My Amazing Year Update :)

Five weeks back my atelier's equipment arrived to Jordan. But with  that arrival, another long awaited gift arrived; our new addition to the family; Karam.

Nine months back when KJ and I were on a trip in south Saudi Arabia we discovered we were pregnant. I don't want to talk about pregnancy and the morning sickness which turned out to be all time sickness. And don't want to talk about the aches and changes I went through, nor the miserable two days labor I went through, nor the delivery. I want to talk about this blood-stained creepy creature that came out of me whom I was longing to hold before I met him and fell in love with since the very moment he laid his head on my shoulder in the delivery room and I saw the dark blue eyes.

The other day I told KJ that if anyone thinks women wait for their babies for nine months then they are wrong. Women wait for their babies since the very doll they played with.

When I look into Karam's eyes with his hands clutching to my finger thinking of how helpless he is and depending  on me totally. This idea freaks the hell out of me. Who am I to be someone to depend on in everything? Now that my world revolve around him, I feel I am the one who's depending on him. My timing, my activities, and my everything,when to shower, when to eat, all about him.

The feeling that half of this baby is me and he was growing inside of me is so unexplained.

Yesterday, we celebrated my sweet little boy becoming one month old. Tomorrow we're celebrating KJ's and I first anniversary It's unbelievable how one's life can change within a year. I got married, lived in three different countries, went to more than 6 different cities, gave birth, and experienced many firsts. I guess that's life and that's why I'm still the simple girl with complicated thoughts and have lots of things to learn.

That's all for now
Can't wait to live the rest

Lyann

*stretching her fingers*

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n :O
so the keyboard does type still!

April has come and almost gone. What excuse do I have for not posting? Well, I'm not sure if that's an excuse but there's someone in my life who's taking all my attention (almost all). And no it's not KJ! It's this cute little thing with the title "atta's niece". Such a lovable baby. I just love her.

She's five months and couple of days old. Started to eat mashed vegetables and biting the best biscuit I've ever tastes, alone with Cerelak. She just started the addiction of swallowing her hand. and recently discovered she can move her feet in a circular way. When she's sleepy she draw her hands closer to her face and keep staring at them until she falls asleep. Oh and she just had her first haircut!

I've been babysitting her for a while now and she's organized better me! She knows when it's milk time and when it's other meals time. She knows that she wants to be put in bed to sleep for her bedtime.

Since my teen days I've always loved spending time with kids and I know how to entertain them. But this baby girl is different. Is it because I'm her aunt or is she special. That's something I wouldn't care much about.

I hope I can post photos of her. I guess I'll have to take a permission from her parents.

That's all for now :)

QAQ

QAQ as in Qanatu Al Qasba
First time testing mobile blogging!

Words I Want to Share :)

My Dear Blog,

I am aware I've been away lately, unsure if it was the lack of motivation or being busy with life. It's not that you're not part of my life, on the contrary, at times I see you as the mirror that I look into to show me what I've done and reflects to me whether it's right or wrong. You even helped me evaluate myself, my thoughts and deeds. You've been the door to a whole new world to. Giving me the chance to express myself, introducing me to friends, opening my eyes to appreciate life from different points of views.

Knowing that I've been away for several reasons doesn't mean I don't care about you, neither does it mean I don't want to share with you. For that I'm sharing a secret I've been hiding for a while. I'm going to have a niece! (the secret I talked about earlier) :D

Yes, I know! It means I'm going to be a khala (an aunt). I'm going to be "cool auntie atta" :D

Unfortunately, I missed most of the shopping and preparations for the baby. One because my sister is living in Jordan, second is about me being busy or not there when my mother and Sana went for shopping. I did attend a couple of shopping trip (or was it three times?) and I got something for the baby. It's this tiny stand for bathing. I've never seen one before but the moment I saw it I thought "yay, we put it inside a tub or sink and put the baby on it" it looks like a tiny slide with Pooh and the gang (or was it Tigger? I sent it months ago).

What else did I miss to tell you lately?

Oh! me and another Iraqi female bloggers met at Zhra's for Fotoor (the meal for fast breaking) and then we had to hurry up and sit in a the car just like "Sardine fish in a can" as Zhra calls it. We were in a race with time to catch Isha Prayer (The last of the five daily prayers) followed by Tarawee7 (Ramadan night prayers). The Imam was Salah Bu Khatir, one of the best Quran Reciters I've ever heard(Click to listen)(Click for Translation). When I heard his voice of the first time, was about 18 months ago, I thought he was The best reciter ever.

It was my first time to pray in a masjid in UAE and it's the first time to pray Tarawee7 outside my home. The feeling of being one among those who pray in a group is amazing. How the people are scatered here and there and in one phrase said by the Imam they all stand in in straight lines with not a word to utter is such a feeling that cannot be described in words.


Click to listen :)

Today is the 19th day Ramadan, this night we're going to start the first day of the last ten days of Ramadan. They are considered the best days and they are yet to come. It is believe that the Night of Al-Qadr (The Night of Decree) is one of the last tend nights in Ramadan (Read the links for listening and translation).

oh, and yesterday 9/9/2009 at 9:09:09 was Dubai Metro opening!

A lot is going on in my life and on my mind and I needed to write this and clear my thoughts and hide in my den, at least until Eid. So my dear Blog, even though I'm away but I'll always come back with news and secrets I want to share.

*My calligraphy says: Mobarak Alaikum Ashahar (مبارك عليكم الشهر) May this month be full of blessings to you :)

That's all for now
Until I can share some more.

Bloggers' Meeting... Yet another Chapter

OMG I deleted something and it turned out it's Amman's diary. There were two copies so I decided to delete the other and it turned out that was a different folder but the same name! Thanks God I've got this post as drafts.

I keep digging in my Recycle Bin hopping that I can retrieve the folder but no use.

Chapter No.7
Meeting Melanterys

When I first arrived to Amman, I was staying with my mother's cousin. They had ADSL and I thought I was blessed to have such a fast internet. But I just reached Amman and I had a lot of things to do and many people to see so I didn't have enough time to be online or post. Nevertheless, I used to check my e-mail or skype for a very short while before sleeping. And that's how I started to receive e-mails from Mel. She asked me about the weather and what to wear. After about a week of e-mailing each others I moved to the new flat where there was no landline i.e. no internet.
I never chatted with Mel nor e-mailed her before. But I read her posts and every now and then and I would leave her a comment. At the same time she used to leave me some comments and we used to communicate in Anarki's, the Kid's or Morbido's blogs.

When Mel reached Amman, I was busy with my sister's wedding. I had plans to invite Mel so she would see an Iraqi wedding but there was a misunderstanding, I thought she was arriving midnight Aug.15 and turned out she was arriving the night before. A stupid mistake. And when I found out that she has arrived I thought it was too late and my grandma kept scolding me for not inviting her. Anyway, after the wedding Anarki called and said there's the gang is planning another meeting. So I set the time and place and we all met again in al Hussain Park.

.................................................

The rest of the diary has vanished and I'm glad I posted the previous chapters. At least they are retrievable. But I'm very sorry about the rest, especially the next chapter which was titled as "Two Archeologist Women". But you can read about it on Melantrys' blog.

I have a flu and I'll keep lamenting about the folder so

That's all for now
And... I'm sniffing some more

Meeting "Who Was There"

Chapter No.6
Meeting "Who Was There"

I've always been reading Iraqi blogs but never had the time to be a regular reader to most of them. On the other hand, my mother reads several blogs she likes and used to read almost daily. And that's how I heard about "I Was There". As my mother used to e-mail some bloggers she found out that she knew "I was there" and that he was her cousin's friend. While "the gang"=anarki, the kid, Morbido, Bassam, 24 and I in addition to my sister and cousin, were sitting in a café we were joined by Mr. I Was There and his family. At that moment I remembered what my mom told me about him and I told him about it and that this girl, my cousin, is his friend's daughter. He recalled a lot of memories about him and my relative and kept telling us stories.
He introduced us to his wife and three daughters. Just like any other Iraqi family, they were struggling to find a place to stay, schools for the girls and most important jobs.

After about a couple of hours talking and getting to know one another better and better, time flied really fast and I had to leave and go home.

Amman Diary - the Picnic

Chapter No5
The Park Meeting/picnic

After several meetings in malls and cafés, we decided that we need a better place to meet where there's no hookah smoke nor loud songs with the crowd. So, Bassam and I had the same idea about going to a park and enjoy our time there.

We set the time and place and went to the park. Iraqis going to a park means a picnic. Iraqi picnic means rice, dolma and many other kinds of food to be taken in pots. I suggested that we don't need this kind of picnic and let's have only chips, cake and drinks. The guys were supposed to take care of the drinks, which ended up as Anarki's job. And the girls, Morbido, Micho and I to take care of the other things.

Morbido and I thought of taking a mat to sit on, but both of us were just visitors in this country and we didn't have any.

Unfortunately the kid couldn't make it to the picnic. He caught cold.

Micho, Morbido and their mom, my sister, I and our grandma met at the gat with Anarki and his Friend (after a year I discovered that he was a blogger too!). 24 Steps to Liberty and Bassam were there too. Zeyad came and said that Nabil was not coming, but knowing my guitar was there he joined us later.

After we all were there, except for the Kid, we found a park couch for Grandma and Morbido’s mom and placed our simple snacks. We couldn’t find good grass to sit on. So we sat on the sidewalk. Anarki started the concert by tuning the guitar. I can’t remember if it was him or Nabil who cut the first string but Nabil had the honor of cutting the second. I can’t remember well because it was funny and hilarious. Such a thing would usually drives me crazy but I didn’t mind it for the fun we had worth not only 2 guitar strings but the whole guitar.

We sang and laughed till it was dark. And that’s when we decided to visit the Royal Cars Exhibit. It wasn’t easy to find it. We had to go up the hill and it was getting darker and darker and we took a shortcut through the Chinese Garden, which by the way was Rocky place rather than a garden. We took some photos there, or should I say crazy photos. And then we arrived.

The gate was locked. We could see the mini cars through the glass but nobody was there. We waited for a while but it was obvious there was no one there. There was an antique airplane outside. We took some photos there too. The feet photo and some more. And after hitting the road we found a big sign with the phrase “The Museum us closed on Tuesday”! The guys took the chance for another round of photos. That was the final laugh for the evening.

That's all for now
And... Wait for more

Amman's Diary - Iraqi Bloggers' Meeting

Chapter No.4
Meeting Bassam, 24 steps to liberty & Nabil

A couple of days passed after the previous meeting and Anarki smsed me telling me that Bassam (Treasure of Baghdad) & 24 Steps to Liberty had e-mailed us all and want to join the gang. I didn't know about the e-mail myself because as usual I didn't have access to the internet. On the other hand Morbido has received it and updated me about it later.

This time the guys picked a well-known café for our meeting. Morbido, Micho, my sister and I arrived there behind schedule about 20 minutes. But the Kid and Zeyad were not there yet! I've met Anarki, the Kid, Hala and Zeyad earlier but I never worried about the person I'm meeting. I was exited to do so. But this time when we got out of the taxi I told Morbido "I’m wondering if this meeting is going to be successful as the previous ones." She said that she had no worries. Then I remembered she met Treasure earlier. At that moment, Anarki was waiting for us at the gate of the café and he led us to our table. After introducing themselves and ourselves everything thing went fine. As we started to talk I felt relieved. I didn't know why but I guess it's just because their blogs are more like political than personal and I've always hated to talk politics.

Both guys' faces looked familiar and it was easy to talk to them. We talked about everything that came to our minds just like old friends catching up.

Later, a nice shy guy joined us. He was introduced as Zeyad's brother. He was so calm and mute but later I discovered that he was Nabil! He was the youngest of us all. What a polite nice guy.

Being away from Iraq I gained the skill of recognizing Iraqi faces among hundreds. Each time I met one of the gang I say "I know this guy. I must have seen him before" it was true for Anarki and the kid because both of them had showed us a photo of themselves. But for 24 steps to Liberty? I don't know. I felt I knew him.
My sister was sitting next to him and told him that she must have seen him before. She felt the same. He said that his entire family looks the same. After knowing his family name, we knew why we find familiar. His aunt, a famous Iraqi painter, was and still my grandmother's friend and she used to teach Arts in our school. We met her several times and last year we went to her latest exhibition in Amman.

In our next meeting I took my cousin who came from the States. We were talking about names and I mentioned her brother's name. Bassam said that his friend's father is the same and he mentioned the friend's name. That moment I said "May he rest in peace" He stand there astonished. His friend was my late cousin!

What a small world!

Amman's Diary - Iraqi Bloggers' Meeting

Chapter No.3
Meeting Hala_S and Zeyad

It was Anarki too; the one who arranged this meeting after Morbido has arrived. The Mall was also the place of this event, same reason: everybody knows how to get there. Hala escaped from Beirut after the war started and she came to Amman and decided to meet the Iraqi Bloggers. This plan worked good for all of us and we had fun meeting the whole gang.
Anarki and Hala were waiting for Morbido and me at the gate. Morbido's mom and sister, Micho, were there too. But Micho was too shy to stick with the gang. The Kid joined us later.

Talking about Iraq and our memories and how we spent war times and how we handled living there after the war. We talked about our plans for the future.
Hala was leaving the next day so there wasn't any chance to meet her again at least on this visit. I hope I can meet her again someday. She is such a nice lady, well educated and open-minded.

About an hour passed and Zeyad didn't show up. He called the guys and apologized about being late and that he was busy meeting some people too. When he joined us and said hi to all of us he turned to me and said how are you "Named a Name"? I told him I don't know whom he was talking about. He was mistaken me with someone else. He read about me from Morbido's blog. But ironically I've heard about that "Named Name" story. It seems that we run in the same circles.

Asking a guy on the next table to take some photos for us marked the ending of that meeting.
…………………………………………………..
Next day Morbido, Anarki, the kid and I, and we had fun going to the movies. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean. It was one of the best disgusting movies I've ever seen and the most hilarious. WE HAD FUN.

Resuming Amman's Diary - Iraqi Bloggers' Meeting

A couple of friends of mine asked me to publish Amman diary Summer 2007 – The Iraqi Bloggers' Meetings – which I wrote in Amman when I had no access to internet and wasn't able to post. Another friend asked me recently to post them too. What I remember, I was seeking the approval of each person included in the diary. Everyone said go ahead and they had no problem. Anarki was the first and I did publish about our meeting.

But I can't remember if the Kid replied or refused (I think he said no). But since more than a year later he posted something related to meeting me and other female Iraqi bloggers without seeking permission, I think he wouldn't mind it. It's old news anyways. Plus I'm not sure if the Kid exists anymore. He's Abbas Hawazin now.
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Chapter No. 2
Meeting The Kid

After The Kid reached Amman he contacted Anarki who called me just a couple of days after our first meeting and we arranged another meeting. My sister was of course there to escort me.

We agreed that the mall was easy to reach by all of us. I got a call from the Kid as I reached the mall that they were waiting for me. I saw Anarki accompanied with two other guys. One of them was supposed to be the Kid. I looked at both of them trying to figure out which one of them is The Guy. One of them was busy with his mobile, both were in black though one of the shirts was with a band or a game logo, can't remember. Anyway, this guy pointed at the other telling me "He's the Kid" then the Kid introduced himself and pointed at the friend and said "He came by mistake" with a laugh.

I introduced them to my sister and then we started to search for a café or someplace to sit but the mall was hectic and crowded.

The first thing I noticed about The Kid was his eyes. They looked mysterious. After few minutes I could tell his eyes revealed curiosity. Then I remembered the tragic story how he lost his four friends in an explosion and I thought it was that sadness.

After roaming the mall, none of us was hungry or needed a drink, but my sister and the kid stopped for an ice cream cup. Nothing interesting happened except for the regular chitchat between friends as if we knew one another long time ago. After a couple of hours, it was getting late; my sister and I decided to go home. The guys agreed and wanted to leave too. As we approached the exit gate, the kid and his friend disappeared. Anarki was still with us. We waited for a while but they never showed up. So we left without saying goodbye. That wasn't a nice impression for a first meeting but I guess it was easy to forgive the Kid.

Anarki, my sister and I decided to cross the main road to find a taxi. We ended up walking for about 20 minutes or more talking, until we took a taxi. I enjoyed the walk for the pleasant personality of Anarki. He's never boring and always had something to say. Not just something, but something smart or funny or maybe both.

Oh this is supposed to be about the Kid. So, his father and my mother used to run in the same circles – career wise- and we talked a bit about it but we never really tried to sort it out. He wasn't the same blogger nor the person I knew online. Maybe because his friend was there or could it be the presence of Anarki, but it was awkward meeting him. Even though the same evening we did chat afterwards and talked about it and he told me he felt the same. We agreed that we were better online friends rather than face-to-face.
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Hopefully, I'll resume posting the rest of the diary.

That's all for now

Checking "My life list to do"

I'm not a big fan of New Year activities and such but I have to admit it does implement certain significance regarding checking "my life list to do".


Stuff I liked about 2008 (I can call them personal victories)(not in a specific order, well maybe just the first two):

First personal exhibition
Participated in two painting competitions and won third place in both.
Decided to take double majoring MBA and still working on my thesis
Co-organized a training program and delivered the icebreaker
First time to meet deaf and mute group of people and communicate with them
Took a class of Ice skiing
Tried water jet skiing for the first time
Had my eye fixed with Lasik surgery
Learned some new techniques and tricks in drawing
Was able to attend a play by kids for Refugee world day
Met khlalid jarrar and his mom faiza alaraji
Went to 4D theater
Forced a ball to rest in peace in its final destination, the pocket during playing billiard (naah that's nothing)
Impressed myself and others in the cooking field
Went to several international exhibitions which visited UAE
Went to Dubai Tennis Championship Final (Feliciano Lopez played beautifully and Roddick was rude. if it wasn't for his serve he wouldn't win.. oh and I have to say I had a VIP seat as a gift for my birthday from a friend but that I didn't occupy and moved to the public seats but still close enough to the American ambassador and heard Roddick when he said "there's so much crap is going on.. let's stop the game" So unprofessional to say that to your audience and the ambassador who came to see the game! oh I was supporting Lopez and did carry Spain flag)

Got rid of the 4th wisdom teeth
Found many of my old friends on facebook
Tasted crab for the first time among many other adventures in food

Ghada and nassir got married and they are waiting for a baby (I'm so happy for them and wish them the best) :D
N gave birth to her second child Totti (what a lovely child)
Obama won and Bush got what he deserved
Got 7aboob and ma7boob :D (my cell phone and laptop)

Not so cool stuff (there were much more but somehow they skip the mind :D )
Had to say goodbye to Rabab (teacher of History of Art who became a good friend of mine)
Got 3 fish: Kha'9ra, pinky and burtoqala, who eventually died
Adopted 7ashara and pet her for almost two weeks before she left this world

Can’t think of anything else right now
Sorry if i forgot something but if I remembered something i would update the post.

That's all for now
And for 2008

Happy New year everyone

Wonderful Week With My Cousins

The following is a recap of my uncle's family visit (19-23/11/2008)


As much as last week was tiring, exhausting, hectic and crazy, IT WAS FUN.

My uncle's family came to visit us from Germany. His three sweet little kids are amazing. This was the fourth time for us to meet. The two boys and the sweet little girl are smart, loveable as well as naughty. Even though there are a lot of hotels in our area but my mother insisted on receiving them at our home. She wouldn't want to miss them not for an hour during their short visit.

The kids are taller and cuter now. You can't but love them. They are fluent in German and doing pretty well on understand Arabic but could do better on the speaking part (I have to admit they speak Arabic better than some Arab kids in UAE). At times they reply in German and think everybody can understand them. Thanks God I studied German for a while and I could catch a word and understand what they want but my poor sister kept telling them "in Arabic please" and they think she's joking!

Since it is very cold in German, and my uncle being a busy doctor, they hardly enjoy outdoors activities. Therefore, their visit to UAE is such a good time to do so. My mother assigned me to set a schedule for each day. I had to do phone calls and do some bookings here and there. Had to check websites and search for the best places to visit. And I was able to set, somehow, a good program for the week.

We arranged our schedule so the family would take a week off from work/schools to enjoy the reunion.

We drove to Um al-Quwain shortly after they arrived and checked in Flamingo resort to spend the night. The activities there included crab hunting, but unfortunately it was so cold and the tide was high that we couldn't catch as many crabs as we wanted. Actually only three guys from the group were able to do so. But we've seen how it goes. I stayed in the boat and enjoyed watching everything with my three little cousins.


Flamingo beach Resort

That was followed by a buffet and special crab dish for those who participated in the crab hunting. I tried it and it tasted like fish with a sweet taste.


Me introducing you to the first Crab I ever taste :)

We enjoyed jumping and playing on the green grass at night. My sister and I were 5 years old again. The place was empty and we almost had the entire resort for ourselves.

Next day was the beach day. It was too cold to swim. I enjoyed walking on the sand, collecting some shells while they tried some fishing and playing with sands. We checked out and went for sightseeing in Um al-Quwain. Then we passed by a nice place and we had to check what was it. It turned out to be another resort and we went in and took some photos. We thought we'll try boating but it was lunch break for workers there and we didn't want to waste time. Therefore, we drove back to Sharjah and enjoyed water jet skiing.

It was their first time to try jet skiing. Mine was the second. But after the long drive home and my sister being so not cool by trying some tricks gave me motion sickness and I forced her to take me ashore.

The third day was dedicated for some beach fun in Dubai but I didn't join the party. The next day was dedicated for Abu Dhabi. We went sightseeing here and there including Emirates Palace Hotel where there's an exhibition of new projects in Abu Dhabi. It was fun and I was one step away from camel back riding but everybody was scared and my uncle said that he tried it in KSA and it wasn't fun at all. Plus we were close to a donkey and a horse and the smell was horrible so I had to withdraw and leave that for another adventure.

On the schedule I dedicated a day for Sharjah's museums but things somehow that day got very messed up and we had the chance to visit only Sharjah Aquarium. Oh and we went horseback riding. This time my horse was Penny, a nice, cute white horse. This time I was very confident that I made Penny run all by myself.


Sharjah Aquarium

Two nights in a raw I told them the bedtime story "the rabbit and the turtle" (al arnab wa al sul7afat) which they two little ones pronounce it funnily as (al alnab wal sulfa7at). After jet skiing I helped their mom blowing their hair with the hairdryer. Such a hard job to keep a child to sit let alone stand still!

In Iraq, the child is not raised by his parents only; it's the job of the entire community. The extended family plays an important role, neighbors too. I believe my three little cousins have a thirst for interacting with family. I cannot help thinking of all those Iraqi kids being raised in different countries all around the world and what they have to miss about Iraq, the Iraq that we knew and spent our childhood. They enjoyed their visit and when I tease them and say "I'll keep you here and let your mom and dad go back to Germany" a certain look of eagerness shows on their faces but then they would say "No, you come and stay with us". And oh my how I wish to go and visit them in the near future.

That's all for now about me and my cousins!

Just Breathe

I was running as fast as I could, making my way through the crowd from the bookshop of the university to the professor's room to hand the printouts and get rid of the burden I've been carrying for a while, when my colleague took the invitations from me and said "Just Breathe".

She was right. I need to take a deep breath and slowdown for a while.

My classmate and I were busy during the last month preparing for a training program as a project for Management of Training class. We were supposed to apply what we’ve learned and give a seminar. The assignment was given to us since the very first class. We had to come up with a topic for the seminar. We would meet or group-email for brainstorming sessions. We were divided into several committees and I was a member of most of them because of the interrelated part, and let me brag and say effective and important roles I was given or volunteered to do.

I was assigned to design the training kit, posters, invitations, certificates and the PowerPoint presentation. Up to the last moment there were printing problems and even silly spelling mistakes. But now as I look back at everything I would say that everything went great.

I was also assigned to be the voice. During surfing the net for icebreakers, I found something interesting, that the instructor of a lecture would stand at the back of the classroom and would address the student, who would be facing the blackboard, and s/he would say I’m going to help you and push you to the next level… or something like that.

I presented the idea to the team and said that we should make it a surprise for the audience. My team-members liked the idea and thought it would be more interesting if the sound was a female voice. And that’s how I became The Voice!
The other part I played was the icebreaker presenter. The plan was I would give the icebreaker without being present on the stage. The voice would instruct the audience to watch the presentation and such. But I felt there was a problem with the one pressing “next slide” so I had to come up among the crowd with the wireless microphone and improvise and work on the icebreaker activity.

Our seminar title was “B” the CIRCUMSTANCES. A colleague drew our attention to Napoleon’s quote “To hell with circumstances. I create circumstances”. Another colleague, the one who told me to take a breath :) she came up with the title so it would attractive for students. We simply focused on how to think out of the box, therefore, the first icebreaker was the nine-dots drill.

During solving other assignment, the teacher figured out that I was quoting from “the 7 habits of highly effective people” which I was unintentionally doing. But I guess I like the book so much and started on internalize the concepts. I started reading 2005 and but I left to Jordan this summer and came and hurried to join classes. I’m left with the closing remarks and I feel I like the book so much that don’t want to finish reading it.

During deciding on the topic the teacher suggested that we should give a lecture on the 7 habits. Since I’m the only one who read the book it was all on my shoulder. Later when we diced to on the topic I was still supposed to give something related to the book. Therefore I gave the woman sketch exercise (no, I’m not going to tell you what is it all about. Go read the book).

Then the core lecture was there and we had a lot of fun activities during that with lessons to be learned. And closed the night with dinner.

The president of the university, many faculty members, and the VP wife attended the seminar.

Being on the stage with the mic, giving inspirational speech and encouraging audience to participate and motivating them to interact… it felt like home! I thought it was just me being under the spotlight. But after the lecture when students and team-members came to me, thanked me and said nice words about how the drills I gave were interesting and that I did a good job… I felt I want to do that more often. I wish if I can make it as a career, a career that does make a difference.

I've been participating in many since high school, but this one was different activities but this one was different. I was for the first time proactive. I believe that was another step on the road I’m taking… but still… there’s much for me to learn.

That’s all for now

How about some good news?

Just wanted to refresh the page and get over the recent tragic pet stories. I have a lot going on and busy with many things. It could be shocking to know that I'm pursuing a second MBA specialization to graduate with double majors; that's General Management and Human Resource Management.

As for my visit to Jordan, I met many of my relatives whom I haven't seen for a long while. Many of the kids in the family had grown up and I can hardly believe that the kids I used to babysit are now way much taller than me. Another second cousin who was very annoying has became a very nice teen. I spent three days teaching him English and Arabic preparing him for a qualification exam to get him accepted in a good high school. I have to brag a bit, he was accepted in Cambridge high school and the Baptist school in Jordan.

I attended the wedding of one of my best friends Ghada. The wedding was very beautiful and LOUD. The cake was delicious, and I had the chance to see some of my colleagues. I don't know why our weddings in Arab countries are too loud that you can't hear yourself!

Regarding bloggers, I met khala Faiza Al-Arji twice. She's such a nice lady. I went to her office with my sister and my friend to participate for volunteering work. It was World Refugee Day but unfortunately, they have been preparing for that day for a long time that we only got chance to attend their ceremony. I wished there was something I could do during my stay in Amman.

In an attempt to have an Iraqi-bloggers meeting (which was poorly attended) I got the chance to meet Khalid Jarrar*. We met several times afterwards and I have to list several first here but above all was the experience of the 4D theater (And we thought 3Dimention was the limit!!!). First time to play or let me say carry the cue stick of Billiard and watch Khalid and my sister play the game. I did, ladies and gentlemen, hit a purple ball and forced it to rest in peace in it's final destination, the pocket :D

Speaking of firsts, there was a life changing experience in Amman. I had a Lasik surgery for my left eye and I'm free from spectacles. I've been wearing them since the tenth grade and it became part of my personality, that I was known "the girl with the glasses".

I think that's more than just and update and page refreshing.
That's all for now.

* Who wants me to say that he's funnier than it seems on his blog which is true but I said this would be just a footnote :D

Meeting Rosy

I heard her name was Rosy. I’ve never met her before. I saw her from a distance walking gracefully without knowing it was her. When I approached her they told me that she was the one.

Rosy was a brunet, elegantly curved, with dark mysterious eyes. One glance from her I felt she could look down deep into my soul. She was silent for brief minutes and I was looking at her trying to be acquainted and start a relationship. I was intimidated as much as I was enthusiastic to ride the mare, Rosy.




The trainer told me to climb up and sit on the saddle. For a moment I looked at huge Rosy and prayed for God that everything will go on just fine. Once I was on the saddle, with my body straight up, the elegant horse-riding black cap on my head, it felt like home. According to the trainer’s instruction, I kicked Rosy and made the sound with my tongue, but Rosy stands still. The trainer laughed at me and told me to kick harder and I said “Poor Rosy”. A couple of times and my kicks were getting harder and Rosy obeyed the command.

Now I was few meters away from the trainer, and she said to me with a loud voice “control the horse as if you’re driving a car”. I smiled secretly and said to myself thankfully I drove for two weeks back in Baghdad during 2000. Rosy kept walking me rounds and rounds in the training arena. The trainer took the time to teach me the “up & down” exercise.

After a while I found myself talking to Rosy as if we were old friends. The trainer asked me from a distance if I wanted Rosy to run. Thinking of course I want, I nodded with my head for approval. She told me to shorten the bridle, kick again and whistle.

By doing that, it felt like magic. Rosy started to run and the morning breeze started to blow in my face. I felt I was standing like Jack and Rose on the forefront of the Titanic. By runny joyfully for several rounds, Rosy encouraged Blue (my uncle’s horse) to run as well. Unfortunately, my uncle has a problem with heights and animals, and just like me he wanted to face challenges, but he wasn’t ready to run yet.

Whenever there was a chance and Blue was afar for a good distance, I would command Rosy to run and enjoy it. By then Rosy and I were fiends as I believe and I was patting on her long horsy neck. But time flied by and the hour was over and I had to say goodbye to Rosy and the trainer and I promised that it wasn’t scary and I enjoyed it and will definitely come back again soon.

Changes

This lyric was stuck on my mind for a while now and I just need to get it out. I haven’t heard this song for ages now. I used to love it and I do miss listening to this song or anything by 3DD but just like I stopped Metallica for a while I stopped so many stuff right now.

I’m going through changes though :)

I won the third place for the competition that I participated in. I don’t remember I told any of you about it but it’s an art competition on the UAE plane. The subject should be inspired form UAE heritage or developmental aspects about the country.
The competition is carried on by Emirates University – university social club/ Al Ain Emirate. I’m not going to brag here. I leave that for my parents and friends :)




These days I’m busy with another UAE event but in Sharjah. I remember two years back I wrote something about going to the Heritage Festival in Sharjah, it’s the same festival. But this time I’m not a visitor. I’m one of the participants in the art competition. It’s feels like we’re in Paris drawing and painting in the street where people pass by and look at our work and take photos. I’ve never liked such things and never considered doing so, but with most of the colleagues I know from the institute and some other Special Needs institute/ most of them deaf and mute, it became a very interesting experience.

I’ve always wanted to learn sign language and I had cards for alphabets and some important signs. I wish I can understand it especially when I see the news with a quarter of the screen a guy using signs to commune the news. Sometimes I try to relate between the spoken and the signs and learn but other times I give up and mute the sound and say whatever comes to my mind when I see his signs. My family like it when I used to do so and my sisters used to laugh hysterically.

But last week I met a bunch of sweet girls and guys from age 12 to late twenties, and all were deaf. it's my first time to meet deaf perople.My colleagues and I had to pay really, I mean really really good attention to know what these folks are trying to tell us. It was the first time for me to feel reall ignorant. They taught us many signs including the days of the weeks. At certain times they had to write to us on their palms what they wanted to say when we couldn’t get what the sign stands for. As for their names they show the letters and after giving us hard times to get them they gave us a paper with their names. They made real fools out of us! We learnt which country each one was from and I spent most of the time with an Iraqi girl who left Iraq three years back. I was amazed by her intelligence. She even had some words or let me say signs about war, occupation and what’s going on these days. It helped a lot that they already know how to read lips.

It’s been hectic for a while now; with my thesis, topics to discard and resources to find. I missed my friend N who just came back from Baghdad after a month. And my friend R is busy with her work and flu. I feel exhausted. I was studying and I fell asleep. It was a weird nap from 1:30- 5:30 pm. I woke up in the same world and same room but it felt as if my dream, which I cannot remember, downloaded new programs and now it’s time for me to review these programs and reset my life with the ones I need to keep.

I believe that every now and then one should take a moment and look at life from an objective point of view. Review all the givens, set any deviation right and see new opportunities.
I’m in the process of trying to make sketches for my up coming exhibition for Ramadhan. I’m changing my style and acquiring new one, at the same time I’m considering Arabic Calligraphy.

That’s all for now

Oh and I haven’t slept since yesterday morning. I’ve been staying up for a while now and two days back my grandma came form Germany. I know I didn’t say much about that but I have to dedicate an entire blog not a post just to express my feelings or joy and respect for this great women. I love her :)

Oh oh and I broke my fasting for chocolate :D not eating much but a couple of small pieces a day. And I ate “pinky candy clouds” as I love to call cotton candy, two days in a raw :))

My Exhibition: A Salute to Jawad Salim

After wandering and roving among my talents and hobbies, after searching for the right means to express myself and thoughts, I finally found myself accomplishing one of the biggest dreams of mine. It actually happened and I received the recognition I was looking for as an artist during the opening evening of my exhibition.

It started by accidentally executing two of Jawad Salim’s paintings on ceramic relief and the idea struck me “I can make an entire collection by recreating Jawad’s work with a different material”. With the encouragement of my mentor Wissam Al Hadad, I was able to complete more than 30 art works. Some of them were copying Jawad’s work but in different sizes and colours, others were compositions of the symbols he used and was known for, and also the recreating the Freedom Monument miniature.

There it was, ready and set, hanging on the walls of the gallery with spotlights on them, my works sparkled with glaze others with mat colours (as Jawad used to like his colours), and the bronze glaze for the Freedom Monument miniature. Old and current students of the Institute were the first to attend, then came the teachers and all of them were amazed by my work. Most of them had witnessed the early process of executing but they didn’t have the chance to see the finishing part due to the weather condition in UAE.

People started to come in on the sound of the Iraqi artist Kadhum Al Sahir’s limited edition only classical poem songs. The first guests were Sa’di Al Hadithi, Mohammed Al Jaza’ri (the best Iraqi art critic) Qassim Mohammed and his wife, Mahmood Abu al Abbas, Riyad Al Dabbagh (former dean of Mustansiriya University), an Egyptian sculptor, many Iraqi, Syrian and Arab artists and other people, later family members and friends started to arrive. Then a newspaper reporter asked for an interview and it was a bit crowded so we went in to the administration office with my teacher and the director of the Institute. After recording I went out for the opening as Mr Hisham al Madhloom arrived, it was even much more crowded. Two other newspaper reporters arrived and it was the time for the opening.

With the head of Art Directory, institute director, important guests and artists around me, and the photographer heading us, I started clarifying each piece and stories related to creating them. I don’t remember how long it took but all I could remember was me explaining and most of them nodding and others showing positive expressions on their faces. I saw the face of my mentor encouraging me and almost mouthing the same words I was saying. I felt I was glowing and everything was dark except me and my work.

After finishing the round I noticed my friends who were there from the MBA and the institute and other family members and relatives. Explaining here and their and taking photos, time flied by. The hours were passing by and I asked one of the teachers how long usually such events last. He said that an hour earlier but as long as people are still coming in and enjoying the exhibition we’ll stay until the last guest leaves. And we did. The last two guests to leave were two Syrian men. One of them was an architect and the other was a painter. They took two rounds and I joined them for the third. They asked about the materials and the kind of glaze and some other questions related to the compositions. They were very interested.

My parents were busy receiving the guests and giving directions on the phone with friends on how to get to the gallery. They were surprised because I didn’t show them the work earlier. They came as guests to see my work. I felt how proud of me and how they were happy for me.

I collected the flower bouquets I received as I was leaving and the janitor closed the door behind me. The place had never witnessed such important people or such number. The exhibition was the first personal ceramic exhibition in the history of the institute since it was established 1997. Everybody kept praising me and my creativity and I was blushing most of the times. It was a great start for me and I have to maintain such level and think of the next step.

P.S. Sharqiya (Iraqi tv) and Sharja TV came yesterday and filmed the exhibition and recorded interviews with me and my mentor and some of the guests and teachers.

Ear Story!

Warning: silly, boring, personal anecdote.

Just few minutes ago something freakishly funny happened to me. I was sitting in the living room trying to cheer up myself by watching “so you thing you can dance” the rerun of the first season. I was just sitting on the couch indifferently, rubbing my soured ear, when something weird shocked me.

Years back, when I was just about 9 I think, I had my ear pierced. The left ear had always given me sufferance because it was the first to be pierced and I was really scared. Therefore the hole was a bit aslope. Ever since, I had sensitive ears that I had to wear real gold or silver earrings.

Years passed and I was tempted by fashion and I got myself many earrings which were neither gold nor silver. It wasn’t a problem as I used to wear them for couple of hours and that was it.

Last week my right ear was souring. It’s because of the new earrings I got for Eid, which I wore most of the times. But still I would wear them anywhere. Anyway, Today I woke up early, went out for some paperwork, got back home, did my chores, and started studying which didn’t last long. My parents got home, we had dinner and there I was lazily in front of the TV when I remembered that I still have my earrings on. I took them off and started rubbing my ears. I didn’t want to leave my earrings on the coffee table because I knew I would forget them SO I decided to wear them on again. I watched the X-files, Mom’s favorite show, and then F.R.I.E.N.D.S, my favorite show. Then “So you think you can dance” started and the pain was back. I took the earrings of and there was something wrong with my right ear. There was a one single hair that when I pull it made my ear aches. That’s when I asked my mother’s help to check it for me. That one single hair came out of my ear-pierce! The only idea I have is that when I wore the earring on again it must have stuck on it and got into the hole.

With the help of my parents; dad holding the megascopic, and mom pulling the hair, the operation was thankfully successful.

There you go lazy people. I believe this is a sign :P

Cheers

Religion!

I may have said it many times earlier that I don’t talk politics or religion issues but every now and then something tempts me to break this little rule of mine. In my previous post I didn’t talk about religion. I only highlighted how ignorant people could be lead by Machiavellian villain, whether in the name of justice, democracy or religion.
Unfortunately, there was a comment written anonymously, saying that “everyone should convert to Christianity”.

Mr. /Ms Anonymous, I wouldn’t say dear. I don’t know you. I’m not sure you understood my point of view. How dare you accuse Islam for those ignorant people? I dare to say that you know nothing about Islam or Muslims. And let me say that you know almost nothing about Christianity and what has been done in the name of Christianity and Corporal Mortification.

I was talking about self torture in the name of religion and how some people believe that God will forgive their sins if they suffer. Let me say that long before Islam, Christian did self-torture themselves, and long before Christian did that other pagan believers like Fire worshipers, Hindus and others also did the same.
It’s a false belief which was popular many centuries ago. And every new religion faced heretical adaptation from the previously governing religion. You may have to examine the first Christian who performed this act, if you ever heard of The Canterburyand, Becket? doesn't ring a bell?

Why should Muslims convert to Christianity when we are satisfied with our religion and happy and thank God everyday that we were born Muslims? I believe you need to check who you’re talking to and addressing these lines before you click publish.

One of the basic elements of believing in Islam is to believe in the previous prophets and holly books. This is a fact I cannot negotiate because I am a devoted Muslim. But the interesting point, in our Holly Qur’an there are many verses that say the previous holly books were interpolated. Therefore I wouldn’t take your advice and believe in everything written in the Bible.

I’ve read many lines from the Old testimony and read the illustrated Bible, and part of my study of literature I had to recall many psalms, not just to see the difference but because I’m interested in culture, history and religion and their effects on Human in general. I’m glad to say that when reciting Qur’an I have no doubts, as Qur’an supports many scientific facts that new science has just proved right. Simply go back to Galileo and the Center of the Universe little story.
I suggest before you throw your comments here and there about how Muslims should convert to Christianity, go and read a bit about Islam. And when I say Islam I mean the Holly Qur’an and not the new books which are being written now to distort the image of Islam and link it to terrorism.

My apologies and respect to my Christian friends who may read this post. But I believe you know me when it comes to Islam and how some people take the chance to attack my religion.

A Window to my Nowadays Life

It's a new day. So I guess I survived the exams. It was hectic for this entire month. I had to submit my projects and assignments according to the deadlines, I had to revise the material for three subjects, I was and still preparing for the coming exhibition, besides that my eldest sister was here in UAE for a visit. And now I have my other sister here in UAE also staying for a month.

So many things took place on many levels, internationally, nationally and personally. The horrible news all over the world and the clashes within nations in the Arab area besides the horrifying news we hear from Baghdad are just too much to take. I stopped to follow up. I just hear from people around me about what happens the next day or so. I stopped reading news on-line; the last newspaper I read was about three weeks ago. For now I just have to read the business paper as a part of my study.

First time for "Four courses semister"

The busy life has captured me. Lately I started to wish we have 24 hours plus 8 hours to sleep. Somehow the 24 hours are not enough to accomplish everything on my "today list to do". It is taking much more time then ever to study the chapter and preparing for the lecture before the session. The four subjects I registered for might be the reason behind that. Back in collage days I used to register for the maximum hours per course, that's the advantage of a 3.6 GPA. For MBA, I'm used to three courses a semester and now it just seems impossible for four. Most of my friends who have 4 courses are preparing bits and bites for each course and some of them are even neglecting the Managerial Economy class. I'm not used to such thing. When I take a course I don't want to only pass, I want to learn.

First time for Graphics

Besides the 24 + 8 hours a day I wished if we had three hands. Wondering why? I swear it sounded smart when I said it the first time. Lately I've been working on Graphic artwork which I'm preparing for my coming exhibition and for your knowledge Graphic is not such an easy job. The first two Graphs I made were silly and childish, but eventually I could manage work on metal better than working on leno. The tools resemble those of surgeons. They are sharp and when I'm saying sharp I don't mean the glazed edges, surely not *remembering the scratches I got because of this aggressive art techniques*. As for the acids, don't get me started. They smell so bad and they are really really dangerous to inhale.

Back to the three hand idea. With masks and rubber gloves, inks, various types of acids, turpentine, thinner and other stuff that I haven't been introduced to, the toxic part of the blob effect ruins the skin and clothes. At certain times I have on hand with inks, and the other fixing the metal piece on the table, out of a sudden because of the smell my nose start itching and I have no free nor clean hand. The third sounds brilliant, right?
That's all for now
Until then...