists who has no tolerance to Palestinians. But alas, This war is over now. Neither did Israel manage to achieve its objective nor could I say that the resistance won. The only outcome was more damage and not able to break the unity of the People of Gaza. So what's next? the Reconstruction of Gaza. The International community and the individuals have contributed a lot. They do not lack the fund as much as they lack its management. Let's take a look at for example, the 2 countries that had the biggest humanitarian aid during the war (i.e. before KSA & Kuwait & UAE's pledge after the Arab summit). They were Germany and Japan. Germany donated 15 million Euros while Japan donated over 10 million US$. The difference between those contributions is that Germans will give to a "UN-administered fund in Gaza" while Japan will give to the Palestinian Authority i.e. Fateh Administration in West Bank. Knowing the internal conflicts between Hamas and Fateh, I have my doubts over whether this money will reach those in need in Gaza or not. We shouldn't fail to see Israel's long-term goal of starting all this mess. It all lies in the scheme for the reconstruction of Gaza. As the international community becomes more involved in the day to day operation and management of the funds (especially those given by Europe as they will be managed by an alliance of the UN and NATO), it will become harder for Hamas to operate with the same authority and control in the past. Whether this would be a good or a bad thing, nobody knows and only time could answer that.
My Early Wintereenmas celebration
So, I have decided to invite myself over (actually its more of colonize) KJ's place. This week was just exactly what I needed in serving many of my personal motives, including finishing the horrendous Silent Hill: Homecoming (Gosh, I still can't believe I got the UFO ending) and another mindless co-op zombie bashing game where KJ picked up the only girl character, as usual, and I picked up the black businessman (seriously, I can't comprehend the idea of fighting zombies while wearing a shirt & tie). Overall, it was fun especially when you are attacked by hurdles of zombies.
"you know hamza, this week was horrible. I didn't eat well and I didn’t have breakfast all this week"
"e7m e7m"
"oooh…sh!t…this means that you…"
'YES damn it"
Yea it was that bad. I had to go twice by myself to the gas station below his house to grab Burger King. It was unfortunate (or so he claims) that there was always something wrong. He cooked for me one of his delicious pastas but he had no parmesan cheese, so instead, he gave me some weird cheese similar to the ones that they give you on cheap flights and said: "this is your parmesan replacement".
The other day, he actually managed to convince me not to eat outside and that he'll cook me onf of rice & fish dishes. An hour later, he was like: "hmmm…I burnt the rice…I could cook again..are you willing to wait?"…I looked at him and tried not to question what happened and just submitted to my fate. An hour later, he came: "hmm…by mistake, I spilled all the spices on the rice and it ruined the meal". That's it. I couldn't take it anymore. After 3 hours of unbearable hunger, I went to Burger King for one more time.
*hamza is thinking.. I better find something good to write about KJ to appeal to the appetite of his fans*
But overall, I should be grateful for him coz despite his work schedule, he managed to have the time to take me all the way to the 7he sevens avenue to watch the friendly game of acmilan vs hamburg. which was pretty far. I appreciate his planning in leaving 3 hours in advance so that we find good seats. I was fasting that day because of Ashoura so I brought with me some food snacks and juices. At the gate, they forced me to take out all the liquids I had. The security guard was shocked when he took out a bag that I was supposed to leave at home and said:
"Shampoo & shower gel…? Why would you carry with you a shampoo & shower gel to the stadium?"
Surprisingly, the avenue was free-seated and we managed to find good seats. Although the game was not played at a high level, I enjoyed watching my favorite players of the team that I've been supporting for last 14 years live on field. This includes Beckham, Ronaldinho, Pato, Shevchenko, Maldini, Pirlo and many more. As usual, the crowd have added their own touch as our section was pivotal in arranging Mexican waves.
"oh poor people..They need some help. I've always wanted to help people who get stuck in the sand.."
"dude, please don't do this."
"don't worry kupo. I trust my nyx, we helped many ppl in the past"
10 minutes later, I was with 7 other ppl trying to push "nyx" which got sand stuck instead. 50 minutes later, we were back on the streets:
"you know what? This is the first time that my car gets sand stu.."
"just shut up and drive"
"wallah I swear to Go.."
"I said, shut up and drive"
He just cannot make perfect moments
Despite all that and in highlight of the updates he has on the campaign for the Gaza Donations, I decided to entrust him to be the custodian of my donations where he'll participate with the others in the campaign for buying the food and medicines to help the victims of Gaza. Our chat the next morning was not as encouraging as I have wanted it to be:
"leehoz"
"leeehoz…how u?"
"so far so good. So tell me, Did you manage to buy the stuff for the Gaza Relief campaign?"
"oh yea that thing….hmm, I hope that you don't mind, but I kind of used some of your money to cut my hair"
"you WHAT?"
The World of The Brits
When people ask me about my last trip, they tend to ask the wrong question. Its not about what I did. It is about what I did NOT do. Yep, that really sums up my trip to
Many factors have been taken into consideration before I finally decided on my destination. I got a couple of friends in
On the day of my arrival, I couldn't control my excitement and I spent more than 13 hours exploring
"oh thank you. I was hoping to find my size but didn't. Its ok. No big deal, I'll check other stuff"
With an astonishing look she goes: "Oh no sir, we must have your size" and she commands 3 other salesmen to check the inventory and stock till they replenished the missing size. In the end, I didn't buy it. :P
Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street
From there, I went to
In the next days, I explored the Hyde Park,
Buckingham Palace
I took great images of
You can never be bored of
I was wrong to assume that I could cover the
Rosetta Stone
I kept on touring and visiting the major streets that I could recall from the MONOPOLY game. I even went to Fleet Street – famous for its new agencies and the road took me all the way to
Pee.
I quietly left the cathedral trying not to cause any form of disturbance to my fellow believers who were communicating with their Creator at a higher spiritual level. As I get out, I quickly unravel my
"Oh God, you can't be doing this to me. I was just in the cathedral". If the cinema refused to change my
So enough about
On my first night in
The icing on the cake for this vacation was in…*drum rolls*..going to the COLDPLAY concert. :D. It was on my last day. My friend persisted that there is no need to book our places in advance. The concert was at 9 p.m. and I was still in
"here they come" my friend said as he spotted 2 guys shouting "tickets tickets".
AHA….black market. I thought this only exists back in the middle East.
The official cheapest ticket goes for around 50 to
This was by far among the best trips in my life.
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