Enjoy the Silence

My Partner

2009-07-10T09:46:00.002+03:00

As you walk through life trying to avoid every hole, you poise and think a bit and realize you are truly blessed to have wonderful things, weather it’s a toy, a job, a friend, a car, an idea or anything that stems from you and brings you joyfulness.

Days really pass by without appreciating what we have; today more than ever I realize how much I love my mother, father and brother. But, today I dedicated this post to my partner!

Wherever I look, to every corner, I can see clearly now more than ever, I have a true angel, a partner and not just a wife, someone who has a heart of steel and a fruitful and colorful mind. She is gifted, I would say that 99% of those who meet my partner simply love her, I think it’s the feeling of warmth she gives to all. I have only heard once not so positive comment about her, seriously just once in a life time, I guess it came from a girl who felt jealous of her!

She has this ability to openly say her views while respecting others and without insulting anyone. Choosing her words carefully in addition to simplicity gave a feelings to others of being important. I really learned that from my partner. I really care about others, but now I do care more and it shows more, mostly due to my partner's effect on me.

I saw her development in 5 years, from being someone who didn’t speak much unless necessarily to someone who speaks her mind no matter what. From someone who wanted to lead by other, to someone leading others. I feel content as I am taking the back seat while she is being a leader just like I am, Yes I want my partner to lead things, some men do feel insecure about it.

My partner, unlike most girls, thinks about the future, the financial, the planning, dreams, and most importantly LIVING life.

She needs a push to pursue the things she wants to achieve, but do we all need that!. There was a phase in my life where no one pushed me to do better things but myself, but we all need someone to push us for more!

I will always remind myself of what I have, I am not convinced more than ever that there is no women but her for me, these aren’t just words coming from the heart, they are much more than that! Even words fail me to express the feelings I have.

ONE predefined way

2009-04-10T22:20:00.003+03:00

If you were taught that there is only one truth, only one option, one sole opinion, one peace of information, one side of a story, one way of life, etc… then you are most likely going the follow the path that is drawn by others and not you, no deviations will be as there are none.

Due to the telecommunication and internet revolution all that "one thing only" is thrown to history garbage, particularly in the Arab world.

Now, we as individuals, have the liberty to chose our own path in life, access to information changed our way of thinking, what we used to know/believe in can only be lies or misguided truth, there are no more one side of the story.

I remember that back in the early 90s, and whenever I watched the news, it appears that the only thing that changes is the weather, the rest was all great achievements led by our officials and ministers, the same boring pictures of handshakes and iterations on principles that we all know and agree upon. Whenever I read the newspaper its just the same old junk news. But now its different, you have options, there is no longer one religions clerk that tells you what to do or think, there is no one main stream media or propaganda, in fact the Arab world is sometimes shocked and stunned of incidents that can happen in any society, yes we are stunned just because we didn’t know such incidents were happening before, yes we used to discuss things behind closed doors, mainly rumors, due to the fact there was lack of communication, nowadays its different, in fact it can be described as communication overload.

Options, options, options, you have access to almost all TV channels, internet websites and books. You can even discuss things that were considered as Taboo and should not be discussed. We are more liberal, aren’t we?

Book: Road to Tazmamart

2009-04-10T21:50:00.002+03:00

For some reason, I am back to reading about politics, I don’t know why but I know that if your concerned or not about politics, ones cant argue that it affects your life.

The book is called "road to tazmamart" الطريق إلى تزمامارت, which is very very interesting story of one of the officers who without knowing was part of a military coup in morocco, the coup failed and the officer was sent to prison in Tazmamart, living in a conditions, that even words fail me to describe for 20 years, yes living a horrible conditions that no one can imagine, a living hell is not even close to what the officer endeavored, in brief he lived in utmost darkness with food and water just to keep him alive, with both physical and mental torture.

I just cant believe how brutal a human being can be to severely punish and torture a another human being, even monsters aren’t even close to what a human being are capable of doing sometimes! I utterly reckon that some of us are blessed with their lives and some are doomed. Some think that they are living in a misery just because they have lost their job, or they have lost a great amount of money, these are important things and can affect your life, but you can still have the chance to bounce back even if you're at rock bottom, at least you have the choice unlike that officer.

Yes, back to reading about politics, I don’t know what will be the next book to read, maybe Winston Churchill's biography!

IF you think it could never happen to you then your wrong! (2)

2009-03-07T09:43:00.002+02:00

We woke up today, feeling tired as we didnt sleep much, I slept for 3 hours, I felt like it was a dream but it wasnt!

Bashar's sarcastic side came back to where it should be, making fun of myself, while asking: was he (thief)

IF you think it could never happen to you then your wrong!

2009-03-07T00:58:00.002+02:00

23:00 we came back home, my wife asked me while walking to the bedroom: did you leave the windows open (its cold), I replied: No, as we entered our bedroom, it was a MESS, at the first moment I felt like hell no, we didn't clean our bedroom, then I saw the window open, and we Realized that we were robbed!!

calm I was and expecting the worse, I instantly told my wife: do not touch anything!, so I called the police (while feeling that not much that they can do based on my previous experience, when my car was stolen), but I have to do what I have to do, while I was waiting for the police to arrive, I realized that shit, I have money in the house, while feeling lucky that the money was kept in a DVD cover, so I started looking for the DVD, but I couldn't find it, all of a sudden I became a detective, wondering if someone was spying on me while putting money in a DVD cover, many questions popped up into my mind, but not a single answer I could come up with, no reasoning ability at all I felt.

Relentlessly I was searching for the DVD Cover, and finally I found it, the money was there! but in grief I was as I was sure that other things will surely be missing!

Police came and they have done their work, only then we were damn sure that the gold and jewelry were missing!

My debleh was among the missing items, now shall I feel stupid or angry or both? It really doesn’t comfort me what I feel now, all I know for a fact is that I need to move on and accept the fact that not just jewelry and gold were missing, its what they meant to my wife, as some were from her mother who passed away two years ago.

Will I move on as if nothing happened? I don’t know, but I know deep inside that there is nothing else I can do, I only need to just swallow it and accept it as it could happen to anyone!

Personal Updates

2009-01-04T23:53:00.003+02:00

After more than (2) months of marriage I am being able to come back to normal life, that is in the sense of of being able to do the things I used to do, to have the time, and to realy enjoy it.

It didn't take me that long to realize I am forming a partnership with the one and only love of my life, as we knew each other very well and for a long time, in which paved the way for a lot of understanding of our needs and desires.

After a hectic day at work, I went to the gym, then came back home, had a delicious dinner, after that I managed to read a lot, something to that I was truly missing and for a very long time, oh my god, I have so much hunger and desire to make another radical change, in fact a positive one, in my life, as I am controlling my life more and more.

Having my wife's understanding and support for me to grow, it provided me with allocation of time and energy to further build my capabilities and abilities.

I have not been short in terms of socializing with friends and acquaintances, but I was a little bit short in terms of building new networks, but nevertheless, its time to ditch social activates (not all of course) in favor of reading more and more, as I am learning something new EVERY day.

Time and time again, my brain is constantly notifying me that you can't do all at once, while I know this is a proven fact, BUT I know that there can be room for far more things to do, I am glad that I proved that today.

Cant wait for tomorrow to come, a day where I feel that my focus is going to be on things that can be of a great benefit, I am pretty much content with the fact that I am not wasting time as I used to do before.

All credit should go to my wife, which was and still is an integral part of my development throughout the years, I owe her a lot, I also need to encourage her more to do more things as well!

Global Financial Crises' Impact on me

2008-12-09T20:30:00.002+02:00

Obviously everyone is becoming more and more concerned with what is happening in the world today, myself included. We all hear rumors here and there indicating that the worse is yet to come!

I have read articles and forecast, even analysis and so called experts speaking, they all point to darkness for the year 2009, almost no one can see the light at the end of the tunnel in 2009.

Businesses are suffering worldwide, Jordan included, my company is also suffering and its likely to make some actions in the near future, in which can be to the point of laying off some staff, however that is unlikely in the near future unless business is going down.

If I want to think of "what If" scenarios with a pessimistic approach, then I will have many sleepless nights, but I am not, Am I insane? Don’t I feel whatever is happening around me? Cant analyze facts and numbers?

Throughout my life, I managed to overcome most of the challenges, through being fully prepared, adequate planning and having utmost dedication towards challenges. But what about things that aren’t under my scope!

I truly feel that I am a skillful person, who has what it takes to be in a good job and to influence and motivate people around me, I can initiate things and make them reality, I get things done with and through others, others depend on me and seek my advice especially when they are in need.

International Companies are approaching me in an attempt to seek my services, humbled and flattered I am and I should.

Top senior executives are being admired by the things that I have accomplished and can still accomplish, these are the same people that I sometimes dreamt of having a discussion with , but here I am!

Confidence, the ability to influence and guide others can make miracles for me, these are my top weapons, I will still be gunning for more to have.

For all these reasons, I can say. Worst comes to worst, I can manage not to just survive, but make things happen.

Jordan Festival.... no more Jerash!

2008-06-24T19:29:00.003+03:00

Angry, bittered and furious of changing the name of Jerash Festival into Jordan Festival, how could that add value to anything? the only difference is that we are seeing more advertisement at the streets that are deemed intimidating, so .. its not even a cultural festival like before, now its just a festival for the elitist of elite.

"from the bottom of my heart, I wish it would dramatically fail", its a bit awkward to say that, it even wreaks havoc on Jordanians to hear that, but this is what I truly feel, I want it to fail, and im glad that there are rumors the connection between " Publicis " co. and Israel's 60th anniversary.

As a Jordanian, I am ashamed of how some of us act without the slightest of attention to the surroundings, effft .... who the hell changed the name!!!

I wouldn't just boycott the so called Jerash Festival, in fact, I urge you all to do so!!!, a sad thing to do, but hell, nobody listens to the people anyways!

Are they living with "us"

2008-05-31T10:17:00.000+03:00

Probably the title makes ones think that I am talking about aliens, but its not, its about the same people you see in the society, the ones you claim to know more, the ones who you believe that are educated yet they are full of ignorance, they claim to know what is happening in Jordan yet they don’t know the simplest of "things", I will get to "things" later.

I truly understand why some of us DO NOT know about things that doesn’t interest them, some people care little to know how things are in Chili or in Nicaragua, some don’t even bother to know about religion or culture or whatever that DOESN’T AFFECT their daily life, in a nutshell, some people think that I shouldn’t know about something that will not benefit from, I am 100% ok with that, and I don’t mind it ….. but a lot of Jordanians don’t know the simplest of things, it just leaves me shocked in despair sometimes, some do not know that eastern Amman even exist on the map (stating them and us), some just repeat what others say and they even present it as a fact, while it could be a rumor, not just that, they argue about things without even being backed by figures or statistics, its just what they heard became a fact, look about the amount of Jordanians claiming to forecast the future, a good example is aqaba, dead sea, Iraq, etc….

Some don’t even know how much they spend each day/ month, and they even brag about it, Effff that is horrific

Some don’t even know what gas they use for their own car!

Some don’t even know if their tires are working properly!

Some claim that they KNOW about something while believe every word they say simply because you don’t know, and then end up dazed and shocked because they knew nothing, absolutely nothing, they just want to be recognized and feel important!

Now i will go back to what I am doing !!!

Better, its Even much Better

2008-05-11T20:06:00.004+03:00

Now I just realize that all the readings, trainings, workshops, networking and hard work……….. finally paid off!

As I just accepted a better job altough that my current job is good but this one has it all, mainly the challenge (in fact a huge one) as well as a good financial package.

I have and still have a great confidence in myself, but I never was able to determine what my strengths are, although I knew my weaknesses and I have always worked on tackling that, but not really realizing what I am capable of doing!

Just like a lot of people, I was lucky to work with good (never great) managers and was even luckier to work with bastards (Bad Managers)!

I was lucky to work with bastards, because, I learned a lot, it's just a coincidence that they were bad in terms of managing people but they had the technical know-how.

I didn't get the this better job because I was lucky, being lucky can get you a low ranking job with some local company, but there is not room for being lucky whenever talking about a big managerial job with a huge international company, the main reason they took me is that I was competent!

Recently, I realized that all the trainings/workshops that I participated in, I never realized their value directly, in fact all of them had almost an indirect effect.

One of the important things is the continuous reading, especially technical (profession related) as well as Business related, all the reading made me a different person, it just broadened my scope of things, and gave me a much greater ability and capability.

Being strong mentally has a big impact on my life, in good times and in hard times, I managed to control myself at hard times (to an extent), and that gave me the chance to make rational decisions.

People around me believe that I achieved a lot, and some speak highly of me, but what I feel and will always feel that there is still a long way to go, I should remain humble and thankful, I NEED to push myself for more, and this is what keeps me going, NEED to keep the momentum going until ……

Social Planning !!

2008-04-25T11:19:00.003+03:00

It is undoubtedly true that social planning never achieved prosperity to its people, examples are loud and clear; ranging from china and India before 1991 all the way to countries that are deemed undeveloped such as Cuba, North Korea, and Myanmar, the difference between social planning and planning in an open society or a free society from an economic point of view are as the following:

Design vs. Evolution:

Social Planning: Favors design, in theory it is of achieving a global maximum. For example, a planned city can be designed for efficient transport, while organically grown cities tend to suffer from traffic congestion. Critics would point out that planned cities will suffer from the same problems as unplanned cities, unless reproduction and population growth is subject to strict control, as in a closed city

Open (Free) Society: Market economy maximizes wealth by evolution, evolution tends to lead to a local maximum in aggregate wealth

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Collective Objectives vs. Individual Objectives

Social Planning: Serves collective rather than individual needs, under such a system, rewards, whether wages or perquisites, are to be distributed according to the value that the state ascribes to the service performed. A planned economy eliminates the individual profit motives as the driving force of production and places it in the hands of the state planners to determine what is the appropriate production of different sets of goods.

Open (Free) Society: Individual based, people have the right to maximize their profit, the driving force is at the hands of the individual, and individuals are deemed accountable to take decisions for their own lives.
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Inefficient vs. Efficient Resource Distribution

Social Planning: Central planning on a state level is a huge task, as it involves a great number of components and sub components and an unspecified amount of details, and therefore cannot efficiently co-ordinate production (shortage or surplus), shortages were due in part to the central planners deciding, for example, that making tractors was more important than making shoes at that time, or because the commands were not given to supply the shoe factory with the right amount of leather, or because the central planners had not given the shoe factories the incentive to produce the required quantity of shoes of the required quality

Open (Free) Society: prevents long-term surpluses because the operation of supply and demand causes the price to sink when supply begins exceeding demand, indicating to producers to stop production or face losses, this frees resources to be applied to satisfy short-term shortages. In The invisible hand allows maximum efficiency in satisfying the wants of consumers
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Lack of incentive for innovation

Social Planning: It is less likely to promote innovation. But it can deliver vast national resources into research and development if it gets the idea that a particular field is critical to its interests, usually military technology. The USSR's ability to maintain fierce competition versus USA during the space race.

Open (Free) Society: Promote innovation, inventors can reap huge benefits for instance by patenting new technology, so there is arguably much more incentive to innovate

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Because of the socialists controls over an individual's personal choices, it is being contended that central planning intrinsically results in a top-down, dictatorial state where politicians and bureaucrats use the state to achieve their own ends, which are in turn described as the "social" objectives of the state. In essence, socialism has nothing to do with the preferences of the individuals that comprise a society, but rather the abstract goals of some group. And for all that, all social states failed among their central planning

Balancing your Life

2008-04-18T15:16:00.002+03:00

Why Maintaining a GOOD balance between all the things that matters to us is important? things are can be important to me are (listed not according their significance order):

- My (life) partner
- Family
- Friends
- Work
- Reading
- Networking
- Sport

I acknowledge the fact that I am struggling to keep a GOOD balance between all of the above, what I mean by GOOD balance is to give attention to ALL of them and not to neglect any, as if you give so much emphasis and attention to some of them, then there becomes a tendency to do it more often, and end up having not the quite behavior you ever wanted to be!, its not just that, you are also developing an expectations from others (especially for things that consist of the circle of others, such as work, friends, my partner), and then it becomes very hard to tackle these expectations, Ill give a few examples here:

1- If your staying late at work on a daily basis, that behavior (wither is right or wrong), becomes the minimal acceptable behavior by others. So after some time of doing so, it becomes odd and lame to start leaving work early to do something else, in fact, your action may be perceived as "something is wrong!"
2- If your spending some quality time with your family or partner, and all of a sudden you realize that you have missed a lot on other things and you want to change that, most likely your going to face some real challenges, face them not rather than later, (most likely, not doing something about it will end up suffering more from it. Sub-consciously I always knew that, and I never thought of suffering from it, but now I comprehend that I should get back to track and back "balancing of things"

These are examples of why Maintaining a GOOD Balance is important, but remember make a radical change in your life by saying: "if i want to make an impact then i have to take extreme measures" :)

Beloved Jordan? where to?

2008-04-15T22:32:00.002+03:00

There were and still is a lot of discussion, if the Jordanian government(s) is selling Jordan? we hear that there was a deal to sell some land at Aqaba port to some UAE co., giving a license to some Investor to develop a casino at dead sea? Where does the money go? and I can go on with the list.
Do we have a saying in all that?

I don't tend to jump into conclusions right away, but the legitimate question is "what is happening to OUR Jordan?, I say it loud and proud, Our Jordan, its sad that I cant answer the question because there is no transparency, people just hear things and all of a sudden, its there.

I know for a fact that what is happening, has nothing to do with liberal economy, in fact, I do believe that we don't have a liberal school or a conservative school in Jordan, what I mean is that there is no ideology, although a lot of politicians are being referred to as liberals or conservative, but that is out of context.
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What is happening in our prisons? not to my surprise, officials are repeating the same old story, accusing prisoners of misbehaving and rioting, ok? what next? shall the same old story be repeated time and again? what our formed committees do? Submit a report of violations? oh my god, endless cycle of no solutions that doesn’t deal with the root causes of the problem!!
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How on earth will the government CONTROL prices? any mechanism? Lowering taxes never means lower prices? its supply and demand, this is the way it was and will remain so.
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Do we have an urgent need for a liberal democracy, which means a restricted/ limited government!!!

Ankara, here I come

2008-03-25T19:06:00.002+02:00

Just like going to Germany, I had little information and not alot of expectations, as I have been told to travel to Turkey to attend a workshop "Promoting Free Society" , and that only happened yesterday, just after caming back from Taba.

I am so excited, and cant wait till I'm there, my only concern is the language barrier, just like in Germany, I guess I will rely on my non-verbal communications :), its handy but u feel stupid..... but there are no other way ...

As for the workshop, its going to be a great opportunity to engage with alot of entrepreneurs and exchange knowledge..... cant wait

Mentally Retarded By Choice

2008-03-15T13:59:00.002+02:00

Why some people just go down the drain, without having a strong reason (such as losing a dear person or some other tragedy)?

Why some people perceive their future as being so dark when they know deep inside that their actions led them to be where they are today?

Why do people complain about how their lives are while they know deeply and thoroughly that they are the ones who are able to CHANGE things into better or worse?

I have been witnessing a lot of sad, angry and pessimistic people lately, I honestly don't mind that, what I mind is the ongoing negative talk, ok ..... if you kept on complaining about how much you dislike your partner or how much you hate your job or how stupid your boss is .... then nothing will change if you only complain, the only thing to do is DOING something about it or just don't keep on talking about it over and over.

People face a lot of difficulties and challenges, while a great amount of personal challenges are somehow created by own self, YES YOU!

I welcome assisting, guiding, couching others, and I do it with a great self-satisfaction, but I wouldn't certainly welcome listening to people whine and curse things while not doing something about it ....

Get a grip and have faith in your self, your abilities and never ever underestimate your self, the only thing that is needed is doing something about it !

Too Middle Eastern To Me!!

2008-01-31T12:57:00.000+02:00

I just remembered a funny story that happened to me about 6 months ago, I would like to write it her so that in ten years time in won't be wiped off my memory!

I am a person who just loves to help others, in whatever way I can, it just gives me great self-satisfaction, one of the things i used to do is help foreigners learn Arabic, in which, was a hobby then became a serious thing, as for how I do it? well I don't give it much of my time, I only advertise through websites, and people contact me, but here is the story

I have been contacted (email) by an Italian guy, requesting a private tutor, so I responded with the all the needed information (methods, location, price, etc...), and it looked appealing to him, so we set up a meeting at the lobby of his hotel (howard johnson), I went there and met the guy, he was a nice guy, a business man. We had an enriching discussion, then he said lets go to Nai (down stairs) for a drink, so we went there and discussed more personal things, he even told me about his vacations, one of them was in Brazil and how the girls were super hot. Finally we agreed on a meeting to start the Arabic lessons.

The next day, I came on time, there he was at the lobby, we had a conversation about his day, and how it is a big hassle for him to find antiques in Jordan, and I said I can take you down town tomorrow to buy some stuff, he was delighted.

After our small conversation, he said lets have dinner, then we go to my room to start the Arabic lesson, so he asked me" what is the best place for dinner" I said why don't we eat at the hotel, he said " great idea".

There I was, as we were waiting for our dinner, and after a political chat, he stared at me, and said" Bashar, you know that you have a great smile", well, I am almost sure that most Jordanian would be really angry if ever hearing that, its not that I wasnt, I was, but I was because the approach wasnt so clear, I am he knows that I am straight, he approached me so that he could learn arabic, so I was angry of his approach as its not straight-forward kinda one. I have been hit on by gays before and it was no big deal for me!

So after he said that, and because he wasn't so honest with me, I have decided to play a game here, so I replied " you have a great smile too" then I took my eyes off him as a gesture that I was in it but was a little bit shy, then I asked him" so tell me, how do you like our lesson to be", he said " easy at the beginning, and then hard later on" then he winked!

At this point I was very calm, he wasn't, he started eating so fast so that we can go to our lesson, we finished dinner, then I said " I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am straight and your bi-sexual and I don't think its gonna work, bye" then left him stunned and shocked.

a couple of hours later he called me regarding going to downtown to buy some antiques, he said" I am sorry bashar, I don't think I want to go downtown tomorrow, and no hard feelings, but your just too middle eastern to me"

Blame it on the snow!

2008-01-31T12:21:00.000+02:00

Stuck I was, Why? its because of the snow, couldnt even wash my face today as everything is dead forzen!!! last night, the only thing i did was sticking to my computer as TV was dead, to my surprise there was no DVDs at home, my Dad was hugging, no not my mom, it is the radio, due to the fact that he wants to be on top of things, by constantly updating us on road at the kingdom! whats closed whats not !

Since, I am not that connected to staying at my home, it was a bit hard to just stay there and do nothing, but today, I went out to buy something that I am truly addicted to, in my pajama, and only wearing a T-shirt, and some gloves, and tennis shoes, I wanted to prove to myself, that I can beat the snow, assuming I have what it takes to walk to the supermarket, I was WRONG.

as I got a request from Dad to clean the garage, and so I did, but i ended up with a frozen hands and a wet pajama, but nevertheless, I still wanted to go the the damn supermarket, While i wa walking I was staring at kids hoping not to be bombarded by snow balls !! it paid off :)

finally i was there, I bought my Kit-kat, and not im in a great mood, I am thinking that I need to go out today no matter what! you can call me insane but I just cant feel a prisoner anymore !!!

تنبؤات الأردنيين لعام 2008 أدق من تنبؤات أي شعب في الكرة الأرضية

2008-01-01T11:19:00.000+02:00

مش لأنو إحنا كثير أذكيا، بي ببساطة وبنظرة عامة لآخر 5 أو 10 أو 15 أحتى 30 سنة، بسهولة يمكن التنبؤ بما يلي للعام 2008

1- يتزايد إقبال المواطنيين على متابعة الفضائيات، حيث التركيز الكبير على محطات (المقدمة الواحدة)، سميت بذلك لأنه مافي حدا غيرها بالمحطة!! وظيفتها تسأل الأسئلة وتتغنوج للجمهور التافه (الخلفية (ورا المذيعة) لازم يكون فيها صورة لمعدل منسوب قلب الحب بين هريووش والمزيونة، كما يتم تركيز المواطن على الأخبار، وكأنها فيلم وليس الواقع، ويخرج علينا محللين (ما يسمى استراتيجي) لتوقع عام صعب.
2- تبدأ إنتفاضة الجوع الصامتة، يعني الكل جوعان والكل بنتفض، بس في البيت، حاشاك تطلع على الشارع وتفضحنا
3- تعقد مئات الندوات بدون حضور، ويخصص الإعلام مقالات طنانة، بس الناس ما بتقرا
4- قضايا الشرف تزداد، وأحكام مخففة، وعرس بالحارة لل قتل بنته (تزداد نسبة تنظيف شرف العائلة لدى العائلة في الحارة) وتقدم التهاني " قتلاً مبروراً وسعياً مشكورا وقبراً مذموماً"
5- يبدا الحديث عن "التدمير السياسي" بعد ما ملت الناس وقرفت من موضوع الإصلاح السياسي (قولاً لا فعلاً)، يعني الناس بدهم إشي جديد
6- يتزليد اهتمام الناس أكثر بما يملك فلان وما لا يملك فلان، القيمة الإجتماعية تصبح أكثر للي معو مصاري
7- تأخذ الحكومة نسبة من الإيرادات المحصلة نتيجة زيادة أسعار المشتقات البترولية وتقوم بإعطاء الهبات والهدايا لنواب الوطن الكبير
8- يتم إنشاء جيتوهات ( للأغنياء فقط) وجيتوهات أو مكبات نفاية لغير الأغنياء
9- تتزايد نسبة الأخبار الفاضية في الإعلام الرسمي، "قام مندوب عن ممثل عن شقيق وزير بترول الصخر الزيتي بالتحدث عن الإنجازات المستقبلية ( مش مهم إذا مش راكبة الجملة، المهم الكلمات تكون طنانة) لما فيه من رفعة الوطن والمواطن في ظل راية للتنمية المستدامة، مؤكداً ضرورة تفقد خزانات المياه، ويهيب بالمواطنيين أخذ الكريك والحذر والإتكال على الله
10- تتزايد نسبة الجريمة المنظمة، بس مش زي الجريمة المنظمة في العالم، لا الموضوع بختلف، عنا مثلا عصابة(غكز) ، والتي يتم تركيز كل قسم على موضوع معين، حيث يركز قسم الغاز على سرقة الغاز من المواطنيين، وقسم الكاز على سرقة الكاز من محطات البنزين، يدير غكز مجموعة من الديجيتاليين والكومبرادوريين والحرس القديم والجديد وحراس المرمى
11- تتزايد نسبة التدين، مش نتيجة الهداية، بل نتيجة الفقر والحاجة إلى العناية الإلهية كمرجع أخير ووحيد، تكتظ المساجد والكنائس، وتتزايد نسبة الإنحطاط الأخلاقي، متلازما مع التدين، طيب كيف؟؟ لا لا الصلاة إشي والحياة إشي تاني
12- تتزايد نسبة الكتب المعروضة للبيع، بس حسب ما يطلبه الجمهور، يعني مثل كتب ماغي فرح وعذاب القبر وصدام والزرقاوي وتكلم اللغة المنغولية في ربع ساعة
13- يتم تزياد الإيمان بمدأ البطيخة في الزواج، الأهل يختار البطيخة وبعدين بنشوف بتطلع حمرا ولا لأ
14- تتزايد نسبة الإسثمارات في المملكة، لا لا مش استثمارات في العقارات والأسهم، إستثمار في الدعارة، حيث يتم استقدام 5000 عاملة من روسيا البيضاء وأوكرانيا وذلك لمواجهة مشكلة تزايد النسل والكبت الجنسي
15- يتم تغير أعضاء الحكومة 17000مرة في سنة 2008، حيث تناشد الحكومة على من يطابق المعيار الوحيد بالتقدم بطلب وزير لحكومة الظل، المعيار هو ان تكون إنسان !!! فقط
16- يتم إصدار مئات القوانيين بدون أي تغيير على الأرض وبدون جهة رقابية أو تطبيق
17- زيادة في عدد الجامعات الربحية والجودة معدومة، مع وضع شروط للطلاب لمتابعة الدراسة بعد السنة الأولى، مثل إرتكاب مجزرة أو هوشة جماعية

حما الله ..... ، لأ بلاش، ما بتزبط، حماني الله (لأنه الإيمان بمبدأ " أنا وبس ومن وراي الطوفان"

New Year's Eve, So what!!

2007-12-30T10:45:00.000+02:00

Whats special about it, it’s just like any other night, so if you’re going to a party on new year's eve, what is the difference than any other party? Hello, its the same people, same food and beverage, little bit of decoration, so far it’s all the same, so what the hell is the difference between going to a party any day of the year and at New year's eve????

the difference and what makes it special is the COUNTDOWN, that is the only difference!! oh yea, in addition to paying at least JD 40,50,80,200 for it.

so i guess you can tell that I am not a big fan of new year's eve, especially that I dont enjoy it in Jordan, and I am saving every penny for future obligations.

So if you want to go and celebrate the New...... sorry i mean the countdown, the best advice is to do it yourself :)

Why the hell everybody is asking what are you doing on NY's eve? is it that special? or i am just retarded?

the silliest thing I heard, is that RED (abdoun) is selling tickets for dinner and drinks for JDs 80, I mean if I went to any 5 star rest. and ordered dinner with a bottle of wine, it will not be even 50!!!!

جرايد يومية- تجريد للأخبار يمكن

2007-12-21T12:28:00.000+02:00

في الثمانينات والنصف الأول من التسعينات كان اعتماد الناس في الحصول على الأخبار من الجرايد، لأنه مافي فضائيات، كان للجريدة

قيمة أكبر من الوقت الحالي، بعد عصر الفضائيات شو تغير على الصحف؟

ببساطة بسبب الكم الكبير من المعلومات على الفضائيات والإنترنت، صار التركيز على المقالات والتحليل بس للأسف مافي هاي الجودة في

التحليل، ما بدي أدخل بالأسباب بس بدي أوضح بعض ما أعتبره بعض السلبيات في الجرايد اليومية

الإخبار التطبيلية: وهي التي تطبل للنظام أو شخص مسؤول والتي لا تعطي أية قيمة مضافة، مثلا"قام س بزيارة إلى نادي ص وقد أشاد

أهل ص بمعاليه وسعيه الدؤوب لتنمية النادي، وقد استمع معاليه إلى مطالب أهل ص واعدأ إياهم بالرفاه والحياة الكريمة" شو استفدنا؟ ولا إشي غير تفخيم ما قام به معاليه

مثال أخر: " أكد/ أشار / أوعز (وكأنه مافي إلا هاي الأفعال) س على ضرورة الحد من الفقر والبطالة وإعداد استراتيجية، وبذلك واضعاً الشروط المناسبة لتهيئة البيئة المناسبة لمزيدٍ من التنمية المستدامة لمصلحة وسمو الشعب الأردني الكريم والمعطاء، كما تمنى س عيداً سعيداً وحجاً مبروراً لكافة الأردنيين والأردنيات لما ما فيه من مصلحة للوطن" زي هيك خبر ما في إشي غير الفكرة بإعداد استراتيجية وبس

والباقي حكي فاضي

الأخبار التحليلية: أو هكذا يسمونها، ببساطة الخبر محلل وجاهز ومأخوذ أو عفواً مسروق من جهة أخرى ومع هيك ما بذكرو من وين مصدر الخبر في كثير من الأحيان

الإعلانات الكثيرة: أعرف تماماً أهمية الإعلانات في الجرايد بس ما تكون النسبة 75% من الجريدة، وكأني بقرأ بالوسيط/ الممتاز

التبريكات: قمة النفاق الإجتماعي، يا أخي مافي أحلى من مباركة شخصية، بس لأ لازم تكون بالجريدة عشن الناس كلها تشوف، مثلاً " تبارك جموع حمايل التوايتة في الإردن وفلسطين عموماً و وعشيرة التوات خصوصا وتحديدأ الفخذ الأيسر وعنهم الشيخ الباشا جفت الجفافيت (أبو محمود) - طبعاً لازم ذكر الشيخ ولازم ذكر أبو محمود، عيب يكون أسمه حاف ولازم نناديه بأبو محمود-

بتهنئة ابنهم البار -ممكن يكون سكرجي هامل- أحمد جفت الجفافيت (أبو جفت) - طبعا لازم يسمي ابنه زي أسم أبوه ولا بتبرا منه- بمناسبة ترفيعه من رتبة شاويش شاكوش إلى رتبة عقيد كلاشن

صفحة الوفيات: عيب ما نزل نعي، لازم ندفع عشان ننزل نعي وإسمنا يعلااااااا في الكون كله، حركات بالية وما إلها طعم، لو كان الموضوع مقتصر على مين مان (الخبر وبس) بكون كثير أحسن بس لأ لازم عشان تلاقي الخبر تقرأ كل إشي، وبعدين كل الأموات كانوا يبرو الناس ويقدمو أعمال الخير والإحسان، كأنه مافي أبداً فاسدين وحراميه، لا لأ كلهم قضوا نحبهم وهم يؤدون واجبهم الوطني

بدكم تعرفو أخبار الأردن مزبوط، أقترح أن تزورو موقع عمون، على الأقل الحكي الفاضي كثير قليل

ملاحظة: ألهمني مقال باتر وردم في كتابة هذا المقال

Shall I STAY or LEAVE?

2007-11-20T11:26:00.000+02:00

Its a question that I have been thinking of for years, after I decided to leave in 2000, I changed my mind in 2002 (leave), then changed again in 2004 (stay), then again in 2007 (leave), but this time it looks like a concrete decision this time, some would say why to leave Jordan while you have all the reasons to stay!!!!

Yes, in a way, I have a good challenging job, that is full of excitement and hard work, which is something I always wanted, of course the pay is very good too, having a great girlfriend (now fiancée), and such a family that cherishes me, to make a long story short, compared to others, I'm pretty much stable economically and emotionally, so why would I think of leaving??

It's a hard question to have a concrete written answer for, but ill try to sum it up as follows:

1- Personal: Although I traveled abroad, but I never lived anywhere apart from Jordan, so I believe I need a fresh and a profound challenge, some would argue that you can find something in Jordan, yes I would find something here, but to a certain extent, and yes I believe you CREATE your own life.

2- Political: I strongly believe that this region won't be stable in the next 15-20 years, I simply want future for my kids, so sad that I don't see it here.

Elections are taken place today, and I just can't see a glimpse of hope in the horizon, some filthy rich candidates as well as tribal leaders are fighting their way to get into the parliament, I honestly cant pinpoint anyone worthy of my vote!! Sad but so true.

There is no tangible change as well; we talked about democracy so much without any actions, until words such as democracy lost its meaning! we hear the same old crap but nothing is changing, while I know for a fact there will be no change if no one is fighting for it as the status-quo will remain the same, its just that I can hardly say there are some good decent, honest political figures in Jordan, why is that, the blame is on all of us, but its more on the governments and the ones who have the power

3- Society: should I start by saying that morals is becoming so low these days, people do not respect each other anymore (not that they were in the past), look at how we drive in the streets, as drivers (including me) are saying its me and to hell with the rest, its like a jungle!

Behaviors, I would never understand why people wouldn't start using words such as shokran, 3afwn, momken, law sama7t, etc... its not related to morals, its more about respect to each other, yes we don't have that, while I know that we have things that others done have, unfortunately we don't have the basics until now! I wouldn't give examples because I will never stop and it will be a long post, so ill leave the rest for you

4- social obligations: I consider myself to be a free person, my interpretations of being free is thinking and doing whatever I want as long as I don't cross the line or hurt others, people and families wont accept the fact that you don't want to have a wedding or you don't have the money for it, its a MUST (for them) to do so, other examples, would be visiting relatives you don't like or support others you hate, just because you have the same blood.

5- Gender segregation: yes women are allowed to work, but that not something extraordinary, but if your wife, sister, daughter, etc.. doesn't follow the society standards then she will be labeled as a ------

6- Sex: the society is obsessed with Sex, I guess living in a choke would be as a reasonable result, life is much more than that, unfortunately its only that for some people

I know that, there is no place on earth that is heaven, I also reckon that If I ever immigrated to x country I would miss things, at the same time, if I did that there will absolutely no regrets what so ever, I CREATE my life and I intend to create it somewhere else!

Weddings, not gonna attend them!

2007-11-10T12:10:00.001+02:00

Well, its not that I'm not gonna attend any wedding, sometimes; I just have to, due to social obligations.

Last night, I went to another wedding, yes another wedding, as they all look alike, Weddings are so fuckin boring, especially that they all look the same! why do people make the same old thing while knowing that invitees are complaining about traditional weddings? I have no clue, but I know for a fact that there are always ideas to do things differently and with alot of style!

Anyways thats not the point, the point is that I hate weddings for the following reasons:

1- Artificial: I can sense the limitations and restrictions on how people behave, as a wedding should be a party, people still want to dance but they don't really dance properly, actually invitees form a circle around the bride and groom and start clapping and they still call it dancing, how annoying for the couple to be the center of attention all the time, while knowing that every move you do will be under the supervision of invitees

2-Music: I clearly do not see any difference between weddings nowadays and weddings that occurred 10 years ago, music is the same trendy Arabic music in which does not turn me at all,(while most of my friends know for a fact that I'm a crazy dancer mainly in clubs but they just don't justify me sitting all the time assuming something is wrong with me, I just don't feel comfortable clapping my hands in a circle around the couple)

3- Social Pressure to DANCE: oh my god, could you just leave me alone, the so called party doesn't depend on Bashar, people you can still dance without me, in weddings you get people around you that are constantly requesting to move your ass to the dance floor, while saying " you HAVE to dance its your friend's wedding" guess what, its my choice and i don't have to do it, its a personal choice, isn't it? on the other hand I can make something else for my friend!

4- Guys: especially the single ones, keep on asking about who is that girl? is she single? why don't you introduce me to her? guys it can be a hook up place but its not meant to be THE hook up place

5- Girls: where should I start? first being half dressed doesn't inspire me at all, its not that I like girls to wear burko3, I prefer to see well dressed girls, its not that I'm conservative or anything, its just that I care for the mind not body, the other thing is make-up, pleassssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I don't want to look at a painting, too much make-up is not nice at all, especially the "foundation" or whatever it is, I claim that most if not all guys do not like too much make-up, but its a girl's choice anyways!

6- Cost: the money that is being spent on a wedding doesn't not match any of the so called fun; I rather spend the money on MY honeymoon or MYnew house instead of throwing money (like a cash cow) for a 3-4 so called party

7- Questions: esp. from relatives! the big question that could come from your aunt or uncle, why aren't you married yet? hmmm what could I answer, because I'm a loser or because i do not control it alone or because I'm gay or because I'm not fucking magnet that attracts women around me! apparently I would not say that, but I would say "soon", then the next question comes " how soon", at that point I realize that true sarcastic Bashar should come for a rescue, I say " inshalla 10/10/2010". clearly people do not like this type of answers, while understanding its a way to cut it out, some still offer to introduce you to girls, its so embarrassing when my uncle's wife drags you to meet some girl, its not a fuckin melon, its either red or white !

8- Suit: I am not a suit kinda guy, I just don't feel comfortable wearing one!

if I want to make a wedding party (with emphasis on PARTY) then I would surely make a party that is full of young people (not older than 45) with alot of booze and 80's music, trance and rock, of course there will be no suits!

Listening less and talking less!

2007-11-07T16:54:00.000+02:00

I used to listen to people more, especially my GF, so I'm not being patient about this, why I want people to just talk the way I want them too, I know its a problem, its mainly my problem not theirs.

Well, since I do function based on getting things done or focusing on the end results, I don’t tend to focus whenever someone is telling me a long boring story or repeating the same old things over and over, although I have heard it before, but people want someone to JUST listen to them, and its becoming increasingly hard to do that perfectly well all the time, I'm talking about active listening and not just listening!

That habit of not listening enough, makes you want to even give a statement or an answer that is so short, that could be in a form of nodding or saying "aha" or "Yes", while people expect something from you, to be honest, I don't have a thing in my head at this moment and you just cant say that! .

Even when my mom and dad are talking to me, I kinda give a clear cut answers to their questions, well mostly my answers to them and to people I like are becoming like no answers such as " when are you going to ...." the answer could be "soon" or "good question, when do you think I should ...",

But the one trick that I took from girls (girls, I owe you) is that the greatest answer for all questions is "I don't know", some girls are even labeled with this answer, its very useful and would shut the conversation down

Examples: when are you going to work? do you like x? who are you going to elect? which do you prefer the most x or z? am I fat? how much it cost?

You can answer all that with " I don't know" or "mesh 3arfeh"

Work/ Blogging

2007-11-07T16:43:00.000+02:00

I am so happy about how things are developing at work, its actions now more than talk talk talk, this is all about start-up-companies, so why I like start-up-companies??

its basically the challenge of making things work, esp. if your in a position of making it work or fail, or taking the full responsibility. our company is growing fast, we are recruiting a lot nowadays, mainly girls, I guess because girls pay attention to details more (generally speaking), but they also need to be pampered more than guys.

There will be more systems and processes at the company, i already have a challenging plan to implement all that, but the main issue is finding a GOOD secretary, in which I reckon one of the most important jobs of any company, oh my god, its almost impossible to find any!! we are not asking for too much just someone who has the logic and common sense to do things right!

I understand that some of my staff do check this blog to see what their manager is writing about them or about myself, well staffers, whatever i write here is never going to be discussed or mentioned in any of the meetings :)

P.S: if you know a good Secretary then please let me know!,

the company is growing,a lot of new comers, mostly girls, which means that you need to pamper more than guys :) (generic)

Elections- Crap/bullshit/trash you name it !!

2007-10-26T12:56:00.000+02:00

Is it (elections) important? yes definitely, is it important to me? I would say feeding cats in my own city is far more important to me than this.

I don't have anything towards people electing themselves for parliament, as its there own choice, but I would never understand sending deceptive kind of message that would never be achievable by one person or by sometimes many, or a person who has no background or no capability/will or anything like that

Message like, "free life insurance to all people" how one earth would someone by himself do that, would he pay from his own money, is there a perception or a mechanism of doing that ???

"Support of all sports clubs" why would I fucken care to support bag3a or koforsoom club? I live in poverty and i barely eat food.

"Free education for everybody" pretty nice and slick, but the question remains how? By starting distributing books to Jordanians or by paying their tuitions?

"Palestine from River to Sea" Nice message, should i start dreaming or should I start sharpening my axe?

The thing is, whatever you put is nothing and has absolutely no weight in terms of people believing in you, the criteria is just so different.... so please don't make fool of yourselves of jordanians, just let people know your name and that you intend to sleep and rob people at the parliament and maybe you will have some credibility!

Observer- from just a blogger to an obsession

2007-10-26T09:03:00.000+02:00

Ok, maybe the title just over-exaggerating things a little bit but its just to prove a point, Observer is becoming my no.1 blogger in Jordan (in fact in the whole world, as I only read local blogs :) ), the guy is really creative, his posts are argumentative yet so simple, the main point is that his posts leave me thinking and wondering of things, I reckon his latest post about maya is absolutely super.

I believe Observer is a reflection of his (Fadi) ability to observe things especially related to social things, and not just that, the ability to write a post that covers most angles.

I wouldn't say that all his posts are super; it is just so hard to write a post on almost a daily basis with always the same quality.

I just feel obliged to write something about the observer, as an admirer and as a fan, as every morning I check his blog to see if there something new (I would say that puts a little bit of pressure on the Observer for more quallity posts :) )

PMSing of Men

2007-10-17T13:02:00.000+02:00

In the past 4-5 years I have been really strong and positive about things, the way I perceive things now totally changed than before, I believe that is due to a strong state of mind (generally), but for the past few days, I have been having some really bad time, in fact I have a name for it "PMSing of Men".

I have tried so hard to know why I don't feel good, what really kills me is that there is no tangible reason, so I kinda gave it a thought, WHAT ARE THE REASONS? here is what I came to:

1- I came from Sharm Sheikh, where we had a great time, partying all the time, maybe I cooled down a little bit too fast after experiencing all the wild things there, its just boredom now! While I know its not

2- I gained 2 kilos, not to mention that the target was to lose 10 Kilos, I really feel older than my age

3- My girlfriend is in Dubai, and i miss her like hell, I need some care now!

4- The more I interact with Jordanians, the more i see the bad behaviors, lack of respect, no logic, hypocrisy, which made me wanting to get out of Jordan

5- Have not been eating well, consequently I am eating alot of chocolate

6- I didn't quit smoking, and I didn't set a date for that.

7- I miss my younger brother who lives in London, have not seen him in 4 years now,

8- I fired an employee after not being able to perform according to expectations, I tried to give him a chance by extending the probation period for one more month, but he was just prideful

9- Back Pain, I have seen almost 4 doctors and they say there is nothing in me, I practice sport but the pain is still there!

All that and other things can and will cause the PMSing of Men.

Having said all that, made me relieved by knowing how to cure myself from all that!

المرأة في العالم العربي

2007-09-21T12:14:00.000+02:00

هل المرأة مقموعة في المجتمعات الإسلامية أو العربية؟ هل تعتمد المرأة على الرجل بصورة شبه كاملة؟ هل المجتمعات العربية مجتمعات ذكورية؟؟

إحدى الأسباب التي تدعوني لكتابة هذا المقال هو ما شاهدته في مسلسل باب الحارة وهو كيف أن الرجل مسؤول عن كل ما يدور خارج البيت والمرأة مسؤوولة عما يدور في داخل البيت، ولكن الحقيقة أن الكلمة الأعلى في البيت هي للرجل وليست للمرأة، وبسبب القمع وفرض الرأي من قبل الرجل على المرأة تصبح المرأة مثلها مثل الطفل الذي لم يكتشف الأشياء وهو بذلك يعتمد على حماية الأهل له، كما هو حال المرآة (بصورة عامة) في مجتمعنا، حيث تعتمد على الرجل في كثير من الأمور والذي يؤدي إلى تحولها إلى إنسان منفذ ومطيع وجاهل للأسف.

يمكن أن يفعل الرجل ما يريد فليس هنالك ما يعيبه، أما المراة فيجب أن تأخذ الإذن من الرجل قبل أن تفعل شيئاً، إن فعلت أي شيء بدون موافقته فيا ويلها إما التوبيخ أو الضرب أو إن تواجه بكلمات مثل عيب أو "فضحتينا".

الغريب أن الفرد يهتم بصورة أكبر عن ما يفكر الناس بعائلته أو ببناته أو أولاده عما يفكر به هو/ هي، حيث قبل أن يقدم على أي شيء يقوم بالتفكير بردة فعل الناس أو ماذا سيفكر الناس به قبل أن يفكر بالشء هو، بعبارةً أخرى فقط قلة يخرجون عن عادات المجتمع السيئة لأنهم يتمتعون بشخصية مستقلة وبثقة كبيرة، أما الأكثرية فتهتم لما تقوله أم عبدالله عن عدم تربية أهل حمزة لولدهم أو عن شرمطة إبنتهم بسبب كشف كعبها الأيسر !

يكمن أن تتساهل الفتاة في كثير من الأمور المفروضة عليها، مثل ماذا تلبس أو مع من تخرج من الأصدقاء أو حتى ماذا تدرس!!، ولكن أن يتم إختيار الزوج لها بحجة أن الأب أو الأم قد إختارا الشخص المناسب لابنتهم بحجة أن لديهم الخبرة أكثر، ولكن هنالك شخص (الفتاة) يفكر بطريقة مختلفة ويرى الأمور بصورة أخرى، لا يمكن لإنسان أن يختار الطريق المناسب (كما يراه هو) لإنسان آخر. هذا قد يؤدي في كثير من الأحيان إلى الدمار

برأي أن المرأة أو الفتاة في المجتمعات الإسلامية عموماً تعاني من الإضطهاد من قبل الرجل، ما يمكنني أن اقوله أن حياة المرأة في العالم العربي أصعب من مثيلاتها في العالم!!

Khazakhstan: who on earth would think of going there!

2007-09-16T09:17:00.000+02:00

I have always imagined going to the far east, Africa or even Latin America, but I have never thought of going to Kazakhstan !!!

It all started when we took a huge event, the project was the launch of new aktau city ceremony, in which a Jordanian company called PG Events (the company I work for) took the management part of that event from A-Z.

I will not talk about the business aspect of it here, I would rather tell my experience about Aktau, which is a rich city in Kazakhstan but a new city.

To my surprise, Kazak people look similar to Chinese, and they dont speak english, again no english at all, only very few people do, but its not more than "khi, khow are you!", luckily I managed to find translators in Aktau to help my team, we were so lucky in that, you see it takes you double or triple the effort to send/receive a simple message, scuh as " can I get an American coffee" NO that wont work, you have to use the key words only and not more by saying "coffee" and of course, body language and gestures are very very important in that!!!

Everybody was staring at us, of course, we look so different and behaved differently, as Kazak people have little emotions, I guess that is caused by the oppression (soviet), and who said that Jordanians do not smile!!!! compared to Kazak people, omg, we smile alot !!

this has been a hell of an experience for me, I learned alot, and most importantly, ANYTHING can be overcome, believe me, the type of challenges we faced is just too overwhelming for anyone, I am proud of my team, and proud of myself !!!

Right now Im at Istanbul airport, going to wait for almost 16 hours, then go back home, to be honest, I dont miss Jordan too much, I guess I am used to Khazakhstan, :)

Old Man: I'm dying anyways!!

2007-08-22T09:54:00.000+03:00

An old man is there staring at these moving “objects”, objects that cannot stop, these “objects” can kill people or damage each other, the old man is still there, feeling helpless, I was watching from my work window, I felt really really angry….. then suddenly the old man made a brave move, he started walking and waving his hand to the objects, objects stopped, surprisingly nothing happened, the old man finally crossed the street.

What is with the Municipality of Amman?, they build highways and forget about the people? There is not enough bridges at the streets, e.g. Madina Monawrra street has one bridge, should I walk all the way to that bridge just to cross the street? Or should I take a taxi just to make U turn? This is ridiculous?

Some say, “we have bridges but few use them”, this is not a good justifications, at least give me the right to chose to use a bridge or die in the street, then I can take full responsibility for my actions.

Simply things to think of when building big fancy highways, I’m not sure how much the bridge will cost but I am sure less than someone’s life.

Will this article make any change? Will any article, have it in a website or a local newspaper make any change? I hope so, but the fact is there, innocent people die

I guess there is no other solution but to build those god damn bridge and build a fence so that we can have people being forced to use bridges, but once are there!!!

Any other suggestions ?

Toastmasters: Speech no. (2)

2007-08-20T17:30:00.000+03:00

Title: Keys and Doors

Good evening fellow toastmasters and distinguished guests.

I would like to start with a request to all of you, that is, if you have a key, any key, then please raise your hand and show us the key, I’m glad that you all have a key, but I wonder, is it the key?.

How many times we open doors everyday? It could be 5,10,15 or even more, just because we open doors on daily basis we tend to forget how important doors are, doors lead us to places we want to be at or we want to see, of course if we have the key, don’t you want to see what is behind your door? Today and not tomorrow! What is it that makes this specific DOOR so special to me?

It all started with my obsession to see what is behind doors, especially the ones that I couldn’t open, my obsession led my mother to hide keys in places that I would never think of, but still, I managed to find all the keys to get the much needed chocolate! J

As you can see, throughout my life I managed to open all the doors, but this specific door, my own door, is where I struggled the most, I had to spend countless hours staring at my door, thinking of a way to open it and to see what’s behind it, I even tried all the keys to open it, but the fact remains, my door is still locked, I even asked family members and friends to help me see what’s behind my door, to my surprise, their answers were “we cant see what’s behind our doors too, we just don’t know how!”

As a result of being confused, helpless and angry, I decided to go to place that is so isolated to think deeply and thoroughly of a way, a place that is quite, where silence roles, there was no better place than “Ras Al Shaytan” in Sinai/Egypt , it took me few minutes to make a decision to go there, before going to “Ras sheytan”, I decided to take a few tools to help me find the key, they were a pencil (not a pen), a rubber, and a note pad.

When I got there, there was nothing to distract me, actually it felt like “Ras al Sheytan” was a bribe that is waiting for its groom (point to me), it was a delicate honeymoon, where there is only a beach and few tourists, in which gave me the opportunity to fully concentrate on my goal, finding the key.

Having the right tools, in addition to the right state-of-mind, largely impacted my chances, the key seemed so close to find, but still, there were moments when it faded away, being in a my honeymoon means that it was time to work!

In order to see what’s behind the door of my future, I had to develop a plan, there were a lot of questions that needed answers, such as, what is my ultimate goal in life? What is my mission and vision?, and most importantly why or the reason behind doing all this!

Self-searching isn’t easy, especially when you think of things that are related to my future, in order to come up with answers to: where I want to be in 10 years time, how to be there, and most importantly why or the reason behind wanting to be there, I had to squeeze my mind, day dream or even stare at the sea.

Believe me, coming up with answers wasn’t easy, not just any answers, the right answers was the hardest part, its just that, any answer that is not related to me personally would mean absolutely nothing, I used a pencil not a pin, simply because whenever I had to write something, I had to delete it or amend it, right answers means that I have to fully understand myself.

I had to spend 3 days of non-stop working, an average of 10 hours a day, there were moments when I felt that time stopped, or I was alone in this world, just a man with my writings, writings that will change my future, as a result of hard work, I witnessed the birth of my plan, it is such a great result for such a honeymoon!

Until today, I say that this was, without a doubt, the most fruitful experience of my life,
I am never happier, from all the people I know, I was the only one who knew how to see what’s behind that door, now my life is much more meaningful, I know which way to go, other don’t, I can evaluate progress against the plan, others cant, I have a vision, others just dream of it.

I admit that I couldn’t open the door, it was just impossibleJ, but I managed to see clearly what is behind that door, as I am the only one on earth that can see what my path will be like, for one simple reason, that is the plan, in which, will clearly construct the path behind the door of my future.

Since you all know that this door is the future that I am going to create for myself, the formula is there for everybody, which is to plan and execute, having ANY key isn’t special at all, so the question remains, do you have the will and dedication to find the key to YOUR Door?

Nawar, why calling THEM Nawar?

2007-08-15T20:00:00.000+03:00

For some people the word “Nawar” is so much related to their social standard, especially for girls, examples are (I wont go there because its full of “Nawar”, or he is “Nawary” I don want to be around him”)

Some of the girls assume that Jordan is all about western Amman, wake up please, going to work, cafes, bars and doing whatever you do in western Amman doesn’t mean that Jordan is limited to western Amman, its much more than that.

Just because you do everything in Western Amman, some basically forget about Jordan as a whole, thinking that they are the majority and everybody else is categorized under a minority flag, the Fact is, you’re a minority.

If you call others “Nawar” just because they stare at you, or just because you look different, that could be in the form of not wearing a veil or revealing parts of your body, or refusing to deal with so called “low class” people assuming that your better than them, all that would totally make you isolated in your own world, if your fine with that then that is great, but I believe its such a pity.

if you want to be accepted by the society then may be you should accept its standards, its people, religion, social standards, etc… but that puts you in a dilemma of being yourself or be just like the way people want you to be, you can simply chose any or you can have a mix of them, and it shouldn’t be a conflict, although it is for some people, for me personally I like to be myself, and myself only :)

P.S: I personally like Nawar, and there are mysterious people and living a bohemian way of life, by the way bohemian comes from Bohemia (Czech )

I really want to know what you people think when somebody says “Nawar” or Nawari”, what is the first thing that pops into your mind?

New Job (from almost Zero to Hero)

2007-08-14T20:10:00.000+03:00

Is it just a new job or something that I feel addicted to? its 20:15 and still at the office, why staying late although I could go out with friends and "party"?

Ok, its a new job and I have enormous responsibilities, and I simply enjoy it so far, its so challenging to the point that I feel its is my OWN thing although its not, I truly feel its like a "party", managing employees is like drinking Vodka, dealing with their issues is whiskey, pampering them is like adding ice to your drink, motivating them is a true dance (I have to work on that), having shit loads of work is like hangover but whenever having finished tasks its like dancing endlessly with your beloved person. :)

The past 2 weeks have been really hectic, a lot of following up on staff (micro-managing "don’t like it") but paying attention to details is very important in this industry and you basically cant afford any fuck ups.

I don’t miss going out that much, now its all about work during work days and I can simply do whatever I want at weekends, and the great part about it is that I'm happy that way its going so far.

Soon, I will meeting with each and everyone to discuss everything, and to get their feedback, mainly about me, I am looking to receive negative ones more than the positive ones, as you cant improve/change something you don’t know, rite ?

If its true then its a total disgrace to all Jordanians!!!

2007-08-10T15:07:00.000+03:00

must read!!!

http://www.mideastyouth.com/2007/08/09/treatment-of-iraqis-at-amman-airport/

ليش فوضى؟

2007-08-10T14:20:00.000+03:00

لماذا هنالك الكثير من الفوضى في الأردن؟ هل لا نستطيع أن نقوم بقيادة سياراتنا بطريقة حضارية؟ هل صحيح أننا لا نحترم بعضنا البعض في كثير من الحالات مثل إن نأخذ دور أحد في الطابور أو أننا نفضل أنفسنا على الآخرين في كثير من الأحيان؟

سأترك الإجابة لكم ولكني سأعلق على موضوع الفوضى وعدم تطبيق القانون، حيث أن الفوضى تنبع من عدم إتباع القواعد والمعايير والإرشادات...إلخ، ولكن من هو المسؤول عن تطبيق القانون هل هي الحكومات (ممثلة بمسؤوليها) أم المواطنين أنفسهم؟

لنأخذ مثلا شركة خاصة تقوم بإعمالها من أجل الهدف الرئيسي وهو الربح، إذا أفلست الشركة فعلى من تقع المسؤولية؟ على المراسل أم على مدير المبيعات أم من؟، إنها تقع بالأساس على راس الهرم وهو المدير العام أو مجلس الإدارة، فماذا إذن بمؤسسة عامة تقوم بتقديم الخدمات لمواطنيها، إذا قصرت بتقديم خدماتها فمن المسؤول؟ الجواب دائما هو رأس الهرم حيث تقع عليه/ عليها المسؤولية الأدبية بالدرجة الأساسية وبالتالي المسؤولية الكاملة

هذا يوصلنا إلى محور الحديث، على من تقع مسؤولية الفوضى في الأردن؟ لنأخذ مثلا القيادة في الأردن، هنالك قانون ولكن لا يوجد تطبيق للقانون، على من تقع مسؤولة تطبيق القانون؟ الحكومات أم المواطنين؟ أو أن المسؤولية مشتركة؟ البيضة ولا الجاجة؟ المسؤولية على الشرطة لإنهم لا يطبقون ا لقانونولا يقومون بمخالفة المخالفين كما يجب، ببساطة إذا عرفت إني رح أتخالف (ادفع من جيبي) ما رح أخالف أو رح أفكر مرتين قبل ما أخالف، أكيد الموضوع مرتبط بالأخلاق بس الأساس تطبيق القانون.

يعتبر عدم وجود نظام/ قواعد/ إرشادات لكيفية القيام بالأعمال في الشركات الخاصة من الأمور السيئة ، ولكنها خطيئة أن يكون هنالك نظام/ قواعد/ إرشادات غير متبعة من قبل الموظفين، فكأنها غير موجودة أبدا!!

إعداد ورشات عمل وحملات توعية وعلاقات عامة بدون تطبيق القانون كله حكي فاضي، الوصفة السحرية هي تطبيق القانون وبس

صح؟

Thursday Night: Big Deal?

2007-08-10T13:18:00.000+03:00

Why is Thursday night so special for people? Don’t they go to the same place every weekend? what on earth that would make Nai the only place to go to? is it true that our personal options of who to hang out with and where to go is too limited?

Every Thursday, people start asking each other: what are you planning to do today?, and if you said anything usual like going out with family, watching films, or even reading a book at home, you will get this weird look as if they are saying " common, its Thursday night, u got to have fun, why don’t you go to Nai?"

Err, Ok I like going out to Nai, BUT only once every 3-4 months, I like to dance and I really enjoy music, its not about who goes there or wanting to be seen as if I'm not alive if I wasn’t there!, Ok ...... when I was younger I was a clubbing freak, to me, that was related to a certain age and a different mentality but its not the case anymore.

On a Thursday night, I'd rather going out with a group of people to anyplace, in which, you are able to have a decent conversation at, if I'm in a mood for talking.

Thursday night is just another night, I'd go out during week days rather than thursday night!

If I'm in a mood of silence, then I would rather read a book, in order to do that, I have to be in the right state of mind, unfortunately, there is dust on the books that I haven’t read (you get the rest)

If I'm in a mood for adventure, then I would rather go somewhere, which could be anywhere, Dead Sea, Jerash, etc

If I'm in a mood for romance, then I strongly recommend Shester or Chester (la Royal hotel), or Dead Sea, Or cook at home for your lover, of course I dont have the will and capability to do that :), just dint forget the wine please !

is it true that options are limited in Amman? people complain about not having the right BFs, GFs, Friends, Place to go to.
I personally think its so easy to have some new friends, quality ones, maybe its easy for me to do that because I'm a networking freak but hey, if your able to attract your own friends to be around you then you still can attract more of friends, potential BFs and GFs, its not rocket science, just be your self and be in a place where you can interact with people and a little bit of confidence is surely the key!

What is it about Nai? Is it the only place to go to? why people want to be seen? Cant you just do anything else on a Thursday night

I believe in destiny and I also believe that you cant CREATE whatever you want, that could be in a form of having great friends, BFs/GFs, you have the choice to be Happy or Sad, of course the environment affects us sometimes, but we still have the last say in almost everything!

Germany, Good Memories

2007-08-04T12:44:00.000+03:00

No matter how hard you tried to research a matter, there will be always something missing, something that could be as little as not knowing how trains operate, should I research that too before I go to Germany?

As expected, I was lost, took the wrong train, went to different places, places that I shouldn’t be at, but what the hell, its part of experiencing something new, in fact, I enjoyed being lost, German people were too friendly, yes a bit cold by our standards, but friendly, so where did I go exactly?

Basically, I landed at Frankfurt airport, then took a train to Sieburg, which is a village that is close to Bonn, its full of old people, I guess I was the youngest there :), the buildings were super nice, you can sense the quality of them, its so quite, you barely hear anything, but silence, silence rules which is nice for a change !
The difficulty was trying to talk to locals, the minute you start speaking English then answer in German, even if you tell them that you don’t understand German, they just keep going and going, so you have to listen to show some courtesy and then you say (Danka) which is thank you :), end result is talking to them without getting what you want.

I called my Jordanian friend, Najwan, who lives in Koln, as she was my guiding light, I knew Najwan for almost 10-12 years, but didn’t see each other for like 8 years, and all of a sudden she was there, an hour away, what a small world.

Najwan took me to a lot of places, including the cathedral, which took around 750 years to be built, yes 750, of course that was on and off, of course I had try different kinds of beer, I hardly recall them now :), no I wasn’t drunk its just that I tried almost everything.

Koln is a cosmopolitan city, full of universities and it’s a charming tourist city, I didn’t expect to see German people from different kind of races, you have everything from black to white, not to mention Marlin Manson freaks, with their cute and funny hair, green, yellow and blue colors, I have to say that I enjoyed talking to those people, never expected that, but they were entitlement, but they just couldn’t believe that I was from the middle east.

Night life was amazing too, although my dad nagged and nagged that I shouldn’t walk alone after midnight, of course I did the opposite, I went from one bar to another, good and quality ones to shitty ones, that is what I call traveling, trying everything and anything, 2 punks came to me at 4:30 am requesting money, I said I don’t speak German, then they asked in English with some hostility, at the back of my mind I was thinking, no way I’m going to give them anything and I was willing to do whatever it takes, hey we are Arabs, and no way I will let those bastards to take anything from me :), so I said “Go away” the guy stared at me, I went closer to him and said “GO AWAY”, surprisingly, he moved back, then I was like, hmmm it would be nice to take a picture with them, so I said” lets take a picture”, I bet they felt they are some kind of celebrities :), after taking the picture a gave them 2 Euros.
As for the cost of living, you can sense that Amman isn’t cheap at all, of course Germany is expensive but not that expensive, the main difference is the taxes, other than that it is so close.

I have to say that I have seen quite a lot of things at Koln, but still, I haven’t seen a lot, and maybe one day I will be back to Germany.

Germany, I am Coming !

2007-07-22T17:47:00.000+03:00

Is it true that sometimes traveling can make you feel too anxious and/or too excited?

It all started when I got a job interview with www.detecon.de which is located in Germany, where I felt like, hey this could be a very good chance for me to get a great job, and gain some international experience and have the exposure too, things were slow, but as the days went by, and all of a sudden I was at the Germany embassy taking my Visa, not realizing that I’m traveling within (3) days!

The excitement is that I’m going to Germany for the first time, and I will definitely see things for the first time, such as museums, historical places and surly some pubs as well, but I’m a bit anxious because the whole flight is organized to the point that I shouldn’t miss any detail, I’m basically going to Frankfurt and then will take a train to Bonn, I have all the needed information but its all in German!!, so I asked a friend to translate the whole thing for me which he did, but I have to be really careful with my steps at Frankfurt airport, any wrong move would mean missing the train to Bonn.

Its true that sometimes timing is very important, in terms of meeting your deadlines or have a business meeting, when it comes to that I always fulfill my commitments, but in Germany things are organized to the point that the train is at 07:09 and not 07:10 or 07:05, so if you see someone in the news, having middle eastern looks and being chased by the German police, don’t think he is a terrorist, he is just someone who is trying really hard to catch up with the train !!!

I still lack information about Bonn, so I need to make a research about it now, otherwise I will be just like صعيدي في الجامعة الأمريكية :)

one thing to say, traveling is more an excitement than anything else for me, experiencing new things is always enriching in whatever aspect it is, one day I will pack things and go backpacking, I just don’t know when, maybe 10/10/2010 :)

Beer is Summer or Summer is Beer ??

2007-07-08T16:38:00.000+03:00

Do you know that Beer is the oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage? Yes it is, but why I love beer especially in the summer? And why I don’t sometimes?

To me, Beer is all about Summer or summer is all about Beer :) , it certainly cools you down when your feeling hot, sometimes I drink Beer while driving, although not the right behavior but I simply do it, it reminds me when I was 18…..

Is Beer an alcoholic drink or not? My personal answer is YES and NO.
YES, because there is alcohol in there DUHHH , an average of 4-5%
No, the thing this is I FEEL that there is no alcohol, I mean 4-5% is nothing compared to other spirits (e.g. vodka) which contains around 40-50% alcohol. So its just a feeling.. and most likely your not gonna get drunk from 2 pints of Beers.

Here is an important note for all the Beer drinkers, whenever going to a place with the intention to drink A LOT of Beer, Make sure you sit in a place that is close to the toilet, and preferably to sit in the toilet :), you'll need it big time.

I dont think that Summer is Beer, but this summer, it certainly is :)

one more thing, forget the dream of having a SIX-PACK tummy

Toastmasters: Speech (1)

2007-07-04T16:46:00.000+03:00

This was my speech at Toastmasters Club

------------

Good evening fellow Toastmasters and distinguished guests

Frank A. Clark said and I quote “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere”

Today, I will share with you a story of someone who is dear to me, someone who experienced a lot of obstacles and barriers in life, someone who used to view obstacles as misery and suffering, someone who was a negative and a sarcastic person and became positive, proactive and has a never-die-attitude. So fasten your seat belt because you are about to be taken to an insightful journey to know about that someone.

He had a normal upbringing, full of happy days and sad days, with a lot of devilish acts, one of the things he recalls was his BMX bike, it was like his own F 16, while others used to ride their bikes for fun, he used to race cars causing some harm, feeling strong and independent was his greatest advantage.

Due to his obsession to control others, he didn’t have a lot of friends; he preferred to have a few friends that he controlled rather than to be just a number in a bunch of friends.

He had to go through a shocking incident; even words fail him to describe what happened, his best friend was hit by a car when both of them were riding their bikes, he still recalls his best fiend lying on the ground, he can still hear his best friend’s mother crying and screaming, this someone learned the lesson the hard way, his best friend was paralyzed and then past away, apparently, he divorced his beloved BMX bike بالتلاتة

After the tragic loss of his best friend, things were never the same; to him nothing was of great importance anymore.
At school he was an average student, and not believing in its worth. At Tawajehi, he didn’t study, thinking that he is just another average person, someone who is being surrounded by obstacles and misery, he used to perceive obstacles as huge walls, whenever he overcame one, another was waiting for him,
he used to go out all the time and party with friend, until the last month before Tawjihi exams, he woke up and realized he HAD to study, while in the back of his mind, it was an obstacle that he had to overcome, although he felt that it will lead him no where, regardless if he passed or not, but he did put SOME effort, so he studied for only a month, he was not an average person anymore, he was the 5th in class.

He thought he could do the same at university, again he didn’t study at all, he failed and failed and failed, until his father came to him at his 2nd year of university and told him:

“listen boy, I am not a rich father, and you know that, I gave you a lot of opportunities but u didn’t take any, so I will not pay you the tuition any more, I would rather pay for something else instead of throwing money”, this time the lessons he got was even harder.

He accepted his father’s decision and felt that he had to do something to get that trust back and prove to himself that he is worthy of everything, so he started searching for a job, anywhere and everywhere, until he found an opportunity to work at a some pub as a waiter, what got him the job was nothing but his cute face, quoting the employer “you don’t have any experience but you have a cute face, so welcome on board, now go and wash the dishes”

He used to work full time, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and study too, he didn’t have the chance to socialize, or even chase girls like the rest of his friends, it was simply, either a university degree or someone that is on the side. The turning point came when he was attending a lecture in accounting, students were talking and laughing to each other, until the professor stared at them and said:

“Go on and laugh, go on, my father was a farmer with no money, I had to study and work hard to be in this position, go on and laugh and I guarantee you will get all the zeros in life”

what a shocking words, he felt there was a beast awakening in him, there was hunger for information and knowledge, this is where his relationship with books all started, he began reading about almost everything, business, marketing, religion, love, history ..etc…
Reading books and Working at the pub largely shaped his personality, he mostly gained the people skills, this was one of his greatest experiences and he became an intellectual man.

Now you can tell that I know this someone very well, he is so close to me, I witnessed all the positive changes that occurred in his life, he always says that now he knows the path of success, he intends to leap rather than walk; to him obstacles became bridges, not walls.

He wants me to tell you fellow toastmasters and distinguished guest that he is privileged and honored to be a member at Toastmasters, so kindly meet:

Bashar Juneidi, a Consultant in the areas of, Project Management, Business process Management and Human Resource Management.

Thank you

Miscellaneous

2007-06-17T22:42:00.000+03:00

Well, I suppose to get started with writing my speech, it’s going to be the first time to do so, but I’m up to it, but I don’t feel like that now, why? Well, you see I’m just not in a mood for it, hmmm so what I should write about, lets see …. Opps I got an idea.

We all have friend and people we love, we help them in hard times and share their happiness whenever possible, people need each other to help and support each other, but one thing that really slapped me in the face as a wake up call was that you can help people with their issues and problems all the time for so many reasons, as follows:

1-you have problems too, and you don’t want to hear about more problems, it just generates more negativity in you, perhaps that is why I don’t feel like sharing them, as a reason, I’m accused of not being that OPEN with the people I love/care about, well its not that, If I had a problem that I can solve alone then why would I disturb others and transfer some negativity in them, I certainly welcome different opinions that could provide me with different perspective about things, but that’s not the case here !!

2-if he keep on helping people to solve their issues, they are basically going to rely on you doing that role for them, they will keep knocking your door with realizing that, their brain could reach a point that is being numb, its like a muscle, you need to train it all the time

3- difference between guys and girls: girls want compassion and to be heard and don’t want suggestions or solutions, while guys are always thinking figures/solutions, straight forward, hit the point, solve their own problems alone without SHARING, and this is where all the dilemma is, and even if you know this, the gap will always be there, so guys need to listen more , oohh my god I’m providing recommendations/solutions here :)

One more thing, if I have a boxing bag, written on it “Hamas” or “Fateh” then I would spend the night punching it !!!

Scattered ideas – a Positive Mind

2007-06-10T17:59:00.001+03:00

We, as human beings, consist of feelings and emotions, we, sometimes feel happy/ sad for a reason or for no reason, but do we really have a saying in this or in other words, can you decide to be happy or sad?

This time I would certainly go for a direct answer, that is : YES, without a doubt or any hesitation, its all about you and what you want, and its not about what you DON’T want, because if you think and concentrate on the things you want, you will pursue/get them and sadly, same goes for the things you DON’T want, in which you consume your mind and energy thinking about the things you don’t what!! The end result is devastating at this case. Which leads me to positive thinking?

I’m not going to state what is positive thinking here, you can simply Google that :), but I can say that it is SO TRUE, I have changed completely when I started to think positively about things, being around positive people, because its just contagious, and it also needs a have lot of confidence in yourself, in your abilities and never to doubt at all, and also we all know that no one is immune to lack of confidence BUT having a positive mind will surly make things a lot easier.

Why do people whine about things? Well I’m not gonna answer that, but what I know is that whenever you whine about anything you simply think that your feeling good about it by simply expressing what you feel, in fact you are talking to you mind and submitting some negative thoughts about it, so you are most likely to keep on whining because you think you don’t have a say or whatever the reason is, you are simply paving the way for your own death!!!

I believe in destiny, not in the sense that everything is WRITTEN (maybe that is true), but in the sense that you CREATE your own destiny and not anyone else. Its your life, live it to the maximum.

All I know is that I don’t want to live the traditional life (with all my respect to all traditional people), that is to get married, work your ass for someone or something you don’t believe in and end up saying “ I should’ve done that or I did that for you (someone) or I regret not doing that” , and having kids at an early age, socialize with the same people, no no no no ..too boring for me….. that’s why I consider myself different than the majority of people, and I intend to keep it that way.

Enough now, got to get back to work now :), it was a much needed break (writing this post)

My OWN Blog

2007-06-06T12:13:00.000+03:00

1-Why did I start my own blog?
2-Should you enlist everything in your own blog?
3- Is it really scary for bloggers to know who you are while not knowing enough about them?

What triggered this article is when a friend of mine told me after reading a post of mine entitled “The love of my life- a real breakthrough” by saying: Oh my god, its public, everybody can see your personal stuff!!.

1- I guess that most people do not like to be an open book to other people, especially people you don’t know, but in my case, and for someone who doesn’t take much of a pictures, I have decided that I need to start documenting my ideas and thoughts so that one day I can look back and see where was I? What was I thinking of? did I change or evolve or improve? instead of looking to pictures (I have few of them :) ), plus I wanted to improve my writing skills, as I don’t consider myself as a great writer, therefore, I need to learn by doing.

2- My blog is all about any idea that comes to my mind or a feeling or an opinion about anything, I believe that I’m a great oral communicator, but here I’m more sincere about my true feelings.

3- Some bloggers are afraid to write down what they truly believe in or don’t want people to know a lot about them which I truly understand, I simply look at it in a different perspective, my full name is there and a picture of mine, and I simply write down anything and everything to crosses my mind (of course, if I’m in the mood for it :) ), let bloggers understand me because I don’t have much to hide in fact I have some knowledge or experience or a story that I would love to share with some interesting bloggers.

I’m not saying that you should be an open-book, all I’m saying is that I do what I feel is right for me, and what is right for me (currently) is to write my own history and to share with fellow bloggers

80s Music

2007-06-05T12:47:00.000+03:00

I don’t know why, but I’m obsesses with 80s music, I only listen to music when I’m working (sometimes) or when I’m driving, I like trance, Iron maiden, Pink Floyd and many others BUT the 80s music, it is the real thing, no electronics and its just about pure talent and the love of music, I think 80s bands and artists are just a great performers.

Yesterday, I got an 80s CD, and it was more than great, its full of Duran Duran, Alice cooper, Skid Row, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Def Lepard, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, KISS, even the great Samantha Fox :) (I guess all the guys that I used to know, had this photo of Samantha, and they brag about it, stupid but its pure 80s.

I have alot of childhood memories, maybe that is why I’m so touched when it comes to 80s music, but it simply ROCKS !

Toastmasters

2007-06-05T11:16:00.000+03:00

What is Toastmasters? Is it really beneficiary? Or is just another passing fad?

Toastmasters provides mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn fosters self-confidence and personal growth, its where members share their knowledge, experience and thoughts, it is so enriching to the limit that, in each session/meeting you:

1-Learn something new; could be a word, a phrase, a subject.
2-Network with people from different background and social standards, so if you are a people person, then this is the thing for you.
3-Build your Confidence: I believe that no one is immune to lack of confidence as it all depends on the environment, the people you hang out with, your achievements, but in Toastmasters you can really bolster your confidence, because it’s a safe environment, everybody is positive or trying to be.
4-Take feedback from fellow members: of course constructive feedback, you will get it directly or indirectly, and it all depends on how much you ask for feedback, as we sometimes feel too blind to see our weaknesses or areas for improvements, sometimes we just don’t know, some people refuse to take feedback from fellow coworkers or friends etc.. But I personally think that you should thank whoever provides you with feedback, even a destructive one, at the end of the day its how you perceive it and react upon it.

Yesterday, I had to stand in front of a group of people (20) to talk about something I wasn’t prepared to, didn’t have a clue about, and here is how I felt:

The first idea that came to my mind is that “ what the hell, I have nothing to lose, in fact I might gain something”, I was a bit confident, didn’t shiver at ALL, even words didn’t fail me to speak as I expected, I was smiling, some even thought that I spoke to a crowd before !!

The main thing for conducting a good (1) minute speech is Confidence, Confidence, and Confidence and of course other factors too.

So now I’m a new member, I received a manual in which I have to go through certain projects (speeches) in both the communication and leadership tracks, and to tell you the truth, I cant wait to stand up in there and SPEAK. My first speech is “the ice breaker” where, I have to talk about myself or anything related to Bashar.

So if you’re thinking of building your capacity in public speaking or you want to know about Toastmasters then please feel free to contact me.

لا للإستملاك Abdali Project-what is happening?

2007-05-30T10:16:00.000+03:00

For those of you who dont know what is happen at Abdali Project, please visit

http://www.abdaliproject.com/

Arabs- Legitimate Questions

2007-05-30T09:17:00.000+03:00

I have attended a session entitled "democracy in Jordan: challenges and opportunities", the speaker was an ex-minister; I can tell you it was really impressive, due to the speaker's ability to analyze the situation in the Arabic world and in Jordan in specific. Some serious questions were raised, and few had answers, let me share these questions with you

In general, Why Arabs do not respect the law?

In general, why Arabs tolerate corruption and favoritism? (Stunning, but it’s a fact)

In general, Why do we (Arabs) still have this internal conflict between; some wanting to move into modernization (Civic Society) and some wanting to move back to their roots (tribal society and/or religion)?

I would really like to know what do you think of these questions, and if you do have an answer please WRITE it :)

The love of my life- a real breakthrough

2007-05-22T15:19:00.000+03:00

I have decided to share my love story with all of you people, hoping that you can learn from our (my girlfriend and I) mistake and maybe provide you with a different perspective about how bad things can be! But nevertheless, ones can overcome any hurdles no matter how great they appear.

It all started when I met Salam at Sharm Sheikh (3) years ago, we hang out for about (4) months, then the relationship started, and after (1) we decided to open up the subject with her family, I was ready for it, and we even we started planning for our future and more importantly discussing the little details just like any couple wanting to get married. And so, she told me about her father and how liberal he is and always saying that this decision (marriage) is completely 100% for Salam.

So, I called her father and we agreed to meet at some café in order not to make it so formal as he wished, I started preparing for the meeting and writing down whatever questions he has for me, even unexpected ones.

And there it was, the meeting day. I have to say that I was very calm, a bit excited, I guess because I was confident of my own abilities and characteristics especially when it comes to meeting new people, but it wasn’t just a new person… knowing that he was a Palestinian refugee with no money at all, he created himself from absolutely nothing until he was some big shot general manager of a huge bank.

So I came to the café, I saw him and recognized him, I approached him and he greeted my like his own son, I talked about some unrelated matter, a positive one, I just don’t recall that now, then the interview started, it wasn’t really formal, I mean If I put myself in his shoes I would’ve asked a similar questions, like my background, my family, what did I study and when I graduated, where I work at? Whats my future plans? Where do I see myself in the future ? …etc then he asked me some unexpected questions like:

What do you think of women working ? what is religion to you ? what do you think of drinking? P.S: he wasn’t religious at all, and I think I managed to answer all the questions with an open-ended answers, such as working is an important part of life, even for women as it really can bring a real value for women by interacting with different people and handling all sort of problems, and such as I don’t have any problem with somebody drinking as long as it is a personal choice, as long as it doesn’t harm me then I’m ok about it.

In a way I felt I was applying for some Job, the meeting lasted for (3) hours and ended up with him saying you have to meet her (Salam) mother and brothers, hopefully soon. I have to say I felt great, I was honest, sometimes VERY HONEST some would view that a mistake but I would say I stand up for my own principles and one of them is honesty.

I called Salam and she almost broke in tears, feeling that there was a huge burden on her shoulders being taken off!!! :)
The very next day, there was a total shift in mood, her fathered wanted to have her brother to meet me and maybe provide a different opinion about me, So I met her brother and right from the start I knew where we are heading, It is rejecting me. And at the end of the meeting I looked him in the eye and said “by hook or crook I will get her, but without causing any harm for anybody”, maybe her brother thought I was just taken by the moment and being very frustrated and angry, but I absolutely meant every word I said.

Then her father requested not to contact me until he makes a final decision about me!! Of course she didn’t do that, simple we love each other in all the meaning the word LOVE entails.

After a week, he called me and said politely “Mafi Naseeb 3ami” I replied “thanks a lot 3ami”, to tell you the truth, I was up to any NO answer, not just I expected it but simply because I believe not everything comes easy, but as for Salam, it was so devastating, she couldn’t cope with it and she almost fainted. At that stage my role was to be supportive and sometimes very supportive, to tell you the truth its not easy to see your loved one cries and burst into tears almost all the time, but hey my girl is strong, its just another hurdle, isn’t it. Again, my primary role was to be supportive, but that isn’t easy, I mean you also need support, I guess the reason I managed it well because I tend to encourage myself by myself, most of the times I don’t want people to encourage me!

This lasted for at least 4-5 months, and I’m not gonna moan about anything, I’m strong enough to take it but not the strongest man on earth, I had a point where I could’ve taken some wrong decisions but I felt I’m deviating from the track, I had a plan and I’m willing to do whatever it take to be in a position where I want my self to be.

The reasons for rejecting me according to her father was the following:

1- I failed for 2 years in university and that isn’t a good indicator
2- Both families have a different background and most likely wont mingle well.
3- Career wise: I was in firm that directly works with the Iraqi army and he didn’t like that at all, plus I was new at my job (less than 3 months)
4- Social standard: my family is a middle class family while her is a rich family so its not really compatible.
5- Jordanian-Palestinian identity: I was Jordanian-Jordanian, she was Jordanian –Palestinian
6- Most importantly I’m not even close to his own standards, being her only daughter, he had high hopes and high standards of any future husband

The list is not over, and the story has a lot of details that I didn’t talk about maybe because I missed it or it needs hours of writing, however the breakthrough came today,

His wife (not her mom, as her mom passed 5 months after rejecting me (that was another dilemma for Salam) and he married some great women, a women that would take Salam’s side and would positively influence things) told him (after 1.5 years) that Salam is still in love with Me and she will speak to you. I thought that he will shout and curst things and explode but instead he was calm and said she is not young and she is old enough to make her own choices but I have to speak with her thoroughly about it because I have certain conditions!!!

Salam will speak to her father soon, and ill tell you what will happen :)

I’m sure that there are a lot of people facing even a more complicated things but I have a big advise, once you wont something don’t stop UNTIL you get it, and know that it consumes most of the energy and thinking but its worth it, just be strong because you’re a free person to take the choices you want, its your life, don’t let anyone control it (directly or indirectly), for some of your who are facing a similar condition, they may feel that they have a mountain to climb, well,,,, yes you have one, just face all the obstacles and most importantly plan things and be proactive, just don’t wait for things to happen because they wont happen by keep on waiting !

The Blessing Of Suffering

2007-05-22T11:14:00.000+03:00

Being a YEA member (www.yea.com.jo) I was invited to a session for Talal Abu Ghazaleh, the owner of (www.tagi.com), the title was “ The Blessing Of Suffering”, the session was about his life and here is some observations of the fruitful session that I would like to share with you all:

He simply started from scratch, being a refugee at Lebanon with absolutely nothing to eat and no money at all, he had to work at the age of ten so that he can live, while his dad was 70 years old, so I probably think he didn’t have any attention or sympathy or support from his parents, the suffering was that he had to work and quoting him “ it was a pure blessing, that I was forced to work, being pushed to the limit to excel”
Having not enough money to go to university and having only one scholarship for UNRWA student, He had to study even harder to get the scholarship, and so he got it, again if he wasn’t pushed to do that, he might never be enrolled in any good university and not even any university, so again it’s the blessin of suffering.
After graduations, he worked as an employee in Kuwait for 12 years, then he decided to start up his own firm, he had no money but he had the most important thing, that is the human resources, simply he resigned and 50 other people resigned with him to start up his dream, he told them “I cant afford you, I simply have no money” they said “when you can you will”, I believe that he had a great influence on people and had a very good leadership and persuasive skills to start up his own dream, that is a big ARABIC firm, and so he did.
The competition was fierce that he couldn’t afford any mistake, one mistake and he will be doomed, again that is the blessing of his suffering, and he is really thankful for that.
On one occasion, he went to the Kuwait prime minister (abedel latif Sakr, If im not mistaken) claiming that they (Giant firms )are fighting him because they simply they do not want any ARAB company to emerge and break through.

Sakr asked him: “you don’t want them to attack your company?”
Talal replied: “Yes!”
Sakr asked: “and you don’t want them to spread any rumors and false information about your company”
Talal replied: “Yes!”
Sakr Said: “then go home and simply do nothing and I will guarantee you that no one will attack your or create any rumors about your company”
Talal was touched, and it was an inspiration for him when he heard that, knowing as long as hes being fought then he is on the right track because he is simply doing a great Job

He sees problems as a chance to train your mind and grasp opportunities
He admits that he made a zillion mistakes throughout his life BUT he learned from them and that was one of his greatest advantages.
The competition was fierce that he couldn’t afford any mistake, one mistake and he will be doomed, again that is the blessing of his suffering, and he is really thankful for that.
“Intellectual Property” took some margin in the dialogue with the attendees, and I have to say I was really excited to know more about what does Intellectual property means in its broader aspect? But unfortunately the session ended here J, so I will be more than glad if someone could provide me with some insight about it according to your OWN understanding or perception about it.

No More Glasses

2007-05-22T10:08:00.000+03:00

After years of being skeptical about the eyes surgery (Lasik), I have decided that its time to give it a go, so just like anything you want to do in Jordan and you have no information about I had to ask friends about it, you know, it’s the word of mouth that really matters the most in almost everything we seek or want to do, so I started asking friends about the BEST doctors and I got a list of 5 doctors then got narrowed down into one doctor (Khaled Sharif), being recommended by almost everyone and also being the first one to do such surgeries in Jordan, within 2 days I called him and made an appointment.

And here I was, right on time for my appointment, at 13:00, but I ended up waiting for 20 minutes, I know that is not a lot for most of you, some people even say that its very hard for doctors to be on time, but hey, its not my fault, they simply told me at 13:00 so Im expecting to see the doctor at 13:00 or 13:10 max.

I went to the reception and gave them a decent lecture about being punctual saying that you told me to be here at 13:00 and at exactly 13:00 I was here, then why on earth should I wait for 20-30 minutes, they couldn’t say anything but your turn will come soon, so I realized that I need to see the manager, and so I did, after that, I was treated like a king :), I didn’t want that, all I wanted is to have the doctor seeing my eyes on time as they informed me, or the least they could do is to apologize to me before I talk about to anybody. Anyways to cut the story short, I saw the doctor and made an appointment for the surgery.

The same thing happened on the day of the surgery, I came on time and they were late, again its not my fault and I can never tolerate such an act, some people would say “come on Bashar just let it go, Jordan is all about that” I’m sorry but if your letting it go and your fine about it then it is your issue, and the reason I’m doing that is that we will never change if we kept on accepting things as they are :), don’t you think so? So while I was headed to the reception they simply knew that I’m gonna make a big fuzz about it :) probably they were thinking the bastard is coming so beware :) and before I speak one of them said “Mr Bashar, Could you go to the next floor!!”, I have to say they she perfectly read my mind and made the right choice for me

The surgery took 6 minutes, was not easy to take but I needed to do it, simply because I didn’t like to put glasses anymore, for 2 simple reasons:

1- I feel that there is something sticking into my nose and I’m not comfortable about it anymore.
2- I kinda lose my confidence whenever I wear the glasses, a bit shocking for some people but its true for me, I simply feel that I’m a different person whenever I wear them.

After the surgery, the one thing I could ever do is to listen to the radio, which was something I never did before apart from listening to music, and hell it was, so boring, zero added knowledge, nothing really exciting to listen to :), so I called some of my peeps, It was just a good chance to revive things with people I haven’t talked to in months,

Now I’m at the recovery stage, I can’t see really well especially seeing TV or reading things on the computer, the only thing I enjoy doing is writing a post, simply because I write fast and I don’t have to look at the screen.

Have a great Day :)

Stunned ... I have to do something about it!

2007-05-19T16:14:00.000+03:00

Well ... the post isn’t about global warming and its surely not about some socio-economic facts ..... it is basically about smoking in Jordan...

I was reading an article today about smoking in Jordan; I have to say that I kinda know most of the information regarding smoking in Jordan APART from that Jordan is ranked No.1 in Teenage smoking in the Arab world. I’m totally stunned, I just don’t know why? why Jordan and why not Mauritania or Sudan or Yemen? is the lack of anti-smoking campaigns? Is it lack of education? is it triggered by emptiness of our youth? Do they (youth) consider it just a passing fad? or is it a mix of all that ???

It could be the mix of all the above, but mainly could be emptiness and lack of education, I recall that when I started smoking, being constantly targeted by my friends to smoke, I kinda kept on resisting until I officially started smoking, Yes, I gave up to them.

And after 10 years of smoking, I woke up one day saying 10 YEARS Oh MY God, I hate smoking but my actions doesn’t speak that way, so I quit for 2 months, yes 2 months only .... Anyways to make a long story short, the article just gave me another wake up call, so starting from tomorrow there will be no more Cigs in my pocket and no more argella

Here is the link http://www.who-sane.com/2007/05/02/jordan-is-first/

Why do you think that Jordan is No. in Teenage Smoking?

By Hook or Crook, It Will Work out

2007-04-07T14:04:00.000+03:00

Ok... don’t be misguided by just reading the title, it has nothing to do with GETTING anything....

Here is what is happening in my mind now, It all started after I did alot of planning and execution (plans), some of my plans were very hard to be implemented and some were too soft or easy... and in both cases I managed to achieve something BUT never achieve the WHOLE thing.... but this PLAN is going to be different ..... and the legitimate question is, why Different? And here is why:

1- Determination: I am more determined yet willing to sacrifice alot of my personal activities for the sake of achieving my goals.

2-Adaptation: I’m the kinda person who can easily adapt to new circumstances But I need to keep myself focused on the Goals and never lose track or deviate from them

3- Positive Way of Thinking: being a more positive person is surely one of the greatest assets the one could ever have .... and to me its not something that is embedded in you ... its more related to the environments, the people you hang out with and most importantly your mental strength, As I managed to overcome alot of hurdles and barriers in a way that alot of people would never do .....

4-Hunger: I’m eager for success; In fact I’m MORE than ever, Why? lets just say I’m hungry for more success.

5-Challenge: this plan is one of the most challenging plans I have ever had BUT it is a S.M.A.R.T one.... meaning doable.

6- Lessons Learned: I have learned the hard one, through failure and success you learn the most so this plan was based on that

7- Specific yet Generic: as the main focus is on the professional level, there is also the personal aspect (sport & health), as I believe its better to have a good state of body/mind to aid in achieving my goals.

8-Satisfaction: its one of the most important points, if not the most important, Self-Satisfaction brings joy and happiness to me and I’m eager for more achievements to get that amazing feeling

These are the main points that I could think of now as this post is a spontaneous post so whatever comes to my mind I simply write it down.

Ok, enough of planning, lets see how the execution goes, will this time be really different? YES, by Hook or Crook, It Will Work out :)

Wing Tsun

2007-03-31T13:53:00.000+03:00

After several months of playing Squash at the sports city, I have decided its time to have some change, as my personal trainer is just overwhelmed with work and he can barely find the time for me .... so I have decided to go into the Wing Tsun (martial art), as i need to commit to something, for a long time ...for sure.....

I am someone who believes that work is No. 1 priority in my life, as it just gives me great self-satisfaction, but I’m also someone who loves to commit to a challenging kinda sports .... Wing Tsun just suits me, as I have done some research about it and I have seen one session, it looked different and weird but I guess its just because its a new thing to me.

My friend and I are going to our very first lesson tomorrow, my friend is feeling a bit anxious (didn’t exercise for a zillion years) while I’m not. I guess because I have been playing squash which is one of the hardest sports, people think it is an easy sport just because the court is small ...... believe me .. its not ... and its alot of fun and that depends on your personal trainer.

And for those of you who want a real change, go and do something differnt instead of complaining about almost everything, stating that there is nothing to do in Amman, maybe you dont have so many options like Paris or London or NY, but it all depends on you, do you want a change or not? and trust me there is alot to do !!

Ideas & Thoughts

2007-02-23T15:50:00.000+02:00

Today is Friday, I usually come to Books Cafe to work and do some personal stuff on my PC, well, after finishing all that, I have decided to write down my ideas and thoughts about whatever words that pops into my mind ....

Friendship: so rare, be kind to people and you will gain their friendship

Love: can’t be described in a sentence, it is an idea/image/feeling about someone that occupies your head :)

Hatred: very dangerous word, stay away from it

Life: a journey that has happy and sad moments, live it to the extreme

Quality: relative thing to all people

Positiveness: one major key in life, use it or you will never achieve what you wanna achieve.

Work: an act that could bring great self-satisfaction/ destruction to your life ... try to love it.

Challenge: that’s what keeps me going and going .... very essential ...

Knowledge: everything can turn into dust but not knowledge; it is both information and experience

Smile: nothing is better than seeing someone smiling

Home: it is where you feel comfortable at

Religion: could bring inner peace or could limit you as a person

Travel: one of the best way to experience new things and cultures

Routine: a true enemy :)

Politics: benefits and interest of its people

Money: a tool to achieve happiness and power

Ego: another true enemy