insights...

2010-05-21T05:55:00.002+04:00

Blogging from Abu Dhabi Airport

2010-05-21T05:37:00.002+04:00

Here we meet again, in the same old place, Abu Dhabi airport, the place that first time i visited had no idea i would be seeing so much of, but a different plan was being drafted.

Here i am again, sitting at the same spot i was sitting around 3 years ago, where we were heading to Morocco with another 11 most talented AIESEC Jordan members!! how much has it changed? not that much that you will notice it, but now they have chairs at the place we spent 6 hours mopping the floor with our tired asses.

Through last year i have traveled back and forth to Abu Dhabi from Amman around 5-6 times, and everytime i walk inside this airport, its the same feeling over and over again, a feeling of me being challenged, and a new opportunity.

My flight to morocco around 40 months ago was one of my first trips abroad, and i have just being selected as MCe for AIESEC Jordan! and was cheif delegate for a group of an amazingly smart individual, and i had to keep playing smart and practice all kind of tips and tricks to keep things alligned and to somehow challenge my new role and adapt to this responsibility, hence started the golden era of my life (also known as ex-golden era, as i got married now adn this is my golden era, right babe :)).

Right there and then i realized it will be so awesome, yet it will not be easy, wondering around the green, yellowesh, blue cieling of the airport, adn counting my next steps and stops, and planning my year ahead is what i had in my mind while sitting here for almost 6-8 hours on a transit waiting for the flight, and now everytime i walk around here and i look around i remember those moments, the moments of challenge, where i was really young and i really wanted to take a taste of the great drink of success.

More to come later, out for a smoke! :)

...another morning

2009-11-16T09:45:00.002+04:00

...another violence victim, another swine flu victim, another gas price scale, another big controversy about street signs, another lame excuse for the municipality, another police violence, another investment on hold, another suicide attempt and another day missing the kid! Just another day.. Saba7 el Watan ElJameel!

deja vous at the Jordanian Embassy in UAE

2009-08-16T13:16:00.000+04:00

...and as usual the endless over rated bureaucracy continues...

Sketch 1:
(..a noisy loud -dressed in formal- sarcastic individual, that all documents has to pass through, next to him is sitting a quite coffee sipping -dressed in formal- dont give a crap, totally useless employee checking random websites and it goes like this..)
Me: Sir i would like to get an official authorization document to send to Jordan.
Him: Of course why not, what do you want from me?
Me: A little help!!
Him: write it and give it to me, pay and i will stamp it!
Me: Do you have a template for should i write? Should i phrase it in a special way?
Him: No just do it and give it to me fast coz am busy.
Another employee: We have a template give him a paper
(and i take the paper)

Him: You need two witnesses to sign their names there.
Me: Of course i do, no problem (smiling face)

.. and so i write it down and i sign it from two random Jordanian citizens that happened to be around me, and i hand it back.

Him: Let the witnesses write their names of 4 syllables
Me: Of course am sorry (Still smiling face)
(.. and so i try to find those two, and i manage to, though one of them got super worried that he decided to take off his signature of the document :S and i had to redo the whole thing..)
...35 minutes later

Sketch 2:
(not i have the documents signed and everything, of course i have two copies, as i had to find a new trusty witness to sign the document, without reading it :)
and we are back again..
Me: Sir i have all documents signed, and i need to submit it please, coz i have to get back to work asap.
Him: Good you all are always in a hurry, you have to pay 204 AED (55 $)
Me: :) then :| then :S and finally :(
Him: Whats wrong?! you dont want to pay
Me: no but its too much just to sign a freaking document
Him: this is the procedure.
...Then he starts talking to the next "customer"!!
Me: WAIT! i dont have the money now, can i submit it and pay when i pick it up? (hopeful face)
Him: (sarcastic face) Of course not :) this is the procedure and we have to respect the rule.

(So i had to go back home after almost an hour of running around with all the documents in my hand, to come submit it the next day)

Sketch 3:
(..Loaded with money, hope and like 350 documents i come back the next day)
Me: Hellooo its me again you remember me.
Him: Of course, do you have the money?
Me: (helpless face) yes i do.
Him: good give me the documents.
(And so i hand him the documents and 3 seconds later)
Him: You didnt put a passport copy with the documents, i cant accept it.
(this threw me over the edge, i dont have the passport copy, the closest place to print the soft copy i have on my flash drive is like 20 minutes away and its like 44 C degrees outside)
Me: (Confused, angry and helpless face)
A Nice Lady: pssst, i can help you, give me the soft copy i will print it from inside and give it to you, but you need to give me like 10 minutes)
ME: THANK YOU :)
.. and i wait 15 minutes and finally i have it
Me to Him: Here you go, all filled and ready :) (happy winning face)
another 3 seconds later
Him: (sarcastic face) the date is wrong, you have to fill it again and find yourself two witnesses
Me:!
(.. another 30 minutes of running around and convincing people to sign it and witness something they have no idea about)
(..Now am sure i have it ready! and i reach for the window again)

Sketch 4:
He is not there, he disappeared and nobody knows where is he!

17 minutes later...

Sketch 5:
Me: (now very pissed and bitching all over) WHERE THE HELL IS HE?
Silent employee raises his head: he is busy.; and then goes slowly back to checking random websites.
Me: SHOUTING...
10 minutes later, they call me inside :)
and they send me to his office (the bastard had an office)
slowly walking towards the office, filled with hate and anger, and ready to explode, and then there the usual scene reveals itself

Sketch 6:
(...he is sitting all turkey like, and on the opposite side of his desk, sitting a lady that had a problem, pretty sure something similar to mine!! but she is getting a private consulting and an office time while all other "customers" are piled up outside waiting for his highness to come back to his work!! (..walking inside, a look here and there inside the offices, people chatting, laughing, drinking coffee, reading news, doing anything but work! at that very moment, i got so home sick :) it reminded me of all governmental offices we have there, down to the very last character and detail..)
Him: (all confident) What are you being so noisy about?
Me: (Throwing all the documents on his desk) I need your signature your highness. (very bitchy)
Him: (trying to avoid a conversation) am coming outside, lets take this to the window, and prepare your money (trying to be funny with a smiling face to avoid this red face with the bitchy tone)
Me: (Joker face! not a word)

Sketch 7:
(back to the window, me and him back again to the first set)
Me: here is the documents and the money (wishing he would pay this money for swine medicine at least)
Him: Come in 2-3 days
Me: I need a receipt
Him: no need.. NEXT!
(..people piling and stacking and throwing me away from the window)
ME: (dragging my legs outside and exhaling...) there is nothing like home :)

Cheers,

Following your steps ...traces disappear

2009-02-19T02:12:00.000+04:00

lady, my lady,
my precious everything,

there I say so long, with whats left of my strength I wave goodbye, holding myself up and watching you fading into the crowd... with a smudge of whats left of hope and faith whispering deep inside that you'll be back...

back into our own world, with its good and bad, with whatever we have grown and lived on, back to start that glorious life we have dreamed about... forming memories that will make it worth telling...

probably one of the most difficult decisions we ever made is to go for this solution, and thinking how much it sucks though its still needed...

watching you packing was torture, stuffing our memories there into your small bags taking it home was unbearable, having that yellow smile on my face that hides hundreds of unsaid words was my way of showing support... where i all i could think of is... whats next?

i envision whats next into two very different sights...

One as the first time i walked into that room after i dropped you off, amazing how a room so packed with stuff can still feel so sad and lonely... there where you had your naps after a hard working day, there where you had your earrings laying on that stand, your shoes hiding under that table, your cloths all over (tidily packed of course), your perfume scent in the air, and your spirit making that place alive...

Every corner of that house is missing your touch, the way you put things around, the way you yell for every mis-placed sock running away from you :) the way you make me buy and eat those vegetables :) the way you make sure i have my lunch box in the morning :)

Now am left with fast food, left with those vegetables packed in my fridge getting raw, left with what so called free time that makes it easier to start thinking things over and harder to think about us... left with those memories stacked in my head getting so special and much more beautiful... left with your embroidered little pillow staring up at me sadly in wonder of where have you gone

and as the music plays around, i miss that moment that we share cruising around and singing in laughter, now the streets looks empty in this dead city but from some stupid drivers unleashing their car horns shouting at me to move on and get going...

The second sight is the one that i can't even dare to start thinking about, as beautiful as it might look it would be stupid of me to over look this reality and start putting blocks on the clouds

Thank you RJ for the greatest gift, those 11KGs baby of your cloths that i had to take back with me home :)

with love
momani

Ramtha residents paint a donkey red to mark Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T14:55:00.001+04:00

AMMONNEWS— As many people reject the whole idea of celebrating Valentine's Day and consider the anniversary a useless and valueless event, others take the anniversary seriously and prepare intensively to express their love to their loved ones.

Viewpoints on the anniversary differ among people from all walks of life.

In the Ramtha district, 80 kilometres to the north of Amman, the celebration of the event was different this year as residents of Ramtha celebrated the event by painting a donkey red and placing it in the city centre for passers-by to see.

One of those who took part in painting the donkey was Ahmad Zu'bi, who said: "We painted the donkey with red to celebrate the event to show how ridiculous it is as if there is only one day to express love throughout the year.

Tens of passers-by gathered around the donkey to take photos.

AmoonNews.net

2009-02-14T23:07:00.000+04:00

Your life is more than you make it yourself,
more than what you make of yourself,
and much more of than what you make for yourself...

Its abit of what you make yourself for,
little bit of who you make yourself for,
and abit more of yourself making another life worth living and dying for...

Thank you for being an inspiration

insights...

2009-02-14T23:05:00.000+04:00

As it goes by, it gets going, more and more is happening, getting more complex yet much better, getting more busy yet achieving, its about time to glance back to those glorious moments and make it count.