EL Feteer El Feteer El Feteer (Part II)

Scroll down to part I...

The next day, I arrived late (as usual) to find 3 of my co-workers already there. That's right. I found a big plastic bag which obviously contained the feteer. I did the usual morning greetings and sat down. I thought maybe she hasn't told them yet


H: gjoe, S gabet feteer ma3aha..
Me: Ah seme3t..(she told them then.)
H: tab olelha enny kont bahhazar..
Me: mana olt :)
S: fe eh ya gama3a eh el moshkela ya3ny lamma ageeb feteer? ana 3arfa ennaha 7aga 3'areeba w kol 7aga..bass 3ady ya3ny..
H: aywa ya S..bass mesh haynfa3 nakolha keda we7na aslan fe sherka mesh beta3etna..el nass hat2ool eh?
A: w 3ala fekra ana maba7ebsh el fteer..
S: na3am! tab eh ra2ayak ba2a ennak el wa7eed elly lazem takol..

They kept repeating themselves for 5 minutes.I didn't like where the conversation was going. I felt awkward that the girl brought the feteer and we had to eat it, and I also didn't feel it was polite that after she brought it people would have an eh-elly-enty-3amalteeh-dah attitude..So, i kinda kept quiet.

After a while things got really frozen. No winners.No Losers..I really didn't know whether we are going to ever eat that feteer after all. The girl stopped arguing and the guys stopped complaining. But still, S was immersed in the work she had to do, too immersed we knew that she was upset. She had every right. Still I didn't say a word.

After a while, S went to grab some coffee bayen, so i talked to H. I told him "berra7a 3aleeha shwaya..w mat3'lssh 3aleeha..heya 7'alas gabetoh..w shaylaah men el beet w beta3"
A: aah..w meen 3alem..dah moken tekoon ba3atet 7add men el balad ma7'sooos
Silence in the room with the thought in our heads

H:tab so2al ba2a..ya3ny heya altelek embare7?
Me: Ah..
H: tab ma2olteesh leh enn e7na konna benhazar..
Me: I did tab3an..bass heya kanet rakba dema3'aha..w ba3deen mafeesh moshkela awy ya3ny..
H: mafeesh moshekla ezzay bass..ana mest3'arab awy essara7a..
Me: ma3l..

S walked in..we all looked the other way, and whistled..

It was nearly three..
S( Finally ): 3ala fekra ana meday2a..

After we all thought it out, the shock was gone and we all felt guilty..
A: tab 7'alas ..mafeesh moshkela..tala3y el feteer :)
Me: 3ala fekra..aslan hena fel sho3'l beygeeboh delivery 3ady..zay ayy 7etta tanya.. fa mesh mawdoo3 awy ya3ny e7na benakol eh..7'alas ya benty talla3y el feteer..
S looked really cheered up and relieved.But..
S: ba3d eh ba2a..ba3d lamma el feteer bered 7'alass..
Me: ya benty 7'alas ma3lesh..hatla2eeh lessa so7'n shwaya..we7na hankloh hanakloh ya3ny mesh moshkela..

She went and got the feteer out from the "plastic bag". And put it on a plate that was far smaller than the feteer..So it started "fatwala" on the table..

A: eh dah eh dah eh dah (he really panicked).. el feteer mefatwel 3ala el tarabeza..hatooh 7aga ne7ottaha 3ala el tarabeeza 3ashan el fatwala deh..
So we "farashna" some A4 paper on the table over which the feteer just sat there waiting to be eaten.



We kept staring at the feteer and thinking "this is it". We are going to eat feteer meshaltet at work..this day has just came too soon..but actually it looked so delicious, i thought we were making such a big deal out of this whole issue.
Me: sa7ee7 ya S, howa enty gayba el feteer meneen?
S: 3ady ya3ny..gaybaah ma3aya..
Me: aywa ya3ny, olelna bass gaybaah men hena walla ba3tah 7add 3ashan ne3raf nakol add eh..
S: la2 gaybaah men hena..
Me: tab el7amdolellah!

The girl brought up a plate of cheese, so that we can eat it along with the feteer..

H: bet3mely eh ?!taweeeeh!!..e7na hankloh keda..matta3beesh nafsek..

And so we started eating, It was really delicious that every time I decide to finish up, i go and take another bite or so..

But the situation was all in all hilariously funny..I don't remember why were we laughing at, but i remember us telling S things like "teslam edeeky ya S..begad to7fa..bass mat3mlehash tany!"
And A was eating feteer that he didn't even like. Still, he ate the most! On the left you can see all the fatwala on the A4 paper..

I have to say.This was one of the best feteers I have ever tasted..I secretly thought of taking what was left "to go", but I wasn't sure if I can do that, so I kicked those silly ideas outta my head.


We finished up in haste so that we could just get it over with and of course we weren't sure whether our manager would come any minute..That would have been something! On a second thought, we would probably have said "etfaddal ma3ana..7amatak bet7ebbak!"

It passed safely el7amdolellah.We thanked S sincerely and went back to the work we had to do, relieved that it was over, and we got away with it. Ironically, that day S had a really upset stomach and wasn't able to eat anything the next day..

I have to mention that I really liked and respected S . I felt she was really kind-hearted to do such a thing. She did go through a lot to offer us a nice unforgettable meal. Now that the story is even posted, it is there for the record! God Bless Blogs!

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 ،

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!

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..

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!

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!

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!

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!