So Oprah is turning 55 and she wants to do something special to celebrate this special birthday. a few years ago, I guess when she turned 50, she took all her employees and their families to an all paid expenses trip to Hawaii, so how can she top that this year?

Apparently; she can!!

So, ladies and gentlemen … Miss Winfrey is taking her 1700 employees and their families to Barcelona for a 3-day party, then this will be followed by a 10-day Mediterranean cruise that will take them from Spain to Italy to Turkey to Greece and then Malta, and yes, she is paying for everything and the word is that this will cost around $5,400 per person.

I wonder if she is going to distribute some of her favorite things to complete the charm!!

Good for the people who are working for her!!!

Source

This says it all …

and the second part:

You can get the original film here: http://www.crisisofcredit.com

It has been a very very long time since I blogged and I really miss it and miss all my friends and readers … I guess that when we get so busy with our work and life, we miss out on what makes us happy and things get complicated and it keep snowballing on us till we cannot change or it becomes so hard to do so …

Anyway … my long lost good friend Roba posted this great amusing article and I could not help myself

This is how I would have looked should I have lived in these decades …

1960

1962

1966

1968

1970

1972

1976

1978

1980

1984

1986

1990

1992

1994

1996

2000

LOLOLOL

Seriously; thank God the 80’s are over …

The funny thing though; I do remember the hairdo’s of the 90’s and I did look like this back then …

Too bad I don’t have a real photo of myself from that era … I bet I do; but I don’t dare admit it

This was so amusing … thank you Roba

Try for yourself … here is the link!

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???