CONGRATS TO TYREEK!

I forgot to write an EXTREMELY important posting to congratulate one of my closest friends Tarek El-Gaaly, or Eewok, or Tyreek, or Tarooka, or whichever nick name is your favourite, for winning the Microsoft competition in Egypt! I remember how depressed he was when he didnt pass the last of many Microsoft interviews...how he felt like he had lost his dream...how he felt he wasn't good enough...and there's definately nothing worse than getting THAT close to getting what you want then having it slip right through your fingers. But then again, Tyreek is one of the smartest and most ambitious people I know so I wasnt that worried about him...in my mind if he didnt get Microsoft now, he would get it down the line, or he'd get something better than Microsoft. Then a couple of months passed and I gave him a call...we talked for an hour about his job, his dream job, and in the middle he was telling me about this Microsoft competition and how he really wasnt sure if he should be wasting his time on working on it. We talked a bit about it, and I felt he really didnt think they'd make it...so should he continue or focus on his studies? He can barely work and study as it is! We left it at that anyway, then about 10 days ago he calls saying he's at the competition and that they had won! AHHHH I was so so so happy for the guy! He deserved it big time and I so wished I was there to cheer him on! He now is part of the team that will represent Egypt in the rest of the competition in Korea! Of course he's feeling the pressure of representing Egypt in such a big event but I can imagine that going to present in front of the people who interviewed him for the position he lost would take that pressure away :)I got to see him after the competition for a quick cup of coffee with another friend of mine, it was great to see him smile again! GO GA3LY GO! Buy me a ticket to Korea won't you!!

Song: Bad Dream by Keane

Why do I have to fly
over every town up and down the line?
I'll die in the clouds above
and you that I defend, I do not love.

I wake up, its a bad dream,
No one on my side,
I was fighting
But I just feel too tired
to be fighting,
guess I'm not the fighting kind.

Where will I meet my fate?
Baby I'm a man, I was born to hate.
And when will I meet my end?
In a better time you could be my friend.

[chorus]
I wake up, it's a bad dream,
No one on my side,
I was fighting
But I just feel too tired
to be fighting,
guess I'm not the fighting kind.
Wouldn't mind it
if you were by my side
But you're long gone,
yeah you're long gone now.

Yea, where do we go?
I don't even know,
My strange old face,
And I'm thinking about those days,
And I'm thinking about those days.

I wake up, it's a bad dream,
No one on my side,
I was fighting
But I just feel too tired
to be fighting,
guess I'm not the fighting kind.
Wouldn't mind it
if you were by my side
But you're long gone,
yeah you're long gone now.

AHHHHHH!!

Thanks to facebook, I came across this photo of the basketball team in high school! HAHAHAHA I cant stop laughing! I even remember this match. We were playing Choiefat and it was damn windy; many times we felt the ball would fly right out of our hands. We look so so so young! And yes guys, that is Hadia, that is Alia Hafez, and yes that is me as well. Little did we know that we'd all end up connected to AIESEC somehow years later. Hahaha the best memories!

Just like old times

Today I went out with the people from my first job in Arpu+. Its was so much fun! Reminded me of the old days, and how happy I was going to work to see these people every day. It really is a blessing having work colleagues who really are your friends. I believe I can never work in a place where I hated the people, and definately would stand working somewhere with an ok job as long as the people kept me coming to work with a smile everyday :) We went bowling...of course made a huge scene in the place coz we were so loud and every 2 secs we were taking pics so we looked ridiculous! But I had missed that big time. Thanks to Khaled, Morro, Hesham, Karim, Diana, Ronda, Nou, Nuka, Samer, Fadi, and Asmaa for reminding me the importance of having fun people in your working environment!

Emotions taking over

For the past weeks I have been on a real internal emotional rollercoaster and can't seem to calm down. I'd go out to get out of a really down mood only to be met with the feeling that I could burst into tears in the middle of the outing while I am actually smiling and pretending to be ok. That in itself tires me...imagine wanting to cry so much, but pushing yourself to be smiley and social. I wonder why do I always get this urge to cry when I am around my closest friends...but when I am alone I'm unable to? Why do I even want to cry? And why do I want to smile at other times? The ups and downs tire me...sometimes I wish I could just stay happy or sad...one or the other. Just stick to one feeling for God's sake! But I just cant seem to. I feel sad and automatically my need to always switch that back to "happy" kicks in so I start looking for what will make me feel better, whether its going with my mum to run errands (just so I could drive the car), or a chat with a close friend, or reading my book (which involves people in really bad situations so I would be perfectly fine in comparison so would feel silly to feel bad), or listen to songs I like in bed and sing them in my head. Then when I finally felt happy...my mind manages to trick me by reminding me of what it is that's upsetting me so I soon start to slip back into saddness or I manage to catch myself by switching the TV on. I guess being a little free at work these days and not having IPM to keep me busy in every waking minute has given me the time to depress myself, and linger over things that I simply cant change... Mai, face it...everything that is bothering you just needs time to fix itself, you have done all you can, and just use your common sense and intelligence because you know all this is because you are letting your emotions take over. This is what I tell myself over and over, and I can be extremely practical when I want to be...so why dont I WANT to be practical now?

A Day of Pampering

Today I woke up and decided I needed to cheer myself up. I needed to be a little spontaneous about it as well so I got out of bed, got dressed and went to shop with Martha in City Stars (a mall here in Cairo). I ended up buying a skirt that was expensive, but to hell with it I bought it anyway! I ended up buying a pair of shoes, hoop earrings, and some bandannas. Then I also went and got myself a haircut which turned out to be way way shorter than I expected but to hell with it as well! I just needed to not care about anything for a while so I ended up doing everything to an extreme and it felt SO good! God bless shopping, hairstylists, and close girlfriends :)

Easter with friends

This year I spent Easter at the house of one of my close friends. We played a board game, had a good swim, and barbequed food. It was nice to chill out...

Modern Life causes "Major Stress"

This is the title of an article that I am reading right now on the BBC website which talks about how the modern life that we are all living in now has caused an increase in stress, in sleepless nights, and in anxiety. Apparantly, the older generations are alot more laid back then the younger generations of today. We, the young generation, worry more about identity theft, about the changes in the climate, the increasing living expenses, etc. I can see that to be very true but add on to that the social stresses that we feel alot more than the older generations do. Because of the fact that now in Egypt we all work from 9 to 6 (at least, many people dont leave the office before 8 or 9) we feel more stressed in the social department because we have less time to maintain healthy friendships, strong family ties, and stable relationships. And these things actually relief stress! Friends help us feel better when we are down, relationships give us hope for the future, and families keep us grounded. Without these things, all we are left with is the hardwork we put into building a career which is definately not enough to make anyone feel fulfilled or happy. My dad used to work from 8 to 4pm everyday and now he works from 7am to 6pm! I see that most of my friends, including me, have developed a sickness called "sensitive colons" which develops due to stress. It has become the norm to have that now! I see people who get anxiety attacks regularly. I see people who need to take relaxants in order to get a good night's sleep. I myself had a panic attack a couple of years back. Its more common now to feel the need to talk to a psychiatrist because its normal to feel really lost! Our society's changing, and what we view as normal will change if it hasnt already. Part of that includes viewing new illnesses as normal when they werent before, viewing new values as important to have that we didnt give importance to before, etc.

Boredom...

Today is a totally uneventful day at work and so was yesterday...nothing going on...so much so that I am openly chatting on msn, blogging, and checking my mail. Doing absolutely nothing else! I get so tense when Im bored! I start biting my nails, walking back and forth, thinking and thinking...its annoying! I wish that either the clock would strike 5:30 or that I get some work thrown at me...and quickly! Oh God its ONLY 2:06! 3.5 hours to go!

300 SUCKED!!

I had been really against going to see 300 coz I thought it would either turn out to be a really gross bloody movie or it would be a movie that has good graphics but no real story nor characters so I wouldnt "feel" the movie. I decided to go see it with my youngest brother and I was soooo dissappointed to find out I was right...it was a sorry excuse for a movie and all I enjoyed were the good graphics and the 2 minute comical lines that were in the script. My brother thought it sucked too so no its not just coz I am a girl! The movie lacked a real story, lacked real characters, and played on really silly movie tricks that any movie goer would spot. Firstly, why the hell were the Persians portrayed as ugly creatures? This is such a silly trick of portraying the "enemy" as monsters so that we are more pro the humans in the movie because we identify with them more. The Persians consisted of trolls, some weird Ninja Asian people, Arabs, and they even had blacks! Since when were Persians African Americans?! And the Persian king was a man standing there in golden speedos, with piercings everywhere, and make up on. Does that sound like a Persian to you?! Secondly, why were they trying to portray the Spartans as people who respected women and gave them a high importance in society while the Persians saw them as inferior beings? Spartans used to discard female babies! They used to throw them away! The whole play on Arabs vs Americans popped up in my mind and my brother's mind throughout the movie. This women part is one example, then you had the Spartans always saying how they were fighting for freedom and against a tyrant...it sounds a little too close to a way to justify America's actions against Iraq or even potentially Iran. Thirdly, the movie lacked any character building and lacked a story. I wasnt attached to any of the characters in any way and actually felt that the Spartan king did not do his duty as a king. When you know that your army is doomed and that after you are killed your people's wives and kids would be slaughtered and your city burnt...I think you'd want to entertain the Persian king's offer in order to save your people. After all your people are your responsibility. But no...the king's own personal need to be glorified was more important! None of it was believable, none of it touched me, none of it moved me! It needed to tone down with the stereotypes, tone down with the politics, and needed a large boost of character building and storytelling. It was a sorry excuse for a movie! I felt it insulted my intelligence!

The best part of gift giving

Isnt it great that when you give someone a gift you find him or her wearing it and using it? Nothing makes me smile like seeing a friend using a gift I bought or seeing the look on their faces when you give them something really thoughtful. I had given up on my mum big time! Whenever I'd buy her any accessories or bags she would NEVER use them! FINALLY, this year, I got her something with my brothers that she did not expect...a massage and facial. The look on her face was priceless! She loved the fact that this year the gift was unique. She'll go get all that pampering tomorrow and we'll see if this is a gift that should be repeated in the years to come ;) Plus, I saw my old boss and he was wearing the watch I had picked out for him when he had left the company. I was so glad that he wore it and was still wearing it! He was like "of course I am, its an awesome watch and I even bought my wife the same one but for women". I am always glad to hear that gifts are not hidden away at the back of a closet somewhere :)