This ad randomly runs on Reuters Website …It doesn’t seem to depend on where in the page you are as much as the time of the day you visit. Rihab brought it to my attentin a few days ago … I couldn’t quite figure out what it’s all about…maybe it’s about Reuters’ readers’ perception? or starvation? maybe liposuction? I was curious, so I selected the first option…I was taken to ‘page not found’…I thought perhaps I chose the wrong answer, so I went back and selected the second option…I was taken to ‘page not found’ again…whatever it may be, that woman’s back and trying to figure out what this ad is all about really distracted me from concentrating on the way more pressing issues around the world…

The fact that the entire Muslim world is off in observance of Eid will not stop the Americans and Iraqis from moving forward with the execution of Saddam. He will hang at Dawn on the first day of Eid…I wonder what has been going through his mind from the minute of capture, through out his trial and to the last hours of his life … feelings of regret? remorse? guilt? sadness? perhaps pride? victory? hope? I don’t know …but what I do know for sure is that I feel a sense of sadness…I have not been able to look at Saddam’s capture and trial pictures for more than a few seconds… once a great, charismatic leader has been reduced to such degrading state all in the name of justice and freedom on the hands of a foreign occupying force…the truth is that’s far from it …whether he deserves all that’s happened to him is not the point. Saddam’s overall trial does not have anything remotely connected to justice and freedom…His soul will soon transcend to a place where the real trial, with the fairest judge will take place…till mine follows, this is the image of Saddam that I’d like to carry with me, always:

—-

Bars,
even if forged of braided gold,
are still bars.
And being locked inside is death to the soul.

God came to set us free,
not build a prison
and expect those with faith
to file in.

Structure, form, and commitment
keep us knit together.
But only if they enhance the bonds of love,
not serve as a substitute.

When rules and religious reasons
replace love, grace and passion
another prison cell is filled.
-by Delilah (one of my old time favorite retreats…)

Happy Eid!

Some of the weirdest, crappiest, pathetically hilarious, ugh unbelievable, hmm hello ( I seriously cannot even find the most appropriate term to describe it) things happened these past few days…

What’s wrong with people? Why do some lie so much? it’s programming. programming. NOT program. I can’t stand liars…but who does anyway!

Ewwww! Yuck! Gross! Sick!

I’ve been wearing tennis shoes to work and from work ever since I started taking the Metra…since it’s a pretty good walk… I change into my heels when I get to the office…Yesterday’s outift would’ve looked horrendous with tennis shoes…so I didn’t even bother wearing tennis shoes, and just put my heels on at home…As I was walking to the station, my heel got stuck in one of those scary metal grates on the sidewalks …It scraped off my heels almost entirely!(and that’s exactly why I alway avoid walking over those metal grates! my other ultimate fear is actually falling in! thankfully that hasn’t happened. yet.) I should sue the City of Chicago! I had just bought that pair!

My toe nail split in half! so painful!

so hot! too hot!

The train almost derailed today! Oddly, there isn’t a way to communicate with the train conductor/engineer at all … for security purposes, they really should consider installing a two-way intercom system! and since there are restrooms on board, there should be intercoms inside there as well. Imagine being on a nearly empty train late at night, with a possible psycho/mass murder sharing the same cart…he (almost all mass murders are males) starts acting weird…anyone should be able to press that button for help if - God forbid - the situation ever calls for it…I definitely would’ve used it today to ask why he was trying to kill us!

My few Indian friends are celebrating Eid Al-Adha on Monday… this is unbelievably ridiculous! Do they go to the same Hajj every normal Muslim goes to?

Calling someone a monkey look-alike is so mean! Despite being known as ‘mean Elaine’ to some, I will never ever bring myself to say that about someone! that’s just too insensitive!

lack of sleep is worse than PMS!

Do you ever get past the pain you go through? When you give all you can and you can’t understand why a dream won’t come true? Leann Rimes (a desirable voice!) asks in her “All the Lovin’ and the Hurtin…’ then she goes on to say, it’s a one sided romance you can’t undo…and I must say, one-sided romance is the most pitiful thing anyone can allow themselves to engage in! I can understand being infatuated with someone, liking someone, even fantasizing about someone… and I can understand completely and madly loving an idea, a word, a book, a thought, an author, chocolate, shoes, your pet, but being completely in love with someone who doesn’t share those same or even similar feelings is way beyond me! loving a man/woman who doesn’t acknowledge your existence is really sad! and despite some disagreeing with me on this (and some have.), I strongly believe it’s wasted time, wasted energy and complete emotional drainage!

It’s pointless!

If you strongly defend a point, a way, a tradition, a certain lifestyle why don’t you apply it to your life first then talk about it as much as you want. Otherwise, please spare me what is truly nothing but pure bullshit! They talk about women who dress provactively, yet will drool at the thought of one…they talk about women who stay out late, yet don’t mind spending the night with those same women…they talk about women who engage in pre-marital relations, yet don’t mind being a big part of the ‘fun…’  Hypocrites get on my nerves!

—

feels like Monday … the streets were empty…it took me three minutes to get to the train station…One thing I dislike about the train station is its parking lots…they’re scattered all over the place …and relatively far from the stop…I have to walk, then go up the stairs (I’ve been meaning to count how many steps there are, but I’m usually in such a hurry going up because it’s somewhat in a secluded area and I’m afraid of the dark!), then cross the tracks! the train was empty, too…seems that almost everyone is off this week. I couldn’t take off because I have plenty to do by the end of this week…and was looking forward to coming into work actually…but my morning so far has been full of frustration and stress! ugh! I usually don’t turn my PC off before leaving work (because sometimes I attempt to login from home and do some extra work in the evenings…if I’m lucky enough to actually be able to login) but I did before leaving Friday per instructions! This morning I was unable to turn my PC on! this is not the time for this. I really need my PC…I have two deadlines by the end of this week…and I cannot vpn into it because it’s off! and 95% of the work is not on the shared drive so I have no access to it! ugh!

I’m so upset. I want my PC on…I need my work…I want my music! By the way, I’m really starting to believe that dressing up to work hinders my performance! when I’m not interacting with clients, then what’s wrong with going in jeans/sweats? An old boss of mine always said that the way you dress is a reflection of your performance. I can somewhat understand that, but honestly on certain days I can think a lot more and can be that more productive when I’m dressed down!
But for now what I don’t understand is why is my PC acting up today? not today…not this week! but there must be a reason…what is it…

Today isn’t too bad I guess… Fares is in town… maybe we’ll do lunch! I hope by then my PC will be fixed!

Anyway, the nerve of some people! who on earth would think snoop doggy dog has class and elegance!?!

Why didn’t I discover it 6 months ago? Traffic is horrible, parking fees are horrendous and Sayeda’s radio station selection, ghetto music and other disturbing noises all at 630 am can get really annoying…So finally, after talking about taking Metra train for the past few months we decided it’s about time. Monday was my first time taking it. The train station is literally 5 minutes away from my house…Heavenly! Parking fee is only ONE dollar as opposed to 16…the ride is smooth..the seats are comfortable…there is even a restroom on the train (the 740 il with all its luxury is worth nothing when we’re stuck in traffic and have to really go but are 10 miles away from the first exit )…Train arrives to Union Station downtown 45 minutes later… I get to enjoy a nice walk to my building all before 730 am. Perfect! My mornings are peaceful and so are my evenings. And I still love you Sayeda!

She: (Reading out loud an ad in a magazine) Do you wanna get freaky tonight?
He: (Turns away from watching TV all excited and shouts out…) YEAH!!!
She: (somewhat confused! not realizing what all the excitement is about) Oh. I. was. reading an ad out loud.
He: (in an obviously disappointed tone) oh, okay!

——

(Read on …)

To reflect and… Act. The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country. This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old and are poor.

On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy.

The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products. Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strong safe.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference. Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference then?

(Read on …)

How it all started: Miss USA in danger of losing her crown due to behavior. “The Miss Universe Organization and Mr. Donald J. Trump will be evaluating her behavioral and personal issues to see what we can do to work with her, and what we will do about her reign going forward,” Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, said in a statement. Miss USA is considered a role model, and her conduct must reflect that, Miss Universe Organization spokeswoman said.

“Mr. Trump will make a determination and announcement within the coming week.”

Trump’s decision: Miss USA Tara Conner, who had come under criticism amid rumors she had been frequenting bars while underage, will be allowed to keep her title, Donald Trump announced Tuesday. Conner won the title in April and has been living in New York. Recent media accounts of heavy drinking brought a storm of criticism, since she was underage at the time. She turned 21 on Monday.

“I’ve always been a believer in second chances,” Trump, who owns the Miss Universe Organization with NBC, said with Conner at his side.

Now in response to all this, on The View show, Rosie O’Donnell questioned whether Trump’s two divorces and affairs qualified him to be a “moral compass” for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

And she relatively does have a point …She said Trump’s news conference with Conner, whose title was in jeopardy because of underage drinking, had annoyed her “on a multitude of levels” and that the twice-divorced Donald had no right to be a “moral compass” for the beauty queen.

(Read on …)

This is by far the most out of the ordinary thing that happened this week so far…

Phone rings…the number looks somewhat familiar but cannot quite make it out…I decide to pick up:

Me: Hello

Man: Boo. Did I scare you?

Me: Excuse me?

Man: Haha haha (sounded amused)

Me: Who is this?

Man: C’mon, you don’t know?

Me: No. Wrong number perhaps. (thinking: I know I should hang up by now.)
Man: Do you like silk pajamas?

Me: Ugh! don’t you have anything better to do! (again, thinking: really, I should hang up already!)

Man: What’s better than silk? oh I know…do you (emphasizes on the you) wanna know?
Me: I believe you have the wrong number and wrong person…bye! (and I hung up without giving him the chance to say anything!)

one minute later the phone rings…same number. I ignore it…he didn’t leave a message. Thankfully! so what the hell was that all about! Maybe he dialed the wrong number without realizing it ..who knows, but I know for sure that I was not going to waste any more of my minutes and time on some random nonsense!

Things I HATE about being a woman:

-It…it just takes full control over my mental/emotional/physical state…feelings of depression, anxiety, stress, happiness..all mixed together…it’s dangerous! it really sucks and, overall, has such a negative affect on at least one-third of my month!

-Threading … torture. so very painful..the end result is worth it though!-Waxing … self-inflicted pain, but at least it beats the stubbles shaving leaves behind…

- Having to pay $50 to get my hair trimmed!

Things I love about being a woman:

-Our transparent nature (seriously:)

- Aside from that time of the month, the fact of being rational, logical and very reasonable…

- The ability to give birth (Inshallah)..which has got to be one of the best blessings ever…so I guess that time of the month isn’t too bad after all …

-Being considerate of others’ emotions…

- Wearing high heels, stilettos, pumps, wedges…basically, any and all types of shoes…

- Wearing skirts, dresses…

-Wearing eye-liner, mascara and lip gloss…

-Wearing any color nail polish the heart desires…

-Amongst many other things…

I’m not really THAT deep, but every single day I tend to reflect about life in general and my life in particular…and as each year winds down, I find myself subconsciously taking a long look back at how my year went from all aspects whether be it professionally or personally. What ifs, only ifs, Whys, Hows, should haves, could haves, would haves tend to all be so pointless…afterall, there are things, pasts, memories that we cannot change or undo no matter how hard we try…nonetheless, I cannot help but wonder how my life would be had X went the direction I wanted it to go…or where I would be now if Y was achieved…or why such and such happened, and how I could have prevented them from happening, or how I could’ve made them actually happen…

It so happens that the beginning of a new year closely coincides with me turning a year older…and, honestly, it’s a bit depressing! Especially when I look back at what I had set myself to achieve in the past years and find that I haven’t gotten even close to achieving some of what I considered very important…time is running out and years as they come seem to only get more complicated than those that passed!

What’s frustrating is that there are just somethings that I can’t seem to get right…There must be something that I’m doing wrong, but what’s even more frustrating is that I cannot figure it out! and the more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Right now the mere thought of just thinking is torture…

The bright side to all this: A new year. A new beginning.

The reality of it: Yeah. Whatever.