Arabian Nights

Is blogging dead?

2012-01-10T15:40:00.000Z

Has twitter and facebook put an end to blogging as we know it?

Don't feel like blogging

2009-01-12T14:20:00.002Z

I've been helplessly watching the current situation in Palestine and can't get myself to blog anything at all.

Withdrawal Symptoms

2008-12-28T19:57:00.000Z

This serious case of man flu is apparently withdrawal symptoms from quitting smoking. The last two weeks have been hard especially for someone who doesn’t get sick that often. I’ve got a sore throat (feels like a big lump in the throat), coupled with my saliva glands over-producing saliva making me drooling all over the place with my daughter. I’ve also been waking up a lot recently in the middle of the night (sleeping disorders). I really wish someone would’ve given me a heads up about all this before quitting, I do feel a little better knowing that loads of quitters past through all these withdrawal symptoms way before I did.

Off-sick

2008-12-18T09:53:00.002Z

I've got a serious case of man-flu here that will just not go away. Not helping that I've been coughing up phlem (from quitting smoking). Will be back when I feel better.

Women are the root of all Evil

2008-12-12T17:29:00.003Z

It's true and I'll prove it for you.

Women require "Time and Money"
Women = Time x Money

We all know "Time is Money"
Time = Money

Through substitution...
Girls = Money x Money = (Money)^2

We also know that "Money is the root of all evil"
Money = sqrt(Evil)

We substitute again...
sqrt(Girls) = sqrt(evil)

Square both sides and behold:
Girls = Evil

Goodbye Smoking

2008-12-10T16:23:00.002Z

I’ve finally summoned the courage to quit smoking. I am now on a 8 week program of nicotine patches gradually reducing my dosage. I’ve been wanting to quit for ages but their has always been an excuse not to (too sunny, too cold, too stressful, too happy etc).

It all started as a fad to look cool and grown up at 17 but by the time you realise what a terrible, costly and filthy habit it’s too late, you’re hooked. I’ve not been a heavy smoker by any means (7 or 8 a day on average). Why the nicotine patches then since I’m not that much of a smoker? Well, without them I am complete miserable bastard just ask the missus.

My decision comes from wanting to be fit and healthy for the future of this family. With a little daughter and another baby on the way I don’t to be a strain in the future just the opposite I want to be there at all times (InshAllah). So I am going to do my best here.

Goodbye smoking we’ve had some good times at my expense ofcourse but I don’t need you anymore and this is were we depart for good!!!

Eid Mubarak

2008-12-08T10:20:00.000Z

Eid Mubarak to all

Missing Little M

2008-12-04T15:31:00.000Z

This is going to be a post about our lovely daughter little M.

Little M is 19 months old – I know this is a cliché` used over and over again but were has the last 19 months gone? Anyways back to little M who knows how to get what she wants these days. I must admit we got her into this habit of sleeping in our bed then moving her to her cot when she’s asleep. Now the problems occurred when she woke up in the middle of night. Poor baby used to probably wake thinking hang on where am I/what am I doing here I was asleep on the bed. Hmm mummy and daddy look comfy I know what I’ll do I’ll moan moan moan cry cry cry until I wake them up so they can come and grab me and we did. She’d be asleep before her head hits the mattress.

Now we finally managed to get her to sleep in her cot (thanks to Mummy) and she sleeps straight through with her Iggle Piggle blanket. So you’d think it’d be sheer bliss and we can get some proper sleep until the next baby is due(in April).

But I actually miss my daughter head-butting my nose in the middle of my sleep, stroking my arm and laying her foot arrest on mine. Sometimes she cuddles up to me and pushes me right to edge of my side of the bed other times she used to wake me up in the cutest of ways - I’d be asleep and I’ll wake up with her on top me, she’d be laying her face onto mine, her cheek on mine. How cute is that?

Man Now I miss her sleeping by our side. I think I need to see if there’s space in her cot, I might just be able to squeeze in.

Funny

2008-11-28T10:26:00.004Z

This is one funniest posts I've read. It's posted by an American-expat (Nate) experiencing his first haircut in Abu-dhabi. He is very clever and witty in his descriptions.

http://natedwyer.blogspot.com/2008/10/attend-tale.html

Haggling in UK

2008-11-24T16:17:00.000Z

I once had my 1st cousin visit in the UK and that’s when it really hit me how much I’ve integrated into living here. It was a funny experience when you see a newcomer and you see yourself from a few years ago struggling with fitting in a new environment but my cousin was something else. We went into a sport shop and he was looking at getting some trainers:

Cousin: Hey Tobasco these look nice. I think I am going to get them.
Me: Nodding *anything to finish shopping quick*
Cousin (to shop attendant): How much this? (in broken English with Arabic accent)
Shop attendant: Its 65 quid
Cousin: What 65 quid? What you mean?
Shop attendant: 65 pounds
Cousin: Okaay. How much last?
I start to smile because I think I know whats coming and I am going to stay quite and enjoy myself.
Shop attendant: *gives weird look* huh?
Cousin: Last how much? You know?
Shop attendant: You mean price.
Cousin: Yes, how much you give me last I take
Shop attendant: I am sorry I can’t its fixed prices here
Cousin: No I give you 40 for this
Shop attendant: *getting frustrated now* No you don’t understand its fixed prices here I can’t.
Cousin: What fixed no fixed khalas I give you 45 for this no more or I go.
Shop attendant: *looking in disbelief with mouth wide open probably thinking WTF I don’t get paid enough for this*

Then I couldn’t hold it anymore and I put the poor shop attendant out of her misery, explaining to my cousin that you can’t haggle in UK shops like we do back in the UAE. He was embarrassed a bit but then starting laughing. It probably hit home what the shop attendant was trying to say to him all along.

Good times.

Abu Dhabi Facebook group

2008-11-20T14:55:00.003Z

This is an Abu-dhabi 80/90's facebook group. I really enjoyed reading it as it perfectly describes my era so happy to post this. I left in 99 and do visit every two years or so but its never been the same.

A group dedicated to everyone who grew up in Abu Dhabi back in the retro 80s and grunge 90s .You know you're one of those people if:

1- Hung out at the tourist club. You remember having Pizza at Tata, Eating 2 Dh fries with watered down ketchup at Snoopy's, or prank calling the receptionist.

2- Thought Hardees made the best burgers ever, although you always wondered why there was no McDs in Abu Dhabi.

3- Hung out at Citi Center.

4- Shopped at Hamdan Center, where you could buy caps that said stuff like Chicago Knicks and Montreal Maple Leafs.

5- Ate at Americana Chicken Tikka.

7- You could tell what school someone went to by what they wore to any of the above locations after school – Al Nahda = funky blue pants, Choueifat = Grey pants (but they got out really late and so u wouldnt see them when you got out), ACS = wear whatever u want.

8- Your parents did their groceries at either Prisunic, Coop or Spinney's.

9- You thought the Chinese buffet at Al Ain Palace was the best deal of all time.

10- You were "cool" if you went to Juke Box Junction or Hemingways.

11- You remember those funky taxis that smelled great all the time. Some of these taxi's would talk and greet you upon entering (as in the actual car and not the driver). Others had disco lights installed in the car. If you were lucky, the cab driver, while driving at 120 Km/h would open the door and spit out some funky looking tobacco thing".

12- Still on the subject of taxis, you have, or know someone who has, ripped a metal taxi ID tag (the one with the guy's name and photo) off the back seat and taken it as a souvenir.

13- You are automatically bi/multi-lingual: You speak whatever you speak, plus a special language that could only be used in taxis or small groceries. Typical sentences include, "rafeeg, sawi seer sida, banad sayara, nazal nafarat".

14- Dubai Channel 33 was your savior, if you were lucky enough to catch it, and that would require very high humidity, or a building size antenna.

15- Morning television on Abu Dhabi TV featured camels racing to a funky repetitive tune (early form of house music). Afternoon TV was random. You'd be in the middle of a cartoon, and just when it gets good, another cartoon starts (early form of mixing).

16- No matter how old you are now, you have a sense of humor that only other Abu Dhabi veterans can relate to.

17- The day Coca Cola arrived in Abu Dubai was one of the most anticipated events of your life at the time.

18- In the first gulf war, all parents collectively came up with the brilliant idea of putting sticky plastic stuff on windows thinking it would save them in case of a chemical attack.

19- At some point you thought La Brioche was authentic French cuisine, but you always thought Arlequin had the best croissants ever, and you still miss them.

20- Instead of having a street number, your building was either named after some random girl (eg Dana Plaza), or the store downstairs (eg. Choietram building). If you didn't live in a building, ie lived in Manaseer or some area like that, then you had to do a lot of talking in the language mentioned in point 13 above.

21- You went through a prolonged skateboarding phase. This involved wearing converse and air walks with a little patch thing on the side so you wouldn't wruin your shoes when you ollied. You practiced by getting your friends to lie down on the ground and ollie'ing over them. In the tourist club, you acid dropped off the stairs next to snoopy's, or launched off the steps in front of the billiards room. If you didnt skateboard, the you most likely belonged to another prominent crew, and wore docksides at some point in your life.

22- If you're a guy, your major daily/weekly events included some kind of big fight (early form of fight club). This could happen within your own school, in which case it was usually a one on one fight that others watched.

You also had inter school fights on weekends that involved many to many. Common reasons included - checking out a girl someone liked, looking at someone the wrong way, or just plan boredom.

Most notable were the fights that involved locals. A local would simply decide he wanted to pick a fight with you. He'd look at the guy next to him and say, "dig bleeb, yeeb el rabi3". usually, the locals would back off and end it in 2 minutes, making it sound like your lucky they have better things to do. But if they actually did "dig bleeb", within less than ten minutes, land cruisers or nissan patrols loaded with the "rabi3" would show up to take you on. Thee fights usually involved 10 or more people attacking one person. Weapon included a 7atta, slippers, or an Anees or Jawal (super sized cell phones). If you fought back, you'd be told stuff like "safrak". Usually, these fights would attract large audiences that would cheer on.

Somehow, although these fights happened outside of school, your principal (3andari, Jihad, etc) would know about it by Saturday morning and you'd get into trouble at school for it too (al nahda - 3 finger slap on face by Jihad. Choueifat - shit from 3andari followed by speech by Germanos followed by detention/suspension).

23- Still on the subject of male entertainment, you have played soccer at least once where the goal posts were either single red trapezium bricks or someone's slippers (n3al).

24- Unless you are one of our pakistani or indian friends, you probably can't speak Urdu/Hindi/etc, but somehow you still came out of Abu Dhabi knowing the lyrics to at least one urdu/hindi/pushto song.

25- You've gotten stuck in traffic atleast once, not because there was traffic, but because two people riding Nissan patrols or land cruisers recognized each other while driving, and decided to stop and catch up. They would park horizontally across the road blocking all traffic until they were done catching up.

26- Unlike most other newspapers, where every paper wants to know who shot you where, UAE newspapers refer to the main players in a story by initials only. You could steal, kill, rape, traffic drugs, and still only have your initials appear in the paper (that doesn't mean you don't get punished for it though, we're only talking newspapers here). Initials were usually composed of a minimum of 4 letters, eg:

Mr. A J K B A N was caught in Abu Dhabi airport with 25 tons of Cocaine. Mr. A J K B A N, a UAE national, was charged with carrying illegal substances and fined dhs 100,000 followed by 25 years in an underground, no air condition cell.

Most entertaining was the classifieds section of Gulf news. Its the only news paper where renters can specify the religion, job, eating preferences, and province of origin of a potential room mate. Here is one taken word for word from Gulf News (really, this is no joke):

1 bed space in C.A/C flat, in Hor Al Anz, available for an Indian (Keralite) nonsmoking vegetarian exec. bachelor working for reputed firm. Call 050-XXXXXXx
(we hid the numbers to avoid high volume prank calls).

Even better are job postings. You can specify sex, nationality and even age. For example (again this is a real life word for word ad):

Accountant, MBA graduate, female, age below 35, preferably hailing from the Philipines, with 3-5 yrs. exp. & familiar with feasibility studies, reqd.

Cruel World

2008-11-14T13:02:00.004Z

Read this first

•Eight broken ribs and a broken back, with another area of bleeding around the spine at neck level.
•Numerous bruises, cuts and abrasions, including a deep tear to his left ear lobe, which had been pulled away from his head.
•Severe lacerations to the top of his head, including a large gouge which could have been caused by a dog bite.
•Blackened finger- and toenails, with several nails missing; the middle finger of his right hand was without a nail and its tip was also missing, as if it had been sliced off.
•A tear to his fraenulum, the strip of skin between the middle of the upper lip and the gum, which had partially healed.
•One of his front teeth had also been knocked out and was found in his colon. He had swallowed it.

These describe the injuries suffered by a 17 month old baby P that eventually led to his death by his Mum and her boyfriend. This could’ve been avoided many times as he was visited 60 times in 8 months by social workers, police and health professionals; so why didn’t they put a stop to this?

This really has broken my heart; the poor little boy needed love and security. What sort of sick-minded individuals would do this to a child? I can’t begin to imagine the pain he must’ve felt. I look at my daughter and can’t begin to describe what I would do to someone if they even tried something like that.

Everyone in his short and tragic life has failed him. We must intervene as a society when we are concerned that “something isn’t right”. Family, friends, neighbours, we should make it our duty to protect the vulnerable and confront the perpetrators of any form of abuse.

As for the perpetrators, why is their even a trial? An eye for an eye I say...

Rest in peace baby P, my thoughts are with you...

Happy with Brum move

2008-11-13T13:39:00.001Z

So far I am happy with our move back to Birmingham since I have many family and friends here. Halal food and restaurants are in abundance so no problems there – apart from gaining more weight. There are many sheesha places for me to hang around so I can play cards and continue our usual Arab arguments of world domination plus the rent and grocery shopping is cheaper too woo-hoo

My daughter is getting more exposure to the family as well and vice-versa, so it’s all good and ofcourse it wouldn’t be complete if the missus wasn’t enjoying herself too.

I do miss Andover in parts though. It was quieter so you had more time to yourself to think, read books and workout. Yes I was leading a healthier lifestyle over there but I suppose you can’t get everything in life.

If it wasn’t for current financial climate and unstable housing market I think I would’ve looked more seriously to buy a property but for now I am better of renting and waiting for the right moment.

Mice problems

2008-11-10T11:54:00.001Z

Since moving back to Birmingham a couple of months ago we’ve been re-introduced to a problem everyone is having in the area. Mice!

Just can’t get rid of the little buggers, I’ve set traps all over the house now and caught 3 in the last week but they still keep coming for more. The worst thing is when you go out for a whole day only to comeback and see there droppings all over the flipping place, it’s disgusting. I am seriously considering getting a cat here to keep them in check.

I checked google and the local council website for Birmingham to see if anyone is doing anything about this and not to my surprise it doesn’t even seem to be acknowledged – just swept under the carpet.

Maybe I should catch a couple and release them in the council offices after all seeing believing.

Graduate Fair

2008-11-07T08:57:00.003Z

I put myself up to help my current employer (an IT services company) by attending an IT – Engineering graduate recruitment fair in Warwick. As an ex-graduate myself boy was it fun sitting on the other side of the fence, seeing things from an employer’s perspective – Its not that long ago that I was loooking for me first job.

It was weird because most graduates enquiring were more interested in a senior/managerial role right away. Hellloooo??? What happened to working your way up, mate? It was bloody frustrating explaining to some of the ignorant scruffy looking gits that you have to get some experience behind you. It’s as if it’s their God-given right to walk into a high position. Now I know Warwick is a good university and all but damn give us working people a break.

Anyways got that of my chest.

Bank Jokes

2008-10-31T09:37:00.001Z

Some Banking and credit crunch jokes popping around reflecting current circumstances that I found worth sharing.

1.How do you define optimism?
A banker who irons 5 shirts on a Sunday

2.An elderly lady receives an e-mail from the son of a deceased (but wealthy) African general, asking whether he could transfer millions of pounds into her bank account in return for a 20% cut. All the son needs is the sort code and account number. Not realising she is the victim of a Nigerian 419 fraud, she e-mails back the details. A couple of minutes later she receives an e-mail back from the general's son: 'Icesave?!' What is this, some sort of scam?" **Reflecting the current state of Banks in Iceland**

3.Resolving to surprise her husband, an investment banker's wife pops by his office. She finds him in an unorthodox position, with his secretary sitting in his lap. Without hesitation, he starts dictating, "...and in conclusion, gentlemen, credit crunch or no credit crunch, I cannot continue to operate this office with just one chair!"

4.What's the difference between Investment Bankers and London Pigeons?
The Pigeons are still capable of making deposits on new BMW's

5.What's the difference between an investment banker and a large pizza?
A large pizza can feed a family of four.

6.Quote of the day (from a trader): "This is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife."

7.Masked man holding a bank cashier up with a gun. Says: 'I don't want any money - I just want you to start lending to each other..

Coming soon in May 2009

2008-10-26T17:45:00.000Z

I mentioned in my previous post that E was pregnant. I didn’t mean to just skip through that as if its part of my everyday normal life. No this is big and deserves a whole post to itself – She’s reading this as well you know ;)

This time we’ve decided that we’ll find out the sex of the baby from the scan stage whether we tell family and friends is another matter which we haven’t yet discussed but I would guess not at first.

I am hoping for a boy this time just to get some balance in the house. We’ve already started discussing names even though the due date is April next year. Talking about the due date it’s the exact same date of birth as little M. My wife’s doctor was smiling and saying you must be celebrating something in July.

Well what more can I say there’s going to be more changes here, less personal space, less sleep, less attention from the wife and probably messier but its going to be more lively and what the heck I am going to be a proud dad of two soon. Ameen.

Googling

2008-10-24T09:58:00.000+01:00

I was a bit bored and decided to try and search for a few Arab-UK-Muslim blogs on the web every time I typed anything relevant I could see Terrorists, Arabs, Kill, Murder, Islam supports bombers, No to Shariah in UK and Al Qaida.

WTF….no interesting blogs!!!

Ramadan-Work

2008-10-21T09:22:00.000+01:00

Ramadan was out of this world this year. Not only did we have to fast up to 8pm at the beginning of the month. Work-wise it ended up being the busiest month this year with some of my colleagues taking annual leave and also having to work on the biggest most important project we have seen come our way in years. Taking into account that we were still living out of suitcases and boxes everywhere at home and finding out E is pregnant which was a pleasant surprise but also comes with added pressure.

I think I must’ve clocked up over 60 hours overtime just that month. Just to sum it up everyone was praying Taraweeh on Laylatul Qadr and me working away from 10pm to 10am to upgrading a Customers server.

That holiday to UAE seemed light years away now.

Atleast I did get a decent pay out of it all (and the taxman :$ )

Relocating again

2008-10-18T19:24:00.000+01:00

Well they say no rest for the wicked don’t they? I must be very wicked indeed.

Straight after getting back from holiday normal life would resume or so you would think. Prior to leaving on holiday I had arranged with my work to relocate from Andover (Town in Hampshire) to Birmingham.

I was living in Birmingham before moving down south to Andover but having graduated and looking for jobs I decided I’d grab the first thing that comes my way but after three years we decided to move back to be closer to family, plus driving 250 miles every other weekend to visit family was starting to tire me out.

My work place were very understanding and since we had an office in Birmingham didn’t mind at all me moving there in actual fact they encouraged it as they said it would be useful having someone up there. Win-Win situation eh!

I think I’ve said this somewhere before moving homes was so much easier when it was just myself. Now with a wife and kid comes much more suitcases, furniture and back pain. Let’s just say we’re not finished unpacking and all this was 2 months ago now.

I have missed Andover the calmness of living in a smaller quieter town were people were more friendly and relaxed, less traffic and only living 5 minute drive from work. Oh well it’s for the best I guess.

Atleast we moved before Ramadan started …

Back Again - For how long this time I don't know...

2008-10-17T15:26:00.001+01:00

I’ve just not had the commitment to update my blog recently. I am hoping to revive my interests again at least to put an update every now and again. It seems in my absence quite a few interesting bloggers have called it a day or taking time out. What a shame, really.

Well where do I start…

I was back in Abu-Dhabi over summer and had a wicked time. It was the first time in years that all my family (brothers & sisters) were actually reunited and under one roof. Of course this time with the added pleasure of having my own family; consisting of my loving wife (E) and gorgeous daughter (Little M).

Little M loved it as she was occupied all the time. She went from a quite home of two to having nine to play around with. We took her to the beach for the first time. Initially, she was terrified from the sea and the sand but she enjoyed her time after that.

We had trips to Dubai’s Wild Wadi, City Centre, Souks, Restaurants and Sheesha Café’s. I was pretty much fed-up of Dubai by the time I was leaving.

We had a memorable trip to Al-Ain were my dad decided to take us the Zoo in mid-afternoon. I was gassed out just walking from the parking lot to the park entrance – it was ridiculous but we ended up laughing about it later. We drove up Jebel Hafeet and ofcourse my favourite part of Al – Ain was swimming in the natural springs even though I could only last about 10 minutes or so as it was extremely hot.

Times in Abu-Dhabi consisted of linking up with my cousin who I haven’t seen in 6 years – we were really close before and I thank him for showing me a good time. We had spent endless hours in sheesha café’s chilling, playing cards and ofcourse every Arab’s favourite pastime argueing ;o)

On the whole it was a much needed holiday to be honest.

Elephant Story

2007-12-16T18:30:00.000Z

In 1986, Dan Harrison ( see picture) was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from North western University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Some twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.

Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant

Policy Exchanges fabricated report

2007-12-14T15:19:00.000Z

Policy Exchange is a right-wing think-tank based in London. There was a research paper put together a couple of months back that concluded a quarter of the mosques investigated in London were promoting an extreme version of Islam.

However, BBC’s Newsnight has discovered in 5 out of the 6 mosques it visited which Policy Exchange had pointed out that were selling extremist literature, that the receipts given by Policy Exchange for the literature bought are forged. Things like wrong addresses, receipts that aren't the same as the ones in the actual shops, receipts printed on home inkjet printers, receipts written by the same person even though both mosques were 40 miles apart and even one receipt that had even been written while resting on another receipt. (Forensic science is a bitch huh)

The initial report itself was a bombshell, and helped put Policy Exchange on the map. Now it is called into question. It is quite sad that the evidence presented by the BBC will not make the front-pages in national newspapers but the original "report" did and was widely discussed.

What I don’t understand is how can an organisation base a report on fabricated evidence and still have the audacity to state that the evidence is authentic, when clearly the program showed that the evidence is not genuine.

read more:-
Guardian Report
Report from Osama Saeed

and another thing is while I don’t condone all these books but you have to accept it that they do exist because there is a market and if one wants to they can still purchase them from amazon

Where is the call for Amazon to be shutdown for this

Are you Green ?

2007-12-13T14:43:00.000Z

I realised there are a lot of peeps out there that need some serious help in dealing with their insecurity, jealousy and envious issue’s. Seriously some peeps out there are so envious of the UAE’s development they can’t wait to post some slander. They skipped through all the colours and turn green with envy and jealousy.

Many people don’t want the UAE to be successful or at least not as successful as to eclipse their own country. They cannot deal with the fact that someone other than themselves is the centre of attention. Those poor poor souls need some help and even though I am no psychologist or Doctor, I’ll try my best:

1- Understand the emotion: Jealousy is usually a combination of fear and anger; a fear of losing something, and anger that someone is "moving in on" something that you feel belongs only to you.

2- Envy:Do not envy you have control over envy, so stop looking at what is not yours. Some people find it helpful to count their blessings or ask for help.

3- Communicate your feelings: Sharing your true feelings with someone without blaming them can create a deep sense of connection between the two of you and open up a dialogue about the path of your relationship.

4- Change any false beliefs that might cause jealousy. There are often false beliefs that underlie jealousy and fuel emotion. If you examine the belief, many times, you can eliminate the jealousy.

5 -Irrational jealousy usually stems from your own insecurities and low self-esteem. Address these issues first.

I hope this helps a few people otherwise just grow up.

Have your say

2007-11-22T10:25:00.000Z

I normally try to contribute to a “have your say” debates on the BBC site every now and again and was just checking to see some archives of replies. There is limited space when replying so sometimes I am very concise and straight to the point. This might be of some interest to some of you just to see other point of views:

Debate: Palastine/Israel
There NEVER was a country called Palestine. There was a region of that world called Palestine. It never was a country, never had a functioning government (still doesnt). You may have fooled some, but many of us ACTUALLY know our history.
User,United States
My reply: Like there never was a country called USA...Ofcourse when discovered it was only Land, The indians never had a government...need I continue.

Debate:Palastine/Israel
No Israeli of Jew EVER did a suicide bombing. We are not the ones who blow up buses for martrydom.
User, UK
My reply: No Jews aren’t that bad, they only kick you out of your Land, beat you up and ultimately shoot you. But suicide bombs NEVER...its not THAT bad. USER who you kidding ???

Debate: Terrorists
Anybody wanting to say that July 7 could have been avoided by not invading Iraq, consider that these terrorists will always have some excuse
User, London, United Kingdom
My reply: I'm sorry USER I don't recall terrorist bombs in the UK prior to operation "Iraqi Freedom" or operation "WMDs" or operation "Democracy" or whatever you wish to call this. I prefer to call it operation "Secure Oil reserves".

Debate: Palastine/Israel
Generally Israelis do not like to kill Palestinian children- but only the ones that do use American weapons.
User, UK
My reply: Coca-cola cans are American weapons now, User where do you get your news from mate. Most Palestinian kids use rocks and stones as weapons. Hardly WMD when compared with what the Israeli’s use.

Debate: Immigration (This sounds familiar though)
Loads of immigrants taking our jobs - jobs being outsourced to foreign countries - where is there a job left for us - as for saying they only do jobs we wont do - rubbish - the immigrants are taking all the jobs now - how do they afford it - dont they have the bills that we have maybe they rent but they should still have the other overheads we have - or is it because they are on benefits as well - we could all do that - work for less as long as we claimed of our welfare state - and they also make claims, open a bank a/c move back home and draw from their British bank a/c and they arent even here!
User, UK
My reply: I was waiting for that. Stop blaming your failings on immigrants.

Britz in the hood

2007-11-13T17:04:00.001Z

I am not sure if anyone outside of the UK would’ve seen or even heard of this. Britz is a two-part fictional thriller of two British-Born Muslim brother and sister. Without giving away much of the story; both there lives are affected by a similar chain of events but both choose a different conflicting direction in dealing with them.

The Story

Sohail is an ambitious law undergraduate who signs up with MI5 and, eager to play a part in protecting British security, begins an investigation into a terrorist cell.

His sister Nasima is a medical student in Leeds who becomes increasingly alienated and angered by Britains foreign and domestic policy after witnessing at first hand the relentless targeting of her Muslim neighbours and peers.

Britz is undoubtedly a gripping thriller and an absorbing drama that addresses many sensitive issues. All I can say is if you can beg, steal or borrow a copy of it or find the two episodes online somewhere, I strongly urge you to view it.

Ludicrous Laws

2007-11-09T11:51:00.000Z

I’ve been so busy at work lately I have to sneak away from my desk at lunch/home times when no ones looking. I guess it’s better than sitting in the office twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to happen as I don’t how the last two weeks flew by.

Thought this might be an interesting read as I sometimes see blog entries on silly or outdated rules and laws in the Middle East. Well here’s one (in order of % )for the rest of the world from the BBC website:

The UK's top 10 most ridiculous British laws were listed as:
• 1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)
• 2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down (7%)
• 3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)
• 4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned (5%)
• 5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter (4%)
• 6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (4%)
• 7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen (3.5%)
• 8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (3%)
• 9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour (3%)
• 10. It is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (2%)

Other bizarre foreign laws voted by those polled included:
• In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk (9%)
• In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation (8%)
• A male doctor in Bahrain can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror (7%)
• In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm (6%)
• It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama (6%)
• In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed (6%)
• Women in Vermont must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth (6%)
• In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits (5%)
• In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon (4%)

I'd try and pick out a favourite but I just can't. Mind you #3 comes really close though...

Where to ?

2007-10-29T09:53:00.000Z

I’ve been thinking more and more about moving out of the UK. I’ve now been here for 8 years and it's really starting to bother me. I don’t know if it’s me but I am coming to a point were I’ve had enough of the atmosphere plus I really fancy a change. The question is where do I go from here? I narrowed down places of interest and this is what I’ve come down to:

US of A
USA is huge, you never really think of that until you look at the bloody map. I’ll need to further narrow down where in the US. Salary is good for my type of work. I just have this uneasy feeling about it though; more of a gut feeling that it’s not exactly what I am looking for.

Canada
Too cold – next.

Australia
To me it just looks just like the UK but with much more sun. I am not sure if that’s what I need.

Malaysia
I hardly know anything about Malaysia but for what started as a funny suggestion is seriously starting to catch my eye. I don’t know I feel this vision of it being authentic, original, not westernised (not in a bad way) and having its own culture. On the other hand the pay is abysmal. I will never be able to save up or visit anyone outside of Malaysia.

UAE
So much has changed since I left that it’ll feel like I am going to a new country altogether. So I thought I might as well go somewhere else. Unless of course I can somehow recreate that 90’s era *drifting off*, also I don’t have enough of Vitamin W (Wasta) these days.

Mid-East
Who knows I could end up anywhere here. Qatar recently is experiencing a boom in the job industry so I might try my luck their. Or maybe it’s finally time for me to go back to the motherland Yemen.

After all is said and done I might stay in the UK longer, another two years and I would’ve been here for a decade. I have no clue were time went. Sometimes I still think I’m a 19 year old student

Any suggestions or even better job offers welcome :P

Tagged: 5 reason Why I wish I was three

2007-10-26T17:04:00.000+01:00

I've been tagged by Desperate Princess in Dubai and its a difficuilt one as I hardly remember things from that age. Here goes:

-As a 3year I felt so safe and confident when next to my dad. He was like Superman and He-man combined together.

-Eat, Shit and Sleep life in its simplest form.

-Eat what ever you like as much as you like. You will burn it.

-You get away with loads of naughty stuff muhaahahaha

-Watch all my 80’s cartoons .الرجل الحديدى, الليث الابيض, مغامرات نحول "بشار", طم طم

Terrorism in Europe

2007-10-23T16:05:00.000+01:00

I personally have never heard of the European Police Office (Europol) and the fact that it released a report on terrorism in the EU. This post is mostly from the link provided below. According to this report there were 498 incidents in eleven EU countries last year labelled as "terrorist attacks." The Basque separatist group ETA (this is in Spain) did best (136 terrorist attacks). The mighty Islamist’s with one terrorist incident out of the 498.

Had the Islamic terrorists been behind a higher number of attacks-say 136-it would have been front page news at every big daily. One attack is simply too few--it won't do if the image of an "Islamic threat" is to live on.

The report is namely a grave disappointment for the anti-Islamic campaigners.Although you might think the journalists would be beside themselves with joy when the European Police Office (Europol) releases its first report on terrorism in the EU. I can assure you they weren't. The report proves the genuine magnitude of Islamic terrorism in Europe--it's not exactly a huge threat.

If we look at the people arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, the figures are rather disproportionate; about half of them arrested were Muslim. In plain English: Muslims are a group causing very little terrorism in Europe, while at the same time much more likely to be arrested on suspicion of it. The constant media coverage of Muslims being arrested creates the false image of a serious threat in order to benefit the imperialist world-view Washington wants us to adopt. Meanwhile the Americans and their accomplices are carrying out genocide in Iraq. Clearly, something needs to be done about the media.

What your view point on this?

What else does UAE stand for ?

2007-10-18T19:29:00.000+01:00

I just discovered today that it is also an abbreviation of Unrecoverable Application Error.

Was it a happy Eid for you?

2007-10-17T13:34:00.000+01:00

After recovering from my khat session, I’ve now had a couple of days to reflect back on the last couple of days.

I’ve been in the UK for 8 years now and every single year without fail there is a dispute on what day is EID. This Imam says it’s going to be tomorrow the other masjid is doing it the day after; Saudi is having it tomorrow but Egypt the next day after. No one knows who to follow or what to do.

It kind of kills the whole spirit and defies the purpose of Eid as you could be celebrating whilst some friends, family or neighbours are still fasting. It’s just one of those things that really bug me.

Khat

2007-10-10T12:01:00.000+01:00

I have a couple of days off soon in which I plan to visit family in Birmingham, enjoy Eid and relax by chewing some Khat with mates. I don’t chew often (last time I had some August sometime). For those that have no idea what I am on about. Please visit this to get a perspective.

Much has been publicised about the ill-effects of this leaf with emphasize that it is a drug and more seriously in Yemen from a financial point of view as people out of their way (putting khat before family) to chew.

Me I have never been a big fan of sitting down and chewing khat but it is similar to sitting down with friends over a sheesha in a way. Once in a while its pretty good as it gets everyone together to sit down, relax, catch up and/or watch a movie. For some reason I am craving it now more for the atmosphere than the taste (taste is very sour I don’t think anyone craves that).

It does have a stimulating effect though, giving you a little buzz, you also tend to sweat out a little and become more talkative. More than likely you won’t sleep much and will feel tired and drained the day after.

Plus it does have its advantages

Update

2007-10-08T13:24:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while since my last post. It’s not easy maintaining a blog, plenty of commitment. Quick update on things:

- We’re still in UK.
- Ramadan is not easy here.
- Little M (5month daughter) is really starting to control us the way she likes to.
- I am starting to contemplate leaving the UK for a new destination. Maybe just maybe back to Abu-Dhabi.
- I aggravated my bloody knee again, seeing a specialist this time.

The Poo Man

2007-07-27T10:51:00.000+01:00

A special council 'dog fouling squad' described today how an undercover surveillance operation caught a serial offender - but it wasn't a dog. It was a man.

This guy regularly travelled between two cities (up Noorf). In between he has his regular morning dump on the SAME street. Yup this is how you do it. When you need to go you go, just pullover.

If only everyone in the UAE learned to do this, that entire desert would’ve been a fertile forest by now lol.

Rain, Floods and Traffic

2007-07-24T22:08:00.000+01:00

I got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams for 10 bleedin’ hours on the A34 while making my way to Birmingham. The normal 120 miles trip usually takes me two hours.

I left at 4:30pm and got there at 2:30am. All this mayhem was caused by the rain we’ve been having here.

Everything that could go wrong that day went wrong:
2 road accidents, floods on the motorway, closure due to landslip and road works could you believe.

Too much negativity

2007-07-17T16:15:00.000+01:00

One weird thing that I’ve noticed about the English public (in general ofcourse) here is that they love being miserable and negative, its part of their national identity you see. It’s like you can’t be too positive or you’ll come across as an arrogant git. Why? I haven’t the foggiest.

The weather’s shite, the bus is late, the salary’s crap, the houses are too expensive, this will never work….whine whine whine, moan moan moan. I feel like grabbing one of them and shout from the bottom of my lungs “Get Fucking over it”.

I can’t stand negativity. It wears me down at times.

Sometimes I feel like I am turning in to one of them. Comon everybody let’s discuss all the negative stuff in our lives to make us feel better about ourselves.

Ouf why is the PC slow today

;)

Trait

2007-07-16T21:09:00.000+01:00

I just made a personal discovery today. I have this trait were I don’t get emotionally attached to anything, whether it’s a place, job or friends. My wife even realised this in me. When I did think about it a little it made sense that this could be a result of my upbringing in Abu Dhabi-UAE.

I might have never noticed it before but growing up there you get accustomed to family/friends/people coming and going, and in my case moving homes. You tend to not get attached too much (subconsciously), accept it as part of life and move on.

This definitely some thing I have to work on.

Good day in the office

2007-07-13T19:35:00.000+01:00

I got a phone call earlier in the week from the big kahuna at work. He phoned to let me know that the company is rewarding me for my work with a salary promotion. Thats the second raise I get this year, making it 23% in total. I must be doing something right, eh?

I can do with news like that more often.

Crazy Docter

2007-07-11T12:54:00.000+01:00

Imagine this right. A woman goes to her Doctors asking for a contraceptive injection instead she gets told that she is possessed with evil spirits, given crosses and stones for protection, is advised to see a priest and that her mother was a witch who was plotting with her husband to kill her. Probably the scariest thing is this all happened in the civilised and great capital city of the United Kingdom, London.

Dr Pratt (rightly named I see) left her victim, known only as Mrs K, “very shaken and intimidated" after a routine consultation.

The trial contniue's.

Cow-Mad

2007-07-06T15:40:00.000+01:00

North Yorkshire police are on a state of high alert after a youth was spotted coupling with an English longhorn cow at a specialist breeder's farm in Skipwith, The Sun reports.

I guess they're fast running out of things to do in North Yorkshire. For the cows sake I hope the lad was using protection.

One thing I do want to know is how the fuck do you shag a cow.

Police night-time patrols are "on the alert in case he strikes again". They said: "We are treating this matter seriously"

DNA samples and all are being checked.

Immigrants

2007-07-05T11:31:00.000+01:00

This is a generalisation of the UK people’s school of thought (mainly SUN and Daily Mail readers), I must warn its very widespread.

-Why are house prices beyond people’s salaries? This is because of immigrations you see the more demand there is for housing the higher it goes. Kick immigrants out and house prices will come crashing down.

-Why are UK kids among the worst in Europe? This is also due to immigrants. Whilst we were a polite tolerant nation this is no more the case.

-Why are bills and taxes rising? Well you see immigrants just stay at home and sponge of the government leaving us working class people with the tab. Kick out the immigrants and we’ll get taxed less.

-Why are we obese as a nation? Immigrants have introduced us to balti's, curries, chinese...etc. Our traditional dish of beans on toast was cheap and healthy.

-Why is the NHS crap? This has been overloaded with immigrants who do not contribute to the NHS in the first place.
-Why are UK syllabus for GCSE, A-Levels and Universities being dumped down? Immigrants are dumb so we have to be PC (politically correct) and dump down the syllabus for them so they don’t feel out of place.

-Why are we running out of fish? Immigrants like to east fish. Nature stabilises itself through famine, starvation and national disasters but because people are immigrating instead of dying they cause a destabilisation of nature. If we kill the immigrant’s things will go back to normal.

I am sick to death of hearing right wing spooks complaining that immigrants don’t integrate well with the rest of society.Such attitudes are SO hypocritical, considering that most people in Britain don’t even bother to talk to their neighbours in the first place. People in glass houses...

Women in Islam

2007-06-22T16:28:00.000+01:00

I was tired of reading all the comments on SD’s blog about how in Islam women are inferior to men and all the myths because that’s what they are. However there is a complication of the matter and there are some hard truths in what has been said, specifically how women are treated in some Islamic countries.

The status of women in Islam is a not a new topic but has been used often by the Western critics of Islam who try to show that women are inferior to men within the body of Islamic teachings and its worldview. Although even a superficial study of Islamic teachings is sufficient to rebut the attacks (I won’t go into this) made by most critics of Islam, it is often difficult to defend Muslims themselves who, by their own actions, blatantly violate the tenets of Islam in relation to the treatment of wives and women in general. This disregard for Islamic teachings is often due to the influence of culture and ignorance, and the inability to discern between divine knowledge and cultural practice.

The tendency to treat women as mere objects or, in the more extreme cases, as second-class, is real and does exist within our Ummah (Islamic countries). This dark reality is an aspect that shadows the self, refuses to go away or be dealt with in a real way. Ignorant males often twist religious teachings to support oppressive cultural norms that justify their treatment of women as mere objects. Perhaps if it were not for Western critical assaults, the issue would remain undisclosed.

I believe this is something the definitely needs to be looked at and needs to be changed from bottom to top through proper education.

Old Abu Dhabi

2007-03-23T09:44:00.000Z

All the recent talk about the old Dubai made me reminisce about the old Abu-Dhabi. When I do visit I usually see new buildings and flats everywhere in place of my old hangouts. It used to be piles of sand, rubble and dirt; perfect for barefooted football. The hours I spent playing footy from 7arah to 7arah(7arah=block).

Ofcourse when compared to Dubai it seems that nothing has changed but believe me it has, I remember instead of Abu Dhabi Mall there was Adma-Opco (the company, now on the corniche) which had loads of sporting facilities at the time. My Thursdays (weekends) would be something like:

Swim & Windsurf at 2pm
Tennis 4-6pm
Football 6:30-8pm
Swim and relax till 9pm

Somewhere in between I’ll grab something to eat. I used to get home and be in bed by 10pm all tired. Now instead of all those sport facilities we have Abu-Dhabi mall where you have kids as young as 11 smoking and chasing after girls, who go out all dressed to kill but apparently through no fault of their own get harassed by these guys. Ahh how things have changed, I think now they call it a more civilized way of living.

The only place you can go for free public swimming on an island now is in Ras-al akhathr and even that place probably won’t last before they do something with it (shame because its lovely place). The corniche also is different; I actually like what they’ve done. I dug some pics that I had. If you into the background you can see the difference.

I suppose in a way its good for Abu Dhabi that things are progressing but maybe they could learn from Dubai and not end up turning it in to another Ibiza kind of place. I think kids and teenagers could do with a few affordable sport/leisure centers (apart from walking around the malls).

Wrong bus....whats the worst that could happen?

2007-03-20T07:55:00.000Z

This story happened during my first year in the UK. Only a few of my friends and close family know. I've never mentioned it as it would’ve scared the shit out of my parents.

It was summer 2000 the European Cup (footy) was on and I was in a rush to get to my grandads house in Birmingham. Not fully knowing the bus routes then me and my friend got on the wrong bus (heading into one of the most notorious areas).

I was sitting somewhere in the middle and there were two 19/20 year old afro-British (who am I kidding they were black Caribbean’s aight) not too far away. They were sitting in two different seats facing each other with their legs raised on the opposing seats so no other person can sit down next to them.

The bus was crowded. A young mum, who just got on, and her 4/5 year old kid had no where to sit. So she politely asked one of the lads to put their feet down so that she can sit down with her kid on her lap. He refused. She asked him again and he said F**K OFF. So she pushed his feet down and sat down anyway, the two guys got up and started hitting her infront of her kid who was crying.

Everyone on the bus was facing the other way like nothing was happening (I couldn’t believe it). My friend was telling me not to watch and to ignore it but I couldn’t. How could you ignore a woman being kicked in the ribs because she wanted a seat for herself and kid on the bus, How? So I got up, pushed both of them off her and started fighting, yelling and swearing at them. They didn’t even fight back the bus driver stopped the bus and they ran off like the cowards they were. I sat back down and everyone was still facing away like STILL nothing happened. I didn’t know wether to start punching every single person on that bus starting with my so-called friend (who I’m not close friends with anymore now) I despise these kind of people, wimps!

Then the most amazing thing happened the bus driver came towards me and asked me to get off the bus for fighting. I told him what had happened and he said he knows and saw it all but I still had to get off. So I get thrown of the bus with my wimpy friend in an area known for its notorious muggings, robberies and shootings. I don’t know where I am because I got on the wrong F**in bus and I was pissed off because I was missing the England vs Portugal game (England lost 3-2 by the way).

Me and my wimpy friend (who doesn’t know his way around then) were walking down the road and came across two bus stops heading in opposite directions. Not knowing which the correct one was, we split so that we can ask the bus driver for the right one (No one was waiting at the bus stops). Ten minutes or so later 4 black kids (around 18/19 yrs olds) started walking towards me. Two pulled out knives (My so-called friend ran off), I took out my mobile phone and told the person who spoke to come and get it. As he approached me I punched him so hard with the phone (his blood was all over my clothes at this time), got him in a headlock (all this happened so fast). His other friends came to the rescue and started hitting me, dragging him away while I kept chasing that one person. Ok I was stupid they had knives (which thankfully they didn’t use) but I was pissed off and it was just a sudden reaction (not a good one, I should’ve just run away). Soon after the Police sirens were coming from round the corner with my so-called friend running ahead of them, they were fast I thought. The kids ran off before the coppers had arrived.

The copper turned to my wimpy friend and says don’t lie to us again. I found out later that when he rang them he said there was a white kid bullied by 4 blacks. (Explains the reason how quick they got here lol although I’d like to think it wouldn’t change anything).
I was taken down to the station, they took down some statements and that’s it I was told you can go home. Errr Mr. Copper you do know that I am lost I just mentioned it to you when you wrote my statement. Can you call me a taxi or give us a lift please? No.

I didn’t end up going to my granddads and I totally missed the game. It was a bad day for me and England (they lost did I mention that already oops). Seriously though I am not sticking my neck out for anyone again, getting kicked off the bus like that. I am not going to befriend wimps and cowards and I also learned all my bus routes from then on lol.

Moral of the story: Get the right bus otherwise suffer the consequences

Segregation

2007-03-15T10:00:00.000Z

The Yemeni Community in the UK can be traced as far back as 1885, but up till now they still mostly live in segregation to the rest of the English community. Why? I mean if you go to area’s such as Birmingham you wouldn’t even feel like your in England (Ethnic communities in Birmingham mostly consists of Pakistani’s and Indians but its also one of the biggest Yemeni communities in UK).

I am no expert on the subject but some of the things I can think of and dig out are:

-A lot of the English moved out of areas where they slowly became the minority. Preferring to stay within their own.

-A lot of Yemeni’s immigrated to specific areas within the UK where there are known Yemeni communities.

-Yemeni’s have bigger families, contributing to the increasing size of the community.

-Yemeni’s suffered a lot early on racially in which the government then decided that the best way to keep communities safe is segregation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/family-and-community/south-shields-yemeni-riots.shtml

Obviously its not going to be one reason but a combination of all the above.

Is there anyone out there who has anything further to add? As I’d be interested to know any further opinions or facts.

Yemeni-Khaliji-Kalb-Britani-Paki

2007-03-12T12:48:00.000Z

There is a large Yemeni community in UK (mainly Birmingham, Sheffield, London and Liverpool). It’s amazing. I’ve learned more about my Yemeni traditions living in the UK more than when living in UAE (we’re talking about 17 years here). Actually I feel that in the UAE they are more westernised than many of the people born and bred in the UK.

What I find funny is here among my peers they call me ‘Khaleeji’ (meaning from the Gulf), in UAE its ‘Yemeni’ (if not Yemeni-Kalb) and in Yemen I’m ‘Briatani’ (British). To the yobs in UK I am a ‘Paki’ (any brown color person is a paki to them). Now that’s multiculturalism for you.

Why are we so fixated on affiliating people to a country, a community, a culture and/or a political movement?
Me I prefer just saying I am Arab or Arabi.

Moving Homes

2007-03-09T12:07:00.000Z

Since I’ve been in the UK I’ve moved and relocated quite a few times (I am not sure but I think it’s around 7 times). It’s a nice feeling at times, moving away, starting from scratch (not entirely but it does feel like that). I’d pack my belongings in a suitcase and off I go. (simple as that).

Not anymore I am married now, I mean I still have my one suitcase but the other half had 7 suitcases and 30 odd boxes (including 2 whole boxes of shoes and 1 for handbags). Living on a 2nd floor flat with no elevator doesn’t help. I got the Pro’s to do the furniture.

Why does she (and women in general for that matter) hold onto so much clothes and possessions baffles me, I have failed in convincing her to get rid of the ones she never wears/worn as they will come useful in their own time.

Well we’re in the new flat now, its nicer, bigger and in a better area. Still loads of boxes laying around though....

Disappearance act

2007-03-08T17:29:00.000Z

I've been away longer than I though.

It has been a very busy couple of months what with a new project at work which required me to work in other departments, Wife's pregnancy, my dad visiting and how can I forget about moving houses. We'll try posting more soon...

2007

2007-01-11T10:53:00.000Z

I haven't posted for a while now guess I've been pre-occupied (lazy). Well 2007 is the year now, no more laziness, no more slouching that's it I'm going to make something of myself.

"HONEY where's my tea **I shout whilst laying on sofa**.

or maybe not ....

By the way we're expecting our first child this year come May. We're excited but unsure if what to expect **Gulp!**

TB touring the ME

2006-12-21T10:10:00.000Z

Tony Blair is currently touring the Middle East trying to settle things down.

"Tony Blair has called for moderate Muslim states to form an " alliance of moderation" to counter Iran and its influence."

"At the end of his Middle East tour, Mr Blair said the world has to "wake up" to the struggle between moderation and extremism, which was the challenge of the 21st Century."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6194789.stm

*Sarcy Clapping* That's it Blair defuse the situation by keeping them all laughing !

New buzzword for everyone "alliance of moderation"

Muslims don't want Christmas banned

2006-12-06T13:22:00.000Z

In my last topic we had an Anon who was adamant that Muslims want Christmas and Easter banned in the UK. Now while we do hear and read about ethnic minorities being offended by Christmas lights and stuff (were do they get this idea from I don’t know, no ones asked me), why is it that this was concluded to be only Muslims? Muslims are not the only minority in the UK!!!

My friend, Muslims and other minorities are not offended by Christmas decorations one bit, believe me I know. I am Muslim and have many Muslim friends; none want Christmas and Easter banned. The majority of the idiots advocating such ridiculous policies are boring, overpaid, white, middle-class jobsworths pen pushers in the public sector who are anti-religion and are using Political Correctness as an expedient cover story to hide behind. They also need to fill their time to justify extortionate wages under non-job positions such as "Ethnic Inclusion Awareness Manager". Please just go check the job vacancies of your Local Councils.

The media also plays its part, inciting more racial hatred unnecessarily to increase sales of their tabloids.Does anyone else find it ironic that you’re using Christmas: a festival marking the birth of a Jewish kid in Palestine/Israel brought here by the Romans/Italians and marked by decorating fir trees (a habit introduced by a German) to have a go at foreigners for forcing their ways onto you? Think about it a little

Ban Full Faced Veils ?

2006-11-29T14:31:00.000Z

It must be a really slow day for the BBC to bring up the full face veil subject again. I don’t directly agree with those that do were the full faced veils, I mean it’s not a specific requirement in the Koran. But just what are the reasons for wanting to ban them in the first place:

1-"It is a direct challenge to the British way of life".
Fortunately, the "British Way of Life" is based on democracy, freedom and tolerance. Passing legislation on who can wear what where is not only a direct challenge to the "British Way of Life" but a pretty big step towards the “Saudi one”.

2-"A ban can be justified on grounds of security ".
Out of interest, if a ban is to be justified on grounds of security, has anyone actually surveyed the number of crimes (violent or otherwise) that are committed by women wearing veils? If such a survey were to reveal that a greater number of crimes are committed by men wearing suits, should we not start by banning suits?

3-"You feel intimidated, ground for oppression, offensive and demeaning"-Take your pick.
Maybe we should ban skimpy clothes as it "objectifies women"? Maybe we should ban hip hop clothing because the people who wear it make others feel intimidated? Maybe we should also ban punk clothes and head-toe-piercing.

A ban in certain places like banks, courts, hospitals, airports and schools is understandable and is common sense. But an outright ban is stupid, unless people also want to ban beards, hats, hoods, sunglasses, umbrellas and every other possible face obstruction. Or is it that people just fear what they don't understand in Islam and wish to 'normalise' it?

Muslim bashing is fast becoming a national sport here, who knows it might even be included in time for the 2012 Olympics in London.

I personally think this is all about people's hang ups with Islam.

Ironically though more Muslim women are now wearing veils in retaliation to this. Brilliant, huh?

Poor Teachers

2006-11-22T13:36:00.000Z

I was thinking of becoming a teacher at one stage when job opportunities in the IT market were bleak. I had one look around me and changed my mind immediately.

I had no idea how bad it is here in the UK. I mean I wasn’t the most innocent person in class in my younger days (which wasn’t too long ago) but the teachers in UAE could do what they virtually wanted if you got out of hand. They’ll cane, slap, and discipline you in front of your own parents for all they care. (Actually my dad will probably join in if I were in the wrong lol).

Here are a few snippets with the links of what teachers handle on a daily basis:

“Mrs Poole (teacher) said during the trial the boy, who is now 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, had held a screwdriver to her neck to force her to perform the sex act.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6154154.stm

“One teacher from Preston was hit on the head by a brick thrown by a pupil at a neighbouring school, and a teacher from Manchester who was assaulted by a 12-year-old pupil” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4903948.stm

“Mrs Voss (teacher) was chased in her car down a busy road and her family, including her child, received telephone threats”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4493881.stm

“A female primary school teacher had been attacked 150 times in six months. The boy responsible had kicked, punched, bitten and scratched her. He had also stabbed her with a dinner fork, jumped on her back and thrown a table at her”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4400625.stm

“The survey, taken in January, found that in 10 working days in 300 schools, teachers faced 126 physical assaults - out of a total of 964 incidents” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2883917.stm

What the hell are the parents of these kids doing at home? How in the world were these kids raised to be like that? I mean I understand cheeky, naughty and the occasional fights but this is criminal.

I learnt respect from my father who installed the fear of God into me at a young age. I knew if I stepped out of line I would regret it. I got the deadly silent (eyes wide open) treatment and the occasional backhand across the face. As I got older, my fear turned to respect and drove me to do well in life. Now as a man, my dad is one of my best friends. I say the responsibility starts with the parents, please let us not forget that!

Birthday pressie

2006-11-20T20:13:00.000Z

I got a PSP (PlayStation Portable) for my 25th Birthday as a present from sweet sugar (my Wife). She knows that I am just a big geeky kid really!

Thanks honey for a wonderful and memorable weekend.

Now this baby (the PSP ofcourse lol) has a backlit 4.3 inch, 16:9 widescreen TFT colour LCD with 480 x 272 pixel resolution, capable of displaying 16.77 million colours. Not bad for hand-held 6.7 inches long X 2.9 inches wide x .9 inches deep portable game, huh?

Most impressive is the wireless mode on it. It comes with a WiFi (IEEE 802.11b), meaning that I can play games online, connect to the internet and share stuff (updates, patches etc). It also has other features such as a Full-motion video playback, digital audio playback, USB device connectivity, a Memory Stick Duo that allows for game saves, user-created data, online downloaded content, storing separate audio and video files(Neat !!!).

Especially For You

2006-11-19T07:25:00.000Z

I thought i would dedicate this day or shall I say entry to tell you how much you mean to me!.....

Since the first day I met you, you've meant the world to me, you've always treated me good, & although sometimes you drive me cracy (crazy in love ofcourse)..Your 'still' the same same man I fell in love with; gentle & sweet, loving & caring, understanding & passionate(you still make my heart race.)
At times at work(when I have nothing better to do lol) & I think about you, my heart still skips a beat.
You mean the world to me, & I want to live my life being with you, growing old with you!
I fell in love with the person you are; handsome, loving ...don't ever change.
My heart belongs to you.

"It only takes a moment to say I love you"
"but it will take me a life time to show you"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HABEEBI!

May all your dreams & wishes come true!

-your forever loving wife x

Enough is ENOUGH!!!

2006-11-16T20:36:00.000Z

Im back ..I thought I’d put an entry in before my husband takes over the blog lol…

I thought I’d talk about my day at work or shall I say moan about! So here's how it goes enjoy!

I am sick to the back stomach of people thinking they are right! I am at work talking to customers who are giving me the wrong information/facts. They get all worked up when I tell them: that can’t be right. Instead they’re advising me what’s right and what’s wrong. Then with due time only, do they realise that…yes they were wrong!
It really fires me up as they carry on like nothing happened, after more or less telling me how to do my job!.
Ok if it was one off I would let it go, but funnily enough the same lady was on a rail-track right from the word go till the end: stating all the wrong details, wrong figures wrong everything… but nooooo she still had to be right! Right at the end I just wanted to cut her off, without ending the call professionally ..but I coward out because my manger had her headset on all day listening to calls, and ofcourse I wanted to do the right thing!

What really gets me is how confidently and assertive they are when there not even sure if its right! IF that was me I would boldly admit and say I dunno, I’m not sure or maybe .There’s no shame in not knowing. It drives me crazy.

My hubby probably thinks I’m having a dig at him too lo , coz …(whispering): ‘he’s always right’

Just thought I’d get this off my chest!

Man I can’t wait for the weekend…Just so I can sleep in and not think about work!

Ahhhhh bliss! Ciao for now

Corporate talk

2006-11-15T11:35:00.000Z

No too long in the past I survived a scare at the company I’m working for. They were on a mission to cut costs. Yes, sadly there were a few colleagues of mine who were made redundant. The thing I hates the most was the way top management announced it to everyone else “persons x has departed with us to pursue further opportunities”, why not just come out and say it.

It’s like some alien language at times. Here is fragment of the communication I received.

"Top management is currently leading a review of the group’s structure and organization, in order to further improve its organic growth capabilities and operational efficiency"

Of course the best was forward was by letting a few employee’s get on and pursue other things? Anyways, here are a few key words or phrases to watch out for from your top management if ever the case arrives.

'We're consolidating' – We are making you redundant.

'Optimising our resources' – We are sacking people.

'Developing our resources' – We are sacking some people to pay other people more in the hope they won’t leave.

'A re-engagement with our core business values.'- We are losing money and are going to sack people.

'A period of substantial restructure and reassessment' - We are going broke.

'An opportunity for new business partnerships and relationships…' - We are being sold off.

'...with unparalleled career-reappraisal opportunities' - …. and you are all sacked.

British Slang

2006-11-13T10:10:00.001Z

The first thing that hits you when you arrive here are the accents. Its even harder at university because you have different people coming from different parts of the UK. You have Brummies (Birmingham), Geordies (Newcastle), Liverpoodlians / Scousers (Liverpool), Cockneys (Londoners), Mancunians (Manchester) and many more. They all speak with different accents and most of the time they have their own phrases and wordings. Another thing is the hatred of all people born within more than a 5 mile radius of oneself, but thats another different topic altogether. Here we’re going to list a few general British slang words with their meanings, who knows someone out there might even find it helpful :-

All right? - This is used a lot all the UK to mean, "Hello, how are you"? You would say it to a complete stranger or someone you knew. The normal response would be for them to say "All right"? back to you. It is said as a question. Sometimes it might get expanded to "all right mate"? Mostly used by blue collar workers but also common among younger people.

Arse - This is a word that doesn't seem to exist in American English. It basically means the same as ass, but is much ruder. It is used in phrases like "pain in the arse" (a nuisance) or I "can't be arsed" (I can't be bothered) or you might hear something was "a half arsed attempt" meaning that it was not done properly.

Arse about face - This means you are doing something back to front.

Arse over elbow - This is another way of saying head over heels but is a little more descriptive. Usually happens after 11pm on a Saturday night and too many lagers! Some Americans say ass over teakettle apparently!

Arse over tit - Another version of arse over elbow, but a bit more graphic!

Arsehole - Asshole to you. Not a nice word in either language.

Arseholed - Drunk! Usually in the advanced stages of drunken stupor, someone would be considered "completely arseholed". Never me, of course!

Belt up - It's the British for shut up.

Bender - Don't be offended just yet. Bender doesn't only mean a gay man, it also means a pub crawl or a heavy drinking session.

Bleeding - An alternative to the word bloody. You'll hear people say "bleeding hell" or "not bleeding likely" for example.

Blimey - Another exclamation of surprise. My house mate used to say "Gawd Blimey" or "Gor Blimey" or even "Cor Blimey". It is all a corruption of the oath God Blind Me.

Blinding - If something is a blinding success - it does not mean that any eyes were poked out with sharp sticks - it means it was fantastic.

Bloody - One of the most useful swear words in English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise i.e. "bloody hell" or "bloody nora". Something may be "bloody marvellous" or "bloody awful". It is also used to emphasise almost anything, "you're bloody mad", "not bloody likely" and can also be used in the middle of other words to emphasise them. E.g. "Abso-bloody-lutely"! Americans should avoid saying "bloody" as they sound silly.

Blooming - Another alternative to the word bloody. You might hear someone say "not blooming likely" so that they don't have to swear.

Bollocks - This is a great English word with many excellent uses. Technically speaking it means testicles but is typically used to describe something that is no good (that's bollocks) or that someone is talking rubbish (he's talking bollocks). Surprisingly it is also used in a positive manner to describe something that is the best, in which case you would describe it as being "the dog's bollocks".

Bugger - This is another fairly unique word with no real American equivalent. Like bloody it has many uses apart from the obvious dictionary one pertaining to rather unusual sexual habits. The fuller version of this would be "bugger it". It can also be used to tell someone to get lost (bugger off), or to admit defeat (we're buggered) or if you were tired or exhausted you would be buggered. You can also call someone a bugger. When I won £10 on the lottery my mate called me a "lucky bugger".

Cheerio - Not a breakfast cereal. Just a friendly way of saying goodbye. Or in the north "tara" which is pronounced sort of like "churar".

Cheers - This word is obviously used when drinking with friends. However, it also has other colloquial meanings. For example when saying goodbye you could say "cheers", or "cheers then". It also means thank you. Americans could use it in English pubs, but should avoid the other situations as it sounds wrong with an American accent. Sorry!

Cor - You'll often hear a Brit say "cor"! It is another one of those expressions of surprise that we seem to have so many of. It will sometimes be lengthened to "cor blimey" or "cor love a duck", depending on where you are. "Cor blimey" is a variation of "Gawd Blimey" or "Gor Blimey". They are all a corruption of the oath "God Blind Me".

Crikey - Another exclamation of surprise.

Dog's bollocks - You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog's bollocks are so fantastic that he can't stop licking them! Nice huh? Often shortened to just "The dog's".

Gobsmacked - Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement
Gutted - If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!

Hard - After your 20 pints of lager, the curry or the doner Kebab, your average 20 year old feels hard. Since his male organ has no chance of working at this stage, hard clearly refers to something else - it means he is ready to fight anything or anybody or to take on any bet. This is the time to make fun of drunken lads by betting them they can't jump off the end of the pier, hang on to the back of a bus etc.

Kip - A short sleep, forty winks, or a snooze. You have a kip in front of the telly on a Sunday afternoon.

Knuckle sandwich - If somebody offers you a knuckle sandwich you'd be best to decline the offer and leave at the next convenient moment. It isn't some British culinary delight - they're about to thump you in the face.

Mug - If someone is a bit of a mug, it means they are gullible. Most used car salesmen rely on a mug to show up so they can sell something!

Naff - If something is naff, it is basically uncool. Anoraks are naff, salad cream is also naff. You could also use it to tell someone to naff off, which is a politer way of telling them to f*** off!

Pants – It's quite trendy to say that something which is totally crap is "pants". For instance you could say the last episode of a TV show was "total pants".

Pussy - This is what the English call their cat, as in "pussy cat", or in the fairytale, Puss in Boots. So if you have a Brit neighbour who asks if you have seen their pussy - try to keep a straight face and think back the last time you saw their cat!

Roger - Same kind of problem that Randy has here, except we there are people called Roger and no Randys. You will see a strange smile on the face of a Brit every time "Roger the Rabbit" is mentioned!! To roger means to have your wicked way with a lady. My Oxford English Dictionary says to copulate. You might say screw.

Shite - This is just another way of saying shit. It is useful for times when you don't want to be overly rude as it doesn't sound quite as bad!

Sod - This word has many uses. My Uncle always used to say "Oh Sod!" or "Sod it!" if something went wrong and he didn't want to swear too badly in front of the children. If someone is a sod or an "old sod" then it means they are a bit of a bastard or an old git. "Sod off" is like saying "piss off" or "get lost" & "sod you" means something like "f*** off". It also means a chunk of lawn of course. You can usually tell the difference!

Sod's law - This is another name for Murphy's law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Stonker - This means something is huge. Looking at the burger you might say "blimey what a stonker". It is also used to refer to an erection! Clearly English modesty is a myth!

Suss - If you heard someone saying they had you sussed they would mean that they had you figured out! If you were going to suss out something it would mean the same thing

Taking the mickey - See taking the piss. Variations include "taking the mick" and "taking the Michael".

Taking the piss - One of the things foreigners find hardest about the Brits is the sense of humour. It is obviously different and is mainly based on irony, sarcasm and an in-built desire to "take the piss". This has nothing to do with urine, but simply means making fun of someone

Tosser - This is another word for wanker and has exactly the same meaning and shares the same hand signal.

Waffle - To waffle means to talk on and on about nothing. It is not something you eat.

Wanker - This is a derogatory term used to describe someone who is a bit of a jerk. It actually means someone who masturbates and also has a hand signal that can be done with one hand at people that cannot see you shouting "wanker" at them. This is particularly useful when driving.

Another Local Expat here

2006-11-10T11:41:00.000Z

I have recently come across some relevant posts by bloggers who have unfortunately passed through similar experiences as myself where upon reaching the age of 18 you are more or less kicked of the country were you were raised, went to school, grew up in and basically call home:

http://bujassem.blogspot.com/2005/12/reverse-culture-shock.html

http://localexpatriate.blogspot.com/2006/10/welcome.html

The confusion and the coming to terms of that the UAE was never a home but merely a long stay were once your business (whether its school, university or work) is finished you back your bags and leave was hard to comprehend. It was even worse on my return to know that most my friends have also moved on and that the places that I used to visit were demolished. It was like having all of your memories of the place wiped out bit by bit.

It gets even worse, on graduating with a good 2.1 BEng from a redbrick university I returned to UAE to look for employment. The outcome was as many of you would have faced. It was hard but the harder part for me was to accept that I was a second class citizen in a country were I grew up. That if I was offered a job I would have to accept that I could be replaced by a national who would have earned more than me with a lesser qualification, I also have to accept that I won’t have a permanent home for myself and that my family would be second class citizens. This I couldn’t stand and so I have moved to the UK permanently, at least here I can make my own future. No need for wasta to get a low paid shitty job.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate UAE or blame the locals; it’s just that the government could have easily incorporated “local expats” somehow. How many young, qualified, professional people have they lost through there grasps and have immigrated to UK, Canada, Australia and USA. Those young people could have injected more economy, they saw UAE as they’re home, and they would’ve stood up to anyone saying bad things about it.

Not me now. I say just let it be. And if I do return I’ll treat it like every Tom, Dick and Harry do. Earn my money and take it elsewhere!!!

HIS ‘n’ HERS

2006-11-08T20:34:00.000Z

HIS ‘n’ HERS

HMMMMM… Discussions with my husband regarding this. The first post topic that sprang to mind were my experiences on the best tasting chips (Spain, UAE, U.K or Tunis). Then my hubby was saying how about you blog on you leaving working life to become a …and I cut in with couch potato…and he said housewife !!! … (sooo much in common)

About me;

I’ve bin brought up here almost all my life and love it here! Ofcourse I love my country back home Yemen –home is were the heart is (with the rest of the beloved family!).
I’m happily married to a…beast who fancies nuthin but chicken! Needless to say he is a lovely loyal gentleman who can be a bit (I say; a teeny weeny bit) impatient.
Oh and how can I fail to mention he’s a perfectionist -in everythin he says and does, which drives me up the wall AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… (Mashallah).
Yes Mr. Know it all YOU! :D
Apart from that lol he’s an Angel!

Enough of him lol back to moi...

I love to have a laugh even though my husband doesn’t get half my jokes!..I have a sense of humour as well as a sweet tooth lol! I love music even though it’s been time since I’ve listened to what’s in now!
I love shoppppppppppppppppppping but that’s understandable who wudn’t!
I like art. I can analyse people just by looking at them ...I can read aloooooot into people just by looking at them, I can’t help it! I’m also a thinker of the unthinkable! This drives my husband crazy.

Anyways back to my first Blog

I can’t wait to leave work! I’m sick of waking up early every morning and walking to work in the cold weather, I love sleeping in, and I could do that all day! Who’d argue!?!
I’ll get to watch, TV chill out! (Yesssssss and do the housework!), but just live the rest-full life. Ok yeh I will miss the money, but there’s more to life than that….(I dunno if I’ll agree with that a year down the line though lol).
It’s funny how money seems to run your life, actually its quite sad!
I’m sure ill occupy myself I have the kitchen cupboards lol mmmm.
Well its over and out from me, stay tuned.

Oh yeh before anyone says ..”I do know my English grammer is not upto scratch that’s just the way I am ..and I write as a think. I could start a sentence on one thing and finish it with another ...that’s just me no-one perfect” ..(Oh how can I forget …except for him).

Bored with no TV

Not only is the TV not working properly I’m off work today ..Yes I pulled a sickie …everyone deserves to every now and again! (I’m all booked out of annual hols!)
So not only am I alone, I have to entertain myself with the delightful wushy sounds of watching TV. …funny how u take things for granted, I miss watchin TV with a signal and not a distorted picture of a scrambled jigsaw puzzle. The TV has been like this for what 2months now! I’m being deprived! …Actually it’s not the TV that’s messed up it’s the Ariel antennae –It must of come loose or sumthin, which is God know where? apparently in the attic :S ……don’t ask!

But until the so-called council come to repair its back to the so-called good old days black and white…..wahahhhhhhhh .
Every time I come to watch Hollyoakes & Eastenders (or whenever I flick a channel) you gota stand there waving the Ariel around for half an hour or so and its funny how the signal gets clearer when the Ariel is in mid air lol.
Oh well what can u do but sit tight and enjoy!

Omgggggg you won’t believe wat just happened rite now my husband just had a call from the council and there FINALLLLLLY coming down let’s just hope Inshallah were third time lucky! Ahhhh can’t wait!! …oh btw its Thursday they’ll be down

I’m starving now I’m gona go cook sumthin before my stomach eats me! …When hunger strikes, it strikes!

Oh man I don’t wana go into work tomorrow ...I’m all depressed now I feel like ringing in sick again, but I don’t wana take the piss …but then again I’ve only been off 2days so that’s not that bad is it? People are usually off what 4-5 days! I’ve only had 2days off. It’s just not fairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

His: Intro

2006-11-08T20:11:00.000Z

Well let’s see I’ve been in the UK since 1999, which makes it 7 years now. I initially came here to study at University. On graduating I kind of settled down here, got married (to a beauty of a woman) and I am currently working, alas not my dream job but nevertheless a job in my chosen field.

I am originally from Yemen, born in the UK but grew up in Abu Dhabi, UAE (United Arab Emirates). Even though I was born here my parents left for the UAE before I started walking so I was still unfamiliar with the UK when I arrived. You’d think 7 years would make me an expert…WRONG…till now there are still some things that are beyond my comprehension and understandings. Whether its accents, phrases, laws, people etc and my wife? Well she’s just there to have a laugh at my expense.

That’s the HIS intro out of the way now, the missus will have hers now. We will mostly be using this blog as a personal dairy to give our own thoughts and share things that we find interesting.