Friday, September 19, 2008

Rambling on...

Not intended towards an individual, more like a general rant- I appreciate your treatment (Or lack of), makes one feel how small, unimportant and useless they are...
- I love the fact that I am not the only one in this fucking boat.. Makes it all seem worthwhile, this sense of unity is serene *tongue firmly in cheek*
- I admire how you believe your own lies BUT... I do NOT admire the manner in which you forget your own lies... At least be considerate to my effing blatant gullibility and follow through the BS

-The more you ask me, the more I might seem upset, but eventually it makes me even more self-absorbed

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Omar...

... wonders if you are wondering about the same thing that he is wondering about (In typical facebook status fashion)

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

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…

Friday, July 11, 2008

It pains me...

... to see that things have gone down this route... Whatever hope I had was slashed to meaningless fake optimism, back to the naive state of mind that I can't seem to get rid of, or at least manage to balance against the realities of this world...

I know that this doesn't make much sense, and that I would probably read this again in a year or two and wonder what the heck I was high on when I wrote it, I know that I sometimes over analyze situations and such, but alas...

I hope this dead end gets sorted out somehow, not for my own benefit, just so that life goes on with minimum disruption for you lot (And somehow, ultimately my conscience) ...

I wish I could grow a thicker skin and be more selfish (Assuming there is any way I could be more selfish and self-centered than I already am)

I despise the fact that I might have just lost another friend because of reasons beyond my control and comprehension... I hope you don't change though... Would be a shame...

Good luck... It's scarce...

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Double standards

I’m a major victim of applying double-standards in my life... Double standards, prejudice, moodiness and materialism to a certain extent... Some negative traits this generation is infamous for I reckon... Not accepting the fact that other people do tend to treat me using the “double-standards” technique while expecting the opposite to be normal is a bloody double standard indeed...

At some point I admit it gets staggering, when unforeseen circumstances for other people are more than convincing and acceptable excuses, while they are conceived as lies when used by yours truly... I’m a self-centred attention whore for this and that, while you’re the coolest thing since fucking sliced bread for the same...

I know my mind does not function as brilliantly as you ‘people’, I know that my genes are not as advanced and superior as you and your whole families and ancestors, yes, you people are all far more superior to me in every single fucking way, now get back to your ultra-cool lives and delicate tastes instead of wasting your time with a loser who values you for who you actually are

Shame... Shame...

Saturday, June 14, 2008

...

Blank... But the only two words that come to mind at this very moment are:
Utterly disappointed...

Saturday, June 07, 2008

...

Do I follow different moral standards to the rest of the planet? I know for a matter of fact that my common sense is fvked up, or nonexistent at times, but still...

Maybe I am actually the one who is outdated, ignorant, stupid, spoiled, naive and not able to achieve (Or determine) what I want? Maybe I have to go through great lengths for some things that I 'assume' I am in utter need for...

As much as I would like to convince myself otherwise, but I hugely doubt I have any self-awareness whatsoever. I don't really know my limitations, but what is more worrying is that I don't know my capabilities and what I might be capable of doing, or how good (Or bad) I actually am as an individual... Maybe I do have a great mental capacity, after all, I tend to over analyze everything sometimes... I don't like thinking of myself as 'young', because that thought was abolished a while ago, it's a paradox, I mentally find people in their mid or late 20's young, while I do not think of myself as such for some reason... Maybe I am wasting away... Drifting away from reality...

Maybe I need an eye-opener... Maybe one day I will come to terms with who I really am... Maybe one day someone else will love me and take me for who I fucking am, for being different in my own fucked up way

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

bla bla bla

For the ones who give (Or eat) a carrot, this was typed a couple of days ago while collecting questionnaires… Didn’t have the time after that to post it, yesterday was extremely hectic, and today is hectic as well, catching my breath before yet another job interview…

Movers booked for the 2nd of June, not bad, glad that we’re not taking much of the old furniture along with us, only the relatively new electronics as far as I know (No, my 2 or 3 year old PC is not old, I insist on taking it, it can be really reliable when the laptop disappoints).

Collecting more surveys at the moment, tedious process, can’t wait till this questionnaire collection process is all but over in a few days (Hopefully), should be done with this by next week, the whole thesis is due in a month’s time, yippee. I thought I was behind when compared to others, seems I’m more or less at a similar stage as most, apart from the geniuses who are better than time management than me I guess. I can’t believe I barely did anything in April, would’ve saved me a lot of time (And thinking) I reckon, but hey, working hard (Or in this particular case, trying) never killed anyone… I don’t mind the free dinners along the way while collecting surveys, although I’ve been characteristically hesitant to abuse the privilege.

Job hunting too, interviews, presentations, recommendations, suggestions, career advices and so on, that’s what has also been going on in the past few days (Since last Thursday to be precise), got several more to come, the one I am looking forward to the most though at the moment is one that is for a enviable spot on a career development program by one of the industry trend setters here in Dubai (And soon globally), it is aiming to recruit some Arabic speaking people in the region… I hope I am not jinxing my already not so glorious chances by talking (Well, typing) about it, but I’ve been waiting for this opportunity to come around again. Missed out the last time since I wasn’t really inspired to participate or even bothered to try my luck against some of the finest talents that applied from all over the world, as I kind of realised that I would be punching way above my weight, and I was not quite convinced yet back then about the whole program (Nor was I keen on working in the industry) , but now that one of my classmates has deservedly been picked, and hearing first hand about his experience thus far, it’s quite tempting… I can go on for hours about the pay in the industry, but to be fair, of my limited knowledge and experience, it is this industry that I have the slightest clue about, easy money made in other jobs goes as fast as it comes perhaps (I emphasize on ‘job’ rather than career)… Got to think of some so-called nonexistent “qualities and exceptional attributes” that might get me picked ahead of the Jassims Mansoors of this world. Jolly.

Life is quite ironic… What makes such paradoxes easier to take is that what goes around comes around eventually, quoting Aaron Lewis of Staind “Everything must come full circle”…

Sunday, May 18, 2008

...

Knackered and I barely started! Oh boy, I’m going to be in for the shock of my life when I start actual work!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

In & Out

Moving out in about 2-3 weeks, graduating in 40 or so days, not bad, eh?

Most of the stuff (Read: Crap) that had to be sorted out for our house have more or less been taken care of, it’s being painted now, so we are waiting till that is done, then the curtains people will install the er, curtains… Guess after that it’s just a matter of organizing the deliveries of the furniture from the various shops, guess it will be a pain in the backside (From a logistical perspective)… Garden needs a lot of work apparently, but that will be taken care of too… Electronics will be a hassle too, making sure everything works, the satellite, telephone and internet subscriptions all up and running (I’m kind of excited about the wireless, hope we’ll be able to make it reach every bit of the whole thing, including the backyard :)).

Spider (The cat) will have his small tiny opening where he will be locked up when he is being naughty or when someone is trying to get some sleep in the living room but can’t because he keeps on jumping on them. Will keep his food in my room so he kind of gets attached to it (My room that is, he is already attached to food, lazy fat arsed cat!)

Mmm, what else? Dissertation is the same, slow progress, but getting somewhere, I still find it quite irrelevant to our future careers, and way too academic for people in the fourth year of a hotel management degree, an industry that requires more practical and operational knowledge and awareness, not theoretical and/or academic… But anyway, I guess this is the case with other majors, heck, a friend of mine did film making and had to do a dissertation as well, so there you go.

Photography-wise, had the first shoot with a friend in a long time recently, was quite fun and I liked the outcome of the pictures in general… Got to try different settings that I didn’t experiment with before, and realized that my general lens is quite crap (For the fellow photography and Canon geeks: Sigma 18-200 OS)… Mind you, it’s OK, but as I found out myself, it’s not the best out there. Next on my list: Either a fish-eye lens or the long awaited wide-angle lens! (Sigma 10-20mm!)

Summer plans, mentioned that in a previous post? Not quite sure. Confirmed: Jordan (*Yawn*) in August with the family. NOT confirmed: Jordan and Germany in July with a couple of friends. Wonder how many graduation gifts one can ask for :P

A small rant- I just hope people would stop asking me “Oh, you haven’t finished it yet?” when they ask about the dissertation, it’s not your typical kind of school project that you can finish from start to finish in two days (Or less).

Football: Would rather not go in to that, didn’t have a lot of expectations this year, and we (Liverpool) had a disappointing season in the premier league… Our showing in Europe is a plus, wasn’t the main objective, although I admit reaching the European cup final for the 3rd time in FOUR years would have been quite remarkable, but as said before, fate can be a little slut sometimes, we rode our luck against Inter and Arsenal (and on other occasions in previous seasons), so it was about time that the run of luck ended… Torres , Babel and Mascherano are bloody legends though… Well, till next season… I just hope the bloody Tom Hicks don’t fvk things up all over again as they did before :(… and in Rafa we trust!

p.s. I don’t think I really believe in the sayings “They are no longer on speaking terms” & “Their relationship is beyond repair”. That is how the media describe the defunct relationship between the owners of Liverpool, Tom Hicks and George Gillette. I mean I know that they don't talk to each other, but I am referring to myself, for some reason I don't think that such things on a personal level are "beyond repair"... Guess I'm quite stubborn...

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Moving out, dissertation and so-called relationships

Just to let you know, half of this was typed on Thursday May 8th, while the remainder was typed on the morning of Friday May 10th. (As if anyone gives a carrot).

So, thanks to the “Jumeirah Garden City” project we are forced to move out from our ‘headquarters’ (As mentioned in the previous post). A project that nobody knows exactly anything about, nobody has the master plan and nobody knows how it will look like. All what is known now is that they are demolishing small areas of land here and there. Based on two maps that indicate that the compound we live in is amongst those set to be destroyed, we decided that maybe we should just stop wondering whether it is true or not and start looking for a new place. We found a new one pretty quickly and got the contractual agreements and stuff sorted out, but the problems increase by the day. Furniture that is “definitely available” now suddenly becomes sold out the next day, promises by the landlord to do some basic maintenance works before we move out are never carried out and keep on getting delayed, snags in the bathrooms and in general are another worry that the mysterious landlord is not really bothered about (We have to deal with someone else). But to be fair, most of these problems just need a bit of work and patience, and even if they are not sorted, some of them are not major problems… Should be staying there in about two or so weeks hopefully, so let’s see how things turn out. It’s significantly bigger than our current ‘crib’, it’s near my university (As if it makes a difference now, when I have less than 2 months to finish off my last semester!), closer to where my father works and the school of my small sister.

University is alright, barely going there anymore, this dissertation is quite endless though, taking ages just to do the preliminary stuff like the literature review and the pilot study, but it should sort itself out with time and as I get used to working on it, dread going to the library and looking for resources to analyze information and such. But one’s gotta do what one’s gotta do I guess, it is not like I will get to spend much time ever again there after the end of these two not-so-lovely months, and by the way, this is the point in time in every semester that I start contemplating whether such courses and projects are relevant at all. On one hand, it should be useful when (And if) I decide to pursue a masters degree, but otherwise, what good would a dissertation be really in this major? So far I only see it as a corner-cutting practice to make up the total number of required credit hours (It’s worth nine credit hours, rather than the typical three, yey).

Starting to look for a job, but not so intensely, no rush, I’ll have to work and build my career for the rest of my sad life anyway. Talking about ‘sad lives’, I guess I already lead one. When it takes you more than a year (And counting) to get over someone who doesn’t really care or even remember you, then that is quite sad indeed. I guess it is part of my personality, that, along with the small incident I ranted about on DeviantArt with the so-called ‘consultant’ kind of proved to me that I find it quite hard to take things in my stride and more importantly, accepting that rejection is something ‘normal’ and not that awful really. Maybe I should write a bit about my take on relationships, but I have limited experience with that, heck, I never even dated properly (Or at all) in the first place… But on a second thought, you never know… All I can say is that the fear of rejection and losing not only a friend, but a loved one, makes it quite complicated and complex to get into one, I never really believed in casual relationships either.

God knows when I will have a second read of this and realise the ridiculous amount of similarly ridiculous spelling and grammar mistakes this post has, just like all the others

Friday, April 25, 2008

Again...

All this happened recently...

I quit smoking (Last night’s puffs of a messed up argeelah don’t count)

Started working out

Did something stupid

Wished I could be somewhere else

Almost got into another retarded accident in the university’s parking lot

Stayed awake for 20+ hours and slept for the following 18 hours

Tried to convince myself of some fundamental issues, but to no avail

Got myself yet another camera

Thought about the past 12 or so years spent at our soon to be demolished ‘home’, thus, leading to an actual state of “looking for a place called home”
Had a few nightmares and déjà vu moments, not good

Got back to reality, maybe I should just hide in my bedroom forever

Realised that some things are significantly easier said than done

Found out the hard way that karma and fate can be a little slut sometimes

Thursday, April 10, 2008

*cough cough*

Paying the price for a few days of pure madness, seeing Above & Beyond in Beirut, beating Arsenal in the Champions League and meeting several new friends and learning a thing or two about a fascinating country. The constant change of weather + smoking indefinable amounts of sheesha has gotten me a nasty flu, headache and a running nose. Yey! Slowly getting better though, slowly

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Scorchin'

Taken away, astonished, surprised, blown away, dumbfounded, are all words that perfectly describe how my feelings were last night, some still linger, but lack of sleep and fatigue is overwhelming. The memories are imprinted in my memory forever.

This place is messed up in a fascinating way, the unique mix of pretty much everything here is probably unorthodox anywhere else in the world.

Beirut, I love you! A proper post to follow hopefully, I was planning to do a similar travel blog or diary, similar to what I did last summer, but didn’t really have much time, laptop’s battery doesn’t help either when it keeps on running out after 40 minutes! (Or less), but hey, being out and about is better than being stuck in a hotel room ;)
Back in Dubai in a few hours

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The art of dissing

Typed this around 24 hours ago, couldn’t upload it due to the internet issue I had (mentioned below). Happy reading

This is endless… Well, endless for three more months… Doing a dissertation, as I am sadly finding out is not something that you can finish huge chunks of quickly, it's a tedious, continuous and painstakingly endless process of work, work and more work… Once you have something in place you have to re-do it, re-look at it, examine it, analyze it and you can't just 'finish it', you have to go back to it at some latter point… It is something you have to follow through rigorously, it's true that this should be the case with everything really, but I'm finding out by doing this that I am NOT a perfectionist, I don't like relooking at things I already did, because I don't like finding silly mistakes that are always bound to be there, not the most professional attitude, and definitely not one for someone who claims to try to improve himself, but hey, nobody is perfect. I try to make the original as good as possible… Although I have to succumb eventually and ask someone to proof read it for my lazy ass.
Been having router problems for the past three or so hours, relying on an unreliable and unsecured network from one of our lovely neighbours to access the internet, thankfully I don't need it desperately now, but it's just annoying… Especially when the internet connection has supposedly been 'upgraded', something that we're yet to experience, hope this router failure and my persistent nagging will lead to even more changes in the I.T. Infrastructure at the O residences

For the time being, I have to find a way to motivate myself to read at least two more articles

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Getting there

Funny ol’ game.

I had my first job interview yesterday, I like to convince myself that I did well, thanks 4-years of studying (almost) and my relatively limited experience in life and half-decent talking skills. I doubt I will be offered anything since the property doesn’t open for another 3 years, but we’ll see... Haven’t had interviews for quite a while... The school work has more or less reached a halt, couldn’t motivate myself to continue, but will try to be slightly productive today, somehow.

Random- I wish I could harm someone, had the opportunity before but couldn’t, maybe I’m either too ‘nice’ or just too stupid. Cannot understand you anymore, I guess this is what happens when the person in front of you is either extremely intelligent, or absolutely retarded.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

False state

One of those long days, practically almost over, should be asleep and get ready for an even more hectic day, running out of time while still being in my comfort zone, not realising that it’s time to start doing actual work. Keeping on convincing myself that I have half the work cut out by my previous efforts before the little logic in my head tells me that it’s not enough, endless cycle really. Losing track of my surroundings; I admit I never had a proper sense of place or time (Especially the latter), so when someone like me says that, than that means something! At this very moment, I think I’m taking things for granted. Not good.

I feel the whole of 2007 has come and again very quickly, it wasn’t a particularly bad year or anything, in fact, it was probably another major turning point, but still, when I look back at general trivial events like the last world cup, when I got my car, certain courses and some events, I get the feeling that the whole year didn’t even count or exist in the calendar... Seems I’m not the only one with that damned sentiment either, “N” is there too... Can’t blame her, more or less similar situations, but some people have more at stake than others. Waiting, praying and hoping does not always yield positive results, learning that the hard way

Trying to figure out my mental strength is not easy, or fun...

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Projectation

One week into the semester and I haven’t done ANYTHING for my dissertation, I don’t have a research question, haven’t considered the variables, NOTHING... I guess I will use the excuse of having another project to worry about when I meet my supervisor tomorrow afternoon. I still have the gut feeling that it should not be as hard as I imagine or as hard as they try to make us think...

Have to give credit to K for an amazing set, as usual, brought back many memories of starting to listen to trance, old car, old friends, old everything that reminds me of those times two or three years ago... Didn’t hear the whole thing yet, but hearing Ferry Corsten’s remix of Aven’s “All I want” was more than enough I guess! Ferry at his best probably

As far as R is concerned, I wish he’d stop confusing me and giving me those scares every now and then. Had a good weekend though, didn’t do much school-related, but still...
One last thing- Etisalat = Greed!