Missing Zoom Zoomi Already :(

One of my closest friends is leaving on a jet plane to an exciting adventure in Singapore. I am super excited for him, and am so glad he got the opportunity to go, especially that he so very very wants it! But now that his departure is 48 hours away I just feel so unbelievably sad...will miss him immensely. Not a day goes by without us talking! We have our little fun silly outings, we can talk about anything even if its strange...will just miss our friendship. Dominos pizza, Lost, cruising, jeans talks, ipod, telling each other about our day, etc...just alot of things to really miss. He's a huge support, makes me laugh at the things that upset me, knows me very well that he predicts everything I do or say, plus notices the funny words I repeat all the time...I will just miss the closeness. His funny words, his laugh, and even his temper and restlessness are just a few of the things I'll miss about him. The way he treats people around him, from his friends to the bawab to the shop people is something I always admired as well. Enjoy it zoomi and save a room for me when I come to visit! Miss you already my special friend :)

Song: Where I Stood by Missy Higgins

Where I stood
I don't know what I've done
Or if I like what I've begun
But something told me to run
And honey you know me it's all or none

There were sounds in my head
Little voices whispering
That I should go and this should end
Oh and I found myself listening

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood

See I thought love was black and white
That it was wrong or it was right
But you ain't leaving without a fight
And I think I am just as torn inside

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood

And I won't be far from where you are if ever you should call
You meant more to me than anyone I ever loved at all
But you taught me how to trust myself and so I say to you
This is what I have to do

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood
Oh, she who dares to stand where I stood

Then when?!

The biggest reason that I use to try to force myself to get into shape is to tell myself "if you wont have the body or the fitness you want NOW at your age, then when will you?!". If in my mid-20s, and I am saying that to scare myself of my age even more, I cant find enough of a reason to look and feel good then will I when I am 30, 40, 50? At that age, I'd be able to use my age as an excuse NOT to be fit! I need to get my butt off the damn pc that I sit on practically all day, whether at work or at home, and do something! I want to be able to look at myself in my 20s and feel that I was in the best physical shape that I could have be in at that age. GET UP AND DO IT!

An Amazing Challenge-Climbing Gabal Moosa (St. Catherine's)

This Eid, I travelled to Dahab with 3 of my closest friends and we decided to climb Gabal Moosa on the first day we arrived. We had heard that the view was amazing from the top and that it was going to be an incredibly tiring experience. Personally, I love to hike and love to be able to sit somewhere and look out to a beautiful view. It feels like you discovered a piece of heaven that you cant see every day; you have to hike, feel your muscles ache, and be out of breath to deserve such a nice view that is away from everyone else. That was my personal motivation to go so I was really psyched about going even though I knew we'd be dead tired the following day. So we go, get all warmed up, and start the climb at midnight. Its pitch black and you can hardly see a thing so that was the first challenge since you had sitting camels whom you'd mistaken for rocks, our camels walking next to you who you'd have to move out of the way for, plus the road itself was full of rocks and camel shit that you had to watch out for! But it made the trip all the more exciting and kinda scary! Quite a number of times we got to crack up laughing coz our friend Tarek would on a regular basis turn around to find himself face to face with a camel! hehe It was the funniest thing ever! He also had his video camera with him so he was filming the experience ala "Blair Witch Project" style which was fun to watch later on; cant wait to put a hand on a copy for myself! Its simply priceless! The more we climbed higher, the further away the peak of the mountain seemed to be...we finally got to the final rest stop which was following by some thousand of stairs to climb, and you'd assume that YAY! I made it to the last rest stop, we are almost there...but those last thousands of stairs were just the most challenging of all for me. I kept slipping, found it difficult to lift my leg up to the next step, and basically found it hard to coordinate my body coz it was just telling me ENOUGH! Thank God I had Hazem there with me who kept checking on me and looking out for me coz I kept getting so close to the edge of the trail and I wasn't even noticing! We get to the top after that, and wow at the crowd up there! There wasnt much room to watch the sunrise any longer! I found myself a spot to stand and just see the sky in between all these people and I was just wowed by the color of the sky and the clouds that even though I was so physically tired, I couldnt bring myself to sit down and miss the moment! I took as many pics as I could then Hazem and I went to look for the rest of our group whom we had lost on our way up the steps. Then we were feeling a sense of dread at having to go all the way back down again so soon! We waited as much as we could before taking that step but eventually we had to. What was nice was to see the scenery that was all around us that we didnt get to see on our way up in the dark, but by that point our legs were shaking and the whole trip down was sloping downhill so we were having a hard time enjoying the trip back despite the scenery. I passed out on the bus ride back to Dahab from there but was very proud of the fact that we did it! Not sure if I would do it again very soon though hehe!

Exercise; the benefits really are endless

On Tuesday I went to the Club with 2 of my friends with the intention of doing some exercise. I ended up fast walking the track for hours, even after my friends had left and gone home. I had missed that feeling of release. I kept walking faster, faster, faster, and feeling better every step of the way. You clear your head, you welcome the muscle aches, and you cherish the deeper breathes that you take. Plus, right there on the track, I realized "at last! I have some time to myself". It has been hard trying to find time for ME lately and I think its the same for everyone...the club really gives you a chance to just sit there and stare into space, the chance to think...I needed it and should definately take this time out for myself more often and to feel the muscles tighten more often as well.

A pretty accurate quote from "Failure to Launch"

While I spent the last long weekend in bed, I managed to watch the movie "Failure to Launch" with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey. Even though I love Matthew, and thought the movie had a few nice comedic moments, the movie overall was just ok and nothing more than ok. But, Sarah Jessica Parker did say something in the end of the movie that really hit home. I dont have the exact quote but let me give you a little background of the scenario. Sarah was hired but Matthew's parents to get him to move out somehow because he's 30 something year old male who is still living with his parents! Matthew enjoys his lifestyle, and whenever any of his girlfriends starts wanting a serious commitment he takes them back to his place so they see that he lives with his parents, and they run off in the opposite direction. So he's always free, having fun, enjoying his time with no serious relationships. So sarah gets into a "fake" relationship with him in order to get him to move out. Of course, as you can guess, she's ends up falling for him and he finds out that she's fake so they break up. Back to the quote I liked, sarah tells matthew in the end how she loves him and wants him, so she asks him to choose between having his fun fun life full of freedom, or to leave that to have a life with her. Then Matthew says "well, life with you can still have some fun cant it?" That really is it isn't it? When a guy (or a girl) gets really scared of committing to someone it really is because of just that; they love how free their life is as a single person, and that even though they love their gf, they just dont see why they need to give up their lifestyle for them or give their all to them. Why does it have to be one or the other to begin with? As Matthew said, dedicating yourself to that loved one and including them more in your life can still definately include fun! That's the part of the movie I liked coz it was really real, you see a relationship coming towards you and the closer it gets the more freaked out you get coz you are so comfortable in your own little world. You ASSUME that you'll have to give up alot of fun times if you decide to go into this relationship that you see heading straight towards you. When actually, if you jump into it, you'll still have alot of fun times, and it'll develop into something new, with new fun experiences, you just need to be willing to make the choice to try it. Its a part in the movie that you have gone through, or have seen your friends go through many times before, but I just love how the movie put it because it really is a tough choice coz you are picking one kind of fun over the other, and to bring yourself to choose can sometimes be hard.

Song: Relax, Take It Easy by Mika

I was listening to this song all weekend, it has a good "feel better" effect which was much needed this past weekend :) Enjoy!

Took a ride to the end of the line
Where no one ever goes.
Ended up on a broken train with nobody I know.
But the pain and the longing's the same
When you're dying
Now I’m lost and I’m screaming for help alone.

Relax, take it easy
For there is nothing that we can do.
Relax, take it easy
Blame it on me or blame it on you.

It’s as if I’m scared.
It’s as if I’m terrified.
It’s as if I scared.
It’s as if I’m playing with fire.
Scared.
It’s as if I’m terrified.
Are you scared?
Are we playing with fire?

Relax
(Love) There is an answer to the darkest times.
It’s clear we don’t understand but the last thing on my mind
Is to leave you.
I believe that we’re in this together.
Don’t scream – there are so many roads left.

Relax, take it easy
For there is nothing that we can do.
Relax, take it easy
Blame it on me or blame it on you.

Relax, take it easy
For there is nothing that we can do.
Relax, take it easy
Blame it on me or blame it on you.

Relax, take it easy
For there is nothing that we can do.
Relax, take it easy
Blame it on me or blame it on you.

Relax, take it easy
For there is nothing that we can do.
Relax, take it easy
Blame it on me or blame it on you.

It’s as if I’m scared.
It’s as if I’m terrified.
It’s as if I scared.
It’s as if I’m playing with fire.
Scared.
It’s as if I’m terrified.
Are you scared?
Are we playing with fire?

Relax
Relax

Pitching for a new client

Last Sunday was the first time I witness and was a part of a pitch to gain a new client to the agency. It was quite an experience. Different people are selected from the agency to leave their current responsibilities and focus totally on the pitch and this potential new client. You sit together to research, analyze, brainstorm, and strategize on how you'll win this client over. To do that, you need to know everything about them, know where they want to head, know how to impress them, know what tools to use to do so, know which info is needed to be successful, and most importantly, be really motivated to get them! If you are not motivated, you wont appreciate the long hours, you wont be able to inspire the creative people to do their job, and you wont be able to show the client your enthusiasm for their products/services. You need to really think out of the box, be creative, and be innovative. Pitches are more than just wowing the client with your creative campaign, its also selling to them ALL you have to offer; from a competent, proactive, and passionate team, to the resources you have. Its your job to show them ALL of what you've got. It was an exciting and intense few weeks preparing for it and I enjoyed every minute of it! I just hope going back to the daily office work wont be too much of a bore in comparison :P