Bird Flu and gossip in Egypt - Which is more deadly?

A few days ago I was sitting at the office and all of a sudden everyone on my msn list kept forwarding this message to me that said: "people are throwing dead chickens in the Nile so dont drink water from the tap for the next 5 hours to avoid catching the bird flu. This is an order from the Egyptian Government." I started laughing! People from all over the place were sending this forward to me and others at work were getting the same from their msn friends as well! It was ridiculous! All these educated people were taking this ridiculous piece of information and forwarding it to everyone! Our water source isn't the cleaniest thing ever! People have thrown garbage, dead animals, and many other toxins in our water which are just as dangerous. Bottomline is, we have a filtration system, its not like we drink straight out of the Nile! I couldnt believe how fast gossip gets around in Egypt! A couple of hours after receiving this forward we went downstairs and there were NO mineral water bottles anywhere! When we finally found a bottle it was for 4 LE when its usually sold for 1.5 LE!! That night, Government officials announced that this was just a rumour and that the water was fine! And when I asked my friends why did they keep forwarding this stuff they just simply said better safe than sorry...just think before you send out this stuff because as you can see it causes panic! So I really dont know which is deadlier...the bird flu or the way ridiculous gossip gets around and affects the economy of Egypt and the lives of people!

Mogama3 Al-Adyan - A truely educational day

Today we went to an area in old Cairo called Mogama3 Al-Adyan. In this area we visited 2 Churches, a mosque, and a Jewish synagogue. It was a very interesting day I must say but the weather was not on our side. VERY dusty and foggy which is not good for my allergies but I had a blast! We had a guide show us around and explain the area to us. Plus we had a few trainees from many areas around the world and who followed different religions and we made good use of that today. We had many discussions where we compared all the religions and I ended up changing alot of my perspectives when it came to certain religions especially Christianity and Hinduism. I realized how subjective religion can be which is why it's interpreted in many ways and why it is practiced in many ways. I also realized the huge similarities between all religions and how we as humans are the ones making the differences seem so big. I mean the bottomline is that all religions promote the idea of believing in a superpower that we cannot see, and promote a way of living that is just and good. Today was the first time I witnessed discussions about religions and their differences but without the usual arguments and hard feelings. That made it a truely educational experience since we were really able to learn from each other. We visited the hanging church first. Its called the hanging church because its build on top of 2 towers but with a gap in between these towers so it seems to be hanging. Then we visited the first church to be built in egypt. Then a Jewish synagogue which was very similar to many churches. Then finally a really big mosque where over 30,000 people go to pray in the Holy month of Ramadan.
After that, we went to a restaurant and listened to presentations about hinduism and buddism...which was fascinating. I always thought Hindus believed in many Gods but it turns out that they believe in one God but they see Him in many different images. The reason behind that was that people in general find it easier to believe in something when they can put a face or name or symbol to it. So since we see God in everything around us, then why not have many images representing him just so the belief of people can be strengthened. Its an interesting perspective...in Islam its sort of the opposite. For us, a sign of belief is knowing that God is there, formless, and that we still believe in his existence even though we cannot see Him or know how He looks like. For us, to put God into any specific image and pass that on as God is very dangerous because then you risk finding people worshipping pictures or statues instead of worshipping something that is a divine power. Of course each one of us probably sees God in some shape or form but it's something personal instead of something that the masses see or follow. I got to thinking about all these sorts of things today so it was great! Im looking forward to learning more!

Samour's departure

On Valentine's day, I went out with my work colleagues right after work. It was supposed to be a bye bye outing for our great colleague Samer Youssef who's leaving Arpu+ for another job. Samoour had become a good friend as well as a great colleague. He was working in the business development dept with me, Sherif Beblawi (my boss), and Noha El Sweedy. He was in charge of assigning all the numbers for all our services and was in charge of communicating with our partners. As you can see he had a huge responsibility in the company! When he announced his resignation we had to divide up his work between me, Bebz, and Noha. It was tough coz alot of the info we needed was in his head! Haha he's a failure in terms of archiving info...he just knows everything! Like you could ask him what service was the number 4546 for and he's tell you the service, the person in charge of it, the price of the service, the country, etc. Now we had to know these things and collectively BE samer. Its tough! We are still trying to survive it! We just all really miss samour...he brought alot of laughs to the office by calling people Khasees hehe and always joking about how hayilabisna fil 7eet! My boss had a great time throwing paper clips at him when he was bored. The girls loved to come and pull his cheeks and spoil him to death! He was just a joy to be around. Such a kind hearted funny guy who brought alot of life to the office. Im glad that I can call him my friend :)

Keeping the connection going is hard work...

I realized something very important about myself...I have a very hard time letting go of people whom I like, whether they are friends, work colleagues, or just plain acquaintences. When I meet someone I like I just stay in contact with that person always and I dont understand the concept of knowing people for a short period of time then moving on. Like, you can meet someone nice in a trip then when you go back home that's it...you move on. With me it doesnt work that way...I put alot of effort in keeping in touch with everyone no matter how close or "unclose" they are. I've come to realize that doing that is exhausting. Emailing everyone, calling everyone, seeing everyone, is just time consuming and when I think about it...pricey as well. Plus, to do that means your are eating up your time...I spend less time with my family, less time with myself, less time thinking about what I want out of life...it just becomes a daily routine of "ok who have I not emailed or seen in a while?". And that becomes my goal of the day! And even though that's bad, I mean you do need to think about your own future and where your life is going, but I wouldnt be happy any other way! I would get upset if people I hardly know were out of my life. I just feel happiest when Im surrounded by people I love, respect, or look up to. There are a million reasons why I do this but I think the main one is I feel my world is complete when Im surrounded by people I adore. That's more important to me than a great job or a great car or a great anything. Whether this is the right way to go about life or not I guess only time will tell...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm not that big on Valentine's Day just because I dont think one day per year is enough to show the people you love how much you love them. It should be alot more frequent than that dont you think? But nonetheless I used Valentine's Day as a day to look at who I'm grateful for and who I need to say "I love you" to more often.

Lina, my best friend in the whole world. You really have become my sister. I dont think anyone else knows me as much as you do or has shared so much of my past with me. You know my intentions even if I dont make them clear. You understand very well why I act the way I do. And we can basically be thrown anywhere in the world and still manage to have the best time in ever! You are my shoulder to cry on when I need to break down, my party buddy when there's music playing, my armour when I need protection, and most of all you are the reason I smile! LOVE YOU!

Salma, the other half of my brain! Your strength always inspires me and I dont think I ever told you that. The way you know what you need and fight for it keeps me amazed always. You were always ready with a hug when I needed it even when I wasnt sure what was wrong. You always made time for me when i really needed it. The honesty i get from you has been the biggest support I have ever gotten in my life. You tell it to me like it is and its all just to protect me. I miss you so much but I know that no matter when we meet again we will continue where we left off! No matter how long we stay apart we never feel that distance in our friendship. LOVE YOU!

Abbassi & Bassem, you two are just my brothers! Always making sure I get home safely, always making sure I am there when anything fun is going on, always asking about me and how I am doing, and most of all always making me laugh! I dont know what I would do without you 2! The 2 guys who have seen me at my best and at my worst. Thanks for always being there no matter what! LOVE YOU!

Tarek Ga3ly!! Tarooka you know how much you mean to me! My teddy bear! All you have to do is open your mouth and I am on the floor laughing! If I ever need to cheer up you are the man I go to. You have been a real pal for years now and I enjoy hanging out with you big time as you know. Miss you always and will always remember the first year and a half in AUC where we'd always hang out together. I still have the emails you sent me from the pc right next to mine in the library! "Yo mai, im right next to you in the auc lib...about to chat with you then go to class!". Haha, those were the days...before declaring and all that crap haha. We can always have fun wherever we go and I thank you for being you! LOVE YOU!

Skoura! The sugar cube I wrote you doesn't seem quite enough anymore. Your friendship means the world to me. I can talk about anything with you no matter how silly it is and I feel like you really get it! That means so much to me because I am usually quite aware of what I can and cant say around people and with you I dont have to be. I am just myself! Plus you always make me really smile and are one of the few people that can see what mood I am in a mile away! My walking partner, my tahyees partner, and just one of my greatest friends. I have quite a few really nice memories with you and I cant wait for more! LOVE YOU!

Zeemos! My sweetheart! The guy I can sing really old and cheesy 90s songs with and have a blast! I cannot imagine traveling anywhere without you! Must have our little honeymoon in every trip hehe. You know who you are and what you believe in and I adore that about you. Keep smiling and keep dancing! LOVE YOU!

Maan and Tarek, my 2 husbands haha. You guys are just hilarious! 2 very different types of humour but I love them both! Maan you can just spotaneously start singing! Tarek you can be joking but we would never know! Haha you both cracked me up on the way to dahab when we had that little incident in the bus then you amazed me when you came right back to dahab to us! You guys are the bomb! LOVE YOU!

Martha, the sweetest banoota there is! Your smile lights up a room! I love you to bits! You inspire me every day with your strength and your ambition. I wish I was as independent and as driven as you are. I will always miss our group project days even if they were a disastor! Haha and I will always be there to gossip with you any time or day! Plus of course singing with our beautiful voices while the rest of the people are trying to get some sleep! Hehe. LOVE YOU!

Tamer Zikry, you have been my friend now for about 5 years and I can honestly say that you are one of the very few people whom I connected with right away. You are very easygoing and loads of fun! You always see my good side and always wish great things for me. Your undying support and appreciation has been amazing. You honestly care and I will always remember that about you.

There are really too many to mention! But all of you guys and girls out there, and you know who you are, I love you to bits!

Happy Valentine's Day!

NATCO 2006

This past weekend was spent in Fayed attending NATCO 2006 with my fellow aiesecers. As always, the conference was loads of fun. I got to spend alot of quality time with the newies whom I had just gotten to know a few months before in NLDS. It was great to hear about what they've been up to since NLDS and it was so nice when they'd come up to me and ask for advice about where to go from here. Plus it was great to hang out with my own friends in aiesec and support them. The conference went into details on how we can improve aiesec within our own functional teams which was great because it meant we got down to business. Alot of the newies loved the fact that now they could see real concrete things that they could contribute to their LCs and I felt the same way since it was my first NATCO as well. In the closing planery, we all got a little emotional as the MC shared with us their dream of getting the cup of excellence for this year. As the cup was passed around I had a lot of thoughts to share to the aiesecers but as the cup got closer I became so overwhelmed with emotions that I was scared to speak...so I just passed on the cup and kept my thoughts to myself. I was so moved by the whole scene...seeing everyone so moved, seeing my friends in the MC wanting this cup so much, realizing that many of my friends in aiesec were in this aiesec conference with me for the last time...it just became so real for me that I was speechless. I will remember that closing planary for a long long time.

Song: Dream a Little Dream of Me

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While Im alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
Im longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Mood Swings...

Why do moments of extreme depression follow moments of intense happiness?? Why do we get moody? Most important, why cant we explain why we feel the way we do? Lately I have noticed that I get more and more moody. It mostly happens when Im alone but still being sad and not understanding why just drives me crazy! The fact that Im getting more and more moody and that I have started to bite my nails again (a habit that I stopped when I was less than 10 years old) is setting off alarms in my mind. What's making me so nervous and stressed out that I am starting to bite my nails again? I used to do that when I was younger after the move to cairo in the gulf war...that was a bad time in my life so Im worried of what's going on unconsciously to make me get back to that habit. Is it work? Is it my life? Is it the people around me? I cant seem to put my finger on it...could it be that im too stable now so getting restless?