Setting Precedent - Freedom Run to Tahrir Square

This day in age, people can voice their opinion in a myriad of ways. Some go on hunger strikes, some shed their clothes, some bear signs and take to the streets, some blog, others tweet.

And some, like me, run to make a point.

Thursday 14th of July shall mark my return to my homeland, Egypt. I live in Nasr City, Abbas el-Ackad to be exact.

Friday morning, I shall take to the streets, and jog to Tahrir Square. The distance 12~15KM give or take.

This is my way of showing the spirit of the Egyptian people; a testament to our long winded-ness. The wheels of justice may be slow, but they shall move, as clear as I shall move to Tahrir Square.

We each do our part to contribute to the better whole, this is my calling.

I do not do this with any form of sponsorship, this not a socio-economic or political stunt.

This route has not been pre-planned. I run at my own risk, for there are no pedestrian paths for me to follow.

 I am not running to raise money, but awareness. Terry Fox did it for cancer, I will do it for Egypt.

Maybe this will serve to set a precedent, one day, someday soon, this could become an annual event, a walkathon, a charity fund-raiser, for any and all to partake, in commemoration of the determination of the Egyptian people, and in honor of those who fell during the Egyptian Uprising.

I shall track the course via Sports-Tracker and upload it once I am done.

إذا الشـــعبُ يومًــا أراد الحيــاة, فــلا بــدّ أن يســتجيب القــدرْ

If the People Desire to Live, Fate Must Respond Indeed

My Life in Exchange for Yours - When Destiny Comes Knocking part 1

I wish to become a writer, and this is my first attempt at penning a self-help/ autobiographical few chapters that are intended, in essence, to help people believe in the fact that destiny does indeed exist in this world today. What better way to do so than to give examples from my past experiences that are testament to that very fact?

When I sat down to write, I was surprised to have covered 9 full pages initially. Knowing that this is a considerable amount to read all at once, I'll break it down into smaller portions to be read at leisure.

So without further adieu, allow me to take you on a journey into the past, and thank you in advance for your time.

(All comments and criticisms are appreciated!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1 - The First Job

On December 10, 2006 I re-entered Kuwait, with a dream in my mind and a song in my heart. Back to  the country where I had spent the majority of my young adult life, this time without the guise of requesting knowledge. I had returned on a visitor’s visa to find a job.


I did not know where to begin, I sent countless CVs to dozens of companies, went over all the ads in all the newspapers, but to no avail. The main prerequisite for finding employment in Kuwait was a “transferable residency”, which I did not have.

Fate, as it so often does, decided to take pity on me, and with her oh-so beautiful face flash me a brilliant smile. My search concluded a mere 11 days later, having interviewed and gotten accepted to work as an accountant for a local company with a myriad of operations that involved retail, engineering, agriculture and manufacturing. A friend of a friend knew that a manager at her company was looking for an English speaking accountant, submitted my resume, and I got a call to come in for an interview.

Little did I realize however, that I was heading down the wrong path; a path of depression and self doubt.

At the time, life seemed good. The manager, that had interviewed me did not discuss a salary, as he said he would “judge” my potential within the 3-months period and then give me a figure. I was not paid a red fils for that entire period. He gave me a line that I became equipped to hearing in all interviews I sat for, you have potential, I can mold you into something. So, I foolishly decided to leave my career in the hands of this seemingly pleasant stranger.

Initially, I had also applied to join NBK. Of course, getting into NBK required a few known associates, lets call it as it is – Wasta, and I remember stapling that Wastas business card to the front of my application as I sent it in. they called back for an interview, I took part, I got offered another job. I believe it would have been call center.

I discussed this with Tyrant, whom I had been working for for almost a week. His initial response was shock. He took that as a flaw in my character, already seeking other employment in spite of his taking me in. I weighted the options before hand; NBK was offering a call center job, erratic hours, a yet unknown salary, a friendly atmosphere of peers, and the chance to work for a bank. Whilst here, I was being offered an accountancy role, close to my field of study (I was a business admin major), and the potential to be “molded” into a manager at some point in time.

I declined the offer with NBK, deciding to stick to my current promise.

Destiny and fate intertwined, as this was but the first branching of career path. I am sure that in some alternate universe, Lord Aymz had indeed chosen to accept NBKs offer, and how his life turned out, I can only guess.

Working at that company, I got to slowly dip my feet in the work pool and garnish a modest understanding of accounts. I was nothing more than a glorified data entry analyst, and my seeming savior turned to be no more than a demented demon, a Tyrant, as he shall be referred to henceforth.

The place I was working was considered the head office for the multiple operations of this company, so everyone was either an accountant, a secretary, or a manager. It did not take me long to be introduced to the majority of the workplace, and to find out that I was the youngest one there. My friendly demeanor made many open up to me, and they turned my attention to the fact that no Arab national had ever lasted long with Tyrant. I heeded their warning, however, I had seen nothing, yet, to verify their claims.

Tyrant had a filthy work ethic; his department was made up of 4 accountants at the time, and I had joined them as a junior. I quickly discovered that internet access was prohibited, so I took to searching the office network for documents to quell my hunger for reading things on a screen, there I discovered the word “Bio Data”, which seemingly is a biological term of metrics, turned out to be nothing more than a fancy word for curriculum vitae.

The working hours were Saturday to Wednesday from 8am till 4pm, and a half-day on Thursday, from 8am till 1pm. This was before a two-day weekend was declared for all, or should I say, the majority of companies. Tyrant however, had other plans.

Tyrant demanded overtime, which is not a bad thing, on the surface, as we were getting paid for the time we remained in office, even if it was to just twiddle our thumbs. The jist of it was we were not allowed to think of leaving until 6pm, you needed permission to leave on time, imagine that. Later, I came to realize that this tactic was to dispel the possibility of his accountants seeking interviews with other companies.

In all honesty, for the first 3 months of my employment, I had felt no ill-will from Tyrant. I was beginning to wonder if people were wrong about him; despite seeing his hard, rough, crude demeanor with others, he had been relatively easy with me. His vile side was that he would literally wipe the floor with his other accountants, with a thunderous, bellowing voice, in front of everyone. There is an Arabic saying which goes along the lines of, if you wish you criticize me, do it in private, if you wish to praise me, do it in public. With him it was the opposite.

I put in the overtime, tried as much as I could to learn something useful, and passed the time by reviewing more bio-data’s.

Time, as it has a habit of doing, passed. And the 3-months visit visa came to an end. I was then to travel back to Egypt and process the documents for my permanent visa. The first nail in the coffin of my career as an accountant with that company came with the declaration of my salary; it was below what I expected, contrary to his words of “molding” me into something. I shrugged it off, considered it to be me paying my dues, doing my time in the trenches. I did however voice my indignation to Tyrant.

After 3 months of grueling work, with countless hours of overtime, I was finally on my way back home, a rest of around 20 or days as I ran cross-country to finish my paperwork, got x-rayed, poked by needles, spilt blood and sweat to finish in due time, all the while calling Tyrant by phone to update him on my status.

My paperwork was done, and surprisingly, coincidentally, fate once again intervened to plot this auspicious occasion, as the day of my return coincided with 3 joyous occasions.

My birthday. My younger brother’s birthday and his graduation.

Yes, April 21st 2007, I was back in Kuwait, with residency process papers in hand, ready to celebrate both my birthday, my young brothers birthday, along with his graduation – all on the same day.

Then came the change at the workplace that set of a series of events that would prove the most beneficial to me.

~~~~~~~~
 
Tomorrow, we shall see why I refer to Tyrant as such, and how he turned a full 180, from good to devil in under 3 seconds.

Know your Rights as a Consumer in Q8 - Read the Invoice

Always make it a habit to read the back of any invoice you receive when shopping for consumer products such as electronics etc. it makes a difference, trust me.


The past weekend proved to be a strange one. First, I awoke on Friday morning to find an unexpected visitor at my door. A cute, furry, lively, tiny, white rabbit. He proved to be a very welcome addition over the weekend. He did not arrive at my doorstep by chance; our neighbors across the hall own him as a pet, both he and a grey bunny, and they had left them outside their doorstep, Roger as I later came to call him, escaped his box and ventured across the tiled floor to my door.

Unfortunately, his owners have now removed the box, probably back into their house, and I am left heartbroken. In the 2 days I got to enjoy his company, I came to discover that I am now a rabbit person, no longer a cat person.

Roger, the rabbit that captured my heart ="(

So, during Friday, it was fated that my central AC unit goes kaput. In Kuwait’s arid climate, this is becoming of a death sentence, not just a minor inconvenience. Seeing as how this happened at night, I had to endure until Saturday, as that was when the technicians could come in.

3am on Saturday morning I went to take a friend to the airport, whilst telling my unfortunate story of no AC and no sleep, he suggested I pass by Alghanim Electronics on Tunis St. as they were open 24 hours a day.

Faced with the prospects of restless sleep, I agreed, bid him farewell at the departure hall, and went on my merry way to the store.

Now, upon selecting a fan, paying for it and subsequently receiving it, I noted that the carton in which the fan came was torn on the side. Lesson one, never accept a product that has a torn carton, you will come to know why in a second.

It was 3:30am, I wanted to sleep, so I did not complain. At home, Roger was awaiting my arrival, and in a feat of lucky rabbit feet, it appeared that the AC had repaired itself!

Upon putting the fan together, I noticed that the bottom stand of the fan was rather incredibly filthy. This further fueled my suspicion that this product was returned by someone, or that it had been on display.

I decided to take the fan back to Alghanim. I scrutinized their invoice meticulously, on the front page at the bottom in fine print it read that items once sold cannot be returned, refunded or exchanged. I was disheartened, I read the back of the invoice and, the first point stated in black and white that an item can be returned within 48 hours of purchase so long as it is in its original purchase condition. The item can be exchanged for a similar one, or a cash voucher can be received in its stead for the amount (few companies offer cash refunds).

Armed with this new revelation, I headed out to the showroom once more.

First I was asked at the sales counter to check with the technician, so I proceeded to show the technician that the bottom side of the fan did indeed look filthy. His prognosis, this is not a technical fault and he cannot authorize anything without the managers approval. Please check with the manager.

this is what it looked like, granted no one will view it, still, it looked "used"

I went to the managers office, he was no where to be found. I was then told to go to customer service, again, no one there except a man on a phone who told me to sit down and wait (politely) and that the customer service rep was on his way.

I waited there for 2 minutes whilst he yacked away on the phone, oblivious to my presence, then decided to check with the manager again.

Lo and behold, he had returned to his office.

Up to this point, it is important to note another revelation; do not go into detail about your issue with someone who cannot help, as it will be a waste of both your time and theirs. Hence, I had not spoken to the customer service telephony guy about my problem. So far, only the technician knew.

So, I met with the manager, told him my story, he asked a salesman to get a piece out of stock and check it, and at the same time, to check the item on display.

Both options showed that the bottom on all of the fans looked exactly the same.

Back in the managers office, I told him that I wished to return the fan. He said I cannot return it. I told him the invoice clearly states if it is returned within 48 hours that I can, given its original purchase condition. He responds by saying don’t take words out of context, read the whole paragraph, it says there must be a technical fault with the item. I did, and it did not.

This banter went on for some time. His second argument was that the box was torn, I told him that I had received it like that initially. He asked to check with the salesman from the graveyard shift, see if me made any note (henceforth, if you do agree to buy a product with a defective carton, make sure to take a picture of it inside the showroom) I waited for some time, and in the end, the manager conceded to taking back the fan and giving me store credit. the minimum denomination for store credit was 10KD, so I paid them the difference between the purchase price and 10KD, received my credit voucher and was on my merry way.

Always make it a habit to read the invoice. And there is no such thing as any item being “inferred”, if it is not written in plain, bold English, it does not exist.

Q8 Foot Soldiers

(Special thanks goes to my anonymous friend in charge of picturising my ideas and bringing them to fruition, giving a whole new dimension to my writing)

Get your move on and Join the ranks.

We live in a health conscientious world, where people are counting calories and weighting ingredients to get the exact amount of calories/ energy out of their nutrition.

Truth be told, I do not believe in that; I do not check the Nutritional Information on food packets, I do not count calories. I try as much as possible to avoid excessive carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, white bread etc. opting to substitute whole wheat bread, oatmeal and tuna whenever I can. I drink green tea for its perceived benefits, not out of want of its bland taste.

And also, I run. I Love Running. 9 years ago my uncle called me up early morning once and said, do you want to join me for a run around the park? At first I did for the sake of being with my uncle, but then, the rest as they say, is history. I had a new-found love in my life, ofcourse, I never calculated that the calories I burnt running were added back after going for breakfast with my uncle, but still, it was the beginning of a blossoming romance that has lasted to date.

Kuwait has a running warrior, the only person in Kuwait who can stake claim to that title, Yousef Al-Qanai of Aymstrong.com whom I had referenced previously in past posts. In the span of one race, he ran more miles than I have clocked since I started using Sports-Tracker (here) in January!

http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/lordaymz/pes8el959ejlsmp1

my longest run, done as training for the 21K run earlier this year

There is a link to how the application, available for android, apple and symbian phones, works. It is my key motivator now, to record my distance, top speed etc.

I live in Hawalli, and one day, it just came to me to get my shoes on and go running, and ever since that fateful day 4 years ago, I have been tweaking my route till I can accomplish an 18KM run from my doorstep, around Hawalli's outer edges, and back again.

I doubt I can find anyone willing to join me for such a run, but the idea of Q8 Foot Soldiers is to get the youths here interested in running again.

Honestly, when I was in highschool, running was the farthest thing on my mind, I was most likely to be found sitting in the stands munching away on small Pizza's on sports day, I never participated in any race except the novelty race in elementary school!

So this initiative is meant to get people running again. To break away from the couch, the internet, and get moving. I found that the best times to run are the early morning hours on a fri-sat, where the air is crisp and cool, and the sun is beginning to rise over the horizon, with traffic at a bear minimum.

The most important item you will need for running is a decent pair of running shoes. With a budget of 10~20KD you can get a decent pair, I have yet to try out the 50KD ones and see if they do make a difference. However, quite honestly, running shoes do make a difference, and it is always prudent to know when to toss an old pair out. Micoach on the android market or iTunes store also has the functionality of tracking your shoes wear and tear for you.

Running shoes are meant to be used for a period no longer than 6 months. Trust me, you will feel the difference when you buy new shoes, I used to end my runs in severe pain as I was donning a pair of old shoes. To me, so long as they were not torn, they were "road-worthy", however that was not the case. The cushioning is extremely important if you wish to maintain a good pace, and not have any difficulties later in life.

I have a pair of shoes that I used to go running in (9 years ago) and I still have them to date! They have fallen apart numerous times and I take them to a guy to stick it back together, I do not run in them anymore, they are merely the reminder of my jogging days, as they were the first pair I wore to run.

They say walking/ running makes us live longer, I say life is in god's hands, but we can take the active steps to better ourselves.

This blog shall be the launching pad for Q8 Foot Soldiers - Runners of Tomorrow, Today. We do not have to run in groups, but a synchronised run around Kuwait by members in different areas would be awesome. I know I am looking forward to expanding my horizon and running a different 18K route, or more, hoping to one day clock a perfect Marathon.

So ladies and gentlemen, lace 'em up and hit the ground running.

And for those dwellers of Hawally who want to join me, we can start small by running around the North Campus of GUST near Beirut St.

PS for those like me who tire easily when running around a track and prefer "street running" (not parkour, altho I am interested in that as well!), please take the necessary precautions such as:

- Running AGAINST traffic, not with it, so that cars are always coming at you, not up from behind you.

- Always look Ahead when running.

- Do not wear anything heaving on your hands, and keep your elbows bent.

- When sprinting, employ the full use of your arms.

- Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth.

- Pace yourself.

- Hydrate properly, before and after running.

- Stretch properly before running, and warm down afterward.

Blogging Tips - Using Pictures to Illustrate Points

A picture paints a thousand words; and bloggers are infamous for using thousands of words, and articulating them further by adding photographs.

Some bloggers are very tech savvy and make their own imagery, others, like myself, rely on the strength of our imagination and a few, specific search strings on Google (images.google.com).

I doubt you can find a single person who is not familar with Cartoon Stock (Google it), their imagery is very effective and sometimes can be used to further illustrate a point that a blogger is trying to make. They are however, a mere copy of "The Far Side", to those of you who remember it, they made wonderfully hilarious calendars back in the day. I used to enjoy visiting my uncle to flip through the Far Side calendar and laugh.

However, notice how the image always has an imbedded watermark at the top that reads "publishing rights obtainable from cartoonstock.com".

Which basically means that, despite the content being readily available online, you cannot just copy the link and insert it into your blog without permission (i.e. royalties).

The majority of bloggers are blogging as a habit, with no monetary value either paid or received through their blog. It seems mundane to request bloggers to pay money for sharing an image when they infact are not gaining anything monetary from that image or their blog itself.

The reason I am writing this is because recently I read on a fellow bloggers website how they were sent an email from some site or other requesting that the blogger either take down a picture they used from their site, or they will send them an invoice. Bear in mind this blogger is in Kuwait, and the website in question was UK-based.

Bear in mind, I am not an alpha blogger; in no way, shape or form am I eluding to that by offering advice. It is merely something that came to me as an idea, and I feel it would be beneficial to the blogging community as a whole to know this.

So, you want to add a picture to your blog, and the "Man" doesn't want you to. What to do?

First off, how do websites/ artists track who is using their image(s) without their consent (if they requested it)?

All images have "tags" on them, and maybe when you link to an image through its URL it registers on some log or other that this has occurred, hence the original artist is informed that you are using this without their permission (I'm guessing here).

This has happened to me before, I linked a certain picture to my blog, and then when I was checking the post, the picture had changed to something along the lines of (this picture was obtained without prior consent hence it has been removed) or an anecdote or funny remark meaning the same.

Another way for an artist to know who has been using their pictures without permission is through TinEye (here) which allows you to search USING images, so if you have a picture of something, you upload it to that site and it searches for all other sites on which this image exists. (very nifty).

All you have to do is stop using links for pictures. Opt instead to save the picture onto your computer. For safe measure, right click on the image, go to properties, click on the summary tab and check for any URL imbedded into the photo (delete it), then go into the advanced mode and do the same, once you find anything imbedded, delete it. Now you can upload the image to your blog as a picture, not a URL.

Now, short of the original artist going to your blog personally (or using TinEye) to search for their work, you will be safe from the greedy corporations that want to exploit every penny out of you.

Disclaimer:  Artists are entitled to remuneration. The author does not condone theft nor does he accept any responsibility for how this information is used.

The Psychology of Friendship

The term Friend is defined as:

- A person you know well and regard with affection and trust.
- An associate who provides cooperation or assistance.
- A person with whom you are acquainted.
- A person who backs a politician or a team etc.

Sociologists have put a cap on the number of friends that a person can properly have at 150; despite some people on Facebook boasting friends in the high thousands.

The infamous words of Baz Luhrman's "Sunscreen Song" always shine through when I think of friends:

Understand that friends come and go,

but for the precious few you should hold on. 

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, 

because the older you get, 

the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

A question that is on the minds of many however, is when to let a friendship end? Do friendships in fact come to end, or do they merely enter a prolonged status of hibernation?

Friendships are a precious thing, never to be taken lightly or for granted. Some require constant nourishment; others can lie dormant for elongated periods of time, and spring to life the moment choices necessitate. It takes a sharp mind to differentiate between such friendships, and those where one or both of the parties merely use the other at their time of need.

The problem however is that we have become too accustomed to giving out the label of friend to everyone that it has lost all meaning.

As with everything else, the internet has severely diluted the connotation behind the term friend, we apply it without bias to both people we have known since preschool, as well as casual acquaintances we came across during a holiday or so and will most probably never meet in person again.

For anything to be maintained there must exist a balance in the scales; a give-and-take, push-and-pull. Friendships do not abide by this rule, as it is quite common to cases where one person gives without limits, and the other barely reciprocates, or worse, does not reciprocate at all.

I am talking about the lost-puppy syndrome, filling someone's life with attention and gifts on the off-chance that said person might take interest and reciprocate, trying harder and harder to make that impression where in reality, all you are doing is pushing that person further away, the proverbial grasping at straws. It happens in romantic relationships as well as platonic ones.

I once had a friend, correction; I have a friend who, as a child growing up, I considered my best friend. He was a neighbor, an ally on the “streets” (boys will be boys), suffice to say, a great childhood friend. We bickered and fought, as friends have a habit of doing, but beneath it all, we were solid.

Fast forward to a decade and more later, I would meet said-close friend coincidentally in a mall, and we would recognize each other, exchange pleasantries and phone numbers, promise to keep in touch, and be on our separate ways, knowing full well that I would neither call him, nor would he call me.

Why is that? Simply put, we have grown apart, we were friends from a young age for a very long time, but time, as it has a habit of doing, passes. The children grow up, and the folly of youthfulness is replaced with the toils of the day to day life.

People have a habit of growing apart; there is nothing wrong with that. What differs between different cases however, is the foundation upon which that friendship was built. I know that with this friend, should the need ever arise that he call upon me, or vice versa, that we would both be there.

Unfortunately, we sometimes pretend that that foundation exists in all our friendships, which is not the case. We seek to project the image we have of a friendship, and superimpose it upon the reality, drawing a veil upon our eyes and seeing the world as we wish to see it.

By itself, that is not a terrible thing, however, it is at times viewed as a sign of weakness that allows the so-called friend to take advantage of us. Those who have been stung by such friends will understand the gravity of the situation.

In the end, friendships are a precious thing. We cannot survive without them, it takes a wise person to know when to sever the cord of a parasitic friendship, and when to reconnect with old friends who are worth it. Live by the philosophy that everyone is a friend until the prove otherwise, but be savvy enough to read between the lines.

 Not every person we come across will be memorable in our lives, but they will play the role they are meant to play, and you will be a better person for it. - Aymz

 PS understand that in the above context, the word "friendship" can easily be replaced with the word "relationship".

CC's in Office Correspondence, whats up with that?

It took me a while when I started working to understand the concept of the words CC & BCC in emails.

Maybe, just maybe, there are others out there who were/ are as oblivious as I once was regarding these two devils. So, lets shed some light on this situation.

CC- Carbon Copy; same concept as a forward, more business-like.

BCC- Blind Carbon Copy; email goes to these people annonymously, no one else can see that they were included.

I find it rather, irritating, when someone sends you an email with a request or statement, and your manager is in the CC.

As an auditor, I can understand that, its called Accountability. You are proving to your manager that you have done something, or requested something, so if you do not receive any feedback, you have done your part and your manager is aware.

Is it official? Yes.

Is it compulsory @ times? Yes.

However, that still does not diminish the fact that it is annoying.

Also, the part of "please confirm receipt of email", Outlook took it a step further and instead of asking you to re-email someone, it simply informs you that the sender requires read-receipt, please accept.

Office Politics...

*Sigh*

Expats have a New Address in Kuwait - EEK! Magazine

Despite the sweltering heat, blowing dust and vile humidity that tend to frequent the atmosphere in Kuwait, causing a myriad of problems, both health and holiday, for it seems the dust is eagerly awaiting the weekend to embrace Kuwait in its sandy bosom; Kuwait remains a destination for transients and travellers alike.

For those living in Kuwait who want to be kept up-to-date with the happenings, the events scheduled to take place, the groups they can join, the offers available etc. And even for those living abroad who wish to get a better understanding of life in Kuwait through the eyes of expats; there is a simple answer to quell queries of both.

and that answer is EEK!

Forgive me, for that is no shrill shriek, it is merely the title of Kuwait's weekly Expat Magazine.

Whether you are looking for an apartment, an interest group, looking to buy, or even sell furniture, a car. EEK! is the magazine for you, delivered straight to your inbox in pdf format, it makes for an interesting read.

The number of subscribers is steadily escalating, and pretty soon it will be received and enjoyed by all expats in Kuwait, and all those around the globe wishing to come to Kuwait as well.

As I said previously, expats can use this magazine as a guide to Kuwait. A way to connect with social groups, events etc. For those leaving Kuwait, it is the perfect place to put their wares on sale, and those coming to Kuwait, it is a perfect place to pick up experience and living items at less-than-retail-price.

What do you have to be a part of this? Simple, send an email to info@expatserviceskuwait.com

Check out their website: http://www.abcq8.com/

So expats, locals, potentials, and everyone else, enjoy EEK!

I know I certainly do.

Why I Blog

We are all put on this earth with a purpose. Some are made to save lives, some are made to protect lives, some are made to educate, some are made to sing, and some are made to write.

It is every bloggers wish to have a readership. And it is every bloggers wish to read comments from other like minded individuals who have taken the time out of their lives to read what this blogger had to say and added their own input; their two cents.

This came to my email, from an Anonymous reader, who liked the quote I came up with at the end of one of my posts (here), and augmented it by doing the following:

Dear reader, to you I say thank you. Unbeknownst to you, this has been a rough day from the get go, and this gift you gave me has served to lighten my mood a great deal, a great, great deal.

Rest assured Anonymous, it is indeed my background now. Your work is amazing, and your concept adds all the more value to what I wrote.

I will go and add that picture to the post itself.

God bless you, and all readers everywhere.

Al-Nasser Sports Item FAIL

Truth be told, I should be mad @ Al-Nasser sports for promulgating the name "Nasser", which has been the bane of my existence in Kuwait, being a Nassar (no Al), I cannot count the number of times my name has been written as Al-Nasser.

All that aside, Al-Nasser Sports is a true story of Kuwaiti accomplishment and achievement.

Once upon a time, in a complex in Hawally called "Adasani" (or مجمع العدساني), which was a one-stop shop for clothing items and the "latest" fashion. One the forefront of the mall, to the far left corner, there used to be a rather large sports shop called Al-Nasser Sports (here), selling clothing apparel on the ground floor, as well as equipment and more clothing apparel in the basement. i.e. the store had 2 locations within the large complex made up of 3 floors (basement, ground and 1st).

This was ofcourse during the 90s, the golden age of Kuwait in my honest opinion.

Fast forward to 2011, and Al-Nasser Sport has become a HUGE competitor on the sports apparel scene in Kuwait. Remember those two shops it had in Al-Adasani Complex? They were closed down, because Al-Nasser Sport built an entire new BUILDING the size of the complex, right behind it, to house their goods. Talk about expansion.

The reason Al-Nasser Sports is such a success is because it carries no-named brands, or brands that are not as well-known in the sports universe such as Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok etc. Hence the keywords are economic and affordable.

However, I was recently there a while ago and came across the following display:

Now, I am no Marketeer, however I pride myself on having a keen eye for colors, and the above color combinations are HORRENDOUS! These items are on sale at the counter, and quite honestly, they would put me off of purchasing anything, as some of the combinations are vomit-inducing.

Had they been plainly colored, one may have overlooked the flamboyant coloring, however, sticking a flag in the middle and not paying attention to the clash of colors is downright negligent.

I wouldn't use them if they were gifted to me.






authors note: this post is not meant to degrade or defame Al-Nasser Sports Center, however it is meant to draw attention to the minor flaws that, if rectified, can serve to enhance its current position

Pizza Hut's Super Supreme Customer Service

246-50-50 Pizza Hut delivery ready to go.

That is the jingle I remember playing on the radio back in the days of middle school.

For the longest time, Pizza Hut (here) had been the dominant force to be reckoned with in the pizza pie industry, before there was a Papa John's or a Peppe's Pizza in Kuwait. They were the first to bring the stuffed crust onto the market here.

Whether or not they are the greatest pizza makers in Kuwait is debatable, I myself am more of a fan of Domino's Pizza, their dough is much lighter. However, Pizza Hut will always be Pizza Hut, just like Pepsi will always be Pepsi, despite the emergence of several other competitors.

Last thursday we were hosting a family member over and decided to go for Pizza Hut's Mighty Variety offer; this is not a food critic's blog, so I will not dive into the details of the meal, suffice to say it contained four different pizza toppings, cheese-garlic bread, chicken rollers, chicken wings and wedges.

I placed my order @ roughly 9, the pizza came in due time.

I was put off by the fact that the following happened:

1) The pizza topping was stuck to the top of the box.
2) The pizza bottom was also stuck to the bottom of the box.
3) The dough felt raw, and upon inspection, a clear white middle could be seen in the pizza slice, with the bottom a healthy beige colour.

We had a guest over, so the evening continued as previously planned, and when it came time to bid him farewell, at the stroke of midnight, I felt compelled to call up Pizza Hut and inform them of my comments.

I believe the number on the receipt was 22244555, which is their customer service hotline, I called up and immediately had my call answered by a charming fellow who noted my complaint, my phone number and the time of my order. He told me he would have the branch manager of the branch which sent out the pizza call me back in 10 minutes.

10 minutes later, I receive a call from another charming fellow who asks me what had happened, and I informed him, he inquired as to whether there were any pieces remaining of the pizza for "analysis", and I told him that yes, there had been a few pieces left over, and that I would have called them earlier had I not been entertaining a guest, as it seemed preposterous to wait twice as long for food to arrive.

What was the managers solution?

He sent me a whole other pizza (offer without the additions), for FREE, in exchange for the remaining pieces to be analysed at their restaurant.

Despite having said earlier that I would boycott Pizza Hut for their failed standards, never-the-less I still remain a Pizza Hut enthusiast at heart, and will continue to use order, if simply for the fact that they know how to treat a customer.

This reminds me of another fast-food incident I had, once upon a time I was addicted to KFC's "Big Filler" chicken sandwich. As I work close to Al-Shamiya, I decided to pay the branch there a visit and quell my hungry taste buds desire for a Big Filler. I was informed at the counter that the branch had "run out" of Big Filler sandwich buns, and that they (KFC Shamiya) can make the same sandwich in a different sandwich bun. Being an auditor at heart, I asked if the other sandwich bun was the same size as the Big Filler, for those of you who have tried it, it is a Big Filler indeed. I was told the size difference was negligible. So I agreed and paid and waited.

What I found out when I got home was that the sandwich was MUCH smaller than it should have been, and that the chicken used was stale i.e. had no moisture, dry, tasteless.

I called up the management to voice a complaint, and at the time I had fed the chicken to my cat, so when they asked whether or not the sandwich was still available, and I said no, they replied along the lines of "tough".

Since then, I have never gone back to the Big Filler.

So Pizza Hut, I commend their efforts on listening to their customers, and applaud the fact that a customers voice does indeed carry weight in the State of Kuwait.

Sorry Colonel, the Hut always wins ;)

When Destiny comes Knocking, Shake Hands with Fate

It is said that in every person there exists the potential and ability to write a book. This is my attempt at that endeavor, on a small scale, as I have this opinion that the trials I have gone through so far are “bookworthy”, to say the least without sounding  arrogant.

This will be but a brief chapter, or three, depending, based on the experiences I have had in the Kuwait Job Market. From interviews to actual jobs, all will be laid bare.

I will not start as they say, from the beginning, rather, I will pick up the story from the day of my first employment, highlighting along the way some tidbits from my earlier life. Given response, we may go back and relive the days of high school, university etc.

This seems like the appropriate vessel through which to channel this impeccable memory I have, being able to remember vivid details from the past.

What makes me compelled to share this is that there is a learning experience in it, as the title goes, when destiny comes knocking, shake hands with Fate. This is my way of saying that everything in life happens for a reason, and everything happens in exactly the right time, you just have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself.

This is not a work of fiction. This will be my story, as told by me, the person living it, in the first person.  I will simply abbreviate the names of all the characters I have come across, instead of giving them made-up names, although that would serve to protect their identity better should I feel the need to rant on them, however I would need to draw up a list of who-is-who so as to avoid confusion. However, anyone who knows me personally would be able to tell who is who.

It would be truly delightful to get feedback, be it in terms of comments, emails, messages, criticisms, threats (?).  I’m open to everything (except the latter, unless it involves drowning me in a vat of tiramisu). Of course, I am not a gay, Syrian blogger so I do not expect thousands of responses, but at the same time I am not some 40-year old quack pretending to be a gay, Syrian blogger.

I started working in 2006, December 2006 to be exact; therefore so far, I have about 5 years of work experience. I have worked for 3 different companies in 3 different industries (currently still with the third). Thankfully, each change came as a higher rung on the career ladder. And with each corporate change, there was a perfect definition of seizing the opportunity.

I will work on these chapters during the weekends, and hopefully, post them soon, under the same title as this post.

Onward and upward.

Sitting Down - Another Silent Killer

Yes its true, we spend a lot of time sitting on our derriere, completely oblivious to the fact that this is truly unhealthy.

When we are at home, we are mostly sitting down, when we are at school/ university, we are sitting down, when we are at work, we are sitting down, when we are eating, we are sitting down.

Ever since reading these I have started becoming aware of a dull strain in my lower back :S

I guess ignorance truly is bliss.

Read on..

Free iTunes Substitute - CopyTrans Manager

For the longest time, I have been unable to access my iPod through iTunes due to some inane error message that kept popping up telling me that iTunes is not recognising the device attached, please disconnect and reconnect to solve problem, despite windows reading my iPod as a storage device.

When all methods to solve this problem proved futile, including going to Apple's website to troubleshoot and being told to "reinstall iTunes", a blanket response given by the most inexperienced tech n00bs.

I turned to Google to give me an answer as to what program can be used as a substitute for iTunes. My prayers were answered.

At first I used to use Sharepod, but apparently that well has dried up, and it didnt really work well in terms of organising, but it did allow you to take music off of the iPod with ease.

So now I bring you CopyTrans (here).

Having personally used it to rearrange the music in my playlists before hitting the cross trainer at the gym, I can vouch for its authenticity. This is a great program to have as a last resort for Apple's moronic interface.

This way, you can easily connect more than one device to a single PC, and copy files from friends to you and vice-versa without the hassle of each having to bring their synced PC along. Copy-paste was never easier. Even the rearranging of music is simple. Gone are the days of the error messages from hell that have no logical sense and just happen for the sake of happening.

Lets face it, despite Apple's great success, be it their Mac books, iPods, iPhones, i-This or i-That (not iBlooogle btw, thats all me), the one fact that remains is that Apple is, much like Microsoft, a MONOPOLIST.

iPhone, has to be interfaced with iTunes, one account linked to one phone, you cannot sync one device with more than one PC. What if I had it synced to a work PC? What if my laptop blows a fuse? Nada, no response.

Coming soon, an articulate piece on the benefits of buying HTC phones as opposed to iPhones.

Stay tuned.

And for the time being, enjoy this iTunes substitute for managing files on iPods and iPhones.

The New "Face" of Freedom? We are all Anonymous

What, or who, exactly is, or are, Anonymous?

Their news has been popping up all over the internet, Youtube is littered with videos from various persons claiming to be within the loop of Anonymous. As of late, several "hits" have been orchestrated upon various organisations around the world - the IMF, the US Senate, the CIA (allegedly). The list is growing.

And then, this pops up; Spain arrests Anonymous suspects (here).

Another Hacker group is gaining notoriety at the moment; LulzSec.

Both groups appear to have targets which are politically motivated, although LulzSec was behind the Sony hack.

Their motto is to break down any restrictions the governments of the world impose upon the internet.

What do you think?




Greetings. We Are anonymous. We are an activist group which exists on the internet. We are not, "Cyber-terrorists". We are not one, for we are an entity with in the internet itself. There have been recent attempts by the administrations of the world, and scions alike; to hunt down, and warrant the imprisonment of participants of Anonymous. Not only is this yet another exertion to solidify reason to exterminate our civil liberties, but it, itself, is yet another act of tyranny by those in which placed there, by none other, than you. They lead you into a false sense of security by promising such things as, lower ing taxes, and reducing the national debt, Getting us out of war, and increasing the jobs. These all of course, are lies. They become your favorite, "Rock star" Candidate to win your attention. and they do. It is then when you begin giving your civil liberties away. 235 Years ago, The following was written speaking of a certain situation;



When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


We hold these truths, to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights; Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their, just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to, alter or to, abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.


Just over, too hundred years later, it is happening again. there exist conditions around the world under which people must change their governments, that all nations both small and large have produced such conditions.


It is for those reasons and those reasons alone, why we act, when, we act. Remember you have the right to pro test, As long as it is peaceful, we cannot be stopped. As long as we are faceless, we cannot be stopped. As long as we are leaderless, we cannot be stopped.


If you would like to Join Anonymous, You Just have.