Feeling Euphoric...

The dream started a month back when I got a call from Mr. Saeed the managing director of LOGIC Holdings telling me that he wants to hang 20 of my photos in his cafe on the prestigious Rawdah Street here in Jeddah. Since that time I was in a tornado of decisions... Which photos to pick, what sizes to print, framed or canvas... oh so many choices and so little time...

I finally picked my 20 photos... 3 of them were actually settled upon minutes before I entered the print shop! The guys at Sahara were very precise and professional... 20 photos were done and framed in only 3 days! We then had to stay at the cafe from 2 AM till 6 AM hanging up the photos and making sure everything was ok... A big thanks goes to my lovely wife who endured the tiring stay and struggled to keep awake till we were done.

Then came Friday... the big day... the opening was scheduled at 9:30 PM but people actually started coming since 8:30! Thank God I was there since 7 making sure everything was perfect... I started getting a bit uneasy when only a few people showed up... but as soon as the clock struck 10 PM it was like a pipeline of people burst! Tables were filled, people flocked in, and I couldnt keep up as I was flying like a busy bee from one group to the other giving them a quick tour and answering their questions. Even the famous "Layalina" magazine was there to cover the event.

By 12:30 midnight... the last guest left the cafe and I collapsed on a chair near by.. what a night! I stared at my work hanging on those walls and felt a wide grin come over my face... This is what I dreamt of, this is what I was waiting for... my art and my passion hanging for all to see and enjoy...

In the end I just wana thank everyone who came and everyone who supported even if they were in another city or country... I cant find the words to thank you enough, you're all amazing!

Long time no see...

Its been almost a month since I last blogged... Its not that there isnt much that happened, on the contrary, my life these past days was a major roller coaster ride...

First about work, I still have no idea whats going on.. Things have stabilized a bit and we got our March salary on time... Even though my dad (and several others) got letters that the head office is moving to Riyadh, and who doesn't wana move will have to quit... My dad has been a wreck for the past 10 days and sometimes I discover he didn't even go to work... Its hard when you are 53 years old and with all this experiance to find yourself job hunting again... Especially in a country where Saudiazation, racism, and who referred you (wasta) come in top 3 places...

I turned down that offer by Al-Khayyala cause I felt the guy was trying to abuse the fact that I was desperate to leave my current company. He offered me a position in corporate (which I hate) and a salary which is SR. 600 less (US$ 160) than what I get now... I kinda felt relieved that I turned it down cause he was putting major stress on me to accept and start right away without even giving the usual 1 month notice to my current company...

I went to Cyprus for 5 days last week by invitation from Cyprus Airways, all expenses paid.. it was an amazing chance to discover this amazing island which I have not visited since 10 years back. It was also a good chance for me to kick back and relax, and think straight about what I am gonna do with my life... I had loads of fun, massages, discovered new stuff (we even hit a strip club!) and saw real snow for the first time in my life in Trodos Mountains... The Greek food was to die for! And the weather overall was amazing, and the people oh so friendly.. I really have to take the Mrs. and visit this amazing island soon.

I attended this meeting which was called "Jeddah Urban Artists" where I displayed 3 of my photography. The place was so crowded and full of smoke that I decided to stick around for only 15 minutes. That and also the fact that there were some people there who we don't actually "get along" together quiet well, I got the icy cold look on several occasions which made me feel even more uncomfortable... The ironic thing is that I decided to mend things with lots of people after that meet, but alas it seems alot of people have black hearts, and even sometimes no heart at all, but at least I tried and I know God knows that... Anyway no more JUA meets for me... I think its better this way...

I got in touch with people from a major local company and I am now doing some freelance photography for them. Just yesterday we wrapped up shooting over 50 delicious looking pastries and goods for their new menu. And I have to say I am very happy with the results of the photos. In addition to the pay, they even told me that my name will go into the menu (no they wont name a dish after me, lol). So that means more exposure and (God willing) more freelancing to help pay the rent and put bread on the table.

I guess that just wraps it up, I just realized that simply writing whatever comes to mind is more easier and fun than organizing the thoughts in your head first. I guess being unorganized does come in handy sometimes...

Being Artistic...

Photos from my last visit to Cairo... If you like them, I will post more here soon, or you can follow my work through my gallery.




Guardians of the Path by =DJVue on deviantART




Our Great Fathers by =DJVue on deviantART




Diversity of Nature by =DJVue on deviantART



Another Day in Cairo by =DJVue on deviantART

Vote.. if you see its worthy!

I submitted my photo under the theme Elegance to JPG Magazine, if it receives enough votes it will be published in the March issue!

Click here to view!

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...