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"

Breaking news.. Celebrity Dies from Swine Flu

He is dead with Swine Flu...And we all know who gave it to HIM

And if you don't...just scroll down and see

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of this post, I received it as a forward on my e-mail with no mention of the original author, and I just liked to share it here at my e-space...so Enjoy!

Dark but hilarious (c:

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

New Items in Stores NOW!!!

So I found these extraordinary items in stores in Kuwait and I was wondering if there is actually a physical and moral excuse to their presence:

• At a hardware store, True Value, I found a fold in three mat to place under a car's tires to help it out of the snow. Well as far as I know, snow is unheard of in Kuwait; if it ever happened and some hail came down, I don't think it would've ever gotten to the extent of piling up and burying a car under!
  
• In Marks and Spencer I found a "same sex civil marriage" greeting card!!! Even if a lot of people are coming out in this part of the world, which I doubt since it is illegal, where exactly did they get a license for a civil marriage, also non-existent in Kuwait??!!!

Funny, no?

Trapped in KUWAIT

So my vacation was not half as bad as I expected it to be, actually it was great I must say. I had two full weeks of following the Kuwaiti scene one-on-one. It is interesting to report that so many changes had taken place, yet nothing has really changed at all!
Whatever I'm going to be spilling in the few following lines is not really complaining, instead those lines will act as notes to self of what I've noticed during my extended vacation in Kuwait. (yes, a vacation in Kuwait, please don't laugh!)

1. More than ever Kuwaiti girls are maintaining some kind of uniform, or style or whatever they call it, I guess to pinpoint each other without much trouble. (telling if you're Kuwaiti or not) Well, I don't want to be mean, at least for the sake of one Kuwaiti who I'd never would wish to offend, but seriously it is just plain funny. Basically they have a huge Hijab-do, I'm sure covering up a great hair-do underneath the veil, high on the center as if they are having a covered-up chignon. They also tend to wear the same exact veil material with different colors, it's basically a solid color material with sparkling beads on one edge! The way they pin it on is exactly the same. Kind of a 1984 deja-vu. RIP Orwell!!!
2. It's 8 AM and all the girls are wearing makeup fit for a wedding party!!! I wonder when do they have to wake up in the morning to fix their faces!! (I remember my professional makeup session took a full hour by the makeup artist and it still looked pale in comparison to the kind of makeup I see here)
   
3. For those who used to insist for some weird reason that I look Kuwaiti, I blame my eyebrows, rest assured I'm 100% sure that I don't look like one any more (c; (Yaaaaaayyyy me)
   
4. So 15 minutes to 1 PM I was running late to go pick up something from the store before the mall closes for lunch time. The parking lot is packed, and I noticed that 2 Kuwaiti girls are heading for their car. (remember you can spot Ks and K-nots) So I back up a little to make way for her to take her car out and I go in. I wait for 7 full minutes and nothing happens, not even the ignition starting. So I decide to leave looking for another spot thinking that they might be waiting for somebody. So right after I leave, I look in the rear-view mirror, and I see her leaving the spot. (Suddenly it hits me that I didn't look like a K, and hence I don't deserve the honor of her leaving me the parking spot) Funny, is it not? Well it didn't really anger me, surprisingly, probably because I was just on time right before the store and the mall closed, but I just can't grasp how would someone take it so seriously to act in such a away. All I felt at that moment was this exactly: يا حرام.
5. Based on points 1, 2, and 4, I have for the first time get a first hand taste of pure racism that I didn't even feel in Europe despite my headdress!!! Of course, if you know me well, you will know that أنا مش بسكوت و حعرف أخد حقى. That's true, it came by coincidence walahy, but the mom ya haram tries to make me speak French by speaking French to me and urging me to reply back in French too. So wherever we go we speak in French as usual, we noticed that this makes Ks very uncomfortable and self-conscience because:
   a. they don't get a word of what we're saying
   b. they can't guess to which nationality do we belong
   c. they think we are making fun of them in French (LOL! و الله ابداً, though it's very tempting)
   So they end up treating us really nicely, win-win; again I feel: يا حرام.
6. Tab3an we know how much Ks love Egyptians! (yeah rightttt!) Well those who go to dear old Egypt come back with the worst memorabilia from there: driving style and manners! For the first time since I started driving, I notice that people here in Kuwait sometimes بيكسروا عليا, tonight I was surprised with a dude taking two lanes و موسطن نفسه على خط الحارة, and finally الفايق الرايق إلي بينشن عليا و يأسدنى وراه. Thankfully not many go to Egypt, but mashalla their impact is screaming out there in the streets; again: يا حرام.
   

I'm still hanging around here for sometime, because of the trap, so there should be more updates to these insights I believe. GTG take some rest...
Ta Ta

Too Much of a Good Thing

I've been in my comfort zone for a little bit more than two years and a half, totally avoiding Cairo's traffic at all costs. It's not that I didn't drive at all, but at least I was not forced into it. I had the luxury of turning my back to it all.
Having this kind of rare bliss, I counted my blessings every single morning, and bragged about it to anyone who cared to listen. So, it turns out I officially JINXED it!!!
A week ago all I could hear them say, "..in two months be prepared to face your worst nightmare, AGAIN!" I'll have to deal with all the noise, the stupidity, and the rediculous normally 15 minutes drive that shall take at least 1.5 hours per trip on a normal working day. The erratic moods resulting from traffic jams and watching an embicile passing in a motorcade. Weekends at home because I physically and mentally not prepared to face the streets again on my days off.
The past two years brought me back to my good old self; I hate to see the second-half-of-2006-me coming back to life. I thought I've finished her off for good, I hope this crazy city doesn't revive her.
Another thing I wanted to get off my chest; it seems that this blog is turning into anger, worries, negative feelings, etc. outlet (c:
Ta Ta...

Watch out! A Girl on the Loose

Even though I've lived all my life in the Middle East, but I still got a cultural shock from what I was faced with today:

1. I was asked to prove that my maternal-uncle is really my uncle not some random stranger I'm planning to travel with (along with my mom, grandma, and cousin!!!)
2. I was told my dad has to approve of me leaving the country to go to another for only a matter of 10 days (on a religious mission, not even simply tourism)
3. I was told that dad has to specify that my uncle will be responsible for me during my travel (can't these people count the number of departure and entry stamps on my passport from different countries, yes I do travel alone!!!)

I know that I always preach about not complaining about other countries rules, I always feel if I don't like it, then I might as well stay in mine; but this is actually taking it to another level of annoyance. I understand their rules specifies a "mehrem" but treating me as a minor and someone who's passive in the whole process of mobility across boarders is actually very degrading.

I just felt like venting...didn't make me feel much better though...I'm out!