Simply Arab...: 2008

Time Out

7:42 AM by Halawa

I couldn't help the tears falling, I guess I've become too attached to my mom... She's going back home today to visit grans and every other person I love over there. I'm overwhelmed by so many emotions right now; sadness, fear, nervousness.. I can feel I lump in my throat, just hate it. I know she'll only be away for two weeks, but it seems more like a decade to me...

7abibti Mama, she takes care of everything before leaving, I was just in the kitchen to drink some water and I spotted a couple of papers she left behind with full instructions on what to eat everyday, she's made us a week of food supply with the warmth of her hands. Crap, I'm crying again... It's weird for me because I'm never this sensitive... it's not like I've never been away from mom... dunno, maybe it's just the heat of my Tawjihi exams that are coming up. She felt all guilty about leaving when she found out she wouldn't be there for my first Mid-Year, but I want her to be happy, she needs some time off; this year has been hectic.

Well, this is going to be a good chance to test my "emotions stamina" and it'll effect the choice I'll be making in a few months on where to study University... here (with dad and big bro), or back home (with mom and little siblings)... so far, based on my reactions, it's weighing towards #2.

Speaking of future decisions and all that stuff that's kept me daydreaming and stressed 76% of the time... I won't be posting until I'm done with my finals... make Dua'a and wish me luck please, and if you see me posting comments anywhere, or coming online on msn or facebook.. you have FULL permission to SCOLD ME!

Merry Christmas to all non-Muslim readers (yes that's you Missy) and Happy New Year in forward.. May the coming year bring joy, smiles and warmth of family of friends Inshallah.

Take Care everyone!
Over & Out.. to cry a bit more.
Hala.

The Aftermath....

4:35 PM by Halawa

W.O.W...

The school was buzzing with the news today, nearly everyone was talking about how they joined a facebook group that supported Mr. Zaidi, or about signing an online petition to free him, I could even hear the first graders' roars of laughter in the background while listening to some music on my iPod on my way to school... I spent nearly half an hour debating with my math teacher about my point of view (I bet a lot of people were happy they didn't take a math lesson today) which ended up with both of us insisting on our opinions and him involving irrelevant mathematical terms. (I must admit that he was saying good stuff, but he seeks perfection that doesn't exist in our world).

Anyway, I guess I'm getting too obsessed with the whole thing.. Come on, don't tell me you've never vowed to "stick your foot up Bush's nostrils if you ever had a chance" while having a heated political conversation with your friends!

I was reading some articles about the incident when I came across this one...

Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free.

I guess a lot of people like him *wiggles eyebrows*. The general reaction is pretty positive in Mr. Zaidi's interest... not only Arabs, Westerners too. I'd bet loads of Americans would like to have a swing at him too!

An Iraqi lawyer said Zaidi risked a minimum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state, but could face a 15-year term if he is charged with attempted murder.

*smirks*... didn't know you could murder someone with a shoe... O_o... I gotta try that one!

Over and OUT (to throw some shoes)

Hala.

Farewell with a size 10...

4:13 PM by Halawa

You have NO idea how much respect this man! I find it the PERFECT way to express his farewell to none other than our beloved pig Bush... YES my friends, from now on... shoe industries will be flourishing since it makes a HELL load of people happier.

Let me say that shoes can sometimes be more effective than mass destructive weapons... WAY MORE EFFECTIVE!

"Let me talk about the guy throwing the shoe, it is one way to gain attention"
Sure is baby! If a size 10 shoe speeding your way doesn't gain YOUR attention, I don't know what WILL!

This dude just summed it all up for me...

I hope it made you smile!
Sa7tein of 3afieh...

How lame can you get?

9:37 PM by Halawa

Lamer.. please?

No comment...

Eid Al Adha

8:06 PM by Halawa

Eid Mubarak everyone!

Yeah well, this is my second Eid in the UAE, I've really stopped expecting anything fun. We have no relatives here which makes things a lot more boring (*coughs* and decreases the 3edieh income)... The weather was amazing yesterday morning; sunny with a fresh breeze!

Doesn't it make you want to sing?

Didn't I promise myself I wouldn't hang any Eid greetings on the door due to what happened last time? Yeah well, it was too gloomy.. and mom made me lol. But I shooed all the kids away, guess what they did? The climbed on a tree in front of our house and pulled it down.. poor tree! Imagine if I'd let monsters like THAT into my room!

Nothing too fancy..

I decided to take my little siblings out instead of sitting home all day.. well not really "out", here out = mall. Dad dropped us off at Sahara to watch Bolt and have lunch. I guess they enjoyed their time, a couple of my friends tagged along and brought their siblings too.

That's my lil bro Saif

They really enjoyed it, HA.. I'd like a dog like Bolt.. so cute!

The employees at Grand Sahara recognized me since I'd watched Twilight for the second time the day of Al Waqfeh with my brother. They were like... "Aren't you the Twilight girl? Don't tell us you're here to watch it for the third time?". "No, no, of course not" *has an internal argument with herself about whether I should or not :p*... I'll just wait for the DVD I guess.

Dad gave me my Eidieh, I guess I'm buying a guitar after my Mid-Years are over Inshallah and whatever is left (if anything is left) I'll use to get myself some books.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Eid Inshallah?

Peace!
7ala.

Twilight DAY!

9:10 AM by Halawa

OMG!

Yesterday was probably one of the MOST exciting days I've had in my life! We're all going to remember it!

I was up at 6 am due to all the hyperness, tried wasting some time watching TV and sitting around but I eventually drifted away thinking about the book...

2 o'clock came, and with it came the RAIN! Yes! Good omens AGAIN! (That sort of rhymes doesn't it lol?)

Once I got there, I gave all the girls their t-shirts and we put them on.. people would stare at us and we got all sorts of comments... here are some:
"What team do you people play on?"...
"Toilet..? The toilet's over there!"....
"Vampires... WHERE?"....
"3aaaaaaaaaaaaaw... I'm a wolf"... =_='

And of course, the other undercover Twilighters:
"OMG! Look at their shirts, should we go ask them where they got them from?"...
"Haha, Team Edward always outnumber the dogs"...
"Ooooohhh... your shirts are sooo *sigh*"...

And of course, we got the double head turns... people noticed that we were multiplying somehow.... We payed for our booking and tensions were rising... you could actually smell the excitement in the air!

It was minutes before the movie.. everyone packed up in front of the gate and we started yelling WE WANT TWILIGHT! EVERYONE joined in! We cheered Go team Edward and Jacob... the people were amazingly cooperative! But of course there were the haters... psssht!

Once we got in, all the girls were hyperventilating! And then... the movie began and tears started to fall... the reactions more more suitable for The World Cup instead of a movie! ESPECIALLY when Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) walked in... riot broke out! It was AMAZING! The auditorium would erupt into roars and screams each 5 minutes! Ahaha I was surprised to see some guys at the movie and I was shocked they didn't run out screaming something like THEY'RE HIGH! Well, I must admit.. Edward Cullen is, and I quote our brand of heroin :p

My review about the movie: AMAZING!
You're probably thinking, well obviously... they're fans! We all know it's hard to please all the fans, especially the ones who expect that they're going to see everything that was mentioned in the book. You need to understand that it's HARD to make a book into a movie... to squeeze it all into 120 minutes! And if you haven't read the book, you'll just think that Edward's constipated all through the movie! The vampire's abilities are internal and it's difficult to show that in a movie! Read the books, then watch the movie again and you'll understand everything!

We were in after-shock when the movie finished... everyone was swooning! We took the picture for the Grand Cinemas Movie Guide and decided to kill the energy by going to the indoor Amusement Park.... We sure did kill the energy... some of the girls got dizzy, some got hungry... and we thought it was a wrap for the night!

All in all... it was an amazing girl's day out! And we can't wait till New Moon next year Inshallah (the sequel)!

When I got home I read the November Issue of the Movie guide a picked up... and GUESS what I found?

My letter to Grand Cinemas

But that's not what matters... this is:

I'm going to "receive must-have merch and other cool giveaways" HOW COOL IS THAT? I'm not bummed out anymore! (I'd asked one of the employees whether they could give me a poster once the movie was over instead of it getting covered by dirt in some warehouse and she'd said: "Sorry, we don't do that"..) WELL, HA! In your face!

And the souvenir:

Along with the shirts and all the pics (which I obviously won't post)

What a day...

OVER AND OUT!
*Note.. excuse my writing if it sounds weird... I'm still hyped about yesterday.

Good Day!

1:05 PM by Halawa

Salamz peeps!!!

I AM SUPER HAPPY *jumps up and down*.

I was in Ajman an hour ago to get the shirts I ordered for our Twilight girl's day out tomorrow.. as always I was hyper due to the fact that it has to do with Twilight! I did my best to control myself from running around in circles and screaming OMG in the middle of the Mall... Mission accomplished, the shirts turned out to be PERFECT!

I'm on Team Edward of course!

On our way back....

IT RAINED!!!!!

YES, IT ACTUALLY RAINED! I couldn't believe my eyes! Okay, not the normal rain you see back home, sort of deformed but heck! It was raining cats and dogs, you should've seen the size of the rain drops, they were like baseballs!

Good omens :D

Listen to how hard it's raining:

I honestly can't wait till tomorrow! Good day....

Peace OUT!
7ala.

Feeling Good...

8:19 PM by Halawa

Salamz...

I feel like it's been ages since I actually used the Internet... so I might as well post something new..

Right now I'm Feeling Good... because:

1. We have a fourteen - day holiday that starts from today until the 14th of December. Tomorrow is the UAE's 37th National Day... So may Allah bless this country and the people with a new fruitful year! They sort of merged the National Day Holiday with The Eid holiday so that's cool, but I guess I'll be spending the majority of it studying for my mid-years, wish me luck peeps.

2. I did really good (Al Hamdulilah) in my monthly exams, I'm quite satisfied with whatever marks I get bearing the fact that it's the Finals that REALLY make the difference, so if you've been kissing some butt all year, you've been wasting a HELL load of time, the Ministry declared that exams will be held and marked in Public schools instead of being marked by your teachers at your school, which is much fair for everyone!

3. I love the weather, it's awesome. Yes winter in the UAE is the best ever! It's like a Spring day back home.. And I just love it! I adore the breeze that ruffles my hair on my way to school every morning while listening to a Coldplay or Snow Patrol song, the sun blinding my eyes... makes me feel like I'm on another planet!

I had a good day at school after taking this picture

4. TWILIGHT's release is this THURSDAY in the UAE!! I've been counting down till the 4th of December for around a year now! My friends and I have been in contact with Grand Cinemas for over a month getting as much info as we can about the reservations and all that stuff. And you guys might see us in January's issue of "Grand Movie Guide"! :D I made a couple of designs for the shirts we ordered and I can't wait to see how they turned out when I pick them up tomorrow.
You might've noticed that I'm a Twilight-fanatic (aka TWILIGHTER), I never really posted a blog about Twilight knowing that I wouldn't be able to express my hyperness in simple words and I didn't want to scare you people away... so I'll just move on!

If you haven't read Twilight, I TOTALLY recommend that you do! Especially if you're a Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Narnia fan... you're missing out an a great book you know! I got around a dozen people addicted to it, and trust me when I say, you will too! (Props out to Mays who told me about it in the first place).

DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE READING THE BOOKS, it'll be super cheesy and you won't read the book after seeing how lame the movie "might be". We all know we can't compare movies that are based on novels to the real artwork. Again, read the book first.

I guess I'll just stop with reason 4 since it's the one that's making me hyper 24/7... *hyperventilates*.

Over and OUT!
Hala.

Lab Rats...

3:47 PM by Halawa

Yeah well... I honestly feel like one!

It's my senior year and I'm not enjoying ANYTHING about it! We get bad news every single day... The Ministry of Education here in the UAE has absolutely NO idea what they're doing. It's like they're sitting on their high chairs competing who can suggest the most stupid and absurd new decision!

It's almost the end of first term and our Mid-Years are getting near, but they still haven't decided whether our exam percentages will be out of 100 or 200... We as students have a right to know how our marks will be calculated! The only answers we get are Dunno, beats me, Lord knows, who knows? HELLO??!!!!! Ministry of Education... it's YOUR job to tell us!!!

Let's see... We have 3 oral exams for each of the eight subjects we take, 3 written exams, 4 lab exams, Final Mid-Years, homework, notebook inspection, behavior marks, and PROJECTS!!! Where the crap are we supposed to get all the time from??? Let's not forget the daily yelling, emotional put-downs, and marks-threatening. The Bootlicking attitude we have to fake kills me the most, cuz if you don't, your report card by the end of the year won't be looking that nice, will it?

The Projects ~ We honestly don't have time for projects! 80% - 90% of the students BUY their projects.. Yes, they buy them... each project costs around 300 DHS to 1000 DHS... depends... and you know where those projects end up? I bet you can guess... in the garbage! I'll post a picture of how all that money goes to waste sometime... 1000 DHS (about 300 dollars) can feed a family in Africa for a year MAN! So it's like the students BUY their marks. Look, I'm against the concept of buying your marks, but let's be frank, is there ANY other option the students have? I've only been in the UAE for around a year now (people please don't take it personally) but the education is horrible! The students were NEVER taught how to use their intellectual abilities, never taught how to use their creativity... nothing! And they expect them to make their own projects? For God's sake, the students here use a calculator to add 15 to 9!! Come on!

Again, I'm not blaming the students for being "unsmart", I'm blaming the people in charge. Put a kid in a jungle and another kid in a highly educated environment.. will jungle boy be capable of solving a complicated math question when he doesn't know the basics of math? Of course not! But bring the other child, he was raised and taught in the right environment therefore he was taught how to unlock his abilities and how to use his mind. Both children might be smart, the only difference is that the second child had a better chance of learning how to use the brain God gave him.

Don't expect the students to suddenly become smart and creative on their own during their senior year... they'll just pay for their marks. Simple, no?
I criticised... here's a suggestion, if you want to make a smart Emarati Youth, begin with a new generation since it won't work with the people mentioned above. Start with them from square one, step by step, it will work! Teach them, plant the right seeds, next thing you know they'll all be people who are helping our Ummah!

I wish I could sit with a Ministry official and tell him everything I think, I wish someone would hear us through, I'm trying to speak the student's minds.. Listen to us, stop testing things on us, if you aren't sure what you're doing and if you're not ready to do it... JUST DON'T DO IT!!! Fix the problem from its root, patching it up won't help...

There's so much to say, but I think this post is getting way too long, thanks for taking time to read it...

God Bless...
Hala.

Ah 3ammo?

9:40 PM by Halawa

I was talking to one of my friends on MSN when the following occurred:
Things got quiet so...:
Halawa... says:
ah 3ammo?
My friend says:
shu 3ammo
My friend says:
huhh what are you doing ?!
My friend says:
7ala ??!
Halawa... says:
malek? (what's wrong?)
Halawa... says:
lolz
My friend says:
shu (what?)
My friend says:
hehehe
Halawa... says:
I said shu 3ammo
Halawa... says:
that's like ayyywaaaah
My friend says:
wlk for a while i thought it's your father and he's telling me ah 3ammo
My friend says:
7aseit enu yeeeeeeeeeey shu lazim a7kii w en3ajaget w enu ya 7bb w bkol seqa b2oloh shu 3ammo (I didn't know what to do and I got messed up, still with all that I answered yes 3ammo?)
Halawa... says:
loooooooooooooooool
Halawa... says:
I can't stop laughing
My friend says:
sert atala3 7awalai enu omg (I looked around me when I read what you typed, I was thinking OMG)
My friend says:
shu el wa7aad lazim y7kii b haik mawaqef (what should a person say in a situation like this?)
My friend says:
enu WOW i'm talking to her FATHER

So after laughing my guts out at her due to all the confusion, I thought I might as well write about it...

My friend didn't know who she was talking to during that moment becasue of the expression I used. I was bored, so I said soooo 3ammo? It's just an expression... she thought that my dad was talking to her. Keep in mind that it was MY open window, we're friends and classmates at school, so she pretty much knows who she's talking to.

So, how can you easily believe and trust people you meet online? I know that you can find amazing people on the internet, but still, you might think that you're talking to a girl and simply opening up to her when suddenly, she turns out to be a guy. Wow, what a shock, he knows more about you than anyone else in the world (afterall, she was your best online friend) and "she" is going to use everything "she" knows against you... lucky you..!

One mistake can mess up your life, I'm not saying that people online are bad, OF COURSE they aren't, I've met loads of brilliant people online! You just need to be careful when it comes to trusting people easily.

A message to my fellow sisters online... please, please, please... don't fall for guys online. I'm going to keep saying this, not all of them are bad (notice I'm generalizing negativity because that's what our society thinks), but sometimes you get too attached and things don't end up too bright...

Be careful peeps!

Peace out!
P.S. Thanks Aya...

At least they're trying..

4:14 PM by Halawa

Alright then...
So I got one of those forward e-mails (which I usually ignore unless the person who sent it instant messaged me and asked me to open it) and I was really happy with what I found. This was taken in "The Mall of the Emirates".

Which translates:
Picture 1: Please wear decent clothing (which cover the shoulders and knees for example)
Picture 2: Please do not kiss or show romantic feelings in front of everyone and please do not drink alcoholic beverages).

If you've lived in the Emirates you'd understand why such "drastic measures" have been taken. When you go to the mall, you REALLY can't raise your head from the floor (and no it's not because of the astonishing cleanness of the floor -it really is clean-), it's because you'd hurt your eyes with the scenes you'd see.

A huge majority of foreigners live in Dubai (Europeans, Australians, Americans, South Africans, etc..) and they tend to think that they can force their lifestyle on other people who don't exactly except things that easily. I mean really, what's fun about showing people that you aren't wearing undergarments? I know they don't MEAN to do that, it's just how they wear their clothes... but you've gotta respect the country you're in, the culture, the customs and the PEOPLE. I'm glad that the officials are at last "trying" to do something.

I try to avoid going to malls as much as I can... but I can't stand not checking out the latest electronics and books! *Walks with head to the floor and bumps into everyone in the way*. So, if you live here, or if you ever visit the UAE.. remember, look sky high or down low for the safety of your eyes!

Over and out!
*Note: Thanks to my girl Tara for pushing this one forward.

You don't talk to "SCIENTISTS"!

2:52 PM by Halawa

What is the best place to get a free full spit-shower, a headache and a guarantee to get pissed off?
MATH LESSON!!

Don't our teachers always tell us to "be creative", "brainstorm our minds" and "keep trying"? It really amazes me how they don't get sore throats since they're always assuring us that it's "no problem whatsoever" whether we answer right or not and "the attempt itself is good enough"?

A girl in my class came up with another way of solving a question he gave us, (or at least she thought she did before getting the spit shower) and I must admit she was sort of pissing him off by insisting that she was right. We were all quite taken aback with his reaction though... I was afraid his eyeballs were gonna pop out of his head, his brain was about this far *puts thumb and forefinger together* from exploding, and I swear if the room had been a little colder you would've seen the steam coming our of his ears and nostrils.

I'm afraid he's either bipolar or he terribly lacks self-confidence... either way, he just gave me the perfect reason to dislike math during my senior year...

Happy Eid...?

2:45 PM by Halawa

Salamz!!

Kul 3am wa antum be kheir first and foremost!

It was officially announced that today would be the first day of Eid Al-Fitr *yay* (other than the "5elef tu3raf countries). This is my first Eid away from home after 8 years and 16 Eids I celebrated with family and friends (when I say family, I mean EXTENDED family, you gotta love the Arab buffness).

I couldn't bear the fact that only my parents and siblings would be celebrating Eid so I tried to attract little kids to our house by making Eid cards and sticking them on the door (that didn't work out too well, half the block is currently upstairs).

Tried to act happy and put on that Eid smiley face, but that didn't dawn on my face until dad gave me my "Eidieh" (after many negotiations that he was the reason we came to the Emirates + extra taxes) I got this:

Gotta love dad huh? *grins*

I started seeing things better after El 3eedieh like the Eid cake mom made and of course THE JORDANIAN traditional plain, sugarless coffee (which I don't drink):

By half past eleven I was bored to death and decided to go back to non-other than my favorite spot in the house *drum rolls*, my happy place...

Today wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Not bad, but lonely... Listened to this song 20 times today, it pretty much expresses how I feel right now. It's called "Home" by Michael Buble.

Peace!

Dissapointing..?

9:13 PM by Halawa

Salam,

Friday night I had a rush of energy and decided to go watch Munshid Al Sharjah at the University City Hall which is about 5 minutes away from where I live. As usual, didn't get there on time due to reasons like asking my big bro to come with me. Having arrived late, we didn't find any posters for the Jordanian contestant we were supporting (Ahmed El Bayedh). Despite all the flashy bling-bling we see on TV, a stench of vomit lingered in the stands (clearly because of the huge number of children under the age of 10)....

Mashallah, the Munshideen had great voices, but NOTHING like the Jordanian Munshid *looks around to make sure no one watched Munshid El Sharjah:p*. No really, he had a really really nice voice, and only Talal, and a couple of other people in the front cheered him on. In the end, he was cut and I was REALLY upset because he deserved to stay a lot more than some of the other contestants :(.

Not only was I dissapointed, I was angry too because I had put up with all the smells and children kicking the back of my seat and staying up till 12:30 am which is totally not a habit for me and in the end for the guy I was supporting to be cut.... You do NOT wanna see my face LOL. Here's one of the pics I took, sorry, forgot my camera in the car, so I had to use a mobile phone, this was the only "clear" picture.

A few enlightening minutes...

2:18 PM by Halawa

Salam,

Ramadan is a special month for Muslims all around the world. During this month we fast from Dawn until Sunset. It is a test of patience and somehow a way of feeling how less fortunate people feel.

So it's day 17 of Ramadan today and I really can't believe it, time just flew by like that *snaps fingers*. After helping mom out with the Iftar, and while the table was groaning from the weight of food over it, I was about to switch over to Sharjah TV so we could see the cannon go off when I saw a commercial for a show called "Khawater". I was interested to learn more about it. So at 7:15 UAE time, I put on MBC1...

Mashallah, a young man, but such powerful WORDS! I love listening to things we as teenagers, young men / women and the whole new generation can relate to. Unlike what most "Sheikhs or Religious guys" say, he MAKES you listen. I just love it. Turns out the show's been on for a couple of years now, shame I didn't learn about it earlier.

So here are some links for the first episodes, each one doesn't last more than 10 minutes which means you can certainly cut out 10 minutes out of your 1440 minutes you've got everyday, no?

Episode 1:
Part one
Part two

Episode 2:
Watch

You kind find all of them here

Or you can watch the show on MBC1 daily at 18:15 KSA, 15:15 GMT.

Oh and sorry to all my friends who don't understand Arabic... I'll try translating them during my Eid holiday Inshallah. Until then ya'll have to wait. If any of you guys wanna help out, leave a comment, we can divide the episodes between us. Thanks!

Hope ya'll like it!
Peace, Hala

AMAZING graphic designing

8:29 PM by Halawa

It's crazy how you might be searching for something and totally forget about what it was you were searching for in the first place. I was looking for some raw base graphics for a logo I was "trying" to make for a new group I created on Facebook. I eventually got bored and went on deviant art (and no I'm not an artist but I'm inspired with graphic arts made by others) and found AMAZING typography! I felt my mouth drop after seeing the amount of detail on each picture... it's what I call REAL ART!!

Check it out: http://qa9ed2000.deviantart.com/

Here are a couple of my favorites:

It inspired me to start the blog I've always wanted. So here's my first post...Thought I'd share since I know most of my peeps LOVE stuff like this. ENJOY!

Peace, Hala.

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