Incoglilo .: not so personal :.

On comfort zones

2012-01-25T15:10:00.001+02:00

I want to move away from my comfort zone from time to time, I want to shake my legs and notice the chains that surround them.

Some women...

2011-12-28T12:23:00.001+02:00

Well, it seems women can do technology... Whoever knew that the female species can actually be smart & successful?

On a serious note, look at Sheryl Sandberg, an example of a feminine, cute voice have such loud resonance. Hint to some feminists, a woman does not have to act like a man to prove she is better than a man..

Forbes Woman Of The Year: Women In Tech

Opinions vs facts

2011-12-27T10:23:00.001+02:00

"Everything is unsettled, everything is argued about, and very few things are ever totally resolved on the Net." David Weinberger

I've been thinking for a while about the whole amount of information (whether accurate or not) available on the internet. I forgot where I read it, but if we want to read everything that is available online up till today, well it would take us... maybe a century or so.

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said famously "Everybody is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts,"

It's really nice and awesome that the digital era, is actually the "everyone has an opinion, can express his/her opinion, will be read by few or many, and possibly influence them into action or a different line of thought." But as every important tool, it's a two edged sword.

It seems to me that the world is so chaotic—and that we are so limited by our own perspectives—that the most likely way to advance is through the clash of different perspectives, different data sets, different prejudices, different blind spots.

Even though, clashes, difference of opinions, prejudices, bad news, natural disaster, nuclear threat, politics, terrorism, hunger, poverty, climate change, the variety of educational systems and whatever comes out of all this... even though it's sad, tough, hard to deal with, unfair, and just a bitch sometimes... it's the world, it is what is and if there were no bad things, no good things will exist. Yin yang...

The only way to think of good things, of scientific advancement, of ways to improve, to help, to think of the other, to become less selfless, to be a hardworker, to be creative, to stretch your mind into as much as you can, to challenge yourself... is driven by the existence of less interesting things, of sad events, of difference of opinions and of hard situations.

If we were all to live in a comfort zone, no... the world will not be an ideal place, will not be perfect. It will simply disintegrate... to survive, it's going to need the black and the bad.

Yes, we want all people to realize that x is bad, and y is good and z is the right thing to do. But then what? and who says that we're the right ones?

This post is inspired by this article "What is the future of knowledge in the internet age?" on Scientific American. About a project:

"an attempt to build a computer model of all the social, economic, ecological and scientific factors at play in the world"

Too many factors, too much complexity, how much can you trust a machine that is based on our own knowledge, erroneous one might I add.

82nd birthday - 21/12/1929

2011-12-22T14:19:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, I felt very blessed with the family and friends I am surrounded with. I know I sound high and not like myself. But when you are surrounded by awesome and kind people, you cannot but feel the same as well.

I want to keep this under one place. My brother Pascal Assaf dedicated this poem to me (yes it made me cry)

كنت في العاشرة من عمري، عندما جاءني ملاك في المنام،

وهمس: "غداً تكبر ويكون الشعر قدرك".

في الصباح أيقظتني أمي بابتسامة،

وقالت: "هذه أختك الصغيرة"

وكانت أول قصيدة أعشقها.

كل عام وأنت أجمل الأشعار.

Then my brother Roger, wrote this:

Ummmm..
I know I can't write a better poem, not even a sequel
But in the end of the day, u know that our love 2 u is definatly equal :)

Then my mom Marianne wrote this:

في عيد الميلاد تزين الشوارع والمنازل بأحلى زينة وأنت يا ابنتي زينتي حياتي عند ولادتك! كل عام وانتي بألف خير

And that is not all, my dad Nafez (different time zone since he lives in the US), wrote this in reply to my reply that my brother's poem made me cry:

بكائك يا حبيبة العمر أفرحنى و ريحنى فى غربتى فقد تاكدت انه لى ثلاثة اولاد بقلب واحد الله يخليكن لبعض و عقبال مية سنه و مية قصيده

My family is just amazing, isn't it? I am so blessed. This year was very different, I usually don't like to make a fuss out of my birthday, since after all, everyone on earth is born... what makes it so special? But still, to see all those people happy that I was born 31 years ago, is quite overwhelming in a good way. My friends dedicated crazy videos and wrote touching messages to me, making me smile and laugh and go O.o sometimes. Some practical gifts (yes, I always need a Pajama, I do :D) and the toilet seat O.o :P And of course ... of course... (the picture you see above)

Blessed I tell ya, blessed!

Inspired to say:

2011-11-29T23:11:00.001+02:00

You told me to get all my personalities together. I did and we all agreed you're a moron.

...

2011-11-24T12:33:00.001+02:00

When the problem is in their mind, there really isn't much you can do except take a step back, turn 180 degrees and walk away. Can you reason with No-Reason? Image already formed, judgment already stamped, hatred already established. Walk away...

Critical Mind

2011-11-14T16:47:00.001+02:00

Having a critical mind is one thing, and a thing to respect. Nevertheless, having a mind where you just criticize everything even when it's illogical, or based on an incorrect hypothesis, or inserting wrong values in variables is plain annoying.

I traveled, I observed and when I wasn't noticing, I learned.

2011-10-08T12:23:00.001+02:00

"A candle that burns twice as bright, only burns half as long."

I saw this comment on Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech youtube video. And it struck a chord in me. I immediately remembered my late best friend. She died from Cancer too. She was only 19. Difference is, she did not have a chance to live, to do things. And I know for a fact, if she was still around, she would have.

It might be a selfish thing to say, but her death reminds me not to nag, not to take life for granted and not to act like a victim. In fact, it's not her death that reminds me of that... In fact, a couple of months ago, I saw her in my dreams, and she specifically made me understand that whatever problems I encounter, whatever dilemmas I face, whatever obstacles stand in my way and whatever negativity is headed towards me, at least.... AT LEAST, I am still around and still have the chance to deal with them. I have a choice.

Vatican - Rome - 26 September 2011 by yours truly (check red sentence below)

Cancer sucks... Cancer took my best friend away, who 12 years later, still means a lot to me. Even though we were only close for 2 years. So can you imagine what an impact she had on her mother? father? siblings? family? She was an extraordinary girl. Najla. I love you, I always will. Luckily we have the same destination, so I will be seeing you... 40-50 years later :) If you don't mind waiting.

Cancer took many other people who are dear to many people & friends I have. And I can see the same face that says the same thing: "There was nothing we can do!" But, there is something we can do, for us, for the people who are still around, I reckon.

Before I went on my vacation, I was repeatedly asked: "Are you excited?" My answer was the same, repeatedly: "3ade" (Normal). And of course, I would be criticized for that attitude. But let me tell you why it's the perfect attitude. It's because I learned that whatever you expect, you get a different experience. And that experience, could be better or worse, nonetheless it is different, and because of it being so, you get to learn something new, feel something new, be put out of your comfort zone, or maybe be returned to a new better comfort zone. I expected nothing, and I got more.

I learned several things...

I learned that you don't search for a good time, instead, it finds you.
I learned that strangers, turning close friends, make your life rich.
I learned that if we want, we can make a change.
I learned that a moment of peace cannot be "pretended".
I learned that 1 minute of peace is enough to make a vacation worth while.
I learned that the world is so weird, for having people like "Gaudi" exist, and at the same time people who waste all their free time playing PS3.
I learned that I will not put off seeing a doctor for my knees, because I (and am not exaggerating) could stop walking in 10 years if things remain getting worse on the same pace as they are now.
I learned that my family means a lot to me.
I learned that I love my country dearly.
I learned that there are certain people I wished who were with me on that vacation and that they matter more than I thought they did.
I learned that I love getting people souvenirs & gifts, well... only for those who matter.
I learned that there are many inspiring things in life, and that I want everyone I know to be as inspired as I was during the past two weeks.
I learned that you can go to a camp of "inspiration" for that matter, but instead just get inspired by a random person you meet while you're going to or coming back from that camp. Nonetheless... it is because of this camp.
I learned that being close to a Dali original painting... made me cry. It's quite magical to be so close in space to something a genius has touched decades ago. I traveled back in time. It exists.
I learned that the internet speed has improved at home, and even though it's not a 24mbps like other countries, it is still an improvement, and we should brace it. Cut the negativity a bit.
I learned that when things are in bullet points, people read them all. Okay I knew that from before!
Post Updated: I learned that coincidence doesn't exist. Good things can come out while having a lousy dessert at a cafe we did not like much. The outcome? You're looking at it.

So... for someone who had no expectations from a 2 weeks vacation, I think I did well.

I learned that there are friends I love and missed, and I will make sure I tell it to their faces and give them my Ozzi signature hug.

Barely a creature

2011-09-23T11:37:00.001+02:00

Having 2 balls does not make you a man. Having a herd of sheep behind you does not make you a leader.

Dream Small

2011-09-09T15:17:00.001+02:00

Dali used to paint his sister Anna Maria a lot, most of the time from the back. The one here is her looking out from the window at Figueres, where he grew up. And in 3 weeks, I will be there God willing. And maybe I will get to stop for a second, and be Dali at Figueres. Just had goosebumps writing this.

I dream small, but those dreams make me really happy. Hasta pronto Catalonia :D

Sa ni ty

2011-09-02T09:04:00.001+02:00

You know when you lots to say, you don't know where to start or worse, where to stop. Because you know at the end of the day you will run into your friends and you will get the: "Yeah, we saw your post today!"

Oh wow, glad to feel like you know everything about me, inside out...

Therefore, I will make this short. Don't take sanity for granted, and don't let anyone take it from you. Because if they're succeeding, it means they should not be in your life in the first place.

Enjoy your day.

Under a black volcanic glass kinda rock

2011-08-16T21:45:00.001+02:00

I finally saw The Shawshank Redemption. The top 1 movie on IMDB.com. I am not going to tell you the plot, you can IMDB it, I won't even link you! You can/should do this yourself. But all I can say it is definitely one of those movies that make you smile even with the many recurrent dark moments. It helps you see the persistence of one man and the hope he had.

But it's just a movie, right? So it makes you think about reality, and whether there are persons like that, who are good, patient and never give up. It makes me also think about the amount of people who are very weak and who seek constant approval and flattery from their surrounding.

Why try hard to get people to rate you, why not just do your own thing, be good at it and the bonus would be being remembered for it.

There are people in this life who only feel better when they put other people down, these people are bullies, weak and sad pathetic little things. Why stoop to their level?

Sometimes as hurtful as things may be for you, as painful, as horrific and demeaning as they can be. If you choose to get over it, move on and go to the pacific, where there is no memory, you will be good again, you will feel alright, and at a new start.

I like this movie, I might be high here... maybe I am, and maybe it's because of this movie.

Simple pleasures of life, watching a good movie. A movie that was acted by strangers, written by strangers, directed by strangers, sold by strangers, and played on a machine invented and built by strangers, to come and arrive to your proximity, so you could feel good.

Life has become so easy, and yet we bitch about things.

In case you're too lazy to google it, here's the link to the movie.

I almost forgot

2011-08-11T15:31:00.002+02:00

12 years ago, I called you to wish you a happy birthday not knowing it would've been the last time. Rest in peace amiga. I am sad to admit I am starting to forget your face, your voice, the way you talk... I am ashamed.

But will never forget your blond curls

That spark in your eyes when you used to be a smart ass

How you washed your hair because you didn't like it just before our prom party

That stupid computer radio you got me for my birthday because you were one of the first persons to ever notice I am a geek

That letter you wrote to me :) One of the few things I wish I can keep with me even after I die

Even though you're ... not there anymore. You're one of those persons who were deprived from life so soon at such a young age. Nevertheless, you are one of the few who remind me how important life is, that we shouldn't take things for granted, that life is precious... and most of all, that health is.

I have an enemy, it's cancer. I have a friend, it's you.

Happy birthday my best friend. I lie, I still remember your face, your voice and the way you talk.

... meh... see now you made me cry.

BUT it's okay :) Rest in peace, wherever you are, I hope you're being taken care of.

Documenting moment 08.08.2011.22.57

2011-08-08T21:58:00.001+02:00

I am back :)

Mind and Soul.

Yey

Toss a coin to make an important decision

2011-08-08T13:02:00.001+02:00

Bewilderment can make someone go nuts over a certain decision. Do this, or do that? Many times, you sit on your living room sofa and wonder what choice should you opt for, what path will it lead you to, is it the right one? is it the wrong one? Will you regret it? Will it hurt?

My solution is to just toss a coin in the air and call for it. Even when confused, your face will give away the true intention. If the coin lands on what you don't want, you won't be happy with the result, or you will just say "Coins suck", and if it lands on what you want, then you will simply smile.

Try this technique, 100% guarantee or coin back!

My brain is a haunted house.

2011-08-02T19:35:00.001+02:00

This is a fascinating story to say the least. Reminds us of how vulnerable we human beings are, we could be doing a mundane activity one moment, and the next one a single blood vessel shifting by a 400th inch shifting your whole world.

This dude over here went from being a Chiropractic into an artist. But it wasn't only his interests that changed, but also his behavior, attention span and perception of emotions and such. He became rude, self absorbed and obsessed with drawing.

While reading the story about this guy, I couldn't help myself to think about his wife, how she "accepted" things at one point, how he knew that he will never change back to the old him and how with their love, understanding and friendship, they were able to find a way nonetheless.

A lesson that I repeatedly try not to forget, is not to take things for granted. Another lesson that could be drawn from this is perhaps, adaptation, is not so bad.

Read full article about "Jon Sarkin: The man who couldn't stop drawing" here

I have to say, the one sentence that I found to be so deep, a sentence that actually explains many feelings I've been experiencing lately, is the following:

I feel like I'm a haunted house, I feel at home, but never comfortable.

Never give up

2011-08-02T13:03:00.001+02:00

Are belief and hope, the things that help you keep going? or the things that pull you back and keep you from accomplishing other things...

Scuba Underwater Photography Diving

2011-08-01T19:00:00.001+02:00

http://incoglilo.blogspot.com/2011/07/need-to-do-to-do-list.htmlI posted a to do list a couple of week ago, but decided to alter #6. I said I want to be better at photography, this stays, but I want to add to it, and learn underwater photography, so while I am at it, will also learn scuba diving.

Geeky way of saying "Kil Shi Byerja3lak/lik"

2011-07-21T12:57:00.001+02:00

Quoting Sheldon Cooper from The Big Band Theory sitcom:

Yes, well, I'm polymerized tree sap, and you're an inorganic adhesive. So whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns on its original trajectory and adheres to you.

Well, or you can just mimic holding a mirror in your hand :P Up to you!

Nothing

2011-07-19T16:21:00.001+02:00

hmmmm... this post is about... hmmm.. nothing!

A la seinfeld :P

Need to do a to do list

2011-07-12T14:07:00.001+02:00

Remember back when I used to do Todo Lists (first list, 2nd list, I think there was more...)? And they were effective I must add, I wanted to see paris and new york, learn a new language, lose weight etc... They did help me set some goals - short term ones - try to attain them, luckily I was able to make several of them true. So I guess, I am in for another run. And we'll see how it goes.

1- Learn a new language, this time I think I will go for german.

2- Work out, tone my body (Jessica Biel, am still eyeing you) and of course eat better.

3- Visit Spain and Nepal.

4- Revisit Washington for the museums

5- Watch a football game live

6- Become better at photography

7- Learn to ride a bike (still on since last list) *embarrassed look*

8- Drift a car (also since last list). But you should know that I did drift my car on April 1st for about 30-40 meters, like real drifting, but it was unintentional :P And I ended up paying 600$ to fix it, so I'd rather LEARN to control drifting my car.

Okay, I guess that's it for now.

p.s. a day ago I saw my google tasks thingie open on its own, and one of the tasks was "GO Home". Now I don't know how I managed to make such a task, but sure, why not.

Must See Sarcastic/Dark Comedy Movies

2011-07-11T09:35:00.001+02:00

If you have gone through life without having seen these (in no specific order) sarcastic funny movies, I will forgive you for now and tell you to go buy those DVDs for 1000LL from Bourj Hammoud or Da7yeh, and start watching them

1- Idiocracy

2- The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

3- Dogma

4- Anger Management

5- Napoleon Dynamite

6- Clerks.

7- Pulp Fiction

Am sure I missed something, any recommendations? I really recommend most Kevin Smith movies anyway! Start with Dogma :D

What would you do

2011-06-17T10:02:00.001+02:00

Would you lose your sanity for a loved one? Or a loved one for your sanity?

#NowPlaying Chris Brown - Beautiful People. Although not everywhere do you find beautiful people, some people are truly nasty, full of complexes, and many of them NOT FUNNY. Ya khaye you're not funny stop trying.

Sola en Espana?

2011-06-13T12:13:00.001+02:00

So what do you think about traveling alone? I am thinking Barcelona :) Gotta go see that Dali Museum!

Captcha?

2011-06-12T22:15:00.000+02:00

When you prefer pain over numbness
A punch over indifference
A swear over invisibility

This is not being masochist, or stupid, or silly. It's simply wanting to feel, because if you don't feel, you're just another bot who is trying to successfully write those captchas.

Been a long time since I babbled... here you go

2011-06-08T08:59:00.002+02:00

It's all in the brains. After all, what do we have that makes up our mind and our point of views, our opinions and our perception of things but our brains. You can love a person indefinitely, endlessly and with so much passion, and another day you can simply look at them like they are total strangers, like they are obstacles and holding you back from where you want to go and who you want to be. Be it a friend, a lover, a brother...

Sometimes I wonder about those people who are in denial, are they really in denial or did they simply program their brains to perceive something in a way that will make them feel okay about their life and their surroundings, that's a defense mechanism alright, but why do some people consider it so wrong? Now I understand, if you're in denial but you are sad, then you haven't really succeeded in convincing yourself about acceptance. However, when you're in denial and happy, are you really in denial?

How do we know that happiness is a real thing and it's nothing something you simply look at differently. How many times do people advise you to just "be happy". What does that mean really? Do conditions change? Do you get happy and then change the conditions around you? Do you accept conditions the way they are and decide to just "be happy"? How do you know you're not lying to yourself and we are not all lying to ourselves all the time 24/7 just to pass this life.

How do you know you are really in love, that you really like drinking, that you really like partying, that you really like coffee, that you really like reading a book? Do you read a book to escape real life? Do you read a book to get better at something so you feel better about yourself so you become more confident when with others? Why do we have to be very good at things to feel self-confident around others.

If you're not doing what you love, love what you do. Life is overrated. Love is overrated. Everything in this life is overrated. My flaw is that I believe, and I expect too much. After 30 years on this planet, I can say I will stop believing, and I will stop expecting. The only thing I want to do is have a good time, on the expense of anyone.

That was a moment I was truly happy, since then I take the same style of photo but I can never reproduce that moment. I have discussed and asked so many times on this blog, what is happiness and if it can be attained alone. I want to convince myself, that yes it can. And I don't care about sharing it. I mean, I can always share it on this blog, with the people who have become my friends, and that is good enough for me.

Can you become more intelligent?

2011-05-30T16:18:00.001+02:00

You know, I hate when someone says: "I hate math and will never get it". I also hate that I used to think I could never memorize history chapters. I had to learn the hard way, the right method to learn something. Sadly, not all people get to do that, and of course it depends on the subject.

Not so many years ago, I was told by a professor of mine that you didn't have much control over your intelligence. It was genetic—determined at birth.

You know the tricks, some people write things down, some people read out loud, some people have to re-solve all math exercises, other give a name for every letter in a very complicated disease name, some people make a song out of a paragraph, or some (like me) read something and sleep on it, my own explanation is "khalliyoun yetkhamaro", so on and so forth

One of my first clients was a little boy w/ PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Delays-Not Otherwise Specified), a mild form of autism. When we began therapy, his IQ was tested and scored in the low 80s —which is considered borderline mental retardation. After I worked with him for about three years [..] he was retested. His IQ score was well over 100

I stumbled upon this link "You can increase your intelligence: 5 ways to maximize your cognitive potential". And I wasn't surprised or shocked to know this truth, because it happened with me. I remember increase my IQ by 17 points. I did that by learning the tricks on those IQ tests. I learned to skim through articles and read "the important", I learned that (only when I want to), summarize what I am reading by the main idea of each paragraph, I learned to focus, another thing I learned was "repeating" to someone what I read, and then BAM, it moves from your short term memory, to your long term memory. Best way is to read something over several days, really does sneak and spread through your neurons.

So this article talks about Multimodal Teaching (using as many modes of input as possible). The author's point and my point as well, is that there is always a way to understand something, but understanding isn't enough, remembering is more important, and there is also several methods to accomplish that. Now this article is pretty interesting for educators, and I believe presenters of any kind of information to any audience.

This sort of also remind me of the movie Limitless. We have a brain, but we don't fully use it. How do we know this? I don't want to get scientific here, I just want you to imagine when we have a deadline, how our brains transform from a serpent to a dolphin's.

There is also a link to an interesting paper about this whole Multimodal Teaching, consider reading it if you want your head to grow a bit bigger, shou Megamind a7san?

[Photo Source] http://www.sodahead.com

Reliant on technology a bit too much?

2011-05-18T14:03:00.001+02:00

I am sure this is a question we don't even dare ask ourselves. Smartphone, internet on your phone, constantly checking your email, and everyone expecting you to answer them at any minute of the day.

Remember when you were too shy to call someone at their home after 9pm or before 10am?

Remember when you used to go pick up your friend, and tell them when you left your home by calling them, and then honking on arrival or ringing them on their house's inter-phone?

Remember when we used to go camping, and we did not having a cell in our hands when we were sitting under a tree or firing a camp fire?

Remember when we used to leave the house and not panic because we did not have a metal square like gadget in our hand?

Also remember when we used to not be held accountable when we did not reply to an email?

Anyway, check out these folks, who's complete reliance on GPS led the woman to be stranded for two months, and the man to get "completely" lost.

Recalculating... Don't trust your GPS

Puma Ocean

2011-04-23T13:45:00.005+02:00

When you spend a while thinking what title to give a photo, you think should it be something funny, deep, romantic... Most of the time, photos can be beautiful on their own, but when they have a title, the photographer is able to translate something, something hidden to her audience. And other times, you look at a photo and you say, what beautiful scenery, what a large ocean, what a vast sky... limitless... but what are Puma shoes doing there? Why do I always include my sneakers inside those photos, what am I trying to prove? That I was there? Are my feet my identity now? Why don't I put a photo of my portrait with that landscape ...

I will tell you why.

This is how I saw it. The photo, of the landscape, is how I saw it.

So need I give a title to this photo? Or should I just tell you, that I was cold, the sky was beautiful, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore but most importantly, that my phone cam is not bad during daylight. No title is needed. After all, I just babbled almost 200 words.

Know yourself first. Can it get any harder?

2011-04-04T11:46:00.001+02:00

Life constantly makes you become someone you don't recognize at times where you need yourself the most. Surival First

You can run away from people, from places, from family, from work... But where do you run away from yourself? You suddenly find yourself stalking you, you no longer want that newly acquired habit, or newly reached way of thinking to be anywhere near you. You don't want to know what's going on, you just want it to go away.

When you get to a point where you rely on a coin to make important decisions for you, this is when you know something went wrong. But what is right or wrong really? How confused can someone get? How hard can things be?

Lesson I finally learned and have now engraved in my brains, is never ever to judge anyone else, or wonder "why" they're thinking that way or "why" they behaved that way. When amateur you think you know a lot, when pro, you realize you know nothing.

This comes down to what Socrates said, the simplest thing I've heard, a sentence you think you understand, but completely and utterly miss out on realizing every moment of every day during your entire life.

Know Thyself

Phone Weirdo

2011-04-02T19:25:00.001+02:00

I have been getting this a lot lately, from friends and colleagues and people I work with. It's about the way I communicate on the phone, something very close to someone shocked and just held a phone in their hands for the first time.

I swear I don't do this on purpose, something possesses me when I pick up the phone. Actually someone pointed it out recently to me, and made fun of me, thank YOU (you know yourself).

I am gonna do this T-Shirt:

Don't like talkin' on phone.

Tweet.me.instead.

Perfectionism sucks sometimes

2011-03-24T12:07:00.001+02:00

What do you think about when some "perfectionist" people, tend to "perfect" a project they're working on, and take all the time they need, and while they're "perfecting" their work, someone else comes and does it before them; and then end up gaining THE momentum, money, fame, reactions, whatever the case may be...

So "to perfect"? Or just get by? Or does it depend on the project?

To my mom

2011-03-21T14:11:00.001+02:00

It's been several years mom would be away on Mother's day.

I am guilty of not treating mom as much as she deserves, one of my biggest flaws is my attachment to my laptop, internet and writing. She'd be sitting right there beside me, but I'd be living in my own binary world. If not that, I'd be out and about. In a nutshell, I appear as a lousy daughter.

But what mom doesn't know or maybe it's because I don't show it much, is how much I love her, admire her and respect her.

Mom taught me to be honest, to respect, to dream, to change the course of my life if needed, not to be afraid to speak my mind, and all that without offending people.

Mom taught me an important lesson. So many times I'd get back home angry from something, and instead of blindly supporting me, she would actually point out if it was my fault, but in a cute manner. Of course I'd get mad at her, go to my room, close the door like any teenager, adolescent and adult :P would do, but when I'd sit alone, I would ponder about how wise she is, and would realize that I should be more fair and more objective.

I always had a bad temper, I still do. Everyone who knows me are thinking: "But you're so calm!" Yes I am, and it is because of mom. She helped me learn how to control my anger and look at things more positively.

I am a better person, a more patient one because of you mom. And I owe my imagination and modest (really modest) creativity to the stories you used to make up for me before I'd go to sleep when I was a child.

You my mom, are the most important person in my life.

Be happy mamie, and khalleh 3al daghet ba2al yinzal 7ajik m3ateltineh hammik :P Ba3dik sabiye wlo!

When you wake up thinking about Red Velvet & Chocolate cake ball

2011-03-19T15:26:00.001+02:00

... then you know you have been bitten by Le Gustav - Innovation Sucrée, more like, you have bitten Le Gustav. I don't know what I can add to what Micheline already beautifully described and said about Le Gustav in her blog post, except one thing:

After Chef Noor offers me a Chocolate cake ball, or a Red velvet ball (yes, they love me this much), the second I take a bite, I instantly get transported to another world full of happiness, joy, satisfaction, love, daisies, rainbows, marshmallow clouds, floating in the air, porsches... yes, those 2-3 minutes are simply heaven to me. Yes! Heaven!

I have been planning on grabbing my not-so-bad-camera and shooting those desserts, but hey.. you know how forgetful and lazy I am, so for now, just look at the lame iPhone's camera photos, and I promise I shall bring you much much better photos. It will also be a challenge for me to do some Dessert Photography.

Red Velvet Cake on the top. Chef Noor baking :)

More and more red velvets (Yes I love this cake)

Red Velvet Balls with Melted white chocolate on the top

Tarts with Pomegranate

Chef Noor pouring Melted White Chocolate on a Red velvet cake

Convinced? I am sure you are! Check the map of Le Gustav :)

Just believe, you're not gonna be sexy forever

2011-03-08T00:23:00.001+02:00

I used to say: "I will buy a house soon!", the responses I would get would range from "Why? It's the guy who is supposed to buy the house!" macho tone to "You look like you don't want to get married, hein!" sarcastic lame tone to "But this way, the future husband will get greedy, and will only marry you for the house!" evil tone

And, my response would be mostly : "meh"

They don't get it. It's not about me + someone. It's just about me! If I want to buy a house, it's for me!

Me... me... me! *mouse like voice*

We no longer live in in the 19th century, where the girl remained illiterate, and had to rely on a man to make a life. Now, things are different. Do I really need to explain how? Seriously?

I am not rooting for being alone forever, far from that, I believe happiness is to be shared, so are achievements and goals. I am just saying, if a woman is alone, it doesn't mean she's "incomplete". So cut her some slack.

This is a shout out to many women, single or not, you are a whole on your own. Embrace it. You rock. Not all of you, some of you really need to restart their brains and stop thinking that their only role in this life is cooking and cleaning (that is what the cook and cleaning person are for) and raising kids (it's not your sole job)! Yeah you can do much more for the community, in the industry, for the country, just believe!

So did this post distract you with all these photos of these sexy and beautiful women? I really don't know why they're here. I have no idea what my point is. Hmmm. You got an idea what my point was? Maybe I just wanted to tease you. I donno.

Thanks for twitter people for helping me find these photos and include them in this post.

Happy Women's Day :)

Let me tell you why God doesn't exist

2011-03-07T12:02:00.001+02:00

See and follow through my epic logic. You know in Math, there is a method called "par recurrence" used to prove something, after validating it for x = 1, 2, 3 and then "par recurrence" or "by induction?" we prove that it's also valid for x = n.

Now I play the lottery maybe once every 6 months.

x = 1 was when I said: "God, if I win the lottery, I will distribute them on my family"

Did not win

x = 2 was when I said: "God, if I win the lottery, I will distribute them on my family and friends and charities, I don't want anything for myself"

Did not win

x = 3 was when I said: "God, if I win the lottery, I will keep them for me, me me me me... only me!" Yes, I tried the selfish one

Did not win

So by induction, I should conclude that I will never win, and God doesn't exist. But hey, I am going to try to validate for x = 4. "God, if I win the lottery, I will run naked in front of all twitter people".

Kidding :P Not even 10 million dollars would make me do anything like that! MEH

Lilo Dali Multipass

2011-02-13T11:56:00.003+02:00

So after waiting for years for any of my friends to notice my obsession with Salvador Dali and get me his book on my birthday, I finally decided to follow through and get it myself for moi (from librairie antoine online :P).

Now, what can I say except that this man is amay-zing. He's someone who did not let anything stand in the way of his imagination, he just lets go, and you can see that in his paintings (and from what I read, the movie he made "Le chien andalou"). I am still at 35% of the book, it includes his BIO, in addition to that when he drew what and what they suspect he meant by them, and many of his mind-blowing quotes. How often do you see someone that confident in himself? Ironic though, he was also shy. Which makes him even more interesting.

When you read about someone that grand, you cannot but feel some of that grandiose yourself. You feel like you can do something big as well. I will never be a famous painter, or singer or musician or dancer or photographer, I think Art isn't my thing. But my plan is to keep it real, and to be the best ordinary person I can be. How? I think it's simple. It's as simple as knowing what you want, being honest and true to yourself, and keeping a sense of humor while at it. Because really, why so serious?

I know, I am speaking about real, while Salvador Dali is the epitome of surrealism. But to tell you the truth, I have never seen anything as real as his work.

I've been through many phases, my favorites were Ziad Rahbani and Che Guevara, and now it's Dali's phase, and all I can say is that I am enjoying every bit of it.

Here we go again

2011-02-04T12:47:00.001+02:00

Getting to a point where I don't want to see anyone just so they don't ask me the dreadful question:

"How are you doing?"

Kylie - Part XI

2011-01-26T11:10:00.002+02:00

"Tomorrow night? hmmm I don't have plans tomorrow night so yes why not!" She smiled at him. He smiled back. Starred for a second, and then took her number so he can call her the next day and tell her where to meet.

Her heart kept pumping, she didn't know whether that was because she just said yes to a married man or because a drifting car almost smashed her.

Next day at work, she forgot all about what happened the day before, she was swamped with tasks and she couldn't even sip her coffee or have her lunch break when suddenly a number she's never seen before appears on her phone. She looks at it, then dismisses it thinking it was a client. An hour later the number turns on the screen again, when she finally decides to answer, the first words she hears are:

"For a second I thought you gave me a wrong number, or just decided that am not worth it at all." He said.

She stopped everything she was doing and just stood in shock, this was definitely a man who keeps her on her toes, very unpredictable and someone she knows is going to sweep her off her feet, very soon.

She answered: "No, of course not. I just totally forgot that we were seeing each other tonight, you know, very busy at work" and laughed. He replied: "Oh how I wish you gave me a wrong number, this is mean!"

At night, when she arrived and gave her car to the valet parking guy, she saw him waiting for her on the entrance, all elegant and with the most beautiful smile on his face. She felt like she knew him for years and this man was the man of her life, and there was nothing weird or wrong or new about this.

"So you want me to start with the obvious, or you want t wait and tell me at your own pace." She said.

He smiled.

*He liked how honest she was, this isn't a woman who wants to fool around, and god knows how much does he hate unloyal people. Thing is, he didn't want to approach her that day, but he knew he might be missing his chance forever, he saw something in her, and just couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He knew this was more than just finding a woman sexy, or cute. It was definitely something more, and he took the risk, knowing that the first thing she will see is the ring on his left hand.*

"I am getting a divorce" he paused "I know you're thinking, he's definitely lying since this is the excuse most married use but still don't take off their rings". "But am not. I just haven't had the courage to take it off yet." He looked at her with a shy smile. She immediately saw his pain, she knew, it wasn't him who took the decision to get a divorce.

"Don't worry. Listen. Honesly, those sushi were nice for tasting and all, but am stil hungry. What do you say we go for Hotdog at Freddy's?" she said nicely.

"Freddy's? Seriously? Ah women and their taste, put your coat on and let's go. I know the best hot dog place in town." He said with confidence.

*He liked what she did, she immediately trusted him and so did he. She's giving him time. She understands, and she knows he's not a bad guy*

But she's not a patient person at all. She looked at him while he was driving and asked him: "When will the divorce be finalized?"

His smile completely disappeared: "She still didn't sign on the papers!"

Kylie's jaw dropped. She was confused, who filed for divorce? Him or his wife? In that moment, he knew she was lost and didn't know what was going on, he wanted to save the moment but he knew what he was going to say next might ruin every possible chance that they can be together, and he really wanted her in his life.

"When you love someone, it's hard to let go..."*

Stay tuned for part XII, a lot of things will be revealed :) it might be the last one.

Delusional, realistic or what?

2011-01-15T18:43:00.000+02:00

Check what Dali told his parents when they decided to employ a drawing teacher for him when he was still 10:

No! I don't want any drawing teacher, because I am an "Impressionist painter!"

Of course his parents laughed, and thought oh what a cute 10 year old boy!

But he was right wasn't he? This makes me think about our role as parents, whether to encourage our children when they blurt out something like the above, or dismiss it trying to diminish the difficulties, roughness and obstacles a person will face in a real life leading them not to be able to accomplish anything.

Some say: "No high expectations, no disappointment"

Do we encourage? or do we tell them: "get real, you're cute!"

On the wandering mind and happiness

2010-12-31T14:26:00.001+02:00

This article, I identify a lot with. Yesterday I was with a group of friends I knew back in school, and they were sharing a lot of memories of which I only remember 20% of. I felt bad. At first I used to think it is because I have a bad memory, but truth is it was simply because I did not concentrate on the moment and my mind used to wander a lot dreaming of happier moments. And that is what I did most of my life. But not recently, since I learned that lesson, and the cure for my lousy memory was simply to live in the moment and focus more. Now of course, my mind still wanders, but we're learning, grasshoppers :)

This article is a very cool and interesting read on how letting our mind wander is a major cause of unhappiness. Simply, try to live and appreciate the moment. As my friend and school colleague told me yesterday: "Every moment that is gone, will never be replaced"

Since it's the last day of the year, I just want to wish my readers (if you're still reading that is, since I've been really ignoring this blog) a good year, I know it won't be all good, let's be realistic here, but I hope you change your job if you're unhappy now, I hope you find love, if you're feeling lonely, I hope you get a promotion if you're doing well at your job now, I hope you spend quality time with your loved ones and I hope you stay true to yourself, no matter what!

Happy 2011. Thank you for being there for me.

p.s. Happiness, is only a state of mind.

Oh well

2010-12-22T07:31:00.001+02:00

I must admit, dates mean a lot to me, because numbers mean a lot to me, and yesterday 21/12 I got to the big 3 O.. I got a very delicious cake at work and I made a wish, a selfish wish for the first time ever, but today I would like to officially retract that wish.

Been a long time that blog is pretty dead, that's not good, since most probably I will want to get back years later to remember how I felt in this period, then again, maybe I don't want that. Subconscious can do wonders I tell ya.

Finally, being young is different from being immature. Just saying :)

Happy Birthday to me, I got myself an RC Helicopter!

I will never forget this

2010-11-23T09:30:00.001+02:00

A teacher in school once told me: "Iza hadafik tari2o so3be, ma titkhalleh 3anno w trou7e 3al tari2 el hayne".

Like being in another world

2010-11-20T15:08:00.000+02:00

Listen to it and thank me later. It's a Croatian song, sang by Pink Martini and called "U Plavu Zoru" (the blue dawn)

Not me - succumbing to life

2010-11-15T14:36:00.001+02:00

I was one of those kids who aspired to become a pilot, a rock-star, a nobel prize winner, an actress who has won at least 2 grammies, the country's president, formula one driver, company owner, coffee shop owner, pub owner, some large weird space with coffe and drinks and food and pool table and darts and library and media room and all that on one place, owner... etc..

All those profiles have one or two things in common and those are, being important and having power over something or having the ability to have a strong impact or influence on people's lives. Now that is most probably because of the superiority complexe that I suffered from, but I think most kids wanted that no?

Nowadays, I am just an employee, who works 9 to 10 hours per day, with a salary at the end of every month, no aspiration or ambition at all. And weirdly enough, I don't mind. Difference is, I still wanna be a coffee shop owner, with a pool and a library and all that... But I can do that in my future own place, my house is going to be a recreational center! Then again, this is a whole different story. For me, a job now means means to survive. And the one quote I resisted all my life, haunts me now:

"If you don't do what you love, love what you do!"

I live for nights and weekends and vacations and I dont mind doing this at all. I never thought I would reach this point in my life since, and I quote myself:

"I don't like how things go. I don't think I'm going to grow to be a traditional employee, wake at 8 am, go to work at 9 am, go to lunch for an hour at 1 pm then come back at 5 or 6 pm, be so tired to barely eat, stop doing sports and go out only on weekends when it's a lot more crowded.

No that's not me. I'm not going to fall for life classical boring life. Not me."

hmm, what planet was I living on right? A friend of mine told me, he no longer gives a high importance to building a career, as much as he cares for being remembered as a good husband, a good father and a good friend. I honestly agreed with him. I am not advocating for killing our dreams and terminating any atom of ambition, ambition is still there, it only changes from one individual to the next, and to each their own aspirations and dreams and what makes them happy.

Not all of us are going to be "Entrepreneurs", or company owners, or pilots, or rock-stars, or a hot short sports person... And it's O-Kay!

Painting by Salvador Dali - Galatea of the spheres

The Social Network spoiler (I guess!)

2010-11-01T22:56:00.001+02:00

So... many sued Mark to get a piece of the gain that facebook made, but in my opinion, his ex-girlfriend should've sued him and she might've won, since she's the one who pissed him off and it is because of her that he went and vented endlessly on his blog and decided to do something to take his mind off of her and he was pissed at girls and he did the facematch, and the tall weird brothers contacted him and inspired him with the idea etc.. etc..

No?

Chile miners to surface starting today

2010-10-12T08:10:00.000+02:00

For some reason, this story touched my heart and I have been keeping up with its news. These guys in Chile (33 of them) were trapped for over 2 months (since August 5 due to a tunnel collapse), and the rescue was even foreseen to take place even later than now, but luckily search teams sped up with their rescue plan and it’s now ready.

Can you imagine being trapped more than 700 meters underground and there is no way out? Their psychological status is very delicate at this point, moreover they will be exposed to light after being in the dark for more than 2 months, they will be given some of sort of protection for their eyes, they will also wear a "bio-harness" designed for astronauts to monitor their hearts etc.. Once they’re out, they will be checked by doctors and they reunited with their families (noting that their families have been camping there since the incident, what an anticipation yeah?)

I was wondering how the selection will happen, will they start with the strong ones? Or the weak ones to get it over with? Apparently, they will start with the most psychologically stable ones in case something goes wrong, and then to the weakest and ill ones.

A capsule has been built, it will travel up and down (15 minutes to surface), and it is built in a way to resist any crumbling rocks over it.

Check the latest article here for more on this story.

Kylie - Part X

2010-10-11T12:58:00.004+02:00

"May I interrupt your playing on your cellphone while being at the most prestigious and important race in the country?" He asked.

"If it was so prestigious and important in your opinion, then what the hell are you doing here talking to me?" She rudely answered.

He smiled. He was now even more interested. He slightly leaned his head to the left and bowed, he excused himself and retreated.

She was in shock, feeling an ultimate urge to go to him, grab his arm and turn him to face her so she can say more things, but she didn't know exactly whether she wanted to vent, to blame him for her being in the stupid race, or to tell him: "Interrupt! Please."

She did, she walked in a fast pace towards him and said:

"I apologize, I really do, that was very immature of me, thing is my friends dragged me here, and I'm sorry... it's not your fault, and I vented.. and"

He cut her saying "Stop apologizing, I only wanted to say one thing." And he fell silent.

*She looked at him.. waiting for him to continue.. he said nothing, and she got it, this is not a guy who is annoying and clingy and superficial, that was a smart deep guy right there, he was honest obviously, but he wasn't easy to manipulate like she's used to! And guys who can get manipulated, aren't a challenge for her. So for her, he was a challenge.*

"And that is?" she impatiently replied.

"Do you like sushi?" he asked.

She opened her eyes even more, knowing she already has big eyes, she looked pretty surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Sushi... Japanese food.. fish.. you like?" He continued.

She smiled: "Yes I do, where are you taking me?"

*Pause: See what she did? She automatically presumed he was asking her out. It's not wrong to presume things, it's a faux-pas to imagine that saying it out loud will put her in that situation where she's the smart lady who anticipates thing. She didn't think twice whether that poker move was in her benefit or not. She just threw herself, she likes adrenalin rushes, and she never learns.*

He laughed: "Hmmm, now what makes you think I am asking you out?"

This is when she flipped, she noticed her wrong move and didn't know how to get out of it. She had to think fast, she kept looking around wishing a car would drift and make a loud noise, grabbing everyone's attention. He lifted his hand and placed it gently on his forehead swiping that bit of sweat that summer day was causing, and suddenly, she saw it.

Her IQ doubled, it was more than 300 now, she thought in lightning, she said eloquently yet with so much spite: "Well, it was a joke honestly, you know, a "sitcom" material scene, you know? Asking a married man who just came out of no where and spoke to me whether he's taking me out for sushi or not?"

*Now, that was an intelligent answer, she knew he wanted to take her out, she saw the way he was looking at her, and she saw he was interested and the lame excuse he used. But, she's a strong and intelligent woman and she wasn't going to fall for a married man.*

He smiled and said with confidence: "There is this excellent sushi place I know in downtown, tomorrow night?"

Her response was completely a puzzled one, she looked up and down, left and right, looking at trees and rocks beside the road, maybe they'll give her an answer. "What just happened?" she thought to herself. She lost at this game, the ball was no longer in her field.

She looked at him, not knowing what her answer is going to be, but for some reason she couldn't control herself and she just wanted to get over with this situation and said: "Tomorrow night? hmmm I don't..."*

I should go to lunch now. Stay tuned. Check out Part 9 and before

Kylie - Part IX

2010-10-09T02:11:00.000+02:00

*But she didn't follow. She was crying... Because she knew he didn't want her to follow him, she knew he wanted it to end before it got ugly, before they grew apart and grew as strangers. He wanted to keep that beautiful image of her, he wanted her memory to remain untouched, sacred and full of hope.

Months were gone by, Kylie found herself as a strong and independent woman. People around her were enjoying her company like she was some kind of celebrity, she projected positivity and wittiness. Yet, she was alone. For her, it was acceptable, she had come to terms with it. She felt like there was no need to be with someone in order to be happy, she understood, sharing a life with someone is her ultimate dream, but this wouldn't mean that she wasn't happy, it only means it was not complete.

She had to take a shortcut, there was too much traffic, and while at it, she passed by her ex's house. She didn't slow down, but she did take a long, a real long look. It is nice to know what that person is up to, and she thought to herself:

"Did he ever really love me? did I really matter to him? Or was it a mind trick?"

She had met her ex during a rally race. She didn't want to go, but her best friend dragged her, because her boyfriend had dragged her. So she went with them, but she had taken her phone with her on which she spent all her time playing. Cars were the least interesting thing for whole in this world.

He spotted her, she was totally his type, well, Kylie is everyone's type. She's small, beautiful, and has a posture models would die for, eyes that radiate intelligence, but face that manifests warmness. She saw him, but didn't care less. She thought: "Cute, but if he's here since 6 am to watch cars race, then well... definitely not my type!"

It was like he read her thoughts, she saw shadow near her and was immediately startled when he took her by surprise, held her arm firmly yet gently and said to her: "May I...*

It's getting a bit late and I should sleep, but should you decide to read Kylie's story (which I started in September 2008, and it had few loyal readers :), there are 8 previous parts already: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII

Documenting.. in 3... 2... 1

2010-10-08T16:08:00.000+02:00

I want this to go on record:

>> I’m happy <<

Cut.

Finally, I announce some good news

2010-10-05T11:32:00.001+02:00

You want to be a winner, you think of yourself as a winner, of course
you don't sit on your ass all day and wait to be discovered, instead,
you work hard, you work on yourself, you put yourself out there, and
meanwhile, you think of yourself as a winner.

It's okay to fail, but it's not okay to NOT try. I spent 8 months not
trying and wanting something, and when I finally gathered my courage
and did it, I got it.

Today, I want to share with you great news, I finally got what I
wanted. I wish you do too.

Thank you ultimate supreme force, that we call God :)

p.s. and thank you (you know who you are) for simply telling me, after
I told you I am planning on doing that deed, you said: "Let me know
when you do!", your simple words pushed me to do what I was afraid to
do for 8 months.

Breast Cancer might be around the corner, get yourself checked

2010-10-01T10:50:00.003+02:00

Trying not to repeat myself from previous years and during every October, knowing that October is the Breast Cancer Awareness month, therefore I will try to say something new here.

Usually women aged 40 and older are more prune to having breast cancer than younger women. So those women, I urge you to get a mammography every 6 months, if not, at least once a year. Moreover, if you have cancer history in your family, even if you're young do get a mammography, my best friend was only 16 when she got diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately, she did not make it.

I have to admit though, she was a true fighter, I don't know how that happens, how women diagnosed with breast cancer, how a teenager for that matter, confront such an ordeal in such a strong manner.

I know mammography is not a walk in the park, but it doesn't really hurt that much, and you should be better safe than sorry.

Also note that, there are ways a woman can check for lump in the breast, and that can be done every month. There are many videos online, just google: "How to check yourself for breast cancer"

People I respect

2010-09-29T11:29:00.000+02:00

I respect a person who takes risks and follows their dreams, especially after failing prior. I respect people who put themselves out there. I respect people who pick themselves up after failing. I respect people who still work hard even at an old age and try to make a change. I respect people who still come up with new ideas and try to make them happen.

This post is dedicated my brother and my father. I believe in you both. And to several friends, you know yourselves, I respect you for not giving up. You inspire me.

Respect!

Migraines and me

2010-09-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

Migraine cause ‘identified’ as genetic defect http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11408113

Thank god I don’t have these severe migraines anymore. I used to have a migraine once a month at least, and strong ones, luckily I am one of those people who don’t mind throwing up (sorry for the disgusting visual here), even though I cry every time I do because it’s one of the worst feelings someone can go through, because throwing up due to migraine is… different. Anyway, so when I throw up a couple of times, somehow I cleanse my body and I become able to sleep still. Yes, all migraine people know it, soft pillow, no light, no sound, and no moving even for one millimeter.

But why am I not having migraines anymore? Because I am undergoing a laser treatment, as I suffer from TMJ – Temporomandibular joint disorder. And guess what, about 60% of people suffer from it, there are different levels of course. I started the treatment last December (2009), I go twice a week to the doctor’s. And since then, all my neck and arms pain are gone, I still have headaches, migraines come in a much lower strength, meaning I can still make it through the night, out with friends or talking to people instead of falling on the ground and lying there. YES, many times I used to stop walking and just lay on the ground.

Oh, what does migraine have to do with TMJ? Technically, there is no such thing as migraine per se, it’s either TMJ or epilepsy. So, if you suffer from migraine, I suggest you get your jaw checked, and not by a dentist, my Dr. is actually someone who studied general medicine, specialized in dentistry and stomatology and jaw treatment by laser (about 14 years of studying). His specialty is very rare, comes from German research and doesn’t exist much in the world. I am a firm believer that this is something people need to be aware of. If you want to know more, really don’t hesitate to contact me.

Back to Lebanon, back to nagging

2010-09-27T16:19:00.000+02:00

Fi 3alam bit 2illeh inno ana mafsoumeh, bta3erfo lei? La2anno into yalli mafsoumin, fa kil shakhsiye 3indkoun yeha perceives me differently. AHLEIN!

B7ib zid kamen, inno el 3alam el mistin3a get on my nerves.

Merci au revoir.

p.s. Back to Lebanon, back to blehness. Why can’t we live in vacation mode/mood all the time?

Armenia Day 7 and last one. A trip to remember

2010-09-25T11:08:00.001+02:00

I loved that there were flowers everywhere in Armenia - This is in Garni, the last pagan temple to stand in Armenia

This was also taken in Garni. On that note, trees of pomegranate are also called Trees of Life :)

Red Leaves... *sigh*

I know this post is too flowery, but I had to mention how much I love daisies

Garni - looking at the valley, there is a river called Avazan

The rocks are something aren't they - Garni

Garni, the last pagan temple to remain in Armenia after all were destroyed once Christianity was accepted as a state religion in the year 301

Oh Yeah

This is Geghard church, a church part carved in the rock part built, Truly a wonder. I loved this church.

Geghard church, notice how all churches have 4 columns and a window on top. Tradition. We were lucky that our Tourist guide chanted in this church manifesting how it echoes. A really touching moment.

"Wish upon" tree. You basically hang anything from your clothing or belongings near a holy place, in this case Geghard. Oh one person even put an "always" nylon paper :P I put a wet wipe :$

This is taken with my phone btw, my camera's battery died on me. Beautiful sight indeed, this is Avazan river near Geghard

Geghard church, part carved part built by 2 dynasties

Bread with some sugar inside, really delicious.

And this was my last stop, the cascade, but I did not go up those stairs, I truly was tired hehe

Last 5 photos were taken with my phone so :/ bare with me. Anywho, I want to thank you guys for following up on those last 7 days, it's the 2nd time I travel blog, and first time I do it in that way. I really enjoyed it, every time I shot a photo I was thinking of you and you and you... I know am a very amateur photographer, but I do hope I was able to translate the beauty I saw in Armenia (Yerevan, Sevan, Garni, Ejmiyatzin, Geghard, Ararat Valley, etc...)

And for those who are expecting a souvenir from me, they're with me, some of you I will see on Tuesday, stalk you then ;)

Armenia Day 6 - Get started, joy, happiness

2010-09-23T22:19:00.001+02:00

Started my day by going to the Armenian history museum, unfortunately I forgot the memory card at home, so I was carrying my camera for nothing. We got ourselves a guide, which I definitely advise you to do if you visit the museum. In a nutshell, Armenia is very rich in history.

Then we moved to a restaurant called "Charentsi 28", which is actually its address. Having a very "house-like" look, this restaurant situated in Yerevan, actually offers a mixed cuisine. Meanwhile let me drop a note, Armenian cuisine in Lebanon is much richer and more delicious than the Armenian cuisine in Armenia. On the other hand, Charentsi 28, run by a Lebanese and Syrian peeps, had some very delicious dishes.

Outside of Charentsi 28

Isn't that so house like? also loved the daisies on all the tables

Izmir Kebab, very yummy, has all the sujuk spices. I also recommend the Mussaka

To wash out all this food we ate, we headed to Ararat, the cognac factory, for some cognac tasting. As soon as you get into the factory, you get high on the smell itself. I must say, I loved it, cognac is my new favorite drink.

Much much cognac

And the autumn leaves have started to fall

Fancy a bottle?

First drink is to get you in the mood, second for joy, third for happiness, and forth for craziness, and that is why you should stop after the third

That was Ararat Cognac 10 years old. The older the darker

Finally, I fulfilled my fantasy which I have been craving for since I arrived to Armenia, and that is to walk alone in its streets and have a coffee in one of its café trottoire while reading a book. So I did some shooting on my way.

Square town

Another church which I coincidently saw. Looks abandoned. It was full moon

See the reflection in Armenian alphabet?

I just love these kind of balconies, like old Tripoli back in Lebanon, or in Gemmayze

This lakes turns into ice in winter, and people would ice-skate

Shaurma (shawarma I guess?)

It's nice to have public gardens and benches for people to rest on (latcheh lal dawle el lebneniye hayde)

While reading "The monk who sold his Ferrari", just perfect for my trip

Armenia Day 5 - Genocide

2010-09-22T20:38:00.002+02:00

Today's photos are mostly concentrating on the Armenian Genocide. I will not lecture you in history here, just google for more info. All I am doing is reporting what I saw today. I have to admit, it was the closest time I felt close to my origins.

I also have to confess, that as horrible as the genocide was, in some weird twisted yin yan way the world works, it made the world what it is today, Armenians are everywhere in the world because of it, I, and many others, are here because of it...

Those people died in the most horrific manner, Turkey, f*ckin RECOGNIZE ba2a the Armenian genocide that killed 1.5 million Armenian !

A bench, passed by or sat on by hundreds of thousands probably, how much more powerful can a bench get

Plaquette near the planted tree by the Lebanese President in recognition of the Armenian Genocide

Rape, violence, starvation... Armenian Genocide.

The 18th of October 1915 issue of Russian paper "Iskry" with the article entitled "Extermination of Armenians in Turkey"

Photograph of an Armenian woman starved to death with her 2 children, in Syria - Armenian Genocide Museum

Call for help for the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide

"Bird's Nest" Orphanage of Armenian kids in Jbeil - Lebanon

City after city and country after country recognizing the Armenian Genocide

The memorial building of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide

The flame still burns for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide

Where my grandfather came from "Dyarbekir"

I was hoping for more autumni like trees for my photos, but I only got this one

Hribsime Church

One of my dreams came true, taking a close-up of a butterfly :) Am I lucky or what

Hribsime Church

The inside of the patriarchal church in Armenia. The oldest church (4th century) in Armenia, knowing that Armenia was the first country to adopt christianity as their state religion

More stone carving

Be water

The oldest church (4th century) in Armenia, knowing that Armenia was the first country to adopt christianity as their state religion

Zvartnots church, which was one the highest churches to ever be built, after standing for 320 years, it collapsed, either due to an earthquake or as a result for Arab raids

Casinos on the way back from the Airport towards the center of Yerevan. Also notice the fence, this is to separate the mini-highway from all the shops on the sides to avoid traffic from parked cars or cars wanting to stop at these places. Smart eh? 3a2beil Lebnen (specifically Zouk - Adma highway)

The road was full of such stores, it just reminded me of Ouze3eh :P

Armenia Day 4 - Independence day

2010-09-21T22:32:00.002+02:00

At one point I was having doubts whether to visit Armenia or not, but after today, my doubts have been murdered and buried in Jupiter!

Today, my cousin's friends and us went to Lake Sevan, then Dilijan...

Before we embark on today's journey, I want to say that I started my day with very good news (in hope that they will become great soon), and I had the stupidest smile in the morning :)

Finally, I am loving the fact that I am sharing photos with you guys, it is making my experience a whole lot more enjoyable. Thank you.

Hand carved stone, Armenia is very famous for it, it is clear from all the carvings in their churches

Sevanavank Monastery, legend says a princess built it because she was in love with a monk

Painter looking out towards lake Sevan - highest lake in Europe, more than 2000 meters above sea level

All touristic monuments in Armenia have a big board that describe the place
and give a little history, This project is supported by USAID

Pomegranate looking out at lake Sevan

Lake Sevan is huge, treated like a beach with many resorts and water activities

Indicating how big the fish are that they're selling. So many of these kids on the road

Many small corn snacks in the middle of nowhere

Dilijan has been added to one of my favorite places ever. The nature there is breath-taking, and the photos did not do them justice, it was broad day light, I just couldn't translate what I saw, and this saddens me. So, if...I mean, WHEN you come to Armenia, Dilijan is a must see village. In the photos, I specify some places you should check out.

By the way, in case you haven't noticed yet, VANK means monastery :)

Getap Complex- Dilijan. It's a restaurant, where each group or family get their own
cottage to eat in, and all these cottages oversee the river :)

Getap Complex - Dilijan

Goshavank - Dilijan

Our last stop - tawalitle 3omre :)

Tufenkian Hotels - Old Dilijan

I was having mint tea, looking at this view... Price: Priceless :)
Tufenkian Hotels - Old Dilijan

Celebration of Armenia's Independence Day (19 years)

Armenia Day 3

2010-09-20T16:50:00.001+02:00

Khor Virap

The dungeon where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was kept for 13 years

Inside of the Khor Virap church

Inside of the dungeon, there was another one, let's just say I blame it on carrying a camera and not being scared :P

Here you go, the famous Mount Ararat (Massis Summit, more than 5000 meter above sea level)

Ararat means Creation. I found it to be a better name than what the Turkish call it

How weird is this car

Noravank Monastery

Noravank Monastery (More than 2000 m above sea level)

Capella

Inside of the church

Still alive min iyyem el soviet :P

They make wine from pomegranate and cherry and put them in coca cola bottles

Near the wine factory, south of Armenia

Wine tasting, pomegranate wine is good, got myself a bottle

Finalizing it with the city center where they are preparing for tomorrow, as it is Armenia's Independence Day :)

Traditional Armenian Dancing

Celebration of Armenian Independence day

Armenia Night 1 - Day 2

2010-09-19T12:54:00.000+02:00

Real people, not statues

Artsy

Tunnel inside a building (vehicles pass through it)

Huge roundabout :P

Something governmental

Near the opera house. Many cool games and toys for the kids to play

Most photos are "barely stop and shoot", nevertheless I thought I'd share the beauty of Yerevan with you guys because I know many want to go to Armenia.

I also want to note that I am picking up on the Armenian language, but the "Hayastan" language not so much :P

Opera House

National Armenian Musem

Sweets Place - Authenticity

And of course the famous hand made carpets (I got someone a gift from here, won't say who :P)

Other then that, loving the 3G connection, cool breeze in the weather, the 24/7 electricity, the diversity of people here. I have to say though, there is like decades of fashion difference between the ladies and the men here, men seem to be stuck in 1963.

Someone important I reckon :P

There are many places that put a carpet near the entrance door

Random street, I just liked it

What's with the heels! Many many high heels

Vernissage - Armenian Flee Market

2010-09-18T15:31:00.001+02:00

I got yelled at for taking this photo, but it was in Armenian, so I pretended not to understand. My cousin gave the dude a piece of her mind!

Center

Armenia Wake up

Classic old cameras

Fancy something you like?

The dude was coloring the handcrafts

Too many stuff

I don't think its obvious here, but behold the Armenian nose, notice the middle bone? Luckily I got my nose from dad's side hah

Lada

This doesn't look like it has anything to do with Armenia

Armenia - Yerevan - Day 1
Photos taken with Canon EOS 1000D

My newest prayer

2010-09-16T14:17:00.000+02:00

I will not wait for the government to put more laws so I follow them
I will not skip in line
I will not cross at red traffic lights
I will not drive in the wrong direction
I will not speed too much
I will not wait for luck to turn for me
I will not wait for things to get better
I will not wait to be happy

I am happy starting this second
Things are better already
My luck is what I make starting now
I know.

Now Playing - a certain song in an acoustic version ;)

Sayyafna

2010-09-13T11:43:00.001+02:00

Bi ma inno thinking = writing for me, and writing makes me think more, I decided to stop writing for a while. Fa lizelik, mnitmannelkoun niyehet 3otlet sayfiye jayde.

Meanwhile, betkheyal ra7 sherekkoun bi souwar ma32oul sawwira bi forste el aribe :)

My friend died yes, what about you guys?

2010-09-04T23:46:00.004+02:00

I never really knew the details on what happened with Dany 11 years ago (I didn't really dare ask), all I know is that he drank a bit too much, he was driving, and a truck was involved. He had a car accident, went into a coma and died a day later.

I will never forget you, but I always wish you weren't gone. I still have dreams about you, can you believe it?

Edited: I just erased everything beyond this point and kept the titles...

To my friends:

Don't drink and drive (have designated driver or call a cab)
I love you (in case am gone suddenly, you should know it)
Be yourself, Be happy (don't go on living life pleasing others, as far as we know, we come to this life once, don't be a pussy, seek happiness or google it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_sEtNrYlC4 Pearl Jam's Last Kiss

Dany and Najla, see you sooner or later. 7asab el hilleh :P

5 stages of grief

2010-09-04T11:23:00.001+02:00

I learned about the 5 stages of grief from the movie "The life of David Gale", I highly recommend it, and D'Oh also one crazy episode of the Simpsons when Homer thinks he's going to die soon, hilarious episode.

Salvador Dali

In my opinion, those 5 stages aren't just stages that you go through after learning that you're going to the die soon due to finding out you have a terminal illness or the like, they also apply on knowing any kind of truth that you simply strongly disagree with.

The 5 stages are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance

The 5 stages of grief are also known as Kübler-Ross model

The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as the five stages of grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying.

So, I recently went through something like it. It's quite ridiculously funny, knowing something, yet completely being oblivious of it until it ends. I knew about these stages, but only yesterday when I accepted that annoying situation I've come to deal with recently, did I realize that I went through these stages.

It's hard! With time, I know I am learning a lot of things about myself. They say that you cannot know what you're made of if you're living a happy easy life, it's only when the tough gets going till you know "min shou ma3danak ma3moul" (what you're made of). And I can say, with some belief (yeah I still believe), good friends, life itself, you emerge as someone who simply, stands up to what they don't like, try to change, and when they know they can't, they stop, they understand, they accept, and move in.. Moving on is the keyword.

All my life, I try to distinguish between two things, what I can change so I change it if I don't like it, and what I cannot change, so I accept it and move on. This serenity prayer, which I first say hanging in the Girl Guides' Association's central meeting place, might be considered as a cliché, yet, I find it to sum up everything I perceive in this life:

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

You can see the extended version here.

p.s. I believe happiness SHOULD be attained on your own, and then shared. Happiness shouldn't depend on having someone else in your life. #justsayin (in response to a post I wrote before)

Now Playing: 30 seconds to Mars - Closer to the edge

10 thoughts going through my head today.. and heart

2010-09-02T10:47:00.001+02:00

1- Some people are really annoying in the sense where they want to impose a concept into your mind by trying various creative cute ways, which you won’t find cute at all, and you just wish they would just leave you alone

2- These same people for some reason think of you really highly and they barely know you. Peeps, what you build in your head might be true, and might not, remember you built it, don’t draw conclusions based on it ‘cause they aren’t facts

3- These same people inspire you to think that you might be doing the same thing to other people, and you should take a step back

4- Many persons care about you and want to know on a daily basis what’s happening with you, but you cannot just grab the phone and call them 10 people and tell them! You want to wait until everything REALLY goes well.. because what if it doesn’t? Are you going to have the heart to call those 10 persons and tell them, I have failed, again?

5- Sometimes you think you’re the one who entered someone’s life and you’re helping them, as it turns out, they’re the ones who ended up helping you

6- Patience is REALLY something important in life, and I wish on a daily basis I can get there… Impatience is ruining me

7- Creativity and Imagination, without execution, are like a strong diarrhea without an asshole, so many shit inside of you, no way to get out, you end up imploding and ruining yourself

8- Search after money, is stupid. Search after happiness is not. Latter might need the first, but first will not necessarily lead to the latter. So work on finding the latter

9- I used to be on the denial boat, I am sick of it. I, now, throw myself into situations just because I like pushing myself to the edge. I am not sure it’s a good thing though, maybe a balance should exist somewhere

10- People who think I am predictable, ask those who thought I was predictable, if they still think I am.

Bonus #11: I love you mom and dad… wish you knew me more though.

Bonus confession: I am a narcissist bastard, I am too afraid of death, so that’s why blogging makes me feel like I will be eternal (until all servers of the world burn or something), and maybe my children, if I ever have children, if I ever get married, if I ever find the right guy, can read them and know me better. That’s the only thought that consoles me at this point, ‘cause I have nothing else to offer at this point but my own thoughts.

Hmm… if I die today, at least I would have left a good post behind and not a rubbish one :P

Mind your own language

2010-08-29T23:07:00.000+02:00

So the question is whether language does shape the way we think, the article starts with a theory that didn't have any evidence or experiment or proof found, at first meant to say that it obliges a person to comprehend certain things in a certain way because of the language, but then they elaborate that it is not what it does convey, but what it might convey, moreover it sheds light on how languages differ when it comes to gender differentiation to objects (feminine features, masculine features), to spatial reference (be it relative or constant, meaning ego centric or not, unconsciously always aware of geographical position), colors, memory, tenses of verbs and of certain realities, etc..

Anyway, this is a very interesting read, and I just wanted to keep it saved apart from the bookmark of my browser!

Enjoy reading it here.

p.s. I do know that we have some words in Arabic that do not have any translation in English or French, e.g. Al-Shawq.

If a word doesn't exist in your language or you simply never learned, does this mean you never learned the concept? Easy answer, of course not, how many times do you sit there trying to explain an idea, and then someone comes and uses one word to summarize it all? However, it really made me think that a language doesn't shape your mind per se, nevertheless it shapes how a person is conscious about certain things surrounding him/her.

I was happy, I truly was

2010-08-27T08:22:00.000+02:00

This has been an ongoing argument between some friends and I. And the argument was about whether money buys happiness or not. They believed it does, I disagreed (weird enough). Why is it weird enough that I disagree? Because I am as superficial as it gets when it gets to expensive cars and traveling around the world and what not.

But, I also noticed that many times I look forward for something for years, and then when I finally obtain that materialistic object, I no longer care. So I can safely and surely say, money does not buy happiness in the sense where I buy things and I get happy.

Sure thing is that money provides or adds happiness to your life, if you know how to use it and spend it and create interesting activities with it, and opportunities for yourself and others.

One of my favorite moments was merely a lunch with family, a DVD with a friend, ordering food in, watching series on the laptop, ordering food again, just taking a walk somewhere, having a road trip with a new interesting acquaintance, taking a swim into the large of the sea, being in nature on a hammock (refer to the header of my blog!)… yeah, it is as simple as that for me.

A cliché is the fact that life is a series of moments, all you gotta do is be happy, this moment.

Jump on Boat

2010-08-25T14:45:00.000+02:00

There is this boat called “Denial”, so I just jumped onboard. Wanna hop in too? Yalla join! It will be fun, and you won’t get sea sick.. you know why? Because you’re in Denial!! :P

كما وكلما

2010-08-23T13:17:00.003+02:00

كم من الليالي تستيقظ مريداً التغيير اوالوجود بمكانٍ آخر، وكم من الايام تستسلم حالمِاً الهروب الى النقاهة والى غمرة آمنة دافئة.

كلما اردت الكلام وجدت نفسك تفكر ان الكلام غير ضروري بهذه الحالة ولن يغير شيئاً ومن ثم الندامة، وكلما تكلمت وجدت نفسك تقول كان من الضروري السكوت لتفادي الوضع المأساوي من كثرة الكلام الفارغ الذي قلته والذي زاد من الطين بلّة.

كما تطلب من غيرك ان يكون قوياً مواجهاً الحياة وان لا يستسلم ويسلِّم جدلاً، كما يجب ان تتفهم ان الانسان لا يستطيع تحمّل القوة كل الوقت ويجب ان يتغلغل بالحزن والتعب لفترة... قصيرة طبعاً.

Do you practice self-podcast?

2010-08-20T10:35:00.000+02:00

So I was preparing my old phone to give it to mom (you know deleting the dirt :P, old messages and what not..) but then I saw that I had done some voice recordings, so I started listening to them first. Apparently, when I am bored during driving or traffic, I usually get futuristic ideas which during that time they appear to be revolutionary or something, anyway… they ARE NOT! Except for that one:

I said that a group of us, around 10, moved to another planet (for immigration reasons maybe?) and that planet has like a different kind of music and a way of life, but suddenly Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the silence” song comes up, and we feel home sick, and for us, we don’t think of Beirut or Lebanon or wherever as our home, but we think of Earth as our home…. (OKAY I SWEAR I WAS NOT HIGH)

But, then I stumbled on one recording in which I told an imaginary story, and boy, I had forgotten how I ended it. Finally, it actually turned out to be good. Would love to share it with you guys, but I won’t for 2 main important reasons:

1- There is a high possibility people will fall in love with me because of my voice :P so kermel el bashariye (for the sake of humanity), I shall prevent this from happening

2- There is a high possibility people will think I am a complete idiot, so kermeleh ana (for my sake), I shall prevent this from happening

Anyone else records stuff as they go? I highly recommend it, and then come back years later and listen to them, really hilarious.

p.s. I will posting a series of silly and ridiculous posts soon, some people felt I was getting a bit too serious, and God Forbid I ever turn into a serious person, so I will make sure I go back to my old self… true I did feel like I am becoming Oprah of Mansourieh.

I almost forgot.. it's August 17

2010-08-17T14:28:00.000+02:00

صارو 11 سنة... و انت بعدك 19

انشالله تكوني مبسوطة محل ما انت.

انت دايما بعقلي.

Would you take the same shit from someone else, like Megan Fox did?

2010-08-17T11:27:00.006+02:00

Physical Abuse vs. Verbal

Some people argue that verbal abuse is much more hurtful than the physical. All my life I disagreed with them, I thought to myself: "I don't fall down!"

You see, when I slip, I do everything to avoid touching the floor with my back, I hurt my hand, I hurt my leg, but God forbid I touch the floor with my back, I always land on my feet or hands for that matter.

You can say whatever you want but don't physically try to hit me or pull my hair, because for me, that was the ultimate dignity killer.

Would you take the same shit from someone else?

Until... the Been There Done that (hint - Asshole post). Anyway, being bullied** is not where you want to be. You end up convincing yourself that you can "discuss" things with him in a reasonable and logical manner, that you can make him see things the way you do, that you can change him, and you can show him that you are worth it.

One day, a friend comes and asks you: "If I had told you all what he said, would you have taken it the same way?"

Instinctive reply: "No effin way, I would probably crush you!"

This is when you see it: "Becoming that girl!" You know, that friend I once spoke about on this blog, that I was trying to help, who I told over and over again to leave him, because he kept abusing her verbally and making her suffer.

Don’t judge

See, we think that we can learn from other people's mistakes, but that's too idealistic eh? We end up falling the same way others did. That is mainly why I try not to judge anyone for anything they did before seeing all point of views.

Why am I sharing this? Well, even though sometimes we have to do mistakes on our own, it's good to know that others have been through those same mistakes but got out of it safe and sound (in a way or another), and it shows that I will be here for you (whoever you are) should you need me, because I don't judge.

These past years, honesty has decreased on my end (one word: denial), yet now I realized that honesty makes the person much stronger person. And the power trip is just beautiful. You see, when it's all out there, you can't threaten, can't scare, and you can't corner me.

Eminem & Rihana's Love the way you lie

Why this post? I was just listening to Eminen and Rihana's song: "Love the way you lie!", and I had just watched the video 2 days ago, because everyone was like: "Oh, Megan Fox is so hot!"... but all I saw is a stupid naive poor girl who forgave an asshole over and over again...

Masochism maybe? I doubt. It's complete and utter insecurity and low self-esteem. You see, they chose Megan Fox to do this video clip on purpose, they chose a very hot woman, who is being dissed by a total idiot. A woman, who supposedly, should not have low self-esteem and should not seek "approval" from this guy, and any guy for that matter. In the video, it shows physical violence (mostly to show the violence), but really, you can see it’s not about the physical, it’s about the verbal there.

You are who you are, if he can't see that, then to hell with him. Because, a guy out there, does see you for who you are, and you shouldn't be trying hard for anyone except yourself.

Again, this post goes both ways, a girl can be abusing her man verbally. But I always write it from well.. my own gender's point of view. Whereby, I mention this, because I noticed that my friend Abir always mentions that it can be the other way around and I don't want to be sexist here.

Finally, you get to experience being with ONE asshole in your life, hopefully, you don’t end up married to him.

Edited: **It wasn't strong language or anything of that sort, but more of a bullying type of matter. (just clarifying this)

Does marriage kill love?

2010-08-15T17:20:00.002+02:00

Does love die after marriage? I know this is not a new question at all, it's just a question that has been on my mind almost all my life, and I never found a convincing answer so far. I feel like the married couples start hiding something from us, the single ones, they ask us to join them in that institution, but many (and I insist on many) look sad, look unhappy, look unsatisfied, and that is not an attractive invitation if I may say so.

So I come here today on my blog to try and understand, whether love is killed by the institution of marriage or does it perhaps transform into something else?

One day, the wife is the hottest woman on earth (after Angelina Jolie, Liv Tylor, Megan fox and Kate Hudson of course) but years later, she gets pregnant and has this huge belly in front of her and an even huger butt (I know I will look like that, you - the unknown - be warned); so will the way the husband looks at his wife change?

One day he used to stare her in the eyes and tell her: "You have no competition, you are the best thing that ever happened to me, I can't live without you, bmout fike"

However, will her having to take care of her kids, house, work, obligations, etc.. at a later stage in life become un-sexy, unattractive, uninteresting, un-challenging for him?

Does her lack of time to put on a sexy dress, watch her fitness, follow up on top gear episodes, challenge her emotions and intellectualism with new things and hobbies, or for example write (something he admires her for) put her in this position where she is no longer: THE ONE for him. You know, that woman that completely satisfies his existence?

Will marriage kill love? Is there a way to sustain this love, or to transform it into something different, yet beautiful? Or is it a lost cause, and people who would like to preserve love should avoid getting married?

p.s. Of course scenario can be vice versa on gender here.

p.s.s. I will still be locking this blog, I am just too lazy to do it, yet!

Dreaming of telling a dream inside a dream?

2010-08-13T19:24:00.002+02:00

I had a dream on Wednesday night, it was so crazy I had to share it, but I was so down, I didn't. So what happened on Thursday night is that I had a dream where I was with some friends in some weird looking coffee place, very spacious, in that lounge or whatever it was, we were about 10 persons, with only 2 persons listening to me (I am less interesting in my dreams it seems) telling them the story of... my Wednesday night dream.. in real life. Lost track? Did you see inception? I didn't have anything that indicates whether I am in reality or not, because usually I have lucid dreams and I can change the course the way I like it, but yesterday was weird!

What was the dream? Now I remember a fraction of it, something about a floating body in space, it was of this actor we have in Lebanon, called Fady (you know the guy who's married to Carine, the one who screams a lot and annoys the hell out of me), anyway, he was wearing a purple suit, with weird make-up, and floating in space around us in an old house, broken walls, so he entered through one of the holes and came towards us, then he started moving, let's just say I provoked the guy!

And while we were in this coffee place, we were actually waiting for a play for this guy Fady... and I was telling them that story in the sense of irony, you know? What a huge coincidence!

Yep.. that is my post for a Friday night :P

Inception writers can kiss my dreamy ass!

Happiness on our own

2010-08-12T08:41:00.000+02:00

The question for today isn’t: “Can we achieve happiness on our own?”, the question is, “Do we want to achieve happiness on our own?”

Announcement

2010-08-09T13:12:00.001+02:00

This blog will be locked. If you want to keep reading it (for whatever crazy reason you must have), please drop a comment using your email address so I can add you.

Adios

Asshole gone good.. uh-huh yeah right

2010-08-09T09:12:00.001+02:00

If you think you can turn an asshole* into a good guy, think again. True, women like challenge, they like a bad boy, but the only thing that can result from being with a bad boy is complete and utter agony.

Am I right or what? I've seen so many ladies, smart and beautiful ones may I stress, end up being hooked on a bad guy, who isn't good looking (not that looks matter - but should be pointed out for the mere reason of: "What's with the ego?" and the making the prettier lady always feel like she's not pretty enough), who's also not that funny or smart or even the lady's style (so what got into her you might ask?).

The thing is, the more of an asshole he is to her, the more she sets her mind on "taming" him. Yes of course, he caught her at her weakest moments, been there for her, comforted, boosted her ego, helped her out... and then BAM.

Yet, she believes she can change him. A project of her, if she can convert him, then he must really love her.

2 things dear (including a mental note to myself of course):
1- He will never change
2- He will change for another lady, yet (may I add), he most probably is pretending to be a good guy, but just because he needs to settle down..

Exceptions exist of course, but very rarely. So chances are dear, you will get hurt, real hurt.. I lost so many female friends because of this, because I am too blunt. Dommage. I wish them happiness anyway.

*asshole: a guy which shit only comes out of his brain

No marriage for you!

2010-08-06T15:01:00.001+02:00

Yesterday mom told me to go through my pyjamas and throw the old ones out because she has some new ones for me. She continued by saying: "You know, the new ones are the ones I was saving for your 'Jhez'... but now I guess you can take them anyway."

I looked at her and said while laughing: "You gave up on the thought of me getting married eh?"

*Jhez: Is like a huge luggage that contains lingerie, pyjamas and stuff like that. It's when the girl's parents save those things for her so she can take it with her when she gets married, it's merely an old tradition, it was useful then, useless now.

Maybe I should tell mom to check why I'm not married yet.

And they say rich are bad!

2010-08-05T12:47:00.001+02:00

So far 34 billionaires have made the pledge, promising to give at least 50% of their wealth. Reuters reports that among the billionaires joining the campaign are "New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller and investor Ronald Perelman."

"Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are super-persuasive" <-- Yes they can, Buffet will be giving away 99% of his wealth.

That is something, that's beautiful. You guys rock. Bill Gates, I always admired and respected you for your start life, your struggles, your empire, and now all the philanthropic activities.

RESPECT

Show-off

2010-07-27T09:59:00.001+02:00

So yesterday, while receiving my laser treatment - (you know the whole jaw thing) - the doctor said that he's considering buying a boat. Being me, the know-it-all (pun intended for those who think I think of myself as a know-it-all), considering the sailing I did, and the fact that I know a bit about boats and sizes and stuff, asked him a couple of more questions, you know, making conversation.

Finally, he continued that he's really considering buying it; why? let me tell you why, he said:
- as a change of "routine".

I looked at him, while holding that glassed laser stick that I put on my jaw from the exterior, and felt like sticking the stick in my eyeball, removing my eyeball, throwing it on the floor and jumping endlessly over it, like Donald Duck does when he's pissed-off!

Change of routine...
You know how I change my routine? I eat at Apple Bee's instead of roadster's...

Truth is, that's not what I'm talking about, I don't intend to compare how people change "routine" life. I am talking about the fact how he told me that, thank you.. really... for talking to me about how buying a yacht is a change of "routine"... uh-huh...

I am a considerate person, I wouldn't put someone in this situation, that's just showing-off.

Adapatation, not my strongest point

2010-07-21T15:49:00.001+02:00

Survival of the fittest? or most "adaptable"?

I am not being able to adapt. And I'm definitely not fit.

FML

Lottery, oh yeah!

2010-07-19T09:53:00.000+02:00

Ignoring yourself or listening to yourself, they both end up with a sucky result. See, they're too intertwined, is it really ignoring? is it really listening? Objective and subjective no longer make sense.

I will be giving up soon. And I am too stubborn to listen to anyone.

I think I will start relying on lottery for...

Is monogamy imposed on homosapiens?

2010-07-12T11:17:00.004+02:00

Cheating? Old news
Cheating on the partner is usually the part that people focus more on. Even I focus on that part more; I always ask people what they think about cheating, would they cheat? do they understand why people cheat? do they forgive? do they forget? do they condemn? do they feel guilt?

But Jesus doesn't leave loopholes
But, it recently dawned on me, one of the 10 commandments, and no I am not talking about "Do not commit adultery", I am talking about this one:
"Do not covet your neighbor's wife"

This side of adultery is sort of forgotten, or people are oblivious about or simply ignore. You see, it takes two to tango. I know many people who say that for the reason they're single, they're not doing anything wrong, and entitled to do whatever they like. This would imply that it's the other one's problem, he/she is the one who's cheating...

Okay so let's talk math
Single person = X
Person they're cheating with = Y
Person being cheated on = Z

The excuses we hear from X's side:
- Y doesn't really love Z
- Z doesn't love Y anymore, Y is feeling lonely
- Z will never find out, we (X and Y) are having fun
- Y is bored of Z, Y wants something new
- Things got routinesh for Y and Z
- Z cheating on my Y
... hmmm, anything else?

Different POV - Point of view
This time, I want to look at it differently. I personally am not that much of a christian believer, but many things that are said in the bible, are quotes and ideas I really ponder about and respect.

Therefore this time, I noticed that Jesus (okay this makes me sound too arrogant :P)... anyway *shaking off the unintended arrogance*, Jesus tried not to leave any loophole, the thing is he said: Not only you shouldn't cheat but also don't tempt or envy someone for what they have and try to take it away.

Who's fault is it anyway?
Consequently the responsibility for this "wrong doing" is shared. Some people don't believe that the whole adultery is a wrong doing in the first place. Either ways, let's focus on the 2nd point here.

She thought it's okay to cheat
I knew a girl, who shared her experience with us, and how exciting it is. She slept with a married man, this man was only married to his wife for a year or so. She believed that it was okay.

But he doesn't
Another friend of mine, a real dear friend, said something to me which I really believe in, he said: "You can do whatever you want, as long as you're not hurting anyone else".

Your opinion?
So... what should X do? Should X feel guilty? bad? not give a damn? not feel responsible? not be concerned?

*Painting by Salvador Dali

10 things to spot a lady geek

2010-07-09T08:18:00.001+02:00

1. Look at what's inside her huge bag and see if she has at least 5 of the things mentioned below:

External HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
Memory Stick --> the bigger the better ;)
SmartPhone
SmartPhone's Charger
SmartPhone's EarPhones
Bonus: iPod or another Phone
Bonus: Their charger's and earphones

2. She has internet on her mobile

3. Ask for directions to a place, and see if she sends them using a google map

4. See if she knows the difference between 2G and 3G and 3GS

5. She has at least a pc and a laptop at her house

6. She checks her email more than she checks her phone

7. When she wants to buy a gift, she takes a photo of it and emails it to another friend to ask her what she thinks of it

8. When you ask her a question, she WILL google it

9. When you tend to prove her wrong, she WILL google it and give you references

10. She's looking at her mobile for most of the time

A Thought

2010-07-02T09:22:00.001+02:00

I will only live when I die.

مش مزبوط هل حكي

2010-06-22T14:19:00.001+02:00

Mish Mazbout hal 7akeh.
Mish manti2.
Ah!! La2..
La2 fi shi ghalat
Eh.. Bass ma..

Addeish mnisma3oun holeh el 3ibarat bi 7ayetna el yawmiye? Ya3ne
ti7didan bi shou wi7youlkoun? Badkoun el deghre w bala demi-tour,
byou7o bil salbiyeh. Bil 3adeh el 3alam 7awalayna sayrin salbieh
shwey... shwey ktir.

Ana ma 3inde mishkle 7adan y3alli2, w ya3teh ra2yo, w 7atta law ma
kenet bittifi2 ma3o, ana mishkilte ti7didan hiye el tari2a, ya ikhte
aw ya khaye lei baddik/baddak tfout fiye 3ared? inno tarrileh yeha
shwey?

A7la shi lamma yfouto fikoun 3ared w ekhir shi byotla3o 3am bi oulo
yalli into aslan kinto 3am bit oulo. La walla shi byed3e lal fakher.
Nazloulna anninet champagne bi 1000$ ma3 jabal nar please.

3a kil 7al, badna ktir betkheyal la nsir nonbosit la ba3ed 3an 7a2 w
7a2i2, la nsir ned3am ba3ed, la nbattil nghar min ba3ed. Inno mathalan
nousal la mar7aleh inno nestaw3ib adde mnit2addam ka moujtama3 iza
shtaghalna ma3 ba3ed w la ba3ed, mish dod ba3ed.

ما بعرف تقريباً أمتين كانت اخر مرة بنام ب تيابي

2010-06-22T11:29:00.001+02:00

Houwe bil mabda2 ma 3melet hal shi yalli bi ta33ib bi khilel el nhar:
sheghel (ouf shou ta3ab e3deh 3al kersseh kil el nhar), byerja3
shweyet ispaneh, w bil ekhir 7asheit (wa illa ken darab waja3 el rass)
w baramna bi hal centre ville nesma3 mousi2a w nemshe.. mshina mni7..
mni7 eh. Bass ana 3adatan bemshe aktar bi ktir.

W bta3rfo ta2es lebnen shi wow.. ya3ne adde fi wazawiz bi lebnen? eh
ken fi addoun rtoubeh multiplié par 2. Fa 2libna may. Bil ekhir wsolet
3al beit, w a la libanaise, dawaret may el sokhneh w elet bontora
shwey. Te3beneh shwey, elet bil2eh rasseh un peu.

Eh tara2et ghafwe ma btifham bi tyebeh, w bil sobbat kamen.

Halla2 shou el mishkle ti7didan? betkheyal khatyaret.

Ktir fakhoura bi 7aleh. 7atta sayra eghfa bil movies. W hayda shi ktir
jdid, la2an ana ma bighfa ana w 2e3de. eh ahlein.

And back to where we started

2010-06-10T08:42:00.001+02:00

Yep.. .rock bottom.

It's funny how your blessings seem insignificant when life draws
itself as a dark monster in front of your own puffy eyes.

What is really left for someone who's feeling as low as grass.

Mostly it's the walk. It's always about the walk. I saw a kid today,
one of those street kids, and I noticed his walk, which reminded me of
so many other street kids walk... they have an attitude. He was
probably 7 or 8. Not sure. Because they always have the small built
body, yet this mature projection from their faces. My nephew doesn't
have. They do.

They have a walk. An attitude. And I thought to myself, these kids,
who had no choice to change the course of their life, because at the
age of 4, 5, 6... how can they know what life is? what a course of
life is? what a choice is? what a second chance is? They don't.

Every time I look at one of these kids, I remember my nephew, and
think of him in that situation. It breaks my heart every time.

But they have a walk. An attitude. They have no money, no future, no
democracy, no freedom of speech, no ambition.. but they have an
attitude. Their walk is all they have... Does this mean they have
hope?

I don't even have the walk. A healthy young woman... ans not even a
walk. I prayed yesterday. First time in years. It helped a bit. I
don't deny it. I wanted for once to feel the presence of this higher
power. I even asked for my late best friend's presence. Now, most
probably I was being delusional. But as I and a large portion of the
population believe, religion is here to help us go through hopeless
situations. And for me, it was either that, or wishing to wake up
dead... How can someone wake up dead anyway?

This looks like it's going to be a swell day.

Too much technology?

2010-06-08T09:13:00.001+02:00

So a friend sent me a tweet (message - for the twitter ignorants) on
the public timeline, telling me to check my DM (private message - for
the twitter ignorants), in the DM, she told me to check my email, in
the email, she told me to make a phone call!

In the phone call she told me to check my twitter!

Okay the last one is made up. But I noticed that all this is supposed
to make our communication easier to execute.. I'm only noticing more
complications.

Remember that movie: "He's just not that into you?" - The character of
Drew Barrymore says she's being rejected in 7 different technologies!
How true is that?

Annnnyway! I knew I had a point to make when I first started this post
:P Now I don't remember what it was! Oh well.

My gmail account just got suspended

2010-06-04T09:01:00.001+02:00

Only the other day, was I thinking about the fact that if my GMail account was hacked. I would probably beg the hacker to give it back, maybe pay ransom! That is how much my life relies on that specific email account.

And yesterday night, suddenly GMail asks me to enter my mobile phone number so they can send me a code. Okay fine, I did. No SMS received. I tried again, same thing. Then by the time I have received the SMSses, they no longer work... long story short, I had exceeded the number of times I tried to verify code by SMS, and BAM, they suspended my account this morning.

No explanation whatsoever. My account was simply disabled. I can no longer access it. All my storage of photos and certificates and important links and groups and discussions, are now inaccessible to me!

So, I felt like a criminal or something. I seriously felt violated, and just realized how much dependency I have on that thing. And that's not right at all.

I always thought, wherever I am, if someone asks me for my cv or a scanned identity or whatever, it's all in my GMail, and even if I don't have my laptop or External HDD, I can still manage.

Let's hope all this is solved soon. But I am definitely getting self-hosted. I cannot rely on gmail anymore.

I'm Truly disappointed. I didn't do anything wrong.

Anyway, for all those times I said "I LOVE YOU GOOGLE"... this is what you do to me now? Your #1 Lebanese fan... *cries*

Photo source: cumbriansky.files.wordpress.com

2 thoughts

2010-05-30T10:48:00.000+02:00

Thought #1
Do you believe you have the power to change people's lives for the better? With one word? one smile? one favor?

Thought #2
Why can't people be honest, why do they lie even when you specifically ask them to be honest while you were being completely honest! Some people are mere.. not exactly hypocrites, more like, stupid, immature, unwise. I am really disappointed.

No, I'm not high

2010-05-27T08:49:00.001+02:00

Whatever a person tries to do or accomplish, so much ambition, so many
dreams, so many projects and a bundle of creativity, a ton of
intelligence, a large web hosting of knowledge, an hourly update on
news and at least 100 sit-ups of physical strenuous effort.

One thing will always be missing. People.

People are everything. Nothing you do, nothing you see, nothing you
received is as important as the people around you, and sharing it with
the people around you.

All my life, I want everyone who passed in my life for a brief moment,
a swear, a farkoushe, an online conversation, school, uni, bwar
(beach), scouts, work, work, work, work... random meetup, planned
meetup, potential job, teller, ka3ke dude, anyone... and in particular
those of you who I love so much and you have no idea how much because
I don't say it and rarely show it, keep in mind, your words, you...
are the ones who put a real smile on my face.

Signing out, now preserve your mental health.

Dedicating this song to you: Fairuz - Kifak Inta

Proving a point that I'm smart.. was stupid

2010-05-18T08:44:00.003+02:00

I miss writing silly posts. I've been writing a lot lately and all I can say is that I'm loving it. Although I'm not having enough time to really refine my posts, the ideas are there, some I'm being able to complete and publish, others are sitting in my drafts link on gMail.

Been writing social, Lebanon related, technology related posts... And the challenge on all kinds of posts is super. For once I feel like I am starting to get a clearer idea of what I like to do, and what my major should have been. Is it too late? Can I just continue it as a hobby?

One great reason for NOT doing a major is proving someone a point. Never should you major in something just to prove a point. What was my point? I wanted to prove that girls can. I wanted to show a certain teacher something.

Where is he now? Where am I now? Does he know? If he knows does he give a shit? Sure thing he doesn't.

I always hated how men regarded women with inferiority.. talking about mental capabilities. Silly I know. We shouldn't give a damn, those who know, know and those who don't will never. For me, and I am sad to admit that, I feel like my major is my "carte blanche" to intelligence, it's like I secured that I have the minimum intelligence requirements. That's stupid.

Majoring in something just to have a proof that you're smart, is stupid.

Now to be fair. I know for sure if I had never majored in Computer Science, I would have eventually learned many programming languages and what not, on my own. I know I like it.. hell I love it. I love tracking a bug, I love analyzing, I love coming up with solutions, I love working on the pc for hours. The humble knowledge I withdraw from my current major, is definitely essential to the way I think today.

Nevertheless maybe now after a decade I feel like I am burying myself, and I need to "get out". I need to talk to people, I need to create something, I need to interact, and most importantly I want to seal deals!

This post is mostly intended as another documentation of the recent ideas I came to establish concerning my career existence (yet comments are always welcome). I don't want to identify myself with a major or a career anymore. I want to just be happy and be useful.

Overthinkin'... Or Over "thinking"

2010-05-14T09:21:00.003+02:00

Something I wrote 8 years ago, on 13 April 2002 to be precise... and it's still valid now :)

I am OzZi's brain, ozzi tires me too much, she uses me a lot, she doesn't even give me a break, she makes me work 24/7 and she doesn'tlet me go on vacations, and see pretty things, and enjoy fun things. Always work work work, trying to get into conclusions and results, too much paranoia, and no trust... too much obsession, and no chill...

Nice to see that I.. didn't change quite a bit.I don't like over-thinking, I want to be "over" *snaps fingers* thinking.

Women from Vanity Fair and Men from Sports Illustrator

2010-05-07T09:13:00.003+02:00

Differences and Compromises
True, men and women want different things, as much as they compromise, they're different. I see couples around me all the time, and I am not sure what's healthy and what isn't. Compromise for me, is not so bad when it's like 20%. But when you compromise more than that, you're basically losing your identity and what makes you who you are.

Although Mr. Sadhguru from Isha said that we shouldn't identify ourselves with anything because it will limit us from becoming who we will be, but that's a whole other story I will tell you about later and my experience in attending Mystic-eye.

Back to our main subject, individuals in Lebanon are losing their identity because most are not choosing the right partner.

Choosing the right partner, bettering yourself
Why am I bickering on this? It’s for the mere fact that when you choose the right partner, you indicatively improve yourself, your being. And I would like to see more people improved and happy.

Individuality vs Being in a couple
True, being happy is not dependent on others, some things have to be attained by just being on your own, but in my honest opinion, I think that what’s life and accomplishments and success if you have no one to share it with and for them to admire you for?

Our society "wrong for each other"
Do you agree that many Lebanese couples are just not right for each other? I know many of you will tell me I am judging without really knowing them, but I am talking about close couples who are around me, about the body language, how they treat and talk to each other, some have only been married for 2 years, some have been going out for years since they were young (noting that they both changed, but they don’t know how to let go anymore), some recently met, some been for 10 years...

Relationship is overrated and a myth. What about monogamy?
Why am I looking at them? Because I want to find a couple that has been together for more than a decade and still has that spark. Let’s not point out the respect thing, this is the least that should be in a relationship. If you don't have that from the beginning, then you're screwed. I want to see whether we have been brought up to believe in a form of a relationship that is a myth, and whether relationships are over-rated, and people should just face the fact that monogamy is not the “thing”.

Opinions?

Painting by Salvador Dali - Chalice of Love

Now Playing, which suits this post: Ziad Rahbany's "Bala Wala Chi"

Online Alter Ego.. How much clearer can a title get?

2010-04-28T09:31:00.003+02:00

One common thing between my online person and the real me is people mis-judge my character. I am both extremelyserious and extremely frivolous. And for some reason some people can'tgrasp a person who such a personality. I don't get why. Actually thefunniest comedians I've seen or watched or heard are actually the mostserious.

Anyway, problem is, my seriousness is apparently intimidatingsome people online, and my humor is making me either sound silly forsome, or playful, too playful, they're thinking "she's hitting on me".

My question is: I don't know you or have a clue who you are, I amoblivious of your principles, don't know how you treat a woman, andhow you behave in public and about your hygiene, so.. why the hellwould I hit on you?

Point made? I hope so. Does anyone else have this problem?

TO DO LIST - Again!

2010-04-19T10:08:00.002+02:00

The first item on my TO DO LIST for the past months was: "DO A TODO LIST"

Ok, now that I got that silly joke out of my system. I noticed that having a TODO list is very efficient, at least for me. I have so much in my mind that I am not being able to organize my ideas in an ordered/prioritized manner, consequently it is only delaying my decision making in everything!

Moreover, putting out in the open (on my blog!) poses a sort of promise combined with public exposure, encouragement and judgment by others, which should be a motivating drive for me. Here goes nothing:

1- Finish the task for H2H, and get my money
2- ReVamp www.lebanonaggregator.com (logo and template and some cool
functionalities)
3- ReVamp a certain something that will open more doors for me
4- Decide what I'm going to do next year (includes pondering on career choice)
5- Read my books
6- Work out; Mostly strong walking and sprints
7- Save money for a vacation this summer

Okay, I think 7 items are enough for now..

Virginity and hypocrisy

2010-04-13T21:51:00.000+02:00

I attended a salon that took place in Bardo - Hamra, it was a discussion with Joumana Haddad creator of Jasad Magazine about the language of the body, sexuality and relationships, and the last part was about how virginity and the lack of it are perceived in the Lebanese society. The hymen restoration was brought up, and yada yada...

Gynegologist Testimonial
A gynecologist who was there told a story, he said he works somewhere in the mountains, 1000 meters above sea level, and one day, the father in law of a new bride, brought that bride to him and told him:
- "Check if she was open (--maftou7a-- the slang word used in Arabic to refer to women who lost their virginity), or not.

The doctor answered:
- "Ok will check her but you'll need to get out."

The father in law insisted to stay inside, but the doctor told him:
- "You can't because you are not her husband."

The doctor then asked the newly bride what the story was, and she told him that she was "open" as she slept with a man she was once with. He told her not to worry. He called back the father in law, and told him the girl is a virgin. The father in law replied:
- "I will go to the city and take her to the syndicate of doctors and have her checked, if you are lying to me, I will cause you a problem"

And then the gynecologist's answered brilliantly:
- "I will give you a paper saying that she's a virgin when she left my clinic, and then you took her..."

I was the first in the room to applaud.

Thoughts and opinions
Thoughts? The pompous ass presenter wanted the male feedback on the matter, whether they would marry a none-virgin. A guy replied: "I would only marry a none-virgin". His reasons were:

She's lying
She has done everything without losing her virginity
She had her hymen restored

"And I don't want to build my future with someone who lied to me."

He forgot that it is possible that she's really a virgin. But what difference does it make? So what do you think about women's virginity or the lack of it in Lebanon, do you think it's a retro subject and we in Lebanon should be beyond it, or is it still a taboo for you or your surroundings?

Painting by Salvador Dali "My wife naked watching her own body"

Incoglilo .: not so personal :.

On comfort zones

Some women...

Forbes Woman Of The Year: Women In Tech

Opinions vs facts

82nd birthday - 21/12/1929

Inspired to say:

...

Critical Mind

I traveled, I observed and when I wasn't noticing, I learned.

Barely a creature

Dream Small

Sa ni ty

Under a black volcanic glass kinda rock

I almost forgot

Documenting moment 08.08.2011.22.57

Toss a coin to make an important decision

My brain is a haunted house.

Never give up

Scuba Underwater Photography Diving

Geeky way of saying "Kil Shi Byerja3lak/lik"

Nothing

Need to do a to do list

Must See Sarcastic/Dark Comedy Movies

What would you do

Sola en Espana?

Captcha?

Been a long time since I babbled... here you go

Can you become more intelligent?

Reliant on technology a bit too much?

Puma Ocean

Know yourself first. Can it get any harder?

Phone Weirdo

Perfectionism sucks sometimes

To my mom

When you wake up thinking about Red Velvet & Chocolate cake ball

Just believe, you're not gonna be sexy forever

Let me tell you why God doesn't exist

Lilo Dali Multipass

Here we go again

Kylie - Part XI

Delusional, realistic or what?

On the wandering mind and happiness

Oh well

I will never forget this

Like being in another world

Not me - succumbing to life

The Social Network *spoiler* (I guess!)

Chile miners to surface starting today

Kylie - Part X

Kylie - Part IX

Documenting.. in 3... 2... 1

Finally, I announce some good news

Breast Cancer might be around the corner, get yourself checked

People I respect

Migraines and me

Back to Lebanon, back to nagging

Armenia Day 7 and last one. A trip to remember

Armenia Day 6 - Get started, joy, happiness

Armenia Day 5 - Genocide

Armenia Day 4 - Independence day

Armenia Day 3

Armenia Night 1 - Day 2

Vernissage - Armenian Flee Market

My newest prayer

Sayyafna

My friend died yes, what about you guys?

5 stages of grief

10 thoughts going through my head today.. and heart

Mind your own language

I was happy, I truly was

Jump on Boat

كما وكلما

Do you practice self-podcast?

I almost forgot.. it's August 17

Would you take the same shit from someone else, like Megan Fox did?

Does marriage kill love?

Dreaming of telling a dream inside a dream?

Happiness on our own

Announcement

The Social Network spoiler (I guess!)