le batteur noble

SOS! A statistical emergency!

2012-01-04T18:45:00.001+02:00

I usually take vacation during unusual periods of the year. My last vacation was during October, to compete in the national cycling championships. As a result, I have no more leave days left for this year, therefore, no Christmas vacation for me. The upside is that the workplace will be much quieter and I’ll have the chance to focus on some work I’ve been neglecting for lack of time.
At work, we have a certain arrangement during long vacations. For every profession, we should have at least one person present at work, to ensure permanence for all studies, so if something urgent comes up, the statistician should have to deal with it.
I was wondering the other day, as sipping coffee with MMMMMMMMM at Starbucks Cappucines in Paris, what a statistical emergency could be.
Is it an urgent sample size calculation for an urgent recruitment of patients in an urgent project, studying concepts and aspects of public health that no one cares about, except the eventual authors, to be published in a high impact factor medical journal?
Or is it a p-value that gone missing.
The point is that, in research, things move in a very slow pace and changes don’t really occur on a daily basis but rather monthly.
That was actually some sort of a shock for me when I started working in that area, especially after I spent about 4 months in 2006 working in the humanitarian field in an emergency context, where I had the chance to test my qualities as “baroudeurs”.One of the differences between working in emergency and working in research is that, for the latter, the impact on society is not directly tangible and is more for the longer term. Therefore, one might feel his/her work is not necessarily useful nor rewarding because it’s important, whenever we achieve a certain job, to be able to see the end product, which is not always the case in research.

Losing grip

2011-12-25T21:55:00.005+02:00

It’s been two months since my last vacation in Lebanon. It’s usually enough time for me to start missing it there. But I’m not. I’m not happy where I am neither. I might have lost an important feature of a human being.

Human emotions.

I’ve become apathetic about everything around me. I go to work everyday like a zombie. I don’t even need music for my way to and back from work. Each song is merely a succession of notes, not an entity.

I watch my favorite shows but they don’t entertain me as before.

I eat my favorite dishes, they seem tasteless to me.

Bike rides are just series of pedal strokes and wheel revolutions.

I lost my motivation.

I’m getting all sorts of criticism and judgment at work, but that’s not even affecting me one bit.

Stress is a complete stranger to me.

Nothing thrills me but nothing bugs me neither.

I have become numb, mentally and emotionally.

I’m wandering in those slippery paths of life. They seem too clean and empty to me.

Am I losing grip on reality?

To leave the comfort zone

2011-12-20T17:32:00.003+02:00

Why do we have to suffer when we have the choice not to?
Why do we have to take the bumpy roads and endure more risks when we can take the highway?
Why, instead of taking the shortcuts, we take the longest possible way from A to B?
Why do we not listen to people close to me and always make the decisions that make me comfortable, hence make my life more complicated. You get the point.

Life is a path traced by the succession of decisions that we make out of a myriad of choices. At each crossroads, we have to make a choice. I usually make the wrong decisions, maybe most of the time based on the current moment, rather in an emotional than a rational way. I might have to learn long-term thinking, to have a vision behind the decisions I make and forget about my comfort zone that I tend to hold on to like grim death.

Each wrong decision is followed by a chain of actions aimed at rectifying that original one, wasting time, energy, motivation and losing perspective on what I was aiming for in the first place.

Lessons of the day (or rather the year, based on the frequency of my posts lately): Act rational. Always have a vision

The "tale" of a smoking pregnant woman who can't wait in a line

2009-08-25T00:31:00.006+03:00

So I guess it needs an important event for me to break the silence. Well listen to this. I was in the supermarket, doing my weekly shopping, to fill my always empty fridge. Well the reason for my empty fridge, is that, no matter how hungry i amor how much food there is, I always manage to devour everything, to the last crum. So back to my story, as I was waiting in the line and getting ready to put my items on the counter, as I was stopped by a pregnant woman, asking if this is the priority counter for pregnant women and handicapped. Well, it wasn't the case, but they let her anyway. I had no problem with that, although I hate waiting like any other normal person in the world (I think i know people who like the waiting, weird). Then came my turn, I paid and headed to the exit only to see our pregnant woman standing outside, and guess what she was doing? SMOKING! Well I accuse this woman (Yeah, i have the right, in this blog i have all the power I need) of abuse to the system, but this is still a minor issue, compared to the abuse of her own health. So she can't wait in a line because this is detrimental for her health, however self introducing to her body nicotine, tar and other chemical substances has no harm on her. Last but not least, if she doesn't care about her own health, how about some responsibility towards a new life to be born?

There is a thin line between individualism and selfishness

2009-02-06T22:59:00.003+02:00

Last week, I had my first metro accident. As if it's normal to have at least one in your life.
Anyway, I was on my way to work. The subway was over-crowded because of some technical problems that I always mysterious.
We stopped at a station, it wasn't mine yet, but i was stepping out of the train, by courtesy, to let the passengers pass and at that moment, my leg caught the space between the train and the edge of the subway platform, wide enough for my leg.
It actually turned out that being thin has its disadvantages afterall.
Then i managed to pull off my leg very quickly, in extreme pain. I checked my leg to see the damages. Two big contusions, one on the thigh and the other, below the knee, more serious.

Then, when I tried to get in the train, it was already full. Nobody cared about a guy hurting because he was trying to let them pass. Anyway, I'm with being individualistic. Actually, i adopt this lifestyle. But I strongly beleive that there is a thin line between being individualistic and being selfish.

Overdue Updates

2009-01-16T22:27:00.003+02:00

Well, I think that I broke a record here. The longest period of silence after the last post, in fact it's 1 full year, or 363 to be more accurate. I think several reasons were behind this, it's however not being busy, because no matter how busy a person can be, it's always possible to find time for anything, as long as the motivation as there. Well yes, exactly, it is the motivation, the engine that pushing us to achieve any set objective.

One full year has passed and since, many changes have been witnessed in the world. The election of the first African-American as present of the USA, the financial crisis and locally the election of a Lebanese President after more than 6 months of wait... Anyway, this is not the place to review the main events of the year, I’m no expert in this and there are sites for that. I'm more interested in reviewing the events on the individual and personal level. In January 2008, I was in Lebanon, working in the university and a company along with some freelance jobs, mainly in statistical analysis and trying, at the same time, alongside this relatively hectic schedule, to maintain and improve my fitness level, mainly in running and road cycling, which has been my passion since a young age. This had been that way until august 2008, a turning point for me in that year, when I decided that it's time for me to leave Lebanon, at least for a short period of time, and trying to pursue my career in Europe and France in particular. It all went well since that time, I got accepted in a Masters program in Paris and got granted a Visa (It's an important detail for us, because in other countries, traveling is like taking the bus, it doesn't need months of preparation, and long and stressful waits for the verdict. So, it's been 3 months and a half that I’m settled in Paris (in Vincennes to be more accurate) in a 21 m2 studio (nothing compared to my 60m2 hobbit hole in Beirut :P) The only common thing is that both are on the ground floor, but at least I have access to sunlight in that one.
On the sentimental level, no big changes, no stable relationships and none in prospects. I think it’s hard to find a girl sharing the same interests, (i.e cycling, running) however, if met, I believe it might lead to a more stable mutual relationship and more stable life for me. So I guess, finding a woman athlete has become my current obsession.

Finally about the blog and the direction that it might takes. It will continue to revolve around my daily life, some thoughts and diaries, but will be more dedicated to my cycling training and fitness as well.

"VOP"

2008-01-18T16:04:00.000+02:00

Nougat says:
leik leish ma 3am tektob bel blog/
nobilis tobilis says:
la2anno metel mannek cheyfé
nobilis tobilis says:
ma fi wa2et
Nougat says:
u can post an spss data set if u want or a paper
Nougat says:
:D :D :D
Nougat says:
or an msn conversation
Billy says:
lol
Nougat says:
u can post this one : i give u a green light

My last feast

2007-11-22T12:40:00.000+02:00

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

No! Shower Gels are not only for Women!

2007-11-13T13:44:00.000+02:00

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.

Fears

2007-09-25T14:35:00.000+03:00

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.

nobilis tobilis the Phoenician

2007-09-17T08:51:00.000+03:00

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.

Work out after Blood Donation

2007-09-07T11:47:00.000+03:00

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.

Hommage...

2007-09-03T12:27:00.000+03:00

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.

Sophisticated Food

2007-08-29T14:15:00.000+03:00

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?

The pursuit of Happyness

2007-08-23T13:36:00.000+03:00

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.

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

2007-08-03T12:41:00.000+03:00

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.

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

2007-07-20T08:29:00.000+03:00

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.

Spontaneous Volunteer Movement during the July war on Lebanon:

2007-05-18T12:20:00.000+03:00

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)

Apologies

2007-04-17T08:58:00.000+03:00

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.

My weekly bike ride from Beirut to Jbeil

2007-03-07T09:57:00.000+02:00

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)

My occasional encouters with fancy restrooms

2007-03-01T10:12:00.000+02:00

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.

My daily visit to the center of the physiotherapy

2007-02-19T11:32:00.000+02:00

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.

Out of my cocoon..

2007-02-15T09:08:00.000+02:00

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.

Clashes renewed

2007-01-25T16:37:00.000+02:00

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!

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

2007-01-23T20:44:00.000+02:00

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

2007-01-23T14:13:00.000+02:00

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.

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

2007-01-19T15:27:00.000+02:00

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 :)

I’m happier

2007-01-17T10:12:00.000+02:00

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...

The perfect sound to me

2007-01-16T09:20:00.000+02:00

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)

To kill or not to kill

2007-01-15T12:21:00.000+02:00

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!

Why am I so stupid?

2007-01-12T09:42:00.000+02:00

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. :)

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

2007-01-11T08:53:00.000+02:00

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!

Blogging…avec modération

2007-01-09T15:28:00.000+02:00

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 :)

New Blogger?

2007-01-08T14:59:00.000+02:00

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.

Hang over drink

2007-01-03T09:03:00.000+02:00

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.

2006 Resolutions: A final appraisal

2007-01-02T12:00:00.000+02:00

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.

ACTION NOTE BLANCHE

2006-12-25T11:59:00.000+02:00

4:30 for 42.8 km

2006-12-15T11:06:00.000+02:00

I know that the report for the Marathon has come a little late. In this year's Beirut Marathon, I finished in 4:30, which is 1 hour 4o minutes less than last year's, adding to that, we ran extra 600 meters due to the demonstrations still going on in Downtown Beirut. However, I totally believe that there is still plenty of room for improvement. For this, I'm gonna set another target for next year's Marathon. I hope that I would be more prepared for it and injury-free unlike this year where I ran with an injured knee. Let's say that next year's target would be 3:30.

The beginning of the end

2006-12-01T17:32:00.000+02:00

I've never seen Hamra street so empty and so dead on a friday evening. I guess the situation is all the same all over Lebanon. Most of the shop are closed, however some are resilient and kept their shops open desperate to have at least one client, but helplessly.

Is this the beginning of the end that we are watching happening here? The end of Lebanon as an entity. Lebanon as a final state for all? The beginning of a new era. The Iranian or Najadian Republic of Lebanon? Maybe THIS is the new Middle East. You want to beat the USA? Not on my land Mr. Najad. Do they want us to leave this country for good? At least, I will continue to pay taxes in the receiving country. I will perseve re paying for Electricity, Water etc.

Today was a historical day. Yes. Sure it was. We witneesed, for the first time in Lebanon, a Shiite Leader from the Maronite community, because everybody knows that the leader is defined by their supporters, which today were 90% Shiite.

Don't screw up the marathon

2006-12-01T12:32:00.000+02:00

Do whatever you want. Go to the streets. Seize the government, the parliament. Take the whole country. Import Iranian democracy. But I won't let you screw up my Marathon again!

Leave this country alone to avoid the catastrophe!

2006-11-30T16:31:00.000+02:00

Lebanon is not Switzerland or Luxembourg. The socio-economic indicators are catastrophic. After all the assassinations and the very unstable security in the country and after the last Israel-Hezbollah war against Lebanon, our country is on the edge of literal bankruptcy. Political leaders should agree or reach a compromise as quickly as possible because they could find themselves alone in this country. March 8th, March14th, February14th, July12th, I don’t want to be called by a date! I barely support my birth date, which was last week by the way. Speaking of birthday, I’m now celebrating the first year of my blog. It was a good year, for me at least but not for the country as a whole, and since we don’t exist isolated from the external environment, we are all affected. I just hope that things won’t escalate. It’s too much for a 10452m2-country.

Interaction is important

2006-11-21T14:38:00.000+02:00

I said: Hi!
She Said: Hi.
I said: U know Sandra Bullock, right?
She said: Yes.
I said: Has anyone told you that you look exactly like like her?
She said: No.
I said: Ok.
And by the way, she was a copy of Sandra Bullock. There is no way nobody else told her that she didn't look like her. But some people jsut don't like to interact with others, with no rational reason.

Running mates

2006-11-03T13:26:00.001+02:00

I'm going to take part in the Beirut Marathon. I'm training for it, however, i'm not being able to find people to run with, especially that running with others will boost the performance and increase the pace. This is what we called the group effect. So if you are having the same problems and are willing to run with others, please let me know.

Running mates

2006-11-03T13:26:00.000+02:00

The Golden Trap : Vote for me

2006-10-08T14:56:00.000+03:00

Hey everybody!

I have a small annouccement to make.

I’m participating in a televised show called the “Golden Trap“, on Future TV. In this show, you can find previous winners from the previous editions of the program the “Trap”. So, I won 2 years ago in this show and now, I need your support. It’s a show based on general knowledge, speed, voting and of course tactics.

So if you want to see me, (and vote for me :) ) It’s everyday from Monday till Friday at

5 pm.

my new job

2006-08-21T17:00:00.000+03:00

Just a quick update of my life so far, especially that i'm getting real busy these days due to my new job with Oxfam, a NGO from UK, as Public Health Promotion project officer. I started working with them 2 weeks ago, and we've done a lot so far. Now we moved to the south since it became to work there, this is the reason why it's difficult for me to access the net especially that I'm spending the whole day in the field. But before going to the south, we worked in the Beirut area within the IDP's center, like distributing hygiene kits and supporting public health education and child to child activities. You can follow the link when I appear on the Oxfam Middle-East blog : http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/middleeast/2006/08/the_storm_before_the_calm.html

This is Lebanon

2006-08-05T16:53:00.000+03:00

Hi again. I know it's been a long time. The fact is that I've been volunteering in Beirut, helping in the relief efforts for the displaced people and also working on independent projects, mainly a project pertaining to the mental health among the displaced people in Beirut during this war. I had many findings from visiting and meeting the displaced people. The war in general has changed my perspective to my country. Well, Lebanon is not only the Downtown Beirut. Lebanon is not only Hamra street with its coffeeshops, Monot with its nightclubs or Gemmayzeh with its pubs. Lebanon is also Qana with its 55 martyrs in 2006 and over 100 in 1996. Lebanon is Marwahine, Bint Jbeil, Maroun al Rass and even Bab Al Tabbaneh in Tripoli, maybe the poorest region in the Middle East. From the North to the South, we are all Lebanese, we are all humans and we should stick together to better face this unhuman war.

Pls change the legend

2006-08-05T16:52:00.000+03:00

Hi
I allowed myself to copy and paste an interesting message from a colleague of mine:
"Dear friends,Like you, I receive from every part revolting photosof Israeli crimes on Lebanon. Like you I want to guessbehind every event a distinct direction from Iranian-American-Syrian-Israeli-European-Sinni-Shia-UNstrategies. Like you I wonder what position I should take. Like you I desperately look for a way to savethe economy, to cope with destruction, to escapehabitual corruption and …to find a school for my sonnext school year.Like you my mood is guided by my alternate hopes,mourns, wishes, dreams, disappointments, fears and …denying. Like you I call the miracle to end thisunthinkable nightmare.Like you, I feel devastated while waiting on TV thenews of more children dissected, more women hurt, moremen insulted and more villages emptied. Like you, I feel confused between the past I cannotremember, the future I cannot imagine and the presentI cannot bear.In result, I feel just helpless in front of thisabuse. Nothing helps; the illusion of helpingdisplaced, the admiration of efforts, the faith injustice. This is no more than a way to pretendexisting when dignity is so completely scattered. Then, why not to change the legend from reaction toaction? I cannot see the destination of thoselamentations, accusations, evaluations, argumentationsand justifications? Enough convincing each other of the rightness of thisor that! However we explain it, we ARE ALL RESPONSIBLEof what is happening to our homeland, and we are allresponsible of taking it out of this tunnel (before itgets bombed) and to give to it the essence and theshape of our love to the land we belong to, before andabove any other belonging. We owe it to ourselves.Someday it shall end, this day will be ours. Underthose hills of destroyed homes the land is ours; it issaturated with our people's sweat. Behind thosemountains of smoke, the sky is ours; it is inhabitedby hundreds of our martyrs' souls. Thus I ask you to accompany your FW with your visionsof future. We have to neutralize theIranian-American-Syrian-Israeli-European and even UNprojects, and replace it by our Lebanese project. Andto reach this, we need everybody to be mobilized.Without concrete, comprehensive and feasibleintentions this will stay theory… the same we hear onTV all the time then…brainstorm should be concretized in a willing.Like example or point of departure, we need analternative to the displaced populations. Like it goesnow, when the war ends, we will stay under the mercyof alien lusts. We will be passively waiting for Parties, Organizations, Countries, Deputies, andMinisters representing this or that "influence" torebuild our villages and organize our return and weagain will be accepting conditions at the advantage ofour unity, solidarity and … interests. Again, thiswill be paid in fact by us, and again we will have toapplaud the WELFARE for giving to us no more than apart of our basic rights.An idea has been thrown: organize camps in nativevillages, welcoming displaced families before thereconstruction of vital basic needs to permit theinitiation of life there as soon as possible and alsowelcoming volunteers from all Lebanese regions whowill help in rebuilding and organizing reconstruction.By supervising and participating people will feelresponsible of their homeland, then maybe they willfind a better strategy to protect and cherish it. Bysharing practically life between all Lebanesecommunities, maybe a real national project will takebirth. This idea for example still needs to betranslated in a concrete project. By yourcontribution, it shall happen.I volunteer to gather and organize all your ideasabout the cited subject or another. Please, stopblaming this or that, and let us coordinate efforts toavoid in future a similar situation. Thank you for your patience. "

What made this war unavoidable

2006-07-22T22:04:00.000+03:00

What made this war unavoidable? Why the whole internaltional community has given the green light to Israel to destroy Lebanon, not even trying to stop this war, only trying to limit the damages, dealing with it as if it was a natural disaster like a tsunami. One thing is true, this war is way beyond Lebanon, it's a regional one, however, internally, we could have done something to avoid it. The problem was that the different Lebanese partis were unaible to reach a consensus pertaining to many issues in Lebanon, which is natural since we have a democratic regime. However, if we were united from the inside, we would have faced in a better way the external threats jeopardizing our recent indepence and stability. What we have to do now is to achieve what we failed to do before july 12, facing this critical period together.

Independence 05...War 06...Prosperity 07?

2006-07-21T17:34:00.000+03:00

God bless you Lebanon

2006-07-18T17:45:00.000+03:00

Due to the situations, I'm not ale to access internet veryoften. I will just give a sign of life for all those who are wondering. I hope this situation will end as soon as possible.

If you wanna kill yourself do it, but I wanna live!

2006-06-27T10:25:00.000+03:00

Yeah I know It's been a very long time. Some of you was wondering what happened to the Batteur Noble. I can't hear his drums no more. Is he still alive? The answer is yes. I'm "not dead yet" (Quoting a friend of mine, Otter) This leads me to the topic of interest which is smoking. I used to be a moderate smoking (a pack a day) but I quitted (see my resolutions for 2006). However, I'm still exposed to heavy second hand smoking. And it's everywhere! It's hard to escape the fact of being second-hand smoker. In Europe, many countries has started a new policy, banning smoking in public places. I think we should start a similar campaign in Lebanon. Being a second-hand smoker against my will is, first, jeopardizing my health (I'm heavily allergic, almost asthmatic) and second, my personal freedom is in danger.

Maybe this post will be a seed for a national campaing against smoking or maybe it will a meaningless post like all previous ones.

Her name was Lola

2006-06-06T09:20:00.000+03:00

I found her in the street a week ago. She was frail, ill, dirty, very skinny seeking her mother that left her struggling by herself. I couldn't help seeing her without doing anything, so I adopted her. Maybe she wasn't the prettiest. She was so young. She didn't even know how to eat, she was barely walking. She was sneezing all the time. I thought that she was healing from her illness through the days. Playing all the time. However, yesterday, at around 9:30 pm, she died. She used her last reserve of energy to reach her litter and to choose dying there in peace. Back to the origins, to the roots. To where we all were and will return someday. Maybe it was my fault, maybe she would have been able to survive her illness without my intervention, in the streets, where she belongs, or maybe I prolonged her ephemeral life of less than a month. One thing is sure, I will always remember you Lola, my beloved kitten.

To be with you

2006-05-02T08:45:00.000+03:00

To be with you

Here I am facing my gloom
Sadness and grief are all that I feel
Weeping a love about to bloom
To get you back I’m ready to kneel

The D day was a rebirth for me
My life changed my days blossomed
Always smiling always content
Thinking it was the beginning of a story

I thought it was just a dream
It was real however ephemeral
I want to shout I want to scream
I’ll do anything to make it lasts

To be with you is all I wish
Hugging you makes me feel secure
Otherwise I will drown in anguish
Quitting this world as the only cure

I’m not too young you’re not too old
We’re both young we must not suffer
Although it’s a short story
Don’t end it let it unfold

A blind "weekly bus trip" #4

2006-04-15T19:43:00.000+03:00

From the series "weekly bus trip" here is the latest one. Last week, I had to go to do a check-up for my eyes. Since I'm a quasi-blind with -7 degrees in each eye, it's recommended. I was in Beirut and the appointment was in Tripoli. The other reason for the check-up is that all my glasses are broken and the contact lenses are tiring-up my eyes so I had to buy new glasses. Bad news. According to the ophthalmologist, I can't put on my contact lenses 12 hours before the check-up. So 2 choices: Do a blind trip or wear my single handed glasses. I opted for the second one. Then, in the bus, where by the way, I was lucky because the seat next to me had been empty during the entire trip, I met 2 girls, one of them was gorgeous. I think she was gorgeous, but since I wasn't wearing my half glasses. U can call them monocles too. And u know it's hard to impress someone while wearing monocles. But at least, one thing was sure, they were girls. Yeah, don't worry. I still can discern gender. Those of you who don't have myopia is hard for them to imagine how tough is our life without glasses, especially on the beach where I usually am the only one who misses all the "panorama".

Goodbye my friend!

2006-03-31T13:33:00.000+03:00

I lost my friend 2 days ago. I realized this when I went back home from university to discover that he wasn't there. So I had a flashback of memories that I had with this close friend over the years. We used to eat together every night, wake up in the morning (I always used to wake up way before my friend) He's been a true friend, the kind of friends who stick with you in all sort of conditions from the gloomiest to the gladdest and from the dullest to the most euphoric moments in my life. And now all the memories are gone. He will maybe share these moments with someone else. Anyway, I hope they will be happy together but I’m going to miss him, my dearest Philips cd/mp3 player.

Progeria : A tribute to John Tackett

2006-03-27T09:47:00.000+03:00

Many of u may have heard of a disease called progeria which is briefly a premature aging. As a result, u can find a 10 year-old child looking physiologically like an 80 year-old person. Usually they die at the age of 15 maximum of cardiovascular diseases. The importance of this , is that the discovery of the etiology and characteristics of this disease, can be considered a big leap in the long researchers quest in figuring out the causes and the cure from cardiovascular disease and this will shed the light more on the processes of aging in general since it's becoming a big issue.
One of these guys is John Tackett who, despite all of his problems, was very happy and thankful for each second he was spending as if when something is rare, it becomes more valuable. He was also a very good drummer. He died exactly 2 years ago at the age of 15 but with a maturity of a 50 year-old guy. Anyway, this guy can be me, can be anyone, because life is short and we never have the time or the chance to do what we want to. We always run out of time.

Progeria Lyrics: Nobils Tobilis Music: Nobilis Tobilis

Life is too short, you don't notice
As years faded ephemerally
Try to escape you won't manage
Doomed to take part in this masquerade

We all fall like withered flowers
With fear and pain haunting our souls
There's nobody here to share your grief
Cherish your days Carry your burden

He spent his lifetime almost content
Although the odds were all against him
Spreading hope and happiness
A morbid fate, is this all he gets

It's so early to leave this world
And farewell this wonderful realm of mine
I've got so much more to show you all
What I am capable of

I'm ready for this bitter end
The moment where the drums will stop
To rhythm my o so perfect life
Mourn me this is what I demand

Tripoli-Mina Race

2006-03-24T13:09:00.000+02:00

The 2nd of April will be held the Tripoli Mina race which is organized by the Beirut Marathon Association. It's a 10-K race so it's a "fun" race and nothing compared to the 42.185 Km of the Marathon. By the way, you can see my picture (See how messed up I was) at the finish line after the 2005 Beirut Marathon where I had some bad but unforgettable and fruitful experience. I'm so excited about this race, especially that I would be running a very familiar track where I will pass next to my house in El Mina, provided i recover from my lower back injury that I mentioned in a previous post. I recomment for those of you who in Lebanon to participate in this race. It's a nice way to spend your sunday. For more info about the race (time, place, registration) go to the Beirut Marathon Association website.

Bonne fête maman!

2006-03-22T13:56:00.000+02:00

Chez nous au Liban, la fête des mères tombe le 21 mars. Ce qui est intriguant c'est que cette fête n'est pas célébrée le même jour partout dans le monde, de même pour d'autres fêtes. Par exemple, en Europe, on la célèbre en mai, je pense. Personnellement je trouve que le fait de la célébrer le 21 mars coincidant avec le début du Printemps est plus symbolique et a plus de significations. Le Printemps c'est le symbole du renouvellement cyclique continue de la vie et de la nature et symbole de la fécondité.

Lower back pain

2006-03-20T08:44:00.000+02:00

I once bought a pair of roller blades. I used to ride in my hometown where it's all flat. No descent, no climbs. So I decided that I want something more challenging. 2 weeks ago, I put on my roller blades, and drag myself into the unknown. Well not really the unknown. It's the road I usually take to go to my university each day, so pretty familiar, however, the slopes of the descents don't appear that familiar when you're stuck in a pair of roller blades. I'm the kind of guys who like to risk their life for the fun and for the adrenaline. So I found a climb and decided to attack it. But after a climb, there is always a descent. U can't avoid it. So I started the descent. The laws of physics say that the speed will increase in a descent because the potential energy that I had at the top of the climb will be transformed into kinetic one. And usually, under normal circumstances, Physics don't deceive. So, as I was descending, I reached relativistic speed, and for some reason, I didn't use my brakes. I saw a car heading toward me. I had 2 alternatives. An 8-wheel human vs a 4-wheel car collision or a self-induced fall. I opted for the second (for once, I was reasonable, and not kamikaze as usual) Bad news, I fell straight on my lower back.(It was my second lower back injury since a "friend" of mine once took of the chair from underneath me when I was trying to sit). It's the kind of injuries that lasts for long. You don't recover from it easily. But what can I do. I love to take risks, to put my life in jeopardy. What I like the most, is the moment of uncertainty, where u feel yourself at mid-distance between the two sides. It's a strange feeling of freedom mixed with fear, highness and orgasm.

thought

2006-03-10T10:31:00.000+02:00

I prefer to leave bad impressions rather than no impression at all. I prefer to be remembered rather than forgotten and not even noticed.

Weekly bus trip #2 "a breach in the system"

2006-02-27T13:20:00.000+02:00

You remember the post entitled "weekly bus trip"? For those who doesn't know the post, refer to the December 2005 archives. Well. I found a breach in the system. Pick the seat adjacent to a broken one. Nobody wants to sit on a broken seat, no? Unless he is a masochist and loves to torture himself. I tried it last Friday and it worked. It was one of the most successful bus trip to Tripoli. You may ask yourself why is this guy talking endlessly about meaningless daily details?

I do believe that these tiny details and experiences add a special flavor to our life. Every little detail has a deep meaning that needs to be deciphered.

Evil look photo

2006-02-17T10:09:00.000+02:00

A lazy day for a not so lazy guy

2006-02-16T15:12:00.000+02:00

It's thursday. I have a day off, since my only class for today has been postponed to Friday evening (too bad because I have to go to the North, not the North pole, North of Lebanon) and since my GA work for this semester hasn't started yet. It's time for a non productive, lazy day at home. I did lots of effort to drag my ass to the faculty. However it's a well deserved rest day after my marathonian day on wednesday, since it begins at 8:00 till 5:30. However it was a good day because it was crowned with the ritual monthly Lebanese bloggers meeting that was held in Gemmayze, Ahwet l 2zez. There were nine of us. We discussed lots of topics, mainly political. I thought that the meeting was on 7 (actually it was on 7:30) C'est que j'avais la tête ailleurs. So It was a good opportunity for me to hang out in the amazing and very interesting Gemmayze street. After half an hour, I came back to Ahwet l2zez, to found that Eve, Otter, Zied and Ahmad were already there waiting. Then came Jamal, Zwixo, Mana and Bob . So it was a total of nine bloggers. Go to the lebanese bloggers forum to see the report of Zwixo and Bob.

"Can't buy me love" ... but on this special day, I can buy you a perfect weather

2006-02-16T13:07:00.000+02:00

There are many things money can't buy. Among these things is Love. The 14th of February 2006 , the day where the march 14th coalition, (or the remainings of it, since we are still waiting for the FPM to rejoin the coalition) was quite an unusual day, maybe not by the number, which is pretty high, but not as high as the march 14th demonstration and not as spontaneous of course. Back to the intriguing thing that surprised everybody that day, was the fact that the God is on the side of the march 14th coalition. Not exactly! A friend of mine told me that, he knew, from close friends to Hariri, that he bought a technology (that function in the opposite way of the rain harvesting technology). It's a Russian, however very expensive technology, that cleared the sky of Lebanon for more than five hours, just the sufficient time to create the perfect, encouraging weather for the people to leave their homes and gather in the Martyr's Square baptized freedom Square.. Money can buy anything, and on this special day, Valentine's Day, Saad Hariri, offered, for the Lebanese people, in the memory of his father, a special, high tech gift that defied the laws of the Mother Nature.

A day at a fancy gym

2006-02-10T11:57:00.000+02:00

Final exams are over. It's time for a relaxation day in order to kick off the next semester in a refreshing way, with new spirit. My friend, Otter, invited me to a fancy gym in Beirut. We began with an endurance training on a stationery bike for about an hour. Afterwards, he dragged me to a spinning class. I was kinda humiliated there. I found out at this moment that the endurance training had eaten up all my resources left in my body. 60-year old women were able to keep up with Patricia and I was stuck on the first gear. Anyways, after the spinning class, it was time for the relaxation, specially for the sore muscles of mine. I went to the locker room to see my first shocking scene. An old man's naked butt. (Actually he was totally naked) In fact, that was the first butt for the day. And then, the butt show began. In that day, I saw more butts than I've ever seen in my whole life. In fact, I've never seen mine that much. I used to think that in Lebanon, people are more reserved than in Europe but it seems that they feel even more comfortable with their body, regardless how ugly their bodies were. Or maybe it's a social aspect specific for a privileged social class. In all cases, I don't want to see naked butts. It's a violation of one of my rights. The freedom of sight.

God Bless You Denmark

2006-02-05T13:36:00.000+02:00

It seems like in Lebanon, people are divided into two clans. Ones who want A prosperous Lebanon and others want it barbarian. Ones who want to construct Lebanon, others who want to destroy it. Ones who want the freedom of speech, and others who enjoy being shut up. Ones who want a Lebanon for all the Lebanese and other who want it a copy of Iran or Afghanistan. Ones who want a leader that represents all the Lebanese and others who want Ahmadi Najad or Oussama Ben Laden as a leader. Ones who seek the light, others who enjoy the Darkness.

Thank you, barbarians for what you did today. Thank you for showing to the world a bright image of our country. I can only be grateful.

Maybe what the Danish did was wrong. This does not explain all these acts. It seems that they were waiting for such thing to show to the world how civilized they are.

Well, I'm sorry. I'm not boycotting any of the Danish products. Especially LEGO. And by the way, Denmark has always shown a very open governance, especially by respecting the values, beliefs and culture of their citizen, regardless their religious or cultural background.

Searching for a flatmate / Je cherche un(e) colocataire

2006-01-27T09:10:00.000+02:00

My flatmate is leaving the apartment on the 15th of February. I have to found someone to share the apartment with. The apartment is located in Watwet, next to Sanayeh Garden in Beirut. Very strategic. 5min away from Hamra and 5 min away from Downtown (walking, of course) and u know with all the traffic we have in Beirut, it's better to walk and healthier of course. It's composed of 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom. It's 370$
(185$/person). (without counting the electricity which is estimated at 20$/month, and the satellite fee = 10$). I hope you will reply soon.

Back Again

2006-01-24T15:33:00.000+02:00

After over a week without posting, I'm coming back to the scene again, however for a short period of time. (No, I haven't given up blogging!) The reason is that I'm overwhelmed by my final exams, projects, papers, proposals, etc. (Well, not quite etc because that's all but I think it's enough). The second reason for not posting frequently, guess what? The university where I study and work has accidentally blacklisted blogspot.com and even sitemeter and statcounter, by rating them as porn. You know I'm not writing porn, right? Fortunately, the problem was set. So, see you on the first of February, the day when I finish my exams. Hasta Luego!

Rien ne se perd, Rien ne se crée, Tout se transforme

2006-01-17T12:12:00.000+02:00

In a closed system, during a reaction, nothing is lost, nothing is created. All changes. This is what I've learned in chemistry in the old good times of school. These days will never come back again. We were discussing last time, in a restaurant, with my friends, the concept of plastic surgery. And how plastic surgeons do the liposuction to the thigh or hip and add the fat generated to other parts of the body like the cheek or lips. This process goes perfectly with the Law of conservation of mass of Lavoisier, in chemistry, which basically states that mass cannot be created or destroyed, but can change its form. What do you think? And let's make this topic broader. What do you think of plastic surgery in general?

Join us this summer!

2006-01-13T14:29:00.000+02:00

THE LEBANESE EXPATRIATE
UNITY, DEMOCRACY & PROSPERITY EVENT
July 29-31, 2006
BEIRUT, LEBANON
Program Includes
Prominent Guest Speakers,
Live Music, and Much More
Plan Your Vacation to Lebanon this SUMMER!
Join Lebanese Citizens, Nationals and International
S u p p o r t e r s f r o m a r o u n d t h e G l o b e
Also attending in Solidarity with the Lebanese People!!

Contributions Are Welcome

www.LebanonExpats.org http://www.moghtarebeen.com/

Make it Your New Year's Resolution...
TO BE A PART OF LEBANESE HISTORY

Aurora Borealis : The Northern Lights

2006-01-10T21:40:00.000+02:00

It's a celestial phenomenon of bands, curtains or streamers of coloured light that appear in the sky in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the earth. In the Antarctic, the lights are called the Aurora Australis, literally Southern Lights. They are visible also outside those zones however with less frequency. In Finnish they are called "revontulet", which means "fox fires" a name derived from an ancient fable of the arctic fox starting fires fire or spraying up snow with its brush-like tail.
What is the scientific explanation of this extraordinary phenomenon?
"The sun gives off high-energy charged particles (also called ions) that travel out into space at speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometres per second. A cloud of such particles is called a plasma. The stream of plasma coming from the sun is known as the solar wind. As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth's magnetic field, some of the particles are trapped by it and they follow the lines of magnetic force down into the ionosphere, the section of the earth's atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 kilometres above the earth's surface. When the particles collide with the gases in the ionosphere they start to glow, producing the spectacle that we know as the auroras, northern and southern. The array of colours consists of red, green, blue and violet."
Personnally, I hope someday to have the opportunity to visit a scandinavian country in order to see this phenomenon, but also to discover the scandinavian culture which really fascinates me.
You can check this small video Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights .
Many songs have been written to describe the magnificency of Aurora Borealis.
One of these songs, is this one : Aurora Borealis by Eternal Tears of Sorrow, which I've already posted a song for them earlier.

Aurora Borealis

Under a darkened sun they are born

When the moon is losing its shape

I'm here again to see

The nightly dance of the flames

Once my father bore his sword

To defend the clan till the end

Now he braves the battles

Between the red northern flames

In the silence of the night

I stare at those ancient lights

Which enlighten the way from the cradle

And lead warriors into the grave

They have always been

And they will never change

They light the fire of a soul

And keep it burning bright

And behind the scattered clouds

The star field of the sky

Brings back the dreams

I already lost

Shall I ever be like him

The brave warrior of the night,

Whose name will be written

In the northern lights

4 Schanzen : Vol Plané

2006-01-07T14:26:00.000+02:00

Mes amis s'intriguent souvent sur le fait que je suive toujours des sports qui ne sont pas populaire au Liban et même pas au monde. Parmi ces sports, le saut à ski qui est d'ailleurs très populaire en Europe, et surtout en ce moment précis de l'année avec la prestigieuse compétition des quatre tremplins (4 schansen en Allemand) qui se déroule dans quatre sites différents entre L'Allemagne (Oberstdorf et Garmish Partenkirchen) et l'Autriche (Innsbruck et Bischoshofen) qui commence quelques jours avant la fin de l'an et s'est terminée hier, d'une façon très spéciale. Pour la première fois depuis sa création il y a 54 ans, deux athlètes se sont partagés la première marche du podium en finissant ex-aequo en terme de points accumulés après avoir dominé la compétition du début jusqu'à la fin en produisant des sauts impressionnants qui les mettent à califourchon entre les primates et les oiseaux.

"Resolutions for 2006" bis

2006-01-04T12:54:00.000+02:00

As I told you before, the list (cf. post : "Resolutions for 2006" on monday, january 3rd, 2006) is subject to changes. In fact, I forgot to add some important issues that have to be treated this year.

The first one, is that I'm trying to be vegetarian, which is one of the toughest decisions, and this for many reasons. I will surely discuss them later.

The second one, is meditation. I'm willing to meditate on a daily regular basis, which is, with the schedule I have, appears to be difficult. On the other hand, sticking to meditation will boost my creativity and help me coping better with my schedule since one of the objective of meditaion is "Do less and accomplish more".

Anyway, that's all for now concerning my resolutions for 2006. Some of my friends have noticed that, with these resolutions, I will be even more boring than I am. Well, what do you think?

Resolutions for 2006

2006-01-03T10:47:00.000+02:00

This year, unlike the precedent years, I decided to take resolutions for the year and try to stick on them as much as possible. I really feel this year that I have the will to do it. These resolutions are mainly destined to improve the quality of my lifestyle, in a healthy way, and to achieve other goals on my personal (hidden) agenda for 2006.

First of all, I'm willing to quit smoking definitely. Last year, I used to be a moderate smoking, than I made a drastic change concerning tobacco consumption and I became an occasional smoker, till the end of 2005. From that date, (only 3 days ago) I didn't smoke any cigarette. I'm shifting to a non-smoker (not quite a non-smoker since we all are second-hand smokers. In order to shift to a genuine non-smoker, more efforts should be done by the governments (by elaborating policies and implement them effectively) and the smokers themselves.

Second, I will try this year to limit my alcohol consumption, (not completely, since alcohol, if moderately consumed, is considered as a protective factor against cardiovascular diseases).

I will also try to cut down my expenses, not that I'm being avaricious. It's only for a better management that will have repercussions on my lifestyle as well. This will also help me achieving one of my goal on my hidden agenda which is buying a bike plus all the accessories that go with it.

And the list go on... like maintaining a good average in my public health master degree in order to sustain my GA for the next semester. And passing all my courses in the next semester with also a good average so that, in the fall semester 2006, I would graduate.

So, plenty of stuff to achieve. I'm not telling you that i'm going to do 100% of the agenda (which is, by the way, subject to editing and changes (Additions of course, I'm not gonna remove something, of course) but I wish to complete at least, 90% of the agenda.

Khaddam : The good surprise!

2005-12-31T20:10:00.000+02:00

What a great way to finish this oh so gloomy year that the world had in general, and Lebanon in particular, with all the assassinations that became part of our daily life. Khaddam did it yesterday! Maybe he's not one of the greatest men. Maybe he was the architect of syria's domination in Lebanon. However, the speech that Khaddam had yesterday is considered like a bomb, that will help the investigation for the assassination of PM Hariri and all the other assassinations and terrorist attacks in Lebanon that are, without any doubt, interrelated. I feel so relieved that the Baath terrorist regime in Syria that exerced his power, his tyranny on Lebanon for 30 years (By the way, some Lebanese still don't know the fate of the detainees in syria's prison) and still exercing it over its own people is beginning to fall. This is the beginning of the end. The end of a dark era for either Lebanese and Syrian people.

By the way, have you seen the reaction of the syrian parliament on TV. Why do they have a parliament? MPs are programmed like robots!

Yesterday, the people who enjoy listening to tarab music singer Abdel Halim Hafez, were enjoying the other Abdel Halim.

Tsunami : un an déjà...

2005-12-26T16:36:00.000+02:00

26 décembre 2004, le jour où l'Asie du Sud et du Sud-Est s'est réveillée pour se trouver face à la plus grande tragédie que le monde ait jamais connue de nos temps. C'était une des plus grande catastrophe naturelle que notre Mother Nature nous a réservé. Ce genre de catastrophe (raz de marée, séismes, éruptions volcaniques) sont inévitables. On se retrouve parfois dans la vie confronté à des sors ou des destins auxquelles on n'y peut rien. C'est le destin! (parfoius, dans mon blog, j'utilise des termes élastiques, qui pourraient avoir diverses significations, selon l'individu, comme le terme destin, bref on en reparlera après) Un an après la tragédie qui a frappé des pays qui connaissent déjà pas mal d'enuis, comme l'Inde, le Sri Lanka, le Bangladesh et les iles maldives paradisiaques mais aussi la Thailande, La Malaisie, L'Indonésie voire des pays du continent africain! Un an après, des preoches des victimes, des survivants, des déplacés et des sans abris sont venus aux vastes endroits sinistrés afin de se recueillir ou de remercier ceux qui leur ont donné la chance de vivre une nouvelle vie.

Dans ce coin du monde, plus de 200 000 personnes ont perdu la vie. On n'y pouvait rien faire. Alors que dans notre pays, le Liban, des milliers de personnes ont été tuées durant la guerre et le scénario n'est toujours pas terminé. Le metteur en scène (quiconque qu'il soit) a décidé de poursuivre le scénario de massacre, de bombes à la voiture piégée touchant des personnes innocentes ou luttant pour la libération du Liban et pour la liberté indivuelle, liberté de presse, liberté de penser.

Partout dans le monde, en Asie durant les ras de marées, Katrina ou Rita en Amérique, on a essayer d'éviter l'inévitable alors qu'ici ou ailleurs, des personnes qui ne méritent pas la vie, essaient de manipuler le destin des autres et de contrôler l'avenir et le sort de tout un pays pour leur propres intérêts.

Template change

2005-12-26T01:30:00.000+02:00

One question : Should I change my template? I don't know why I chose this one. Ma ybe because it was the last on the list but I'm getting bored of it and i think my blog needs to be more active. Try to suggest me colours for example, according to what u think of me so far and my personnality. Maybe you think I'm blue or maybe dark. I will also make a poll for this topic so that I will have both qualitative and quantitative feed-back from you. (Oh! that sounds a lot like a public health course called IDHL 310)

Bad weather Good weather

2005-12-25T20:24:00.001+02:00

I wanna find out about something. Why does the bad weather is always described as cold weather, rain, snow. And the hot weather is rather a hot one with humidity. Weather is not asubjective notion. We cannot describe it as bad, good. It's how we, animals (yes we are among the animals, and our specie is Homo sapiens sapiens) For me, a weather with rain, snow, fog, tornadoes storms is a beautiful weather that let me feel in equilibrium with myself.

Au moins, je ne suis pas allergique à ce climat. Quand il fait chaud, je vis des crises d'éternuements, démangeaisons, problèmes respiratoires etc qui pourront se compliquer jusqu'au choc anaphylactique (peut-être c'est pas comme ça que ça s'ecrit)

En plus, des études ont montré que les étudiants performent mieux aux examens en hiver qu'en été.

Conclusion : I'm enjoying my time these days with this great weather that we have in Lebanon, specially during christmas. I hope it will continue like that. This weather gives big boost for inspiration

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-24T19:08:00.000+02:00

I think you noticed all of you who have been reading my blog lately that I'm not being productive tese days and my messages are consisting of greetings, congratulations, copy/paste messages etc. Why? I think there are several reasons. First of all, I was overloaded these days. Lots of work in the faculty of health sciences in AUB. But since holidays just started, it's no oonger an excuse. Well in fact, the connection in my house, with all the bad weather is not too fast and since I'm impatient these days (maybe because i'm not meditating regularly) so i hate waiting for each page to open. And in addition to that, I'm passing a critical moment in my life (well maybe not life, short term effects I think, I hope so)
Sorry for leaving you with this gloomy mood
BTW, let me before leaving, to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS (since it's the main topic of the message)

A message from Lebanese expatriates

2005-12-23T11:45:00.000+02:00

To our fellow Lebanese

This article is addressed to you from your brothers and sisters from around the world. We, the Lebanese abroad, have a very strong voice and we are taking action. You are not alone because the tragic events taking place in our beloved country have united us globally. The murder of our leaders, fathers, brothers and sisters are bring us closer together.

Our group, Al Moghtarebeen is planning to gather this summer in Beirut to show support for our people in Lebanon and to show the world that the millions of Lebanese abroad will not stand by watching all the tragedies unfold. We plan to travel in large numbers from different parts of the world to be there in Beirut and show everyone that we, the Lebanese, Muslim and Christians, are united in the name of our country Lebanon.

We need the support of groups and organizations in Lebanon and around the world to make this event an unparalleled success and show the world who we are. We are a young group, born after the murder of Mr. Hariri and kept growing with the successive murders, the most recent of which was that of Mr. Tueni.

To all Lebanese groups, to An-Nahar and all media, ministries, embassies, universities, to Mr. Saniora, Mr. Jumblat, Mr. Berri, M. Hariri, M. Michel Aoun, Mrs. Setrida Geagea, M. Mohammad Fneich, and all Lebanese around the world, let us unite and work together to show the world that we are one.

Contact us at www.moghtarebeen.com – let us work together in support of Lebanon

Note to Editors:
Established in 2005 in the United States, Lebanon Expats and Moghtarebeen.com are the voice of Lebanese scholars, businessmen and professionals living abroad. Their mission is to promote the powerful presence of the Lebanese abroad by carrying on social activities that will improve standards of living, and economical activities that will create job opportunities in Lebanon.

In March this year, the group sent a giant Lebanese Flag around the world to obtain signatures from Lebanese living abroad, the flag toured the USA, Canada, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, France and Lebanon.

Un message des expatriés libanais

2005-12-23T11:33:00.000+02:00

Cet un message des expatriés libanais du groupe Al Moghtarebeen. Il y aura une version anglaises aussi :

A nos compatriotes Libanais

Cet article s’adresse à vous de vos frères et sœurs des quatre coins du monde. Nous libanais vivant à l’extérieur pouvons transmettre votre message et vous aider à agir pour le bien du Liban. Vous n’êtes pas seuls, vu que les évènements tragiques qui se passent dans notre pays bien-aimé nous ont unis au niveau mondial. L’assassinat de nos responsables, familles, frères et soeurs nous rapproche chaque jour les uns des autres.

Notre groupe, Al Moghtarebeen (les expatriés), compte organiser un rassemblement de solidarité avec le Liban cet été dans le but de montrer au monde entier que les millions de libanais vivant a l’extérieur, n’observent pas passivement les évènements tragiques qui se déroulent l’un après l’autre. Nous comptons voyager des différents parts du monde et venir en grands nombres pour vous rejoindre à Beyrouth et montrer au monde entier que nous, Musulmans ainsi que Chrétiens, sommes unis au nom de notre patrie.

Pour réaliser ce but, nous avons besoin de l’aide des groupes et des sociétés libanaises qui se trouvent au Liban et au monde entier pour faire de cet évènement un succès sans précédant. Nous voudrions montrer au monde qui nous sommes; un groupe récent, qui s’est formé dès le meurtre de M. Hariri et qui a grandi avec les assassinats continus, le plus récent étant celui de M. Tueni.

Nous nous adressons à tous les groupes Libanais, au Nahar et à tous les médias, aux ministères, aux ambassades, aux universités, ainsi qu’à M. Siniora, M. Joumblat, M. Berri, M. Saad Hariri, Mme Setrida Geagea, M. Mohammad Fneich, et à tous les libanais du monde entire. Unissons – nous et travaillons main dans la main pour l’avenir d’un meilleur Liban.

Pour plus d’information, veuillez nous contacter au: www.moghtarebeen.com – Travaillons ensemble pour soutenir le Liban.

Note to Editors:
Established in 2005 in the United States, Lebanon Expats and Moghtarebeen.com are the voice of Lebanese scholars, businessmen and professionals living abroad. Their mission is to promote the powerful presence of the Lebanese abroad by carrying on social activities that will improve standards of living, and economical activities that will create job opportunities in Lebanon.
In March this year, the group sent a giant Lebanese Flag around the world to obtain signatures from Lebanese living abroad, the flag toured the USA, Canada, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, France and Lebanon.

First 100!

2005-12-21T13:12:00.000+02:00

Permettez moi de célébrer avec vous mon premier centenaire (en terme de visiteurs) Sans vous fidèles et patients lecteurs, je ne l'aurais jamais fait. Khalas assez de démagogie.

Thank you

2005-12-19T11:04:00.000+02:00

I would like to thank the few of those who are visiting and supporting my site regularly.
Viola thanls for your comment. By the way, do u have a blog or something similar so that i could visit you.
That's all for now. I am overloaded these days. I don't have enough time to update my blog on a regular basis, but I promise that I will be back in action as soon as possible

Weekly bus trip

2005-12-16T11:40:00.000+02:00

Have you guys ever tried to take the bus from Beirut to Tripoli or vice-versa. There is only one decent one which is quite safe to take it. The others are litterally coffins on wheels like the 24-seat and 12-seat hyundai (sorry no publicity) with very good music all the way to tripoli (singers like Ali al-Dik and Ali Dayyoub). I know every kind of music is entwined in its society and reflects it and I know also that art in general and music in particular is subjective bla bla bla but please, allow me to say that this music sucks. It's a really bad music (by the way like most of the new arabic music nowadays). Bref, this is not the topic. I will talk about this later. Let's go back to the Beirut-Tripoli highway (highway?!). I talked about the only decent bus company, well even in this bus, I don't always feel lucky. Since it's a relatively long way from Tripoli to Beirut (1h 30min), I try to seek my own comfort. If nobody sits next to me, i will be very lucky. Unfortunaltely, that does not happen much. Usually, I don't get the opportunity to sit next to a girl, simply because the driver reserves seats for them in the front, as if I'm gonna eat them or something. So, as a result, only men come and sit next to me. There's one thing i'm trying to figure it out. Why do they (even if they are thin) take 1,5 seats? And u can't tell them that they are intruding your personal space because they must be already fell asleep. And sometimes, while they are sleeping, they lean towards me and put their head on my shoulder. And I'm not going to talk about the BO. So each time I have to accomodate with my 0,5 seat with my inseparable blue bag (by the way it's getting dirty, remind me to wash it and to empty it because I still have stuff in it that must be started the process of desintegration or fossilization, it depends on the type of material). I think that, without my mp3 player (Which helps me to evade from the atrocity), I would never be able to make it all the way to Beirut (or Tripoli).
Foreigners, before u come to Lebanon, ask me and I'll give you some advices for a better stay in Lebanon

Dernier Hommage

2005-12-14T18:23:00.000+02:00

Je ne voulais pas intégrer la politique dans mon blog mais je pense qu'un homme de l'étoffe de Jibran Tuéni et aux valeurs et idéaux qu'il represente comme la liberté de presse, merite un drenier hommage. Ici ce n'est plus une question de politique. Les valeurs humaines sont violées jour après jour. On vit dans un pays au futur très sombre et lugubre. Je ne veux pas être pessimiste mais franchement, je ne vois aucun signe d'espoir profilant à l'horizon.
Je vous laisse avec le célèbre serment du 14 mars.

The river flows frozen

2005-12-08T14:17:00.000+02:00

This is one of my favourite songs. I want to share it with cause music is all about sharing.
The band is Eternal Tears of Sorrow.
The style is gothic.

The River Flows Frozen

[Music: Kokko & Puolakanaho][Lyrics: Vetelainen & Kokko & Puolakanaho]

Like frozen leaves We are falling

On to the soil so barren and cold

The rays of sun

No more warming

Our hearts now so cold

Through this fieldOf the withered flowers

We go

still one more time

The hidden beautyForever gone

The river's frozen once again

So came this time

When moonlight blackened my heart:

I can't stand this pain

The chain is broken

It's tearing open my scars:

I want to feel the flame...again

The shine behindThe frozen stream

Reminds me of your eyes

The spark of hope

Still in my heart

Shall dreams become true

under the ice?

Illiteracy

2005-12-07T10:57:00.000+02:00

An Illiterate person is someone who can't read and write any language. Personally, I'm not illiterate because I write and read even in many languages (Arabic, French, English and even Spanish). However, I think there is a problem nowadays. Another criteria should be added in order to define illiteracy.Typing! Since things are evolving and we are using keyboards more than pens. I can type in Franch, English, Spanish even German if you want! But I can't type in ARABIC. Well perhaps I could but it will take me light years to type a tiny paragraph. I'm Illiterate in ARABIC

Your search has returned no results

2005-12-03T10:14:00.000+02:00

Back from my quest and unfortunately, no hits. Maybe because of the keywords that I've chosen. It's all about keywords and how to choose them for a better search or maybe because the longest trip that i've done was from my room to the bathroom and vice-versa. No wait, I passed by the kitchen once or twice. Ok that's enough. I have to get back to my paper about female genital mutilation, or cutting, or circumcision or whatever it was, it is a savage, nonhuman practice that has to be stopped.

Void

2005-12-02T19:59:00.000+02:00

I'm sitting here in my room. I have too much work to do, but I don't know, I don't feel like studying (I have to finish this paper, due this monday) I feel like I have nausea. I'm typing and I don't reaaly want to type. What's happening to me? I feel the void in my stomach (but I ate), in my head ( this is not new) and in my external environment. I feel that something is missing, (maybe a girl?) Well, I'll go find a girl and go back with a better mood, I promise

Blogaholic?!

2005-11-29T14:48:00.000+02:00

Well I didn't take make me too much time to repost. I think that these are the first symptoms of the Blogaholiasis syndrom. I finished my GA work for today and I'm going downstairs to see my friend (by the way she has a blog and I will link it to u) I was having a little talk with her and we found out that we're afraid of the open air surfaces. We also try to stay in covered areas, to feel more safe, more sheltered just like the way cats do it (and by the way I like cats) For example, in the computer lab, I always choose the computer in the corner. I didn't notice that till my friend told me. Well societies are changing and people are changing too. We are more individualistic. We're trying to make friends through the internet and this is making us even more alone.

First post

2005-11-29T14:39:00.000+02:00

Hi!
This must be my first message in this blog. I don't know yet in which language should I write. It depends. I think it will be mostly in french, sometimes en english or even in spanish if the topic wasn't that deep because I'm not that good in spanish but I'm improving (si, de verdad!)
It's all for now coz I have some GA work to do (GA = graduate assistantship).
Ah non avant de vous quitter, je voudais me présenter car je ne sais pas si mon profile est affiché. Je viens d'avoir 25 ans ( 24 novembre) donc il n'est toujours pas trop tard pour m'offrir un cadeau. Je fais un master en santé publique à l'AUB (American University of Beirut) donc je vis à Beyrouth (mais pour le week-end à Tripoli au Liban-Nord)
That's all folks!