I've noticed

That ever since my posts have gotten more personal and less....I don't know..
I have been getting less comments...and I don;t know if that is due to chance or due to the lack of glamour in my life..that my life is just not that interesting.

Anyway, I just came back from the Cairo Jazz Festival opening and it was grand! I'll post pictures tomorrow..also tomorrow, is the MENA XLDS (AIESEC) Opening Ceremony and Global Village!!
Tons of pictures, huh?

Dearest Blog,

Yesterday, my senior and I went with our managing director and a researcher to attend a lecture our director was giving at the American University in Cairo. Apart from the fact that it was increasingly interesting and that I was intrigued by Dr. Ahmed Galal's presentation skills, I managed to meet new people.

This is when I knew that my taking a minute to notice the people around me could and does come in handy. I met a girl called Tamara, who looked familiar because I had seen her at Thomas Pizza, she was looking at the ERF publications when I exactly said " Were you at Thomas Pizza the other day?" she said "Was I with, like, 7 guys?" it was her, and she's doing research on women and education at AUC. I also met Charles, who is on a fellowship from the University of Maryland to do Middle Eastern studies at the AUC. I met Sherine, who is doing her graduate studies in Writing and Comparative Literature, she asked me a very good question that I had to think about for a while before answering; who is your favorite writer? 

 here

My answer was Ahdaf Souief. But then, she said something that made me think...she said she was worried about the image Ahdaf conveys to the West, that of increased, exaggerated orientalism. Then she asked "Why do you think she writes in English?" was it all for reasons of publicity? Is all her fame contributed to the fact that she writes exactly what the western side of the world wants to read and not what they need to know?

A Little Randomness :
If I were you I'd be beautiful
Giveaway

Silly me has the camera with her but not the USB cable, meaning that any pictures I take today are not going to be on here before...tomorrow, at least. There was a jog initiative taken on facebook, for a group of people to get together and jog, three times a week, to spare the girlst the harrasement and spare the boys the boredom. I think I might take part, not for the networking part as much as the safety one. I know a very sweet girl taking part, though, and I am more than looking forward to getting to know her better. She sings, writes, and photographs beautifully!

I wish my journal looked half as pretty as this!

 

I think that would make eating anything as plain as yogurt a glamorous and pretty experience!

Here

Pictures of mine

 

I don't know if I have posted this picture before, but this is my favorite cafe in Korba, you can also see the vet next door.

 

see how they look like birds of light?

 

Lucille's Texas Burger as opposed to a regular burger pictured behind it!

 

This is Lucille's:

Why does it seem like everyone loves coconut but me? My favorite sugary fruits are dates! The kind that are all soft and nice! They get them a lot, in a million variety in Saudi Arabia.


There was a line in Forest Gump that went something similar to "Dear God, make me a bird, so I could fly far. Far, far away from here" I want to fly far to the land where dreams come true. Where the sun is shining with truth and sets in harmony. I want to fly to the lans of rhythm. Of rhyme. Of beautiful words and meanings. Of lace delicacy and detail.


I went to Diwan, a bookstore, and bought three books; two for me and one for Mohammed.
I got him Eric Claptons Autobiography. And I bought Dreams from My Father, Barak Obama and another book (I forgot its title...oops) I am currently reading Obama's book, and it kind of reminds me of Mandela.


Can you tell me your dreams?Please?

Garlic Spread, and things that hurt

I bring to you my favorite spread, what I like to dip my (healthy) fries in and what I like on my sandwiches; tomeyya or garlic spread

here

From here :
Restaurant (white) garlic sauce:
For this one you need to use a food processor or a blender.
• ½ cup peeled garlic
• 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise (optional)
• ¼ - 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
• Lemon juice to taste
• Salt
Process the garlic with the mayonnaise, if using (most restaurants use it but I do not like it too much) to a very fine paste. With the motor running slowly, add vegetable oil till you get the desired mayo-like consistency. Add Lemon juice and salt to taste.

I think the following recipe is the most accurate:
5 large garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 drops of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons starch
3/4 cup water.


Boil the water and starch till thick, remove from heat. Mash garlic and salt and in a kitchen machine, mix the garlic and starch and lemon juice. While mixing, add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time. Mix until fluffy, then it's ready to use. Please forgive my sorry translating skills. I translated that from Arabic.

And here you can find the Greek version.

Now to the actual post:
Yesterday as I was thinking of what to post (for the second post I had promised yesterday) I realized something..
This blog is turning into something I don't want it to be. Yes, I want it to be inspirational and beautiful..but I also want to show people aspects of my life that aren't present in theirs. I want to show people how Egyptian I am and how my perspective can be quite different at times, and very traditional at others. I want to express my views; artistic, economic, political, inspirational...all my views.

here

Why does it hurt when I say my "ex-best friend" my "once best friend".. I actually hate it that I have fallen apart from a lot of my best friends along the years. But I still hold them very dear to my heart. I still love them all the same.. But they're different now, everything is different now that I can't actually call them my best friends anymore. And it hurts to bad.
There was Joy, and Yasmine K, and Sherine and Yasmine M and Kanzy and Sally, there was also Sara and Sondos

It also hurts when I do something stupid that pisses my boyfriend off, for example forgetting my phone at home and finding 8 missed calls, and he worries...etc. Then trying to make it up for him to be rejected, or blocked...or turned down...I try to be extra nice or just apologize in my very unconventional ways..I admit, I am weird, but then it hurts! His excuse would be "I don't want you to make it up for me, I want you to stop pissing me off altogether.." Which kind of make sense to be honest. I have done the phone incident two days in a row!

here

I just love weird, awkward kissing positions!

Kind over matter have been ever so inspiring! I love that quote/poem especially these lines:

in the garden of simple
where all of us are nameless
you were never anything but beautiful to me

- Ani DiFranco

Check this link. Now.

That's all for now. Stay lovely and loved. And lovable!

I SHOULD'VE posted this on thursday!

My reader had lots of surprizes for me today!
Some good: this and this and some bad: Naturally Nina; I am so sorry.

I just realized that my 100th post wasn't really my 100th. "I am that random" is in fact my 100th...I had a couple of forgotten drafts. *Insert blushing face here*

As promised; Burger Recipe!!

• 1 kg Ground beef, no fat whatsoever!
• some ketchup/ soysauce/japanese ketshup thing any dressing really
•  1 egg
• oregano/italian seasoning
• salt
• pepper
• 1 ground onion (or more depending on its size)

Mix everything well, shape into burgers, place in a pan and in the oven until they start to cook, flip burgers, leave for a while. Add whatever you like to add to your burgers and enjoy!
I like to sometimes eat my burger with a fried egg on top, and garlic paste (thomeyya)

PS I think I am going to have to post twice in one day :)