The Drivel of 2 Bahrainis

Byebye Blogger !

2007-04-07T16:42:00.000+03:00

Well, we have finally ditched blogger and moved to wordpress ! It had been a project in the pipes for a while now but I have always held back due to the fear of losing our old posts and comments ! Now thanks to the import option in wordpress (supports blogger_beta now) there was no need for further delays ! So farewell blogger, its a new dawn for our blog ! Thank you blogger it was fun using you ! Now update your bookmarks and links people !

You can find us on http://www.bahrainidrivel.com/ or http://www.stickies.tk/ where the drivel continues to flow ! :D

Interesting Week!!!

2007-04-02T01:29:00.000+03:00

It’s been an interesting 7 days I’d have to say filled with some surprising experiences.

Last Sunday was my first live boxing experience. A colleague of mine is a boxer and invited us to attend a Thai and kickboxing competition. Different, intriguing and violent are the three words I’d use to describe this sport. Never been a fan of it in the first place, never expected it to be quite enjoyable. It wasn’t Lennox Lewis vs. Tyson but it was quite competitive. My friend won his bought and came out with only a small scratch, whereas others were a bit less fortunate. From concussions to seizures to total knockouts, this competition had it all. I’ll definitely go to the next competition.

Monday was slightly different. Sitting on my computer at work early morning, I get sent an email about what is now an ex-colleague in the states. Now this girl was crazy but I never expected her to be that crazy, add to that overly stupid. Well, not only was she a thief (stole neighbour’s packages and mail), but quite deceptive (conned people into making ebay purchases worth thousands of dollars but never delivered any) and for some reason, featured on several escort websites. At the end of the day, she is charged on 23 different cases. What a good way to screw up your career and life. Now if you’re reading this miss, if you were smart, you would’ve gotten the hell out of the US, if not, you’re very screwed.

Today I decided to watch the movie 300, very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now this movie has caused a great uproar especially with the Persians as it depicts the army of Xerxes as savage, monstrous barbarians. Honestly, this movie should just be taken for what it is rather than reading much into it. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last to be criticized. Anyways, I hope everyone’s week was enjoyable.

Good night.

Annoying People

2007-03-21T19:55:00.000+03:00

At the office we have this guy who's job title states that his job is a secretary but he seems to think that he holds a bigger job at the institute ! For some weired reason this guy seems to think that he is the main figure at the establishment and will dish out orders to those who are in fact higher than him in the hierarchy of the institute ! And if this wasn't bad enough, the guy has this habit of sticking his finger in every cake claiming that he knows better. :x Anyway, although I have been avoiding the nut job for a while quite seccusfully, the dreaded day came two days ago, and here is what happened:

Nut Job: Mr. Almudawi, I need to speak to you URGENTLY.

Me: Sure ! :) What's up ? (To myself: Good God, How did I manage to cross paths with this nutter)

Nut Job: First of all, I'd like to complement you on your efforts that you have put in, ever since your promotion .

ME: Cheers Mate (To myself: wait for the bullshit to come)

Nut Job: But it seems that your performance of late have been quite low.

ME: MY PERFORMANCE ? Since when ? (To myself: he got to be kidding me !)

Nut Job: Ever since a month ! And there is nothing wrong with that, if matters were in my hands I'd give you some time off.

ME: No thanks, I am fine. But what made you think that my performance dropped ?

Nut Job: I know things ! And there is another thing ! Why don't you have any problems at your department ? Are you hiding something ? Especially with you being newly promoted !

ME: :o It seems that you have lots of time to waste mate ! :x I don't have time for this, I'd rather spend my time where I could be more productive ! Now, please excuse me I've got a department to run ! (To myself: What a nut ! I can't Believe that I wasted 45 mins on an aimless conversation :o)

To be honest, the 45 minutes didn't go to waste, at least it gave me a proper run for my techniques which I've been using to avoid this nut job ! Now I have to go back to the office , to fetch my faithful drawing board and sketch myself improved blueprints to continue avoiding that git ! :D

So lads and lassies, If you have a job or still live a happy life at school (GOD how I envy you:D), think about the most annoying colleague, subordinate, or boss you have at the moment. Then tell me the one thing that your own "nut job" did most recently to get on your nerves. ;)

Stress & Vacation Planning

2007-03-16T14:02:00.002+03:00

So it had been a while since my last post ! I can't believe how busy I have been lately, :x work is eating a lot of my time ! :( And when I am back home from the office, the only thing I can do is basically eat, catchup with the family and sleep ! NO TIME whats so ever for posts ! I am getting to the point where I really do need a vacation ! Which I am planning to have in August. :) I am not one of those who stresses up easily but I am dieing for a time out ! So where am I off to ? Well, I haven't decided yet, but London is right up there on the list, not far behind is Sunny Spain B) but I am currently leaning towards London just because of the fact of K living there and it would be great to reunite with him and get into more nutty mischief :D after all what could be a better hunting ground than the metropolitan streets of London ! And before somebody cracks up with a cheeky comment, NO ! Soho is NOT one of them ! ;) B) Anyway gotta check out now guys, will be back soon with a proper post for yous ! ;)

My Top 10 songs

2007-02-28T18:39:00.000+03:00

Yep, I've been tagged yet again this time by my mate Gazza ! Why does this keep happening to me, I am not sure ! Am I that much of an easy target ? No really I love this ! :D Anyway enough blabbing ! :P

Here are my top 10 songs:

10 - Champagne High by Sister Hazel: Brings tears into my eyes because it reminds me of my University years at Edinburgh
9 - Heaven by Bryan Adams: You can't beat that for a love song ! ;)
8 - Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams: Reminds me of my high schools days.
7 - Loser by 3 Doors Down: No reason just love this song :D
6 - Photograph by Def Leopard: 1st concert I went to in the UK was def leopards and this song was just CLASS ! B)
5 - Sultans of Swing by The Dire Straights: Great song to pump you up for a night out !
4 - Living on a prayer by Bonjovi: Again another party song for moi ! Keeps me going on all night
3 - Inside us all by Creed: Shame they split ! :(
2 - Billie Jean by Micheal Jackson: What list would be complete without it ?
1 - Broken Wings by Alter Bridge: I love this song, listen to on and on but never got bored of it !

Ok then, I tag:
Gazza
tooners
Hashim
Still Breathing

Now thats a tag list, we've got the taxi driver, the new mommy, the music composer and the bio student :P :D Waiting for the interesting lists ;)
ٌ

To Sir, with Love

2007-02-20T22:05:00.000+03:00

The Future is for those who believe in their dreams, these words, I got quite attached to ever since I first heard them. One of my lecturers at James Watt College (Mr. George Campbell) once told me "At the end of the day son, you'll be what ever you want, the future is for those who believe in their dreams" and ever since these words became my moto. He said do you have a dream for the future ? Do you imagine yourself in certain place ? a certain career position ? if yes, then you have to believe in the beauty of your dream, you have to believe that you will achieve this dream someday.

Never have negative thoughts and always have beautiful positive ones. Everyday take steps towards your dreams, don't believe in them for the sake of it ! Work towards them for there is no point of setting them and hoping for the best ! Make them realistic and you'll be something son. These words still ring in my ears as if I've just heard them. George, sir, I would always be grateful for all the things you taught me and for the role you played in forming my personality !

Gaffer, I owe you loads and will always miss you, I will always be grateful to you sir and will forever have trouble finding the right words to thank you.

Contrasting Dining Experiences!!!

2007-02-16T02:51:00.000+03:00

Well as the saying goes: “You get what you pay for”, but sometimes, that’s simply not the case. I’ve got two stories that highlight this point, a British one and an American one.

I’ve always been a critic of the restaurant service here in the UK and in general, I think it’s really poor compared to other countries. Moe, I don’t need to remind you of the steaks we had in Telford.

Anyways, recently I went out with a colleague from work and she suggested we go to Browns just off new bond street, which was perfect as it’s less than 2 minutes walk from work. We go in and ask for a table for two. We went a bit early, 12.15 so it was empty at the time with only a few people. We were directed to the dining area and it was empty with only 2 people sitting at one table. Out of all the tables available, he pointed us to the one right next to those 2 people (around 30 cm apart). I just cracked up and moved to another table. You must be kidding me…. Reminds me of one time when I went to a restaurant and it was absolutely empty and they asked if we had a reservation.

We sat down, ordered drinks and started studying the menu. I ordered a starter and the main course but my colleague wasn’t sure so we told the girl to come back. We called her again but yet again my friend wasn’t sure so we told her, bare with us for a minute. She went and then I waved at her and she totally ignored us. After a few minutes she showed up. She was pretending to be nice but we weren’t falling for it. Anyways, food was ordered and the starter showed up.

While we were eating the starter, the place started getting packed until it was full. We finished the starter, had a chat and kept waiting for the main course. I started to notice that the people who showed up 30 minutes after us had already received their dishes, so I called the waiter. Politely, I told him what’s taking so long, we were here before everyone but we still haven’t received our main dishes. Sarcastically, he (same guy who was responsible for seating us) said that all those people are eating their starters and that ours take a while to prepare, so we have to wait more. I laughed and told him, “Since when is Fish and Chips a starter??? Please go check the food”. I kid you not, less than 15 seconds later, the food was on the table.

Once we were done, the guy comes over and takes the dishes and asks if we fancy coffee and deserts. I told him, “No thanks, I fancy the bill more, so please get it”. We were going to pay by 2 cards so he brought the machine and it was my turn first. Half went on my card and that was fine. I verified my pin code and got the receipt. Now it was my colleagues turn. The guy set it up and left. It has an option to add a gratuity, which we obviously put 0. I wish they had a comments section, would’ve been happy to write something nice. Anyways, we got to the payment and we notice that the guy did not put half the price but rather the full amount so we cancelled the transaction. When he came back, without even asking, the first thing he said was, “YOU CANCELLED THE TRANSACTION”. We’re both like, “Ya, we don’t want to pay you 150%, check before you talk”. We took our receipt and just walked away.

One thing for sure, I’m not going back to that place again. It was an experience though, one that makes me laugh.

Over to the American story. This one is rather funny and just demonstrates the opposite. Around 3 months ago, we were just outside Philadelphia in the King of Prussia mall. We went to this restaurant for dinner. Initially we were 6 people. We ordered drinks and sat down to talk. Later on, other colleagues from work show up (by coincidence) and I told the waitress, let’s set up a big table so that we can all sit together. We ended up being 22 people.

Anyways, the lady offered to take our drinks over to the other table and I told her jokingly to not worry about my drink as I don’t want to torture her by letting her carry it. Anyways I got up and was talking with my friends and suddenly I just turned not knowing the waitress was right behind me. Well, to my embarrassment, I elbowed the tray with the drinks and showered her top to bottom in front of the manager. Besides being lost temporarily for words, I apologized and said that I’ll pay for them. Both the manager and the waitress were like, “Don’t dare you say that. There’s no way you’re paying for this. We’ll get you new ones right away”. Mind you, these drinks were worth around $40. Anyways, we were all laughing because I actually did end up torturing her, not technically hehe. Now this is why you end up tipping them in the first place.

I can go on for a long time about all the restaurant stories, but it just shows you that in a lot of cases, you’ll either get way less than what you bargained for, or way more.

If you do have any funny restaurant stories, do share them :).

Happy Birthday Moe!!!!!

2007-02-12T00:38:00.000+03:00

Just wanted to say Happy 26th Birthday Moe, hope this year would bring you happiness, prosperity, craziness and who knows, something significant, you and I know what it could be, well 2 things hehe. Since am not in Bahrain, you know how we'll chill ;). Have fun with the guys and ya, you're stuff is on the way :D.

5 Things You Don't Know About Me !

2007-02-08T14:14:00.000+03:00

OK, so I've been tagged by "still breathing" to join her in a post chain, about 5 things that bloggers doesn't know about you, so here goes:

1- I am awful at multitasking ! Can NOT and will NOT do, concentrate or think of two things at the same time or period !

2- I have a burn scar on my left hand, had it ever since I was a toddler.

3- I had 5 operations (stitches) on my lower lip due to a veriaty of accedents ! For some reason I kept injuring this part of my body growing up ! :D

4- I am addicted to all coffees, you name 'em I'll drink 'em !

5- I am Liverpool FC mad, to the extent of stopping everything in my life when they are playing ! I mean the house could be on fire for all that I care, but if the reds are playing, I won't move.

OK, now that the grilling is done, I tag:

Gazza
Hashim
amoontie
Lorena

Body parts and evil backs

2007-02-03T12:58:00.000+03:00

These days, I keep getting quite funny back pains and because we have a history of back injuries in the family one minor and one is severe (Khalid and His dad) I was hit with a panic attack ! Thinking oh god I am getting an operation on my back ! :D

You see, we all think that the various parts of our bodies are all on the same team. Not true. Your back, for example, hates your guts. yes it does !

The way you can tell that your back is evil is that it never warns you when it’s about to give you a painful, life altering sprain that will make you envy the dead, especially those with good backs.

Your back accumulates and stores slight injustices in the same way a camel’s hump stores water. Then your treacherous back watches and waits for the right opportunity to strike.

If you have ever had a severe back sprain, you can answer the following quiz with no problem. Which activity is most likely to result in the worst back pain of your life?

A. Skiing to outrace that good looking chick.
B. Lifting a car to save a baby
C. Kickboxing competition
D. Bending over to pick up a piece of Pringles you spit out while laughing at your own joke

The last thing that your back wants is for you to have an excellent story to divert you of some of your discomfort. Your back will not be happy until you are not only painfully weak but also a pathetic boring person in the eyes of others.

Other Person: “So, how did you end up in the full body cast?”

You: “Well, it’s a funny story. I was tying my shoe.”

Keep a 1000 or give it back?

2007-02-01T16:06:00.001+03:00

Here’s a sneaky question for yous. It should be a real eyeopener. So here goes:

“Suppose you found 1000 dinars (1345 UK pounds) in cash that you knew had been lost by a billionaire. Now, let’s assume that the billionaire would never be aware that he lost it, and there would be no way that anyone else would know if you kept the money. And let’s say you knew there would be no reward or other indirect benefit in returning the money. Would you give it back?” ;)

If you ask this question in a group, I assure you that a lot of people would say they’d give it back. But if you ask people privately, you might be surprised to discover how many of your mates are infact cunning thieves. :D

In my experience, most of the people who say they’d give back the cash are the ones who don’t need an extra thousand dinars "So basically I haven't found a mate who said no, scary huh ?". And the ones who say they’d keep it, all had a good idea of how they’d spend it. :D

So what do you all think ? Keep or give back ?

Penny for your thoughts :) ;) I'll tell you what I'd do in the end ! :P

Men are defective women !

2007-01-28T17:46:00.000+03:00

From what I've gathered from my friendships with the opposite gender, previous relationships and the stories I hear from my married mates, I came to a certain conclusion ! We men generally believe that we are “different” from women "erm well done Freud", whereas women generally believe that us men are “defective” women.

Most gender related differences seems to be due to us males preferring to categorize thoughts while women think everything is somehow connected. Here are some phrases you will NEVER hear from women:

“I didn’t wrap your present because you’d just throw away the wrapping anyway.”

“Let’s skip Valentine’s Day this year so we don’t miss Prison Break.”

“Mohammed just died? Huh. What’s for dinner?”

No guy would ever say those things around a women either, but not because he isn’t thinking them. We guys have learned how to blend in and talk like women when it’s necessary. It feels like being a German spy during World War II and you’re always worried someone will ask you a question about the Americans.

If you’re male you have to do a lot of internal editing before you let anything come out of your mouth. The best way to filter is to ask yourself how a woman would react to what you’re about to say. Here’s a little test to see if you know how this works.

Suppose a male sees a car that’s an ugly green "Like the Honda CRXs over here" and he goes “That is one ugly car!” to his friend. Now, match the friend’s gender with the most likely response:

A. “Holy $%#*&, that color is just wrong for a car.”

B. Silence, while thinking “He hates my green sweater.”

Would you Sell your DNA ?

2007-01-27T12:18:00.000+03:00

I've recieved this rather intriguing email entitled "American FDA agrees on cloned food" ! It seems that the FDA is going to approve food from cloned animals. Which is a bit confusing ? Is there a problem with this in the first place ?:o I mean what's so wrong about eating cloned animals and crops ?

Well, apparently eating clones makes some people uncomfortable. Their thinking might be within the following lines:

“I sure enjoy eating beef, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable eating beef from that other cow.”

Eating clones got me thinking about the intellectual property of human supermodel DNA "Bloody hell ! How random was that?". At some point it seems inevitable that billionaires will start cloning supermodels so they can grow their own girlfriends. Someday it will surely be legal in some country. "hmmmmmmmmmm, scratching my chin while thinking" :P :D

If you were a supermodel who had wasted all of your money on various addictions and surgeries and you were now too old to model, and some billionaire offered you a hundred million dollars for your DNA, would you sell it? Assume you know in advance that the billionaire is a disgusting pig who will be raising your clone to be a brainwashed sex slave.

Assume also that your clone won’t be forced to do anything against her will. She will simply be raised to believe the billionaire is a godlike creature and the rest will happen naturally. No laws will be broken. And she will live like a princess except for the part about being a clone mistress to an old, rich fat guy. In other words, the quality of her life will be in the top 10% of the planet if you consider the wretchedness the average human’s life around the world.

So this leaves me with the following question, Would you sell your DNA for $100,000,000?

Penny for your thoughts ;)

Priceless Laziness!!!

2007-01-25T02:12:00.000+03:00

Well what can I say, I've been soooo lazy today that I added one extra line to what I wrote last night, which would have been today's post, so that one will have to wait. Besides the new post being quite long, I was just in a superb mood today that I just felt like rewarding myself by doing nothing. This week has been great and even more surprisingly, the mood on monday morning was amazing, which kind of set off things nicely for this week. Add to that Bahrain's well deserved last minute win today, so it's all good.

I don't consider this a post, well unofficially, but rather as an attempt to put a smile on people's faces, if I can. Well, how will I be able to do that????? Thought I might share with you the following pic sent to my by my work colleague. It's from the American "Who wants to be a millionaire" and it simply cracked me up.

To the lady here who made $0 as you can tell from the pic, I do apologize but I just can't help it. The look on your face is priceless, I won't be surprised if I see it on MasterCard's latest ads ;).

I don't know what to say else, probably good night :D.

Khaleeji 18 is BACK !

2007-01-17T20:37:00.000+03:00

Kahleeji 18 aka Gulf Cup in its 18th version, kicked of this evening, after 2 agonizing years of waiting and with it came the usual passion and drama ! Every couple of years I get the usual goosebumps and the usual butterflies in the stomach feeling, it still has the same roller coaster affect, and I am praying for all what I am worth that our national team's display doesn't kill me tomorrow! :P :D
What is so special about this competition ;which is not even acknowledged by FIFA as an official competition ? Beats me ! Is it because it was the first competition we got to follow as young kids ? Is it because the passion is handed from one generation to the other ? Is it because this is the only chance for us as a small nation to kick "if we can" the arses of the bigger sister nations "Obviously they can kick our arses military wise so having a war is out of the question ! :P" ? Or is it as simple as it being OUR competition ?

Every couple of years, I promise myself not to get too excited but it still happens ! I just can't bloody help it ! Anyway gotta end this post Kuwait vs Yemen is on ! Good luck to The Reds "Bahrain" ! :) Kick some Saudi arses tomorrow ! ;)

Stalker or modern lover???

2007-01-13T00:35:00.000+03:00

It’s been a while, but it’s always great to be back on the writing scene. I’ll tell you all about my trip in my next post.

Anyways, I was reading one of the papers the other and one article struck me big time. I have never read such a story before, which made it all that interesting and this is why I’d like to share it with you.

This is just a picture of a bored commuter with his mp3 player on the way back home. But wait, for one woman, this is not just any guy. The story goes as follows:

On a typical day, German tourist Melanie Speth was taking a tube journey (a trip to London is never complete if you don’t take the tube ;)) until she encountered the man above. Being very shy, she wasn’t able to go and chat him up, but she did end up taken a shot of him using her mobile. That wasn’t the end for Melanie, there’s no way she’ll just settle for that. What did she do instead???

Launch a worldwide email campaign to find him!!!

Now that’s what I call persistence. This email with his picture has been forwarded to thousands of Londoners with the hope of tracking him down. In broken English, the email read:

“Now I haven’t neither his name, nor his email address, because I don’t had the trust to speak to him! I have only this one picture! And now I am back in Germany and I can’t forget him! That’s why I have this crazy idea! I hope you send this to as much as possible that I find him! And maybe to mingle with him, if he wants this!”

All of this took place between Tower Hill and Embankment, amazing!!! Even experts say this will trigger a chain reaction and might well end in the guy’s inbox.

If you’re curious, this is the lady herself:

I’d honestly have to say this is just impressive, crazy and definitely, wild. This brings me to my question: Is she a stalker or just a modern lover??????

Oh ya, Melanie, if you do ever see this, I did my job as a Londoner and anonymous guy, call 020 7651 5242 :D.

Who would you take ?

2007-01-05T15:41:00.000+03:00

Lets say that a virgin planet similar to earth was discovered and the decision to take 5 people to the planet was given to you, who would you pick and why ? Remember the future of the human race is depending on these people !

I'd take:

1- Nelson Mandela of South Africa; because he would put fair, un-raciest and democratic laws.

2- Jamie Oliver (The naked chef) of the UK; future generations will be guaranteed to have decent food from now on !

3- Mahateer Mohammed of Malaysia; will guarantee economic growth for our new settlement ! And will chip in with his political experience to assist Nelson Mandela.

4- Can't find a name but the best doctor on the planet would be needed for obvious reasons ! I'll place an advert for that in major newspapers when the time comes ! :P

5- Eva Longria of the US, to guarantee that people would be beautiful from now on ! Plus we need some eye candy to increase our productivity !

So come on people chip in with your own list of 5 !

Sectarinian Molotov Attacks

2007-01-05T14:22:00.000+03:00

It seems that the winds of sectarianism is blowing at Bahrain, yet again ! Having the problem at Iraq is bad enough but to have it over here is just ridiculous !

The Molotov attacks of late, brings back the horrid memories of the sectarian protests of the mid 90s ! Why do we have to suffer of this bullshit yet again, I don't know, you'd think people would learn ! I mean why on earth would you attack a bus of wardens who's main job is to guard; wait for this; an archaeological site ! The attack resulted in injuring one of the guards severely ! I am left in disbelieve with this, I mean what political agenda are these attackers trying to promote ? Does this go under the title of "demanding for human rights" which some believe is their right only and if your against them than you don't deserve it ? This is evident in one of the human rights societies defending the attackers (Criminals) and totally ignoring the real victim ! What about the bloody warden ? what about his rights ? Or is it because he is of Indian origin ?

This takes us to the second attack ! A Pan Arab society "Nationalist Democratic Society (NDS) " decides to have a reception for Saddam Hussian's death, so what happens ? Another Molotov attack, isn't having your own opinion about something and celebrating it freely, the major pillar of democracy ? Or is it not considered democracy if it's against your beliefs ? Those who claim that they are defending their rights as humans and believe in democracy should respect fellow human beings and the opposing beliefs ! I don't know how to even finish this bloody post ! This is depressing ! :x

Happy New Year "Plus Reflections"

2007-01-01T13:53:00.000+03:00

First of all I'd like to send my best wishes to all our friends in the blogging world regarding the new year ! :) May all your and your family wishes and dreams come true this year ! :)

Now, reflecting on last year, to me, 2006 was a very good year. On th family front, my sister, cousin and Khalid have all achieved their degrees successfully with them all getting jobs as bankers in the first couple of months after graduation ! Well done Boy and Girls ! :P We didn't add to the family this year which is always a shame ! :( Everybody keeps saying it will be my turn to be a dad soon but I doubt it ! I am NOT ready for this ! And besides let me at least find the mother ! which is my usual reply which I am sure that my family members are used to and sick of by now ! :D

On the social front, last year I had two of my best friends married, well done lads & congrats ! ;) And of course I managed to expand my international friends list, thanks to the blog !

Without this we wouldn't have been able to meet, Gazza, Lorena, Still Breathing, Stjernesol, tooners & amoontie. I am glad that I've met you all and hope that our cyber friendship thrives in this borderless world ! :) To my mate Tim, cheer up mate, I've got a feeling that this year will be your year ! ;) I know it's hard when you lose a family member but this is life and I am sure that your dad is in a better place now ! Send my greetings to your mother, brother and his young family ! :)

Finally, on the personal front, I can only look back at 2006 with a smile and thank god for all his blessings ! Most of the goals I've set were achieved, I think that I've improved some of the glitches in my personality :P but still loadsa work in this front is needed :D Career wise I gained a promotion, made my staff a stronger close knitted team and more productive.

Only one topic (goal) is left untouched/achieved and I am sure that 2007 will be the year for that goal to be sorted out ! ;) Won't say what it is, just to keep you on your toes thus getting more hits on the blogs counter :P :D

That's it I guess ! Welcome 2007, Bye bye 2006 and thank you for everything, you have been kind to me ! :) So How about a list of my goals for 2007 ? Will you all will have to wait for my next post ! ok , that's me outta here !

Cheerio & best wishes for 2007

Photo taken by fellow blogger Subbah

Off to Lapland!!!

2006-12-24T14:39:00.000+03:00

Am officially off to Lapland tomorrow, very excited. It's going to be a long way. We just arrived in Helsinki last night and am catching a sleeper train tomorrow and the journey is 11 hours and a half so should be great. I won't be around for a few days for sure but in the meantime, I just wanted to say Merry Xmas to all who celebrate it and happy new year and if Eid arrives and am not back, Eid Mubarak too hehe.

I will try and look for Santa when am there. I'll tell you all about it when am back.

Enjoy your time everyone :)

Self-Hypnosis: Magical Power

2006-12-21T02:13:00.000+03:00

Here is something different for you, Hypnosis!!!

Hypnosis, synonymous with daydreaming, can be experienced, that is if desired.

Daydreaming is magical and very powerful especially when the mind shifts to what is known as the alpha frequency state of consciousness, or in other words, when you enter fantasy land. Besides being healthy, normal and safe, daydreaming can very much be goal-oriented, where a high intensity can actually lead to the goal being realized. A good example of this is a 16 year old boy from Oregon who daydreamed on a daily basis and translated his visions and fantasies of dragons into several bestselling novels. The nice thing is, it’s all spontaneous.

You can practice it yourself at no cost. Just follow the following steps:

- Choose a comfortable quiet spot where you can practice self-hypnosis for 15-30 minutes a day without any interruption.

- Sit down in a comfy chair with your legs uncrossed and hands on your lap.

- Choose a spot above your eye level and just stare at it. At the same time, relax and keep telling yourself repeatedly that your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier and that they’ll be close until it’s time to come out of the hypnotic state.

- While your eyes are close, continuously tell yourself to relax starting with the phrase “Relax Now”. Start at the top and relax all the muscles till you reach the feet. This can also be done in reverse, whatever suits you.

- Think of a very relaxing scene such as lying on a beach or stretching of a very comfortable bed.

- To enter the hypnosis phase, select a cue such as lifting your index finger and when you do this, tell yourself, “I am now in deep hypnosis”.

- Whatever you initially had in mind (goal), visualize this as much as possible with imagery and sensory input. A good example would be to imagine yourself in the future, just like you want to be, a millionaire or billionaire on your own yacht in somewhere lovely like southern France.

- Positively provide yourself with suggestions that you’re being what you aspire to be and doing what you want.

- Only work on one or two suggestions every session.

- Before signaling to yourself it’s time to wake up, tell yourself that you’ll carry out the suggestions earlier made and that you’ll get into a deeper state of hypnosis the next time.

- Remind yourself that you’ll be more active, energetic, rejuvenated and refreshed when you wake up.

- Practice it everyday until you’re very comfortable with it.

That’s all folks. Check it out, you’ll feel fantastic :).

Bahrain in the 60s

2006-12-18T15:08:00.000+03:00

Still in the spirit of the National Day of these precious islands. I've wanted to post these photos a long time ago but was waiting for a more suitable occasion to post them at. These photos were sent to me on my email some 2 months ago and I still enjoy them ! Very fascinating !

This photo was taken at the Bahrain International Airport (Notice the ME Airlines plane) I don't think that we get them here nowadays !

Bahrain (Portuguese) Fort prior to the renovation which in my opinion morphed it into some weird building

Awali Town (still nothing changed there) the cars maybe ! :P

Manama Market (The Capital's Souq)

The Main Bus Station (Muharraq) notice how the buses are made of wood ! :o

Qasari Stream (The Aqua Park now), we used to have lots of them ! Now they all dried up ! :(

Budaiya at the 60s (my roots hail from there) ! How different ! :)

What amazes me the most is, that these photographs are actually 46 years old ! That's older than me by 21 years ! :o :D

A Poem to My Country (My Country Awake)

2006-12-17T11:00:00.000+03:00

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Happy 35th National Day

2006-12-16T14:20:00.000+03:00

Well just wanted to say happy 35th national day. May this country continue to be prosperous and move ahead further :).

Moe, if you're wondering, no, this is not a post, so don't faint :D.

10 Things To Do Before I Die

2006-12-15T15:40:00.000+03:00

Due to me having Writer's block (yet again :P) I've decided to go on with my top 10 lists series. This time I've decided to compose a list of things I'd like to do before I die. Anyway here is my list:

1- My number one on the list would have to be swimming with the dolphins ! I've always been fascinated by the clever creatures.

2- Float in a hot air balloon.

3- Travel on The Orient Express (London, Paris and Venice route)

4- Stroll along the Great Wall of China

5- Watch whales migrating.

6- Go to the Safari.

7- Travel the US on a Harley Davidson ! Through route 66 while I'm at it !

8- Kick a ball at Anfield (Liverpool FC home ground)

9- See the Taj Mahal at sunrise

10- Fly over the Grand Canyon in Helicopter

That's it folks ! Another one of my lists done, feel free to add your "things to do", will be interesting to know what you all would like to do before you die "after a long and happy life !". :)

Shortest Millionaire Stint!!!

2006-12-12T02:56:00.000+03:00

Hey everyone, am officially back thank god :). Well what can I say, it's been a crazy long week. It's been tiring, fun, crazy and definately painful. Well given that you've been wondering how I ended up with a neck injury, to be honest, am still not quite sure why. It all goes back to the US when I felt slight neck pain one morning. For the next week and a half, the pain was on and off until it fully disappeared for half a week. Saturday morning, woke up as normal, but I could barely move. That's when I knew somethin horribly went wrong. I went to see a chiropractioner but that didn't help that much so I ended up in the emergency room. According to the doctor, I had an extreme case of neck spasm. I had to take two types of pain killers and a total of 11 pills a day. Ya I know, turned to some sort of junkie for a while but what to do. Unfortunately, I had to stay away from the computer for a while. The way I'd like to put it, I felt like a paralyzed penguin for a week, just try to imagine!!! I do think it's just being very active for around a month, nothing more since I don't have any neck injury history.

Anyways to something that relates to the title of the thread. I didn't believe this when I first read it. The story goes as follows: A group of Belgian people, 18 to be specific, collectively bought a lottery ticket. As part of the process, once you buy your ticket, you had to register your ticket number for the draw. Well, the lottery took place and to their surprise, their number was drawn and they were the winners of £15 million. Shouts of joy turned into tears and dismay seconds later once they found out that the girl who was responsible for registering the ticket had entered an incorrect number and thus, all was lost. I can only imagine what happened to this lady later. I'd have to say, this is probably the shortest millionaire stint in the world.

Well, it's good to be back. I have more interesting stuff to share with you in the upcoming days. Regarding me looking like Jermaine Pennant, hehe, I'll let you decide in a few days. Good night for now :).

Selling Dirt

2006-12-10T18:29:00.000+03:00

And I thought that I was crazy ! :P I mean, I've stumbled upon this site where a nut case is selling dirt from a hole which he is digging in his backyard. I am starting to believe the saying that says "boredom is the root of all what is creative" to actually be right ! I wonder who in his/her right mind would shell out money to buy some dirt ?! Good god and I thought that Bahrain was boring ! :D

Major Nut case ! (notice how I played with the wording, I am good amn't I ? :P)

PS. If I offered to sell dead leaves from our backyard will there be anybody interested ? I will provide every customer with a certificate of authenticity ! ;) I am Serious ! :P

My Top 10 Words of Wisdom

2006-12-06T18:41:00.000+03:00

I've been trying to list my favorite motos, phrases and wise words for the last couple of days. You know, these little sayings that makes you a bit more positive, productive or just puts a smile on your face ? Anyway, here is my top 10 favorite wise words list.

"The Glass is Always Half Full", not sure who said this but this is my NO. 1 moto, people often accuse me of being overly optimistic about life; and they have also predicted that I will suffer intense disillusion because of it someday. I agree with the first assertion, but have yet to suffer the dire consequences they anticipate for me in the second.
"Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable than risk being happy.", Robert Anthony, Many times I feel like people actually do choose to be unhappy. They seem to go in to a loop with unhappy feelings, instead of doing the best of the situation and move on. Yes, I know, it’s not always as easy to do as to say… But I really feel like some people don’t even try any more. Or rather a lot of the people don’t try any more.
"Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Tough and funny and a little bit kind, that is as near to perfection as a human being can be.", Mignon McLaughlin. Still looking for a person who satisfies all the criteria ! So In your face Miganon ! :P
"One of the most difficult things in the world is to convince a woman that even a bargain costs money. " Edgar Watson Howe, OK ! Again, I have to remind you all that I am NOT a sexist ! :P :D
"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realized that The Lord doesn't work that way, so I stole one and asked him to forgive me." Erno Philips, :)
"Human beings,by changing the inner attitudes of their minds,can change the outer aspects of their lives." Again, one of my everyday motos
"Falling down is not failure, staying down is failure!!"
"Education is what you get from reading the small print. Experience is what you get from NOT reading it!" This is always the case with me ! I always keep getting the experience part, for some weird reason ! :P But I blame it on me being spontaneous. :D
"By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day." Robert Frost, sadley this came true, in a very short period and NOW I bloody HATE this phrase but wanted to mention it because it used to be my moto ! :x :D

Neck Injury

2006-12-02T18:16:00.000+03:00

I haven't been around for a while, I have a neck injury and can barely move. I can't stay on the computer so I just wanted to say that I'll probably be sidelined for around a week or so more.

Have a good weekend :).

ATB is coming to town

2006-12-02T12:32:00.000+03:00

ATB is coming to town and I AM GOING ! :P Haven't been to a rave for ages (And NO I am NOT old) Thanks to my adventurous friend H, who convinced us all to get the tickets ! H ! WE were meant to get some coffee when we decided on going to COSTA NOT concert tickets ! :D

This Is My Life, Rated

2006-11-27T19:50:00.000+03:00

I've been asked by a friend of mine "Still Breathing" to take a life rating test, and here are the results:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.8
Mind:	7.8
Body:	8
Spirit:	8.8
Friends/Family:	6.5
Love:	1.5
Finance:	7.7
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

It didn't say something I didn't know ! :D I scored almost 8 which means that I have a good life but need to find somebody to share it with ! :P ;) Any takers ! :P:D

Strange Times

2006-11-27T18:50:00.000+03:00

We live in a strange time, where people consider those who are loyal to their people and country as infidels, who think that proper democratic thinking is a form of heresy ! Sadly this is the case of many people in my work place (Muharraq) where the majority think of the "National Democratic Action Party" Parliament candidates as infidels instead of national heroes ! It's a shame when people kid them selfs and claim that everything is nice and dandy and hide their heads in the sand ! Oh well, this is sadly the situation nowadays ! Where sincere uncorrupted people are considered to be hypocrites, evil or even worse ! Communists (This is so 1950s America like)!

DR. Moneria Fakro you've made us Bahrainis and your self proud, Good luck to our other candidates !

Fun at the BIC

2006-11-25T15:19:00.000+03:00

I am not much of racing fan. I've never got the point of watching cars driving past you and cheer them for that ! But this didn't mean that going to the BIC (Bahrain International Circuit) with the lads wasn't fun, WE had a blast ! To be honest I just enjoyed the executive lounge and the weather, oh yeah and the footballing arguments we were having, which was funny because we totally forgot about the race.

Bond, James Bond!!!

2006-11-23T23:31:00.000+03:00

As you all know, the biggest movie of the year is out (sorry Sacha Cohen Baron) and it’s been the talk of the media for the last few months. Even the queen herself thought it was worth watching. A lot of people think they know everything about Bond including those people who initially criticized Daniel Craig before they saw him in action and later on claimed that he’s the best Bond since Sean Connery. So how much do you really know about James Bond?

Tall, good-looking, spends as much money as he wants, drives the fastest cars, has a license to kill and always gets the girl. Now we all know that!!!

Now let’s get to the real stuff. James Bond made his initial debut in the novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming although the first movie starring Sean Connery was released in 1962 (Dr. No). There are now 6 Bonds, Sean Connery starred in seven movies, George Lazenby in one, Roger Moore in seven , Timothy Dalton in two, Pierce Brosnan in 4 and now Daniel Craig in the latest. They all have one thing in common, they’re taller than six feet.

Statistics show that:

• In the first 20 movies, Bond made love 79 times. Looking at the girls involved (58), 25 were blonde, 29 were brunettes and 4 were redheads. On a naughtier note, the ladies involved moaned “Oh James” 16 times.

• In the first 20 movies, Bond mad love in: London flat (2 times), her place (15 times), someone else’s place (2 times), hotel room (19 times), barn (2 times), gypsy tent (2 times), forest (2 times), plane (2 times), hospital (2 times), submarine (1 time), train (3 times), motorized iceberg (1 time) and finally in, around, under or next to water (25 times).

• In all of his appearances, Sean Connery only uttered “shaken, not stirred” once and that was in Goldfinger.

• In the first 21 movies, Bond has 20 martinis (5 he orders of which 3 were received, rest are brought to him).

Now you might wonder, where did the 007 sign come from??? Well, it dates way back to the 16th century, during the time of Dr. John Dee (1527 to 1608) who was the first British secret agent and an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Not only was he a smart mathematician, but also a philosopher, alchemist, astrologer and a magician. Dee designed the 007 code during the war with Spain in order to facilitate his correspondence with the Queen. The 2 0s stood for “for your eyes only” and the 7 is a cryptic number.
Am definitely going to watch this movie sometime soon, whenever things cool down. All my friends loved it, even the Queen herself thought it was worth watching!!!

Riyadh Trip (part 2)

2006-11-22T18:09:00.000+03:00

So if you think that touching at Riyadh was the end of my bad luck, well, think again ! :P

Arriving at Riyadh:

I managed to finish with the customs guys in a record time of 6 minutes and was out of the arrivals area in 10 which was a nice thing to do after all the trauma I faced in the way to the capital of Saudi. I dashed through huge sliding doors and looked for somebody holding a board with my name with a huge smile on my face (I've been told that I would find one on my arrival) this yielded nothing, but anger ! Yup, you've guessed it ! Nobody was holding a board with my name ! :x anyway I managed to get out of the way of the stampeding arrivals behind me and continued looking for the driver for around 15 minutes (by this time I was exhausted and very grumpy) and finally I noticed the ignorant twat sitting at the cafe having a nice Mocha Grande ! :o I almost died right there and then ! :x It took me all the will power to not go there and kick his ass ! :x He looked puzzled as in "how on earth did you find me ?!", so he took my bags and dashed to his car. After 20 minutes we arrived to the beautiful hotel "Fahad Crown Plaza", I was greeted with the traditional coffee (and all) and checked in.

The hotel's Oasis SPA was nice, I know the picture doesn't give it any justice !

Got to my suite which was nicely decorated, so what do you do after that ? Look out of the window obviously !! Well, my luck just continued to go against me ! The view which I was greeted with was a huge heater/boiler (Smack bang infront of my view and nothing else!) :x And that was when I thought OK ! Where is the razor ? it's time to slash my rests ! :D

The Conference:

The sole purpose of me visiting the grimmest city in the gulf was to attend a vocational/blue collar training standards workshop/conference, which I enjoyed ! (Wouldn't dare and bore you with the details) :P :D Anyway, I'll let the photos do all the talking :)

The sign ! Nothing too fancy (This is a Good Example of the sense of style which WE Engineers benefit off !) :D

The SEMTA Rep. (Bill Sutton) Giving a presentation on training standards at the UK

ME giving a presentation on Blue Collar Development (While doing my David Copperfield impression "Notice the hands") :D :P

NVQ Mates from my days at dudley ! Saif (Oman), George Orr & Sanjeev Ohori plus this other guy Chillin' at the lobby after a tiring day !

Riyadh Trip (part 1)

2006-11-20T19:13:00.000+03:00

So it had been a while since my last post but unlike my not so super sidekick I was having major decisions to make (Khalid where the hell are you ?). Anyway I promised you all a post regarding my trip to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) so I am obliged to do so (Me and my BIG mouth, I knew that I should've kept it shut!:P)

Anyway I decided to cut the story into 2 parts because my (Blogging for dummies book, says that I shouldn't post long posts, JUST kidding ! :D I am just Lazy :P)

Going to Saudi:

I knew that it would be bad news when the HR Department contacted me regarding a trip to Riyadh, the woman (who spoke to me) was quite excited (I wonder why ? Riyadh is NOT exactly Disney land, or is it ?) So I decided to decline the offer but all my efforts went to pot due to the sudden change of tune in the Lovely woman's voice which scared the living lights outta me ! :D :P Anyway so I dragged myself to the happy department and went through the regular boring procedures of signing papers and finally picked my tickets. Two days later and on the day of my trip I discovered that my passport was expired (Bad Omen ?) I hope NOT ! Thank god, I discovered it early in the morning our I would've missed my plane ! :P Cutting a long story short, I managed to reissue a new one in a couple of hours. Good, now that this problem was sorted, I went to pack my bags and asked my father to drop me at the airport, and yup ! I got stuck in traffic for 30 minutes (Road works, how on EARTH do you go and do such a thing without informing people ?):-x Anyway, I finally reached the airport just to discover that I have missed my plane by 2 minutes !:-x I started to think, now this might NOT be a good idea!). So I rescheduled for the next flight on a different airline and went back home just to return after 3 hours ! There is no chance on EARTH, I was gonna miss this flight ! :P The plane was awful but the food was good which made it better. 30 something minutes later I touched down in Riyadh and I couldn't help it but I felt under the weather instantly ! Plus looking at the huge LCD screens my local team was losing the Asian Cup final ! GOD ! please let me outta my misery :(

What a way to greet your guests ! :D I didn't like this water fountain (No pun intended) ! :P

10 Weird Things About Me

2006-11-11T13:06:00.000+03:00

Well, I've been tagged by our frequent visitor and friend Gazza to post 10 weird things about me which I am dreading but what harm could gazza's little curiosity do ? So here are 10 weird things about me:

1- I could NOT focus on or think of two things at a time ! And no matter what I do a could not multi-task.

2- When I like something/want something I'd keep talking and thinking about it until I get it or lose interest.

3- I get opssesed with lossing wight every now and then !

4- I am a huge Liverpool fan to an extent of refusing to do anything on the day they are playing (until the match is over that is !)

5- Most puzzles bore me. I’ve had a little sudoku thing going for the past couple weeks, but I’m sure it’ll pass soon. OK, maybe not that weird!

6- Sometimes, I get annoyed by silly small things, just to laugh it off after a short period.

7- I have 2 favorite shows "My Family (BBC Comedy) and That 70's Show" I can watch reruns of these two shows a million of times and still enjoy 'em.

8- I used to have trouble talking to strange people on the phone (For example complaining on a certain product) but not face to face. HOW starnge was that ? But I managed to beat this :P

9- I can't eat Shrimps or crabs although they are very popular in Bahrain ! (This is considered VERY weird in Bahrain :D :P)

10- Ouija Boards freaks me out, and I mean MEGA freak out ! Although I am not that superstitious. So why ? I don't really know.

These were 10 weird things about me. OK, I tag Lorena and tooners ! OK Ladies you're it ! :P

Stranded Moe!!!

2006-11-06T19:30:00.000+03:00

Well as most of you probably noticed, we haven't been around much lately. Am actually in the US for a conference and Moe is in Riyadh for the same purpose. Earlier today, we spoke on skype and it was clear why he's been away for a while.

Staying at one of Riyadh's finest hotels, Moe was sitting down comfortably on a sofa asking me for help, not typical of him. It turns out that he doesn't have access to a web browser, everything is blocked for some reason. To compound his misery, the hotel staff have no clue what's going on. Good thing though, he's still alive ;).

Moe, it's only a few days and you'll be back in your room surfing as much as you want. I'd love to start the "Save Stranded Moe Campaign" but I'll pass on that one for now. In the meantime, enjoy Riyadh as much as you can, if you can.

Expect more from us very soon :).

The Winds of Change

2006-11-03T10:50:00.001+03:00

Having the title of the scorpions "rock band" famous hit "the winds of change" as a title for a post about the nearing elections seemed to be appropriate (Trying to be too smart amn't I ?)

Now with the parliamentary elections nearing, I couldn't help but feel positive especially with this being my first ever (was at the UK in the previous run). The main reason for my positiveness this time is that all the opposition parties are in it (ُBahrain Democratic Activism front, Alwifaq Party & others). The previous parliament proved to be a failure due to the extreme Islamists taking the lions share of seats, their failures are well documented, so I won't be giving yous a headache nor will I raise the blood pressure of mine. But I'll be discussing how impressed I was after my attendance to the launch of A.Rahman Alnaiime's (Democratic Activism Front) campaign. The attendance was massive; I didn't expect this; I struggled to find a place to park my car but still I was happy while looking for one (this is a first) for this only means a good thing, doesn't it ?

Upon reaching the campaign's base, I was overwelmed with the level of attendance (I know that all Naiime is a great man and a national hero but this was amazing)

Anyway cutting a long story short, at the keynote everything was disccused, every rock was turned and I was left with a feeling that the winds of change are coming and things will hopefully be brighter at the near future, but only if the opposition reaches the parliament.

At the end of this serious post (boring for some :P), I call upon all my fellow Bahrainis to take this run seriously and give their vote to those who deserves it regardless of their sect, clan or race and kick the extreme islamists and the "government's" MPs out of the parliament. It's time for a change, the time is NOW !

Ok off to Riyad (I am dreading this) for "The Regional Blue Collar Development Conference" which will take a week. Hope I get wifi at the hotel (very wishful thinking") :P

History Series 1: Ancient Bahrain

2006-11-01T02:11:00.000+03:00

Given the response to the other thread, I’ve decided to start a history series about Bahrain. I’ll start off with a brief history about the Dilmun Era and expand more later on in the series.

Bahrain has more than 5000 years of history (before 3000 BC) and it is home to the ancient civilization of Dilmun (third oldest after Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt), which was the main trade post between the Indus Valley and Sumeria.

As time passed and during the period between the first century AD and up until the 7th century AD, the Greeks referred to Bahrain as Tylos, the prosperous pearl trading center, which at that time was under the control of Alexander the Great.

Many people have the misconception that Bahrain was also named Arados, whereas it was actually the island of Muharraq which was named that and testament to that is the existence of the modern day town of Arad.

Bahrain eventually did become a center of Christianity, although it was never officially part of the Roman Empire at the time and historical records have shown that Bahrain was the seat of two of the five Nestorian (a Christian doctrine stating that Jesus existed as two persons being the man himself and Logos (son of God)) bishoprics that existed on the Arabian side of the gulf, until the arrival of Islam. Traces of Nestorian Christianity are evident in Muharraq, which still has Christian names such as Dair (parish in Arabic) and Samahij (name of a bishop at the time).

Between the time of the end of Tylos and up and until the arrival of Islam, Muharraq was the center of worship for the cult of Awal (idol looking like the head of an ox being worshipped). Awal was the ancient name of Bahrain for the next 8 centuries to come.

During the 4th century AD, Bahrain was occupied by the 2nd Persian Empire, Sassanian, which lasted from 226 – 651.

That’s it for now. Hope you learned a few more things that you didn’t know before. More to come later :).

Freedom of speech is not an option

2006-10-30T21:37:00.000+03:00

Freedom of speech is not an option in this god forsaken region of the planet ! This is obvious after having mahmood.tv blocked by the Ministry of DIS-Information ! For those out there who doesn't know about mahmood.tv, this is the number one blog in Bahrain which belongs to mahmood the Godfather of Bahraini Blogs.

I am so depressed with how things are turning out ! Why does such things happen in a country which prides itself on its newly established constitution & freedom of speech law passed by the King? I would be more understanding if this happened in Saudi but NOT in Bahrain ! (No pun intended towards our Saudi brothers)

Although things are looking quite bleak, I've got a feeling that the block wouldn't stand for long ! Fingers crossed guys

Mahmood if you are reading this, you have my support mate !

Garden of Eden

2006-10-25T00:28:00.000+03:00

"The land of Dilmun is holy, the land of Dilmun is pure. In Dilmun no cry the raven utters, nor does the bird of ill-omen foretell calamity. The lion kills not, nor does the ravening wolf snatch away the defenseless lamb. Unknown is the wild dog who tears the kid. The dove does not conceal its head. No one here says, ''My eyes are sick,'' No one here says, ''My head is sick,'' No one here says, ''I am an old woman,'' No one here says, ''I am an old man.'' The maiden walks here in innocence. No lustrations need to be poured. The somber death priest walks not here. By Dilmun's walls he has no cause for lamentations. "

Words from a 4000+ year old poem written in the Sumerian city of Nippur talking about the doings of the gods at the dawn of time in a sacred island where death and sickness did not exist and sweet waters flowed. An island paradise called Dilmun, a place closely resembling the Garden of Eden. Dilmun, described as the “place where the sun rises” and the “Land of the Living” has developed such a reputation as a long lost garden of exotic perfections, which has drastically influenced the story of the Garden of Eden. Even interpreters continuously tried to establish an Edenic garden at the trading center of Dilmun.

The hero and our most famous historical figure, Gilgamesh arrives at Dilmun to obtain the the “flower of immortality” from the Ziusudra aka Atrahasis, Utnapishtim, Xisuthros, and Noah. Ziusudra is the sole survivor of the great flood among mankind, after successfully building an ark following instructions from lord of the Abyss and ruler of the sweet waters under the earth, Enki. With stones attached to his feet, Gilgamesh dives into the sea and brings up the flower. In similar fashion to the story of Adam and Eve, he allows a serpent to eat the flower, cheating mankind of its benefits.

What is really interesting about the story of Ziusudra and Gilgamesh is the fact that the Sumerian word KUR, found on the 140th line of the Gilgamesh Flood myth was interpreted to mean mountain in Akkadian, whereas in Sumeria, it didn’t mean mountain; rather a country, especially a foreign country, and Dilmun was a foreign country. This suggests that Ziusudra's boat floated down the Euphrates river into the Persian Gulf and not up onto a mountain.
I hope you (especially those who don’t know much about Bahrain) enjoyed this small piece of history about Dilmun. I’ll write more later about the rich history of this tiny island :).

Mac user @ last

2006-10-24T19:15:00.000+03:00

First of all happy eid to you all, I didn't have enough time to post about my Macbook purchase and now that the hectic days are behind us I am able to announce that I have finally switched !

YUP ! I am a switcher :) I finally took the plunge and let me tell you it IS greener on the other side ! Everything is fast and easy to do ! Oh by the way did I mention how everything looks gorgeous ? I mean , I've been themeing my PC to look like a Mac for ages but nothing comes close to the real thing ! Anyway back to the experience, goodbye to bluescreens, sudden crashes and viruses ! Another thing I noticed in the Mac world is how the Macbook came with all what you need outta the box, this saved me almost 10 hours of installing software ! weew; good god ! I didn't know that I hated the Window$ world this much ! :D I am quite angered by the number of years I've wasted in the barren lands of Window$, I should've done this much, much, MUCH earlier ! Leaving you all with pictures of ma new baby ! ;)

New Babe Vs The useless Hag

Mac, Engineering book and a Mac Magazine is this my new life ? erm, not that I'm complaining ;)

What can I say ? JUST Beautiful !

Happy Eid All ! :)

2006-10-22T20:59:00.000+03:00

It's always sad to have yet another Ramadan leaving us, hope you all had a very positive one as much as I did ! :) Anyway Happy Eid all and please help yourselfs to my Piggy Bank for Eidya ! :P ;)

The Things We Would Do To Get What We Want

2006-10-20T15:09:00.000+03:00

Reading an article about an Italian woman who's going to tattoo the names of every person who donates money towards her Macbook fund (I should've done something similar :)) on her back, got me thinking of the crazy (or creative) things people are welling to do to get what they want !

Everyday we hear about people with similar approaches towards getting their goals achieved, now some of these people are just lazy and want a quick way out (minimal effort) while others are quite clever like the owner of this site, the site belongs to an American girl who have decided to raise a Macbook fund by laser aching adverts for businesses willing to finance her cause (to this girl I take my hat off).

I've never got these sort of ideas when it came towards achieving my goals, I've always worked hard to an extent of me getting major breakdowns (Just like what happened this week ! :P) Now with me stumbling upon these girls blogs, I've decided to think of easy way outs for me to apply at the office (delegation will be my new moto, that's as creative as I can be :D).

So what do you think ? Would you consider the Italian girl creative or just an artful dodger looking for an easy why out ?

How Smart Is Your Right Foot?

2006-10-12T23:15:00.000+03:00

This was sent to me by a colleague in the US, it's sooo true, as much as you try to twist it around, it doesn't work. Enjoy :D.

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind. And, you will keep
trying it at least 50 more times to see if you can outsmart your
foot.

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and
make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your
right hand. Your foot will change direction!!!

I told you so.. And there is nothing you can do about it.
Make sure you pass this on to your friends... They won't be able to
believe it either!!!

Scottish Food

2006-10-10T19:52:00.000+03:00

University years are the most crucial years of our lives, it plays a major role in forming ones personality and way of thinking. God how I miss Scotland, although I've been to England some 4 months ago, I didn't feel at home as much as I did at Scotland ! No offense to my English friends, is it because I consider Scotland (Edinburgh in particular) as my second home ? I am not sure really.

I was meaning for a while to do a post on Scottish food and a post on tooners blog on comfort food fueled the urge to post regarding the matter.

Anyway here is my list of foods I miss from my Uni years:

1- Haggis and Chips:

This is the most famous Scottish meal, every Scottish (British) meal has two version, the homemade which is usually dull and yuckie and the chippie (Chips Shop) version which is deliciously unhealthy ! Anyway when I first asked what a haggis was, a friend of mine replyed with a grin:

"A haggis is a small four-legged Scottish Highland creature, which has the limbs on one side shorter than the other side. Which means that it is well adapted to run around the hills at a steady altitude, without either ascending or descending? Haggises can easily be caught by running around the hill in the opposite direction."

Didn't believe a word of what he said though :D (hope you are reading this Paul) but at least it encouraged me to eat it.

While in reality haggis is made of:

Sheep's heart, liver, and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately an hour.

All this is battered and deep fried later on. Add salt, vinegar and chips and you'll have one of the most heavenly junk food meals.

2-Scottish Pie:

This was my favorite late night (early morning) snack at the weekend :P;) used to go to the bakers with the lads at around 3 – 4 am just to get them fresh (Not a good idea, especially with the horrid Scottish weather) but still it was worth it ! ;)

3- Chips and Cheese:

This is the No. 1 snack/meal for students in Scotland, Go to any chippie and you'll find most of the orders set by students (Bahrainis espcially) are chips with extra cheese and salt and vinigar !

4- Chicken Tikka Masalla:

Is an Indian meal with a twist, supposed to be invented by an Indian takeaway (restaurant) in Glasgow ! So this makes it an Indo/Glaswegian Meal :P

The main ingredient of this dish are variants of a tomato gravy (using puree or even ketchup) with cream or coconut cream and various common spices.

This sounds like a meal created in a haste with no thought, still this is the best Indian dish I ever had (beats baryannis in my opinion) :D

5- Pepperoni Pizzas: not really a Scottish meal but nothing beats this while watching a DVD or even better, a Champions League (Usually involving Liverpool) match.

6- Scottish Tablet:

These are the most traditional Scottish sweeties. Used to go to the Sunday market especially for those babies, I used to love 'em and no matter how much weight I gained I just didn't dare to stop eating them ! :D

7- California Lemon Chicken with rice:

Again not exactly Scottish, but a friend of mine discovered the sauce at ASDA supermarket and I added the rice to the meal ;) We started to have this meal every time we felt like having chicken (usually 3 times a week :P)

8- Fish & Chips:

Wasn't a huge fan but while I was doing a course at the midlands last April, I had the best ever fish and chips at the Black county museum, the trick was that it was deep fried in beef lard ! :o But man oh man what a beauty :)

9- Deep Fried Mars Bars:

Yup ! This is not a typo, this was created in Edinburgh where most of the chip shops serve this strange pudding if we may call it. It's made of normal mars bars dipped into batter and then deep fried. It's amazing when you eat it right out of the fryer (in the cold weather) not everybody's cup of tea though :P

10- Doner Kebab:

Not a big fan of this. NOT as much as many of the guys who studied at Scotland, but I get cravings for this every now and then (it seems that the "you don't know what you had until it's gone" thing going on :P)

Generally a doner kebab sandwich is served with a salad made from shredded lettuce. Usually there is a choice between a hot sauce, a yoghurt sauce containing garlic and a yoghurt sauce.
The only reason for me eating this was because it made a good Shawarma substitute

Very popular with party-goers and evening revellers in the vibrant of Edinburgh and Glasgow city centres.

World's Most Unique Party!!!

2006-10-08T14:02:00.000+03:00

This story was passed on to me by a work colleague on Thursday night while enjoying dinner in a Moroccan restaurant down at Heddon St.

Now you might be wondering what makes this party unique??? I thought I've seen/heard it all and this was just another ordinary party that is slightly twisted in one way or another. Boy was I wrong!!! I've see many themed and organized parties, but nothing comes close to this. Anyways, below is the story, emails and some of the replies. Enjoy :D.

Investment banks like to hire organized, driven Type-A personalities. But some of these folks take things a little bit far. At Citigroup in London, one young equity analyst has clearly gone over the edge, if the birthday party invitation below is any indication. Not only does she give the precise arrival times for each guest—broken down in 15 minute increments—but she tells them precisely what to wear, exactly what to say to the concierge at the hotel, and the hours during which she will accept “cards and small gifts.”

Below is an excerpt explaining precisely what her guests are to wear to her party at the Ritz.

STRICT DRESS CODE:
Gentlemen: Jacket, shirt, and please also bring a tie (no jeans,
trainers, flip-flops, polo-shirts)
Ladies: skirt/top, cocktail dress (no denim, min-skirts, flip-flips, bad
tastes)
Advice 1: It goes without saying that the more upper-class you dress,
the less likely you shall be denied entry.
Advice 2: Photos will be taken between 10pm to 10:30pm, and these will
be distributed once processed, therefore you may want to be
well-groomed!

Finally...
I will be accepting cards and small gifts between 9pm to 11pm... wink> hehehe

And, because we know you are wondering, we will be accepting cards and small forwarded emails for the rest of the day.

The full invitation, and the reactions of various readers at Citi, after the jump.

Let's start with Lucy's original invitation.

-----Original Message----- - From: Lucy [CIR] Sent: 16 August 2006 12:53 Subject: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party
Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your replies and I am glad all of you can come this
Friday to celebrate my 21st with me.
Please read ALL the following to ensure your entry into the Ritz.

Lucy's 21st Birthday Party
at The Ritz Hotel London

Friday, 18th of August
9pm Champagne Reception
10pm Photo Shoots
10:30pm Blowing Candles

Mid-night Pangaea, Mayfair

I have arranged the Ritz to host a Champagne Reception with a selection
of Ritz Champagne for all my guests, this will be on me so please come
and indulge.

A specially made birthday cake has also been ordered and the Ritz
waiters will kindly serve you each a generous slice with Ritz cutleries,
etc...also on me .

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTRY:
* When you arrive, take the Hotel entry on the opposite side of
the Green Park tube station [Please refer to your arrival time at the
end of this email]
* When asked "how can I help you Sir/Madame?", you reply "I am
here for Lucy's Birthday Party at the Rivoli Bar"
* You will be escorted to the lounge area next to the Rivoli bar,
where you will hopefully see a gorgeous group of ladies.

If you experience any issues getting in or getting to the Ritz, please
call my mobile on xxx xxx xxx and my PA Ms XXXX will kindly deal with
your queries between 8:30pm to 10pm.

STRICT DRESS CODE:
Gentlemen: Jacket, shirt, and please also bring a tie (no jeans,
trainers, flip-flops, polo-shirts)
Ladies: skirt/top, cocktail dress (no denim, min-skirts, flip-flips, bad
tastes)
Advice 1: It goes without saying that the more upper-class you dress,
the less likely you shall be denied entry.
Advice 2: Photos will be taken between 10pm to 10:30pm, and these will
be distributed once processed, therefore you may want to be
well-groomed!

Finally...
I will be accepting cards and small gifts between 9pm to 11pm... wink> hehehe

I very much look forward to seeing you all at the Ritz this Friday.

Lucy

ARRIVAL TIMES: [Please stick to these as best as you can, thank you]
9:00pm: [names nine friends].
9:15pm: [next nine friends].
9:30pm: [eleven friends; clearly the most vulgar arrival slot].
9:45pm: [four more friends; most exclusive arrival time].
10:00pm: [five friends]

Lucy XXX
Citigroup | Real Estate Equity Research
4th Floor, Citigroup Centre (CGC1)
25 Canada Square, London E14 5LB
Direct Line: xx xxx xxx xxxx
Fax: +xx xxx xxx xxxx
Mobile: +xx xxx xxx xxxx
Email: xxx@citigroup.com

Of course, this got forwarded far and wide. Below are the comments of readers, with the names redacted to protect the mirthful.

-----Original Message----- From: XXX [CIB-HR] Sent: 24 August 2006 09:15 To: XXX Subject: FW:
Oh my god! Read from the bottom! Its gone not only to EVERYONE in citi
but i've just been told by my boss its gone all over the banks and
they're all laughing about it.

-----Original Message-----
From: XXX
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 8:56 AM
To: *HR UK Capital Markets
Subject: FW:

Hi all, for your reading pleasure...please start at the bottom, it's
hilarious!!

-----Original Message-----
From: XXX [CIB-HR]
Sent: 23 August 2006 18:13
To: xxx [CIB-HR]; xxx [CIB-HR]; xxx
[CIB-HR]; xxx [CIB-HR]
Subject: FW:

As previously discussed.... maybe we need to revisit the intern
selection criteria, I think the emphasis on control may be too high!

-----Original Message-----
From: XXX [CIR]
To: XXX [CIR]; XXX [CIB-EQTY]; XXX
[CIR]
Sent: Mon Aug 21 18:17:42 2006
Subject: FW:

Please read below when you get 5 mins

______________________________________________
From: XXX [CIR]
Sent: 21 August 2006 18:07
To: XXX [CIR] XXX [CIR]; XXX [CIR];
XXX [CIR]; XXX [CIR]; XXX [CIR]
Subject: RE:

"It goes without saying that the more upper-class you dress, the less
likely you shall be denied entry."...!!

it also goes without saying that the more i read of that, the less
likely i am to contain my mirth

______________________________________________
From: xxx [CIR]
Sent: 21 August 2006 17:51
To: xxx [CIR]; xxx [CIR]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

______________________________________________
From: xxx [CIR]
Sent: 18 August 2006 11:52
To: xxx [CIR]; xxx [CIR]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

You have to read this.....from the intern working on the property team -
I can hardly contain myself!

______________________________________________
From: xxx [CIR]
Sent: 18 August 2006 11:48
To: xxx [CIR]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

.. I don't like to spread things... I feel quite bad really - but you
just HAVE to read this....

______________________________________________
From: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Sent: 18 August 2006 11:28
To: xxx [CIR]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

XXX, do you know this girl below...Lucy? Think she is in research.
This is outrageous, read the invite!!!!!!!!!

-----Original Message-----
From: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Sent: 18 August 2006 11:25
To: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

-----Original Message-----
From: XXX [CIB-EQTY]
Sent: 18 August 2006 11:23
To: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

-----Original Message-----
From: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Sent: 18 August 2006 08:42
To: xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx, xxx
[CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx
[CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx
[CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx
[CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]; xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

her best yet...........enjoy

-----Original Message-----
From: xxx [CIB-FI]
Sent: 18 August 2006 08:16
To: xxx [CIB-EQTY]
Subject: FW: Details and instructions for Lucy's Ritz Party

Enjoy

Regardless of the fact that we haven't been invited, pangea still seems
to be the plan for tonight though.

xxx

That's it folks :D.

To Mac or NOT Mac !

2006-10-06T14:04:00.000+03:00

Lately I have been looking at replacements for my deceased Fujitsu Siemens laptop, with the disaster of an experience in mind; I decided to be VERY careful this time.

During the past 10 days, I've had a thorough look at all the famous brands; none of them tickled my fancy (either too low in specs or NO warranty extension option, the last seems to piss salesmen off "I wonder why ?! :x").

Having bought my old laptop from the Apple Center I've decided to pop in to the showroom to have a look at what they have to offer (not interested in Fujitsu Siemens though :x). And the instance I had my eyes on the new Mackbook range I couldn't help but fall in love with the ultra portable sturdy machines.

The specs were quite impressive as well and I have always wanted to have a Mac, went through a phase (Uni years) where I emulated the Mac look (on my DELL) thanks to aqua-soft.org ! Don't worry those days are long gone though :P

Anyway back to the subject, now that I can afford a Mac (Finally sorted out my finances :P) should I go for a Mac? It seems that who ever I ask comes up with the a negative response ! For example all the computer geeks I know were like do NOT do it, my mates (engineers:P) were like what about our beloved engineering software (Especially you Mohammed Alhamar :P) and finally my family were just reminding me of what everyday joes think of Macs (Image and newspaper publishing machines).

All this left me with a dilemma on top of a splitting headache, plus a question that keeps ringing in my head no matter what I do "To Mac or NOT to Mac ?" :p :D

iWant this :P

The REAL reason for blocking Google Earth

2006-10-04T18:58:00.000+03:00

OK things are going real slow on the posting front this week, this is due to me being depressed :((I am still mourning my dead laptop) :P :D So what better way to beat "writer's block" and depression ? hmm have a look at this youtube:

Big brother is watching ! Now you know why Google Earth was Blocked ! :P

Poor Customer Care

2006-09-30T13:10:00.000+03:00

OK, now with my laptop gone completely bonkers, I can't post as often for a couple of weeks at least. My dear laptop (a fabulous Fujitsu Siemens) was supposedly a top of the shelf one at the time of purchase. So does a product being top of the shelf makes it a superior product ? HELL NO, I had to discover the bitter reality first hand, I mean my laptop is soooo "break down" prone to an extent of breaking down every 2-4 months. Why? Not really sure ! Especially in this day and age with all the Total quality management used by manufacturing companies ! :x

Anyhow I am not going to rant about the laptop this time (Already done that), but what I am going to talk about this time is the awful service us customers receive here in Bahrain. You name it, it doesn't matter what is the value of your purchase nor where you purchased it from it is always the something over here ! :x

Delayed parts, poor customer care, promises and deadlines which are unkept is something of the norm over here ! Why ? well, I've dropped my laptop 4 days ago and was told that I would be contacted early the next day. 96 hours later (4 days) I heard nothing from the Apple Center, so I had to call them just to discover that they didn't even know what I exactly wanted "it's JUST a lousy quotation" ! Not only that; they didn't look at the main problem either "fried mother board"! Now I have to wait for god knows how long, just to be told that there is nothing wrong with the laptop and the fault is user inflected ! :x

What ever happened to "The customer is always right" statement ? Come to think about it, I don't think that we actually had this moto applied here in Bahrain (EVER). :x

These are the so called user inflected faults that I've had:

1- 2 faulty DVD +RW Drives.

2- a faulty keyboard.

3- 2 fried motherboard.

4- a fried power supply.

5- Dodgy speakers

6- A broken casing (ok this one is user inflected) :P

All this and the laptop is only a year and a half old ?!

Wrapping up this rant, I have learnt the following lessons:

1- Fujitsu Siemens are bad manufacturers of laptops

2- The customer is always wrong "in Bahrain at least"

3- NEVER EVER take advice from Khalid ! He's the one who bigged up this lousy brand "used to have a faulty FS laptop too" :P

Michael Jackson quits Bahrain???

2006-09-28T01:05:00.000+03:00

As probably most of you know, Michael Jackson has been living in the middle east after the conclusion of his trial in the US. Having close links with the royal family here (through his brother), he formed the Two Seas label with the king's son to release his next album in 2007; announced that Bahrain is now his permanent home; revealed his intentions to convert to Islam???

Getting to the point, I stumbled upon an article in the BBC today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5380654.stm) which said that Jackson decided to quit the label and form his own company, The Michael Jackson Company. Given that he's been in Ireland lately, it makes me wonder whether this guy has now seriously quit the country. Some say he already did, others insist he's still around. Who knows besides Jacko???

My Top 10 Books List

2006-09-24T21:29:00.000+03:00

A friend (frequent reader) of the blog, "Still breathing" requested my list of favorite books, so here you go. These books have been a joy to read. Read long and prosper! :)

1- Master of the Game: Sidney Sheldon; You all should know by now how much of a Sidney Sheldon fan I am. Sheldon was at the top of his game when he wrote Master of the Game. It is a classic Family Saga/Epic that spans decades. Many writers tried to duplicate Sheldon's success with the same formula but so many fell short because Sheldon was one of, if not the best when came to writing family drama. This is an excellent read, one I can guarantee will not only hold your attention and capture your imagination, it will not allow you to put it down, until you're finished.

2- The Motorcycle Diaries: Ernesto CHE Guevara; The diaries from the roadtrip of latin America which Guevara under went before becoming the freedom fighter we all know. Great five star biography. The only biography page turner :)

3- Gangster: Lorenzo Carcaterra; This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine. I actually nicked this book off him. :P To me this is a more personal story than the Godfather book. I really enjoyed the transition from old school gangsters to new gangsters. I like how Carcaterra developed his characters and gave you the sense of feeling about them.
If you have any interest in crime stories, the mafia or immigration, this is the perfect book for u.

4- The Davinci Code: Dan Brown; I couldn't put this book down ! The storyline, characters, events and twists are tailormade for Hollywood. Shame the movie didn't live up to the same standards the book has set.

5- Rebel Code: Glyn Moody; The book gives a complete history of open source development in a fun non-nerd way. The strong point of the book is that the depth of coverage on open source history is unmatchable. My most favorite chapters are the ones that describe the early development of Linux. If you are into tech stuff then don't miss this one.

6- The Old Man and The Sea: Ernest Hemingway; The only Hemingway novel I've read "Need to read more", The only way I can describe this book is by saying "WOW", I mean you just can see "or read :P" why he got the Nobel prize for this one. The novel tells the story of an old man who faces physical, emotional and spiritual pain just to reach is goal "Catching a fish"

7- A Tale of Two Cities: Charles Dickens; What book list would be complete without a classic ? Well, this is my favorite classic novel. I mean what a way to start a book:

IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-in short

Enough said :)

8- If Tomorrow Comes: Sidney Sheldon; Yup ! You've guessed it ! My 2nd favorite Sheldon book. :P An amazing fast paced novel, it has it all, Love, betrayal, suspense, action etc. The book tells the story of an innocent dreamy girl gone bad (becoming the most wanted woman on the Interpol's list).

9- The Falls: Ian Rankin; This Author's work will always have a special place in my heart. His storylines are always set in my beloved Edinburgh. I used to get chills down my spine , walking the streets of Edinburgh "The ones mentioned in his books obviously". Anyway (The Falls) is about a missing wealthy young college socialite, and a miniature coffin which has been found near her home. Inspector Rebus (The main character of Rankin's novels) goes through his usual dyfunctional life trying to solve this mystery. A good read ! Don't let the Scottish slang and references put you off. :D :P

10- Stupid White Men: Michael Moore; I don't care what people say about this guy, the book is an interesting fun conspiracy style read.

That's my list feel free to add yours :) ;)

Ramadan Kareem

2006-09-23T12:36:00.000+03:00

Well, I'd just like to take this opportunity to wish you Ramadan Kareem and I hope this month will bring happinness, joy and peace to all and let it be the beginning of a prosperous year :).

You Know That You're a Blogging Addict When...

2006-09-20T19:04:00.000+03:00

- you have more blog friends than 'real life' friends.

- you're blogging in your head before you fall asleep.

- the only thing you converse in with your loved ones is your blog's comments.

- you tell your friends and family things like, "I'll ping you and you ping me back," or "Okay, I want to trackback on your last comment..."

- you blog in your head an event that's happening at that very moment! :D

- you actually take the time to figure out how to set up Active Desktop in Windows just so that you can make your Bloglines MyBlogs page your Windows background.

- and then you actually leave it that way because you like it... and you make that your browser home page. :P

- all of the visible entries in your browser's links toolbar relate to blogging!

- you check blogs more than you check the news...

These are the ones I managed to think of,feel free to add you own ! :P

Your Skin: Eskimo Style

2006-09-19T17:32:00.000+03:00

Although they live in one of the harshest environments on this earth, the Eskimos have inspired a new revolutionary supplement that not only repairs sun damaged skin, but also ‘freezes ageing’ revitalizing the skin inside out. After months of intensive research in the Arctic, Lund University’s professor Jan Wadstein concluded that the secret behind the Eskimos’ smooth and youthful complexion that can withstand the sun, wind and the freezing temperatures is their diet. A further six years of R&D resulted in a 90-day skin rejuvenation program known as Nourella Delay Tactics.

The program is composed of two components: the anti-ageing cream (containing vitamins and collagen) that is applied twice daily to nourish the skin’s deeper layers and the food supplement which contains marine proteins and silica (Arctic diet key ingredients). Clinical trials’ results have been impressive, showing that skin thickness can increase by a staggering 200%, elasticity by 68% and moisture retention by 300%, with those improvements remaining visible even after a year.

Skin damage is a result of UV rays exposure, lack of sleep, smoke, pollution and alcohol among others, and affects our inner skin structure way before it’s evident on the outside. Using anti-ageing cream by itself isn’t enough as our skin needs to be nourished from the inside to repair the damage deeper structure. It is a known fact that people aged 25 and above lose 1.5% of their collagen annually and their skin elasticity decreases.

This supplement and patented cream uses encapsulation technology to deliver the following results:

• Rejuvenates the skin’s inner structure by providing proven rejuvenators such as colostrums, collagen and vitamin A to the deeper layers of the dermis where skin regeneration takes place.

• Repairs skin damage and visible signs of ageing.

• Protects against skin ageing, sun damage and dietary and environmental pollutants by using UVA and UVB filters.

• Improves skin elasticity and thickness.

This new program proved to be such a big hit that 150,000 people in Scandinavia alone are already using it. As expensive as this may sound, it’s actually quite affordable and much cheaper than facelift-type treatments such as surgery and injections. Think about it this way, it’s like a ‘facelift without the surgery’.

Well I hope all you guys, gals and modern metrosexuals out there learned something new. If you want to learn more about it, please visit: www.nourella.co.uk.

Am actually quite tempted to try it out myself!!!

The First Album I've Ever Bought

2006-09-18T19:39:00.000+03:00

The weirdest thing happened today, was going through old boxes this afternoon "one of them contained stuff from the days prior Uni" and to my shock guess what have I found ? :) MY FIRST EVER ALBUM ! :D This came to me as a shock, I mean you don't come across a Milli Vanilli Cassette everyday, do you ? :P

I remember how 15 years ago, I asked my dad for a Dinar while at the Sheraton's shopping center "Bahrain's only shopping center at the time" to buy the Milli Vanilli "Girl You Know It's True" album. This cassette made me feel older at the time and I remember how I drove my family crazy by playing it continuously in the car. :P

Shame that they mimed their way to a grammy ! :D

Anyway speaking of first albums, what was yours ? When and how did yous get it ?

Child Abuse or Latest Fashion???

2006-09-16T20:41:00.000+03:00

When I first saw this, I couldn't help but laugh hard. I just found it plain hilarious that a cute lil baby like this one will have the title "boob man". Having come to think about it more, as much as it's funny, can it be another form of child abuse??? It seems to be the latest fashion now that kidswear are designed with a sexual theme and there is money to be made out of this, but is it ethical?

Have your say...

Blogging

2006-09-15T12:06:00.000+03:00

Blogging is becoming more popular by the day. We all do so because it makes us look hip and cool between our mates (go on admit it :P). Blogging became so popular to an extent of a band "The sprites" -NO I don't know 'em- :P dedicating a song in their album to owning a blog.

powered by ODEO
So please share with us, how and why have you decided to have a blog. :) A penny for your thoughts ;)

Junkies Vending Machine

2006-09-14T00:56:00.000+03:00

I was reading the Daily Mail late last night and boy was I shocked by what I read. Richard Brunstorm, Britain’s most controversial police man, aka Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban strongly backed the idea of producing a vending machine to provide needles for drug addicts. Out of all places, this one will be right outside a police station in the coastal town of Colwyn Bay, North Wales. The way this machine will work is through tokens, rather than cash, which will be given out to all registered addicts. Furthermore, they’ll be encouraged to dispose their used needles in a secure bin alongside the machine.

Charities and the local population have expressed their fear that this machine will only stimulate further drugs usage, whereas Brustorm argues that the bay sufferes from what he called a “really unpleasant form of Nimbysim” i.e. the bay doesn’t have a conventional needle exchanged operated by the local pharmacies.

Having previously supported the legalization of heroin, I wonder what this guy will be up to next???

My completely random post

2006-09-13T19:44:00.000+03:00

No matter how many times I type the word, or how careful I try to type, I always type the word “Their” as “Thier”. Luckily, I am saved by spell-checker, but I live in fear of the day that an email sneaks out with the word misspelled.

I wish I knew why my brain insists on transposing the “i” and the “e”. Thanks a lot, brain. ;) :P

OK, so that was something totally random about me and came outta no where, so guys spare me a sec. and post something completely random about yourself ! :) Not that I am a pervert or someting ! :P This post is solely for scientific purposes ! :P ;)

Happy "late" birthday to my Co-blogger Khalid

2006-09-12T17:56:00.000+03:00

Ok, I finally managed to do it ! :) I have finallly managed to find a solution to post the darn mp3 on the blog ! So cousin please forgive me for this late "Happy Birthday Post". :P Anyway happy birthday and may you have many many more ! Enjoy the tune ! :)

powered by ODEO

My 10 things to do before the end of the year list

2006-09-11T19:28:00.000+03:00

So I was watching "10 things a hate about you", I know it's a chick flick but what the hey ! :P The movie got me thinking, I know that you all must be thinking "ooooh GOD here he goes again !" but spare me a second to explain ! :P Anyway the movie got me thinking why not have a "10 things to do before the end of the year" list. My list looks like this:

1. Learn to eat with chopsticks.
"I mean just like the Chinese, not like the posers at every Chinese restaurant, you all now who I am talking about !" ;)

2. Shout of the top of smoke mountain
"Not really a mountain" :P

3. Go camping
"never done that" :P

4. Find a good Thai restaurant in Bahrain

5. Start to like Thai food while looking for the good restaurant. :P

6. Save BD 1000

7. Do the charity raft race.

8. Improve the traffic @ the blog

9. Cook for the whole family in Ramadan. 3rd Friday, I don't know why I picked this date!

10. Watch all the Sopranos Seasons

OK, now that the list is ready, lets hope I could do them all ! Wish me luck. :);)

Reality Shows, Good or Bad ?

2006-09-08T13:43:00.000+03:00

Seeing a promotion of one of the popular Reality shows got me thinking ! Do we really need these shows ? I mean what made them such a popular genre ? What made them eat up a huge slice of the viewers pie ?

Big Brother, Pop Idol, Superstar, American Idol, Survivor, Fame or star academy are all names of an ever growing list of shows known as "Reality Shows". Love them or hate them, we all know that they are here to stay.

It isn't a completely new idea. I mean we all loved watching Candid Camera shows when we were kids, didn't we ? Everyday Joes (who had no idea that they were being filmed) were tricked into doing ridiculous things and it was sometimes very funny. And now we have those 'Funniest Home Videos' instead.

Then things changed. first came the dutch with the idea of taking ordinary people and turning them into 'stars' by putting them in unusual situations 'Big Brother'. A group of people were locked in a small house with cameras running 24 hours a day. It was called a 'watch and dial' show because viewers vote by telephone to decide who should leave or stay. Or 'Survivor' where a group of people are put in a hostile environment, like a jungle or a desert island. They are filmed while they try to find food and shelter and every week some of them are voted out. This is just to describe a few ! Not that we all don't know about them already ! :P

In my opinion these shows are basically, bad television, and just proves that TV Networks are running outta ideas ! I remember when Big Brother first came out while I was a University student, critics kept saying that this bubble "The Reality TV Bubble" will burst sooner than later, but did this happen ? 6 years later and still these shows are multiplying! Why ? because they are still as popular as ever. But why are there so many viewers ?

For the fans it's an opportunity to 'people watch'. Voyeurism is taboo and that's what makes these shows attractive. We all watch, but we don't admit it to anyone, because we've been raised to know better than watch people, right ? ;)

The TV companies like reality shows because they are cheap to produce and attract younger viewers, which makes advertisers drool on just the thought of it. The last 'Big Brother' in Britain attracted enormous advertising revenue. They aren't dependent on 'star' actors with enormous salaries. And your actors won't go on strike.

And why do people participate in them? Well, for fame and money of course. In the past, appearing on television wasn't for ordinary people. You had to be good at something, like sport, or acting. But not any more.

What really catches my attention is the fact that all shows do well at the their debut season but then the viewing figures begin to drop. And it varies from country to country too. For example, in Spain, 'Fame Academy', or 'Operación Triunfo', is very popular, but the British version is doing so badly that people call it 'Lame Academy'. Perhaps people are becoming more critical but everyone seems to agree that reality shows are here to stay. They've become an acceptable TV genre, like drama or situation comedy.

Finally, finding out what new show will the TV Networks come up with interested me, but deciding to search the web for new shows was a bad idea, a quick search yielded many results but one stuck in my mind, this show; in my opinion; will be the nightmare of all Reality Shows, The show is based on the idea of getting an unmarried women to choose between potential sperm donors. The title for the show is, well yes you've guessed it ! :) 'I Want Your Baby'. See Where I am coming from ? :o I hope this one doesn't make it ! :P So what do you all think ? Reality Shows, good or bad ?

Penny for your thoughts ! :)

Rich dad, poor dad ! cult scam?

2006-09-06T20:17:00.000+03:00

Is becoming rich affected by the way we've been raised ? Does having poor folks mean that you will become poor yourself ? Do rich people have a secret which they use in raising their kids ? I really doubt that ! B)

I've been reading a book titled “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” lately, This book was recommended to me through a course which I was attending (Money Coaching) “Oprah Style :P”. The course tutor have claimed that the book contains ideas from the point of view of helping people whom have not had a good "economic" upbringing (MOI :P). The book speaks of how the author came from a middle class family (poor in the authors opinion) and that his dad's ideas about improving yourself (Education, Working hard, Work experience etc.) were wrong. While his friends dad “Rich Dad” had the correct attitude to become rich (No need for education etc) :o , This is highly arguable, for not all rich people were a disaster at school.

The author thinks that having plenty of money means success. Being a doctor or a teacher is not successful because all they do is make money and pay taxes. (No one would be a doctor or a teacher if this selfish view of success was embraced by all. Thankfully it isn't - according to the author's own father: "Schoolteachers really don't think about being rich. We just like to teach." Without people paying taxes only rich people would be able to afford even a basic education and healthcare.)

The worst advice was (The reason you want to have rich friends who are close to the inside is because that is where the money is made. It's made on information. the sooner you know, the better your chances are for profits with minimal risk. That is what friends are for). :o

The book makes a great read and I did enjoy reading it ! But it should be used to make you think positive about things i.e "not fearing investing your money" and not as a bible like the way the tutor was portraying it to be !

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice."
John T Reed (publisher of Real Estate Investor's Monthly newsletter

This rang an alarm and made me think that if this book was topping the charts then lots of people (just like the tutor) are thinking that the book is the highway to all their financial dreams ! While books of this sort “get rich quick” should be approached with care and should NOT even be recommended in any course !

Is it fun to read ? YES ! Does it make you think postively when it comes to finance? YES! Is it a key to financial success ? HELL NO ! :x

I take it that I won't be shouting of the roofs that I am rich anytime soon :P :D

Super Granny

2006-09-06T18:37:00.000+03:00

He had it coming, this guy picked the wrong person to hassle ! :D Treating the elderly with respect is the duty of everybody in the society ! ;) Put this in mind next time you see an older person, or something similar would happen ! :P

Farewell Crocodile Hunter!!!

2006-09-04T22:31:00.000+03:00

I was shocked when I heard the news that Steve Irwin died this morning. It's really unfotunate that while he was filming a feature for his daughter's show, he boxed a stingray whilst swimming over it and got hit in the chest by its barb. Apparently, his heart was pierced and he died shortly after. This though is a one-in-a-million accident (3rd fatal stingray accident in Australia), which just makes it more ill-fated.

As crazy as you were and as much as you said "Crikey", you brought joy and inspired millions around the world to learn more about nature. You'll always be remembered for the time when you held your one month old baby and fed a croc at the same time.

My condolences to Steve's family, close friends and whomever fell in love with nature's legend. In the end all I can say is: REST IN PEACE!!!

"I'm fair dinkum, like kangaroos, winged keels and bloody flies," he added. "I think I've got animals so genetically inside me that there's no way I could actually be anything else."

Depressed Parrot + Related Joke

2006-09-02T10:17:00.000+03:00

My parrot seems to be depressed these days ! :( No matter what I do to make him happy, he just gives me an annoyed look and squawks back at me. :x I am a great believer that music can have a huge affect on your mood so I am currently giving him a music treatment, he seems to have livened up a bit now while I'm typing this.

Anyway speaking of depressed parrots, this comes to my mind:

A guy becomes concerned about his depressed parrot, and takes the sad bird to a veterinarian. After examining the parrot, the vet says, "No wonder he's depressed. He needs romance."
The guy buys a pretty female parrot for fifty dinars, brings her home, and deposits her in the cage. Humming a romantic song, he goes into another room. Suddenly he hears a terrible racket. He rushes back to the cage, where he sees his male bird clawing at the female and ripping off her feathers. The man says, "What on earth are you doing?"
The male parrot says, "For fifty dinars I want her bloody naked!"

If music dosen't work, I'll definitely go for the female solution ! :P :D

Dishing out Bahraini passports

2006-09-01T15:24:00.000+03:00

How should I start this post ? Should I start it with tears (which I am struggling to hold in)? Should I start smashing stuff around me (will this make me feel better)? Should I go out into the streets to protest ? Will this change the fact that our government started to dish out free (to people who will be a liability and drag us backwards) our not too precious (to them) nationality ! :x

I tried to ignore the subject, but this little itch I've been ignoring for a while had to be scratched after what I've witnessed today.

It all started when I had to go to the shops this morning, and while driving back I noticed an Indian guy standing at the bus stop, nothing abnormal there but this guy was doing strange movements, at the beginning I thought that he was itching his chest or something but after getting closer to the guy, I noticed that he was actually pulling a red booklet out of his shirts pocket ! To my shock this red booklet was in fact a Bahraini passport and this idiot was showing it off to every person who drives by him ! :x

Dishing out the Bahraini nationality have been inexistent forever but what really kills me that it had increased lately ! :x It seems that the government is panicing now that the parliament elections are nearing !

Why does a government go to such measures are beyond me ? instead of dishing out passports; in other words; buying loyalty, why not try to work on satisfying your own people ? why not work on making them loyal by making them happy ? which will be definitely more beneficial for both parties and much much cheaper for the government on the long run !

All what is left for me to say is (Can't the government see that they can NOT afford bringing on more useless, uneducated and uncivilized people (this is type of people which the gov seem to be targeting) to a country which its public services are starting to deteriorate ? :(

Penny for your thoughts people !

Sporting Creativity

2006-08-31T13:46:00.000+03:00

You know, am a sports addict, and I don't just mean watching it, but also playin it. I've seen so many different people performing in different ways, some regimental, some for fun and some, just for the sake of it. What am trying to get at is the following: I've seen this ad a while ago and it's just pure genius, it portrays sports performance in a classic way. It's titled "Indian Yoga vs. Irish Yoga". Enjoy :).

Future planning is depressing

2006-08-30T14:42:00.000+03:00

It had been a while since I last had a proper post on the blog. This was due to me having loads of decisions to make . Big decisions are always quite difficult to make due to them being related to the future "any decision related to the future is always something scary" :X GOD growing up is NOT easy ! :P

I was having a huge dilemma whether to pump more money into the stock exchange or get a student loan and realize my life long dream of gaining an MBA from Strathclyde University in Glasgow. Me being me wanted to have them both but my closest mates were having a go at me saying that "I can't have my cake and eat it !"

So this was basically making me a bit blue but don't worry nothing too major ! I had to buckle down and start budgeting (BORING) :D. And now I raise from under all the papers, receipts and the likes with the following conclusion:

YES, I get to do both ! weeeew saying this really made me feel good, the major plus as well is that I will continue with my standard of living (quite high) :P B)

Now, I have to do all the administrative paper work for both projects, sooooooooooo bring on the mugs of coffee ! :D Anybody fancy helping ? My handwritting is quite bad ! :P ;)

Hazardous Material!!!

2006-08-28T01:18:00.001+03:00

Well, I don't want to sound sexist, but this is not only true, but it sure hell is funny. I could provide more evidence upon request to support this arguement. Well enjoy :)!!!

Happiness is a puzzling thing

2006-08-19T12:59:00.000+03:00

These days I can't help but wonder what happiness really is, the concept of happiness differs from one to another, everyone of us has his/her own perception of happiness, for example lets say that A guy called Mohammed won the lottery. A cool BD 25 million ! He appeared to be a good man with a good character. Of the many types of people who might have won, his friends were happy it was Mohammed. But two years later he was arrested for drink driving, resisting arrest and having drugs in his car. The arrests continued over the next few years. The excitement of winning did not grow into a lifelong happiness.

While Ali, a successful businessman, who had no friends, worked long hours, saving and reinvesting most of his money. He was disliked for his independence and envied for his wealth. Yet his life was full of contentment and happiness. Why does wealth bring happiness to some and misery to others? This thought really got me confused :O

If wealth is not a shortcut to happiness, what is ? One might count sacrificing for others as a ticket to happiness ! OK then, lets say that Mona is a volunteer in an elderly care center, she works there 6 days /week, 52 weeks a year, but hates it, hates her life, and has grown especially bitter towards the people she serves.

Yasmeen, an engineer, never does volunteer work. If she gives to charity, she does so very selectively. Acquaintances envious of her success call her selfish. Yet Yasmeen is very happy.

There are many people who we think should be happy but are not. (Mohammed the "lucky" lottery winner and Mona the "serious" volunteer.)

There are many people who we think should be miserable but are not. (Ali the "loner" businessman and Yasmeen the "selfish" engineer.)

Some people who seem to have nothing are very happy. Some people who seem to have everything are not. Yet some jet-setters seem happy while some moral crusaders have become miserable old grouches. I can't help but think that happiness seems very unpredictable, inconsistent, irrational. I yearn for the simpler times I had as a kid, when a toy or a kick of a ball would make me happy, sadly this is not the case anymore ! Don't miss understand me, I am very happy and I enjoy every minute of my life.

To me being successful is happiness, this is what keeps me going, this is what makes me wake up everyday ! Will this change within time ? God only knows, but for now this is the main ingredient in my life (Success = Happiness). So what is happiness to you? A penny for your thoughts people ! ;)

Farewell party

2006-08-18T19:06:00.000+03:00

Just got of the phone with my mate Yousif, just reminiscing about last night farewell party which we had for some friends (Laura, Max and Naseem). Usually I would not sit foot at the Blue Elephant (I hate Thai food) but yesterday was a different story, it was actually the first time I had fun in that overrated place. We were a huge group (11) but still it was fun; the staff had to basically kick us out at the end of the night ! B) :P

Anyway bon voyage guys and hope to see you soon :)

PS : Vuk I still hate Thai food, so stop trying to convince me that it's gods gift :P

This is soooooo true

2006-08-16T14:05:00.000+03:00

Hello all, it seems that my brain wouldn't come up with new topics this week but fear not my friends, because here comes some equations (Don't worry, it's not maths) :P

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS

Smart man + smart woman = romance
Smart man + dumb woman = affair
Dumb man + smart woman = marriage
Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

HAPPINESS

To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.

To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY

Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Footie is back

2006-08-13T12:41:00.000+03:00

I can't stress enough how football mad I've became, ever since going to the UK for my studies 7 years ago. I keep claiming that my addiction is not as bad as others and it's merely a man thing to watch sports thus always getting ticked off ! MAN ! it's only two days a week ! Can't a guy have some peace ? :P I am not exactly too keen on all the European leagues but there will always be two leagues close to my heart (English and Scottish) and ofcourse the Champs league. Any hooow with the footie season kicking of again this afternoon, here is this joke I've stumbled upon:

Out on her royal yacht the queen was enjoying the sea air when she spied a man in the water off the port bow - clearly being menaced by a very large shark.

Through her binoculars she could see it was Christiano Ronaldo, struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 20 foot shark!

The queen ordered the captain to change course to try and save the poor man, but she knew the yachts top speed would never get them there in time. At that exact moment a speedboat containing three men wearing white England tops sped into view. One of the men took aim at the shark and fired a harpoon into its ribs, immobilizing it instantly. The other two reached out and pulled Ronaldo from the water and, using long clubs, beat the shark to death.

They bundled the bleeding, semi-conscious Ronaldo into the speedboat along with the dead shark and prepared for a hasty retreat, when they heard frantic calling ...... It was the Queen calling them to the yacht. On reaching the yacht the Queen went into raptures about the rescue and said, "I'll give you a knighthood for your brave actions. I thought the England team would hate Ronaldo after the world cup. But I see that the England team are true heroes and should serve as a model for sportsmanship to other countries." She knighted them and sailed away.

As she departed Rooney asked the others, "Who was that?!"

"That," Gerrard answered, "was our Queen. She rules the Commonwealth and knows everything about our country."

"Well," Rooney replied, "she knows fuck all about shark fishing. How's the bait holding up?"

Come on you reds ! 2-0 my prediction ! for Chelsea that is :P (Kidding) :D

US Diary 1: The Big Apple

2006-08-13T02:59:00.000+03:00

Everything in this city is audacious and unrepressed, wherever you go, everything is "in your face". With a world class culture, roaring traffic, pulsating architecture and sky-kissing skyscrapers, it somewhat manages to encompass such a remorseless stream of newness and freshness with perfection.

This city is a haven for immigrants. From Little Italy to Chinatown, wherever you go, wherever you look, you see them strolling the alleys and walkways, bringing with them inspirations, innovations and that extra lewdness. From the Empire State Building to Central Park to Times Square, whether its day or night, the clock is always ticking, the options are infinite and boredom is a word that isn't in the dictionary. The only source of limitation is oneself.

After September 11, that extra vulnerability flows through the air. Whether it's joggers in the parks, sellers in the market or people jammed in the subway, everything looks falsely connect but yet, there's a sense of unity. Whether you see it or not, it's lying down under, ready to erupt at any instant!!!

Man, I already miss it a lot!!!

Busy week, but I've survived !

2006-08-12T18:36:00.000+03:00

OK, so it had been a whole week since my last post, the past week was quite hectic ! My Laptop got nackared yet again – yup ! nothing new there I guess, eh ? :x This wasn't totally bad, at least with my laptop out of myway, I finally got a chance to register my car :P, WOW (nerd alert) :D This gotta be bad, need to sort out my addiction to computers ! :x And as if having my PC nakared wasn't bad enough, my mom managed to fall during one of those trips to Saudi - which I dread - causing her elbow to dislocate ! :( Thank god it wasn't as bad as it sounded (cast is off now). Now with my mum being injured I turned (gladly of course) ;) :P into her shoufer, dropping her here and there and running errands of course (OK a bit of exaggeration here "incase she reads this") :P

Turning into the shoufer meant that I had to take my sister to the airport as well – went to Qatar for a distant relative marriage, she didn't like it (Qatar) and kept moaning of how boring and empty the country was and how they treated women as sub-species over there. Finally one argument I won over her (Funny how sooooo pro Qatar she was before she went).

While to the contrast, Mum went on a short hol to Dubai as a recuperation trip and enjoyed staying in the Al-salam Place, she kept going on and on and on about how they were pampered there ! Will go there someday, yeah right ! not at the rate I spend my money at :P

Khalid finally made it back from the US, still having this dilemma of working abroad or here, he tried to bribe me with a speaker system for my iPod and a silk tie (claims that they were presents ;), Yeah right !;) What an ungrateful git I've became :P), K YOU NEED TO POST OR YOU'RE OUT ! :x :) presents or no presents, I don't care ! :P

Was meant to post something about Mr. Galloway but the whole post was lost due to my lovely laptop being such a pain ! Will have to rewrite the whole thing again; now that I've lost everything ! I have a bad habit of doing my posts offline prior to postin them on the blog. I am full of bad habbits ! :D:P ok gotta stop blabbing or I'd never manage to post something this week ! :)

I am still here !

2006-08-12T14:05:00.000+03:00

Well, it had been a very long time since my last post, I was just very busy ! So people get ready for a verrrryyy long post ! watch this spot ! :P A post is due tis afternoon :D I promise ;)

Podcasts

2006-08-05T15:39:00.000+03:00

Podcasts became an integral part of my day to day life, having audio programs matching your interests downloaded to your desktop is a luxury I got used to.

Imagine having a Radio Channel specially tailored to your own needs. No more bloated boring programs used to fill in gaps, no more cheesy DJs hogging mics (thinking they're gods gift), no more adverts etc. you get the flow ? I could go on for ages !

You can avoid all the ridiculously boring channels by just subscribing to the show of your liking (just a mouse click), go grab yourself a cuppa something while it downloads and uploads to your portable music player !

I used to enjoy listening to shows like the Breakfast with Chris Moyles show (BBC Radio 1) and 606 (Live BBC5) in my student years and now thanks to podcasting I continue to do so.

Whether driving or doing an out doors (even indoors) activities I am spoiled for choice and do not need to listen to Radio Bahrain anymore (Gulfs number 1? yeah right !).

Just to help you get started here are a couple of links:

Apple podcasts

YAHOO! Podcasts

Wish I can think like that !

2006-08-05T12:55:00.000+03:00

Ok, so we are off to a very slow start today. just before you start reading this post, I'd like to mention that I am not a sexist ! :P Anyway enough with me blabing, hope you enjoy this ! ;)

One morning a woman's husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book. Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")

"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.

"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day ma'am", and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely that she can also think.

Ok, this goes right into my little notebook ! :D

Innovative Banking

2006-08-04T17:15:00.000+03:00

An article was sent to me today which I thought I'd share with you all !! It seems that Yemen (believe it or not) is becoming a leader of innovation in the Arab world (Banking wise; that is). :O A bank in San'aa (Yemen Commercial Bank) came up with the weirdest idea; A travelling cash machine ! Yes, this is not a fragment of your imagenation ! Basically, all what you have to do is call your branch and the bank will send the cash machine to you no matter where you are ! WOW, say bbye to the "benefit network charges". :D Apparently, the idea came to the CEO while having a Qaat "some type of drug which Yemenis love" session :D

My hate to travel to Saudi

2006-08-04T15:19:00.000+03:00

One of the things that I hate doing is going to Saudi Arabia. Whether for a family function or shopping, you name the activity, I just can't get into grips with the whole idea ! :) Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the Saudis nor their country, I just can't understand those people (Bahrainis) who enjoy going there ! Women (Believe it or not) :D are the biggest fans of this, for example I have a couple of mates who are constantly harassed by their fiancées to take them on shopping sprees over there. :o And when asked what's so special about shopping in Saudi, I always get the same reaction, a shrug of the shoulders and a small grunt ! :D My Family, falls in the same category, they like to go there every now and then (mainly shopping) which causes me to have debates with them on whether it's beneficial to shop there or not.

I am more confused now than ever with the whole thing and will never understand the point of travelling there, getting into the boring looooooong queues on the causeway and hope that I would never fall into this, NEVER EVER ! But my mum keeps giving my dad a small cheeky smile ;) with her saying to him "wait till he gets engaged !" :-x :P

So people (if you enjoy Saudi Arabia) please tell me what's so SPECIAL about it ?

New Middle East ? Noway !

2006-07-30T15:43:00.000+03:00

So we've been hearing/seeing on TV, radio channels and even on podcasts, about the new middle east ! No matter where you turn your attention to, it's always Condaleeza (GOD, how I hate seeing her ugly dog face) Rice advocating how lovely it will be to have a divided middle east! WOW get a life Leeza ! we are not thick hill billies ! :-x

The solution for all what is ugly (American Admin.'s point of view) in this region is to have (The New Middle East), the improved version of (The Big Middle East) - remember that? Funny how we don't get to hear about it anymore – YEAH RIGHT ! The New Middle East plan will provide peace, harmony and ofcourse democracy ! Based on WHAT ? How did they reach this conclusion ? I mean if the whole idea of reforming the region is great, why do they keep changing it ? IT WILL NEVER WORK ! :-x

Especially this one:

What strikes me the most in this stupid map, is how the American Administration decided on this being a fair solution, although they keep claiming that they are against the division and crippling of Iraq ! Suddenly there is a Kurdistan in the north, an Arabstan in the south (although historically and geography this is the wrong location for the Arabstan state to be) and finally what is left is going to be Iraq ! Another funny thing is how the US Administration gave good rewards to all its new allies (Kurds and Balochies) plus the new Azerbaijan, who was never a part of the middle east got a hefty reward just for being the new Saudi Arabia and thus desirving to be a part of the new Middle East ! :-x

This only leaves me with a better and easier solution to the US Admin: (Let us be and we will be fine, control Israel and peace will be resurrected in the region.)

Immigration or working abroad, WHY

2006-07-28T14:15:00.000+03:00

I am sick and tired of people manipulating immigration or working abroad ! :-x How did we come to this ? where did the Bahrainis get the idea that our country lacks opportunity ? I agree that we are not as blessed with infinite reserves of oil as our fellow Gulf Countries, but the situation here is not as bad as some might portrait, we are not a poor third world country. In case you all forgot, we are a rich country ! :-x

What strikes my the most is that those who moan are not the people you'd expect. Oh no, it's not the poor, it's not the people who are dealt with the wrong hand of fate ! Those moaners are in fact from well off families (upper middle class) and mainly holders of degrees from abroad ! In other words these are the people who actually benefit of the lion's share of opportunities.

People need to remember that "The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence" and also that "the glass is always half FULL". Positive thinking is what my generation lack, why do we keep concentrating on the negatives and overlook the positives? Why compare instead of improve ? WAKE UP ! It's our duty to do so, not only the government's ! ! I would challenge anybody to point me at the direction of a perfect country ! The perfect country is merely a myth created by utopians, it simply doesn't exist in this world. And like the old Bahraini saying goes "Why take the risks of the seas while you can live on the goods of the land"

A Thank you note

2006-07-27T14:40:00.000+03:00

I'd like to thank all those who showered me with words of praise and encouragement regarding my promotions (On & off the blog). Thank you all, it means a lot to me ! :)

A pleasant surprise

2006-07-24T16:02:00.000+03:00

Today came with a very pleasant surprise, :) I was called by the Head of the vocational training department yesterday for an important meeting at 1 PM today. :O Anyway arriving at his office, I was somewhat feeling anxious to find out the reasons for his request of me meeting him (I assumed he'd offer me a chance to go for a Masters degree in the UK to extend my contract with them). The meeting went smoothly and after the formalities The Head actually offered me a new position (Head of The Welding, Fabrication and Metalllurgy Department) a very big career move in such a short period. This came as a surprise to me and a great reward for all the hardwork I've put in during the past 2 years. :) Now I've got to buckle down and hit the "Project Management" books again ! :-x It should be worth it though ! :P :D

Peanuts can whistle

2006-07-21T22:35:00.000+03:00

What an end to a very slow week, I mean nothing can beat a dragging week but a dull Friday ! ;) The problem with dull Fridays is that they make you think that bad ideas are actually good ! :P we've been trying to teach our pet parrot (Peanuts) to talk for ages with no success, so I decided on spending the whole day teaching her to at least say "HI" (had to do it, especially after watching "Pirates of the Caribbean 2") :D. Anyway to cut a long story short ! After a couple of angry bites and loads of scratches, I am happy to announce that our dear Peanuts have finally managed to whistle ! yes, not exactly what I was expecting but still she managed to mimic my whistle ! B) :D So next Friday I'll be teaching her "Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me." :P

Peanuts enjoying the afternoon in the garden after earning it by mimicing my whistle

Watch your eyes !! :P

2006-07-20T13:44:00.000+03:00

This image caught my eyes, quite literally ! weird but clever !

War, PC problems, Linux & using writely.com

2006-07-20T13:16:00.000+03:00

Ok ! :-x this week is turning out to be such a draaaaag. With the situation in Lebanon getting worst by the day and the so called leading nations being such jackasses about the whole thing and ohhh don't even let me start on the Arab leaders. :-x

Anyway I decided to have my first geeky post :D; my Laptop have been giving me such a hassle so I decided to have a fresh M$ Windows installation ! I've done this loadsa times with no problems until today ! It was absolute chaos, don't know how it happened but it seems that I've muddled my partitions up (even fdisk couldn't fix them) and after going through one logical solution after another, I finally discovered that the M$ Windows installation CD does have a disk utility of some sort which luckily was able to solve the problem.

Deciding that Windows is unstable and is not my cup of tea anymore; for the millionth time; ;) :P I opted for a Linux installation (Novell's Suse Linux to be precise). Anyway to make the post as user friendly as possible; The Linux installation went smoothly (detecting all my hardware) I was up and running in 30 mins. and let me tell you all, it's heaven, stable, fast and flexible (not to mention the eye candy) ! Comparing the two OSs (Windows vs Linux) is just unfair on windows, it's almost like comparing a Ferrari with a Toyota XA (you all must've noticed how much I hate the XA by now).

Now with Linux up and running; and with nothing much left for me to do; it's back to blogging - using writely to post (finally got my invite) ! Yes; I know, that you've all missed me B) (I hope) so now that I'm back, get ready for more drivel ! :P

Israel is Left on a Long Leash !

2006-07-15T20:45:00.000+03:00

One of the things which we've got accustom to in this region is the biasness which the American government shows towards the Israelis. Usually the Americans (government) would pretend that they are holding the stick from the middle and claim that they are having a non-biased approach to the ever escalating crisis, but not this time; they did NOT even bother with doing so.

The Bush administration just keeps doing what it does best; annoying people with its arrogance. This was apparent by Bush'’s refusal (last night) to rein in Israel as its close ally brought international condemnation by stepping up its offensive in Lebanon.

What are they waiting for? I mean more than "55 civilians have been killed in raids on Lebanon" Oh I forgot! :-x this is considered by the Bush Administration as self-defense, "arrestring trespassing Israeli soldiers" Now this is a crime against humanity, isn't it ?

As one senior Israeli official said: (We are by far the alpha dog in the region. The only question is the length of the leash). And there is little doubt among us "Arabs" that the hand holding the "leash" is an American one.

Bush has given the Israeli government plenty of slack to act as it wishes - as long as it does not commit too many foul acts against Lebanese civilians (amazing :-x). Wow ! we must be so cheap to the man who calls himself "the carrier of the torch of democracy and freedom". Even when Israel reaches the end of the lead, it can always count on stretching it a bit further.

We all remember 2002, when the Israeli forces re-invaded the West Bank, Israel paid only lip service to Mr Bush's call for a withdrawal.

So in closure, although I was very careful with my approval to Hezbollah'’s actions, this evening I've decided to come out of my silence for I am sick and tired of the way we have been treated for two decades by the Zionists & United States. It'’s time for the up rise, it's time for the open war ! :-x

Leaving you with the following pics:

Why The Airport ? It's used by civilians and not Hezbollah militants !

Are these Hizbolla's fighters ?

Gorilla Hideouts or just a suburb ?

Childhood Mischief (Childhood Memories pt.1)

2006-07-14T15:28:00.000+03:00

Due to it being a verrrrryyyy slow Friday, I’ve decided to go down memory line. Most of my memories also involve my cousin and co-blogger Khalid.

My cousin and I were raised as brothers, which meant spending most of our time hanging out at our granny’s house (obviously a recipe for mischief).

One of my funniest childhood memories start’s (if the memory serves me right) by begging our grandmother for money (100 files each) :D to go to the shop which we managed to do easily using the (puppy eyes) maneuver. Now with the money bagged :D, feeling clever B) I suggested to Khalid that we should take a shortcut, to which he agreed with a bit of hesitance for this shortcut goes right through the “Drunken Aziz’s Territory”; Aziz was the neighborhood’s alchy and had quite a temper on him especially when it came to kids.

Anyhow taking one careful step after another the expected happened !! YES, we bumped into Aziz :O so instead of laying low, my DEAR cousin decided; and I don’t know where he got his courage from; to approach the guy and strike this short conversation:

** Aziz busy, doing something under his car’s bonnet (although drunk) **

Khalid: Ehm ! Are you drunken Aziz ?

** Aziz Left’s his head with the scariest look in his glazed eyes, and the rest was history in the small dark neighborhood ! YES, Hell broke ! **

Aziz: Who are you calling drunk ? you little @#$% ! (grabs the nearset log and starts chasing us)

** In our haste to go to the shop we decided on wearing our grannies Scholl mules (which wasn’t exactly Nike sneakers) but we managed to leg it **

Now my grannie’s place used to face an ally where the rest of the neighborhoods kids used to play (our obvious destination). I still remember the havoc which started when we got there, kids were screaming hands on cheek (similar to a scene from the Godzilla movie) and running every where looking for a shelter from the flames of Aziz’s anger.

Anyway being older than Khalidm, I managed to jump a neighbor’s fence and hide in his garden while Khalid managed to hide in one of the allies. After what seemed like ages and after having numerous careful peeks (I, over the fence, Khalid, just off the corner of the ally) we managed to finally gather some courage and give it one last sprint to the safety of our grannie’s place, just to be greeted with a scolding and the most dreaded weapon of our youngest aunt a couple of drops from the Tabasco bottle in our mouths. :-x :P

P.S: will try finding old photos for this series of posts so bare with us ;) :P

Solve Your Problems By Doing a Zidane (YouTube)

2006-07-13T16:08:00.000+03:00

Loads of piss takes were taken of the" ZZ Headbutt", This is a good one, I enjoyed the first 30 secs of it and then it just dragged on !! French sense of humor I guess !! :) :P

By the way did anybody else notice how things are getting out of hand, I mean ever since the WC Final, headbutts became so popular to the extent of publishing a wikipedia page related to the subject of headbutting with zidane's photo as an example !! Check it out :D

Au revoir ;)

Girlie Cars

2006-07-13T12:24:00.000+03:00

What's with the japs ? First they come up with the Toyota Xa and now this ? :D I never doubted the Japanese engineering abilities but there is another thing which japs are good at "weirdness"! you've gotta give them that they are number one in anything they put their mind into. :P I received these images in an email titled "Girlie Cars" this morning and couldn't believe my eyes ! I would assume that these cars were modded in a TV show similar to the "Pimp My Car" one on MTV. I couldn't help but think whether these designs would be popular here ? Whether Bahraini girls would shell out their saving for such cars ? I certainly hope NOT ! :D

I mean "hello kitty" ? Come on !

Forza Azzuri!!!

2006-07-10T04:21:00.000+03:00

The beautiful game turned vicious, even venomous Sunday. It was all still beautiful to Italy. And very ugly for France, which lost captain Zinedine Zidane with a red card after his nasty head butt in extra time, and then went down 5-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw. (AP)

Italy does it again, an amazing 4th world cup. Only Brazil has more now. The final was entertaining, nerve-racking and definately controversial at times. At the end of the day, Italy deserves to be on top of the world. The match fixing scandal only made the team stronger, just like what happened in 1982.

I don't know what to say about Zidane, ending a glorious career in an inglorious way, what a shame, what a waste. All I can say is "You must be ashamed of yourself". The BBC summarized this nicely: It was not meant to end like this for one of the game's legendary figures - sent from the world's biggest stage in shame and into retirement.

Here in london, the celebrations are wild, it's "fiesta" all night long. Tens of thousands of people line the streets, jumping, dancing, shouting. Wherever you look, it's green, white and red.

In the end, well done Germany, simply "more than a game". Hard luck France, you've done well. Last week, you were favourites to go out, now you're the second best team.

Last but not least, congratulazione Italia e FORZA RAGAZZI!!!!!

WanderingScribe (weirdest blog)

2006-07-09T20:32:00.000+03:00

This gotta be the weirdest thing I ever came across on the web ! It seems that a homeless person from the UK managed to have her own BLOG which she called Wandering Scribe !

It's all laid that way, the blog owner becomes homeless, so she gets into her car and drives. She has nowhere to go, so she stays in the car, with all her possessions stacked in the back, sleeping in the front seats, parking in isolated streets.

No one notices her, because she makes sure she looks respectable, taking showers and even ironing her clothes in public places like hospitals. She has made herself invisible, out of touch from anyone she used to know, and keeping separate from other homeless people.

But this is the information age. And even though she doesn't speak to anyone, she goes into a library where she accesses the internet and writes an online journal (a homelessness blog "if you like") which she uses to describe all her unspoken experiences and feelings.

I couldn't help but have sympathy for the lady and decided to have her on my weekly hit list (due to her posting on weekly basis), The blog is written in a well structured manner which indicates that the lady is educated and have fallen into this due to bad fortune. Anyway I would recommend this blog TRUST ME, this is a blog worth visiting !

Bahrain has lost an icon

2006-07-09T16:04:00.001+03:00

I woke up early this morning just to be greeted by the dreadful news of the passing away of one of our leading national icons (Mr Ahmed Althawadi).

Mr. Althawadi spent his life serving the spectrum of our society in a long trip riddled with pain and sacrifice, where he spent 50 years in exile until the King’s generous decision to have him (among other national activists) return home.

This is a huge loss to our nation; we have lost a man who believed in a country for all, fair to all, he believed in a Better and fairer Bahrain; to the contrary of the current (so called) activists who believe in taking us back to the dark ages.

Rest in peace Sir, for you have suffered enough.

Drinking is BAD !! LoL

2006-07-07T20:43:00.000+03:00

A heads up, this is very funny, it's a killer !! heheheh
This youtube shows the negative affects of drinking !! The guy is totally out of it !!! Checkout the hole he leaves !!

Films based on novels !! (a movie rant)

2006-07-07T16:23:00.000+03:00

One of the things I keep promising myself is that I would never go to a movie of which I’ve read its book. This promise I gave myself when I went to watch “Hannibal” (after reading the book) just to discover that the movie is absolute kak in comparison with the novel itself ! Now I know that there is no chance of a film beating the original novel in the amount of detail provided but still, nowadays with all the advances in the use of multimedia and special effects, you’d expect that the film would cast a different angle or point of view to what you’ve read already. I find films based on novels always lack to do so and always fall a bit short (lacks the final wow factor).

So what sparked this movie rant ? Well sadly I keep breaking promises which I give myself !! :P Last night, I went to (Don’t judge me, kept my promise for a month B)) “The Da Vinci code”. The movie started in a good manner which made me think “that this might not be such a bad idea after all”. I liked how the director added the nice memory flashbacks and all :O, but it seemed to me nearing the end of the movie that things were starting to get shallow in details (it seemed to me that 3 to 4 chapters were left out) :-x hence changing the conclusion of the story. So while I rate the novel very highly, I’d give the film itself 3.5 stars at most. And will give you this advice my friends “NEVER go to a film in which you’ve read its novel” rent it maybe, but don’t bother of making a night out of it!!

Fender Bender

2006-07-06T14:06:00.000+03:00

Well, I haven't been posting during the past couple of days because of a (wee) car accident that I had. I have been very depressed(my beautiful baby is hurt) ! :( :P And no matter what my family and close friends say nothing uplifted me !! Now don't get me wrong the car wasn't exactly destroyed (just a fender bender) but I think it's the fact that this is the most expensive thing I ever bought in my life (with my own money)! :P What angers me now is that the other party involved in the accident are:

1- Trying to suck as much as they can from the insurance company (I am the one at fault)thus affecting my credit ! :-x

2- The person involved was laughing, joking and walking (totally normal) until the traffic wardens came. Then started to act as if they are in pain thus needing to go to the hospital (to suck more money) ! :-x

3- The person involved never submitting the accident report to the traffic wardens HQ so that the whole nightmare is put to rest. Although a date was set !! The person just showed how arrogant he was by switching his mobile off. :-x

4- This is my first ever accident !

So now it's the weekend, I am stuck at home with my car in the garage and waiting for the arrogant ones to get a move on, on saterday !!