Weekend in the field...

Thursday morning started @ 6.30 by being at the domestic flight terminal in the airport as I was heading into the field. A room 5 by 9m holding approx. 50+ pple at least each with their luggage suspended over their heads by their arms, as they all pushed, sweated, shouted incoherently at the security folks who decided to turn off their X-Ray machine, and not allow pple in. It was a bad morning beginning, took me half an hour to get into the building. Checkin was a quick hello to the Airops folks, collecting a paper ticket, and then cross round to the waiting hall. To my surprise there was a 30" LG Plasma screen in the waiting hall. True, it simply hung there against the wall, without any wires to it or from it, in a hall where clearly it was the most expensive article installed in the building, but it was nice. I'd pay more for it than the X-Ray machine.
About an hour later of waiting in the hall, we were taken in a bus to the Aircrafts parking area, where we had to identify our luggage to be placed on our plane.
Flying a BeechCraft, 19 seater plane to the West, took us approx. 2.30hr of direct flying till we reached our destination. 19 Seater airplanes are the biggest planes you can have without being required to have cabin crew. The BC has two turbo engines, each fixed on a wing, and carrying its fuel within its fuel. small isle, with 1 seat on each side. leg room is very very little, and no overhead compartments, oxygen masks are to the side of the cabin, with 3 exits...

Is just outside our Office in the field, and

Is our shopping supermarket (aka. dukaneh),,,with the large number of ex-pats in the area, the local market has flourished....

And this is output after shopping in the market,,,

20 minute dinner...

The night before heading into the field for the weekend; over at a friend's place without a single thought of what to have for dinner. While Melody, Rotana, and Rotana clip were the choice of channels for Arabic 101 course, in educating me with the new Arabic Pop music.

Some lingering steak were found in the freezer, to be cooked, along with Pasta with mushroom sauce. Naturally dinning was elevated to a laugh with Fares Karam's - Tanoura...Ya gotta love the arabic lyrics to this catchy song,,,- and the girls, just eye candy...

Universal Coffee...

An Italian place here in the city, 5 minutes walking from my current residence, great for coffee, Gelato, pizza, pasta, light sandwiches and a couple of dishes. Their salads are not bad either.

The experience of sitting @ U.C. is what makes it most appealing to the ex-pats in the city. The place used to be a house, with a garden; whereby the building part now holds a gallery of artwork, that changes every once in a while.

On the side, children's artwork can be seen, speaking of the peace setting into the country, and what they hope for. All tables are set out in the garden, that hold a great appeal in its simplicity of dispersal. Around lunch time from November through to May, people would come and enjoy the shade, while reading a book and a coffee. A setting so mind-transporting from this country, that it eases your stress and relaxes...

Fresh juice,,,,,,

What to do in an evening that appears to be going no-where except for an in-between walk from the market and the apartment...

...So, a good squeeze to some Oranges and Grape fruit would give the following result....what a wonderful taste of refreshment...More O & G followed,,,

a feeling in the head...

the point of living and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come...

Microsoft + Tomatoes

A jobless man applied for the position of "office boy" at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. "You are employed" he said."Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start. The man replied "But I don't have a computer, neither an email."I'm sorry", said the HR manager,"If you don't have an email, that means you do not exist. And who doesn't exist, cannot have the job.The man left with no hope at all.

He didn't know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy a 10 Kg tomato crate. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60. The man realized that he can survive by this way, and started to go everyday earlier, and return late Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day.Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. 5 years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.

He started to plan his family's future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. When the conversation was concluded,the broker asked him his email. The man replied, "I don't have an email". The broker answered curiously, "You don't have an email, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?!!"The man thought for a while and replied, "Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!"

Moral of the story:

1) Internet is not the solution to your life.
2) If you don't have internet, and work hard, you can be a millionaire.
3) If you received this message by email, you are closer to being an office boy, than a millionaire...

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything that comes along their way.

21st & 22nd October

Unspoken, just press play

A hundred days have made me older, since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lives have made me colder and I don't think I can look at this the same
But all the miles that separate
They disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you, but you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you, and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby, but you're still with me in my dreams

I didn't hear you leave,
I wonder how am I still here
I don't want to move a thing,
It might change my memory

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be,
And I don't want to go home right now.

I just don't want to miss you tonight.

You've got your ball
you've got your chain
Tied to me tight tie me up again
Who's got their claws
in you my friend
Into your heart I'll beat again
Sweet like candy to my soul
Sweet you rock
and sweet you roll
Lost for you I'm so lost for you
You come crash into me
And I come into you,
I come into you
In a boys dream
In a boys dream

Touch your lips just so I know
In your eyes, love, it glows so
I'm bare-boned and crazy for you
..........
If I've gone overboard
Then I'm begging you
to forgive me
In my haste
When I'm holding you so girl...
close to me

Since the moment I spotted you
Like walking 'round with little wings on my shoes
My stomach's filled with the butterflies
And it's alright
Bouncing round from cloud to cloud
I got the feelin' like I'm never gonna come down
If I said I didn't like it then you know I'd lied

When's this fever gonna break ?
I think I've handled more than any man can take
I'm like a love-sick puppy chasing you around

Walking home broken and bashed, - blood shot red eyes with salty water tearing its way down,,,,

Não fique triste
quando eu me apagar
vais partir da vida escura
veja a lua
veja a lua subindo
tomando o seu lugar
ondas de tristeza
para apre..
para apreciar

e assim um dia,
uma novela de paz
uma tempestade que trata as dores
não despede um futuro
que ainda pode ser
os olhos no escuro
ainda podem
ainda podem ver

The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

If you haven't read this book, - take a walk over to your local book store, and look it up. Available at Prime-Megastore in a collector's edition I've seen. I'm sure other book-stores are bound to stock the book.

The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

Please pick up a hardcopy of the book, reading it online makes it cold & distant. To physically be flipping the pages of the book while reading makes a difference, and there are illustrations as well in the book by the author.

The book simply speaks of advise on to how to lead/live life, and try to give meaning as such...

Men - Women, prone to change...

Just a quick thought, - I always hear that

Men marry Women because they don't expect them to change, and Women always marry Men expecting they can change them.


Neither of them are disillusioned in their thoughts. Men change according to their pace and what they want, seek. Women change according to their pace and what they want, seek. It's just a matter of finding the harmony in this change, or the path of the change, that if the pair are happy with it, GOOD, if not, Trouble in the horizon.

From a tuna salad thought...

Heading home today from the office, just before iftar, taking my greatest joy in commuting, a Rakshah in the empty streets of the city. The sunset, magnificant, if only I'd remembered to carry a camera. Another day forsure, - from a rooftop it'll be captured. - I was thinking just making a simple tuna salad for Iftar, a light breakfast after a few days of dining outside. Going up the stairs to my current apartment, the aroma of food filling up the hall-way.

GOD bless'em, my flat mates were cooking again, - Egg fried rice, with veggies, steak / tomatoe, and gravy mushroom sauce, prawn crackers fried up as well. Besides the usual lettuce salad, and a strangely odd dinner left-over of some fish that I missed out on earlier. See to the left for an insight....

My contributation to the evening, Saint-Germain des Prés Café 6: The Finest nu-Jazz Compilation & Alicia Keys - Diary of Alicia Keys. Besides the ambience, I was washing up the dishes and pottery, while earl grey tea was being made.....

Bad Chinese Experience...

It's 6.20pm of Thursday the 13th, and iftor was going to be in 20minutes, - we're stuck without a thought of where to eat!!! And, it dawns to try out this new chinese place in town, called...

Mr. Wang's, Consisting of 3 rooms, and a corridor for serving, an additional kitchen room, and two restrooms available. 1 big room with 6 tables each can serve 4 people, while two other secluded rooms inside, capable of serving about 6 - 10 people or perhaps 12. All of which besides the point of this entry, which I haven't yet decided what the story is about besides rambling....
We ordered Chilli crisped chicken pieces, along with shell fried shrimps, steamed rice, and egg fried rice, for a main course and steamed dumblings along with veggie spring rolls for appitizers.The portions were nicely BIG, and spring rolls were made from rolled scrambled eggs.

It took them approx half an hour to serve the appetizers, and then another 45mins to bring out the main dishes each seperated by 10 minutes of waiting. Suffice to say in a phrase, the food was exceptionally greasy, unlikely we're to set foot into it again. Though the place did hold excitment, as it was amiable to the working class of Chinese (those in construction) in town, it was becoming rowdy with the crowds inside, as they cheered, bantered, and joked, while chugging their drinks. A fun place it is for them, and we're betting, they've got a gambling thing going inside!

Well, why not...

People gotta live, gotta have some joy, some change of weather in their heads, - have an Italian Ice-Cream,,,why don't you! This is my second posting on this matter, - what to do,,,sweet tooth for an unclassified pleasure on earth...
Tutti Fruiti,,,
The parlor, has got two tables inside with stools round for those wishing to sit in the air-conditioned ambiance of chill-out RnB,,,outside a small gardon with a couple of seat benches, - great for the evening, when the weather is cool...

Alternatively, - there's another parlor, called Cozone I think, frozen youghurt ice-cream place, amazing, especailly their cookies & cream,,,,taking a drive on Africa road you're bound to bump into it...

Or, or, or, There's always the Universal Coffee House, great for coffee's, and food, - pretty chilled out house with paintings made by the owner's wife. Will write more about the place with pictures as I head over there sometime this week perhaps.....

I miss my town, my villages, and planets...

Morning of 11 October 2005

An iPod playing with shuffle mode, strangely played this tune in the morning,,,

Seether Broken

I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

.....‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome
And I don’t feel right when you're gone away
You're gone away and you dont feel me here, anymore....

the accoustic version of it,,,- so far the day has been wired!!! Not a good choice to wake up too...- the jukebox should've been playing something like,,,I can't stop thinking about you, by Deja Vu (the dance track),,,if the jukebox had aimed to soften the morning...

Anyhow, on a lighter note, finished a full medical checkup today, declared fit as a fiddle and employable for the next 5 years without a problem. :D

8 days....

6th day of Ramadan, and a Portugese friend comes into town for a visit, and some interviews. We decide to cook for Iftoor, 2nd time so far in this month, and for a thought of food, we had to pick some items from the grocery store down the road.
A good Wok would've been ideal for this, but, we were in a hurry, - just under an hour to break our fasting,,,,,,at least mine, and my Indonsian flat-mate. So, a regular sauce pan will have to do, - the Wok is kept for bigger feasts & getting fire into the food...
Pasta with fried shrimps was the main course, with a simple salad on the side...,,,,yummy, fried shrimp with bouillon, some chilli, sprinkle of black pepper, and as we had forgotten the cream, milk had to do...- once that's done, add to it the pasta, and mix a bit before serving. Interesting taste, the shrimp absorbed the sauce pretty well, - it crisped just barely, and held a little spice from the chilli at the end of it's taste, if you were to have shrimp piece by itself. A good crowd of company, comparing notes for a holiday destination perhaps upcoming 2006...and naturally myself promoting Jordan, from Irbidita to agabawy....

My apologies for the lack of photo's for this meal,,,we were starved, and pretty much the pasta finished by the time we left the dining table...

(btw, the luxury by which we sometimes dine is curtsy of the fact that I'm currently in the Capital).

Music playing for dining, was the Album, Ambient Lounge 2

Diplomat Vs Woman

Heard this earlier today, gives a twist to things,,,,

When you approach a woman for something, if she were to say a NO, it would mean Maybe, if she were to say Maybe, then that would mean a Yes, and if she said Yes, means don't bother. Should you approach a diplomat for something, and he answers, Yes it would mean Maybe, and Maybe would mean Unlikely, and No you'd never hear, cause then he wouldn't be a diplomat.

Although this gave a laugh, naturally, there's heaps of situations where the above would not even remotely approach being applicable.

Commuting...

As I'm currently in the capital, I get to enjoy the wonders of commuting in public transportation here...today, I had decided to take the wonderful Rakshah (aka, Tuk-Tuk).


You can check out the ">Indian Tuk-Tuk. The picture to the left, is the Raksheh I had taken a couple of days ago to the market. The maximum speed of it I believe is around 40Km/h, a very cool ride. Highly recommended for travellers into Asia or Africa. Last night, had been out in town, went across the river into the neighbouring town of ______ in Greater __________; had taken whats called an Amjaaad (aka, micro bus in blue or white). Also cheap for commuting. Taxi's aren't bad either, but the Amjaaad is far better. As the days roll by, I'll try to get some pictures to give a feel of the ride...

The blower's daughter - Damien Rice

If you haven't heard this, - stop the moment, and Press Play

...........
    Most of the time
        And so it is
    The colder water
        The blower's daughter
    The pupil in denial

    I can't take my eyes off of you
        I can't take my eyes off you
    .............
    I can't take my mind off of you
        I can't take my mind off you

From the sound track of Closer, - a Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Natelie Portman brilliant film about a possibility of life....

Classic of Jordan

3 days...

So I arrived in east Africa on Sunday, plane landing just before dawn in this land of difference. It's been a couple of days since my last entry I know, - time taken to accustom my frame of mind to this world.
Last night had went out to Beatles, a brilliant spot for good food, and an arghelih,,,,- had their Margarita Pizza, which came topped with heaps of green peppers, sausages, and cheese, (no tomatoe sauce). I was inclined for their Viagra Pizza, constituents of seafood sounding interesting, but the name, oooh, the name, I could only avoid for the time being, after Ramadan to experiment forsure. So the place for a change in ambience had a gig of 4 guys doing standup comedy together. It was a good laugh, - as one person would be saying a joke, the other 3 would be making sounds or throwing in a couple of words to fill in the blanks for the joke to be good. They sang, they danced, all in harmony and matching costumes,,,,they even did impersnations for TV-characters,,,,,,

Ramadan Kareem people. Today is the first day of Ramadan.
Work was officially from 9am till 3pm, but without a thought, stepping into the office at 8 was just natural,,,,,,left work a bit early to head home and cook with some flat-mates...- lamb chops, samosa, sauges, rice and a salad for the side will be our first break-fast for Ramadan. Nations of the world, - indonesian, Dutch, and another European country that I can't remember for break-fast is the crowd....

And the music for the evening was Jack Jonson - in between dreams (simple guitar & a voice) and, Cafe del Mar 25th Anniversary.

Breakfast ideas - Saturday morning

The BakeHouse

Can someone give this place a try, and give us some feedback on it. Rumour has it while driving round town with a friend, that the BakeHouse close to 1st circle has pan-cakes, waffles, etc...kinda thing for breakfast. Unfortunately, I was only introduced to it yesterday visually after a Jara Market visit,,,and today was just too hectic to grab a bite...

And to get to the place, as driving from 1st circle down rainbow road, - passed the British Council, onwards, you'll see an inviting left turn, really biig,,,ignore it, and take the right there (bunch of shops start appearing on your right hand if you were to continue down rainbow), - then another right, and park your car. It's The BakeHouse.

Morning frame of mind...

Although there are other thoughts muddling in my head and things happened, when free time allows, I'll publish,,,- for the time being, this is my entry for the thought lingering in my head over the passed few days. My frame of mind is playing,,,

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And, it's simply Coldplay playing from Fix You from their last album, X & Y