I am off for a while…you all enjoy the loads of upcoming vacations..and Happy Everything 😀
Note to you: Mr. Gorgeous turned out to be too down to earth for my taste ;)!!
One reason why I love my job ;)
I heard the BESTest “good morning” ever today from the new DPM. 2asalaaaaaaaaaam…Mr. extremely handsome (not as in Brad Pitt but more of Keanu Reeves bas with dark blue/greysih eyes) arrived 2 days ago and today is his first day on board…this is the youngest DPM I’ve ever encountered in this program, they are always in their 50s, but this one is turning 33 in May…Surprise…surprise!! he is a fellow Gemini as well(yes, I already did my investigations ;).
Tab..I go ba2a 3ashan we have a welcome on board meeting 😉
Notes to self: UPDATED
– Relax!! take a deep breath….chill. Don’t get wrapped up in the craziness of everything.
– Don’t hold yourself responsible for all and everything..you are surrounded by adults who should know better and can mind their own business…take your hands off and enjoy being irresponsible for a bit.
– Unplug this litte brain of yours for a while, and embrace the dreamy world of deep sleep.
– Remember that it is always ok to make mistakes and you don’t have to beat the hell of yourself up for it. Genuinely apologize then move on. Don’t stop there…we are human beings, we are not meant to be flawless, all you need to do is figure out your mistake and avoid doing it again.
– All is fair in love and war.
– Get hold of yourself and your smile…don’t lose them no matter what…Seriously ya3ni, what’s with the drama queen!!! shoot her in the head..enough is enough.
– Don’t expect a lot from people. You should have learned this by now.
– Note to self and Nag: Frog princes and happy endings do exist
– It is not worth it PRESS DELETE.
Ice-o-lation
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary-wise what it is, it wouldn’t be. and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” Said Alice
You see!! This is how messed up I am these days. Can’t keep up with the roller-coaster!! I lost the person that I was, and am becoming more of a scary creature made of ice. It is freaking the hell out of me. I can’t control it, sometimes I go like… this is just gonna help me out, I gotta change be someone I never was, and never wished to be. Bas, at some_other_times I look inside and fail to relate.
On the Egyptian Constitutional Referendum
Tomorrow is the big day (although the referendum had originally been expected to be held on 4 April 2007).
We only have two options; either to act positively, or submit to the boycott call .
ECWR Press Conference: Making Our Streets Safer for Everyone
ECWR is pleased to invite you to a press conference marking the conclusion of the first phase of our campaign against sexual harassment, Making Our Streets Safer…For Everyone.
The conference will cover the following topics:
- The results of our analysis of over 2500 sexual harassment complaints that we’ve received;
- Our report on sexual harassment laws in six countries (Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India, France, and United Kingdom), as well as relevant articles from the Egyptian penal code; and
- The components of our campaign, including:
1) Legal Advocacy: Does Egypt need new legislation to stop sexual harassment or are the existing articles of the Egyptian penal code enough?
2) Media & NGOs: How can we impact public opinion and influence local communities?
3) Youth: How can we best involve youth in our efforts to stop sexual harassment?
The conference will take place on Saturday, March 24, 2007 at the Pyramisa Hotel, Versailles Hall, in Dokki, beginning at 10:30 AM.
We feel strongly that your participation in this event will greatly enhance the quality of our discussion. We would greatly appreciate your attendance.
For more information please contact us at ecwr@link.net
ECWR Chair
Nehad Abul Komsan
Lawyer
Making Our Streets Safer … For Everyone
In response to complaints from many women detailing increased suffering and incidences of sexual harassment in our streets, ECWR began to organize a campaign to stop sexual harassment. For a year and a half now, since October 2005, we have carried out activities for the first phase of this campaign against street harassment. This phase has included volunteer participation in each of its processes, including:
- Distributing and collecting questionnaires that ask women and girls about their stories or experiences with sexual harassment. This information has been used to prepare meaningful statistics in support of this campaign. Over 2500 questionnaires were collected, narrating some of the many miserable stories of sexual harassment;
- Building a network of twenty-five NGOs;
- Reaching out to media and journalists (including Dream, Orbit and Channel 2) to host on-air discussions about sexual harassment and to raise awareness of the issue amongst the greater public as well as the media itself;
- Consulting with almost 100 volunteers to take suggestions and develop innovative ideas;
- Completing a study of sexual harassment laws from six other countries, and providing a report in both Arabic and English; and
- Cooperating with a marketing company who volunteered to develop contacts with the campaign sponsors and help plan our public awareness activities.
In addition to hearing the results of the first phase, attendees will have the opportunity to express their opinions on the next phase, and reflect on the emerging constitutional amendments.
We feel that presenting the results of this first phase of our work is a step in the direction of making our streets safer for everyone. Cooperation with NGOs, the media and the concerned authorities is crucial to developing public awareness. We hope to direct the attention of different populations and communities (such as youth, men, women and students) to understanding their roles in promoting awareness of this trend and efforts to change it, and to direct concern about women and girls on the streets of Egypt into constructive advocacy to shape the law in this regard.
Everybody is free to wear Sunscreen
Or the Sunscreen song by Baz Luhrmann’s. The song is considered the most successful form of Mary Schmich’s essay “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997. At some point the article was also circulated in the form of a forwarded email.
I actually find it pretty interesting, not so many people are fond of it though.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The
long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the
rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now.Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh, never mind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust
me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you
can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you
really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective
as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles
in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the
kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are
reckless with yours.
FlossDon’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re
behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in
doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the
most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with
their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you
won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on
your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself
too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are
everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of
it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own.
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people
most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold
on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older
you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in
Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when
you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children
respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe
you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from
the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen
El Korba Festival 2007: talk about positive energy
,
People from different age groups and back grounds all gathered in one of Heliopolis’s oldest and most unique districts “El Korba”….cafes put out tables and chairs for people to enjoy the open air, kids and adults were drawing on the streets, puppets dancing and mingling with the crowds….books booths along the sidewalks, fine arts students were painting and exhibiting their art works, flourists competed in displaying their beautiful collections, and let me tell you some were really impressive.
The common factor was the energy that filled the air, the smile on every face adult or a child…every body was enjoying a free space. Given the crowds I thought there would be lots of harassement, but no one complained about that either….however, I think there should have been more CANDIES for the kids ya3ni!!! Imagine a festival without cotton candy!!!
Update: more photos here
Nerro
TGI Friday ;)
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love you, tomorrow
You’re always a day away
For sure I love tomorrow, it is FRIDAY, and I will get to sleeeeeeeeeeeep. Anywayz, tomorrow there will be a few cool events keda to attend.
1) El Korba Street Festival (Spring 2007 Festival): From 1 – 7 pm. The festival includes a book fair and flowers display, Wust El Balad & Black Tema will pefom there as well.
2) 6 pm @ el Sakia, Don’t miss Emi’s Exhibition…mmmmm..I mean Egypt Photographers annual Exhibition.
3) Storry Telling Performance at the Kotob Khan “What Shahrazad has not said”..the performance starts @ 8 pm
Cool awi….yalla I go…and you enjoy and have the nicest weekend ever,
Nerro xxxx
Publicizing the Private: Egyptian women bloggers speak out
Here is a link for Sharon Otterman’s Article in Arab Midea and Society about the Egyptian Female bloggers.
“Sharon is a contributing editor for Arab Media & Society. She has spent the last year and a half researching and writing articles about women and political reform in Cairo. Her articles have been published by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Times, and United Press International. A Fulbright scholarship winner, she holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University” .
A pretty short ride
Can’t get myself to concentrate, am blank and tearful since morning. M (office mate) showed up at work after being absent for more than a week now, last week we got to know that his wife was sick and he was off as he wanted to take her to doctors w bta3. Later we found out that she has been diagnosed with Brain Cancer.
When I saw him this morning, I felt as if am seeing a total stranger, he is not the same M…he lost a lot of weight and probably lost his spirit along the away….wanted to tell him hang on and be strong keda..but couldn’t!!
A few days ago they were thinking their child’s first Birthday party, and today what are they thinking!!
The other day we were talking and laughing in the phone and we were planning for a gathering, now am avoiding picking up his phone when he is not around.
K and I have been trying to put a smile on his face since morning and we managed to for a few minutes however, this is not gonna change anything. May God keep her safe and sound for her husband and little boy.
Pray for her,
N
From Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman
The tiger put Cinnamon’s hand into his.
“Pain,” said the tiger, and it extended one needle-sharp claw into Cinnamon’s palm. It pierced her soft brown skin, and a bead of bright blood welled up.
Cinnamon whimpered.
“Fear,” said the tiger, and it began to roar, starting so quietly you could scarcely hear it, working its way up to a purr, then a quiet roar, like a distant volcano, then to a roar so loud that the palace walls shook.
Cinnamon trembled.
“Love,” said the tiger, and with its rough red tongue it licked the blood from Cinnamon’s palm, and licked her soft brown face.
“Love?” whispered Cinnamon, in a voice wild and dark from disuse.
And the tiger opened its mouth and grinned like a hungry god; which is how tigers grin.
NOTE: this is sort of my current mental and emotional state, I’ve been through a painful break up, I was practically torn into pieces, then I was afraid of losing faith in love, hope, and tomorrow…but now I feel loved 😀
Am a heck of a lucky girl because I have some beautiful friends and loved ones in my life…THANK YOU 😀
Back with a flu
I Can’t really believe that I will have to wake up tomorrow morning and go to work!!! every single muscle and joint in my body hurts, and I have a sore throat… come on…I need a weekend 🙂
Anyway, the trip was super cool as expected…..getting consciously lost in there is just AWESOME.
Memorable moment: Sunset on Stanley Bridge, you know when the sun is really red and spreading those redish rays on the blue sky, and you just keep wondering how this spectacular surreal painting will just turn into dark black!!
Speaking of Stanley Bridge (this is a question to Askandarani & Hesham): would taking a cab from the bridge to Costa sound pretty unusaul??
The trip highlights:
– Breakfast @ the Brazilian Coffee…where the place has totally lost its essence…still you can figure out you are so close by its distinctive odor.
– Meeting Me , that was really cool 🙂
– Visited Cavafy’s house, the National Museum, the Greco Roman Museum. Actually had the chance to watch a documentary “Mystery of the Nile” in the Library’s planetirium (speaking of which: don’t we have planeteriums in Cairo!!), then a quick tour in Shady Abdel Salam’s hall.
Bas keda ba2a 🙂
The drama queen returns – Part II
Spring:
People around me are celebrating the coming of the alleged springy spring (this could be an Oxymoron…right!!). nefsy afham what’s so cool about allergy, heat waves, and Khamaseen!!!
I am done with all this sweet talk about Spring ba2a seriously, if I heard one more word about the splendor of this season, I will announce its official demise*.
* Note to you: I can officially do this as I am no longer the queen of the pink planet, hallelujah earth people :)..Nerro moved to planet earth and invaded Heliopolis (sabekan), the Pink Province 7aleyan.
A Thought:
Some people steps in your life and leave you with this big gash, an emotional gash, the type of gash that would hurt even after it heals, coz it simply keeps you vigilant, skeptic, and as away as possible from any human interaction. In such instances, one can’t think “clemency”, or that’s what I assume…no matter how hard you try. However, you surrender to your Karma, coz it will eventually find its way back.
Long Weekend:
I decided to treat myself to a long eventful/joyful weekend as I am extremely exhausted (mentally and emotionally) that is!!
Vanilla Talk:
Read Omar’s Hawaki Re7to Vanilia (this just made my day).
Love,
N
Nermeena 
