Again and always, racism's ugly head :(

English

I don't usually post more than one article a day, but I felt the need to!
Watching news on LBC right now about the Ethiopian Airlines crash (here & here):

Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi visited the Lebanese families who were mourning their loved ones. He went from one town to the next, from one house to the next and paid his respect to the grieving relatives.

Politicians, journalists and other prominent Lebanese figures attended the mess in memory of Marla Pietton, wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton. This is understandable and I can appreciate everyone making the effort to attend in person.

WHAT I CANNOT UNDERSTAND

On the other hand, only Ethiopians attended the mess in memory of their fellow nationals (mostly women, I didn’t notice any man which is possibly because all these ladies are most likely housekeepers).

Not one politician.
Not one prominent figure.
Not even one representative sent by the government.

Truly disgusting.

I sit there and remember that my husband, my brother, my sister and I spend our life away from home; away from our families; just like these women.

I know what it means to be lonely sometimes; to feel like you want to hug your sister; to feel like you need to touch your mother, sometimes just smell her perfume (I own a bottle of my mom’s favorite fragrance and use it when I miss her so I can sense her all day long) and yet, unlike these brave Ethiopian ladies, I have the opportunity to visit home many times a year.

What are they feeling right now?

Divine injustice for losing their friends and relatives?
Earthly injustice for facing racism on a daily basis?

I’m wondering what support system these ladies are getting away from their homes; away from their loved ones.

God help them.

God help all those who have had to face this tragedy.
God bless the souls of those who left and may they rest in peace.

F***ing Good Morning to You Too!

English

Last night hubby flew back to Dubai for a couple of days before heading to China for a good two weeks. I'm not going to nag about his business trips and how we're never together anymore. This is not the topic of this post. I just had to mention this detail because his flight was at 3am so we stayed up until 1:30am when he drove to the airport (it's just 7min away by car, no traffic); and then I couldn't sleep until the plane took off (air catastrophes aside, I just do that every time someone travels). Bottom line, I wasn't asleep before 4am.

Late night fantasy of "grasse matinée"

I thought it was all OK because I would sleep late today; after all it's what Sundays are for, right?

But our great leaders had other plans for me and so this beautiful day started on high note.

We live two steps away from the Bristol Hotel which is a favorite location for our delightful politicians to organize parties and whatnot.

People familiar with the Bristol area will tell you parking's a bitch (pardon my French) and none of the buildings which were designed sometime around the 80's have underground parkings. So the entire neighborhood parks on the sides of the streets.

As mentioned earlier, today is Sunday and most families in my building only, let alone the entire neighborhood, have already left to the mountains since yesterday. Most of these families own two cars but use only one on weekends. Which means that the remaining car is nicely parked on the side of the street since Friday night.

And this fatalistic morning...

My sunshiny wake up call today? The police blasted through their microphones for people to remove their cars on both sides of the road! Apparently our national security heroes are very afraid someone might have left a bomb or something targeted at one of our (I'll say it again) delightful politicians.

First of all: If you're so damn scared of what your own people might do to you, you need to start wondering what you've done to them to make them that angry

Secondly: If you're so damn scared of public places, why don't you hold your little parties in a less urban location? There are hotels everywhere in our tourist-friendly Lebanon. Do you have to do your thing in the middle of Beirut, in its most crowded area between Hamra and Verdun? Streets are crowded with cars. You don't like it, move. We definitely won't mind having not to bear the weight of your oh-so-damn-annoying presence!

Secondly (bis): If you're so damn scared of public places (I have another option for this one) why don't you hold your little parties in one of your mansions? All of you delightful politicians have big houses with 24hrs a day power supply. And if you're so keen on securing the location, yours are already fortresses! The streets (and their surroundings) you live on are more than secured , as if you owned Lebanon's public roads and sidewalks. So why bother securing an entirely new area when you've already got checkpoints around your homes and we common citizens have to go through your insulting staff every time we must pass by?

Thirdly: Even if every car owner was in town and could move their cars, where would they park them? It works the other way around too: Even if there were available golden parking spots somewhere, all the cars owners are not in town!!

My two cents

I'm no security expert but I've got some fairly acceptable managerial skills so I'll venture and advise our (again, can't help myself) delightful politicians and their amazingly qualified staff the following:

IF YOU WANT THE STREETS TO BE EMPTY ANY DAY OF THE WEEK AND PARTICULARLY ON A SUNDAY

DO YOUR JOB AND WARN PEOPLE A FEW DAYS AHEAD OF TIME!
(how difficult was that to think of?)

OK, YOU CAN'T THINK THAT FAR, FINE. HOW ABOUT WARNING THE PEOPLE THE DAY BEFORE THEN
(is that one also impossible?)


If you expect the citizens who were silly enough to vote for you to do their part, how about you start by doing yours?

Today is going to be grand!
I can feel it.

The sirens haven't stopped yet as if clearing the roads was some kind of medical emergency. The idiot behind the microphone is still shouting at people as if they were common criminals (I mean come on, who would park their car in front of their own building?) and he was doing society some big favor. (And they wonder why we hate them?!)

And I am fairly certain that even when the roads will be clear (and most of the neighbors will have to go pick their cars up from the impound) the sirens will not stop.

La Morale Monsieur Lafontaine?

Basically we scream "democracy" and "republic" during elections campaigns.

Then we actually throw away all that crap, enforce "feudalism", crown ourselves Lords (if not Kings or even Emperors) and treat the so-called citizens like serfs.

Finally, the common people (or "serfs" for those who haven't been following) can enjoy the GREATNESS of FREEDOM by reelecting us again, and again, and again, and again, and again (and if/when we die, elect our children) again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and... Until eternity.

A Freaking Good Morning to You Too!

The Lebanese Laïque Pride

English

Rayess Bek's contribution to the The Lebanese Laïque Pride - مَسِيرَة من أجل دولة علما which will take place in Beirut on April 25, 2010 at 11am.

Join the pride & march for a secular Lebanon!

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Add The Lebanese Laïque Pride on Facebook
Join the group & event on Facebook

Boys & Girls

English

I'm not what you would call a naive, innocent little girl.

I grew up in France, saw more in my neighborhood public high school than a Lebanese retired narc officer (OK, that may be an exaggeration, but you get my meaning) and I was the only girl in my sixth grade class that had yet to make out with a guy (what? I'm no prude but I'm a romantic-to-the-bone dreamer who spent her high school years fantasizing about her forever love; high school boys don't really fit the profile).

I am a firm believer in cohabitation; I think it's so very important to know the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with. And by "know" I mean really, truly understand their strengths, their joys, their loves, their pains, their weaknesses and most of all, their annoying little things. And understand that when two people get married, they commit to the person and all of the above as one single package; unconditionally.

Because as much as I believe in cohabitation, I believe even more in human nature. And I know from personal (modest) experience that people cannot change drastically. So if you think you can get hitched and say, well, I'll make him/her change "that thing" after we're married, think again.

You can immediately know what you're willing to compromise and live with and what you won't ever be able to stand. So why put yourself (and your partner) through hell by naively thinking you can achieve what so many others have failed at before?

Grow up. Man up. And do what you have to do before tying the knot!

I also know I'm a very difficult person. My values are very much black and white (to my loved ones' despair) and I do not ever stand, accept or even understand lack of ethics (personal or professional), decency or respect; which has been a hassle to manage at work and elsewhere.

Tolerance is a very important value, and I do appreciate it when it supports ethical positions. Tolerating racism, fanaticism, meanness, cruelty, disrespect, bigotry, and all that crap is not tolerance. It's bullshit.

But all in all, I'm a fairly open-minded gal.
I don't judge.
And I genuinely believe that people are free to make their own choices (freedom which entails the responsibility of living with the consequences of these choices afterwards).

But some choices I have a hard time understanding (not judging though). And it shocks me to find myself feeling, well, naive (to say the least).

After all the progress we've made and all the work that still remains to be done for Lebanese women to finally enjoy basic equal rights with men within our so very patriarchal society, I can't help but be deeply disappointed when I hear some stories.
As I was walking by a very well-known café in Hamra I saw a friend of mine, X. sitting there with another guy I know and a girl. She looked like any other regular 20-something girl and I assumed she could have been X.'s new girlfriend because of their proximity at the table and the fact that she answered his phone. I found out later that she was just a friend; well an extremely trusting friend apparently. She had bluntly asked X. to get her... Clients. As a good friend, she trusts him to be her pimp!

If that's not friendship, then I don't know what is!

And apparently she's not the only one. Another friend of his told him that she easily makes 400 US Dollars a night and her clients include well-known politicians (old enough to be her dad). This one on the other hand didn't need any help acquiring new "projects"; she was just sharing how she manages her expenses.

X. had previously helped a third friend who just graduated as a journalist, land a job at a prominent Arab media group. She later decided to drop the whole thing and pursue other... Options. Options which are getting her a brand new car, and even her parents seem to be benefiting from her newly found career (don't they wonder where the high income's coming from at her age?) career which I am sure is unknown to them. I guess that when you're in need and cash starts pouring in, you don't really bother asking too many questions (or do you?) and believe any explanation blindly; even as concerned parents...

All these girls say that sleeping with men they don't love is not such a big deal. They really don't think about it that much. It's not about love after all.

And I remember me, at their age, still fantasizing about my forever one! God!

What saddens me deeply is that these are young, bright girls with an education and life ahead of them. Fresh graduates who seemed to be so focused and excited about pursuing a successful career in the media industry. Making a name for themselves. Being one of the few women to achieve so much in a field ruled mostly by men in the Arab world.

I guess shopping, cruising town in cool cars and being able to afford going out every night of the week was too good a deal to pass.

Girls are not the only ones pimping themselves.

And sometimes, in a perverted way, the pimping is not even for financial gain. Some aim at marrying. Others aim at marrying rich. Most (maybe?) aim at marrying beautiful. Young people aiming so high, everywhere around us.

The song below is so funny and yet so sad when you think it is so damn real. It is in Lebanese dialect. By a Lebanese university student. About Lebanese university students. Enjoy it. I wish I could include the credits but I got it by email without any detail.

If anyone knows who made that track, please let me know.
Thanks!

--✮--

I'm very happy to update this post with some links from the talented Michelle Keserwany who left a comment here. Many of those who left messages on Twitter will be glad to discover the pages below:

JAGUAL el USEK group on Facebook
Michelle Keserwany on Facebook

Money-making Tragedies & Peeping-Tom Reporting

English

Watching Lebanese TV these days is literally nauseating.

Some channels have specialized in creating music videos they use as fillers in between programs and which are nothing more than cheap montages of families in pain, crying, mourning, screaming, fainting over tacky classical music (music we now know by heart; we have enough tragedies a year to sustain the entire classical music industry, if there were one in Lebanon).

Even the news have turned into cheesy, emotions-hyped videos!

Journalists are no longer interested in reporting facts, they're looking for sensational images to edit and rearrange in (tragic) short movies. We should hold Awards for those Filmmaking-Journalists... Or Journalists turned filmmakers? The difference is no longer visible and nobody cares anymore anyway.

As the minister of health replied in a very reasonable manner to all the questions (and sensational speculations) thrown at him during the press conference that followed flight 409's tragic crash a few days ago; reporters on location at the crash site and in hospitals played their cards quite well with the common citizens to get whatever they could not retrieve from politically correct interviewees.

It felt as if the goal was not to gather information on current developments, but rather get the most atrocious and shocking answers.

I can remember two interviews in particular:

1. N.S. at the hospital speaking to the Red Cross in-charge following the minister's press conference. When asked if there were any remains of ripped bodies, the minister insisted that there was no need for such graphic descriptions at this point in time. The main concern was the rescue efforts which is what anyone should be focusing on when speaking to the Red Cross. Supposedly. Instead, NS's interview cleverly extracted graphic information worthy of any respectable horror movie: the rescue team had found the body of a child; the body was headless. Promptly after the interviewee left, NS made sure to mention the body in question was that of a boy. I couldn't help but feel so damn betrayed! This poor child had no right to privacy, even in death. His family, relatives and/or friends were probably watching and I cannot even begin to imagine what their reactions could have been especially when initial reports confirmed there were only two children on board, precisely a boy and girl. There was no need to reveal a name, the mere fact of revealing it was a "child" was enough, let alone specifying a gender!
   
   
2. S.E.H. at the beach speaking to citizens who live nearby. This must have been the most ridiculous and laughable interview I've ever seen in my entire life. And I've seen a lot, in the media industry at least. I'm no journalist. And I'm no genius. But at least, if I were ever to produce an interview, especially on live TV, I would most definitely make sure to speak to the interviewees, give them clear questions and get clear answers before going on air. It was very obvious that such basic (and not at all time-consuming) prepping was never done! She had a man in front of her who was speaking about the bad weather and the sea during a storm. Had it been a scientific assessment from an expert, it would have been fine. Instead it was just a poor guy with limited education (no offense intended, I promise, but this transpired very clearly as he spoke). Since he had a hard time expressing himself (and answering the questions) his friend who was off camera suddenly interrupted and started answering, placing himself very nicely in front of the camera. Very quickly a third friend of the previous two also appeared and started giving his views on the rescue situation (which they were not a part of). In the meantime, the first guy got on his cel-phone looking at the camera, speaking loudly and laughing (apparently someone was watching, recognized him and called). Back in the newsroom, the anchor obviously felt like the entire conversation was useless and tried to shift the report towards a more journalistic direction and asked if there was any official rescue team on location such as the red cross or the army. Instead of picking up the pieces and ending the report on a smart note, the reporter replied with strong confidence that these citizens have lived all their life near the beach, know the sea in and out and are experts in retrieving drowning bodies and corpses! Yes, yes, your eyes are not betraying you! These citizens are experts in retrieving corpses!! From the sea!! Because they live near the beach!! Aha. Ok. If you say so.
   

These are just two of the examples we've had the privilege to watch these past days from our very professional TV stations.

I don't mean to pick on anyone but they were just reports that drove me insane! As do the maddening classical-music-drama-horror-awardwinning-movies!


Fine. I may be a little cranky.
I could have let it go.

But I feel so sad for this profession.
The watchdogs of society are not doing society any good anymore!

What is their role nowadays?
Producing sensational movies?
Or searching for the truth and reporting facts?


As a citizen who relies on news reporters to do their job, I feel betrayed. I look for news and get sensationalism and gossips!

As a person who feels strongly about human rights, privacy and respect, I feel ashamed for the victims' families who are being used and abused for ratings and whatnot.

Audiences are not peeping toms, so stop putting us in these situations!
(Damn reality TV and all the crap it made possible/acceptable)

We do not enjoy watching the most intimate moments of a person in distress. As we do not appreciate when our sorrow is broadcasted everywhere when we are in distress. And I am fairly certain the journalists themselves would not appreciate it either if it happened to them or their loved ones.


I'm going to stop thinking about these useless actions.

My last thought goes to the families of the victims, praying for all of the lost souls to rest in peace...

Gaza, Iraq, Haiti, ET409 on my mind

English

2010 started on strong notes.
Not very high though.
Strong, very low notes.


First Haiti's tragedy which was an explosion of terror, sadness and pain. Explosion because terror, sadness and pain have been there all along, in so many places. But when it suddenly bursts with a 7-something magnitude on Richter, then it gets the attention of the world, attention it most definitely deserves, there's no denying that.


Terror, sadness and pain, anywhere & everywhere.


Palestine and Gaza always under the radar and always under attack. This time, no Richter-worthy explosions there. Israelis learned their lesson. If they want to keep annihilating Palestinians, they need to do so quietly. Any media attention can only lead to bad publicity, bad publicity they don't need right now. They're barely recovering from the PR consequences of their last genocidal campaign. Irony of all ironies, while continuously and proudly marching on the Palestinian bodies they're leaving behind, Israelis have decided to show compassion in Haiti. Good PR is always welcome. There's no business like show-business, is there?

(Wishing for some natural disaster in Palestine, and hopefully some worldwide compassion until all pain, terror and sadness are resolved? Maybe? Who knows... Who cares?)


Terror, sadness and pain, anywhere & everywhere.


Yesterday, there was ET409. The tragedy happened very early in the morning, while we were all nicely tucked in bed. Comfortable. Dreaming maybe? Some witnessed an explosion over the sea. Some heard it loud and clear. Most of us woke up to the aftermath. Tragic end to too many lives who all had to take that flight to survive their daily needs and ended up not surviving at all. Lebanese and Ethiopians forced to travel too far away from their homes and their loved ones to provide for their families and sustain themselves. Lebanese going back to work. Ethiopians going back home (most of them, if not all, finally flying back home after - ironically? - surviving horrifying working conditions, slavery, abuse and sometimes more). Only to find death. And in the most atrocious and ridiculous way. At least in Gaza and all of Palestine, if they die, it's to protect their land, their children, their loved ones. Their deaths are not void. They are proud. When they die, they leave this Earth fighting for justice and what's right. But a plane crash? How so very sick!


Terror, sadness and pain, anywhere & everywhere.


I'm a bit depressed as I watch the news but today all the TV stations resumed their normal programs. The state of media urgency is off now. Updates are provided on a need to know basis, should some media-worthy development suddenly occur. It looks like life is back on its normal track, except maybe for this bitter taste left in our mouths for whatever bizarre reason.

--

Thinking of the crash victims. Hoping they didn't feel any pain (and fear).

Thinking of their families. Praying they can survive what seems to be far more insuperable than the crash itself.

Thinking of the dreams and hopes all the passengers carried in their hearts. Lebanese, Ethiopians and others who worked hard to earn an honorable and proud living. Most of them enduring horrifying working conditions. All of them missing their families, children, parents.

Thinking of Gaza. Hoping for Palestine. Praying for all those who suffer and pay the highest of prices for justice and honor.

Thinking of Haiti. Hoping for the best (the weather doesn't seem to care though, and it looks like more catastrophes are on the way). Praying help will come on time and will be enough (is it ever?).

--

When I see all the horror natural disasters or tragic accidents bring; horror we could not control; horror we sometimes could not foresee; I am disgusted human beings can still find it in their hearts (forget their minds, they're obviously mad) to cause more pain; intentional horror and torture caused by man-made wars.

Insane sadistic murderers who hide behind Press Conferences and the political correctness of "collateral damage"!

How can it be unintentional?
Don't we all know what the consequences of war are?
You start a war, you cause deaths.
Collateral damage?!
What a nice way to say: legalized mass murders.

--

May the souls be blessed & May they rest in peace.

have a great fun(d) raising day! :)

English

This morning I had the pleasure to be invited to one of Fun(d) Raising's activities. We visited one of Beirut's poorest schools, home to the most underprivileged children in Zarif. It was delightful meeting the dedicated staff and faculty, and the most wonderful students!

Below are a few shots I had the privilege to witness :)
Wonderful morning, truly.

Thank you Fun(d) Raising for this amazing opportunity and memorable experience! My heart is still warm and so so so happy!! :)

Follow Fun(d) Raising on Twitter!
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Fun(d) Raising on the web!

That time of the day ...

English

... Or night!

In my case it was at 11:30 pm, the fatalistic hour when I discovered a totally new side of me... And apparently new powers I never imagined I had!

The night before (between Jan 18 and Jan 19 at 3 am) I heard a huge explosion coming from the street (I live on the 7th floor and when I sleep, well let's just say that nothing could ever wake me up so no need to elaborate on how big the whole thing was).

I got out of bed (and woke my parents up in case of fire or emergency) and we discovered the whole street was dark: the buildings, the street lights which are not really a reference in Lebanon since we have casual power cuts, but in Beirut, never after 6pm. So that was unusual but what definitely confirmed the explosion came from the main neighborhood power supply was that even the power station was off which never happens at all, even during cuts.

Of course at 3 am there isn't much you can do (or feel like doing, because actually there is a night shift in order to ensure 24/7 repairs when/where/if needed).

So we immediately started calling the next morning, i.e. yesterday. We spent all day on the phones dodging rude answers, hang ups (AAAGGGHHH!!!) and all sorts of crap crapped by public sector employees.

In our area of Beirut they shut down all generators providers for pollution reasons (Mmmh... Did you really believe that last statement? They just kept one single supplier in our area, a mafioso who doesn't allow anyone else to compete against his services, charges exorbitant fees and rules the neighborhood; all this despite his regular law-breaking -- he spends a few months in jail every year but since a prominent politician in Beirut backs him up, he always ends up back on his feet in no time. What kills me is that the power he provides doesn't come solely from his generator. He actually steals power from the state. When one street is off, he steals from another street's supply line which is on at that time... And everyone knows!) But Lebanese corruption is not the topic of this post. Moving on.

So basically, we had no electricity and the building's tiny generator cannot cater to all the apartments, let alone the entire day.

We ended up spending all the afternoon in the dark. All that time, the lying employees (customer service is not a word they could ever understand so I won't even bother using it) were constantly assuring us that they sent a crew to assess the situation.

Finally, in the evening at around 9 pm they told us that the problem was too big for them to resolve immediately so we had to wait until the next morning.

Of course they were lying because we saw no crew ever showed up and since this same problem happens every year when it rains heavily, we also knew that it was a matter of 15 minutes for them. They do it every year for God's sake!! Just because they can't bother changing one single piece of equipment which cannot contain all the power distribution needed when radiators and all sorts of heating devices run full-fledge in the winter. Naturally, when it comes to collecting the bills, they are always very punctual and efficient. But providing the services paid for in those aforementioned bills, that's too much to ask for!

So at 11:30 pm sleepless as usual, the wiring in my head disconnected and I just couldn't take it anymore. I called the same number and this time with a very harsh Lebanese-backed-by-shithead-politician tone, I asked for the night shift manager. They put me on hold and wanted to ask me questions, to which I would reply each time the same answer: "I want to speak to the manager. You are useless. I've been talking to you and your colleagues all day. Now I want to speak to your manager."

I don't know if I really got transfered to the manager because I could hear them fussing in the back and putting me on hold, then fussing some more, then putting me on hold again until finally one of them gave me his name and said he was in charge of the night shift. I don't know if he truly was or if they just wanted to get the crazy bitch (me) off the phone.

I won't repeat all the things I said because, well, some sensitive ears may not survive it.

But basically, in my wild tirade I made sure to mention valid arguments such as the fact that we were paying for 24hr service in our bills and in our taxes and I didn't care for employees who sit on their asses collecting salaries for doing absolutely nothing, salaries we are paying from our hard-earned money.

To which he had to audacity to lie and tell me that they had no complaint from our neighborhood in their records! That drove me madder since I myself had called a million times! Then he said, the complaint came at noon (?!) Ok... Well done dude. If you can't even be smart enough to maintain your lies; and I know for a fact I personally called in the freaking morning. That only served to aggravate me more: let's assume the complaint was recorded at noon... It was midnight!! Since noon, and nothing was done yet?!

Of course the guy was standing tough (as any arrogant public sector employee would) and telling me not to shout and to respect myself which of course drove me to the end of what little sanity was left in me!

I told him that I, unlike him, do respect myself, that they're the ones who don't respect themselves because they don't care to get our respect. If they did they wouldn't be lying thieves and finally, everyone will be held responsible for their amazingly inadequate performance (and many more things that cannot be repeated).

I am sure everybody threatens like this every day but it seems my tone was apparently very convincing and projected a crazy bitch, yes, but a true Lebanese-backed-by-shithead-politician crazy bitch!

The guy said he was doing his best and he would send someone and that I should call back in half an hour to check on the crew's status. And that please I should calm down and appreciate he's doing a nice thing for me (!!!) To which I replied: "Thank you for doing your job" and hung up as any Lebanese-backed-by-shithead-politician crazy bitch would (duh).

My mom called back from another number after 40 minutes and we found out that the crew hadn't left yet but they were about to.

Another 20 minutes later the power was back on!!

So in 20 minutes they managed to get their lazy asses to the location AND repair whatever needed repairing! 20 minutes! 20 freaking minutes they couldn't bother spending in the morning (or even in the afternoon).

I FREAKING HATE THEM!!

But since I'm an oversensitive idiot who feels guilty very easily, I had to call back and thank Haytham for his outstanding (yeah, right) work.

I was very nice and even apologized for being harsh because I know it wasn't his fault; blablabla.

To which he replies with a soft voice "So can we get properly introduced now? Who do I have the honor of speaking to?"

I can't even explain my face at that moment.
Is he a freaking masochist or what?!

I laughed as if it was a funny, funny joke coming from a funny, funny jerk... Sorry, I mean man, wished him a good night and hung up.

About 10 minutes later, I get an SMS on my mobile (which I had used to call the power station) with another funny, funny joke and something like "I've never accepted so much shit from someone in my entire life".

Well, believe me, I am flattered (?!?!?!)

Turned off my phone and went to bed.


God! Can't anyone be nice to someone else without them thinking there could be something more??

Wait a second, I'm not a silly silly little girl. I know very well he wasn't attracted to me.
He had never seen me.

He certainly wasn't attracted to my honey-candy-sweet voice.
I sounded like a crazy bitch, remember?

He probably just wanted to waste his idle (working?!?!) hours on the phone sweet talking a woman or something.

Still.
And regardless of whether I'm married or not.
Dude.
Come on.
Boundaries.

(And seriously, after the insane tirade I gave him, he's gotta be a masochist for trying to befriend me. Apparently he enjoys being reprimanded! You naughty naughty boy! You're punished! There. Done.)

(My dad & mom were seriously amused and laughed their asses off!! Glad someone was enjoying this whole thing!)

Airports...

English ✮ Français

Since both my sister & brother have traveled back to where it is they reside and work, I don't want to think about Goodbye Airports. I hate them! And because I'm missing my sister & brother very much these days, I want to remember Welcome Airports. The days they arrived. The Airport was happy. We were happy.

Puisque ma sœur et mon frère sont tous les deux rentrés là où ils vivent, je ne veux pas penser aux Aéroports des Adieux. Je les hais! Et puisque ma sœur et mon frère me manquent énormément ces temps-ci, je veux me rappeler des Aéroports de Bienvenue. Lorsqu'on les a accueillis. L'Aéroport était heureux. Nous étions heureux.

Photo Taken by Rouba Abouzeid

On December 12, 2009

An Airport

Photo Taken by Rouba Abouzeid

On December 21, 2009

An Airport

. S H A R E . T H I S . P ✮ S T .