January 17 2005

Work Diaries (16): the evaluation

Each year the manager of each branch has to complete a performance evaluation form to evaluate his employees and give the results to the general manager of the mother company to decide who will stay, who will get fired, who deserves a raise… and so on.

Since I completed a year, I went through this whole evaluation thing.
There are 3 categories: Job Performance (5 items to be evaluated), Personal Performance (4 characteristics to be evaluated) and Individual Objectives (5 goals to be evaluated). The manager should mark each point in each category using the levels from A to F, A being the best.
I got the total of 10 A’s, 3 B’s and 1 C.
So my overall assessment should be marked as A, BUT, as my direct and general manager explained to me, the company policy prohibits a “Junior” employee, i.e. being only 1 work-year old, to be evaluated as A. Therefore I got the total evaluation of B.

Anyway, the interesting part was my manager’s personal notes on my performance:
“Eman has shown great integration capabilities from her first days within the company, and has never complained under high pressure. She has demonstrated a high level of professionalism in several aspects of her tasks and successfully carries out high responsibilities. Eman is a good contributor in giving a very good image of the company spirit and working environment.
I think she should only be more aggressive when dealing with people…”

I must admit that it gave me a psychological support and kept me somehow motivated, exactly what I need to keep me going in my stressful demanding job. Talking of motivation, I know the evaluation sounded really nice and all, but, hmm, according to my evaluation, shouldn’t I be getting a raise? 😀

January 13 2005

“Check Your Art Sense!”

After some garbage men accidentally burnt an artwork, which they mistook for trash, Frankfurt’s Städel Museum has decided that they need to hone their art-appreciation skills and attend art lessons…

What appeared to be nothing but a yellow plastic object that should be burnt, turned out to be a sculpture and part of an ongoing art exhibition by Michael Beutler, a graduate of the city’s prestigious Städel Museum. The show involved a total of ten sculptures made of yellow wood and cement that were distributed over the city.

The museum said it wanted to hone the appreciation and understanding of art among the city’s sanitation officials. Therefore, the museum will invite the garbage collectors to learn a few artsy pointers once a month under the motto “Check your Art Sense!”.

During the first class, which takes place on Jan. 16, the museum plans to place a largely unknown painting from its storage room in front of a famous one that’s currently displayed in its ongoing public exhibition.

Source: DW-World

January 12 2005

Tsunami Rumors In Dubai

Panic was created yesterday when rumors of a tsunami hitting Dubai were spread by some residents.
Waves in Dubai and Sharqa beaches reached 2.46 meters high, while water levels in the sea reached the height of 1.3 meters.
According to eyewitnesses, Dubai police asked people to stay away from the “corniche” in the morning and warned people from standing near the site in an effort to contain the excitement.
“I have been in Dubai since the past 11 years and have never seen waves this high before. The police came in at around nine in the morning and warned us all to get away from the corniche as the water was spilling onto the pavement and roads,” an eyewitness said. “We all started moving away quickly once we saw the water coming.”

4 workers on “The Palm” island project were thrown away by waves, three made it to the beach, and the fourth is still missing.

Responsible people explained what happened as a natural result caused by high speed of wind, and assure citizens that it has nothing to do with the Tsunami disaster.

Via: 4eco.com
Source: CNN and Khaleej Times

January 11 2005

Father & Son Single



Last night I had the chance to watch the video clip of Ronan Keating’s single: Father & Son Featuring Yusuf Islam.
I know it was released in December, but I only saw it last night and I must say it was BEAUTIFUL! I was so touched to see Yusuf Islam singing his song with Ronan Keating. It sounded out of this world.
I’ve always loved and admired Yusuf Islam as a singer and a person, and I just love the voice and respectful style of Ronan. Both made an incredible appearance that gave the song a whole new depth.
It was really touching! I LOVED IT!
Here is an interview with the great Yusuf Islam about the single and his appearance in Ronan Keating’s video clip.
And this is Yusuf Islam’s website. A great website that reveals the talent and the heart of Yusuf Islam, the singer, and the person…

January 10 2005

A Happy Note :)

Despite all the work pressure I have, and regardless of the fact that I just couldn’t sleep last night. I started my day with a big smile, because today is a very special day. In case you’re wondering why, the reason is that today is the first day for my husband in his new office. The company my husband works with moved its headquarters to be only one building away from my office 🙂
YIPPIEEEEE!!
We had lunch together today, something we weren’t able to do for so long because of the distance and the traffic jam. And then we took a walk around the place and I introduced him to “my work neighborhood” 🙂 So from now on, we can have lunch together whenever we want, and I wont have to wait ages for him to come home after work, because the area we work at now is only 10 minutes away from our home.

I’m so excited and wish he’ll be happy with the new place.

Ah, I’m really happy… THANK YOU GOD!

January 10 2005

Abbas Is Palestine’s New President

According to the initial results that were released today, Fatah candidate Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazin) got 66.7% of the West Bank’s votes and 65% of the Gaza Strip’s, which means he won the Palestinian presidential elections with 95% of the votes counted.
Palestinian National Initiative candidate Mustafa al-Barghuthi got 21% of the West Bank votes and 18% of the Gaza Strip’s.
Source: AlJazeera

January 10 2005

Abbas ist der neue Führer Palästinas

PLO-Chef Mahmud Abbas hat mit großer Mehrheit die palästinensische Präsidentenwahl gewonnen. Nach Auszählung der Stimmen in 14 von 16 Bezirken lag der 69-Jährige Vorsitzende der Palästinensischen Befreiungsorganisation mit 62,3 Prozent in Führung.
Abbas erklärte sich schon zwei Stunden nach Schließung der Wahllokale in Ramallah zum Sieger: „Ich widme diesen Sieg der Seele Jassir Arafats, und ich widme ihn unserem Volk, unseren Märtyrern und den 11.000 palästinensischen Häftlingen.“
Quelle: Deutsche Welle

January 7 2005

Life …

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

-unknown author-