The Golden Trap : Vote for me

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

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

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

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

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?

God bless you Lebanon

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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"

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

A lazy day for a not so lazy guy

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.