I’ve been trying to make time for this for the past month, but it’s been a mad, mad July, just like last year. I made a vow to post this before the end of the month, as otherwise it would be even more pointless than posting it towards the end of July.
So why has July so busy in the past 2 years? (Well, historically speaking it’s been a hectic month ever since I graduated from university). Let’s look at some events:
July 2010: Family going to Lebanon for the summer, football World Cup reaching its climax, reached probably the peak of my fitness of that summer with fitness boot camps, jogging and swimming (not all at the same time but you get the drift), changing jobs and doing 2 jobs at the same time and plenty of socializing and trying to stay in touch with friends and people in general, all in 24 hours. Phew
July 2011: Well, family leaving the country for good, hitting the gym + running track again, not going to run any marathons any time soon, although I would love to somehow become that fit. Also- Getting more responsibilities at work (not a bad thing), coupled with two leisure trips to Amman in the space of 3 weeks, some soul searchin’ and finding my feet in this abyss of ‘living on one’s own’.
It’s been busy, and I am loving it. I still need to manage my time better I reckon, but that shall come with time and practice. Hoping I’d be able to pick up new (good) habits, especially since Ramadan is about to start (i.e. less working hours and more time to do other stuff, traditionally including sleeping, shisha-ing endlessly and whatnot. Hopefully not this year). Maybe I should give cooking a shot, the last time I touched a pan was back at university (Gotta love those hot stoves and cookers).
I have posted some shots of Amman taken on my most recent visit there on my personal facebook profile, I decided to share some of them on my website as well. Check out www.omarabuomar.com =)
Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
More randomness
So for the 2nd week in a row I spend Thursday night (and pretty much the whole of Friday morning) in bed with a heavy head and a physically, mentally and emotionally drained body. My recent (slight) change in lifestyle should have changed things and made me a bit more laid back and mellow, but based on this, it seems it has done the complete opposite. Maybe I’m just making a big fuss out of nothing and this is normal. At least it is not affecting anything, and it is just proving the fact that I’d rather spend more time at home rather than head out and ‘socialize’ (How ‘social’ can one get in such a relatively small town?).
Every day of my life now I realize how valuable the commodity of time is and how crucial it is to manage and control it well, which is not an exactly straight forward task for someone who grew up being forced to do things and be put on the right track (The right track being set by others, of course. Oh the beauty of being a push over). At least then I had my ambition restricted by what those around me dictated, namely because I simply had little or no signs of it (ambition) and because I spent a large portion of my teenage/early adult life being told what to do in a field/industry I had mild passion for. The move to doing something I actually enjoy and having time and resources to actually do and initiate projects I fancy at work and in my personal life has been a bit tricky, but heck, it’s always fun to learn and to cope. If the previous chapters have taught me anything, it’s probably that the more one struggles with something, the more they learn on the long run.
Some of the personal (fun) projects I’ve initiated:
- Starting to play more video games
- Bashing my personal laptop unintentionally
- Avoiding the world, somehow
- Starting a freelance photography business. Google/FB/Tweet “Omography”, a less serious initiative is “Om The Road”, which can only be found on FB now.
Every day of my life now I realize how valuable the commodity of time is and how crucial it is to manage and control it well, which is not an exactly straight forward task for someone who grew up being forced to do things and be put on the right track (The right track being set by others, of course. Oh the beauty of being a push over). At least then I had my ambition restricted by what those around me dictated, namely because I simply had little or no signs of it (ambition) and because I spent a large portion of my teenage/early adult life being told what to do in a field/industry I had mild passion for. The move to doing something I actually enjoy and having time and resources to actually do and initiate projects I fancy at work and in my personal life has been a bit tricky, but heck, it’s always fun to learn and to cope. If the previous chapters have taught me anything, it’s probably that the more one struggles with something, the more they learn on the long run.
Some of the personal (fun) projects I’ve initiated:
- Starting to play more video games
- Bashing my personal laptop unintentionally
- Avoiding the world, somehow
- Starting a freelance photography business. Google/FB/Tweet “Omography”, a less serious initiative is “Om The Road”, which can only be found on FB now.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
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 =)
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 =)
Friday, September 05, 2008
New horizons
It’s been a while…
Well, I don’t want to jump on the “I’ve been busy” bandwagon, but I’d rather put it in a different way, I just couldn’t MAKE the time to blog really… Last year I had so much time to waste that I had daily diary posts about my trip, but this year all I could manage was a half-arsed effort of typing a paragraph or two on the second night, and nothing else… I had a good time in Jordan nevertheless, was actually much better than I expected… I wish that the previous trips were as ‘cool’, but hey, hopefully the ones in the coming years will be even better ;-)
So, I got back, started work 2 days later, learning a lot of things, and looking forward to more challenges and encounters of the so-called real world… It's going to be a tricky, tricky path, I can assure you that, but hey, no pain, no gain
Got the impression this post is dull and tedious, but might be a reflection of reality?
Hope whoever still stumbles upon this page is well :)
Beace
Well, I don’t want to jump on the “I’ve been busy” bandwagon, but I’d rather put it in a different way, I just couldn’t MAKE the time to blog really… Last year I had so much time to waste that I had daily diary posts about my trip, but this year all I could manage was a half-arsed effort of typing a paragraph or two on the second night, and nothing else… I had a good time in Jordan nevertheless, was actually much better than I expected… I wish that the previous trips were as ‘cool’, but hey, hopefully the ones in the coming years will be even better ;-)
So, I got back, started work 2 days later, learning a lot of things, and looking forward to more challenges and encounters of the so-called real world… It's going to be a tricky, tricky path, I can assure you that, but hey, no pain, no gain
Got the impression this post is dull and tedious, but might be a reflection of reality?
Hope whoever still stumbles upon this page is well :)
Beace
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Attempt at an update
I have the impression that this blog is all over the place, each rambling (A.K.A. post) has little or nothing to do with the previous post(S)… Randomness at its best, but it can be annoying for some (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder people? Or whatever it is called)… Maybe it isn’t too bad to have thoughts all over the place
So, here is a post to try and decipher some things and try to put things into some sort of logical perspective, I know I will probably fail miserably at that, but here goes nevertheless…
I have the impression that this will take a while, started typing in the evening of the 26th of July at a café, before a couple of friends joined, now, these lines were typed in the wee hours of the 27th…
Before I ‘commence’ my sense making attempt, here is the code for the titles: Date & time ~ Location or setting ~ Irrelevant piece of information ~ Eargasm specifications (If any)
[July 27, 7 AM ~ My bedroom ~ drinking water ~ ASOT 361]
So, I have officially graduated, my GPA somehow stayed above 3.50, which is quite good considering the lack of serious effort towards the end, thankfully the first ever C+ that I got did not have a major impact on the overall cumulative GPA. Can’t believe I used to be on the dean’s list, I must have been such a geeky workaholic, wonder where all that determination, motivation, hunger and drive went, down the drain perhaps? Answers on a postcard please
We have finally moved to the new house in a quiet residential area, it’s quite different when compared to our old ‘crib’, the garage is significantly bigger, the garden is massive, rooms are more spacious, better sound insulation (Which means that I can listen to whatever I want at a relatively high volume level without having to anticipate my sister’s eventual knock on my door :)) and closer to my father’s workplace, a bit of traffic though due to all the cheapskates that avoid the lovely road toll gates which are situated perfectly after the last exit that leads to our area :)…
[July 27 9 AM ~ Same ~ Fed up with customer service (Or the lack of) ~ Same]
My workplace is quite nearby as well, even closer than my father’s office (But that doesn’t really count for a lot when there is minimal available parking)… Had to dash out to check on the status of my bank account, they didn’t bother to give me a call to let me know that there is a discrepancy that required clarification, anyhow, that is sorted… I applied at a bank that is in the same complex as the one where my office will be, due to start work as soon as I come back from Jordan…
Jordan? What about Vegas? Well, OK, I won this scholarship trip thing that entitles me to attend a conference in Las Vegas from 8-12 August, but I sadly couldn’t get the visa, thus, I managed to convince my folks to let me repeat my antics of last year of going to Jordan for a few days to attend that Distant Heat rave all over again, difference is that I will get to stay there for a few more days until they come over, instead of coming back to Dubai for a week then flying AGAIN to Jordan with them, not bad. Had a good deal at a couple of hotels in Amman and Aqaba for the 10 or so days that I will spend there on my own, not bad either.
I will miss Spider/Katkoot/LuLu/Whatever name you deem appropriate for our fat, yet adorable cat. He is over a year and a half old now, yet still as beautiful as he was the day that I got him and sneaked him into the house. He still has that uncanny habit of venturing outside the house whenever he could to run around in the garden and to walk on any available patch of sand, making his cute little paws dirty. We just bathed him a few days ago, yet he repeated the same annoying action! Oh well, you can’t force kitties to do anything really, it’s their way or the highway baby, but I still love him! :) The ‘fur ball’!
One small thing, I don’t know why I have this habit of procrastinating. (Whoa, can’t believe I actually spelled that right from the first time, unless the Microsoft Word spell check feature is having a brain fart). Back on topic: I don’t know why I have that habit when it comes to things I have to do for my own sake, like the bank thing for instance, I should have had that damn bank account done and dusted before I even signed and sorted out my papers with my lovely employers, but hey, nobody is perfect, you can’t do it right all the time (As if I ever got it right!)… Quoting Staind “I was made for chasing dreams” (Does that even relate, in any way to whatever preceded it?)
So, what else is there to talk about… guys and their ‘take’ on relationships perhaps? I don’t know what is it with people, but I’m starting to slowly give up on the most decent guys that I know, it’s a bloody rat race, whom would ‘nail’ this chick or that chick and lure her into, erm, you know what… Guess this is ‘the game’, would rather stay away, never grasped the rules, and I don’t think I fit with the whole ideology behind such things… Guess I’m either too naïve or too stubborn, or just too nice in a way… Oh well, all to his or her own… Can’t change the world, heck, I can’t even change my sleeping habits… Been awake since 5 PM yesterday, forcing myself to stay awake, still got to finish off some small shopping, and exchange some money to Jordanian Dinars, yey. Hope I will find some cheap Tamron lenses, I really want a wide-angle lens for my DSLR no particular reason, or even better- A fish-eye! Let’s see how things go today, and whether I will be able to keep myself awake…
So, here is a post to try and decipher some things and try to put things into some sort of logical perspective, I know I will probably fail miserably at that, but here goes nevertheless…
I have the impression that this will take a while, started typing in the evening of the 26th of July at a café, before a couple of friends joined, now, these lines were typed in the wee hours of the 27th…
Before I ‘commence’ my sense making attempt, here is the code for the titles: Date & time ~ Location or setting ~ Irrelevant piece of information ~ Eargasm specifications (If any)
[July 27, 7 AM ~ My bedroom ~ drinking water ~ ASOT 361]
So, I have officially graduated, my GPA somehow stayed above 3.50, which is quite good considering the lack of serious effort towards the end, thankfully the first ever C+ that I got did not have a major impact on the overall cumulative GPA. Can’t believe I used to be on the dean’s list, I must have been such a geeky workaholic, wonder where all that determination, motivation, hunger and drive went, down the drain perhaps? Answers on a postcard please
We have finally moved to the new house in a quiet residential area, it’s quite different when compared to our old ‘crib’, the garage is significantly bigger, the garden is massive, rooms are more spacious, better sound insulation (Which means that I can listen to whatever I want at a relatively high volume level without having to anticipate my sister’s eventual knock on my door :)) and closer to my father’s workplace, a bit of traffic though due to all the cheapskates that avoid the lovely road toll gates which are situated perfectly after the last exit that leads to our area :)…
[July 27 9 AM ~ Same ~ Fed up with customer service (Or the lack of) ~ Same]
My workplace is quite nearby as well, even closer than my father’s office (But that doesn’t really count for a lot when there is minimal available parking)… Had to dash out to check on the status of my bank account, they didn’t bother to give me a call to let me know that there is a discrepancy that required clarification, anyhow, that is sorted… I applied at a bank that is in the same complex as the one where my office will be, due to start work as soon as I come back from Jordan…
Jordan? What about Vegas? Well, OK, I won this scholarship trip thing that entitles me to attend a conference in Las Vegas from 8-12 August, but I sadly couldn’t get the visa, thus, I managed to convince my folks to let me repeat my antics of last year of going to Jordan for a few days to attend that Distant Heat rave all over again, difference is that I will get to stay there for a few more days until they come over, instead of coming back to Dubai for a week then flying AGAIN to Jordan with them, not bad. Had a good deal at a couple of hotels in Amman and Aqaba for the 10 or so days that I will spend there on my own, not bad either.
I will miss Spider/Katkoot/LuLu/Whatever name you deem appropriate for our fat, yet adorable cat. He is over a year and a half old now, yet still as beautiful as he was the day that I got him and sneaked him into the house. He still has that uncanny habit of venturing outside the house whenever he could to run around in the garden and to walk on any available patch of sand, making his cute little paws dirty. We just bathed him a few days ago, yet he repeated the same annoying action! Oh well, you can’t force kitties to do anything really, it’s their way or the highway baby, but I still love him! :) The ‘fur ball’!
One small thing, I don’t know why I have this habit of procrastinating. (Whoa, can’t believe I actually spelled that right from the first time, unless the Microsoft Word spell check feature is having a brain fart). Back on topic: I don’t know why I have that habit when it comes to things I have to do for my own sake, like the bank thing for instance, I should have had that damn bank account done and dusted before I even signed and sorted out my papers with my lovely employers, but hey, nobody is perfect, you can’t do it right all the time (As if I ever got it right!)… Quoting Staind “I was made for chasing dreams” (Does that even relate, in any way to whatever preceded it?)
So, what else is there to talk about… guys and their ‘take’ on relationships perhaps? I don’t know what is it with people, but I’m starting to slowly give up on the most decent guys that I know, it’s a bloody rat race, whom would ‘nail’ this chick or that chick and lure her into, erm, you know what… Guess this is ‘the game’, would rather stay away, never grasped the rules, and I don’t think I fit with the whole ideology behind such things… Guess I’m either too naïve or too stubborn, or just too nice in a way… Oh well, all to his or her own… Can’t change the world, heck, I can’t even change my sleeping habits… Been awake since 5 PM yesterday, forcing myself to stay awake, still got to finish off some small shopping, and exchange some money to Jordanian Dinars, yey. Hope I will find some cheap Tamron lenses, I really want a wide-angle lens for my DSLR no particular reason, or even better- A fish-eye! Let’s see how things go today, and whether I will be able to keep myself awake…
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