Letting Loose:

PANIC!

2012-01-17T20:23:00.001+02:00

The Lebanese people, I am realizing, are an adrenaline junkie people(s)!!!We can't just live our lives like normal human beings, which isn't that surprising considering there's nothing normal about us, but I'm starting to wonder really what is wrong with us... (Or maybe, I should just NOT go there!! Can of worms anyone?!?!) So I postponed writing a post about New Year's eve's soothsayers until

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-02T18:41:00.001+02:00

No I am not one of my uber cool friends that keep saying that new year's day is just another day and that there is no reason to highlight it as anything more special than it is: yet another day. I'm just not that cool! Life is broken down into phases: birth, school (sub-divided), uni, job, pre-marriage, post-marriage, the twenties, the thirties, etc, etc... And just like a car's steering wheel,

Mecanique & the Unpaid Tickets

2011-12-20T19:12:00.001+02:00

As is customary, I get the thrill of paying my Mecanique road/car tax in December. So this year, avoiding the rush that I faced last year, when I procrastinated and paid in the last week of the year when all the Lebanese decide to do so as well, I paid my tax during the first week of the month. And I was surprised.... because it worked!!! Now I know, it sounds weird to think that

Lebanese & Proud

2011-11-16T18:02:00.001+02:00

So several things have happened over the span of the last week relating to Lebanon as a nation. (And if you're saying thank God this isn't another airport/travel post, then I understand) Firstly there was that whole Jeita thing. Our cave/grotto/dunnothedifference was nominated by a privately owned non-UNESCO endorsed company to be one of the "new seven wonders" of the world. Now if like Harvard,

Beirut Airport's Travelators

2011-10-29T21:01:00.000+03:00

Yes this is another post about our beloved airport, the Rafic Harriri International Airport, or if you lie in the March 8 camp, especially if you are an Aounist, you would refuse to call it that and want to call it the Beirut International Airport. Frankly, I don't care much. What I care about is using the airport. And like it or not, the airport does have its issues, like the many

Beirut Airport Parking

2011-08-16T17:45:00.000+03:00

I'm a person who travels, relatively, a lot. At least once a month. Sometimes more. But more than that, I tend to make a lot of airport trips to pick people off and drop them to the airport, cause you know, we live in Lebanon and not too many people want to! Last time I was at Rafic Hariri International Airport to a pick friend up, I was a bit late, so when I got to the airport, I decided not

Stay Focused

2011-08-10T18:47:00.000+03:00

So I'm actually posting today cause I got a little bit more time on my hand than I usually do! I've been overwhelmed with work lately and a combination of my promotion to Project Manager (which I reluctantly accepted) (Mexican wave anyways) and Ramadan starting and having to cut my working hours short and go home to eat at 7:30PM versus 10PM have overflowed my life with tasks... Today however,

2011-05-02T21:53:00.000+03:00

Today is a great day. Today Osama Bin Laden was killed. The leader of al Qaeda, was a barbaric killer managing a murder machine wreaking havoc across the world and using his twisted version of religion to justify that from the 9/11 bombings to Bali, to 7/7 in London and the Madrid stations. He also masterminded the Khobar attacks in Saudi Arabia, in addition to other attacks on compounds (where

Lebanese in Aeroplanes

2011-04-27T18:49:00.001+03:00

What is so hard about the sentence "Kindly remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop and the Fasten-your-seatbelt sign has been switched off?" Flight attendants, captains and co-captains have used this sentence a kadzzillion times but for some reason the Lebanese just don't seem to understand it! I just got back from a trip in which I needed to connect, so the departure

Sri Lankis and more in Lebanon

2011-03-17T13:14:00.001+02:00

Lebanon is a country known for its strong support of human rights and civic welfare of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese on its territory. We're also quite the non-sectarians that we are. (If by this point, you're confused and are thinking "Really?" I politely ask you to leave my blog and never set finger here again. My blog like the world, should be free of the non-sarcastic.) I've always known

Driving in Lebanon

2011-03-04T18:13:00.000+02:00

So I haven't been writing much. It's a combination of my thrill at what's going on in the Arab World [and my complete inability to write about it; the reason is here in Lebanon no such thing can ever happen (well, not until Hezbollah fully rule with an iron fist, then we'll see) and because I'm not as educated as fellow bloggers who start their posts three four decades ago and start listing how

Power to Bloggers

2011-02-14T15:32:00.000+02:00

So you've got a revolution in the making in the Arab World: people revolting against years of tyranny, signs lifted directly and visibly attacking the evils of the systems with their carriers visibly appearing, brave courageous Tunisians, Egyptians, Algerians, Yemenis and apparently more risking their lives for true democracy and freedom of speech.............. and then in true Arab fashion, some

Lebanon's Google Suggestions

2011-01-30T14:40:00.000+02:00

Many of my SEO expert friends would find this amusing... If you go to Google on Lebanon's domain i.e. www.google.com.lb, you will be dazzled by the gems that the Lebanese are searching for!! Justin Beiber continuously trends on Twitter week after week... I thought something's up, but when you realize that the number one concern of the Lebanese population is whether Justin Beiber coming to

Google Reader in Saudi Arabia

2011-01-19T17:35:00.000+02:00

This is gonna be a quick tip post. If you ever find yourself in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and find issues with regards to using Google Reader, particularly the fact that you always get this: "Oops...an error occurred. Please try again in a few seconds" when scrolling down and your items are not being marked as read, then the solution is simple. Simply add an "s" to the http in the URL

Get a Ruler

2010-12-27T18:24:00.001+02:00

You know how men tend to be a slight bit competitive... You know, like when two dudes are talking, they start comparing who makes more money, who has a hotter girlfriend, who has an awesomer phone, who drives a more gas-guzzling car? WELL, apparently our Sunni and Maronite men of religion are playing that game! Get this, a church bell is being built as part of the Maronite Cathedral of St.

Christmas in Lebanon

2010-12-27T18:05:00.000+02:00

Wouldn't be Christmas in Lebanon without a little bit of waja3ras! Through the flood of cars invading the highways and malls I dare not tread next to, to mountains of food and calories from our great vines of Bekaa, to the pleasures of spending time with your expat friends who are here for only a week or two to celebrate: Merry Christmas!

Lebanon: Don't believe everything you read in the papers

2010-12-10T17:52:00.001+02:00

The past three destinations I flew to recently: Dubai, Amman and your occasional Riyadh would involve me catching up with friends. After the common courtesies, the one thing they all decide to ask is "keeff ill waddi3 bi Libnein" meaning, what's the situation like in Lebanon? Everyone outside of Lebanon (and many inside) are scared of the situation. I mean it's all on a tipping point. All

Speed

2010-11-28T16:53:00.002+02:00

No this is not a drug related post!! I was gonna wait to write this post when I got my first speeding ticket! I still didn't get any and I'm starting to think that I won't! Monday November 8, 2010, a great great man, Mr. Ziad Baroud did the unthinkable: he made driving in Lebanon a slightly more civilized experience. A number (rumored in the thousands!!) of state of the art radars have been

Snooze

2010-11-11T18:00:00.002+02:00

Who invented the snooze button on the alarm clocks? SERIOUSLY? Whoever did should be hanged. I remember as a kid, when my life had meaning and purpose, I would wake up, get out of bed and carry on living my life. Ever since say university (particularly with my first purchase of a cellular phone (yes I bought my first cell phone during my first year uni (YES, I'M THAT OLD DAMN IT))) years,

Beirut Geek Fest

2010-10-29T12:30:00.000+03:00

I ain't missing it this year! (The Pi is cause it's version 3.14... Come on guys, faster)

"True Size of Africa"

2010-10-24T11:09:00.000+03:00

I am usually a supporter of the causes of the weak, like the Palestinian cause, secularism in Lebanon, and all my friends that are dieting... And despite the fact that always in the back of my mind I was supporting Africa, I never really REALIZED the true size of Africa until I saw this (Click the image to enlarge)... No wonder no one wants it get out of its rotten state of internal wars,

Water water everywhere

2010-10-15T21:17:00.000+03:00

Blog Action Day 2010's theme is a very important one: Water... Be it the lack of water causing droughts and famines to humans, cattle and crops, or the excess of water causing flooding, landslides, and diseases such as Malaria, water remains the single most important molecule without which we can't live! Worldwide, societies are starting to realize how pivotal it is to pay attention to the issue

Dubai Metro

2010-10-12T00:41:00.001+03:00

Other than the fact that I've lived in the UAE for the first 12 years of my life, i've visited Dubai three times afterwards... In my fourth visit this October, the main difference that manifested itself was the availability of the metro... Now I do not speak out of fact, but I do believe that the Dubai Metro has to be the first metro in the Arab World if I am not mistaken. Of course I

Driving in Lebanon

2010-09-24T11:15:00.000+03:00

Guest posted it here on my buddy Fadi's Survival First blog...

U2

2010-09-17T17:46:00.000+03:00

As many of you would know through Facebook and Twitter, the main reason for my vacation to Istanbul, two weeks ago, was to watch the U2 concert... Concert is an understatement... Experience is the better word... The day of U2 was just a magnificent day. It started off with a trip to topkapi (bla) and we were all in the hotel awaiting our scheduled pickup at 3. Yes some may say that that is

It's ELECTRIFYING...

2010-08-19T17:39:00.000+03:00

In 2750BC, the Egyptians discovered the first trace of electricity... Almost 5000 years later, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy, still has no idea! Year after year the problem is getting worse... Year after year, the climate change (in our case: warming) which is denied by Bush and Fox News, is rendering the summers in Lebanon hotter and hotter... Year after year houses in Lebanon that never

The cons

2010-08-14T02:07:00.000+03:00

Living in Beirut, one expects to go through all kinds of nightlife... Say a rooftop party at a friend's house somewhere in Broumana overlooking the Beirut and the Mediterrenean... And why wouldn't it work??? The weather is beautiful after sunset... You don't need a liquor license for the booze (although if like me you're observing Ramadan, booze is off the table (literally)). You've got loads of

Tonight on Nassrallah

2010-08-10T18:27:00.000+03:00

Yesterday's episode of Nassrallah was quite a well produced one... In addition to the previous appearances of Mr. Hassan Nassrallah, yesterday we had a full multimedia show of PowerPoint presentations, intercepted Aerial footage, Google Earth (probably) and a very well conducted orchestra ranging from suspense thriller music to morbid choir vocals! Alas, we were all disappointed... See the

Salute to the army!

2010-08-07T13:39:00.000+03:00

My previous blog (which somehow turned into a muscles supplement body building site by someone who somehow got control of it) used to be quite the political one... With this one, I tried not to politicize as much as possible, but seeing that I live in the Middle East, it's inevitable to incorporate politics every now and then! This week, Israel manifested it's angelic side once more... They

Eltooks

2010-07-31T11:48:00.000+03:00

So apparently I get so much work done at my job and my life's full potential has been maximized so I need a new distraction... And it came and it delivered... Yes people, I have succumbed... I am now a member of the elite twitterati... I still don't get the big deal... I feel like I'm updating my Facebook status all the time... Just more frequently... Which explains why the last time I updated

Damn the system

2010-07-25T16:46:00.000+03:00

In life there are certain inevitabilities... Communism is not one of them contrary to wrong beliefs... One of them which was the case was that I was bound one day or the other to get a speeding ticket... I did yesterday... On the weekend... On a day when the highway was empty... Oooooh... On a highway!!!! I was clocked doing 111kmph on an 80 road... Now personally I don't get it... How can a

Cineklik

2010-07-07T17:27:00.001+03:00

Our friends at Cineklik have been generous with two tickets to the avant premiere of the third installment of the Twilight saga, Eclipse... You know, the one with the good vampires that glitter when you put them in the sun! I decided to give the first two tickets to my dear friend who actually designed this that you are looking at: Lara! She likes vampires! (and now we're even!) For those

Beyruf

2010-07-05T12:07:00.000+03:00

So I heard from friends last year that this club Beyruf was crappy... I've never been so I don't know... What I didn't hear until now was it's racist as well... We know bouncers everywhere have issues with everyone, but not on basis of color, do they?!?! Cause having a more colorful crowd makes your club look cooler and more metro... A concept lost on Beyruf...

World Cup Mania

2010-07-04T22:43:00.000+03:00

Every four years the Lebanese catch the attention of the media (again) by being in the spotlight about how crazy they are about the FIFA World Cup! Hala Gorani almost uses the same words every time in her 2-3 minute newsclip on CNN about the phenomenon. Arab tourists get in the groove by buying accessories to countries they cannot point out on the map and so on and so forth... What baffles me is

Internal Tourism

2010-06-30T20:01:00.000+03:00

It took me a long time to get my first car... Like last year... 26!!! Prior to that I used to take public transportation around or hitch my dad's car or rides with friends! I always used to say that when I get a car, I'll just go sometimes on rides where I drive aimlessly until I get somewhere... I don't... And it sucks that us Lebanese take our country for granted whilst foreigners enjoy

Moving: pieces of my life edition

2010-06-29T19:11:00.000+03:00

So this weekend, I went through the exhausting process of moving... I won't go into the details of dust, boxes, workers, mom screaming and the fact that we only moved two blocks up the road! What I will say is that this move was actually quite an emotional one!! Here are the moves I went through! Moving houses in Sharjah when I was seven: Can't recall spit. Moving to Lebanon after being

Waja3ras

2010-06-22T18:41:00.001+03:00

Dearest readers... This is to let you know that you can now access my blog via www.waja3ras.com!!!!! I don't think that the rss feeds change and you can still see the blog from the blogpost address but for when you read it from the site, I just saved you typing the .blogspot part!!!! Enjoy my waja3ras!!!

Sent from my ipad

2010-06-22T07:54:00.000+03:00

Yes yes indeed... I have purchased my second apple product being an iPad... and let me tell you typing this post is not proving to be the easiest thing given that there's no keyboard, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it... See I'm not usually a person who falls for hypes... Far from it.. I usually hate main stream... But I think that apple have something going on with the iPad... They had

لغة الضاد

2010-06-11T18:04:00.000+03:00

أكيد لاحزطو إنو البلوج بوست تبع اليوم غير... تضامناً و إنسجاماً مع حملة حماية اللغة العربية، قِرَرِت إنو اليوم بَدّي دوِّن باللغة العربية... المشكل يللي طلِع معي كان إذا بكتب بالفصحة أمّا بالعامية بس قررت إخِر شي إكتب بالعامية أولسو نون آز اللبناني (علماً إني عندي كتير مشكل مع هيدا التصنيف)... ـ متل ما شايفيين فوق، حولين بيروت في حروف عطاكن عمرها لأنو الإنترنت و غيرا عمبتقتل لغتنا...

Flotilla

2010-06-01T19:22:00.000+03:00

We all know that yesterday the Israelis showed us another scene from their bloody films against the innocent and against just causes. But are we surprised? Yes! I moved to Lebanon a couple of months before the Qana massacre... I lived to see the Grapes of Wrath, and then saw bombings here and there and lastly saw the July war of 2006 here in Lebanon. But on TV I have been seeing the Israelis

Taking for Granted

2010-05-19T18:12:00.000+03:00

Yes yes... This shall be yet another post inspired by my latest trip to Saudi! So you know when you're walking down corridors in banks, hotels, office buildings etc, how they decorate the walls with pictures... You know like here in my office building there's a really nice panoramic picture of Bcharre, and another one of the Temple of Bacchus. I'm sure you've also seen the cliche pictures of

Five times a day

2010-05-01T23:40:00.000+03:00

Now I never was too religious, and am not claiming that I am... But be that as it may, I'm also not an atheist... I believe in God and primarily believe in Islam.... But the world day after day is actually filling up with Islamists... which is not a good thing... Take my current trip to Saudi right now... The country goes on standstill for around 30-45 minutes five times a day for prayer... All

Secularism in Lebanon

2010-04-27T00:57:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was Lebanon's most secular day by far. Thousands (but not so many thousands) of Lebanese took to the streets on a lazy Sunday morning to protest against the malignant cancer that Lebanon has been suffering from ever since Sykes-Picot started drawing up the borders of this tiny little country. See what many people don't know is this: when you look at the map of the Arab world, you will

Complacent

2010-04-03T11:10:00.000+03:00

It's quite ironic!! During my last trip to Saudi Arabia last week, on the last day I was there while I was packing to check out in the morning before a meeting I had (no gasps people: I was running late) the fire alarm blasted in the hotel. That's what's ironic: I didn't panic or drop everything I had and run; I was struggling with buttoning my top neck button on my shirt (I may have gained half

ArabNet: the State of the Internet in the Arab World

2010-03-22T19:19:00.000+02:00

So it's ArabNet this week here in Lebanon... ArabNet is an event which will be happening in Habtoor and will basically discuss the state of the Web in the Arab World and means to develop it, I presume. Well basically I think it's great to have such an event, however late it comes, seeing that the web has been penetrating us for more than a decade though... Kudos to the organizers and may this

March 18

2010-03-18T14:25:00.000+02:00

May we never take our freedom of speech for granted! The March 18 Movement from Esra'a Al Shafei on Vimeo.

Out of my Control

2010-03-05T16:48:00.000+02:00

Life's not always perfect... Life's a bitch sometimes, and shit happens... It sucks... People you love and whose existence in your life, you have taken for granted, suddenly disappear from your life (actually hope not), and no matter what, things will never be the same again... Helplessness takes over... Financial crises shake the world... Earthquakes shake continents... People get hurt...

Open Letter to the Lebanese Minister of Internet

2010-02-23T16:39:00.000+02:00

Dear Minister of Telecommunications in Lebanon, Allow me to tell you the date today: February 23, 2010... Kindly concentrate on the last part... We're in 2010... Not 1985... As I write this, speedtest.net tells me that my internet connection's speed is... Well you can see it to the right... Can you see that ping latency!?!? I mean even with the Lebanese security and Mossad watching me, that's

ET409

2010-01-26T12:39:00.000+02:00

Tragedy hit Lebanon yesterday when an Ethiopian airliner (Flight ET409) exploded/crashed into sea killing (presumably) all 90 people on board... Half the passengers were Lebanese and half were Ethiopians... I won't delve into details about the crash details and the manifesto or any of that, and I won't echo the (sometimes unreasonable) nagging of the relatives of the victims of the crash... I

Man Vs. Nature

2010-01-18T20:10:00.000+02:00

First of all, PLEASE follow this link http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/ and donate, even if just like $20 to the relief efforts of the Haiti disastrous earthquake... Second, I'm not going to blog about Haiti... It's a catastrophe... It's tragic... We've all seen the scenes and I'm sure we were all moved one way or the other with the devastation that was incurred by that miserable

Bonne Anne.. or whatever...

2010-01-07T18:20:00.001+02:00

I find it remarkable how during the festive season of jammed traffic, aka Christmas and New Year's in Lebanon, English suddenly flipped back to being the second language (or rather first) in Lebanon. I usually feel as if I don't belong here (especially around Frenchies) cause I feel like a pure bred Lebo (which I'm not) should project his/her voice from deep within his/her lungs and never use the

Lebanese Driving

2009-12-28T13:49:00.000+02:00

"Self-respecting" governments usually tend to broadcast awareness campaigns in order to keep drivers, both new and old, aware of traffic rules which they may have studied once before the driving exam they took... This keeps traffic laws fresh in their minds... Now don't get me started on the complexities of laws such as Give way to your left, cause I know that the Lebanese leftists are few, so

Christmas 2009

2009-12-24T14:37:00.000+02:00

So thank God Christmas this year is one of no bloodshed (Gaza), riots or civil wars of the sort!! This year we get to celebrate it with less worries on our minds! In Lebanon (when things are calmed down) Christmas becomes a season when Lebanon's population seriously takes a leap by the return of hundreds of thousands of expats!! Needless to say, Lebanon's already congested road network (

Flu in Lebanon

2009-12-04T19:47:00.001+02:00

So according to our Minister of Health last week, 80% of people who have the flu in Lebanon, actually have the piggy kind... Now following that lovely announcement last week, my throat started getting scratchy, but I was able to fight back getting sick cause I flew to Amman for the eid, but then when I got back, the symptoms started aggravating... (not sure if the fact that the temperature in

2009-11-30T17:59:00.002+02:00

I started watching a show called True Blood... It's a show about vampires! (well yeah, EVERYONE seems to be blogging about vampires, so why not!) I'm still on episode five, but the show toys with the idea of integrating vampires in human society, and shows how, as usual, people get divided between those that are for the rights of vampires, and those who just want them burned alive! It got me

Weddings 'r' us

2009-11-19T18:01:00.000+02:00

I'm sure there's like some statistic that says that weddings are a something billion dollar industry in the US. I wouldn't be too surprised if it's the same thing here in Lebanon. Take me par example... (no I'm not getting married... (not even close... (did I mention I'm against weddings altogether?))) I have a wedding/engagement to attend every single weekend until Christmas... I mean what is

Arab Dialogue

2009-10-26T16:18:00.002+02:00

Well today's post was going to be me bitching about how the Amazon Kindle has been released internationally in over 100 countries but it has not been released in a single Arab country; it gives me a slight satisfaction though that it also has not been released in Israel so it's not the fact that Arabs don't read (and as the saying goes if they read they don't understand!!)Instead I shall write

Cant leev wiz zem...

2009-10-21T15:27:00.003+03:00

This post is dedicated to my fresh fan Sish!! It's also inspired by him...Now we all know that the Lebanese mammssoo7 ill 2ard fiyyon... We've been occupied and ruled by the Pharaohs, the Romans, the Ottomans... I'm sure at one point, the Indians who have never waged a war in their 10,000 years of existence occupied us somehow!! :p Well of our more (notice not most) contemporary occupiers, were

Climate Change and Lebanon

2009-10-15T11:45:00.005+03:00

So today is Blog Action Day... Shou ya3ni?!!? It means that once a year the bloggers around the world (7,000 of them this year) discuss a specific topic, and this year they could not have picked a better topic than Climate Change...So my post today is gonna be the opposite of what Mustapha reasoned... His logic was that a small country such as Lebanon can contribute hugely to global research...

Lumosity

2009-10-07T17:25:00.002+03:00

Devoted readers of this blog, know that I am a gymaholic... That is true (ignoring the fact that I haven't been to gym for the past two months because of business travels and Ramadan...) Today's post, shall stick to the theme of exercise, but will target a set of tissue that isn't highly active in the gym (and in my case not highly active ever) a.k.a the BRAIN... So we all have $100 deducted from

The Price we Pay...

2009-10-06T14:33:00.003+03:00

Well that's my status on Facebook today.To finish it, I meant: The price we pay to look good... Cause right now I'm in PAIN... Well the pain has subsided from yesterday's excruciating pain that I was suffering all night long.. If you know me, you know that I have a high pain tolerance; actually I have enough tolerance I had some drilling once done on one of my molars without having an anesthetic

The One

2009-10-02T15:10:00.000+03:00

Disclaimer: Today’s post shall be a romantic mushy-mushy one. Here’s a question: do you believe in the one? As in, in this vast planet of 6+ billion people, is there that one person who is perfectly designed to be your second half? Personally, I believe(d) in a more diluted version: it’s basically a compatibility package. For the person to be a candidate of my other half, they must be of so

Saving

2009-10-01T12:24:00.002+03:00

So I'm big right now on this thing called saving... I've been working (in like real jobs that pay more than the price of a sandwich) for almost four years now. Total savings gathered: um, what's a polite word for crap-shit?!! Total debts: $1,000 on my credit card (after mom bailed me and paid for the other $2,000 I had on top of that) and something like $20,000 in a car loan. Yeah, this is

Reflection

2009-09-28T01:25:00.002+03:00

A close friend to the brother of a close friend of mine passed away last night... Cause of death: motorcycle accident. I never liked motorcycles and don't think I ever will. To me they are a recipe for death, especially here in Lebanon. In all cases, that is not the subject of this post. When I heard the news, at first I felt the polite sorriness that one sympathetically feels towards people who

Lockerbie

2009-08-23T01:36:00.003+03:00

For lack of better thing to do so late at night whilst I await my food to arrive, I shall communicate my view on the whole Lockerbie-releasing-Mergahi issue even though I've talked about it on Facebook enough!First and foremost let me unconditionally express my condemnation to this act of terror, the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 which resulted in the deaths of over 250 people. Furthermore, the

Saudi

2009-07-29T17:31:00.003+03:00

It's been a month since I blogged... Bravo Tarek!! I blame no one but lack of content!!! (and the fact that I'm currently in Saudi Arabia whose heat just adds to the lack of content... (not to mention that the repressive environment makes creativity halt!))But I really didn't mind it all that much... I mean given the fact that I knew that I was only on a six day trip helped a lot, or else I would

The King is Dead... Long Live the King...

2009-06-26T16:26:00.002+03:00

I woke up today with over 18 e-mails by CNN's breaking news service, starting with the news that Michael Jackson was rushed to hospital, going through a state of coma he went into, and culminating with four or five e-mails saying then confirming that he's dead. I was shocked and really sad (other than the shit that I am going through that to say the least is devastating) and continued to be

Lebanese Elections

2009-06-09T12:22:00.003+03:00

Back to a political post!Following the loss of the March 8 opposition forces in Lebanon, a really thorough process of intrespection is needed on their part... The success of March 14, doesn't necessarily mean that the people like them; in my case I was voting March 14 (in Chouf) because they are the lesser of two evils... I strongly stand with March 14's principles but not its leaders. So what

Democracy in the Middle East

2009-06-06T17:34:00.002+03:00

I haven't blogged in a while cause indeed I haven't had the time to doso.. I think it's a trend of me starting my posts on an apologeticnote that I ain't posting...Well naturally, one would assume that despite the fact that I amde-politcizing my blog, it's elections fever going all around and onemust honor that with a few words...This election, apparently, is the most expensive in the history

Sex & the City

2009-05-22T16:33:00.003+03:00

Being a resident of Lebanon I find myself constantly surrounded with girls (ratio of men to women is 1:7)... (not that I'm complaining!) Most of the guys have found better paying jobs abroad and are living in Dubai and Riyadh making multiples of what I make (and then paying them on rent and their credit cards until the financial crisis f***s them over and they have to return here!)! So with my

Blogging

2009-05-06T09:50:00.002+03:00

Unlike many bloggers, I don't blog much... If you check Google Reader, it'll tell you that I blog on an average of 1.something posts per week.... That's not much compared to people who blog on daily basis and others who multiple-blog per day (where you people get your stamina from is beyond me...)However, yesterday's news about the ten worst countries to blog in, made me realize how much I take

Post-its

2009-04-21T16:55:00.002+03:00

Inspired by one of my favoritest bloggers out there (Ben) the following is a list of what would be 3M post-its that I would stick around in different places of my life with motivational notes for me!At work on my laptop:"You already quit your job and you're on your notice period... Get over yourself and work""Wearing a tie will not kill you""Stop thinking about your ABs""You do not want to throw

A Change has Come

2009-04-03T17:01:00.001+03:00

And I did it... I resigned...My boss made it really easy, and kept things civil... I can't help but feel sad about everything I will leave behind, but like I said yesterday, the anticipation of what is yet to come is full of excitement!!Sigh of relief!

A Change Can Do You Good

2009-04-02T22:55:00.000+03:00

Ok so the muse of today's post (one which comes loooooooong after the last one) is a comment made by Soap, an ex-colleague of mine who noticed me radiating pleasantness and sunshine in my e-mails (if you're barfing, I've been doing that all day!).So "Change!" If like me you went to a really good uni, then you probably were bombarded with that word in every single course, in every single topic.

Ski in the morning....

2009-03-06T23:11:00.003+02:00

I swear I love my country... All day today, I was just taking in the beautiful sights of Lebanon; even when we got lost going to the ski slopes whilst somehow driving downwards towards the Mediterranean (yeah I wasn't driving!)! There's a saying that at certain times in Lebanon you can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon... Today that exact saying happened.. Well not by me exactly!

Gymming it

2009-03-05T16:42:00.001+02:00