Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Un Titled


اسألو دمي ..وسعادتي وهمي
اسألو التوفيق..والكدر والضيق
اسألو الطيب في صفاتي..والدعاء اللي في صلاتي
واسألو شهودي..الدموع اللي في سجودي
اسألوهم..واسألو دمي ..عن غلا
أمي

بن مساعد ،



Friday, November 23, 2007

Go7a wel 7omar

I will not change myself, something I do, somethings I say because of someone else. I will not change myself because of total strangers,friends, or even family.This is the way I am and this is the way I am choosing to go through life. I will not change myself unless I am totally convinced that I (and no one else) should change as an inevitable necessity. I don't care how much people are inconsiderate and ignorant telling me that I should change. I will continue to do whatever I want to do as long as I am not harming someone else and as long as I am not suffering myself.
I will not change unless I want to.
I will not change unless I want to.
I will not change unless I want to.

Thanks Go7a!

Monday, November 19, 2007

El Feteer El Feteer El Feteer (Part I)

It all started last week, at work. Out of sheer boredom, someone started a conversation about people coming "men el balad" and that they always have to bring Feteer, w mesh w gebna w batt w wezz wellazy mennoh!
Somewhere in the conversation that same person directed his talk to others asking them *humorously* to bring feteer with them the next time they conact "7add mel balad". A couple of mundane jokes here and there and the conversation was closed.

Then the weekend came and i had a missed call from one of my co-workers:

Necessary background:
We are 5 all newly hired.The girl that called is not originally from Cairo, and comes from a mohafza where they are generally characterized by generosity.We are also currently located in a temporary location, a partner company, so we are considered as guests to the current workplace and we generally should work on giving a good impression.

I then called her back and we had the following conversation (or similar to it)

S: hi gjoe ezayek 3amla eh?
Me: el7amdolelah
S: a7'barek eh?
Me: ah el7amdolellah
S: kolloh tamam?
Me: ah el7amdolellah (Get to the point)
S: Ba2ollek ya gjoe,
Me: 2omory?
S: howa el manager gaii bokra?
Me: la2 mesh 3arfa wallahy..7'eer?
S: La2 abadan.
Me:(get to the freakin point) te7eby akkalmhoolek as2aloh?
S: la2 la2 la2..ana mesh 3ayzaah yeegy.
Me: (huh?! ) tab 3ayza eh..wallah mesh 3ayzaah yeegy leh? mesh hateegy bokra? law ta3abana 7'ody agaza 3ady (she was actually sick last week, so i thought that was she calling about).
S: la la2..ana asly kont 3ayza a3mel 7aga wel manager mesh mawgood.
Me: (la 7awl wala qowata ellah bellah..men awelha keda) 3ayza te3mely eh ya3ny?
S: la2 abadan.
Me: aywa ya3ny mesh 3ayza el manager yeegy leeh?
S: asly ana kont gayba Feteer w kont 3ayza ageeboh ma3aya bokra. (it gets better)
Me: Silence errr..eee..e7m..tab..hehehhe..errr..Silence (Let alone the facial expressions)

Me (back to my senses): Tab S, enty 3ayza tegeebeeh feen ya3ny? fel sherka?
S: ah ya3ny..ommal hageeboh feen (ah ya3ny..hatgeeboh feen)
Me: mesh 3arfa wallahy, howa..howa ..la2 mesh 3arfa..(i felt really awkward at the time).
S: eh ya bnty eh el moshkela?
Me: la2 abdan..bass 3ala fekra homma kanoh beyhazaro ya3ny makansh feeh da3y tet3eby nafsek ya S wallahy.dah kan hezar ya3ny mesh begad..hezar, mara7, de7k, keda ya3ny..
S: Ah mana 3arfa.bass ana olt ageeb feteer ma3aya w keda..ana mesh 3arfa ba2a ageeb ma3aya 3asal eswed walla abyad?
Me: (Oh Dear God this girl is serious, and she is not listening to me): la la 3asal eh ya benty..balash ya S wallahy tet3eby nafsek ya3ny..dool kano beyhhazzaro.,.
S: la ya benty 3ady mafeehaash 7aga..eh el moshkela ya3ny?
Me: aywa bass hano3d fel sherka nakol feteer ya3ny..mesh 3arfa el makan yesma7 walla la2..
S: hanakol 3ala el tarabeza 3ady..
Me( tahet 3anny deh): tayeb..mesh 3arfa wallahy..tab enty hatgebeeh fe eh?
S: hageeboh fe shantah ( she really meant a plastic bag, bass she calls it just a bag).

At this point I really thought that there is no way talking her out of it.Unless I was rude.
Me: tayeb 7'alas mashy..ana lazem amshy ba2a ya S 3ashan 3andy mo7adret pre-masters.
S: tayeb okay..yalla ashoofek bokra
Me: (Rabbena yostor) okay..salam!
S: ah tab sawany sawany..ageeb ma3aya gebna bardo wallah balash?
Me (OH MY GOD): la la2..gebnet eh ya S..matet3beesh nafsek...fokkek men el gebnah 7'ales.
salam!

To Be Continued..

Friday, November 16, 2007

Right Now

Right Now it's 4 in the morning (night). I have to explain a research paper in less than 12 hours to pre-masters students . I hate the paper, I don't understand its contents and I feel totally stupid. I read the paper a hundred times and I don't get it! I will most probably make a fool of myself if I just repeated what is written in the paper. I am so desperate I called my classmate an hour ago, knowing for sure she would be sleeping. She didn't answer, and I thanked God she didn't. I feel responsible that I must explain the damn paper, but at the same time I feel I would fail this exact responsibility if I didnt explain it well. ya3ny mesh 3arfa la asebha wala akawretaha wala afhama kwayes!

Helpless Helpless Helpless.

Boy this would be funny to read when its over!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Random Thought

Sometimes it occurs to me, that waiters who work in hotels and expensive coffee shops like Cilantro and the like must come from somewhat below middle class backgrounds. Aren't they provoked by the amount of money people spend to get a cup of tea or their morning-fix of latte?
I mean these waiters would probably be starting their lives and would have economic problems. Then just to make things worse for them, a college student comes up, and ask them a 15-pound worth cup of coffee.
Isn't that a little bit overrated?If not a lot?

How does this make them feel? I know they are considered lucky from where they come from to work in such places and would probably be well paid when comparing them to others in their same job positions. Still, I think it would get on my nerves how much money these middle-class-and-above people spend on their coffees, salads and juices.


Just A Random Thought.

Let's All Welcome Her :)

My Dear Sister, Cherry ..has entered the blogosphere :)

Let's All Welcome Her and Wish Her The Best Blogging Experience.

My sister is the kind of person who holds things up in her mind, but she sure has alot to say in this blog! I think that she made this blog to rebel or speak more freely. (Actually I dont think, I know because she told me).

I really like her blog's name "Aywa Ana". It is really very simplistic yet bold. Typical Cherry :)

You would notice that she too refers to me in her blog :)..ya3ny el O7'woa wel Sadaqah!

In real life, we are VERY SIMILAR and VERY DIFFERENT..it's the same in our blogs. I relate to everything she is saying, but I won't write it myself.

Now that this free publicity & marketing campaign is over, I wish you enjoy her blog :)

P.S: I intentionally made three links to her blog..I hope she doesn't kill me!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Tagged!Blog Name..Why?

1- What is your Blog's name?

"Just keep swimming"

2- Why did you choose that name?

e7m, wallahy ana e7'tart el esm dah 3ashan film kartone 3azeez 3allaya awy esmoh..Finding Nemo.
Finding Nemo is on my top list of favorite movies ever.

"Just keep swimming" happens to be a quote by Dory, the blue fish suffering from short term memory loss. It may seem to be a curse, forgetting what just happened five minutes ago. But actually, its very alleviating. She forgets all her burdens and always manage to keep a very energetic, smiling, care-free, optimistic mood all the time! Whenever she feels down/lost/doesn't have a clue what just happened, she starts singing "Just keep swimming".
The only downfall is that being fish and all that, she doesnt really have a purpose or heading. She swims aimlessly. Hence the "just don't swim as aimlessly as fish" tag line.


"Just Keep Swimming" reflects what I believe in. I believe that even in the darkest times, as long as we know where we are heading, we should always keep moving.
We should always keep up the mood that Dory keeps, forgetting about all the past and the burdens that might keep us away from reaching our goals in this life or the Here after.

This blog helps me move on and let out many thoughts. Whether they are worthless thoughts, selfish, misunderstood, or insane, they help *Me* move on and keep swimming forward!



3- What does your blog's photo represent to you (if any)?

No picture, but if i had to put one, I would put a picture of Dory!3ashan yemshy ma3 el blo3' :)


a7ebb fel a7'er ahdy el tagg elly gaii le :
1- Deee
2- Juka
3- Cesario
4- Redzo
5- Aywa Ana

You are all being Tagged! Neyayayayahahahaha!

Finally

Finally, At last, a7'eeran!

1- Finally, I encountered an iPhone, as in I had the chance to experience it and see first hand its fascinating features! I loved the scrolling, the zooming in and out and the whole feel of the phone!kont 3amla zay el 3ayel el so3'ayar!

2- Finally, I saw a female taxi driver, I was so excited! I wanted to go to her and say "I have heard so much about you but this is the first time I see you". I don't know exactly why was I happy to see a female taxi driver though.

3- Finally, I have my internet connection working again. I had endured useless chats with the ISP Technical Support. I had endured not being able to check my e-mail, my facebook ,wikipedia and blogs.


4- Finally, I am watching King Farouq re-runs (OTV @ 8 pm). I saw exactly 3 episodes. I am not fully impressed yet, but i'll try to give it its chance.
Me: baba, heya el nas kanet bet7eb el malek faroo2 fe3lan?
Dad: yes they did.
Me: Tab homma eday2oh lamma meshy?
Dad: No they didn't.


5- Finally, I am starting to have my driving lessons :) and its a woman who is going to teach me so I am much more comfortable. She is a very highly recommended driving tutor so I guess she is professional. Can't wait. My sister already had her first lesson and she was very pleased.

6-Finally, My laptop is here :). My old grumpy slow laptop..I miss thee!!

7- Finally I am being tagged! yeppiieee! This would be my first tag efar!Thanks Fadfadation!

Friday, November 02, 2007

فقرة الكرتون


Did anybody watch kids shows when they were (much) younger? The ones that were on in the early morning when they brought a lady talking to a what seemed to be a bunch of retarded kids?Asking everyone about their hobby and what they like to do in the summer and that they have to help mamy and babi out?
And the ones with Mama Nagwa & Bo2loz? And 3arsoty, the one where there was some kind of competition and kids won prizes or something like that?

I have to tell you that I HATED THOSE TV SHOWS..I only watched them because I had no choice..I only watched them because of the"Faqret el kartone"..


They always had the "faqret el kartone", no matter what was the show..I couldn't care less about what the lady was talking about, nor wether that little kid likes to draw or that little girl likes to braid barbie's hair..JUST PUT ON THE CARTOON!!

I used to wait and wait for the lady to say " w delwa2ty a7baby el so3'ar ma3dana ma3 faqret el kartone.."
"heeeeeeeeeeeeeh!! :D:D yarab teb2a 7aga men betoo3 disney", I thought to myself.

Every time I watched these shows and waited for the cartoon i had the same disappointment:
They always put the cartoon from the middle and they always cut it before it ends.That is of course ignoring the fact that they were only 3 or 4 cartoons that they had to repeat all the time..ALL THE TIME!

I mean what is the point of watching a chase between tom & jerry if I didnt know how did it end? What is the point of watching a Pluto's ordeal with that squirrel if I didnt know what got on his nerves in the first place..why dont they show the whole thing?WHY!!

It was very humiliating and disrespectful. I mean I was a kid yes, But I felt I was being taken lightly by older people..I felt that it was not important what I liked...Do they really think that kids like the actual show more than the cartoons? 7aga te3assab fe3lan!

And the "tetr" in the beginning and the end of the show always showed a lot of snapshots from cartoons: Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Snowhite, Sleeping Beauty..this sends a message to kids that "we have all these cartoons available and we are going to put them on if you watched the show"
They never did :(.

Menhom Lellah ba2a..Menhom Lellaaah!!
They crushed my childhood expectations :(


P.S: I Googled "mama nagwa" & here is what I found! Interesting!