Starting your day with a little Dilbert :)

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/

Check his "Are Smart People Dumb?" and "Fences".. This guy is genius!

"Your typical day is full of moments where you ask for a cup of coffee and someone hands you a bag of nails. You don’t realize how much time you spend re-explaining things until you no longer need to."


This is not an official blog post..

Locked out

I couldnt find my home key. No, its not bcoz am absent-minded. Its not bcoz i dont plan. And i dont need the "how on earth" lecture but thanks anyway. It happens to anyone and its the 1st time it happens to me. A time when i really needed to go home and unwind. No one is at home or can come to the rescue b4 an hour :) and phone battery died. LOL. Anyway am at Harris Florida, phone charging, and am blogging from it now.

As i started saying recently, "ana bada2t at3assab"!
But its not as bad as it sounds :)

Some thought..

There is a nagging recurring thought at the back of my head and I cannot get hold of it..

Very upsettling (a cross between upsetting and unsettling)..

The Coffee Bean and Other Stories

So, today I had arranged to have coffee/late breakfast with my pregnant friend Ozzi and as a treat she decided to take me to Zamalek.. We agreed to try Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf since we both never tried it.. So, we meet in Korba, go to Zamalek in 20 mins and start looking for abul fida (we both totally forgot how to get there and kept randomly choosing streets!) then, upon finding it, looking for a parking spot.. this process took double the time we took on the way from Helio! aaanyway, we go in, check the place and menu out and decide to give it a go.. We stand to order. No other customers are at the counter so we take our sweet time thinking out loud.. meanwhile, the cashier gets bored and decides to go get Ozzi's coffee ready while the 2 spoiled brats (us) make up their minds while giving us the "whats taking you so much time" look!! We order and take our coffees upstairs to be followed by our sandwiches.. And here is what happens:

* My sadnwich comes without a knife and fork even tho there is a side salad with it

* Both plates + coffees come with NO napkins whatsoever.. Nothing, Zero, Null! Not even paper coasters to put the plates on.. Yalla ma3lish, I go look for napkins.. I look @ the sugar stand, but there is nothing.. So i go downstairs to the lady and ask for some.. She looks at the ground where there is one of these biiiiiiiiiiiig bags that cotain like packs of 5 thousand napkins, looks back at me and say "la2 ma3andeesh!!!!!!!!" COME ON WOMAN, I can see the BAG! I think am hallucinating and go back upstairs.. We see another waitress upstairs, I ask _her_ for napkins and she says ok.. 10 mins later, nothing.. I ask again, she says ok.. 10 mins later, still nothing... we are having a good time so we dont mind the sloppy service.. We notice that everyone around us is having coffee/drinks only.. no one eating.. we think "so they're not used to ppl ordering food here!" Oz finishes her sandwich and ask for napkins from the same woman.. 5 mins later she comes back. They must've finally opened that magic napkins bag because she comes back with one.. YES, o.n.e. napkin!!!! we look at it, at her, at each other then burst laughing.. She doesnt get it.. We split the napkin after she leaves..

* 5 mins later she is cleaning our cups, my sandwich is in my hand, she looks and it, and takes away my plate!! Wallahi I am not kidding! As if "you're holding the sandwich khalas, you dont need the plate". I stare after her in disbelief...

Anyway, the rest of the adventure is uneventful, as we run into Fancy by chance (a friend from work) who joins us for the remaining hour, then run into MB (another guy from work) & his wife..

Go there for take out stuff... Service is sloppy.. not the kind that you can actually fight about, but just the kind that makes your mouth drop in disbelief :D

Sometimes you think you’re unhappy, but you’re really tired

--
Prologue
I wanted to blog one of my multipoint posts.. but it will take time and brain power.. so definitely not now.. for now here is something to get you going... (Note to self: remember to tell them about Tina's Elephant and Kouiedar Communism..
--

Soooooooo, Zeww (a.k.a. Yasmine) has introduced me in recent weeks to the Dilbert blog (yes, Dilbert the cartoon strip).. Back when we were in IBM we both identified our common interest in his cartoons and we both related to them, but it was the first time i discover that Scott Adams, the cartoonist, has a blog, and a VERY interesting one for that...

What does he blog about? well, mostly "life, the universe, and everything".. He blogs about corporate life, career paths, affirmations, success, religion, knowing when to quit, news, and politics.. and being an eternal optimist yet a profound thinker, he guarantees a good read everytime..

Why am I talking about him? because in one of his latest posts, he established the title declaration, "Sometimes you think you're unhappy, but you're really tired".. Interesting post that came in a most interesting time..

On a more serious note, and for the politically inclined (or even those who arent but wouldnt mind the occasional thought-provoking), check out his Sunday blogs dedicated to serious stuff, particulary this one ... His argument is straight and smooth..

I initially planned to blog about how i related to his optimism/energy article.. but i am going to hold that thought for a couple of days...

Meanwhile, check out his blog and browse previous posts.. chances are, you wont be disappointed...

Cheers,
Nagbert :)

p.s. oh, and if i ever get my own company, that is how i will design cubicles :D

p.p.s. reading this post again, i seriously dont like how its written, so i will pretend i didnt read it again :D

Round and round and round... Vicious circles..

My whole life is a bit round around the edges. No sharp angles, no pointed corners. There is nothing definite, nothing determined, everything open to discussion. I just fade out or phase out then blend in because I believe I choose my battles, and right now I cant find a battle worth fighting. That's what you get when you cross a circle with real life.

*
Today I am
A small blue thing
Like a marble
Or an eye

With my knees against my mouth
I am perfectly round
I am watching you

I am cold against your skin
You are perfectly reflected
I am lost inside your pocket
I am lost against
Your fingers

I am falling down the stairs
I am skipping on the sidewalk
I am thrown against the sky

I am raining down in pieces
I am scattering like light
Scattering like light
Scattering like light

Today I am
A small blue thing
Made of china
Made of glass

I am cool and smooth and curious
I never blink
I am turning in your hand
Turning in your hand
Small blue thing

~ Suzanne Vega, Small Blue Thing

Random..

* "Fear of Committment = Fear of Committment"
A wise one once said it, and I am only starting to understand it now.. Just a random thought not linked to anything..

* I am bored.. not as in now, but as in gerenal, in life.. I dont even know if "bored" is the word for it.. Wondering about decisions i made, and (much worse) about decisions i didnt make.. No one can change this state.. "Go out, work out, blablablabla".. i do all this.. I work out, get that funky adrenaline rush, then an hour later am back to square one.. The solution lies in my own hands, i know it, i dont want to share it, and i still didnt gather enough momentum to make it happen...

* Nina, my cousin whom i saw once in my life and who lives in UK, got engaged in a fairy-tale-like manner.. real fairy tale, he surprised her in Paris where she was on vacation, and while walking together, she heard 5 jets above her, her 1st thought was "they're going to bomb us like beirut", her 2nd thought was "wow it spelled Nina will you marry me?".. Weird :) and only heard about it in movies.. whats making me actually like the guy is that he studied @ Harvard Law and has a PhD from Stanford :) must be an interesting person to talk to, dont you think? (Karembu, this story is not a fragment of my imagination!)

* Nine Million Bicycles

Tina sent me the YouTube link to this song, read the lyrics below and check out the video here.. the girl's face is sooo lovely, the lyrics are cute and the video is cooool!

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge,
That's a guess,
No-one can ever say it's true
But I know that I will always be with you.

I'm warmed by the fire of your love everyday
So don't call me a liar,
Just believe everything that I say

There are six billion people in the world
More or less
and it makes me feel quite small
But you're the one I love the most of all

We're high on the wire
With the world in our sight
And I'll never tire,
Of the love that you give me every night

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a Fact,
it's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing
And you know that I will love you till I die!

After Midnight Thoughts..

* My nephew @ Cornell's!
I have 2 adorable nephews (altho they got to the age were "adorable" is not exactly the word to refer to them!).. Anyway, so the eldest has gone this year to college.. he's always wanted to study medicine, and fortunately he did it.. Cornell's University (NY's Cornell) opened a Medicine school campus in Qatar and thats where he went.. yes its Qatar and all, but on the good side: it is _the_ same university, better facilities (after all its the gulf), better student-teacher ratio, and closer to home so he can hop in for holidays and stuff.. its a funny feeling to have your nephew studying medicine, listening to Opeth and the like, and up to your own mental level in most conversations.. I have an interesting familial structure, but thats a story for another day..

* Intolerance
A while ago my msn name was "N - Tolerance" (recently it is always "N- ", so K commented that in fact it was pronounced "intolerance".. Recently, i developed severe intolerance to some things and people... intolerance to what? hmmm, almost anything.. a couple of months ago i was in this meeting with a girl i was meeting for the first time, and in spite of everything i couldnt take my mind off the idea that "HER NECKLACE IS MAKING SO MUCH NOISE GODDAMIT!" seriously, something as silly as a jingling necklace just ticked me off.. other things, well, zaman, a couple of years back i had the tolerance to actually listen to almost anyone.. now i just feel like walking away when people are talking.. keda.. Its not worth the hassle for me anymore to engage in conversations i dont like.. i even stopped saying full sentences, even in conversations am enjoying.. well, i've had that missing word thing always but it just got worse.. but its worst when am not enjoying the talk.. i just ignore, look the other way, change the subject, or just give silly answers.. funny thing is, i drift aslan in any conversation, so it takes a real expert to know whether am drifting because am bored or just because am a born-drifter.. oh well, whatever, never mind..

* White Noise
K introduced me to that (i knew it from the movie but didnt know ppl actually use it), and truth be said, at first i thought it was plain stupid :D its the kind of "sssshhhhh" distortion you hear when you're in between radio stations.. well, apparently its gaining wide popularity abroad.. tried it ba2a once when i was in no mood for conversation, no mood for listening, no mood for nothing.. i just put my earphones and tuned my phone's radio to white noise... pure isolation.. kind of creepy and introvert.. but when the mood is here, its here..

* The Cat that Walked by Himself
'... it is I: for you have spoken a word in my praise, and now I can sit within the Cave for always and always and always. But still I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me.'
~ Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling

I like the previous quotation.. I get very attached to memories: smells, sounds, feelings, whatever they are.. but just as well, i walk by myself... kind of like this McD commercial, the guy is walking by, passing people and just walking on by.. I stay -more or less- stable, a sign of the times and all that.. but i want to go for a while.. I want to be the one chaging sceneries instead of having sceneries change around me.. 7aga keda... "I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me." but i just wish i can find one place to be _my_ place, the place..

* New songs I like
- Jewel's "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland"
- Blue October's "Hate Me".. Pretty negative, but i like the music and lyrics
- Green Day's "Extraordinary Girl"
- Losing my Religion.. not new but an all-time favorite
- Rihanna's "Unfaithful"
- Sandy Thom "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker"
- Robbie Williams "Advertising Space"

* To sum up,
I hate these three words.. If you could sum it up, then you should've sum it up!


Signing off,
N.

My Dear Sisyphus: Scenes from a Memory

I realize its not written nicely and not catchy enough, but i write it to document my memories, and for nothing else.. If my thoughts are incoherent or incomplete, just let it go..

During the past year and a half, I've gotten to know one of the closest people ever to me.. You may know him by his real name, K. (not to be confused by Amrika's Karembu!) or you may know him as my friend, or you may be friends with him.. One way or the other, chances are you know him. He is leaving soon, sooner than I'd like to think, TONIGHT, to a new territory and a new life.. brave? Very.. Envy him? more than he knows.. Worth it? Possibly so.. Stupid? Certainly hope not :D Will miss him? Like hell....

So given that my scope in gifts is limited, I give him a _very_ customized gift.. no its not a scarf i knitted for him, although he could use one where he's going!
I give him a blog post..

Scenes from a memory....

His First Time: Orientation and CP
First time was in his newcomers orietation here.. I was still new at my job, and I made it my personal cause to make sure that everything is smooth and everybody is happy.. anyway, so after a session on a tool called CP, i found him standing with H -our CP authority- in deep conversation.. i walked up to them and stood to make sure all is ok and the guy doesnt have any issues... Of this day he later told me, "i found you -a girl i didnt know- walking up to us with this BIG grin on your face.. and you stood with us just listening to what we're saying.. and i wondered who you were and what you were doing imposing on our conversation like that."

His blog and lame pottery classes
I got him on my msn list, and i discovered he had a space there where he blogs.. he was writing about pottery classes, and i was thinking "wow this guy is so cool" until he said "i have one word for you.. LAME!" :D

His "Honey, can we jump now?"
One of his posts had this line.. It was then when i knew i was getting to know someone different, he was up to adventure and wondering why "change" isnt a good word in our culture.. he wanted to be able to take chances without looking back..

His "Souad Massi" pickup line ;)
He discovered Souad Massi and i was there to witness it.. we used to comment on each and every song and what it made us feel.. one day he came in the morning telling me he was in cilantro wanted to get me coffee but didnt have my number (JUST ASK FOR IT) so I gave it to him... Next day at night, he sms'es me saying he is at Cilantro and Souad is playing and that I wouldve enjoyed it... It was the best pickup line he couldve EVER used :D

His Eternal Question: Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Days came and went, and he came up with the juice theory.. in this theory, he established that instead of waiting on "What-if"s he would just do it... He would make the effort then see if the juice was worth the squeeze... My verdict? it was soooo worth it!

His Sunshine
-enough said!

His Promised Land
He told me about his plans to leave in Summer 05 when we were outside Costa (a place we both dislike).. back then i thought this was still more than a year ahead and it was too early to talk about it... well, turned out a year is not that long anyway.. Everyone has a "promised land", a place where they dream to make home.. his promised land was Canada and he was halfway through making this dream come true..

His Cilantro
Cilantro witnessed our best times and most meaningful silences (in fact, Cilantro was the only place i can actually stay silent :D).. our first was Cilantro Zamalek, but others came along.. a couple of days ago, we were walkng there and ran into the same eternal rababa guy :D which was funny because altho he appears to stay there, we ran into him before at the other Cilantro at Abul Fida.. Cilantro is the place we never got tired of.. Korba in particular witnessed dozens of discussions and talks..

His Zamalek
Zamalek... what can i say? :D Breakfasts, morning walks, late night walks, his solo Thursday night drives that i envy.. the nile, the marriott, 26 July, the ahwa at the end of 26 july where we had tea :D, pizza by the nile in ramadan, the Tao shop near Tabasco where i got my bracelet and he got his dried rose candle...

About candles, for some weird and unknown reason, i got Kareem a total of at least 5 candles throughout the time i knew him :D of course he later admitted that he doesnt particularly like candles, but the ones i got where mostly chocolate/coffee themes, and the one shaped as an icecream sundae (amazing replica) and of course the dried flower one..

His Sa2ya
Our cursed place.. no matter how hard we planned it, we could never go to this place together... i've gone tens of times and so has he, but never together.. interesting how such a place can have that effect on us :D

His New Job

His Fortress
Basata was his Fortress of Solitude like he calls it... his last visit was in November 05.. i always hoped we can arrange to go there once since i've never been there and i wanted an expert.. but maybe in his next vacation...

His Blog-jacking! (or is it mine?)
in our infinite talks, i used to go like "Now _that_ is a bloggable thought" whenever such a thought came up.. he thought i was stealing his ideas, when the truth was that i was his muse :D

His New Blog
He started it as part of a personality/identity change he was going through..

His Flying Partner *the manga incident!*
He had the (bad) luck to sit next to me in a plane :D for those who dont know, i love flying yet i tend to get really airsick, so i take motion sickness pills.. thing is, i usually take more than i should, so i end up being literally "stoned".. So am having the window seat (since i dont get to move a lot in a plane) and i open the window, stare at the lovely clouds then turn to him and ask "Di ghoyoom di walla manga?" dont ask what i meant because i honestly dont know! the closest (and only) explanation was that i wanted to say they looked like cotton candy :D

His Birthday
"Cigars & Red Wine for Children" by the Nile :)

Our Discussions
Long long long arguments and discussions about men, women, right & wrong, religion, politics (very rare!), books, movies, music, work, work, work, career issues, work again, people, attitudes, family, friends, work tani.. travelling, and finally, my nemesis, Canada.. actually before him, i never gave Canada a second thought.. now i almost like it :D


K.-

You're Homer's Sisyphus and I'm Voltaire's Candide, and between the two of us, we create an impossible yet beautiful world. Pleasure and pain, lots of pain :D

Here's looking at you kid.... With all the luck in the world to one of my bestest friends ever..


I have spoken. (borrowing his line)


N.

Frustration

Pure frustration. I spent 3 weeks preparing a draft post I intended to blog it tonight, just to find our dsl messed up. Very pissed off. Anyway, K is leaving tomorrow night/saturday dawn to Canada/Kanaba. The idea that i dont actually know when i'll see him again is literally driving me crazy, its not like work/study trips, its a life. Having been one of the closest ppl ever to me, seeing him leave is scary.
Memory is a terrible thing.

K, my prayers are for you.

I want to believe..

For another "I Believe" post of mine, do read this.. It is one of my favorites...

No mood to blog awi.. you probably know why (if you dont, akeed you'll see me blogging it some time..) For now, read this, too "childish" and telling you what you want to hear like Duke says, but i like it and believe in it -for now!-..

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold

I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe forgiveness is the key to your unhappiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

~Savage Garden, Affirmation


I just love the last four lines (the song's chorus)..

Alone-ness and Loneliness

Unlike what i always thought, i really like being alone. What i didnt get was that am sad/melancholic when am lonely not alone. In certain moods i prefer my own company to anyone's. Or i prefer the company of friends who dont ask for the typical happy face when i dont feel like it.
In Marina blogging from phone. nerdy, no? not a marina type at all, too mainstream, but today i enjoyed a couple of hours in Mo with sis at beach after hours. Lake, sunset, no ppl, and Rabi3 abu Khalil music. Inner bliss.

Cilantro morning :)

Sleepy as hell but excellent atmosphere and music. Almost makes up for their recent decline in service.

Blogging from phone. lol.

Nostalgia

Am in a really nostalgic mood these days.. To top it off, I heard 2 phrases yesterday that brought up a load of memories:
Smart Cards
Hong Kong

Now anyone who knows me well enough will know what these mean/meant to me..

Zeww (Yasmine) was on a one day office visit between her assignment @ Dubai so she passed by my desk, took one look at the document am reading and went like "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" (she knows the history i had with SCs!)

HK ba'a.. they brought it up in the talk about contactless SCs implemented there, Karembu ;)

SCs get me real emotional/passionate (to the point of trying to convince my mngr @ IBM that they needed to support my research for SC opportunities!).. but thats a story for another day..

On my mind...

* Le Liban
Things are going crazy in Lebanon.. they hit the airport, gas stations, sea ports, bridges, and highways... in short, they're ruining the lebanese infrastructure! You dont like it? "Well, blame Hizbullah! they are the one's who dared to talk back to us".. Dont get me wrong, i am against violence in all forms, but when someone offends you or your country, then you should show them where they stand.. no one spoke up when they kill or capture hundreds, but capture one of theirs and it's hell.. Dont blame the people who got you your Liban back, again blaming the _wrong_ enemy.. What I wonder about is this: Where the $#%#^ is the Lebanese army and government? How can they stand and watch it happen? Least they can do is stand next to HA until this is over and then they can reprimand HA for getting them into trouble... Saudi Arabia condemned what HA are doing! Come ON! no one asked you for support, but ya3ni when you have nothing good to say, say nothing..Why are you condemning the attack? Is it because your ever-so-spoiled people has had their ever-so-fancy vacation plans to Beirut and lebanese spas ruined? What kind of culture is this? how can you overlook what happens on a daily basis and only talk when you should be acting...
The shouldve-been-Arabic country that really takes a stand? Iran.. makes me proud.. best researchers, best scholars, philosophers, and still they have the guts to take a stand! In fact i noticed them first when i was at uni and a philosophy professor talked about their president (ex now) Mohammad Khatami, a philosophy researcher that was very modern, yet very down to earth and sticking to his principles.. Forget about religious inclinations and all, these people really hold their ground.

Anyway, enough about me and politics.. I wrote this in my post draft so I had to share it anyway..

* The Wednesday Effect
Last Wednesday K. was reminding me when i first knew him that he thought i was crazy because -unlike all people- on Wednesdays i didnt feel happy tomorrow was a Thursday.. instead, i always had the "would they insert just *one* more day before Thursday?".. Funny thing is, he said that just after i was having this thought (he thought i stopped it but he still thinks am crazy anyway).. The thing is, one usually sets the "by the end of this week" kind of milestones.. having said that, my wednesdays always come too early and i wish there were one more day in the week squeezed between Wed and Thurs..

* Me and Google.. (or "Another bloggable thought stolen from K.")
I google just about everything in a coversation.. in fact, if you ask me a question, i will probably answer you then google it to send you a supporting hyperlink! :D
here's what happened... Kareem had part of a song in his msn name, i googled it and replied to him with another part of the song, plus my opinion altogether about the lyrics.. and here's what he said:
"without google i don't think u'd be able to survive
ah just google it and it will all go away. Google, the modern solution for modern problems... and u can smile at the end of the commercial"

funny thing is, HE googles as much as i do!


dont like this post but feel inclined to post it anyway..

Pieces of her..

She reads:
* A7adeeth Qodosseya
* Biblical Stories
* Alice in Wonderland
* Sidney Sheldon
* Jostein Gaarder
* Terry Pratchett
* Neil Gaiman
* Wikipedia :D (she used to choose random pages to read when really bored!)
* Anais Nin quotations
* Mahmoud Darwish
* Egypt Today when found with Kareem or Mayo :D
* Mohamed Salmawi articles if she runs into them but not otherwise


She listens to:
* Souad Massi
* Lili Boniche
* Norah Jones
* Nina Simone
* Bon Jovi
* Sting
* Santana
* Coldplay
* Alanis Morissette (depending on mood)
* Marcel Khalifeh - a cultural connection since childhood that goes way back in my roots..
* Notre Dame de Paris, the French Musical
* Mozart
* Enrico Macias
* Oasis, Travis, Queen, Bryan Adams, R.E.M, ....


She doesn't give a decent chance to:
* Naguib Mahfouz
* Pink Floyd (she only likes "Bike" and "It's a Miracle")
* Iron Maiden :D *until she listened to the studio version of Fear of the Dark*
* Political Readings (thought "The World is Flat" was a fantasy novel!)
* The Eagles


On her to-do list: (not in any particular order)
* Attend a concert for Souad Massi, Marcel Khalifeh
* Go to an Agassi match -realistically speaking, this wont happen - he announced 2 days ago that he'll retire after 2006 U.S Open :(
* Attend (isnt there another word?) Notre Dame de Paris musical, performing Garou
* Go to Paris, preferably in winter, George V Hotel, Maxim, Moulin Rouge, Lido, Louvre, Quartier Latin, Quatre-Saison market (soo2 khodar ya3ni :)), cafes de trottoire (spelling?)where street musicians play accordions, so typical but who cares!
* London
* Mecca
* Basata
* Lebanon/Syria


She cannot:
* Carry a smaller bag
* Stick to putting her money in a purse (instead of throwing it anywhere inside the bag)
* Explain why she doesnt take the last piece in a shared platter
* Help the wince when someone uses profane language
* Resist making eye-contact with cats :D
* Resist walking in the rain.. even the Egyptian muddy rain!
* Resist the intoxicating sun-sea combinitation
* Resist her eternal curiousity!


khalass,
N.

talking of many things...

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."


Sooooooooooooooo... i will not talk about all these.. but i will definitely talk about my life since the last post.. been writing points in a draft for this post for over 2-3 weeks now and now some of the points have expired but i will talk about them none the less..

* "Kanaba Thinking"

My latest "acquirement" (you required a "requirement", so u acquire what?).. it's a lovely wooden framed drawing that now lands on my desk... i called her "Kanaba Thinking".. why Kanaba, well for one, she really looks like a Kanaba.. and for two, its a story for another day ;)

So, what is Kanaba thinking about.. according to the latest resources (Kareem and myself) she is wondering about her lunch today.. or she is thinking "am staying late at work, how will i get home?" or she is pondering about the eternal question to "Life, the Universe and Everything" (we know the answer is 42, but what was the question?)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Kanaba Thinking.... (I *luv* the colors!)




And to get an idea about her in her natural habitat,




Thank you K. (where K is Kareem and not Kanaba) for this beautiful work of art :D


* Mayonaisa
Remember back in October (?) when i asked everyone who reads my blog to say a little prayer for Kareem's new job? Well, now we have a new candy-date, Mayonaisa, a.k.a Mai, Meyo, Da Wife (of Duke :)) and many others, who needs your prayers.. she is undergoing a career shift these days, and altho details are not yet clear at the time this goes to print, yet she really really really needs your prayers... so everyone, say a little prayer in your own language (even praw-praw-ish ya Tina!) that Mai can get what's best for her and be happy where she ends up..
*Note: too lazy to update this, but as of Sunday the 18th, she started her new job. Wish her luck.

* Dire Straits - Leonard Cohen
about Cohen, i just like the sound of his voice keda... and i like his lyrics,

Ah I don't believe you'd like it,
You wouldn't like it here.
There ain't no entertainment
and the judgements are severe.
The Maestro says it's Mozart
but it sounds like bubble gum
when you're waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

i believe Duke might like him if he tries it..

Dire Straits is another story :D i like him too.. and here lies the problem! its not a him, its a them :D the BAND is called Dire Straits and i thought it was a guy.. of course i had a very enlightening chat with Kareem about "Do you think a normal person would be called Dire Straits? are you for real?" :D el mohem, i now know he is not he.. he is they!


* The Universal Conspiracy
You know how Paulo Coelho goes on and on and on and on about this theory that "When someone really desires something, the whole universe conspires to help him/her achieve it"? Well, I'm starting the believe that the opposite is also true... Sometimes you _really_ desire something, just to find the whole existance conspiring to ruin it for you... I am not paranoid and I dont suffer from delusions of persecution, but i really sometimes get the feeling "Why are they ruining 'it' for me? Leave me alone!".. Sometimes a thing as silly as a question directed to someone else makes you go like "Get off of my cloud!"


* Tiramisu!
Discovered the BEST tiramisu in Cairo, Casper & Gambini's @ City Stars.. yes its a miniature portion, but thats the exact point.. it is the "right" portion... They're a bit over-priced for a mall hangout, but a must try.


So, la tantouna, here is the promised post :D


Cool,
N.

yaaay..

i know i should blog... i know i promised you all, and i will...... by Sunday max..

but for now, check this http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/

go to the May 31st entry and check the letters ;)

Ramblings of a diseased mind..

(any thoughts mentioned hereunder are totally incoherent, not the thoughts themselves, but the line of writing)

* Ob-la-di, Ob-la-"dooda"

sooooo... yesterday was quite a day.. the day wasnt loaded, but there were many tasks that needed doing and all... anyway.. so i was supposed to get a document by the end of day (around 7) to work on it and send it at night.. so i think what the heck.. might as well work on it at home.. i meet with Kareem in korba, ideally for a quick coffee then going home.. we go Harris, i realize am pretty hungry so we decide to order the greek salad that we luv and lemon juice.. i was starting to get tense for some reason and i start to feel eno this day wont end well... i go like "Kareem, i bet you they will bring us lemon with milk not lemon juice.. just because we didnt say 'lemon WITHOUT milk'".. our lemon juices come, _and_ *surprise* it is indeed with milk... mesh mohem, it is still good.... a while later, our beautiful salad plates arrive.. looking fresh and delicious and full and the dressing looks nice :D... i look at it, at the cheese and the tomatoes, and the lettuce and the onions and that tiny lettuce piece on the top of an onion slice, and it looks back... what? a green lettuce looking back? eih da how cuuuuuuute... it is just a little green worm with little beady eyes... lovely :D i go like "kareem, dooda".. he thinks "she is talking gibberish again.. dooda?" then he looks at her... we call the guy.. am laughing my head off ba2a by then.. and we go without paying for the lemon milk :) all in all, was a good experience.. no more salad outside.. i mean come on! when i was the lettuce, i wash it leaf by leaf, scrubbing each leaf to make sure there is nothing left unseen... but look at the bright side, at least that means their stuff is _really_ fresh from the field, LOL... the brighter side is, it was *I* who got to blog it first!


* http://www.osamasaeed.org/AutoWudu1.pdf

check it out... very cool/funny.... everytime you think "what more useless inventions can they have?", the human mind surprises you yet...


* "time flies like an arrow"
We used this phrase in CSCI 422 in uni to illustrate how contextual meaning can make a difference.. so there is the regular interpretation.. and there is another one.. supposed there is a species of "flies" like house flies and fruit flies.. these flies they "like an arrow" :D
when Abdelbar said that in class, Khaled and Heba and I (422 trio :D) just started laughing.. weirdly enough, no one else got the joke.. or maybe they just didnt get AB himself... this course was probably the one i studied for the most in uni..
so it goes like "time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana" :D


*And there was light!
Duke is no longer the proud owner of his blog.. i mean he is proud alright.. and he owns it as well.. but no more witty/dark post.. i guess every notable phase of his life had to end with Senna.. (if u dont know what am talking about, i wont link to his blog here.. i quit doing that after i realized the enormous masses that reached my own blog this way :D

* Song of the day.. Or "did u think i was gonna let you off without lyrics?" ;)
It's Gavin DeGraw's "I dont want to be" (did i blog this before?).... i used to listen to it always with OzMoz in our way to work, she introduced me to it.. i suggest you check it out..

I don't want to be
Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me

Bloggables..

i've been writing this post over the span of almost 2 weeks, saving all subtitles and points in a draft... hence, it is full of knicks and knacks... i know you prefer a number of short posts rather than one big one, but i like it this way :D

* Close your eyes and it'll go away
hmmm.... this refers to a trait in the human mind keda when we choose to ignore the obvious if we seem to disagree with it.. Back in uni, in my last semester, i took an Intrusion Detection course with Dr. Kassas (who is a personal favorite as professors go!) Anyway, so a part of the course intro was about the human factor in computer security.. He told us that many times when admins notice an anomaly in the logs, they just "close their eyes and hope it'll go away".. and we related how this applies in many aspects of our lives... Another interesting fact we learned was that companies choose to put the surveillance cameras in obvious places rather than hidden places. Why? because even tho the hidden camera thing will make the attacker more careless, hence more prone to be caught on tape, yet the "visible" security tends to scare off a lot of perpetrators...

* My sister and Sims
The Sims is a "strategic life simulation computer game".. you get to "live" the life of ur players and make choices to acheive goals blablabla.. overall, the game can get addictive.. and these sims they have the cutest funniest language :D Anyway so my sister these days is getting soooooo addicted to it.. Examples? the other day she heard a baby cry in the street and she was "cuddle! cuddle!" (which is an option u do to babies in Sims :)) another example is that she dreamed about a crime (dont remember the details now) and she wanted to call 911 by clicking the choice and wanted to revive the guy.. i had funnier stuff to say about it but forgot.. if she's reading this, let her remind me :D

* Phonetic Alphabet
In Aviation, and other fields where verbal messages are communicated, they use whats called "phonetic alphabet" substituting a word for each letter.. it goes like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc. (i used to know them all.. u know in case am ever asked to land a plane or something!) So the other day i listening to a song on Nile FM that was titled "Foxtrot Unicorn Charlie Kilo" :D and the nice thing is that other than that phonetic thing, there isnt a single bad word in the song! :D so i liked the way they implied it keda...

* songs
Suddenly discovered am out of touch with the current music world... so recently am doing a lot of "104.2"ing.. but only in unusual hours (late night and early morning coz i hate commercial time), and getting myself updated with the musical scene... songs i discovered and liked: the aforementioned phonetic song, Mattafix "To and Fro", Shakira's new song!!!! and Robbie Williams "the trouble with me" (i luv that one's lyrics, yes yes i am a bit weird!)

* Other common words in the Nag-tionary
"de7k awi!" and "beyda77ak".. i say beyda77ak to mean anything from cool, funny, ironic, nice, sweet.. overall, beyda77ak is something positive :D
"boss/bossi" i say that a lot when think out loud with someone or trying to explain..

* Panina Manina
Panina Manina was a trapeze girl who was a Ringmaster's Daughter but he didnt know until she fell and he saw the charm she was wearing... i finished the Ringmaster's Daughter by Jostein Gaarder and i loved it... read a nice but movie-like novel in the mental break.. and started Paulo Coelho's "The Zahir" (or "Ezzaher keda" as Kareem and i call it :)).. i like it so far and even tho big parts of it are sooooo Coelho-ish boring, yet there are some very cool thoughts in there..

* F8 (or "I like keyboard shortcuts so much that am obsessed about them, google them, and blog them")
http://www.cc-tips.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=189

* Song of the day (and many many many other days too)

Money's just something you throw
Off the back of a train
Got a head full of lightning
And a hat full of rain
And I know that I said
I'd never do it again
Oh and I love you sweet baby
but I always take the long way home

~ The long way home, Norah Jones

p.s. that money thing.. it is soooo me :D


bass ba2a!