Back in 2004...

It’s year 2004 and I’m a freshman going to one of Dubai’s universities. My morning class just finished and here I am in the crowded corridor trying to decide whether to spend my lunch hour with these new people I got to know from class, or to check on my best friends from school and see if they’re free. My best friends and I all ended up in the same university and I must say it’s one of the best things that ever happened in my life. So, here I stand reaching for my cell phone and called “Reez”. She was in class. Then, I called “S.KhJ”… didn’t pick up. Okay, there were more people on mind whom I could have called. Yes, I was a freshman and I was lost. But I was very social and never found it hard to enjoy a meal with any of my classmates… even when there was nothing at all to talk about.


My very first days at university were like that. A bit of this, a bit of that… here and there. Meeting a new face everyday… meeting someone for the first time in ten years… witnessing the existence of weird “BOYAT” [=lesbians] and trying to observe and understand their mentality… and so on. So, the university was just another gate into one of this life’s castles where you meet a whole new set of people who’s mentalities vary from impressive, to astonishing, to unbelievable, to semi-perfect and amazing, to disgusting…etc.


One day, I was sitting with one of the girls whom I got to know from one of my weird classes. I still remember which class; Colloquy 120! Haha


Suddenly this girl waved to another girl who walked towards us with a smile on her face. They laughed and talked and then my classmate introduced me to this girl. I said “hi” politely and we just talked about which high schools we went to and what classes we took here. It turned out that we went to the same school back in elementary. But we were in different divisions.


This girl’s name was “Mira”. Some people here know her as Dynamic Deeds. (Or..DEEDEE)
;)

I didn’t think we’d become close friends. Funny how DeeDee then became someone I planned “illegal” outings with, ditched classes with, shared some of the same sorrows with, even cried with, but best of all… shared endless laughs with.


2005 passed… 2006 passed… and now it’s 2007… almost 2008! And here’s what I discovered about DeeDee:


"Loyalty runs in her veins. Trustworthiness is her second name :P and “an amazing friend” is the precise definition of DeeDee"


And tomorrow DeeDee turns 21!


KEl 3AM W ENTI B5AiR … w 38BAL EL MELYOOOOOON ALF SINEH w el 3emer KILLLLEH INSHALLAAAA!


Wallah you’re not a friend… you’re a sister.. it always feels like home talking to you about anything no matter how funny, sad… or stupid.

OK, I ran out of words… but you know gadrech akbar min hal post el ‘3abi… seriously I mean it. Plus, ma ye7tay ashra7 l2anneh anything I might say would be only a repetition of things I already said to you before w inti adra bgadrech 3ndi ;) and I don’t care if what I said is cheesy… People can be cheesy once a year. hehe


PS: Sorry your gift will be late but that’s cuz there’s something that won’t be ready until after 3eed. I guess you know by now what it is :P… w maba a36eeech shay mob kamel…so…. Let me say it from now: Sorrrry 3al ta25eeeeer :P

Random Randomness

OK …

1. I don’t know if I did okay in my Psychology test. It’s not that it wasn’t clear but I must say the questions were tricky.
2. I can’t stop eating chocolate and God knows DEEDEE is the witness! (and in Ramadan the craziness starts after fo6oor)
3. It’s been quite a while since I talked to Debbie. It was good talking to her today. Just realized I’ve known her for five years yet it feels like just a year ago when we had our first conversation about El Salvador and Dubai! Wow…
4. I still can’t believe M7amad shaved his head… *and no he’s not trying to be Britney* LOL
5. I think “Weeds” is very interesting. *watching season 3 now*, but I can’t get enough of “Grey’s Anatomy”.
6. It’s been a year now since I moved to live at my grandma’s house and I must say it changed me… to the better.
7. Can’t decide on colors of paint, (or maybe wallpaper) for my new room (in the new house). Yeah I’ll move soon *inshAllah*.
8. A sense of nostalgia keeps hitting me every now and then and I must say it kills.
9. I’m slowly killing my horrible habit of procrastination.
10. I decided that I should take cooking seriously. I mean It’s about time that I learnt some cool dishes. Ya3ni 9edg ma anfa3 ana! LOL

This goes to S.Mad:

I’m happy you finally did that eye lasik surgery. I will soon join your club :P. I know I chickened out but it’s also because of my ICDL work. I thought I would be using the PC 24/7. But anyway, Gonzales is coming back in December ;) I’ll make sure my schedule is totally free! Hehe..
And HEY.. don’t you dare throw your glasses away. They served you well for years and years.

Cxu Vi Parolas Esperanton?!

In my side of the world, not many people know about Esperanto. Esperanto is a language that is constructed in around 1887 with the goal to create a “universal” second language. It’s a mixture of many different languages mostly Latin and European. If you speak French or Spanish or any of such languages then learning Esperanto would be a piece of cake!

I speak Spanish (although I believe my Spanish is rather grammatically jumbled up… and so is my poor French) and I speak English. As a result I’m learning Esperanto in no time :D. I’m always excited when it comes to learning languages. Of course I speak Arabic but Arabic is a totally different language haha.

In my opinion, although it is said that Esperanto is an international language that has been constructed to be the most common language for people to around the world, it just does not beat English. English always comes first in mind when two strangers meet, almost all the time and everywhere. Hmmm… makes you think huh…

So, I’m learning Esperanto and soon I will officially become your Emirati Esperantist :D

How many of you heard of this language anyway?

An EXCELLENT site to learn Esperanto is here. It is known world wide and it makes learning Esperanto a great experience. Through this site you can actually end tests and quizzes and get emailed back with comments and corrections from your online Esperanto teachers.

Jes, nun mi parolas Esperanton!
Gxis!!

Ps: Up there is the Esperanto flag. (in case you're wondering)

Women: Driving in Saudi

Only this year I realized that women are actually and REALY not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.

My comment is: WHY?

It’s not written in the Quran. A car is a vehicle… a means of transportation. Back in the days of our prophets and messengers, WOMEN rode horses (MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION!!!) and camels and even participated in wars and yes mixed with men whenever they were of any help. They taught people… men and women, they ran errands and it was a normal life.
What does “driving a car” have to do with religion? I drive a car am I b****? Am I a bad Muslim? Hmmm….. or wait, maybe it depends on how fast I drive!

Ok let’s look at it from a different angle. Driving is basically not different from walking. It’s just faster! So now a woman can’t WALK? *was about to laugh writing that sentence*

Ok I have lots and lots and lots to say I’ll just stop here… I really want to read comments and know people’s opinions and thoughts. Plus, I never discussed this with a Saudi… I am curious to know what they think of this matter.

Hmmm now I’m thinking, are they forbidding women to drive because of religious reasons or because of other social reasons?

(This post is not to offend any society, any nationality or anyone at all... I'm only speaking out my thoughts...)

Inexperienced Talk

People… they always talk. Talk, talk, talk and talk. Be it about science, be it about life, be it about entertainment, be it about religion or be it about other people including themselves. Moreover, they never stop talking about their thoughts of surrounds them or even their thoughts of other people’s thoughts. Yes, people talk and they speak out their minds in numerous ways that they don’t even know it. Even introverts have their special methods of out-speaking their minds and inner thoughts even when without using ‘words’.

Now the topics that people discuss aren’t of the same core, are they? Sometimes if the topic is something you haven’t personally experienced it is acceptable to give your general opinion with a slightness of inconsequentiality. Sometimes, the topic is something so profound that you just have to have experienced it to give your opinion – keeping in mind that the way through which you give your opinion is to be highly considered as it could imply more aggressiveness than you desire. Ugly, wouldn’t it be?

I know somebody who is a sex freak. This somebody hadn’t even been in bed with anyone and they talk about every detail insisting that it is the precise description to the situation they’re talking about. Even when discussing the matter with people who have had sex everyday in their life for years and years, this person would still put some philosophy and some theories mixed with their very own aggressive judgment. If the experienced person started to argue, this inexperience person would snap as if that person knows nothing. Wait, now didn’t you just say you have never had sex? How come you’re so sure? Yes some things are “duh” facts and some things go under the umbrella of what we call “our own views” or our own “opinions” but that doesn’t make us the masters of it until we actually get into the arena of living the process itself.

Question (and I really want an answer): Could someone become a MASTER of something when they didn't try it? can OBSERVATION itself make you illegable to become the only boss at something?

I have witnessed this discussion happen in front of me as I stayed quiet only wondering and thinking… how does this person talk about sex with all the confidence and certitude in the world? I could also tell that the other party was as shocked and as confused as I am. I personally didn’t take part in the discussion because first of all I didn’t try sex and second of all the details they were discussing weren’t what I would call an appropriate topic to be discussed openly in a huge group of people who weren’t all close to each other. But then again, people can discuss anything they want… who am I to stop them.

I am not against discussing any matter in the world. In fact, I would call it an intellectual talk when people discuss things to share knowledge with others no matter what the topic is about… yes even if it’s disgusting. But the key element here is “how” do you say it. Yes, I’m referring to appropriateness and suitability in speech. I would understand the absence of aptness of the discussion is among close friends.

But then, it all pushed me into thinking: If a person is not experienced in a particular thing, does it give them the right to force their own opinion insisting that they are right while also insisting that the experienced person is wrong?

I wouldn’t care if the topic was more scientific requiring facts and statistics, but when it is a topic that is of “feelings” how can you tell what people physically and emotionally feel doing a particular act when you yourself haven’t experienced it?

Ok, so this example was about sex because that’s the discussion this particular person usually discussed (I told you they are a sex freak). However, let’s forget that particular person I was talking about… in life, there are many people like that who talk with the same tone of aggressiveness in forcing their opinion ESPECIALLY about things they have not experienced.

So yes, people talk all the time. Be it about science, be it about life, be it about entertainment, be it about religion or be it about other people including themselves. But sometimes, some people just DON’T KNOW how to ‘perfect’ (verb) the art of “talk”.

"es2al mojarreb wala tes2al 6abeeb" I totally agreee with this proverb.
This person is a very intelligent one, one with a lot of information and sometimes could be someone whom you go to for consultation. But I believe that to “be there” is different than “hearing about it” and then talking like you “know it all”.

Back to Uni + Focus

What do you know? University started and I started attending my classes. Yup back to "that" routine now but hey at least it's my last year. My schedule was fine but as students we have to always mess things up when given the choice and opportunity. We're students and that's how we learn. So, I thought of dropping and adding some courses here and there as I tested some ideas in my head and imagined how things would turn up in the long run. I eventually reached this point of where I totally almost ruined my entire schedule. But no… I dragged my thoughts back to the "focus" I talked about in my May post.

Some of you may have already read it… some haven't. So here's how it went in case you're wondering what I'm talking about. But first… here's a list of the courses I enrolled myself in for this 20-week-semester:

- Strategic Planning in PR & Advertising
- Special Topics: Conferences
- Psychology in Everyday Life
- Tourism: Destination Promotions (only the first ten weeks)
- CIT (Independent Study)
- Organizational Communication (only the last ten weeks)

And I have Mondays and most Wednesdays off. My schedule is perfect again.

Anyway… here's the May post:

“Life is a journey” – Cliché, huh? Well although it’s true and although I totally believe in the concept of life being as bumpy and as constantly changing as a journey, I just think that probably it’s about time I’ve come to realize that life, the journey, should be dealt with just like a yoga class.

I remember when I took yoga classes in high school we found some positions hard to perform. Sometimes we couldn’t stand still. Other times, we fell. Well, one day when I was trying to focus on the “flamingo” position I could hardly stand on my foot stably for more than ten seconds. *Pssst, sometimes less!*. My instructor walked towards me and taught me a very simple technique and told me this will help me throughout all my life. I didn’t bother to even get what she meant or even care to even believe. Funny how she was right!

This yoga technique is: Whatever you do, you always lose balance if your eyes are freely wandering around, not focused on one object. When I tried focusing on the clock that was hanging on the wall (aah, I still remember the clock with its Quartz sign), I saw how it really worked... this so-called technique. I stood like a flamingo for more than ten seconds… more than twenty, more than a whole lot of minutes now…! I stood for as long as my muscles could hold my body still. I find it interesting how I suddenly decided to remember the words of this instructor.

But wait!

I'm not talking about yoga as much as I'm talking about life ---

In life, we also need similar techniques for we are really ignorant of what is to become within our coming days. Just like how in yoga you focus on one nonmoving object to stay in balance; as if creating an invisible force that gives stabilizing gravity; you should know what you want from life and stick to it, as well. Spend all the time you need and think of the path you’d choose to continue your "journey" and then “act it”. But act it willingly and as strongly as the force that comes from your eyes when doing yoga. This will lead to success. Not because you chose the right path but because the strength and stabilizing held you back from falling into puzzlement and profound ignorance... if you know what I mean.

However, I am not talking about success in the work field or success in academics nor am I talking about the success and triumph in business. I’m talking about your triumph in knowing what you want from life. I’m talking about “Do you know how to live without regrets? Even more important, do you know how to never create situations where you would eventually regret?”

This is when you sleep every night with a smile, when you wake up every morning with a blush of satisfaction, when you take in every breath without a rush. I never realized all these simple details that made me a happy person until they were gone. That’s when I realized I made a mistake somewhere in my life. I lost focus and I fell out of balance. Aaah, the technique. Focus must come back.

It is funny how this lesson was taught to me five years ago and I only came to realize it and believe in it today, rather than back then. What did I know back then? I knew much less than today. But certainly I grow to learn optimism… and optimism has a whole different story.