I got hacked! FURIOUS!

This morning I was busy working then all of a sudden I see a popup in my msn messenger that says "we had to sign you out because you signed in on another pc". I figured someone at home logged in as me so I try to sign in again and that's when I discovered I was hacked because I got a message saying I have a wrong user name or password! I became so furious! I hadn't accepted any attachments nor opened any strange files...its just happened! And to make matters even more infuriating the hacker stayed signed in as me and added a new nick name "Reset :) ". Whoever he or she is was mocking me! Everyone at work had me still online and with this new nickname! So I tried to sign into my email account...couldnt do that either! Tried to enter my secret question...the hacker got to that too! I became more furious by the minute because I had people from all over the place on my msn list and alot of the msn email addresses were ONLY in my hotmail address book! By time I stopped caring about the emails and contacts and just because angry at why would someone do such an annoying move! But thank God I work in a company full of IT people...one of them sent a file to this hacker through msn and he accepted it which made us find out he was a Hacker who was in Egypt, hacking through TE Data internet connections, and we even got his pc's IP address! All I have to do now is go and complain to the authorities with my IT colleague and he should get easily caught. I probably won't get my email nor msn accounts back but at least this ass would get caught!

My Doritos Fix

My new addiction is DORITOS! I can't seem to get enough of them! Neither can the rest of Cairo it seems since I can never find any!! GRRRR I eat Doritos almost everyday at work now. I take my old boss, Sherif Beblawi, and we agree to meet at the elevators then we go running around from supermarket to supermarket trying to find as many bags as possible! They are not easy to find since they sell out pretty fast, much to our frustration! They are just sooo yummy...totally finger licking good!

Lucky Babies

Why do I love kids? Why do I even envy kids sometimes? Its because kids have the biggest advantage in the world which is that they are easily amazed and wowed by the really small things in life. Kids get all excited when they see splashes because you threw something in water...its like the biggest wonder in the world these little splashes while for us grown ups these splashes are just expected, nothing to be excited about that's for sure. Kids find it amazing when you hide your face behind your hands then suddenly show them your face again...its like wow how did the face dissappear then appear again out of the blue! They dont get the logical explanation which is that the face never really left, you just cant see the face from the hands. Everything in life has a logical explanation which we learn as we grow up so the older we get the less amazed we are. It takes ALOT to amaze us now, while for kids the tiniest and most trivial things make them smile and jump up in excitement. That's what I love about kids, that curiosity that they have, while what I envy is how easy it is to keep them happy. I guess that's where my nick name on msn comes from...Amaze Me...I miss that feeling of being amazed very easily! And I find myself actively looking for things to make that feeling come back whether its insisting on going to a country I've never been to before, or insisting on siteseeing while I'm travelling, or having really intense discussions so I'm amazed by other people's opinion, etc. It's all just to get that feeling back which we all seem to lose more and more as we grow up. For babies, life is just so exciting all the time! Ignorance for them really is bliss!

Song: Wise Men by James Blunt

Martha & I have a new favourite song. It's been stuck in my head the whole weekend and I heard it quite a few times at work today. Here it is:

She said to me, "Go steady on me.
Won't you tell me what the Wise Men said?
When they came down from heaven,
Smoked nine 'til seven,
All the shit that they could find,
But they couldn't escape from you,
Couldn't be free of you,
And now they know there's no way out,
And they're really sorry now for what they've done,
They were three Wise Men just trying to have some fun."

Look who's alone now,
It's not me. It's not me.
Those three Wise Men,
They've got a semi by the sea.
Got to ask yourself the question,
Where are you now?

Really sorry now,
They weren't to know.
They got caught up in your talent show,
With you pernickety little bastards in your fancy dress,
Who just judge each other and try to impress,
But they couldn't escape from you,
Couldn't be free of you,
And now they know there's no way out,
And they're really sorry now for what they've done,
They were three Wise Men just trying to have some fun.

Look who's alone now,
It's not me. It's not me.
Those three Wise Men,
They's got a semi by the sea.
Got to ask yourself the question,
Where are you now?

Saloom's crazy yet fun wedding week!

As I mentioned before, my close friend Salma was getting married on July 11th 2006. Lina and I were to be her bridesmaids so we had to run around buying fabric and having our dresses tailor-made plus I was helping Omar (Salma's husband) give out invitations and the like. Lina and I are pretty close to Salma's family and have met her uncles and cousins so we were very much involved in all the preparations. I was so happy that they let us in, I mean most of our parents would have seen us as a burden probably, too in the way. Having Salma's mum ask for my help in things without a second's thought, or having Salma's dad give me a pat on the back when he was happy, or having Salma's brother tagging along with us was so fun and comforting. We really did feel and were treated like we were Salma's sisters. Salma arrived to cairo a day before my bday, attended my bday outing, then the craziness began.

On Friday, we woke up at 7am to go to Ain Sokhna for the day with Salma & Omar's 15 foreigner friends who flew to Egypt just to attend the wedding. I arrived at the foreigner's place at 8am, knocked on the door and to my surprise found out that everyone knew me coz Salma told them all about me and they've seen me in loads of salma's pics. It was so sweet. Plus 2 of the foreigners were Salma's German friends whom visited Cairo at different times when we were in university so it was great to see them again! So we took them downstairs and into a bus and off to Sokhna we went. Lina and I rode with Salma and Omar to discuss the wedding, that's how little time we had to spare to be alone and talk about things. We arrived in sokhna, cooked some foul and had a quick breakfast over discussions of what foul was and how we cook it...Ben, a Polish guy, was already started to think how he would sell foul back home hehe. Then we headed off to the beach where we played many hilarious games in the water, got to know each other, watched dolphins, and got quite a few scratches from the sea animals & shells. The foreigners were Maria (Serbia), Vegaurd, Martin (Czech), Diamandis (Greek), Ben (Polish), Sonya (Mexican), Wiebke (German), Eva (German), Meika (German), Maria (Spanish), plus a couple of Japanese and others. The rest were Lina, Tarek Ga3ly, Tamer Ga3ly, Bassem, Sarah Youssef, Salma, Omar, and myself. We were quite a huge group! We stayed in the water for hours which led to alot of us getting burnt, much to the dismay of the bride and groom! We went to the house, cooked ourselves a little barbeque with all sorts of salads and rice, and sat to eat in the garden. We had some fun conversations there, trying to speak each other's languages and the like. Diamandis was by far my favourite. Such a hilarious and warm personality. He was treating us like really close friends right away and his jokes were too funny for words! The funny thing is that he neither knew the bride nor the groom! He's a friend of Sonya's who just tagged along for the trip. Ben was pretty funny too with all his foul inventions. The Japanese people were pretty quiet and kept a distance but nice nonetheless. After eating and relaxing we packed up and drove home. Lina spent the night and we slept like logs from exhaustion and the sun.

Saturday was the Henna party (bachelorette party) which Lina and I were organizing for Salma. She had no idea what she had coming which made it more fun for us. Salma's mum managed to trust us with her apartment and her daughter. We got up around noon, had breakfast, ran some errands, then met up at Salma's apartment. People were late to the party as usual, Egyptians will be Egyptians, but it was an amazing party! We got so hyper, it was so fun teaching the foreigners how to belly dance and seeing them in action plus Salma and her mum were just so thrilled. The woman we hired to come do the henna, the music, etc had costumes with her so it was just so fun to get into them and be silly. Salma's mum and relatives were also dancing with us and I dunno its just really cool seeing the older generation, who you are so used to seeing in a serious manner, let loose! I just remember looking at them and couldn't help smiling. In the middle, Lina, Sara, Amira, and I would make up dances in the middle and we had people following our lead hehe. Omar's mum loved that and demanded we do the same in the wedding haha. The party ended around midnight and it was definately time for bed!

On Sunday I left the office around 2:30 to go to Salma's house and help her prepare for the katb ketab. I was supposed to stay at work but her mum wouldnt have it! I helped Salma get ready and we ran to the other apartment where Salma's mum hid us in a room away from the guests till Omar showed up. That brought on a flashback...we were in a similar situation 2 years before where we hid with Salma at her uncle's place waiting for Omar for the 2aryit fatha. Salma was SO nervous back then...this time around she was very calm and so sure that this was what she wanted...it was so calming to see her like that yet it also reminded me of the fact that Salma's getting married! I was so honoured that Lina and I were invited to the katb ketab since its usually a family affair. We were there to see Salma sign and stamp all the official documents. We were there to see her dad give his blessing to this marriage. We were there to see the tears and the hugs. It was at that moment that everyone realized that there was a marriage going on! It wasn't a joke! I hugged Salma which made her cry even more, like she usually did when she saw me...I hugged her mum, her dad, and her grandfather...it was sweet. Afterwards, I ran home to get a few hours to myself so I could do my own preparations for the wedding, then I went to the foreigners flat to watch the world cup final with everyone.

On Monday, I got up for work again...work was very annoying at this time because my mind was with the wedding the whole time and not with the office plus would have preferred to catch up on some sleep!! The wedding rehersal was that day and we had to go since we were supposed to make an entrance from a stage within the ballroom. Salma had about 4 flower girls and 4 flower boys plus Lina and I, so Lina took the girls and I took the boys. They were supposed to walk towards each other on stage, hold hands, and walk down the stage. Of course my task was harder than Lina's coz the boys were refusing to hold the girls' hands! I got alot of yucky and ewww haha but we managed. When it was Lina and my turn to come out, we danced out on stage just to be silly haha which led to the wedding planner betting us to do the same thing with our heels on! After the rehersal, I got home and packed a bag since I was gonna spend the night at the hotel with Salma and Lina. A last girls slumber party and stuff. I managed to pass by an outing in Nomad in between to say bye to Nisrin then I arrived at the hotel to find Salma and Lina in their PJs and in bed with salma's mum sitting there trying to keep them awake haha. Then the fun began, we stayed there laughing and making jokes coz we were sooo sleepy. Just remembering all the funny stuff that had been happening. We slept like logs till the morning...

We took our time getting up Wednesday morning...had breakfast sent up, ate in our PJs. Salma was incredibly calm...not the slightest bit nervous. Neither was Omar come to think of it. At some point Lina left us to go prepare the bridal suite with candles and rose petals and the like while I kept Salma company, and ran some errands within the hotel with her mum and brother. Then, Lina and I went to pick up the German girls and Maria to go do our hair. And voila we had the look that you can see in the pictures with the pink roses. When we got back to the hotel, Salma was waiting for the make up artist and hairdresser. Of course the wedding was supposed to start at 9 but at 8:30 Salma was still doing make up and hadnt done her hair yet and I was still in my PJs haha. My mum arrived to the wedding on time so I brought her up to hang out with us. It was cool being in one room together. We helped Salma into her dress while Omar knocked on the door wondering what was taking us so long!! The wedding was lovely...the Riff Band played some oldies which was very nice (thanks to Diamandis, and Emad for the dances), then we had the cake and slide show, and the night ended with a DJ. Throughout the wedding people wanted to take pics of Lina and I coz we looked like twins the whole time! Pink dresses and pink roses in our hair...it was toooo funny. Many people had to leave the wedding early coz of work the next day so by the time the DJ started it was just Lina, me, Ga3ly brothers, Bassem, and the foreigners but it was sooo hilarious. We were dancing like hell and doing funny dances...we had the whole room to ourselves! Salma's parents joined in and it was just sooo fun. My mum was sitting there praying that I'd tell her its time to go home! Salma noticed and went to drag her to join us at the dancefloor. The wedding was over around 4am!! Salma's parents gave us huge hugs...they were so happy we shared this experience with them and it meant so much to Lina and I as well. So we go home, sleep, and I wake up with the worst cold in the world!! Haha, I guess I deserve it for not taking a few days off to recuperate. On Wednesday night we went out with Salma, Omar, the foreigners, Salma's family and some of our friends. It was a bye bye outing for the couple who were off to their honeymoon plus to the foreigners we had grown to love...miss them all already. Nice to know I have friends now all over the place so the options of where to travel as endless now!

That's the end of the most hectic yet most fun week ever! Now that I have some time to rest I will finally allow the fact that Salma's married to sink in. I will miss the days of passing by Salma in the morning for breakfast before going to our classes in uni, the days of passing by her after uni to have lunch with her grandfather, the days in sahel with her family playing cards and having barbeques, the days of just running random errands in town just for the sake of hanging out, the days of meeting up and going for coffee just to sit and complain, cry, or laugh...I will miss these small yet precious moments but I'm sure there are alot more moments to come. Im glad to have been able to get to know Omar just as Salma was getting to know him, so he's not a stranger to me at all...he has become a friend so I know I will be able to stay very close to both of them...Im so grateful for that fact...imagine if ur best friend married someone you didnt know, I would have died! I will miss you Saloomi but I know that Omar will take good care of you, and I am so happy for the both of you! Keep a spare room for me ready in your apartment coz I'm planning to stop by frequently! You cant get rid of me that easy hehe.

I'm officially 23!! And it was the best birthday ever!

Today's my 23rd birthday!! I'm getting so old!! But still...won't stop being childish, energetic, and SILLY! Today also marked a full year at my current job which I will take as an achievement! The best thing about my birthday this year is that I felt truely blessed to have so many people I adore in my life. It was the little gestures this year that really had the biggest effect on me. I really was touched today and want to recognize all these people for making me smile on my birthday:

A HUGE thank you for Salooooom for coming from Dubai a couple of days early to make it for my birthday. This is the first bday of mine that she has EVER attended in the 6 years that I have known her so it was the best gift to have her with me. Thanks Saloomi so much and I can't wait for your wedding!! Its gonna be SO fun!

Thanks so much to Martha, Lina, Salma & Omar (thanks for the DUET), Mariam, John, Ronda, and Noha El Nahas for calling me at midnight, to Yasmine Khater for the big kiss, and to my brothers and parents for the smses, hugs, and presents!!! I went to sleep happy and so looking forward to the next day because of you guys!

Thanks to Maggie, Bassem, Sarah Youssef, Habya, Hisham, Dodo, Darah, Mahmoud, and Karim Abadir for calling me on the morning of my birthday!!! Thanks to Hazem and Emad for singing happy birthday to me all the way to the end, I LOVED that hahaha, do it again next year! Thanks to Hesham Abou Bakr (mesh mesh :P) who called me long distance from England just to say happy birthday, hearing your voice was the best! Thanks to Marian Makar for calling me from Dubai, I miss you so much you dont understand, stay healthy and take care of your pregnancy! Roro and Nancy, 2 of my very close friends from high school, thanks for remembering my birthday every single year since you've moved to the states 6 years ago! You girls rock! Miss you loads. Thanks to Eiko for remembering my bday from Japan as well! People were very understanding at the office today with all the phone calls :) Thanks to everyone else for sending me smses and messages on MSN! You made work fun for me today! Couldn't stop smiling.

Martha, your nick name on MSN was sooooo sweet! You know how much I love you sweety...the girl who really understands me! Without you I would have probably come to the conclusion that I am just too strange for this world hahaha. I miss our long talks, so I'm grateful for our long car rides to the hip hop classes. Here's to more joined activities!

Thanks to Ronda, Diana, Riham, Nuka, Nou, Sweedy, Bebz, Ashraf, Khaled, Morro, Asmaa, Nancy, Rania, and Henwa for the cutest card ever! I was so happy to find the card on my desk this morning. LOVE YOU and this job wouldn't mean as much to me as it does without you guys. I think we all manage to get to work on time now just for our morning coffee break and then we look forward to the lunch break afterwards hahaha. A big hug to all of you! Ronda, your singing every day keeps us all awake! Diana, you are just hilarious! Keep being you! Bebz, you have become a buddy, thanks for always being there to talk to. Ashraf, your funny faces in the morning make me laugh every day! Plus your support means alot. Nou! I'm soooo enjoying working with you ya naughty enti! Sweedy, you're the reason I'm here! I'm glad you managed to come back so I can get to know you better! Khalooud, you are such a sweety! Morro, going to work with you every morning has been such a pleasure, I can't imagine going work now without you in the morning! Asmaa ya magnoona! Love you ya boo hehe. Thank you so much for the cake and beautiful singing voices hahaha plus the presents! You guys are just awesome!

I celebrated my birthday in Nomad from 6:30pm-1am!! I was energetic the whole time which amazed even me! We hung out there talking and then we watched the world cup football match (Germany vs Italy). It was the best birthday ever just because so many people showed up and this time I managed to talk to every single person there...usually what happens is the bday is short and I end up not saying more than a sentence to each person. This time I had all the time in the world (7 hours!) so managed to spend a fairly good amount of time with every single person there, which was all I wanted :) Plus had no issues with the bill, nor had seating problems, nor was the weather super hot...so luck was on my side this time around! Thanks to Emad, Mariam, Dodo, Amr, Yasser, Sheeko, Fawzy, Askoura, Tarek, Tamer Zikry, Maan, Hazem, Martha, Maggie, Abdo, Dina, Sherifa, Sara Rifaat, Heba Rifaat, Sarah Joe, Bassem, Amira, Alia, Lina, Coco, Salma, Omar, Hany, Salem, Nafe3, Abdo, Sameh, Sami, Nisrin, Yasmine, Ronda, Riham, Diana, Asmaa, May, Tyreek, Happy, Rasha, Sara Sami, and Amir for making it! You guys are the best and I love every single one of you to bits! And to you guys who came from the very beginning till the very end, and you know who you are, thank you so much! Thanks for the thoughtful gifts as well! Special thanks to Fawzy, the biggest sweetheart ever, who cancelled a learning event just so he wouldnt miss my birthday and it meant so many other people could make it to my birthday. That was so wow of you to do and I was very touched.

Everyone of course made fun of me taking loads of pics! I was allowed 3 pics per person who came to the bday and that was a way of punishing me...so you can imagine how obsessed I am if 3 pics per person weren't enough!

So...it was the BEST birthday EVER! I guess it's ok that I turned 23 right? That minor detail didn't ruin the day one bit!