Though I’ve sent in my photos to showcase the last couple of events, this time things were a bit different as legendary Alexander McNabb (yes he paid me to write that) has given me a dedicated screen to showcase my work. I took that challenge to create 10 new photos for the event, which I will upload to my photo blog soon. In the meantime you can read more about the photography aspect here. <<< how’s that for linking the whole sentence? Let’s see you tell me “I didn’t know I have to click on the here”

Anyhoo, one of the  highlights of the event was TEDxRamallah, dedicated to show inspiring stories of Palestine. For those not aware of TED Talks, they are basically conferences that are truly brilliant in nature that address almost anything you can think of, presented in a beautiful and intelligent way through speakers who know what they’re talking about. The best introduction to TED Talks is to go watch a conference yourself.

TEDxRamallah is an extraordinary effort that will defy odds by holding such a conference of the TED calibre in an occupied territory, the first of its kind. It’s being organized by Ramzi Jaber and the event will be taking place on the 9th of October of this year. If you know of speakers with inspiring stories residing within Palestine, please do not hesitate to contact them on their twitter account. You can also visit the homepage for more information. I personally would be on the lookout for this one as I am definite it will be an event unlike any other, one that would finally dissociate Palestine from destruction and show the brighter side of things, that of progress.

And now I will leave you with some photos from Geekfest!

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Of course, attending The Lost Fingers exclusive concert in Dubai (and they were an arm’s length away) was the highlight of the whole lot. There have been some off galleries here and there, some of them in ungodly places even, but at the end of the day it’s a good escape from an otherwise over industrious city.

I will be leaving you with some photos. And yeah Twitter is consuming a lot of my time, I will return slowly to blogging. Sorry about that!

Related posts:

1. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...
2. Honoring the 38th UAE National Day The UAE has been the media spotlight – both positive...
3. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

But today is the 38th UAE National Day, and these special occasions, like Eid and Thanksgiving and Christmas, are here to remind us of the greater good that we keep tucked in the shadows. For it is easy to dwell on our miseries and use them as our crutch to move forward, but it takes a movie scene, an Oprah episode or a family-feud-free-family-gathering to remind us that we have it good.

What has the UAE given me? A good beating! Yes, and I am thankful for it. Tough love is what everyone needs, and tough is what Dubai is about. Being exposed to so many cultures (and, seriously, there are just so many nationalities here) teaches you to be tolerant and respectful to people around you. It teaches you how to collaborate and communicate effectively in teams and with individuals. It gives you pleasure when expats greet you with “Eid Mubarak” and inform you – genuinely – that their perception of Arabs has significantly changed through their stay in Dubai. And it lowers the barrier of the “them vs us” concept, when we all hold hands together for a cause, raising awareness through marathons and walkathons around town.

On the sombre days, Dubai teaches you patience. It teaches you to network, to use your wits, to appreciate the value of money (and damn this city is expensive!). It shows you who your true friends are and how much value do you have in people’s lives, and they in yours. With Dubai’s every-changing population, and the tough competition – both on personal and career levels – it becomes quickly apparent who you should place your trust in.

But most of all, what I am truly thankful for is to be part of this “movement”, to celebrate the rise of a nation, no matter how much it stumbles on the way. When I have visitors over and show them around town, not all of them are impressed. “We have tall building in NY, so?”. Indeed, NY is a class of it’s own. But you won’t appreciate Burj Dubai unless you have seen it being built over the years, floor by floor. It’s difficult to appreciate or imagine that the 25km stretch of land between Dusit Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road and Jebel Ali was a desert only 7 years ago. It won’t make sense to an outsider as you describe how Garhoud Bridge was only three lanes, and how the 7 lane roads were 2-3 lanes only a few years back. It’s sounds ludicrous as you describe how one thing was here a few months back and now it shifted in its entirety to another location.

Yes, Dubai functions and looks like a living being. It evolves and changes – too rapidly sometimes – but you, too, grow with it, and grow to love it. I don’t know about you, but I feel a deep sense of pride when I show someone around town or talk about the city. There is a sense of awe as I drive around town at night or take a trip on the metro just for the heck of it, to see the city from a slightly higher altitude.

So yes, you can bash Dubai or the UAE as you like, come up with rhythmic news titles and call yourself an expert in laughing at Dubai’s constant stumbling about, mediocre media, censorship, and the cult that is known as Etisalat.

But what has your city done or achieved in 30 years? 10 years? Last year?

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’m charged $67.66 for a 1mb connection that feels like a 512 modem. I won’t even bother talking about the iPhone services as Zaher did a pretty good job in it.

The last three days I have been without internet connection, which isn’t a catastrophe per se as I can quickly adapt to the offline world, except that I needed to do some online research for my courses and upload the lectures for my classmates. Not to mention I needed to tweet that #etisalatsux but couldn’t.

picture break!

I call up customer support, tell them my problem, get a trouble ticket number and play the waiting game.

I call back two days later (see, I am not addicted, though I used the wireless connection in the mosque during Qiyam prayers to download my emails). And here is what happens:

Support IVR: All our customer support personnel are with other customers. Please hold as your call is important to us… *20 second break* … Dear customer, are you having internet connectivity problems? (me: huh? she knows?) Are you having difficulties opening websites or connecting to the internet? (me: she’s on to something!) Etisalat would like to introduce to you X software for free, to help  you diagnose and resolve your connection problems (me: here it comes!). Please go to our website at blablabla to download it.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT

Then I get a human customer support[er] who’s not that much better:

Me: Hi, I don’t have connectivity for the past yada days, and I called yada yada and my ticket is yada and my problem is yada
Support: Oh, sir well as you know it’s Saturday.
Me: So?
Support: Well the ticket was issued Thursday night and as you know Friday is off.
Me: I called in Thursday morning.
Support: But I have it here issued at night sir.
Me: *mumble* so when do I expect the connection to be back?
Support: Your request is now with the technician he will come any moment sir.
Me: kthxbye

So basically the guy from Thursday didn’t issue the ticket till night, probably so that he doesn’t have to keep following it up or something on the last day of the week. It’s partly karma cuz back in the previous jobs there were days where I finish a task at noon but didn’t feel like getting anything new on the last few hours of the week so I would send in a “YAY I JUST FINISHED!” email moments before I left the office.

And the guy didn’t come.

picture break!

Sunday, today, the techie came.

Techi: Mr. ;skdujfhpsudfh?
Me: huh?
Techie: Are you Mr. ;skdujfhpsudfh?
Me: No.
Techie: *hands over paper with all my details on it, except the name is incorrect*
Me: Yeah, the, uh, info is mine but the name is wrong.
Techie: Oh, sorry, I can’t fix your line.
Me: *gasp* WHY!
Techie: Cuz without the proper paper I cannot proceed working.
Me: huh? *gazes down on “how-to-fix-this” list* oh noes
Techie: plz call support
Me: yeah, sure, whatever, thx

How can they get this wrong. My account is in my name and is tied to my apartment and phone number and insurance and bank account and organ donation files and my contract with God. Exasperated, I call support. Evil Test : BTW it’s my birthday, just to make sure you read this to the end, stick “HB” letters in the middle of your replies.

IVR: Would you like to be a millionaire with our Rama-
Me: *bloop bleep bleep bloop bleep bloop* << I memorized the key sequence for the support guy
Support: *introduces self*
Me: Yeah, ticket number yada yada, I called yada yada and yada yada happened and this guy came in today and yada yada
Support: I’m sorry what’s the number you gave me?
Me: *breathes in* the trouble ticket number
Support: hold on sir *20 seconds* I’m sorry sir what ticket
Me: *recalls sections of don’t sweat the small stuff manual*. The t-r-o-u-b-l-e t-i-c-k-e-t numberrrrrr
Support: hold on sir *20 seconds* thank you for holding sir, just one moment sir *20 seconds* are you still with me sir? just hold a moment more please *20 seconds* yes sir wait please *20 seconds* I am logging out sir wait please (logging out of what?) *20 seconds* (are they on a friggin timer?)
Moogle: beye yaya ye beyombo bayaya
Support: Sir?
Me: nothing
Support: Ok sir, sorry for the inconvenience, I escalated this to management. Your new ticket number is blabla
Me: I appreciate the escalations and the ticket numbers but I reeeeeeeeeeally need the internet.
Support acting like an AAA offcial: It’s ok sir I understand we will send you help ASAP.
Me: So when do I eXXXXXpeKT this? *twitching lips*
Support: Oh well sir you know, it’s a process that has to go through the chain till it reaches the tech guy.
Me: riiiiiight. Ok bye *click*

Now I sort of sympathize with them because I came across a job offer for such a position in that company and if I took it I would be as grumpy as they are. Customer support is the first point of contact between customers and the company itself. They represent the company and its value and therefore I believe it’s important to keep the customer support staff happy.

picture break!

Now those are an unhappy bunch with unhappy customers. But, where else can we go?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Iftar, by the way, was absolutely fantastic. If you’re desperately hungry, moryarti won’t disappoint (except that he didn’t prepare chocolate shots and is currently holding my camera hostage).

Anyhow, for those not in the know, today marks the historic opening of the troubled Dubai Metro. Though metros are nothing new in other places of the world, it has been the talk of residents here for 4 years – not in a good way most of the time. Laying out the infrastructure led to often catastrophic temporary (as in 1-2 year) diversions and new road layouts. Trips into the heart of the city (Deira and Bur Dubai) have become a daily nightmare – and if it were not for God’s gift of patience to me I would have left the country a long time ago. 24/7 construction next to residential and commercial areas didn’t help either, nor did the protests and numerous Dubai Bashing articles highlighting the cheap labor, the ridiculous traffic congestion, and of course the ever increasing doubts that Dubai Metro won’t function as planned nor on time.

Though only partially functional (10 of 50-something stations are operational), the 09/09/09 grand ceremony is still to take place a few hours from now. So this morning I woke up, did my business in the loo, didn’t prepare breakfast, opened my Management book to read and signed into twitter to check something. Then I was sucked into what I would call the New Opium of the Masses – the trending topic that is Dubai Metro.

Within a couple of hours, as Dubai residents woke up, smelled the coffee they wouldn’t have, got on with their business at work and read the local papers, everyone started tweeting their excitement (and of course a “bit” of spamming) over the grand opening of the metro. I joined in, my excitement driven by the bandwagon effect, and within a couple of hours lo and behold – the metro went from a blip outside the radar to the number one trending topic on twitter, leaving Apple’s and the Beatles’ also historic announcements “less important” in twitter terms.

And of course I took the screenshot for this historical feat achieved by none other than Dubai residents! So yes, a small group of people can actually outdo continents (though, to be fair, they’re probably sleeping now). Now that we KNOW we can do it, maybe we can use this power to bring forward other important social/political/humanitarian topics to light.

Don’t you think?

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

First, you need to be desperate. Why? There can be many reasons for you being desperate. You can be jobless and seeking out money, so a Dubai Bashing article sold to the highest bidder could be your break. If you’re lower caliber journalist seeking to join The Guardian, for instance, or a veteran with nothing better to write about, then Dubai’s fake sandy dunes are a good entry point to explore (note to idiots: the sand in Dubai is not imported. Dust storms are not sponsored by the UAE government in collaboration with the Iraqi’s). There can be a gazillion reasons to why you would want to bash Dubai. From post-getting-fired anger to your wife running away with someone else from Dubai, the list is endless. It all comes down to one thing though: You have an altered sense of perception. In layman’s terms, you need to get laid.

Second, you need a sponsor. Or more. Sure, magazines and self respecting online papers will pay you a nominal fee for your flamboyant efforts. If you’ve actually been to the UAE, the biggest sponsorship you can get is from the UAE itself. How? Ask yourself, how many years have you been living in the UAE? For what reason did you come to the UAE? Isn’t it to work, and make money, because there were no better opportunities? In your own country? And let’s be a bit frank, some of us don’t like being here except for the money, but since it’s your choice, what’s the UAE’s shimmering skyscrapers got to do with your bitterness? In any case, you’ve been here for several years, or a year with really high pay, and you got enough governmental sponsorship to bash it.

Third, you need a story. A really good one. Something out of a Bourne flick or The Sopranos or Godfather or The Simpsons. Did you row a boat by yourself – with your loot – to another country? If not, then you can merely take a bus tour of Dubai for 2 hours and you have yourself an in depth cover story with Pulitzer written all over it. Heck, if you’re that desperate, visit a labour camp and write the humanitarian crisis of the century article. Or make up anything believable. Aggregate 3000 foreigeners and send them off on a one way ticket. Make sure they all park their cars in the airport parking to make a statement. Include maxed out credit cards as well in the glove compartment. Attention to believable detail counts.

Fourth, get a thesaurus, and read as many descriptions of scenery as you can for inspiration. Everyone talks about shimmering towers, glistening whatever, empty roads that collect dust (strange, I still get stuck in traffic, and from the dust storms, everything collects dust. Try not to eat it), and most importantly do focus on the word luxury. It’s Dubai’s favorite word, and with your thesaurus, you can add -est to practically anything. Make sure to add credibility to your story. Quote Regina Filangi, Homer Simpson, and BumbleBee Shoeforts (these are all real names of real people living in their cars in Dubai because they, well, have been living a lifestyle they can’t afford, supposedly). Here’s a sample writing to get you started:

Beneath the biggest, blackest, dustiest sky in the world, where once stood tall the tallest buildings in the world, with their glamour and shimmering sparkling oddly-clean windows, lies the darkest most secretest truth of all: Dubai is nothing but a mirage, a place designed to suck you dry, chew you and spit you out from the rear. Dubai should add fakest to it’s longest line of all words ending with est, for a crapfest it is, a most crapfestest of all, er, ests.

- Aspiring Journalist with a rejected job application in Dubai

Finally, find a newspaper as desperate as you are and send it off. Wait for your paycheck. GREAT! Now use that money to buy a ticket out of Dubai. Don’t forget to park your car in the airport and stick a well crafted, most apologetic letter. Then write a followup article once you get home. And remove all the nice and fun photos of the Dubai is a Blast! album from Facebook.

Note: I am not blind. There are things that don’t make sense here, some of which decreases the life expectancy of a turtle. But there isn’t anything here that couldn’t be said about any other major city in the world. Sure, the weather is inhospitable, but it isn’t generated by the goverment. Yes, it’s expensive, but so is Paris and New York and a billion other cities. And, just like any other city in the world, if you can’t afford living in it, leave. I, myself, may leave sometime soon if I remain jobless for long.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s your turn now. You hand over your ticket and your passport, proudly saying you don’t need a visa to the country you’re visiting. They reconfirm this on their system and check your passport information. Then they throw you off guard and ask “can you hand over the No Objection letter please?”

The WHAT now?!

That’s exactly what happened to my sister.

She was travelling today to see her friend in another country and they were looking forward to it and planning it for a long while now. But they overlooked a small little thing – they had to get that letter.

If you’re in Dubai you probably are nauseating at this moment. See, basically, when you arrive to this place to live the “Dubai Dream” you sign up for indirect (and often, direct) ways of slavery. The cursed letter is, basically, a green light from your company/sponsor to do what you ought to be doing without and restraints. I am sure it is present in other countries, but seriously come on now!

A couple of years ago when I bought my car, the salesman at the showroom asked me for the letter. Yes. I had to get my sponsor’s approval to buy a car.

In fact you need this damned letter for almost everything, and what’s worse is that the sponsor has the right not to grant it. When I asked for it to get the car, they initially refused, until I talked to my super boss who gave them an earful till they blessed me with Right of Purchase.

So yeah, my sis is on her way back home right now. I dare not imagine the scene at the airport. Oh the blood!

Moral of the story, if you’re a resident here, make sure you have the goddamn letter with you, even if you had to go take a shit. And pray real hard no one you know dies abroad on a weekend.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Like Qwaider mentioned, schools have mostly become a social status – how much your family can really afford. We have grown a mentality where when someone says “I graduated from Oxford” is perceived as a God and one who says “I graduated from Damascus University” would probably be annihalated on the spot.

Lots of institutions, I am sure, do not offer an education up to par with the price tag. Here in Dubai there was a haitus over a recent (and, as usual, unexplained) price hike in one of the schools. The government eventually had to jump in and regulate price hikes the schools can get depending on their perfomance as a school – which seems fair but the means of measure might probably be flawed.

There were many truly dumb idiots in my university, and I don’t mean only academically (not smart vs intelligent) but the only reason they were on campus is because their families could afford it and they happened to pass the TOEFL test, on the third time. “Non profit organizations” feed on people with big wallets who are willing to pay anything for social recognition.

If that seems appalling, take a look at this story. This girl was thrown out of class because her mother did not have enough money to pay the fees because she is unemployed (the semester is almost over). The humiliation! To be denied education when you had nothing to do with it. I am appalled beyond measure, among with the hundred of people writing Gulf News an email right now or have commented.

In my job I got to see many people arriving, as we called them, “a package”. You get to hire someone with all sorts of three and four letter acronym certificates, but give them a task and they’d do everything written on the “Do NOT do the following” list at the end of every chapter given in the book.

So, what’s up?

Some people buy their certificates (fraud), some people buy it in the sense of paying for the education and not learning. Others pay loads of money on false promises – regardless of potential. And then you get the group of people who cannot afford education but have so much potential if given the chance. The idea of “poor people are dumb” stems from the fact that they were never given the opportunity to be educated at any age.

There’s a huge debate on whether education should be free, and whether it becomes socialism if it is, or if the quality is rendered abysmal when the government pays for it.

This is not what I am talking about here.

I am talking about the opportunity to educate people, and to have a better responsibility of selecting candidates to enroll based on their potential and wit rather than wallets. There is a social responsibility towards the community and towards education. I understand the schools have operating costs and wages to everyone working there, but come on. Throwing a girl out of class for 500 dollars? “If we allow one we should allow all” – I understand, but throwing the girl out in the middle of her class, in front of everyone, isn’t the way to solve this issue.

I would really love to see a private university or college or school dedicate a class that’s free for all, general education. If every school in the country does that, imagine how many kids would learn something new every term. Granted, they might not end up as “intelligent” as those who are paying and are getting a full education, but in the long run the average level of knowledge in the population will go up.

Or am I too utopic?

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sunday mornings are notorious for their unexplained traffic. You’d think that everyone works every day of the working week. But I have come to the  conclusion that there is a Secret Society that only operates on Sunday. This Secret Society’s job is to unleash countless cars onto the roads to cause traffic jams and set your mood to FUCK OFF for the rest of the week.

Today, the Secret Society have upped the ante.

I live in one of the busiest areas in town, mostly because it is located on one of the primary entrances/exits between Sharjah and Dubai. I park my car across the road, which saves me a solid 40+  minutes alone from doing a uturn.

This morning, I crossed the road like I usually do, turned on the car, and sat there for two hours.

Yes you read that right.

I don’t know what the fudge was going on, but in two hours not one car moved a single inch. Almost everyone left their cars and headed to the many cafeterias located around to get a bite and some coffee or tea. Other people were taking videos of the massive congregation of cars and people lying about. Yet some others were asking people who were on balconies to relay what was going on as seen from “up there”.

Apparently no one knows what was going on. Traffic was at a complete standstill.

I spent the two hours reading Fragile Things, not a necessarily enthralling book but a form of entertainment nontheless. It slipped my mind to cross the street back to my place and get the camera and take photos of the event.

Eventually the police arrived from the opposite side of the road and thought it would be a wise idea to block the whole road off. Yes – we were all quarantined, right in front of my building.

Heh, wtf!

Three hours later we made it to work.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...
2. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Subject: help package 50,000 basic school kits and 50,000 hygiene kits for the Children of Gaza

Dubai Cares is joining a united front of UAE-based relief and charitable organizations to pledge humanitarian assistance and mobilize the UAE community to help the children of Gaza.

There are approximately 275,000 students of primary school age in Gaza and Dubai Cares is asking for your help to support them in this time of need.

Here’s how you can help. Dubai Cares is currently recruiting volunteers to help package 50,000 basic school kits and 50,000 hygiene kits for the Children of Gaza. Approximately 150 participants are needed each day for this event as we are aiming to assemble approximately 10,000 kits a day . We would be honored if you could join us.

Dubai Cares will supply all of the items required for the kits and we need your help to pack and prepare them for shipping to the children of Gaza.

Date: Wednesday, January 14 through January 20, 2009
Venue: DIFC – Emperor Hall
Weekdays: 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Friday January 16, 2009: 2:00 -6:00 p.m.
Saturday January 17, 2009: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

You are welcome to join us anytime. Please bring your friends and family to the venue during our working hours and we will put you to work. You can also help us spread the word by forwarding this email to others who you believe may want to help. We will have snacks and beverages available.

Should you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at: gaza /at/ dubaicares /dot/ ae

We hope you will be able to join with us to show solidarity for the children of Gaza.

If you want a map to DIFC:

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Throughout the past few days people in the UAE have been very procative in their efforts to do whatever they could towards Gaza. I am very pleased with the contributions of the people around me, be it monetary, supplying food or even a lending hand.

While my friends and I shopped, a few of the guys from the group have been in the Aramex warehouse sorting up supplies and boxing them, and they told me that within the few hours they were there they filled up 7 giant lorries and send them away, and the warehouse still had a long way to go. Collections to the Aramex campaign are ending tomorrow though I believe you can still go to the warehouse and help with whatever you could.

keep this shopping list with you

If you want to be part of the Gaza Aid Package Project – Dubai, go visit the Facebook group.

Meanwhile, people took it to the streets across Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ras al Khaima and thousands of people joined in a peaceful march (approved by the Ministry of Interior) for hours demanding something be done about the crisis. High profile people also joined in the rally. Images from Gulfnews.

During the rally, the Red Crescent had its campaign running to receive donations via drop boxes or through SMS, and while it ran from 2 PM to 9 PM it was able to generate a whopping 315 million AED (roughly $86 million). UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also pledged to build 1200 homes for the Palestinians in Gaza and the ruler of Umm Al Quwain His Highness Shaikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla ordered that the mosques of Gaza to be renovated.

It’s truly heart warming to see this kind of reaction taking place around you, but the question begging to ask itself is: Is it really enough?

Remember that the world needs just a little compassion for it to be different for the better. Every day I wake up amazed at how the majority of the population are bonding together for one cause. It shows you a great deal that if there is a time for us to change, there is no better time than NOW.

Let’s just do all we could as civilians, to help other civilians less fortunate than us.

Related posts:

1. Honoring the 38th UAE National Day The UAE has been the media spotlight – both positive...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We are not in the business of public relations or improving our image. We are fighting against terror…

So let me get this straight: bombing a school/UN-shelter is now considered fighting against terror? It’s clearly obvious they’re not improving their image but will they be able to handle the consequences? However the Quote of the Year award goes to Tzipi Livni:

Is there a humanitarian crisis? There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Of course she can’t comprehend what a humanitarian crisis is as she is barely ISO-certified as an organic life-form.

I am not going to brood over the matter, but you can go to Qwaider’s blog for more opinions on the general subject.

The Universal Street amaze me at their commitment to help the cause. As demonstrated in NY (read about it in Batoul’s blog).

MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT

Another venue of relief opened in Dubai as 50 pharmacies now have medicine-for-Gaza packages. You can read more about them in moryarti’s blog. However you can take the list and buy it at your local pharmacy outside the UAE and donate it. Don’t forget the babies – pick up baby formulas!

There is also another rally in Dubai Mamzar Park this Friday at 4 PM. Mamzar Rally Event.

UPDATE: For anyone who can donate some time, UAE Aramex needs help in their warehouse sorting out all the donations. They are located near Dragonmart area and need as much help as possible. They are working from 9am – 12 midnight, so please go any time until Jan 11/12. Map of Dragon Mart

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Anyhoo, he said he’d be arriving here at 9:30 PM which allowed me ample time to go check my 7afartal friends in the kahwe.

He SMSed me 8:30, informing both of us he forgot the one hour difference in time zone.

At that time I was at another emirate, some 30 kilometers away.

I ignored basic road and safety rules for the first 5 kilometers until I remembered the 4 hour incident.

So I took my time reaching to him and left him stranded for another hour outside the airport, looking like a manwhore waiting to be picked up.

mihmihmihmihmih

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

And not only that, but I am also forced to attend with him the AC Milan match.

For those of you not in the know, I HATE soccer. In fact I find it utterly ridiculous. Why would I watch men wearing shorts running around a field following a ball only to shoot it away again? The only thing worse than soccer is baseball; people in pyjamas batting a ball into oblivion, running around in circles until it is someone else’s turn.

Oh, and he also plans to play the psychologically disturbing Silent Hill 5: Homecoming. I gave it a test-run yesterday and I have to say it’s one effing scary game I am not going to play (only because, after a certain scene and some sound cues, I knew that the mannequin-molesting dude [gross image warning]  is back and I have no balls to see him again ). The zombie nurse was hot, though, in a twisted way.

hot nurse

not your average doctor

But this time I am going to lay in MY terms. I will just have to think of something… but this is where I need YOUR help.

Please, give me ideas on how to make his stay here HELLISH!!

In the meantime I think I have to re-assemble my PC. Looks like some of the fans are noisy again.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum cancels all New Year celebrations in Dubai in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

You can read more here

Update: hotels holding meetings to cancel the events

Update: more Arab countries cancel New Year events

Related posts:

1. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...
2. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Daily homicides and maid suicide stories notwithstanding of course.

Dubai isn’t too worried about terrorists flying through their well built and marvelously engineered works of art to bring them down.

They’re doing a pretty good job getting people killed without any external help. I don’t have the exact report but if you’ve been keeping track of construction “incidents” related to poor health and safety protocols you’d get a formidable sum of labourers who lost their lives.

Just this morning, a monolith crane (yes, crane) tumbled down on unsuspecting people in the middle of Sheikh Zayed Road – arguably the most commuted road in the whole country.

WTF? Yup, wtf as much as you want at the following photos.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

But I ain’t talking about those.

I’ve been receiving “invitations” for pre-Ramadan parties. Yes you heard it right. Some people here consider Ramadan to be a horrible month where they can’t freely drink booze in public and have sex on the beach. And you’d see them after Ramadan all lining up outside the clubs as if they’re waiting for welfare.

Seriously? This is the image Dubai is portraying to the world?

Hurry up before it’s too late! The Ultimate pre Ramadan Party! All the Booze you can drink!

Thrilling!

So some of the expats come here, ruin the economy, make fights in pubs (if you’ve lived here for a week you’d know), drive off bridges drunk (that was a hilarious incident though) and basically become walking zombies at 3-4 AM if you happen to be sober on the roads to watch them. Some of the Arabs are not any different either; I’ve seen one too many people I know who run alternate lives.

And here’s a treat. Hollywood.tv featured a Plastik party (a weekly beach party held here where you can drink/dance between 3 PM to 3 AM next day) and it’s now on YouTube.

I love the guy who says “this isn’t just the best party in Dubai, but the whole Gulf!!”

I doubt he’d seen any other of the Gulf countries.

Here’s the video. Watch and learn.

Related posts:

1. Honoring the 38th UAE National Day The UAE has been the media spotlight – both positive...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s been pretty bad I heard in Kuwait too, almost pitch black at times! Anyone can confirm this?

Yesterday and today are one of the worst. GRRRR I swear I forgot what the color of the sky was!!! I am getting sick and depressed of the beige! I miss the blue sky…

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The pieces were wonderful – a good part of them anyway. Some were bizaare on a different level (good bizaare), others were more traditional with personal touches. The abstract art was probably the best.

During the whole time there I was thinking why the hell am I not an artist in an exhibition! The people there kept telling me I should have been in the exhibition (not the women’s exhibition of course lol). Man! My only exhibition was on campus where several of my photos were put on large display, as well as used in the university’s calendar!

You can read my full story here. Anyway, enjoy the shots

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The semester before I came, I was told they had one food outlet and no other entertainment facilities other than the sports complex. During the years, an enormous library was added, different buildings were added, a bowling center (yes) was added, Starbucks, eight different food outlets, and lots of other stuff!

The first slideshow has your regular photos while the second one has my campus photos! Yaaaay my campus for all to see! Enjoy

PS: Note the drool-inducing cheesecake and grilled salmon.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

First of all, Hamza if you are reading this do NOT be offended! LOL.

If you know anything about me, I HATE waiting at airports. It is totally absurd, I swear! Thankfully, Hamza was to arrive at Sharjah Airport, not Dubai’s, which is much much less hectic and traffic is negligible.

Or so I thought.

I am not going to say why Hamza was late – he will write about that and the abysmal security measures – so I will focus on my waiting and the incalculable entertainment I got from “mishaps”.

You see, a glass partition divides the hall into an area for sorry people like me to wait, while we look upon the other side picking out faces we know. Now, since there is a LOT of lighting at SHJ airport… SO SO SO MUCH lighting (or, rather, weird lighting angles), the guys thought that it would be a good idea to treat the glass such that it has minimal glare and reflections, so that both sides can see each other clearly.

Now, any sane adult will logically know there is a partition (obviously, no one can lean on empty space). Kids however, do not.

I think I counted over 8 kids who slammed into the glass, running to greet their other parent/grandpa/grandma/child molester. I was sipping my cappuccino, whilst counting the hours I have been awake and trying to reorganize the schedule mentally to accommodate Hamza being late.

Every time I come up with a good schedule, I hear “mama/baba/someweirdasslanguage” followed shortly by “splat” and “heeeeeee” of people in that area followed by crying followed by giggling from young men like me waiting for their friends/girlfriends/fiance/coffins.

Hamza told me the situation is hopeless and it is better that I go home. I contemplated for a minute and went outside, only to see that people have exponentially multiplied like bacteria and congregating around the airport like it was the sole provider of bread for an upcoming invasion by invisible pink terrestrial octopuses. 10 minutes later after wiggling through the crowd, I found my way outside, and it looks like the issue that Hamza was having was shared by more than 300 people, and if you have 2-5 people waiting outside per person inside, you got around 800 people just outside the airport. And it is a very, very small airport, unlike Dubai’s mammoth airport.

Dammit where is my car!

Crap… to reach home I need at least an hour to get out of here. I call Hamza and tell him I will wait.

And wait

And wait

Splat

And wait

Splat

And wait and wait and splat and wait.

During that time I:

• reorganized the schedule roughly 4 times
• admired the glass for not breaking
• played 7 rounds of tetris
• reconstructed videoclips of my own imagination for three songs (chasing cars, hands held high, fields of gold [eva cassidy version]) with several versions each
• thought about this blog post
• wondered where I will be getting the other X360 controller because Hamza insists I play Halo 3 co-op *dies*
• drew a mental map of the parking and the shortest path out of it in terms of distance, time, and least amount of people overrun
• imagined a situation where I illegally get out of the parking (without paying the toll) to be chased by police across town, have Hamza deported and I jailed then I tell my sister in my only phone call to send an email to Qwaider to start a Free Kinan campaign on blog
• make mental notes of the amount of laundry I need to do to fully function next week without having to worry about Morning Panic Attacks when I open the drawer to find there are no socks

and then splat.

Now check Hamza’s point of view of the events here.

KJ & Hamza… yup shaved my head LoL

Related posts:

1. A Bad Day at the Airport Airport woes are nothing new to anyone who’s traveled, and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It is just sad how he was orgasming with glee every time he kills one of the stupidest, dumbest, AI-controlled aliens EVER in any videogame (Halo 3 fanboys go fudge yourselves).

But you know what kind of fun I had? Watching him pick up a great weapon, and then I kill him and take it. 7aywan. Only I should weild powerful weapons.

OMG I cannot believe we actually FINISHED the damn thing in ONE day (as well as manage to do everything in my schedule and more). THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS PEOPLE WHEN YOU SLEEP 5 HOURS IN THE 48 HOURS.

Mesh tabeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee3i

OMG I am so glad it is over! Now I need to cleanse the X360 reading lens with some proper game. Ugh! It is a good thing he is staying here for tomorrow and half of after – gives me as much time to punish him for this.

Imbecile.

7aywan.

OMG I have disgraced the videogame Gods! 1000 Hajjs won’t ever redeem this.

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*dies and resurrects self*

ugh! ##@$%!$

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...
2. Dubai Metro Hits #1 Spot on Twitter Yesterday, over a great Iftar prepared by non other than...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Related posts:

1. Dubai Bashing Guide 101 Dubai Bashing is quite the classical rage right now, the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.