SNOW!

So sweden decided to give me another good reason to love it - SNOW...
Yes i have whitnessed snow for the first time,,, and it was totally worth the delay in my flight! totally, i mean comon, when am i ever in a hurry to go to germany... (sorry i like to bitch about it)

Now since i was with work, all the people were old and boring (as usual) so i couldn't really have a good time..but still.. S N O W!!

I hope i never get old and boring....

winter sportin'

Well i finally know what i will do, if i end up spending a winter in Sweden (or marrying that swedish prince)

SKATING!!

Ok so this is my first glimpse of R E A L ice! It wasn't snowing (damn you global warming) but they had an ice ring - not wax like we got back home.

Then i played this game on ice - cold cold room!

needless to say i sucked, but i had fun

And this is me acting really cool about falling, ass on ice!

I also got a chance to see all the pretty girls dance on an ice ring, and damn they were good! it was only some girls having a good time, and they were sooooo good.
Then when they were done, the boys started playing ice hockey in full gear..

Tomorrow i should be spending my night in Germany - i hope i can survive this large concentration of ..well.. germans...

my corner

you know staying in a hotel for a week,, you gotta give it a touch of you...
That's my corner in the comfort jazz hotel!

I am walking on air...

yup that's what it feels like waering this

It's pink , it's glittery and it's mine!

In your face cold cairo winter!

what's up with the villages?!

I am in the airport looking for somewhere to have breakfast (at 1 pm haha) and i find out that the round food court in the airport is called "Food Village"
I happen to work in a place called "Smart Village"
and to see lions here you have to go to a park called "Lion Village"

what's up with egypt's fascination with villages!

i recon there are more villages out there that i do not know about...

contrary to common belief

i HATE studying!
Being a nerd doesn't mean you like it, it means you just do it......

:(

2007 - the year of Luli

It's is 2.5 hours past new years - it's officially 2007!
2007 will be the year i turn 24. As a wise man once said (Dody): 25 is when it all starts to go downhill, this means that 2007 will be my last year going uphill!
So i'd better make my new year's resolutions good ones, so here goes

1) During 2007 i want to have my last coke/pepsi drink. Just drink a can and then say it's the last coke/pepsi can i will ever drink.
I should also start the soda-pop anonymous (my name is luli and i am a sodapopoholic) and then later on write my book " a million little fizzy soda bubbles" (sorry james frey)


2) 2007 will be the year of low carbs! Right now i am pretty sure i will eat myself to death by the age of 30 - so i got 7 years (almost 6 now) to make sure that doesn't happen, coz well you can't rule the world when you're like......dead

3) Go visit America!!! Yes, the MET, Elis Island, the Sex and the City tour, national archives, the white house and a game (baseball or football or basketball,, still don't know)

Good things come in threes :)

Citystars vs Airport

The Cairo International Airport does not have dogs sniffing your bags - no dogs for security - none i have seen anyway.

Citystars - a large shopping mall - and nile city - a cinema theatre and office building - and the Semiramis Intercontinental have dogs searching you when you get it.

I hate going home!

I officially hate it. I go home every time and it all fits in prefectly!
My dad nagging me to come see him all the time, my mom being very affectionate and sweet as always, my grandma bitter as ever and still smoking like a chimney, my sister bitching and bossing all the time, and my bro who is so chilled and spaced out in his own little world of computer downloads and playstation 2 and my other brother with his 5 lunches, 4 dinners and 3 showers per day as an attempt to evade studying.
I normally like cairo, like my house, don't mind the 6 flights of stairs (lately), have fun here.
I stay in cairo for a while and then i don't want to go to Alex, the minute i go to alex i end up not wanting to leave.
So now i am back in Cairo and all i wana do is go back to Alex,,talk about withdrawal syndrome

My Bowling break through!

2 nights ago i rellied up the troops and ventured out on a night of bowling.
My first game i got a lame 55 - ranking last - nothing out of the ordinary!
So my second game i paired out with small-town-american Nirsin who is known to be good at bowling.
And while Nisrin brought out the best in me - 3 strikes and a spare - i brought out the worst in her - the only game with not even one spare!
This is why the Khattab house - May and her american cousin - beat us by a 9 point difference.
That does not by any chance undermine my achievement.
For the FIRST time ever i do not rank last, and i get a score of 107!! Wohoow! an 8 point difference from the top score of the game!

O plumber, where art thou!

3 days, 10 calls and 5 different appointments and still no plumber... and the situation is getting worse by each minute,, well by each "usage" is more accurate.
While in the civilized places the phrase goes "the customer is always right" in Egypt we have the not-so-equivalent " the customer is wrong,,fucking wrong".

You call Mr Plumber and be abso-friggin-lutly friendly and ask him to go through the immense trouble of visiting you in your house to do his job and get paid for it. ahh and what a thing to ask, it's like asking him to donate his kidney without any anesthesia.
So he gives you the proverbial, i will pass by when i finish my work,,,uhm isn't going to people's houses and fixing their plumbing your job aslan?!! so why is it that my request for his plumbing services not considered as "work"?!
Result - Day number 3: toilet is leaking all sorts of things and Mr. plumber still has work!
3 days of no plans, no gym, no going out, of staying home, baking a pie and making the most delicious pasta sauce ever (which sounds so insultingly housewifie) and watching "married with children" "The nanny" and "Paris and Nikky's E! true Hollywood story" (2 hours of the Hiltons is just too much!) and still NO FRIGGIN PLUMBER!

While i am hopeful that day 3 will be the promised day - i am also thankful for limewire and grey's anatomy which should be entertaining my day 4 god forbid

Jackie?!

On thursday i went to the National Bank of Egypt to get my credit card (they don't send it for you) - i picked up the envelope, and forgot to get the PIN number (apparently they don't send that one either)
The envelope was addressed to Jacklin Abd El Salaam Mohamed.
Needless to say, that's not exactly my name :)

exhausted!

I haven't had a day off in ages, and it's finally catching up to me...last weekend i spent my only day off - friday - sick of "Chili's of Death" and cleaning my own puke. I guess i really need to give a big shout out to thank nisrin for the hand in that cleaning - I hope i never have to do it for you (for your sake, and mine), but i will do it anywayz!

My new year's plans are crap! I am honestly too scared to go to dahab - so i think i will not go....and bayfest is fucking expensive. Maybe I should opt for a quiet new year's?

I am making my new years resolutions and i have a brand new entry:
Go to America!
Yes i want to go on holiday for 10 days to New York - that's it! I am doing it! So i am saving up - and i will stop my mad shopping spree that's been going on for 3 months! (damn you sweden for your good shopping)

One day left for my long weekend.........yawn

LinkdotNet is the worst internet service provider (ISP) in Egypt

Yes! it's official, Not only is their internet really slow, their fees too overpriced for the shit they provide, they also have the worst cusotmer service in the world!
If i ever see the general manager of Linkdotnet i will spit on his face for doing such a lame-ass job!
Die Mother-F***er Die!!

Any idea how i can make this post be the first search item found on google?!
I really want to screw their asses right now!

you live you learn

my work colleague with me in sweden keeps going on about how much he misses his 4-month old daughter, and how it's the first time he's been away from her and how he really wants to go back to see her and how he dreamed of her last night and how he's waited so long to have a daughter and he doesn't want to leave her.
It's really cute...

It's funny, i never really thought fathers miss their kids. I mean sure it's nice to have 'em around, when they're being nice and cute and not annoying, but to go as far as miss them?

He's no Roger Moore

but the new james bond sure is good.

and in light of that i am planning a poker night......

A very late thanksgiving

Living with an american has finally paid off. This year Nisrin, motivated by nora and naynay, decided to cook a turkey for thanksgiving. We made it 2 days late, and due to some cooking drama had it 6 hours late, at 11:30 pm to be specific.
Our little "family" gathered up to eat, Me, nora, naynay, sarah (nisrin's friend), Purvi, Shahira (nora's friend). Mai was also part of the gang, but couldn't stay out that long - we saved her a share.

Nisrin cooked the Turkey Sahira and I carved

Sarah made the gravy

Naynay made the sweet potatoesNora made mashed potatoes and corn on the cobpurvi wanted to guarantee some veggie friendly food - she made pastaI had the most difficult task of getting the drinks

And at the end of this fabulous group effort we got around nora's dining table and had a mouth watering meal

followed by a nice cuppa tea and star shaped chocolate cake

How we made it up my six flights of stairs after this big meal is a wonder!

It was a lovely day of cooking, playing sharades, chatting, gossiping and of course eating.
At the end of it i gave thanks for having such wonderful friends, I know i do not say it enough, but it's true.

Arrived

Yes, i am in Sweden - finally.
It's more beautiful than i last left it :)

it had to happen i guess

I am stuck in vienna, missed my connection flight - for more than one reason all of which are my fault.
I hope one day i can laugh about this, right now i couldn't be further from laughter.

I have a date with a giant toblerone

Weekend in Amsterdam!

So THAT's what they mean by autumn!
Yup i finally got to see that season for real - the yellow, brown and red leaves - and of course the cold!
I had me some fun Amsterdam time with the help of the greatest hosts ever! arthur, Aly and Lieke (who despite not having a blog, is still cool!) were awesome! It was great catching up.

Spend some good reflection time at the Anne Frank's House, and some not-so-fun time at the Hash Museum (it sucked ass)

What struck me most in the Netherlands was their railways - i had to travel a bit for work - and it's friggin' awesome! So reliable, well developed, and connects every town! WOW!
KLM was also a pleasent surpirse - nice food, and awesome entertainment!

Enywayz - next step Boras, Sweden - get ready for some serious ass freezing next week!

Stay tuned for my next post about my tantrum with the egyptian airport authority - i think we should give se3idi's a break and use them for all our jokes!