Today was my birthday and I realized that people do not change as much as we would like to believe; they will still do that same things they always did and to a large extent, they become predictable to those around them, but again; isn’t that what we call characteristics of a personality??

I have come to find that jealous people will always envy you for what you have even if it was a piece of crap … selfish people will never learn how to give to others … angry people will never calm down and they will always find a way to make your life miserable because that is what they do … We will always lose friends to marriage … we will always have fights with our families … we will always feel stupid after we say something we don’t want to say … and it feels really silly that I am not able to talk about what is really bothering me …Do people change?

I vote … NO

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Life is all about surprises and mysteries. Sometimes you can actually explain some of the things that happen to you but most of the time, you just can’t.
As I sit here in the hotel lobby watching the Nile from the big French windows and enjoying the wonderful weather in Cairo, I looked around and started mentally noting down some of the not so common observations and I thought why not randomly script them down in a post?? It would be really good to remember these moments when I read this a few months or years down the line!!!

People here are smiling all the time which makes me feel a bit sad for our people in Jordan as we are frowning most of the time and we do not smile that often. So what makes these people all that smiley?? People are poor here and at home, they all talk politics just like back home, they have a far more horrific and heavy traffic than back home and Cairo is really big and overly populated than back home, so what do they have that we don’t and makes them smile? Is it the food? Water? Nature? Scenery? What makes them happy and us grumpy??? I really wonder …

Almost everyone smokes here … they smoke cigarettes, cigars, argeeleh, weed … etc.
The hold the cigarette as if they are nurturing it and they know that it is killing them but they love it. They want to have the liberty to smoke anywhere and at anytime which resembles people back home but I guess that we got used to the fact that more and more places are becoming smoke free and in my opinion; this is a blessing!!

I noticed that a lot of guys are holding man-purses here and I don’t see that in Amman. Can anyone tell me if this is a trend now???

Traveling in business class was REALLY GOOD 

Traffic is a killer here … I literally preferred to have all my meetings in the hotel instead of wasting a good 2-3 hours on commuting back and forth between the hotel and the office and by that I saved almost 12 hours in my short stay … not bad, ha?

People here have a problem in showing up to meetings on time … they are always late!!! There was only the lawyer that we are dealing with; he is really punctual and professional and this is really good because it will not force me to keep dragging my appointment till after midnight and yeah, they really do not have a problem in working that late!!!

A lot of people here are constantly high on something!!!

The Nile is magical!!

They really have great shoes and handbags here … simply amazing!!

Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel is great and I have a wonderful room with a great view on the 16th floor … I wish I could take this view back home … we really need nicer views with water resources back home … wish that was possible!!

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?!!

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???

Sometimes there aren’t enough words to describe what we are witnessing and what the news keep shoving down our throats every morning till we reached a point that nothing surprises us anymore, but what is happening in Gaza comes as a shock that leaves the majority of us speechless and helpless …

In a time and life that human rights are becoming a major factor in how societies are governed … in a world that the international community is judging the backward Middle East because of honor crimes, poverty, violence against women and primitive culture … the same community is standing still to watch as Gaza is being crucified and executed … it is cold and they don’t have heat … they are cut out from the rest of the world … and as well as they are dying by bullets and military attacks; they are also being killed by hunger and cold …

I choose to raise my voice to say STOP … ENOUGH … Life is not a game and just because they reside in Gaza … it does not make their lives of any less value than any other human in any part of the world …

Do you still wonder why Amman is the most expensive capital in the Arab World???

Tribute to all moms … enjoy it and learn to appreciate your moms and wives … and to all the moms out there; you should be really proud of yourselves … bless you

Great, ha???

:D

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!!!

Maybe that’s why we stopped enjoying life as we are supposed to, we no longer stop to smell the roses because we have to reach the destination or goal before time ticks ending our chance or before someone else reaches it and takes our catch … we have become so competitive that we do not care about how we do things as long as we win in the end … we no longer feel good because we finished a project or reached a goal … we feel good because we did that before someone else did or before the deadline …

We do not enjoy the ride, we do not pay attention to the good things around us because we are so focused on ending before it is too late as if we are being chased or pushed to do these things … we tend to forget that when we work, we do that for ourselves and no one else, we are the ones who benefit and learn … but shouldn’t we enjoy that as well??

Time flies and never stops for anything or anyone … it is the only thing that keeps moving despite all changes and factors … it affects things and people but does not get affected … it is the material of our lives yet we are willingly sacrificing it to do things that don’t really matter … we try to convince ourselves that we are doing what we have to do but how sincere and honest are we in confronting ourselves when it comes to how we invest in our time??

I know I have been truly busy lately and things were too cluttered in my mind and around me, but the reason that I cannot complain about it is that I am truly enjoying my crazy times … I am working with people that I admire and learn from and such professional atmosphere is a dream come true for someone like me … I have been working, traveling and spending more time with family and friends … I lost some friends and gained new ones … as we grow older, our choosing criteria become different and more specific … we become more clear on what works for us and what doesn’t and what crowd to hang out with and what crowd to stay away from … we become less tolerant when it comes to our beliefs because we already established a strong base on which we build further … it is not time to put foundations because this is done already and now it is time to build and grow …

2007 is ending … as I review it; I realize that I have achieved big milestones and a lot more smaller ones … so many events took place … I met a lot of new people and befriended them … some of them became best friends … some friends magically dropped out and are no longer a part of my life; by choice or not, it does not matter really as the result is the same … some friends were estranged and I do not see them as much as I would love to but the beauty of the friendship is that no matter how we stay away; when we do meet; it is like we were never apart!!

Crazy times are ruling our lives but the way to deal with it in my opinion, is to enjoy the ride while it lasts

Happy Eid to everyone …

It is true that starting a blog is not that hard, but the maintenance needs a passion for writing and some spare time on your hands to keep in touch with your friends and readers … I admit that I have been under-performing lately … I just don’t know how time flies … I start my day in the morning and one thing after the other … poof … it is time to go home … how crazy is that??

I have enjoyed my two years of blogging and the most important advantage … besides speaking my mind of course … is meeting all those great people that I miss dearly and haven’t seen in a long time … I am glad that November is coming to an end because it was a crazy month by all means … so many things have happened and now it is time to cool down with December and its Eid, Christmas and holidays …

To all my friends and readers … I love you very very very much and I miss you all

Thank you for keeping up with me