Another bowl of randomness

Dear Manal,

2011-05-22T02:11:00.003+01:00

I wish I can say that I have always been your biggest fan, but sadly enough, I am ashamed to say that my first reaction to your initiative was not excitement. I have, and always will be a huge supporter for women's right including driving. However, living in Bahrain and seeing what happened in Egypt and Tunisia over the past few months, I had a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched your Youtube video and started reading your name on Twitter, it was a feeling of fear, a fear of radical change.

I would like you to know that I completely regret that feeling and wish that I was half as courageous as you are, and half as brave as you will need to be in the coming months as the events unfold.

Reading about your arrest today initially angered me, but I quickly returned to my senses and started analyzing what has happened in my head. Ever since this movement started, I have been waiting for someone, anyone in a seat of power to make a statement, or to even acknowledge what has been going on. The same feeling I had as the world waited for Husni Mubarak to speak, and for King Hamad to speak after him. Those leaders failed us as Arabs and as citizens of the Islamic nation.

I totally believed that Saudi will also take the Ostrich methodology as well, for sticking your head in the ground and ignoring the problem has proven to work well in the past. The more I thought about it, the more I started finding the silver lining in your arrest today. I want to believe that the decision to arrest you came with a blessing from up above, and no, I don't mean from God.

For someone with power to acknowledge this as an issue shows me that they have heard the screams and the pleads. Arresting you was the most logical reaction they can have, no matter what the ending outcome will become. I say this because no matter what their stance is on the subject, they had to neutralize you and return people's expectations to the status quo. This way, they ensure that if a change does occur, it occurred because they allowed it, not because you showed us that we do have the power to make a change.

I truly hope that I am right in my optimism(?), I truly hope that your actions do help in shaping the road to open minds and open roads..

Sincerely,

Feras "Frogman" Sheraiff

The Missing Link

2010-07-10T06:19:00.001+01:00

Every summer, Aramco is bombarded by summer students and interns yearning for a sniff of the all mighty ARAMCO…

Although it is usually the relatively new employees who are stuck training and tutoring the even younger employees, we never seem to mind it because you feel that they deserve to be taught and enlightened. Because when you were new all you really wished and hoped for was for someone to hold your hand and walk you through the ins and outs and do's and don'ts…

I am bothered by one thing though… Why do we still have colleges that teach in Arabic?

I am very proud of my Arabic heritage and language. What I am not is ignorant enough to believe that a person who is a Finance graduate with a 4.0 GPA will be able to survive in a 100% English based corporate culture. Is it just easier for whoever is responsible to turn a blind eye and fall for the we need to hold on to our language and one day Islamic Finance will take over the world and then we will strike, then we will convert all the Financial lingo into Arabic, and force every bank to comply or face bankruptcy…

I, ignorantly, thought that the point of having schools and colleges and universities (mind you I am calling them universities in the loosest sense possible) was to prepare the youth for the job market, to prepare them for the real world. However there seems to be a missing link between what is taught at school and what the real working environment is like. I am not even asking for strong academic bases at these schools and I am not asking them to compete with Harvard and LBS. I just expect some common sense and some realism is the preparation of the youth.

I might be blowing this simple thing out of proportion, but I should not be blamed because I am only scratching the surface of these academic issues. I am sitting at my desk, listening to my colleague struggle to explain basic financial concepts to a summer employee because of the language barrier. The summer guy looks smart enough, but I wonder if he can survive in the real working world.

The saddest thing is, he is not the one to blame.

p.s. I mean no harm with this post, and I have met many exceptions to this post, but I am talking about the general public who are only taught English when they turn 14 and don't use it in their everyday life.

Froggy's Got Talent

2010-06-19T06:42:00.003+01:00

Like many other guys, I haven't been blessed with good handwriting. My handwriting resembles that of a 6 year old boy scribbling in his notebook while riding a jet ski.

Generally speaking I am terrible at creating something good on a piece of paper, be it a drawing or text. Like Mocha has stated in the past, nothing beats putting pen to paper and writing, I completely agree with her statement and this is why this frustrates me.

I was in an informal meeting at my mother's office and little froglet was running around the office causing havoc. He eventually decided to come and sit next to me. So to keep him entertained I decided to draw a few animals for him to see if he recognizes them.

You can judge for yourselves how that little adventure went

p.s. I didn't draw Mickey Mouse.

p.p.s. The dinosaur on the top is supposed to be Barney

That's life.. That's what all the people say..

2010-06-12T06:09:00.005+01:00

I guess my life isn't as interesting as I once thought it was. You win this round Ke$ha..

Good morning everyone..

p.s. In case you didn't get the reference, Ke$ha - Tik Tok

p.p.s I changed the layout because I got complaints about my previous one not being reader friendly

These are my confessions

2010-04-25T05:29:00.006+01:00

I hate/am afraid of using sharp knives. I was peeling an apple for Baby Froglet the other day was terrified while doing so
I curse a lot more than I should. But never in front of Baby Froglet, and less so in front of Mrs. Froggy
I enjoy watching "Glee"... the shame
I persuaded Mrs. Froggy to buy the "Glee" soundtrack CDs for herself, but in reality am looking forward to us having a road trip and singing those cheesy songs together
I sing at the top of my lungs when I am alone in the car
I sometimes talk to myself when I'm alone in the car
I think I spend too much time alone in the car
I'm not crazy about insects
I'm not crazy about ladders
I sometimes play dumb around people just to get them to leave me alone
I also might agree with what those people are saying just to end the conversation
I am fairly opinionated
Well, maybe a bit more than fairly
I sometimes act like I understand what a conversation is about just so I don't look like an idiot
I used to snap a lot, but now I only I only snap if you snap at me first. Very mature, I know

I realized some of my guy friends follow my blog and know who I am, so I'm just gonna add a few things to sound like more of a man:

I can only do 430 sit-ups a day. Much less that what I used to be able to do
I punched a moose in the face for looking at my wife
I was deep frying a whole cow to eat before I went to the gym and to spice things up I marinated it in gun powder

Thats about it. Other than that I'm practically perfect ;)

1001 Inventions

2010-04-03T08:15:00.002+01:00

Pretty cool video by the Jameel Foundation done as part of the "1001 Inventions" touring exhibition currently residing in London.

http://www.1001inventions.com/media/video/library

"Oscar-winning actor and screen legend Sir Ben Kingsley has taken the starring role in a short feature film about the scientific heritage of Muslim civilisation. The mini-movie, entitled 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets, accompanies a global touring exhibition that this currently open to the public at the Science Museum in London. The exhibition runs till 30th June 2010 and then goes on an international tour.

In the movie, Sir Ben takes on the role of a mysterious and cantankerous librarian who takes a group of school children on an enlightening journey to meet pioneering scientists and engineers from the history of Muslim civilization"

Third world something

2010-03-27T07:23:00.004Z

I always find myself coming back to this topic, and for that I apologize oh dear readers...

Many of my posts are focused on poking jokes at the mannerisms and actions of Saudi's and Arabs in general. However, most of you read through the sarcasm at the pain I feel for my country and countrymen. It saddens me that I have very little hope that we will ever rise as a nation of greatness.

Yes, most of what I focus on are little acts of un-organization, whether be it in driving, queuing, riding elevators, or even racist and sexism or how people with special needs are treated as second class citizens. These might sound of feel like secondary things for a country, specially if they don't affect the economy or the GDP. However, they still affect the everyday lives of the citizens, which should deem it important.

I always say that good education is what is missing us, I still stand by my opinion. But it seems like education on its own is not enough. The government has been sending students to study abroad like its going out of fashion, and yes, MOHE (ministry of higher education) is doing a better job picking the students but its still not enough.

To me, the main aim of this endeavor should be to send potential future leaders to come back with the "ways-of-the-west" and try and implement them here where they apply. But what is happening is that our students are not monitored, not prepped, and not held responsible for the time or money spent on them to have this opportunity.

An article a few weeks ago showed that a large percentage (I think it was 60%, not sure) of the Saudi students in the US were actually paying other students to take their exams on their behalf.

Of course I don't only blame MOHE for not monitoring our young future leaders, I blame their parents for not keeping tabs on them, and their parents for not raising their children with the sense of belonging to something bigger, be it a country or religion.

I know I am over simplifying the issue, but I can't fathom how we still have issues with people driving like maniacs for no apparent reason, people who still marry this kids off without their knowledge or consent, people who think that their actions do not have a domino effect...

I'm tired of watching and judging people, and I'm tired of not being able to do anything about it.

Queue etiquette

2010-03-15T07:51:00.003Z

Dear Mochness, I know this is long overdue, but I did make a promise to compile this list.. so here you go..

Check out the first Frogman lesson in Etiquette

· The queue is a lie

· You are more important than everyone else in the queue

· The most efficient queues are parallel to the counter

· When approaching a queue, feel free to start a new one, the already existing queue is soo last season

· When jumping the queue, do it silently while avoiding eye contact

· Acting like everyone else is invisible helps

· When approaching a busy counter, start making your order immediately

· Waiving your money around helps

· Never apologize for cutting a queue… NEVER

· If you actually stood in the queue, feel free to take as much time as you want while ordering, you obviously did not have enough time to prepare for this difficult decisive moment

· Finishing your phone call while ordering is also acceptable

· Women are allowed to cut queues… Nay, they must cut queues. God forbid they stand amongst the men.

A hole in my head

2010-03-08T06:37:00.002Z

i've been getting very severe headaches for the past two weeks.. and its been killing my productivity and my mood...

its a sharp pain on the right back side of my head where the neck connects with the head..

i've been trying to monitor what is causing it but failing miserably, so here i am , turning to my trusty blog to bitch about it..

i stopped my caffiene intake, which wasn't that big to start with.

i'm sleeping earlier to get more hours of sleep.

i started reducing the time i spend in front of the computer screen.

i am now keeping a log of the frequency, so when i eventually give in and go to a doctor, i have something to show.

any suggestions as to what could be causing this are VERY welcome..

28 hour day

2010-02-21T08:01:00.000Z

One day I will try this...

One day..

crumbs

2010-02-20T04:07:00.002Z

I ran into one of the most racist people in Saudi Arabia last week. We were boarding the plane and the flight had a considerable number of Sri lankan ladies, who were presumably helpers or maids.. Every passenger took their seat, no matter who it was next to, until this girl/woman around the age of 30 walked in. As she was instructed to sit next to 2 Sri lankan ladies she freaked out. She started loudly stating her discontent and disbelief that SHE, the great empress of class, was to be seated next to THE HELP.. oh the shame.. She kept on refusing to take her seat until one of her friends decided to switch with her... what a bitch..
Go watch Adam.
I'm totally addicted to Joshua Radin's new unreleased song, When you find me.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon has a new book... yaaaaaaaay

The road to self discovery is long and annoying, with no pit stops

2010-02-06T07:42:00.001Z

An American University asks every potential MBA applicant the following question:

"What matters the most to you, and why?"

They expect every applicant to write an essay with a "suggested length" of 750 words to answer this question.

I read the question about 3 months ago, and I am still struggling with the answer. I struggle not because my life is empty and I have nothing that I am passionate about. On contraire, I found that there is a lot that I care about, but how can you define which is the ultimate one?

Saying that religion or God is the most important thing in my life is the easiest answer, but is it the truest??

As the days rolled on, and the "right" answers were crossed off for being too pretentious and unfaithful, I started getting obsessed. I started thinking that although I always believed that I am a man of purpose, I realized that I can't define that purpose. I found that I can't even be true to myself in answering that question.

So tell me dear reader, "what matters the most to you, and why?"

p.s. yes I am totally going to ignore the fact that I have disappeared for while :)

wave to the future

2009-10-27T11:13:00.002Z

I finally got my invitation to Google Wave (click here if you have no idea what i'm taking about) and it is absolutely amazing..

the only thing is you need to have other friend on wave in order for you to fully enjoy it, so if any of you lovely bloggers out there are wavers, let me know :)

Disappointment is in the air

2009-10-21T09:11:00.004+01:00

I saw a kid, barely 15, smoking today. He was in the passenger's seat next to the driver, and he had the window rolled down, and a look on his face that showed how confident he was that he looked super cool.

For some reason it bothered me to my core.

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

I believe most of us hate stupid forwards, but most of the time we don't really do anything about them because it is pointless to try and convince the forwarder that they are being ignorant when they just forward something because they received it, although in many cases they don't even read it.

I would love to make them understand that it is not part of the circle of life to just automatically forward a forward, you are just feeding the same shit to the masses that way.

Yesterday I received something about the Norwegian guy who drew the caricature about the prophet (peace be upon him). The forward said that the guy died, burned and mutilated, and that the Norwegian government is keeping it on a low profile to avoid uproar.

It didn't stop there, it continued to say that a Palestinian lady had a dream about a prophecy that this will happen and she said that whoever sends this to their friends within four hours will be rewarded graciously.

It continued saying that another person had a dream where the prophet (peace be upon him) ordered him to spread the word within the next four days, or something of that sort.

Seriously? I don't usually call people stupid for sending me an email that says that there is a spider that lives in the olive garden toilet that will assault me sexually and give me herpes, nor do I call them stupid when they say that a certain batch of Panadol sent to the Middle East is contaminated with HIV as part of the Israeli plan to annihilate us. However, I had to reply to this one and tell her that she is killing her credibility by sending such nonsense, she eventually sent out an apology.

I truly doubt she understood my concern, because in her apology she asked people to stop sending her forwards so that she doesn't HAVE to send them out.

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

My manager has been gloating for the last 9 months about how supportive he is. His constant reminding of that statement was one of the reasons I endured all the extra work he threw at me.

And when the time came for him to put his money where his mouth is, he failed miserably. I asked him for two things, two things that were within my rights, and he turned me down on one of them by giving me a ridiculous alternative, and on the other he just changed the subject.

Although I hate to be "that" bitter employee, I just can't help losing my motivation.

Call me old fashioned

2009-09-30T07:37:00.002+01:00

but when i want to buy a pair of pants, i prefer that they don't show my crack if i take a deep breath, yet still manage to be so tight that i can't bend my knees.

I hate how the latest fashion trend is even trying to make guys feel fat. Every pair of trousers in Zara requires that you (pardon that innuendo) have no pair to be able to fit in them.. Seriously, no man can survive a full day of activity in them..

they might have made my ass look like a million bucks, but seriously the discomfort that came with it was not worth it.. no matter how much you pleaded mrs. froggy..

Also, I truly believe that H&M's men's section is just an extension of the women's in terms of sizes. I had to go two sizes above my size just to fit into the trousers, and then looked like i was wearing stalkings, which didn't really flatter my figure..

so I say this to you people behind the fashion scene.. you can kiss my straight cut jeans covered ass..

18+

2009-09-15T07:47:00.004+01:00

Ever since the inception of my blog, i have tried my very best to keep it PG-13 at the most.. today is a slight variation because today i take a walk on the wild side and leave my comfort zone and share something that was too funny to pass on...
I am still in utter shock that something like this got approved for the yellow pages..

in case the picture is too pixelated for your eyes, it reads:
"No job too big, not job too small
Make sure your next erection is in safe hands"

I scream, for ice-cream

2009-09-09T06:51:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I finally answered the crave I have been having a Chocolate-Cookie&Cream-Banana-Royale bowl of ice cream. It was the highlight of my evening.

But what really got me thinking last night was the person who served me the ice-cream. A very nice, polite and young Saudi employee. I have seen it as a recurring trend recently, the Saudis working in stores and at gas stations, and I know it is terrible to generalize, but most of them don't want to be where they are, and they make you feel it as well.

Not this guy though, he was very pleasant, laughed at my jokes and joked back, gave me enough chocolate fudge for a wedding cake and was very polite all the way through. Although I am always proud to see Saudis working, this guy made me even more proud.

Because it is about time, we as Saudis realize that we are not all going to be lawyers and doctors and engineers. Whether is it because of plain misfortune, or because you wasted your life playing, or are just not cut out for studying, none of these things should stand in your way of earning a living.

I am not saying that people with degrees are better and are the only ones who deserve a better life (given the assumption that money=happiness), I am just saying that for our nation to rise, we will need more Saudis to step up to the plate, we need to raise a generation of workers of every class.

This posts comes from the sad feeling I get when I meet up with a few cousins of mine who threw their lives away, and haven't worked hard for a single thing their entire life, and yet still talk about how they DESERVE to be the managers and the successful entrepreneurs they were born to be.

The thing is I don't know who to blame, the society for placing this pressure on our youth? Or the youth who crumble under that pressure?

Lessons in life…

2009-08-16T12:03:00.002+01:00

Dear baby Froglet,

I write this for you to read, when you are all grown up. A few lessons I have learned, some the hard way, some the easy way, and some that I may not have learned at all. When you grow up, you will realize how disappointing our world is, and I don't want this to bring you down. Here, I give you very few of the many tips that I will hopefully get to teach you:

Be prepared to be branded; and it might be based on the way you look, the way you dress, how religious you are, where you are from or even your ethnicity.
Find a way to vent; playing sports, blogging, martial arts and even cooking all work very well. However, writing a letter and never sending it is a bunch crap.
If you can, DON'T work in a big ass corporation. They will suck your life away.
When you go to University, try to study something that has a good balance between something you like and enjoy, and that you can use in the real world to make a living. Don't focus on what the "market" is in need for.
Be as independent as possible, as soon as possible.
Have napkins on you whenever possible, you never know when you will need them.
Be a good listener.
Take all the advice you can get. But learn how to filter out the useless advice.
Read, read, read. Then read some more. Nothing feels better than reading a good book.
Don't' be afraid of never growing up. There is a peter pan in all of us, and I am your living example.
Being an optimist has helped me enjoy my life so far, I suggest you try it too.
Read Rudyard Kipling's "If". Then read the rest of his work and be inspired.

p.s. Trevelyana, thank you for introducing me to Robert Frost and Rudyard Kipling…

I <3 the Internets

2009-08-13T18:41:00.002+01:00

I've just spent the last 30 minutes trying to learn how to tie a necktie.. which makes me think.. how the hell did we survive before the internet? or even before google...

yes some may argue that google has made us lazy, lazy enough to type in "define: [insert difficult word here" instead of running to a dictionary, and I believe that those some have a point. However, I will still argue that google Papa John's Pizza Bahrain is much faster than calling the information number and listening to the wonderful sounds of the saxophone while waiting..

half an hour ago i was a mess, after discovering that i don't know how to tie a tie.. now i'm looking smoking in my salmon tie.. sizzling i tell you.. sizzling..

Patriotism much??

2009-08-03T06:16:00.005+01:00

I salute you, our brave and beloved men in blue green. I salute you for having the courage and patience to do what you do all day. But I salute you the most for having the sense of patriotism and nationalism that you do. For you are idols for our young boys, who wish to grow and become men like you.

The funny thing is that their nationalism manifests in the randomest of ways. Here in the eastern province, it is through chasing down the foreign cars as a priority over the locals. Of course this makes perfect sense because "how dare they come to our country and drive like maniacs, that constitutional right is for saudis only"

I didn't believe that they did this, although baby-bro was very adamant that they held a grudge.

Last month I got a speeding ticket on the Saudi-Bahrain Causeway. I was indeed speeding, so I deserved it and didn't object. A week later baby-bro gets a speeding ticket on the Saudi-Bahrain Causeway, he was speeding too, but he was furious. He called after it cursing like a sailor about how racist the Saudi police are. I didn't follow until he reminded me that we drive car with Bahraini plates. I was still skeptical.. until yesterday…

Yesterday, when all my troubles seemed so far away, I was driving on the Causeway again, and after last time I learned how to spot the cop cars early on (fool me once..). so I was much much much slower than last time, but still over the limit, because the speed limit is a measly 80 km/h which is ridiculous for a causeway. The cop car indeed follows me, and halts me to a stop very close to where it all went down last time. He exits his car with a swagger in his walk. I open my window, and he asks for my papers with a stupid smirk on his face, it was very hard to see it under his oily skin and all the facial hair.

He takes a look at my driver's license, and his surprised face says it all:

Cop 1: "You, you are Saudi????????"

Frog: "Yep"

Cop 1: "It's a Bahraini car.." and he walks up to the front to look at the plates again

Frog: "Yep"

Now he is nervous and feeling guilty for stopping a Saudi, and is considering all options.

Frog: "So how fast was a I going this time?"

Cop 1: "I'll go check, but you look familiar, didn't I catch you before, at this exact spot?"

Frog: "Yep, actually it was a bit further down"

The cop goes back to the cop car and "checks my speed" and talks to Cop 2

I can't hear what Cop 2 was saying but all I heard was Cop 1 say "HE'S SAUDI!!!" as he opened the car door. They sat there discussing something, then he came back to me.

Cop 1: "You were going 137 km/h"

Frog: "Wow, that's uncanny, because if I recall that is the exact same speed you caught me at last time. And that is impossible, because I saw you a mile off and slowed down significantly"

Cop 1: "Well that was your speed"

"You should be more careful, because we are always here, with our eyes open"

Frog: *shivers* from how scared he was. I think I might have even peed on myself a little..

He goes back to get my papers and new ticket and says something stupid, thinking he sounded cool then drives off.

So again I say. I salute you for being fair. And I salute you for being patriotic.

Raise your head

2009-07-25T22:07:00.002+01:00

don't look around in search of meaning
don't look around with any doubt
just look around without assessing
and quietly obey, and raise your head

raise your head, if you are a woman
a strong, independent woman, with everything to live for
a future and career as anything you want or dream of
be it a housewife, a mother, a cook or a second wife
raise your head, for the options are endless
raise your head and be dependent
on the one person who respects you the most
specially in the bedroom, where you fulfill your duty
by satisfying his every need

raise your head, because we are the best
better than everyone around us
for we have religion on our side
a religion that we take pride in and follow
only in appearance though
for our religion asks too much of us
and we are merely human
and find acts of kindness too hard to fathom
and manners and order too hard to follow

raise your head and follow tradition
and raise your head and follow orders
because thinking freely could lead to change
and in change, we do not believe

raise your head, and be a sheep
for following the herd is what we do best

Like father like...

2009-07-12T11:19:00.002+01:00

3 weeks ago my parents decided to travel alone, and asked me and my mini-family to move into their house to hold the fort.

holding the fort entailed looking after my 16 year old sister, and providing food when needed for my 23 year old brother, paying the driver before he left along side all the little details of life...

As most of you, I recently became a dad, which is awesome because its a feeling that creeps into your life ever so slowly as the baby grows up. However, dealing with my very adolescent sister is slowly turning me into someone new. Because, all of a sudden i am a father of two. And one of my children is a growing young lady with all the growing pains and new experiences that comes with.

I find myself saying things like, "trust me, i was your age once" in response to sentences like "you don't know what its like to be in my situation". Granted, I was never a 16 year old girl.

I keep on realizing how easy it is to turn into our parents..

and dare i say how impossible it is not to...

Monopoly much?

2009-07-01T07:12:00.002+01:00

Phrases like:

"Thank you for flying on Saudi Airlines"
and
"STC a better life..."

really piss me off. Specially in the case of the former. Like we have a choice?

The sad thing is that companies like STC and Saudi Airlines have reduced the benchmark so far down that any little enhancement makes us weak in the knees.

I still can't believe the big deal and campaign Saudi Airlines went with for introducing E-Tickets. Its the 2009 and you still have those big poster admitting how behind you guys are.

Yes i know they are so much better than they used to be. But the lack of competition lets them get away with murder if they wanted.

STC on the other hand is a whole other level of monopoly. They let other people play, but wouldn't give them the dice when its their turn. However, truth be told they have come a very long way every since Mobily entered the scene.

But what really pisses me off is that STC waits for the competition to go out of their way providing something special, to suddenly (much later in the game) introduce the same thing.

The most ridiculous thing about STC is that if you have your preferred language set as english, and for some reason or another decide to call them on 902, you wouldn't for the life of you get to an operator no matter how many times you press 0. THEN WHY HAVE THE OPTION IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I finally managed to change my preferred language to explain my problem and they said it will take 24 hours to reactivate my blackberry service, which should have been deactivated in the first place.

good times.. good times

Crumbs

2009-06-28T06:58:00.002+01:00

~ I don't know how I unintentionally associated the word "crumbs" with my blog
* I've been branded as the "presentations guy" in the office. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.
~ I hate transition periods, actually I love them, but they leave me uneasy until they start.
* Baby Froglet turns 1 next month. Time truly flies... its scary
~ Is it just me, or has the blogosphere gone quiet?
* I finally contributed to the latest issue of Oasis Magazine. Just a couple of short blurbs, nothing fancy, but i just needed to put my foot in the door and write something.
~ I'm extremely un-motivated to do any work.
* The fact that i'm surrounded by weirdos doesn't help. Two cubicles down, a 50+ guy has his morning tea looking at very disturbing XXX rated pictures. I will also add that his cubicle is not in a strategic place, so basically anyone who passes by can see everything. its just wonderful.
~ and I should really start giving this blog the attention it deserves..

Save us

2009-06-17T14:17:00.004+01:00

the great and awesome toast has directed my attention to a brilliant youtube video..

and for that she will get 32 frog-points, redeemable from all frog outlets around the world*

(*terms and conditions apply, only valid during a leap year, not redeemable during seasonal offers)

Public Service Anouncement II

2009-05-31T11:26:00.003+01:00

UPDATE: Due to popular demand.. actually the nagging of an awesome individual, i have corrected the spelling mistake..

This graph is 98% true in Saudi Arabia... Although there are studies that have linked the bad driving to how long your beard is, I opted for being a bit more general...

Become a fan

2009-05-27T12:47:00.003+01:00

ok i hate facebook as it is.
(is anyone else noticing how much hate i have in me recently...?)

but this whole become a fan business is getting out of hand. at first, it was artists and people of influence.. then footballs teams.. then products, which kinda makes sense for market studies and all..

but this is ridiculous.
SERIOUSLY??? and you know what the funny thing is... i have three friends who are fans.. and a total of 25,000 people are fans..

GOD I HATE FACEBOOK

The weather crumbs

2009-05-25T05:29:00.003+01:00

~I haven't been this bored or uninspired in years. I'm not only talking about the blog, I can't even get myself to study for the certifications that i need to take, or even write the little blurb or article that I promised I would for Oasis magazine.. (don't worry toast, i'll do it)

* Everything around me at work is so mundane. Today I attended two conversations about the weather already, its only 7:32 am which means there are at least 23 more to come.

~ I get it, its hot outside and you were sweet enough to think that maybe i didn't notice, or that by both of us feeling hot, it would make us immediate friends because we have something in common.

* I love silence. I work so much better with silence (music in my ears still counts as silence) (annoying supervisor trying to be funny using a fake lebanese accent does NOT count as silence) I swear to God if i hear him scream Habeeb AAAAALbi one more time for no damn reason i might staple his face to the wall while singing the macarena at the top of my voice...

~ I finally upgraded my phone and got myself and the wifey a couple of blackberries, and we have been BBMing ever since. they are quite fascinating really.

* I'm trying to get into this twitter business but its not working. at all.

~ Meh

Creativity that might bite me in the ass

2009-05-18T12:15:00.003+01:00

a friend of mine calls me up telling me that his department (this is all in aramco i must add) started this new online magazine project which is aiming to spark new talent and highlight all the good things happening in the department in an innovative and fun new way.

My friend was trying a mini project out, and i cheered him on. He wrote the first paragraph of a story and left it to the commenters to take the story further.

He called me today asking me to be the first contributor to his story. I obliged, but I'm not sure its what he had in mind :)

(The blue is what he wrote, the green was my continuation)

350 km away from the nearest child, he sits in a 3mx2m cubicle, his fingers racing on the keyboard in a struggle to finish THE report that he has to complete before he can leave. A glance at his watch confirms the time. It is 6:13 PM, a good time to stand and stretch before sinking back to work again. Given the circumstances, spending extra time in the cubicle wasn't all that bad. After all, going back to room B-13 in the noisy Gulf-2 dormitory couldn't be less tempting. He prefers quiet, and always leaves critical reports until normal working hours have passed. He simply couldn't focus within the workday stream of ongoing e-mails, all demanding responses. And then there was what seemed to be an all-day-every-day gathering of chatty gossips in the next cubicle, all of whom exited the building at exactly 4 PM. He sometimes wondered what they produced in exchange for their pay. It is precisely 6:33 when he, staring at his supervisor's name in the "To" list, clicks the "Send" button. Beep. He zips his jacket and trudges into the dark.

He hears a scream in the distance, but his feet are too heavy to react, it has been a long day after all. The scream echoes again but this time louder, taunting him to follow. It forces him to move his feet in a continuous motion that slowly manifests into a run. Fumbling for his keys never took longer as he starts to analyze where the voice is coming from. All he could think of is why do these thing only happen to him?

As he starts driving, his mind never stopped thinking. Connecting all the dots. The scream could only come from one place. And that place just became his final destination.

He drives home as fast as possible. He had to go home, for he couldn’t meet his foe unprepared. He knew this day would come, and it didn’t come a day too soon. He put on his suit, knowing deep down it would be the last suit he ever wore. He was surprised that it still fit after all these years. On his way to the door he took a look in the mirror. He was always a very vain person deep down.

He was on his way, to his final mission. And couldn’t help but feel a little scared.

His destiny was already written….

But he never approved the final draft.

Proud to be Arab??

2009-04-29T05:46:00.003+01:00

A couple of years ago i wrote this post, and i've always had that standpoint on the topic. I love music, but I hate music that aims at misrepresenting.

I know this is looking like i'm really lazy, and that i'm just filling the gap by posting videos, but this is something you all need to see...

i booked a flight on the 13th of july to beirut.. i am going to find Jad Chouiri, and i will do very bad things to him.. this is a PG-13 blog and I shan't delve into the details.. but all you need to know is that he will wish his kneecaps were made of cotton my the time i'm done with him...

on the other hand... this is just plain awesome..

mayoozik to my ears

2009-04-26T07:16:00.001+01:00

This song is either the coolest cover out there... or the most extreme closet case i have ever suffered from

Social faux pas?

2009-04-18T09:10:00.001+01:00

Are our people prude? Or is everyone else just too comfortable?

I have a division head (my boss's boss) who is arab but lived in the US for a big portion of his teen years.

His wife just gave birth a few days ago. On a few occasions you hear him talking about breast feeding, and every time he used the word breast, I find myself feeling uneasy. Maybe because it was an open office space and there were too many guys in the room. Or maybe I'm more of a prude than I thought I was.

Today he upped the ante… He started talking about his wife's nipples, and how they are bruised from the feeding. Suddenly the word breast wasn't a big deal anymore. I recognized the issue his wife was facing and starting giving him advice to pass on. And every time I needed to refer to her breast I would just go silent and he would finish the sentence for me.

Although the topic was not sexual at all… I still felt uneasy talking about this guy's wife's breasts in a room full of guys…

Which brings me back to our topic…

Am I too much of a prude…? is there a line somewhere that my boss was tippy toeing on? are we shy of topics that we shouldn't be shy about?

Was a more private setting more appropriate? Or am I not as open minded as I thought I was?

He came, he presented, he conquered

2009-04-12T07:38:00.001+01:00

Hamdillah, the presentation went very well… I didn't get a standing ovation like I pictured it in my head.. but the VP said a few nice words like "Feras, that was excellent, very crisp, to the point, and well done.."

And every other person was patting me on the back after it which only boosted my ego further… I don't think there is anything wrong with getting an occasional ego rub… right?? :D

Thank you for the comments, you guys are awesome…

8bits, I actually took your advice and the mrs. and I prepared my outfit from the night before… although I think the green striped socks would have given me an edge over the other presenters :P

Let the grey hairs roll

2009-04-07T05:38:00.002+01:00

I don't think I have ever been this stressed over a presentation I have to give...

I have to give an organization wide presentation this Saturday, I was only given a week to work on it, and I'm doing it on behalf of the entire department (including two divisions that I know NOTHING about)...

I fine with public speaking.. even public signing and dancing really.. (Maybe i should present as a musical.. *ponders*)

The only problem I am having is getting everyone to take this presentation seriously enough to provide me with the info I need.. Its Tuesday, and I am still waiting on some info...

I swear to God some people are extremely unprofessional... so i learned over the past few days how to be a professional A-hole... I send an email requesting stuff... if i don't get it in a few hours, i send the same email again, but include the persons supervisor, and so on and so forth...

wish me luck... I'm going to need a lot of it...

Curiosity killed something..

2009-04-04T07:08:00.003+01:00

I love my country…

Not crazy about the people though…

Does that make me a bad countryman??

I just moved to a new unit today, so a new supervisor. My previous one was an American of eastern European descent, he was AMAZING.. he never asked a personal question unless I offered the information..

My new (Saudi) supervisor had a different approach… he knew something about my living arrangement that I decided not to share with anyone in the office. I have no idea how he knew, but that wasn't my concern… what I didn't like was that midway through his conversation he threw it in that he "knows", with a smirk on his face that I wanted to slap off…

and the new chairs were only comfortable for the first 10 minutes.. my back is hurting me already..

It is going to be a great 6 months…

The bar has risen

2009-03-29T11:51:00.004+01:00

With nothing to fill the room but her voice accompanied by the sounds of the violins, guitars and drums. The lights start creeping in as her voices rises to the moons above. Lifting your spirit and keeping you yearning for more.

My body was tingling and my eyes watery. And out of nowhere the acrobats appear reaching for the skies and landing oh so gracefully.

A story of darkness told through song, dance and impeccable choreography.

They made us laugh, cry and made our hearts fall into our laps with their extremely precise and timed jumps and stunts.

They took us through a journey into a place you only find in the most mesmerizing of books.

Alegria she chanted, Joy. Singing it at the top of her lungs. Making everyone there fall for her, hypnotizing us only with her voice.

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

The word circus will mean so many more things to me after that show.

It truly was the greatest show I have ever seen.

Thank you Cirque du Soleil

Thank you

crumbs

2009-03-24T03:01:00.003Z

* i'm very sorry for disappearing.. yeah i promised i won't do it again but i was suddenly too busy doing nothing. i.e. i would be busy all day and when i put my head on the table and try to think of what i accomplished i'm blank.. so yeah :)

~ going to Dubai on thursday to attend Cirque du Soleil inshallah... i can't wait..

* work has been extremely hectic... and i know for sure this is not the place i want to be working in for the rest of my life..

~ the scary part is I have no idea what i want to do instead... part-time astronaut or hand model... i'm not sure which one to pursue..

* can't find the motivation to blog... you can probably tell by this very lazy and boring post..

~ Mrs.Froggy finally started watching "Dead Like Me".. if you haven't watched.. then please stop reading this post and go buy it.. no matter what you do don't illegally download it.. because that would be illegal lol

Fashion faux pas

2009-03-10T05:55:00.004Z

I know the last thing you expect to read on my blog is fashion.. but worry not, this isn't what it seems..

last week i was scheduled to give a seminar on how to use a new online Foreign Exchange Calculator System we developed, very exciting stuff i know. So the night before i take out a nice brown shirt, beige trousers and brown shoes..

baby froglet was under the weather, and i didn't want to wake him so i didn't turn on any lights, and just reached into my sock drawer and trying to analyze using telekenises whether the sock in my hand was black or beige (or brown for that matter). The sock seemed light enough and i just put it on and was on my way..

the socks weren't brown, or beige.. not even black...

they were a brightly striped green and grey ... (wifey's of course).. and i looked like a complete idiot..

or like your weird math teacher from 5th grade.. all i needed were baby blue suspenders...

---------------
on another note... do girls notice that when they wear a white shirt, they are usually pretty transparent and you can see the bra they are wearing fairly clearly.. even if the bra was white, yes i'm married and i know the rules..

is it done to tease us? (not me i'm married, all women are pixilated to me, i can only see enough to not bump into them buts thats about it)

so when you wear that, are we allowed to look?? or is it a test??

Top of the morning

2009-03-09T04:38:00.001Z

I woke up tired as usual, but in a good mood nonetheless.. baby slept well enough, which means we slept well enough.. I was running a bit late so I skipped breakfast.. and got into the car.. seeing that I have an hour drive ahead of me, I always make sure I have something good to listen to… so I find an old Buddha Bar album I haven't listened to in a while and press play..

The first 30 minutes pass so smoothly, the sun was shining, with rays of light bouncing off the blue sea on either side of me.. no wind, just a slight breeze.. setting the mood for a great journey to work.. which would hopefully set the tone for the rest of the day..

I pass by passport control and now I am in Saudi territory.. the remainder of the causeway is as beautiful as the first part..

7 minutes away now.. so I skip a few songs to get to one of my favorites.. the song start and I'm trying to sing along (its in Turkish.. so it was a bit of a struggle).. a car overtakes me on the shoulder.. and he is so close I can smell his coffee.. another just decides to jump onto my lane not regarding his blind spot AKA me.. everyone is driving like a maniac.. absolute chaos on the road.. no one giving regard to the law or the other cars for that matter..

My mood is completely ruined from how angry I got…

I will say it again…

I hate driving in Saudi..

I hate...

2009-02-09T05:24:00.002Z

1.Standing in a queue in this country.
2.Attention seekers
3.Writer’s block
4.People who answer their phone in the elevator, knowing in full they won’t be able to hear anything, and end up screaming
5.Honey
6.Compulsive liars (well I don’t hate them, but really dislike them)
7.When I procrastinate, which is a LOT
8.Ass-kissers
9.People who take credit where it is not deserved
10.Players, especially when they assume I am one too
11.The guy in the cubicle next to me (AS I TYPE THIS HE IS COMMITTING NUMBERS 2, 6,8 AND 9) one day I will tell him to SHUT THE F*CK UP
12.How introverted I used to be as a kid
13.How I never know how to spell queue from the first time round

To-Do List

2009-02-01T05:04:00.003Z

I'm not a procrastinator by nature… or maybe I am… I'm really not sure.. but there are a few things that I have meaning to do and I keep on forgetting/delaying, call it what you may…

I've blamed some of my shortcomings on the fact that I'm Mr.Family man now and that I "don't have time" etc etc… well its not completely a bunch of BS, because you responsibilities start to accumulate without you noticing.. but blaming them is completely unfair…

Anyhoo, wifey and baby froglet are in Beirut :( *sniff* with the in-laws… so I promised myself that I will take this opportunity to focus on getting my life back in order (note: of course not all of these are related to the marriage and family holding me back)

[X] Start going to the gym, last time I went was 3 years ago… I've put on a bit of weight (3-6 kg) since getting married and have fallen for the stereotypical "marriage-weight-gain-trap" (remind me to think of a better name for that)

[ ] Think of a better name for the "Marriage-Weight-Gain-Trap"

[X] Call up the Down Syndrome Centre in Khobar

[X] Follow up with the Bahraini Schools with regards to the special needs open day (Waiting for a reply)

[ ] Pray my five prayers each day… I was doing so well, and then you miss one prayer, and you start falling back into old habits…

[ ] Stop being an ass and reply to the people who are trying to get in touch with me from the past

[ ] Visit my grandmother at least once

[ ] Have "The Talk" with my sister, my Mom is a bit concerned because my sister is going through adolescence and stopped talking to my mom (she's 16), poor mom (I love you mom, just in case you are reading this)

[ ] Start studying for my CTP exam in June

[X] Call the exam centre to book a date for the exam lol

[X] Fix my work computer and finish my FX online system project for once and for all

[ ] Finish Dexter season 2

Ok now I'm overwhelmed… so much to do… I've probably forgotten a few things.. but hey.. I'm no superman..

Oasis Mag

2009-01-28T04:36:00.003Z

OK everyone.. as you might have noticed, a little toastie has been commenting a lot on my blog but never anything related to the subject post... but its OK she has a message she wants to send out there, and she needs my help.. so here I am giving you that message:

But before I start with their message.. Oasis Magazine is this awesome creation that is trying (and i think succeeding) at reintroducing Saudi and the Gulf countries in the different more artistic, more fun light..

As you might have noticed I have placed a link to their (still under-construction) website, and no it is not ad-sense (as in, i am not getting paid for it, HINT HINT TOAST lol). So yeah, they are having a competition and here is the scope:

" Saudi is made by you" : is a competition that aims to pinpoint what Saudi Arabia means to you.. how do you see it? What defines the city that you live in? Do you think of Camels? Sand? Oil?

Be creative and use your imagination; most importantly remember there is no wrong answer! You can use whatever medium you would like: from poetry, graphics, stickers, pictures, etc.

Impress us and you will be published in the next issue of Oasis along with some fabulous new ipods ( with free legal music )

Now get cracking! Deadline is March 1st 2009
Feel free to email us at info@oasis-mag.com

P.S. anyone can enter, Saudis and international alike

I keep bleeding love… really?

2009-01-26T04:48:00.001Z

Ok I know I've been off-line for a while.. and been very lazy with the whole updating my blog thing, but for the first time in my life, work was actually getting interesting/time filling…

I am still right smack in the middle of all my deadlines.. many more meetings to have, many more presentations to give.. but all the nagging (yes byte of coffee, that's meant for you) finally got to me… well to be fair there were only a couple of comments, by taqo and byte, but they really hurt, deep down, in the core, where I am numb…

Well, not a lot has been going on here… but here are a few highlights:

~ I wanted to call this post crumbs yet again, but was afraid of getting assassinated

~ I bought my sister the Wii game "Boogie Superstar".. it's a singing game that comes with a microphone.. and I have challenged my sister to a sing off.. but I am at the disadvantage because I'm not familiar with most of the songs.. yes I know the choruses but have no clue how the rest of the song goes..

~ The Wii game is the sole reason I have been listening to Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love on my ipod and trying to sing along… I have discovered there are places that my vocal chords cannot go… So now I'm at plan B.. Natasha Bedingfield songs.. any suggestions?

~ Mashallah Baby Froglet rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time yesterday… YAAAAY… I still didn't see it though *sniff*

~ I watched slumdog millionaire… *heart pounds at increased speeds…* it was absolutely *insert awesome word here*…

~ I was introduced to Terry Pratchett last week… reading "Small Gods"… I like his sense of humor.. but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the questions he raises about religion as a concept.. it takes you down a very tricky road..

~ Nothing has happened on the "down syndrome initiative" I was trying to get done since that last time I talked about it… its partially my fault, but people just don't pick up their phones in this part of the world.. its really pissing me off that I got lazy so quickly, so its now on the top of my list again..

And with that I leave you to just another manic Monday.. I really wish it was Sunday.. because that's my fun day… and again we are back to it being just another manic Monday..

More Crumbs

2009-01-14T06:52:00.001Z

* It is officially FREEZING outside.. 6 degrees is not a fun temperature to live with… give me back my 15 -18 degrees..

~ Yesterday on my way home.. my car decided to stop working all of a sudden on the Bahrain causeway… and the causeway was too windy to comprehend… so I had to call a tow truck.. and as I got in the front seat with him.. I couldn't find a seat belt.. I felt as safe as I used to feel in my mother's womb.. it got weird when I found myself sleeping on the driver's shoulder.. but we just decided to never talk about it again..

* Going to Jeddah today to attend a wedding… its been about a year since I've been.. but this time around none of my relatives, friends, or even acquaintances are there lol…

~ I never know how to spell acquaintances..

* Me and a few friends are start a new blog Walle3a (a catch phrase we caught/ came up with while in Beirut). We are aiming for a one-stop-shop in terms of entertainment, i.e. music suggestions, movies we are looking forward to, maybe review them afterwards, and maybe eventually go into games and what not.. we are not 100% sure what we want yet, so give us suggestions and support..

~ I think my system if finally crashing, I might be getting this flu that is going around..

Crumbs :)

2009-01-04T06:18:00.001Z

* First of all, Happy New Year… I know I'm a bit late, but I was nowhere near a computer in the past week. Hope 2009 is better, bigger, awesome and greater than 2008 for all of you… and lets hope you continue visiting this blog.. J

~ Went to Beirut last week to attend a friend's wedding, so me and the mrs left baby froglet with the grandparents… we still didn't get him back.. they wouldn't let go lol…

* Beirut = The awesome… mashallah we had a blast… not particularly for the parties and what not.. but because it was a wedding.. our entire group was there and we all stayed in the same hotel.. so you had a group of 25-29 year olds acting like freshmen at the dorm-rooms in college..

~ mrs Froggy and I took advantage of being baby-less and went to the cinema… we watched twilight (her choice obviously)… but thankfully I didn't hate it… I didn't love it either.. there were a number of good things going for the movie… haven't read the books, and I'm not sure if I should… (mocha care to share your thoughts?)

* What's happening in Ghaza is very painful, and what is even more painful is the pathetic attempts from the governments to stop it… but time has taught us that there is nothing we can do but pray and give financial support…

Hope everyone had a great new year… and I truly hope all this violence will end soon… enough blood has been shed already…

Butterfly Awards..

2008-12-23T05:56:00.002Z

Yesterday i was going through my blog rounds.. and to my delight i discovered that i was nominated by L's Brain for the Butterfly Award... (Thank you L, i'm very flattered)

It turns out, there is no ceremony, and I can't put in on my resume, but i'm still happy with it..

Basically that idea is to give the reason why you started blogging, then nominate another 3 blogs that you think others should give notice to..

Why I started blogging:

Back in 2006 I got a phone call from Yawarakai saying that she started a blog. So after checking it out and discovering more and more blogs.. I decided, "these people aren't better than me..." lol.. no actually i was amused by the fact that you can get away with being as free as you want on your own blog.. it was really a place where you can run away from the facebookness (at the the time Hi5 was all the hype) and just escape into a page that was all you.. and no one knew you (supposedly).. and you can be whoever you wanted to be..

I nominate:

Trevelyana (everyone's favorite blog)
Mochness (always well written, always has a point, and always a joy to read)
8 Bits (one of the most frequently updated blogs I know, and in the best way possible, never does a post feel forced, always smooth, funny and entertaining)

Elevator Etiquette

2008-12-15T11:03:00.008Z

The faster you press the call button, the faster the elevator will get there.
Pressing the button multiple times also does the trick.
Pressing up or down is irrelevant; so you might as well press both.
You shouldn't wait for anyone to get on before you
That includes women, children and the elderly.
Lets not forget women with baby carriages, those things take up lots of space.
Getting into an elevator alone with a person of the opposite gender WILL lead to involuntary sex. You will not be able to control yourself. Therefore, you should let that person go in alone and you go in the next one.
The above rule applies to all ages above 14.
As soon as you enter the elevator, press the button that closes the doors. Because, F#$& everyone else.
When the elevator is approaching, stand smack in the middle to guarantee no one gets in or out before you.
When a full elevator appears before you, just walk right in. People will make space, that's what they are there for.
When you are waiting with someone for the elevator, start insisting that the other person goes in first and expect that they do the same. Never mind the people inside waiting for you to finish.
Going up or down only one floor in a 10 story building is very acceptable. And sometimes very enjoyable.
When arriving at the elevator door and finding some people waiting there and they've already pressed the button, you should press it again multiple times because it will only respond to you since all the others are just idiots (Added by Nani)
When you are standing by the elevator door and someone starting walking your way, with the intention of using the elevator, triple click the button, look above, then do it again (all in a set of threes).. and start pacing, all within seconds of that person standing beside you.. (added by Olympia)

Just to name a few.. please feel free to share others I might have missed

Nostalgia

2008-12-02T05:25:00.002Z

One of the things that I miss most about living in England, aside from the freedom, student life and lack responsibility, I miss the guitars..

The school I went to was a school of business and arts.. so you head people studying financial accounting in one room and in the next people studying drama and music… It was a weird mix but it worked somehow.. At least for me..

There was always someone with a guitar ready to start jamming, there were a million acoustic nights all over town. What I loved about the acoustic nights and private acoustic jams is that no one is there to judge anyone or to even criticize anyone else's performance..

I won't lie, I got excited and bought a guitar, but couldn't play it to save my life.. and when I learnt a couple of songs (Dave Mathews Band – Crash Into Me & Damien rice – The Blowers Daughter) I couldn't get the hang of singing and playing simultaneously.. and discovering that I could sing better than I could play guitar gave me a new passion.. Singing.. again I'm not saying I'm good.. I'm decent.. I could hold a note and was not completely hopeless..

Anyways.. so eventually I started singing at these jams, and my favorite moment was singing (Radiohead – Street Spirit)

Ever since graduating and coming back there haven't been many occasions where I could just sing without caring except for the car, the few karaoke nights we had in Bahrain and London (remember Yawarakai??) and when we play Rock Band (don't judge us :p)

Which brings me to the point of this post.. I'm putting together a CD for the drive to work (it takes me aprox an hour)(and I'm using CD's because my radio doesn't work so I can't plug my i-pod in).. I've compiled a list of a demo CD that I'm trying out now to choose a few songs from (hence why there are several songs by the same artist, which is a big no no in my making CD's methodology)

So please suggest songs that should be added to this list.. (and or removed)

The script – We cry
30 seconds to mars – The Kill (Acoustic)
Muse – Time is running out
The script – The man who can't be moved
Audioslave – Like a stone
The script – If you see kay
30 seconds to mars – A beautiful lie
Muse – Hysteria
The killers – Mr. Brightside
Stereophonics – Maybe Tomorrow
Doves – The man who told everything
Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Audioslave - Shadow on the sun

Social butterfly my ass…

2008-11-22T12:01:00.001Z

Well, it happened again.. someone in my department called me antisocial..

I'm getting very sick of it… why do we all have to act in the same way, why is it expected of me to walk up to everyone's cubicle and introduce myself as the new guy. So what if I've been here 9 months and you still don't know me.. there are 130 other employees in this department alone, and over 7000 employees in this building.. go meet them.. go ask them what they did over the weekend.. go tell them about the way you want your wife to cook your meals.. go tell them your theory about the Saudi stock market.. because I don't give a flying fuck..

I have my life, I have my friends and I'm pretty damn happy with my selections.. people who know me like me.. people who work with me know that I am a hard worker and smarter and more dedicated than your average Joe… so trust me, I don't need your stamp of approval on my ass declaring how cool I am in your book.

The ass was talking about me to an aqcuantance of mine (I was there too) saying that I am glued to my chair and don't go around the office.. to which my acquaintance said, but I thought that's what you guys look for, a dedicated worker… to which he responded, yeah but he has a social responsibility too, he never passes by any offices just to talk, its always about work, I don't even know his name..

Well fuck you.. if you want to know my name, maybe YOU could pass by my office and ask me why I live in Bahrain rather than Saudi, then criticize me and my choices telling me how I should conduct myself in the office in a way that would please your kind self… and in the few times that I actually came to your office for work purposes, did you bother to make an effort? Or are you that hot chick in the back of the club waiting for all the guys to hit on you?

I'm fucking sick of this place..

Best Song Ever

2008-11-17T04:34:00.002Z

its just so…

Perfect

perfect like a silk dress covers the most beautiful woman's back..

the words were picked by night elves that stole them from the ancient libraries of Olympus..

the sentence structure was carved by the pharaoh himself…

the flow is reminiscent of a mystic river running down a mountain carrying with it the secrets of an ancient tribe...

the way the notes fall upon my ears is sweeter to me than snow drops falling upon my tongue..

my favorite part is the bridge (min 0:45).. a far better bridge than that leading to Terabithia

Crumbs

2008-11-03T05:23:00.002Z

~ I'm getting very tired.. as much as I love Saudi, working here is wearing me down.. I can't imagine living here full time.. the driving alone is a buzz kill.. the construction of the roads that seems to take forever, people's attitude in general kills me.. ugh..

* Baby Froglet started noticing things.. he recognizes me mashllah.. he recognizes his milk.. and he LOVES attention lol.. yesterday I was giving mrs. Froggy a break and told her to go out with her friends while I watched him.. I fed him, burped him and played with him.. then I put him in his chair next to me and sat at the computer.. he would start crying until I look at him lol..

~ I think I hate beyonce..

* I got mrs. Froggy hooked on world of warcraft.. I'm ashamed and proud at the same time.

~ With regards to the special initiative I was working on. I had a preliminary meeting with a few special education teachers in Bahrain and we started planning for a few awareness campaigns and a couple of full day events with the special kids early 2009, and hopefully a summer program that will merge the kids.

* I hate calling them special kids… but I don't know what else to call them without sounding all high and mighty..

i've been here for too long

2008-10-29T07:49:00.003Z

you know how when girls start living together or spend a lot of time together their "time of the month"s sync up??

well in the working environment i've noticed that it kinda happens to us too.. on random occasions i've found that me and one of my co-workers are wearing the same thing, or matching colours at least..

Today me and my supervisor were wearing the same exact colours.. with the exceptions that he made the fasion faux pas of wearing a black belt with brown shoes.. TOTALLY OMG.. and i was giving a presentation to upper management today so my supervisor and I either looked cute together, or looked like complete idiots..

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

on another note.. there is this guy in our group who doesn't ever stop talking, or asking questions.. he's the type of guy who is EXTRA friendly to the females in our department, and wants to come off as everyone's friend.. DUDE.. we live in saudi arabia, being extra friendly to the girls could get them in trouble or give them a bad reputation.. and being the "womanizer" at work isn't the most flattering thing either..

anyway.. he comes up to me after the presentation and says "good job, that was the best presentation you have ever given since joining us"...

ITS MY SECOND PRESENTATION HERE YOU A$**&^... IF IT WASN'T BETTER THAN MY FIRST ONE THEN THERE IS A PROBLEM...

GOD.. I HATE HIM...

I hate how he thinks he's so smooth.. and what kills me.. is he is the type who does very little.. but gloats about it forever and taking whatever credit he can get..

Public Service Announcement

2008-10-22T05:25:00.004+01:00

People of Saudi Arabia

IS NOT A F%$@&*! DRIVING LANE....

Thank You

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

Poverty - Blog Action Day 08

2008-10-15T08:35:00.003+01:00

It would be very difficult to find someone who doesn't believe that poverty is a real problem we are facing in this day and age. However, with everything else going on in the world (terrorism, global warming, natural disasters) it seems that poverty has taken a back seat to all the attention.

The month of Ramadan has just finished and in the Arab and Muslim world, its a big thing to give during the month. But the sad thing is that some people ONLY give during that month as if the problem doesn't exist after the month is over.

A huge misconception about the poverty issue is that all we need to do is donate money, or clothes, or food. Although a very noble thing to do, to regularly give, it is sadly not enough. What our countries and our entire planet needs is people who are willing to donate their time to look for the worthy and the truly needy. For people to come up with truly selfless initiatives that will have a long term benefit. Our governments need to give leeway to NGO's to take a stronger role in helping the communities.

The solution lies with us, the people. With the support of the powers above, with the determination and by working together we will be able to raise awareness and Inshallah one day find a solution.

And maybe one day, implement it.

Third World Something

2008-09-29T06:31:00.001+01:00

Have you ever noticed how defensive we get whenever we are described as third world countries?

What gets to me is that the Arab world is so blind to all its shortcomings.

Yes, we are pretty decent when it comes to technology. Yes, we are some of the richer countries around the world. Yes, we appreciate family more than most countries.

But doesn't it piss you off that we are so hung up on this few virtues that we neglect ever advancing and becoming better people.

I believe that we are not third world countries, but we are third world people. The people you run into in the street and in the malls act like animals in so many respects. The way the men chase/harass the women, the way we refuse to be polite to strangers, the way we NEVER form a decent queue, the way we drive, the many ways in which we are SO selfish…

Yet the one virtue any Arab will tell you we have that no one else in the world has is our generosity… oh wow.. seriously? Who cares if we split the bill instead of fighting over it for 10 minutes. I swear to God, I've had many a conversation about how terrible the English are because they are so cheap, and how they don't pay for each others' meals etc etc.. I'm sick of waiting in line to buy a tea in the morning behind two full grown men fighting over who is going to pay the 2 Riyals for the others morning coffee..

I am not saying let's stop inviting each other.. but I am saying we have so much more to fix within ourselves… we are a very proud people… but as time goes by there is very little left to be proud of..

And I am scared about raising my son in the most generous countries… with very little to be proud of…

Expectant Man, Talking To Himself

2008-09-23T17:52:00.001+01:00

This is one of my favourite poems written by a very good friend of mine..

and I felt like sharing :)

I realise that I hover,
And I'd like to apologise.
But sometimes hope is awakened in me,
And I think it is finally time.

I guess it unnerves some people,
Confuses them maybe.
I try and explain it but it never makes sense,
Seems so petty.

It feels like I've been waiting so long
That the slightest thing
Becomes a clue,
A glimpse of something more.

So I build my hopes up,
Foolishly telling myself it could be true,
It might be happening this time.
But I'm seeing things that aren't there again.

Why do I always do this?
Build myself up,
Get so certain that what I have been waiting for
Is just around the corner?

I've had enough,
I've done this for far too long.
Sod the bus,
I'll walk.

© Matt Beames

I vote for change

2008-09-08T10:31:00.004+01:00

I know my last post might have thrown some of you off... its not really the kind of thing I post up here. But for some reason I have been extremely passionate about change..

I think it's partially because baby froglet has given me a new perspective to life. Like every parent I want him to have an awesome life.. I want him to grow up in a perfect world and all that jazz… but you soon remember how imperfect our world is and you start thinking that the problem is too big for you to fix..

After a few brain storming sessions with a few friends we all decided its about to start promoting change ourselves. We are tired of being sheep following the herd and complaining about it…

Choosing the cause was very difficult, because… quite simply.. where do you start.. literally everything is wrong with the world.. so we decided to take on something that (we think) we can handle..

Special education won the vote. It saddens me how seldom you see children with disabilities in public and how they are demoralized in the eyes of society. A friend of mine just discovered that her nephew has down syndrome.. what pissed me off is when she told me, she said it was a secret and they (as a family) didn't want anyone to know.. I was infuriated, I'm sure they have their reasons, but why be ashamed of an illness? And why should the kid suffer living in that embarrassment?

We are studying a system that will incorporate disabled kid's needs into the normal schooling system. They need to feel included and the society needs to start accepting them. And we are targeting the younger generations.

Wish us luck

Finding a Purpose

2008-08-26T06:29:00.009+01:00

Lately I've been feeling a bit lost. Feeling like there is much more to life.

I am not talking about religion, or about god or heaven and hell.

I am talking about all the good that we can potentially do.

I won't lie, like most people, most of my life growing up I have thought about my personal growth, my personal wealth and success. And I always thought sending 200 hundred riyals a months to a local charity was enough to make me feel good about myself. Until at some point last year my aunt, who is pretty pro-active in the community, told me that the money is the least of the problems, charities and organizations needs hands, they need people to do the work for them.

It was a very sleepless night for me. I felt guilty for every time I was proud of myself for doing the very least. I felt guilty for every time I felt sorry for a person with special needs. I felt guilty because I am sure if I put my head to it, there is much more I could have been doing.

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

A Saudi friend of mine was talking to a Spanish friend of his. And the Spanish guy told him: "All you Saudis do is complain about how much more your government should do for you, but I see none of you actually doing anything to help yourselves."

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

A few months ago there was a huge campaign supporting Autism in shargiya, I'm not sure about the rest of Saudi. The billboards were everywhere.

That was over 4 months ago. Now you don't see any. Its like "YAY we solved the problem, 2% of the population is more AWARE, now we can sleep at night for another 2 years"

In most cases the most active people towards a cause, are the immediate family or friends or the people suffering from it. But what about the rest of us? The rest of us able bodied, over privileged, financially comfortable people. Why aren't we marching with them? Why aren't we supporting them?

I'm sick of the silence that befalls parents of kids with special needs, I'm sick of the shame some people carry with them because of a brother or a sister with needs. And I'm sick of complaining.

It is time to act, it is time to contact the local schools and ask them what they need. It is time to start looking at the international benchmarks and seeing if we meet them. It is time to start meeting and thinking together how we can make our communities better, how we can help more families be happier or at least more comfortable.

Its time to be… selfless… for once...

And then they were 3

2008-07-28T12:47:00.000+01:00

a bit early. but still a very welcome surprise :)

And then there were Crumbs

2008-07-21T05:19:00.002+01:00

* I just discovered that I love bananas

~ Today I saw an advertisement for this new Woman's Hair Saloon in Bahrain.. And on the poster it said "Hair extensions... 100% real hair...". SERIOUSLY?? I remember having this debate with mrs.Froggy about having someone's hair on my head, but I think subconsciously I didn't want to believe her because it grossed me out too much.. but SERIOUSLY??

* I discovered that bananas are not the easiest food to eat while driving

~ MRS. FROGGY PASSED HER DRIVING EXAM (MASHALLAH MASHALLAH TUFF TUFF TUFF), and is now called Schumacher (I added the link just in case).

* I finally got transfered to a new department in Aramco, much better place Hamdillah.

~ 96.3%* of bearded saudi men are TERRIBLE drivers.

* Although some of the bearded men are EXTREMELY pleasant, you will find more than you think are complete animals. They will eye a girl from head to toe as she passes by, they will not greet you back unless you have a beard of similar length and girth.

----------------------------------------------------
*all statistics on this blog are completely true and have been calculated through rigorrous testing regimes.

out of touch

2008-07-15T05:56:00.002+01:00

it hit me a few days back that i have been completely out of touch with too many people..

Three days ago i discover that one of my friend's brother is getting engaged to my cousin. The ENTIRE family has known about this for weeks, and I heard the news from another friend from that group and had to act like I knew all along.

Another friend, who used to be my room mate in England's Dad passed away on Sunday. I had known that he had been suffering from cancer, but I didn't know that it had gotten much much worse in the last few weeks. This would be normal if no one else knew, but apparently everyone knew.

I feel like i've distanced myself from the majority of the world. I have Mrs.Froggy and our close group and our immediate family, and that's as much effort as I am willing to put in.

At work I have been described as anti-social by one of the supervisors, but I didn't care at the time because he is not my supervisor and probably never will be.

I think that I need to try and reach out to the world again.. In hope that it is still willing to take my hand..

professionalism anyone?

2008-07-02T06:08:00.002+01:00

We have this lebanese lady on our floor who is in her mid forties, i would presume, and acts like she is in her early twenties and in college, with the loud laugh, and excessive friendliness with every guy in the office, mind you the women are outnumbered 30 to 1.

Anyhoo, she is very nice and makes an effort with everyone. The problem I have with her is understands the Saudi Man's mind and enjoys the attention, or is just as extravagant and as subliminally flirtatious as she acts.

The following conversation took place in the cubicle next to me yesterday..

Lebanese Lady: "Hey dude, can you help me with something?" (she didn't actually say dude)
Dude: "Yeah just a minute" as he finished his pone call
Lebanese Lady waited for 30 seconds
Dude: "Ok lets go, what did you need me for anyways?"
Lebanese Lady: "Well you being Really good with IT, I need you to fix something for me" (p.s. he has NOTHING to do with IT)
Dude: "I'm not really good with IT?"
Lebanese Lady: "Really?"
Dude with a stupid smirk that I could hear: "But I'm good at Other things", he produces a soft laugh
Lebanese Lady giggles frantically in her high pitch voice.

I was mortified.. I was just waiting for the cheezy music to start playing as she threw herself at him and slammed him into the wall behind him, and the director coming out of no where screaming "People, THAT is how you shoot a love scene"

crumbs

2008-06-16T08:11:00.004+01:00

* My brother just came back from England. He finished his bachelor's and is supposedly, looking for a job. Only he is not taking it as seriously, as I want him to. He keeps on procrastinating saying that he's only been here a week. I think I pushed him too hard a few days ago, and I hated myself for doing so.

* Mrs. Froggy has a driving test tomorrow inshallah, Miskeena she failed her first one and was devastated. I told her so many people fail the first time. My mom actually failed twice. So wish her luck.

* I hate driving in Saudi...

* Yesterday my mom told me that my face talks for me, and that I can't hide it when i'm angry, disappointed or unimpressed with someone or something. In a way, I think I'm happy about that.

* I've fallen into the stereotype of men who gain weight after marriage. I can come up with 107 excuses if I want to, but I won't. I went to a health awareness seminar where they take your weight, fat %, BMI, BMR etc etc and they told me i'm at the maximum I should be for my height, and that I should lose around 5-8 KG.

* I think I'm ready for the baby to be a part of our lives, we have a couple of months to go before his/her appearance, and we are getting more and more anxious.

* I would love to escape from this conventional life I'm living if just for a little while, I just want to grab the mrs. by the hand and belly and move to a new place, and attend writing school and she can attend art school or beauty therapy school.

Stuck no more

2008-06-08T08:46:00.002+01:00

First of all I want to thank everyone for your comments and contribution, and must apologise for not responding to some of you, but I will, inshallah :)

Anyhoo.. I like giving multiple gifts, either starting 3-4 days before the actual day leading up to a big gift, or just buy a million little awesome gifts that surround a nicer, bigger more substantial one.

This year the theme is something useful, I already explained to Mrs.Froggy that I will not be buying any jewelry or anything that she has too many of as it is. I KNOW I KNOW a girl can never have too many shoes and backs and jewels, but my point is, there are gifts that show that you are actually there and around to notice the things she actually needs, or always wanted but never knew she did, yeah i'm psychic like that lol..

anyhoo.. I bought a couple of funky stuff that are just randomly funky:
Momiji Doll: For some reason she was always fascinated by them, maybe she always wanted to start a collection but never got around to it, so i'm giving her the first one.
2 Mutant Dolls: They can either be hung on a key chain, or stuck to the car window. Inshallah soon she will be getting her license.
T-Shirt: I'm custom making a t-shirt for her, i still haven't decided on the final product, but i still have a couple of days.

there is still room for a few more funky stuff. but i don't like rushing the funkyness...

The main gift is related to Mrs.Froggy's hobby... painting.. ever since we moved into our house she always used the dinning table for her painting, and we never got around to buying her a special painting table that could tilt and has drawers and stuff...

so today i found it... it is perfect, the size is just right. and it looks easy enough to assemble..

So this is where you guys come in, I have to ways to go about this:
Method 1:
On her actual Birthday, I wake up at 7 am (she is a heavy sleeper, specially with the pregnancy)
assemble the table, put all the funky stuff on it in a nice decoration. Find and tie a BIG ASS ribbons around it.

OR

Method 2: I tell her I have a meeting (although I am taking the day off work) that I must go to, so I drop her off to my parents, or tell her to go out with her sister or friends until i come back. And in that time fix it up, maybe take her to dinner and then after we finish dinner and eventually head home, she finds the gift.

so basically, Do i start off her morning with a bang, or end it with a bang, pun not intended ;)

and then he was stuck

2008-05-21T12:04:00.002+01:00

People of blog world... i once again need your help :)

it is mrs.Froggy's birthday in a month's time and i want to get a head start.

so start pitching ideas people.. but keep in mind the following:

spas or massages are out of the question because she is pregnant and massages are evil when you are pregnant. And me going to get a massage while she watches won't really be that much of a birthday gift.
in the past i've gotten her rings and bracelets and all that superficial stuff.. i always pick them myself knowing her taste, so they had sentimental value to them. however, this year, i don't want something typical. i don't mind jewelry only if it was funky and different.
of course i am not only going to give her the gift and expect a big kiss.. i will plan the whole romantic dinner or picnic or surprise party, not sure what yet, but the gift is more important now.

oh yeah its on the 24th of June, so we have enough time to brain storm.

once again i thank you my fellow bloggers :)

Identity Crisis

2008-05-10T07:09:00.002+01:00

I know I haven't been updating much lately, but that is due to the fact that I have no idea what to talk about anymore...

I've had this blog for a couple of years now and the mood and theme have fluctuated and gone from everyday tales to poetry and everything in between. Ever since i moved back to Saudi its been difficult to write about everyday things, because i really doubt any of you would like to hear about me visiting my in-laws and and making awkward conversation with my father-in-law, or how we had dinner this restaurant and the waiter got all our orders wrong.

maybe deep down i wanted my blog to have more to it than all of that.

I am currently going through a blog identity crisis.. i'm not sure if i want to start blogging about my personal life with my mrs. (i just feel its too personal to be out there for the public). or if i want it to be a venting method i use.

i secretly always wanted to be a writer... i always dreamed of writing a book, or at least a collection of poems or short stories... i never really followed that dream, neither by practicing or by becoming a better writer... and maybe this blog was the closest I'd ever get to that..

The Long Goodbye

2008-04-21T06:20:00.001+01:00

The road seemed longer this time, or maybe he was just driving slower. The music was turned up as the song went on talking about a forbidden love. But his love for her was anything but forbidden. His right hand was rested on her left. They weren’t holding hands; they just let their fingers slowly caress each others palms. As they got closer to their destination she grasped his hand and tightened her grip the closer they got. As if trying to take with her what she can of him. As if by doing that it would hurt less to leave him behind. They didn’t utter a single word, but knew exactly what the other was thinking.

He parks the car at the entrance, but they didn’t exit immediately. He slowly pulled his hand away and opened his door as she opened hers. They distracted themselves by placing the suitcases in the trolley, thinking that delaying it might change the inevitable. But the time came and they had to do it. They had to say their farewells.

The hug didn’t last too long just to spare her the heartache. He planted a kiss on her cheek and told her he loves her.

He will miss her… although he knows deep down that she’ll back in a couple of days.

animal planet

2008-04-01T12:58:00.002+01:00

I was just in the toilets in aramco.

I know this isn't the best way to start a story but bare with me..

so I walk into one of the stalls and find that it looks like the result of a rhino mating with a silver back ape... so I walk into the one after it and although hard to believe it was actually worse...

I couldn't believe it... I have walked into stalls that have not been up to par with my cleanliness, but I always believed that maybe, just maybe working in a company like aramco I would be surrounded by civilized people who know how to use a freaking toilet seat.

I was wrong. but I always hoped I would never be this wrong..

for crying out loud, Islam is supposedly yearns us to be clean, but sadly enough you don't see anyone following, all we are good at is talking the talk, growing our beards, and wearing short thobes... any excuse to show off our legs... seriously, sometimes the thobes are just barely under the knee.

Its either my standards are too high, or there is something completely F*cked up with our society...

Ramble Ramble Ramble

2008-03-09T11:04:00.002Z

* I just realized that its very difficult for me to mad at someone for extended periods of time. Which pisses me off. I'm very good at plotting my revenge, but by the time I actually get to it, I start feeling bad. I'm sure Ghandi would have been proud of me..

~ There is this guy whom I pass by in the corridors almost twice a day, I always say "Salam Alaikum" and he just walks right past me as if I didn't exist. HE GETS ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY NERVES.

* I hate driving in Dammam. The People there don't drive like humans. They drive like they were an ant Colony that is moving from point A to B and were sprayed with a hose and are trying to reassemble. The only difference is that the Ants actually manage to reassemble.

~ I parked my car outside A'Ali Mall in bahrain for 10 minute last week, and some Assh*** decided to key my car from one end to the other. I don't get the concept of keying someone's car. A vendetta is supposed to be personal, I don't even know who did it. It's the cowards way of looking like a bad ass.

* I started reading comics again, and now my entire group is doing so too. We are like a bunch of 8 year olds trading comics between classes. Reading them is a great escape.

I think that's enough for one day :)

crumbs of toast

2008-02-23T11:26:00.003Z

I've noticed that as I grow older, life seems like it is getting more difficult where in reality it is just getting more simple. As long as you try and accept it for what it is.

I remember when I was studying how I had a plan. At the time it seemed very thorough and complete. "After I graduate, i'm going to work in Aramco for a couple of years, then get my masters degree, then come back and work in a financial institute while putting money aside to start my own thing and eventually leave by the time I am 30."

As I grow up, I watch the plan shatter one bit at a time. sometimes for the best and sometimes to my dismay.

I truly believe in believing, but I also believe that that world as we know it now is not as simple as we think it is. The curve balls that come your way will only increase as time passes and you will find that time is passing you by and you have accomplished nothing.

The secret to surviving is never letting your guard down as well as keeping the faith. But the most important secrets are being Patient, and Flexible. As long as you keep on reviewing your plan and adapting it to the changing variables around you, hopefully Inshallah one day you will reach something very similar to your dream.

a resolution

2008-02-03T06:39:00.001Z

ok so i don't really believe in the whole new year's resolution. and i know new years was just over a month ago...

but yesterday for some reason i had a new life resolution.

i just woke up and felt like i need to change... maybe its partially because i'm becoming a dad inshallah... it didn't hit me when we first found out that mrs. froggy was pregnant, and now it just snuck up on me that i need to be better by the time tadpole hits the scene.

I decided to:

* take my new department more seriously that the last.
* use the stairs more often
* start reading again
* praying on time
* get organised

not major changes i know, but i do believe that by doing these things i'll sleep better at night.

Chicken tonight

2008-01-26T05:23:00.000Z

so mrs. froggy was hungry and was craving some KFC. She was very specific with her order, "I want only one piece of chicken, it has to be a breast. French Fries, Coleslaw and water."

So I drive over and start placing the order.

KFC Lady: "Hello sir, welcome to KFC, can I take your order please?"
Froggy: "Yeah umm. What's the smallest amount of chicken I can buy? Can I buy just one?"
KFC Lady: "Yes sir, you can order just one."
Froggy: "Ok then, do you have breasts?"
...
...
...
Awkward Silence
...
...
...
KFC Lady (trying to hide a smile): "Yes we do"
Froggy (feeling like a complete idiot): "Ok then I'll have one piece of chicken etc etc"

Of course to avoid any further embarrassment I decide to ignore the fact that I asked the lady if she had breasts or not; and acted as nonchalantly as possible, as if I did nothing wrong. She kept on smiling and trying not laugh.

sheeesh... the things I get myself into.

p.s. check out my new blog Minifroggles. (I will be working on both simultaneously... inshallah)

On parenting

2008-01-22T10:09:00.000Z

I am a true believer in tough love, of course only in the right ways. I do believe that a child these days should not be too pampered to be able to survive in the vicious world out there.

However, sadly enough you find some parents' methods of showing tough love cross over into brutal love. Sometimes through negligence and sometimes through showing them the back of their hand.
---------------------------
Yesterday, I woke up to go to work and found that mrs. froggy wasn't feeling too well. So I decided to skip work (any excuse really) and go out and buy her things that would make her feel better. So I checked the kitchen to find what was missing and off to Geant (I hate hypermarkets, I really do, but sometimes they are actually convenient). I passed by a DVD store and bought her the Little Mermaid, knowing that she's been itching to see it again. Then I went off to by random niblets and crackers and sweets. And then I bought her this HUGE beanie bag, small tables to surround it and a single blanket so that she can place herself in front the TV and have everything she wants around her.

Anyhoo, As I was running around with my headphones on to drown out any excess noises regarding clean-ups on isle 5. I noticed a little girl, barely 2 years old, crying her eyes out and aimlessly walking. I stop and watch her to see if anyone is following her or not. She's all alone. I leave my stuff and follow her. Of course my first instinct was to ask her if she was ok, but in this day and age its very difficult for you to talk to a child, specially a girl, unless you were a female yourself. I eventually walked up to her and asked: "feen mama?" (where's mom?)", She bursted out crying and just pointed aroud aimlessly. Geant was extremely crowded at the time and each till had at least 3 people standing in line. At some point she started pointing at the tills and I started scanning them in search for a concerned looking parent.

Alas, a man looking my direction. He is standing at the cashier and there is a huge line behind him. I wave to him and ask if this was his daughter he smiles and nods, without moving an inch. I look at the girl and find that she is walking towards to the tills and I follow. She finds her mother who doesn't even look a bit bothered. I look at the mother in disgust and try to explain the situation, she just smiles and takes her daughters hand, without even a hug or a kiss (for the daughter, not for me lol), and just walks away.

I WAS INFURIATED, even the sound of the coldplay in my ear couldn't cool me down. I couldn't believe how getting to the front of the line was far more important than keeping an eye out for your daughter. I've been lost before, and I know how it feels, its the scariest thing you can go through, and the only thing that would make it feel better is your mother or father holding you and telling you everything will be alright and apologising for neglecting you.

That poor kid. Makes you think what kind of a parent you are going to be.

Influences

2008-01-15T06:43:00.000Z

I remember all through my early teens, I always had someone I used to look up. Not an idol per-se. But someone who I just simply thought was way cooler than me. Someone I wanted to be like when I grew up. Be it an older cousin, a friend's older brother, or even a cool uncle.

I'm all grown up now.

And I am nothing like any of those people.

Not only that, but i don't even see what the fuss was about anymore.

I would like to believe that I have outgrown and out done my own expectations. However, i'm not too sure its a good thing to feel. Because you find that you start looking down on people, or just simply thinking in the back of your mind that you are better than them.

But if you were. What if you really are better than them. Is it fair for you to judge them? What if I was just placing the judgment in the comfort of my own mind? As long as I am not passing that judgement to anyone else. right?

I'm not even talking about our beloved "Holier than thou" brothers and sisters. I'm just talking about the everyday people you run into, and the thoughts that go through your head while talking to them.

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

After I got out of the hospital 5 years ago, I was a changed person. I appreciated life more and all that. I started praying again, well at least more than I did before. However, I started passing judgement more.

I started doing it just to filter out the people I don't want in my life and the one's I do. It became very easy for me to be cold and dry with someone if I didn't want them in my life. Well not very easy, just easier than what I would like.

I stopped caring if everyone liked me or not. I stopped giving a damn what "people would say" (the very well known saudi phrase "6ayeb eesh yigoolo al-nas 3annak).

I'm just not sure if I'm on the right track anymore. And it took me 5 years to realise it.

blending in

2008-01-12T06:32:00.000Z

He walked into the elevtor right before me. Stood next to me but didn't look at me. He stood there, bedazzle by whta was in his hands; mezmerized even. He flipped through the pages slowly. Back and forth and back. He didn't even bother to look at the elevator doors open on each floor to see who was coming in. Or to even give that disecting look to people who came to go up only one floor (FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, THE STAIRS ARE NOT TOXIC, YOU LAZY #$%#%%#^$#%@#). He was in his zone.

I couldn't help but admire the happiness. He was shinning; he was Zen.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of his little orange organizer. I slowly started to realize, it was the new 2008 Aramco organizer. One of the many highly anticipated events within Aramco, it only comes second to the, Magical and Mystical Aramco Calendar (Thunder, Lightning, Cheddar Cheese). It is CRAZY how people wait for it to come out. I was always the non-conformist who wasn't excited. But this time... Ah this time I WANTED that organizer. I wanted to be happy like him. I deserve to be happy.

I slowly backed away from that hypnotizing orange leather organizer and my jaw dropped in awe after realzing what I was becoming. Am I turning into one of them? Am I slowly starting to believe that I will turn into yet another Aramco Android, otherwise known as Aramcons?

I cherish my creativity far too much to succumb to such a fate. So I took a few deep breaths, and left the elevator, and left that man, and that mezmerizing book that would change my fate.

A stab in the dark

2007-12-30T11:53:00.000Z

Under this orange sky
I struggle to write
I struggle to speak
With far too much to say

I miss writing.. and what I miss even more, is having the ability to write. As pretentious as this may sound, I used to like what I wrote, be it poetry or just a measly little passage. I used to enjoy writing it, and used to enjoy coming back to it after a while and muse upon it as if I have never seen it before.

Parts of the reason what I stopped writing is the lack of inspiring material. One would argue, but isn’t falling in love and getting married enough material? The sad truth is love has been an inspiration to a plethora of writers and poets, but it never sparked anything in me. I was/am/and inshallah always will be head over heels for Mrs. Froggy, but even when I tried to write something romantic it just lacked character. I could make it rhyme, and that is as far as I got. It used to get to me but then I realized I can only write when something is bothering me.

I tried writing a poem today. I failed miserably. The four lines at the top are the result of the better part of an hour. I don’t like them. But I kept them an inspiration I guess; Or as a starting point.

Is it wrong to like my own writings? Does it make me pompous or shallow even? Or does it just mean I am honest in my writings.

Chapter I

2007-04-17T07:28:00.000+01:00

"'Tisn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just IT. Some women'll stay in a man's memory if they once walked down a street." Rudyard Kipling

Passport....... Check
Tickets....... Check
Walkman....... Check
AA Batteries....... Check
Toothbrush........ Check
etc
etc

He was readier than he thought he was... He didn't mind that he wasn't going with his parents... He didn't even consider that he is going to miss them or not.. All he knew is that him and his brother were going to have the time of their lives... And to be honest, it was about time they let him travel alone, he wasn't a kid anymore... he was 13 years old, he was a teenager and wanted to be treated as such...

The ride to the airport went by very quickly as he gazed at at his city and just dreamt of being on that plane, leaving all this behind for a couple of months. As the car stopped he was the first one out running towards the entrance. "Froggy, come back here and help your dad with the luggage.. that's what old responsible boys do..".

At the counter they met with their on-flight gaurdians.. Froggy still failed to see why him and Faz needed a family to take care of them on the flight.. "This is Aunti Sam and she is a friend of your Aunt in Houston.. She will take care of you untill you arrive.."..

The tears were shed and goodbye were said accompanied by the "i miss you"'s and "i love you"'s... and they walked off: Froggy, Faz, Aunti Sam and her three daughters..

to be continued...

In pursuit of Greatness…

2007-04-03T13:12:00.000+01:00

We live most of our younger years dreaming of the day we go to college…

After that we start dreaming of graduating…

Then working for a big firm or company…

Some of us dream of marriage…

Some of us dream of further studies…

Some dream of their own café…

But some don’t dream at all…

Some don’t live… they just exist…

To be honest… why bother? Why just exist and not try to add value? I’m not talking about adding value to the world like Angelina Jolie or Princess D… I’m talking about even adding value to yourself…

We should always strive for something, or our existence will be flavourless…

Your definition of Greatness is down to your own interpretation… it differs from one person to another and that is what makes some shine more… if we were all equal none of us would be unique and none of us would lead…

We all need to set our own standards, and live by them… at the end of the day, as long as you are happy you shouldn’t care what everyone else thinks…

But what if your standards were too high… what if your dreams were too high… would you fight for them? Would you jump at every opportunity? Or just succumb and surrender?

How much should one sacrifice to be content with one’s self…?

P.S. for those of you who for some reason or another still check my blog… thanks… it was pretty damn comforting lol…

do you..

2007-03-28T23:34:00.000+01:00

Do you believe in new beginnings?

to infinity... and beyond

2006-12-18T18:45:00.000Z

i've missed this place..
i've missed you guys..
i've missed blogging in general..

i've been too busy to scratch my ear..
planning for my wedding, my life and everything in between..

the wedding is this thursday YYYAAAYYY!!!

i can't wait to start this new life...
i only hope that the habit of blogging does not die away due to the change..

much love,
the frog..

2006-11-21T08:21:00.000Z

i've been wanting to write about this subject for ages, but never went through with it... to be honest, its nothing major but its something i just have to say and hopefully (as usual will be very educational for me lool)..

i for one, and many other guys of my mentality (and please oh please don't ask me what i mean by my mentality, my blog should give u a vibe) find it very difficult to understand the concept of deidicating songs...

ok its different when you are saying "YOU hhaaaaave to hear this song, its sooo you.. or sooo nice.. or soo anything.."

i'm talking about the.. "7abeeby, i dedicate this song to you.."

i just find that it is not as intimate as it is intended by the dedicator.. as in, basically the girl wants to express her utter devotion, love, hate, happiness, lust etc.. towards the dedicatee.. but instead of doing it herself she chooses to find a song that says it for her... to me it loses everything.. its not special anymore.. specially when the dedications get out of hand, and there is always a dedication.. once in a blue moon is different, it has a special attribute..

to be honest i dedicated one song to mrs.froggy last valentine.. i wrote up the lyrics in a video montage (with pictures and videos and everything) that flashed up on the screen as the singer said the words (kind of like karoake, but more romantic)

not in the sense of blowing my own horn, but it just felt special.. it meant much more than another song on the radio..

[end note]

i say this in full awareness that:

lots of guys like it
lots of guys do it as well
i might have sounded very cold blooded and unromantic.. but i was just being honest..

i must stress the point that i never tell mrs.froggy something like this coz she really likes the whole dedication thing, so i respect that and i play along...

[end end note]

the reason i could never get myself to write this post.. is because it never felt right... girls are trying to be sweet and nice by doing this, and its not their fault that some of us don't like.. its ours.. so as an end note, maybe i should adjust.. and not her..

2006-11-13T04:33:00.000Z

i've been...

zoning out a lot lately..

i just find myself staring aimlessly at nothing..

...

you know...?

you know when...

you know when you take a day to look at your life and assess it? i like days like that. however, i find that i usually start focusing on the negative and have to think hard to be able to get back all the positive energy... times like these come when you are in a transitional phase, you find yourself thinking "so, am i going to be happier, or was i happy enough??" the problem with that question is that usually there isn't much to do about it..

for the record i'm very much ok.. well not really.. everything 7amdillah is good like i said before.. wife is great, house is getting there, etc etc..however, i recently realised i haven't stressed about getting married not even once, and i think this is me getting stressed out online because i don't want to show mrs.froggy that i'm stressed, she's got enough on her plate as it is, every other day a member of her family cries and its me to the rescue, telling them its ok, its natural to feel lost, its ok to feel scared of suddenly letting your daughter/sister go off with this strange man..

i already know what half of you people are going to comment:

"frogster, dude, chill man.. you should share your feelings.. thats what marriage is about.. each member helps the other one out.. there shouldn't be someone who is stronger than the other.."

as nice as that sounds.. i don't truly believe in it.. yes if i ever needed i heart to heart about ANYTHING in the world, i would run to her without blinking.. but when it comes to something like this, something that would make her freak out even more then i will just suck it up and run to blogger and speak to a couple of friends and have my little blurts..

i don't want anyone to think i am having doubts.. not at all, i cannot be more convinced that i want to spend the rest of my life with her.. and i hate doubting myself.. yes i am young, but there is no such thing as too young to get married (well yeah if you are like 16, but you get me)..

in a nut-shell.. i want to continue being her wall... i just don't want her to one day need to lean on me and find that i have crumbled as well... i don't want to put her through that...

i should probably say something to her and not leave her completely in the dark... but for once, i actually don't know how...

yours truthfully,

frog

2006-11-05T05:38:00.000Z

fellow bloggers... out of my love and devotion to you, i have found a way to beat the system... i have found a way to publish to my blog while being at work...

in case what i just said doesn't make sense to u... aramco blocks and firewalls everything making it very hard for you to access anything non-work related like blogger.. and while living in saudi i don't really have time to sit and blog *sniff sniff* it hurts me more than it hurts you...

anyhoo... i can't really read your comments till the weekend, so make it good... and please comment.. i need the moral support.. and i need to get back into blogging, its a habbit i don't want to you lose anytime soon..

so yeah... moving on... finally finally finallllly 7amdillah we are almost done with furnishing the apartment.. we found the 6agaga.. found a printing company for the cards and are almost all go go for the wedding.. mashallah mashallah mashallah tuff tuff tuff... yeah, my mom reads my blog at every full moon and asked me not to go into too much detail about my life to avoid 7asad, it was a looong discussion, but for her sake plz everyone who comments just say mashallah first then write your comment lol... don't get me wrong i believe in 7asad (the evil eye? heroine, help me out with translation lol) but i don't base my life around it...

anyhoo... so yeah, the closer we get to the wedding the more my beloved mrs.froggy gets nervous (bless her little cotton socks)... and all i need to do is give her a hug and say, do'nt worry, i don't bite... unless you ask me to..

moooving on...

now i will start with the topic that will hopefully start a nice debate... do women really want our opinion when they ask for it?

and i don't want a YES or NO answer.. please elaborate and be honest, because SERIOUSLY seriously lots of times you don't.. you only want our opinion if it goes hand in hand with yours.. i ask this because, i don't believe in lying to someone for convienience reasons, i will not agree to something just to shut her up.. if she asks what i think about the set of plates, i will say Yay or Nay..

next on the list: when we say "i don't know" sometimes, we actually don't know.. and want you to help us.. i go back to the picking cakes issue presenting earlier in july i guess.. i have NEVER seen a wedding cake so i have NO idea what to base my choice on.. and saying just pick something you like i would go to cheesecake factory and choose the chocolate fudge cake.. (ok i'm being unreasonable but seriously, level with us)

on an end note.. 7amdillah 7amdillah mashallah mashallah everything has gone pretty smoothly up till now and it feels great..

much love my friends..

much love those who check my blog and don't comment (you know who you are you person who is the cousin of my friend and who reads my blog with her fiance)

peace out

back to reality

2006-10-27T10:50:00.000+01:00

hellooo fellow bloggers.. i must apologize for the disappearing act.. buuuut it all happen so suddenly and it took me by surpirse.. yeah totally by surprise.. lol.. so yeah, i went to dubai with the wifey and her family and i took my sister along.. it was barrels and barrels of fun..

however i can't update right now.. coz i'm too sick and lazy.. yes from dubai i brought back with me two pairs of shoes, sunglasses and a cold.. so i'm not feeling to great about it all..

but overall.. it was a great experience 7amdillah..

i hope you all had a WONDERFUL eid... and have not caused too much damage on your credit cards like yours truly..

much love the frogster..

oh yeah.. thank you very much to al lthe lovely ladies who gave me suggestions for the EID gift for my dearest mother in law.. (it doesn't matter that some of you were late *cough* mystique *cough cough*)

i ended up getting her a nice box with assorted soaps, hand creams and lots of these random things you women like to use after you have your showers.. buuut i didn't think it was enough so i got her a VERY feminine and classy and nice sub7a (subha) my brain is failing me in translating what it is into english so sorry :)

its black and short, and is kind of shiny.. ok it sounds disgusting, but is very sexy.. so yeah.. :)

S-O-S

2006-10-20T09:04:00.000+01:00

People of the blogworld... lend me your ears... i am in need of some serious brain storming.. i need to buy my mother-in-law a gift for Eid.. and have no idea what to get..

i want it to be personal enough to show the effort, but not too personal so she thinks i'm an idiot..

she is a very elegant lady in her early 50's and owns a beauty saloon to give you the idea of her liking beauty related things.. and i want to be slightly inventive like i have in the past just to keep some kind of track record..

anyhoo.. ya'll have 9 hours from now.. its 2 p.m. GMT

tag tag tag tag tag tag tag :)

2006-10-13T08:06:00.000+01:00

Last birthday? seriously, this is a STUPID question, but i'll indulge Dec 16th
Last meal? three bowls of Kellog's Corn Pops :) I love cereals, they make me the man i am today
Last spending splurge? does buying my new car count? it did damage my credit card, he's not the same card he used to be :(
Last time you cried? three years ago after leaving ICU
Last career? same as the current one.. A to the R to the A to the M to the C to the O
Last website visited? www.fourseasons.com (honeymoon searching)
Last person you spoke to? Mrs. Froggy
Last song you listened to? Evanescence - Weight of the World and P.diddy
Last book you read? still reading Dave Eggars - You must know your velocity
Last TV show watched? House MD
Last person you IM’d? Potetozz my little brother, well he's not really little, but you know they will always be your "little" siblings
Last word you said? again, another stupid question.. and for that i'll write a stupid answer.. my lost word was "The".. i know it can't be the last word in a sentece but this is where i put my foot down..

I tag, the people who beetlejuice didn't tag coz she has nothing better to do with her time like STUDDDY.. lol.. anyhoo:
Perdu
Confused arab chick
My dear Heroine
Trevy levy boo bevy banana rama mo mevy fee fi fo fevy.. trevy
my home girls.. the chicas..
and anyone who reads my blog and feels the need to add this tag to their blog

much love.. the frog..

and.. breathe out..

2006-10-08T13:08:00.000+01:00

as some of you know, i am currently in Yanbu3 and not really loving the place..
for the past three weeks i've been driving to jeddah and back the next morning to enjoy having a life.. i love jeddah but can't live there..

FINALLY, my assignment here is coming to an end and INSHALAAAAAAAAALLAH i'll be going back to my mrs.froggy by the end of this week..

honeymoon planning is getting there but needs me to be there with her to finalize it.. i'm not really a true believer in surprise holidays.. suddenly telling her that we are going to whatever country on the way to the hotel.. it would be better if we both know what to pack and what you need and how much to take with you.. etc etc.. do you like to be surprised on your honeymoon?

dedication...
this goes out to Confused Arab Chick... darling i used your frame of mine of "on my wedding day all i will care about is the cake and the groom" on mrs.froggy when she was having a panick attack.. and it worked like a charm.. of course i took the credit for it at the time.. but i am thanking you on behalf of us both for helping mrs.froggy relax..

*takes a bow and takes off his top hate* yes i'm wearing a top hat in this dedication..

Goooing to the chapel and i'm.. gooonna get maarried

2006-10-03T10:34:00.000+01:00

[Disclaimer notice: this post might sound like a rant, but really isn’t]

Ok I think its time for me to write an actual post rather than try and express how I feel through free writing and poetry

So yeah.. this is my third week in Yanbu… and this assignment should finish next Tuesday (fingers crossed). This trip to yanbu has stolen me away from my life back in Dhahran, my blogging life, my mrs.froggy and has stolen the enjoyment of spending Ramadan with family.

Buuuut, as always I will survive, I will survive, as long as I know how to love I know I’ll stay alive, coz I’ve got all my life to live, and I’ve got all my love to give, I will survive, I will survive.. heeey heeey… I’m beginning to sound like a life insurance ad on TV I know..

On the brighter side of things, the wedding arrangements are falling into place, but here is the little conundrum: does the girl reaaaallly want my input or is it just the comforting feeling that I actually care that she is after?

To be fair, we really don’t have a clue how weddings should be, all our suggestions are bizarre and don’t make sense.. I want the wedding to be simple and so does she, but our perceptions of simplicity are OH so different..

Last week we were choosing the cakes and that went well after she got mad at me for not being interested enough where I was but I was failing to see the huge difference between some of the cakes, and in some instances I was just amazed at how so much detail goes into the cake alone so I would just be quiet and admire… she was ok after I swore to her 634 times that I was interested..

The checklist is as follows:
Book the hotel ……………………………………………………………………check
Find a dress ……………………………………………………………………. check
Choose the centre pieces ………………………………………………………… check
Choose the flowers ………………………………………………………………check
Choose the husband ……………………………………………………………….check
Find the dude/agency who is
doing to do all the arrangments
on the day, I believe they call him “the wedding planner”……………………. check
Invitation list……………………………………………………………………….Pending
Invitation cards …………………………………………………………………….Pending
Entertainment (6agaga) ……………………………………………………………Pending

This is the list to my knowledge.. just to show that I DO pay attention, I know whats happening, but me being far away isn’t really that helpful…

So 7amdillah, up till now I haven’t had cold feet or anything stupid like that… the butterflies in the stomach are there but they are kool, I like them, they can stay…

Bless mrs. Froggy’s cotton socks, every time we walk into the hotel and look at the stage where we should be sitting she gets goose bumps and a tummy ache… (the crowd goes AAAWWWW)

Much love,
The frogster

P.S. if anyone has any leads on to where we can resolve the pending items please feel free to help

Today..

2006-09-29T00:47:00.000+01:00

.. I met him
Today, I gloated..
Today, I looked him in the eye and smiled..
Today, I sat with him and made small talk..

I hated him
I despised his very existence
I loathed his wretched soul

He reeked with deception
He was full of treachery
He resembled deceit

Today I met him
and I made sure he knew
she was mine..

Today I met him..
and I shall gloat forever..
for forever started today..

in memory of one

2006-09-24T12:52:00.001+01:00

i write this for you..
i write it for me..
i write it for everyone who has ever loved..
for anyone who has ever dreamed..

i write it for missed laughs..
i write it for the forgotten memories..
and the mislead wishes..

i cry out for inspriration..
that has passed its life time

i cry out for the dreams..
that have lost their way

i shout out for the words..
that never left my lips

i call back the things..
i wish i never said

i scream for eternity..
begging it..
to give me another day

i leave this place..
wishing i was not the same

and i look down on it..
wishing its not the end..

Ramadan Kareem

2006-09-23T12:52:00.000+01:00

hope that you all have a great ramadan..

i for one will be in Yanbu for an aramco assignment for the best part of it.. should be interesting lol.. i'll try to update as much as i can my dear bloggers.. talk to ya'll soon..

talking to the walls

2006-09-18T13:55:00.001+01:00

have you ever wondered..
if life will ever stop throwing stuff at you..
if you will ever be content..

were you ever happy enough to stop comlpaining..
did you ever take a look around you..

why is human nature so hard to grasp..
so hard to understand..

i don't know where i am going with this...
its just that we weren't trained to deal with LIFE..
to deal with the REAL issues..

i'm not even talking about problems, or troublesome times..
i'm just talking about life in general..
the job..
wife..
kids..
car..
the...
the...
the...

the list goes on and on..

and so does life.. and it might leave you behind if you don't catch up..

at some point in your life you will find that you can't depend on anyone else to get you out of trouble...
maybe its pride.. maybe its logistics.. maybe its luck.. and maybe its you..

accept the help you are offered..
ask for it when it is needed..
and let pride be damned..

curiousity killed the cat.. or so they say..

2006-09-01T18:25:00.000+01:00

ok.. so i just woke up from a 20 min cat-nap that was interrupted by the sounds of EXTREMELY loud music... and no, it wasn't the neighbours having a crazy party at 8 pm..

my lovely mother decide to entertain the kids (my little cousins ages 3.5, 5, 5 and 9) by starting a little dance competition.. so it was a bit surreal waking up to the only boy in the group attempting to break dance to guitara's "ya ghali".. it was cute nonetheless..

the cutest thing about kids is their ignorance to how difficult life really is.. to them is really is a walk in the park and they always assume it will always stay like that.. for instance, the eldest of the group as i was driving them to our house was talking to her baby brothers and sisters telling her about how when she gets married she wants to tell her husband to take her to australia and take her on this virtual reality ride she went on last year and that she will take their son Yousif with them (i love how he already has a name lol) and she talked about soooo many little minute details and you could sense in her voice that she truly believed that this is EXACTLY how the trip will go..

just listening to her and comparing her thoughts of a perfect holiday with her hubby and me planning my honeymoon just made me laugh at how innocent and ignorant we all start off.. i suppose its a blessing...

and as they say.. ignorance is bliss..

much love,
the frog

Marco... Polo

2006-08-24T10:21:00.000+01:00

finally.. i'm back to reality.. back to civilization.. for i have thrown all across our beloved kingdom.. over the past two weeks the beloved aramco has sent me to: Yanbu, Tabuk, Shadgum and Duba.. it was hectic, buuut i managed to survive without internet and good restaurants..

so i am still here.. and i shall update very soon.. i have no idea what to write now.. so just wanted to you all to rest assured i'm still gonna update.. really soon :)

pickaboo.. i see you!!

2006-08-16T23:33:00.000+01:00

ok.. people of the blog world.. i am writing this blog to sencerely apologize for the amazing disappearing act i conducted very well.. lets just say i got lost..

well as the lovely QC has commented.. i got married and vanished.. very untrue.. the real reason behind my vanishing is the NEW JOB WOOHOOO!!! i am currently working for ARAMCO.. typical you might think but its a good job that secures your life.. you'll be fine if you left the door open for better oppotunities to come along the way, unlike every other aramco employee who thinks he has found the lost treasure of atlantis once he has joined the company..

i won't go into the details of the job to keep the very little fans i have left still interested in this space :-D

i would love nothing more to update my blog from work, seeing that i just started and have hardly any work.. buuuuut aramco have this website blocked to avoid it distracting the employees.. (as IF that would happen)

so yeah.. i spent the fist week on the job wasting time.. oh yeah.. i forgot to mention the most important part.. MRS. FROGGY WORKS IN THE SAME BUILDING AS ME :) YAAAY!!! so yeah.. i basically spent more time in her office than mine..

however, the second week of work wasn't as heavenly.. i was sent to Yanbu on a 3 day assignment and i survived the nothingness that is Yanbu... afterwards (yesterday and today) i went to the city of lost hopes and forgotten names, Shedgum.. yes i know what your thinking.. Shed-WHAT??

i am going to Deba next week.. don't ask me where it is plz.. let us stay friends..

mrs. froggy is going to NY next week for two weeks.. its good and bad.. its good coz a little bit of space can do wonders to a relationship.. but bad coz i've gotten used to seeing her everyday.. so i'm really gonna miss that foxy lady of mine..

i was at the denstist today and she was finishing up two root-canals and was about to start a third one when i begged and pleaded that we stop for the day.. so i'm in pain and hating it..

i hope i still have some of you avid readers still checking this blog..

much love.. the full fleged employee frog

chicken soup for the froggy's soul

2006-07-23T11:48:00.000+01:00

so yeah... i think its about time i updated this thing.. life has just been a bit hectic since the return of our beloved war hero Faz (my bro).. and i didn't feel like updating about my petty worries when everytime you watch the news you hear that someone else has lost their life.. such a shame..

so yeah.. for the past month my life has been revolving around two main thing:
a)i've been helping my dad out by doing all the governmental work needed for the company.. just for EVERYONE'S sake, i won't go into that and into how EXTREMELY stupid and unreliable all those stupid employees are.. and this is me not mentioning the God complex they all suffer from..

b) i pick mrs.froggy up from work and we have lunch then shop and run errands and stuff till i take her back to her sisters house.

and repeat..

the former requires me to wake up at 6 or 7 or 8 depending on the place i'm going to.. and the latter required me to stay up till 12-1.. so after four weeks of very very VERY little sleep.. my system decided to "give me the finger" (excuse my french).. i woke up on thursday with a slight fever and feeling like absolute shit.. so i didn't see my mrs for the entire weekend (heartbreaking, i know)... but we survived hehe.. to be fair we needed the space.. and i needed the rest..

so i spent thursday, friday and saturday on the couch watching movies, playing PS2 and talking to whomever decided to pass by.. i only got out of the couch to pray.. i even ate laying down..

lots of chicken soup and tea and water did the job.. and now i'm back to life..

i should start my proper job next week inshallah and i just recieved the very bad news that the promised housing projects we were to recieve a few months from now are not going to be ready for another two years.. which means i'm screwed..

yours truly had all his hope on living inside the camp of aramco.. and based his entire financial plan on that.. and now the frogman needs to go house shopping.. and he needs to redraft his entire plan.. and i don't wanna ask my dad for cash.. i'm too proud.. DAMN YOU PRIDE.. DAMN YOU ALL THE WAY TO HELL..

whooo.. ok now i got that off my chest i can go back to being the merry go happy perosn that i usually am..

much love fellow bloggers.. sorry bout the boring post.. and to compensate.. i'll give you a little story..

Me and Faz were picking mrs.froggy up and as we waited in the car i was scrolling through the songs and what song came on??

[organ playing in the background]
man: Hi barbie!!
woman: HI KEN
man: you wanna go for a ride?
woman: sure ken
man: jump in

i'm a barbie girl
ina barbie woooorld
life in plastic
its fantastic
you can brush my hair
undress me everywheeeeeeere (she's a bit too easy?!)
imagination life is your creation

i'm a blonde little girl
in a faaaantasy world
pick me up
tie me up i'm your darling (i don't know ALLL the lyrics, gimme a break)

man:
your my doll
rock and roll (yeah coz that makes lots of sense)
feel the glamour and pain
something something something something
hanky panky..

ok so you get the idea.. anyhoo.. so we waited till she go in the car then pressed play and acted oh so nonchallantly.. you know, just nodding along like you would to any other song..

the poor thing didn't know ohw to react but i'm sure jumping out of the moving car was the easiest of the options after smashing my head across the window and using my face to brake the car into a halt..

its was funny at the time.. ok.. we couldn't hold it in for too long so we suddenly started laughing.. she was genuinly scared that i actually liked the song..

anyhoo.. peace out..

Home sweet home..

2006-07-17T22:56:00.000+01:00

first of all i want to thank all you lovely fellow bloggers out there who took the time of day to check my blog and actually comment.. 7amdillah 7amdillah my bro just got home today safe and sound.. i hope all you're loved ones are back and are unharmed..

to all those new visitors on my blog.. hiiiiii *waves furiously*.. my blog isn't usually this gloomy and for that i apologize, but one can't help it when he sees so much unnecessary distruction aimed at his fellow arabs and muslims..

anyhoo.. my bro is back and my spirits are back.. i'm still pretty pissed off about this whole situation but at least i'm not feeling as back as before.. 7amdillah 3la kol 7al..

Beirut

2006-07-14T12:37:00.000+01:00

ok.. so i know that everyone reading this blog probably has someone they know or care about that is stuck in lebanon right about now.. my baby bro is there with his friends and they are as we speak attempting to drive to syria... this blog just goes out to all you people out there who are in the same situation.. inshallah everyone makes it out safely and that everyone is back with their family asap..

to tag or not to tag.. that is the question..

2006-07-11T22:07:00.000+01:00

tag i'm it.. i've been tagged by the one, the only.. the amazing she's no herione.. a round of applause please.. *AND THE CROWD GOES WIIIILD*

not in any sense of competition mrs.no-herione... but i believe I am the last one to do this lol.. and i must warn you all i'm crap at all this tag stuff.. but here goes nothing:

I love numbers
I love chocolate, lemon, labnah and milk
I have an answer for everthing. I only say i don't know if I SERIOUSLY don't know ANYTHING about the subject.. i'm a smart-ass basically..
I'm a geek at heart.. not a nerd.. a geek.. there is a HUGE difference
I love BIG words.. i spend lots of time on www.dictionary.com
I hate being stabbed in the back.. seriously, shoot me in the knee but don't stab in me the back
I don't believe in the concept of "best friends", i believe in having lots of friends whom are classified as good bad, close and really close..
I'm seriously addicted to blogs and blogging..
I had a near death experience 3 years ago that changed me dramatically.. and i am finally ok to talk about it freely :-)
I never cry.. not in a "I am a block of testosterone" sense, more of a "I know i should be crying now.. but i just can't"
I'm a people pleaser
I'm a terrible liar.. i really suck at it.. i can't even tell a little white lie..
I love writing what i call peotry but probably isn't.. and i love getting feedback, whether its good or bad..
I'm extremely analytical..
I LOOOOVE mrs.froggy.. she really is everything i could have wished for..
I hate transitional phases..
I love dancing, you should see me in a club.. and i do sing when i'm alone in the car, at the top of my voice i must add.. not in the shower sadly enough.. the walls have ears you know..
I'm not great with keeping in touch
I'm addicted to Basketball.. Basketball is my life.. after mrs.froggy of course ;-)
I daydream A LOT..

seeing that everyone in the blog world has already been tagged.. then i will tag no one.. hehe..

a little bowl of random

2006-07-08T14:40:00.000+01:00

** so yeah.. today i tried the stupid new "close up" toothpaste.. the one with that stupid guy with his stupid hairdo and his stupid sister in that stupid bathroom continuously brushing their teeth.. you know the stupid ad i'm talking about?? anyhoo.. i tried the fruity-licious or flavourishous one.. i don't know what its called but its supposed to be tropical.. it tasted like an eggplant toothpaste with a dash of cumin, sugar and pineapple.. it was the worse thing i have ever tried.. so plz don't.. i warn you..

** today i witnessed a guy getting arrested for the possesion of drugs.. it was a bizzare experience.. i was their just casually waiting for my papers to finish when the head manager dude asked me to leave his office for a minute.. and i overheard him explaining the "plan" to the team.. ya la6eef ya la6eef allah yikfeena al-shar (may god keep such horrible things away from us)
(all the translations on my blog are just for the lovely QC.. for you are the only non-arab reader i have :-) )

** i went to see my in-laws on friday and had lunch in their house.. hehe.. i have in-laws now.. and what was going on their was not sibling rivalry.. it was son-in-law rivalry.. for you see.. we have mrs.froggy's older sister, whom we shall call condaleza for the moment.. and we have her husband whom we shall call vladimir.. (don't try to crack my nickname codes) you see condaleza keeps trying to prove that the spotlight is still on her hubby.. and i am not the eaisest opponant for i'm pretty competetive.. hehe.. so yeah that was fun.. specially when they asked him for help to fix her dad's (daddy K) computer and he TOTALLY messed it up (EVIL LAUGH) i went down and fixed it.. well kinda.. but anyhoo.. i was victorious.. *thunder.. thunder.. thunder frogs whooaaaaaa* *the thunder frogs are on the move.. thunder frogs are go.. something something feel the groove.. thunder frogs are go..**guitar solo 13 seconds**thunder thunder thunder thunder frogs.. thunder thunder thunder frogs*
(sorry bout this thundercat from the dynamic alwayzwasted dou)

** dum dum dum.. dum.. dum dum dum.. dum.. dum dum dum... dum.. dum dum dum.. dum.. *continues in the background throughout the song*
when the night.. has come..
and the land is dark..
and the mooon..
is the only.. light we see..

no i won't.. be afraid..
no iiiiiiii won't.. be afraid..
just as loooong.. as you stand.. stand by meee
so darling darling stand.. byyyy me...
oooooh stand.. by meee...
oh stand now...
stand by me..
stand by me...

ok i think you get the idea how bored i am..
peace out my fellow bloggers..