Nash Blog

Nash is Back

2009-11-22T10:26:00.000Z

My Dear Friends,

Just to let you know am now back.

I have so many people to thank during the time I was blogging. I apologise to have just disappeared, but I am now back, and I am here to stay.

Bye Bye London - Happy Xmas, Eid, and New Year

2006-12-18T06:36:00.000Z

There comes a time in a person's life that one has to make a long term decision.

This time has come for me, having lived in this country for some time now, I have decided its time to take a detuor.

I made the decision a few weeks back. I have decided to leave UK and head back to Oman.

I do not have a job lined up yet. I thought I will relax and take it easy for a few months before deciding what my next step will be.

I have enjoyed living in this country, travelled extensively and met a lot of exciting people from all over the world. I made friends with a lot of people from Oman whon I would naver have met or even and got close to. I also benefited from working here while noting a big cultural difference that exists between us.

There are a lot of things I am going to miss here but then again I am sure I can make them up with alternate things in Oman.

Lifestyle between the two countries is totally different. Some of my friends tell me I can maintain the same lifestyle when I go back, but I would prefer to live the Omani lifestyle. I am a highly social person and this is one of the things I miss here, that I need to make up in Oman.

I have a lot of relatives many of whom I havent seen in ages, and this is one thing I need to do, is catch up with them.

I would like to thank all my regular readers for having patience and loyalty on my irregular posts.

I am working towards becoming a better blogger for 2007, and this can only be achieved with your constant support.

I will go away on holiday to be back in Oman in time for Eid.

So to everyone here, Merry Christmas, Eid Mubarak and Happy New Year oxoxox

Dental Visits - Say no more

2006-11-22T12:35:00.000Z

What would you think of me if I told you I enjoy dental visits, if I said that I actually look forward to see my dentist. You probably might rank me high among the sadists.

The truth is, I have always hated going to dentists. The idea of me getting strapped to that chair, having needles shot inside my mouth, having dentists talk to me while my mouth is full of dental instruments and I cant talk back. What about those dentists who talk to their assistants while working away on your mouth as if you dont exists. These people just get on my nerve. I dont really have problem with drills, or a piercing pain once every few seconds, I can deal with that. The way I see it, better endure pain in the hands of a professional (yea right) than ending up living day in day out with toothaches.

The other thing I have noticed is, dentists love extraction, any discomfort they get working on your teeth, the first suggestion is: Hmmm, no matter what I do, this will give you trouble in a few months. As for me, if I go to a dentist with a particular problem, the first thing I say is, do whatever you want, but do not extract my tooth. Some dentists are not happy with this approach and spend a lifetime trying to explain why this tooth should go.

Some of the people I know would stick to the same dentist in their lifetime. I have learned not to trust these cash vampires, so I usually switch between dentists all the time. If I am not happy with one dentist, I just move on to a different one. Anyone who lives in UK will tell you how difficult this is. But I take my chances.

Well, my recent visit to the dentist has changed all this. The dentist was a professional and a charming young lady. She was talking continuously while working on me. After taking my x-ray she spent almost an hour going over it, which I learned a lot in the process. After that, she took a piece of cotton and massaged my gum, she then stuck a needle which I did not at all feel the pain. All the time she did her work there was no pain at all. She kept asking me a number of questions and she knew I cannot answer. Then she told me not to worry, just remember all these questions and answer them during the break. If I showed a slight sign of discomfort, both herself and her assistant would genuinely aplologise an avoid doing that again.

To top it all, once finished, she gave me her mobile number and email address, and she told me if I felt any pain at all I should contact her.

I admire this lady for so many reasons, one: professionalism, despite of accentricity, she is a professional, and very thorough in her job, she uses the latest technology in her work, which includes digital x-ray and all other stuff.

two: She looks after the patient's interest. Even though she is there to make money, but she explains the problem thoroughly and suggests if it was too costly I could do it elsewhere.

three: she is kind. She makes sure that you endure no pain at all during the process, she will go out of her way not to cause pain.

Having said all that, she is very very expensive. I would prefer to do my dental work in my homeland.

Belated Eid Mubarak, How to Handle Greetings

2006-10-26T14:48:00.000Z

On this day of Eid, wishing all my wonderful readers happiness and the heartiest thoughts today and throughout the year.

As we all know, this is the time where we exchange greetings with our loved ones and the ones we care for.

Long ago, people used to send greetings cards (I am sure some do, even today). Now, I just love greeting cards, for many reasons, for one, once I receive the card, I imagine what that person has gone through for the card to reach me. Lets walk through the steps: 1. He must have gone to a stationary shop, selected a card especially for me. 2. Gone home, sat down and thought what to write, so I know those words are meant for me. 3. Gone to the post office and mail the card. And 4, my fav, the card was written in a person's own handwriting, now thats what makes it special, nothing tops that. The thing is, a lot of people stopped sending cards, they found you have to write so many cards, takes up a lot of time, plus the cards were getting costly, and yes, the postal charges are quite high, so cards became things of the past.

Then came emails, you just select your contacts, write a message once, press send, its gone in seconds. It later turned out, some people stopped using their emails, bec of too many forwards and junk mails. Also, during holidays people dont check their emails, so you get greetings after holiday, too bad eh?

What now? Well, its the little beast called SMS. With SMS, you wait until the first person sends you a msg, then forward it to everyone on your list except the first person. Then wait a few mins for someone else to send, and forward to the first victim. Now whats so bad about that. Nothing bad at all. Did anyone ever wonder where the first person got his sms from? I always do.

The thing is, all we do is forward some well written piece to the contacts list. OK, it makes me happy to receive the well written note, but where is the personal touch, for me, I am a very sentimental person. I love to see personal touch in there, but I guess those days are gone.

I wonder what is next...

Happiness

2006-10-15T09:47:00.000Z

A man went to a shrink to complain that he was not happy, always feeeling depressed, not a happy moment in his life,

he was on the brink of suicide. After a long session with lots of convincing and lots of give and take, the shrink

finally said, as a first suggestion, why dont you go out a lot, for example, why dont you go to fifth ave, there is a

clown who performs there, the guy is so funny, there is always large crowds, and this will help ease your worry. So

the patient goes: But doctor, you dont understant, I am that clown.

Most of us are not able to define what happiness is. Just because someone smiles, it doesn't mean they are actually

happy. What about happiness on a child's face when receiving her new toy, or a kiss from her mom, now thats

priceless.

So what actually makes us happy? Is it the money? Then why do we see rich people get into depression? Is it the fame?

Well, I am sure you have heard of the number of holywood icons with all these manic depressions. Is it the success?

Japan, the most successul nations, has one of the highest suicide rate. How about being in love, ask any lover and

they will tell you how love has tortured them. Marriage, well, if marriage makes us happy there wont be divorces.

Most of us work so hard to find happiness without realising what we are going through can only make us miserables. In

the west, it is quite the norm for a person to have his/her own fitness trainer, doctor, lawyer, and yes, a personal

shrink. In order to afford one, you have to be working yourself day in, day out.

"I love to walk in the rain, that way nobody can see my teardrops", Charlie Chaplin, who made millions laugh with his

silent movies was the most depressed person of his time.

The way I look at it, we can be happy by learning to appreciate little things in life. By being satisfied on what we

do, by competing with ourselves and cooperating with others. Life is like crossing the ocean, at times you get strong

winds, so you fight hard to survive, at other times its smooth sailing, time to enjoy.

My definition of happiness is about managing expectation. So we feel happy when expectation meets reality. When these two do not match, thats where problems start to occur. So a wife who expects so much from her husband, and in reality gets less, starts losing confidence in marriage, because that is not the marriage vows she got into the first place. So, we always feel contented when our expectations are met. We will feel more contented if we know how to manage our expectation, and not make them high, for example.

Ramadhan Kareem

2006-09-28T14:40:00.000Z

OK, I know its already the fifth of Ramadhan, but I guess its not too late to wish all my readers happy and healthy Ramadhan...

Cutting down time

2006-09-04T13:05:00.000Z

Since I started the new job, about eight months ago, I have noticed myself spending a lot of time indoors. The working hours are 9 to 5, but sometimes I end up leaving the office at 6 or 6:30.

Once I get home, there is nothing to do except watching television and going to sleep. Well, we do arrange outings, dinners and movies once in a while. Weekends are usually hectic, but nothing which require physical effort.

As a result, I have noticed a few kgs creeping up, so I guess its a wakeup call to act. Well, last week I decided to go to the gym, actually am not a gym person, I have never been to a gym in Oman, but since its my only option here, I decided to give it a try.

I called a friend who told me he has a spare promotional ticket, so off we went.

I have nothing to compain about the gym, state of the art equipment, no waiting or any machines, excellent service. I then head to the changing room. One thing I can never get used to living in this country is seeing people fully dressed in their birthday suits, yes there they were, guys in birthday suits without a care in the world. Oh well, I had to proceed trying to keep my eyes at head level.

Since I started exercise, I have been obsessed with wait loss. I am in it for getting fit, but I started going for the scales. I found it quite interesting the way our bodies behave, for example, my ideal weight is 75 kgs. I have gone as low as 68 or 69, and I wasnt happy with my weight, it took me a long time to increase it. I have now gone to 78/79, so I have to work hard and get it down.

I started taking my weight every morning, or whenever I can, its interesting how the weight varies throught the day.

Anyway, my goal is to get to 72, lets see how long that will take, wish me luck :)

We flush it, we drink it...

2006-08-28T15:45:00.000Z

Anyone who lives in the UK will tell you how much they hate it here, especially when it

comes to the weather. There is no such thing as summer, ok we may have summer, but it

only last a few days, all of a sudden it starts pouring again.

When I first got here, I used to check the weather every morning before leaving the

house, then dress accordingly, six months later I realised it was useless. Because, it

either rains or doesnt throught the year, so might as well have the umbrella or

raincoat with you all the time.

Given all this rain, one might think the country has abundant supply of water, guess

again. There is a water shortage in this country, can you imagine how many liters would

60 million people consume per day, now given the rain that pours, compare the two and

do your math.

Yes, you got it right, water is not enough. By looking at all the violence going on in

my cousin lands, one might think the next war will be about oil. There is a lot of

doubt in that. There is a high possibility that the next war might be fought over

water, and not oil. One example, there is an ongoing dispute on the Nile between Egypt

and Ethiopia, each claiming ownership.

Anyway, one thing that takes place here is that the water is recycled. The government

assures people that the water is as clean as crystal and suitable for drinking. In fact

I have on a number of occasions drank tap water. Honestly I cannot tell the difference

between tap and bottled water. For all I know if some wise crack sells tap water in a

bottle people would still buy it.

In UK, we get dozens of brands of bottled water. Some cost as high as 1 pound per

litre, but you can also buy a litre for 15 pence. And dont ask me what is the

difference between water and water, because I have no idea!

The question is, how clean is the tap water, why should I spend my good money on

bottled water while if you took Chemistry 101 they clearly tell you mix water with

other compound, due to chemical treatment, you get back pure drinking water. Or did

Chem 101 leave some stuff out. Well, it has become apparent that there some compounds

that just cannot be broken down, and therefore would not completely be separated from

water. This has also been found out in Germany. Even though it is hard to guess, but

the most widely used prescription drugs in UK is the birth control pills.

What the researchers have found is that "Substances such as oestrogens that are

constituents of the birth control pill have been implicated as potential endocrine

disrupters."

Now can you imagine takes doses of birth control pill everytime you hit that tap. I

wonder what would happen someone continues this for long.

ANyway, to put our mind at ease, the researchers have also said that the dose is quite

minute and has no significant impact. They also "use disinfectant system such as

chlorination or ozonisation" to treat the water.

Now, take sewage water, mix with birth control pills, use disinfectants, and get a

clean drinking water.

Hmm, I feel safe already.

Tagged by Sama

2006-08-24T14:12:00.000Z

(Translation: A. Princess)
1. Are you happy with your blog, the template and what you write?

Lets say I am contented, but not happy. My blog still needs a lot of work, thanks to 3anooda for her reminders, but this is something that has to be done.
The blog has completely diverted from what it was supposed to contain. Anyway, its fine at the moment, so lets leave it this way.

2. Does your immediate family know about your blog?

Ooops, forgot to tell them, thanks for the reminder.

3. Are you embarassed to tell a friend about your blog? or do you consider it something personal?

How personal can this blog get? Its on the net for anyone to peruse.

4. Did blogs brought a postive impact on your thoughts? If the answer is yes, give examples.

A lot of things and people brought a positive impact on my thoughts.

5. Do you only visit blogs that visit you or do you explore other blog?

Where will the humankind be without exploration, of course I explore, I don’t just explore blogs, I explore everything.

6. What the does visitor count mean to you? and do you think its important to put it?

I don’t thing it’s a good idea to put the count in, it might gives me a false sense of importance.

7. Do you try to picture your friends in blogs?

I do that all the time. The picture gets clearer as I read more, then all of a sudden it goes blur, because of what they have posted. I then have to draw a different picture, I tell you it’s a hard work drawing those mental pictures.

8. Do you see a real benefit from blogging?

There must be some benefit out there, otherwise why do you think those people keep blogging day in day out.

9. Do you thing that the blogging society is an isolated society or it reflects whats happening around us?

Yes, bloggers are isolated, they don’t tell people when to expect new article, they just do it.

10. Are you bothered with criticisim? or you feel its healthy?

Criticism on my blog? Never had any so far.

11. Are you scared of Political Blogs?

Some of those political blogs can get really scary, especially the ones which show tanks, guns, blood, killings. People should be more considerate on what they post.

12. Were you shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

When did that happen?

13. Did you think of what will happen to this blog when you die?

Never thought of that, but hey, thanks for bringing this up.

14. Whats the song you would like to link it to this blog?

I don’t know any good songs, suggestions anyone??

15. Who would you like to pass it to?

Jawaher (yes again :))
Mansur
Xena (you need to come back girl)
Phaedrus
3anooda

Inbox mania, not all junk

2006-08-19T06:42:00.000Z

Availability of emails has revolutionised the way we communicate with our loved ones (and not so loved ones).

People used to write letters, wait for months to get a reply. Then soon it became telophones, also wait for a month to get your phone bill, and now its the Internet.

The level of keeping in touch has raised but the value of what we receive has fallen.

I receive many types of emails, some from close family members, others from friends, and the most imposing ones are junk mails, from unknown sources. Thanks to junk mail filters I don't have to worry much about those.

I am sure you have all received at one point or other emails warning you not to drink coke because it is used to clean toilets, or not to go to movies because some pycho might have might have stuck an hiv infected needle on a chair, oh, how about a donation for little Amy because she needs medical attention, its just little Amy has been three since 1994. If we abide to what these email we will stink like dogs, because deodarant causes breast cancer.

How about just ignoring these emails, and pretend you never read them. We humans are curious in nature, as for myself, I usually check the contents, and if I feel this is something that cannot be ignored, I would do a google search, which usually would end up telling you if this was fact or just a hoax.

One of the emails that caught my attention a few months back was talking about saving life of a stroke victim victim. Now this is a serious stuff, saving a loved one's life is something we all ought take it serious. But how genuine was the email? Just to jog your memory, the email was talking about an ancient chinese cure called Blood Letting.

In short: If person gets a stroke, instead of rushing him/her to the hospital, administer a blood letting technique. What this means is simply prick the tip of each finger, then squeeze and let the blood come out. Also prick the tip of each toe, and keep squeezing, prick the ear lobes and do the same, in less than 10 minutes the patient should come about.

The email went on explaining the internals which I can't remember now, but most of the stuff sounded scientific.

After a couple of searches in google, it turned out, with scientific backing backing, that the email was a hoax. So I replied to the sender, a relative of mine, explaining that this was just a hoax and to ignore the email.

A few weeks later I received a similar email and immediately replied that this is a hoax, and the sender replied back saying he has seen it perfomed in front of him, successfully. I still was not convinced, but did not reply back.

Well, my skeptism was put to test a few months later. I was in Oman at the time, at a relative's house, when all of a sudden we were told a lady had a stroke. The first thing they did was to get a needle, and the daughter started pricking the finger tips, while others were gently squeezing the blood out, at first she was breathing heavily, and as time went by, I could see her eyes were getting normal and the breathing subsides. All this was happening in front of my own eyes. The whole performance took less than 15 or 20 minutes. Finally she was back to normal again. The lady was in a state of life and death and blood letting method saved her life.

A word of caution, do not ignore your inbox, not everything is a junk.

A stronger word of caution:
Please please please, DO NOT take this as method to save stroke victim. This was performed by a person who has done it before, and was getting help from another person who has experienced it.

It all depends on the level of stroke, age of the victim and many other factors.

THE BEST WAY TO SAVE THE LIFE OF A STROKE VICTIM IS RUSHING THEM TO THE HOSPITAL.

Going Away - Again

2006-07-19T07:59:00.000Z

I plan to go away for two weeks or so, a bit longer this time.

I will be gone to Oman again, hopefully this time I will be able to update the blog.

I plan to go to Dubai, as I haven't been there for a while. The thing about Dubai is that the hotels are either too expensive or too cheap. I hate staying at cheap hotels as much as I hate paying for expensive hotels!

Ladies First... Ladies First?

2006-07-18T09:42:00.000Z

This expression has become at the tip of every 'gentleman's' tongue. We end up opening the doors for them, letting them get into cabs, board trains before us. Also we pull chairs and do all sorts of things for ladies. But why, why do we do it. Call it religous, call it cultural, or maybe call it courtesy. But do we really know where this habit stemmed from?

Ok, maybe we don't know, then do we ask ourselves why we do it, I mean why can't it be the other way round. Why can't the ladies open doors for us, or pull our chairs?

Is this probably one of those old age traditions that we just follow. Well, actually it is not. This was fully explained in a recent TV program called 'Kaifa Wa-Akhawaatuha' (The How's family). This is nicknamed after a famous Arabic grammatical rule 'Kana Wa-Akhawaatuha'. Anyway this started as a love story between two teenagers who could not keep their eyes off each other. After many months of courting, they decided it was time to tie the knot. The shocking moments came when both their parents refused on the grounds that they were from different social upbringing. This did not deter them from meeting, in fact it made them bond even stronger. When they realised nothing they can do will earn their parents' approval of their relationship, they decided only one thing will keep them together, forever.

Yes, you guessed it, death. Death is the only thing that can make them inseparable.

With this in mind, they suggested the time and place, prepared strong poison and ready for the final road to happiness.

At this point, the boy uttered his last farewell and the girl promised to meet him the other side in a few moments.

After taking the first gulp, a strong poison took over his body, seconds later he went limp. Upon seeing this, the girl looked in horror, turned to see if there was anyone around, and ran away.

When the story came out, a few days later, the girl confessed to all the plan, since that day men decided: its Ladies first!

Not Without my "Brother"

2006-07-04T15:15:00.001Z

Imagine this, you got into an agreement, you end up with more than expected. Too good to be true?

This is what our Bahraini cousin amassed during his nine year marriage. The lover boy married his Asian queen, who one year later requested her 'brother' joins them to form a Three's Company.

Apparently the brother came to Bahrain looking for a job and it was suggested he shared the accommodation with Romeo and Juliet. Nine years later, it turned out that the brother was the actual Romeo who fathered four of the five kids. It took nine years for our cousin to walk in and catch them red handed.

I can't help but feeling sorry for our cousin. On the other hand, there are a few lessons in life that we learn the hard way. Is that why we were given homeworks in elementary school?

I guess doing homework helps.

In case you are wondering, I didn't just make this up, you can read it all here

And the Winner is

2006-06-28T23:04:00.000Z

A lot of betting and gambling is going on at the moment on world cup. Millions of dollars change hand each day depending on which team you bet for.

I had to break my own rule of not copying and pasting to this blog, it was this article that made me do it.

So enjoy it, and remember, you read it here first :)

This is an excellent calculation. Anyhow the result will be known by 9th July!!!!!

Brazil won the world cup in 1994. Before that, it had won the title for the last time in 1970.

1970 + 1994 = 3964

Argentina won the world cup for the last time in 1986. Before that only in 1978.

1978 + 1986 = 3964

Germany, though, won the world cup in 1990. Before that, Germany won in 1974.

1990 + 1974 = 3964

This could lead us to guess the winner of the World Cup in 2002, since it should be the winner of the 1962 World Cup

3964 - 2002 = 1962

And Brazil won the world cup in 1962 and 2002.

This numerology seems to work...

And now, who would be the winner of the 2006 world cup?

3964 - 2006 = 1958

And who won in 1958?

BRAZIL

Observations

2006-06-25T07:38:00.000Z

It is quite nteresting to note that when you live in certain environment there are a lot you don't notice about yourself, that is until someone else points things out.

Whenever I go to Oman, I notice stuff, some of which are old and some new. I just thought I would put them down, let me know f you have anything to add:

~ With City Center Mall under expansion, the management has provided golf carts to shuttle customers back and forth from the parking lot.

~ Durng summer it gets to a scorching heat of 40+ with strong sun rays beaming down, nobody wears sunglasses.

~ You get cold water from hot water tap in summer time, and hot water from cold water tap. In winter its vice versa.

~ People drink tea or coffee in the midday summer heat.

~ A country which mports 80% of its fruits and vegetables, you can buy freshly squeezed fruit juce at any corner shop. (Ever had avocado juce?)

~ There are no price tags in most mid size supermarkets with over 200 varietes, shopkeepers have memorized the exact price and quantity aof each item!

~ In some parts of the country, especially interior, shopkeepers leave their shops unlocked while going to mosque during prayer times!

Gone for few days

2006-06-14T04:42:00.000Z

I will be going to Oman for a week or so.

Thanks to all who have contributing to this blog.

I will start writing as soon as I am back, so dont go far!

To what Degree can we Forgive?

2006-06-12T19:22:00.000Z

Ask this question to anyone you know, and 8/10 of the people will tell you that they are quite forgiving. Most will start preaching what their religious values are and how important the forgiver becomes.

Now, put this person in a real test.

Will you forgive a person who backed up into your brand new Beemer?

Will you forgive someone who borrowed $1000 and never paid you back?

Now girls always have best friends, tell me something, will you ever forgive you best friend if she stole your husband, ok maybe she didnt, but what if you 'suspected' she was planning to...

These are a few examples, I agree the last one was extreme.. but as humans we find it difficult to forgive.

The Quran has taught us that forgiveness makes us better person, no matter how much the other person wronged you, you should search within your heart to forgive him/her.

Our beloved prophet, the greatest man to step foot on this earth was well know in forgiveness. While announcing Islam, a lot of people turned him into their enemy and made him suffer in return. Given all those sufferings, he never stopped his mission and was always forgiving, even under extreme measures...

~ When he first announced the religion of Islam in Mecca, a lot of people opposed him. One day as he was walking around Mecca, he saw an old lady struggling with her belongings. He went up to her and asked if could be of any assistant. The lady said she was moving out of Mecca and was planning to settle somewhere quiet. Upon enquiring on the reason for her departure, the phophet (pbuh) learned that lady was leaving "... because of this man called Muhamad, he came with his religion and now people are divided, I can't stand his doctrine and its better for me to leave Mecca". Obviously the lady had no idea how Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) looked like. SO the prophet help the old lady and they started strolling away from Mecca. Throughout she kept on swearing and cursing this man with his religion. The prophet was listening to her patiently. Once she reached her destination, she thanked the prophet and asked him what his name was. He said, Muhammad. Are you the man preaching Islamic religion? Yes. The lady was amazed by this man standing in front of him and carrying her luggage. She stood there speechless and finally uttered: There is only one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.

I hope we can all learn patience and forgiveness from our Beloved Prophet.

PS: I am by no means a religious scholar. I would appreciate corrections on any error of the above.

Tagged by Princess

2006-06-11T18:17:00.000Z

Its the first time I am getting tagged.

So I might not do well.

I have taken Princess's English translation (without permission) to get wider coverage.

Open the closest book to you, page 18 line 4.
"... the excellent guidance and examples of the Muslims that came before us."
- Don't be Sad

...

Besides the comp, what sound do you hear?
"Cars roaming by"

...

When was the last time you left home, what were you doing?
"A few hours ago, went to a seafood restaurant"
...

Which site were you visiting?
"Google.com"

...

When was the last time you laughed?
"A few hours ago while having a meal and listening to nice jokes?"

...

Whats on top of the room's wall where you sit?
"Curtains"
...

Did you notice something strange recently?
"Yes, as I was driving, I noticed people waving at me, that must be strange bec I don't know any of them!"

...

What do you think of this tag?
"Wondering whoever came up with these questions"

...

What was the last movie you watched?
"Da Vinci Code, wasn't really keen on watching it, but my friends kept pressuring me"

...

If you were rich, what would you buy?
"Hmm, let me see. For a start, leather seats for my Lear Jet"

...

Tell me something I dont know about you?
"Now thats a hard one, bec there are many things you dont know about me"

...
If you can change one thing in this world (beside sins and politics)
"Eradicate Cancer"

...

George Bush?
"George who?"

...

If you had a baby girl, what would you call her?
"Rufaida, she was a prophet's companion, used to take care of companions wounded in war, first nurse in Islam"

...

If it was a boy?
"Mohd, or Abdullah"

...

Do you think to live abroad?
"I am abroad now, and loving it"

...

What do you think God will tell you in the day of Judgment?
"Allah is the most merciful"
...

Four people to tag.

1. Joyas
2. Sama Oman
3. Qatari Cat
4. Samyah

World Cup Fever

2006-06-09T12:18:00.000Z

With less than three hours to kick off, I thought it would be interesting to predict winners. One month or so later we can find out how we did.

So for me its:

1. Brazil
2. Germany
3. Argentina

World cup guide for the other halves

2006-06-07T11:13:00.000Z

With world cup around the corner, most of us guys will have something to aspire about for the next thirty days.

Without risking to be sexist to my female friends and relatives, football is something that they will never

understand. They might understand scoring (it will be on the screen anyway), but try to explain to a woman what off-

side means.

Now, having said that, I don't thing our other halves should be ignored at all.

There has always been a tug of war as to which sex is smarter, its a war between us and them. We might think we are

smarter bec we scored with a pretty woman, or because we have higher paid jobs, or because we can walk in dark alleys

without an escort.

But lets not kid ourselves guys, are we really smarter? Will you call someone who slaves 18 hours a day, works like a

donkey, all he lives for is the next pay raise? I can go on endlessly, but will leave you to fill in the blanks.

Now, lets look at our other halves.

They make us pay for dinner, they dont even pay tips.

We buy them houses, cars, clothes, makeup kits etc.

We tolerate their mood swings, we buy them presents, flowers, remember their birthdays, anniversaries etc.

To top it all, if the marriage gets dissolved, they scoop everything we own, except our depts.

Now tell me, who is smarter here?

Back to Germany, a word of warning to my fellow guys. Women do really love football, but they act dumb, here is how

they get us.

Bad moods when you watch football. Who gets the remote.

I met this guy who told me he manages to control his other half while watching football.

How do you do it hero?

Simple, I trade a remote control for my credit card, as long as I can watch my favorite game, she can do all the

shopping she wants.

Oh yea, smart alec!

Nash is Back

2006-04-11T14:20:00.000Z

Ok, I said a few weeks, it came up to a few months. A lot has happened since christmas, some which unfortunately I cannot share in public.

I just hope all my friends are around so we can read and share our thoughts.

I was in Oman briefly and was amazed by the changes that have taken place.

I made a quick tour on some of the blogs and sadly it seems some of my friends have stopped blogging. Oh comeon now, set aside a few minutes a day of your time.

I would like to share some tips on how to be a regular blogger:

1. Open your blog while sipping coffee, that way you will not feel guilty on wasting company's time blogging, you will be actually drinking coffee.

2. Do not think of what to write beforehand, think of a blog as a close friend, we dont plan what we'll tell our close friends, we just talk to them.

3. Have a 'Last Update' note hanging next to your desk, and bedroom window.

4. Aim short, short blogs get more readers.

5. Finally, do not try to impress anyone, just impress yourself.

Anymore?

WIshing all Merry Xmas and Happy New Year - Going away for few weeks

2005-12-19T19:15:00.000Z

Dear Friends,

Sending you the best of wishes for this xmas and a very happy and prosperious new year.

For those with new resolutions, I hope they will be able to keep them and not break them on Jan 3, like I do.

I will be gone for a few weeks. But will be back as soon as possible. I will miss reading all your posts, plus your wondeful comments on my blog.

Take care my friends, and see you soon!

Diamond or dog?

2005-12-14T21:55:00.000Z

They say that a man's best friend is dog. But they also say that a woman's best friend is diamonds. Now, let me get this straight. Does it mean that we can happily settle for a dog, while our other halves will only settle for diamonds?

Even though it sounds weird and unfair, but unfortunately it is true. Basically what this means is that it is easier to make a man happy than a woman. Not to belittle dogs (in case any of them are reading this), but the equivalence of dogs to diamonds says it all.

What does this mean in real life? Well, all women have to do is to get us dogs, but we have to work so hard and afford diamonds so we can present it to them. Women dont have to work hard, all they need to do is look pretty and thin, while men have to work so hard to earn a living.

Now, a pretty and thin woman will gladly accept diamonds, even if it were from an old, fat, and ugly man!

Apology

2005-12-12T20:28:00.000Z

I sincerely apologise to my friends and fellow bloggers. Some of you have sent me emails. That was very kind. It was also nice to know that people regularly visit this blog and hopefully enjoy its contents.

Special thanks to my good friend Jawaher who has sent me reminders to update. Highly appreciated.

There has been a death in the family and I therefore stopped blogging for a while. Before that I was occupied with a project which is now completed.

I again thank my supporters and promise to get on track soon.

Self Control

2005-10-14T00:11:00.000Z

Be extra careful around a woman who half-finishes her chocolate bar. Hmm, how would I know, you may ask. Well, there I many ways, I tell you. If you have the priviledge to go through her possessions, check her handbag, if you find an unfinished chocolate bar in there, take a hint, she is sending you signals.

Women who half-eat their chocolate bars, are sending out a message that they have a self control. In fact they have a strong self control. So next time you get into her car, just check the glove box for any sign of half eaten candy bar. If inside her house, look around, if you find a half eaten candy bar, then you have to expect what you are dealing with.

Now, what is all this business of half eaten candy bars. It is a sign of control. A woman sends a signal that she has a strong self control. So what, you may ask. Well, this means she has also the knack of controlling, so she is out there to control you. Whether you are her lover or husband, or just a friend.

Now, you might think I made all this up. No, I didn't, I actually read it in a woman's magazine. I don't normally read women's magazine. But I happened to stumble across one in a doctor's waiting room.

Islamic Calendar / Ramadhan

2005-10-06T14:30:00.000Z

The idea of introducing Islamic calendar came about around 638 C.E.(Christian Era) At that time, Muslims felt the strong need to properly keep track of Islamic events. This was during the period of second Khalifa (leader) Omar ibn Al-Khattab. He suggested the best day to start will be the day the Prophet (pbuh) migrated from his birth town Mecca to Medina where he took his permanent residence. That date was July 16, 622 C.E. Also called the day of Hijra (migration). Thats how it earned its name as a Hijri calendar. In the west, it is known as (Muslim Era)Abbreviated A.H., in Latin: Anno Hegirae.

The Islamic calendar is about 10 days shorter than the sonar calendar. With 12 months per year and each months can be 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the moon.

The holiest of these twelve months is the ninth month, which is the month of Ramadhan. During Ramadhan, Muslims are supposed to do as much as they can in terms of religion with the promise of forgiveness from the sins and acceptance of good deeds from God Almighty.

We are also required to work harder during Ramadhan, and not use it as an excuse to sleeping in the whole day.

I personally find myself to be more energetic during this month, because I dont get (my usual) heavy breakfast and that makes me feel quite light. I also decided to try and not cancel my fitness classes. The fitness class is two hours 6 to 8 pm. Here in UK the sun sets around 6:40, so I had 40 minutes of workout, took a 10 minutes break to eat and drink, then continued. It was not hard at all, but then maybe the class itself on that day was not intense, or maybe it was only the first day of Ramadhan and I still had some leftover energy.

Happy Ramadhan to everyone....

Mughayyab - Helps coping with bereavement?

2005-09-25T22:43:00.000Z

We live in a world full of unexplained mysteries. For example, no matter how much you know the person next to you, there will be things we cannot comprehend about that person.

If you live in Oman, the word mughayyab (walking dead, or zombie) will not be a new addition to your vocabulary. Previous studies on the subject has shown that mughayyab is an exaggerated form of denial of reality of the death. People believe that a mughayyab is a person by which a magician has cast a spell on him, appears dead, but is actually alive in a different form, thus making him a 'walking dead'. The family grieve for the deceased but at the same time believe he is out there somewhere and might return home.

In a movie 'The Serpent and the Rainbow' which was shot in Haiti, the stories are quite similar but take a different form. The magicians have a powerful poison which when administered to the individual that person will appear dead. They have another medicine to counter the poison and bring a person back to life. Now, after a person is buried, the magicians will go at night and dig him out of the grave, making him sniff the medicine and bring him back to life. Timing is quite important here, because the medicine will counter poison in speficied time only.

Two me, the second scenario looks more convincing, but what has led us believe in Mughayyab in the first place? Dr Samir Al-Adawi from SQU suggests that "... the Mughayyab belief or the denial of the reality of death in the Omani society may be mainly related to culture-specific stressors."

During Oman's shipping industries and sea faring adventures there were a number of tragedies where young lives were lost. Since there was no communication, there was no way of knowing the fate. Occasionally a survivor might return home to his family giving hope to others. This was perceived as mughyyab, a family member abducted by some sort of witchcraft and later escaped and returned home.

In its present form, the belief of mughyyab maybe tied with a sudden death. Thereby the grieving family live in a hope that their loved one might return home someday.

In a traditional Omani family, mughayyab must have brought some hope, helped in reducing stress, and facilitated in a long but painful transition of bereavement.

Dr Samir concludes that: ... mughayyab’s prolonged denial of death did (and does) have an adaptive function, and therefore, in a way, is beneficial.

Ramadhan Greetings, now scale away...

2005-09-20T17:33:00.000Z

We are all eaxcited by the fact that Ramadhan is around the corner. For one thing, we get to setup time and devote ourselves to worshipping more than any time of the year. For those living in Oman, they get to enjoy the benefits of working half day and having more time to do other things. It is also the time where extended families get together more often. We get to prepare invitation lists for friends we havent seen since last year. We also get to prepare menu for the whole month, guaranteeing a variety of meals each day.

Now, all this is fine. But do we also look at other issues which we must be concerned during Ramadhan? Issues we may be too embarassed to discuss. Have you ever been so close to a person with bad breath, will you have the nerve to tell them their breath stinks, I know I won't.

When we are asleep, there is no circulation of saliva in the mouth, because of accumulation of bacteria, our breath smells bad. When there is no oral consumption of food or water, in some cases we do get bad smell. This happens a lot during Ramadhan. If you live in Islamic country, people may understand it and say, ok its only for 30 days. But what if you live in non-Islamic country, and you have to work close to your colleagues, what image are you going to project?

There are some people who believe that you should not use your toothbrush after noon time, because that will break the fast, in fact I know a LOT of people who believe that. I myself am not convinced with that belief. Our religion takes care of ALL aspects of our lives, there are a lot of hadiths concerning cleanliness, so I am sure oral hygiene is part of that.

Last year somebody asked a the very question to Mufti. The Mufti's answer was, there was no time limit for brushing your teeth, one of the reasons was we are allowed to make wudhuu for salat al Asr, and that involves gushing water. So if water is allowed, then brushing is also allowed.

A lot of people use the verse, which I cant remember now, which involved prophet Musa (AS) in this subject. Anyway, the Mufti gave a number of hadiths to support his view. frankly I can't remember much of the answer, I would appreciate if you dont take this article as a fatwa.

Having said all that, I must say first of all that I am not a scholar, so I may be entirely wrong on this whole issue. The reason I wrote it is to raise people's awareness, but please do your own homework and research on this issue.

I would be very happy if someone can come with a strong evidence to prove me wrong, or right.

Allhu Allam.

There she was, so young, so pretty, so innocent...

2005-09-16T16:46:00.000Z

When a 19 year old MK left her parents' house, little did she know that she was stepping on her front door for the last time.

This is the story of a young girl who passed away last week which I will call MK. The events that triggered her death took place in Oman about three weeks ago.

MK was a young university student and a very devoted girl, her death sent shock waves to the whole community and it touched every living soul who heard about it. It is a fact that people die evey minute, but MK's death was something that affected her loved ones forever.

During 3zza of one of her family members, MK was asked to read du3. This was the third and last day of 3zza. After she completed, she said, I will now pronouce God's names and you (meaning the ladies around her) will say Jalla Jalal. She started reading, then all of a sudden there was a pause, people were looking at her, she threw away tasbee7 from her hand and cried out, "water! water!". Seconds later she collapsed, and was taken to the hopital. Other ladies decided to continue, the second lady started reading, all of a sudden, she stopped and felt part of her body paralysed.

MK spent 11 days in the hospital in a coma, she finally passed away. Now, if that was not enough to mystify people around her, there is more. She was taken from the hospital to a family house for burial preparations. While the ladies were preparing to wash her up, they felt her body to be warm, or maybe there was a slight warmth in her body. Everyone was again in a state of shock. This is not normal for a dead person. The ladies decided to wait, and called in the doctors. There were two doctors among family who both took a look at her. After a few hours she was taken for burial.

Some who went to the grave said they could smell misk fragrance from the grave. The other observation was that there was a total silence at the burial site, where normally people sit and chit-chat, there was no chit-chat on that day.

Let me tell you that this story is 100% accurate. I personally dont know the girl, but I do know her family members. I called one of the members who was sitting next to her, and she relayed the story to me. Not only that, I spoke to one other member, plus I received a personal email (not forwarded) detailing the events. The only thing that I could not confirm was the 'ree7at mist' from the grave, but everything else is 100% confirmed.

On one hand it is shocking to her family, my condolences to the whole family. On the other hand she is very lucky to have died in such a way, this is the death all Muslim pray for: 7usni al-'7tima7.

I thought of sharing this story with my friends who read this blog, remembering:

Fakam min sa7ee7 maata '7aira 3illa
wa kam min saqeemi 3aasha 7eenan mina aldahri

Wakam min fataa amsa wa asba7a dha7ikan
waqad nusijat akfaanuhu wa huwa laa yadri

Wakam min 3roosin zayyanooha lizwjiha
waqad qubidhat arwaa7uhum lailatu alqadri

- Iman Shafi3

Conspriracy Theories

2005-09-11T16:42:00.000Z

There are certain sources we always tend to believe when news is delivered to us. Conspiracy theories have been in our midst for as long as long as the human race started.

The death of Marylin Monroe is still shrouded with mysteries to this date. So is the death of John Kennedy, whose theorists believe he might have been killed by the CIA. I saw a ducomentry which 'proved' that there was no way Lee harvey Oswald could have fired two bullets from where he was standing. There are theories on the death of Diana, that her death is not an accident. These theories whether they are valid or not continue to fascinate us, and at times we like to believe them, the recent ones are Sep 11 did not really happen, Saddam was not caught, it was his replacement. My all time favorite conspiracy theory is on the moon landing. I am not talking about the one that says Neil Armstrong heard Athan when he landed on the moon. Its the the theory that say there no such thing as moon landing. No man has ever reached or landed on the moon. This is all a political game between America and Russia. A simple search on the internet will produce pages of claims and counter claims of moon landings.

Who comes up with these theories, how credible are they? Did man really land on the moon. Elvis has been spotted in bars in a number of occasions. 2Pac recently appeared on the scene. Could it be true? Do I really care? Or should I?

History made

2005-09-08T17:06:00.000Z

History has been made. I finally have a blog. I have no idea what to write, but at least I can comment on other people's blogs