Near Death Experience

How come is it that one doesn't get to enjoy life until they are faced with death at some point.  Most of the time the reaction is simply embracing life and experiencing all what life has to offer no matter how risky or how may others perceive you, that would lead to ridicule at times!
I think I'll choose to live by my standards instead of waiting for an eye-opener moment like this!

The Ugly Truth

Last weekend I went with my cousin and her friend to watch "The Ugly Truth" which was highly recommended by one of my friends, N.  Well, as all romantic comedies, or chick flicks, they give me an inevitable bipolar reaction: right after the movie my spirits are sky high, 5 minutes later I sink into depression.  Why? I had an online conversation with N yesterday asking me if I had liked the movie.  We talked about the expectations that filmmakers, especially at Hollywood, set so high, swarming the audience with the Gerard Butlers and the Katherine Heigls, that when you hit reality neither we find our Gerards, nor the guys find their perfect Katherines!
As N very wisely articulated it, the guys are turned off with that not so perfect superficial reality of the Middle Eastern girls, and simply either give up or try to change the girl into a Katherine; while we on the other hand girls go past their initial disappointment of the lack of Gerard's looks and try to find the Gerard deep inside, but sadly that also won't exist.
Hence, it is the UGLY TRUTH of relationships nowadays.
I recommend this movie for the laughs, Katherine's wardrobe, and a nice dose of Gerard Butler ;)
Back to work...

Obsolete Technology Sheep (c:

Happy Eid

 

A Well-Deserved Salute

Just like most peace-loving Cairenes,  I tend to overpay for my cab trip across town, to avoid the inevitable profanity in case the fare was not good enough in the eyes of the receiving party!  So my daily cab fare from my house, Shooting Club, to the office, Moustafa Mahmoud square, I pay L.E. 5, quite a high price for a trip literally down the street, but good old Cairo cab drivers taught us to think otherwise.  Note that I go back home on foot, approximately a 15-minute walk!
Well, a couple of weeks back, the cabbie from my morning ride wanted to give me back my change!!! I was in total shock when he insisted, so I actually fought back for him to take it (better him than the greedy ones, I thought).  I believed this was once in a life time incident and I didn't think twice.  Surprise! Surprise! Just this morning a totally different cabbie did the same thing.
Well, at least this gave me some hope that there are still decent people living and struggling to make it in our beloved country.
I salute you and pray that I would meet more of you daily.  Dear cabbie, you really made my day (c:

Row over a Football Game- What's REALLY Cookin' Here?!

I'm amazed by the media craze over the commotion created before, after, and during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers between Egypt-Algeria
I mean people, especially those living abroad, had been tirelessly complaining about mistreatment, indignation, and acts of violence towards Egyptians from hosting countries, and especially the Arab ones. These attacks are also being committed against Egyptians in their homeland, and the media, police, and political leader would always shake it off as: these are our brothers, they are our guests, allow it to pass this time, turn the other head, and other infuriatingly passive comments that helped non-Egyptians to carry out their trespasses!
So my question is why now, what is so different about those incidents taking place either in Khartoum or back home in Cairo that is causing such a tremor? What is being cooked up for us this time? I wonder!
Since when do all the people see eye-to-eye on the same controversial issue, and how come the government, the opposition, and the people are all united on one front all of a sudden, sadly a stupid football game, when these trespasses had been the norm in the past, and we've always been instructed to suck it up!!!
I for one can't forget the incident back in 1989 when one of the Algerian players blinded the Egyptian national team doctor, what have we done back then? We let it pass!
Did the incident of the Algerian team's bus stoning arise from a 20 year old vendetta? In the eyes of the world, including foreigners living in Egypt, we started it. I don't blame them, we asked for our rights or taking our revenge for something that happened many years ago, which we have let go of at the time.
Our untimely vengeance took away our respect and credibility in the eyes of the world, put our people and team at great risk, and revealed our lack of judgment and proper thinking.
Every passing day confirms my view of my country as a cattle herd controlled by a few cowboys, directing them, to stop, act, and go back to the barn. It is sad, but it really hurts to see my once great country with unrivaled heritage, can go easily down the drain and diminish into a pathetic barnyard!
I can't resist the ominous feeling that something is being maliciously cooked up here, that might come in the form of stand by the Mubaraks Egypt saviors for 30 years and many more generations to come.
Have mercy on us oh dear God!
I'll close my note with: "إن الله لايغير مابقوم حتى يغيروا مابأنفسهم وإذا أراد الله بقومٍ سوءً فلا مرد له ومالهم من دونه من والٍ"