N. | One Or The Other

This past weekend I went to see Iron Man with a couple of friends. I was out at a coffee shop before our meeting and had my laptop with me. I arrived at the mall before my friends did so I chilled at another cafe with my laptop, and I started working.

The night started to get exciting when I went to pray. There I was, walking in the mall, with my somewhat strange looking backpack. I felt uneasy, people were there to have a good time and do whatever it is they do, and there I was with my backpack, walking, in the mall.

I didn’t pay much attention to it, until I started getting stares. They were stares of fear. Why? - I wondered why would people fear a guy with a backpack, walking, in a mall, full of people, on Friday night. Wait a minute. Do they think I have a bomb in my bag? Oops.

People cleared my way as  I walked, their casual walk was turned into quick pacing. They walked passed me in slow  motion, whispering to each other I can only see their lips move, mouthing the word “bomb..” and “oh my God”. I tried not to pay too much attention and tried to look normal, as I normally would. I couldn’t, with all the pressure of staring eyes.

I tried to distract myself.

I took out my mobile to check the time, phone calls, etc. As I took it out, I heard gasps! What happened now! - I thought. Oh no, don’t we always hear about the bombs being triggered by cell phones? Crap, I just made it worse. The environment around me got very uncomfortable, I put on a crooked smile, and continued walking to the prayer room.

It only got worse as I left the prayer room. Here I thought people would assume I had prayed my final prayer, and was ready to disintegrate myself and everyone around me. There were moments where I felt people were going to jump me, and tie me down to stop me from such an action.

P.S. Events and actions my have been exaggerated. Just a bit. A little bit. Tiny bit.

Popularity: 36% [?]

It sure has been a while since I have posted a video. Before pressing play. Relax. I mean it. Stop for a moment, close your eyes and take a slow deep breath through your nose and feel the air. Then, while still closing your eyes, slowly exhale through your mouth.

Repeat the previous process until you feel more relaxed. Do it, you won’t lose a thing, besides all the stress you’re in :)

Now.. Enjoy the video clip.

Song: Kyoto Garden - Miyagi

Now the question is: Is it possible to be angry, yet still calm and totally composed?

Popularity: 52% [?]

This is a totally useless and pointless post in nature (if it wasn’t in nature, where else would it be? - another useless question you might say). There is no moral to this post, there is no message. There is no purpose, there is no value. This is merely a construction of sentences to fill the void that has become. How does a post become pointless when it is filled with words and sentences? At least, the sentences make sense, but together they mean nothing. This is, as you have so kindly seen, a totally and utterly useless, meaningless, worthless, valueless, senseless, and insignificant blog post.

I wonder if the comments will be as pointless as this posts…

Popularity: 65% [?]

You probably all heard about it. The internet going bad in the Mediterranian ending up affecting the Middle East and other areas [Reuters]. Currently I do not have an internet connection at home. Frankly, I am not too bummed out about it. I like the change. Even though there are addictions that need to be fullfilled (tv shows, anime, etc), it is not all so bad.

P.S. Uninterneted is a term I coined back in June 2007.

Popularity: 39% [?]

I was driving this morning and saw this on the highway. A car with a small carton of juice on it. Odd? Yes. Strange? Not really, you never know what you might see on your way driving to work. Every morning is an adventure!

Some of you may remember my tall friend Bojacob from my previous post about us walking next to each other in a mall. Now, there is nothing weird about walking with a friend, but only when there is a 33 CM gap in height between the two. I recently joined the team at the company where he works.

One day as I was going to pray, I used the washroom next to the praying area, and I was looking for a place to hang my jacket. I looked right and then I looked left, there was nothing there. I was planning on how to keep my jacket dry and clean in this place, and I was running out of options!

I hung the jacket on the door to the cleaner’s room, that seemed like the most reasonable solution thus far. I went over to the sink, looked in the mirror and that is what I saw behind me! A hanger! But wait, how come I missed it? I looked right and left but didn’t see it!

I turned around, and looked up. There it was, right under the ceiling. I could not reach it, I admit I am short. However, even my tall friend was having problems with it! (Or so he claims…). None the less, this hanger always gives me something to laugh about when I think about the wonders and small adventures in my life!

So until the next adventure, I bid you all farwell, and wish you a pleasant and wonderful day!

P.S. For those who have not yet voted, please vote on the poll on the right! Thank you for your participation! :)

Popularity: 51% [?]

Thanks to Shayma (ahamshay.com) for posting about an online creativity profiler. The test is a part of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh online division. I still remember watching the TV when I was in the US and always seeing the ads of the institute wondering if the scholarship program would agree if someone wanted to study in such institutes. I don’t think they will.

And as you know I am a large promoter of creativity and freeing your mind. After taking the test it turns out I’m a creative pathfinder and this is what it said about me.

HOW DO I THINK
Inspiration comes from innovation: your conscience lies with the future, You are inspired by how a problem is solved, not discussed. It’s all about natural form… it can seem random, but there is an intentional symmetry that really appeals to your eye. You seek out your creativity by grabbing opportunities that come your way. Challenges invigorate your mind and provide you with a point of reference.

HOW DO I LIVE
Nothing beats the buss of getting far away from the grind of daily life, kicking back, and enjoying a little serenity! Others see you as someone who can fix it. You’ll always get stuck in, not afraid to fail on the route to getting the right answers. Bliss is a feeling free to do as you please, exploring the world and your limitless imagination. Grabbing some time for you is a must. You like to keep well informed, soak up as much information as you can.

HOW I CREATE
Your strengths lie in your confidence to try out the unknown, mastering it before the masses. Being on the cusp on something new excites your appetite for cutting edge technology. You love the twists and turns of a well-told tale. The drama of life is one of your big passions. Pen to paper, you can grab any opportunity to record the thoughts that buzz about; you’ve got a creative head on those shoulders.

HOW I WORK
You learn best when you can discuss and argue the point. Learning should always be challenging and exciting. It would be great to be able to manage your own workload and be your own boss. Once you’ve got the know-how, you could realize your dream.

So What is your Creative Profile?

Popularity: 58% [?]

The sign says, “Wishing you every year for you to be in good health. This Eid we ask about the family and friends before we ask about the food. Thank you”

صيام مقبول انشاء الله و عيدكم مبارك و كل عام و دمتم طيبين سالمين

May your fasting be accepted, and Eid Mubarak and wish you peace and wellness every year to come.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Question: What is your strongest sense? What do you notice the most when you experience things with your senses. Vote on the right please! Thank you.

The idea wasn’t to get a lot of people to drop by really. It was centered around the idea of saying something totally obscene and misleading [link removed] and finding out how people would react to it. Turns you all have good sportsmanship. Give yourselves a pat on the back! I have also noticed that also a lot more people participated in the polls. Why, I can’t be sure. Maybe people prefer to participate in the polls more than leave a comment. However thank you to all who contributed. Welcome singles, forever free.

Now, on to more pressing matters. Last week there were a few people (Joud, Mark, and Chikapappi) who posted about their traffic violations and how ridicules some of their fines have become. Mine are a bit over 350 KD.  I have however a strategy that has been working for a while, that might help you as well to avoid the cameras.

After a little conversation my brother and I were having he gave me the idea to literally flag the cameras in my car’s GPS system. Being the loyal citizen that I am, I have gone around and flagged A LOT of cameras, I didn’t count how many, but here is a picture. Keep in mind that this picture is not complete and this is only part of Kuwait. Click on a picture for a better view.

I have also been enjoying immensely my carrot and orange cocktail juice.  However, this time I gulped the whole thing down before getting into my work clothes.

P.S. I changed my clothes in the car while driving on the fifth ring road. What a rush!

Popularity: 67% [?]

First off, note the poll on the right and vote please.

For a long time now I have been meaning to post some interesting statistics about this site, and here its finally.

The past 7 days:
The top search query is: hourneys.
The top clicked query is: Japanese girl

The past 2 weeks:
The top search query is: Einstein quotes.
The top clicked query is: Japanese little girl.

Here are some funny search terms over the past 2-3 months:
The top search from all over the world, is “construction stare”! I have no idea what that is. Here are some others.

• greasy hiar
• how to wear dishdashas
• swimming shampoo for shaved head
• bleach eating freaks countdown
• don boogla
• the pink slapper

Here are searches that match blogger names that have reached my website:
“manutdfanatic” — search from Hungary.
“swair” — search from Unknown.
“Laialy” — search from Germany.
“cixousianpanic” — from Unknown.
“eshda3wa” — from Unknown.

The top image search query was:
A variation of japanese girl.

There are other very interesting details but that shall be all for now!

Popularity: 41% [?]

I don’t always post about what I think about posting, there are a lot of ideas that I just disregard. Here are a couple of unmatured* ideas for blog posts I have thought about, but haven’t quite written a post for:

• Addictive personalities: Do you believe in such a thing? This isn’t a type of attraction, but a personality that you just need to be around or have around you.
• Excuses — way too common: I don’t feel like going out because… (fill out the blank) Too lazy, sleepy, too cold, too hot, too busy, too bored, too sunny, too dark, too windy, too noisy, too blah blah.
• Cashing in on Eid: Visiting family in Eid felt like cashing in on Vegas slot machines (or something like that). We got extra points for being around the family, to be enough for a year or so.
• Random: Food appreciation is proportional to the size of your tummy. Don’t pick on chubby people! (A friend disagreed since he loves food and has high metabolism!)
• Random: In anime, the main characters in high school mostly always sit next to the window.
• Random: The real reason men who aren’t supposed to wear Speedos, do. It is because it gives them a visual image of what they could/would be like. Lets call it, self motivation.
• The way you walk: What it says about your personality.
• Random: Dialogue argument between two people, disagreeing about the same thing, but from two different perspectives.

* Unmatured: A state of not being complete. It is not a real word, but should be.

Popularity: 40% [?]