Saturday, November 14, 2009

[36/52] Sweet November

Autumn is the best time in Egypt, I call it "the Egyptian spring", as spring here is not at all pleasant. With dust storms and strong, yellowish winds, it is not at all the "typical" sweet, refreshing spring.
Everything is lovely in the autumn. The skies are crystal clear, silky blue, the clouds fluffy, the sunshine sweet and warm, and the breeze cool with refreshing scents. Spending time outdoors, reading a book, or playing with your pet, or simply relaxing with your family, is really pleasant and therapeutic, and makes one appreciate all the splendors God has created for us to enjoy, and thank him for it by being modest and preforming our duties with the most cheerful manner. This might sound a bit like preaching, but it is exactly how I'm feeling these days :)

Friday, November 13, 2009

30 Days of Gratitude: 1/30 Butterfly Fly Away...

I've been inspired by a friend to start a project called "30 days of gratitude".
It is basically, taking a photo each day for a month, and list one thing you are grateful for.
Since the internet was disconnected during the first week of November, I wasn't able to start in the beginning of the month. But it won't make a big difference, would it?

Today, I am grateful for being a free person. For being able to think with a clear mind and being able to see, not just look. I am grateful for not being controlled by the media and hypnotized by music, mind-controlling song lyrics and subliminal messages in commercials, movies and even children's cartoons.
To have a vision is something rare these days. It amazes me how the general public allow certain groups of people to take over our lives. To dictate what we should and should not do. What we should wear, how we should think, what actions we should take, and present us with disposable, ready-made personalities and characteristics. Use them, achieve their goals, dispose of them, and present us with brand new glittery ones. "Change", they call it.
Lies are becoming the new facts, and facts are being ridiculed. Simply because they sound absurd, simply "they" said so.
Talking about this subject is never ending, and probably some of you might disagree and find the whole idea preposterous.
But I am grateful.. grateful for not being a part of this evil cycle, and not being enslaved to "their" freedom. Freedom is not just having the right to chose something over the other, blue over green, or pink over red. Its having the right to KNOW what blue is, and what red is.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

[35/52] When the Creative Bug Bites

I have been disconnected from the internet (again) for almost 9 days. There was a technical problem with the phone line, therefore no internet. I don't want to start venting, because even now after the line had been fixed, I'm still frustrated at the whole who-cares- about-customer-service attitude which I've been treated with. And the fact that I've been calling the phone company non-stop throughout the whole nine days, and getting the same annoying answers over and over. "Thank you for calling customer service, we have received your complaints, your phone line will be fixed within 24 hours. Thank you for calling! Thank you!!"
STOP thanking me and go do your job!!
Lack of customer service is a big disadvantage one faces while living in a third world country, and it saddens me to say that.
I'm going to skip all that and talk about the lovely time I had disconnected from the entire world.

I managed to finish the novel I was reading, which seemed impossible to finish. The characters were very cheerful!!! Despite being poor and their life full of tragic events, one after another. I found that to be very annoying. Yet it was amusing.
And... I made a scrapbook. Its still under construction though. The book is finished. It took quite some time to glue the ribbons on and make it look as girly as possible (sorry, but girly things are still my weakness!) now I have all those blank pages to fill with sweet memories, stickers, more ribbons and anything that could be glued to a page!

Its nice to be back after the agonizingly long week and two days without a connection.
This, of course, is last weeks entry :)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

[34/52] Through the Pages of History

I went to visit the Library of Archives the other day. As part of a research I was doing, I needed to find an article about the subject I was researching on, which dated back to the year 1939. I was advised by friends to visit this place (I didn't know they had a Library for Archives here in Cairo!) and I was pretty impressed!
Everything was so organized. I was surprised though, that you were allowed to browse through the original copies. The paper is yellow with age, and very fragile and delicate. I was fascinated with the idea that I'm touching a piece of paper that someone back in the year 1939 also touched. Although its not a big deal, 1939 is only 60 years ago, not even a century.
But still, reading all those headlines, the photographs, the classified ads, it was fascinating! There was an ad for a young nurse who spoke fluent French, English and German, seeking employment. Another ad for a governess seeking employment. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to those two. Are they still alive? Maybe they are more than 80 years old now, living in a retirement home.

I was taking photos when one of the guards came and asked me not to photograph, apparently it wasn't allowed. I was lucky to have taken a few photos before he came!