Kandoora, Kandoortain, Kanadeer!!!

Seriously!!! What kind of word is that?? Everytime I hear it, I look at my feet. For the longest time in my life, I thought it means na3ala (slippers). LOL.

Anyways, I got an email from a friend with pics of "kanadeer" and I just couldnt help being amused. So I had to share it with you all. If this "individuality" fever got to the girls and their 3abayat, its bound to get to the boys and their "kandoora". LOL

I actually like some of them.

Dating Dilemmas

Ok seriously, I mean seriously. WTF??

Ive had this idea / plan to start a semi-virtual dating agency / match-making website / service. Why?? Because some people on this side of the world just need help. Cos masakeen they are just NOT born with the natural talents. So they occasionally need a tiny shove in the right direction.

Ok now with a place like Dubai. People would think its really easy to make friends. Hell I would totally agree because I just came back from a week there and Ive average meeting at least 2 new people per day. Granted, not everyone stays in touch. But I have already received calls from three of these people since Ive been back to Muscat. And I consider that an acheivement.


Imagine my shock when a friend took me to an area in Dubai called Mamzar which is Dubai's equivilant of our Shari3 il 7ub. And as we were driving on a two lane road, we were stuck behind 2 cars going through the typically Khaleeji targeem!!! I was shocked. I mean COME ON!!!!!

And what was even more shocking is that the "female" car had four girls and the "male" car only had the driver. And the initiative came from the girls. How cheap!!! I mean Ive seen some really desperate 7arakat. But not this bad. And the girls were quite on the pretty side. So why go through this??!!

Some things will just never stop shocking me.

Im Baaaaaaaaaack

Its almost 4 am and I just walked into the house from the airport. Ok Im lying, Ive been home for at least an hour. Come on people. Im not that sad. LOL.

Anyways this post should be taken as an official complaint against Swiss International Airlines. I would appreciate it if someone would bring it to their attention cos I cant be bothered. LOL


Anyways, the ticket was purchased by my sister online. She was in Muscat while I was in Dubai. So she smsed me the confirmation code and when I asked around in the airport, I was told to proceed directly to the check-in counter. So when I get there, I was informed that is it not possible to issue me the tickets as the owner of the credit card used has to be present in order to sign the receipt. How come the email confirmation didnt mention that?? Since its obvious she could purchase and pay for tickets that are not in her own name, why does she need to be present?? Anyways, I was forced to buy another ticket then and there. They promised the money will be refunded. Lets see if they then make another fuss.

Moving on, the flight was supposed to take off at 1030 pm and at ten oclock, the passengers are still sitting in the waiting area. Anyways, when we finally board, the flight attendants start counting us about a gazillion times. Obviously the flight is delayed. Apparently, a passenger bound to Muscat has gotten off the plane in Dubai or something like that. Basically there is a passenger that should be in the plane but isnt but their luggage is. So they count and count and count. And then count some more. As if magically the missing person will be seated. The pilot actually even drives the plane onto the runway thinking that this person will reappear. Finally, we get driven back to the airport and are made to sit for almost three hours until they try various different methods of counting and matching of name list to physical passengers in order to figure out the name of the missing passenger. When they finally do that, they have the issue of the passenger's luggage. We took off at 115 am.

Anyways, while everybody was waiting on the plane, most people were walking around stretching their legs or finding other comfortable seats. Since the plane was less than 50% occupied, the majority of the Business Class seats were empty. So I went and sat down in an empty seat listening to my ipod. The plane wasnt anywhere near moving as it was around midnight then. Additionally, I only got the courage to do that when I saw a Swiss Economy Class passenger doing it over half an hour before me and a stewardess was chatting with him. So I figured that they were cool with it since the plane was empty anyways. Not ten minutes from my butt touching that big Business Class seat passed ila someone came and asked me to return to my seat.

WTF?? I mean already there is an inconveniance to the passengers, the flight is almost empty, its been over a 2 hour wait and not even a glass of water was offered to us (it was much later) and still they are getting picky. Im not gonna eat the chair, Im just sitting until our fate is decided. Bastards. And why is it that the Swiss guy that boarded in Dubai as well wasnt told anything before??

Discoveries of the day:-
1. The Swiss are stupid
2. The Swiss are dumb
3. The Swiss are extremely biased

More dubai stories later

PS. I would also like to publicly and formally apologize to MD. I was supposed to call you when I got a chance but thats exactly it. I never did get a chance. I didnt do half the things I wanted to do and I was mostly busy with friends that came all the way down from Abu Dhabi to see me. Im sowwweeeeeee. Would have loved to meet u. Next time inshallah.

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The user you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again this time next week.

Mua7 everybody.

Do You Guys Agree?

Courtesy of Fast Hacking

Your Blogging Type is Logical and Principled

You like to voice your well thought out opinions on your blog. And if someone doesn't like what you write, you really don't care! Serious and blunt, sometimes people take your blog the wrong way. But you're a true and loyal friend to those who truly get you.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

DXB Here I Come!!!

This time its for sure. The flight ticket is already bought and in my wallet since last Thursday. Non of that promising of friends that I will be coming but end up cancelling for no apparent reason. Im going and nothing is stopping me.

LOL. Ok well there could be things stopping me but Im ignoring them for the time being.

Anyways, I have in mind that Saturday and Sunday are official holidays for the National Day. Are they?? Cos Im planning on coming back on Sunday night. Im also taking Wednesday off to lengthen my stay since Thursday is my weekly day off anyways. Flying out on Wednesday morning and hitting the shops by noon at the latest. LOL. I cant wait.

So people, advise me on places to go to. My list is long but maybe there is something extra exciting that comes from your suggestions.

I O U

Did you ever go absolutely blank about what to get someone as a birthday present?? I find it difficult. Im at all not the type of person to get someone a perfume or a picture frame or anything like that. Especially if its for good friends. I find it totally thoughtless and un-personal.

When I choose a present for someone, I usually select something that I know, or at least hope, that when the beneficiary of the present ever looks at it, will have a huge smile on their faces. I love seeing that absolutely ecstatic look on their face. It just makes me feel like "YESSSS, I did it, they love it"

Thats the main reason I love surprise parties. I love throwing surprise parties for friends. And Im sorry, whoever says were too old for surprise parties is TOTALLY wrong. Nobody is ever too old for surprise parties. Sure as hell beats the boring old birthday dinners.

Anyways, back to presents. Although a suprise party does qualify as a present, I still like to give people something touchable. But I never know what to get. Especially if its a guy that is just a friend.

It was a good friends surprise birthday party a couple of weeks ago and I still havent gotten him a present. I didnt wanna give the classic "ur present is on the way" line because I didnt wanna promise something I might not deliver. No expectations is better. God knows how many times I have heard that from people. My last birthday I got about three presents from over 15 people with a whole bunch of "I O U"s some of which have been extending over three years. Im yet to see these presents and Im closer to my next birthday than my last.

Suggestions please. Birthday presents for guys that do not include perfumes or picture frames or any other impersonal items.

My Camping Trip Adventure

Over the eid holidays I went camping with a group of friends. The original location that was suggested to us by a friend of mine is a place called Ras Al Ruwais but on our attempt to get there delayed by us stopping at every single petrol station between Muscat and Sur, it was getting late and we needed to find a spot before dark in order to set us camp. We were also there for only one night so we werent really that fussy after being in a car for 7 hours.

So finally we find a really nice spot of sand that is surrounded by rocks which meant seclusion as well as shelter. The main reason that we didnt set up camp there was because accessibility wasnt very convenient when dealing with multiple coolboxes, 4 tents, 7 chairs and god knows how many other small bags. Luckily we didnt cos next morning our initial camping spot was 3 feet under water. LOL.

Despite having a huge rock up my ass all night when I was sleeping, the camping trip was GREAT. The company was excellent. The weather was amazing. The view was breathtaking and the water was to die for. A few weeks later and Im still boasting a healthy glow from the tan I got on this trip.

Would I go again?? HELL NO!!! You can take the girl out of the city but you cant take the city out of the girl.

Bed Trouble

Remember the whole room refurbishing project I had going on?? I even posted a pic of the new bed being assembled. Well thats all gone down the drain.

What happened is that I bought my bed from ID Design in Bahja. When they asked me if I wanted a mattress I said no cos I wanted a mattress like my sister's. So I asked them to measure up the mattress size since I need to special order it. So the bed arrives, the mattress is ordered and finally on the last day of Ramadhan working day (second to last day of Ramadhan as the last day was the beginning of the holidays), the mattress is delivered. Guess what?? They gave me the wrong freaking size. So basically I just special ordered AND paid for a mattress that is non-refundable, non-useable and non-anythingable. Mind you I paid a price that I thought was extortionate. Never knew mattresses were so expensive.



This is the current situation of my room. The bed was returned. The mattress is lonely. Im temporarily relocated to the guest bedroom. And a new custom made bed has been ordered to satisfy the needs of a rather odd looking mattress which I realised is perfect for me cos it means no more feet dangling off the edge due to height.

Guess Whos Back?

Yep its meee

Man I missed blogging. You know why?? Because with blogging came the comfort of staying indoors a lot. Lounging around in my PJs for hours on end in front of the TV watching news!!! (If anyone knows me i HATE news with a passion). With blogging also comes early nights and fresh mornings. Instead, Ive been going out way way waaaaaay too much. Staying out late. Catching up with some good friends which is a good thing but with that bumping into people that I would rather not bump into.

So I have a lot to post about. Later though.

Busy Busy Busy

Are you guys having withdrawal symptoms yet??

I swear Ive been meaning to post but I just havent been abling to get the time. Remind me to tell you guys about my camping trip to Sur area something. Now thats a story to tell. LOL

Wasssuuup maaa peeeepoooo??

Random Photos

So here I am posting u some random pics cos I remember I promised to post pics but I dont remember what the reasons were and I cant be bothered to go and check. So here u go. I hope this keeps u guys entertained for a few days.

Cupcakes for sale during the NBO Charity Fair. HUGE success. Home-made speciality of a friend of mine and over 2 days we sold over 400 cupcakes.

My cousin's t-shirt. Gift from his dad. Is he trying to say something?? Hhhmmm!!

My bed being put together. Yay.


My new shailas. Purchased with the help of my friend of the famous cupcakes.

My favourite perfume in the world. Narcisso Rodriguez. This is the winter edition. Same perfume different bottle. Its usually black but this is all white.

My new phone.

Dont you just love the details??

When Is It Going To End?

First of all, Eidkum imbarak oo ayamkum sa3eeda



Secondly, WTF??!! How come we ALWAYS 3ayad differently than the rest of the GCC?? They announced the Eid that it will be on Tuesday and NOT tomorrow. We always fast a day later than the rest of the world and of course therefore 3eed would be a day later.

Is this year going to be a repeat of last year when they announced that 3ayadna '3ala6 and we have a day to catch up on?? No. It looks like they are playing it safe.

Arent we one continent?? Ok fine, exclude those countries that have a time difference cos that might cause some difference but what about countries that are on the same time zone as us?? Like UAE and Bahrain.

So they decide to do the taw7eed of the 2athanat so why not taw7eed of such events like Eid day.

Anyways, I seriously dont trust these guys. They put a bunch of 75 year olds plus to see the hilal when they cant even see 3 metres in front of them.

Il muhim. 3eedkum imbarak.

Eid Shopping Attempt # 7832

I went shopping today. AGAIN. Results were the following:
1. The new Limited Edition Narcisso Rodriguez perfume. This is my all time favourite perfume.
2. Four new shailas from this shop in CCC. Its cool. Doesnt have much but they had some nice shailas to satisfy my new ramadhan look.
3. A phone (please see previous post).
4. A PCD tape because i forgot my ipod in my friends house and therefore have no music. Its temporary. Cant handle PCD for too long.
5. DVD of "In Her Shoes". Always wanted to see it but never got the chance.
6. McDonalds Jalapeno Cheese Sticks. I love them.

Anything to wear on Eid day?? HELL NO. Im going naked. LOL

(PS. remind me to upload pics when I get the cable for my camera from my friends house which appears to be the host to half my property)

My New Obsession

Ok Ive got a new colour-related obsession. For those that know me very well, I have been obsessed with the colour pink for the past 3 or 4 years. The obsession progressed to fuschia specifically which also resulted in a fuschia wall in my old bedroom. Just one wall not all of them. It looks very funky.

Then over the past year, my obsession with pink was replaced by an obsession with turquoise. I LOVE TURQOUISE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. The good thing about me is that if i get obsessed with a colour, i never got something thats sooo obviously that colour. Im a big accessoriser so the colour obsession is usually reflected in my accessories. My best buy would be my turqouise Kenneth Cole clutch I bought in August 2005. Family and friends still talk about it.

Now this colour obsession has progressed into a colour combination of brown and turqouise. Over the past week I have aquired the following:
1. A turqouise Moroccan kaftan with brown stitching
2. A brown bed / side tables with turqouise pillows

And the icing on the cake, the latest buy dated 20.10.2006 is the following

This latest buy is what actually made me realise my obsession. I noticed that where ever I go, my eyes are directed towards anything brown and/or turqouise. But you guys must admit. Its a beautiful colour combination.

Panic in The Bedroom

Ok Im beginning to panic now. I beleive that Ive already mention somewhere that I am in the process of refurbing my bedroom and I got all the furniture and stuff. (Photogrpahic evidence will be provided on completion of project). Now I need to go eid shopping and I made multiple attempts upto last night. Instead, I find myself always veering towards furniture, light fixtures and candles. AAAAHHHHH. Im still the following:

1. Mattress-Less
2. New Eid Clothes-Less
3. Curtain-Less

On the other hand, I have maintained the Eid tradition of buying my dad a new na3ala and as usual getting the size wrong. LOL. I dont know why I never learn. Im making a true genuine attempt tonight to get eid clothes.

Intermingling Lives

Do you ever feel that your life is 2 halves that just wont meet?!?! That you try so hard to make then join but there is some sort of invisible resistance!! Both parts are equally important and OH SO GOOD that u just want both to combine in order to become much much better but there is something there that just wont allow it. You try so hard but nothing works. Pushing. Shoving. Tricking. Begging. Nothing works.

And then when you find out the reasons they just dont make sense. The selfish bone in your body just kicks in and makes u lash out and scream, "what about my feelings?? dont they matter enough for u 2 to combine for me??"

Its confusing. You feel giving one side attention means u will loose out on the other side. And when you give the other side some attention, u feel u missed out on so much.

Does it have to be a choice??

Scorpio Vs. Cancer

Ive had waaaaaaaaaay too many scorpios in my life. Whether friends, romantic interests, almost fiances, etc. For some reason, I click more with Scorpios. Even though I HATE their characteristics.

A Scorpio male is introverted, masculine, private, moody and thinks internally. Never ask a Scorpio to do something because they are stubborn and would often not do it just to spite you. On the other hand, they are very emotional and soft hearted. When a Scorpio loves, he loves with ALL his heart and would do the impossible to make his woman happy. So ladies with Scorpio men, if u see them not giving a shit about ur feelings, chances are either he doesnt love u anymore or he gave up on the relationship.

Much similar to the animal they are named after, Scorpios almost always have good intentions at heart. The Scorpion is blind did u know that?? Venom is protection and because they cant see, they think that anything close to them is attacking them so they are actually DEFENDING themselves as opposed to attacking. A Scorpio male taught me that. How ironic??!!

Transitions

Ever thought about them?? The act of transitioning from one period of our lives to another?? Weve all done it countless times. In this day and age, almost everyone has lived in at least 2 countries throughout their lifetime. Some as many as one country per 2 years.

But these transitions were to some extent expected, predicted or even awaited. Transitioning from a high school student living with parents to a college student living on some campus miles away from home and meeting new people that will influence your life forever. Transitioning back home to become an employee and still living with parents. Some move to a different city anywhere in the world to gain some international experience. But moving back home thats like taking a step back.

Ive done so much in my life il7amdila, I studied locally, studied abroad, lived abroad, worked abroad, worked locally, lived locally, vacationed locally, vacationed abroad, etc. You get the picture right?? So whats the next transition for me?? Or what I would refer to, "WHAT NEXT"??

I think Im ready for a change of lifestyle. Living alone but locally. Thats something I havent tried. What are my options?? Well, being a Omani girl living in Oman, my only option is getting married. Since obviously my parents, thankfully, are not liberal enough to allow me to get my own place.

So thats it?? My next transition is marriage!!!

This gets me to my point. For an arab girl living with her family, the weight all goes into marriage. Is it really that important?? Is that why some girls get married without love??? Just to move out of their parents houses??!!

How depressing!! I think I will do the working abroad thing again. LOL. Not that Im not ready for that. I am. I just feel suffocated with it being my only option.

Getting The Tag Fever

I just noticed that I was tagged by Red Dragon. Wasnt informed by a comment which is a PROPER way to do it. Hint hint. LOLZ. Anyways here goes.

I am thinking about...what to wear tomorrow

I said...that I was thinking about what to wear tomorrow

I want to...go on holiday. Preferabbly to the mediteranean

I wish...I was soo rich that I didnt need to work

I miss...being a kid

I hear...things that I shouldnt be hearing

I wonder...who I will marry

I regret...letting go of my childhood

I am...who I am and not who you want me to be - quote by 3aneeda

I dance...to everything and anything as long as it has a beat

I sing...very badly. I sound like a strangled crow

I cry...whenever I feel down

I am not always...the active fun perky me

I write...to express feelings that I cannot speak

I confuse...myself too much

I need...big strong arms around me

I should try... skydiving

I finish...peoples sentences

I tag...Hopeless Poet only because I just tagged the world and a half and Im trying to get him to become a more active blogger. ;P

A Step By Step Tutorial to Adding Pics to Your Nick - Dedicated to Noors

Again by request AND dedicated to Noors.

Step 1:
Follow the steps described in my first tutorial and upload the pic that you want to add to your nick. Publish the post.

Step 2:
Go back to you post as if meaning to edit it and click on the "Edit Html" tab. You will see the code for the pic that you had just published. Select the URL that describes the image that you have already posted such as the photo attached. (NB. Ensure that the URL begins with http and ends with .jpg)



Step 3:
Go back to the dashboard and click on the "Add Your Photo Here By Editing Your Profile" box in the top right hand corner such as the pic attached.



Step 4:
Scroll down till you reach the "Photograph" section and paste the URL that you had copied earlier from your post into that space such as the pic attached below.



Step 5:
Scroll down till the end of the page and click on the "Save Profile" button as the pic attached.



Step 6:
Wait until the page refreshes and you get the message "Your settings have been saved" on the top of the page as the page attached.



Step 7:
Come back to this post and type a "test" commen. When successful, then type another comment expressing your happiness that you now have a pic attached to your comments. LOL

(Noors - Bonus hint: Before pasting the PrntScrn into the mspaint document, make the white empty box as small as possible just the same was as u make a normal window smaller in order to avoid the extra white bits like your screensaver pics)

Just Realised . . .

. . . that most of my posts lately have been about, or have included, something related to Freej.

Does that ever happen to you?? You get temporarily obsessed by something and it begins effecting your life. I keep catching myself quoting things from Freej specifically the scene I posted previously about "byi65oonich yal 5ubla".

What ARE obsessions??
in human psychology refers to the state where an individual becomes obsessed with an attachment to another human, animal or inanimate object. A Freudian belief that, if during one of the psychosexual stages of development, a person did not receive appropriate gratification during a specific stage, or that a specific stage left a particularly strong impression, that person's personality would reflect that particular stage throughout their adult life. Fixation to intangibles (i.e., ideas, ideaologies etc.) can also occur (see Zealotry and Fanaticism).

Hmmmm. I wonder what my next obsession will be?? Any suggestions??

Advertising Myself

Check out my post at Arabia Calling.

This is my take on polygamous marriages.

For All Freej Lovers

Now the episodes are available for downloading. Thanks Red Dragon for providing me for this life-altering link.

Im being a little too over dramatic arent i??

Anyhoo, Download Freej Here

A Step By Step Tutorial to Adding Pics to Your Post - Dedicated to Noors

This is dedicated mainly to Noors, but also to anyone else who wants to learn how to add pics to your posts. People that were promised by others that they will be taught but that day never came. LOL. Well here it is.

Step 1:
Click on create post. The image below is what your screen should look like.



Step 2:
Click on the of the icons above the text box that looks like a tiny image of a mountain against a blue sky. If you float the cursor on it, u will get a small info text box stating "add image". The attached pic below shows what it looks like.



Step 3:
Select the image that you want to upload. The instructions are clear. If you want to upload more than one image at a time, there is an option "Add Another Image" which increases the number of image selections. Again pic to show what it looks like.



Step 4:
Wait while the images get uploaded. Image attached.



Step 5:
When the image has been uploaded successfully, the below will appear. Click "Done" and you are DONE. Woohoo. Notice the code in the text box of the post create. That code is the actual pic. Pic attached to show as usual.



I hope this tutorial was helpful to all.

Im Starting A New Tag

Im interested to see what people have as their background pics. Cos I know I change mine every so often depending on what Im into at that time.

Its simple all u need to do is downsize all running programs or windows. Then press the "PrtSc" (Print Screen) button on ur keyboard. Then go your start menu and select "Run". Type "mspaint" and when it opens then click on edit paste or "Ctrl+V".

Save the document and then attach it to your post in ur blog.



I tag the following:
Arab Lady, Sleepless in Muscat, Devilish, Red Dragon, Blu Chi, Baroque, Cheesecake, DG Diary, Emirati, Fast HAcking, Leilouta, Lonely, MD, Mysterious, Qatar Cat, Polygynous Blessings, Hopeless Poet, Pink Sushi, Nabhan, Nash, Noors, Per Your Request, TTT, Tomboy and Twix.

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH

They blocked all web-based emails at work. Why?? I dont get it. WHHYYYYY??!!

Lets see how long it takes before they block my blog.

The 3aneeda Holiday - Floating in the Living Room

As promised, I will be continuing my holiday escapades to you in parts. This one is the story of yet another drama that occurred. This happened on our second day in Rabat. We had arrived late the night before by car from Casablanca and headed to a quiet cosy restaurant for a light dinner in order to have an early night in. We woke up early in the morning and headed straight for old town Rabat and the souq and the typical touristic locations. We wanted to get this over and done with in order to decide which of these locations we would go back to for more details and photographs. We were initially planning on going swimming but the weather did not permit. In all cases, by early evening we get back home tired, smelly and semi-rushing as we were invited to a friend's home for a BBQ.

So the four of us had fights over who was going into the shower first and the agressive algerian won. She goes in and comes out with a big grin on her face. Just when the second girl switches on the water, my friend / host screams out "switch off the hot water, theres a leak somewhere and the kitchen is all wet."

It turns out that the water heater located in the kitchen was leaking water. After a little bit of investigation, my friend realised that its in fact the water pipe INSIDE the wall that had burst and the water was leaking through the wall and into the kitchen. We quickly tun around the other side of the wall and discover that the water had also almost completely soaked the living room rug.

Two hours later, we are all sitting around in the back garden of the friend hosting us for the BBQ. Two of us had been dispatched to another friends house to shower while my host showered in her upstairs neighbours apartment. We laughed it off that day and just decided that we were bad luck on my friend as this was the second drama story that had happened to her since we got there.

The attached picture is of her living room. The rug in the picture is not the same wet one. This pic was taken on the last day. This is the typical Moroccan style living rooms and this is where three of us slept most night despite the availability of two empty bedrooms. We just liked the idea of sleeping in a U shape and pretending its a slumber party. LOL

Whats Wrong With Google??

I cant live without it. I use it for almost everything. Its part of my daily life. everytime I try to open google this is what I get.



HELP SOMEBODY!! Any idea about whats going on??

Taking a Day Off

I always wonder why I always make such a waste of a day off?? I didnt go into the office today. I had a very hectic day yesterday which landed me absolutely exhausted in bed at about 1230 and waking up with the most blocked of noses and painful of throats. I couldnt even lift my head cos it was so heavy. So I sent a text message to my colleage since I also realised that I was voice-less and prompty went back to sleep.

I woke up again about 1030am and felt a lot better. I sat up and my blockageness was ceasing bit by bit. My voice was still gone though. I got a business call from the office and i could HEAR the pity over the phone.

By 2 pm I was feeling a lot better. In fact everything was back to normal and I felt as strong as a horse. So I called a friend of mine and I informed her that I might take advantage of my day off and have a really long bath. As soon as I shut the phone, I prompty went back to sleep. AGAIN.

I was woken up about 615 way after the 2athan. I missed it. I cant beleive it. Anyways by the time I ate and finished, showered, got dressed and ready for the 2nd day of the Charity Fair, I was already running 45 minutes late. I still had to make 2 stops before getting to Oraimi.

Anywho, I just got into bed. Showered and clean and feeling fresh. And I realise. I had NOTHING to do all day. And yet I was still late for the one thing i had to do. Whats the point?? I couldve gone into the office a little late and gotten a truckload of work done. What a waste.

Contributing Somewhere

Yay. Ive been invited to contribute in another recently established group blog.



Check meeee out there.

My Attempt @ Adding a Photo to my Profile

Lets see if this works. As Im following the directions provided to me by blogger



If the pic appears with my profile and not in the post alone that means that I have been successful.

The 3aneeda Holiday - Homeless

The longest part of the vacation was spent in Rabat. By far my favourite Moroccan city. The people are amazingly nice and helpful. Such as the example I had given before.

Of course, wherever 3aneeda goes, it is usually followed by adventure. On night, when my friends and myself, totalling five girls, were getting ready to go out to the opening of a new restaurant. Of course, with five girls in one apartment with at least three hairdryers switched on at the same time, countless kilos of makeup scattered on the dining room table and some sharing of wardrobes, we were about a decade late for the opening. In our rush to leave the apartment, some random comments regarding locking the door were flying through the air without much attention.

Five hours later, my host, our algerian friend and I were having a rather heated discussion in the basement parking lot regarding who told who to take the apartment keys. Conclusion: the keys were inside the apartment and we were locked out therefore homeless.

To stress on the hospitality of the people of Rabat, two of my Moroccan friends childhood buddies were fighting to host us. Eventually the female buddy's house was selected for obvious reasons. Attached is a picture of the remains of the breakfast that was served to us by the most hospitable girl I have ever met in my life.

Freej

ITS THE BEST.

Freej is about four characters. Four women who are living in a traditional lifestyle and neighbourhood. Each is quite unique and extremely funny.

This 15 episode animated series is the brainchild of Mohd Saeed Harib, a 28 year old UAE national that developed the characters back in 1998 but the idea never got picked up until 2003 when he started working with Dubai Media City with the backing of the SME project supported by the Sheikh Mohd Foundation. Hes HOT im telling you. LOL. *blush blush* And its not even a good pic of him. Check him out during the first commercial break in the show.



Of course, like all popular series, people start relating the characters to someone specific that they know. I have now been tagged as Um Allawi. Constantly either on the phone or on the laptop.



My favourite episode is the one where Um Allawi gets her drivers licence and takes her friends on a camping trip to the desert. They wake up in the morning to see Um Khammas is gone and when they search for her they find her sitting in a huge pot of water on fire. Um Khammas thinks its a jacuzzi but the ladies understand from the tribepeople that they will slaughter her to satisfy their god.

Um Allawi (to the tribesmen): Shtaboon feeha?? La7amha mur, wilsanha amar.
Um Khammas (to Um Allawi): La tsibaaaaaiiinnn!!!
Um Allawi(to Um Khammas): By6ub5oonich yal 5ubla!!!
Um Khammas (to Um Allawi): Shu???
Um Khammas (to the tribesmen): Tara la7mi mur, wilsani amar.
Um Allawi (to Um Khammas): Taw il nas??!!

(Translation: PS. its funnier in arabic.
Um Allawi (to the tribesmen) : What do you want with her?? He meat is bitter and her tongue is worse
Um Khammas (to Um Allawi): Hey watch it!!
Um Allawi (to Um Khammas): They are gonna cook you, you idiot!!
Um Khammas (to Um Allawi): What??
Um Khammas (to the tribesmen): My meat is bitter and my tongue is worse!!
Um Allawi (to Um Khammas): About time!!)

Attached is the picture of Um Allawi's drivers licence. Check out the details.



Catch the last three episodes starting tonight at 640pm on Sama Dubai

The 3aneeda Holiday - Part Two

While editing the last post I was working on, I realised that I am yet to continue the stories of the 3aneeda vacation. So here goes. PS. I taught myself how to upload pictures. Yay. Im so happy.

Marrakesh

This post is dedicated to Marrakesh. A magical city in central Morocco. As opposed to the coastal city of Rabat, Marrakesh is actually very close to the Atlas Mountains. Also known as "Marrakesh Al 7amra2" - i.e. Red Marrakesh due to all the buildings being red.

When I was told that all the building in Marrakesh are painted in red, I actually expected blood red buildings. Its more of a dusty beigish pink than red. Thank god. Imagine if it WAS red.

The day we got there, we were exhausted. The drive had taken us over five hours and due to our late plans, another 2 hours were spent looking for a hotel with vacancies. The next morning we headed out to the main area. The typical old medina also named "Sa7at Il Fnaa2".

It was magical. I fell in love with Marrakesh at that point in time. Everything was so natural. It has the busy atmosphere that I loved. It had cats that wouldnt even budge if they saw u coming straight at them. The had old men wearing funny costumes and serving water. It has the snake charmers and other kind of animal charmers. It has the terrace style restaurants and cafes serving everything from the bastilla to burgers and fries. It has the rather disturbing affectionate men all over the place. Overall it was a city that I know I will never ever forget no matter what happens. You know how they say its all the small things that count!!

This is a picture of a rather brave cat that I watched for at least ten minutes. This cat never budged. People would be stepping over it. Carts being pushed past it and sometimes around it. People were actually changing their route to satisfy the cat. I thought it was so funny. Couldnt help comparing it to our Omani street cats.

People had warned me about Morocco for various reasons. The first thing I heard about Morocco especially from family members was this magic and a3mal business. I was relatively skeptical about it especially coming from Oman. When I met some people there, both Moroccan and other nationalities, I was again reminded of the warnings of family members. Apparently Oman comes 2nd to Morocco in these things.

This is a pic of those rather affectionate men that I referred to earlier. This is a stand that sells everything from spices to dried fruits. Some of these stands also openly sell the stuff that is required to make those so called "a3mal" and they are very very upfront about it. When speaking to some salespeople, they would explain to you exactly what each item is used for and what some of the most "popular" a3mal are done for.

This pic was taken while lunching on a terrace that overlooked the main middle bit. Thank god for zoom as I was pretty far away and they couldnt have known that I was taking their picture. Since Marrakesh is a realtively touristic location, dont be surprised if someone comes up to you saying "u just took a picture of me so u need to pay me".

(The drama events that occurred during the vacation will be posted seperately otherwise this post will be HUGE. Each drama will have a post dedicated to it. I will give everyone a day to digest this post beforing publishing the first drama. Even though its ready.)

A Post About "Love"

Whenever two or more girls get together the topic of men and love has to always come up. If not in details, then at least as a mention. Ive noticed that recently. When you really concentrate on what the other person is saying, you can begin to pick up on these things.

. . .being the single girl that I am . . .

Especially when it gets squeezed into a sentence that has no relevance AT ALL. I always take that as another way of the girl telling her friends "just in case u dont know that im single i AM and therefore you can now recommend me to your brothers / male friends / colleagues / anything goes". I find that VERY demeaning. I always want to ask the girl if she really thought of herself so badly in order to attempt to market herself.

There are no quality men around

This really means "there are no men interested in ME". LOL. Im guilty of using this very often in the past. It is really a defense mechanism. Where you are telling people that there is nothing interesting that you see when in fact YOU are the one that has no sale value in the market AT ALL. This quote is usually followed by the "men are like public toilets" joke. This beleif is generally lost when a girl finds her quality man and is regained when she loses him.

Im not picky when it comes to men

This is the funniest. In layman's terms, the girl is oh so desperado. Shes basically saying that literally anything goes. In my single days, I used to say that I wasnt picky about men until people started telling me that im very picky. Then i realised that any little thing in a man can really put me off. There are some things that I will absolutely NOT sacrifice in my man and there are some things that I might be a little lenient on. Some girls are not as forgiving and will never sacrifice anything on her checklist. And of course that are some girls with a checklist of one item being "male". LOL

I beleive that I can fall in love many many times and I already have

". . .and I beleive that because all of my previous loves has left me." (Loaded with sarcasm). Hehehehe. Im in total disagreement. Nobody can fall in love 17 times. I think maybe three times is the maximum in ones lifetime. The process of falling in love is soo long. It takes a lot of time and effort. Girls that beleive that are those that usually get carried away by the attention they receive from the man and often mistake it as love when it really is just flattering and appreciated.

I can keep going on and on and on. LOL. But i wont. Maybe another day.

NBO Ramadhan Charity Fair

It was the debut of the NBO Charity Fair in 2005. This year the NBO Charity Fair is making a comeback.

Last year we raised OMR 11,900/- through our 2-day event that was held in City Centre which went to SEVEN societies. This year will also be a 2-day event but will be held in Oraimi Complex, Qurum on October 9th and 10th, 2006 (Monday and Tuesday) from 9pm to 1130pm. (Please see below for details of the societies that will be the recipients of this years collections).

The event consists of a sales bazaar mainly. The sales points will be one table for each charity that will be selling their own items. The proceeds of these tables will go directly to the selling charity and will not be included in the main pool as these are efforts of the individual charities.

There will also be a sales point for NBO that will be selling items donated by various companies, institutions, donators, staff and individuals of which the proceeds will go into the main pool. Other surprise activities will also be available in order to entertain children.

Our main aim is to collect cash donations (could be cheques as well paid to "NBO Charity Fair") OR good quality items of any kind to be sold.Therefore, it would be greatly appreciated if you could arrange the following from you:
Either provide me with a list of useful contacts that are willing to donate items for sale
OR arrange for the donations (whether items or cash) to be collected and passed on to me
OR volunteer for any other kind of services that you are willing to provide.

I can be contacted at any point in time for any further clarifications.

Please pass this message on to everyone on your contact list. Lets help the Omani people in need as much as we can.

The Societies

Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special Needs is a small Muscat based charity established in 2000. The aim of the charity is to provide children with special needs, aged from birth to 6 years, with a comprehensive early intervention program covering each child;s social, medical, physical and academic requirements.

The Omani Association for the Disabled and the Association for Disabled Children was established in 1995 with 22 members and now has a membership of 820 most being those with special needs. The main objective of this association is education and awareness services through mass media, training educational and rehabilitation and welfare services, elimination of barriers and environmental improvement and social services through contact with the community.

Al Noor Association for the Blind was established in 1997 as a nongovernmental organization aiming to help the blind in areas of vocational training, teaching Braille, English language, a workshop mainly for blind ladies, a placement service for members, use of internet and a gym. On a weekly basis the association brings the members in order to participate in activities along with volunteers. The Association is based on donations and has no fixed income.

The National Association for Cancer Awareness is for the enhancement of awareness of cancer and the support of cancer research.

"These Things Only Happen To You, 3aneeda"

I strongly believe this now. I have been recently getting the strangest illnesses on earth. Do you guys remember the infected ankle incident?? I fell. I didn't cut myself. How could I possibly get infected!!!!

Anyways, after a few sleepless nights, I finally decided to go see my dentist about my extremely painful tooth. Not that I'm scared of dentists or anything like that. I was just being pure lazy.

Anyways, since I skipped work today since I only managed to get to sleep at 7 am, I trotted off to the dentist at 2 pm. Fully aware that my fast will most likely be broken. 5 minutes later, I was back home. Dentist was not in. Please come back at 8pm.

After fa6oor, I come out of the shower and see that I have a missed call from a number not stored in my phone book. I call back and my dentist answers.

Dentist: "Hey 3aneeda, long time no see. What's up?"
Me: "Doctor, I haven't been sleeping for three nights because of a really painful tooth. Remember the filling u gave me last time?? I broke it and I also broke another tooth on the other side of my mouth."
D: "Well, I thought it was something small and I was gonna see you but unfortunately I'm traveling tonight. Do you want me to give you names of some good dentists for you to see??"

Gee Thanks Doctor. Indirectly telling me to eff off. Anyways, I get dressed and go across the road to a clinic that treats the Bank employees. I register with them as its my first time and all and start preparing myself for those long waiting room sessions. To my surprise, my turn comes in three seconds. I see the doctor. She's a nice lady reading a medical magazine before I entered and asks me to sit down. Takes my history and sends me over to the dentist chair. Takes one look and gives me the worst experience of my life.

Why oh why do you have to blow cold air through a gun like thing on my obviously naked gum????!!!! (PS. Sorry about the punch. It was a reflex action).

Half an hour later, I'm back home again. With some tiny cotton rolls soaked in foul tasting anti-biotic liquid squished into my half hollow tooth. This has to stay for 24 hours. The diagnosis?? AN INFECTED TOOTH!!!! WTF???

Needless to say, I'm not allowed to fast for the next 3 days due to the heavy medication I have been given.

An infected TOOTH??!!! How is that even possible. Sorry I just cant get over it.

The 3aneeda Holiday - Part One - Edited

Okay okay I get it. I've been procrastinating but here goes. Details of the great Morocco trip here by popular demand.

Let me just say that it is the funniest vacation I've ever had. It seems like I was bad luck on my friend since anything that happened was totally bizarre and never happened before.

Casablanca

Its a nice city. A little bit too crowded and over polluted but still has its charms. Host to the Mohd the Fifth mosque (the biggest mosque in the world I think) and the business city of Morocco. Was not very impressed but I didn't really spend that much time.

This pic is the only one I have of casablanca. As you can tell I wasnt very much impressed with it. Therefore not much photgraphic evidence.

Rabat

A beautiful city with beautiful people. Much cleaner that casa with lower buildings and wider streets. Also known as the diplomatic capital of Morocco since it is the host the all the embassies and the majority of the expats in the country. Rabat hosts the "resting place" of the Kings father, brother and uncle and the "dareeh" as they call it is a beautiful and serene place. Its a kind of building that literally, when u enter, u automatically start whispering. U just cant help it.

The people of Rabat are much more easy going and extremely generous with their time and resources. Simplest example. We were four girls going from Casa to Rabat in my friends car. All with luggage, including her since she spent 2 nights with us in Casa. So since her car doesn't fit all our luggage, she called her best friend to help in transporting the luggage from Casa to Rabat (One hour drive) but since he couldn't make it, he called his fiance's brother who left his friends at the beach in Rabat and came all the way to Casa just to drive back with luggage and he didn't know ANY of us, not even my Moroccan friend.

I loved that. I mean come on. Would you leave ur friends house to drive an hour to pick up luggage of people u don't know???!!! Unless u were a super nice person, then I'm guessing not.

. . . Wait for part 2, coming soon . . .

(Next episode on "The 3aneeda Holiday", watch out for the carpet stealing water crisis and the homeless holidayers)

First Day of Starvation

Actually its not too bad. So far Im feeling totally normal. I guess cos Im not usually a breakfast person and am lately falling low on my daily water intake. Its noon. Just finished going through the 280 emails I received while on annual leave. Sitting in a new office with trunks and boxes around me. Researching furniture websites in order to get an idea about what desks we should get for our new location to replace these mismatched tables on loan.

Its noon. Three hours down and three hours to go til the end of the working day. A 6 hour day is not bad at all.

Oh dammit. I just remembered. I have college. I dont even know my timetable. I think we start at 230 which means I leave work early to go straight to college. And we finish a few minutes before iftar. Dammit dammit dammit.

Allahuma ini 9a2ima.

Ramadhan Kareem

Hello everyone,

Firstly I would like to apologize for my disappearance. I sort of hibernated throughout the past few days upon my return from my belated summer holiday in order to be fresh and rested for my first day of work tomorrow.

Secondly, RAMADHAN KAREEM. I cant believe its this time of the year again. I can remember the day we went to check out the Bustan 5ayma and it was literally just us girls and some other couple that were DANCING to the background music. It was funny. It seems like yesterday. It doesn't feel like Ramadan. Abadan mafi jaw. I wonder why.

Anyways since I will be having slow days at work, I will be catching up on my blogging and checking of other peoples blogs. It appears I was only missed by only a handful of people :(

Bygones :)

As a good friend of mine says, Happy Starvation.

Home Sweet Home

As much as I loved my vacation, Im glad to be back home. Back in my bed with my laptop on my lap and back in contact with my virtual world.

Morocco is AMAZING. I highly recommend it to those that havent been there. Amazingly enough, did not bump into ANY khaleejis at all. Sorry guys. No incriminating photos.

My Goodbye Post

Yes. The time has come for me to say goodbye.

It has been a great pleasure.

GOTCHA.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The taxi's waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go


Actually i DONT hate to go. Im loving it. Finally taking my long deserved vacation after 2 years of very hard work. Im going to Morocco and will be back in about 2 weeks.

Take care of my blog. Take care of yourselves and I will see u guys soon. But not too soon. *evil laugh*. Mua7

The Internet and Its Ocean of Possibilities

A few days ago I was talking to a good friend of mine and we were discussing the issue of internet dating, friendships, relationships, etc and the whole shebang.

Anyways, we started reminiscing. I would be lying if I say that I have never met someone online in real life. Cos I have. Plenty of times. Would I do it now?? HELL NO. For a multitude of reasons.

First let me tell you. I was going through my list of friends and realised that a few of them are actually people that I have met through the net originally. And I realised that its never an issue for me. I deven forgot how I met them until I started reminiscing.

Anyways, back to my reasons. Back in the days (ili yisma3ni ygool ana 3ayooz), anyways, the internet only had real QUALITY people that you dont worry about their intentions and / or upbringing. Plus the fact that I WASNT settled back in Oman so I wasnt really bothered about it. Was meeting people in my university days on a regular basis. But now. OMG!!! I cannot imagine how some people are utilising the net!!! Its like a porn show?? Everywhere I go, I get pop-ups. And they invented the pop-up blocker. Problem solved?? HELL NO. I get emails on my WORK email address selling bodies and viagra!!!!!!! People please?? Am I a viagra buying profile??

I wont even get in the hi5 issue!!!! Ana wayid mu3jaba ib hi5. It got me back in town with a huge number of my uni friends that I had lost contact with. So Im not giving up my hi5 account. But with a nickname like "stubborn / 3aneeda" whatever gives people that im interested in "discrete Muscat based orgy sessions"!!!! WTF??

What happened to these quality people?? Im rediscovering them in the blogosphere. This is why Im getting comfortable around here. I think its a little difficult to sell sex through a blog?? Isnt it?? Isnt it!!!!

PS. This is my 40th post. Make my day and give me 40 comments!!!

Why Are Men Afraid of Their Shadows??

Last night I had coffee with a friend that I havent seen in ages. We caught up on sooo much that we have missed that four hours was not enough to cover all the topics that we needed to cover.

The main topic that took 3 hours and 45 minutes (the other 15 minutes were to decide where were going and what were having) was MEN!!!

I will not deny that this is the Number 1 topic that girls talk about. Whether they are single, committed, married, divorced, lesbian or anything else in between.

From the plethora of men-related issues, we discussed the lack of ballsiness that we have both witnessed ever so abundantly lately.

Ive always wondered why men are afraid of commitment. Or even talking about it. Dont they realise that even though there are many girls that will bring up marriage on the 2nd date, the majority are not THAT desperate for commitment!!! I mean all the guy needs to say is "give me time, when im ready u will be the first to know. Lets just get to know each other" then we will be avoiding those millions of random "dumps" that men are bestowing upon women under the excuse of "I dont want to hurt u so Im leaving u"

Then i realised. It might not necessarily be the guys fault!!! Some girls Ive witnessed are damn scary!!! I mean their body language just SCREAMS commitment and marriage and the whole shebang. Guys are threatened by that. Depending on the number of balls they have. Krkrkrkrkrkkr

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

How Well Do You Understand Men?

You Are 39% Scary

You scare men off ocassionaly, but only very weak men. You're a normal woman. You're not perfect, but you're pretty darn close.

Do You Scare Off Men?