February 6 2004

Faces

Such a great effect they posses. They aren’t just some pleasant or unpleasant appearances, nor are they some recognition features. They are much more than that. Faces are meanings, they’re feelings. They’re time, they’re history and they’re present. But they’re never to be a future, for you can never guess what faces you’ll encounter, or which will surround you a second from now.
Faces are surprises, they’re memories, and they’re experience. They’re your hope, if not, then they’re your disappointment. Yet some are just meaningless faces, postures you’ve seen, or you’re still seeing, that make no difference in your life and add nothing to its value.
Faces… aren’t they such a riddle!

When I first came to Tunisia, I felt so strange. I knew no one at all. It was as if I was thrown out of some different planet. And on my discovery walks, I saw hundreds of faces, not a single one I knew. It was ok with me at first, I knew the time will come when I’ll get to recognize some of those faces. But in a very short while, I started feeling lonely. I had no relationship to connect me with any of the faces I saw. I wished I had someone really close to me who’d ask me what’s wrong with me just from a look at my face. I hoped one would understand I’ve heard great news just by encoding my smile. Afterwards, I got to recognize some faces, like the security man in the building, the mini market woman, the post office workers and some other faces in some other shopping stores and libraries. But no one was able to be close to me, although some were really nice to me.
I look at myself now, now that I’ve got to recognize so many faces, and I wonder what they mean, and how I feel about them.
In the bus I notice faces around me that I don’t know. Through the bus window I see even more I don’t know; but still I come across few which I actually recognize. In my office I see new faces each day, at the same time, I see many old ones. In my neighborhood I recognize some, and yet many are just a mystery.
When I go shopping, I see a lot of familiar faces across the streets, I might even come across people I visit, who are very few, and the chance to meet them outside by accident is even fewer!
Now that I know much more than before, I found out that adding more faces to your memory album makes a big difference.
Faces that you never knew before are the ones that remind you of very bad experiences you had few days ago. Faces that rang no bells before, are the ones which make you feel so confused and lost now. Faces which you never saw before, are the ones who left ugly scars in your beautiful heart. Faces that belonged to no one significant, are the ones which belong to people you avoid seeing again. Faces that were just some features put together, are now the ones that make you insane.
Many faces you know now helped adding to your disgust. Many others took big portions of your love and used out your trust, but very few gave you the love, loyalty and appreciation you needed in return.
Many faces that had no place in your personal dictionary are now being translated into covers -synonym to masks- hiding exactly the opposite of what they reveal.
I’ve always believed that a person’s face is the mirror of their souls. It reflects their feelings and moods as well as their health. I thought it was the key to their personality and that you can predict their reactions to a certain thing from their faces. But as days pass by, I started understanding that faces aren’t always that clear, in fact they could be really misleading.
I’ve always believed that knowing no faces causes loneliness, but now I found out that the less you know of them, the less the chance is to get hurt or deceived. I guess older generation don’t agree with me, they have the right to. In their time faces were what made life worth living.
In my life some few faces have made their way to the bottom of my heart so long ago, and very little kept their places over there up till now. One face I’m lucky to have in front of me all the time, and some I’m so unlucky to have chosen to be far from; and life was too cruel to take the rest, not only from their places but also from my whole life.
There are faces that I still remember every single detail of, and there are some which left me nothing but the memory of their outer contours. I don’t know if I’d ever get to meet them again, will I be able to recognize them? or will I just pass right next to them without even knowing they’re the ones I once knew.
I might recognize their faces, but would they recognize mine? Do they even remember it now as I write this? Did my face ever mean something significant to them from the very beginning? Or was it just a shape they saw, a shape like all other shapes.
I have so many questions that are left unanswered, but at the end of the day I know, that there will always be good and bad faces. I know that just like there are ones I carry with me all the time, there are ones which have taken the picture of my face and kept it somewhere safe and sound. I know that there are ones that appreciate my features and miss my face just as much as I appreciate and miss theirs. I know there are eyebrows that tighten up every day worrying about me. I know there are eyes that see my face all the time, even when I’m not there; and eyes that release precious tears for missing me, or for being happy for me. I know there are ears that hear my voice every day, even if it was just an echo. I know there are noses that still smell the memories of a fresh spring morning they spent with me. I know there are lips that call my name every minute, even if they can barely remember it. I know there are cheeks that brighten every morning just for the thought of me. I know there are foreheads that are bent every night for not hearing from me. I know there are faces that will lighten up just because they saw me.
Faces that love me, wrinkles that are proud of me, fresh baby skin that smiles at me. Faces that will never give up their places in my heart. They might be few, they might be near, they might be far, but they exist, and this is what matters the most to me.
Those are the faces that make my life worth living…

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February 4 2004

So Unhealthy Me

Ever since I’ve started working in Tunisia and I’ve never went to work one day feeling fresh and active. I don’t know why I never seem to get enough sleep during the weekend ALTHOUGH I sleep a lot. Maybe it’s because I have a lot of things to do during the week so I end up really exhausted and the sleep I get on the weekend can’t make up for it. Or it could be that I’ve become a lazy person and no matter how much sleep I get I’d still want more. Like the other night, I woke up to drink water, the wind was blowing, the whole neighborhood as dark as the deep of an ocean and the bedroom as warm and calm as I love it to be. I get back to bed and just as I hug the soft warm covers and close my eyes the alarm goes: trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn, trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn! I wished I had the power to hold back the sun from rising and stop time for only one more hour. I was sooo sleepy and I really needed more, but well, I had to go get prepared for work.
Anyway, thank God that the minute I enter the office I am no longer sleepy, or at least for the first couple of hours 😛 And then this annoying and embarrassing feeling gets into me, you know this feeling when your eyes get red and you feel them burning and you can’t tolerate light or screens or anything, you suddenly lose the strength to hold them wide open and you either have this stupid smile on your face, or a pathetic frown as an attempt to give the impression that you’re seriously working, loool, I experience that a lot.

Going back in time when I used to work in Jordan, I remember that weekends like that, when you feel you still need more sleep, were so few. I used to go to work in the beginning of the week so fresh and active, have had enough sleep and big time on the weekend, I couldn’t but be so active and so energetic.
To me, I hate being lazy, and all who knows me calls me “restless”, I’m not used to spending a lot of time in bed, and I’m always so energetic and feel like doing a lot of activities I love. But looking at myself now, I noticed that not only laziness got into me, but even my health got worse. I get sick once and I need ages to recover which is so bad. I got tired of being sick. So I decided to look for the reason behind all this. I made a little comparison between me now and before, and I found out that I’ve been having some really UNHEALTHY habits nowadays. Like for example, I used to drink all kinds of tea: red, green, herbal tea… etc. I loved coffee with milk and I used to drink a cup every day. And I drank all hot drinks with so little sugar. But now I drink tea once or twice a week, and I drink coffee at least twice a day. I put 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar in a cup, and this is so bad.
I used to eat a lot of vegetables, now and although I try my best to eat vegetables, but I’m not eating as much as I’d love to.
I used to do a lot of sport: have really long walks, swim, play tennis, exercise at home, but now it’s different. Actually, thinking of it, I really don’t know how I’m still in shape when I’m eating double the quantity I used to earlier, AND with all the FastFood I stuff myself with. But I guess it’s because I walk a lot; from work to bus stations, from home to the mini-market; I try to use my feet as much as I can instead of transportation devices, but still this isn’t enough. And it doesn’t compare to walking in green areas breathing fresh air!
Add to all this the weather which I’m still not friends with. Winter here is too strong for me, although I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve visited really cold places, but in Tunisia it’s something else, the cold here united with humidity, cuts its way straight to the bones. It’s unbelievable.
Anyway, let’s not blame the weather, as I discovered I’ve been living unhealthy, and I decided to do something about it. Starting from today my eating and drinking habits must change, I should get more fresh air and I should rest enough. Lol, talking is easy, but no, I’m gonna stick to it, and God knows I’m so determined.
So Good luck for me I guess, and to all of you out there, take care of yourselves, eat healthy and look after your well-being.

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January 30 2004

Eid Al Adha And The Savage Muslims!

Well, isn’t this what most of non-Muslims say every time Eid Al Adha approaches? Yes, a lot of them think that this Eid is so cruel to sheep and is so uncivilized. But did they ever think of the reasons for this Eid? Did they ever think of the way that relieves animals most when being prepared for eating? Or do they just judge from the outside?
This is not a post to defend Muslims, nor is it one to offend non-Muslims. It’s just an an invitation to take a deeper look on the process.
In fact I am one of the people who eat meat occasionally, I’m not that fond of it. I don’t hate it but I eat only the amounts I need to provide myself with the essentials my body needs and which cannot be replaced by vegetables or fruits (no matter how hard scientists try to prove the opposite). Hey dear vegetarians don’t hate me, I respect you, I just don’t believe joining you is the right thing to do.
Anyway let me get back to Eid Al Adha, which means the “Fest of Sacrifice”. Muslims celebrate it in remembrance of the story of prophet Ibrahim. As you know God tests us all the time. And God wanted Ibrahim to prove his strong belief in him by checking if he’d do anything for the love of God. So God asked him to kill his own son, which is something impossible normally, and which was so harsh on Ibrahim, but still he chose to fulfill God’s will and sacrifice his son. But the minute he was about to kill his son, God replaced the boy with a sheep to be killed instead of the boy as a reward for his strong belief, proving once again that God tests our faith but is never willing to hurt us.
A lot might laugh at this story, but it’s serious, actually a lot of normal people test others’ loyalty towards them in different ways. Men test women’s love, women test men’s loyalty, kids test their family’s appreciation, friends test each other’s trust… etc. Some ways could be reasonable like for example a father asking his son to stop smoking to show his love for his dad, or a mother asking her little girl to eat all her dish to prove her love for her mom. And some are silly, like a woman asking her husband to sell the dearest thing he has just to prove his love for her. Or a guy asking a girl to forget about the whole world and run away with him to a new place where he has no life and no future at all, just to prove her love for him… But the difference between God’s testing and people’s testing is that God just tests and isn’t waiting for things to actually happen, and God rewards without you even doing the thing. God wants nothing in return. But people, we ask, we want things to be done our way, and then we’re just “pleased”. No rewards but a “thank you” that might not even come from the bottom of the heart.
Now back to Eid Al Adha.
I don’t know why a lot of people believe they’re animal friends and call for the rights of animals and all, when they actually aren’t any different from those who eat animal meat.
We all eat, some eat everything, some eat only vegetables, or fruits or serials. The thing is when you eat vegetables you are eating living creatures as well. And if something doesn’t have eyes nor legs, or if it doesn’t have a mouth, that doesn’t mean it’s dead! Plants are alive, they have souls, they have families, a grand tree, a baby plant … they’re just like all other living creatures.
And God has created us all to live together and improve. Animals eat plants and other animals and sometimes humans. And Humans eat plants and animals (and sometimes humans, lol, just kidding) and some plants eat other plants and insects and live on the rest of dead bodies. We’re all created as a natural circle.
Yet the difference between what God asked us to do and what people are actually doing is what destroyed the balance of nature. God asked us to be good to other creatures, care for them and when we need them, we should do our best not to hurt them.
You shouldn’t cut off the leaves of a plant for fun, you shouldn’t burn it and you should use it in a gentle way. Just like animals, you shouldn’t torture them and you shouldn’t use them in a bad way. So no negative use, but you can still use them.
“I wont eat meat. I don’t wanna have Mad Cow Disease”, anyone who says this has the right to be scared, but the problem wont be solved that way. We wouldn’t have got Mad Cow Disease nor Birds’ flue or any other animal disease if we took the right precautions before eating their meat.
Which brings us to the issue of slaughter. When you find the word “Halal” written on the animal meat, it means it was slaughtered following Islam’s instructions, which are: taking a healthy animal (sheep,cow, chicken..), then saying: “In the name of God the Merciful” to it (yes you should talk to it to calm it down and show respect to its soul as well as mercy for its body) and then quickly cut a certain vein in a certain point in the neck. And if you make a quick research you’ll find out that it’s the best way for both the animal and the human, why? For the animal because it’s so quick, and hits the point where pain is felt the least, so it doesn’t hurt the animal at all, opposite to using electric shocks and stuff which leaves the animal suffering before it’s dead. And good for the humans because this cut vein releases excess old blood (following scientific pressure rules) leaving the body with only pure fresh blood that was newly generated and that will be easily took out of the body while cooking. Oh, and last but not least, the released blood should be CLEANED away.
So meat isn’t the cause of the diseases we hear of, no, it’s us who caused those diseases because we can’t just stop messing with nature. And instead of asking your kids and beloved ones to stop eating meat, show them the right way to take care of animals, feed them right, preserve the balance of nature and know how to use the environment in the best way ever.

A reminder to all Muslims of the world
Eid Al Adha is an occasion to remember God’s mercy and the devotion and faith of the believers. It’s an occasion to share the poor and give them a chance to eat meat that they can’t afford. If you can afford buying a sheep, then never forget to donate as much as you can for the poor, this is the spirit of Eid Al Adha, it’s not about showing off nor stuffing yourself with different meat dishes. And make sure you use appropriate places for the purpose of slaughtering, and streets aren’t the place for sure.

Eid Al Adha In Jordan:
A thing I really admired in Jordan during Eid Al Adha was the presence of charity associations that gather your donations of meat, money or whatever you wanna donate. You fill a form to decide where your donations should go. The choices vary from sending to local families in need, or local associations that help the poor, or you can send to countries suffering from hunger, or going through war and so on.
I find this so ideal. I really like it.
Well and another thing I really miss about Jordan is the home-made chocolates mom used to make us in shapes of sheep 🙂 She’d prepare them around 3 days before Eid, so you can imagine how YUMMY the house smelled. She used to make them with raisins, or almonds or hazel nut, or simply milk chocolate. They were out of this world and tasted the best. I used to steal the biggest sheep (which was made to decorate) and eat it alone 😛
Not to forget the ma’moul once again. God I miss all that.

The Eid is in a couple of days. Happy Eid Al Adha to all of you out there and may God bless you all.

Category: Religion | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 28 2004

Yoga Obsession

With this fast pace life is taking, and with all the stress we’re experiencing nowadays, a lot of people have decided to lead healthy happy lives. So they’ve started eating healthier, they’ve started exercising more, and they’ve been trying to invest in their free time for the good of their well-being.
Gyms are suddenly stuffed with people, media is being paid fortunes for healthy food publicity, and last but not least YOGA got itself a place on top of almost everybody’s interests.
Most of the people I know attend Yoga sessions. A lot of them earn a living teaching it.
TVs show Yoga Classes.
Magazines write about Yoga.
Movies have Yoga scenes in them.
Websites are FULL of Yoga Instructions from A to Z.
A lot of Celebrities have made Yoga their Nr. 1 Hobby.
Doctors advise their stressed patients to try out Yoga.
Beauty Experts encourage women to take Yoga classes in order to keep fit and young.
Sports Professionals say all people of all ages are capable of Yoga.
A lot of people think that Yoga is modern and sexy.
I am one of the people who was so curious and wanted to know everything about Yoga. I read books and searched the web, and bought magazines that had self-teaching courses. I even tried it out myself. To be honest, when I first started I wasn’t that happy with it, simply because I don’t like spending much time on one thing, I’m used to have 100 things to do in the same time and most of the days I’m in a hurry. So when I first started, my first exercises were for meditation and concentration. I had to do this certain body shape and focus on one point. And the course composer wrote: “you have to ask yourself SILENTLY: {how do I feel now} both before and after you finish this exercise. And you have to answer QUIETLY.”
I did this shape and concentrated on a green plant in front of me to achieve perfect relaxation. And asked myself the question silently and answered quietly: “I feel stressed out, and need to relax.” I had to stay 15 minutes, and on the count of minute 3 I was like: “Hmm, is it my watch that isn’t actually ticking, or is it time that’s passing too damn slow!!! no, no, I should relax and I’m not supposed to even think of time”.
Two minutes later I wondered: “Am I supposed to stay like this all that long! Ok let me try to free my mind from any thoughts and see how I’d feel”.
Minute 10 comes, I get crazy and feel like tearing apart the green plant with its annoying little leaves, which were getting on my nerves every time the wind blew. I looked at the trainer’s pic and said to him LOUDLY: “Wanna know how I feel you stupid loser! This is how I feel: I’m CALM (while throwing the magazine on the ground) I’m HAPPY (while stepping over the magazine with anger) I have found my center (while throwing the pillows on the floor) and I’m totally COOL, I just feel like KILLING somebody.”
Yep, I was Ms. Stress. I just thought it was a waste of time.
But once you get used to Yoga, and once you apply it properly when you’re seriously willing to relax and when you have the time for it, then you’ll truly enjoy its results.
As for me, I never had enough time 😉 BUT I’m one of the obsessed ones; I’m so interested in Yoga and respect its principles.
So here is a piece of advice: if you wanna keep fit, healthy, young and sexy, if you wanna learn patience, and find peace for both your body and soul, there is nothing better than YOGA . Just make sure you have nothing breakable around you 😉

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January 26 2004

Things That Got On My Brothers’ Nerves ;)

In our lives we learn a lot from people around us, specially the ones who are close to us. And just like any one in this world, I have my good and my annoying attitudes which are noticed by others. Some comment, some give advice, some give compliments, some keep on interfering in every little detail and some say nothing at all.
My family consists of 7 members, the parents, 3 ladies and 2 young men. And I come exactly in the middle, I’m number THREE, but when it comes to trouble making, talkative tendencies and restlessness, then I am number ONE.
My two brothers were the ones who suffered most because of some of my habits. I wanted to simply write down those annoying things which used to really piss off my brothers, but then I thought: why not write what I learned from both of them and leave it to the readers to discover what actually got on their nerves.
I’ll start with my big bro first; he’s older than me, and ranks two in the family. A great young man who lives now in Canada. I learned really so much from him, although we didn’t have the chance to spend much time together as he traveled a lot and now he’s in a country and I’m living in another.
Big bro taught me:
1. While preparing for exams, best thing to keep you awake and fresh is a glass of lemonade (School Days). While you’re preparing for exams, nothing compares to a cup of hot Nescafe (first couple of years in university). While you’re preparing for your exams and you feel tired and can’t concentrate any longer, best way to cheer up is leave your books and go out for a while until you feel like studying again… if you don’t feel like studying again, then it doesn’t matter, don’t study at all, who cares (last two years of university).
2. When you catch cold drink 7UP.
3. Correction fluid is made to cover your mistakes ONCE so that you could correct them the next time you write. So when you use the correction fluid be FOCUSED ENOUGH to write the correct thing and stop making the SAME MISTAKE over and over again. (I was really clumsy in writing when I was a little girl. I loved using the correction fluid and used to cover the wrong word then write the same wrong word over it, cover it again and write the correct word but with a new spelling mistake, and so on, till my notebook looked very ugly with spots on the sheets to “engrave” rather than “write” on).
4. Vitamin Complexes are great. Make sure you take some every once in a while.
5. Don’t forget sports, it’s very important. (He goes regularly to the gym and loves sports specially weight lifting. And well, he did hell of a job:) ).
6. Fill your kitchen with cookies, they’re yummy.
7. Hair dryers are invented for two reasons: drying hair, and drying clothes (a very practical advice indeed).
8. Never look back. (I’ve been through a lot of bad times, and he’s been always there for all of us. And whenever I was hurt, or have been through a bad experience or failed to do something right, he’d say: sis, it’s over now, never look back, look forward instead, life goes on and you’ll survive somehow, nothing really matters).
9. Tuna sandwiches are the best. (he makes the best Tuna sandwiches ever, with this cheese and … ooops, I forgot it’s his secret recipe, so I guess I wont go on).
10. CLOSE THE CAR DOOR GENTLY WHEN YOU STEP OUT OF IT.
11. Whatever happens, keep cool and NEVER LOSE YOUR TEMPER.
12. A person should keep improving himself and his skills to reach the best positions.
13. Believe in your abilities and never let anyone under-estimate you.
14. You don’t have to get out ALL YOUR CLOTHES from the closet to choose what to wear today (an awful old habit of mine that I managed to get rid of).
15. Going out to Cafes with friends and family is wonderful. And best time to go to them is when it’s cold and raining outside.
16. Drive SLOWLY.
17. Never be ashamed of wearing glasses (I wasn’t ashamed of wearing glasses when I younger, it’s just that I never felt really cozy with them. I had my nose itching me because of them, and I felt there is this thing over my face that could fall and be broken when I jump or run. And just for the record, I always ended up breaking them one way or the other; when I was a kid that is). So when I’m older he suggested: Wear contacts for a change if you like (but still, one day I forgot to pour in enough solution and I ended up having a dried out lens, and it was torn apart), so he went like: Eman, nothing will work with you but disposable contacts. (And I thank him for this great advice).
18. Last but not least, never forget to thank God for everything.
By the way, my big bro has this unique sense of humor, loves us all as much as we love him, and is full of great things.
One of the things we really like about him is this one of a kind ability he has to speak a certain phrase in all languages. For example he’d say: “Good morning, how are you” in all languages, not by translating them, but by using the very same words. All he does is play with the speaking speed and the way he speaks out some letters according to his background of the language. It’s amazing. And of course he knows those frequently used words and expressions in some languages, and uses them in a very great way.
Other than that, he has another special thing, which is inventing names. So each one of the family and close friends has at least 2 new names. And mine are (along with Eman):
Emanza (no idea where he came out with it); Emanen (following German language structure applied to some words); and Eladeeja (no idea about the source either, and I don’t even know if I got it right :P).
I miss you so much bro, and I hope you’re doing great.

My second brother is younger than me, in fact he’s the youngest in the family, but he isn’t spoiled at all. Actually he is a very mature, kind and sweet young man. I spent more time with him than with my other brother, but I learned less from him because as he reached the peak of his maturity and understanding of life, I got my wedding ring and flew away.
So you can say I was the experienced one this time who should teach and not learn, but still I learned a lot of him.
Little bro taught me:
1. When you like a part of a certain song, there is no harm in playing it over and over and over again, even if the ones around you are going to kill you (loool, he did it constantly, and I couldn’t help laughing every time he did it. We learned songs by heart coz of him)
2. When you have an important thing to do in the morning and you know you wont wake up on time coz you worked all night long set your alarm at 7 a.m., when it goes off and you’re still sleepy, set it on 7:02, it goes off again, set it on 7:10 this time; it will go off again, so you set it on 7:13, in the end turn it off once and for all and enjoy your sleep… oh, and never think of the consequences.
3. Cook your meals with M E A T. And STOP PICKING OUT THE MEAT PIECES AND PUTTING THEM ASIDE! Because if there comes a day when you can’t afford buying meat, you’ll feel like killing yourself for not eating the ones you were offered earlier. (just for the record, he is TALENTED in cooking everything)
4. PLEASE CLOSE THE CAR DOOR GENTLY WHEN YOU STEP OUT OF IT (I guess both my brothers were suffering from this thing and hated me for that :P)
5. Create your own dances, even if the steps were too simple or too silly, as long as you enjoy them and think they’re great.
6. Laugh your head off whenever you can.
7. Study at night.
8. Be creative as much as you can and create things.
9. STOP listening to Techno and have a better taste in music.
10. Computer wasn’t made only for e-mails and chatting to your fiancé, you could surf, download stuff and apply a lot of things…SO WOULD YOU PLEASE SET FREE THE MACHINE FOR ONLY FEW MINUTES FOR GOD’S SAKE! (well, I never gave them the chance to work on it as I really spent the whole time online with my fiancé, who is my husband now 🙂 )
11. Stop being afraid of heights.
12. Stop worrying about others so much specially ME, and stop preaching me pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!
13. You have to learn to GIVE UP sometimes. For example when the PC is not working, then you have to believe that it’s not working, in other words you should stop NAGGING on ME to get it working again, and when I say I have no time, then you should believe that you weren’t meant to touch the PC that day so you don’t have to go running to an internet café. And when you’re in an internet café and then the PC your working on goes mad all at a sudden and the whole e-mail you’ve written to your “Fiancé” wasn’t saved nor sent, then you should know that it’s obviously a sign from God not to go on. And when you change the machine to another one and then there is an electricity blackout in Amman, for one reason or the other then you should finally GIVE UP the idea of sending that email instead of WAITING for the electricity to come back.
14. Aren’t you fed up of asking me to lower the volume every time I listen to music?
My younger brother and I share this really bad habit, which is leaving everything to the last minute, mostly when it comes to studying. So when we have months to prepare for the exams, you’ll find us going out, watching TV and just having fun rather than preparing, and we only feel the responsibility one day before the exams.
He too has a great sense of humor. He’s so kind and nice to everyone. He learned working with computers earlier than me, as he used to spend all his time with my big brother. He is very smart, but never organized in scheduling. He hates to be interrupted when he’s in the middle of something. He has a great ability to learn languages and invents vocabulary of his own, which I find amazing. And he always asks me: “ Eman, could you please tell me why did you choose to study languages?”.
I miss you too and wish you’re doing great in your finals bro.
Well, regardless of the hard time I’ve given you both, and no matter how annoying I was, you both still miss me so much, right! 😉

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January 25 2004

Motivational and Inspirational Quotes about “Business”

Those were some quotes I found nice, enjoy:
Charles M. Schwab
A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.

Andrew Carnegie
No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit

Thomas J. Watson
You have to have your heart in the business and the business in your heart.

Thomas J. Peters
The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.

Ray Kroc
In business for yourself, not by yourself.

Peter F. Drucker
Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation

Orison Swett Marden
The golden rule for every businessman is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.

John H. Patterson
To succeed in business it is necessary to make others see things as you see them.

J. C. Penney
Every business is built on friendship.

Henry Ford
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.

H. Ross Perot
Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering, and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationships.

J. Paul Getty
To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business.

B. C. Forbes
Don’t forget until too late that the business of life is not business, but living.

Aristotle Onassis
The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows

Paul J. Meyer
The only honest measure of your success is what you are doing compared to your true potential

William A. Ward
Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.
Motivational and Inspirational Quotes about “Business”

Charles M. Schwab
A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.

Andrew Carnegie
No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit

Thomas J. Watson
You have to have your heart in the business and the business in your heart.

Thomas J. Peters
The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.

Ray Kroc
In business for yourself, not by yourself.

Peter F. Drucker
Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation

Orison Swett Marden
The golden rule for every businessman is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.

John H. Patterson
To succeed in business it is necessary to make others see things as you see them.

J. C. Penney
Every business is built on friendship.

Henry Ford
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.

H. Ross Perot
Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering, and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationships.

J. Paul Getty
To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business.

B. C. Forbes
Don’t forget until too late that the business of life is not business, but living.

Aristotle Onassis
The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows

Paul J. Meyer
The only honest measure of your success is what you are doing compared to your true potential

William A. Ward
Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.

Category: General | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 22 2004

Why Should You Vote For Subzero Blue?

As you all know we are in the finals for the “BLOGGIE 2004 AWARD” ……
A great competition from Bloggies 2004, which I find so encouraging and so challenging. I congratulate them on this idea that got us all full of suspense and made us anxious to know the results, which will be announced in March.
As you know MMM of Subzero Blue succeeded in reaching the finals. And no matter who wins, the fact that he reached that far is alone enough for all of us to be both proud and happy.
But deep inside I wish he’d be the winner, because his blog is really great. Other than the beautiful design of the, its wonderful colors and its absolutely amazing name, you can enjoy reading about all topics, from entertainment, to education, to technologies to personal experiences, to watching unique pictures and much much more.
I consider myself a big fan of his, other than the fact that he was the reason for my blog to be born. He encouraged me to post and I owe him big time for that.
Well, I’ve realized this little thing right now, it’s the fact that Subzero Blue is a blog that doesn’t need anyone encouraging people to vote for, it’s really good and interesting. And I’m sure that all those who appreciate it just like me, and all those who admire creativity and good writing as much as I do have already voted for him. If for any reason, one of Subzero Blue’s fans still didn’t vote, then it’s never too late 😉
If you’re new in the world of blogs, then take a look at Subzero Blue and I guarantee your satisfaction.
Good luck to all the finalists, and keep in mind that you had the honor of getting that far even if you didn’t win.
And for all of you who didn’t pass, just like me here:), never mind, you can make it up next year. And lucky me, I got really sick for so long that my blog has been paused for many weeks, leaving me no chance to compete with really good and fresh blogs which post new things on daily basis. Oh, yes, well my blog doesn’t have a photolog either, hmmm, no pics, not that up to date, no wonder I didn’t pass 😛 but come on, I still got nominated, didn’t I. And I still have the chance to win next year; yes, yes, I am willing to challenge myself and be number 1, so watch out fellow bloggers,
AquaCool is on the way ;).

Category: General, Media, International | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 8 2004

40 Days Already!

And it’s still like yesterday when the famous Tunisian singer Thikra (Zekra) Mohamed was forced to leave her place in this world. Today is exactly day 40 ever since she was murdered in a very cruel and ugly way, and by whom her husband.The man she trusted, the man she shared the most preacious gift God has given us:Life, but now and as the murder took place we know that her husband never appreciated her trust and never respected her decision to share him her life, not only that but even worse, we know that he actually never saw life as precious as it really is, and to him taking away his life as well as others’ who trusted him is a piece of cake.
God! every time I remember what happened I feel I can’t keep on sitting and feel like screaming out of anger. But what can we do!
Now there is this tradition most of the Arab Muslims follow in case of death of someone which is gathering again on day 40 of the person’s death, where they all pray for the dead and where the Holy Quran is read till the end on this day.
And not only Thikra’s family and her relatives will gather today, and not only her friends or her fans, but also all those who knew her a little and were so touched with what happened to this young singer, this nice woman, and this decieved wife.
One of the things I was waiting to watch is this T.V. Program that will be aired today on channel Tunis7, where all the singing stars will share some memories about Thikra, talk about their relationship with her and express their sad feelings towards this tragedy that resulted in the loss of one of the most successful and talented singers in the Arab World.
On the other hand, the Tunisian T.V. haven’t stopped showing Thikra’s songs on T.V., either in concerts, or in Video Clips, ever since her death. Even the last one that was still not completed totally as she died while it was being prepared, the one called “Youm Leek Ou Youm Aleek” (Hope I got it right), the producer decided to add the final touches and showed it on T.V. as a gift of honor to the singer he respected a lot.
What a lot of non Arabs might not know is this sad thing about her name, a beautiful Arabic name “Thikra”, which means :”Memory”, and unfortunately her beautiful name transferred from just a nice meaning into reality, and Thikra has become only a memory for all those who once knew year and for all those who knew her after her terrible death.
Let us all pray for Thikra and all dear people who left us either in normal or horrible circumstances, let’s pray for their forgiveness, and May their souls rest in peace.
God Bless You And Protect You All, and may all of us share our lives with people who appreciate us for who we are, left us up when we’re down, take our hands when we need help, and most important of all, ones who will protect us, care for us, surround us with love and … love us for being alive!

Category: Arab Societies, Entertainment | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 7 2004

Year 2004

So a new year has begun. I know it’s a week late for this topic, but still adding a new year to our lives is worth talking about anytime.
First let me wish you all a great Happy New Year.
To those of you who have been through really hard time in year 2003, I wish that 2004 will be a better year for you. And to those who consider 2003 a great year, I wish that 2004 will be even greater.
To all of you out there who were awaiting happy events to take place in 2003 but were disappointed, I say never lose hope and may year 2004 be the time for these events and more unexpected ones to happen. To all who were feeling lost, focus more, draw your goals and start all over again, you’ll find out that it’s easy to find the right way to walk.

DID YOU LOSE SOMEONE?To all of you who have lost someone dear, get over it, if it was their fault that you got separated then they don’t appreciate you and therefore don’t deserve being with you; if it was your fault, then there is always a second chance to make things better, if you already used your second chance then learn from your mistakes and see what you can “edit” in yourself to improve; yet if death was the reason you lost your dear one, then be sure that we’ll all die one day, and this dear one is just one of thousands of other people who were dear to other people as well. Appreciate the good times you had together, pray for them and always keep in mind that sweet memories will be there for you to remember every time you miss them.

BROKENHEARTED?
If you were broken hearted over and over again, get rid of this pathetic frown and this surrendering look and force a true smile on your lips, for God has given us all two great gifts: a strong will to go on, and the ability to forget. If one doesn’t work the other should, and just look at yourself, your heart was broken, it wasn’t killed. You’re still alive, you’ll be able to survive anything only if you believed in yourself. And then heart of yours is still full of great feelings waiting for you to experience, one of them is the taste of success after failure; and never forget, no matter how many times you failed to continue in a relationship, it’s not a crime nor a sign of instability in your character, no, it’s a sign for one of two things: you’re either not ready for such a relation, and in this case all you have to do is have an innocent conversation with your soul, take a deeper look at your life and know what you really want, what kind of people do you wish to have a relationship with and what were the things that got you upset with your former relationship so you can avoid them. Or, you haven’t found your second half yet, and I assure you, God is preparing you for your sweetheart so that when you finally meet you wont lose each other, so cheer up, the one for you is somewhere out there, you might know them already, you might not, and whatever the case you’ll find each other and laugh at your early experiences.

HAVE A SEVER DISEASE?
So you’re suffering from Cancer or Aids, or any other dangerous disease? Don’t worry, nothing’s impossible. And instead of looking at it as a new year with sickness and less days for you to live, why don’t you look at the bright side? Science is in fast progress. New discoveries are found around the clock, new inventions are happening every day, and nothing stays as it is. If you asked for help and you reached a stage where no one can help you anymore, then allow me to say that you’re a BIG LOSER. Yes, why don’t you be your own doctor! Move it, do research, read everything related to your disease, books, newspapers, magazines, internet, everything. Learn more about the ways to prevent your disease, study the healthy nutrition bases and get to a relationship between food and your disease. Rest when you need to, be active when you’ve rested enough, walk, see people, share us all, blog about your sickness, write a book, do anything but never surrender. And keep in mind that there was a time when fever was deadly, but look what science made out of it; it’s not considered a threat any more. And never underestimate your strong will, the will that succeeded in struggling with cancer for survival, will succeed in your survival as well no matter what your disease was. Have faith and be strong.

WHERE FROM COULD I POSSIBLY PAY MY DEBTS?
Ah, so you began your new year with worries. The home credit is due to payment this year; your debts must be paid this year, your car fees should be fully paid, you can’t go on in college unless you pay your fees…etc!
This might seem a disaster, yet it doesn’t seem impossible to be solved. Try to make a list of priorities, write down all the money you should pay, to whom it should be paid and for what you’ll be paying it. Make a comparison, see which must be paid first, who could give you some more time and who wont. If you work, save as much as you can. You don’t have to eat the best food or wear the best clothes or buy the best gifts. Save until you pay all your debts and then live the way you like. It isn’t easy but it will be a period that will pass, and after it passes you’ll be so pleased and proud of yourself for your achievements. Try to get an extra source of money. Get a part-time job, start freelancing with a company, wash the dishes, serve food, baby sit, and never be ashamed of your work.
If you don’t work, then you have to start re-considering, even if you were a student you can have a pert-time job at college or anywhere else.
And no matter how critical your situation concerning money was, never walk a wrong way. Never sell your body for money, no get arrested and take your responsibility, this is better than lowering your value and being that cheap. Never steal from others, living in debts is enough trouble, I’d rather borrowing more money from someone close than stealing. Never deceive someone in exchange for money. And never allow your financial needs to make you forget your life and your loved ones. Keep on smiling and helping, keep on thinking and fighting, and you’ll find the solution.

CAN I ESCAPE MY PAST?
In front of people, yes, sure you can, but in front of your mind, you can never escape your past.
If you’ve done bad things that made you look as a very bad person, or if you’ve made something that gave you a very bad reputation, or if you did intentionally or unintentionally hurt others, then you can make people forget about that and make a new start, but you will never forget who you were and what you’ve done. So my advice is, don’t try to forget, try to improve. Change so that you’ll prove to yourself that you’ve become a better person, once you’ve believed, it’s so easy to make others see the new you without the need to lie or play tricks. If the ones you hurt are reachable, apologize to them, if you can help them, do. If they are out of reach, then just try to help others who were hurt by someone else. Listen to their problems, suggest solutions, give them a hand at work, and do whatever you can. And most important of all is to never repeat your past. Learn from it, but never let it to interfere in the new you negatively, never let anyone get to you through it by using it to make kind of a scandal to you or anything. Be true to yourself and others, be clear and direct and be strong enough to defend your new self, and you’ll see, nothing will ever get to you. Oh and one more thing, never ever think of suicide, leave it to losers who are good in nothing but being useless and escaping their problems. Be strong enough and have the courage of facing yur destiny and taking your responsibilities.

WOW! MY EMPLOYEES ARE SCARED OF ME!
Never think that a successful boss is the one whose employees are afraid of, in fact a successful boss is the one whose employees can talk to about their problems but still respect very much. A lot of bosses misunderstand the meaning of respect and don’t distinguish between having a strong personality and being a dictator.
If you’re one of those managers with this misunderstanding then don’t panic, it’s not too late. You still have a great chance to become closer to your employees and at the same time make them respect you even if you were younger than all of them. The key is treat them as people not machines, help them in their problems if they ask you for help, and never allow mistakes or delays to happen because of not concentrating or being lazy. Give them a financial push every now and then. Send them emails congratulating them on a job perfectly done to encourage them to be the best always and give them a sudden meeting at least once in a month saying: hey everybody, leave everything you’re doing and lets have a family talk with a fine cup of tea and forget about work for a moment. This will refresh them and will get them closer to you without any disrespect.

2004?! NOTHING REALLY SPECIAL!
If you’re one of those feeling neutral towards new years in your life then let me advice you start changing this habbit.
At the end of each year and the start of a new one take some time out of everything and look at what you’ve accomplished and what you’d love to accomplish. See if you’re making progress or not. If yes, then it’s good for you, if not then you still have time to make your life better and let sky be the limit. And I’m not talking about collecting more money, although this would be great of course, but I’m mainly talking about your self-satisfaction and fulfilling your wishes. Always be excited about your future, be happy with your present and proud of your past. Never compare yourself to others who don’t share same interest with you. And never compare yourself to those who have double your money, and I say don’t compare in the negative sense, as it’s not wrong to take them as a goal and say: I wanna become like this or that. So as long as comparison will push you forward there is no harm at all.
Make a plan with all what you wish for and write it down in your own hand writing and not by a pc, and include ALL what crosses your mind even if it seemes silly or crazy or impossible. And at the end of the year and the beginning of year 2005 cross out what you’ve fulfilled and you’ll be amazed, you might as well add a lot of things that you never thought of doing.
This is a great method to increase your self-esteem and show you that you’ve actually done something even if it seemed to be silly. And if you did nothng of the list then it will give you a warning that you’re being too lazy and have to reconsider your life style in order to reach your goals.

So dear all, let this new year be the year for you to find peace with your selves, make it a happy successful one, a start of a beautiful new born you that will fill the world with care, beauty and love… Happy New Year To You All 🙂

Category: General | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 5 2004

In Love With Me!

Yes, it’s true. Ever since I found out about this new love and I’ve discovered that this new “admirer” can’t let go with me. We spent new year’s eve together, we go to work together, we cook together, we watch TV together, and to cut it short, we started sharing everything together. That’s true; this madly in love with me is SICKNESS!
Yep, exactly two days after recovering from this strong cold I got, I got sick again, but this time I couldn’t move one cm. I stayed in bed for days. Couldn’t even open my eyes.
Once again I took days off from work, stayed at home, and took more and more medicine.
Without my husband’s help I don’t think I could’ve managed. Anyway, now I got only a little bit better as i can open my eyes normally and write. I got back to work finally and hope that things will get better.
I must say I missed that blog…

Category: Just Personal | LEAVE A COMMENT