Yesterday; I passed by my friend at the Flavors Coffee Shop in Abdoun Mall where they have a small aquarium …

To tell you the truth; the last time I saw it I was really surprised at the size of the golden fish they have and I did not know that there are some golden fish of that size. There was this small lobster always at the bottom and I caught it n camera as it surfaced to the top which was another surprise because these species love staying at the bottom hidden between the rocks.

So as I was saying, when I passed by yesterday I found that they have added a huge fish from this brand that cleans the aquarium but it was sinking below and not doing anything … we thought that she was just getting used to the environment. A few minutes later; we saw the lobster attacking the new fish, it held the tail with its clamps and started biting and eating bits of that tail … I was so taken aback that I took my camera out and shot the whole scene …

The lobster would not budge no matter how hard we tried to scare it away by knocking on the glass so they had to intervene by entering a long stick to force the lobster to let go of the poor fish that could not move throughout the whole ordeal …

After all, size did not matter here … that little thing was so determined and would not be distracted at all … isn’t nature a strange magnificent thing?!!

It is not a surprise nor is it a shock to expect violations from valet parking personnel such as taking something from your car (which the valet company is NOT responsible for) or they can take a ride in your car (unless you know the reading on your gas meter and your mileage meter … seriously, how would you know??)

We have seen this happen in movies all too many times, but it is happening right at home dear folks … yes; you heard that right: valet parking is the newest way for car theft in Amman!!

It happened to my sister’s friend … she was going to this store in Sweifieh where they have valet parking service and as usual; she handed her car to this gentlemen dressed in a uniform and he even gave her a number for her car. Not suspecting anything; she went in the store and continued her trip as she planned it; what she did not plan or anticipate was that she would not find her very expensive car when she went out because the guy simply took it and run!!!

Seriously now; do you remember the face of the guy who takes your car to park it for you? Would you be able to describe him to the police if needed? Do you even look at the guy’s face to begin with?

Come to think of it; we have become victims to our own convictions that this is a safe service just because it is provided by reputable institutions and we never question the possibility that something bad might happen … we do not double check if the person taking our car is actually a part of the crew hired for that specific job … I mean when we go to crowded places like Mecca Mall for example; more often than not, you are required to wait till one of the valet personnel is available to take your car because they are busy running around to park or bring other cars, so hypothetically speaking; anyone can come to you and pretend he is one of the crew and take your car and run away!!!

The VIP service is turning out to be not so VIP after all and that we should not feel so privileged as we willingly hand over our cars to some stranger to park it right next to where we can park it ourselves!!!

On another note; if and when a car is stolen by impersonating a valet personnel, what is the liability of the valet company or the institution providing the service?? Should they be legally liable? Do they even check the backgrounds of the personnel doing this job before hiring them? What precautions can we take into consideration as we go for this service?

I say we park our cars on our own even if takes more time and more distance to do so because I bet it does not feel good to lose your car in such a humiliating manner.

I quote Greg Gagliardi in his article: Valet Parking: Theft with Consent

“That’s right — valet parking is the one time when we are basically telling a stranger, “Go ahead, steal my car. I trust that it’ll be here later.” And sure, virtually 100% of the time it is. But what about that 0% of the time when your car just isn’t there and that valet parker turns out to be a person who knows how to find the appropriate attire online? Furthermore, what is the guarantee that your stuff inside the car will still be there? This is a time period when the valet can do anything he wants with your car — change the radio station, eat your food, kill your friend still sitting in the passenger seat — so we need to think more carefully about why we continue to utilize this system…” [Source…]

So, valet parking anyone???

Every time I travel, I find myself thinking of the many hazards that one faces when roaming the globe, starting from flying all the way to food poisoning, getting ripped off, accidents … etc.
One thing keeps popping in my mind though, and that is the hazards that we face by staying at hotels and eating out through the trips. It is true that we will be staying in 5 stars hotels most of the time, however; are all the workers in these hotels 5 star material or not??

The minute I walk in a hotel room, I check the cleanliness of the bed sheets, the bathroom and the glasses. Call me paranoid, but who knows how this room was cleaned after all?

Cleaning staff in hotels, workers and chefs in restaurants, they all have been portrayed and stereotyped in movies and stories as careless most of the time and that many of them (not all) are mad at something and they get it out on the customer when he/she cannot see them. So, if a customer asks to change the order after it was brought and verbally complains about anything, we find the waiter or the chef behind scenes doing something bad to the order before bringing it out, like spitting in the drink and stirring it so that nothing suspicious shows; just how many times did we see that in the movies? Could it be that this is only a fictional scene from the author’s mind or could it be a reflection of the truth??!!!

And what about workers in the kitchen not wearing gloves while preparing our food? How do we know where these hands were before starting our meals? I remember that in one of those restaurants where you can actually see the cooking taking place in front of you, we noticed that the guy was preparing our salad with his glove-less hands and we immediately asked that he wears glove and start a new salad dish; could we have been paranoid or was that the right thing to do???!!!

The studies and observations show that one cannot be too careful when staying and eating out because it is a human thing and a lot of people in this world are not accountable nor they are trustworthy of doing their job properly, which ends up in spreading disease and causing health problems to others. Some people are careless enough to pull jokes and pranks about this like when someone says he is allergic to peanuts and another pours some peanut butter in his food to see if he is telling the truth or not … imagine if he really does have allergy and he eats the contaminated food, he could die because of a sick joke … I think I have seen this on one of CSI’s episodes but it was fish allergy!!

What about housekeeping in hotels; I mean these workers come into your room when you are out of it and they clean it without being supervised, do they use gloves when cleaning the toilet? Do they change the gloves when cleaning glasses? Do they not wear gloves at all? Do they run through your stuff and snoop around in your luggage? Do they use your clothes, makeup, or perfume? How can we know that the “Maid in Manhattan” scene is not happening every day or every hour for that matter? Just because it was Jennifer Lopez actually stealing and trying the clothes, it does not make it OK … that was wrong and immoral regardless of how much I like JL!!!

As for me, I really keep my stuff in my bag and I keep it locked, so I try to take clothes that do not need ironing so that I can wear them comfortably … maybe I am being paranoid here but I cannot accept the idea of stranger hands running and searching through my clothes and stuff … I keep remembering that housekeeper in “The Last Holiday” when Queen Latifa asked her if she went through her stuff and she replied: I go through everybody’s stuff!!!

Just to give you another perspective about this issue, please watch the following movie and keep it in your mind when you are traveling …

Scary, ha??
I wish you safe and happy traveling folks!!!

This is super cute and I keep watching it over and over …

Watching these otters holding hands and showing this kind of affection makes me wonder … do we give animals enough credit? I think I am developing a new respect to these creatures … look how cute they are!!!

Simply Amazing!!!

Listen to the this short clip and watch carefully …

Now please take the poll and send your feedback …

You are all invited to take part of this event

It has been a bit over 10 years since I graduated university. Although I still remember it as if it was yesterday, I have to acknowledge the years’ effect on me … what 10 years can do to a person is tremendous if you come to think of it.

I was going through Layalina Magazine the other day and I came across a page where they featured the American School Reunion for the class of 1991. If I had been in that school, I would have attended that reunion, but some of my college colleagues were there and I could recognize a lot of the photos.

When you look at yourself in the mirror every day, you will not notice the age lines that form on your face with the passing years and you will not see the big difference until someone points it out to you. When I looked at these familiar faces in the magazine, I was shocked as they looked really older, they were not necessarily old and senile, but they looked so mature, tired and older. So I started saying to myself: WOW! If they have changed that much, I must have changed as well and if they were to see me now, they would be as surprised as I am!!!

I remember these guys when we were attending lectures and labs together, how they used to chase each other in the faculty corridors and halls, how we went together on picnics and played ball and sang together. I remember how we studied together and revised our answers after each exam and how we teased each other when we got the results and some had really high grades … it all seems like yesterday when I remember these things and now when I look at their images … I see my own reflection only 10 years later

It is really funny what a year can do to us, how about 10!!

It seems to me that time is flying and sometimes I even feel that I lost some stages in my life in my memory, as if I cannot locate a face or an event. During these 10 years, I met thousands of people, I traveled many places, worked in many companies and in many fields, fell in and out of love, formed many friendships, matured in my emotions and feelings … all that and as much as I feel that I have changed inside, when I go back 10 years, I am that young girl who did not know what the future was hiding for her …

Strange feelings of nice memories and even stranger feelings of realizing that I am no longer that young girl … I realized that I am a different person altogether and if I were to attend such a reunion, I probably would not get along with my old colleagues and friends especially that each went his/her own way after graduation. We met randomly along the years, but it was awkward and brief.

10 years would change us both physically and mentally … I wonder what things would be like 10 years from now … would I look at my current friends and get that distant feeling of nice times we had together? Or would I still have them on my side where we can look back together and capture those distant moments and smile about it? I guess only another 10 years would tell!!!

Yesterday, I went out with a friend of mine to one of the prominent coffee shops in Mecca Mall. You see, we like going there because it has large windows and we can sit inside while breathing fresh air and they make great coffee, so there we were on one of our favorite tables and peacefully munching our dinner when a guy and two girls came in and sat right in front of us.

Now, there isn’t anything strange about this scene as many people go out in groups and eat or drink; this is really not the issue. What was really obvious is that the guy formed a couple with one of the girls and the other girl was there like a third wheel, but that also is normal … I mean you can go out with your girlfriend and her friend might/can tag along, so we are still OK …

Some time went by and then we noticed that the girl was all touchy feely with the guy; she would put her hand over his, or just makes sure that she touches all the skin on his arm when she extends her hand to get a tissue or whatever … it was too obvious that we could not NOT notice, but we brushed it off …

After a while, the guy started touching back, by pinching a cheek here or holding a hand there … then she would sneak her hand under his arm in an attempt to hold his other hand or just touch it lightly … but we said to ourselves, well; maybe we are just too old fashioned or maybe this is the new trend in dating in Amman … who knows?

Then we noticed that there was a whole other scene under the table … they were seriously all over each other … she would but her feet over his, or he would touch her leg, or she would cross her legs only to touch him on the knee with her foot … and I was “this” close to shouting: get a room, will ya?!!!

Not only is this action tasteless and shameless, but it is also strange to happen in a public place in a mall … I am not that naive and I know that there are places where such things happen but certainly not in a coffee shop in a mall with very clear sharp lights and while you are seated very close to the next table … I mean come on! When did we lose all manners and morals … will someone tell me: is this normal???

What is happening to this generation? Even if they were engaged or married, does this justify such behavior? Is flirtation a part of dating these days? Have we become like western countries where the date should end with a kiss at the door? If this girl was seen by her father, brother or even her cousin while she was all over that guy, would she continue what she was doing without even blinking or would she worry that there would be severe consequences? If that guy saw his sister or even cousin in the position of the girl who was with him, I wonder how he would react!!

In a community that is drowning in double standards and culture of shame, it comes as a shock that we see such behaviors in public places which makes me wonder, did people stop caring suddenly? Or did the standards change? Or are we getting into a new era that has no limits or boundaries???? :S

I could not believe it when I first read this ad, but there it was with all its glory staring me in the face …

so there you have it my friends, if you want a VAN … all you have to do is buy a TV

For those who cannot read Arabic; the ad says that you get a FAN if you buy a TV, but somehow the FAN turned into a VAN for my amusement

Enjoy!!

In a world where women are labeled as bad drivers and ignorant about cars and their mechanics; I came across a piece of information that shows that we are not that far off the road. Women actually have a very interesting history with cars as an invention and they participated successfully to making this invention a better more convenient one.

It goes like this:

In 1903, Mary Anderson invented the windshield wipers.
Cleaning Up With Automobile Patents

In an era when women were not even acknowledged in some countries as “persons” and still didn’t have the vote, they managed to get their foot in the door of what is now considered a male domain - that of the automobile.

Way back in 1903, Mary Anderson invented windshield wipers, before Henry Ford ever put a Model T on the road. That’s because Mary had been on a streetcar in New York, and noticed how the driver had to lean out to clean the windows when it was raining. So she created a lever-operated arm that would scrape back and forth across the glass on the outside, while the operator remained dry inside the car. It was a success, and by 1916, all cars would be using the new fangled things to sweep aside the showers. The first automatic windshield wipers were the brainchild of Charlotte Bridgewood, president of her own manufacturing company. Unfortunately, the roller-based gear was not a success but it opened the door for other inventors.

Women took the automobile industry for quite a ride, including Helen Blair Bartlett, a geologist who invented new insulations for spark plugs. Marion Donovan, better known for inventing plastic baby pants to cover cloth diapers, was the first one to install a gimbaled boat ring in her car to hold cups.

And they were just the Jill-Come-Latelys. Because in 1871, Augusta M. Rodgers received a patent for a car heater. [Source]

Now isn’t that refreshing? Can you imagine your car without windshield wipers? or without a heater for that matter? I would confidently say that these were two great additions to an already wonderful creation of human creativity and innovation …

However; this brings something to mind; why don’t we see such great inventions these days? or are we now so used to technology that we don’t notice anymore? Are we lost among all those microchips, computers, software, car brands and blenders that a new comer does not make a bang as its ancestors used to? OR are we just out of good ideas?

What do you think?