Showing posts with label The life of moi.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label The life of moi.... Show all posts

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The HORROR

I am job hunting... and today, I felt like venturing away from the normal job-posting dedicated websites and contact the companies directly. I called up the Audi HQ, had a very nice chat with the receptionist, obtained the e-mail address, copied my cover letter and attached my CV, after which, I naturally hit sent.

I wasn't until 10 minutes later when I received a confirmation email from them that I realized I had sent it from a VERY embarrassing e-mail address that I use for ads and stuff.

One word: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Is hoping that they may find my email address intriguing and oh so cute a long shot?

Thursday, April 12, 2012

On cooking abilities...

Or the lack thereof.

Whenever I say I can't cook, people look at me funny. No one understands that when I don't cook, it isn't for lack of trying or laziness, but for the greater good. I was aiming at being healthy 2 days ago and opted to make a grilled chicken breast instead of ordering in. How hard can that be, I told myself? As long as it is all white through and through, I have nothing to worry about. Right?

WRONG!

I've been suffering from food poisoning ever since. It is horrible. I made the chicken that could have killed me... with my own two hands.

Blech...

So, next time I say I don't cook, spare me the indignant judgemental look and instead, tell me what a fantastic idea that is. If you can cook, offer me a nice meal, I wouldn't say no ;)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

To put it simply

... I Miss You So Much.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Because this is magic too

Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed magic and acrobatic shows. I don't know what it is with them, but they make me all happy and fluttery on the inside. As I grew older, I added another enjoyable show to the list: music. Specifically, Oud, Guitar and drums. These instruments give me goosebumps and they carry my soul up to new heights.

A few years ago, I went to a concert for Naseer Shamma, a Iraqi Oud player. His show was magnificent. It was fresh and intense. I went to another one of his shows tonight, and I was in for a treat. The way he hold the oud is mesmerizing, like he doesn't have to even think about where his hand should go and what chord his fingers should caress. Actually, after all his years of playing, that should be the case. However, it is the passion in him that pulls his experience and talent together and make them whole. When he speaks, he sounds shy and uncertain, yet when he plays he commands attention and respect. He was playing with an orchestra of different instruments: drums, piano, clarinet, sax, and guitar to name a few. The way the music came together, they way every note struck made sense next to the one struck from the other instrument... now that is magic. It was utter harmony and bliss.

Click here for his website




Tuesday, March 20, 2012

On sand and fog

I haven't been posting recently as I have been super busy. My sis and her kids are visiting (yaaaaay), and all my deadlines are coming up (boooooo!). I'm currently juggling family and uni and it is so tiring. The only thing that keeps me going is that knowledge that I'll be forever done with classes, and come August, my one year intensive Msc. will be over! Wooohoooooooo!!!!

The weather has been horrible lately. No sun, only sand and fog. This should now be known as the land of sand and fog. Other than all that, I'm alright. I just wish I had the power to slow down time, or alter it, just like that Japanese guy from Heroes could do.

This must be one of the most unconnected posts ever. I just can't think in full sentences and introductions anymore. My brain is fried, fried is my brain.#

So, Good morning world. Hello Coffee. Welcome, Screen glare. Lovely sounds, keyboard.
Do your magic.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

On I think these are all action verbs...

End.
Want.
Need.
Demand.
Ask.
Take.
Give.
Push.
Pull.
Fall.
Rise.
Shine.
Flat.
Dim.
Start.

I need to Ctrl+Alt+Esc my life. Better yet, I wish there was a copy of a different life I could install. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

on dates

There are certain dates that everyone remembers, and they remember exactly what they were doing on that certain day. Take September 11, 2001. Most of us know exactly what we were doing when the first plane hit that first tower. Me? I was flying back from Lebanon, solo. My sister was picking me up from the airport and then we went to her friends place. That was where we first found out about the crash. Another date: March 19, 2003, the USA's invasion of Iraq. I was up all night following CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Al Arabiya. I did not sleep one wink that night while I watched on as the USA started bombing Iraq. First thing in the morning, my friend calls me and says "Iraq has fallen." for it had fallen indeed. I stayed in all day that day, I did not attend any of my classes because, history was being made and I was watching. December 30, 2006: Saddam Hussein's execution: I was feeling down about not spending Eid with my family, so I stayed in. Again, it was me and the internet, searching, watching, reading and listening.February 2011: Husni Mubarak states that he will not abdicate; I was at a wedding following on Twitter. We promptly left so we can go watch the news. February 11, 2011: Husni Mubarak is ousted and he resigned. I was in my room when my parents called me to watch with them. October 20, 2011; Gaddafi dies. I was sitting at home, with the parents, following the news.

All those dates are important, and all those dates have made history. However, there is one date that will forever haunt me. One date that I will remember for the rest of my life. One specific day, that no matter how long ago it was, I would always remember exactly how I felt, exactly who was there, exactly what went on, exactly what I was wearing; and exactly how my heart broke. That date is January 27, 2007. It is the day I had to leave Montreal and come back here to live, and call this place home. My heart shattered into a million pieces, I cried rivers and oceans, and felt so miserable throughout the whole flight back that even the people around me were feeling very sorry for me toward the end. That day is coming soon, in 2 day's time. I call it my black out day.

Monty peeps, Je me souviens...

I miss you!!!! Thank you for a wonderful 5 years, I literally would not have been able to make it through with out you. Now, 5 years on, I still can not make it without you; so thank you skype, BBM, Whatsapp, Gmail, and Gtalk for simplifying things and making it possible to still be in touch with my Monty peeps.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Dec 2011 in pictures





Dancing fountain at the Dubai Mall


Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

Fastest roller coaster in the WORLD

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Cappuccino with gold flakes at the Emirates Palace

Gold to Go ATM machine

Cold Play, NYE 2011/12



Jaws at the Dubai Mall

Too tired to swim, so instead it stuck to the glass

Everything really is not that much to ask for... 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

2012: It's on!

Dear Friends, far and near;

This is going to be long and very mushy -very unlike me, but please bear with me (It's 3 am here so keep that in mind). Before giving you my blessings for the new year, I would like to share some thoughts of things I've learnt and the year gone by:

* Have a silly, 7ashkal favourite song to help raise your spirits (mine is this)
* Laugh whenever you get the chance to
* Learn to laugh at yourself
* Fall in love as often as you can. A person, a place, a thing, an animal, a thought, a prayer, whatever. Just learn to love and appreciate what is in front of you
* If you don't like something, change it. If your life isn't what you pictured it to be, change it.
* Talk about your feelings with someone, cheaper than seeing a shrink, better than popping antidepressants and being numb
* Be selfish and selfless, each in the right time and place
* Have at least one person that you can share your deepest, darkest and craziest thoughts with... it will keep you sane. (Tried and tested)
* Be kind, even if you feel like slapping/punching/seriously injuring the person in front of you
* Step outside your comfort zone; that is where the adventure that is life begins
* Try to keep the past in the past... there is no point in dwelling over what has been already said and done, Shoulda's, coulda's and woulda's are roads you do not want to go down, EVER.
* Don't let your mind over analyse. Learn to make it shut up and be quiet
* Be your best cheerleader instead of your worst critic
* Discover something new about yourself each day
* Read to enrich your soul and feed your imagination
* Sing out loud, even if you can't carry a tune and your voice is so bad it would shatter glass
* Stand up for what you believe in
* Share your knowledge, time, and material possessions
* Dance, especially to your own tune
* Be spiritual, not religious. Seek out the truth of all things and find a higher power to believe in
* Allow your imagination and your thoughts to wander, you will be surprised at where they take you
* Ask questions
* Learn to smile while your world crashes around you
* Enjoy the silence, and be comfortable with it
* Embrace chaos
* Learn to shoot a gun properly- very liberating and awesome when you manage a bullseye!
* Enjoy when you can, endure when you must
* Make friends with your inner demons
* Hold on to your memories- good or bad- for they are your greatest treasures

2011 had some very interesting twists and turns, and I personally learnt a lot. We should all attempt to learn from the heartaches, heartbreaks, headaches, boo-boos and meltdowns in order to grow as beings and flourish into what we can be. I truly believe 2011 was my year, it may have started out great and progressively got worse toward the end, but it was a great year overall.

I would not change the major events that took place in 2011. I started my masters (positive), semi-temporarily moved out (positive), got sucked into major family issues (negative), moved onto blaming America for everything (positive twist on things), and have finally embraced the fact that I am responsible for my own sanity and well being. There were more negatives than positives, but I shall not dwell on them, I choose to walk away from them. I am grateful for a lot too. I am grateful for my sister, even if I do not say it often enough. She is my rock. I am grateful for my friends, they know how insane I can be, and yet they still decide to remain in my life. Most of all, I am grateful to myself, as conceited and self involved as that sounds. I got myself this far, and I know I can get even further if I put my mind to it.

Peeps, may 2012 be a wonderful year that is filled with joy and much happiness, coupled with wealth and health. I love you all so much, I miss you all more than I will ever confess and I am very lucky to have met/known each and every one of you. I somehow managed to surround myself with purely awesome people that light up my world and make every day a little more bearable to go through.

Always remember: be as big as the sky, calm as the sea, tall as a mountain and solid as the Earth.

Happy New Year!

Love, hugs, and many, many, maaaaaaaaaaaany kisses,
Berry

Saturday, December 10, 2011

On friends

My friend Yoyo is in town for a conference and I went out for lunch with her a few days ago. At lunch, I told her about my newest shocking personal experience in the dating field. Her answer? Blame America, it is the root of all evil. If they hadn't invaded his country, he wouldn't have come here, he wouldn't have met you and you wouldn't have gone through it. Priceless, pure wisdom. Even my lack of a love life can be blamed on America, isn't that a nice thought?

Yesterday was probably one of the best nights out that I've had in a long while. I went out to dinner with Yoyo and Nan, my oldest friends, where they surprised me with a birthday cake- one month after my bday- because one was away, and I was sick and didn't get to enjoy it. How sweet is that?

After, I went over to Nan's place and we just chilled, drank wine, and talked till the morning. I love having these two around, everything just somehow seems simpler, effortless, easy and clear. From Dr. Hell's classes to America intervening in my life, everything somehow made sense this morning. Oh, and no, being hungover is not the reason for that because almost 19 hours later, they still make sense.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Rewind: Alternate Future

I was going through some old posts when I saw this one talking about the alternate future I could have had. Funny thing is, my current program is an MSc. Int'l business.

See? If it is meant to be, someday and somehow, it will be.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

On UAE turning 40

I am not one to go insane on National day here, but I have to admit that the joy and happiness everyone radiates is contagious. You simply can not feel miserable, you can not feel sad, and you certainly can not ignore it; people are happy and it makes you happy.

The celebrations and the parades were insane this year, it is almost midnight and it is still SO noisy out there. People are singing and dancing in the streets, they are honking their car horns, spraying each other with crazy spray and everyone is enjoying it. They even turned their flashy and expensive cars into moving portraits reflecting the country and its leaders.

What I find to be amazing is how many people from all nationalities join in these celebrations. It is the one day where everyone is friends with everyone, where all the social barriers are broken, where everyone joins each other in celebrations. Amazing and awesome. Too bad people do not feel as "brotherly" the rest of the year... but that is a blog for a different day.

I share with you some pictures of this weekend:

bird's eye view



even google.ae joined in with a doodle





I LOVED this car. So creative. The guy was also super happy that I was taking pictures, he actually thanked ME!

This is him insisting that he wants to be in the picture

This is Sheikh Zayed, may he rest in peace, Founder of the Emirates and the First ruler of it and Abu Dhabi.

singing and dancing in the street 

I love how the flag is focused in this pic, while everything else is blurred. No photoshop, just pure talent


Porsche


Friday, July 29, 2011

Time: Frozen

I just came back from a wonderful almost 2-month holiday in Canada. I had a wonderful time visiting my sister and spending time with my niece and my nephew. They have grown up so much since I last saw them in December. The saddest thing about not living in the same country or city as them is that you miss out on a lot of their growing up, and they do grow up fast. It is like their tiny little bodies are supercharged or something.

I also got to spend some time in my favorite city of all-time: Montreal. I spent good times with great company and I will not even complain about the heat wave that passed. Montreal's beauty more than makes up for anything and everything. What can I say, this is true love for me.

Being back here in my own house and my own room is weird. It is just too quiet, too bland. You suddenly and quickly slip back into lazy-mode and life loses that touch of happiness it possessed just a few days ago. Over here, it is a whole new different ball-game that I will not go into right now as I am jet-lagged and just tired. Plus, I've whined about it too many times before already. Now who wants me to just repeat myself- yet again?

All in all, it was great catching up with family and old friends. The best thing was how easy it was to just slip back effortlessly into the life one once led. Meeting people went back to being effortless, almost natural. Meeting up with friends was the best. It was like time stood still for those few months or years, waiting for you to just pick up and continue right where you stopped. There were no awkward silences to be filled, no major catching up to do. Again, it was so effortless. I miss how easy laughter came, good times were had and good company was found.

Anyway, I will spare you the late night walk down memory lane, and instead I shall leave you with some random pictures taken while there.

downtown Montreal


This is what happens when you take pictures after chugging Sangrias all day.

Trapeze show/tryouts during Montreal's Cirque Festival

Old Port

An interesting addition to any bathroom ;)

Another interesting addition. Art found randomly in the streets is probably the best thing about Montreal

The alley where I tried my hand at riding a bike for the first time in 15+ years. It was Epic!

Even at 3:am on a Saturday night, people were still using bicycles to commute

Random guy posing in the picture
Quick, find Bambi!

Too hot to move, even for a lioness

Umm... Excuse me but, you have two baboons on your car... thought you should know.

dirigin dirigin

This was visiting the ladies room and then decided to shake its booty on the wall. VERY interesting sight to behold...

"No comment?!"



This zebra was dying for its 15 min of fame

their tiny tails were going right and left, right and left. So cute!
So these pics are from Montreal, and some from a Safari trip we took in Hamilton. The kids were psyched, and I must admit, so was I :)

Thank you family and friends for a wonderful time and great memories. Love you all mucho mucho.

Monday, March 21, 2011

On March

This month has been a really busy one so far. My sis et family are here on a visit and we are all happy to have her and the little ones around again. The house is always buzzing with noise and activity only children can make. My father is so cute, he can not get enough of the kids and my 2 year old niece plays the "hurt and misunderstood" part so well she breaks his heart. She really manipulates him to get her way, and she is so good at it! Ahhh, KIDS!

On Thursday I went on a desert safari with some friends and it was fun. They had dune bashing, belly dancing, camel rides and even sand boarding! The sky was lovely and it was a full moon at night. LOVELY.

Today is Mothers day here so we celebrated it with flowers, cards and cake.Mom was super happy, which is always nice to see. Happy Mother's Day to all Mama's out there!



Camels

"shy" desert sun

moving shadows on Sand Dunes

Tishtiki tum tum

Dune Bashing