jeudi, novembre 22, 2007

My last feast

Unveil yourself, you mighty force
You left me facing my hex
Hampered my spur, killed my impetus
Disparaged my lost pride

Come to me mischievous sprite
Save me from my eternal fight
Drag me down to your deepest abyss
I don’t deserve to enjoy the light

Dismember me, dissect my flesh
Suck up the last drop of my soul
Slice me and dice me then serve me fresh
In the next demons’ feast

Decorate your demoniacal banquet
Top it up with my soulless face
Hand round my freshest red
A dressing for my human chops

mardi, novembre 13, 2007

No! Shower Gels are not only for Women!

When I usually take a shower or prepare pasta (since it's one of the few meals I can actually "cook"), I like to spend some time reading the notice on the box or pack. What has always stricken me is the fact that the Arabic instructions are always addressed to females. I always ask myself why? Am I using the wrong shower gel? It's not indicated that it's only for females and I didn't notice any unusual changes in my body. Or this implies that men are supposed to bathe in their own filth? Or am I conquering female territories by preparing food? (You call it food, it's a lousy pasta, and I'm not even preparing the sauce, I'm buying a ready one).
I think we are facing here a double discrimination. A discrimination against women, by limiting them to the sole housework duties (I didn't mention the instructions notice on the Detergents, etc) and by assuming that men don't care about their personal health and hygiene and won't use "delicate" shower gel or shampoos. I think we do need them since we may be more exposed to life hazards and to baldness, obviously.

mardi, septembre 25, 2007

Fears

To make things more interactive, I’m going to reply to a post by poshlemon by stating my fears because as ella said, we all have fears but few of us have the guts to face them. My fears can also be as silly as MMMMMMMMM’s (according to him)

I’m afraid of walking on the borders of the sidewalk.
I’m afraid of sudden changes in my life. I like things to be stable, therefore I hate when I get used to someone or something, to end it radically.
I’m afraid of cockroaches as much as I prefer not to kill them. (Refer to a previous post of mine)
I’m afraid of the crowd as much as I adore loneliness.
I’m afraid to reread my exam after I’m done with it.
I’m afraid of meeting new people.
I’m afraid of being misunderstood, which happens often.
I’m afraid to look at people straight in the eyes. (However, I do it often seeking for eye contact with girls on the street)
I’m afraid of disclosing what I really feel about someone or something.
I’m afraid to share my emotions.
I’m afraid to reveal my identity.
I’m afraid of being judged and criticized, although I know it’s very healthy.
I’m afraid of light as much as I worship the dark.
I’m afraid of the truth, therefore, as a first remedy, tell me openly, what you think of me.

lundi, septembre 17, 2007

nobilis tobilis the Phoenician

I had this strange feeling when I’ve been told that I’m of Phoenician origins. This was in a study conducted in collaboration with National Geographic, the Genographic project. I felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions of joy and pride, to be of Phoenician origins, one of the greatest and most ancient civilizations, which once invented the alphabet.
It’s a shame how people are behind the rise of one civilization, whereas now, in Lebanon, people are behind its downfall.

vendredi, septembre 07, 2007

Work out after Blood Donation

Just a question. Yesterday, I ran for 10K 2 hours after the regular 500 ml blood donation. But it wasn't bad. I didn't feel anything wrong.
Is it bad?
The reason behind this is because I'm edgy by nature and like to take things to the extreme. I think that this is what spices up one's life.

lundi, septembre 03, 2007

Hommage...

Un grand hommage à notre armée libanaise, qui a payé tant de sacrifices et de sang pour défendre notre nation et nous épargner la catastrophe.

Un dernier hommage à tous les soldats blessés et martyrs, notamment au Lieutenant Maroun Litani , que j’ai connu pendant ma première année d’études de Maîtrise mais s’est choisi un différent destin, celui de défendre la fierté et la dignité de notre nation et a payé de sa vie pour préserver notre entité libanaise.

mercredi, août 29, 2007

Sophisticated Food

I really can’t understand why food should be sophisticated. I can understand all forms of arts to be sophisticated, but why food. And what’s with the food decoration, the flower-shaped cucumbers or tomatoes and even the green salad that is served as separate items because it’s seen as more exquisite if served that way. (Who told you that a tomato wants to look like a flower; in fact it was a flower and will become a flower, following the natural cycle of nature, not the cycle of the kitchen, following the will of the Chef). Thank god they don’t provide the full vegetables with a knife and we’ll have to slice it and dice. After all, that’s what we call participatory approach that all NGOs and GOs are promoting.

I like to separate things. Food is one thing and art is a completely different thing. Don’t mix them together. Gastronomy has never been an art and will never. It’s one of the most primitive and instinctive, survival-driven side.

To tell you the truth, I would prefer to eat all my food after mixing the whole in a Moulinex blender and eat the resulting paste. After all, it’s going to devolve to another form of paste with the similar texture. People can be of two types. Those who live to eat and others who eat to live. I classify myself among the latter ones.


Is it because the Chef has some artistic tendencies and this is the sole way to express them. I don’t see people taking pictures with their respective plates each time they go to the restaurants? I’ve never done it, although you can’t take me as a reference since I’m not into photos and the never ending photo shoot process. Or is it to compensate the fact that the only fate for food is to be, after being inhaled and going through a long process of deglutition, degradation, peristaltic movements, mixing with other body fluids and enzymes then again other peristaltic movements to finally being defecated as the most repugnant, stinking, brownish paste, similar to the fact that the dead are being dressed from head to toe when being buried or condemned are treated the deluxe way and granted three genie wishes right before their execution?

jeudi, août 23, 2007

The pursuit of Happyness

I sometimes ask myself. What fo we want from life. Where are we going? What is the purpose of existence? Let's say there is no purpose. There is no goal, no continuity. Well then it's better to live life to the full, happy and problem-free. The problem is that i can't find the right combination that yields to a sustainable happyness. We lead a very busy life, with lots of commitments, relationships, meetings, gatherings, ceremonies, celebrations, workshops, roundtables, vacations and the list goes on and on and on and you think it will stop someday, but it won't.
And we find out suddenly that you've been neglecting the real you, that has been trying hopelessly for care and attention, sending signals without catching the simplest of glimpses.
Therefore, for those who have deciphered the combination,let me please know it.

vendredi, août 03, 2007

"We're Upgrading" "Under construction" "Under maintenance"

I'm also amazed by all these messages that you can find on some websites such as "We're Upgrading" "Under construction" "Under maintenance". You'll have the impression that these guys are really working hard on improving and sustaining the site. Well, I'll tell my opinion. I think that Webmasters leave these messages when they screw up some codes. Some of you may have also encounter websites where they stay for months, even years "under construction". I really wonder what type of raw materials and what procedures are they using because they take time enough to build the whole planet Mars.

vendredi, juillet 20, 2007

And you say you wanna change the world and help the people?

I'm really amazed by people that declare themselves as "thinkers" and "rebellious", involving in never-ending conversations about how we should change the world to a better one, where all humans should live in peace, dignity and freedom, about the importance that all should be equal in rights and duties.
I'll tell you what! The first duty that you will have to do is to throw this cigarette and give me the right to breath some fresh air. Beleive me! In that way, you will be of greater help to the Earth and Humanity instead of polluting my air with your meaningless blablabla.

vendredi, mai 18, 2007

Spontaneous Volunteer Movement during the July war on Lebanon:

Here is a descriptive study that we did (a colleague and I) during the July war while volunteering in a Relief Center in Beirut (SRC), I wanted to share it with you. The origin of the study was very spontaneous and consisted of collecting data from the volunteers working there. I'll leave you with the first part of it. (follow the link for the full PDF article and the graphs)

12 July 2006, a sudden Israeli aggression displaced within weeks 1.000.000 Lebanese people. Terrorized by the shower of bombs and rockets, populations of South Lebanon and of the Southern suburb of Beirut took shelter in empty schools and other public buildings of the capital. As soon as the first refugees had arrived to these safer areas, NGO-s, influential political parties, and civil society mobilized their personnel and militants and switched their plans of actions to dedicate all their resources into relief efforts targeting the Internally Displaced Population (IDP). At the same time spontaneous relief operations took birth. Those centers had to improvise the logistics of operations since relief was not their core competency. Nevertheless they have been holding the greatest burden of IDPs relief responsibility as late as 3 weeks after the arrival of first refugees. One of the first spontaneous and independent centers was born meters away from the Sanayeh public garden, in the so-called Zico House. It is the Sanayeh Relief Center (SRC) – Samedoon which carried the bulk of the relief operation in 24 refugees' centers.
Before the war, Zico House was a socio-artistic phenomenon in Beirut. It hosts several venues: Beirut Street Festival and other avant-garde art festivals and serves as hostel for artists. It was also the home of diverse NGOs such as Green Line, Lebanese Association for Democracy of Elections, Helem, and Women in IT in addition to the artsy cafe-bar "Samra". With the arrival of the first refugees to the near-by Sanayeh Park, people who used to attend Zico House for this or that reason gathered in its café to discuss the actual situation. Naturally, the initiative of organizing a relief operation came about. The premises of Zico House quickly transformed to providing five directions of relief to IDPs: 1-essential needs provision, 2-hygienic needs provision, 3-medical care, 4-children animation, and 5-psycho-social support. All the work there was planned and carried out by volunteers who were not remunerated. Relief work was supported by NGOs like Physicians Without Borders, Oxfam, Red Cross, ARI and others. The guidance and organization of the work were kindly provided by Professors and members from the Faculty of Health Sciences of the American University of Beirut, who volunteered to promote scientific references of relief work.
We were interested to find out who are these people who decided to join a non-affiliated relief center while they could have joined a multitude of others, belonging to political parties or to religious welfare institutions, which are richer and more organized. We took a random sample of 80 among the 220 who were subscribed the 21th of July or the 7th day of hostilities. (Read more)

mardi, avril 17, 2007

Apologies

I know I know, vous allez me dire qu'à chaque fois il va nous chanter la même chanson. I'm back, bla bla bla, I'm happy to be back, bla bla bla, I'm not dead, bla bla bla. I really missed everyone of you, Krys, M*9, khawwta, AM, Delirious, Maya, Tilda, Traffic, etc (I hope that I haven't put many in the etc ;) Anyway, it's gloomy today, although it's hot, I didin't shave, I'm losing my hair, I have allergy and too much work. So, I'm heading back to work and catch up with you later.

mercredi, mars 07, 2007

My weekly bike ride from Beirut to Jbeil

After a hard week of work, what’s better than enjoying the gorgeous panorama along the Lebanese coastline, on a sunny Sunday? As almost every Sunday, especially after I recovered from the knee injure and the week quadriceps, we went along with Otter and Arne for a road bike ride from Beirut to almost Jbeil and back, after few flat tires, of course. I’ll leave you with some of the pictures from the ride.
Here is my woman! "Tommaso" bike (Or Tomato, as Otter likes to call it)


This is me back to Beirut (I think I was near Zouk Mikael)



I think these 2 pics were taken in Jounieh

near the sea road, trying to catch up with Arne.

Near Halat, after a couple of flat tires!

(From left to right: Arne and his Raleigh bike, Me and my Tommaso bike

and Otter's "Seven" bike (Otter was taking the pictures,

Many thanks to him)

jeudi, mars 01, 2007

My occasional encouters with fancy restrooms

What’s with the restrooms in the restaurants, gyms, hotels or night clubs? I know that the designers spent a lot of their time and creativity to come up with the most sophisticated, stylish, original sinks, basins, taps, of course after the owners had squandered lots of resources, so that their institution will grow in reputation, as if the main indicator for measuring the success and the pride is how fancy and sophisticated the restrooms are.
Maybe it’s a way to make of this repugnant, disgusting dump of all the bodily-related excrements and related odors a less repulsive place for all of us.

Anyway, I will disclose something. (In fact, I’ve noticed lately that I disclosed too much over the net, unlike the real life where I’m not that really talkative person, and I’m more reticent in divulging anything personal, even political stand)
Back to the restrooms, each time I have to go there to do what I have to do, I sink in a very challenging (at least for me) attempts to discover the way to use the tap or the shower.
Not to mention the fact that, sometimes, I can be totally or partially wasted. This straightforward operation for some grows to be the most difficult of the puzzles.

Many questions arise while confronted to this stupid tap/shower, whatever.
How to activate the water?
How to switch from hot to cold water and vice versa?
Does this tap have sensors or we have to open it manually. (Just try to figure out what does it look like when you try to pass your hands under the tap, waiting for the water, where in fact, it has a manual mechanism.
Seriously, how to open the tap? I came across tons of taps in my entire life, but still, this is the first time I see this kind of taps, because each restaurants/gyms/hotels/night clubs strive to be matchless and innovative. And it’s recurrent…

Does this explain the fact that women go in pairs to the restrooms? Have you noticed this strange phenomenon? I think this is it. I can now declare that I finally unveiled the secret behind this fact. Women go in pairs sot that they will brainstorm before each encounter with a tap, trying to find out the proper way to deal with it. Two minds together are better than two minds working alone.

lundi, février 19, 2007

My daily visit to the center of the physiotherapy



This is how my life has become for the last 2 months. Daily visits to a center for physiotherapy, where my legs has been subjected to more than 50 mA current on a daily basis, backed with some really tough exercises.
You want to know the reason; you have to go back to more than 8 years in 1998 where I had an ACL injury while playing football. Than I thought that my knee has recovered completely until I ran the 2006 Beirut Marathon (42.195 km plus 600 meters added because of the camping in DT). I suffered severe knee pain during the Marathon and after it. I consulted the physician, and it turned out that I still have weak thigh muscles (Quadriceps in particular) which is increasing the pressure on the knee, to undergo physiotherapy sessions for two months.
The reason for this therapy is my weak left knee caused by weak thigh muscles (Quadriceps in particular). (I love how causality can explain some phenomena, but not always)
Bottom line: In order to have a strong knee, you have to have strong muscles to take the pressure off the knee. One element cannot support all the efforts and pressure otherwise it will crack. It’s the coordination and collaboration of all the members in the body, the family, the society, the nature and the cosmos working as one entity that produce the perfect balance and equilibrium, primordial for the productivity and the survival.

jeudi, février 15, 2007

Out of my cocoon..

Finally! It’s good to be back. It feels like home again. You may be asking what happened to this guy. Is he dead? Is he a martyr now? Especially that the last post talked about the clashes in Beirut during the black Thursday. Well no. I’m still alive and surely I wasn’t involved in any of the clashes. And it wasn’t a blog strike. I was just on a different sphere; A sphere of my own. The reason for this extended absence is the fact that I was preparing for my final poster presentation in order to earn my Masters degree from AUB. And then, as you know, my student account had been cancelled and still waiting for the staff account, since I’m working in AUB now. In the meantime, I would like to thank my dearest colleague who is letting me using her account. Adding to that, I was involved in a project in Qana, therefore I had to go to the south several times. Anyhow, I’m back and ready for any upcoming challenges.

jeudi, janvier 25, 2007

Clashes renewed

It seems that clashes have renewed between pro-government and opposition supporters. I don't know much about what's happening exactly but it seems that one died already. I'm heading back home to know more about what's going on. I hope it will be safe to go. Anyway, this is all wrong and shouldn't happen. We must learn from the past!

mardi, janvier 23, 2007

I don’t know, you should ask the Hajj!!

After a hard day of work (actual work), I went back to my friend’s place. It turned out that, in the morning, she drove all the way fom Hamra to Grand Lycée Achrafieh to drop her son there. The effective of students was less than required, therefore classes were cancelled. On their way back home, she got stuck with her car in Gemmayzeh because all roads back to Hamra were closed. She had no other to choice other than parking her car and walking back to Hamra. So I volunteered to accompany her to Gemmayzeh by foot of course since all the roads were closed and no cab driver would accept to take us. So we walk all the way. First, we found the first barricade next to Murr Tower where, not only tires were burnt, but also garbage and even the big Sukleen garbage disposals. I don’t know why exactly, maybe they wanted to do something useful and contribute to the recycling process. Anyhow, after we crossed this first barrier, we crossed tent city where we ask the Indibat guys for directions for our target destination. After a walk of 30 minutes, we reached Gemmayzeh and found the car intact. We were very pleased that we found the car, thinking that all our problems are solved. We went from Gemmayzeh to Sayfi in order to take the sea road back to Hamra. We found another barricade, backed with concretes and many soldiers. We ask the soldiers whether we can pass or not. We were more than surprised to hear their answer, which was: “We don’t know, you should ask the Hajj.” Astonished, we cruised towards the Hajj to ask for a pass. As expected, he didn’t allow us a pass. The road is closed. Then my friend said: You can open the road just like you closed it”. Then start our long struggle to cross the demarcation line that all Lebanese thought that this was an image from the past that won’t reemerge. We were moving from one barricade to another, asking the Hajj in charge of the barricade for permission to pass but fruitlessly. Then an idea came across my mind. Since the country has been transformed to a jungle, where no rules apply other than the rules of the jungle. So, we decided to follow our instinct. We crossed from Achrafiyeh, Sodeco, Ras el Nabeh, Barbir, Corniche el Mazraa, Verdun and Hamra. And here comes the end of a long journey where I discovered that I’m ashamed of living in a country where the legal authorities have no more authority, where I have to ask the Hajj for a pass in MY own country, to go back to MY home. I’m ashamed of living in a country where blocking the roads, closing the airport, destroying the economy is considered as peaceful and democratic. I’m ashamed of living in a country where the opposition deal with the country more than the declared enemy would do.

Blackout


I’m really stressed out today. I’m nut sure if it is because of the many deadlines that I have to meet and struggling to meet them or it’s the general situation of the country, which is now on the verge of a new civil war. I can’t manage to put my thoughts together. I’ve been trying since the morning but in vain. I think it’s mainly the strike launched by the opposition. They reminded me of the July war scenes, blocking the airport, obstructing the veins of the country and imposing a blockade on the Lebanese, just like Israel did during the war.

vendredi, janvier 19, 2007

…avec une tranche de citron svp, comme d’hab!

Ski Alpin ou Ski Nordique?
UMP ou PS ?
Chocolat blanc ou chocolat noir ?
Café Cortado ou Café con Leche? (Que piensas, Del?)
14 Mars ou 8 Mars?
Rat des villes ou Rat des campagnes?
Frites ou chips ?
Végétarien ou Végétalien ?
Eau distillée ou eau minérale naturelle ? (Attention à la turgescence)
Occidental ou Oriental?
Crossdresser ou Transsexuel?
Mistral ou Sirocco?
Snooker ou 8 Ball ?
Vélo de course où VTT ?
Studio ou Palace ?
Mille Millions de Mille Sabords! ou Tonnerre de Brest! ?
Pole Nord ou Pole Sud ? (le Pole Nord est plus proche)
Pekin ou Beijing ?
Bombay ou Mumbai ?
Juan Manuel Fangio ou Michael Schumacher ?
Instruments à corde où instruments à vent ?
Musique classique ou musique baroque ?
Ton petit orteil gauche où ton pouce droit ? (Chou khass ?)
Démocrate ou Républicain ? (Ou Ralf Nader ?)
Berline luxueuse ou citadine ?
Orange ou Bleu?
Résistance ou tourisme ? (Ouuuups !)
Talons aiguilles ou converse ? (Krys ?)
Tokyo ou Kandahar ? (Je préfère Kandahar)
N’Djamena ou Stockholm ?
Rotterdam ou Amsterdam ?
Patapam ou Tararatatam ?
Caraibes ou Océan Arctique ?
Entorse ou luxation ?
Rupture du LCA ou Syndrome rotulien ? (LCA = Ligament croisé antérieur)
Corée du Nord ou Corée du Sud ? (ligne 58?)
Timor Est ou Timor Ouest ? (ça existe Timor Ouest ? J\entends toujours parler de Timor
Est)
Décaféiné ou non Décaféiné ?
Saturne ou Uranus ?
Oussama Ben Laden ou George Bush ?
Forêt de Cèdres ou Forêt de pins ?
LCD ou plasma ?
Cream sugar ou Black ?
Oscar ou Palme d’or ?
Ordinal ou logistique ? (MMMMMMMMM, tu as la réponse)
Myopie ou Astigmatisme ? (Oui astigmatisme. Arrétez de dire Astigmatie !)
Feuilles de vigne farcies ou un Big Mac Meal ? (Upsize? Large fries?)
Ténor ou Baryton ?
Mezzo soprano ou Alto ?
Violoncelle ou Viola ?
Heptathlon ou Décathlon ?
Marathon ou Triathlon ? ( Je suis déjà fatigué, right Otter?)
Lancer du disque ou lancer de poids ?
Mallorca ou Minorca ?
Sao Paolo ou Rio de Janeiro ?
Reykyavik ou Le Cap ?
Stéréotypes ou clichés?
English educated ou French educated ? (ou tout simplement uneducated ?)
Touffe ou crâne rasé ? (Je n’ai plus trop le choix :( )
Sana’a ou Aden ?
Franc français ou Euro ? (Tu dors ou quoi ?)
Livres libanaises ou Dollars Américains ? (Avec les taux d’intérêts actuels, y a plus de différence)
Cash ou chèque ?
Jacques Brel ou Francis Cabrel ?
Marc Lavoine ou Daniel Balavoine ?
Fibres de carbone ou Titanium ?
Voltaire ou Rousseau ?
Alfred de Musset ou de Vigny ?
Salvador Dalí ou Juan Miró ? (encore Krys ?)
Cheval cabré ou Jaguar ?
Croix rouge ou croissant rouge ?
Croissant au fromage ou croissant au thym ? (Ca n’existe qu’au Liban)
Brie ou Jebneh Baladieh ?
Hélium ou Hydrogène ?
Climat tropical à hiver sec ou équatorial humide ?
Vodca sec ou avec du Red Bull ?
Vodca sec ou avec du Red Bull ?
Vodca sec ou avec du Red Bull ?!
VODCA SEC OU AVEC DU RED BULL, Mr. NOBILIS TOBILIS !!!!!

NT : Euh… pardon…..avec une tranche de citron svp, comme d’hab :)

mercredi, janvier 17, 2007

I’m happier

I’m happy when I live, I’m happier when I die
I’m happy when I eat, I’m happier when I’m full
I’m happy when I drink, I’m happier when I’m wasted
I’m happy when I meet you, I’m happier when you leave
I’m happy when the sun rises, I’m happier when the night falls
I’m happy when I run the Marathon, I’m happier when I cross the line
I’m happy when I have the perfect date, I’m happier when it ends
I’m happy when I have long hair, I’m happier when I’m bald
I’m happy when I find a job, I’m happier when I’m fired
I’m happy when I sleep, I’m happier when I wake up

I’m happy when I leave, I’m happier when I come back

And I’ll always come back again and again, stronger and stronger

Everything has to come to an end, whether we want it to end or not. I hate the end, even if it was a happy ending; however, I have to keep going and think positive...

mardi, janvier 16, 2007

The perfect sound to me

The perfect sound to me is when I hear the sms tone in my phone telling me that I have just received an sms. I'm not that desperate but this sound always gives me relief. However, the big deception is when I discover that the sms was from a polling agency, asking me if "You support Sanioura to stay in the serail?" or "Aoun for Presidency?" I'm paying enough for my phone bills. (In Lebanon, we have the privilege of having the most expensive phone call) So please, refrain from all these meaningless, full of biases studies that are boosting the tensions between Lebanese and ruining my perfect moment. (which is the sound of sms)

lundi, janvier 15, 2007

To kill or not to kill

Every time I encounter a cockroach in my apartment, I’m plunged in the middle of a dilemma. First I don’t kill animals and second I have an excessive phobia from cockroaches and I don’t want any roommate. So, if someone has an advice for me, please let me know, and don’t tell me that I have to clean because this has nothing to do with it, especially that this specie has evolved in a way that made it very adaptable to the external environment, therefore, you can find it everywhere! Cockroaches are going to ruin the world!

vendredi, janvier 12, 2007

Why am I so stupid?

This morning, I took 2 pills of Paracetamol and 2 pills of "1 2 3" with an empty stomach. And now, I'm not feeling well. My stomach is aching, I feel drowsy and I'm all shivering. This is what happens when you deal with medications as candy. :)

jeudi, janvier 11, 2007

Man versus Beast!?... Give me a break!

I was watching two days ago the second version of “Man versus Beast”. I haven’t seen such a stupid program in my entire life. It consists of competitions between human athletes against other animals like dogs, Ourang Outan, Chimps and camels. For example, there was a competition between a gymnast and an Ourang Outan, consisting of who can stay longer hanging from a pole vault. Hanging from a pole or from a tree, is the lifestyle of an ape. He can stay forever. However, surprisingly, the man won the game. He was a winner by default because the chimp after six minutes was disqualified, since the competition was a feet free competition and the ape touched the bar with his feet. Oh yes! It seems that the chimp hasn’t reviewed the rules of the retard game. It doesn’t end here. During the game, the commentator spoke the stupidest thing one could imagine. He said the primate is using tricks and tactics to distract his human opponent. He was peeing for God’s Sake! He doesn’t care about your stupid game! What’s happening?! Why am I living in a surreal world? Have you run out of imagination? Leave these animals in peace and keep them away from your stupid perverted games because they don’t give a shit!

mardi, janvier 09, 2007

Blogging…avec modération



I was just wondering, how can you, bloggers, keep up with your blogs, update them on a regular basis, visit other blogs and throw comments here and there. I know that most of you either study or work or both. So, how can you find time to perform all your activities, with all those quality blogs? Do you have a social life or it’s substituted by the blogospere? Because that’s the case for me when I’m subjected to extensive blogging. It just becomes toxic and leads sometimes to septicemia.

* About the pictures, I had only paint brush on my laptop so forgive me if the quality was not that high because of the limited resources :)

lundi, janvier 08, 2007

New Blogger?

For the experts, do I I have to switch to the newer version of Blogger? Is this Imperstive? May I lose my account if I don't perform this thechnological "Jump"? Because I really find it a jump backward. I don't like this new version. And it has an HTML basic layout. I'm really confused! So I'll have to sign in with my Google account instead of blogger? I don't even have a Google account and nobody has been kind enough to send me an invitation. So please, fellow bloggers, I need your expertise regarding this issue to save me from this madness.

mercredi, janvier 03, 2007

Hang over drink

I have a good tip for you if you were victim to excessive drinking and woke up the following day totally messed up. Usually, when I’m hung over, I don’t feel like having something sweet. And of course, when there is too much alcohol in your body, you are subject to excessive dehydration. Therefore, the perfect drink for me to recover from hang over is definitely Laban Ayran (It’s a type of yogurt that we consume here in Lebanon, but don’t ask me how it’s prepared). Anyway, try it, it works every time for me.

mardi, janvier 02, 2007

2006 Resolutions: A final appraisal

A year has passed since the declaration of the 2006 resolutions on my blog. (see Resolutions for 2006 and “Resolutions for 2006” bis) and now it’s time to evaluate and have a quick update on what type of a person I have become now and to what extent these resolutions had made an impact on my lifestyle, my personality and my way of thinking. For the purpose of convenience, I’ll try to go point by point.
First of all, my smoking status is still the same, non-smoker/ passive smoker. Believe me guys, it’s just too difficult to lower your tobacco exposure to zero. It’s impossible! Unless you choose a really boring and dull lifestyle, where you will be forced to make tons of sacrifices. It’s a really big commitment I’m not ready for it for the time being. Moreover, the government hasn’t made any progress towards this. You all know what the country and the government have been enduring lately so tobacco policies are still premature to be brought up.
As for the alcohol, I’m miles away from my projected goal. For instance, I’ve been acting for the last week like a real alcoholic. I managed to stay hung over for al full week. I’m writing this while the hang-over effects are still lasting so don’t be tough on me if you find any incoherence in my thoughts.

As for resources management, it turned to be a real success, without by the way compromising my usual lifestyle. And in June 2006, my bike just arrived from the states to my home, and few weeks later, we started with my friend Otter, long rides from Beirut to the regions.
Regarding my academic performance, it went really good. I got my full GA and excellent grades in the following semester. After that, I got accepted to work on a project with a pharmaceutical company, but then, everything went wrong and the July war on Lebanon started. No need to explain more. You all know what happened there and what were the serious consequences of this war on the physical and mental status of the people, on the economy of the country and on the internal and external stability. During the period of the war and the aftermath, all organizations, ministries, companies, shifted their activities towards relief and other war-related activities and so did I. I volunteered in the public health team in a coalition of NGO and then started working with a British NGO (Oxfam) for three months. It was a very enriching experience by the way.
Concerning eating behavior, no need to tell you that I haven’t made any progress!
Last but not least, meditation still follows a very irregular pattern, which by the way has a causal effect on the point that preceded, since the whole approach is considered as holistic.
Anyway, that’s all for the 2006 resolutions appraisal. I can tell that I achieved 75% to 80% of them which is by any means, an outstanding score. Anyway, stay tuned for my next post which is somehow related to this one since I will be discussing my 2007 resolutions.