151 : I miss reading

This is one of my favorite bookmarks.

Kept writing and over writing in this post, and realized that I do not want to write more, this happens when I'm so drained at work, I lack the ability to talk, read, explain. I wish I could either transfer my thoughts telepathically or through a USB link, somewhere in my head :>

150 : Fish!

ظحكت لما قريت التحذير! الحين فيليه "سمك" و حاطين عليه تحذير حق اللي عندهم حسياسية من السمك؟ يعني اللي عنده حساسية من السمك بياكل فيليه سمك؟

149 : Al-Humaidhi car wash

This car wash station falls on a corner in Al-Rai, that was a dead corner, not too much traffic, now with the avenues it became the WORST entrance to Al-Rai area! It used to be my quiet entrance but in the peak time it turns into HELL, you can not enter smoothly due to the traffic from the car's trying to enter the car wash and the ones stopping on the new stop sign at the intersection that it lies on!

Valentine's Day

I think it was a try to mimic the idea of Love Actually the idea of more than one love story/ relationship going on in the same time, at a single day of the year, this time it was Valentine's day! It was not bad but not that good, I wouldn't waste my time on it again.

1/5

Iron Man 2

Seen it a while back but I didn't quite get the time to write the review. It was amazing! as good as the first part, great action scenes, I was really afraid that it would disappoint me, since not a lot of movies were successful with their sequels as the first part is.

Stark is up for an other challenge with someone who developed a technology very close to the one used in Iron Man's heart core thing "the arc reactor" and with the challenge of the reactor keeping him alive to poison him! Long story short the movie is GREAT, I loved it :D

5/5

148 : Branflakes

Simply adore them!

Decided to have a quiet Friday at home, I even canceled my appointments just to sit home & relax. Saw 3 movies that I will review in a little bit :]

147 : يومي مع الفورد

و لان سيارتي بتم يوم واحد بالوكالة شارت علي اختي اني ما اخذ سيارة اجار لان الفتره ما تسوى و اقدر اخذ اي سياره من الموجودين في البيت، كله يوم، و طعت هالشور و يا ليتني ما طعته

بعد تفحيص و تمحيص ولان سايقنا جديد و للحين ايتعلم فا الوالد مخلي فورد كراون فكتوريا للتضحية، المهم انا قلت خل اخذها مستحيه لا اطلب سيارة احد، المهم اتصلت بالوالد علشان استأذنه

انا: يبيا ابي السيارة باجر ، ميخالف؟

ابوي: اي اخذيها ميخالف

انا: اوكي مشكور

ابوي: لا بس ترى اهي مافهيا شي بس اتنتع

انا: *بديت ابولع ريجي* و بتردد قلت له، يبا عادي اسوقها؟ يعني شنو تنتع

ابوي: لا لا مافيها شي بس انبهج علشان لا تخافين

انا: اييي *قلبي ناغزني* اوكي على خير

ابوي: اي و اذا احترت عاد لازم اتصكيين التكييف

انا هنيييييييييه اننننصدمت و قمت اتخيل شكلي بالسيارة محتره و معرقه بهالخيسه و الجو التعيس! وشط خيالي لي المنظر اللي بالافلام المصرية اللي البطل راكب لادا و ماكو تكييف و بزحمة و بنفس صوت الهرن اللي اسمعه بكل الافلام المصرية في اخر الثمانينات و بداية التسعينات

انا: يعني ما ينفع اخذها

ابوي: لااااااااااااااا السيارة مافيها شي

انا: ودي اقوله يبا قولي بعد مافيها تواير ولا مكينة! ،، انزين انا بروح و بشوف شيصير معاي

بغيت اطلب سيارة ثانية، بس قلت ها! ليش ما اجرب

و داومت اليوم، الصبح كانت محترمة مافيها شي ، بس مر يمي باص و مادري شنو انفجر فيه ،، اخترعت عبالي توايري فيها شي! بس السيارة ثابته و انتبهت ان الباص خذا الحارة اليمين، ارتحت... و عموما كانت رحلة مثيره للاهتمام و اكثر ما لاحظته ان الفورد كراون فكتوريا ما تمشي على الارض، اهي تطفوا! احس تحت توايرها مراوح اتضخ هوا علشان ايصير بينها و بين الشارع طبقة هوا، هالسيارة عبيطة جنها قاعد تسبح .. ناهيك عن الكشنات البديعة! ذكرتني بالمدات الارضية بالدوواوين قبل "و للحين" و ما حسيت انه كشن سيارة و اقرب ماله مدة اسفنج سافطينها و حاطينها جبال السكان

146 : Dust

In dusty days I go back to my eyeglasses & try not to use contact lenses, they become sticky and uncomfortable. My eyeglasses above, resting with me after a hell of a day, I've been all over Kuwait in one day! Good thing tomorrow is Thursday, beginning of the weekend :>

Speaking of contacts, I do not know why some see handicapped people as handicapped, if I need eyeglasses to see well & someone needs a wheel chair to move well, how different is that? :) Open your minds and eyes!

145 : نورك ولا نور القمر

النقطة الزرقا اهو القمر :> احب القمر لما يكون بدر "مكتمل" و انا اجكجك جان اقول ليش ما ادخل ليت الشبة بالصورة! و لاني اقرب له كان اسطع من نور القمر،، في فرق بين الوهم بالنور و النور الحقيقي، الشي اللي ينور بذاته و الشي اللي يحتاج كهربا علشان ينور

144 : M&M's

Not a fan of the sweet but sure did love those pins :>

143 : Window

Took a quick stop at the strip opposite to Al-Seif Palace, then noticed this window! It instantly caught my attention, it is very beautiful and I do not know why was it on the side of the building, a cool design like this one should be up front.

What it reminds me is also of a mini-sketch I did long ago and still get back to it in various colors/ sizes....

This goes back to 1997 when I was in high school.

142 : ماشة

كل ما شفت ماشة افكر، ليش اسمها ماشة؟

141 : Kerastase

This is the 9th of the 42 ampoules to go, an anti-hairloss treatment to help prevent thinning hair and hairloss, will see how things go! Been using Kerastase products for 2 years now, the shampoo is perfect to my need and took a few treatment courses so far I have seen a good improvement, I really hope it works out am really getting bored already the only thing easing the ampoules application is the new series am following on Abu Dhabi TV called Awraq Alhub.

140 : Nespresso

I wonder what is so special about this machine?

139 : Heels

Lesson of the day, heels for more than 6 hours = BAD idea!

Its not practical if you intend to do a lot of activities wearing them, true they look nice and can change a lot in one's look, but the estimation to "when" & "where" to wear them is also nice :]

p.s.:  I got an e-mail a few days ago and now a comment on the previous post, regarding a blogger "fourme" who was diagnosed with cancer, I hope she gets well, I believe in faith :) will elaborate more on that ...

138 : On the go

Always thought of those iron towers as robots! Had a vast imagination that enabled me to think of them in such a away. For a split of a second I took this shot quickly, recaping the long day I had and realised that I have seen the street & the office more than anything else :p

137 : Do it your self

I like changing my room lights, assembling furniture "hence the love for IKEA" etc,,,  and I've been using the Compact fluorescent lamps for a while now, I must say their lifetime is amazing! However I read recently that they are not safe IF broken...

"As effective as it is at enabling white light, however, mercury—sometimes called quicksilver—is also highly toxic. It is especially harmful to the brains of both fetuses and children. That's why officials have curtailed or banned its use in applications from thermometers to automotive and thermostat switches. (A single thermostat switch, still common in many homes, may contain 3,000 milligrams (0.1 ounce) of mercury, or as much as 600 compact fluorescents.)

The problem comes when a bulb breaks. Mercury escapes as vapor that can be inhaled and as a fine powder that can settle into carpet and other textiles. At least one case of mercury poisoning has been linked to fluorescents: A 1987 article in Pediatrics describes a 23-month-old who suffered weight loss and severe rashes after a carton of eight-foot (2.4-meter) tubular bulbs broke in a play area." Full Article link.

I'm a bit alarmed and considering not using them, although I do like their lighting. An other alternatie is to use a light that has a cover where the light bulb will be contained inside it, however this option might reduce the light sharpness! Anyhow, currently am trying to change them every 6 months or so, but this is the first time I try the brand above, not sure what the penguin is doing in it :p

شنب - Mustache

The latest film by Miqdad Al-Kout, Mustache

Went to the screening in Cinemagic Saturday the 15th, luckily the weather was ok! They added some padding to the seats :D people who attend Cinemagic's screenings will appreciate the comfy seating as much as I did :>

The movie!

It runs for 15 minute or so, a very light short movie the film is inspired by the short story "Winged Sofa" by Thuraya Al-Baqsami, as mentioned in the group made by the director.

It revolves around the Mustache! And what it symbolizes in our community, how many count it as a main indicator for manhood. The main character does not have a mustache, and thrives to have one by doing what everyone thinks a man should do to be a "man". He carries out in creating a life, marrying, having kids, to get chocked with the fact that with all he did, his wife does not love him!

The thought of Male VS Man was VERY obvious and given great priority. Being a male is a biological thing, the definition of man gets attached by default to any "human" male, nevertheless, the meaning of a man is more vast and flexible in different cultures. Focusing on our culture, many consider a productive male who can have a wife, family, house is a man! Not giving much attention to the fact that in the end, he is just a human being :) Qualifying to everything that people think a man does, is not exactly a gate pass to everything, at least not the Bu Shanab's happiness! Or nice smell.

A simple sarcastic comedy by Miqdad Al-Kout, who again succeeds in attracting me with his crazy on and off sudden cuts in scenes! Where he moves you from one shot to the other all of a sudden, yet keeps you in the content, gets you so busy thinking "what does this scene mean?!" and then have a laugh or smile, to the extent you make sense out of the mess he's creating, making you lose focus on "when did the actor come out of the room and got into this corridor?" and focusing on the idea he's sending!

I enjoyed Mustache, and wish to see more from the young Kuwaiti directors. Well done Miqdad :]

136 : Football fans

I recently noticed that the football crowd is growing vastly in Kuwait, from the people around me and the show called "Balanti" that I enjoy listening to, I like how they talk although I dont understand most of what are they talking about. Kuwaitis are mostly following up with English & Spanish leagues, in other words European football in general.

Saw my two nephews today wearing Chelsea t-shirts and with the number 8 in the back when I asked why they both shouted LAMPARD @@ you do not know Lampard! they made me feel like a criminal for not knowing who Lampard is! At that minute I realized how they're attached to soccer :> I guess now I know a lot who like Chelsea, this post goes out to them all :} Personally I liked their logo, this is as far as I go with football :p

135 : Sugar

In one level teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate. One rounded teaspoon has 1 1/2 tsp and 24 calories with 6 grams of carbohydrate. Depends on how you measure one teaspoon i.e. measuring spoon or silverware spoon.

I get very flattered when someone asks me about my diet and how I got to the weight I'm in now :] toot tired to elaborate more, need to sleep.

134 : Activating with Iron Man

This is how my Iron Man mug looks like when its filled with hot coffee :>

and this is before

I love simple creative ideas, adding a thermal sensor to a mug is a very creative idea, not sure how this works but I know its pretty cool :D

133 : Dusty weekend

Last weekend the weather was pretty nice, made me almost forget about the messy April weekends we had. Yet today our lovely weather decided to repeat the scenario and deprive us from enjoying it fully. Tomorrow is a new day :) dusty or not, I love Kuwait and will still enjoy my weekend, in or outdoors ... Have a good weekend people :]

From here and there

Being fond of gift wrapping, these bags from IKEA made my life easier! Con is that they have 3 fixed sizes Pro is that it has a paper filling inside :]

تفويض بالمهمة لا المسؤلية

التفويض احد الادوات الإدارية القوية لمساعدتك بالتغلب على ضغط العمل، الخطاء الشائع بكل ممن تعاملت معهم بالكويت هو تفويض كل المهام و تفاصيل المتعلقة بالمهمة المفوضة العمل و الإكتفاء بالتوقيع :) بدون الالتفات لما تم عمله و مدى صحة الإجراآت التي طبقت للانتهاء من هذه المهمة! و هنا قلب المشكلة ،، مفهوم التفويض مغلوط! فالتفويض الهدف منه انجاز المهام الاقل اهمية و السهلة و ذات طبيعة روتينية للزملاء القادرين على انجازها، من دون التقليل من اهميتهم بالعمل و ذكر اسمائهم و مع التدقيق على الناتج النهائي و تفاصيل العمل، باختصار "رقابة". كنت من الاشخاص الذين يقولون: هذه المعلومات الادارية بديهية! لكني اكتشفت على ارض الواقع ان الكثير لا يعرفونها

It is very polite and nice to thank people, its not demeaning nor something hard to do, a simple gesture, a hand wave, a nod or a verbal thank you, has a very lovely and positive effect on human beings. Give it a try, practice "thank you"

الدكتور عبيد الوسمي، اعاد لي رغبتي بالانصات و متابعة التلفزيون، ارى بوجوده فسحة امل و نور

132 : Moleskine

In my 9month old moleskine I found sketches, to do lists, phrases, ideas,,,, like me my moleskine has a hint of everything. Not sure if its a + or a - but I am sure that I'm happy with its content :]

131 : دب ، طيب ، شنب ، قوي ،،، صج؟

هذا دب من الكير بيرز، معروف ان الدب ما عنده شنب، بس هالدب حاطين له جم نقطه مكان الشنب، بكل الاحوال بشنب او بدونه الدب يتم دب و قوته مو مرهونه بشنب، علشان جذيه لازم تشوفون "شنب" ان حصل لكم فرصه هالسبت.. شكو؟ ماكو :) كان ببالي فكره ثانيه بس مادري ليش ارتبطة فكرة الشنب بالدبدوب اللي ماعنده شنب و جدا طيب على الرغم من انه ينتمي لفصيلة الدببة

130 : Alghazali Bridge

I recall dad telling me that its the longest bridge in Kuwait, and since I was a kid I was very impressed with it, and I still love to drive in it at night specifically to enjoy it traffic-less :]

129 : Symmetry

Day turning to an end and am beat, had a long hectic day, work, gym, family commitments, as I was laying down looking at things around me I saw this array of symmetric squares made by wood. I recalled a picture I took a few days ago in 360mall it was formed of symmetric honey cells architecture, although I have a passion for uniqueness I think that symmetric shapes that are exactly aligned have a charm :>

128 : attachement

I love this Evil Mushroom figuring, it goes back to 2007, it was a gift attached to a magazine. Still have them both. Yes this is how much I get attached to things I like :p

Pecha Kucha Night # 5 - Kuwait

Last Thursday Pecha Kucha Night # 5 - Kuwait City, was held in the Museum of Modern Art. This is my favorite of all I attended, for various reasons, the first and foremost is for the people I got to meet and talk to, familiar faces from far, lovely atmosphere all in all, the crowd was very live and active this time. Also the presentations and presenters were interesting and very passionate about what they present. Here are bits and pieces of what I've seen there

Hussa Al-Humaidhi was the first presenter, with Sout Al-Kuwait which started as a small idea then grew up to be a social group trying to spread the awareness towards the constitution, Democracy, local laws and the Kuwaiti people's rights to participate in making Kuwait a better country through those tools.

Then Zeyad Boarki presented his passion for photography, that grew with time, the special thing about his presentation is that he illustrated the story of many, any observer would notice that photography is growing among Kuwaitis and Flickr is one way to see the that the Kuwaiti photography community is growing in a very pleasant way and we do have MANY talented in that field. This picture attracted me especially because it shows how other culture/ comunities are more tolerant to having their pictures taken :}

Amani Al Thuwaini & Farah Al Haider, were amazing :} they are two simple girls with a passion for ART! They try to spread the awareness about art and their wish to grow art in Kuwait, one of their hopes is to have an institute to teach art in Kuwait. Art is one of the many abandoned interests in Kuwait and has little attention from people. They also gave their e-mail address for people who are interested in helping and supporting them in anyway to approach them, and it is Cc.communitykw@gmail.com

Lewis Chapman, An Englishman, his family moved to Kuwait in 1996 and he has been living between Kuwait and UK since then. His art work influenced by many scenes in Kuwait, his drawings are very real in an amazing way, especially when it comes to shades,  the interesting part however was that he repeatedly drew people walking away :] a thing not many focus on and frankly I thought it was charming! It gave a whole new perspective to the scene he was drawing. His website above will show you hoe creative this man is :}

Dari Al Huwail spoke about the Kuwait Diving team, that is under appreciated in my opinion, those guys are VOLUNTARILY doing our beloved country environmental favors, they are really sea angels! From helping sea animals, coral reefs to cleaning & picking up junk from the bottom of our sear and more,,,, they did it all, with out any financial benefit! They deserve all the support we can give them, through their website you can connect with them and know how can you help :]

Sama Al-Wasmi presented her lovely blog High Street q8. Sort of the Kuwaiti version of the Sartorialist that I once posted about and in the comments I discussed with Forza at the time the possibility of having a Kuwaiti version of The Sartorialist, Sama made it a reality :] With a few rules of keeping the personalities anonymous and taking faceless pictures, she shows the real everyday life fashion, caught with her eye and lens an interesting new addition to the Kuwaiti community/ blogging community to be more exact.

Yvonne Wakefield, a teacher in Kuwait University who portrayed her self as a pomegranate! When she first spoke I did not think that I would like what she will say! Then when I LISTENED and saw her art I realized how deep is the symbolism of the pomegranate, through the phases of her presence in Kuwait and the problem she faced with her visa, that prevented her from going back to her homeland "USA" when she wanted to. Along her portraits and words, I realized yet again how powerful is painting, how through brush strokes and a canvas she could emphasize a life, feelings and hopes. Her art work is currently exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art.

Lulwa & Balsam Al-Ayoub are two Kuwaiti girls who play fencing and presented Kuwait in many international sport events. This picture shows their mother Fatima Al-Omani representing Kuwait back in 1967 and her daughters following her footsteps to raise the name of Kuwait worldwide. The two girls did not stop at this they also continued to participate to encourage children in the Kuwaiti community to participate in sports.

Ahmed Al-Gharabally the CEO of Masahati.com spoke about his project. Masahati is a new Kuwaiti online real estate selling website, that aims to ease the process of looking for a real estate in at the comfort of your home. The presentation was very nice, it started from how the internet market is growing and how it evolved, then after a gathering with friends back in 2008 he decided to make his online real estate website, to cover a gap in the Kuwaiti market. I think its a good project that will benefit more people and will grow in the future.

Last presentation was done by Talal Obeid, an independent self-taught graphic designer. To begin with I am very biased to this talented man, not only because he was one of the first bloggers I knew back when I started blogging in 2004 but because he impressed me with his work! his illustrations like the picture above merge the Arabic culture with famous internationally known figures like Darth vader or Om Kalthoum, he puts his illustrations & graphics on posters/ logos/ T-shirts,, etc. Nevertheless, all that amazing work is SELF developed :) that is where he WOW'es me, I respect that in him, to be a young self dependent and taught artist that created such* amazing work.

Away from the presentations and amazing live music, I had a lovely evening, I met old friends, made new ones, smiled from far and seen lovely smiles, seen a lot of nice people and really loved the whole friendly and enthusiastic crowd :] PechaKucha night #5 in Kuwait City is a HUGE success, really interesting presentations and presenters, lovely crowd. A big thank you goes to Dr. Aseel Al-Ragam who introduced this even to Kuwait.

For previous PechaKucha coverage in Kuwait:
PKN#4
PKN#3

Thank you Talal :p typo fixed :D

127 : Nostalgic

من جم يوم حطت لي امي صندوق قديم و قالت لي جيكي الاشياء اللي فيه شنو تبين و شنو ماتبين، و انا اجيك لقيت هالشهادة! شهادة تقدير للتفوق في نشاط الموسيقى

حيل استانست لما شفتها و حاولت اتذكر اي آله موسيقية كنت اعزف، ما قدرت اذكر بالظبط. ما اعتقد في اليوم اللي خذيتها تخيلت اني بعد ٢٦ سنة بشوف هالشهادة مره ثانية و ارد استانس فيها

شهادات التقدير تحمل مفعول لا وقتي علي الانسان، سعادتي فيها اليوم ما اقدر اوصفها، من صجي استانست، لما ارجع و استذكر المكافئات اللي حصلت عليها بحياتي لقيت ان الاجمل و الابقى بينها اهي الشهادات / الدروع / الميداليات اللي تحوي كلام

التقدير ما يقدر بثمن

126 : Bayt Abdullah Pin

Had a quick stop to get a baby gift from the avenues, Mothercare. Those charity pins each worth 2KD go for the funding of Bayt Abdullah, take some people :) even if you take one, 2KD is a simple amount to contribute in such a wonderful humanitarian noble project...

When searching online I found that Ansam & Marzouq had written posts about it, appears to be part of a new campaign :] Best of luck KAACH people, a big thank you to Mr. Hilal Al-Sayer and his wife Mrs. Margret Al-Sayer.

125 : P for People

P is for People, I know it wasn't the only weather appearing in the picture but it was meant this way :> to show as much of this medium that connected me with a lot of people. Today smiled a lot, had a lovely evening, saw a lot, smiled to a lot, spoke to a lot. I know if I counted on my personal skills, my "past" over-shyness would have killed me :p but with time and the assistance of this keyboard, I learned and knew a lot :]

Thank you to every one I met today, face to face or from far and to anyone smiled back at me. I am smiling this minute and very happy :}

124 : Me like, Me no like

For quite a long while I did not like Juicy Couture! AT ALL, however a few months back I gave it a shot and now own a few items from this brand. I thought that the whole theme was not like me, not knowing that when taking a deep look inside their stores I would find things I like.

Away from fashion, taking everything into consideration and looking beyond your expectations is always healthy :] It also goes for people, at times I would hold my self up from knowing people thinking that I would not like them, due to things I have seen from them and made me decide so, to later know for a fact that we do not have to like the whole package :D

Human beings are the most complex beings on earth "I think". So with in a single human being you can see several characters, actions, way of thinking,, etc. In humanitarian relations you do not have to like everything other people have, you can always look for the best in them and focus on it, benefit from it. Seeing the positive side of a person is healthy :}

When was it you gave a shot to a thing you "thought" you would not like?

123 : الخبز

الخبز و اهو حار لذيذ! مشكلتي احب الخبز بكل انواعه، العربي مو من احب هالانواع على قلبي بس ان كان حار ما اقدر عليه، بس الاعتدال اهو مفتاح الصحة، حلو تاكل اللي تحبه بس بعقل و بالكميات اللي جسمك يحتاجها، مو شرط نوصل لمرحلة مافوق الشبع

:}

122 : May

I think May started well, as if its making up for all the fuss April made :p it was a crazy month, with terrible weather especially on weekends! Today in the afternoon was THE BEST in this year, felt as if it was in mid October.

I love Kuwait. I can never get enough of the scene above :]

121 : KEY

I got my key :]

Found this cute bracelet with a key in Uterque,  am growing a fond of those tiny bracelets. The only thing I don't like about bracelets is them being not practical at work "every day life" I do not like the feeling of them on the table when I type nor the idea of my lovely belongings getting scratched "like most of my watches". So this key was the key to my new accessory line :p

Events

*update, pechakucha night is on Wednesday, sorry my bad :p*

Monday, May 3rd

(1)

What:

Music Concert by Katarina Peers “He was born in Poland” a piano recital

When:

7 PM

Venue:

Al-Maidan Cultural Centre – Abdullah al-Salem School,
Maidan Hawalli, Near al Sha’ab Leisure Park.


(2)

What:

Exhibition "Holding on to the Past" by [Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield - Sara Al.Otaibi - Farah Hamed Khajah]

When:

Mon, 3rd - Wed, 5th
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Venue:

Museum of Modern Art

Wednesday, May 5th

(1)

What:

PechaKucha Night: Kuwait City#5

When:

7.30 PM

Venue:

Museum of Modern Art

(2)

What:

Exhibition "reveal, disclose" by Kelly Devrome

When:

7 PM
The exhibition continues through the 10th of may 2010

Where:

Dar Al funoon - located in the Behbehani Compound House 28
Al Watiah, Kuwait City
Tel 22433183