"The Blo2"

الاضطهاد والانقراض!

2007-01-31T12:56:00.000+02:00

بقلم: أحمد عبدالمعطي حجازي

نحن نتحدث الآن عن المواطنة... وهي ليست مجرد موضوع للحديث, ولكنها بالنسبة لنا في هذه الأيام قضية وجود, نكون أو لا نكون, فالمواطنة في معناها البسيط المباشر هي أن نعيش معا في وطن مشترك, وبقدر ما يبدو ذلك أمرا بديهيا نمارسه بالفعل من قديم الزمان, بقدر ما نجد أن هذا الأمر لم يعد بديهيا, ولم يعد مضمونا, وإنما هو الآن مهدد بقوي مختلفة شرسة تشككنا في الأساس الذي تقوم عليه حياتنا وتنبع منه قدرتنا علي أن نعيش معا في وطن مشترك نحقق فيه ما نريد.

ولكي يكون الحديث في هذه المسألة مجديا يجب أن نعترف أولا بأن المواطنة فكرة حديثة جاءتنا متأخرة, ثم لم تكد تجد لها مكانا عندنا حتي أهلمناها ونسيناها, وها هي الآن تتعرض للطعن والرفض والإنكار الصريح فتتعرض حياتنا الوطنية لخطر الحرب الأهلية الساخنة أو الباردة التي اشتعلت من قبل في لبنان والسودان, وها هي تطحن العراق طحنا, وتكشر عن أنيابها مرة أخري في لبنان.

المواطنة تتراجع في بلادنا والأساس الوطني الذي تقوم عليه الحياة الاجتماعية في العصور الحديثة أصبح عندنا ضعيفا متهافتا تسوخ فيه الأقدام, والسؤال إذن! لماذا كان هذا الأساس ضعيفا عندنا؟ ولماذا يعجز عن المقاومة وينهار من أول ضربة هنا وهناك؟

والإجابة هي أن ثقافتنا العربية الموروثة لا تولي فكرة الوطن اهتماما كافيا, ولا تعرف بالتالي فكرة المواطنة. هذا من ناحية, وقد تعرض وجودنا الوطني في العصر الحديث من ناحية أخري لانقلابات سياسية وفكرية هزت عقيدتنا الوطنية ونالت من شعورنا بالانتماء لبلادنا وباعدت بيننا وبين المواطنة وجعلتها فكرة بعيدة غامضة, ثم جاءت التطورات التي أصبحت فيها المواطنة لدي جماعات الإسلام السياسي فكرة مرفوضة تحاربها هذه الجماعات بكل سلاح لأنها تحارب كل ما جاءت به العصور الحديثة وتريد أن تعود بنا إلي الوراء ألف عام.‏‏‏

والثقافة العربية القديمة لا تهتم بالوطن ولا تعرف منه إلا معني الدار أو الموضع أو المحلة أو مسقط الرأس لأنها ثقافة بادية شاسعة لم تكن مواردها في العصور الماضية تسمح بقيام حياة مستقرة منظمة يرتبط فيها الفرد بالجماعة, وترتبط الجماعة بالأرض التي نشأت عليها وتحقق فيها وجودها, ثم جاء الإسلام لينظم حياة العرب وينشيء امبراطوريات دينية تتعدد فيها الاجناس والثقافات وترتبط فيما بينها برباط العقيدة لا برباط الوطن, فالدين هو الجنسية في الدولة الدينية, وعلي أساسه تتحدد العلاقات بين الدول وبين البشر. دار الإسلام ودار الحرب, مؤمنون وكفار. مسلمون وذميون.

ومع أن المصريين كانوا منذ فجر التاريخ أمة من الفلاحين الذين زرعوا الأرض وارتبطوا بها واستقروا فيها وعاشوا آلاف السنين, فقد اهتز فيهم معني المواطنة لأنهم فقدوا استقلالهم الوطني منذ وقت مبكر, وتحولوا إلي رعايا أو رقيق أرض لا حرية لهم ولا إرادة, والمواطنة ليست مجرد حياة مستقرة, ولكنها أيضا وعي, أي حرية وإرادة.

ثم ان الدول التي حكمت المصريين منذ القرن الرابع الميلادي الي اوائل القرن العشرين كانت دولا دينية مسيحية وإسلامية تأسست علي الدين وجعلته الرابطة الوحيدة التي يستغني بها المحكومون عن أي رابطة أخري.

والذي عرفته مصر وعرفة الشرق الإسلامي في العصور الماضية عرفته أوروبا وعرفه الغرب المسيحي في تلك العصور, سوي أن الأوروبيين والغربيين خاصة خرجوا علي سلطة الكنيسة في وقت مبكر وأنشأوا دولا قومية حلت محل الأمبراطوريات الدينية, كما خرجوا علي النظم الملكية المستبدة وأنشأوا نظما ديمقراطية تفصل بين الدين والدولة ويرتبط فيها ابناء الأمة برباط المواطنة التي لا تفرق بين جنس وجنس ولا بين عقيدة وعقيدة.

المواطنة هي أن نتفق رغم تعدد عقائدنا واختلاف آرائنا ومصالحنا علي أن نكون شركاء متساوين في وطن واحد, والمواطنة اذن تفترض فصل الدين عن الدولة وإلا فلن نكون متساوين لأن الدولة الدينية لابد أن تنحاز لأتباع الدين الذي تحكم باسمه, وفصل الدين عن الدولة يعني أن تكون الأمة هي مصدر السلطات, وليس رجال الدين الذين يزعمون أنهم يستمدون سلطتهم من الله, فالأمة هي صاحبة الحق وحدها في أن تسن القوانين, وتختار الحاكم وتراقبه وتحاسبه, والمواطنة إذن لها أساسان لا يغني أحدهما عن الآخر: الديمقراطية من ناحية, والعلمانية من ناحية أخري.

ولقد ازدهرت المواطنة في مصر بعد ثورة ‏1919‏ التي خرجت بها مصر من تبعيتها للانجليز بعد ان خرجت من تبعيتها للاتراك‏,‏ أصبحت دولة وطنية مستقلة بعد ان كانت ولاية تابعة لسلطنة دينية متخلفة‏,‏ وحصلت علي الدستور الذي فصل بين الدين والدولة‏,‏ فالدين لله والوطن للجميع‏,‏ والمصريون كلهم سواء‏,‏ وهم وحدهم مصدر كل السلطات هكذا رأينا مكرم عبيد ومرقص حنا يتحدثان باسم المصريين أجمعين‏,‏ كما يتحدث باسمهم سعد زغلول ومصطفي النحاس‏,‏ ورأينا علي عبد الرازق يتصدي لشيوخ الأزهر الذين زينوا للملك فؤاد ان يعلن نفسه خليفة للمسلمين‏,‏ ورأينا خالد محمد خالد يصيح في وجه الملك فاروق مواطنون لا رعايا وحين نقول ان المواطنة ازدهرت في مصر نعني ان الحرية ازدهرت في مصر‏,‏ والثقافة ازدهرت في مصر‏,‏ وأن المصريين استعادوا وعيهم بوجودهم وقدرتهم علي التفكيروالفعل والإبداع‏.‏

لكن المواطنة التي ازدهرت بالديمقراطية ذبلت بالنظام العسكري الذي اغتصب السلطة‏,‏ وألغي الدستور‏,‏ واسقط مصر من اسم الدولة في الخمسينيات والستينيات‏,‏ ثم تحالف مع الجماعات الدينية في السبعينيات‏,‏ وغير من أجلها المادة الثانية في الدستور‏,‏ وتركها تتسلل الي مؤسسات الدولة التي اصبحت تتعاطف مع هذه الجماعات وتتبني كلامها وتنشره علي الناس‏,‏ وأمس ذهبت الي دار نشر قومية أسأل عن كتب خالد محمد خالد من هنا نبدأ ومواطنون لا رعايا والديمقراطية أبدا فوجدت مؤلفاته الدينية وحدها‏,‏ ولم اجد كتابا واحدا من هذه الكتب‏,‏ والخطة الهادفة لتديين المجتمع كله علي قدم وساق‏,‏ تديين اللغة‏,‏ والأفكار‏,‏والأزياء‏,‏ والاسماء‏,‏ والعلوم‏,‏ والقوانين والمباني‏,‏ ووسائل المواصلات‏...‏ ولا يبقي بعد ذلك إلا أن تثب هذه الجماعات إلي قمة السلطة بعد أن استولت علي قاعدتها‏!‏

وهناك من يظن أن المواطنة تهم المسيحيين وحدهم‏,‏ لأنها تحميهم من الاضطهاد‏,‏ والحقيقة أن المواطنة تهم المصريين جميعا المسلمين قبل المسيحيين‏,‏ لأنها إن كانت تحمي المسيحيينمن الاضطهاد فهي تحمي المسلمين من الانقراض‏!‏

one evil side ..

2006-08-20T18:14:00.000+03:00

Specially for Sameh, Samboora, Carlo et al.
Have you guys ever ran into mafiwasta.com?
This is just one evil side of the shining Dubai!
Don't miss the post about the worldcup :)))

شوفتوا الحرامي

2006-08-20T15:21:00.000+03:00

استجواب أولمرت لشرائه شقه يقدر ثمنها ب1.6 مليون دولار ب 1.2 مليون دولار فقط!!

على الصفحة الأولى في الأهرام !! وكأن لسان حالهم شوفتوا الحرامي؟!؟

ثقافة الإلتصاق

2006-08-09T01:05:00.000+03:00

أجزاء من مقال أعجبني ل"أشرف عبد المنعم" في أهرام 28/7:

جميعنا سجناء ثقافة متلاصقة المسافات إلى حد الإختناق ، ثقافة لا تعرف البراح ؛
ترى هل تلاصق أجسادنا في محيطنا الجغرافي الضيق، الذي حصرنا نفسنا فيه طواعية، هو السبب المباشر وراء ثقافتنا المتلاصقة التي نحياها؟؟
أم أن فكرنا المبني أصلا على تلاصق المسافات هو الذي دفعنا لقبول تلاصقنا الجسدي و الفكري الذي نفتقد فيه بصيص البراح؟؟

...عيون لغيرها فاحصة متفحصة.. راصدة لأدق التفاصيل ، و لا تجد في ذلك عيبا، ولا ترى فيه ولا شبهة إقتحام أو تطفل
ترى من يكون هذا؟ ومن أين له هذا؟ ولماذا يفعل هذا؟ بل ولماذا لا يفعل هذا؟
و ترى من تكون هذه؟ ولماذا ترتدي هذا؟ و ولماذا تتحدث إلى هذا؟ و لماذا لا تتحدث إلى هذا؟؟
أو ليس هذين زوجين؟ لماذا لا ينجبان؟
وهذان الزوجان لماذا إكتفيا بطفلين؟ و هذان، لماذا بطفلين لا يكتفيان؟

سخف، وتدخل، وتراشق ما بعده سخف ، ولا بعده تدخل، و لا بعده تراشق!!
بنايات شاهقة،حاجبات للرؤى ، جاثمات على الصدور، متلاصقة تفقد العين نعمة الشعور بالفراغات و المساحات!
و كذلك تفعل بالآذان ؛ منفرط وهن جدران هذه البنايات تتسرب الأصوات، فإذا بالناس فاقدون لأدق الخصوصيات؛ بعدما لم يعد يحول بين المرء و جاره حاجب أو ستار!
و تراشقت القصص و الحكايات و الأفكار و الأسرار، حتى أنه ما عادت فواصل الحياء تفصل بين الناس نهارا و ليلا وسط ثقافة التلاصق و التراشق ؛ فمات الحياء و شابت الولدان!

حين يدب فرح في بيت ، على جميع أهل الحي أن يدفعوا لهذه الفرحة ثمنا .. و اتسحق الطبول و الزغاريد الرؤوس سحقا، ولتتوقف المركبات جميعها قدر المستطاع!
و حين ينعق الحزن في بيت، فليتجرع الجميع ذات الكأس .. و كما تفرض الصلاة بالميكروفونات في كل مكان ؛ يفرض أي شخص أغنية أعجبته من نافذة منزله أو سيارته أو دكانه!

إن الناس في مجتمعنا ما عادت تستنكف حتى رائحة بعضها البعض وكأنها توائم ملتصقة ليس أمامها سوى إحتمال وضعهم، الناس تشابهت في الشكل و المضمون ..
فقد نسينا فيما يبدو أننا أفراد تعيش في جماعات و ليس جماعات تعيش في أفراد !!

إننا بحاجة إلى مساحات فاصلة بيننا في الفكر قبل الجسد ؛ بحاجة إلى فراغات تسمح للفرد التنفس الجسدي و الروحاني؛
بحاجة أن نخرج من جلود بعض و ننفض ثقافة الوصاية و التفكير بالإنابة و الزج بالذات في صميم روح الآخرين .. دعونا نحيا بعض البراح

the "Ghool" or the "Fool"?

2006-08-02T11:50:00.000+03:00

Just food for thought ...
After they declare a cease fire, who do you think will be the first to break it?

A War of ... Goddamned Choice!

2006-07-27T16:23:00.000+03:00

I found this article in a Google search for "disproportionate reaction"!!

"Haartez" is known to be more leftist than the other two wide-spead Israeli dailies. But the article is worth the 2 minutes read at least to know that some ( .. few) of them see the blood-thirsty madness in what they are doing!!

Legacy overshadows shame

2006-07-10T02:11:00.000+03:00

Just for the memory .. Zizou's Legend will survive a headbutt in the heart of The Matrix

... and wins a well-reserved golden ball !!

Noooo?!! ... Siiiiiiiiiii !!!!

2006-07-05T01:49:00.000+03:00

This WAS incredible!!

This WAS History!!

This WAS Crazy!!

This WAS Football !!

untitled i guess

2006-06-24T04:09:00.000+03:00

3:30 am … awake… alone, everybody else is sleeping
I feel like um workin on this grad project since centuries… it's never ending!!!
Mmmm, very bluntly here in my space, I say I AM EXTREMELY BORED, the computer is getting too slow also to add to my devastation, every simple command in the command line is taking ages to be done… if done!!
At some point, I fear I might smash the screen begad, I get to points where I hold it with my two hands, shake it & scream "KHALAS BA2A YA ZEFT"
Along the past month…workin on this project, mood varied between 3 conditions:
1. Fury, anger, rage… fighting and yelling…and funnily I used to work fine in such condition!!!
2. Sad mood, feeling down and hopeless…. Sleeping to avoid facing the hopeless status of the project, and surely here there was no work men asaso!!
3. Three this is the best… it's this mood of getting hyperactive.. laughing hysterically for anything, making fun of the hard situation, being sarcastic abt it, like I used to tell the computer "7abibi khosara tegebli el marara" instead of "khalas ba2a ya zeft" and usually I used to work best in this mood

Now um looking for a funny thing to do to get into this mood (3)… maybe writing a long list of mine (ya mena) could be a funny thing, and btw (Rami & Mena) I meant funNy …. causing one to laugh, at least for me, and that's y it's FUN!!

I'll go re-read a list I kept recording along the span of the project, maybe reading it could be funny and writing it down will bring me to mood (3)…
Here we go:

Bob...site 1 wala 2 wala 3:(
Skakz... i neeed help...i hate my uni
Robert - sick with too much stuff for such a day
S@morii - "classes will dull your minds" said Johm F. Nash & confirmed by Me!!!
Of all the things i've lost i miss my mind the most!!!
Hany - i have medical reasons not to study, it makes me sick!!!
Robert... WElcome to the Machine
Araious - WARNING... bad mood detected!
naniiii - i dont enjoy what i do...but i have to do it!! and y?! just bcoz.....
Naniii – life is fun … enjoy it
Naniii – Life is fun – try to enjoy it
Naniii – Life? Not always fun.. but Try to enjoy it
Naniii – We the willing led by the unknowing are doing th impossible for the most ungrateful, we have done so much for so long, we're now qualified to do anything with nothing
Rooma$:S - bafakar masalaemsh...
Room@$ - Ma7adesh yes2alni 3amlat eh
Roum@$ - 3ayzeen netgawez ba2a, kedaya derasa keda:D
Roum@$ - sal7eeni ya donia...kfaya l7ad keda
Roum@$ - sal7eeni ya donia allah yekhreb betek!
Roum@$- ana mokhy ba2a fasafeesy tralaly
Sasue - ana nefsy anaaaaaaaam
Fady - Viva la sleep
Samrmr - finally!! my educational process has ended
Mosatafa - Vs Mother nature... u remind me of my EX-project, my dead Ex-project
Mosatfa - Lazy mood activated
Mostafa – The freaky project
Mostafa – The foooso project
RaMeZ... I am extremely BORED
Pooky - I'm boring :S
Pooky - Too late to be true...
Farragovic - ya rab el sanadi t3adi 3ala kher
Farragovic - Guyssss.... 30 days left
Farragovic – YARAB nekhlas!!
No place for more science
Essam - ba7ebak ya working w law taba2telak lel morning
Mighty - finally going to the pool:D tshhhhhhhhh
Robert - el 3amood da shayel eeeeeeeeeeehhh
Robert - Autocad created by Autodesk as a torturing program
Robert - Good morning ... ahhhh ba3ed el layali
Fickas - ana foooolaaaziiiii
Fady - ana kaman fooolaaaziiiiii
RaMeZ - kolena foooolaaaaziii... remaining (24)

These were the personal msgs of some of my contacts, zoomala2 el kefa7…
But… though most of them were sarcastic and probably written in mood (3), the list failed to get me there!!

It's 4am now, I have to go back to work unfortunately… my last two personal msgs were
"I need to hire an entertainer; do u have any idea where to find one?"
"Please remind me again how lucky I am to be workin on this project, I keep forgetting"

So if u can help with that in ur comments, I'd be grateful
Please excuse for the long boring post, was just trying to talk in this late hour and speak out… sweet dreams everybody!

رباعيتين ماشيين مع بعض

2006-06-17T01:06:00.000+03:00

أنا اللي بالأمر المحال إغتوى

شفت القمر نطيت لفوق في الهوا

طلته ما تلطوش ايه أنا يهمني

و ليه؟

ما دام بالنشوة قلبي إرتوى

عجبي

وسمعت نقطة ميه جوه المحيـــــــط

بتقول لنقطه ما تنزليش في الغويط

أخاف عليكي م الغرق .. قلـــــت أنا

ده اللي يخاف م الوعد يبقي عبيط

وعجبي

صلاح جاهين

في الهزيع الرابع

2006-06-04T20:16:00.000+03:00

في الهزيع الرابع وسط ليل الإنتظار

عندما يخبو الرجاء، والمنى تبدو بخار

إذ بصيص الأمل يختفي ولا منار

في الهزيع الرابع تستجيب سيدي

في الهزيع الرابع حيث لا يبقى خيار

يعجز العلم ولا ينفعن سعي الكبار

قوتي تخونني و يضيق الإختبار

في الهزيع الرابع تستطيع سيدي

في الهزيع الرابع واضحا يبدو المسار

عبر أمواج الدجى نحو فجر الانتظار

كنت مرساة النجاة عاملا خلف الستار

في الهزيع الرابع تتراءى سيدي

....

فريق ترانيم السماء

2006-05-27T10:06:00.000+03:00

وَلَيْسَتْ خَلِيقَةٌ غَيْرَ ظَاهِرَةٍ قُدَّامَهُ، بَلْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عُرْيَانٌ وَمَكْشُوفٌ لِعَيْنَيْ ذلِكَ الَّذِي مَعَهُ أَمْرُنا.

(عبرانيين 13:4)

Breaking News abt The Blo2ers

2006-05-15T20:06:00.000+03:00

7:03pm
Home alone
Running out of ideas for the graduation project, for the moment, I thought about our deserted blog and our loyal desperate visitors and thought to pass by
Well, I dunno what this post could be abt…um not sure actually I still remember my password for the account but I'll retrieve it if I managed to write something worth posting!
Since last time I posted, days have been rolling so fast, I can't believe these are 3 months already! I submitted the semester's project, finished my last final exams ever, and then had about 3 weeks break from university. And then, Rami and I started sprinting… I can't remember when exactly have we decided to change the wedding date from Feb 2007 to Oct 2006, but it's within this temporary uni. break period anyway.
We started having our daily adventures with exhibitions and different stores, contractors to supervise el 3ommal, gega loads of things and errands all week long!
Then all of a sudden, we started having a second thought abt changing the apartment itself, so we started the most exciting adventure of all with el "Samasra" I can't find the English word for it in my head now and um not sure it ever existed
El mohem, "el Waseet" asba7 sadekna el sadook, and we camped in el "re7ab" (which is the new neighborhood target btw), Rami drove miles and miles raye7 gai men wa ela el re7ab every Saturday and Sunday and sometimes thru the week as well, it's really funny how some apartments were sold that fast, as if they r distributed for free!!!
Nothing is finally settled though, we r having an offer now, that is not yet sold thank God, we're studying it... and we should be reaching a decision very soon
I guess this explains somehow the reasons behind the long desertion
But I hope we'll be back intensively awel ma rabena yenta3 el sha22a wel mashroo3 bel salama:)
Keep us in your prayers…

Smiley's Quote!

2006-02-20T22:16:00.000+02:00

10:30pm of monday the 20th of Feb.

Um sitting here before the pc since 11am working on the design project, haven't blinked aside...
it's been around 25 days of non-stop work, first for the working project which was delivered a week ago and now for the design project to be delivered next week...
Few mins ago i knew that they postponed the final delivery of this project for 4 days:S i wished to have it delivered on its earlier date w nekhlas ba2a, bas mafeesh fayda.... hayefdalo tool 3omrohom ye3mello el 7araka dee!!!

While looking for a certain document in my desk, i ran into a paper i wrote a year ago...
Some of my friends and i, had been to Smiley's for a fast lunch, on one of those days we used to spend them all either in the street or gathered at someone's place for the long urban planning project (street because it was the developement of Boulak Abl el 3ela street project) ... and we found that quote poster hanging on the wall, we read it and had a good laugh abt it , then said we should raise it as our slogan:) I copied it on a small piece of paper, actually on a CD cover i had in my bag at that time:)
It states:
" We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the most ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, and so we're now qualified to do anything with nothing" :)

Stronger & more Passionate

2006-02-15T22:29:00.000+02:00

I wonder if anybody still stops by here to check if we posted anything new, we must have lost our momentum... and our guests no longer pass by
Well, I don't think I'll write much anyway, um just inviting you to relive something with us, a one-year old memory
In coupla days we'll be celebrating the anniversary of our engagement; the 17th of Feb.
Um resending you(L) the speech I read a year ago, all so true, but stronger and more passionate:) and still getting much stronger everyday:)

"Here i am honey, for the first time, trying to think of something to write ... & Oh my God... just read it out loud this time & everybody's listening! I can't think or imagine myself tonight, holding the mic in my right hand, this paper in my left and looking with u at everybody's faces who're sitting here now listening to the lines written down in this paper of mine. Most of them don't really know I usually write down what I feel, what I wish, what I dream of and what I always pray...
But this day is a very special day, I couldn't just keep what I would've written in my notebook for myself to read, or even not just for the 2 of us to read & recall this day together someday in our life, but for everybody to recall with us.
Tonight what i feel is extreme measures of joy, happiness and ecstasy, know and quite sure um the luckiest girl alive, tonight what I wished is coming true, what I dreamed of every night, and day dreamed of every day is coming true, tonight, sweetheart, our prayers are being answered , and here we are ..wearing each other's rings:)

Just as u said, I look at my hand, see your ring & say: "This is Rami. Love you, baby:)"

And tonight as well, before I leave the mic ... I say I love you my angel with every breath that I take, love you more in every second that passes us by, and I bow down to those who said: Love is like a mirror, when u love another, you become his mirror and he becomes yours, and reflecting each other's love you see infinity" and how happy i am in the infinity um dwelling in that has no beginning or end, for i know our love is very deep and true ... like a promising well that will never dry someday and...

Heavenly Father, I thank you tonight as every night for this gift you granted me, for the wonderful prize you preserved to me in this journey, for the lifetime of the very best companionship you blessed my life journey with. Lord I thank you for the dream you're fulfilling tonight, every single detail of it is being fulfilled day after day.
I thank you for your promise of leading and guiding our life, guarding our love in your hands, protecting it and deepening it, and I promise you too, Father, before him and before everybody of doing my everything to nourish it, help it grow deeper every day and cherish it in every second in our journey, promise never to keep anything I can do and not do it to make this angel forever happy, keep his smile always shining, this smile that has lit my life and it's glowing ever since I first met him:)
Love you forever, sweetheart."

LOVE YOU FOREVER, SWEETHEART (K) :)

Old New Home

2005-12-04T20:04:00.000+02:00

I've decided to write the first blog from my new old home about the last few memories of my old new home…

The last few weeks in my old new home were very memorable. I'll never forget everybody's true and warm feelings, words, wishes and goodbyes. The farewell at Maged&Katia's was overwhelming... Every time I remember it, gratefulness just fills me up completely... Gratefulness to the people who made me feel so cherished and dear. Thanks Maged & Katia, Fadi & Mariam, Raed, Mena, Sameh, John, Bassem, Ramy, Carlo & Sandra, Samer, Ihab, Dalia, Yasmine, Amira, Jan, Magdy, Nagy, Mamdouh ... The last shrimp&crab fest at Carlo's was lovely and lively like all who were there :) .. The last BCS we've made at my house was richly blessed... My last St.Stephen Friday meeting was very special to me... Last few outings with the friends were so enjoyable... Even the unforgettable last night, surrounded by the dudes until the morning…

My God! I'll miss it so much... The moment I was taking the last few looks at my house, making as if I was checking the AC is turned off and nothing is left behind, Mena and Sameh waiting by the door with the last handbag to take down to the cars... Nothing more for me to check... I stood right there and felt I just didn’t have the heart to step out of the door... During the 15 minutes drive to the airport in Mena's car, John, Ramy and Sameh in two more cars beside us, I cried like never before... I can't remember I ever experienced letting my emotions out of me this way ! It wasn't exactly sadness... It was just the moments to let go of so many things, people, and places. It's not that I didn't know it was coming, but living it was quite different.. Just like I knew that many loving open arms were waiting for me in the new old home, but throwing myself into them was also quite different!

TISK is here :)

2005-11-22T13:30:00.000+02:00

So excited to Blo2 this breaking newz ...

The heavenly TISK (Tia Iskander) just landed on our dusty Earth ... Hallelujah :)))

Mabrook to the beloved FISK & MISK :)

A Message Of Love

2005-11-18T21:39:00.000+02:00

How do you think you'll handle it?
Will you keep it in your wallet to be with you wherever you are?
Will you keep it on your night stand? to read it as soon as you wake up, and again before you sleep?
Will you read it to your friends to know how good your beloved is?
Will you keep talking about whom he/she is (the composer of the message) because you're in love with him/her??
Or you may keep fancying him/her and how your relation will keep growing and making both of you happy
Or maybe turn to it and read it over and over again in times when you're down, blue & lonely and feel sheltered because of knowing that you have someone soooo close and dear who loves you all that much

I've been occupied with the idea I'll write down here since more than a year or something...
Last night I heard something so touching about this message of love. The meeting's service was held by a pastor I never attended to before, and he was talking about the issue of growing cold with God in the relation at some point. He started with the classics of:

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me "ان راعيت اثما في قلبي لا يستمع لي الرب"
The quality of time we give God
The sense of duty we may feel towards our daily devotional time with Him
Having a heart like that of a child in loving Him

And maybe some other points I can't remember, but then he finished with this last point; you want to grow intimate, Consider you're reading "A MESSAGE OF LOVE", he said he got engaged to his Palestinian wife and then had to be sent to Jordan before they get married for some time, and every message from his sweetheart he used to keep it in his heart, to know it by heart, to read it over and over again "باحفظها جوه قلبي مش اني أحفظها مجرد عشان أسمعها عال غايب" , but because he loved everything in her & from her... that's the matter of lovers! Of course he referred to the Songs of Solomon too often as well

I've bin occupied for long with this idea, of loving God with romance even, and he came to convey this idea emphatically...When we receive love letters we treasure them, we're in our happiest states, we can be delivered from very bad conditions...Now God is sending a message of Love everyyy day, a genuine Heavenly one... to his beloved wherever he/she is... how will it be handled?

When I say '" I'm back " ...

2005-11-10T10:12:00.000+02:00

I’ve been away for some time. The past few weeks have been among the most agitated in my life so far. Agitated is really the word … Roaring winds, blinding dust, deafening storms, crashing waves ……. I could have written so many things, but it’s just too agitated for me to write. May be I am not the dramatic writer who would write best during his worst times... not yet at least.

Anyway now that the smoke is going down, or may be I’m just getting used to it … I want to say “I’m back”!

“I’m back” ... It should be a relieving thing to say … but it’s very puzzling sometimes.

There is always this fear that back is backward, the fear that back is a move with a minus sign. I don’t believe this is a rule but it certainly puts a tough question to answer for anybody making a back decision.

I must have ready answers for all the questions “I’m back” implies. This is often a reason that keeps you from having something back to your life, or resuming something you were once doing and stopped, or returning to a place you left.

To whomever ...

2005-10-23T13:54:00.000+02:00

To whomever I said before you have to go back home “Egypt” to raise your kids there, where they would have an إنتماء and a هوية ; I apologize and I say it out loud “GATNI SETTEEN NEELA” :-(

... فمع أنه

2005-10-18T17:22:00.000+02:00

فمع أنه لا يزهر التين

ولا يكون حمل في الكروم

يكذب عمل الزيتونة

والحقول لا تصنع طعاما

ينقطع الغنم من الحظيرة

ولا بقر في المذاود

فإني أبتهج بالرب

وأفرح بإله خلاصي

الرب السيد قوّتي

ويجعل قدميّ كالأيائل

ويمشيني على مرتفعاتي

فأغني على آلاتي ذوات الأوتار

19-17 : 3 حبقوق

Normal = Status Quo

2005-10-13T02:20:00.000+02:00

Now I am thinking in a Word document … mind not very clear … thoughts not organized … no sequence prepared … no conclusions planned …

Normally as soon as I come back from a vacation or trip, I am required to resume my normal life that was briefly interrupted. I have to resume living my normal morning, my normal evening and my normal nighttime … living my normal weekend and my normal Monday and normal Tuesday and normal Wednesday … my normal job duties and normal communications with my colleagues; my normal pastimes and normal relations with friends and people around …

At this point where I am slowly letting myself to get absorbed again into my usual “normal”, sometimes I am able to have an outside look at my normal day-to-day; and every time I do that, many questions arise. Questions about these normal routines that occupy my time and my mind and my life.

Sometimes I ask myself about the reason I do some usual routines. I ask myself when did I start doing this or that; when has it become part of my normal life. For some things I wonder if I was the one who consciously included it to my life; or was it a need or a necessity or circumstances that let it into my life. Questions about how much do I like one normal routine or another, and how does it compare to my ex-normal life back in Egypt. Things that I would like to include in my “normal” routine but can’t get used to do; and habits that I got used to but that I don’t like.

This is the time where I feel the most an urge for a life restructure and for a change in my normal routines. But the human tendency for stability and steadiness and the normal life that imposes itself once the hours and the days start their constant flow, strongly oppose the impulsive urge for change and reorganization.

Life order contrasts with life change and reform. It’s similar to the basic conflict in politics between parties seeking to conserve social order and others seeking social change. Hmmm … unluckily democracy and elections are not applicable in my case. Until now, it has always been the status quo (الأمر الواقع) that says the last word every time.

This is not all there is

2005-09-26T14:25:00.000+03:00

This is not all there is
This is the preschool
The tryout
The practice workout
The warm-up lap
The staging area
The dress rehearsal
This is the temporary residence
The camping tent
The womb
The glimpse
Only the seen, the heard, the imagined
The visible tip of the iceberg
The vapor which appears then vanishes
This is just the beginning
This is not all there is …

And as if that weren't enough ... !

2005-09-23T17:24:00.000+03:00

When they aren't asking questions
They're making suggestions
And when they're not doing one of those
They're either looking over your shoulder or stepping on your toes
And then as if that weren't enough to annoy you
They employ you.
Anybody at leisure
Incurs everybody's displeasure.
It seems to be very irking
To people at work to see other people not working,
So they tell you that work is a wonderful medicine,
Just look at Firestone and Ford and Edison,
And they lecture you till they're out of breath
And then if you don't succumb they starve you to death.

Ogden Nash

Back to Schoool!!!

2005-09-18T00:35:00.000+03:00

Um starting a new year in college, my final…
I didn’t have a hard time to wake up, I woke up very easily in the morning, I used to wake up earlier for el Dar, and I dunno why I woke many times through the night!!
Papa drove me to college and I was there by 8:15am, of course none of our department's staff or students were there, so I went to el "genena el so3'ayara" to meet those old people of civil, computer, communication etc etc…
It was really funny to notice the diversity (bardo:)) in everybody's attitude and comment and I thought to write down some of them

Kermet: um very determined this year 3al gayed geddan
Aimy: Ya gama3a, da akher awel yom leena:D
Amir (becksie): yaaaaahhhhh, ana ba2ali kteeer awi hena ya ged3an
Naniii : kan nefsy el sob7 atla3 bel 3arabeya 3al sokhna 3alatool, homma lesa magabolnash sheyash fel kesm dah??!!!!
Kooki Emad: khalaaas mafeesh Fady Nader, mafeesh wara2 droos, mafeesh sheets, mafeesh tawseela raye7 w tawseela rage3:( :( !!!
Hazem: eh el nezzam??!!! Homma malhom dakhleen sokhneen keda leh?? Shaklaha la fee magala el shahr el gai wala bta3 ( to those who don’t know, hazem masek marketing w managing mashroo3 architectural magazine, first issue supposed to be available by Oct 1st)
Mary: ana lessa 3ayza aroo7 a7awel networks el awel abl matla3
Nancy: hanefdal le 7ad akher yom bardo shaklena e3dady w wogooh 3'er ma2loofa fel genenah!!!!
Ranya: homma mesh fahmeen en e7na lessa bardo ben2ool keda!! (da kan commenting 3al Dr. w heya bet2ool "masharee3 rab3a dee ba2a heya eli el talaba yebosoo 3aleha w y2oolo yaaaaah, eh el 7agat dee? et3amalet ezzay?, khalas it's ur turn now!")
wana tab3an: 3ayza atkharaaaaaaaaaaag!!!

I can't remember anymore now, but those are somehow funny… but wait for more men handaset 3en shams! El bakeya ta2ty!

Who Runs Your World?

2005-09-15T01:30:00.000+03:00

Do I really have that much free time??!! Mmm … This was not done on office hours anyway :) … and I really liked the survey … It raised again these human diversity thoughts that I’ve been wondering about lately.

Here it is … BBC presented this program and launched an online survey for people to send their comments and opinions about who runs their worlds …

I’ve read the comments. But what’s more crazy than this is that I was not as much interested in answering the question myself as I was by the diversity of the answers! It's overwhelming! Note that more than 90% of the people who commented are from the UK; so the diversity is even within the same society.

So I’ve read them just to compare them and ponder on the differences between people … and when the idea of blo22ing the thought came across my mind I decided to sort them out (the comments) and tag them :) … Not that I care if it is gonna be read by anybody on The Blo2; but I found it interesting enough to me anyway.. So if you started reading and you decided it's boring already just press Back or Alt+F4, I don't mind.

All what’s after bulleted points is copied from the online survey. The headings are mine.

Me! … answer number#1 ! ... Ego proves the center of the universe!!

I run my life. I don't consider my government to hold any authority over me. Whatever power the government has over me is minor and truly not very significant in terms of what really is important in life.

I run my world! Everything I do in my life is my choice. I choose to go to work to earn money to pay my bills to keep on the right side of the law to respect my family and friends and to keep learning. As long as I have choice, I run my life!

I run my world, followed by money as a close second.

Media, Companies, Governments, and all those valid conspiracy theories:

The media runs a good portion of the world.
Companies like the major soft drinks manufacturers and petrochemical producers hold governments in the palm of their hand. Governments in turn keep us all firmly beneath their thumb or heel, depending on naive beliefs in freedom and democracy to gain compliance from an accepting majority.
The simple truth is that the corporations run the world.
Robert Murdoch and the Carlyle Group
International agencies (World Bank, IMF, etc.) or powerful foreign governments (US, EU) control the lives of most people on this planet.
The multinational corporations do. Politicians have a very much peripheral influence in these modern times when everything is sacrificed to the goal of maximizing profits for the larger companies, their owners and shareholders, no matter what the cost to the environment or human quality of life is.

Money … and the Rich … a common answer

It's safe to say that money runs my world.
Money or lack of.
The world is run by the people with the most money
The wealthy throughout the world are controlling and choking the life out of humanity.

Family,Wife,Kids … another common answer:

It is my family.
Our wonderful three month old daughter, without a doubt.
A power-sharing pact between mum and girlfriend
I used to think it was me, then I got married and it was my wife, then my son was born and now it's him!

Sexes:

Right now I would have to say men. Women haven't really had an equal opportunity to influence the world such as man has. Still today men are continuing their dominance in the world.
Women, pure and simple. When I was a child my mother ruled me, and before I had my child my wife ruled me. Now my daughter rules me. As far as my memory of my family history goes, it was my grandmother who ruled my dad, and my other grandmother who ruled my mom and her dad.
The three 'm's: Men, money and media.
Thank god women don't rule the world.
Women obviously rule the world; it is clear from the number of men who do not realize that that they are doing a good job.

Nature … would make some sense these days:

Nature runs my world. I try to respect and adapt to the environment. Katrina shows that no matter how much we try to bend the environment to our needs, nature still has the last say.
Tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, global warming and other natural disasters should make it clear that humans control over the conditions of their own existence is very limited

GOD!! ... Only ONE out of more than seventy answers !!

It is Jesus Christ my God.

Our own tragedies rule the world:

Long term illness coupled with intolerance from our so-called "society" seems to run my world.
My world is run by the nexus of corrupt bureaucracy, politicians and businessmen.
Three things run my world, the bills, my wife and my kids. As a middle class family the bills are always more than we can earn, but we survive with 2 full time jobs.
I think it's the lawyers and judges who run it. They hold power over everybody, bar none. A judge or a magistrate can order child support to the tune of half of your earned income; they can separate you from your child, and make you into a marginalized father and second class citizen all in a blink of an eye. And lawyers are, of course, their cohorts.

Fear, Fate, Hatred rule the world

Fear runs my world.
Chance, some would say fate, runs the world.
It seems as if hatred, greed and stupidity rule the world

Sarcasm rules the world!! :)

Isn't it a real pity that all the people who know how to run the world properly are just too busy cutting hair and driving taxis!
Sad as it seems, my 11-month-old yellow lab. My wife and I do not have any children (yet!) so we decided to give it a test run with a fur-kid. She basically runs the house and our lives. I never understood how people can be so obsessive about pets, until we got Buffy. We have become that annoying couple who can talk of nothing but "our little girl". We try not to, but I can understand, finally, how much more children truly rule parents lives.
This is actually a meaningless question.

Where is your candle?

2005-09-08T13:58:00.000+03:00

They asked me where is my candle..

I said my candle has gone off; the strong wind blew it off just after it started to light brightly. The glow didn't go far when suddenly it was gone. I couldn't fight back the wind, neither did my candle. It was just blown off in silence. if u really want my candle light to shine again, please lead me on to a burning fire, to light up my candle.

~~~~~~

They asked me again where is my candle..

I said my candle was stolen while I was walking by lighting the dark street with it. I was trying to light things up for everyone, but a selfish soul took it away to capture the light just for itself. I am looking for my candle, I miss my flame. If you really want my candle light to shine again, please find the thief who took away my candle, and punish him for all the dark that came.

~~~~~~

They asked me again where is my candle..

I said my candle melted... Yes it burnt all the way through and was all melted down now. It shone for a long time and led others for a good way to go.. It melted because it was burning constantly, everyday and every hour. If you really want my candle light to shine again, please remember the times when it was glowing brightly, and the road will lighten up at once. I am sure all the light didn't go in vain

~~~~~~

They asked me again where is my candle..

I said I don't know, I never noticed my candle, I never knew its light was that obvious. How did u know about my candle? How could u see the flame? I didn't care if it was lit or not, and now u ask me about my candle? I can't help you my friends, I have no clue about my candle. If you really want my candle light to shine again, please search for it with me and help me make it light for once.

~~~~~~

They asked me again where is my candle..

Believe me when I say I never owned a candle, never held it in my hand, never knew I should have a candle and never thought of fetching for one. If you really want my candle light to shine, please get me one and teach me how to light it up!

~~~~~~

Where do you keep your candle?!

~~~~~~

Lillian Girgis

About to leave!!

2005-09-06T00:25:00.000+03:00

We're again losing the momentum in our blog... and we have to make up for this lag!!
So what shall I write abt today?? I only got 10 more days in Dar... I'll miss the environment, the people, the work, the continuous learning process, finding people to help me, and explain to me whatever I need to understand... sometimes even offer help without me askin for it:) I'll miss those ppl... I enjoyed their company, their short work- interrupting chit-chats, staying late in da office among them to meet some dead lines… I wasn’t obliged to in any time, I stayed only according to my estimations to what's expected from me and trying not to disappoint it… I have to say I was really flattered by the tribute they paid me and I am still, and um also flattered by the very friendly attitude exchanged between me and them… the thing that made me don't bother at all to miss few hangouts with my friends throughout this month…I can make up for them in the next whole year, and it makes me even welcome staying for late hours in da office. I know it won't be like that when um actually working, but for the time being um still fascinated by the whole ambiance.
Noha, Maher & recently Vico are the young architects I deal with the most…

Noha, the young architect... whom I referred to in the previous blog, who repeats over and over again how I remind her of herself, she even hinted to that in her comment:) I dunno how it happened… but in spite of my being the discreet kinda person, it came to pass that both of us, mutually and concurrently, wanted and actually did disclose a part of our personal lives to each other!! She's a very affectionate and caring person, in fact much more than I am… the thing which helped me more to speak up on dat day when I was feeling very down because of missing Rami and want him around... but as for her disclosure to me in whatever that concerns her…mmm... I would say the many common things may have played a role:) I think we can manage to stay in touch after those 10 days, I don’t wish to lose all contacts wither when um gone..i really enjoyed her
And btw Rami, she's sending you a very big kiss...

Maher, the amiable good-looking Lebanese guy, who's temporarily relocated from Dar Dubai to Cairo, on a project, that's supposed to be over by next Monday.
I won't forget his "Rose, you're a very high Dar caliber" :D, first time he said it was on a very funny incident, when I managed to sign in from webmessenger…because the Websense is restricting the MSN messenger and all entertainment web pages…that's when he first said it, later he repeated it but abt work, and being a heavy duty person:)
He knew abt Rami and his work in dubai, discussed very friendly what I conceive of my career after marriage, shared his positive opinion & advice abt what I was sayin and encouraged me more, gave me all his Dubai contacts & said we'll be friends in Dubai then... well Maher, I hope technology helps us stay in touch:)

Vico, for Victor, is mama's second cousin whom I haven't met in 8 years!!! He recognized me after abt 10 working days. It's very comforting to feel sort of backing up in the place…introducing me like" she's my relative, take good care of her"
Actually it's not "backing up", it's rather... a feeling of, an elder cousin vouching for me in the place where he already belongs, I dunno how to describe it... maybe it's just forming the image of the elder brother... I always wished, it's not yet that complete image with Vico of course, but just the few times throughout coupla weeks he offered sincere help and vouched for me with his colleagues and with my senior… reawakened the dream of the elder brother in me... Thanks Alot for your help and support, Vico!!
Hey all, I hope you enjoyed the orientation in Dar Cairo:D…at least some other place different than ISS, Siemens, IBM (ya mina), wherever in Lebanon (ya fawzy) anddddd anywhere else you could be working...

Academic vs. Vocational

2005-08-29T01:31:00.000+03:00

Um starting to write this at 0:00 am, I have to wake up in 6 hours and I don’t know if I'll finish this to the end or not….but it's bin a while…and um becoming a very passive contributor in this blo2.
I was just checking now, the last time I posted anything was coupla days before I start my summer training as I started on the 15th…
Well, part of this post is about el Dar and my experience there! Um having a great chance, um learning and gaining experience, as much as it's guzzling my whole day, my PM is the kind of insisting nagging person, he jumps behind me every 30-45 mins to check my progress, but still ….I don't feel this severe frustration that strikes me at college, and to my surprise, eventually someone (a graduate) agreed with me that college years ARE actually worse than practical vocational life, an Ain Shams graduate who admitted this fact even after 5 years in her career…maybe from now on I can cling to her acknowledgement when anyone accuses me with low experience for saying that college sucks and I wanna graduate and work, and when I say that college years are taking too too long and it's getting more boring minute after minute!!!! Probably it's because all of those who used to compare the academic life to vocational life as heaven are non – architects, I don’t mean we are of a scarce class of course:), but I just haven’t happened to know many graduated architects, squeezed in their work…and still telling me um wrong in what I estimate to be better, I used to have either computer engineers or graduates of commerce & business faculties telling me that college years are B E A U T I F U L, and it's a sin to say I'm bored there!
However, I have to adhere to the one thing everybody acknowledges, whether engineers, accountants, auditors...etc or architects that vocational life swallows everything else!! I've only been trained for coupla weeks now, but it's a real and genuine simulation to practical life, not the filing and dumb administrative garbage, companies & organizations usually leave for summer trainees, unfortunately I went through this trash before and I wasn't content at all, but um working now on a real down to earth proposal, with a deadline, member in a team, got a PM, whom I can't always tell when he's kidding and when he's serious but he's okay ya3ni:) BUT since I started, and of course being such a raw apprentice, I fail to balance the training with… about everything else in my life!!!! My family, my friends, my church, my other work that I actually don't know where exactly I stand there now, I can't follow even the news… the other day I thought abt taking my walkman with me, to hear the news thru the day while working… bs ya3ni, sometimes by time, people manage this to some extent, and um ...learning, definately um learning abt this balance thing as well NOW!
But anyway, to this point I have to agree with college fanatics that academic years are better in this regard, but the stress and frustration of the Nature of work itself, NO… I wouldn't agree, and now I'm not the only one saying this thank God:D Nothing whatsoever is compared lel mahazel elli bete7sal 3andena fl gam3a w fl kesm!!!
OMG, 3 weeks and um back there:'(

Beautiful Day!!

2005-08-28T16:19:00.000+03:00

ياللا بينا ياللللللا نقضـــي يوم جميــل
دا انهــارده واللـلا يوم مالوش مثيـــل

... It makes me laugh too :D

This little refrain Mama used to sing it to me every morning on our way to the pre-school nursery of Mme.Alice across the street in El-Daher before she goes to work… that makes me 3-4 years old then!!!
I am amazed how fresh and clear the picture of this little daily walk stayed in my memory. We always laugh so much when we remember it :)

But this morning, just like every morning since many months ago, I wake up bored, lazy, sluggish and uninterested… think Garfield in his worst Monday.
And suddenly while getting off the bed, I find the very old morning jingle popping in my mind unexpectedly.
It just made me reflect for a second why my daybreak mood and spirit is becoming so apathetic. Why don’t I sing my song every morning?? ...

Bolitics: Presidential Elections

2005-08-25T19:31:00.000+03:00

This Washington Institute article is one of the best commentaries I've read lately about the Presidential Elections. This analysis is written by an egyptian political analyst for the USA's Washington Institute which is a very recognized political research establishment that is solely focused on the Middle East. Ahmed Nazif and Osama ElBaz and many others lectured and posted articles there.

As he mentions in the last few lines, the November parliamentary elections will be practically more critical and contested. The problem is that our parliamentary elections are historically very misregulated and chaotic... Hope the people won't forget about Kefaya after the presidential elections are over to their dismay; and the egyptian judges won't take long vacations after September to participate in parliamentary elections monitoring! I think the dormant political parties would have better chances to come into the picture in the parliament and start being heard from there on...

Blueberry Muffin Cake

2005-08-25T17:29:00.000+03:00

I am delighted to post on this memorable day that my very first successful Blueberry Muffin Cake is just out of the oven in a perfect shape .. color .. softness .. and taste :D

حلوة يا بلدي

2005-08-22T00:03:00.000+03:00

I've been out of homeland for only one and a half years, so may be it's too early for this ... But I see it coming anyways ... and I already feel most of the words of this song.

We had an amazing dinner gathering today at Maged and Katia's place. It was simply wonderful. It's just hard to say how much I love those guys and their company... Maged and Katia surely deserve a post only about them :) ... Anyway, today we laughed, ate, talked, played and sang songs... Lovely songs from home. And one of them was this one ...

كلمة حلوة و كلمتين حلوة يا بلدي
غنوة حلوة و غنوتين حلوة يابلدي
أملي دايما كان يابلدي اني ارجع لك يا بلدي
وافضل دايما جمبك على طول

و ذكريات كل اللي فات فاكرة يا بلدي؟
قلبي مليان بحكايات فاكرة يا بلدي؟
أول حب كان في بلدي مش ممكن انساه يابلدي
فين أيام زمان قبل الوداع

كنا بنقول إن الفراق ده مستحيل
و كل دمعة على الخدين كانت بتسيل
مليانه بأمل ان احنا نبقى موجودين
في بحر الحب على شطين

فين حبيب القلب يا بلدي كان بعيد عني يا بلدي
كان بعيد عني يا بلدي وكل ما باغني بافكر فيه
قول يا حبيبي انت سايبني و رايح فين؟
أجمل لحن ده حنغنيه احنا الاثنين
يا محلى كلمة بلدي في غنوة بين صدرين

Elabreviate!

2005-08-20T18:11:00.000+03:00

To be understood, elaborate ... To be heard, abbreviate!

http://one-line.blogspot.com

Scrambled

2005-08-18T01:13:00.000+03:00

- Write something down.
- I don't have anything to write.
- But it’s time to post. You’re loosing the new Blo2’s momentum.
- I am not going to make up something just to write a post.
- Just pick a random interesting thing from the top of your head and write about it.
- Nothing’s on top. Everything’s just scrambled there in my head.
- Ok, what were you doing the last couple of hours?
- I was meeting with Sameh and Mina to prepare for Friday... We had one of those fights! Nothing unusual… being who we are; we normally disagree then quarrel then scream at each other and all… then cool down at the end and get things done. It was funny actually being so typical (the fight) :)
Speaking about typical. I have to say I have always been receiving repeatedly reports from different sources agreeing on me having such an irritating way in discussions!!
I find that particularly frustrating because I love discussions and arguments and debates more than life; and almost all the people I love in life either hate getting into debates or can’t stand me when arguing! ... That’s so bad. Life is unfair.
BLO2!

Boredom

2005-08-13T17:13:00.000+03:00

Warning: This is a very boring post

I have always had this tendency to analyze, trace reasons and try to look at things from outside. And now that I am bored I want to track down my thoughts about Boredom … and since we’ve started The Blo2, then I’ll blo2 them down as well.

You can guess already that this post has a high potential of adding to your boredom … first because it’s about boredom ... and second because I am in the analyzing mood, which always proved to be very boring to people around me.
However I mentioned before in the welcome post comment I am not blo22ing the boredom thoughts for you anyway.

Now to boredom . I think it’s unarguably the MOST common feeling on the planet today … It’s like the default feeling of our era … in the sense that unless I am something else then I am bored.
The funny thing I discovered is that “boredom” is a relatively new word to the English dictionary!! Only 100-150 years ! … And they added it then just to have an English word for the French “ennui” :) … and since Arabic lacks Internet documentations so I couldn’t find similar info about “malal” or “zaha2” etc … but my guess is that they won’t be too old.

Also as far back in time as eye-witnesses can tell me, boredom wasn’t that common in 50’s or 60’s …Definitely not like now. It’s the trait of nowadays.

I tried to think of definitions and found few on the web that made a lot of sense to me. Boredom is a state … a state that a person may run into as a reaction to a stimulus. The boredom stimulus may be an active one such as routine and repetition of events that is perceived by the person as boring. Or the stimulus might be a passive one which is basically a lack of interesting and entertaining stimuli (things to see, hear or do, physically or intellectually); and this lack will lead you to getting bored.

Mmm ... bored of getting nowhere?? I have to make it clear that you shouldn’t expect to reach anywhere when I am in the analyzing mood :)

I am not writing about boredom to reach solutions … I have always tended to put blames when analyzing problems... So for the sake of throwing blames, I will blame negative perception and lazy passiveness for now.

Negative perception is the main catalyst for the active boredom stimulus, the routine and repeating events. I sometimes feel bored even while being very busy at work. I often wake up extremely bored just from thinking that I will do the same boring stuff again for another day/week …but this because of perceiving what I am doing as dull which is not always the case and perceiving my day as uninteresting which is not a fair way to describe it.
The challenge here is to decide to think of what you are doing as interesting and not to sleepwalk through the day, to take everyday as a unique adventure and that is a decision to be taken with the morning shay be laban. It is an attitude.

Lazy passiveness is the medium where the passive boredom stimulus grows. In English … I will get bored because nothing entertaining is happening or nothing interesting to do or to watch or to hear … I accuse me of being passive and lazy for waiting idly for something to come and take the role of a clown to entertain me or somebody to come and tell me some jokes or suggest me some things to do to fill my time.
If you ask Mee, that’s the fruit of TeeVee!!

Another way to look at passiveness, that was written on The Duke’s blog, Nevine wrote about people who would get VERY bored and annoyed of waiting for somebody who is late. I will paste the words … While you are waiting for someone or something, you have the option to choose what you will make of the waiting experience. You can actually just sit there and wait; you can choose to walk away (not a good idea if it's your wife/fiancee - somewhat suicidal actually); you can choose to do something completely different to fill the time. You can choose to be angry, and anxious, or you can choose to meditate, and relax. But what you make of the waiting experience is entirely up to you - not the person you are waiting for.
I think same relates to almost all free time … you have the option to choose what you will do with the free time experience … you can passively give up to the lack of entertainment and get bored .. or you can crack your fingers ( no names here :D )

I am terribly bored of writing and of this analytical mood … Time to get out of it if I want to have any chance of you coming back to The Blo2.

…

I logged in now to post what I have written … and to my surprise … I found that Rosa posted a blo2 of her own just few minutes ago… of course you don’t need me to tell you what’s in it because it’s right down here … but what’s really really nice of her is that it serves as a perfect case study for my own blo2 :D

Confession

2005-08-13T16:37:00.000+03:00

Today um hereby only… confessing!!!
4 people I know, and I know close enough, have returned from distant countries in the last 3 days, and me…having such a unique sense of duty, haven’t met or even called any of them yet...
· Aimy & Doodo, my mama's sister and her husband just returned yesterday early morning from Istanbul
· Ranya, my colleague and college friend returned last Wednesday from Austria
· Kooki, my church friend returned on Friday's dawn, and the guys hanged out with her yesterday in the evening….and unfortunately I couldn’t manage to be present to welcome her back
Hang-outs maybe excusable, visits less excusable, but phone calls…. I think sometimes too ridiculous to give excuses for late phone calls
Certainly it's not that kind of HEAVY duty…but, even when um not sooo messed up with projects hand-outs and final deliveries (which is always my excuse abt 10months a year), like this time of the year for instance…. um too lazy to do it!
I miss them all, but… um too lazy to take the initiative; pick up the phone and start!!
It would be ideal if someone would arrange a time in the day for me and them to meet, and talk in the get-together rather than the phone. It seems unconsciously… I've had enough of this device, and I would prefer anything to it, especially when those people are living with me inside the same frontiers of one country;)
But still I need someone to ARRANGE this get together, to be aware of my schedule, my other commitments, and Their commitments of course:) and then choose the optimum time of the day for us to meet…and all I'll have to do then is agree, get dressed and go to meet those people I missed without thinking about the rest of my "to do" list:) Seems um lazy to "think", and so prefer to do nothing than cast my mind the tiresome & exhaustion of how to successfully carry out most of the "to do" list every day!!! Boffffff….
I still hope that after graduation, and after being stabilized in work (Ya Rab ya3ni), organizing the day will be a bit easier…just a little bit bas, not extravagantly ya3ni:)

A whiz kid!!

2005-08-10T14:46:00.000+03:00

Coupla days ago, I knew a very strange and sharp piece of information abt one of the AUC buildings!! The designer or designers who conceived the idea of "Mabna el Falaki" in the AUC, knowing previously that in a number of years the whole AUC campus will be relocated, thought to design it to fit a HOSPITAL when the campus no longer exists in its current location!!!
And all the expenses splurged on the project won't be in vain when it would be forsaken from its beloved occupants!!! it's gonna be another project of great profits!! The functions of the two buildings: educational/administrative And a Hospital is way too distant and repellant!
I think it's surprising to architects as well as non-architects, don't you think?!?

Welcome!!

2005-08-08T12:11:00.000+03:00

Well, what could possibly the "Welcome Post" be like?? As much as I write but I find it so puzzling to think of the proper words to introduce our Blog / Blo2 or greet our honorable AND honored Blo2 visitors
Dear guest, welcome to our place, nice to have you here:) What would you like for a welcome drink?? "I" promise to treat you with a virtual one for the time being, and give you my word of honor to make up for it with an actual one someday in our lives, maybe served with my specialty too;)(it's just a chocolate cake btw) So far, it's the last thing I can promise you with:D, maybe in coupla years I would've learnt many more delicious recipes, and you won't be anymore satisfied & contented with the mere virtual visits, I'll keep you updated with that anyway

Now go get changed, we're expecting you in few….errr…hours maybe, don’t be late!
N.B no formalities please…