Arabian Prince

Fairness or racism?

2007-01-23T22:43:00.000+11:00

مقالة أعجبتني في ضوء مباريات خليجي 18

[An article I liked concerning the current Khaleeji 18 matches (18th Arabian Gulf Cup)]

Just in case you're still refusing to climb out of that cave of yours, or if you're one of those people that couldn't care less about all the fuss going on due to the Omani National team's current achievements in the Gulf Cup, this might enlighten you.

The above article criticizes the fairness (or lack thereof) of the host countries spokespeople, representatives and even it's higher ranking officials in their football association. The injustice done to the Omani supporters and to the national team has been a hot topic that's been discussed everywhere from the radio to the workplace and even family gatherings.

How serious is this issue? What could the consequences be and what could they lead to?
I'm pretty sure that by now most of you would have a clue about the answers to those two questions, and I'm sure we'd all agree that it's something that shouldn't be overlooked.

What I'd really like to know though: Is there room for improvements and making up for those mistakes very soon?

Tagged by Arabian Princess

2007-01-16T23:25:00.000+11:00

(While I was about to type the title I remembered the days back when I was a kid in first grade. This is what once happened in recess (break), a boy comes up to me and this other friend who was walking with me and says "Hey do you wanna play Tag?", I look at my friend and reply with an optimistic smile "Yeah! Sure, why..." and suddenly this dorky smile is drawn on his face, he smacks me on the shoulder and says "TAG! You're it!" and runs off before I even finished my sentence. That's how I learnt to be sneaky at Tag ;) )

What will happen to your e-mail when you die?

Firstly... why the sad thought!? Well as far as I'm concerned, I don't think anyone else has access to my email accounts so I guess they'll remain unopened.

Did you try once to give the password to someone? If yes, what kind of relation that you have with this person to trust him/her and give him/her the key of your secrets?

Yes, one or two people had access to an email account at some point in time, both were really close to me, and I never thought of my email account as the key of my secrets.

Your famous nickname among your Friends?

It's too "famous" to give away haha.

Your age?

Soon will turn 21.

Your horoscope?

I am a pisces.

Your qualifications?

Currently still preparing for my soon-to-be highest qualification, Bachelors of Engineering in Mechatronics.

Your character "personality"?

I hate these types of questions! I'd rather you found out for yourself.

What travel means to you?

Time off from almost all the worries in the world, relaxation, new sights and sounds, new experiences and maybe some shopping.

Your time out of peak

I actually don't know when my off-peak time is, but I'd say that I'm calmer and more at peace than usual, even less to say than usual, already thinking and making plans for my peak time again =D

What do you purchase?

87.9% of the time I think I purchase stuff that I can live without. I've been told I'm more of a spender than a saver. Sometimes I think otherwise, most of the time I agree.

Features taken from your dad

Opinionated and always strive to reach my goals.

Features taken from your mom

Overcaring about certain matters and taste in food.

The most 6 things you hate

- Flies and mosquitos
- Slow drivers that never seem to get the message, and wreckless and careless drivers
- Waking up early in the morning without adequate rest
- Inconsiderate individuals
- My inability to express my true feelings
- Two-faced and/or bigheaded individuals

The most 6 things you love

- My whole family with no exceptions
- My will power
- My closest friends
- The close people that have truly made a change in my life
(I'd rather leave them as 4)

What job means to you

$$$ InCoMe!
Oh and a stepping stone to success in making my dreams come true.

What computer and internet mean to you

A necessity in life!! I need my dose of computer and internet atleast every other day.

You would like to pass this tag to:-

A7medino
Abs
Blind Melon
SimSim
Ti3gib

A place called Shleem and a girl called Qandahar

2007-01-05T17:40:00.000+11:00

Three weeks ago I went on a camping trip with a group of friends to Bdiya (a Wilayah in the Sharqiyah Region in the Sultanate), and late at night on our first night there another 3 guys passed by to spend some time with us around the fire and bring up some gossip. Two of the guys were the cousins of one of my friends, but the third was a friend of theirs who happened to be a local. I was too tired and had already been sleeping by then just to charge up for late at night. But I was told all about this the next morning.

The 3 guys talked about a place called Shleem, which according to the description I've recieved lies somewhere in the southern part of the Wusta Region in the Sultanate, very close to Dhofar. It's said to be quite an astonishing place in terms of their culture and habits. They said if one were to visit Shleem, s/he wouldn't believe that it's an Omani city in the middle of nowhere. Shockingly westernised, up to date with modern technology and stood out from the rest of the surrounding cities. They owed all of that to the early years of the renaissance when British troops were allocated to certain parts of the Sultanate for various national security reasons. But above all, Shleem seemed to be known for it's amazingly beautiful women whose word of their captivating beauty has circulated.

A fact about Shleem that didn't seem too out of place to me after hearing the whole story was that they didn't practice all of the religious and traditional or cultural taboos when it came to their women. A man interested in a particular woman that he had seen out in the city streets was freely allowed to approach her, start to converse with her, get to know her politely, and he's allowed to do all that as long as he doesn't lay a finger on her and as long as the woman is content with it all.

What I found to be even more shocking than the story of Shleem itself, was the story of Qandahar. Not the city of southeast Afghanistan. Qandahar was the name of a girl, or rather the nickname appointed to her by her parents. Qandahar was a girl of unrivaled beauty and for that very reason she earned both the name of a city, and mind blowing fame that the girls of that city would dream of.

Allow me to rewind for a second and clear a couple of things up. In Shleem, girls that are beautiful and are thought to be in a league of their own are usually given nicknames that have to be the names of Arabic cities. If you're thinking to yourself that Qandahar is not an Arabic city, I had that same thought too. But who knows, maybe this girl Qandahar is just too valuable that they made an exception. And yes, I used the word "valuable" for a reason. What's interestingly odd about the people of Shleem is that they take extreme care in raising their chosen beautiful women, and they don't really seem to do it out of a parents love for their children, but instead it's like raising and taking care of a purebred Arabian racehorse. Certainly a prized possession as you are about to find out.

The reason the girls parents and her family take such good care of her, give her a nickname after one of the Arabic cities and spread the word in seek of fame is all done in the name of fame and fortune itself. I'm talking about the abnormally high dhowries that they'll be running after in return for their very own daughter. If right about now you're starting to think that this sounds familiar, then you might be in for a surprise. It seems that every now and then it's one young lady's turn in the limelight, where her reputation of her unrivaled beauty becomes so widespread that interested people from all walks of life head to Shleem hoping to be fortunate enough to ask for her hand in marriage.

It is said that the young lady that reigned supreme before Qandahar (whose name I can't recall now) was married off to a young fellow who just so happened to be the son of a filthy rich Sheikh. Better yet the dhowry was only R.O. 200,000, two cars (a Toyota Landcruiser for the girls father and some luxury sedan for the mother) and a brand new house. Coincidence? Haha. More like a devilish scheme.

Maybe after witnessing such careless acts of the ultimate example of the phrase "Money talks", one would start to think that those poor parents are not to blame. Then again that doesn't change the fact that you're in actual fact bringing up your daughter -your very own flesh and blood- in order to sell her?! But let's not forget the extremely poor lives and circumstances that some of these families could be living in and how much of a life flipping difference marrying their daughter off to a rich family would make. But yet again, weren't all of these acts prevalent during pre-Islamic times, and didn't Islam prevent them from taking place?

In the closure of this mind boggling post, I am only left with one thought...
"Qandahar, why don't you and I get together and take on the world and be together forever? Why don't you and I hold each other and fly to the moon and straight on to heaven?"

Hahahaha! Till my next post, take good care of yourselves and of eachother.
(Jerry Springer sucks!)

Eid Mubarak كــل عــــــــــــــــام و أنتم بخـيــر

2006-12-31T02:28:00.000+11:00

يسعدني أن أرفع أسمى آيات التهاني و أحر الأماني والتبريكات بمناسبة عيد الأضحى الى
المقام السامي لحضرة صاحب الجلالة السلطان قابوس بن سعيد المعظم حفظه الله و رعاه
والى الشعب العماني الوفي و المسلمين في جميع أنحاء العالم
أعاده الله علينا جميعا بالخير و اليمن و البركات

It pleases me to convey my best and sincerest greetings to His Royal Highness Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the occasion of Eid Al-Ad`ha, and to the loyal Omani people and the rest of the Muslims all around the world.
May Allah restitute this festive occasion on us all with his blessings.

Apologetic Soliloquy - 2nd Verse

2006-12-29T22:29:00.000+11:00

السموحة و المعذرة... أبواب أفرطتُ في التردد عليها
خوفي أن يُسلب رحيقُها و أن تفقدَ هذه الكلمات معانيها
حينها لن يكونَ باليد حيلةً سوى الترجي و التأسف لأصحاب المعالي ذو المكانات الرفيعة

a·pol·o·gy (?-p?l'?-j?)

1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense.

2. 1. A formal justification or defense. 2. An explanation or excuse.

3. An inferior substitute.

Allow me to apologise yet another time. Apologise for deserting this place, for seeming to have forsaken my readers and for not commiting to my own blog. Have you all been wondering O'Arabian Prince, where art thou? I'm sure some of you must have, it's quite obvious from my shoutbox. In a previous entry I've said that "Blogging to me now seems like a dusty portrait of the Mona Lisa covered with a huge white cotton cloth sitting in the darkest corners of the attic." Well I can safely say that still applies. I am now convinced, more than ever before, that blogging is an art form. Since all art forms naturally have artists, I believe that the blogging world has its share of artists too, except that I'm not one of them.

In that same 'previous entry' that I spoke of, I also mentioned that "The blog has reached the 80+ posts mark and completed 10+ months since it's first post, and it saddens me that not a single entry was posted from Oman." Believe it or not, this is my very first entry to be posted from Oman. Unfortunately it's going to be the usual apologetic entry with some updates on what has happened.

I was extremely preoccupied with my finals and studies in general. So much has happened ever since I've been back on holidays. I'm really glad that I've never been bored out of my brains yet, and hopefully never will be. Despite the fact that I've said this a couple of times before, I'll say it once again, I am determined to update my blog much more often. Let's hope it sticks this time around.

As a part of graduating with a Bachelors degree from our faculty, we are required to complete 12 weeks of compulsory training or vacational employment prior to graduation. Obviously it should also be related to our field of study along with many other requirments. Two of my colleagues and I (which are both good friends and are also Omani) talked about taking up alteast 6 of the required 12 weeks during this 3+ month holiday of ours. We had started arranging for it prior to arriving, and al-hamdulillah everything went as planned and we started work about a week after our arrival. Not much to say about that except maybe... we have to go all the way to Rusayl. Why? Because we'll be training in two companies (3 weeks each) and they're both in the Rusayl Industrial Estate. However that turned out to be the least of our worries after having started work. We were actually more worried about how we'd be spending our time during work that day, and whether this whole training at this company would be a fruitful experience. One company down, one more to go, three more weeks, starting again after the official holiday.

It felt really good to finally be free from studies for a while after a really stressful semester. It felt even better to have the time to start working out again and play soccer, just as I've always been looking forward to. However the feeling of being back home among family and friends was second to none!

I've been away from the English Sabla almost all semester, and when I was back into it recently I was quite surprised to see how much things have changed around there. Most changes being unpleasant... that's another story for another day though. This should do for now, but I'll be back on the scene soon.

What is it with girls and oh-so-girly butterflies?

2006-09-10T23:13:00.000+10:00

but·ter·fly (b?t'?r-fl?')
n.
1. Any of various insects of the order Lepidoptera, characteristically having slender bodies, knobbed antennae, and four broad, usually colorful wings.
2. A person interested principally in frivolous pleasure: a social butterfly.
3. Sports.
1. A swimming stroke in which a swimmer lying face down draws both arms upward out of the water, thrusts them forward, and draws them back under the water in an hourglass design while performing a dolphin kick.
2. A race or a leg of a race in which this stroke is swum.
4. butterflies A feeling of unease or mild nausea caused especially by fearful anticipation.

I'm not concerned with numbers 2, 3 and 4. My main concern is the first one. Butterflies. The sometimes intriguingly colorful insects that flutter around from one flower to another. They begin their rather short lives from a cocoon that was produced by a caterpillar spinning itself around in its own bodily secretions. True it's an invertebrate creature that belongs to the insect kingdom, but it's not just any insect. It's the infamously popular butterfly.

Last time I checked, girls weren't so fond of insects. As a matter of fact they couldn't stand insects. Now if you're a female and you're reading this and you're thinking to yourself "Oh not all girls hate insects, I like 'em" then I'm sad to inform you that you're a freak of nature. To be honest half of the guys I know start acting girly and squeamish once they come in contact or get up, close and personal with some insects. That's why I won't even start with girls.

I'm not blind (والحمد لله الذي عافانا مما ابتلى به غيرنا), that's why I appreciate that butterflies are sometimes gifted with extraordinary colours. I can also apprehend the fact that they fly around so lightly and with such grace. Fluttering their delicate wings, they move around from one colorful flower to the next.

I would openly understand why a 6-7 or even 10 year old girl would be madly in love with butterflies and everything relating to them, from drawings and sketches to accessories and to the actual creature itself. However at the very sight of a grown up girl, which is no longer a girl, rather a lady at the relatively young age of 18+ showing her unconditional affection to these creatures in all types and forms, that's when I start getting all these weird thoughts. Beaded butterflies, butterfly toys, butterfly imprinted clothes, butterfly stickers, butterfly bags, butterfly shoes, butterfly hair pins, butterfly pens, butterfly key chains, butterfly phone backgrounds and screensaver, butterfly avatars, signatures and display pictures. Alright, enough already. I mean c'mon! Don yoo theeenk tis a leeetle too maach senor/senora?

Who started this weird and radical revolution? Why? What are butterflies supposed to resemble that I'm not aware of? How on earth did an insect get so popular among estrogen led lives? Why butterflies? Why not ants, spiders or roaches? Why insect? Why do they like to be so obvious in showing their childish affection for silly insignificant cartoon like drawing/sketches/paintings?... Hmmm.

Is it just me that's noticed this? Am I the only one that thinks they overdo it sometimes... scratch that... most of the time!? Does it only get to me?

Every time a girl (referring to young ladies) tries to explain anything about silly colorful butterflies somewhere, she has to do it in a somewhat childish manner. The pitch of her voice rises a bit, this dorky smile is drawn on her face, her head tilts to either side, and she cuddles up and explains away. Is it just me or does that seem like the perfect thing for a cute 7 year old girl to do? And since I've realised that the root of all these illogical actions are of a childish nature, then I suppose there could be one more rational explanation to this phenomenon. Could it be that women are always in denial of their age and of the aging process at any point in their life, that they seek this as an opportunity to show the whole world that they're still young (young at heart atleast)??

Your honor, I rest my case.

Apologetic Soliloquy

2006-09-02T08:27:00.000+10:00

a·pol·o·gy (?-p?l'?-j?)

1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense.

2. 1. A formal justification or defense. 2. An explanation or excuse.

3. An inferior substitute.

Dear desolate blog of mine, dear forsaken readers of this blog, have you all been wondering O'Arabian Prince, where art thou?
The truth is I'm here. I've always been here. It shouldn't be too hard to take in the rest of this entry if your listening to Cesaria Evora's Tango to evora. With the nostalgic melody filling the air this paragraph... should come to an end... right about... now.

I don't know why that just happened. It's quite the same when it comes to why I hadn't updated in so long.. in 1416 hours.. or in 59 days. That's almost two whole months. I did not intentionally abandon this place. However I also don't know why it's been so long. If by now you're starting to think that I might've undergone some serious brain surgery which has irreversible effects like amnesia and that I should be seeing a doctor (again) then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm totally fine. ( Not even I would believe me if I just wrote all that crap!)

I suppose I owe an apology to all the visitors to my blog that have been continuously or constantly visiting and finding things the way they are since their last visit. I know what it feels like, but I surely hope that atleast a quarter of whatever number visitors I used to have are still hanging on to that very thin string of hope. Common courtesy suggests kindness and acceptable behaviour at times of recognising ones faults and rectifying them. Hello common courtesy, nice to meet you. That's as kind as I'll be for this post, the rest however is going to be a blunt, jagged and unpredictably random ride. Two main reasons for that: one, I've been away for so long that there's so much on my mind worth mentioning and two, blogging to me now seems like a dusty portrait of the Mona Lisa covered with a huge white cotton cloth sitting in the darkest corners of the attic.

You've got your blog-o-maniacs, your blogging enthusiasts, your average blogger, your minimum-requirements-met type of blogger and then there's me somewhere down the food chain... blog author/writer/blogger wannabe. What you should realise is it's the latter that require the most amount of effort to be put in.

The blog has reached the 80+ posts mark and completed 10+ months since it's first post, and it saddens me that not a single entry was posted from Oman. Although I've only been back once during that period, and it was only for a measly three weeks or so I reckon I should've had the time to update the blog from Oman. My previous entry was actually posted from Dubai during a week long break there. Skip a couple of days... Italy won the world cup. France played very well, they deserved to win it too. I believe Italy was lucky to have made it to the finals, let alone win the cup. Brazil didn't win, I expected them to play better, but I'll just have to wait for another four years for the sixth star. Unfortunately I haven't gone diving after acquiring my open water license. I'm really looking forward to summer (Australia's summer which is opposite of the rest of the world). I'm contemplating going to Cairns to dive at The Great Barrier Reef after my finals and before leaving back to Oman again.

Skipped the first week of uni just to spend some more time among family and friends, and despite that I still wasn't content with the length of my holiday. I was told by friends and colleagues that I needn't worry about the first week. A three week break? Is that all I get after not having gone back for a whole year? Flickr is updated after a long break too. I didn't stop visiting and reading many of the bloggers/blogs that I usually used to frequent. I must confess, I've been a pain. I pass by, read and leave. Not a single comment. If there's a comment, it's probably a short and spontaneous one. Nobody likes it. They don't know if you visit or not. They don't know if you care or if you're even bothered. Yes, I believe comments say a thing or two you know. It's 7:30am on a Saturday. What am I doing up so late? Oh yeah, I'm heading to the library. Haha, not in a million years. I woke up from one of the weirdest nightmares I've had in quite a while. Infact I don't think I remember my last nightmare. Nightmare is a funny word, it seems like only little kids should use it. It was strikingly frightening, disturbing and incoherent. A severely schizophrenic infant that I had to somehow cure, a possessed kid walking around with a knife, he was always on my case, and towards the very end, my dear grandfather. I suppose the only reason my grandfather was in there, is because I was informed about his arrival from Umra just before I went to sleep. Weird. You think?? Forget the dream. I'm not asking for any interpretation whatsoever. Only reason I'm saying that is because it's happened previously.

It's quite amazing what this guy can do with sand (youtube link). I've seen it several times before and I still don't mind seeing it again.

أستسمحك عذرا سيدتي لبنان! My heart goes out to all the Lebanese people at such times of immeasurable sorrow. Sayyed Hassan NasrAllah. Hizbollah. Names to be forever etched into history for their defying feats. The days that the Israeli nation was once concieved as a mighty force to be reckoned with sieze to exist. Atleast for Hizbollah they do. George Galloway. A name I've learnt to like.

Ever since I've been back to uni, I've been under so much pressure. So much to take in, so much to study and so much to work on in such little time. To be honest, that's another reason I was kept away from the net. I really needed to set my priorities, and that was a good start. Still need to work on my priorities list a bit. Nothing unattainable. My crap-o-meter, one of my many disfunctional cognitive stimuli, is kindly asking me to stop here.

I leave you with

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places
Worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going no where
Going no where
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression
No expression
Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me
Look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world

Rendezvous

2006-07-03T05:01:00.000+10:00

First and foremost pardon me for the late update and for deserting this place. Has it been a while? No it's been much longer than that. So much has happened during that period of time. I'll try to rush (although I doubt it) through all events in chronological order.

This last exam period was definitely one of the most hectic and stressful exam periods I've ever been through. Not only were my exams spread across a three weeks period, the world cup was also on, I was somewhat excited about going back especially having not gone back for a whole year and not to mention the very busy last 2 weeks or so before starting our exams. Well all's over now and I'm quite glad it is. I thought I'd never live to see the end of these exams! My last exam was on Thursday the 22nd. It was the best written exam and I think it's also the one in which I performed the best. I was worried that my mind would be too occupied with going back that it would affect my concentration and my willingness to get things done. However I was surprised that in the last couple of days the thought seldom ever crossed my mind. After the exam we went for a game of bowling. I went back home after that to pack my bag for the next day. We left to the city later on that night, and we came back very late or very early in the morning. Tried to sleep and I failed, so I got up to watch Brazil vs. Japan (Yes I'm a die hard Samba fan if you want to call it so!). My friend and I planned to go to the city in the morning right after the match to run some final errands before we left. We stayed in the city much longer than we had expected which meant I would have no time to bum around once I got back. So I packed in the stuff I had bought, took a shower and was off to the airport.

I was travelling with a friend of mine. We had both made the reservations together and had also reserved adjacent seats. However when we were checking in we were told that my friends booking is not even on the system. We were told that it was their fault, and that they would find a solution. Their solution was that we would both get to travel on first class! Ok fine that wasn't really their solution, but wouldn't it have been cool? A they booked us on the direct flight to Dubai. The one we were on stops over at Singapore. The direct is always a bit dearer than the indirect flight, it's also a bit more comfortable (since it's 14 hours non-stop!) and it has a fantastic on-board entertainment system. Oh by the way I always fly Emirates just in case you were wondering. 500+ channels providing an endless list of movies, programs, series, documentaries, sports and games. It's guaranteed to keep you busy. This was no ordinary flight though, something happened on this flight that has not happened on anything other flight I've been on. No I wasn't taken hostage. A poor old woman collapsed on the flight. The thing is it happened right in front of me. Our seats were located on the exits (very spacious), and right in front of us was one of the cabins washrooms. The lady got off her seat and was headed to the washroom, and soon as she got to the door she grabbed a wall/partition, did a 180 turn and then fell to the ground with a loud thud. Had I seen the same sight elsewhere I would know what was going on, but since it had happened on a plane and it was unprecedented I didn't have the slightest idea what was wrong with the lady. Two people seated next to the spot she fell in called for help, and the air hostess' fled to the scene. They tried helping her recover and did all they could do and found that they were not offering enough help. The next thing I knew was that they asked if any doctors onboard could come forward and identify themselves to anyone from the cabin crew. Luckily enough two passengers identified themselves as qualified doctors and they continued providing the lady with help. I saw all sorts of first aid kits. I even saw a big briefcase which I've never seen before that need not be open unless with permission from the captain. Most of the first aid took place at the exit space (where we were seated) and they opened up that huge medical briefcase and that's when I saw all sorts and colours of viles and vaccines! Talk about being prepared for worst case scenarios huh? I've never seen so many vaccines packed in such a tiny space before! Well there's always a happy ending, and this story also has one. The lady had recovered, and it turns out that she suffered from low blood pressure.

I arrived at Seeb Int'l airport at 9:30 on Saturday the 23rd of June. My parents and the rest of my family thought that I would be arriving the next day, reason being I showered them with lies. Yes that's right, I lied. I lied to them all. Ever since I had made my reservations I told them I'd be arriving on the 24th (a day before my actual arrival). Why? Well I wanted to surprise them, as simple as that. And I succeeded at that. Infact I did it much better than I had expected. I played along pretty well I must say, and I managed to keep things under control. I was on the phone with my mother the day I was actually leaving and she told me that my paternal aunts (some 3-4 aunts with their kids) would be at the airport to receive me as a surprise. I took it as a joke and laughed it off. Little did I know that they were pretty damn serious about it. Luckily enough I got away with it using my little surprise as an excuse. Since we now have a new driver that hasn't seen me, and I'm not particularly sure that he even knows I exist, I was fretting arriving home while no one's there except him. I was worried he'd have second thoughts about letting me (a stranger) in. There were no problems in that department since everyone was at home. The minute I walked into the house the maid was shocked and had this look of awe. She smiled, ran out of the kitchen into the lobby and then ran up the stairs. The look on my face said "what the fudge is going on?!” She knocked on the living room door, then barged and said to my mother "Madam, Arabian Prince (sub in my name) is here!” I heard that while I was on my way up the stairs. I made my way to the living room door, took a deep breath and smiled. As I walked in, I saw my mother and younger brother sitting back watching tv not really knowing what was going on. I looked at my mother while she looked back. She was shocked. She was startled. She was all that and more. She kept repeating my name 5-6 times while staring at me, not sure if it was reality or a dream. She then stood up, I gave her a big warm hug. I think she was still doubtful of the whole situation at that point. Hugged my little brother as well, and I couldn't believe how much he's grown. My mother then went to call my father. Now the look on my fathers face and his reaction was priceless! He stood there shocked, then asked me how it's possible that I'm here (even before greeting me), then I greeted him, he was also startled and honestly speaking his reaction was so funny, it's priceless. All in all, I wouldn't replace that whole experience for anything whatsoever. Then came the phone calls to all my aunts. Each phone call was funnier than the next, and they also couldn't believe that they wanted to surprise me at the airport and that the tables have turned now and I ended up surprising them.

Did I mention that it's been so hectic ever since I set foot in Oman? Well it has, and hectic isn't a strong enough word to describe what I've been through. There were a couple of things on my agenda (hey I like that word lol), most of which were finishing and finalising the processing of important documents. I was dragged around as soon as a couple of hours after my arrival where I had to take care of applying for a temporary driving license as I had lost mine. I also had to apply for a new ID card. Yes, you guessed it. I lost my ID card as well. No I haven't been that careless on several occasions. It's just that I lost my whole wallet once, and it contained my ID card, driving license, my bankcards, a credit card and a big amount of cash. I don’t usually carry big amounts of cash, but on that particular day I had withdrawn money for the rent and some shopping. I didn't really manage to get any shopping done, and someone else probably went on a shopping spree with my money. I lost it at the cinema. I don't know how it could've fallen out of back pocket when I was seated the whole time! Oh well, loads of lessons learnt. And if you don't know what it's like let me tell you about. It's not even one bit fun having to speak to people who take you as one of the many idiots or ignorant people they deal with on a daily basis. Especially given that the weather is just wonderful and people function much better in this heat. (Now if you really thought people actually functioned better in this heat, then you're either reading this from another continent or you're just plain dumb!)

I can't believe I've typed up so much yet still have some more to go. I can't be blamed. I haven't updated in a while, and this is one of the many ways I can update my blog right? Fine, maybe it's long and boring. It might even be pointless. Wouldn't you agree? Yes? Then what the hell are you doing reading this!! Leave now! I'm sure you have something better to do. If you don't have anything better to do then hang on to your seats, because it's going to be a jerky ride from here on. (No it won't, you can still leave. You have my permission to do so)

I might've not brought anything up about my willingness to get my open water diving license as soon as I'm back. Well I did that, and I now have my open water diving license. I started on my second day! My friend F and I talked about getting our license once we're back so that we can go on diving trips all around the land down under, namely Cairns where it's renowned for its Great Barrier Reef. I've been there before once, and it was with my family. All I managed to do was snorkel and I wasn't even aware of the magnificence of SCUBA diving. Not only that, but we also realised that Oman offers so many diving sites and opportunities for divers. We finished the open water course in 3 days. Unbelievable? Believe it! (Ripley’s Believe it or not lol) They were three long and strenuous days! We started at 9am everyday and weren’t done before 5pm. Fun. Yes those three days were packed with fun as well. I’m not complaining about nothing yet. Except the fact that I just arrived and didn’t even get to rest or sleep in late. I asked for it, but it surely paid off.

By the end of my SCUBA diving open water course, I had not met my whole family nor had I met any friends. I only saw a couple of friends when I went to watch one of the matches. I felt bad for not calling and meeting any of my friends. So for the next 2 days my aim was to meet up with as many friends as possible. Yeah I know that family comes first. But whenever I was done with my diving lessons I was spending the rest of my time at home. Besides that I spend most of Friday at my Grandma’s house. It’s a family thing.

Saturday, the 1st of July. We were scheduled to be leaving for Dubai. (By we I meant my parents, brothers aunt and uncle and their kids and two other cousins so yes it’s quite.. um.. cosy haha) Here I am in Dubai several hours after leaving, it was a nice drive, long but nice. They’ve planned to spend anywhere from 5 days to a week. It would be the longest I’ve spent in Dubai I think, let alone the longest I’ve spent in Dubai with my parents.

I think I’ve bullshitted enough for one entry. If you’ve read this far then I seriously commend you on your wasted efforts. If you’ve skipped a couple of lines, then I still commend you. If you’ve skipped a paragraph here and there, then you sure know what you’re doing! Now if you thought of just reading this last paragraph, then your mama’s so fat… just get the hell out of here!

Last but certainly not least, I’ll most probably update once I’m back from Dubai. Until then, pardon the extremely long entry, take care of yourselves and each other. (Jerry Springer, you suck!)

YouTube-ish update

2006-06-15T23:19:00.000+10:00

Snafi - Saudi Viagra commercial

ودي أفهم ايش يصير موقف كل فرد من العائلة وهم امام التلفزيون وتشتغل هالدعاية؟؟
أنا عن نفسي شكلي بـ افطس من الضحك!!ا lol

Saudi kid threatens mother to commit suicide - they must buy him a 'dababa'
أولاً وبكل صراحة أنا وجدت الكليب مضحك
بس والله احترت اسميه دلوع ولا مسكين الولد؟ اشرايكم؟
و على فكرة "الدبابة" يقصد فيها الدراجة الرملية
الله يكون بعون والدته! والله يهديها بعد! الولد يهدد بالنط والإنتحار وهي (الله يثبت عقلها و دينها) ماسكة كاميرا الجوال وتصور ولدها

Tagged by >>Sama Oman<<

2006-06-15T22:17:00.000+10:00

افتح أقرب كتاب إليك، على الصّفحة 18، السّطر 4

(It’s actually a blank page but here’s pg.17)

"السلطان من طرد التصورات السوداوية، و هو يطيل التفكير في مصير وليده الذي سيخلفه يوما ما على العرش."

كتاب: مصلح على العرش – سرجي بليخانوف
...
باستثناء صوت الكومبيوتر، أيّ صوتٍ تسمع؟
صوت التلفاز في المجلس

متى خرجت من المنزل للمرّة الأخيرة؟

ماذا كنت تفعل؟

منذ أربعة ساعات لتناول العشاء (أو بالأحرى وجبة غداء متأخرة)

أيّ موقعٍ كنت تتصفّح؟
http://omansky.blogspot.com/

...متى آخر مرّة ضحكت؟ ضحكت من الأعماق؟؟
آخر مرة ضحكت فيها من الأعماق كانت منذ ليلتين وأنا اشاهد مباريات كأس العالم مع أصحابي

...ماذا فوق جدران الغرفة حيث تجلس؟

موو دراني!

(عاد ما سؤال!)

هل لاحظت شيئاً غريباً مؤخّرا؟ً

الوقت لا يمر أبدا! ربما السبب هو فترة الإمتحانات و انتظار العودة

ما رأيك في هذا الاختبار؟
تبغو الصراحة؟ ترا للحين مضيَعَة وقت

ما آخر فيلم شاهدته؟
Cars

(Pixar Animation)

إذا أصبحت فاحش الثّراء، فماذا تشتري؟
احد الأشياء التي سأشتريها هو قصر في بفرلي هلز

أخبرني شيئاً أجهله عنك

أكره فترات الإمتحانات بشدة!!

إذا كان بإمكانك تغيير شيء واحد في العالم، بغض النّظر عن المعاصي والسياسة، فماذا تختار؟
أود افشاء المنطق و العقلانية في هذه الدنيا

جورج بوش؟

آسف ولكن معلوماتي عن فصائل البهائم محدودة

تفكّر يوماً في العيش بالخارج؟

مجرد أفكار من الخيال تنتابني بين الحين والآخر

ماذا تتصوّر أن يقول لك الله عندما تقف بين يديه؟

غير قادر على استيعاب الموقف في هذه اللحظة

أربعة أشخاص تمرّر لهم الدّور؟

الى كل من لم يجد لديه شيء يستحق ذكره في المدونة

..: والسلام :..

ــــــاصفة رمــلــية Sandstorm عـــــــ

2006-06-07T02:06:00.000+10:00

Just a quick pictorial update. The following are a couple of pictures of a sandstorm that supposedly hit Al-Wusta Region in the Sultanate two days ago. I'm unaware of which wilaya these particular shots were taken from. I found the shots to be breathtaking and they obviously speak for themselves.

العاصفة الرملية التي مرت على المنطقه الوسطى يوم امس

الصور تتكلم عن نفسها

The Blind Melon's encounter with "Royalty"

2006-06-05T03:50:00.000+10:00

Since I haven't updated, I thought this would be just right for an update for the time being, since I'm really busy with my upcoming finals. I had just taken a break from studying so much (with zero concentration) and I just added Blind Melon and started chatting away. I was hesitant at first since I wouldn't really be on msn much, but I thought atleast I'd drop in and say hi. Little did I know that little hi would turn into a hilarious conversation. The entry is long (as you can very well see!), so if you're just here to have a look around and read something quick, then you're at the wrong place at the wrong time. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I did not intend to offend nor mock anyone. This whole conversation and the crap (or lack thereof) provided was all done merely in the name of fun. No animals were harmed in the making of this entry. If you haven't taken your medication today (namely Prozac) please stop reading immediately.

(All msgs from the victim Blindy start in red for clarity)

This is how the nickname issue started...

AP says: I give up tryna pronounce your nick!
Blindy says: You dont.. speak arabic?
AP says: nope!
Blindy says: Noway!
Blindy says: Hahahahahah
Blindy says: I never knew that!
AP says: hehe
AP says: how come?
Blindy says: How come? lol..I dont know!
Blindy says: I always had the impression you spoke it since.. your blog has arabic..
Blindy says: and your nick.. like..right now..
AP says: LOOL!
AP says: there you go!
AP says: I write Arabic in my blog but I dont speak it!?
AP says: I was talkin bout that made up word in english!
AP says: does it even exist?
Blindy says: okay...
Blindy says: now.. you lost me
Blindy says: what are you talking about!
AP says: me no sbeek london
AP says: me only sbeek 3arabic
AP says: ya3ni bil 3arabi eeeewa atkalam 3arabi 6ab3an!
Blindy says: LOOOOL!
Blindy says: hahahahahaha
Blindy says: ya5e you puzzled me!
Blindy says: lol!
Blindy says: So you do speak arabic
Blindy says: and you write it (ofcourse)

Could you believe she still asked me that? lol!

Blindy says: um.. Im not quite sure this word exists..
Blindy says: but..
AP says: knew it!!
Blindy says: it kinds sounds cool
Blindy says: and sort of describes what i feel!
AP says: ok and that would be?
Blindy says: okay...
Blindy says: gimme a sec
Blindy says: I WILL FIND THE MEANING
Blindy says: lemmi type the meaning
Blindy says: discombobulate: to confuse or disconcert
AP says: you did exactly that to me!

This is where the real fun began...!

Blindy says: so...whats your family name?
AP says: (_____) Al-Busaidi
Blindy says: Do ..I know you?
Blindy says: lol
AP says: do you?
Blindy says: what school did u go to!
AP says: I studied abroad all my life
AP says: well not all
AP says: most
Blindy says: lol..
Blindy says: even prep school?
AP says: most of it yeah
Blindy says: what schools DID you go to here?
AP says: I spent my last years studying at the Sandhurst Academy in England
AP says: private home schooling
AP says: Taimoor bin Faisal is my great grandfather
Blindy says: Mashallah.. Excuse my ignorance.. but who's Taimoor bin Faisal
AP says: His Majesty's grandfather
Blindy says: Im guessing he's .. his majesty's father?
Blindy says: lol grandfather..
AP says: yep
Blindy says: oh! you're royalty then!
AP says: a term I don't like using nor a term a like attached to me
Blindy says: so you get it alot?
AP says: I'm "lucky" when I can get away with it
AP says: you dont understand
AP says: the 'special' treatment by almost everyone around you
Blindy says: you're vitamin W!
Blindy says: lol..
AP says: hahaha
AP says: well not yet.. that would be my father
AP says: you're probably having second thoughts about me already
Blindy says: yee.. la wallah..
Blindy says: Im indifferent.. I can't really comprehend the whole thing.. unless I see you like.. walking on flowers spread infront of you by maidens
Blindy says: lol
AP says: I hope nothing I said will affect anything at all cuz that's always been one of my main concerns when dealing with people
AP says: well it's like that sometimes
Blindy says: Oh!
Blindy says: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Blindy says: yay..
Blindy says: lol..
Blindy says: you know i was reffering to this movie.. eddie murphy..
AP says: I was raised in a private palace up until the age of 9!
AP says: do u understand what that could do to a child?
Blindy says: lol
Blindy says: I think I do!
Blindy says: How old are you now?
AP says: turning 21 soon
AP says: and you?
Blindy says: Inshallah
Blindy says: I'll be 23 in august
AP says: oh.. no longer a lil girl
Blindy says: AP.. hang on!
AP says: alright .. dont tyt
AP says: well since I've started whining I'll whine some more.. I'll leave this for when your back
AP says: I don't get to fly with other passengers... I dont arrive at the same terminal in Seeb int'l airport... I don't get my luggage checked upon arrival
AP says: the cars.. the money.. the beautiful women..
AP says: I don't know what to do!
Blindy says: back..
Blindy says: oh..
Blindy says: OMG
Blindy says: you suck!
Blindy says: are you bragging?
Blindy says: you dont arrive at Seeb intl?
Blindy says: private port?
AP says: I wish that's all there is when I brag...
AP says: private vip terminal
Blindy says: oooh..
Blindy says: hmm..
Blindy says: who's your father again?
Blindy says: and errm...ahem *clears throat* when are you coming back?
AP says: I can't say much more than that I'm afraid... for political reasons
Blindy says: ... you're kidding right?
AP says: hehehe soon.. but not as soon as I'd like to
AP says: I kid you not
AP says: kidding bout what exactly?
Blindy says: about who your papa is...?
AP says: u know those James Bond movies... "if I told ya I'd have to kill ya" sorta thing
AP says: hahaha
AP says: ok not that bad but ...
AP says: that's one of the things I was brought up with
AP says: do u know what it's like to be an adult studying abroad having people spying on you whenever you look over your shoulder!!
Blindy says: really?
Blindy says: but Im not a spy! we swears!
Blindy says: ya3ni 3adi..I always ask for people's last names and father's names
AP says: oh noo no no.. I din mean it like that
Blindy says: makes it more personal.. because I chat to them
Blindy says: and im going to be chatting to you ya3ni..
Blindy says: fa thats all
AP says: I know where yer comin from
Blindy says: Oh ..did I mention I was a ver curious person and wouldnt take no for an answer?
Blindy says: *very
AP says: nope you din mention that.. but I doubt that's gonna make a difference
Blindy says: dang..
Blindy says: suit yourself then..
Blindy says: So.. in attempt to change the subject.. lol, who do those beautiful eyes in your DP belong to?
AP says: to a beautiful stranger that appeared on the cover of a book that I was once told about by Arabian Princess
AP says: little did I know ofcourse at the time of my saving the pic
AP says: nevermind that now
AP says: they took the word gullible out of the dictionary!
AP says: you're not gonna ask me why?
Blindy says: lol...
Blindy says: why?
AP says: cuz yer by far one of the most gullible people evere! hahahahaha
Blindy says: am I now.. you see I do get that alot!
Blindy says: so.. why again ?
AP says: well hmm lets see
Blindy says: lol...here it comes..
AP says: cuz 1) everything I said for the past 10-15 minutes was bullshit
2) things dont get any "bullshitter" than that lol
3) I am anything but 'royalty'!
4) obviously that's not my real last name
5) you're either realllllyyyy gullible or you felt sorry for me and had to play along !
Blindy says: shit!
AP says: I dont think I've ever done a better job at bullshitting before!
Blindy says: I dont think I like you anymore..
Blindy says: taking advantage of poor simple minded me
AP says: now I can laugh at all the things I laughed at above! LOOOOOOOOOOL
Blindy says: waaaaaaaaal...
Blindy says: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!
Blindy says: my my... I really AM naive and gullible!
Blindy says: shit..
AP says: u dont like me anymore? *sniff* (puppy eyes).. is that cuz I aint royalty?
AP says: ok now can I please make fun of the stupid things I said above
AP says: you can ignore this part if you wish! lol
Blindy says: I mean, you probably couldnt pull a straight face saying all this to me
Blindy says: laugh all you want
AP says: LOOOL!
Blindy says: oh laugh and get it over with!
Blindy says: please!
AP says: I actually tried pulling a straight face while typing all that believe it or not.. lol
Blindy says: LOL
AP says: "My grandad is Taimoor bin Faisal"
AP says: LOL
AP says: I would have to be soooo old! lol
AP says: I dont even know why I picked him! lol
AP says: I dont travel with other passengers"
AP says: for God's sake.. THE QUEEN of Englad travelled on british airways on her last visit to Australia
AP says: England*
Blindy says: laaa..but omanis are known for having multiple wives, you couldve easily been the son of the youngest wife or something!
Blindy says: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
Blindy says: I did not know that!
AP says: c'mon!! did you really think of that?
Blindy says: i thought you'd have a private jet or something!
Blindy says: and VIP terminal aah
Blindy says: so..what IS true exactly?
Blindy says: my god..
AP says: "I was raised and brought up in a private palace till the age of 9" was it?
AP says: LOL
Blindy says: I cant believe our whole conversation was a LIE!
Blindy says: from the begining!
Blindy says: and you start lieing!
Blindy says: my goodness..
AP says: that thought was from the biography of His Majesty!! lol
Blindy says: what school did u go to you jerk!
Blindy says: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
Blindy says: ya rabby..
AP says: and so was the part of "Sandhurst military Academy" LOL!
AP says: I walk on beds of flowers that are laid there by maidens" ?
Blindy says: I thought so!
Blindy says: that sounded very familiar!
Blindy says: but i just thought our king went there!
AP says: "cars.. money.. beautiful women"
Blindy says: aaargh
Blindy says: I cant believe you!
AP says: 7ilwa thee!.. Hugh Hefner from the playboy mansion? LOL!
AP says: laaaa wo ba3ad "I don't know what to do "
Blindy says: hahahaha
Blindy says: khalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas
AP says: Blindy
AP says: please accept my thanks and gratification for making me laugh so much at a time when I really needed it!
Blindy says: LOL
Blindy says: wow..
Blindy says: you're welcome, but for some reason I dont feel good about meself now!
Blindy says: so...
Blindy says: you wanna start over?
Blindy says: jackass
AP says: hahahahaha!!
AP says: hey you cant call me jackass.. I'm royalty remember!!
Blindy says: LOL!
Blindy says: Im sorry! Your majesty!
Blindy says: btw
Blindy says: LOL
Blindy says: I even connected it to you posting pictures of his majesty and oman in your blog
AP says: well while I was bullshitting I knew that the pics would come in handy for the lie
Blindy says: I cant believe that happened
Blindy says: I mean if i had known you shwai bas, this wouldnt have happned
Blindy says: I can usually spot a bullshitter
Blindy says: but you my friend have outdone yourself!
Blindy says: hehe
Blindy says: Touche!
AP says: that's as close to royalty as I'll ever get!
AP says: it was nice living the role for 10 minutes though
AP says: Hi my name is AP
AP says: some of my hobbies are: reading, surfing the net,scribbling on walls, and pulling girls from their hair
AP says: what are some of yours?

AP says: Hello?
AP says: you there?
(No, those last two lines were bogus :p)

If you made it all the way down here, then I hope you enjoyed it, and I apologise for taking so much of your time!

يا شجرة التين لياه طاح الورق ممن تشكين؟؟

2006-05-30T21:51:00.000+10:00

Adrift by SnowWhiteLeigh

Difficult, backbreaking, burdensome and last but not least hectic. These are but a few ways I could describe what I'm going through now. Part of it is my fault, but just a very small part! I'm talking about the end of the semester, infact the last week of the semester to be precise. Within the 3 coming days, I am supposed to have handed in 2 assignments (one's not that bad but the other is one hell of a pain in the ASSignment), oh and not to mention this "mini"project I have to hand in. It consists of a lab assessment of a graphic equalizer circuit we're to build from scratch, and of course a report. No one, and I'm sure everyone would agree with me on this, no one knows why it's been called a mini-project. There's certainly nothing mini about it! It required almost just as much effort as any other God damn project we've worked on.

My previous 'pictorial update' post proved to be a crowd pleaser. I doubt it was because of the stunning pictures I've chosen. I suppose it's due to the fact that I've never posted so much pics before. Oh well I'm glad everyone liked them. Wait, how do I know everyone liked them? I only got comments which praised me or the post. I should fairly assume that I also got my share of haters. haha

So who came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken. But the chicken must've originally come from an egg. Ok fine, the egg came first then. But a chicken must've existed to lay the egg. No, I don't want an answer! I never did actually. But we need not worry about that anymore. The egg came first, 'eggsperts' agree. One of, if not the most, pointless and never-ending debates has once and for all come to a halt! The debate has been unscrambled. Check it out here. I tried, and tried but I failed miserably. I got lost half way through. Let me know if you have a clue of what's going on. For all I know, the next time someone asks me that, I can assure you I won't get into a silly debate.

I have my finals coming up sooner than I'd like them to, but there's nothing I can do about it. I won't say how much or how little I'll be posting throughout my exam period, but I can safely say that I won't be posting regularly. (<=--- Said the guy that posts exactly every 57 hours, 48 minutes and 56 seconds) Yes, that was sarcasm. I'm sorry but it's not my fault you're out of Prozac! My exams. Four of them. Spread out almost evenly across three agonizing weeks. True I get so much time between one exam and the next, but those three weeks will seem like forever! So what's with the title of this post? No seriously, what is it supposed to mean? I heard it once and I liked it for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that fig trees are known to hold on to their leaves strongly, and if that's the case it could be used as a metaphor or figure of speech right? Winter's already here, and it seems to be getting colder by the minute. But hey, I ain't complaining. I'm sure I'd love to be back here with no second thoughts right after I step foot in Oman. I'll leave the land down under just before winter peaks around here, and arrive in Oman during the mother of all infernos on God's Earth! That of course was with respect to it's unbearable scorching summer temperatures. But I sure as hell miss Oman. I miss everything about it, heat included. See, once I'm back "we be burnin' not concernin' what nobody wanna say".. literally haha!

عمــــان و مـــا أدراكـــم مــا عمــــان... جنة الله في الأرض

(Please don't tell me that was contradictive, calling it an inferno first and then a paradise!)

Funny how people pay the bank interest on a car they cant afford to buy.

There are miracles in life that I must achieve, but I know that it all starts inside of me.

If you thought this post was random, then you can rest assured that I was under the influence of FINAL EXAMS when I wrote it. Random... hmmm, that's something my life is right now.

Until my next post, take care of yourselves, and eachother.
(Jerry Springer sucks!! lol!)

Pictorial Update (part 2)

2006-05-22T15:05:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite pictures of His Majesty.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said addressing the nation on one of the Sultanate's special occasions.

An old picture of His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen of England. An ideal portrayal of chivalry.

His Majesty being greeted by the French President Jacques Chirac.
(I like this picture because of His Majesty's suit and headpiece/hat. Kash5a!)

His Majesty in one of his annual tours to various towns and cities in the Sultanate.

An old picture that depicts one of the passionate sides of His Majesty.

Oman, a beauty both on land and off-shore.

A beautiful sunset.
(Shatti Al-Qurm if I'm not mistaken)

The Southern Region of the Sultanate during the monsoon (Khareef).

Pictorial Update (part 1)

2006-05-22T13:33:00.000+10:00

At the start of the welcoming ceremony on the auspicious occasion of the appointment of Mr. Hamad Al-Hajry Consul General to the Sultanate in Australia. The night was organised by the OSSV (Omani Students Society of Victoria).

The president of the OSSV (left - Mr. Ibrahim Al-Manthery) handing the Consul General of the Sultanate (right - Mr. Hamad Al-Hajry) a keepsake on this memorable occasion.

Pride and joy. One of the many flags hung in the hall at that night, but it was the cream of the crop. ;) (The hall is in a college I studied in.)

The famous Melbourne Central tower dome. Melbourne Central is a very classy mall which is more or less a shopping haven located in the heart of the city.

Ceiling lamps outside the cinema in Melbourne Central, waiting for the movie The Da Vinci Code.

Meet my lava lamp. I think it's normal to stare at it for prolonged periods of time when you're in my room and especially if it's dark. It's ALIVE! lol

Our weekly indoor soccer matches. 3 teams (usually), 15 minutes per game, winner stays on the court. Great fun!
Who's going to make it to the ball first?

In or out?
Going once... going twice...

GONE!
Whoops, a second too late goalie.

Only in Oman will you find a car parked in a trolley bay, why? Obviously because there's a shade! Oh how I miss these sights.

Yes I'm a Piscean, but that's not why I loved this shot. That whale must've been in a good mood to allow that shot to be taken :p Isn't it wonderful?

Betrayal, treason... 5yana! After all these years... haha

Viva la Barcelona! A friend proud of the champions, and so was I, hence the pic!

House of cards. Had it not been so late, I might've bothered taking up the challenge to make a bigger one.

What the hell was I doing?! I remember the day, and I certainly wasn't bored. This should not in anyway depict how much I love the sun'n'sand.

"I'll bring you flowers in the pouring rain!"

Meet two little princesses. My cousins, I love them and miss them so much.

Meet mini-me. That's me in the portrait and this is my little cousin. He has a twin brother but it's only him that my whole family says looks like me. Any resemblance?

Awww! Another cousin, brother of one of the princesses above. This shot says something... "a devil caught in a moment of serenity" hahaha. Love him and miss him just as much.

Emily Ruete

2006-05-11T22:58:00.000+10:00

Does the name ring a bell? Ever heard of it? Well read on and you might be amazed just like I was to find out about her.

One dull and rainy day, I had nothing better to do but to self-educate myself on the internet. Well I basically think of a term, a name or anything that I might've wondered about and search away. This time I was looking for sites that contained information on His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Busaid, Sultan of Oman. I recalled once doing the same thing and ending up on a site that had contained interesting and very detailed information on His Majesty, Oman and the renaissance. I was probably hoping I'd stumble over that same site once again.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Bin Taimur Bin Faisal Bin Turki Bin Said Bin Sultan.

"Said bin Sultan was Sultan of Muscat and Oman from November 20, 1804 to June 4, 1856... Said had 36 children"

His 36th child was Sayyida Salme of Zanzibar and Oman (1844-1924).

"Sayyida Salme was born on August 30, 1844 as daughter of Sultan Said and Jilfidan, a Circassian concubine. Her first years were spent in the huge Bet il Mtoni palace, by the sea about eight kilometers north of Stone Town... She secretly taught herself to write, a skill which was unusual for women at the time... While living in Stone Town she became acquainted with her neighbor, a German merchant, Rudolph Heinrich Ruete. In 1866 she fled with him to Aden, converted to Christianity and married Ruete, and moved with him to the North German Confederation."

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Sayyida Salme bin Said bin Sultan a.k.a. Emily Ruete.

"Her husband died in 1870 after a traffic accident, leaving Ruete in difficult economic circumstances. Partly to alleviate these economic problems she wrote Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, first published in the German Empire in 1886, later published in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The book provides the first known autobiography of an Arab woman, only known autobiography of an Arab princess and only known account of harem life written by an Arab woman."

In 1992 the book An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds was published, making for the first time Emily Ruete's letters home, with her reactions on life in Europe, available to the public.

According to the same site I've quoted from, she has boldly described her eldest brother, Sayyid Hilal bin Said al-Said (c.1815-1851) as an alcoholic. That statement got my very interested in obtaining a copy of one of her publications to know all of what she has revealed about her life as a princess.

udnpay ??

2006-05-08T03:09:00.000+10:00

I was never a big fan of these 'word verification' mechanisms. Infact the only reason I personally use them is because they keep scammers at bay. They've proved to be a pain whenever I'm prompted to enter the letters after leaving a comment on a blog, especially when you'd have a hard time making out what the letters are and then making a mistake. I was ready to forgive and forget, up until the point where I wanted to reply to some comments on my own blog and made a mistake, so naturally I was prompted with another set of letters to enter. The second word verification picture however showed up with all audacity and displayed the following:

With all audacity they show up on my own blog's comments page and prompt me (the blog's author) with this? Telling me that I didn't pay..! How can they even dare?!

Luckily I'm not the type of devil that they can shoot down so easily.

2006-05-08T02:56:00.000+10:00

الامل

لم يبق في هذه الحياة شيء نرجوه .. فكم ضحكنا على انفسنا لنعيش ابتسامة مزيفة لاسباب عديدة منها اننا لا نحب ان نظهر لغيرنا ما نخفيه من هموم الدنيا واحزانها .. حتى لا نغرس الاكتئاب في قلوب غيرنا مهما كان .. لعلنا نمنى انفسنا بالامل ,تلك الغريزة التي لا يقضي عليها الا التفكير وحده, الأمل الذي وصفه أناس على أنه "خروج تحت الشمس المشرقة ورجوع تحت المطر

Hope

There's nothing left of this life that we long for. For how much have we cheated ourselves into living our lives with a fake smile for several reasons, such as avoiding transparency to others and through which we would illustrate to them our deepest worries and sorrows. That’s all for the sake of not placing grief in the hearts of others around us whatsoever. Still anticipating awakening our desire for hope; the natural instinct that is only demolished by non-other than our own thoughts. It’s that same hope that people have depicted as flourishing under the dazzling sun and languishing under the rain.

What a comeback!

2006-05-01T20:03:00.000+10:00

الســـلام عليــــكم و رحمـــــة الله و بركاته

تحية طيبة أما بعد،،

(Arabian Prince)سيداتي آنساتي سادتي، نرحب بكم على متن طيران
و على الطيارة من طراز ايربس 380 وهي آخر اضافة لاسطولنا الجوي

24 days, 6 hours and 17 minutes since my last entry. Ok fine it's just been 11 days, but it sure as hell feels like much longer. Remember that last paragraph or so of the previous entry where I went on about not having plans for the easter break and mountains of work etc.. well let's just say there was a change of plans to all of that. I enjoyed my easter break to the max and didn't get through much work, atleast not during that week long break. However, I did manage to discipline/sit myself down the week after and all I saw for 3-4 days was loads of pages, piles of work and many lecture slides and tutorials and nothing else!

والآن اليكم تفاصيل الموجز

Right before the start of the easter break I was supposed to be expecting a couple of friends over from Birsbane, but nothing was confirmed yet. On the first weekend of the easter break I recieved a call from a friend telling me that they were surely coming and it was just a matter of getting their airtickets. The day after was a public holiday and everything was closed so they were delayed, but they got their tickets the day after and flew over right away. My housemate and I went to pick them up from the airport and that's when the fun began!

Here's a little something about them. Two very dear friends, one I've known for quite a while and the other just recently but proved to be one hell of a friend. My housemate and I went over to Brisbane (& Goldcoast) last Summer (late November) and spent all our time with them. We had a crazy time there. It was literally unforgettable, but there was so much to do and so little time especially towards the end. Nevertheless we really enjoyed ourselves. We made them promise that they would come over the next chance they got. Well... they kept their promise =)

I wouldn't know where to start with all the fun we had, the places we went, the things we did and the things that happened. We had a blast! I am very thankful that they came over, otherwise I'm certain that we would've wasted our easter breaks. I'm quite sure they had a wonderful time. But by the end of their stay I was wondering which of the two trips was 'kra-Z-er' and we safely came to the conclusion that our Goldcoast trip was more of a blast. Well ever since they left, the house feels so empty and it's back to our (my housemate and I) boring routines.

The week after the easter break (which was a day shorter due to a public holiday-Anzac day) was this semesters most hectic week by far. I wasn't prepared at all for an upcoming test, and my last resort was to study for the test the day before. Little did I know that I had not one but TWO tests on that day. I just found out about my second test the day before. I've never been used to being this type of student all my life, I didn't even know what it felt like. So for me to be put in such a situation was a bit interesting because I didn't know how to react. What I decided to do was stay back after my classes, study at the library until they were about to close (I've only done this a couple of times before) and then go back home and study some more. Basically I was determined to study until I dropped, and that's what I did. I also had to study for both tests throughout the next day during my breaks. All in all I managed to do relatively well al-hamdullilah, atleast that's what I think, I'll have to wait and see what the results have to say.

My Warman project! We were informed at the start of the semester that this project will account for 20% of this particular subjects final grade. We were also given an insightful look into the project. It was due 2 months from the start of the semester. I could go on about this project but I'll try to keep it short. The aim or objective of the project is to design and build a device that is capable of travelling along an L-shaped platform/track while seeding allocated field alongside of the track. It's a wooden track/platform and the seeds are pieces of PVC piping. This was percieved by almost everybody as a challenging task, and it didn't fail to prove itself as one! Bear in mind that the unit has very little to no material at all about this project. In other words we (groups of three or four students) were required to come up with this device (be it electrical, mechanical or robotic) from scratch! Analyse the project, solve the problems, design the device and build it all with whatever past knowledge we had. My group of four (my Bahraini friend and two of my Indonesian friends) might've not been the most hard-working of groups, but we certainly put alot into it! We dedicated so much time and put in loads of effort that we were bound to be satisfied with the final outcome.

The project was due the day after my two tests. In order to get our work done, I didn't mind meeting up during the break (despite the fact of having my friends over from Brisbane) but my only concern was to have our meetings early in the day so I could get them out of the way for our outings later on. Since I couldn't attend the last couple of meetings I happily agreed on taking on the task of coming up with our projects final report. The best part was that I only had one day to come up with a whole final report! As soon as I came back from my two tests I got started on the report and it took me the whole night to finish. I just managed to finish it by 1 am. As soon as I was done the guys gave me a call and asked me to come over to the track which had been built in uni to test run our device. For those of you that have read this far and are wondering, it was 2am! At the time I was over at my friends' house helping them out a bit with the final touches on their device. Not too long after that I was in uni. It was my first time (and probably the last) to ever be on campus at 2.30am in the morning. It was bloody cold and I was wearing my comfy home shorts! Had I known that I would stick around uni until 5am in the friggin morning I might've reconsidered. Oh well it was too late by then and I had no choice. Surprisingly there were other groups at that time testing their devices too which sort of felt reassuring to some extent. The actual testing time the morning after (a couple of hours later) was amazing. Getting to see how innovative and creative people have been in building their desgins and how well everyone performed. Our run... let's just say things didn't go as planned unfortunately. But one thing's for sure, we have all learned so much from this project and it has certainly been one of the best hands on experiences in our studies so far. We got the chance to apply all our knowledge, learn new things and gain new perspectives on different things.

I think that's more than one entry can handle. I should've saved some of this for that final report. Enough for now... and hopefully I'll be a bit more active around here.

Ram-"bling!"

2006-04-20T13:54:00.000+10:00

Please ignore the title, it has almost nothing to do with the post!

(This was jotted down 3-4 days ago, but I never got the chance to blog it, or actually I wasn't bothered)

Currently listening to: Agatsuma - Tears
(I know I've never had this "currently listening to" thing before but here's why)

My friend Karamazov introduced me to Agatsuma. Apparently he's a Japanese artist that plays the shamisen, a classical/traditional string instrument, and also mixes with modern rhythms. I was quickly infatuated by his work. I recommend him. So far I've heard about 4 tracks and all of them seem to share the same main characteristics, they all have the 'shamisen' playing in the background and contain relatively slow beats. Something new to my ears.

So much has happened in this last period. I don't even know where to start. I find myself constantly being bombarded with shocking news. Mostly news I'd rather not hear, since there's very little (if not nothing at all) that I can do about it. I've felt quite helpless a couple of times. All in all, it wasn't a nice feeling at all. I can't really say much about that topic.

I've been the mother of all procrastinators lately. That should change! Especially that it's our easter break and I have no plans for the whole break, I should be able to get alot of work done. Yes of course I have mountains of work to get through. I hate the fact that I can always delay yet manage to finish what's required of me last minute right before the due dates.

There've been a couple of things on my mind that I've wanted to blog about, but because I've been kind of lazy these past couple of days they've piled up.

That's about it for this post, but another one is on the way. I can pick up the signals already.

PostSecret

2006-04-06T00:19:00.000+10:00

PostSecret is a blog I used to frequent, but not anymore. Now I just visit whenever I'm bored and have the time. I really liked the idea behind it, basically it's "an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard".

I would't say that it's the kind of art I appreciate, however there are a couple of postcards that are truly amazing. What I find capturing are the actual lines on the cards. Here are some lines I really liked from their current collection:

"I chose my bridesmaids based only on their looks"

"Ever since you called me fat I have been using your toothbrush to make myself throw up"

"I've been too far out all my life - and not waving, but ~~drowning~~"

"I used to think that being pregnant meant someone loved you. (It's not true)"

"I'm so scared that when my parents are finally gone... a significant part of my heart will die forever."

"All my presentable writing has been about a blind boy who will never be able to read my words."

These were the ones that got me thinking a bit.

Hate

2006-04-05T16:33:00.000+10:00

Once this guy in a wheelchair hated me so much, that he just stood up and left the room!

A dream I had

2006-04-04T01:33:00.000+10:00

I had this dream not more than a week ago. It was one of those dreams that seem to be so realistic that even when you're wide awake it feels like it really did happen. I was about to play something on my laptop when I thought to myself that perhaps it's a good idea to jot this down somewhere, and so I did. I recalled some things in detail and others were really blurry. The following is a refined version of what I had dreamt:

I suddenly found myself in a rather weird atmosphere. I was getting married. I was all fired up about it... the feeling wasn't what I had expected it to be. I remembered how everyone told me that it would be one of the best times/days in their lives. But for some odd reason it certainly wasn't one of mine. I remember sitting there (not quite sure where) uneasy for one reason, and depressed for another reason. I didn't even know who my wife was, maybe that explains the depression. It just wasn't clear to me at the time. I was trying to atleast show that I was happy on the outside to please others around me but I even failed to do that... I then had a couple of guesses at who my wife could be. I was very pleased when I guessed a couple of names and felt disappointed/nervous when I guessed others. The names that pleased me did so because I was totally comfortable with them, and the names that didn't please me didn't do so accordingly. I also recall someone coming up to me and telling me something like "this is it.. this is the day you'll remember for the rest of your life.. I'm sure you're happy" and I simply smiled it off. That's pretty much it.

A short entry, but I'll be back soon (hopefully).

2006-03-26T15:49:00.000+11:00

I've been meaning to update recently but I've either been occupied with uni or it's just that I didn't really know what to blog about. Well I do have a couple of things on my mind right now, I just cant seem to be bothered with jotting them down. But I thought I'd share two short poems, both of which were dedicated to me. I deeply appreciate it, but my only fear is that I might've failed in showing it. I'm truly honoured to have those people in my life, and I hope I am capable of showing that at the very least.
I also have another two things that I'll be posting soon, a poem and a short story, but they are still under construction.

عيناه كالشهد المصفى ............. تسحر العقل تخيف
زادني شوقي اليه بكائاً ............. حتى صرت من كثرة الدمع كفيف
ارحم اخاً، قلبا محطما .............. ينزف الدم منه نزيف
نعم فارس للعرب انت .............. عادل شهم عفيف

يأيـــها الناس ألا ترون جمــالهُ ............ هو عشيــقي وأنا الحبيــبُ المتيــــمُ

لو رأيتــم مــــا أراه في عينــــه ............ لقطعتــــم أياديكـــم و لســـال الـدمُ

أين المحــــبين مني و منــــــه ............ عشقــــاً و حبــــاً فقنـــا كل منهـــمُ

ربـــاه يا ملــــك الملــــوك و ربنـا ............ أدمــــه لي نبعــــــاً لا ينضــــبُ

لا تســـألوني عن وصـــــف لــــه ............ هو الشجـاع و هو الجيـــش العرمــرمُ

يوم المعـارك و عندما يشهر المهند ............ تــراه في الصــف الأول هو المـقــدمُ

قلبـــــــــه كالثــــلج في بيــــــاضه ............ فلا حقــــدٌ و لا بغــــضٌ محــــرمُ

ادعـــــوا إلهي أن يحفظه لنــــا ............ وأن يعيــــش الدهــــر مكرمٌ منعــمُ

I hope you enjoyed them, because I obviously did! =D

Prison gates won't open up for me...

2006-03-20T22:49:00.000+11:00

Last Friday was the day of my graduation ceremony, it was definitely a day to remember! No I haven't graduated yet.. well atleast not with my Bachelors. It was a diploma of engineering, nothing big.
Nothing was going right or as planned ever since I left for uni at 8.30 am. I had one of two 4-hour-stretches in my timetable, and this one's comprised of two 2-hour labs back-to-back. I was done with classes at 1 pm, but I wasn't very productive at either one of them. I then bummed around uni for an hour or so because I was supposed to pick up the graduation gown and hat by 2.30 pm, which I did just in time. I thought I had plenty of time to go back home, shower and get dressed. I was supposed to be back by 3.30 pm in order for the ceremony to start at 4.00 pm. And I had just enough time to do what I had to do. I was done and ready to leave for the ceremony by 3.30 pm (first serious sign that things are going to get messed up!). I called a cab, waited... waited some more, called another cab company, waited.. and waited. Little did I know at the moment that cabs were no where to be found on a Friday (but I thought that was only at night!). I had no choice but to call my friends, and luckily they were having lunch right by my place. They were kind enough to give me a ride to uni, and just as we left one of the two cab-drivers I called for had arrived. We all cracked up and ignored him. The time was 4.07 pm. Yes that certainly means that the ceremony has begun. I arrived at the theatre doors by 4.12 pm, and I was holding both my graduation gown and hat. As I walked down that semi-walkthrough to the actual seats and stage, I noticed that the engineering program manager (top dawg lol) was on stage, behind the microphone, mumblimg some words. As I got closer I heard:

"...and the January 2006 graduates of the diploma of engineering are... Arabian Prince" (obviously my real name)

a rather long pause, then "... Isaac Newton" (whatever the guys name was).
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to elaborate. I was nervous, awestruck, bedazzled... I had to make a split-second decision! I could either walk right onto the stage (going up the wrong end!) and without having my graduation gown on OR I could've just silently walked over to the right side of the stage to stand at the back of the line of engineering students that were being called out to recieve their certificates.
I opted for option number two. I would've made a big scene if I had gone for option number one. I'm sort of glad I didn't.
I stood there at the back of the row not knowing what was going to happen. There was this lady on my left, she asked me whether I was an engineering student and whether I should be in this line waiting for my name to be called out. I assured her that I was. She then asked me to put on my gown quickly (something I hadn't done up until then!). I then stood there with a semi-dorky smile, wondering why I was even waiting. Just before the line had come to an end (by 3-4 students), I said to the lady:

"But my name has already been called. It was the first name"

She then smiled and asked me to find myself a seat and wait until the end of the ceremony to collect it afterwards. I smiled back, looked around for a seat, and sat my sorry ass down. But what no one knew is that on my way to my seat, I said to myself "Sons of my bit**es!!" and then sat down.

Ok it's not as bad as it seems, because only half of the graduating engineering students actually attended the ceremony. That's because we were given the option of attending the ceremony, otherwise we would just have to wait 3 more days to pick it up ourselves. However I compensated for all of that by taking pictures, so many pictures, something I hardly ever do regardless of the occasion. I bumped into the engineering program manager (the guy who was calling out the names), and he said "Hey... where were you when I called out your name?". I explained what had happened and he said in a very sarcastic tone "You still think you're in class don't you" lol

That's that! And for the dimwitted readers out there, yes ofcourse I got my certificate in the end! :p

**Announcement: A collection of pics were piling up so I thought it would be a good idea to update my flickr account

Return of the...

2006-03-14T18:39:00.000+11:00

That was a long wait!!
Anyways back to where I left off... I forgot. It seems like its been ages. I said I'd try to post every couple of days even though my laptop was sent for repair. I tried and failed miserably. Not only did the repairing take much longer than expected but I was also occupied with uni. The last time I posted was almost a week before I started this semester, and now I'm in my 3rd week. That is quite a while. Well so much happened in that period of time that I don't know where to begin. One of the wonderful things that have happened in that period (atleast thats what I think) is that Warda is now a mother after giving birth to a cute little girl. It's strange how we can connect to eachothers lives through our blogs.. ok maybe that's just me. Well I felt really happy for her for some reason. For more info on that please visit Lym's blog.

The results of the post-diagnosis analysis rendered my hard drive unusable. Yes they actually changed the whole hard drive. They had to order the parts in and that's what made it a lengthy process. Well now it's back and reincarnated, just like when I first bought it. Luckily I backed up all my data prior to replacement.

Third week of uni and so far so good. The set of units I'm doing this semester (4 units) are actually not bad, I find that some are actually interesting believe it or not. The only thing I'm complaining about at this point is my messed up timetable! I start relatively early, end relatively late, lectures, pracs/labs and tutorials aren't spaced out and last but not least I have a stretch of 4 hours straight non-stop twice a week and and another stretch of 3 hours. Obviously when they set the times of lectures and tutes they forgot they were dealing with human beings. Notice the word relatively.. that's because it's never been like this for me in the past, it hasn't been this bad for my colleagues in the past and relative to other friends of mine in other fields of study I'm in a living hell. Not to mention the work load. But hey, atleast I haven't bothered really studying much yet, though I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

I attended a motor show, its held annually. It might've not been as good as the previous year but I saw some jaw-dropping cars. The show featured a number of concept cars from several of the industries leading names. It was a good chance for anyone to actually see and get a feel of all those cars in real life.

The 'English Sabla'... I missed that place. I haven't logged on in a very long time. I checked it a couple of times at uni and that was it. I checked it a couple of days ago and noticed that they had a thread dedicated to my birthday. I knew that it was something that happened whenever it was a members birthday but it took me by surprise to find one for me. Thanks to the initiator of the thread non other than Lym (ex-Empress). I'd also like to thank everyone that wished me a happy birthday and well wishes on my birthday.

Hmmm... yes I finally turned 37. So now what? Nothing new there. Excuse me, what was that? 37 you say? Just kidding, but someone on sabla actually said that. I finally turned 20 (or is it 19 Lym :p). No longer a 'teen'. What am I supposed to say when people ask me "So, how does it feel to no longer be a teen?". Well I usually smile it off, throw a bogus laugh and say "Yeah I know, I'm no longer a teen". I'm sorry but if you've asked me and this has happened to you then now you know the truth, like it wasn't obvious. What did I do on birthday? Well up until 2 hours before the plan started, there was no plan. Infact I had one plan, and that was to not have a plan! But what I really ended up doing was having a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant with 4 of my close friends. So much for turning 20 huh?

'nuff said! I'll leave whatever's left for my next post...

Irritating unknown-reasons syndrome

2006-02-18T18:12:00.000+11:00

My laptop is down with the "Irritating unknown-reasons syndrome". I started encountering some of its symptoms a couple of weeks ago. However the first signs were noticed about a month ago, where it kept giving me a message prior to even booting/starting up.. something along the lines of "Dude your hard drive is facing imminent failure so if you've got anything to back up now would be the right time", bear in mind that started happening out of the blue. I hadn't installed any new softwares or hardwares, nor had I dropped it a couple of times (something I felt like doing). So it beats me why I kept getting that message everytime I start up my laptop. Don't you just hate it when modern technology or machinery gives you attitude?

That was almost immediately followed by some weird erratical behaviour after each log in. Then just a couple of days before my finals I had trouble switching it on, I couldn't even get as far as the windows log in screen. I kept trying to access windows in several other ways until it (the laptop) thought it was about time it gave in. I didn't want to be put in that same situation again, especially that I had my finals in a couple of days so I decided to keep the sucker running until after my finals. Thats exactly what it did... it was left on continuously for a week or so. I started feeling sorry for both the laptop and myself. The laptop had enough, and I suppose my eletricity bill had enough too.

I intended on taking it to the hospital (agent or main dealer), and I made it to one of their wards (showrooms) just in the nick of time on a Friday. Little did I know that they had whole wards (showrooms) for each of their ranges of products. The one I paid a visit to was their photocopiers showroom. The notebook showroom I should've gone to was nowhere near it, and my next chance of taking it would be in another two days. So all in all I guess I'll be left without my laptop for about a week or so. Damn it! I should've known something like this would've happened... call it karma?

Basically I don't know when's the next time I'll see my beloved laptop rid of this syndrome. I hope it gets well soon. Until then I won't be posting.. as often. I'll try to every couple of days though.

Memory pill: revisited

2006-02-16T16:40:00.000+11:00

Due to some good points in both the pro's and con's of the post titled "Memory altering pill - farfetched?" I decided to put up a poll. I simply put it up to get a better general idea of what people think of this pill, and whether or not they have the tendency or are willing to try it out. There wasn't a big number of votes, but just enough to give a general idea. The majority either didn't mind taking them or were hesitant and only one person opted for "no". The results show that 64% have the tendency to give the pills a shot. I suppose that backs up my reasoning. However I presume that some people weren't so sure about their decision due to insufficient info and clinical/medical research done on these pills as of yet.

Siblings

2006-02-14T21:28:00.000+11:00

Its funny how my siblings sometimes think I skipped some 10-12 years of my life and somehow magically appeared at my current age. They always think they can innocently lie to you about certain things, or trick you into some things. However, what never crosses their mind is the fact that I was once their age and had certainly gone through everything they're going through too. Well after the usual chat intro's and a long pause here's what happened:

Lil bro: Can you like... send me your pc's ip address?
(I knew he was up to no good right away, infact it was too straight-forward that he was insulting my intelligence)
Me: I like... CAN'T!
Me: This isn't what they meant by 'retrieving an ip address'!
(my attempt at taunting him)
Lil bro: ok now can you please give me your ip address?
(trying to make me feel insignificant, and showing me its just a matter of time until I give him what he wants)
Me: What?! so you can practice on me?
Lil bro: come on plz I just want to try out this program
(at this point he's given up all hope in trying to hide anything from me)
Me: go try it out on one of your friends
Me: and I dont know how to get it!
(of course I knew how, but too bad for him I haven't lost my mind yet)
Lil bro: go to my computer, right-click and click on properties
(it wasn't the way I had in mind but I was glad to give it a try)
Me: I couldn't find a thing
Me: use an ip sniffer
(it took too long and I felt sorry for him)
Lil bro: I have one of those but it'll take some time
Lil bro: (sends me a small pic)
Me: is that a pic or a patch file?!!
Lil bro: pic
Me: I have it..
(trying to work my way out of it)
Lil bro: its a PIC wallah!
Me: (accepting it)
Me: do you have my ip address now?
(an attempt at ridicule and mockery)
Lil bro: do you have any programs I can use?
(by now he's lost all hope)
Me: I used to, but not anymore
(...yep! that was the last of it)

If you're clueless then he was basically trying to hack into my computer, and he needed my ip address to do it. Despite all that I still love my siblings! =D

Your blogging type is...

2006-02-13T21:39:00.000+11:00

I've been seeing them around for a while and thought I'd finally post my own =)

Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful

You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog.
Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights.
A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time.
You blog for yourself - and you don't care how popular (or unpopular) your blog is!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

How accurate is it? Well I wouldn't really say they're spot on, but you can be the judge of that :)

Movie Reviews: Revisited

2006-02-12T21:53:00.000+11:00

Munich - It's a compelling movie that narrates some interesting historical events such as the Munich massacre at the oylmpics in the early 70's (which the movie is about) and black september. The trailer to this movie seemed appealing as it contained many interesting parts of the movie that really got my curiosity worked up. I couldn't wait until it was released, and once it was, it didn't fail to impress me. I really enjoyed it! I didn't have the slightest background information about any of the historical events in the movie, and that's why it was just as much of an educational experience as it was an entertaining one. I think the actors performed brilliantly and the they had played the movie/story out in detail which I saw as a plus. I also appreciated the fact that they tried to illuminate both sides of the conflicts without having to favour one side over the other.
My Rating: 9/10

Brokeback Mountain - Quoting CNN "It has been the subject of controversy and the subject of jokes -- how many times have you heard variations on "I wish I knew how to quit you" or seen parodies of its poster? -- but mostly "Brokeback Mountain" has been the subject of honors." The name of the movie is the actually the name of the mountain that most of the movie takes place in. It's a film that's recieved frequent publicity, and also a film that has been nominated for various awards including 'Best Picture', 'Best Director' and 'Best Actor' (Heath Ledger). The story revolves around a gay love story between two cowboys and the events and hardships that follow. Did I enjoy it? Not really, I expected much more of it after all the hype and controversy arising from it. Could I have came up with a better way to spend my time? Now that I've watched the movie.. I certainly can! If you can ~~suppress all the silliness and laughter in you then~~.. scratch that.. dont go for it either way! Yes it was that bad/annoying/boring.
My Rating: 6.5/10

Requeim for a dream - The reason I rented this movie was because of all the recommendations I got from many friends. First of all I'll say that I didn't regret it for a minute! It was an indescribable.. ground breaking.. and a one of a kind movie! It boldly portrays the intricate ways by which drugs affect the users life. The movie is wonderfully shot, and takes the viewer through the movie as an omniscient observer.
My Rating: 9.5/10

American History X - I watched it for the second time and If I could sum up all the movies I've ever seen in my life and have a top ten list, then this movie would definitely make it on the list. An amazing and compelling drama that displays a sudden 180 degree change within the same character along the storyline. It's about extremities in racism and how they've affected a teenager, which in turn reflects all his hatred unto his own family that he loves and cares for. A MUST SEE!
My Rating: 10/10

The Jacket - A brilliant storyline that plays around with the chronological order of events. It tells the story of a man who suffered from amnesia after recieving an injury to the head in the Gulf War. The man is supposedly accused of manslaughter and is sentenced to time in an asylum for mentally ill criminals. He is subject to a series of strange and extreme means of psychological therapy, one of which enables him to time travel. A very entertaining movie. I really enjoyed it! Strongly recommended to fans of The Butterfly Effect, Memento and 12 Monkeys.
My Rating: 8.5/10

My House in Umbria - The only reason I was tricked into renting this movie was because of a tiny little sticker on it that read "Recommended viewing". I can't really remember the rating on the movie but I reckon it should be rated 60+.. not because of any strong/crude language, violence or nudity but because I believe that only much older people might enjoy it. The whole cast (except for 2) were old, it was a very slow type of movie, had no twists or bumps whatsoever... I won't go on. I'll just say it wasn't my type of movie :)
My Rating: 6/10

The Prince of Egypt - The movie I've been calling 'Ze Brince of Eegebt'. Despite it being a Dreamworks animated movie I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It depicts the Exodus story in which the prophet Moses (Moosa AS) liberates the Hebrew slaves held captive by the Pharaoh. It was really nice to actually see the story I've heard several times in the form of an animation. Since the movie has religious significance then it will surely appeal to both adults and children alike :)
My Rating: 8.5/10

Just Friends - A once shy and overweight guy which was trapped in the friend zone back in high-school is now a totally new man. He had hopelessly loved his best friend and couldn't confess. Now that the tables have turned the story goes down a different track and she's put in his shoes. If you're looking for a dazzling movie with unprecedented storyline then this isn't the one for you, but if you're after a good laugh then this will do just fine.
My Rating: 7/10

Jarhead - "Welcome to the suck" no that wasn't an implication that the movie sucked. Infact it was enjoyable. It had so many laughs thrown in for the viewers, and the excessive use of foul language was quite funny at times. A brilliant depiction of the marine corps lives, and a very realistic portrayal of their experiences and adventures rather mischief. A profound performance that allows the viewer to share the moments. However it lacked faster continuity of events at some points which was probably the only downside to the movie.
My Rating: 7/10

2006-02-10T03:22:00.000+11:00

"If memory serves me correctly I mentioned in one of my previous posts the glorious feeling of finishing exams. It's one of those feelings that never fades with time and is just as good as the first time it's happened..."

That's all I had written until I recieved a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that this other Emarati friend of mine that used to study here with us has passed away in a horrific car accident. As soon as he was done giving me the terrible news I made him swear it was true, and after he did I was left speechless. Some tens of memories had flashed before my eyes. I was also told that the story was reported on a site and it was true. I was obviously shocked, but what really got to me was the fact that I found him on flickr a week or two ago and sent him a message telling him that I've found his hiding spot, he replied with a " :) " asking me who I was and that he was sure he knows me. That message still remains in my inbox.. unanswered.

""انا لله و انا اليه راجعون
الله يرحمه و يدخله فسيح جناته
آمين

Well I guess I'll always remember this as the day the happiness of finishing exams was swept and tarnished by the death of a friend. I hope I'll be in a better mood and feel better tomorrow.

8 .: Tag! :. 8

2006-02-05T22:05:00.000+11:00

My finals are in 2 days but I'm doing this during a study break, so I guess I owe it to mimi for tagging me and giving me an excuse to get away from studies =)

This is a tough one... or maybe I've been studying for too long.

Eight weird things about me:
1. Eventually I (subconsciously) go around in circles when I'm talking on the phone. I noticed that it happens faster if its a call of high importance. I'm glad it doesn't happen when I'm driving :p (yes I talk on the phone while driving every now and then.. sue me!)
2. I recall some events that even date back to my early childhood in amusingly intricate details.
3. I have never had a nose-bleed in my life. (Al-hamdulillah - thank God)
4. I have never had any surgical operation in my life. (Al-hamdulillah - thank God)
5. I have never broken a bone in my life. (Al-hamdulillah - thank God)
(by now its quite obvious I've run out of things to say)
6. I have never had any stitches in my life. (Al-hamdulillah - thank God)
7. I'm very argumentative, opinionated and readily open minded.
8. I can easily get infatuated by certain things in life, and that infatuation can grow into an addiction.

(I think I'll be too demanding but here goes)
Eight attributes of my perfect lover:
1. Not anorexic, not clinically obese. Okay and not exactly everything in between will do.
2. She has to be able to control her moods all month!
3. Jessica Alba look-alike.
4. She has to have a sense of humour as well as appreciate one.
5. She has to be trustworthy and understanding.
6. She has to measure up to my mother (Allah ye5aleeha) in everything, if not better.
7. Intelligent, sincere and appreciative of the supreme importance of love.
8. She has to complete me.

(That it? but I'm not done yet lol)

I think I'm originally supposed to tag 8 people as part of the tag so I tag:
Abs
Enigma
Illogicist
Libellula
Ti3gib and/or Weirdgoat
Toxic Honey
TripleTee
Violet

The inevitable, the imminent... the future

2006-02-01T23:02:00.000+11:00

Human memory has a tendency to slip, and critical judgment to fade, with the years and with changes in life-style and circumstance. But the camera, just as it siezed the grim realities of that time, brings the stark facts...before our eyes without the need for the slightest embellishment. Today, with the remarkable recovery made by both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, it may be difficult to recall the past, but these photographs will continue to provide us with an unwavering testimony to the realities of that time. (Link)

-Yosuke Yamahata

The above is a quote that impressed me. I found alot of truth in it. Not only did it remind that its about bloody time I got myself a camera :p.. but it also made me realise a harsh and grim reality. It's something that is bound to catch up with us sooner or later, and I believe its just a matter of time. The thing about life is no matter how prepared you could possibly be for it, it'll certainly surprise you with one thing or another.

I was intrigued by the infamous Hiroshima and Nagasaki incidents whereby two atomic bombs were dropped on the cities and wiped everything out leaving behind nothing but rubble and over a hundred thousand casualties. The effects of the atomic bomb are so great that Nikita Khrushchev said that the survivors would envy the dead (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1982). The blast from an atomic bomb’s explosion will last for only one-half to one second, but in this amount of time a great deal of damage is done (Physicians and Scientists on Nuclear War, 1981). The only two cities to ever experience the devastating effects of the atomic bomb were the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I truly hope that the examples of these two cities are the first and last time that the power of the a-bomb is used, otherwise there's no telling what lies ahead...

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time once said "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"

Shedding some light...

2006-01-28T02:08:00.000+11:00

(I was informed that the links in this posts were not working, and they should be working now so please check the links.. especially to those that have already commented!)

Children: Between punishment and upbringing

Scientists believe that physically punishing children is the biggest harm that could be done to them. However, scientists failed to provide other successful techniques in which we are to raise obedient and well mannered children.

I on the other hand have come up with my own way with children. The only way to reproach children is to take them on a little drive and calmly talk to them about it and look into where they've gone wrong. That should calm the child down and turn them back to the delight that they are.

For those of you who are willing to find out more about this technique, I've attached picture which clearly shows you how it should be carried out. Should you have any queries please let me know.

Click here

Khaleeji women baring it all

It has been reported that groups of Khaleeji (gulf) women have been sighted lying on the beaches of the southern region of the Sultanate, Salalah to be exact. I dread what the future holds for us for this is only the beginning. This is what you would expect from all those cable channels and westernisation. Very little self respect and even less respect for others and their feelings towards such things. All of these habits are no strangers to us Arabs, we've always learned to take the worst of matters.

And now this is where we are at, lying around at beaches...

Click here

P.S. Does anyone know what happened to that standing camels head?

Fascinations...

2006-01-23T23:29:00.000+11:00

Well the title was rather vague, it's schizophrenia in particular that I'm fascinated with this time round. It's nothing new to me (as a topic ofcourse!), my curiosity and partial fascination with it has led me to read and learn more about it. Despite all the reading I've done I think I've only skimmed through it superficially. Why choose to write about it now? Well its a movie I've recently watched (for the second or third time), "A Beautiful Mind" starring Russel Crowe. He does an exceptionally good job playing the role of Pr. John Nash, a genius mathematician later diagnosed with this psychological disorder (also referred to as a mental ilness or a form of psychosis).

It's usually characterized by "withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral, or intellectual disturbances." The disorder has been called "split personality" and that's because "there is often little or no logical relationship between the thoughts and feelings of a person with schizophrenia".

Fine, enough with that mumbo-jumbo and scientific terms. I managed to remember a couple of quotes from the movie that I thought were very thought provoking. The most memorable and related to all of this would be... "Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?"

Everytime I dwell into what I deem to be the dark corners of the human mind, I can't help but put myself in those situations. That doesn't last long enough though, it's usually too perplexed for me to comprehend. I wonder how its possible to deal with, analyze and assess things that isn't certain. Not only that but also build studies upon studies based on virtuality-for lack of a better term.

Movie Reviews 2

2006-01-22T23:12:00.000+11:00

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I'd be coming up with some more movie reviews, some that I really enjoyed and others... well they're so called "feel good movies".

Memoirs of a Geisha - Superb performance, interesting storyline and visually pleasing. I had high expectations and I wasn't let down. The movie initially stirs up emotions of sadness and sympathy in the viewer, and then eventually takes an obvious turn towards a much happier and promising future for the back then young Sayuri. I wouldn't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't watched it yet, but Sayuri has gone through it all in the name of her love for a man that was out of her reach. Strongly recommended!

Underworld: Evolution - If you watched Underworld and thought it was a good movie, then you should definitely watch this sequel. If you haven't watched either one then what are you waiting for? I'm not saying that just because Kate Beckinsale's in the movie... or am I? :p
Certainly not your average vampire movie. It's got everything you'd expect from those types of movies and more. The storyline is a continuation from the prequel, and they've also thrown in a couple of surprises. Only go for it if you can stand 2 hours of a female whooping some ass :p

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - My first HP movie and I must admit I really liked it. I recall watching the first 20 minutes of the very first HP movie and then calling it quits because it was so boring, and then I sort of vowed that I would never have to put myself through something like that again. Well I believe in second chances so I thought I'd go for this one. I was told that this was the best to date, and the most visually enhanced. I was actually surprised by the visual effects in this movie, they were really good and gave the impression that the movie was no longer aimed at a younger audience.

Just Like Heaven - I was initially going to this movie not expecting to be blown away or anything of that sort. But later it seemed like there was much more than the first impression I had in mind. I'm not a big fan of romantic comedies, but this one's an exception! I was laughing throughout the whole movie, and I really enjoyed every bit of it. I recommend this movie to anyone seeking a good time and loads of laughs, and especially urge those skeptical of it.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - This brought out the child inside of me. I found myself fascinated by this make believe world, and was actually fully tuned in throughout the movie. I watched the movie twice within a period of 2 weeks. No, it's not that good, but it's certainly not bad at all! I liked so many things about the movie, but I suppose it's the graphics and animations that did the trick for me. A world of magic and mythical creatures brought to life beyond my very eyes, exceeding my expectations. A memorable movie indeed :)

A Walk To Remember - Inarguably one of the best romance/drama movies of all time. It also recieved some of the most contradicting reviews of all time. You'll either come across a review claiming it to be outstanding or on the contrary quite awful. I, on the other hand found it to be a very nice movie. I admit, it was too saccharine sweet for me, but a good movie nevertheless. I assume most people have already seen it, and if you haven't already seen it then it should be somewhere on your list.

A Beautiful Mind - One of my favorite movies of all time. This was the second (or third) time I've watched and it still holds its place in the rankings :) An extremely entertaining, yet thought provoking movie that unfolds some of the unchartered regions of the psychological world. Based on the true life story of Pr. John Nash, a mathematical genius who was on the brink of achieving the Nobel prize, but was dragged down by a diagnosis of schizophrenia. A truly amazing movie, not to mention that Jennifer Connely stars in it too :p Another strongly recommended movie!

{Impulsive... two songs I'm currently listening to alot:
Il Divo - Regresa a mi (Italian version of 'unbreak my heart')
Edwin McCain - I'll Be (click for streaming audio) - After repeatedly listening to it I found out that its from the soundtrack of 'A Cinderella Story'... I promise I didn't know that before I started listening to it though.. cross my heart and hope to die :p }

...perfumes of Arabia

2006-01-20T01:13:00.000+11:00

"Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."

No this isn't a post about perfumes. It's all about that little quote above. For some reason I find myself fascinated everytime I recall it or come across it. I suppose deep down inside I find it as some source of pride :)

أعيدوا كتابة كلَّ المعاجم

2006-01-20T00:57:00.000+11:00

This is a poem I came across a while back, and I actually liked it alot. However, be advised:

"The following poem is unedited and reflects only the views of the author (which is unknown yet). The content does not necessarily represent or reflect the views or opinions of Arabian Prince, his affiliated organizations, or sponsors." :P

Enjoy!

ماذا فعلت بنا يا أسامه؟ ** فالكل يرمي علينا سهامه
وصرنا نلامُ ومهما فعلنا ** فـبأي عـذر ٍ نَرِدُ الملامه؟
فأنتَ تُقاتلُ جيشَ الصليبِ ** ونحنُ نُهرولُ خلفَ الحَمامه
ولمّا ارتضـينا بسـلم ٍ مُذل ٍ ** بَغوا واستباحوا لديني حرامه
وأنتَ تقـودُ أسـودَ الوَغى ** ونحنُ نُقـلـدُ فعلَ النَعامه
قعدنا لنبكي مثلَ النِساءِ ** على ما يدورُ بأرض ِالشهامه
وبالأمس ِكنا نُعَـدُّ رجال ** اً وكدنا نصدقُ تلكَ العلامه
فنزهوا بطول ِالشوارب منا ** وصوتٍ غليظٍ وعرضٍ وقامه
حتى أتيتَ فصُغتَ المعاني ** فـبدّلَ كـلُّ دَعيٍّ كـلامه
لأنَ الرجولة قولٌ وفعلٌ ** وأن الرجـولة تعني الكـرامه
وأنَ الرجولة توحيدُ ربٍ ** بكـل العـبادةِ ثمَّ اسـتقامه
وأنَ الرجولة حبٌ لدين ٍ ** يكـون الجهاد بأعلى سنامه
وأنَ الرجولة زُهدٌ وتركٌ ** لدُنيا وجَاه ٍ رفيعِ المقامه
وأنَ الرجولة عزمٌ وصبرٌ ** على النازلاتِ وعـسرِ الإقامه
وأنَ الرجولة كرٌ وفرٌ ونـَصـرٌ ** منَ اللهِ يُـرجَى تمَامه
فهل بعدَ تلك الفعالِ فعالٌ ** ومن ذا يطالك قدراً و هامه
أعيدوا كتابة كلَّ المعاجم ** فإن الرجولة تعني أسـامه

أعيدوا كتابة كلَّ المعاجم
فإن الرجولة تعني "أسـامه "

Memory altering pill - farfetched?

2006-01-17T02:44:00.000+11:00

Suppose you could erase bad memories from your mind. Suppose, as in a recent movie, your brain could be wiped clean of sad and traumatic thoughts.
(Are you done supposing? :p )

That is science fiction. But real-world scientists are working on the next best thing. They have been testing a pill that, when given after a traumatic event like rape, may make the resulting memories less painful and intense.

Will it work? It is too soon to say. Still, it is not far-fetched to think that this drug someday might be passed out along with blankets and food at emergency shelters after disasters like the tsunami or Hurricane Katrina.

That was the introduction to an article that caught my attention because of its title and had me yearning for more as I went on. If you think this is interesting than I recommend that you visit the site here. You learn something new everyday.. enough said :)

Condolences

2006-01-17T01:45:00.000+11:00

I'd like to convey my deepest condolences to both the Bahraini people for the death of their young prince, and the Kuwaiti people for the death of their Prince (Emir). I couldn't agree more with what a friend had said on the sabla. She noted the oddity of such events, and their frequency. She also mentioned that she'd heard her grandmother saying that "God always takes in threes" which really caught on my attention. That last point really did it for me, it got me thinking as this isn't the first time it's happened. I wouldn't be certain about the three part, but it's obvious from the past that several deaths have occured consecutively in a relatively short period of time. Be it leaders, icons or even people I would somehow hear of.

I can't help but start contemplating on how most of the leaders of countries in the Arabian Peninsula have passed away within the past 2 years (with the exception of King Hussein Bin Talal Al Hashemi, the late Jordanian king). Having thought of that, there are not many that still live to this very day. Infact there are only 3 leaders that I can think of. I would certainly be touched by the death (la sama7a Allah - God forbid) of any of them, however it's the death of one that I dread the most. I wouldn't know where to start if I were to describe the state that we would be in, even as soon as hours after such thing. May God grant them good health and longevity.

Movie Reviews

2006-01-12T21:45:00.000+11:00

As I've mentioned in one of my previous posts, I got the chance to watch alot of movies over the holiday and I thought it would be a good idea to ramble about some in what could potentially be my very own movie reviews... not quite?!
(A link to each movies info is available too)

The highly recommended:
Memento - First and foremost this is officially the most confusing and mind boggling movie I've ever seen in my life. One of the best I've ever seen too. I recall watching a small part of the movie some time ago and I found the movie's plot (or the way it was going) very appealing. So I decided to rent it and watch the whole movie this time. If I'm not mistaken its the first of its kind where the storyline is played in reverese chronological order. That alone is enough to baffle the crap out of you. Not to mention the guys' psychological disorder of short term memory loss. After watching this movie, it was my first time going online looking for movie reviews just to understand what had happened! For those up for it... I'm sure you wont regret it, after you understand it that is.

City Of God - I've watched this movie twice so far and I suppose the second time was to assure its position among the top ten movies of all time.. ok my top ten movies. It's a foreign film (Portuguese) and the storyline takes place in Brazil. It portrays the lives of a couple of very young hoodlums and outlaws and the way they govern one of the most dangerous places in Rio de Janeiro back in the 80's. This movie is jaw-dropping and is bound to leave you fascinated.

Wicker Park - I would've never even known this movie existed had a friend not recommend that I give it a shot. I'm very grateful that he did actually. I believe that it's a lovely movie that has been robbed of its share of being in the limelight, because it certainly deserves to. I expected so little of it at the start, but it had one mother of a twist. A romantic thrilling drama (is there such thing?). I believe its a movie the ladies will definitely enjoy watching.

...and the not so highly recommended:
Irreversible - (R-18+) Another movie that had me looking for reviews online. If anything got me into the habit of looking up reviews, it would definitely be Memento. But unlike Memento this was one of, if not the most, revolting and atrocious movies I've seen to date. It got critics worked up with its naked truth storyline that aims at emphasizing the crime of rape and to what extent it affects the individuals involved. You should be able to tell by now why it was given an R-18+ rating. Punchline... It's a shocking must-see, if you can withstand all the atrocity in the movie. Once again, not so highly recommended.

Enough for now... more movies soon :)

Customized PSP

2006-01-12T21:15:00.000+11:00

I was simply browsing through some accesories that were available for the PSP, and I wasn't let down by the number of accesories out there. I had once read somewhere about the following and thought I'd share it here... simply amazing.

Driving the trend of fashionable technology, Simmons Jewelry Co. has just made an accessory jacket for the new Sony PSP, the portable play station entertainment unit. The Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons piece is made with one pound of gold and 8ct yellow and black diamonds on the front and crock finishing on the back. Baby Phat and Phat Farm logos accented with Simmons Jewelry Co diamonds dangle from the bottom of the luxurious accessory. The $35,000 design easily fits over any PSP to add extra bling.

That's one too many carats for me to handle. But I would definitely not mind recieving a $35,000 gift made of gold and diamonds. On second thought, it's just too "bling". I don't use my PSP much lately as it is, let alone if it was covered with gold and diamonds more than 100 times its worth. That doesn't change the fact that its eye candy... can I atleast buy it for someone?

كل عام و انتم بخير

2006-01-11T15:29:00.000+11:00

بمناسبة عيد الاضحى المبارك اتتقدم اليكم بأحر التهاني و اطيب الاماني سائلا من لا يسأل سواه بان يعيد هذه المناسبه على عمان و قائدها المعظم باليمن و البركات

و كل عام و انتم بالف خير

Impulsive Rambling

2006-01-04T03:23:00.000+11:00

Impulsive? Maybe. But this really got me thinking, and it's certainly not the first time I've been down this road. One thought leads to the next, and long before you know it you're on a totally different track than you were a couple of seconds ago, or is it just me? I sometimes find myself wondering and contemplating on how certain things could change or affect a relationship. I'm referring to relatively strong and close friendships. Some things could have drastic effects on such relationships. Let me drop the riddles...

We all encounter or experience milestones throughout our lives, and its at times like these that we are expected to make changes in our lifestyles and ourselves in order to adapt to the new way of life. The 'milestone' that got me thinking here was marriage. Marriage, engagement or anything else leading to it for that matter. I could not totally comprehend all the infinitesimal changes that would follow each bifurcation upon approaching a time like this. I'd usually lead myself astray with 101 questions and no answers.

I've grown very close to some friends that just sometimes thoughts like these tend to give me a sense of insecurity. I've both close male and female friends alike, but it's my relationship with my female friends that I'm worried about. None of them are married yet nor are they engaged, but that doesn't change its inevitability. The question here is how and to what degree are they going to change? It won't be the same with them all, but once again its inevitable. I don't know what to expect, and that's what I fear. Is it wrong for me to fear such thing? How else would I react. Some of the relationships I'm talking about here could be considered by some as uncomfortably close. Yeah well it's too late to change that now isn't it. We've done so much, said so much and shared so much. But just how much exactly of that are they willing to forget? Is it because I am who I am that they expect so much of me? I mean no one in their sane mind would expect things to remain the way they were before and after something like this. No matter how much we sat and talked about things like this, no matter what we'd say to eachother with God knows how many promises in between... would anyone in their sane mind predict how things would turn out?

This is where I choose to stop. I'm draining my thoughts, and running in circles with more questions than I care to be answered. But this whole thing still remains a mystery...

Rehash

2006-01-04T02:48:00.000+11:00

Here I am back to uni once again after the christmas break. It certainly didn't feel like a holiday, with the exception of a couple of days. I managed to watch many movies during the break, some at the cinema but the majority were DVD rentals at home. There were the movies that I really liked and then there were the ones that were simply appauling! I'll list them and say a thing or two about them soon.

Well now that I'm back to uni again, it's back to the drawing board.. well not really, but it'll be the same old routine again. I'm talking about being crammed with so much work, be it projects, assignments or tests, that I wont be able to fit everything I'd like to into one day. Not only do I think its pitiful, but its also streneous. Oh well just another 4 weeks of hell to go, but who knows what wonderfully agonising and blissfully torturing things lie ahead :)

Oh and I'll definitely try to keep updating often.

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T05:48:00.000+11:00

93600 Minutes of praise and blame, hope and despair, bliss and grief...

1560 Hours of freedom and captivity, comfort and agony, triumph and failure...

365 Days of pride and modesty, hilarity and seriousness, patience and agitation...

52 Weeks of divinity and evil, fortune and hardship, abundance and inadequacy...

12 Months of honor and shame, joys and sorrows, faith and doubt...
&
1 Year... closer to dying of old age.

Happy New Year everyone, may the coming year be a more frutiful and productive year for us all and may we live our lives in bliss and prosperity inshaAllah.

قصيدة أبكت الرجال

2005-12-31T05:30:00.000+11:00

قصيدة أبكت الرجال

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

ثائر في المهد يبكي *** طرفه نحو السّماء
يرسل الأنبار شجرا *** وجهه فيه شقاء
من رأى حملا وديعا *** يملؤ الأرض ثغاء
من رأى طفلا رضيعا *** يستحفّ الأوفياء
ليس يدري فيما يبكي *** ليس يدري ما البكاء
حوله شيماء تحكي *** كيف هذا الطّفل جاء
كيف حلّ الظّلم يوما *** فاستبدّ الأشقياء
وإستباحوا كل عرض *** بعد إغراق الدّماء
لم يراعوا الله فينا *** لم يطيعوا الأنبياء
ثمّ يأتيني سؤالا *** فيه شيء من غباء
كنت يا شيماء بكرا *** فكيف هذا الطّفل جاء
لم يقيموا حفل عرس *** أو زفافا بل بغاء
أثخنوا فينا جراحا *** إستحلّوا أبرياء
رمّلوا فينا نساءا *** فاكتفينا بالدّعاء
يتّموا الأطفال فينا *** دونما أدنى حياء
علم الإرسال نحوي *** نظرة فيها إزدراء
لم يكن يعرف حقّا *** كيف هذا الطّفل جاء
لعنة الله عليهم *** كلّما لاح الضّياء
هل سيأتي بعد هذا *** قائلا كيف جاء
أمّتي لله أشكو *** لم يعد فيكم رجاء
إنّما أشكو أناسا *** بعدهم بعد السّماء
إن يكن فالنّصر آت *** فالذي أشكو خواء
ربّما الآن عرفتم *** كيف هذا الطّفل جاء

Omani Currency

2005-12-28T13:45:00.000+11:00

I recieved a forwarded email from a friend a couple of days ago with the following pic attached to it:

Nothing was mentioned about it except the title which read "the new 1 omani rial published today 24/12/2005". I found the title informative enough, because I then spent the rest of the time staring at the new note. I haven't confirmed the authenticity of this yet. Since I have heard nothing about it so far it could be a hoax (ok maybe that's just me). So don't jump out of your seats yet boys and girls, and if it just happens to be right then I guess you have me to thank :p I think it looks better than it has ever looked for 35 years, and the most colorful in that timeframe if I might add. It was obviously released on the occasion of the 35th national day as it can clearly be noticed.

Some historic information on Oman's currency:

Maria Theresa Thalers (XMTT) circulated in the interior of Muscat and Oman, and the Indian Rupee (INR) circulated in the coastal regions of Muscat and Oman and was the official currency until the 1959. (The Baiza was the lowest denomination coin, with 1 Maria Theresa Thaler equal to 230 Baiza and 1 Indian Rupee equal to 64 Baiza.)

The Persian Gulf Rupee (XPGR) replaced the Indian Rupee at par on April 1, 1959.

When the Sultanate of Oman was established in 1970, Oman replaced the Persian Gulf Rupee with the Oman Riyal Saidi (OMS), which was introduced at par with the British Pound Sterling and equal to about 21 Persian Gulf Rupees.

The Riyal Omani (OMR) replaced the Riyal Saidi on November 11, 1972 at par. Banknotes were issued by the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman from 1970 until 1973, by the Oman Currency Board from 1973 until 1977, and by the Central Bank of Oman from 1977 on.

(Source: AME Info)

For some reason I like how the Sultanate was once named the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, despite the fact that it might've referred to some sort of interior instability (my guess).

Some of the older notes:

(I think the year of publication of the latter is 1973, bear in mind that back then the notes were issued by the Omani Currency Board -majlis an'naqd al-omani- which is quite obvious from the pic)

Tagged by Ti3gib (Duality)

2005-12-27T01:09:00.000+11:00

I've never heard of these before.. Desktop screenshot tags, but they seem like fun so I'll give them a shot. I had trouble uploading them on to blogger but I finally got there..

Current desktop:

Previous desktop:

I randomly switched to my current background (from Nike.com) after having my previous one for quite a while. Well yeah.. so what, Jessica's showing some skin, sue me! She was a major reason for me to remain a loyal customer to my laptop :p
The last thing I want to see on my desktop is unnecessary icons! I hate it when it gets crowded, so that's why I group them into folders. Sometimes I even group folders into another folder! Ahh.. long gone are the days of suave themes, thanks to the pain in the butt trial period of StyleXP (a windows theme application software).

Tagging:
Empress
Najah
Phoenix
Toxic Honey

Delight!

2005-12-24T21:55:00.000+11:00

Since this is my first time here during christmas (last christmas I was back home), I experienced so many new things. Some things were probably the norm around here but I found some to be quite astonishing. Who would've suspected that shopping centres would stay open for anywhere from 32 to 48 hours non-stop. Last night I was at this shopping centre until 1 am and by the time we left it was still packed! People weren't showing any signs of stress or fatigue whatsoever, they were determined to shop till they drop! They were shopping like it was christmas (ka2ano il-3eed.. it is isn't it?) I personally haven't experienced that anywhere else. Allow me to elaborate. For those that are unaware, shopping/trading hours here don't go past 5-6pm all week, with the exception of Fridays where shops remain open up until 9pm. So basically if it's not a Friday then everythings dead by 6pm. I mean obviously there's a vibrant nightlife of endless opportunities out there and what not, but don't expect to see any shops open. Honestly speaking christmas is no merry time of the year for me. It's just like any other day. But the fact that I'm amidst this holiday spirit tends to make something out of nothing. Am I still not making sense? Oh well Merry Christmas to all my fellow christians and to all non-christians that wouldn't be offended by the greeting. (Reason I'm saying that is because I've been in a rather interesting discussion... haha)

For the past 2 weeks or so I've been going on about how I've been wanting to buy a new PSP game. I've only had one since I bought it, and I've finished the game ages ago which led to some dust piling up on my beloved PSP. Ok I admit that I might've been somewhat of a pain by going on and on about the 2 or 3 games that I'm hesitant in getting, but not once was I doing it for anything except the sake of getting some feedback. But something crazy happened last night, something I would've never expected!
This crazy friend of mine "M" was one of the poor victims that had to keep up with this temporary craze. He's a games freak. So if I ever had to talk to anyone about this hesitation it would be him. So everytime we would pass by any games shop, I'd pretend like I was complaining about him and that he was a good for nothing friend and that he should atleast buy me a PSP game. As absurd it might sound, I was doing it merely as a joke and would've never expected to be taken seriously whatsoever. (sad? I know) Anyway for the past couple of days he'd been asking me which of the three games I thought I would enjoy the most. That got the little paranoid part of me worked up, and I really thought I could've been the centre of attention for a fragment of time. A second later I came to my senses and replied indecisively. Anyway we were out at this shopping centre last night, none of us with the intention of doing any shopping but we ended up with a couple of bags. One of the things I bought was a pair of pants. Once we were back home, M was going on about my clothes and how I should go check them out. He was overdoing it which got me thinking that I might've forgotten them somewhere. So I asked why, and he asked me to go try them out for some reason. That cracked me up and I was certain he was trying to make a fool out of me so I replied with a couple of not so appropriate replies. He insisted so much that I thought I'd atleast just go check them out and see what was wrong with them. So I reach into the bag to pull them out and there I find one of the PSP games that I've been wanting to buy!! For the next 10-15 minutes I had this dorky smile on my face, and I think I prefectly represented a kid opening a christmas present. I couldn't believe my eyes. I don't think I've still thanked him properly yet, but I'm sure my appreciation was very obvious haha. So after 10 minutes he asks me to go grab one of the bags in his room and I have this look on my face that says "err yeah.. sure". I sarcastically ask if its the other game I've wanted to buy and he assures me it isn't and that one was enough. So as I reached for the bag, I doubted my very eyes. There was the other game I've been wanting to buy! I come out of the room shouting some rather inappropriate and unorthodox compliments. From that moment onwards I've been convinced that my dear friend is under the influence of some strong hallucinogen. I'm still waiting for him to prove me wrong lol.

A great night indeed!! =D

(P.S. I told you I'd write about it all "M"! :P )

Supremacy...

2005-12-23T14:50:00.000+11:00

It's been a while. Come to think of it's been more than two weeks since I last posted anything here, and its not like I was planning on being away for so long nor did I suspect it. Oh well sorry for such an absence, and it won't happen again, I promise (fingers crossed :p).

The first two and a half of weeks of this trimester, and things have been going fine. I've already had two tests so far believe it or not! Almost two weeks off for christmas and new years, but they shouldn't call it a break or a holiday. They should call it something along the lines of study leave. Tests, assigments and projects are all due right after the so called "christamas break". I suppose it's the same with everyone else too. Studies have kept me occupied with so much more than I can handle, and I've never actually felt free enough to come online to post in my blog or on the english sabla. I haven't even been on msn messenger for ages. Oh well I guess that all comes with the package that I wish I'd never taken.

The biggest thing that has happened (in my lil stagnant life) since I last posted was with no doubt the kickboxing training camp I went on. It was a good opportunity to do some hard intensive training in a focun environment. It was held over a weekend (2 nights, 3 days) at a recreational camp in a terrific location. Some of the topics that were covered throughout the 9 intensive training sessions included:

* Self-Defense / Street-Fighting
* Filipino Single and Double Stick Fighting
* Advanced Muay Thai
* Filipino Knife Defense
* Trapping & Grappling
* Multiple Attacker Drills
* Filipino Kickboxing
* Advanced Kicking

Obviously there were other activities packed in as well. The place was great, and by the beach. The weather was wonderful. The sessions were packed with so much knowledge and information that they somehow manage to keep you yearning for more. It was a fantastic, extremely beneficial and unforgettable experience and I'm already looking forward to the next camp.

Enough about that. Christmas is just around the corner, and people have been in the holiday spirit for quite a while now. There couldn't be a better time for shopping than this time of year, with irresistible sales and offers all over the place. It's pretty much their version of eid and boy do they make the most out of it! I must admit it's quite entertaining to even lay back and watch all the festivities as they take place.

No, I don't have any plans for New Years eve yet. I don't know when I'll have any plans, if I do make any that is. And yes, it's not rocket science.. it's quite obvious its a leeetle sad in my life right now. But since I'm on holidays now, I'll be posting much more often.

The Unattainable

2005-12-06T00:11:00.000+11:00

Today was the first day of a new semester. Technically speaking, its a trimester. All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces. I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take, when people run in circles, it's a very, very mad world. (Gary Jules)

Back to sanity. It's going to be a relatively short trimester (summer course/semester), and for that reason it'll be intensive. It's only 8 weeks long (including 2 weeks off for christmas). I'm only doing two units, and I'm just hoping for the best out of this quick and short trimester. It felt strange being back, mostly because I didn't know what to make of it. I was glad that I'd have something to keep me occupied all day, but I was also starting to feel the upcoming pressure. I'll be unorthodoxly crammed with so much to learn and do.

Having said that, I'll most probably be cutting down on my net usage. I've always considered the blog(s) and the english sabla the only two things worthwhile if I ever do come online. However I might not be posting as often as I'd like to. Who knows? I might end up spending so much time studying at home that I'll be left with no other choice but to whine online a bit.

Oh by the way, while I was typing this up, I was told that Amr Diab has released his latest album Kammal Kalamak. I thought I'd download all the songs and listen to them altogether. Listened to 3 so far and they are really good! I'm looking forward to the rest :)

Oh I might just have something to talk about in my next post =D Don't change the channel!

Then what?

2005-12-02T22:41:00.000+11:00

Quote of the day: "The thing about forgetfulness is that you never remember what you forget."

- Maestro Robert M. Halaijian

No, I don't think you got that either. Basically we try to remember everything we would like to remember, but in case we do forget then its quite hard to remember what we forgot. If we are constantly reminded of our forgetfulness then its much easier to not forget. Still doesn't make sense? Try reading it when you sober up.

Robert is the founder of the A.I.M. academy - parent association of my kickboxing club. The above quote is the first thing he mentioned after our grading today. It got me thinking a bit, and was somehow embedded in the back of my head. He was trying to show us the importance of finding a way to note down and constrain our knowledge, in order to be well aware of our learning outcomes.

Crash - When we travel at the speed of life, we are bound to crash.

First of all let me say that this movie is on my "best movies ever" list. "...a movie of intense fascination..." (Chicago Sun-Times) best describes it I think. I gaurantee it'll stir your emotions, as it exposes painful reality. When it comes to drama's I could be your average Joe, meaning I'm seldom ever moved or touched by anything. This movie defied that! It's by all means a must-see! :)
(In case you like(d) it, then I also recommend City of God)

What's next?

2005-11-28T00:36:00.000+11:00

Ever since I came back from my break to the Goldcoast, life's been utterly boring. Despite the fact that nothings really changed. I suppose its the aftermath or retrospective of such an amazing trip. Sighhh.. when's life going to be back to normal. Fine maybe uni kept me busy, but I'm not so sure I want to start again.

Having to work out after stopping for nearly 2 months turned out to be just as I suspected. A painful experience. I always dread the first couple of days of working out after a considerable period, but I just have to wait until my body's ready for the impact once again. Oh well, that's one thing that'll keep me busy. But I just can't wake up and go back to bed knowing that all I've done in between is eat, watch tv and work out. It's not like I haven't done that. But I want to try to do all the things that I'll be tempted to do once uni starts.

Oh did I mention it's so boring it's not even funny anymore? Well it is, and the net just isn't as it used to be. I figured that I feel much more addicted to the net whenever I've got things to attend to or work to worry about.

I'm open to any suggestions... so spill! (I'm that desperate)

§¶ Myths about Islam ¶§

2005-11-27T22:49:00.000+11:00

That was the title to a post on some random blog I came across, and it immediately caught my attention. I'm not sure that I have much to say about the following, its all pretty self explanatory. They were seven, but I chose to mention these three in particular. Some could prove to be rather repulsive to the passer-by. Enjoy..

There are verses of toleration in the Qur’an: Sura(chapter) al-Baqarah:256 says “there shall be no compulsion in religion;” Sura al-Furqan:65ff says that Allah will be merciful to those who repent and do good works; and Sura al-Nisa’:19ff enjoins Muslim men to provide financially for wives and ex-wives. But verses such as these are arguably outweighed by others: Sura Anfal:12ff and Sura Muhammad:3ff command the beheading of unbelievers; Sura al-Nisa’:34ff allows for beating of one’s wives and in verses 74ff and 94ff, promises great reward for those who die fighting for Allah; Sura al-Ma’idah:51 says “Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends.” Of course there are violent sections in the Bible—or at least in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament (Joshua and David were military leaders as much as religious ones). But no one denies that, as many—both Muslim and non-Muslim—deny these violent and misogynistic passages in the Qur’an. Many arguments can be made against such verses (they must be contextualized, they are applicable only to that time, they are metaphorical, etc.) but one cannot say they do not exist. Someone who simply rehashs that “the Qur’an teaches peace” obviously hasn’t read it.

Third on the misinformation parade is the allegation that jihad does not mean holy war. This falsehood crops up often in text books and in the media, where the politically-correct tirelessly repeat that jihad actually means only “striving to be a good Muslim.” This is half-right. But early on in Islamic history, jihad came to mean fighting against unbelievers in order to expand the territory under Muslim rule.

And finally, we have politically-correct mendacity number seven, which even British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently repeated: that Islam has been “hijacked” by terrorists. In this view Bin Ladin, the ayatollahs in Iran, the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the Saudis with their Wahhabism (a particularly puritanical brand of Sunni Islam)—all are twisting a “moderate” religion to suit their purpose. The “Islam = peace” brigade essentializes Islam as peaceful. UBL essentializes it as jihad. Although there are Qur’an verses, and sayings of Muhammad, on both sides, many do support Bin Ladin and his ilk. Also, Islamic history is replete with Muslim scholars whom the modern Islamic fundamentalists draw upon. The most famous is Ibn Taymiyah who, 700 years before George Bush said “you’re either for us or against us,” divided the world into the domain of Islam and that of war. The only good ruler is a Muslim ruler, asserted Ibn Taymiyah. And by that he meant one that enforces shari`ah, or Islamic law. Most Muslims do not agree, but some do. (And only 10 percent of 1.3 billion is 130 million.) But it is no use pretending that the UBLs of the world have falsely “hijacked” Islam. Indeed, their view of the faith—however intolerant and violent it may seem—has a basis in Islamic theology and history.

Love Story or otherwise?

2005-11-25T03:18:00.000+11:00

I can't recall the last thing I did before writing this on impulse. I did put some thought into it though and I came up with two alternative continuations to the very first part. Have a read through and let me know what you think :)

“Why does this have to happen?” she said in a trembling voice with tearful eyes.

There she stood in the moonlit courtyard seeming unprecedentedly vulnerable. It was a breezy night and all she had covered her pristine body with was a delicate dress. She hugged her body as a cool gust of wind passed us by. By the time the wind had settled, her honeyed hair covered part of her face. Suddenly one or two tears had rushed down her velvety cheeks. I could not resist gently wiping them off, and as I did she grabbed my hand and clinched it.

“I know how you’re feeling dear, but it hurts me just as much. Believe me it does.” I replied.

Alternative continuation 1:
I had no other option. I started loading the gun. As I raised my gun, all the memories of the times we had spent together quickly flashed before my eyes. And in what seemed like a blink of an eye, it had started to rain and I was lying in a puddle of blood. It seemed as though even the sky was grieving for her death, and poured onto us. I carried her onto my lap, and gently stroked her hair for the last time. I looked up to the sky in grief, hoping to awake from this nightmare. She was shivering, and the rain stopped her from keeping her eyes wide open. She struggled to keep them open as if this was the ending she had always been waiting for. It obviously wasn’t. All of this wasn’t meant to happen. Is this who I am? Is this what I have become? A soul that no longer cares about nothing or no one? It was an obliterating ending for her and a contemporary beginning for me, or is it vice versa? At that very moment I had become a “made man” and was taken under the dark deceptive wing of the mafia, the consequences of which I chose to overlook. Nevertheless they are bound to catch up with me and embed themselves in a puzzled and undetermined future of mine.

Alternative continuation 2:
I was swept with a sudden stir of agony and sorrow. I could not bear the sight for much longer. I could not even bear the thought of not being there by her side, or not even being there when she needs me. Despite the numerous times that we have talked this over, she seems unwilling to give me up. It seemed to her like I was happy with leaving everything in the past. I had no other choice if I were to move on with my life. I thanked her several times in the past for the most amazing memories and emotions. I wasn’t sure how I could do it again though. It was nice falling in love with her, and it is certainly something I would never regret. How am I to forget that dazzling smile, those benevolent eyes or that mesmerizing scent? I expect them to fade away with time, and if time fails to do so then I am left with an everlasting burden for parting with a broken winged angel.

Audacious

2005-11-25T02:02:00.000+11:00

It's been over a week and here I am back from an unforgettable trip. I had so much fun on this trip that I wouldn't know where to start if I was to remember all the good times! I was hoping I'd enjoy myself on this trip, well I got what I asked for and more :)

I got the chance to meet up with friends, catch up with them and spend some amazing times. I also met some new amazing people too that I became good friends with in a short period of time. Although I didn't really manage on doing everything I had in mind for the trip, they were all replaced by other crazy doings =D Prior to leaving, I thought that a week would be a tad bit too long, as in I'd run out of things to do (or money, whichever came first :p). But towards the end I realised that I could've spent another whole week and still have a blast!

Well they say some things are better left unsaid, but I think there's just too much to mention that I'll leave it at that ;)

A week off!

2005-11-14T02:53:00.000+11:00

It saddens me to break this to you guys...

No it doesn't! :p Well the title pretty much says it all. I won't be around for a whole week. I'm leaving on a week long holiday to Goldcoast (Australia), and obviously I wouldn't have regular access to the net. However I might get the chance to post something throughout the week, no promises though.

I've been waiting to leave for quite some time, especially after the hectic exam period. I'm expecting this to be one hell of a vacation, and if it's not then I'll make sure it turns into one =D

So until my next post, take care of yourselves and of each other :)

(Who the hell is Jerry Springer? :p)

What is love?

2005-11-13T03:43:00.000+11:00

Being possibly the most trivial question of all time, this is one hard question to ask.
Love is not a bond, or a relationship, but more of a heart to heart conversation. When the conversation grows, the bond and relationship forms. Therefore, love creates the bond and relationship. Still, that leaves us with the main question, what is love? Love is no ordinary thing. It is not voluntary, but when it begins, you will know. There are three types of love. Infatuation, love of family, and love of your spouse.

Infatuation, most commonly known as "Puppy Love", is basically love at first sight.
Infatuation can be the beginning of a future spouse love. Though most often infatuation doesn't amount to much.

Love of family is loving your mother and father, and any siblings you may have. You want to protect them, watch over them, and fill their lives with an unbounding joy. The parents have an innermost feeling for their children, which in my case, they express everyday.

Love of your spouse means loving someone you are married to. Whether husband or wife, you support your spouse with a deep modesty, and you treat them with great respect.

Okay, so I told you the three types of love. But I still haven't told you what love is. I told you a definition, a heart to heart conversation, but does that tell you much? No. So, I will put it straight. Love means to care, to protect, to watch over, to pray for, to make sure the loved person is happy. But to tell you the truth, those are all parts of love. Not love itself. So, I will tell you what I think of love. Love has a meaning, but we will never know. Many philosophers have tried, but all their attempts have failed. Every single one of them!

Love is actually never the same thing. Your destiny, your future path, what you choose to do, that all determines what love is. Love is never the same, you make up the meaning of love by how you choose to use it.

(quoted)

My new template!

2005-11-11T20:01:00.000+11:00

Just like anything else, this deserves an independant post. More importantly the creator of this template deserves a post of gratification and deserves all the credit to be honest.

I was very hesitant about asking for her help at first. I thought it would be rather rude of me to ask for a new template out of the blue. But somehow she found out, obviously someone must've told her (right toxic?). Anyway I think its very sweet of her to offer me her help, and she was willing to create a new template from scratch, for those Blogger template users out there.. this is hard workkk! :p However I'm still trying to figure out whether she did it out of pity for me or because she could no longer stand the sight of my previous template. Hey, who's complaining? =D

When she was all done with making it, she actually made it very clear to me that I had to mention it on my blog and I had to inform everyone that she was the creator. Weird..? I don't know, maybe its just her way of showing everyone what she's capable of coming up with.
LOL.. ok fine I'm kidding. I couldn't resist the urge to do that :p
On the contrary she actually refused that I mention her. Believe it or not she even asked me to not mention a thing about it. But I thought this was the least I could do... :)

(I'd be really happy to tell you, if she gives me her permission (",) )

The Lion King (Review)

2005-11-11T19:21:00.000+11:00

"The award winning broadway musical The Lion King!" *tadaaa*

Its very clear why its an award winning musical. It was spectacular! The audio-visuals, performances, gimmicks and the show as a whole never failed to astonish me. There were so many things that exceeded my expectations, and one or two ofcourse came short of meeting my expectations. However it was a great experience nevertheless. I never expected it to be exactly like the movie, by that I mean even the dialogue was word for word. Yes believe it or not I even remember the dialogue of some parts.. ok fine and some songs too.. hey I was a kid alright so give me a break.

Oh and another thing.. the entire theatre was packed.. totally sold out for the night.. full house. What amazes me is that we went on a weekday. They've also been performing since June of this year here in Melbourne and they will continue to perform until the end of January I think. The thought of them recieving such a number of people throughout this period of time is incredible!
But just as Lym mentioned, the show catered for people of all group ages and lifestyles. So many families, elders and youngsters.

I'd give it a 8.5/10.
I'd happily give it a higher rating, but the actual show, being The Lion King, was obviously aimed at a younger audience and to me personally it was somewhat like watching the movie over again. Highly recommended though!! :)

The Lion King (Broadway)

2005-11-09T04:42:00.000+11:00

Not the cartoon.. this is actually the broadway show. It's been very well advertised for the past month or two (?) here and I was quite interested. I asked around to see who was interested in attending it and at first I got so many replies. Long story short its just me and another friend now, and I couldn't care less who I'll be watching it with now to be honest.. it is tomorrow afterall. Yes thats right.. tomorrow. We bought the tickets almost 3 weeks in advance and I've been waiting ever since. Can't wait.. I have high hopes for it :) I'll be back here to tell you about it.

Apologies...

2005-11-09T02:53:00.000+11:00

First and foremost I apologise for what might've seemed like a sudden absence. Many have been wondering and asking for updates, and this is the least I could do :)

I just finished my last exam today, and boy does it feel good! I tell you if there's any one feeling that doesn't fade away with time or reoccurence its the feeling of finishing exams =D (ok there might be others but this is all I'm willing to believe in right now!) The minute I left the exam I was very sure of one thing, and it was that never (in my whole life) have I written so much bullshit during almost 2 hours. I'm tying to sound cool by using the term "bullshit", but I mean it literally.. I suppose I went well though :p

(I had a glance or two at my blog during that period however never actually attempted to reply to any comments, I was afraid I'd get carried away and waste more time online.)

The first day of eid here really made me reminisce. But obviously it loses its essence if it isn't spent with family. Nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves on the first day. The afternoon period was spent in visiting a friends house and having lunch (Omani food! =D). To my surprise I actually had 3ursiya and qalya on eid... no see the part you guys don't get is it wasn't back home.. it was here!! Alright fine.. I think I made my point.

Last day of exams... went out with a group of 6 friends and it turned out to be way much better than I had expected. We went to this lebanese cafe which we had previously visited. In Arabic I'd say "shelna il-makan 3ala raasna" (literally translated to: "we carried the place on our heads") .. a figure of speech meaning we caused a racket. There were 2-3 other tables with people seated once we got there, and a couple of the guys were quite familiar with the guys that work there. They asked for a... "6ranga". I'm sorry if you don't know what this is then ask me and I'll be glad to help. I think we kind of put on a show for the rest of the people there which we all enjoyed. Haven't had this sort of fun in a very long time. It was a really great night!

I'll be back with more!

كل عام و أنتم بخير

2005-10-31T21:47:00.000+11:00

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?

2005-10-31T18:06:00.000+11:00

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

2005-10-31T17:13:00.000+11:00

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...

2005-10-30T18:36:00.000+11:00

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

2005-10-30T04:33:00.000+11:00

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!

2005-10-30T04:32:00.000+11:00

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...

2005-10-25T02:03:00.000+10:00

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..

2005-10-22T04:31:00.000+10:00

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..

2005-10-18T04:22:00.000+10:00

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.

2005-10-17T22:47:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-17T06:03:00.000+10:00

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...

2005-10-16T23:23:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-13T20:02:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-11T04:14:00.000+10:00

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!

2005-10-11T04:01:00.000+10:00

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...

2005-10-11T03:34:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-06T02:10:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-06T01:56:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-05T04:07:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-05T03:16:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-03T23:24:00.000+10:00

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

2005-10-02T22:30:00.000+10:00

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...