The trivialization of Islam

Throughout most of my adult life i have watched Islam being trivialized by none other than its most devout followers.
I have heard speeches and preachers going on and on about:
- entering the bathroom with your right foot or left foot.
- sleeping on your left side or on your right side.
- eating with which hand.
- what prayer to say when you get into the elevator
- what prayer to say when you get into any other mode of transportation
other topics of widespread interest are:
- what to name your pet
- whether you can pray with your nail polish on or not
- whether you can put make-up on when fasting or not
- whether men can wear a golden wedding band or a silver one
- whether deodorant should be equated to perfume or not

do i need to go on?

More and more of those trivial issues get international coverage, coz well Islam is a buzz word these days, it sells!

The sad thing is that there's so much more to religion than this. Why waste your breath talking about those things when you could be talking about more important things. Things that will truly make a difference to people. Things that are also in Islam, values like hard work, seeking perfection in what you do, honestly, treating others.
Or other amazing things like formulating a whole system of inheritance in just 3 lines, the brilliance of the language use in the Koran, the examples of democracy, forgiveness, tolerance and acceptance to other people, feminism and family values.

It's like reading a brilliant piece of literature and spending your time evaluating the font it's been written in. Or eating the most delicious meal and focusing on the decoration on the plate. Or listening to the best orchestra playing and focusing on their looks.

How do we expect people to respect us or our religion if the only things we focus on are things which mean nothing and add no value?
And how can we be that misguided and disillusioned to think that these issues are our calling, and are what God would have wanted us to spend our time on?

Where have peoples' common sense gone?

The Writers Guild Strike

I have been seeing the news about this for a while now but haven't really paid attention to it. This all changed when i realized that my favorite shows are all stopping at Episode 9 and coming on every other week, and we're soon going to be stuck with re-runs!


I watch all my shows illegally. If there was a way i would do it legally i would. I love TV and i would pay a lot to get NBC, WB and ABC on my TV or computer. But that's simply not possible. I tried signing up for sites where you pay, but they're only for US residents. I tried streaming them online, but that too is only for US residents. So i am stuck streaming from illegal sites. And watching their re-runs a year later when they're aired here.
I feel bad, but if i were an artist (like those actors, writers, producers etc) and i had a fan that simply cannot purchase my product - it's not feasible - i wouldn't mind if they watched it for free. Because they can never buy it anywayz.

The Internet offers great opportunity for networks to increase their sales, and reach much broader audiences around the globe. And they get paid, now by advertisers and hopefully it will one day be available for people outside the US in a legal way.

Now that i checked what the strike is actually about, i am appalled at how badly the writers are being treated. They get paid 4 cents per DVD sold, 4 CENTS! so in the words of the writers of Grey's Anatomy "Seriously? Seriously... i mean seriously!!"
And for all the Internet content they get paid,,,, nothing, zero, zilch, nada!
The show without writers does not go on!
Of the ridiculous amounts those shows make - enough to pay actors up to 1 million dollars per episode - couldn't they at the very least keep the core of the business happy? It's not like they don't deserve it..
And for them to go on a national strike for this long, with so many people backing them, things must be very shitty for them,,,

So for the love of god people, pay those writers, and give us our shows back..
and friggin charge ME! i would pay a good deal of money if i got to stream my shows online right after they air in the US.... And i know a good number of people who would do the same. It costs them nothing - no tapes, production etc, they just stick em online and i'll happily pay them for it.

But for now, this sucks for me, and sucks ass for those writers.

hmm interesting

other than smashing my glasses into pieces minutes before i got on the plane this trip, i had something else happen to me.
in the course we were asked to present ourselves and say who we were, what we did, and what we did when we're not at work i.e. hobbies and interests.
that third question just left me speechless.
what do i do when i am not at work?
what hobbies do i have?
sleep? play scrabble almost once a week? go out and sit in cafes? facebook?
shit yaani!
everyone had something to say - ice hockey (yes they were a bunch of swedes), jogging, playing with their kids,,and i had nothing..

so i am on a quest for a hobby. i tried singing in a choir but it was boring. so what do i do? i am unathletic as can be, i am too old to learn an instrument, and no i won't learn to cook - fuck that...
i think i can safely blame AIESEC for not giving me enough time to develop a hobby when i was in college.. but you know i pretended AIESEC was my hobby.
but now AIESEC is over
and i must find a hobby!

count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place

This is what i tell myself when i read yet another article about the Saudi rape victim who got punished for getting raped.

Because if i don't this happens:

I would like to raise a motion for us to swap this "let's wipe israel out of the map" campaign, and turn it into "let's wipe Saudi Arabia out of the map".... followers? anyone?

Or let's list down every Saudi Royal and hunt down each of their mothers, daughters, sisters and wives and put them in a dark room with a bunch of the perveted sexually suppressed egyptian men roaming the streets of cairo and see what happens.

Or better yet, let's just put all those royals in a room with me and a nicely sharpened ready-to-slice knife and see what happens.

See, i told you i would do this....

Ok remember, count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place

Un-Egyo-Ness

So summer of 2008 i want to visit the US, which has been the plan for a while now.
My un-egyptian-ness is that i have started planning from now. Getting advice, planning basic itinerary, plane ticket, cities i will visit, sorting out accommodation and friends' travel plans, you know the basics.
In 2 months time i will start researching the exact places i want to visit before i move on to putting together the daily plan for my vacation; say around april.

Every person i have met finds it absurd that i am doing this. And finds it even more absurd that i am starting this 7 months in advance.

a somewhat promising development

"Egyptian court convicts 2 police officers for torturing a bus driver
Pair jailed for three years
Case came to light after a video of the abuse was posted on the Internet"

CNN Article

While this is no indicator of any consistent effort to eliminate, minimize or even reduce torture in Egypt; this isolated event is still promising.
It's a positive step taken by the judicial court and it's a testament to Egyptian Bloggers and their ability to make a difference.

The Egyptian blogger who posted the horrendous video was featured in this week's Edition of CNN's Inside the Middle East.
So to all the cynics who think one person cannot do anything, that blogger has just made history.

cursed

for trying to be a perfectionist in a place that stretches its arms to welcome mediocrity like a long lost child

Nisrin!

She's tiny and white.
She's quiet and discrete.
She wakes up when i sleep
and sleeps as the sun goes up.
She seems innocent and sweet.

But is she?!

Under that soft, quiet, innocent looking exterior lies an angry beast waiting to come out. It lurkers around waiting for the right moment to attack!
Hiding behind her American sense of personal distance and her occasional half-hugs and rare cheek kisses, lies the real Nisrin.

The real Nisrin comes out every............

Scrabble Night!

Passive aggressive is not her style. Why be passive when you could be actively aggressive?

Exhibit A:
Kent Babin - in an excerpt from his blog post he says:
"The second round featured new teams, new attitudes, and an increasingly hostile Nisrin. She threatened physical and verbal violence on no fewer than twenty occasions."

Exhibit B:
Annika Rudback - Here are quotes from last night's game:
Nisrin: "If you can't beat 'em, Kill 'em"
Annika: "It's if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"
Nisrin: "Not for me it is"
5 minutes later
Nisrin: "Come on Annika, if you don't go right now i will jam that pencil in your eye-ball"

Exhibit C:
Chris Pflaumer - This is a well-deserved comment that Chris gets from Nisrin every 5 minutes:
Nisrin: " CHRIS, YALLA" and then bangs her hand on the table so her rings make a loud squeaky noise

Last but not least...

Exhibit D:
ME!
Me: " what the fuck niso, stop making noise with your feet, it's either your feet or your hands yaani"
Nisrin: "Sorry, i ...."
Me: "am a smoker?"
Nisrin: "No, I have ADD"
Me: " And by ADD you mean..."
Nisrin: " Annoy the hell out of luli? Yes"

I rest my case!

Liscence Renewal - First time is definetly NOT a charm

I woke up in the morning with a smile on my face. It was mainly due to my latest shopping conquest the night before. Charles and Keith has 60% sale so i got the most gorgeous stilettos.
Now if you're a girl with a big shoe fetish you will understand the kind of high i was on.

I was mentally and physically prepared for a long day renewing my licence for the first time. Armed with a lot of positive attitude, my outfit was carefully planned. Comfortable shoes that look a little like Sister Erica's from my school days, Jeans - i expected dirt, a carefully selected top that is to be worn by an 80 year old woman with a cleavage going all the way to my neck (quite a contrast to my look the night before), and long enough that it would work as a mini dress for an anorexic size zero model, and on top a flowy shirt, with long sleeves. My futile attempts at getting as little attention as possible was very smart of me. Good girl luli!

So the first part is to get my tickets and pay for them. Much like every other desk at that place, desk number one had no line for women, scratch that, it has no line - period. So i must squish between a big concentration of taxi drivers. The thought makes me tingly in all the right places! HMM! From Desk number one, i go to desk number 2, 3,4,5 back to 2, then to 3 again then to 6 then to 7 and then i am done! Mind you Desk 2 and 4 are on the ground floor, desk 3 and 5 are on the top floor and desk 6 and 7 are in a different building.

I got my glorious tickets which were 500 L.E. It was so fascinating i took a photo

The tickets say i have the following fines:
21st of February: Talking on the phone and crossing a red light - it took place in the East district in Alex
On the 21st of Feb i was at the office preparing for my flight in a few days. I was no where near Alex. Plus, we're in Egypt you need to have a traffic light to begin with in order for cross a red one!
11th of April: Halting traffic and parking in a no parking spot - it took place in the East district in Alex
On the 11th of April i was at the office. I had a flight 2 days after. So i could not have been in Alex
27th of April: Ok that time i was in Alex, so i guess it could be valid. It's a fine for going in the opposite direction
17th of June: Parking ticket - it took place in the East District in Alex
On the 17th of June i was at the office with meetings booked and all. I was not in Alex

I argued with the officer there and he reduced it to 50 L.E.
Alas i paid and off i went to start renewing my licence - coz this was 1/4 of the job!

So off to a new building. I go from Desk 1 to Desk 2 back to desk 1 then to desk 3 then back to desk 1. Desk 1 is a nice man with a beard (i didn't know there were any of those around) He told me go to desk 4 give your papers and they'll give you your licence. I slipped him a tenner and happily thought i was almost done. Little did i know that this was only the beginning.

Desk 4 was full of men, men and more men. No line of course. My positive attitude failed to serve me as i struggled to get in the crowd. That's then mommy came to the rescue. After 90 minutes at this desk they gave me a piece of paper. That paper needs to go to the computer department so they can issue the licence. So off i go to the next floor.
After 60 minutes the offices calls my name and my father's name which is music to my ears. my licence is done! ( In Egypt you have 4 names, yours, you fathers, your grandfathers and a family name)
As i am going i check it out, and it says: Jaylan Abd El Salam Mraasi Zaki. Sadly it's not my name. The number on the licence is also not mine. A 3 has been switched with a 2.
I guess it's expected when all of the writing is done by hand, and very fast.

I go back to desk 4 and employees are leaving. After 30 minutes and some 5 attempts i find a guy who gets my folder and fixes the mistake. I slipped him a few pounds of course.

So off i go to get my licence again at the computer room, when they reply to me with brilliant news (insert sarcasm) "The electricity is out".
Another 45 minutes of waiting and the officer calls my name gives my the lisence with the right number, right name and after 5 and a half of grueling hard work.

I should have felt victorious since i managed to get my licence in a day - which is not always a possibility.

Somehow Victory was not the feeling that prevailed.

the day after the night before

So i am completely engrossed in Mcdeamy's and Meredith's plans in the elevator and i decide to multi-task and arrange my bag.

I take out my train ticket and tear it to pieces. Once i do that, i jump up and let out a big scream which puts my dad on his feet asking "WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?"

Turns out the ticket i just tore was not the ticket i had just used. It was the ticket i just bought to use tomorrow.

So i was left with this:

Some time after that, and a bit of scotch tape and this is what i ended up with:

Now i just hope the train conductor is nice enough to accept this and does not charge me another time.

Summer is over and winter is almost heeeere!

I never thought i would be that excited coz summer is over - but i totally am!
Summers in alex meant beaches, swimsuits, lovely tans, half naked boys, AIESEC fun, traveling, time off from studying - a constant PARTEEY!
Over the years i enjoyed a lovely month in England which was amazing, a month in Turkey that was just one big party day after day (oh what i'd pay to do that again!), an adventurous trip to Korea with Shady - pretending we were married so he would bargain for me, checking out hot US marines walking the streets and awwing at corny asian boy bands and doing loadz of stupid stupid things, and germany - the trip of death!
I have also enjoyed the summer nights, the partying till dawn, the nights at poo's, the sneaking around my mother at 3 am - those were the days!

But now as i have so obviously and sadly grown up into a career ahem "woman" and moved to the big C summer is just a blub of sweat waiting to hit you at the next corner. Time off in the summer is not in sync with your friends, and it's short, it's hot and stinky and there are all those fun things around you just can't to because of that thing called J O B!

Winter is, however, GREAT!
All the kids go home early -> less traffic!
No more sweating -> finally contacts, make-up and hair is possible!
Great breezy weather -> dressing up is fun again!
No more A/C -> now people can actually listen to my singing in the car - lol!

So i am feeling ACTIVE! and this winter is going to be the winter of A C T I V I T Y!
no more meeting in people's houses and all that crap!
So here's what's gona happen:
- Day trips to Mansoura, Fayum and Rashid
- More feluccas than ever
- More walking around old cairo and attending street concerts
- Enough with the coffee shops - it's time for CLUBS!
- and activities need to involve some "activeness" i.e. bowling, airhockey, walks, mid-night horse backriding by pyramids and stuff like that
- dancing - needs to happen more often!

Let the winter BEGIN!

4th time's a charm!

Last weekend i went to siwa, and i have about 18 bite marks to prove it!
The trip was great!
Some serious sandboarding, driving on sand dunes and swimming in hot and cold springs was exactly was i needed.
All my intchiness and bites are a sweet reminder of the two nights spent watching the stars and hearing about Luke's college and frat days and Annika's travels accross the globe!

Now, it's back to reality :(

Premier Week - well it's about freaking time!

YAYAYAAAAy! i am getting all psyched up about all the shows coming back!
abc looks like it's ready to kick some ass!
i can't wait to snuggle in bed with some ice cream over the season's premiere of Gray's anatomy - i have already watched the promos like a zillion times!
i can't wait to gossip about gabi's discovery in her wedding and what the other DH crew has been up to.
sadly we have to wait a few more months till Lost is out but it's ok i'll be busy with all those new shows. They are also exciting! private practice with the gorgeous red head and quite a few promising other options.
must get that anonymous browsing going so i can enjoy all the shows starting NEXT WEEK

YAY!

sorry for the dorky post but i LOVE TV!

the world of spices

So on my newly adopted live-till-i-am-a-hundred lifestyle i have had to give up a few unhealthy habits and start up new ones. One of which is to substitute those deep fried chicken into grilled ones.
After about a week of putting soy sauce and chicken onto the stove i decided it was time to change. This was partly because i was embarrassed by Kent - he was coming to visit and if he'd seen my soy-chicken fiasco he would not give me a break. I chopped some tomatoes with it and Kent was happy, and so was I!
The next time i was waiting for the meat to cook i looked around and saw Nisrin's glorious collection of spices. I lined them up and smelled each and everyone of them. And trust me - with my un-recovered nose, that was hard. Initially i was inclined to put a bit of everything from sweet basil to Cinnamon on top and see what happens. Then i wised up and picked my two winners: Sweet Basil and Allspice. The third one was garlic powder, but again i imagined Kent's mortified eyes if i used garlic powder when i had fresh garlic right there in the kitchen. So i chopped off some garlic and put it all in there.

The result - GREAT! i have been eating this mix for 2 weeks now. I am going to get bored from it in a few days and decide to put new winners,, i am thinking curry and something else i don't know yet.

So i am finally giving up my "the only spice i eat is salt" attitude, and i am now a spice believer.

bring on the spices!!

Rant

A lot can happen in the first hour of waking up that determines your mood for the day.
Today my bawab (door man) decided to interfere with my daily rituals that set me off to a good or okay day.
He volunteered to tell me that the guy from the phone company that came to fix my phone (2 weeks late by the way) was pissed that i did not give him any money. So my bawab gave him money. So i told him not to go around giving money on my behalf or for me, it's his JOB to fix phones and i pay his company enough. His justification was that if we don't tip him then the next time a phone stops working in the building he will not come straight away and will stall for a couple of days before coming to fix it.
This is just classic! if the bawab expects me to give him his money back then he is WRONG! if he has too much money and wants to be charitable, he can do so on his own budget not on mine. And if he can do that then we are obviously paying him too much, that an electrician working for the phone company is getting charity from a bawab!

As for that idiot phone guy - if he wanted a better job, he should have studied well in high school and got into a good FREE university and make more instead of playing in the streets, smoking up and watching porn and end up in some technical institute that would make him blue collar for the rest of his life. I shouldn't pay for his poor choices. And i know the bullshit about him not making enough money and life is expensive and he has to feed his family - but he should have thought of that when he smoked his J instead of going to class!

I hate that everyone expects a tip to do THEIR FREAKING JOB!
I really hope Nasser is burning in the depth of hell right now with whips and hot flaming stones being constantly thrown at that fragile useless communist body of his, and when i meet him there i will give him a nice big kick in the crotch...

I am having a bad Egypt day!

Bye bye wisdom

My vacation is coming to an end. I took 3 weeks off and one of them was spent in bed recovering from a procedure i had to do, basically i had some sinuses problems and had to get it fixed and while i was under i decided it's time to take out those 4 wisdom teeth - which has been on my to-do list for a year now.
So i successfully dodged a visit to the dentist - YAY!
I am slowly regaining my sense of smell,, well really slowly
and now it's time to pack my bags and go back to the big C to get on with the rest of my life.
So i have made a list of things that should make me happy to be going back to reality:
1) i get to use my favorite toothbrush again - i have missed my blue oral B :)
2) work wanted to avoid me being back with a frown and decided to give our paycheck a little nudge so YAY!
3) no more freezing in A/C - courtesy of (mom's) menopause
4) scrabble time
5) starting to shed off the vacation weight and a hopefully a little more

ok i am out, that's it...

it's full on vacation blues till next weekend :(

Never again!

Day 1 post surgery, never ever ever again!2 year cold is not that bad...

never gonna happen, no liposuction, no c-section....nothing - general anesthesia is my enemy!

I have mastered sign language because speaking is not an option at the moment. And not being able to talk is torture for one outspoken talkative gal like me.

no pwesents this time

so - no postings in a while, i was busy tanning.
I made it up to alex and spend most of my days being a beach bum. Kent finally made it out here and i am expecting him to name me the one and only Alex Champion :D

My vacation time ends tonight - tomorrow i go in to do some small procedure and will probably spend the rest of my vacation high on pain killers

if you are up for a laugh, come keep me entertained

ok i am bored!

It's been 2 days in my vacation and i am bored...
i've organized my drawers, done my finances, arranged the book shelf, cleaned a bit, organized my room, done all the handwashing, done like 6 loads of laundry, fixed the wardrobe, watched like 10 episodes of scrubs, gave myself a pedicure and showered like 5 times

and I AM BOOOOOOORED! it's too friggin' hot to stay without A/C and too fucking crowded to venture out in the horrible cairo streets. UGH!
i know alex won't be much better but at least i know where i can find a treadmill that won't cost an arm and a leg.

my last scrabble night with kent is tomorrow - i am still hoping something would happen and he'd end up staying in egypt for a little longer. scrabble night won't be the same without his trash talk and good food.....
i can't remember the last time i felt like this bout someone leaving,,,,,, luli sad :(

Reflections of a chair

- there are only so many times you can shout " HEY AIESEC"

- sore throat is a must, voice loss is optional

- twister can be a dangerous sport

- how did we ever go on for 4 nights with 4 hours of sleep?

- god we're gettin old

- new game: 7ammo

- do not play bullshit with abdou

- gossiping was invented by egyptians

- AIESEC Egypt can run a conference that starts and ends on time

- Nader cannot dance

- Alex ppl are awesome! i can finally stop holding my breath for them

- AIESEC Egypt Rocks!

- I decided, i like AIESEC again...