Ammar's Blog

Occupational Hazards

2007-10-21T00:01:00.000+03:00

I was sitting in my hotel room today and watching the National Geographic channel at 5 in the am today. There was an interesting documentary entitled "About Asia". Part of the documentary focused on Thailand and the fact that there are Cobra Fighters there.

Apparently, these Cobra Fighters have a passion for fighting all types of Cobras; whether King Cobras or Normal Sized Cobras. Through the documentary the commentator said the following and I quote, "Getting bitten by a cobra is an occupational hazard".

And I swear, the first thing that came to my mind was, "NO SHIT"!!!

Forgiveness, Part 2- Is there trust afterwards?

2007-10-03T13:02:00.001+03:00

My last post had a purpose behind it and I really hope everyone got the jist of it.

The reason why I wrote that post was because I recently went through an experience with a friend where I ended up the bad guy. After being a brother to the person, all good deeds were washed away with just one phone call and my integrity was being questioned.

Honestly, I did not expect things to become so sour between us and unfortunately they did. After the situation was finalized and the person apologized to me, I truly am trying to forgive the guy and I am trying to forget. And I think I have made great progress in those two areas.

What I am trying to get my hands around is could I EVER trust the person after such an incident? The answer to this question simply, is NO. How can I ever trust a person who betrayed me, betrayed my trust, and most importantly, questioned my integrity?

But, that's just me!!!

I just want to say a final word. There is a relevant proverb:

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Forgiveness: Pain or Relief?

2007-09-08T13:50:00.000+03:00

Lately, I have been going through some major obstacles in life. Dealing with people is getting more complicated, even trying to reason with people is becoming quite stressful.

Sometimes, you sit and contemplate about life and you recall the good and bad things that happened to you. People find it easy to recall the bad things, and others find it easy to recall the good things. For me, I like to recall both. It is the good times that makes me smile. And it is the bad times that helps me make a better future.

Recalling the bad things that have been done to you people though, could be dangerous. It sometimes sparks something within you that somehow changes you. Depending on the situation, you might not forgive the person. At this point, stop and ask yourself this: How many people have hurt, harmed, and betrayed me? In my opinion, depending how long it takes you answer that question, somewhat, gives you an indication of how much of a forgiving person you truly are.

I find it normal to feel pain when you recall these bad things that happened to you. It makes a person question judgment, decisions made, etc. at a time where you shouldn't question but learn from it.

How to proceed? Recalling past bad things is painful. Sometimes it is so painful to an extent that it is hard to forgive and forget. But, not forgiving could cause more pain when you keep on recalling it. The more you bury it in, the more pain it causes.

My 2 cents, forgive. Let it go. Don't hold it in. Once you forgive the more receptive you will be to learn from the situation and move on with life. You will be a better person.

Reality Bites

2007-07-29T12:17:00.000+03:00

Lately, life has become somewhat complicated for myself. Between professional life and academic life, I am working what is considered as a double shit. I wake up between 8 and 8:30 in the am and continue all the way until around 2 in the am. Times were worse, I would actually go up until 6 in the am. Honestly, I really don't know how I have lasted 1.5 years on this hectic and exhaustive schedule.

I don't know whether life has become tougher, than usual, or I have become less tolerant to small "piss-offs". A month ago, little things that annoy me would actually pass by. I would, literally, accept them as a joke and carry on with life. But, I have noticed that this is not the case anymore. Matters have gotten worse. I could get annoyed at the smallest thing and it would go a long way with me.

I have been, with the help of a friend, attempting to reach the root of the problem and when I try to do so I just give up. I don't know exactly why, but I find out that it just reaches a point with me where I say to myself, "screw it. It literally ain't worth it!!!" It just takes too much time, effort, and energy to reach the root and solve it.

One fact I am completely aware of, I feel rock-solid inside...And I hate that!!!

Fly With The Wind

2007-05-19T10:04:00.000+03:00

Wednesday was kind of a weird day. I was in the office, as usual, but luckily I was able to finish earlier than previous days. I discussed dinner plans with a friend of mine, Moneer Kilany, and we decided to eat at a nice turkish restaurant.

When I was getting the car out of parking, there was some sort of a wind breeze and honestly it wasn't too bad of a change for the usual Saudi weather.

But, it got worse. I pulled over a drive-thru ATM with Moneer and the care was literally shaking to an extent where we felt the car was going to be swept off the ground. The wind was soo powerful. It was really amazing and weird.

We are in May and the weather at night should be as hot as hell!!!

Back Again...

2007-05-13T10:55:00.000+03:00

Its very interesting how time flies by without even realizing how fast it flies by. It's been a year since I resigned my position from my previous company and joining my current company. I have also been 1 year through my Masters Program.

A lot happened in the past year, I just wish I had some time to pause and think about the past. Relatives past away, friends hitting it off and getting married, and of course the aging issue.

One recent interesting issue that happened is the engagement of my brother. Honestly, I did not expect my brother to get engaged. Sometimes I can't even picture it, but generally I am very happy for him!!!

I really wish I had some self-time to sit and reminisce and contemplate about the past year.

A Friend In Saudi

2006-06-03T12:43:00.001+03:00

One of my close friends came to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia a couple of weeks ago. We had a pretty good time towards the end.

In the this picture, well he was shopping for pampers (I really don't know why!!).

And in this picture he is wearing what I like to call a "brain condom".

Unfortunately, he went back to Cairo a couple of days ago.

Hey Fadi, hope we get to meet up again soon.

Take care bro. See ya soon!!!

Road Trip

2006-05-14T00:34:00.000+03:00

Last Wednesday, I met up with a friend and we decided to go to Khobar (district I previously lived in) by his car. The trip is 450+ KM's between Riyadh and Khobar and the entire trip takes 4 hours. Naturally, when a trip is that long you need some sort of entertainment for time to pass by. So, I took with me 3 laptops and the entire time I was playing music. I think what made the trip interesting was the spontaneous decision my friend and I took to go to Bahrain. It's around mins driving from Khobar to Bahrain.
We arrived in Bahrain at around 10:15 pm and we decided to watch "V for Vendetta". I called up one of my friends in Bahrain and I told him to join us, and he did. I thought the movie was boring, I really didn't like it. We left immediately after the movie and headed back to Khobar where we arrived at around 2 am.
I enjoyed the trip, it was really cool.
My next Road Trip should be to Dubai from Khobar. I hope I get to do that sometime soon.

Gas Cheaper Than Water

2006-05-05T20:35:00.000+03:00

While gas prices are skyrocketing in the West, the exact opposite is occuring in Saudi Arabia. There has been a sudden drop of 33% causing the cost for 1 litre of Gas to drop from .90 hallalas (24 cents) to .60 hallalas (16 cents).

In saudi the cost of 0.5 litre of water is 1 Riyal (27 cents).

I actually had a friend who came from Bahrain to fill up his car. We calculated it and the trip plus the cost of filling up his fuel tank costs less than if he fills it up in Bahrain.

Pretty Neat.

A Best Freinds Wedding

2005-12-23T10:20:00.000+03:00

Marriage is a very beautiful thing. The union of two people who care for and love each other. But, I dont think the true definition of marriage is not just the union of two people, rather it's more than that. It unites two families together to, in some ways, become one family. Uncles, Aunts, and Granparents are made just from two people. It's a wonderful thing.

Anyway, on Thursday December 22nd, 2005 two very close and dear friends of mine got married. Amr Gamal El- Din and Joumana Al- Rifai, I pray that you both live a happy long life together.

I hope to see the both of you soon!!!

One Big Happy CS Family

2004-08-25T00:15:00.000+03:00

Da Man Holding Da Men