Sleep-deprived

For some reason I'm quite knackered today, had a very, very eventful evening yesterday as I finally managed to go to a place that was not touristic at all, it was called Quartier Latin, or the Latin quarter I suppose. Went with a classmate from university who is doing her internship in Paris, ironically we never really met properly back in Dubai, but it was quite nice to catch up with a fellow EAHM-er. Turned out there are a few other 'academians' in Paris too now, too bad they could not make it. I took some photos there, finally using my new tripod for that. Used up a lot of battery though in the process, so I really have to find a Canon shop to charge my cams! Well worth it though hope

Just an observation (or two)

Typed this up while chilling (a cooler way of saying waiting for a ride my friends are on to finish) at Disneyland. If I were to describe the park using as little words as possible, I'd probably call it overrated, way too family-centric, bit overpriced and dare I say cheesy. Having said all of the above, it's probably not like that to the visitors of the park and their kids. I should know better especially since I was a huge fan of anything and everything that had to do with Disney as a kid! A lady at a souvenir counter described the park today as "quiet and calm", as opposed to weekends when double the number of visitors would show up. Not bad I reckon
tt-see attractions that you will probably not consider visiting again

That pot

Your soul is a massive pot, fill it up with good ingredients and you shall reap he rewards, mix some rotten additives and the outcome will probably. Well, not the best analogy but you get the drift.

It's probably not an easy feat to know how to take the best actions and make the best of decisions, especially when you are relatively young, but the trick is to embrace change and appreciate mistakes that you commit along the way. It's part of the (often painful) learning curve, rest assured that as long as you learn from these mistakes, then you are definitely on the right track.

Doing the right thing does not necessarily have to feel or seem right.

When the morning comes

Overslept and missed the morning batch's trip to Disneyland, having breakfast and coffer now at a small cafe next to the hotel. Sunny day so far!

Yesterday was quite chilled, went on the river seine cruise before going to the moulin rouge are, was a bit awkward walking towards the place in hat dodgy area (was full of sex toy stores, strip clubs and god knows what else!)

Today's agenda: catch up with the morning crew at disneyland then go to see a coupla friends from Dubai for dinner back in Paris :)

Seine breeze

Caught up with the gang and went on a cruise of the river Seine, was quite fun! Got a few minutes to spare as people refresh and get some souvenirs and warm beverages and such. Was quite a chilly day thus far compared to day 1, don't mind that at all, especially that in less than a week I'll be bearing Dubai's 40+ degree temperatures!

I love the unpredictability of the climate here, was drizzling when we woke up and by afternoon the sun was out with some clouds scattered around the sky (great for the pics!). So far this evening the sky is clear and it is breezy and chilly, loving it!

Having mentioned the pictures, I had a brain fart while packing for assuming that I won't need any camera battery chargers, which predictably turned out to be an ill-fated decision. Now I will have to find the Canon shop tomorrow to make sure I'll still be able to snap away for the rest of this trip. Thanks to Stouts for helping me out with the store addresses!

Bird s**t

Day 2 - Paris

So, another exciting day thus far. Went to Champ-ellisys again after going to the Louvre museum (yes I saw the Monalisa). Quite an eventful day, love the confusion when it comes to the metro stations and the routes.

I probably saw the biggest LV and McdonLd's outlets so far in my life in champ ellipsis, massive! Ended up paying for a yummy (but overpriced) meal at a 'smaller' Mcdo (still was bigger than any branches in Dubai).

Off to catch up with the rest of the gang for a seine river cruise! Not sure what the rest of the night holds for us!

Before I forget, a bird shat on me a coupla hours back, hence the title. Is that supposed to be a good omen?

Clear blue skies

Day 1 - Paris
So day 1 of my small Euro trip has been quite a random one so far... From waiting at the airport for an extra hour or two till the whole brigade on this trip gathered and made it successfully to the same terminal section that we were at, to having to wait for another coupla hours at the hotel we are staying at to get our rooms cleaned (and inspected). Add to that the restauranteur at the Italian bistro next door that turned out to be an Egyptian from "6an6a", aptly announced that right after we settled the bill (very, very awkward, especially since we were typical Arabs making the occasional mean remark). That was followed up with me missing a metro ride as I forgot my fancy tripod at another section of the station. Thankfully I somehow caught up with he rest of the crew back at the hotel and we ended up going to the Eiffel tower after a lot of gesturing and asking around in the French capital's dodgy underground stations. The day is far from over, it's already 8 in the evening and the sun hasn't set yet, eagerly waiting for it to set so we can take some neat images of the infamous tower.

Enjoying the great weather, the clear blue skies, checking out the women (well, not all of them are all that attractive, but it's not bad nevertheless).

Random- Other than the awkward incident with the Egyptian gentleman, an Algerian/north African on one of the metro rides thought we were Israelis or at least Jews lol! I'm proudly wearing a Palestinian scarf :). Love you Falasteen <3

Belated post

This was typed up when I was coming back from Jordan after the quick raving trip (Early August)... Found it on my iPhone when updating similar travel notes on the trip I went on after that (Some updates of that coming up)

Written on the way back from the trip that was mentioned earlier. Have I satisfied my wanderlust? Well, somewhat. Ironic that as soon as I started typing this "As The Rush Comes" comes up on the iPhone's shuffle

New friends? Check. Bad service? Check. Countless chuckles, check. Another rave? Check. Many other things that don't come to my sleep-deprived mind? F*** yeah

Random flight thoughts

Written on the 28th of July, 2010, haven't proof-read it or edited anything in it as of yet, so expect some grammar and spelling blunders:

On a relatively small Royal Jordanian plane midway through my flight from Dubai to Amman. Just watched Date Night again and had a good laugh. Having some thoughts now since I'm sitting idle (a very, very uncommon situation I should say).

What is it that I really want? I'm still indecisive, always opting to just go with the flow of things, waiting for the best and working hard. Now life over the past few months has been rather generous with me. God had answered my prayers by opening a new career path for me. Now the past couple of years have been grueling to say the least, but every now and then I'd try to remind myself that I was still better off than many people and that God probably had other better things in store for me. I admit that it was a struggle, a huge learning curve which has changed me as a person and made me somewhat indistinguishable from that young bright fresh-graduate a coupla years back who was full of life, albeit low on confidence an experience.

I hope my parents are proud of me, I'm probably still considered in the spoiled brat category to most people, but that has no bearing to who I really am. I might have a snappy attitude, I might be moody as f**k, I might have failed to stay in touch with people I value and love in my life, but I'm still that somewhat self-doubting & reclusive introvert. I still try to help out whenever I could and as much as I can, but I have created limits, limits so i don't drain myself and my resources when there are bigger priorities.

My perspectives have changed, I just want to rediscover that free spirit I had, but that will be rather tricky, but as I say, it is doable. The recent events will probably help me become a better person. I hope my folks are proud of me, I wonder what they and my amazing sisters describe me as to their acquaintances and the people around them... I'm sure that it would be a combination of praise and humorous flack.

I am disappointed and infuriated with the service levels on display here in Dubai. It goes from delivery boys not even being sure if they can deliver the goods or not to car technicians who blatantly pretend everything in your car is perfect while it is under warranty, while confidently asking you to pay once that warranty is over to pay for anything and everything that may require repairing or replacing.

Social media: now I am glad I became addicted to twitter over the course of the past few months. A lot of people do not see the point in it, but in all fairness I have the same thoughts nowadays when it comes to Facebook. That's just a personal opinion. For those of you who would like to follow me on twitter, you may definitely do so here: www.twitter.com/omardxb

Sorry for the incoherent blabbering, been up for quite some time and my brain is pretty much hibernating now.

Hav a good one

Not that either you or I care or give a flying f*k anymore, but...

... I'd like to wish you a happy birthday, idiot :)

100th post

Happy 100th post to me and to the irregular visitors and stalkers of this blog and yours truly

It’s been a while since I made time for this little blog of drivel and self-inflicted angst. I usually need a motive and/or an inspiration, or sometimes some sort of provocation to entice me to babble. Credit for this post goes to a young (Well, she’s older than me) fellow blogger… Missed the blogging sphere in all honesty

So, what’s new? Quite a lot!

Thankfully started a new job, and pretty much enjoying my new field. It’s certainly a major step in the right direction. I am doing e-commerce and e-distribution for the chain of hotels that I started my post-university career with. It keeps me occupied, gives me an opportunity to actually use my brain's overtly analytical cells (As opposed to the brain numbing repetitive routine that I had sometimes in my previous post). Hamdella for everything

Other than that, went sky diving, and to my surprise, it IS such a big deal. It didn’t occur to me until I saw the reaction of people when they found out… Didn’t find it that scary or nerve-wrecking as some people make it out to be, namely because the guys behind the sky diving operations here are so good at what they do. I mean come on, what are the chances of something going wrong, and me being the poor sod who ends up getting injured, or worse, dying? Very marginal at worst. Heck, there is a higher probability that one would die on Dubai’s roads sitting in the back of a cab than while sky diving or flying somewhere for that matter.

Since I’ve touched on the topic of public transporation, God bless the Dubai Metro. Had my first proper ride on it (Gold class, because I’m posh, wannabe posh that is and I have taste for the finer things in life). The ride is extremely smooth and quiet, the staff are professional and efficient and the trains are extremely clean and almost always on time (But taking one’s car is not as time consuming, which may among a few negative). For green, hassle free and affordable commuting, I would hail the metro as a total success! Sadly (Or maybe fortunately, depending on how you see things) I don’t need to get on the metro that often. Why did I even use it? Well, the place I did the TOEFL (A point that I would get to in a bit) was literally on the other side of town in an area that I don’t recall ever going to as an adult or a kid for that matter. A massive taxi fare would not have been very justifiable in such dire economic conditions (As if I’m starving myself to death to stave off creditors).

So, TOEFL you say? What for? Part of the big plan to do masters somewhere, somehow at some point. Speaking of which, I find it ironic that a certain university here still requires TOEFL for its post-graduate courses, even if you provide adequate proof that you did your bachelors degree in English elsewhere. That is in stark contrast to some schools in the States, which in theory should be much pickier about this, but they are actually more than satisfied to waive off the TOEFL if you provide documentation proving you studied in English. Oh well, the imperfections of this world are staggering.

What else? Went back to working out, it is notable that I have never been so out of shape appearance-wise in my life as I am at the moment, yet I am quite fit exercise-wise and got a decent endurance level which I never had during my ‘skinny’ days. Paradoxes of life? Or maybe I needed the additional fat to store energy and God knows what else, and hence the improved stamina and endurance levels? *sarcasm*

Other than that, I’ve become more picky and careful with my time, learning time management skills the hard way, the ‘compromise’ way. I still make time (Barely) for photography and trance, which are still my legal drugs, but I kind of toned down on certain activities that consume time and/or are tedious in nature.

Such a self-centered post, but heck, after having to deal with some narcissistic boring individuals often, I reckon I can cut myself some slack and blabber a bit about lowly me :).

On a more outwardly note, well, more bad acts of nature happening around the world, be it the endless volcano ash-gate, or the PMS-ing weather (It’s been quite weird for this time of the year in this region, thunderstorms in Bahrain, rain in UAE, flash floods in Riyadh to name a few) If that wasn’t enough, then you have the man-made hot topics, such as the Greek economic meltdown, the mini-civil war in Bangkok, the continuing agony in my homeland (Palestine), the stupid elections in the UK, the football World Cup (And the endless scandals unfolding in England’s 2018 World Cup bid), all strive for journals' attention to ensure they have some headlines, columns and 'in-depth analysis' to sell more papers the next day…

Small piece of advice for the masses- Put yourselves first whenever possible, and when you don’t, make sure it is justifiable in some way or another.

Thanks B =)

Right now

I’m knackered and half asleep as I lie on my bed with one eyelid open that is struggling to focus on the screen (I’m long-sighted, you know, or whatever the proper medical term for that is). For some reason I’m compelling myself to half-arsedly type this up

So, it seems that everything in my life is nicely falling into place, all but one thing. It’s fascinating how God tests our patience and our willingness to move forward in life. I’m rapidly jumping to a conclusion that I fathomed and digested a couple of years ago before I indifferently decided to chuck it outside the window and just start having a new outlook based on a nonexistent recipe.

That simple (defunct) recipe/perspective used 2 years ago stipulated the basics: Easy come easy go, and whatever you don’t strive and work hard for just loses its allure, value and meaning.

Maybe there is no test here. Maybe it is just a part of my life that I should learn to live with rather than try and alter. Maybe I’m destined to be a ‘giver’ in this life rather than a taker (Well, to a certain extent). Maybe it’s better to be misunderstood than to be exploited and vulnerable once found out. Open books are not as fascinating as dark, twisted and deceitful novels that twitch every existing cell in that brain of yours.

M&M- Thanks =)

En route...

Typed up a few days ago (26th Jan to be specific)

This must be some achievement, blogging twice in the same month. I can’t really recall the last time that happened. Oh well, not something to dwell on

So moving on to more important things! Sitting in the passenger seat for a change while my sister is driving, usually I’d be the one driving, but I don’t mind the (slight) change of perspective and in scenery. Was a bit blank when I started typing, so I asked her ‘What should I blog about?’, got the predictable ‘I don’t know’ from her. In return I asked her about topics we might have discussed that ticked me off, so she joked and mentioned the renaming and rebranding of Burj Dubai into Burj Khalifa or Pluto not being an official planet anymore, and just being a wannabe-planet that is actually a big lump of rock floating peacefully in space. Just for the record, these are things that my elder sister off was baffled about, but she has thankfully come to terms with it. I have no qualms with either thing, yet (Well it’s not like I will have something against either life altering issue here)…

Anyhow, I might be slowly realizing how it is not worth it to fret about certain things, and more importantly people (Sad, eh?). I should understand slowly that certain people are not worth the hassle, but it is Important not to make matters escalate to reach a dead-end where no one of the parties involved reach the point of no return (In simple words, keep it in a way that things can be ‘worked on’ so to speak)… That does not work with everyone of course, but maybe that’s to the better.

More randomness to follow some other day/night, since we reached our destinations *Switches social butterfly mode on*

Blah blah blah

Alright, new year (And decade). Was a decent start in all fairness… Spending the first day of the year in the Lebanese mountains with some of the coolest and funniest people around and recalling the previous night’s eccentricities and the random moments… Too bad it was a brief trip, but it was well worth it. Spent some excellent quality time with my father, experienced some unique weather conditions (Well, not exactly unique since I experienced it twice or thrice before in Lebo and Jordan, but you know, you savor the most recent experiences sometimes and put them ahead in nostalgic and ‘intriguing’ value than relatively older experiences and events)… Also got to see some old friends before ’09 drifted away into semi-oblivion, and also saw a certain individual that is known to a few million people as Armin Van Buuren, whom if you have not heard of yet is one of the godfathers of Trance and one of the biggest names in the scene.

Armin Van Buuren, number 1 dj in the world, globally famous, has the most popular and successful radio show blab la bla (All should change in a year or two hopefully, as Above & Beyond slowly, yet surely take over the reigns ;)). Why out of all places on the planet he chose to play in Beirut on the 30th of December, 2009 and then Dubai the following night on new year’s eve?! Beats me… (Well, Dubai probably threw a lot of money at it, but still…)… Oh well, sod it… The event was a success (The one in Beirut, of course), in comparison to the Dubai one (At least from the limited feedback I heard thus far about the latter)…

What else… I always have the urge to babble, rant, bitch and bicker about things when I cannot do it, let’s say when I’m in the shower before work (And running late), or when I am heading back to the office from lunch break, or when I am out and about with no means or ways of jotting my ramblings on a piece of paper (Or hotel paper for that matter, as that teenage crush of mine Michelle Branch used to ‘rhyme’)… I thought about updating it from my BlackBerry, but it does not feel the same to type up something on a tiny screen like that… Speaking of the BlackBerry and ranting, Twitter is perfect for that. It’s quick and concise, and chances are you would find a funny/good (Very recent) update from a friend or via some news agency/dj/football team/whatever… If FB nonchalantly encouraged stalking, then Twitter in a way is the next step of stalking (But I doubt anyone would really give a flying f*k about how many hours of work are left for me or how many times I mention the likes of Armin and Schulz per day…

One thing I wish I could fix- The inconsistent moods, the ups and downs… I don’t want a lovely shrink-suggested medication or anything; I just wish that consistency could prevail instead of disharmony… Maybe there is a way of eradicating certain aspects of one’s personality, or at least play down their significance in one’s daily life… But then again, when you think of it, it takes up a lot of energy and may lead to more stress, and heck, every flaw can be ‘repositioned’ to be a trait… God bless marketers and the subconscious psychological warfares

Wow, maybe I really should stfu… I will not even proof-read it for another week or two perhaps, so please bear with me and make excusation for the makation of mistakes in the grammar, sbellinj and or not making any sense whatsoever overall

A late edit to this:

For the tranceheads out there:
Simon Patterson "Miss You"
Sunny Lax "Misgrey"
Lange pres. Fireweall "Wanderlust"
Stoneface & Terminal "Don't Give A F*ck"

X
O

Year-end update

So, as 2009 draws to a close, I think it is about time I made some of that (Time that is) for this humble little public semi-diary of mine.

So, few more days to go before a new decade commences, one that promises nothing but more political unrest, a fateful and devastating depression, more hunger and probably more natural disasters (And if the Mayans or whatever they are called got their calculations right, mankind has less than 3 years to go before we cease to exist).

What has this year brought upon me as a not so modest, yet somewhat timid ‘young’ man? (Depending on your take on ages, but that’s a whole different and very subjective argument that I’d rather not go into)

- More progressive trance (The genre has mellowed down over the years and has become far more proggy than how it used to be 2 or 3 years ago. Not that I mind though. Armin & Above & Beyond amongst other trance djs are doing a remarkable and very impressive job in changing the perception of the once taboo ‘T word’… Very good year for Armin and the Anjunaboys, and a very impressive one for the likes of Markus Schulz, Cosmic Gate, DJ Shah, Gareth Emery, Ronski Speed, John O’Callaghan, Super8 & DJ Tab amongst others whom have been working tirelessly in their studios and on the road. Well done gentlemen

- Still single, which may not be an entirely bad thing looking at the rough patches some (Read- Most) of my supposedly ‘more fortunate’ acquaintances and/or friends have had with their supposedly loved ones. Again, I think I’m better off alone. Too complicated, random and incessantly annoying to be with someone. If things are not meant to be, then so freakin’ be it. Won’t bust a gut over people who are not really worthy of my attention, care or time just for the sake of it (And that is saying something, since I do a LOT of things just for the sake of it)


- Football- Last season was not bad, this one is simply one to forget… I know it’s not over yet, not ‘til the fat lady sings at least, but we’re out of Europe and with a hapless and ridiculously inconsistent league record (Beating Everton and then losing to a team like Pompey that was rooted to the bottom of the table and without any sort of liquidity or freakin’ cash flow)… Oh well, at least Man U are not faring much better domestically (But I still hold that belief that they are the ones that will lift the title come May to surpass our record of league titles *sobs*)

- What else? Hmm… Been getting closer to my elder sister over the past year, and I mean really close… I admit, we never really got along before, but I don’t know why, over the past year or so (Basically after I entered the workforce and left the comfort zone of university) we have gotten closer and we talk far more often nowadays than we used to… Guess I might have matured a tad. Not complaining, loivin’ it actually! She has been extremely supportive and helpful… Bless you Susuuu =)

I am sure there are other things to babble about that happened in ’09, but for the time being, this is what my half-awake brain can conjure up at this late hour (Or half-asleep brain, again depends on your outlook and perspective on life. It’s not like it has ever been optimized in its operation over the past few months of somewhat mind-numbing tedious work, but as we say, hamdella for everything, and as usual, patience is the key)

Back to the effin' drawing board

I think I should get into the drawing board business; I keep on going back to that more often than not

Rather lame attempt at cracking a joke I reckon, not the funniest soul out there.

I seriously need to change, and it has to come from within… You blew it, but I don’t blame you really... Or maybe it’s the uncertainty that’s frightening you.

Oh well...

Dark thought (Somewhat realistic)

Not sure if this should count as a dark gloomy thought or a sign of maturing and moving forward. Never was the best in judgment really, so I will just follow my hunch as time goes by…

I was thinking about how my life has been going thus far, and thinking about my interactions with people and my so-called friendships with people (Can’t really include relationships because there haven’t really been any despite my delusion). From all those, the one thing that is common across the board in many of them is the fact that none lasted for long. A lot of normal people (Yes, I tend to consider myself as an eccentric outcast) would have someone or some people that they can confidently refer to as their ‘best friend(s) since childhood/elementary school/university/military service/first job or whatever. I used to wonder why I never had anyone that I could refer to as that, and I eventually got to the blatant conclusion that it’s due to my moodiness, and because of my ever-changing and perhaps evolving personality that I keep on moving on from certain phases of my life to the next rather quickly, without fully living or experiencing the previous periods. Another thing is that I might tire from people when things get rather customary and predictable. I don’t know really, familiarity breeds contempt perhaps? Maybe I am the one who naturally drives people away with time.

OK, let me get to the point, the above has made me reach a conclusion that it is not very likely that I will get to have lifelong ‘best friends’ or even get married. Not that the world is missing out on anything really, just another lunatic whom decided to spare you for his endless crap & nonsense

Long live reclusiveness

Vicious cycles

June 20, 2009 (The date that this was actually typed out on, just didn't feel comfortable posting it right away)

Engrossed in quite a few (Well, at least a couple), and in all honesty (Which I something that I seemingly do not posses any of anymore) it sucks

Well, at least one loses their trust in you and in turn you lose your trust in someone else, karma is a b***h

Questioning the simplest things about myself that I’ve taken for granted... Should take a break from everything and everyone, note to self: some people are just not good (i.e. me). It’s not the age I’m in, it’s not the people, it’s simply me.

Maybe everything I do breeds contempt, not only familiarity…

TyDi feat. Audrey Gallagher - You Walk Away

With the night behind you
You walk away, and I will find you
We are locked in this emotion
We will find the way home

And it's too late
To regret the mistakes we made
Easier to walk away
And it's too late
To remember all the words we say
Nothing will ever be the same

When the world surrounds you
You take your place with me, behind you
These are every word unspoken
This is our way home

And it's too late
To regret the mistakes we made
Easier to walk away
When the world surrounds you
You walk away...

And it's too late
To regret the mistakes we made
Easier to walk away
And it's too late
[To remember] all the words we say
Nothing will ever be the same

And it's too late
To regret the mistakes we made
Easier to walk away
You walk away...

Thanks to "STSFD"

Familiarity…

Familiarity…

Inspired by a ‘sista’ from another mother, SA…

Familiarity breeds contempt… I don’t know what brought that expression to mind, but it’s been lingering in my head for the past few days, it basically opens up my naïve, oblivious and undiscerning eyes to a small, yet crucial aspect of human interactions…

I shall vow to keep my distance and not get close to anyone, regardless of the gender or nature of the relationship (Working/professional, mere acquaintance or even a potential partner). That is unless it is willingly sought after by both parties (Obviously does not have to be written in stone, it may be on a subconscious level)

When you veer away from getting too engaged and involved with something and/or someone, you somehow ensure some peace of mind, it allows you to retain some ability to observe see, analyze and judge things as an outsider, because you are not fully-engrossed with whichever thing it may be, it removes the personal bias and similarly it preserves some neutrality to a certain extent… I hold no regrets, I might come across as a remorseful person sometimes, but at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and it is all God’s will, as we Muslims say "قدر الله و ما شاء فعل"...... We learn from life, perhaps it’s good to mess up every once in a while, it’s a learning curve of life, part and parcel of ‘growing up’…

One further snippet of random thoughts- It is ironic that beneath fancy façade of each and every one of us hides a character that is far, far from perfect… Sadly some hide their respective blemishes rather well and draw everyone around them to their nonexistent traits… Would rather refer to as the Souness Nobody’s vs. Everybody’s Fool Syndrome…

What a pity… Many people definitely know how to talk the talk, too bad you’re massively lacking on the walk the walk department (Worse enough, arguing about being more than capable walking the walk when sparing us your and hollow words and lies certainly does you more good than harm)… There’s a smart tactic called ‘damage limitation’, it does not only exist in wars and battles, extends to way beyond that…

Couple or so people very, very worthy of a salutation:
S- I don’t care if I don’t interact with you for ‘eons’ so to speak, I/we don’t need to… It’s the type of unique thing where you don’t have to go through the typical formalities of staying in touch and all that crap that is so cliché … X

D- Well, you’re adorable in every single ‘snacking’ way =)

M- I wish ‘they’ could see you the way I see you...

G- I wish you would get off that edge and come back to your senses sooner rather than later… Hope it’s not too late, because you’re losing your real friends to gain some plastic friends… Trust me fella, it will be a very painful fall from grace when you fall down from that throne that you happen to be sitting on so high up there in the clouds…

L- Miss you!

I- Such a shame… Expected way more, too bad the fake façade is overwhelmingly convincing in your case