Out of service area

Im sitting at work so restless because in 4 hours I will be on my way to one of my favourite spots in the world, Basata! I used to always make fun of people who went to Basata over the weekend since the drive itself takes about 12-14 hours in total (back and forth) but I just couldnt take it anymore...need to get outta here for a small while. There's nothing as therapeutic for me as sleeping in the sun and swimming to cool off. It clears my mind...relaxes my muscles...and makes me able to go on. You could say that it helps me paint the world pink again :) I'm really looking forward to it and at the same time annoyed that in less than 48 hours after I arrive I will start realizing that its already time to go home. But lucky for me that time moves very very very slowly in Basata so I'll be able to enjoy those few hours to the maximum. My status: "gone to basata to reconnect with myself...please do not disturb"

There definately is a bond :)

What we all wanted from IPM was to create an awesome conference that people will remember plus also to feel that sense of being in a team...to feel like we bonded, and have that great memory of how it was. Alot of us were worried that that bond wasn't created to the fullest due to the pressure we were under so we didnt really have time to bond. We had alot of work to do, so team bonding came as a second priority sometimes. But I'm happy to say that no, we did have a huge bond. We felt it at the time, because we really had to rely on each other blindly alot, but we didnt really digest it nor get to enjoy it. But now, I still feel it...it's still there...now we actually get to enjoy it! We enjoy each other's company, we laugh alot, and I know that this team has seen sides of me which many people have not seen. They have seen me in tears, they have seen me angry, they have seen me shouting, they have seen me happy. Its nice to find that we do put an effort nowadays to see each other and that we still run to each other for advice and support. You never know how long these bonds last since life gets in the way when you go in different directions but I'm glad that its still strong now and glad that we are enjoying it to the max. Today, for example, Maggie, John, Hadia, Salma, and I went to have an early lunch in Lucilles in Maadi, then I went over to Hadia's place which I hadn't done since high school (was happy to find little memories of our high school days in her room still as they were years ago), then we went to the YES closing ceremony to support Abdelmalek, Hisham, and Sherif, then Hadia and I had a bite to eat with Abdo. It was a very long day but reminded me of how comfortable I used to feel in IPM around these guys. I trusted them with all my heart during IPM, and needed them big time. To find that that safe environment was still there was sweet and I will cherish it always.

Song: Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

Let it go
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

Let it slide
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine,
Till you feel it all around you
And I don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away somehow
But I cannot forget
the way I feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Yeah, these twisted turns of fate
Times falls away
Yeah, but these small hours,
These small hours
Still remain

Yeah, oh they still remain
These little wonders
All these twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders
Still remain

Great Ads: Aids Free Hugs, Senzi Galaxy, Dove, and Audi

Since I now work in the advertising industry, I am focusing alot more on the ads out there. I always had a fascination for ads and how creative they can be. What used to draw me to print ads were the colours...I used to use them as posters on my wall if they are really pretty and stand out. As for TV ads, I always enjoyed SMART ads that would really get your attention or get you emotional. So, as a consumer and not as an advertiser, I really liked these 4 TV ads that are quite smart and are tuned in to what consumers really feel. Lets take the Free Hugs ad for Aids for starters, you see this guy with a FREE HUGS sign parading around a busy city offering his hugs for free. The concept in itself isn't new (it was the concept behind one of Dave Matthews Band's videos) but it was always close to my heart...nothing beats a good old hug for me! We even implemented it in IPM and had many delegates coming for hugs after a rough day of sessions or losing elections. Back to the ad, at first people in the streets ignore this guy then eventually you find the people starting to hug him with smiles. And it becomes contagious...more and more people start carrying the "Free Hugs" signs in the streets then you see "Aids is not transmitted like this...but love is. Together let us fight against discrimination." Its a BEAUTIFUL ad!

Ad number 2 is one I am sure you have all seen. A woman who throughout the ad describes her many different personality layers and the visuals smartly and creatively illustrate the voice over lines. For example, she says "sometimes I like to be left alone" and you see the woman sink into her bathtub with a smile on her face. Or you see her saying "no matter how big my problem is, I know a size 37 will make it go away" and the shot is of her buying a new pair of shoes. All the situation shots are really close to what we women really do so the ad is again close to the consumer's heart and tells him/her "we understand you". The slogan at the end of the ad is "Senzi, like me, has many layers." Really cool ad! Watch it on showtime, MBC, and One coz I couldnt find it on YouTube.

Ad number 3 is part of the latest Dove soap campaign which is a campaign promoting natural beauty. In the middle of all this make up, plastic surgery, and fashion, having ads tell you you are beautiful just the way you are really works. Its at least original in comparison to Lux or Camay which are all promoting fashion and "unnatural" beauty. So this ad has a normal woman being transformed by first having make up people and hairstylists get her ready to be photographed. Then you see that even the photograph is drastically played with using photoshop. Then this picture becomes a big billboard. The message at the end is "no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." Brilliant ad! It hits home, discusses an issue that is very alive in the modern society, and hits at competitors very discreetly.

The final ad, Audi, has been forwarded to me many times through friends so you might have seen it already as well. You see a keychain holder and slowly keys of various cars that are known to have certain strengths are being put onto this holder. So lets say a mercedes benz is know for its safety, BMW for its speed, Toyota for its economical use of petrol, etc (all examples, I am a total idiot when it comes to cars). You see a mercedes key chain being hung with its strength written underneath, then a BMW key chain, and so on. Then the 4 keychain holders being next to each other become the Audi car's logo! Meaning, Audi offers you ALL the attributes that these other 4 cars give you. Again, a convincing ad that smartly hits on competitors.

Watch them for yourself and tell me what you think.

No more pink...let the black win...

If you can believe it...mai's world is no longer pink...and mai doesnt want to paint it pink for some time...mai just wants to be alone...whether its in my room, on a beach, in another country, doesnt matter...I just need to stay with myself and remember HOW I used to paint my world so pink...so pink that every time a black spot appeared I managed to paint pink over it and forget that that black spot was ever there...now the black spots are spreading and I am just watching the pink dissappear slowly slowly...and I see it dissappearing and a part of me says "run, paint pink quickly before its too late, paint it pink before it gets too black to paint over it again"...but the greater part of me is just frozen, willing to let the black win this time...

Alia & Sulayman's Elegant Wedding

Yesterday Alia and Sulayman got married. Knowing that they have been in love for so long and that their love survived a long distance relationship status for all these years made it a heartwarming wedding. We all just looked at them and felt wow, they made it...they protected something that they really wanted...and I was so happy that they did. The easy thing you hear from people nowadays is "oh, long distance, it wont last", or "oh being committed to someone who cant really be here, why would I do such a thing when there are so many other fish in the sea?" And even though these comments make alot of sense, it is not supposed to be the case when you are in fact in love. When you love someone you keep them close to your heart even if they are not around. Doing that is very hard as well so to see this couple being rewarded for doing it for years was very sweet. So I took the wedding as a triumph for love and it was really nice to be a part of it. Alia is one of the sweetest and most smiley girls I know, and she really does deserve a happy life and seeing her as sure of herself and as calm as she was yesterday kept us all on our feet cheering for her till 4am! I will really miss her when she moves to Dubai with her husband but I'm confident that she's so happy to end the long distance chapter of this relationship and to start a new one now where she can enjoy being around the person she adores.

Ayathono...barra barra barra

If you are one of the few people who was at IPM 07 and didnt know the "Ayathonno" story, then where the hell have you been! The story with this song is that in IPM the CC team did a role call dance to "Tararam" which we stayed up literally ALL night creating, finishing it at 6am. Then after dancing it in the opening planery, Abdo decided it was CRAP! He HATED it and on a night of total silliness he randomly played "Ayathonno" and a totally new role call was created right there and then while we were completely hyper and tired! We were dancing thinking it was something that was only for our eyes to see. Yours truely taped the night of silliness of course and then the video got out and showed up on You Tube! And before you know it, Sami, our MCP, was dancing that dance with our IT teamster Alex in a national conference in Germany. AIESEC Egypt was dancing it in MIS 2007. And it became a favourite role call. Its really cool how that happened...and its definately strange that I absolutely HATE that song but now whenever I hear it I always smile remembering that night of silliness and definately missing the team and the experience.
The now famous videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqsaypdtnlc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN6YqRvC5rw

Selfish or Selfless?

I have been hearing those 2 words alot lately and hearing them with both negative and positive connotations, and sometimes even in the same conversation! So what do these 2 words really mean:

Selfish - its an adjective which means devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. Its being concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others.


Selfless - its an adjective which means having little or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, position, money, etc. Its being unselfish. Its being devoted to others' welfare or interest and not one's own. Its showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

Do any of us have to be one or the other? Both seem to be 2 extremes that we should not be at all times. Of course alot of us may be leaning towards one of them more than the other but I do believe both traits exist in all of us but it depends on when they come out.

For example, you NEED to be selfless to have children, to be in a relationship, and even to be part of a friendship. Can you imagine being in a relationship and thinking only of yourself? It cant happen! When you truely love someone you do become selfless. All you care about is their well-being more than your own and when you hear someone try to tell you otherwise you get mad and confused.

As for being selfish, you have to be selfish sometimes too. Part of the reason why we are in a friendship, in a relationship, in a certain job, is because we get something out of it which makes us happy. Everything that involves 2 people has to include giving and taking...it doesnt mean it has to be 50/50 every day. You can be giving alot for some time then taking alot in another but there has to be a balance in the long run so that both of you are happy.

It helps to know that when you are in the selfish mood, the person in front of you allows you to be so and doesnt judge you for it. And vice versa, when you are selfless, its nice to know that someone appreciates it.

I have been described over the years as being someone who gives too much, as someone who is TOO selfless, and as someone who needs to be more selfish. But even though I do agree sometimes with that analysis I also know that its not true. I do get pretty selfish at times and when I do get selfish, I am selfish to an extreme. Its to an extreme usually coz I feel I have been selfless for too long, so world you owe me one! So I'm just going to be super selfish today to make up for it! This selfish streak doesnt last for too long because it doesnt make me happy except for a few moments but it has been happening more frequently as I have gotten older and perhaps less naive. The more you see in the world the less selfless you can be but I still maintain that it feels so much better to be selfless than to be selfish. At the same time, I agree that you cannot be one or the other all the time.

Song: I'll Stand By You by The Pretenders

Oh, why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now.
Don't be ashamed to cry, let me see you through
Cause I've seen the dark side too.
When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do,
Nothing you confess could make me love you less
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
So, if you're mad get mad, don't hold it all inside,
Come on and talk to me now.
And hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too
Well I'm alot like you.
When you're standing at the crossroads, don't know which path to choose,
Let me come along, cause even if your wrong
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
Take me into your darkest hour, and I'll never desert you.
I'll stand by you.
And when, when the night falls on you baby, you're feeling all alone,
You won't be on your own, I'll stand by you. I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you. I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.

Zoomi's finally graduating :)

The first step towards Hazem's graduation began today with the group photos in AUC. I didnt think I would still know people in AUC 2 years after I graduated but its very nice to still have a good enough excuse to go hang out in AUC. I so love to sit on the plat and relax. I need to put it in my to do list to do that more often...it beats sitting in a cafe big time. Anyway, back to the happy boy zoomi, he was excited to start the graduating process today and we were all really happy that he was that thrilled. Zoomi has been such a great friend over the years, I'll always treasure our cruises in his car listening to the corniest songs...and remembering that this habit started when we used to drive to AIESEC conferences! Will always remember the little excuses to smile that he gave me. A great friend, fun travel buddy, and now a soon to be engineer ready to go into the real world which we all are hopelessly too deep into now. Congrats ya Zoomi! We love you Zoomi, we do!

Life doesn't fail to amaze me

Isn't life strange? You could be walking on cloud nine and then get hit by a bus and all the world's troubles would fall on your shoulders. You could be really depressed but the smile of one person could change everything and make it all better. You could spend years planning something in your mind to find it all crashing down in a few days. It never fails to amaze me how these things happen and how you are left wondering how? why? How could you be so upset one minute then so happy the next just coz of a simple thing as a smile of a friend? How could you be so happy then realize it was all a dream? Its all out of your control...which is what makes life horrible sometimes while at other times so amazing. Its funny how the world works and sometimes it takes time to just let it all in and to accept life as being something that is really out of your control. Life is just full of surprises I guess and even though I always liked to believe that "life is like a box of chocolates"; not all the chocolate tastes good.