Big world learner

The new visitor

2009-09-26T02:39:00.004Z

All clocks seem well set around here. The summer has officially left us for this year.

For its farewell event, everything is showered with celebration confetti: Pure drops of rain that borrow the colors of nature, always-welcomed sun rays lazily lingering around, casting cheerfulness on the leaves that announce the tone of the coming season.

And I'm looking ahead...

Until it happens ...

2009-09-07T06:32:00.003Z

So it’s been a while since I last updated my blog. I even wonder if anybody checks this blog anymore. But today I felt like coming back to say something about…. Life.

Hold on, hold on… in case you're not a fan of those pretentious texts that claim the ability of explaining the meaning of life, let me tell you that I’m not either. Neither am I claiming that I’m bringing up something new here. I’m just writing today to share one amazing almost startling (in a positive way) thing I realized today. This thing made me believe, more than ever before ,that there’s a word that just perfectly describes “life”.

Before we get to the word, let me tell you what happened a little over a year ago. On August 8, 2008 (08/08/08) and - believe it or not - at 8pm, I finally arrived for the first time to my dorm at MSU. All I had in mind were questions, worries, ambitions and hopes. I had thoughts about the people I parted with, and questions about where I would be in a year, in 2 years... But in such moments, you never know for certain, and you never imagine what would happen exactly (and I mean exactly) one year from then.

Well what happened one year from then was this.: OnAugust 8, 2009 (08/08/09) I simply was in Morocco attending the wedding of an extremely special person to me: my friend-sister S. Needless to say, when I parted with her in 2008, the marriage had not been planned. And even a few weeks before the actual wedding, the date was going to be different. But it ended up falling on August 8. Do you wonder where the 8 pm went? Well it was written on the wedding invitation cards! How exact is that?

Now maybe you’re thinking “so what? This is just a coincidence”. Well, maybe. But this just makes me believe that life is nothing but a series of…

Countdowns.

For those of us who are waiting for something to happen… let’s just go on with our lives and let the countdown work its way… the "Zero" moment will arrive. We just never know in how much time from now.

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

S and MR ... may your years together bring along
countless moments of happiness.
Allah y7fedkom :)

Flash back

2009-06-10T03:45:00.009Z

A plane. My second for that day had just set off. From my window seat, I saw beautiful Amsterdam. A river, lakes, green areas and well structured building blocks… then the huge open ocean. The water was seemingly calm, but intimidating. A whole world of mysteries and endless untold stories lying beneath that glittering blue surface, whose uniformity was disturbed by a few dark dots scattered here and there.

That day, I experienced the longest sunset of my life. It literally lasted for hours. My flight which set off at sunset was traveling west, and so was the end of the day. As the arrival of nighttime slowly worked its way westward above the Atlantic, so did our flight. As if we were earning bonus hours on that day. As if the deepest wish of permanently busy people had just materialized. The day lingered beyond the twenty-four hours.

Layers and layers of comfy-looking clouds appeared outside my window. Amazing nuances of pink and purple marked the horizon, an imaginary yet universally referential line somewhere in the air.

From my thousands-of-meters altitude, I thought of how drastically perspective differences can change the way we see things. Just as the usually remote clouds looked fluffy and almost inviting when seen from above. Just like heavy, colossal, roaring ships can turn into mere dark dots scattered here and there on the surface of a blue ocean.

Oops, am I losing patience?

2009-04-07T19:53:00.007Z

This is a post I started writing today between two class sessions. When I was almost done, I realized that its whole logic is flawed because I am assuming that the return of Prison Break is today but it's in fact on the 17th. I decided to publish it though, because although it is illogical, it does confirm my point: I can’t wait for the return of that TV series :D

Here’s the post:

---------

April 7^th is the day I have been dreading for weeks because that’s the date on which I had to submit a painful 20-page research paper. But April 7^th is also a day I have been waiting for for months now. The reason this time has nothing to do with school, but with entertainment. Being a proud Prison Break fan, I was glad that my arrival at the US almost coincided with the start of Season 4. This meant that I would be able to watch the new episodes on the day they are aired on TV, without having to wait for the French version to be made and then purchased by Moroccan TV channel 2M.

But my happiness about Season 4 was cut short when the episodes suddenly stopped last December. Since then, Fox network has been saying on the Prison Break web site that it returns on April 7 (oops 17;)) with all-new episodes.

-----------

Anyway, I’m losing patience for sure, but 9 days don’t seem that bad after all. Especially that I will be busy enough with my exams and presentations not to notice how time flies :)

Bleeding green and white!

2009-04-06T04:16:00.005Z

Ph.: Nick Dentamaro, The State News

One of the things that I really love about being here is that sense of belonging being an MSU student gives you. Being a Spartan. I myself have paranoid ideas about this sometimes, thinking that it’s just a silly thing that they make you believe in order to make you choose this university instead of another, and then to buy the MSU items once here. It is definitely a successful marketing tactic. But at the same time, I think that it does have a psychological benefit. Probably at least for international students who would need a sense of belonging once they move to a (totally) different culture.

So being a Spartan is of course not present in my mind all the time now. Life goes on normally once you get past the “honeymoon” period that lasts a few weeks after you first arrive here. During those weeks, I was willing to learn the fight song, and was excited at the idea of meeting our cute mascot Sparty. I even put my love for my favorite color (blue) on hold and became a fan of “Spartan Green”. But having spent exactly seven months now, it would take something stronger than just being an MSU student for me to remember that I am a Spartan… and be proud of it.

Yesterday was one of those days when I felt “the spirit”. The MSU men’s basketball team had got to the Final Four in the national championship and won yesterday 82-73 against the Connecticut men’s basketball team, qualifying to the final game! I am not particularly fond of basketball, but being able at least to understand what’s going on during the game (unlike when I watch American football ) I was glad to see our team qualify to the finals.

I also have great respect for the players who are very young MSU students that manage to succeed their course work while devoting so much time and effort for the game.

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day Spartans! We want a Spartan green final! Good luck to you and...

GO GREEN! GO WHITE! GO SPARTANS!

Decisions made

2009-03-29T21:38:00.006Z

Nothing is worth missing those collective laughter moments among family. Nothing is worth missing the feeling of your parents’ hands on your shoulders. Your ears need to hear your loved ones' voices calling on you. Their real voice, not a ringtone. And nothing’s worth missing that.

I’m more of a real life person. I am not created to see my dear ones from behind a screen. I’m a proud old-fashioned person that prefers touching a hand-written letter to reading untouchable words behind glass. Even videos, audios, emoticons and the most eloquent descriptions mean nothing compared to the real thing.

"Are you planning to go back to Morocco when you graduate?" Yes I am. Fortunately!

Got some space in your fridge? Oh it's for my nerves!!

2009-03-12T10:58:00.002Z

Now excuse me. How on earth can I keep my temper while almost every time I have to take a plane I have to go through additional screening!!! Why is it that most people go straight through ordinary security check and I am one of those very few who have to be double checked? Oh, the piece of cloth I’m wearing on my head?? When are these security people going to understand that terrorists are a bit more intelligent than showing up in an airport with one, a passport that shows that they are Arabs or Muslims, and two wearing Hijab or a beard!!! Hijab or a beard should be enough evidence that we’re hiding nothing, because it’s become a habit now that any Muslim woman with hijab or any Muslim man with a beard would be suspected.

Yeah “this is done for all the passengers’ security, including me”!. Yeah, whatever! Don’t worry about MY security, thank you. And if it were threatened, be sure that the threat is not coming from ME!

I’m mad at this system, but more at terrorists or whatever we can call them! Why do I have to pay for the mistakes of others?! And since when destruction was a way to change things, except if they will change for the worse.

Anyway if anything can be confirmed now, it must be the fact that writing can help you feel better sometimes. I’m still in that airport and am not looking forward to another double check during the remaining flights I have over the coming few days. But still. It took me a colossal effort to hide my anger. Tip number one: avoid eye contact as much as you can after being double checked, because you’ll have to show that you are calm and YOU ARE NOT! Tip number two, don’t talk about it with another suspect after the screening; it will only magnify the feeling of injustice you have. Tip number three: WRITE about it if you can.

OK, boarding will start in a few seconds, so I have to go. Oh and just for the record: I’m NOT a terrorist!

Badhai Ho!

2009-03-04T15:39:00.006Z

A father drying his tears of joy; a mother’s gaze overflowing with tenderness and pride; The bitter-sweet separation that one day has to come. Then smiles illuminating the place. A young lady with a graceful lowered gaze, a serenely happy young man… and an oath to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives.

A joy which, at moments turns into tears, and others turns into laughter… or simply translates into eloquent sparkles in the eyes. Blessings and tight hugs of congratulations; ornamented landscapes, glittering colors, flowers and golden threads promising a bright future for the bride and groom.

Jenney and Amit, you made me realize that Bollywood movies are not just movies :)

You were real stars on your wedding days…

All my wishes of a long, happy life!!!

Badhai Ho! बधाई हो !

Mabrook! مبروك

Congratulations Félicitations

One of those days...

2009-02-27T03:09:00.005Z

All I remember from that August day are those green stress balls all students had received with many other give aways during a student orientation. I remember myself sitting with a group of new acquaintances , and the hands of someone tearing off that stress ball into small pieces. We joked together that day about how already stressed out that person was…

Then August went by, then the whole semester, then the first half of the second semester, and my stress ball was still there, with its green color and its dollar shape as intact as they were the first day. Not that I never stressed out since I came here (how could I not!), but because out of all the possible usages it could have, I was keeping it (with many other items like pens, pen holders etc) as a sample promotional item used for communication campaigns. Yeah, just what a studious Advertising student would do, you would think.

But today was the turn of my dollar-shaped stress ball to do the job it was made for. - or a little bit more. The reason is that today was the last day of a week during which I had one presentation, one mid-term exam (plus one last week), and a quiz (and endless readings, in-class discussions, group meetings, friendship disappointments, AND a dozen summer internship applications with no response). My green stress ball was also called for duty because today I got the scores of one of those mid-terms, and they had nothing to do with what I was aspiring for. Too much for the calm, serene Kaoutar people are used to see.

So being alone at home (fortunately) I just decided to admit that I need an insanity phase, and let myself go… Banging the table, letting out angry shouts, trying to calm myself down, failing, trying to get some relief by crying, but to no avail. All I could get out as usual were 2 drops of tears, and that was it.

Then came the turn of the stress ball. Because squeezing it gave no effect except intensifying the pain I already had in my wrist, I found myself doing exactly what that student was doing back in August. Tearing it up into small green spongy pieces.

Do I feel better? I think I do!

My safe haven tonight

2009-01-24T04:42:00.003Z

It’s cold and white all over the place, and it’s been rather gray within me this last couple of days. So I’m happy that before I got into this colorless mood, I had booked a ticket to the concert of Japanese pianist and composer Keiko Matsui.

Tonight, Matsui performed at MSU’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts, and wowed all those present with her talent. She was accompanied by two drummers, one saxophonist, and one guitarist, all Americans, and one other Japanese guitarist.

In two words, she just made me think how amazing it is that just 7 music notes could combine and give such beautiful performances.

This performance has been a beautiful haven for me tonight… please enjoy…

Kappa

Forever, Forever

During her concert at MSU , Keiko Matsui shared the story behind this music track called "Forever, Forever". "One day," she said, "my little daughter told me "Mom, I love you forever, forever". (She precised that the girlie said that in Japanese of course;)))). "I was amazed how my little daughter knew the meaning of forever and said she would love me forever, and thought of writing a song, and this melody came to me."

The final count down

2008-11-04T03:44:00.003Z

Just a few hours are left before the name of the new president of the ~~world~~ United States is announced. I might be lucky to be in the US during such a decisive moment of it history, although I know that I am unable to see the complete image, being a current resident of Michigan, a state known for its Democratic inclinations.

This image though has been a bit nuanced by the fact that, in Michigan, there are some fervent supporters of the Republican Party like those who lifted signs supporting McCain on the day of Obama’s speech here at MSU. But there are also a few encounters I made recently that made me see things from a different perspective.

Some of these people I am talking about are Americans, and some are foreigners, including some of Middle Eastern descent. What they believe is that the Republican policy is what is needed in the Middle East. It’s not that they are happy with the situation there, but that, according to them, the problem with Democrats is that they are “flexible”, and that solving some problems, like the Syrian presence is Lebanon and Saddam’s rule (both of which ended during Bush’s presidency) need “firm actions”, like those the Republicans, rather than the Democrats, are able to take.

On the other hand, other people from Middle Eastern origins and even some Americans still think that no matter what problems any country might have, the solution should come from the inside, and that the contribution of foreign countries, including influential ones like the United States of America, should take the shape of diplomatic efforts rather than military action, which only creates more violence and hatred.

In all cases, none of the two candidates can be said to be the absolutely perfect solution for the challenges facing US internal affairs and foreign policy, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Obama though, the candidate I personally think is more likely to make the right decisions...

In about 24 hours, a new four-year era will start, and the world will have to deal with it no matter who the new president is.

Meanwhile, have fun watching the Homer Simpson trying to exercise his right to vote :)

Driss Ksikes, Jaouad Essounai... et "IL"

2008-10-21T00:44:00.008Z

L’écrivain Driss Kisikes, le metteur en scène Jaouad Essounani et la troupe Dabateatr nous invitent à découvrir la nouvelle pièce: « Il/Houwa ».

La première aura lieu Jeudi 30 Octobre à 20h, à la salle Bahnini, Rabat.
Casablanca accueillera la pièce le Mardi 4 novembre à 20h, à la salle Touria Sekkat.

"IL/Houwa" est interprétée par la grande Amal Ayouch, et les talentueux Amine Ennaji, Fatim Zahra, Fayçal Azizi, Jamila El Haouni, Abdelghani Kitab et Abdenbi Bennioui.

Une chose est sure : C’est à ne pas rater!!

Communiqué de presse :

Dans le monde des uterriens, univers gris et souterrain, un mur se dresse - de toute sa hauteur - devant des personnages voûtés,pliés en deux. Voués à la soumission ? Les uterriens eux-mêmes ne le savent plus et tentent de tromper l’ennui en accédant à
leur propre vérité. Ce qu’ils sont et font est invariablement lié à l’existence d’Il, cette force ubiquiste qu’ils essayent tant bien que mal d’approcher.

S’accrochant d’abord aux mots de son messager, Ilan, les Uterriens finissent par se replier entre eux et miment le jour où ils ne courberont plus l’échine. Le jour où ils s’élèveront au dessus de l’Utérus de la terre, le jour où ils troqueront leur U
contre un vide qui fera d’eux des terriens.

Mais est-ce vraiment ce qu’ils veulent ?

« Il », pièce de théâtre écrite par Driss Ksikès et mise en scène par Jaouad Essounani, jongle entre questionnements absurdes et distraction verbale. Mais elle ne s’enferme ni dans le divertissement, ni dans la réflexion. Portée dans le geste par Jaouad Essounani – aujourd’hui résident du Royal Court Theatre et fondateur de la troupe Dabateatr-, la pièce prend vie dans les répliques d’acteurs aussi talentueux qu’Amale Ayouch, Amine Ennaji, Fatim Zahra, Fayçal
Azizi, Jamila El Haouni, Abdelghani Kitab, Abdenbi Bennioui.

Le projet « Il » est avant tout la collaboration d’un écrivain et d’un metteur en scène. Deux entités créatrices qui cohabitent pour donner naissance à une pièce qui décrit ploiement et soumission, avec la volonté de ne pas la définir. Cette dualité se veut grandissante, se projette sur le long terme et annonce une complicité artistique à suivre de près.

La première de la pièce aura lieu à Rabat, le Jeudi 30 Octobre à 20h, à la salle Bahnini.
La première représentation casablancaise, elle, sera donnée le Mardi 4 Novembre à 20h, salle Touria Sekkat.

Soyez nombreux.

Obama at MSU!!! (2)

2008-10-04T16:44:00.010Z

Yup, I made it!! My Integrated Campaigns class was cancelled on Thursday so that we all manage to attend Obama’s speech at MSU’s Adams Field. The event was huge and thousands of people started lining up as early as 8:30 am, while the speech was due to start at 2:30 pm!!

Because of an earlier class and a workshop, I joined the line at 1:30 pm… and reached the gate half an hour later… and I, it goes without saying, was not the last one in line. Just a few minutes after I joined, hundreds were behind me.

After security check, I and my friends from Kazakhstan and Taiwan entered the field, and got that feeling of being lost in an ocean of people. Later I read in the newspaper that the number of students and local residents who gathered there was estimated at 20,000! So this explains why all we could see when we got there was… the backs of the people in front of us… and the heads of those in front of them at the best of cases.

Honestly we played unfair a little bit and started sneaking a few meters ahead… as long as people were not reacting negatively, we kept moving ahead: D After losing our Taiwanese friend in the crowd, I and the Kazakh student reached a place from where we still could see only backs and heads… but where my beloved camera, when lifted very high and zoomed, could catch the speaker’s place :D So when Obama was finally on stage, we spend most of the time watching him on the screen of my camera :D:D:D

I cannot tell you how loud and passionate the crowd was when Obama showed on stage. You would think that all MSU and the surrounding area are only made up of Democrats. But that’s not a hundred percent true. There must be people who came there just out of curiosity, others who, like me and my friends, can’t even vote but came to be part of the event, and those who are in fact Republicans, and were there to know what McCain’s opponent had to say. Talking about these, it was fun to see that at the entry of the field, some McCain supporters had lined up lifting signs supporting their candidate... although, ironically, McCain’s campaign officials declared late Thursday that he has given up on Michigan State!!

Now what was the speech about? It was mainly about economy. This issue addressed the residents’ main concern given the current economic crisis in the US and the whole world, and more than that, given that Michigan is one of the states that cannot boast a strong economy. (This state has the highest unemployment rate in the US: 8.9%).

Obama also presented some broad lines of his agenda: Fixing the deficient health care system, creating new jobs, developing the quality of education, AND a point which perfectly matches the spirit of our green university: investing millions of dollars to develop sustainable energy (wind, solar…) AND … ladies and gentlemen: end the US dependence on foreign oil. Even if these two last points were the only things Obama would achieve during his mandate, I would pray day and night for him to be president of the USA, because this would avoid a lot of calamities around the world.

Anyway, I don’t know what would be the impression I get if I attended a similar speech given by McCain. (Hmmmm although I’ve got an idea about that when I watched his September 26 debate with Obama…). But what I can say for sure is that Obama is definitely a good speaker… and seems to be a serious, hardworking person… that is if enough Americans trust him next November and give him the chance to prove it!

Sweet visions...

2008-10-01T14:48:00.007Z

The color of my tea this morning was not echoed by brownish Moroccan crepes and cookies. Instead, I have had some colorful M&Ms and guess what... Sushi for this Eid :)

I have enjoyed my special meal today... keeping in the back of my mind the sweet vision of a warm Moroccan cup of tea, lighted by the smiles of those I love...

Eid mubarak said :)

Obama at MSU!!

2008-09-30T15:46:00.007Z

So, it seems that I will get the chance to see Obama speaking live here at MSU!! The presidential candidate is scheduled to speak next Thursday at 2:30 pm at Michigan State University's Adams Field.

I am not an American citizen (which implies that I have no voting power here), but being a "world" citizen is enough for me to be interested in the way these presidential elections are going and in who will be the next resident of the White House.

Now remains one problem: I have class Thursday at that time!! :( I'll give it a try today and see if the professor would agree to make next session and exception! We'll be learning there, won't we? :D

More will be coming soon!!

Large-scale confusion!

2008-09-23T03:12:00.008Z

Last Friday was one of the longest days I had since I came here – although I am supposed to have no classes on Fridays! From 9 am, meetings and workshops followed one another, including an exhausting 4-hour workshop on SPSS that left my head spinning for the rest of the day. The last thing on my crazy agenda was a work group meeting that went from 6 to 8 pm, leading me to break my fast on the library’s exit stairs :)

But that day was one of the longest also in terms of the distance I walked. Those who know me would know that I’m not a big fan of walking. But when you study in a 21 km² campus, you do have to learn to love walking, or you will end up hating yourself! Of course I didn’t have to walk across all the 21 km², and will never have I guess/I hope XD, but I do have long walks though to go from a building to another (5 or 6 different places they were that day).
Talking about long and short walks, I always wonder why globalization only touched - and blatantly unified - important things like traditions, tastes and life styles - whole identities, but left out a few annoying things like the units of measurement in some countries like the United States!

Since the day I set foot here, I've been trying (not always hard though) to get the sense of what it means when somebody says that I have to walk “2 miles” to reach a place, or when they say that the university’s secondary campus in Detroit is 75 miles from East Lansing. Does that mean close or far? You will tell me that all I need to do is convert those units into meters and kilometers. Yes I can. But it’s really annoying – although funny sometimes – when you have to stop every time somebody describes a distance and ask yourself “Euuuh wait, does this mean that I can walk or should I take the bus?”

Weight and volume units are also misleading me here. When I go to the market, the prices posted simply don’t mean anything to me. What do I learn when I see that Goodrich’s sells apples for $3 lb, or green beans for $1.49 lb? Is that cheep or expensive? Euuuh and what does it mean to buy a 2-gallon milk bottle?

And I’d rather not talk about the weird numbers I would get if I try to know my weight or my height here. Oh and mind you, I’ve experienced 80-degrees hot days here … of course Fahrenheit not Celsius – otherwise I would have melted - literally!! (Ugh!!)

Anyway, I guess that this is part of that “adjustment” period all new comers here have to go through. I should probably start looking for, and concentrating on the bright side of things to be able to survive. Here at least, where I have trouble with units of measurements, all I need is time (and some quick brain calculations) until I get used to them. The bright side of it is that the risks I’m taking because of this (like walking a long distance instead of taking a bus) are nothing compared to a more serious (and not funny at all) risk I would have had if I were in England for example: getting hit by a car simply because I’m used to look to the right not to the left before I cross the road!!

Ramadan this year

2008-09-12T04:20:00.009Z

A dozen-hour flight, or simply an ocean away from home, Ramadan feels so special this year.

It feels weird not to hear adhan announce iftar time, weird not to see restaurants close during the day, weird not to see totally empty streets at sunset, and not to see drivers lose their minds a few minutes before sunset, trying get home before Iftar. .

But it feels so special though to see one meal bring together people from all over the world. Pakistanis, Indians, Sudanese, Egyptians, Kuwaitis, Kazazkhs, Maleisians… and a Moroccan gather in one place these days, share their first meal of the day, and the joy of learning things about each other .

To all Muslims around the globe I wish a blessed Ramadan.

Aren't we one after all?

2008-09-09T04:14:00.004Z

Differences, faces, colors, names, sounds, questions and answers, smiles, meaningful sometimes, meaningless most for the time. Intrusions, apologies, misunderstandings, understanding, fake at times, real at others.

Respect, gazes, stereotypes, silenced or masked. Languages, reflections, tastes, traditions, religions, habits, so different sometimes, so alike some others.

But aren’t we one after all??

Back home... somehow :)

2008-09-09T02:10:00.012Z

I’ve been quiet for a long while...

So quite that a squirrel didn’t mind posing for my camera :)

Feels so good to be back here :)

Six choses PAS importantes sur moi

2008-03-14T16:24:00.005Z

SABA et Najlae m'ont tagué , donc à mon tour de vous dire 6 choses PAS importantes sur moi:

Je ne peux pas dormir dans un endroit ou on entend les tic tac d'une horloge...), et maintenant que je commence à conduire, je me rends compte que le son des clignotants de changement de direction me dérangent aussi :s (Bien que je sois réveillée au volant :D)

Je suis une grande consommatrice de fromage, de chewing-gum et de kleenex.

Une chose qui pourrait me déranger? Que quelqu'un déplace une chose que j’ai mise quelque part et que j’aie du mal à la retrouver. « Touche pas à mes affaires » :p

Mon humeur peut changer d’un extrême à l’autre plusieurs fois le même jour ! (Non, je ne suis pas folle… à ce que je sache !)

Il m’arrive souvent de parler toute seule ! (Voir remarque précédente :D).

6. Je vois le monde d’une manière un peu… microscopique. Je ne peux pas m’empêcher d’imaginer les bactéries et les microbes qui se baladent dans les cuisines et les salles de bain… et j’ai envie de me laver les mains à la seconde même où je touche un billet de banque par exemple. (Regardez la série Monk et vous verrez ce que je veux dire lol)

Puisque c'est la règle du jeu, je passe le relais à: Anaconda, Troubadour, Issam, euuuuuuuuuh les autres ont tous été tagués!

Open your eyes, you spammer!

2008-03-03T14:22:00.005Z

This probably is something most people don’t do, but I am one of those who take a few seconds to read the titles of bulk messages before clearing the box. The reason why I developed this habit sounds logical. Sometimes emails which should normally go to your inbox are somehow sorted out as bulk messages and sent to the spam file. This explains why all email boxes have a “not spam” button which allows you to prevent this kind of mistakes to happen in the future with emails coming from the same sender.

But there’s another (rather crazy) reason why I read the titles of my junk emails before deleting them. The reason is that some of them make me laugh! There’s first that so silly kind of titles which is supposed to attract you like “your check is waiting” or “I have a secret to tell you”, and which seem implausible from the outset, especially that they are coming from names you never heard of before.

But sometimes coincidence helps those spammers a bit. Today for example, my bulk file included an email sent by someone called “Dr. Susanne”. So when I read this name, I stopped a little longer because I do know a Dr. Susanne, whom I met in a professional context and with whom I did have some slightly personal conversations. But our conversations could never have reached the stage that would make her send me an email saying: “This is why you’re fat”! lol

And then, the funniest of all are those endless male-oriented commercials about Viagra (and other related issues – I spare you all the other details :p). These emails don’t stop landing in my email box, although I am a woman!!!! Junk emails are sent randomly I guess, but the huge numbers of similar emails I receive make me wonder if it has anything to do with my name which presents no female sign. An “A” at the end of my name for example would officially announce, especially for non-Arabic speakers, that this kind of emails has nothing to do in my email box!

If advertising people ;) spend hours considering nuances of communication devices they use, trying to make them as perfectly adapted to the target audience as possible, then spam commercials are brilliantly… missing the mark!

Could Cupid explain that??

2008-02-14T16:40:00.007Z

Scene 1:

She: Why do you complain about such occasions? We are the ones who have trouble finding good presents for you. It’s never been an easy task for me to find a present even to my father.

He: On the contrary, it’s men who find it difficult to think about suitable presents for women.

She: Come on, there's plenty of things you could buy to a woman and make her happy.

He: Like what?

She: Well anything! A jewel, a cosmetics product, flowers, or something practical she needs… You could also invite her for dinner in a nice place, make a good surprise... But what about men?!

He: You could buy something traditional, a belgha (Turkish slippers), material for djellaba, this is the kind of things your father would like to receive.

She: (Stops short of asking what a man –other than a father- would like to receive for a present).

Question 1: Will that mystery about “what women want” and “what men want” ever be solved?

Scene 2:

He: Has the woman on the radio said that they’ve been talking about love for an entire week? Weird choice! What’s going on?

She: Yes! Well it’s Velentine’s day!

She2: Don’t you know about it?!

He: (A bit surprised, laughs) Lucky you!

She: What do you mean "lucky you"? Valentine’s day is everybody's business!

He: No... We celebrated our Valentine's Day a long time ago. Now it’s your turn.

She: Love has no age! (Playfully) Come on! Why do you men keep coming up with pretexts to ignore this kind of occasions? Just to avoid buying presents? :p Why don’t buy a present to your wife after work. She’d be happy about it.

He: (Laughs, addressing He 2): We have women’s movements here.

Question 2: Why are men too proud to admit that they do care about such things as love!?

Boss, shoof, Masr bte3mel eh!

2008-02-11T10:31:00.000Z

(Picture: BBC Sport)

They play fair, they play with devotion, effort and love, and that’s what has made of them the best African football team for the sixth time. The Egyptian football team won the 2008 African Cup of Nations yesterday in Ghana, and with it the respect of millions around the world!

Compared to many other teams – and I wouldn’t exclude the Moroccan national team – the Egyptians have proved that mastering the game itself is not the only prerequisite for a squad to become champion. Nor is it the abundance of financial resources. The team spirit that reigns has a real magic effect. Look how respectful they are towards each other and towards their coach and how united they are even in the way they thank God after each goal.

And then look how ruthless they are during the whole match. The way they play makes you feel that they truly care! I am not writing poetry here, but I did see the Egyptian legendary “namoutou namoutou wa ta7ya Masr” (we would die to give life to Egypt) dominating the game during yesterday’s match.

Thinking about all this, I can’t help wondering what’s wrong with the Moroccan national team. What’s wrong can’t be financial. We all know that huge sums are made available to offer our players the best conditions compared to other teams during this cup and any other championship. Nor can the problem be the efficiency of the players themselves. The great majority of Moroccan national team players are part of well known international teams which wouldn’t pay them millions if they’re not real masters of the game.

Then what? Morocco has just changed the coach again, a coach who, despite his clear mistakes, has faced us with the painful reality about the management of sports in Morocco. Officials criticised Henri Michel’s remarks and dismissed them as utter nonsense, but, on the other hand, didn’t answer that big question haunting all Moroccans: What has made such an ironically renowned team a complete failure! Well if it’s not the money, and not the players, then what can it be except management?!

Anyway there are certainly lessons to be learned from this cup, and there are new challenges coming soon. All I hope is that something will be done –very soon – to avoid our team becoming a specialist in qualifying to international championships and disqualifying from the first round!

Ok, let’s go back to the happiness the Egyptian squad offered us yesterday (and, by the same occasion, smile at the thought that football does succeed in what politics and economy fail to fulfill: creating for real that legendary Arab union whole nations have been dreaming of).

Abu Treka, Zidane, El Hadary, and all their friends, led by “El Me’alem” Shehata, have done a great job, and do deserve the Cup. So hey, enjoy the amazing goal that made Egypt the winner of the 2008 African Cup of Nations 1-0 against Cameroon:

And the winner is... ?

2008-02-03T00:26:00.000Z

It’s a special night for Moroccan bloggers. At these moments in Casablanca, the bloggers elected the best in the Moroccan blogsphere for 2008 must be receiving their awards.

I couldn’t attend the ceremony, but I did vote for my favourite bloggers, and hope they will win ;)

A big bravo to very active Agadir bloggers who had the bright idea, and made the great effort of organising the competition and all the activities related to it (a well made website, interesting goodies, etc).

Let’s wait for the results, and for what the bloggers who attended the ceremony will tell us about it! Good luck to all! :)

DABATEATR is back!

2008-01-18T10:34:00.002Z

Le metteur en scène Jaouad Essounani nous revient avec une nouvelle création : « D’HOMMAGES! » La tournée commence aujourd'hui même à Bruxelles. Je n'y serai pas malheureusement, mais j'attendrai que DABATEATR arrivent en tournée au Maroc... notre première à nous débutera le 19 Mars 2008 au Théatre Mohammed V à Rabat.

Bon courage les artistes! You're the best!

"Devant le grand Miroir des grandes toilettes de la grande villa, quelques heures avant l'enterrement du grand General qui a marqué l'Histoire de notre grande Nation. Des personnages défilent : des histoires, des images, des musiques des chants et des gestes reviennent de loin pour célébrer le présent, le passé et l'espoir d'un petit peuple de notre histoire commune et peut être ce qui reste ancré dans notre Mémoire après un Départ. De quoi demain ?

« D'hommages ! » est un essai de mise en mosaïque d'un ensemble de clins d'œil aux petits sentiers de notre Mémoire, d'une certaine Mémoire toujours incertaine, fort heureusement.

« D'hommages ! » le clin d'œil est aussi une expérimentation de « l'effet miroir » dans une société en transition, en croisé de chemin où le non dit fait toujours toile de fond."

Jaouad Essounani.

Facebook and I

2008-01-08T14:03:00.000Z

Was I expressing amazement just a few months ago about Google and the way we’ve become addicted to it ? How old fashioned any kind of amazement about Google would seem now that newer and revolutionary trends like Youtube, Myspace and Facebook have conquered the net, and with it, our very habits.

Facebook. I first heard of it about a year and a half ago during a casual conversation, when a friend of mine told another that she had forgotten to accept Flana’s invitation on facebook. What did I do then? Did I go straight home, straight to my room, straight to my computer and try to figure out how this thing worked? No. Fortunately I would say now. It was only last September that I stepped in the chaotic world of Facebook.

What Facebook has brought to my life? People would talk about the possibility of keeping in touch! This might be true, but can we still call it “keeping in touch” when it means “hey, here I will put my pictures, describe my mood from time to time, and be tagged here and there, and this thing will do the rest of the job. It will be spying on me all day long and reporting my activities . So just come and look for my news –if you care to "keep in touch" with me of course”!!

Hmmm what alse?? Facebook has also increased my awareness that the world around us is intermingled, a complex network with endless meeting points… A more accurate word for this would be (for Moroccans): mchebbek!!

Here’s a small example from my own account on Facebook: My friend S. whom I’ve just met in Egypt turned out to be a friend of A. who’s been a close friend of mine for years now. And A. turned out to be also the friend of the cousin of SABA who is, more than a friend, a sister. F. whom I met at university 5 years ago (outch! I’m getting old!) turned out to be the friend of N, who by the way has just joined a group created by no one but D. whom I interviewed a few months ago when I used to work at Morocco Times... Not to talk about a bunch of people whose existence you had forgotten, or who you thought belong to different worlds, and whom you suddenly find gathered as the Admins of the same group… I know it’s complicated and this is my point! (And by the way, I wouldn’t mind if I know that you have skipped this paragraph!) :D

But didn’t you notice something? I used the word “friend” a lot in the last few lines. This brings me to something else about Facebook (and Myspace too, among others). It dilutes some deep concepts like friendship. Anyone anywhere around the globe can become “my friend” just by accepting an invitation which might be sent randomly.

Does this mean that I will stop using Facebook? I don’t think I will. Facebook does keep a group of really special people I have met gathered in one place. So although it does not help me “keep in touch" with each of them, it does allow me… say…. to “hear from them” on a regular basis. But will I become a Facebook-addict? I don’t think I will. Because in this regard, and compared to the chaotic Facebook, my old fashioned Google does win the deal - with excellence!!

OUT OF TOPIC:

Happy new years 2008 and 1429 to all :)

Stabbed in the back

2007-12-28T09:26:00.000Z

Let’s not discuss silly political calculations. I don’t want to hear about any considerations which turn human beings into real monsters.

Let’s not waste time trying to understand what’s going on in a world where right and wrong have become the hardest things to define.

All my mind thinks now is that Benazir Bhutto was a brave woman, and her assassination is the manifestation of utter cowardice.

The world where we are living is becoming ugly… extremely ugly.

May Bhutto’s soul and those of the other victims rest in peace.

Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji3oon

Eid mubarak said :)

2007-12-22T12:17:00.000Z

Time to celebrate Eid al Ad7a came yesterday in Morocco, at last, one to two days after the rest of the Muslim countries :) Sounds a bit weird, but it's OK. What matters is to enjoy the Eid (despite the endless house chores this occasion brings xD).

Eid mubarak said to all of you :)

What about a break?

2007-12-13T10:40:00.000Z

Thinking of you

2007-12-11T10:30:00.000Z

How helpless you feel when the fact is there; unchangeable, irreversible.

How pretending science looks, when it gives itself the right to confiscate your hopes;

How absurd your priorities seem, when you wish, and it’s too late, you could start it all over again, and put your loved one at the top of your list;

How foolish those doctors seem, when they think that their decade-long studies give them the right to pronounce death sentence against your dear one;

How numb your mind feels when it has, and no choice is there, to acknowledge that there’s such a thing called The End, and that it is approaching;

How wrong your calculations seem, when you suddenly realize that what you’ve been building away from your loved one simply has no foundations;

How worthless that passion you followed seems, when you discover that you have deprived yourself of true passion.

My full support and compassion to all those who have known, by bitter, ruthless scientific evidence, that a dear one is leaving soon.

Better late than never?

2007-12-04T12:11:00.000Z

Sorry but I saw you that way today. Just a flash ... quick but clear enough to make me shiver. You’ve grown old! That white colour you sometimes forgot, or of which you stubbornly denied the existence did conquer your hair… or what remained of it in fact. On that thing you were right fifty years ago when we were merrily walking down that street and you said, with cynical certainty, that this is the fate of all men.

You are here, not as strong as I last saw you. Life is strange and is capable of making the closest people strangers. I know you never wanted this to happen, but I did realize that time dared and left its traces on your face! Traces that show clearer and deeper when you smile; although you seldom smiled since you came in. You didn’t talk much either. You didn’t flood me with questions as you always did; maybe because you no longer have patience to deal with my endless, sometimes playful reticence to answer. But you had just to try, you know. Because I did change as well. Years have taught me a lot and one of the lessons I learned is to say what I need to say as long as it is possible for me to do it. Because if I don’t, I might have to wait half a century to get the chance to say – and it will be too late.

How endless were the times I imagined our improbable meeting. I would be stronger then; I wouldn’t silence my anger or hide my disappointment. Why be afraid? You’re gone anyway. I would shout, throw my anger at you, break, kick, and walk away. I would shake you and leave you speechless. Things you used time as a buffer to avoid. Doesn’t time bring forgiveness as they say? Doesn’t it bring oblivion? Wisdom? Or more probably doesn’t it take away power, determination, and courage?

Sorry, but I did see your trembling hands. Not of emotions but of age. You never trembled of emotions, even when you had to announce your departure – for good. You didn’t tremble or I simply didn’t see you tremble; just like you didn’t see me cry although my eyes were dry. Ah! Silly me! You probably didn’t tremble at all in fact, because you had that gift I never had: the gift of believing in the perfection of your soul.

I’m so sorry, for myself now, because when I did see you again, all I got from you is a bouquet of flowers, not even the kind I like – you don’t remember anyway, and an ocean of speechless tenderness showing from your eyes… but I doubt I will dive in it. I don’t know how to swim, you remember? And honestly, I can’t be sure that you would come to rescue me if ever I drown. You did let me down one day fifty years ago, and I’m not ready to risk my life again… my life which is ending soon, very soon anyway, because when you came today with your flowers and your ocean of tenderness, I was already getting ready to leave – for good. At last I got that chance I dreamt of for so long until I lost hope. You, standing there again, and I being the first to say it this time…

Goodbye.

Ah, by the way!

2007-11-28T23:39:00.000Z

Having marked the first birthday of my blog, and having received some sweet wishes from you, I have just got an idea. Being the writer of this blog, I have been probably speaking a lot during this year. You have been posting comments but I feel that I need to listen to you more than I did. So the thought was: Why don’t I try to get your impressions about what the blog offered during its first year of existence?

So here are my questions to you: What was the post that you liked most, and why? Was it the style? the subject? Or the effect it had on you? And what was the post you disliked most and why? Did you feel that the style was poor? The content was unimportant? Or did it probably revive in you bad memories or negative feelings? I hope you will specify your choices.

It’s OK if you haven’t been following the blog from the beginning. The floor is very wide and open, and you are welcome to express your opinion about the posts you have read.

Please share any ideas that cross your mind. Just say what you think… I’m all ears :)

Forum... in Arabic ;)

2007-11-27T17:47:00.000Z

Picture: Majd Biltaji

A beautiful resort 140 Km from Cairo, over 300 Arab young people gathered in one place, over 20 countries represented in one event, and 5 days of work and fun – all this put together gives the flavour of the forum I have just attended in Egypt.

I won’t talk much about the “academic” content of the forum (workshops about building youth capacity, STDs, youth participation in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, social challenges etc.) but will tell you how great it was to meet such a lovely and lively crowd of young Arabs. The young people I met came with loads of ideas and initiatives – all meant to serve a particular social (or in less numbers political) cause. Women, children, the environment, youth, education, health, etc… the projects contained associations, networks, websites, but also blogs / publications and arts performances.

The Moroccan group was the largest in number – but no need to tell you that Moroccan Arabic was the least spoken there :s A real problem of communication arises when it comes to our language. But this being said, no need to worry about Moroccans and their culture ;) : almost all Arab participants went home with a very Moroccan reflex: replying “tiwliwla” every time they hear “TIKCHBILA” :p

It’s clear now: the atmosphere combined serious work and crazy attitudes. What would you expect when you gather hundreds of young people in one place? :D We particularly enjoyed the cultural day when all participants wore their countries’ traditional clothes. An experience which increased my pride of the Moroccan Caftan with all its kinds ;)

The Moroccan flag didn’t miss doing its job there. While having dinner one evening, we were approached by a Moroccan couple who happened to spend their honeymoon there, and, a few minutes later, by another Moroccan lady who works at a nearby hotel. At Khan El Khalili we were attracted by the red and green sportswear of three men who turned out to be members of the Moroccan team who participated in the Pan-Arab Games in Egypt.

Whether I made some tourist activities during my stay in Egypt? It’s a pity but although we stayed there for several days,
Picture: Mohamed Ezz Aldin

the forum’s program was too full to allow us to reach Cairo early enough to visit important places like the Pyramids!! We were based 140 Km from Cairo and entry to the Pyramids is currently stopped at 4 pm :s. Otherwise, I and a small group of friends visited Suez city on our second day there, and one day before we left, I had a beautiful walk along the amazing Red Sea beach of Ain El Sokhna.

But this wasn’t everything! We didn’t manage to visit the Pyramids, but we did visit other places in Cairo at night. We visited Sidna lhussein, (Shillah ya Sidna l7ussein :p), went to Khan el Khalili and walked on the bridge over the Nile river! Amazingly beautiful at night! We had planned to enjoy a tour by boat on the Nile but, having reached the place at 1 am, it was impossible to find a boat working! Cairo’s street stay animated at 1 am though as are Rabat’s at 8 pm!.

At Khan el Khalili, shopping is not much different from that in Moroccan bazaars and medina shops: The golden rules is: Always bargain and propose a price less than half what the seller asks for! I must say that three Egyptian friends - Tammam, Amira and Khaled - did their best to send us back satisfied with our shopping and the whole visit to Cairo. Ta3abnakou ma3ana ya gama3a ;)

On our way back to the hotel, we were all tired and hungry and the solution was a couple of delicious sandwiches of Ful and Taamya :D

Now three days after my come back, I’m still tired and sleepy - and I’m back to the bitter reality: work!!- but I don’t regret having gone for the experience. I’m also glad that the trip went fine lhamdullah – no luggage loss, no major complications in the airports, … and no plane crash :p

Happy birthday

2007-11-25T21:30:00.000Z

One year ago, I decided to start this blog. I still remember that Sunday afternoon when I decided to cross the line and become a blogger. A lot of things happened since then. I learned a lot, made news friends, gained things, lost others, went through ups and downs, said things, self-censured others… Both me and my blog grew one year older.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to mark the birthday on its exact date (November 19^th) due to my trip outside Morocco, but better late than never.

My thanks to all of you have been following the blog, encouraging me, bearing with my absences, reading my posts and sharing your opinions during this whole year. I hope this blog will be able to offer you beautiful things in the future…

Happy birthday BWL :)

Grrrrrr!!!! 2

2007-11-08T12:32:00.000Z

Vous l'avez sans doute deviné: Moi? Une araignée dans la main?? Impossible!

Voila, je vous laisse découvrir la suite de l'histoire...

La même photo, mais sans retouches;)

Même vue, d'un angle différent

Ma bqat tiqa fhad zzmane :p

Et en fin je dirais, sub7aaaaan Allah!

Grrrrrr!!!!

2007-11-05T11:18:00.001Z

Si vous me connaissez, vous le saurez tout de suite: c'est ma main sur cette photo.

Même si vous ne me connaissez pas, vous pourrez deviner que j'ai horreur des araignées grrrrrrrr!!

Alors comment se fait-il que ce soit moi sur cette photo avec une araignée dans la main?? D'où m'est venu tout ce courage?

Vous avez une idée?? Dites moi ce que vous en pensez. Je vous donnerai ma réponse dans un prochain post ;)

Wa 7yat albi w afra7ou

2007-10-27T23:23:00.000Z

Il y a deux ans à peine, c’était mon grand jour. Deux ans de moments tantôt beaux, tantôt pénibles derrière moi, un diplôme dans la main et des dizaines de points d'interrogation dans la tête.

Aujourd’hui était leur jour. La 19ème promotion des lauréats de l’Ecole Supérieure Roi Fahd de Traduction ont reçu leurs diplômes aujourd’hui. Malheureusement Cette année, je n’ai pas pu tenir la promesse qu’ont s’était faite un beau 26 novembre à Tanger. Je n’ai pas pu assister à la remise des diplômes, mais le téléphone est là, et les news, moi, je les ai eues de la bouche de mes sources sur place :p

Avec ces 41 lauréats, un nombre plutôt élevé par rapport aux promotions précédentes, l’école aura formé 510 traducteurs et traductrices (lauréats des quatre départements de l’école : Français, Anglais, Espagnol, et Allemand.)

Wassima, Asmaa, Maha, et tous les autres, félicitations et très très bon courage pour les jours à venir.

Allah ysehel li fiha lkhir à toutes et à tous :)

Binatkoum a bidaoua!!

2007-10-26T17:37:00.000Z

Dailymotion blogged video
Le derby casablancais et le hooliganisme...
VidÃ©o envoyÃ©e par maghrebb

I never could understand the strange tendency of football supporters in Morocco to break everything around every time they get into a stadium!! If this is how supporters express their love for their football teams, they got it all wrong – with excellence. As a recent case, vandalism acts of Raja and Wydad "supporters" caused much dammage in Casablanca's Mohammed V stadium and outside it, but also caused the death of a 17-year-old supporter!!

Now it has become a custom: every time a match is announced, we hear team staff and journalists "remind” the supporters that they are welcome to stadiums as supporters, not destructors! A real pity!!

It’s a pity also because, for the first time in Morocco, bigger attention was drawn to the national championship, and the means deployed to announce it (including a good TV spot), gave the impression that the Botola was getting more… hmmm modern! (By the way the TV spot ironically associated the championship with passion and fair play.)

Morocco 2010?? HUH??

P.S/ You might say that this kind of problems happens everywhere in the world. True. But this is not an excuse. And it can turn very bad.

Tbogis 3awtani

2007-10-25T16:09:00.000Z

Saba et Imane ont eu l’idée, m’ont invitée, et je n’ai pu que répondre présente !! Aujourd’hui, les blogueuses ont décidé de rendre hommage à la beauté masculine, et poster les photos de ceux qu’elles considèrent particulièrement … beaux :p

A part moi même et Imane, Saba a invité:

La Marocaine
Hamida Lamèche
Moony
Najlae
Simplemind
Simply Moroccan

Et Ouafa, Bzizla, etTechmech :):)

Y en a plusieurs, mais 2 me semblent suffisants :p

Pierce Brosnan. (je dis bien Pierce Brosnan et non pas James Bond;)

And from the Arab world:

Lawrence of Arabia, Omar Sharif.

Vous trouverez peut être que c'est des "Oldies", mais je dirais que c'est plutot des "Goldies" ;)

Et les femmes alors?

Here it starts again...

2007-10-18T15:12:00.000Z

After the collective “Aie!” (ouch) heard in Morocco after the appointment of Abbas El Fassi as Prime Minister, the members of the new government which was appointed on October15^th are holding today their first official meeting.

When the list of the new government members was announced, some names were disappointing, others were expected, and some were quite surprising. One of the positive surprises, for me, was the appointment of Latifa Akherbach as a Secretary of State to the Minster of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. A brilliant woman who, only a few months ago, moved from the position of Director of the High Institute of Journalism (ISIC) to that of the director of the Moroccan national radio.

Another surprising name was that of actress Touriya Jebrane, who is now the Moroccan Minister of Culture. Quite a surprise from a rather discreet artist and apparently politician! But I hope that her being an artist originally will make her decisions closer to the expectations and needs of her fellow artists; because they definitely need decision-makers and politicians who know what it is to be an artist in Morocco.

And then there was the appointment of Ahmed Akhchichine at the head of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, Staff Training, and Scientific Research. Akhchichine, who has been the General Director of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication since its creation in 2002, was never cited (as far as I know) among the expected candidates for this Ministry – quite a problematic department.

The decision to put Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira (Minister of Housing, Town Planning and Development) and Karim Ghellab (Minister of Equipment and Transport) in charge of the same departments they had in the previous government was wise in my opinion. No matter how problematic the situation of these sectors might be, the elections came at a time where Hejira and Guellab were engaged in huge projects, and where changing ministers would inevitably block or at least delay some projects. And then, we must say it, Hejira, Ghuellab and Adil Douiri (Minster of Tourim in the previous government) have been the Istiqlal Party’s “golden trio” which probably played a role in the success of their party in September’s elections.

Anyway, to all the 34 members of the new government: my wishes of good luck… and hard work!!

Mbrouk l3id :)

2007-10-14T16:48:00.000Z

Des retrouvailles, des rires, des chuchotements, des sourires, du thé, des jus et des gâteaux, des gens qui nous manquent en prennant des photos, je me vois déjà à leur place, le téléphone qui passe de main en main, de petites doses de ta voix partagées par tout le monde, mais jamais assez pour faire oublier ton absence, des voitures et des maisons, des familles réunis – disons, des phrases dites et redites, des vœux et des prières...

Eid mubarak said …

To all of you :)

Time again

2007-10-10T10:43:00.000Z

“Time flies!”

“Hours are too slow!”

“I wish I could go back to those days again”

“May those days never come back again”

“24 hours a day are not enough! I wish our days were longer”

“One day seems like years for me”

I wonder what our problem with time is!

Imagine the chaos we would face if, for only one day, time obeyed the desires of people. The world would go mad!!! Days would want to go faster to make someone finally have that long-awaited reunion. But they would want to go slower to prevent an impending event from coming.

Time would want to stop to satisfy those who want things to last forever as they are now. It would want to go backwards to give a second chance to those who made mistakes.

To satisfy us, time would want to cut itself into pieces, rearrange the chronology of events and maybe delete some parts.

But as crazy as this seems, would it really satisfy people if ever this happened?? There are big chances that calculations would turn wrong again. Rearranging the chronology of events might get us into a bigger mess, and we would wish again that time was arranged differently.

We’re trying to play an unbalanced game against time. Every time I think about this, I get the image of dwarves trying to block a giant and change his road, while the giant just walks and walks without paying attention to them.

That ship is going with or without us.

Smile, I'm taking a picture :)

2007-10-08T14:51:00.000Z

With these pictures I took last weekend, I am starting a new set of posts labelled “Clicks & Pics”. The pictures I will post won’t always be high-quality (what would you expect from an amateur photographer using an ordinary digital camera? :p). But blogging is about sharing, and I would like to share with you one of the things I love.

N'importe quoi

2007-10-03T09:41:00.000Z

An AFP news article said on September 29 that a Saudi man divorced his wife for the simple reason that he found her alone watching a TV program presented by a man, a situation which he considered as an illegitimate khulwa!!!

Maybe we should also stop watching wildlife documentaries lest we get attacked by a lion or something!!

Real nonsense.

Umbrellas out?

2007-10-02T13:59:00.001Z

Here it comes again! Looking out the window as I usually do from time to time while working, I saw tiny drops of rain racing each other to the ground.

The view is pleasant, although the ideal moment for me to contemplate it would be when I’m home, warm, and with no work plans bothering me. (A big dream!!)

Today's drops are silent but hasty. Seems like they know how bad the earth needs them...

Mabrouk Ramadan and mabrouk shta :)

sssda3

2007-09-21T11:55:00.000Z

Kaoutar 1 : Why did you do that ?

Kaoutar 2: Don’t blame me.

Kaoutar 1: We both knew where it was leading. Why did you do that?

Kaoutar 2: Leave me alone, I don’t wanna talk to you.

Kaoutar3: Come on! Don’t tell me you have started that conversation again! It will lead you nowhere; just stop it!

[No answer]

Kaoutar 1: I’m talking to you here! Give me an answer!

Kaoutar 2: Ok, I was wrong, but you were there all the time, why didn’t you say anything??

Kaoutar 1: Well I… I thought… I thought and hoped it wouldn’t be harmful…

Kaoutar 2: So why did you do that?!

[No more words left.]

Ramadan kareem

2007-09-19T13:48:00.000Z

It's never too late to say it I guess:

Ramadan Mubarak Said :)

It's in the air

2007-09-06T10:53:00.000Z

I smelt it this morning : school time has come. This is the same smell the air always brought in this period of the year. That humid but pleasant smell of wet earth. Pleasant but always mixed with worries of some sort. The end of vacation, the beginning of a new year at school. New faces, new teachers, new programs, new struggles, new “not-to-be-kept” resolutions, new meetings inevitably followed by goodbyes.

Here comes the rain (plainly not the Beatles' way) and unpredictable temperature shifts start. It’s sometimes too fresh outside, too warm at work. Suddenly I realise that I don’t have enough clothes for winter. I should start putting on warmer clothes. I should watch out for flu? It’s already there, so no worries :)

I leave home early in the morning and the signs of winter start showing up. It’s Automn in fact, but for me Automn is just the threshold of winter. This is the season. Colours have started migrating. Grey is conquering the world instead. The sky is grey, the sea is grey. Just like the asphalt road near my home which has just started to dry after a few drops of rain that must have hit early in the morning. Good for the plants, I usually think. You know that plants here are not always lucky enough to get special care from human beings.

At least another color will be there outside my window besides grey!

A beautiful voice fades away

2007-09-03T09:39:00.000Z

The beautiful Rajae Benlemlih will no longer shine on our radios and screens. I was startled at the news yesterday evening.

Death always strikes suddenly and the news is always hard to believe no matter what the reasons are.

Allah yerhamha w Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji3oun

A click that makes you sick!

2007-09-02T22:53:00.000Z

It was really not the right time. You know that state of mind now: I have just come back from a 10-day “vacation”; I have loads of work and endless deadlines to meet. And it is for this particular reason that I have “found time” and courage to put some order in my computer.

Not a good idea after all!

I am sleepy and off my guard, so I open any file that my mouse (sometimes cursed) curser reaches. There are those I know of course. First my desktop, a place always neat… in my dreams!! My Music, a file I try in vain to keep as empty as possible not to make my computer slower than it already is… My Pictures, old and new emotions compressed into digital files…

My Documents, a galaxy where personal, professional and academic worlds meet... and where forgotten files lie discretely in a dark corner. Files embedded in each other… and then documents that suddenly leap into my half-closed eyes. Names I no longer want to read; events I no longer want to remember.

It was really not the right time.

And will never be.

D-Day past... ! :)

2007-08-29T10:07:00.000Z

50 spams in my Gmail box, 16 unread emails in my Hotmail box, and many unread emails in Yahoo, including a relatively urgent professional one!! These are signs of complete disconnection for me! The reason? I talked about it in my previous post: my sister’s wedding took place a few days ago!!

Now that the wedding is over, our main activity at home is watching the DVDs and the pictures over and over again, commenting on the way the wedding went, trying to remember details. I never imagined how overwhelmed you can be when you organize such an event until I experienced it in fact.

Now if I have learned anything from this, it must be the fact that whenever I am invited somewhere, I should always understand my hosts if they don’t pay enough attention to me or to one of my guest relatives, or if they don’t seem calm enough at certain moments. Being a guest is a wayyyy different experience from being a host!!! (Reference to Naima Samih’s “li ma ye3der, daba yettebla” lol)

Anyway, the celebration went well lhamdullah – a rewarding ending for all the efforts before, during and after. A special bravooooo to you cousinino (l’homme des missions impossibles lol) who came from overseas specially for the wedding. A special thank you for all those who came although they were working the day after! (and naturally for those who came from all over Morocco)!

And I was so happy to have you there you ktikita who stayed only a few minutes – I totally understand! And I will never thank you enough SABA for all what you did!!! (How nice to live that zombie experience with you lol). As for you my dear khwalati, your support was really precious !! "Iwa Manal bentna," you would reply :) Allah ykhellikoum lina kamlin :)

Yallah, enough with thanks now, and time for wishes!!

To the gorgeous

Manal & Amine

I hope your life together will be inshaAllah as beautiful as you always wished, and more...

Allah ye7fedkoum :)

“D-day minus” mood

2007-08-01T12:38:00.000Z

Dima and many others made the same remark: I have disappeared immediately after adding blogging to my biggest addictions. I disappeared mainly because July was a special month. It was a typical “D-day minus” month:

In July there was my driving licence exam (which I failed by the way lol), so a second D-day exam is coming; (hope I won’t fail this time too :D)

In July there was a training tempting me to discover new career horizons; (no changes are expected soon though)

In July a coincidence led me to discover the existence of a relative I never knew about (a D-day must come soon on which we will meet)

In July contact was re-established with a dear friend who had completely disappeared in the noise of the city;

In July some goodbyes were about to happen; others did happen (All the best A.)

In July other goodbyes have been set for next year inshaAllah, with all the D-day minuses they will bring; (Allah yjib li fiha lkhir)

In July two friends of mine started waiting for important news that must come on a near D-day (Allah ysemme3na khbar lkhir)

In July my sister fixed the D-day on which she will no longer be my roommate, because she will found her own new family.

These were the sources of my “D-day minus” mood in July, but I’m sure the list is not complete. Everyday is a “D-day minus” for something we know or most probably don’t.

Good luck with your D-day Minuses!

Heeeeeeeelp! I have a new addiction!

2007-07-14T20:32:00.001Z

It's on the blog of SABA that I knew about the test. I have made it and my score is 65%!!

God!! Aren't Google, chewing-gum, the internet, my mobile phone, and my hand watch enough on my list of addictions??

If you want to know the degree of your blog-addiction, try the 14-question test!! :)

SABA, here's another shared belya ;) lol

Troubles with stress? Smash a building!

2007-07-06T10:09:00.000Z

I sooooo wish I were with them !!!

Attention, bébé va postuler !

2007-07-03T11:54:00.000Z

On en parlait il y a quelques jours sur le blog de Najlae. Quelque chose de grave arrive à notre système éducatif et les chiffres en témoignent: seulement 39% des candidats au baccalauréat en session normale cette année ont réussi leurs examens. Un chiffre rapporté avec fierté en plus par les médias (du moins officiels) marocains, puisque l’année dernière le taux de réussite était de 38% seulement.

Ce qui m’a rappelé ce sujet ? C’est une offre d’emploi que j’ai vue hier. L’offre avait l’air normale, avec description du profile recherché, des pièces à envoyer et des coordonnées de l’employeur. Sauf que le cadre recherché doit avoir entre 25 et 35 ans, avoir un bac + 5 et avoir une expérience professionnelle d’au moins 4 ans.

Réveillez moi si je rêve mais ce profile est quasiment impossible au Maroc ! Je parle ici du gars de 25 ans. Le candidat doit avoir décroché son bac à 16 ans, doit avoir fait après 5 ans d’études supérieures sans fautes et acquis (au moins) un diplôme et des compétences qui lui garantiraient un premier boulot (« intéressant » selon l’annonce) avant même de se rendre compte qu’il a fini ses études. Et à 25 ans, il doit avoir accumulé au moins 4 ans « d’expérience professionnelle réussie », bien sur avec un super CV qui lui permettrait de se démarquer des autres candidats.

Possible à réaliser? Je ne dirais pas non. Presque impossible à réaliser avec notre système éducatif et l’état du marché d’emploi au Maroc?? Ooooh que oui!

Seven things about me

2007-06-28T13:18:00.000Z

Merci Issam de m’avoir passé le relais :)

Il y a un bout de temps, je l’admets, Issam m’a demandé sur son blog de vous communiquer 7 choses de moi. J’avais déjà posté un « auto-portrait » il y a quelques mois, mais je vous dis quand même sept (pas forcément) nouvelles choses:

1- J’ai l’air calme et sereine. Je peux l’être, oui, mais méfiez vous des apparences quand même ;)

2- Mes talents artistiques sont plutôt nombreux (chant, dessin, violon, guitare) mais je ne suis allée au bout d’aucun d’entre eux.

3- Mon plus grand problème : Je n’oublie pas facilement les choses qui me tracassent, je prends les choses trop à cœur (même celles qui ne méritent pas parfois) et ce n’est pas une partie de plaisir. Je suis aussi idéaliste et parfois rêveuse, et je me casse souvent quelques cotes en atterrissant.

4- Mon plus grand casse-tête : Refaire un travail que j’ai déjà fait. (Mon PC m’a fait un sale coup dernièrement. J’ai perdu un document très important et je dois tout recommencer à zéro).

5- Mon plus grand réconfort : Voir que tout (ou presque) est organisé autour de moi, et que mes plannings sont clairs. (Mais – heureusement diraient quelques un(e)s – je peux être chaotique parfois ;)

6- Mon plus grand rêve – actuellement – : Pouvoir bien dormir, profondément, et ne pas me réveiller avec, comme première idées de la journée, le boulot ou d’autres choses qui me tracassent.

7- Ma plus grande peur –actuellement – : la douleur. (psychologique).

Voilà, c’est tout! Pour plus d’informations je vous invite à lire la fiche technique de notre produit ici ;)

Un peu plus sérieusement maintenant, et puisqu'il ne faut pas interrompre les chain chain chains des bloggeurs, j’appelle (attention, ma liste est longue) :

Saba, Najlae, et Fouad.

Pour le groupe des kassouline, question de leurs donner des idées de posts :p (sorry mais vos postes nous manquent;) j’appelle : Red, Ana, Offthegridder, et Narjissim.

And the newcomers: SimplyMoroccan et Fays.

Important: Tous les lecteurs (blogueurs ou pas) sont les bienvenus dans l’espace Comments pour nous faire part de leurs sept vérités ;)

Important aussi : Ne me haïssez pas, les nominés ont le droit de garder le silence ;)

A vous !