Off to visit my prophet

Last Friday was a busy day for me, and that's cause we decided to take a plane and head off to Madinah for the day. And for those who don't know, "Madinah" OR "Almadinah Almenawara" is a city in West Saudi Arabia where prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) lived after he immigrated from Makkah. There is a mosque there in his name, and also he is buried there next to his 2 friends and companions "Abo Bakr Al-Sedeek" and "Omar Bin Al-Khattab". So us Muslims like from time to time to go and visit him and pray in his mosque, its not obligatory by the way as many may think.

Anyway, we took the morning flight, and as usual with Saudia Airlines, the flight was delayed 50 minutes! It seems that they were shopping for a plane, cause as soon as we boarded we kinda noticed the crew look weird... They are white, speak a strange language, and have Western looks. What made me realize whats goin on is that the signs and everything else was written in a weird language in addition to English, this is an aircraft rented from Turkish Airlines!

After the short 45 minute flight, we were hit by the cold weather of Madinah. It must have been 20 C and we are still 12 PM! We headed to the mosque barely in time for Friday prayers and spent the rest of the day in Madinah to attend the rest of the prayers.

I was happy that we chose to spend this time in prayer, sorry I cant say the same for other Muslims who couldn't wait to run outside the country to Egypt, Dubai, Lebanon, and Europe, even though these 10 days of this Hijri month are very holy and sacred, and a Muslim is better off trying to worship Allah more and try to erase his sins. I felt sorry that I left Jeddah for Dubai for the last day of Ramadan... I mean we get 20 days in the whole year that are VERY sacred, cant you wait to get out of the country?? Lots of Muslim WISH to be leaving in Saudi Arabia because it has Makkah and Madina, and also because of the strict Islam rulings here and that there is no alcohol, prostitution, crime, etc. Nah, leave all that and let's hit good old Italy, pick up girls in Cairo, or roam the night clubs of Beirut... God save us...

Now even though its prohibited to photograph at the Prophet's grave, I managed to sneak behind someone and take this video below. Not many have seen this spot, (so excuse the quality cause I was hiding behind someone) . Not for security reasons, but because you are supposed to stand there to visit prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) only. But I felt obliged to show this to the world, especially people who are interested in Islam, and even the people who attack us without taking the time to know more about us and our religion... Mohamed is buried behind these gates...

What really made me upset, is that the boys and girls were not acting at all that they are going to pray and worship. Girls are wearing full make up, flashy clothes, and accepting flirts from various boys scattered around *gasp* the outer gates of the mosque! What's wrong with this world? Are you coming to visit your prophet and erase some sins, or coming to build some more and pick up girls or get picked up by guys??

We took the 11 PM flight and headed back to hot and humid Jeddah. I tried not to laugh as I boarded the plane, it was so freakin small! I felt I was in a shooting of a film and this is a trick plane or somethin! The roof was so low and there were only two rows of chairs, with only 4 chairs in each row. Here have a look:

So that wraps it up I guess... Now if you excuse me, I am very tired... Happy Eid and happy new year everyone...

Vacation At Last

Well after a hectic month of phone calls, client requests, an insane number of mid night calls on my cell phone, at last I can say the season has passed and I can relax! Well kind of...
Our company gave us only 4 days off, Saturday to Tuesday! While 95% of other travel agencies and companies took the whole week off. But I would not bend for that, so I applied for the remaining 2 days to be deducted from my 30-day per year annual vacation.

I was loosing hope that we were going to head out to Madinah (the holy city where the prophet PBUH is buried) because we couldn't find any seats, and I was too tired after the season to drive 5 hours back and forth. But thank God (and then thanks to my bro in law!) we managed to get seats! Tell me if you need any prayers! LoL..

Also in the news, I got a job as a freelance photographer in Layalina Magazine, a community mag published here in Saudi Arabia. Its a good chance to polish up my skills! And for that I bought a new Nikon SB-600 flash, cost me around US$200 but its worth it!

I love getting mail, except when its credit card statements! The sad part is I got a mail from Men's Health saying that my subscription didn't go through cause my bank didn't release the funds from my credit card! But the good part is that I got my first issue of JPG magazine, and the customs didn't even open it! Even though there's a pic of a girl with a tattoo on her chest! Now how convenient...

I watched the movie "The Constant Gardner" last night on Showtime with the Mrs. , and I have to say its one of the best I saw in a long time! Plus I saw the pilot of "Prison Break", and honestly I dont know what all the fuss is about, I didnt like it at all...

Oh by the way, take a look at this cool phone! I would deffinatly get that if its well priced!

Anyway, Happy new year and Happy Eid to all of ya.. Take care...

When we had balls

I stumbled upon this video on youtube.com which shows a report by NBC about the Arab Oil embargo back in 1973. This was done to force Israel to withdraw from occupied areas. When I look now at our situation, 33 years later, I am shocked and sad. What happened during the last Lebanon bombing and how most of the Arab countries did nothing but watch. Back in those days the Arabs actually had the balls to stand up against Israel and the USA, even the world.

Now even if we decided to do that step again, USA have already secured themselves by placing themselves in Iraq, and being buddies with Qatar. Its amazing how the United States have planned this carefully through 30 years to settle themselves within the Middle East and the Gulf, now who can say that politics isnt a dirty game?

Beaten up... For what?

We had a family gathering last Thursday, and during that my sis was telling us that she was in Tahlia Mall the Thursday before when she found lots of guys running towards something and shouting... Then one security guard came running towards the middle of the mall and collapsed on the ground! We had no idea what was the deal and just suggested it was probably a fight or something between some guys...

Yesterday I heard from one of my relatives, who happened to be there at that time with his wife and kids... he asked around and found out that the story was that one guy from "high up" was trying to enter the mall, escorted by the usual dark-skinned companions, when 2 security officers stopped them from entering the mall, because of corse its for "families only" on Thursdays...

The powerful guy did not take no for an answer, and actually sent his henchmen to get clubs and "chains" from the car and beat one of the security close to death while the other one managed to escape inside the mall (the one my sis saw fall to the ground).

What I wana ask is, till when will this continue? That these people can do whatever they please whenever they please, even if they are 2nd class or even 3rd class "big shots" if u know what I mean... What did these 2 poor Saudi youths working as security for only SR. 1000 - 1200 a month do except do their job by not letting singles into the mall?
I bet this will just go like many other stories like it before.. under the table, forgotten, and never spoken of again...

Birthday and other stuff

Well I guess this has been the longest time I stayed without writing up a post, this was cause of many reasons:
1- Too busy with the season picking up
2- My aunt had an operation
3- I caught a bad flu which knocked me out for 3 days
4- KSA decided to block off some pages of blogger which affected signing in!

Anyway, my birthday was 02 December (yeah the UAE national day, woop-dee-do), and sadly not many of my deviant friends remembered, even though half of them are from the UAE and they noticed it was the same day as their national day... Anyway when you get older you start to feel birthdays are over rated anyway, whats so special about them? you just managed not to die for 12 months!

But I did get a few nice gifts... like a new Giorgio Armani wallet from the Mrs. (thanks honey!), an overseas call from my aunt in England (awwww), the new Boss perfume from my sisters, and last but not least a nice amount of cash from my parents

So what else has been goin around in the Godfather's world... Well I formatted my I-pod cause I felt there was too much junk on it anyway (23 GB of junk!) and it was easier to format it than to remove what I didnt like. Also in the news, I finally laid down my defenses and decided to agree that I need braces to fix a few of my back teeth. But the doc discovered I had a crack in one of my teeth and it has died and now I gotta get a root canal!!!!

The Saudi stocks are falling badly, they lost 2 years of profits in just 2 weeks and people have lost more than half of their savings... I lost alot too but I managed to escape before it got worse... Sukie wrote me the sweetest words... its so great to know that you mean so much to somebody, and it kinda gave me a confidence boost after I was feeling I wasnt liked alot just cause I always speak what comes to my mind... so now after I read this, I can tell ANYONE here on DA who doesnt like me or doesnt understand me to kiss any side of my ass they wish and to go burn themselves in a place where no one will hear them scream, lool....
You can read what MJ wrote about me here

I opened an Aramex "shop&ship" account which gives u a mail address in both USA and UK, so no more "sorry we cant ship to your country" crap! I srated by buying myself an arm band for my ipod and some external speakers for the Mrs.'s Nano I-pod. oh yeah I also subscribed to Men's Health magazine for half what they would charge you for an overseas subscription! I am even thinking of buying filters and lenses from Amazon cause they got amazing deals there!

Anyway thats it for today... I got my dentist appointment in an hour so I gotta go to a bar and get drunk... wait, I'm in Saudi Arabia, oh well...

Back Again!

After switching to blogger beta, I was having a hell of time logging in to make new blogs and respond to others! I thought it was something temporary but then time passed by and I couldnt comment on my friends' blogs and I couldnt write!

I thought it was a bug, and even sent an email to Blogger. But then my friend on both DA and the blogger world: Sukie suggested that maybe they blocked off Blogger and that whats causing the problem. So I tried my proxy bypass program and it worked!! I could have not been happier! Thank you Sukie for pointing this out, and damn you Saudi Internet filtering for blocking off our voice and our sites!

I wana be gay too!

Check out this video of this reporter "checking out" if Scarlett Johanson's breasts are fake or not. And she actually didnt mind and just stood there, just cause the guy is gay. Well if I can be gay for a day just to do that, heck where do I sign up? LooL

Saudi Arabia.. Best Country in the World (Song)

I guess alot of you saw this episode of American Dad: "Stan of Arabia". I didnt know if I should feel offended or laugh! LoooL...

Let me share with you this song from this episode... If you think its funny, try to download the episodes!

Two Years...

Last Saturday was our 2 year anniversary, I got her a bunch of flowers (no, not roses!)... and I wrote this to go with it...

Red roses were always a symbol
Of eternal love, passion, and care
On occasions and even in Valentine's
You can see them everywhere

I stood at the florist wondering
What should I pick to present to you
Should I stick with the tradition...
And get red roses too?

But I picked something different
I picked several colors out of my mind
Colors that reflect my feelings for you
Because our love is one of a kind...

And a picture of the flowers that I took:



My Love is like no Other by =DJVue on deviantART

Help me know myself

Please take the time to fill out these quizes, they are very simple and you can do one for yourself!

The Dark Side of me

The Bright Side of me

This is a short poem I wrote called " Childhood Memories ", it was for my latest Photo (shown below):

Everyday passes us by
The train of life doesnt slow down
Everyday holds mixed feelings
A smile.. A laugh.. A frown

The child in us dies slowly
As life's troubles kill us inside
We seek escape, we seek shelter
From life, there is no where to hide

Norture the child in you as your own
He lives in your heart, in your head
You may need this child one day
Sadly, you may find him dead...

Childhood Memories by =DJVue on deviantART

A Story of a kitten

As I was leaving home last Thursday, I saw this little kitten getting picked on by the big cats in the neighberhood. She ran off to hide under my car, I looked under and didnt see her so I thought she ran away. Oh was I wrong... Lets watch the video together...

Fast Food Fight

This video was shot last year, at Al-Beik branch on Corniche in Jeddah. Just for the non-Saudis, Al-Beik is a famous fried chicken fast food restaurant in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia.

See how these Saudi youth trashed the place and made a big fight with the staff.

Zidan.. The Legend

I uploaded my first video to my youtube library.. more will come!

Bad Muslims.. Good Muslims...?

I want every Muslim who loves his religion to read this blog and comment if they have any comment. Thank you.

Banks...

Ok I have OFFICIALLY had it with the banks' services in this country! Where should I begin? Should I start with the ATMs that are out of order most of the time? Or the POS (point of sales) machines in shops and supermarkets that give you an Error message more than getting the transaction through? Or the Electronic deposit machines which should save our time and efforts, but instead are not working 90% of times? And when you walk in the branch and tell them its not working, they just tell you to take a number and deposit the cash through the teller, not even appologizing for the inconvenience of their super services. And of corse you have to sit and wait for your number to flash on the screen after they are done with the 25+ people who came before you.

And the final chapter of the super service, while working on my portfolio online, and the market looking all green and fresh after 10 days of dropping prices, the online system just goes into error and doesnt open till the market closes! So are we just supposed to kiss our money good bye? Or should I drop everything in hand and jump to the nearest branch to stand in line behind 50 or more sweaty angry people who wana sell their stocks? Toll Free number I hear you say? Tried that, always busy...

A piggy bank doesnt sound like a bad idea now...

Second Place Baby!

Well what do you know... seems I can win something after all! After I entered my photo to the Flower Macro Photography Contest on deviantart.com , I was surprised when the results came out yesterday and I landed second place out of over 180 entries! I am sure you are saying: "hey you didnt win, what are you so happy about?" Well for a non-pro photographer with minimul equipment, I guess I accomplished something for myself before anything else Here is my winning horse:

Tickle My Senses by =DJVue on deviantART

Bug Heaven

What you see here is not a romantic spot by the red sea,but a lake that was created at a construction site after the recent rain in Jeddah last week. This lake is a hazard to kids who might fall in,and also a perfect breeding spot for infection spreading. mosquitos..

Yeah Right

I realy have to say i disagree with this caricature.. Which is obvious the artist just wants to please the labor office.

I am not against saudization.. But saudi employees carrying the burden of a company AND the expatriat,sorry i dont think so. Through my experiance,around 7 out of 10 saudi employees just dont cut it as hard and faithful laborers,which is giving good Saudi employees a bad name.

Addicted

Help.. After i stopped smokin i am now addicted to cigarrillos (cigar tabaco wrapped as ciggerets).
My dad gave it to me to try it out.. Yeah my dad is cool..hehe..
But i wont ask him for another pack.. No matter how the delicious Cuban tabacco tastes..

Gold Gym

This is where i work out

(I am just trying out the "Blog This" feature on my new Sony Ericsson K800, you can tke a pic then instantly send it to your blog!)

Woman Complain of being inferior? Not on Blogs...

What I noticed is that female blogs (especially in the Arab world) get more and more views and comments than male blogs... I mean you find this new female blogger and in just a few days male bloggers are around her like a swarm of flies, lool... I am not surprised really... If we take these simple rules into consideration (rules may not apply to non Arab bloggers, lool) :

1- Guys seek girls more than girls seek guys, meaning guys are probably more flirtatious

2- Guys tend to throw in words like "sweety" , "babe" , "your blog rocks", etc. Just to get that much anticipated virtual kiss, hug, or nice word (yeah there goes that "sweety" word again!)

3- Guys mostly wana know what girls are thinking and what interests them... Us guys? As the great Seinfeld said:" I'll tell u what's going on in our minds... nothin'..."

4- Because of closed societies in some Arabian countries, the idea of an Arab girl writing her heart off for all to see makes it worth a look... Especially if the girl is already putting a mysterious circle around her...

5- Guys who think that commenting enough might actually lead to exchanging emails, MSN addresses, maybe even mobile numbers... oh please! Get a life ok?

6- Girls like to talk to girls... thats why its very likely that girls comment on each others blogs.. Guys and guys...mmmmm... not so much, except if it has to do with girls, cars, sports, stocks, rumors, movies, or music... no guy wants to know how the other guy's interview went (except if he was his friend that is.. but then , why would they need a blog? lool)

So how do I know all this? Experience... I have been working as a guy for 29 years now..lool...

No offense to anyone.. But I had to let this out cause its just so funny, and sad at the same time...

Enough...

Yesterday as I opened the papers, I found a horrible story... six reckless young saudis (ages 24 - 26) chased a car that had a family of 4 (father, mother, 2 daughters) on Corniche Jeddah, the father tried to outrun them but caused him to spin out of control and crash into one of those huts they have on the corniche.. All the family are in the ICU and are seriously injured...

Description of the boys has been given out and they are searching for them, I hope if they are caught that they face a tough penalty.. They should be publicly announced, pics and names, in all papers... and should face imprisonment for a good time...

what has happened to our youth? Why are they acting like rabid dogs? When will we ever advance? I mean its not only chasing girls with a driver or in a taxi, their father was with them! There is no respect anymore!

Reporting from Dubai!

Updated Daily

Day 1

Arrived at the Dusit hotel after getting picked up from Dubai airport by a new BMW 7-series (hey, u only live once!)... I loved the hotel, but felt like an illeterate bedoin when I fundled with the hotel-shaped room key trying to figure out how the hell to unlock the door! LooL

After settling in, we took a taxi (my rental will be ready tomorrow) to Mall of Emirates to catch a movie, and was surprised by paying 40 AED for the taxi! We watched "You, me, and Dupree" which wasnt that great... We then returned to the hotel for sa7oor and calling it a day for now...
I called up My friend Joe from DA (who told me I sound like a TV or Radio presenter, lool) and we agreed to meet soon for coffee... sounds great! Hope I get to meet as much deviants as I can while I am here... I also found a miss call from Karth but kept trying to reach him again but his mobile is always out of reach! Get out of the batcave man, lool...

I wana go to somewhere with nature... and I heard Hatta is a good place for that...

Day 2:

I got my car rental which I had to say was a total dissaster! It seemed like someone was living in it for the past week... so I called up my agent and wiped the floor with him and demanded a new car... He will send it tomorrow but of corse I have to use this crappy thing (which was a 2005 Honda Accord, beat up with a stick) till I get something better tomorrow...

We left the hotel in time for iftar and headed to MOE again (it is kinda addictive!), we had iftar in Japengo (which Dxbutterfly from DA recomended), it was amazing and the sushi was great! Thanks sis!

We then saw "Joe Tucker Must Die" which I am sure makes every girl in the world happy.. but overall the movie was great! Better than what I saw yesterday at least... We are looking forward to the first day of Eid when they will put new movies, including (omarat ya'aqobyan), I wonder how much they will censor from it...

After that we strolled in the mall, I found this shop which had 75% off and I shopped for some work clothes... I got 3 suits, 10 shirts, 6 ties, all Ted Lapidus and Piere Cardain for AED 3,200... the original bill was *gasp* AED 9,800!!! So I guess I got a fair deal! lool

Now enough with MOE (for today, lool) we decided to head to the marina which alot of u have recomended... I called up my buddy Joe for directions... and even though he seemed busy he was nice enough to stay on the line while I got lost and managed to get to the Marina at last... it was pretty cool and we sat down at "The Chandlier" for some dessert, coffee, and sheesha... We then called it a day but b4 we went back we took a nice drive by the Jumeirah and relived some of the memories when we stayed at the Jumeirah Beach for 2 weeks when we were in Dubai 2 years ago (beleive it or not, the rate at that time was AED 900 per night!!!)

Question... whats a good spa in Dubai? And btw, I am a homophobe, lool.. so NO men touch me ok?? I need a lady massage, lool

Day 3

I got my new car... a 2007 Mazda 6! cool and better than that other crap... Today we decided to discover Ibn Batoota mall... so we went there for breaking the fast... We decided on Havana Cafe (thanks to =DxButterfly and *Omardxb for the suggestion!) and had a geat meal...

we then strolled through the mall and managed to cover ALL the courts: Egyptian, Persian, Indian, Tunisian... I really liked the style of the mall...We then drove to MOE after I got a call from *Omardxb that they are there in Costa Coffee... I went there and met with him, =Psy-Pro , and ~mtrais who all turned out to be great cool guys I then said my good byes and headed to Virgin Megastore on my way out... Davinci Code is out! Yay! Buy! Buy! I also got the new Evenscense CD and also "Lost in Translation" DVD because I LOVE that movie and lost the DVD a year back...

on the way out I noticed a poster about Eid parties... seems like a great combination! concerts by Elissa, Fadl Shaker, Nawal, Majed Mohandes, Hussain Jesmi, and Nancy Ajram!! Seems I may consider attending (though the hefty price tag of 600 - 1000 AED per person!!!), all will take place in Madinat Jumeirah during the 3 days of Eid...

There might be a big deviant meeting next Wednesday, I am really looking forward to meeting people from Deviant art...

Day 4

Well one thing I hate about hotels is the timings of the breakfast buffet! 6 to 10??? u gotta be kidding me! I barely woke up at 9:30 and dressed up like crazy only to find I arrived at 10:05 and no more breakfast!

So what did I do? I went back to sleep! Slept all the way till 4 PM... I then woke up and we went to Madinat Jumeirah because the smart girl who sold us the concert tickets yesterday sold us the tickets for Fadhl and Elissa instead of Jesmi and Nancy which we wanted! We exchanged the tickets then had lunch at The Noodle House.

After strolling in the Madinah, we went to MOE to catch "Omarat Yaaqobyan"... I was surprised NOTHING was censored from it, which is a good thing cause if you take anything out you will ruin the movie... But be warned, its not for sensitive viewers or kids!
The movie finished at 11 PM which only gave us 30 minutes to get to the Grosvenor House in time for our dinner reservation at the Buddha Bar. I was impressed by the overall mood and music... but theres nothing to justify the crazy prices!!! Sushi costs like its made of gold, main dishes range from 180 - 250 AED! I ended paying AED 320 for 6 peices of Maki and a Thai Chicken! But the show the bar tenders put on with the fire was sooo cool!

But one thing I really noticed.. I dont feel at all like I am in an Arab Islamic country (no offense)... The things you see around you just make you loose all feeling of being in an Islamic Country... I am really surprised how anyone can fast in Dubai except to stay at home!

Day 5

We woke up in time for the breakfast buffet then headed off to Hatta... On the way we stopped at a buggy rental and had a blast bashing dunes on beach buggies! Then our driver went kinda crazy (I think he had too much Red Bull) and took the Landcruiser for some hard core dune bashing! The guy was nuts!! I swear we were gonna tip over several times! But it was amazing!

We then took the road to the water hole in Hatta... it was an amazing view seeing cool fresh water (with fish!) in between the mountain rocks... lottsa people were swimming, some were BBQing, and others were just putting up their tents... I took loads of pics which I will submit later on ;-)

We then headed home and of corse we dosed off in the car from the exhaustion... Sleep at the hotel? There is no time for sleep when ur in Dubai! Took a shower and hit the road again, back to MOE and precisely to Armani Cafe where we met :develixile: and soon :devkarth: followed up (pics commin dont worry! lool). I loved the place, so chic and posh...

After we said bye to the guys we did a small shopping spree then headed to the Irish Village for dinner at my fave Italian Joint: La Vigna! Had amazing pasta and pizza then headed back to the hotel to call it a day... Time to leave is coming near :-(

Day 6

Today we overslept and missed our breakfast... we barely left the hotel at 4 PM and went to Ibn Batoota mall to get some gifts for relatives who wanted "3ooda" and we heard "Yaas" was one of the best... By the time we got there and finished our shopping it was almost 6... And I still had my suits to pick up from Ted Lapidius, so it seems I will not catch the dev meet today :-(

When I realized that, I thought we would make use of our stay in IBM so we saw "The Departed"... EXCELLENT movie which I recomend to see!! We then had lunch at Tony Roman's, I loved their steak and also their burger was to die for!
We then headed off to MOE to pick up my suits... I got SMSs from OmarDXB and MTrais (Both from Deviant Art) asking where I was and if I can make it... I tried to squeeze it in to see them at Johnny Rocket's after I picked up my suits but it was already 9:30 and I got a concert to get ready for! Sorry guys :-(

We reached the hotel, I showered, shaved and got dressed then we head towards Meena Salam for the concert!! We had trouble being seated at first cause poeple wont stick to their numbers... the opening singer (cant remember her name) was a disaster... her voice sucked and she only sang songs of other people... Then Nancy came on stage! I have to say I really enjoyed her performance, she has this kinda "style" and "spirit" on stage... around 2 AM it was time for the master Hussein Al-Jesmi! He brought down the roof with his amazing songs! Everyone went wild, dancing and jumping, men, women, bos, girls, all nationalities! He ended with Al-Shaki at 4 AM and we left after a wonderful evening! Dont worry, I got pics (very close, thanks to my 70-300 lense) and I will upload them soon ;-)

Wow I am dead tired... see ya guys...

Plan -B-

Well no more Beirut cause:

a- We couldnt get an OK flight back

b- My parents didnt like that I am goin to a place which had 2 explosions 2 days ago

So plan B is Dubai...! Though I went there 3 times, and its nothing new to me, its the best I can think of on such a short notice... Besides there is no way I am staying in Jeddah and spending money in the same places I always go to! Not to mention the great wetaher we have...

So see you in a week! Maybe I will blog when I am there, maybe not.. Cheers...

Beirut.. or Bust!

After we werent willing to go anywhere in Eid, suddenly a crazy plan came up to go to Beirut! Crazy? Could be... with the war that just ended 2 months ago, BUT prices are as low as ever plus Beirut wasnt hit by any bombings anyway... And most importantly, its a great chance to put my new Nikon D70s to good use!

Being the organized person I am, I am really having a hard time fixing everything on such a short notice. Imagine a guy who plans his travel 1-2 months in advance suddenly making plans for a trip next week! Yeah thats how frustrated I am...

Plus the geniouses in our staff department made my exit re-entry visa for 1 week! Who on earth gives a visa for one week? What I know is that the minimum you get is 01 month except if you're a plumber or a driver or something... What if I get sick? Get caught in an accident? Well I didnt stay quiet and I wrote a complain and sent it direct to our vice president!

Tomorrow I should get my visa to Lebanon, and my flights are still waiting list, AND I didnt book a hotel yet... thats so not me... But with this week being the last week at work I also got alot of pending stuff to finish, combined with the hectic schedule of Ramadan, its no easy tasy!

Oh yeah and the last of good news, the stock market crashed... So no extra money for the trip! Someone shoot me... BANG! Thanks...

I wish I was half as you...

Another sign that Allah loves this man (Khaled), his brother managed to get the visa to enter Saudi Arabia in just 2 hours, which is something very difficult... today he entered the office, and it was the first time I saw him face to face... Did I mention they were twins? It was like Khaled was standing right in front of me... "subhan Allah"...

As soon as Amr saw his twin brother's empty desk, he burst into tears... it was so moving...Today after "Aasr" prayer we went and prayed the burial prayers, we were happy and proud when the "emam" told us that Khaled was not "mukaffan" (wrapped in the usual burial clothings), nor was he washed as regular deaths... because he was wearing his "ehram" when he died... Even his face was not covered... The emam told us that on the day of judgement, he will appear with his ehram and "mulabyan" (calling out pilgrimage prayers) labayk Allahuma labeek... labeek la shareeka laka labeek...

The people walked in carrying him on their shoulders, and I saw his face... it was bright as day, and I swear to Allah there was a faint smile on his face... His face was so relaxed... as if he knows where he is going and what is waiting for him...
After the prayer we carried him to the van where they drove him off to the grave yards... It was a hot day, and as they were lowering him to the grave, I saw small sweat droplets form on his forehead.... just as he is a living person and not someone who was dead for the past 48 hours..."wala ta7sabana alazeena qotelo fee sabeel Allah amwatan bal a7ya2an 3end rabehem yorzaqoon" sadaq Allah al azeem...

We buried Khaled , and we prayed for him and said our good byes... this is how we will all end, under a pile of sand and pebbles and rocks... rich or poor, driving a Porsche or a Hyundai, living in a villa by the beach or in a 2 room apartment, we will all die and end up under the ground, in the dark, with only what Allah has in store for us...
We must all wake up... I know I have... I vow to Allah that I will change to the better.. I want to be just like Khaled...

We will Miss you...

I got this phone call from Egypt last night, and it was from Amr who is the brother of Khaled, our colleague at work... he asked me if I know anything about Khaled as the last they know of him was Friday night when he called his wife (who is in Egypt) and told her he just finished "Omra" (a kind of Muslim pilgrimage) and he is on his way to the city of Jeddah...
I tried calling Khaled's mobile but it was off... I didnt go to work yesterday because of a bad flu so I called my manager and he told me Khaled did not come to work... We just hoped he was jailed for speeding or crossing a traffic light or something...

Today morning I came to work... and while we were discussing who does what and searches where... We got a phone call from the Police station telling us that Khaled died yesterday in a car accident on the way from Makkah to Jeddah.. it appears his car had a flat tire and he went out to fix it and a speeding car (probably because it was 3 AM and dark) hit him... He didnt die right away, but stayed in the hospital from Friday to Saturday... He died wearing his "ehram" (white clothing worn for pilgrimage)...

I am shocked... still unbeleiving... I just saw the guy on Thursday at work, he sits on the desk right next to mine... I cant beleive he is gone, I have known him now for 3 years, I will really miss him...
I will miss our joking around...I will miss when he asks me about English spelling,as he writes his emails...I will miss seeing him walking around,with his small cup of tea and ciggerette...And that annoying mobile ring tone of his...
He was a real man in a time when men are barely found... Whenever one of us gets sick or tired, he was the first to ask and offer help... Whenever someone was stuck he was the first to take out his wallet and offer support... May Allah bless him...

I want to take this opprutonity to talk to you all my brother and sister Muslims... See how life is so cheap and how we are so weak... We can die just like that... at any time...We are now in the month of Ramadan.. Lets go back to Allah and ask his forgivness for what we have sinned...
If you drink, stop drinking...If you have sexual relations without marriage, stop...If you like having a girlfriend and enjoy your relations and being a playboy, start thinking of taking the right path and settling down...

If you dont pray regularly, start praying...

If you my Muslim sister go out wearing reveiling clothing, swim suits, and dont care about men staring at your body, start thinking again about Allah and judgement day...

If you have taken anything thats not yours, return it...If you stand with your friends flirting and staring at girls, stop that and go do something useful...

Allah is forgiving beyond what you think... Prophet Mohammed "peace be upon him" said that nothing makes Allah more happy than his worshipper realizing his wrong doings and asking for forgivness...

May Allah bless us all... Please pray for him...
Your brother,

Ahmed

Jeddah, I had Enough !

Jeddah.. I had enough...

Things are really getting bad around here... First it started last year with all the digging and construction of the new sewage system.. though I am surprised how a country in 2006 is without a sewage system... anyways roads were turned upside down, detours made, you felt like a lab rat trying to get to the cheese! But we said its ok, we can tolerate this... this is all for the better good and so people's Shitt can find somewhere to go instead of the Shitt lake which you can see clearly through Google Earth!

And I wish they even do a good job.. streets have become 2 colored because they do a part and leave the other... they are not even leveled the same, and some unmajor streets stayed for WEEKS dug up with no work going on, causing people to park several meters from their homes... Plus bringing mosquitoes around which is a major problem with the Dank fever going on... And the funny part, the job is so poorly done that sometimes the street just collapses again and/or water starts leaking to the surface and they have to do the job all over again... Want a tip? Find a better construction company that isn’t ripping you off!!

Now Ramadan started, and construction is still going on, turning major streets from 3 laners to 2 laners, causing MAJOR traffic jams in Palestine Street, Ameer Sultan Street, and others... Yeah and add to that the genius plan of making private companies, government, schools AND colleges all start and finish at the same time!! I wana know what genius came up with this scheme... the least u can do is finish all the constructions going on BEFORE Ramadan! But this happened last Ramadan and caused the same mess, and now it’s happening again... I guess parrots learn faster than this... But what do you people care when you can stop a whole street just so you can pass by?

Last but not least, the water problem... I guess some of you living in posh districts have barely suffered from this.. cause according to the Human Rights office, water reached some posh districts while it was cut off the middle-class and poorer districts... Some districts have had no water for up to 10 days and relied only on water brought in by the water tanker trucks, which its management offices turned into a mush pit and a black market where people (men and women!) waited in line for over 2 hours and a tanker's price reached 3 or 4 times its original price! And when you get your water, you have to enjoy the sweet smell of sewage and fungus cause of the untreated inner walls of the tankers... The sea is right next to us, and in Riyadh where it is smack in the middle of no where they have no water problems.. quite funny huh? And now the people are suing the Ministry for this.. Yeah right, let’s see what happens, this should be interesting!

If all this happened somewhere else, people would have gone through the streets in riots and demonstrations, demanding the Mayor or the Ameen or whatever you call him be removed.. But things are staying the same, the mayor and the amin are not goin anywhere... and all the people can do is hang their heads down between their arms in disbelief and agony.. and its so ironic how plans have started in building the enormous plan of King Abdullah Economic City, while you can’t finish a decent sewage system and pump enough water to people in their homes... All I can do is smile and turn the other cheek, and hope it gets better... Jeddah 3'eer... Wallah 3'eer!

I'm done here... cheers...

Ramadan and stuff...

First of all, Ramadan Kareem to all of you people! May Allah accept our fasting and bless us and forgive our sins... I bet most of us had alot of sins this past year, lets make this Ramadan a fresh start and try to improve our relationship with Allah almighty...

Now whats the deal with Ramadan and grocery shopping?? The Papers wrote that families in Saudi Arabia spend 20-25% more in Ramadan! With Ramadan being the month of fasting, and ur meals are cut to 2 instead of three (sahoor and iftar) I cant understand why are people buying more food! Plus the ATMs went berzerk cause of the load and buying anything ANYWHERE using your ATM card or Credit Card was impossible! Oh well...

Remember when I said 2 people left our company? Well our VP held a secret meeting and met with the heads of departments (including myself) to see what we need and try to solve our problems... it turns out he is not such a bad guy as our GM was putting him up to be, seems it was just a scheme so that we feel scared to even approach the VP and feel like he is one of the "untouchables" or somethin... anyway the meeting ended that the 2 employees got raises and I got a small promotion+more authority to run things more smoothly! As for the 2 ladies that left, they didnt come back.. proves more that its harder to please a woman, lool...

I bought a new laptop last week... I have been saving to get me a slim one cause I really hate bulky heavy laptops! So I got this LG laptop with 2.0 MGHZ Dual Core Centrino Processor, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB hard disk, bluetooth, wireless, fingerprint encription (so Mission Impossible like huh? lool), DVD writer, the works! I am really enjoying it but I am getting the evil eye from the Mrs. who has a bulky Dell laptop she got last year.. Sorry hun, but this baby is a keeper! LoL...

Politics wise, Saddam got kicked out of court for the second time in a week! I guess he and the new judge arent clicking much, lool... Najad is a hero in my eyes for still standing against the USA who are trying to stop their nuclear research while letting Israel play with nukes freely... At last someone with balls in this world! I dont even think the US has the balls to go to war with Iran, beleive me it will turn into another Vietnam for them...

Remember Roseanne? At the time her show was airing, every person was always making fun of her and her weight... Jay Leno, Dave Lettermen, the press... Well now it seems Islam has become this year's Roseanne, with the Danish papers, the Pope, Bush, and now some French journalist... What I think from my humble opinion, is that this is just like a hot famous celebrity... people and press trash him/her and wait for every mistake to write about it, mostly to feed people's envy towards this celebrity by seeing him/her fail or fall... its the same case, Islam has become the fastest growing religion in the world and its spreading in every country rapidly.. More and more followers are choosing Islam and Mohammed (peace be upon him) by pure beleife... and this is making the West pretty uncomfortable and uneasy... And it is said in the Quraan that this will NEVER stop, they will never stop till we colapse and follow their own ways and religion... Sorry wont happen...

My car has officially become a serial killer... it has killed/injured its 5th cat since I bought it! No I dont drive over them! I love cats! But they like high cars, and my Prado has a nice fan compartment that seems like a room in the Ritz for them.... I knock on the hood, I honk the horn, but they just keep napping... then I turn on the engine thinking they are gone, and I hear BLONK SPLAT BANG MEOW! Ooops.... Thank God the fan is made out of plastic and not metal, or it would have torn them to shreds! Cat sushi, lool.. yuck... 4 out of the 5 times they came out running (one of them had a broken leg *sniff* ) but one of them died inside the compartment... Seems I have to Actually OPEN the damn hood every time I wana drive away! Or get a dog and tie it next to the car, lool...

I need a haircut... BAD! LooL, see ya guys...

The Mistress

Yes its true.. someone new has entered my life... I have been longing after her for a very long time... and at last she has fallen in my arms... it cost me alot, God she is realy high maintanence, but she deserves every penny! Yes.. its true... I finally got it... I got the Nikon D70s!!!!

And I am so glad that I waited, cause when I passed by the shop I found that they had an even better offer than before! Instead of paying 4300 Riyals (US$ 1140) for just the D70 and the basic lense, for the same price I got the cam, the basic lense, 70-300 Nikkor zoom lense, 1 GB memory, 2 UV protection filters for each lense, and a carry bag worth 60$ !

I felt like a kid who got a new toy, remember when you get a new action figure or somethin? u wana take it next to u in bed, u wana take it in the car when u go out, thats how i felt like, lol

Oh and by the way, happy 18th birthday sis! Till now I still remember that day when she was born... Actually I still remember that I was there when my mom's water broke, lool.... we didnt go with them to the hospital but dad came to the house around 6 PM and told us we had a new baby sister!

We called her "Thoraya" which is the name of my grandmother... Thoraya is an Arabic name meaning "Chandlier" and also means "a large group of stars"... So happy 18th birthday sis... hope all ur dreams come true, and I wish u the best of luck in DAH college and in the major u love: Graphic Design!

The Sale!

Everyone loves sales... You save money, you get new stuff which you originally couldn't afford... But believe it or not, I hate sales! (yeah yeah, shoot me if you like!) To me a shop which has sales is like a battlefield... or judgement day... people coming and going (some are running!) as if they are hurrying to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... Long lines at the counters, shouting, even a fight breaking up here and there, and don't get me started on how the stuff is thrown around in a hap-hazard matter! Its like going through the rubbles of a bombed building or a fallen plane! But at the end of the day, sales is like women, you cant live with them and you cant live without them, and you smile as you walk out of the battlefield with your prize in hand, plus a few bruises and maybe a police ticket for double parking...

Shit.. another guy just left our agency... that makes 3 employees in just 2 months, in addition to 2 female staff who left their positions in our mother company (maybe cause our vice president is a playboy, God knows!) Is God giving me signs? Should I leave too? (And not cause our vice president is a playboy, no I dont go that way) Well anyway I AM tired of the tourism field, and I wish to seek a position in my dream career: advertising!

Now my friend wrote a very interesting journal making fun of the theory of how masturbation causes blindness , which made me remember a funny pic I had saved somewhere on my PC... He asked me to include it in my next issue blog, so here it is pal, just for you ...

Health wise this has been a sucky week for me, I didn't loose any weight (even though I feel more fit!) and don't give me that you substituted fat for muscle crap... plus I fractured 2 fingers while playing soccer as a goal keeper with my friends last Thursday... So now I cant swim or do any weight lifting for like 10 days, doctors orders! Now if you excuse me, its time for my "jerk shot" and I have to show half my ass to a male Filipino nurse so he can poke me with a needle... see ya in my next issue... OUCH!

Persiflage

Well here it is... What you all have been waiting for (I guess!).. The first issue of the wacky, the rude, the painful, the honest... Persiflage... But before we go on... I would like to warn everyone reading that this journal is not G-Rated... Which means when I am writing this, I dont look back... So I may end up cursing or saying things that may upset a few people... So again I say, if you cant take the heat, stay away from MY kitchen...

Relations suck dont they? Especially when its not just going right... I had this interesting conversation with my distant relative in Egypt a couple of days ago... Well I'll try to sum it up as much as I can:

Me: Hey man, u sound a bit low...

Him: Yeah, remember that girl I told u about before? The one where we broke up but managed to remain friends?

Me: Hmmm.. yeah....

Him: Well guess what? She told me she found someone (which I dont mind!) but guess who?

Me: Who?

Him: One of my cousins!

Me: WTF???!!!

Him: Yeah... and it even gets more interesting... she sends me this SMS and tells me that the situation has become "Too Awkward" for her and that we cant remain friends, not even online...

Me: Man I think ur the one who should be saying its awkward for YOU!

Him: I know! I mean, I see the guy on a regular basis, we got family gatherings and shitt... Whenever I see him I will remember her... And if they get married, I will feel weird whenever I see her... I think it would have been easier if we just remained friends...

Me: Yeah man, I know what you mean...

Him: The guy is nice and all, but he's just SO immature... he doesnt have any sense of responsibility... He got divorced before AND he never had a steady job...

Me: Well man, birds of a feather as they say.. This only shows you that she didnt deserve you in the first place... It would never had worked out...

Him: Yeah I guess so man...

Me: But you know, there is a funny ironic side to this...

Him: Really? I dont see nothing funny about it...

Me: Well if you ever step up to your cousin after they tie the knot and tell him "Hey man, I screwed around with your wife" you wouldnt be lying!

Him: LoooooooooooooooL

Anyway, relations aside for now... I guess some of you remember my journal about my health and that my body and hormones werent up to par (No I'm not PMSing!) Well anyway, the doctor prescribed Testastrone shots that I should take once a week (or what feminists might call: Jerk shots)... He said that when I start taking these shots I will feel more energetic, I will loose fat faster, my muscles will grow stronger ( For some reason I pictured the Incredible Hulk at that moment) AND I will feel a noticable rise in my sex drive! Yeah thanks doc! For a guy who spends 9 hours a day in an all-male office followed by 3 hours in an all-male gym, I am sure these shots are all that I need to finally get out of the closet and realize my true sexuality!

Anyway in the end, I really got alot of stuff to talk about.. But I am holding back cause I dont wana make this journal too long... So I hope you enjoyed the premeire (did I spell it right?) and I hope to see ya around soon... over and out..!

I'm Rich!!!

Well not that rich... But anyway, yesterday 5 minutes before the stock market closed I bought a big share in one company, even though I had a feeling it may go downhill cause its been rising for the past 4 days...

Today I waited till 10 AM for the market to open, and when it did! Wow! OMG! This company got me over SR. 4,000 in profit (around 1,070 US$) !!

It may not appear as much to the big brokers, but its the biggest amount I made so far in this market. Hope it keeps commin! I can use the cash!

Knock 'em off the scale!

Well its been one week since I started my "Towards better Health" program... and all throughout the week I was resisting the temptation to jump on the scale and see how I am doing...

Well today was the day... I woke up... stepped on the scale... and.... I lost 2.5 Kgs!!! Yeah!!! Its not much but it feels GREAT!

Seems I am moving along on the right path... more gym, more health food... health here I come!

Towards Better Health

Well I was for quite a scare a few weeks ago... All I went to have was a few simple tests to make sure everything was ok (even though down inside I knew I wasn't THAT healthy)...

The basic test was just a sperm count, just to make sure my soldiers were ok (LOL)... But the results weren't that good... Which made the doctor ask for a hormone test... BAM! That wasn't up to par either...

Many tests followed... Thyroid, diabetes, liver functions, blood pressure, the works! And from my results, It's clear I have the health of a 60 year old man trapped in a 28 year old body.. And the cause? I am as lazy as a turtle after a large meal... Junk food, no exercise, not enough sleep, too much coffee, Shisha (water pipe, hubbly bubbly, whatever u Westerners call it)... Damn man!

My doctor scheduled another appointment after 2 months, which during that time he asked me to drastically reduce my weight, eat healthy, cut on salt and spices, plus he prescribed some hypertension pills for me... What if I don't loose weight? Well I wont be able to have kids (and I LOVE kids!), my liver will fail, I will get diabetes, and probably die of a heart attack while lying on my couch knibbling on left over pizza...

Since that day I vowed all this will change... Now I only drink one cup of coffee a day, I stopped eating fast food, made sure I have lots of water, got a good daily intake of fruits and veggies, and stopped that damn Shisha! Plus I went and joined a gym which is just a walking distance from my house...

I know I have to be patient... Ruining my health over the last 10 years wont be fixed in just a week or two... Plus I really have to be strong, and my will as solid as steal...God help me...

See ya on the scale!

Well here I am, after mocking all those people I know for putting up this blog thing, I have joined the blog-train after being convinced this is actually a "healthy" way to let it all out and put your thoughts and news for all to see on the www .. mmm... why did I do this again? LoL...

So till I find out what the heck I wana write... You guys and girls just make yourself comfortable and enjoy yourself...

Cheers...