كل عام و أنتم بخير

أرسلت لكم بطاقة عيد الفطر بدري؛ ودي أكون أول من يهنيكم

عجزت أقاوم غيرة وسط صدري؛ أموت لا من شفت غيري يهنيكم

مدري لهفة و شوق أو حب مدري؟ بس أدري ان القلب بالحيل يغليكم

بخيـــــ كل عام و أنتم ـــــــر

MP3 player or PSP?

I think neither one needs an introduction, as they have both been the latest hype in the high-tech gadget industry. (PSP=PlayStationPortable, MP3 players=the likes of iPod and so on)

For quite some time now I've been wanting to get myself either one, if not both. Each one required a considerable budget, therefore getting both was out of the question. And so that's where the struggle began... do I get myself an MP3 player or the PSP first? Recently I was put off by the PSP's rather high cost. So I was determined to get myself an MP3 player. I was blindly led to the iPod nano. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say this.. Impossibly small (the new iPod nano's motto or catchphrase) is an understament! After I saw it in real life, I think I have an inkling why they called it "nano". It's so tiny that the first thing that came to my mind was "There is no way in hell this thing can carry upto 1000 songs!" Yes, believe me it's that small!
(I hope Apple see's this and sends me a free one in return for this favour =P)

So I went searching for players and their reviews on the net, and cnet.com pretty much did the trick. I then came up with a list of potential buys, so from thereon my quest for the best mp3 player began. I couldn't get my hands on all the players on the list but I was astonished by the ones that I did play around with. However, while I was out there I realised that there's wasn't any difference at all between the price of an mp3 player and a PSP. In fact some mp3 players were even dearer than the PSP, and that really got me thinking. I asked, and asked.. and it all boiled down to what my main concern was. Was it for gameplay or songs?

I finally thought that I should try out the PSP and as soon as I tried it out I was truly amazed by every aspect of it. For a split second there, I forgot that mp3 players even existed!
Now I can safely say that I am a proud PSP owner!! =D Yes the PSP outplayed, outwitted and outfeatured the world of mp3 players. It is indescribable! Little did I know that it was fitted with a WiFi system (i.e. wireless support) that made it capable of connecting to any wireless network and accessing the net via that network. Due to a lack of games, that was the first thing I did. I couldn't believe my eyes when I accessed sites on my PSP, I even entered the English Sabla site.
I'm sure even I would crack up if I could've seen the look on my face back then!
It does everything I could ever ask for, but the only problem now is that I need to buy me a much bigger memory stick, as the one that's provided is a measly 32MB opposed to the one I'd like to get which is a 1 or 2GB!

Episode 2 - A great iftar

Ever since I have finished two of finals, I've considered myself to be on holidays since the next exam is two weeks apart and a relatively simple one. So I've taken the opportunity to get back on track with whatever I've been doing prior to my finals.

Two days ago three friends and myself were invited over iftar at a friends place. It was a small group of 8-9. Little did we know that it would turn into an amazing and unforgettable day. We were invited over by the same guy that held iftar for all Omani students on the very first day of Ramadhan. (He's the chairman of the Omani students society. I don't know if I could describe him to be a great man, as even that would be an understatement.) Right after iftar we had a group prayer and then sat around the tv to watch Oman TV which I was surprised to see. Nothing much really, all they did was install a reciever dish and a decoder. And for the very first time since the beginning of Ramadhan (or since I last left Oman) I was watching live Arabic channels. Oman and Abu Dhabi were the only two deciphered channels that were available. I was so eager to know what was aired during ramadhan, as I was only aware of the show called "7ikayaat Laith" through Arabian Princess (thanks). I got the chance to watch "Manjoor"(?) which is a rather unusual game show, whereby even international participants in the show could just have their chance of winning something on the show cancelled by a card which had to be chosen initially in order for them to proceed. I wouldn't like to be in that situation! I don't think anyone would. (more or less along the lines of thank you, call again) During the show I was told by one of the guys about a hilarious caller, which I must say was shocking in two ways. How could anyone be so ignorant? and what would others (other nationalities) watching this show think of us as Omani's? The caller was asked to name a Sura from the Holy Quran that started with ":9af" (qaf) and he replied "Qul huwa.." LOL meaning Surat Al-e5la9. So the host was lenient with him and asked him to try again and told him that it had to be the name of the Sura and not how it began. So he replied once more "Uhh.. Qalawla7?" LOL! (Everyone there burst out laughing) and the host of the show said to the guy something along the lines of how could you not know something like this, we are all muslims and read the Quran. So the guy asked for a hint and the host replied "Wallah ma sa3adtak!" and I said "Zain sawa feeh!" hehehe
(by the way to those of you wondering there is Surat Qaf and Surat Al-Qare3a"

I was also told about a show that we didn't get the chance to watch which is called "Al-mo6aliboon wal Andalos" (right?) and it's said that it's a great series that enlightens one about the true story line that the series narrates. And I obviously wouldn't miss the show "7ikayaat Laith" which I thought was truly amazing, it was one of its kind!

We then had dinner, which was the best food I've had since I last left Oman! It was really good mashaAllah. After that we were told to join them in atleast watching some other Omani students and students from the UAE play soccer at an indoor sports complex. We were told that if we felt like it we could even play some volleyball. I was really looking forward to it so we joined them. Now how many of you have seen an indoor beach volleyball court, in other words a sand volleyball court indoors? Exactly.. I was surprised too. It's a lovely place! We played volleyball and it was a great experience that reminded me of the old days when these two sports(soccer and volleyball) were played almost everywhere throughout Ramadhan. It's one of those things that gave this holy month it's vibrant atmosphere.

You know you're living in the future when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30
(or even 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : ).

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

14. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t#9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

(I got this is an e-mail and actually impressed me, I could go on adding to this list by the way)

Long awaited come-back

Greetings fellow readers! I am Arabian Prince the martian… uh never mind!

<>Its been quite a while since I last posted here. I’ve made it clear why though. It felt relieving to have finished two agonizing units. I still have one more to go which is in another 2 weeks, and its pretty simple really. <>

We’ve heard all about her, probably even seen pictures of her. But very few have actually seen her in real life. Well currently she’s sitting in a plastic container on the table with a yellow note stuck to the container saying “DO NOT move, touch or play with this bitch. She’s deadly!” To those unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, allow me to introduce to you the Black Widow spider.. “The black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) is notorious for its neurotoxic venom. It is a large widow spider found throughout the world and commonly associated with urban habitats or agricultural areas… Adult black widow spiders are shiny black with a usually red hourglass shape marking on the bottom of its abdomen… its venom is extremely potent” I spotted this mother of a spider while I was studying late at night for one of my finals and I thought ‘oh well its another spider’. To my surprise I luckily noticed a reddish color on its back from afar which scared the daylight out of me. I got off my seat instantaneously and had a closer look. I couldn’t believe my eyes. What made the whole thing even more surreal was the fact that it was on the inside of the house! I then thought that it would make a beautiful specimen on the table. I then ended up reading some disturbing facts about it that I wish I hadn’t read... And the rest is history. <>


(Its getting kind of late, so look out for the continuation in part 2! =D… how sad of me)

Tagged!

Well here I am filling out my first “Tag”. I have no clue what's the story behind the name, however I am yet to find out. I’ve been tagged by Toxic Honey, Taboo and TripleTee..

Seven things I plan to do:
7. try to not stop praying for any reason whatsoever
6. maintain a fit body and continue working out (without being flippant about it)
5. obtain this damn degree with the least amount of screw ups possible
4. become the best muslim I am capable of becoming
3. be on the lookout for my princess (corny?)
2. come up with something groundbreaking within my lifetime
1. work on and touch up on certain attributes

Seven things I can do:
7. hide my anger and sadness
6. beat you at any sport (fine maybe not)
5. overcome particular obstacles on my own
4. make people I’m with have a good time
3. pig out like there’s no tomorrow if I’m really hungry
2. make the best of a worthy debate
1. flip 180 in 2.35 seconds if you go way overboard


Seven things I can't do:
7. forget disturbing situations
6. give up on anything easily
5. be at ease around gays
4. backstab people
3. be satisfied with poor hygiene
2. sleep for long periods (except in certain cases)
1. forget people


Seven things I say most often:
7. “Sma3 inta?!” (meaning: no way/are you serious)
6. “5ally 3annek”
5. “7amdillah b5air”
4. “ge7rish” (lol)
3. “what now?”
2. “no worries”
1. “holy shit!”

Seven people I would like to tag:
7. AP’ess
6. you
5. and the person next to you
4. X
3. X
2. X
1. (everyone’s been tagged already!)

Transience...

Due to the high demand, I've decided to pass by my place and have some changes done to it.
...there, done! =)
(I'll use this template that I've previously used temporarily, until the new template is ready to be used. This might’ve not totally solved the problem but it certainly is an improvement. Of course you agree! )

I’m currently into my exam period, but I’ll consider this a treat. I deserve it! I’ve been working hard.. I think I have. I’ve been going through several things, or have come across several things worth mentioning here, but it seems like this only happens during my exam period. I hope I remember the things that I’ve wanted to mention after my exams. I’d like to thank everyone for their persistent visits and support.

Exam periods are times of abnormal anxiety for me. I actually looked up some anxiety relief methods last night, and ended up on all sorts of sites. Everything from phony sites claiming to sell “magic pills”, to pretty good sites that had some interesting advice. Oh and it turns out that anxiety prior to exams is quite normal, and is usually due to the fear of underachieving. I’m not sure if that’s why I’ve been anxious lately.

Its sometimes so disturbing that I can hear pleasant screams transform to yells, and every scream casts its own spell… lol! Even if I tried so hard, I don’t think I am capable of being that disturbed! Umm… thanks for all the comments and shouts! I’ll most probably be back after my next exam.

(I just remembered this.. as nonsensical as this may sound, I actually caught a "black widow spider" tonight! If you don't know what this is.. do your research! I might say some more later..)

Out…

Excuse moi miss..

I'll make this quick and to the point..
I'm sorry I haven't been updating as often as some of you might've suggested.. however this is all due to the fact that I am now closer to my finals than ever before. TWO days.. thats not even funny! I've had several things that I've wanted to mention here on the blog lately, but the time just isn't right. I wont be around for another 5 or 6 days, maybe earlier, so try not to miss me.

(this is sad.. I've led myself to believe that I'm the centre of attention.. bad bad habit)

Fascinations..

I’ve always been fascinated with the Mafia a.k.a. La Cosa Nostra (Italian, variously translated as This Thing Of Ours or Our Thing). I can’t even trace back when this appeal started. Those that know me well will, with no doubt, know what I’m talking about here.

I think the movies and documentaries that I watched played a big role in embedding this “infatuation” in my life. I think the movie “Donnie Brasco” starring Johnny Depp had a big impact as well. I still love the movie to this very day. But this was no ordinary fascination. It had turned into an obsession.

I’m not really aware of what may have caused all this. However I am quite sure that I didn’t really want to promote organized crime, or any of their motives. It was more of the code that they lived by, or the media’s portrayal of their dark and gloomy underworld.

Sorry about my last post.. I wasn't trying to preach, I was just sharing some thoughts.

Einstein became the most famous scientist of the 20th century. By 1920 Einstein was internationally renowned; he won the Nobel Prize in 1921. Einstein's genius is often compared with that of Sir Isaac Newton.
Einstein's childhood was a normal one, except that to his family's irritation, he learnt to speak at a late age. He never spoke up until the age of about 5-6 (if memory serves me correctly). Then over dinner once, all of a sudden he spoke and said “My soup is cold”. His parents were so shocked and happy that he spoke. They continued talking, and when asked why he never spoke before he answered “Everything was fine up until now”.

I bet no one knew that! This story still amuses me. I’m not a 100% sure about its authenticity though.

Illuminati

il·lu·mi·na·ti (?-l?'m?-n?'t?) pl.n.

1. People claiming to be unusually enlightened with regard to a subject.
2. Illuminati Any of various groups claiming special religious enlightenment.
______________________________________________________________________

Who's ready to leave? Who's ready to leave this life? Just incase I didn't make myself clear.. Who's ready to die??
Alright then, lets see a show of hands... no one? at all? Exactly, just what I suspected.

Is it ignorance we're living in or bliss? I know for a fact that it's not bliss... and to think that the days of ignorance are long gone. Since when did we get to choose what's right or wrong in religion? We have come such a long way since the days of the prophet (PBUH), but does that mean that we can "customize" our religion to suit our everyday needs?? As much as I'd like to deny this, I'm sure it happens with MANY people out there...

Well I'm definitely in no position to be judging people or there actions... but because of all the ignorance that surrounds me I think I've turned into an illuminati.

"قد مات قوم و ما ماتت فضائلهم *** و عاش قوم و هم في الناس أموات"

Haha.. forget everything I said, after all its 6 in the morning..

Al-Hamdulillah...

Al-Hamdulillah 3ala kul 7al (Praise to Allah in every circumstance)

Weird? Who said I can't start a post with that?!

Its been a couple of days since I last posted here. I've been too busy worrying about my upcoming finals. I've also been occupied with updating my template, which I think will be a never ending struggle :S However someone has felt too bad for me and offered to help me out with the blog's template *yess I knew that would happen*.

Yesterday I was introduced to a new song which I must admit was amazing. I doubted that I'd like it. I was told it's a Malaysian group which led me to think the song would be in Malay. To my surprise it started off in Arabic, and the rest of the song was in english.
I strongly recommend that you guys download it, the lyrics are the last thing you would expect to hear..
Too Phat - Alhamdulillah
Yes that's right, that's the songs name.. ok maybe the song had something to do with the title too.

I'm in a rush now, as I have always been these past couple of days. I'll try to be back later to rant some more.

Illusions

We didn't all grow up in a fairytale land. Not all of us have wonderful memories to cherish.
And I don’t feel sorry at all for those who didn't! Because I grew up in a neighborhood so bad, so rough, that you would get shot while you were being shot!

Ok who am I kidding... but wouldn't it be cool if I could say that? Truth is, I don’t think so. I am very happy with whatever memories I hold, and I more than happy with the way I've been brought up. It’s only in situations that require one to stand strong, that I truly recognize the irreplaceable values of upbringing that my dear parents have planted in me.

Every so often I amuse myself with my intermittent memory of my early childhood. Several things make me wonder.. Why was it so? Why did that happen? Did I really do that? What really gets me thinking though is the reason why certain memories in particular are imbedded in the back of my head… for instance out of all the days as a child, going to kindergarten, why is that I remember this one day.. and I remember every single detail about it. There’s nothing special at all, yet I seem to remember everything about it. For some odd reason I remember my earliest fears. Out of these fears, the only one that could’ve posed as a serious matter was my fear of darkness. No, I’m not talking about the kind that so many kids experience, I’m talking about the kind that makes you sleep with the light on up until the age of about 14!!... Relax, there’s nothing wrong with me el-7amdillah, its just that I think many things amplified this fear along the years.

Untold secret… I was once going through old family albums, and came across one of my first childhood albums. On the first couple of pages were dates that you could fill in like first smile, first sat up, first walked etc. What really grabbed my attention was an odd one that said “first afraid of the dark”, and right under the date my parents had written “repeated the word “tetan” (Satan)”. Freaky? Well it’s true. Bear in mind that this was way to early for me to have known anything related to Islam, let alone the devil!

Thoughts of an Absent Mind

Wouldn't the title make a good movie title?

I thought it would be a great idea if I could have something like "Quote of the day" or "word of the day". The first thing that came to my mind that's stopping me is the fact that I won't be posting every single day. But because I'm really fascinated with such things, I'll do it anyway.. atleast whenever I feel like it. Poems are another thing that I might be posting every now and then. Let me say this, I'm not so much of a big poem fan honestly, and no, I'm not a poet myself either. However that should tell you that if you find one in my blog, that means I really liked it :)

Something funny that I just remembered is that a definition of the word blog according to mtv is something along the lines of "a type of diary that a person with no life would keep". I saw that back when I first created this blog, but obviously as you can see I'm still here. However, I dont care what mtv thinks, I do have a life... atleast that's what I think.

You know how there has to be some kind of explanation for everything, well if you notice that the quality of my entry is going downhill (like right now for instance), rest assured that its due to an incoherency of thoughts and lack of sleep. It's time for fajr prayers already..
(How am I going to get up again? Tripletee.. should I give your suggestion a try?)

Template Crisis!

I didn't intend on stopping to post for this long (3 days or so).. atleast not anytime soon that is..
The only reason it has occured is due to the crisis I'm going through.. yep, the title says it all!
I have been struggling so much to modify my template. However I must admit if it weren't this hard I probably would've never cared less about HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language. Well I can tell you they weren't kidding about the language part, that stuff is tough! (I wont say that rhymed... well I just did)

In one of my very first posts I mentioned that if there was a sudden change in the look of my blog, then it must be the work of others. But I'm proud to say that it was mostly done by me! :) I used an existing template as a guide but then changed almost every single thing about it. I still have some final touches to do, hopefully it'll be up tomorrow.

"Why couldn't you just use one of the Blogger templates? or just download a ready made one?"
Well that would just strip the matter of its essence.. I wanted mine to look somewhat fancy like many others around. Knowing me, I couldn't wait to get something like that done. And that's where it all began..
I'll have a poll though.. and I better get some results! =P

The saga continues...

The end of the first week of the holy month... and pretty much everything remains unchanged. I got the opportunity to meet up with a group of friends over iftar on Sunday. It was great, I thought it would be a small iftar but to my surprise I met a couple of friends I haven't seen in ages and it was a well-sized group. After iftar we decided to go to Max Brenner. He's this druglord that lives down the street from the place we were at. Ok fine he's not... but he could be if you categorise chocolates as drugs. For all the chocolate lovers out there, this is chocolate heaven! We enjoyed ourselves and had lots of laughs.
Basically just another thing to take my mind off the fact that I'm not enjoying the lovely festivities. I could say it worked fine.

On a personal basis though, I guess I'm kind of getting the hang of it. Now I'm starting to wonder how well I'll do towards my finals.. I hope all goes well inshaAllah.

Felt like back home

It was a wonderful experience today, despite the fact that its not the first of its kind.
We (Omani students) were all invited today to have iftar at a dear friends house. Not only is he the chairman of the Omani student society, but he is truly a great man that is benevolent at heart. Everything made it seem like I was back home. Not even a single non-Omani face in sight, some in the Omani national dress (dishdasha), people greeting eachother with soft smiles and exchanging news. They held a group prayer which filled the entire ground floor, which I must say is huge (mashallah). Thats when I arrived unfortunately. But it was so spectacular that someone decided he would pass out on the prayers and record the prayer instead. Weird? Tell me about it.. and I'm thinking to myself "9alaat il-3eed heya?" (Is it Eid prayers?).

I also got the chance to catch up with friends I haven't met in quite some time, which I'm sure wouldn't have happened had I not joined them today. The food was the next best thing... food that I probably won't be having for the remainder of the holy month, unless I risk it and give it a shot that is!

شهر رمضان

تمر بنا محطات الحياة و تعود.. أيا ما كانت تجمعنا بحلاوة ذكراها شهر الرحمات شهر الغفران يطرق أبوابنا و اذ نسأل المولى غفرانه نسأله أن يبارك لكم قدومه و أن ينعم عليكم وافر رحمته...ـ

..: و كل عام و أنتم بخير :..

Ramadhan Kareem

Ramadhan kareem to every muslim out there! May this holy month bring out the best of us all, and hopefully we'll remain as the wonderful muslims we were during the month.

Sadly it doesn't quite feel like Ramadhan for me. Its probably due to the fact that I am not back home amidst my family and the lovely atmosphere of this holy month. I truly will miss it. And to top it off, I'll be having my finals during late Ramadhan. May God be with me through times of pain.

It's already time for fajr prayers now and I've been struggling to stay awake, so I guess I'll leave it here for now. (How am I gonna get up tomorrow?)

Intro

How rude of me... I didn't even introduce myself.
Well to most people who might be visiting this blog, I'm only known to them as Arabian Prince. To others, I'm known as Arabian Prince too, thanks to the extensive profile I have provided about myself. And for those of you wondering... Yesss I'm afraid it'll remain that way for some time =)

I believe this whole anonymity thing is becoming a real issue to me. I find myself trying to remain anonymous... that's not even it.. I do it subconsciously! I start wondering why, and I always end up linking it to the English Sabla experience (http://www.englishsabla.com/). Thats where it started out, but there's no way its going to be where it comes to an end! (Infact I'm even doing it right now, on msn... I'm assuming there's no way she'll find out, and I doubt she'll read this entry and figure it out) It's like I'm living two different lives when I'm online, or it sometimes feels like a case of schizophrenia that I'm aware of... sad but true.
Why am I still doing it? Well c'mon... it's not rocket science, I still need to. Because of... yep, you guessed it. Aren't you the smart one.

I can assure you one thing though, I am bound to make silly mistakes that could possibly give away so much about me. I'm saying this based on the fact that it has already happned!

...Then some

Believe it or not, on my last trip coming down here, I actually grabbed a pen and a notebook and started brainstorming or jotting down ideas that I could use as topics to talk about on my blog.
As much as I'd like to deny that, sadly its true.
I just started with a couple of things that I had in mind and I've wanted to talk about, and I just went on from there.

Oh well, I kinda vowed to myself that I would start studying today for my upcoming finals (3 weeks). Yep, you guessed! I haven't started...
For some reason I thought I deserved another day off after a week long break. Don't get me wrong here, I haven't worked hard at all during that break!

I reckon the best thing to do from now on is to have two or more independant posts each day (if the need arises), one with my "daily ramblings" and the other with something I feel like talking about. That doesn't make sense does it? It will!

...My first

My one and only first post.

Believe it or not, I actually created this blog some 3 months ago and never actually considered starting to post because of the dull and simple appearance of the blog. Why can't mine be fancy like all the others? Well if it does change all of a sudden, then rest assured, it must be with the aid of others.
I've never actually kept any kind of diary/journal/log before so I'm assuming my whole style and approach towards this blog will change with time...
I'll try to make it a habit, but I'm sure I wont be posting as much as I'd like to...

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ...This guys has the weirdest opening post ever! haha.. oh well, you better get used to it.

Out for now
Peace...