# Monday, July 31, 2006
"That being said, the primary problem in the Middle East is cultural:

Every culture in the region, almost without exception, operates on the premise of positive feedback cycles with regard to the use of force. An eye is repaid with two eyes, a tooth with two teeth, an insult to a family with an "honor" killing, two kidnapped soldiers with an invasion, and an invasion with hundreds of rocket raining down upon civilians.

We often think of the phrase "an eye for an eye" as a rationalization for barbarity, but the fact is that the Jewish prophets who advocated that position were attempting to DE-escalate from the prevailing culture of "two eyes for an eye." Jesus attempted to take it one step further by advocating an overtly *negative* (limiting) feedback cycle, with his exhortation to "turn the other cheek." I am hardly literate in Islam but it seems evident that the Prophet himself attempted to do likewise, for example (if memory serves me correctly) by advocating moderation in the conduct of warfare. So we see a constant thread throughout the history of the major Western monotheisms in the region, to do anything possible to counteract the positive feedback of force.

Yet to this day, the cultures of the region still suffer from "two eyes for an eye" and the escalating positive feedback cycle of force. And now they have nuclear weapons, with more on the way."

(Global Guerrillas)

Interesting.

But again, no place burns like the Middle East.
posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 9:37:38 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]


Qana II.

Yeah, it is most likely the building where the civilians and children collapse hours after the intial strike in the neighbourhood. But details like that rarely matters in this era of information warfare.

This war is pointless and Israel losts.

On the bigger thing though, overall this is a bad thing for the region. You do not want state lose control on the issue of violence (read the current Iraq civil war). You can pressure state like Israel through diplomatic channels, sanctions, etc but such options do not exist in Iraq where death squads roam and kill without impunity.

The underlying pretext for this off course the issue of "muslim vs jews" but what you have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan is that a bullet in your brain by a Muslim or a Jew kills you just the same.

The biggest winner of this conflict is not Shiite nor Sunni nor Jews.

It's the Chinese.

Weaponry used in this war partially produced and supplied by China. The reconstruction of Lebanon for sure will involve many products from China as well. They are not tarnished internationally by this conflict unlike the already screwed USA or the incompetent Europeans. China simply does not give a damn and this strategy works well for them.

China to Middle East : You can eat shit and die. Just buy from me.
World Reaction : Wow, what a wonderful policy.
China : And we are taking your jobs and manufacturing base as well.
World Reaction : Great - give me some more of your stuff.

China can hold this position because nobody fucks with China. This is a country that run tanks on its own students in front of international camers (read Tiananmen) - and with histories far more bloodier than any other nation on earth save maybe Russia.

And as time passes and conflicts rage in this region, the Turks option looks more appealing.
posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 9:14:47 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Sunday, July 30, 2006
"In a talk that Mr. Arquilla calls Net Warfare 101, he describes how traditional militaries are organized in a strict hierarchy, from generals down to privates. In contrast, networks flatten the command structure. They are distributed, dispersed, agile, mobile, improvisational. This makes them effective, and hard to track and target." (NY Times)
posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 6:42:41 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
I wonder how many people realize that with every single new day, we are running out of our life by one day. I rather not make plans.
posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 2:56:32 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
Bring back the Turks - revive the Ottoman Empire and let them sort things out.
posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 11:03:12 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
Pre


About to get in the water (Yeah, I need a hair cut)
frogman.jpg

Post dive


The class
divers.jpg
(Rafik, Yours truly, Ziyad, Simon (Dive Master), Taher)
(Dive Master, Dive Master, Megan, Dive Master)
posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 10:21:52 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Good morning
posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 9:02:34 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Friday, July 28, 2006
I am teaching programming for an absolute beginner and I am using Ruby. Let's see how well this one goes :)
posted on Friday, July 28, 2006 9:37:49 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"Whatever their particular jobs, his major characters tend to be men whose commitment to their professions transcends mere workaholism and becomes an all-consuming, almost operatic passion." (NY Times)

For me, it's programming. I find poetry in line of codes.
posted on Friday, July 28, 2006 8:46:28 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Thursday, July 27, 2006
I have become a morning person again - back to my usual habit. I have slowly leaving the habit of waking up early in Cairo and got snapped back to it a couple of days ago as I try to free my night time.

Still living a drama free life.
posted on Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:53:53 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"Note: this is global guerrilla logic (using an airpower effects based operation to accomplish it). Here's the problems with this approach.
  • First, the goal of coercion must be within the capabilities of the target state (it's not in this case).
  • Second, coercion like this is only useful if the objective is to get a state to give up a policy (the more ancillary it is to the state's existence the better) than to get them to act proactively -- particularly since large scale systems disruption rips down states. Lebanon is getting weaker by the day and Hezbollah is now existential to the state.
  • Third, if the state doesn't officially relent and the state fails, global guerrillas can still achieve a de facto victory. This doesn't work for Israel. The failure of Lebanon only makes things worse."
(Global Guerillas)

As Israel attacks weaken the state of Lebanon, it strengthens Hezbollah. That is why this war is pointless.
posted on Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:10:52 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Wednesday, July 26, 2006
"So, we all eventually tumble into the water, Dody's vest isn’t quite working and his normal regulator isn't allowing air in. Machmoud yells and disappears below the surface leaving Dody struggling against the tide. Finally the little risk-taker is all set up, he and Ziyad grab the rope leading down to the contingent of divers below and disappear.

Then its time for me to submerge myself. Being me, I can’t even eat a meal without spilling on myself, I don’t know why I thought could manage myself underwater. Of course my mask leaks and my fin falls off in less than a minute. My highly trained response- flail around for a little while and swallow some salt water. A pretty good sign that I will likely die.

The divemaster friend gets me outfitted with a better mask, Machmoud's below the surface signing to everyone to "be strong,” and I’m off.***" (Megan)

He..he..never say die.
posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 6:21:35 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

is easy.

Making peace pays is hard.

Yeah, great you have no wars but your neighbours and their kids live in deep shitholes, sick all the times and eat only once a day and can only read five hurufs (alphabets) - where kids getting older becoming youths and the only thing progressing in their lives is their age.

They only get old.

And nothing else.

And you have to live worrying about whether you can eat tomorrow.

Or even have the previlage of having hope for the future.

And get kids educated (not schooled).

And older people taken care of.

And the young employed.

And the fathers and mothers equipped to raise their families.

And make work meaningful again.

And people connnected.

And make your nation and people get better as time progresses - the way it is supposed to be.

Absence of war is not good enough. We gotta make peace pays.

And this is the business I am in.

War, there's little I can do to stop it.

I am a lousy shoot, know shits about diplomacy and probably be a bad police (show me your tities Lady and I let you go of your speeding violation) but I have some ideas on how making peace pays.

I will settle for that.

And peace will fuckin' pay.
posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 9:03:48 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
War is a terrible thing - and yet a common occurance throughout our history. Bad as things might have seem, we are actually living in the most peaceful time of our history. Those guys with togas back thousands years ago were actually fierce and bloody fighters (I know it because I have seen the movie).

War happens and sometime it's not by choice.

It's the only activity in human discourse where it takes only one to start it.

Reasonable war is an oxymoron. If you are being reasonable, you don't go out and kill people. You talk, smoke some shisha and probably the good hash of Marsh Matrouah and hammer out deals.

Everybody gets to go home.

But for a nation or civilization to survive, you need to prepare for war and be good at it. Nations and cultures have vanished from the memory of history because they suck at winning wars. It is in human basic psyche  to conquer and dominate. There is why never in the history of civilization you have some stoners to become presidents. You want some hard ass that can win wars and have big cojones to get things done.

When you get into a war, you must win it or at least somebody must. A never ending war is the worse war of all.

I come from a third world fuckin' country called Indonesia and we have had our share of small wars during our brief history (60 years young) - my family supplied the Indonesian troops at the frontier during our Malay border wars in the 60s. We have Aceh problems for 20 years. Twenty fucking years. I mean a whole generation has been raised with nothing but war in their reality.

If you sucked into a war, make it quick. Be good at it.
posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 8:46:11 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [3]
Martyrdom is quite valued in this region but there's one curious aspect that bothers me.

It's always some poor schmucks and low level soldiers that get martyred - their leaders always hide somewhere leading the "resistance" and talking to TV cameras looking brave - and manage to eat the best food, go home and fucks his women.

It seems to me that the higher your position in power, the lesser the appeal of martyrdom. Curious eh?

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." George S Patton.
posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 8:27:37 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
I remember the rainy night in South Chicago when the White Sox won the 2005 World Cup baseball championship. All the fans around the stadium joined together and started celebrating our team unfuckingbelivable triumph in MLB (Major League Baseball).

The TV cameras were there, ready to capture this moment of joy.

Off course, we started to act like idiots. Everybody competed for the right to have our face shown on national television so we do the most outrageous thing we can think of at that time - be it screaming loudly, or dancing with no pants, etc.

My point is, TV cameras fucks you up. It makes you exaggerate your actions. It pumped you adrenaline because wow, you are the center of attention of this magical thingy and you are going to be famous. Hell yeah !!

We all want to be famous and we will do whatever TV producer (this is the guy that 'direct' the TV session) suggested us to do.

We are lapdogs to TV producers' whims.

And TV cameras are the straws of reality. They will show you little context, ignore the "unimportant bits of information", and make the people in the camera fuckin' idiots. They also pick the most outrageous actions that they can show on TV (Yay, shots of a few Palestinians dancing on the news of 9/11)

So when you see "Rage!", or "Death to America" or whatever outrageous statement that come from the "Arab Street", account for the TV camera effects.

Cameras make you look fat and  idiot  too. They are evil.

posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 8:17:23 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Tuesday, July 25, 2006
""Are you scared?"

"No!"

"Will you fight?"

"To the death!"

"Do you hate Israel?"

"Of course, and its mother America!"

We thank them for their insights and move back up to the street.
" (Anderson Cooper 360 - CNN)
posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 7:02:24 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
One of the most effective way for peace lies in killing the right people - otherwise we just end up with a lot of victims and no peace.
posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 6:40:12 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
My blogging time has been limited these days due to work and new developments in my life. Work has become more complicated and life has fortunately been simplified. I haven't opened the Red Label I got from Jana last week - that's what I call "self restraint" or maybe I simply has no need for it.
posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 10:25:19 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Why are there more conflicts involving more religious societies compared to secular/atheist societies?
posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 7:53:21 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [3]
# Monday, July 24, 2006
"When you have a girl, open both of your eyes. When you have wife, close one."

This is the piece of advice that my Dad gave me years ago. The first one is important so you know what you are getting yourself into. The second one is the key to everlasting marriage.
posted on Monday, July 24, 2006 11:47:07 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Sunday, July 23, 2006


Yay. I am now a certified diver. Pilot license next.
posted on Sunday, July 23, 2006 1:01:09 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Friday, July 21, 2006
"The only common thread to all the violence described in this dispatch is militant Islam. Not Islam. Militant Islam. Militant Muslims around the globe are waging war against anything different, be it the Buddhists’ carvings destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Hindus burned alive on trains in India, or Sunni against Shia in Iraq. This is not about Islam; this is not rooted in even a most fundamentalist reading of the Quran." (Michael Yon)
posted on Friday, July 21, 2006 7:12:07 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
War sucks - even worse, some are without purpose - nor won; this Israel offensive is one.

This offensive serves little purpose, damages lives and properties and brought only destruction - without any future plans nor strategic shifts in dealing with non state actors of violence.

One interesting thing that emerges here is the renewal of regional wide power struggle between the Sunni and Shiite muslims. Israel and Arab conflict is the devil that this world knows. The Sunni and Shiite is scarier in this aspect, as we all see in Iraq. There is nothing more brutal than a fight between brothers.
posted on Friday, July 21, 2006 1:15:39 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Thursday, July 20, 2006
"JM: you kill hizbullah by going into their homes, taking them out into the street, and slitting their throats. the only way to achieve that is to spin off special force columns into private assasination squads who hunt for bounties. we create battallion level raiders who squad up and hit randomly, sometimes chaotically, at the homebases of terrorists.

this frightens recruits. everybody likes to rally behind the gun on the ground when F16s are screaming overhead too afraid to open up their cannons on you. but when they see the former tough guys unable to protect themselves in their own houses, while their sleeping, they don't look such great role models afterall.

it also causes true fighters to respect you. hitting someone where it hurts gives them that "existential" moment which the "glorious battlefield" or "supreme martyrdom" fail to provide. may sound flighty, but i wouldn't underestimate the dividend this provides.

finally, the people (i.e. the vast majority of those living nearby the terrorists) see the former heroes getting tossed around like thugs and gangsters. they don't look so nobel or anymore. they just like something you don't want in your neighborhood cause it attracts bad guys.

a full assault stiffens the resolve the people, treating the terrorists like a bunch of barbarians however makes the people want to live inside the gates." (FedEx)
posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:09:17 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Life has been good recently and I am grateful.
posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006 8:40:16 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
I sympathize with Israel's effort to defeat Hezbollah - getting attacked by non state entity that hide behind the border of a state is an extreme annoyance at the least and represent a dire threat at the worst.

Let's get the fact straight first - Hezbollah pulled a daring special operation mission accross the border and killed and snatched two of Israel soldier. That is in normal circumstance, a declaration of war. But Hezbollah is not a state.

Israel must respond otherwise they are an incompetent state that couldn't protect its own border and soldiers. How do you wage a war againsts an organization?

Well, not conventionally by shelling the shit out of teritorries under their control.

I think bombing Beirut and the current form of offensive is a mistake. You win nothing by triggering massive exodus of civilians out of Beirut and Lebanon. None.

What you are doing is weakening the position of the central legitimate government and enhancing the support for Hezbollah. Lebanon Cedar Revolution result is pretty much going to shit now.

Instead of doing all of these destructions for the general population of Lebanon, I would have recommended Israel lining up all Hezbollah prisoners they have and execute them one per day or hour until the two soldiers were returned. Announce the name of the doomed prisoner two days in advance and let the families of the prisoners to pressure Hebollah organization from the inside to release Israel two soldiers. If the soldiers are released, the doomed prisoners would be released too. This would create double incentive for the interested people to solve this issue. If one of the captured soldier killed, ten of the Hezbollah prisoner will die.

I know this is shocking and cruel, but this current war is even worse because it does no good to nobody. Call me cold hearted bastard but I prefer this to having some children got blown out to smitheren because they played at the wrong place and the wrong time.
posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:31:07 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Sometimes you sketch an idea of a person in your mind and never think it will become real. In rare cases, your sketch becomes a reality. Your idea of perfection materializes out of thin air and you wonder about the life before.

And if you are lucky enough, what you have with that person  would be simple - not easy - but simple and straightforward. There will be mistakes and fuckups but it will have less of those that can be categorized as stupidity. You would also plan less and experience more - because there is less insecurity and less fear. Labels, time and history are merely abstract interesting concepts.

You will throw out the rule books you have written previously and start over.
posted on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 4:36:24 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Tuesday, July 18, 2006


and yeah, you can come too, if you are nice.
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:14:12 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]


Buyer's beware, reading a blog might looks more intimate and insightful than it really is.
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:11:25 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
The last time I asked permission to do anything was 15 years ago, to my parents. That's incredible isn't it.
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:03:55 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"But Mr. Spence, who is now the head cross-country coach at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, had trained long and hard for the race, the International Association of Athletics Federations’ World Championships. He had run so much that a five-minute-per-mile pace “felt like a jog,” he said. But his training had been so exhausting that he had to sleep 10 hours a night and nap 2 hours every afternoon. And his schedule, running 140 miles a week, was so onerous that he needed 5,000 calories a day to sustain himself." (NY Times)
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 4:20:28 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
" I don't know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. It all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team, or we're gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.

Now I can't do it for you. I'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces, and I think... I mean I've made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who's ever loved me, and lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know when you get old in life, things get taken from you. That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life's this game of inches. And so is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean... one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow too fast, you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this - in any fight, its the guy whose willing to die who's gonna win that inch. And I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face...

Now I can't make you do it. You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you're gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him.

That's a team, gentlemen. And either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals. That's football, guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you going to do?"


Digs, do you remember these words? :)
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:39:53 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
I've crystallized my bigger dreams in my mind - some will come true, some will be forgotten but none will go untried nor unattempted.

Inch by inch, inchallah, those barriers would be taken down, those chasms would be crossed and those gaps be bridged. Raise your cheap glass and cheers for the next one hundred years.

Red Label - it's great for inspiration.

Next, I will write a full symphony.
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:35:00 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Well I started out down a dirty r oad
Started out all alone
And the sun went down as I crossed the hill
The town lit up the world got still

Im learning to fly but I aint got wings
Comin down is the hardest thing
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:18:25 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
My mom wasn't exactly thrilled when I told her today that I'm scuba divin'. But again, it is her fault to raise a son like me :)
posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:16:34 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, July 17, 2006


Welcome to the fuckin' Middle East politics.
posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 4:33:26 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]


Farid took my photo a couple of days ago here in the office. Yup, that's my attire in the office. What this picture doesn't show is my bloody Katana. If we miss our schedule by one day, somebody must die.
posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 4:10:30 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
It is easier to ask a girl out when you just met her; I'd say around 2 or 3 chance of hanging out. I think after more than that, you lose the opportunity to be able ask and walk away when the answer was "shubrad".

The term "shubrad" was coined last Friday when a girl I knew rejected a guy's intention to start a relationship while they were in the Shubra region of Cairo.

Ouch.

I think the key is not to hesitate. Use your 2-3 windows and go for it otherwise you will be stuck in friendships bucket. I unfortunately have the bad habit of delaying and taking more time to "get to know her" and be placed in that damn bucket. Once you are in that bucket, there's no way you can get out of it. You are doomed, khalas.

And by God, forget about trying to understand women. They are what Micro Economics called Irrational Consumer. Da Vinci code is easier to dechiper than a woman's signal. That's why alcohol is great in hooking people up. The signal gets magnified as the number of drinks increases.

People rarely drink in Cairo.

And we tend to suspect our worse fears and let those fears rule the way we think. Oh, she's having dinner with somebody, goddamit, she's gone. Oh, she's going out with someone, they are going to get married !!!

Girls come and go, but Red Label stays forever. Yeah, that'll be my new tattoo :)

And hopefully when you manage to cross that minefields and actually got a girl, you get a mature and relatively drama free relationship, otherwise you will have  a bunch of people betting on what time you will be getting back together with your girl (long story about people that I know; my prediction was 9.30) - if your relationship is becoming a parody, get the fuck out.  

But Caveat Emptor about all these writings on my blog; as they say, those who can't, teach; and those who don't have a fuckin' clue, blog. And I rarely talk about this shit in the offline world - relationship topic is one of my standard repertoir (posting song lyric is another) to keep my blog posting sharp. There are more important things in the world to accomplish than getting worked over the vagaries of human dramas.

Thank lord I have Bunny. If she's acting out, she'll become dinner. No drama, just dinner :)

ps: Bunny is a turtle.
posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 2:32:35 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"I'm looking at the bright side of things. I get to spend more time with close friends and maybe now I'll be able to get through my entire to do list. I have a few things left to do here. I have to thank Dody and Megan for spending 7 hours in the kitchen cooking one of the best meals I have ever eaten. The food was delicious. Thanks for an amazing night I will never forget. The guys (aka Dody and Zeead) know how to treat a woman and make her feel like she's queen for the night. The dinner was amazing and the concert left tears in my eyes. If you ever are looking for a travel buddy, these guys are it. Every second with them is a blast and they know how to push you past your limits like going down a sketchy tomb where you could possibly wipe out and roll all the way down the tunnel and break your neck. Thanks guys for the push and for helping me regain my sense of adventure. My life is definitely way more fun and interesting because of you. I can't imagine having better travel buddies than you. You're the best!" (Nisrin)

Goddamit. She's only recommending me after she is almost leaving Cairo.
posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 1:14:05 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [4]
# Friday, July 14, 2006
Love is in the air. It's strong, sweet and gentle.

Like they say, who you love last, you love the most.
posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 3:07:34 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [4]
# Thursday, July 13, 2006

Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open your eyes
One day you're waiting for the sky to fall
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time

These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This vibrant skin -- this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time

When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime --
But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight --
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
And we're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time
posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 7:10:35 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [3]
This Hezbollah, Hamas and Israel shit is escalating and I think it will get out of control before the end of next week.
posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 11:58:08 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]

My love arrived today, come in her sweet  red package. They say love gives you wing. If that's so, I'm flying high right now and escaping gravity.

She will keep me company in countless days and nights to come. I just received a fresh supply of Red Label from Prague thanks to Jana's arrival in Cairo. Sorry girls, I'm off the market.
posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 4:36:56 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [6]
# Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The first three months of a relationship is known as the "honeymoon period". This is the period where the high of the potential still exceeds the low of realities.

Unless off course you've invested all your time in the 'preparation' period already - you know what you are getting yourself into and debug all the kinks out - and maybe, you will find that big O, the one and skip all those 'relationship stages'.

If you want to skip all of those hard work, here I present  the easy option. You can skip all those expensive dates, heartbreaks, 'special talks' and get a stunning Russian girl. That's I'd call a good ROI.
posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 9:11:55 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
Megan has a blog.
posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 5:48:42 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
The first law of Cairo's drama truth states that any foreign girls arriving in Cairo will generate 500% of dramas than usual in their first month in the city.

The second law  states that all of these dramas are about their roommates and their boys.

The third law states that 20% of nice foreign girls in Cairo turns into some bitchy ice queen in their first three weeks in Cairo.

The fourth law states that majority of foreign girls in Cairo will break up their existing relationships.

The fifth law states that if your girl roommate gets a boyfriend, it is time to lookup for another place. Your drama count is about to hits the ceiling.

The sixth law states that  every month past the first two you live in Cairo  reduces the number of beer counts by one factor of any girls you see.

E.g

Anna, 6 beers girl arriving in Cairo in July. I arrived in Cairo February. That makes it 7-2 = 5 months. For me, Anna is a one beer girl.

Rules: The beer formula is about how many beers does it take you to find a girl attractive. The more beers, the worse.
posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 4:30:48 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Tuesday, July 11, 2006
I couldn't get out of bed today. Arrived in the office just after 3 pm, tired as hell.
posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 4:34:43 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [3]
If you have found gold, don't mess with silvers. This is worth repeating.
posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 4:28:14 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Monday, July 10, 2006

Sometime in the future I will have to reflect on what happened last Friday. There were so much noise, drama, tensions in the air but I think I gained clarity. It's been 28 years in the making, so maybe it is  time.
posted on Monday, July 10, 2006 10:23:09 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Sunday, July 09, 2006
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feeling two foot small
Everywhere people stare
each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say

Hey you've got to hide your love away
Hey you've got to hide your love away

How can I even try?
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in
How could she say to me
"Love will find a way?"
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say

Hey you've got to hide your love away
Hey you've got to hide your love away
posted on Sunday, July 09, 2006 2:57:21 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]


Holy crap Craig. Now you need a good shotgun  and a fishing rod :)
posted on Sunday, July 09, 2006 10:07:36 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

Everything is going to be OK so you can forget about the ending up in Tenesse in five years with two kids without their daddy :)

posted on Sunday, July 09, 2006 2:28:39 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Saturday, July 08, 2006
There is about zero dependable things here in Cairo except that the Sun will rise on the East and set on the West. For now, I'm grateful just for that.
posted on Saturday, July 08, 2006 7:01:48 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
sh.jpg

Yesterday was de ja vu. I have been in those places, seen how they all repeat and heard all the regrets.

Four separate dramas involving  three people I know. Now that was something.

I vowed to quit this job a while ago but somehow people still see me as a safe harbour to moor their vessels after their rough nights in the ocean. It is yet my nature to resist the call :)

I know the right words to say and know when to listen and understand what left unsaid. The movie is the same, maybe the name changed but it still is the same old story.
posted on Saturday, July 08, 2006 10:18:32 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Friday, July 07, 2006
I couldn't sleep last night and one piece of news arrived on my cellphone. I woke up this morning, yet another news.

This is supposed my quiet Friday :)
posted on Friday, July 07, 2006 1:33:09 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
And now I can't sleep - ha..ha - this is so absurd.
posted on Friday, July 07, 2006 3:25:14 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]


Life is taking the life out of me; just for today. The cooking, the high of companionship, the airport pickup, the relentless day job are taking tolls. I can't remember the last time I was this tired. A zombie has more life in her than I. Worse, I have lost my appetite for the past couple of days; the most I ate was a couple of bites from the cooking yesterday.

Who says living a dream doesn't exact any price? :) 

At least Bunny is happy, she's piggin' out on all the salads from yesterday's feast. I have a fat turtle :)

Tomorrow is a work and think day. No horse riding nor scuba diving. I will be here.

Angela mia, salva me.
posted on Friday, July 07, 2006 12:49:52 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Thursday, July 06, 2006
Think I am getting sick. Fuck.
posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 9:18:15 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"The Life Path number is established from the date of birth. First, convert the month to a single number . Then convert the day of birth to a single digit . Next, add the total digits of year and reduce this sum to a single digit . The individual digits representing the month, day, and year, be they single digits, are then added together, as necessary to reduce the sum once again to a single digit 1 through 9.

Example: If a person was born on October 23, 1972 (10-23-1972*), add the month 10 (which is reduced to 1) to the day 23 (which is reduced to 5) plus the the year 1972 (which reduces to 19, then to 10 and finally to 1**). Thus, the total of the month, day, and year is 1+5+1. This date is a 7 Life Path. The "master numbers, " 11, 22, and 33, have been incorporated within the corresponding single digit number readings. See addition comments about master numbers."

(Numerology)

This is a cool party trick (which Alia did yesterday in Eagle Nest's party); Mine is 13/4. It's a combination of Life Path 1, 3 and 4.

13/4 is a Karmic Number

"Karmic Numbers

There is a theory in Numerology that a few numbers bring qualities along with them that suggest karmic, or unfinished, business. It may be that we choose to create lessons in these areas to round out our natures. Another possibility is that we want to develop qualities that were somewhat void in the past. Either way, Karmic Numbers can feel a bit more challenging than others. If you have a Karmic Number as one of your Core Elements, you may experience the number as over-balanced or under-balanced before experiencing a fully balanced and accessible energy.

Look for these Karmic Numbers in your Core Elements. Reflect on the area of your life that the Core Element represents and note where you may find confusion from the Karmic Number that is present there. For accuracy, remember that the numbers 11 and 22 are Master Numbers and stand on their own. Always add an 11 as an 11 rather than a 2 and a 22 as 22 rather than a 4. This makes a difference in determining if you have a Karmic Number or not."

"Karmic Number 13/4

When reducing the numbers to a final digit, if you find a 13 before a 4 you have a Karmic Number. A 13/4 is still a 4 but with a focus on learning and accepting the qualities the 4 represents. Often there is a feeling of restriction and limitation. As discussed in Lesson One, the 4 represents concentration, management, application, conservation, dedication, efficiency, and organization. You can imagine how productive one's life could be when applying skills in these areas. However, when a person comes in with a 13/4, they will be learning how to bring these energies into harmony, therefore manifesting the qualities they represent to a greater height. By doing so, restrictive beliefs can be transformed."
(Karmic Numbers)

"Karmic Debt Number 13/4
If you have the number 13/4 anywhere in your chart, you need to make up for a past life — or numerous past lives — in which you paid no heed to responsibility and refused to do any hard work. You lived a superficial life/lives and now you have a debt to pay. In this life you will be called on to learn discipline, vision, dedication and focus. If you decide not to erase this debt, it will carry on with you into your next life."

"(13/4)  Karma comes about by frittering away your talents and opportunities in a previous life and not getting the important things accomplished, or by placing un-necessary burdens on others, such as pain and suffering. Also, shifting your responsibilities of work or activity onto another's shoulders and sidestepping work."


:)

posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 5:00:13 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
We prepared the ingredients on Tuesday night and it took us 2 1/2 hours to

  • Cut up 2 kg of chicken breast fillet for the Soup (sliced) and Butter Chicken (cubed).
  • Crack open three whole chicken for tandoori grill.
  • Prepare the marinate for the tandoori chicken.
  • Cut up various vegetables for the soup.
  • Soak the basmati rice overnight.
Beware of a girl with sharp knife :)

On Wednesday, Megan come at five to make sure we had enough time to cook the meal. We had to make five different dishes and rice and only  four hours to do it.

We had to grill, bake, boil, simmer, cut and everything in between. So we get to work serenaded by eclectic list of songs blasted over three way speakers.

By nine p.m we ended up with
  • A boatload of Artichoke's dip
  • Salads
  • Chicken Dumpling Soup
  • 12 pieces of Grilled Tandoori Chicken
  • Butter Chicken
  • Coconut Rice
  • Watermellon !!

It was a fuckin' wedding menu :)

As you can see, chicken dumpling soup is not commonly served with cocconut rice and spicy Tandoori Chicken :) But last night's dinner was jazz. Beautifully done.

Ziyad, Kenny, Carlos, Superluli, Nisrin, Nikki, Kaitlin, Aatif, Alia showed up and almost all food were finished. Wow.

In the end, this dinner took almost seven hours to make with two people. Good job girl; that was a lot of fun.
posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 4:56:59 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Wednesday, July 05, 2006


http://enharmonie.nomadlife.org/

Usual disclaimer: don't know her - except that she's a Canadian currently in Peru. Don't judge a book by its cover. Yeah right. We all tolerate things in a beautiful girl that we don't tolerate in other people.

Send me a thank you note later.

posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 1:19:11 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

when can I book you for some career counseling ?


you are the last person in the world who needs someone to tell them about future careers


what I need is someone to tell me i'm full of shit


I dunno, I used your bigger dreams theory last night.


so clearly I'm buying what your selling

posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 10:54:21 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Mamma mia, cooking for 9 people is a bitch :)
posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 8:07:01 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Outlines:

Help the poor, care for the sick, protect the vulnerable, empower the current generation, inspire the future and defend the good.

How To - Details:

Are bigger dreams composed of small dreams? Can we accumulate small dreams and compose it to be a big dream?

I am not so sure.

Can you stack the dream of settling down in one place, smell the roses on top of the inner inspiration to end poverty? Would you want to be remembered by history or will you settle down to that white picket fences? What is the price you are willing to pay for the bigger dreams? Can you keep chasing them?

Are you chasing them just because you are used to the idea of chasing a dream, just like sunrays chasing the moon?

Can't we just settle on the small dreams?

Is being a good person good enough? You pay your taxes and raise your kids well. Aren't that hard enough and honorable enough?

At what point to do you go past your small dream and work on the big dreams?

I don't think it's enough to dream to be  rich or have a great family.




Dream to be rich and invent new things and build orphanages and foundation and teach and inspire young people and travel the world and forge bonds between people and help secure the peace and cure ilnesses and build refugee haven and be a good father and be a good husband and improve communities and give meaningful employment to people and invest in new initiatives and play pianos and see the Pyramids and be fair and be just and be fun and be a diver and be a pilot and be a rider and be a parachuter and a driver and a scientist and a philosopher and lead a country and design new building and protect the environments and build sanctuary and play music and own a football team and  be in a band and run marathons and run declathons and win the noble peace prize and do sold out concerts and be a statesman and defend the good and hang out with Bono and argue with Stephen Hawkings and solve the String Theory and  speak French and Arabic and Chinese and Spanish and Pharonic and abolish the Standard Model and eradicate TBC and Malaria and AIDS and solve Palestinian-Israel issue and take companies public and be in love with an amazing woman and buy a castle and argue on the Supreme Court and save Congo and ends poverty and build moon base and be an astronouts and rebuild Mesotopomia and save the Artic and save the Whale and the cute puppies and buy forest preserve and Amazonian water basin and invent new energy source and conquer Mars and climb mt Everest and save this blue planet.

and try do all of these in a lifetime.

We are all in need of bigger dreams. Much bigger ones. Dream a dream so overwhelming it paralyses and scares the hell out of you and make you sweat and feel stupid and looked silly and bleed you out and yet makes you feel amazingly alive; ALIVE!!!!!!. Courragio my friend and start working on it.

I just dream to have a bath tub again :)
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 4:07:40 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Burning embassies, trashing Playboy Indonesia's office, illegal raids to bars under the name of religion, etc are acts of thuggery.


The former first lady of Indonesia can't take it anymore. One leader from one of the hardliner Islamic party in Indonesia made the mistake of insulting groups of women who walked the street to  protest the controversial pornography bill as "whores". Lady Sinta was walking among these women. Ouch. Calling the wife of the most respected Islamic cleric in Indonesia (and our former President) as a whore is a really really bad idea.

" "Acts of thuggery are threatening the dignity and the integrity of our nation. We have to fight for ourselves and for the nation as well by fighting them," said former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid after the launching of the Anti-Thuggery Movement in the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) office in Central Jakarta.

The event was attended by Muslim scholar Dawam Rahardjo, priest Benny Susetyo, journalist Ahmad Taufik of Tempo and playwright Ratna Sarumpaet. Transvestites, street vendors and members of the urban poor took part as well." (The Jakarta Post)

You go Lady ! Kick some ass.


posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 3:30:58 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 11:21:55 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Artichoke dips
Salads
Chicken Dumpling Soup
Butter Chicken
Vegetable Curry
Grilled Chicken Masalla
Watermellon !!!!

We'll have various fresh juices available too.
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 10:04:37 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
"
 1 4-5 pound chicken, cut up
1/2 cup celery diced
1 cup carrot, diced
I bay leaf
2 teaspoon alt
1/8 teasp pepper
2TabL minced parsley
1 1/2 quartt hot water
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic

Dumplings
Combine all ingredients except Dumplings. Simmer covered 3-4 hours. Thicken
chicken stock if desired. (Remove meat stir into liquid 4 TBLS flour and 6
TBls cold water that have been blended together)Put Chicken back after
thickened.

Butter Dumplings
2 Tbls butter
2 eggs
6 tbls flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cream butter, beat eggs, stir in flour and salt. Drop by teaspoonfuls into
hot liquid and cover, Cook 8 minutes. Serves 4-- Double for 8.
I used to double it anyway because you and Chris loved the dumplings
Anything else??
Mom"

This is from Megan's mom - forwarded.
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 9:58:53 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 9:31:02 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Happy 4th of July.
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 9:27:46 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

"

Arathi my brain is mush whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat kind of vegetable do not want to think am ready to go home .

 Butter chicken

4 chicken breasts boneless

2large onions finely chopped

4 pods of garlic chopped, 4 cloves , 4 green cardomoms  4 black cardomoms , I stick of cinnamon, I tspn of black jeera.

Cube chicken breasts. Fry all above spices in oil till soft and carmelised  add cubed chicken 1 & ½ tspn  salt  i/2 tspn red chill powder 1 &1/2 tspn garam masala  2 tsps of tomato paste stir 7 simmer till all ingredients are well mixed add 2 scoops of sourcream  some water enough to make a thick curry boil taste cook till chicken is done.

Give dody your eggplant recipe if he wants to barcue chicken

For about 20 drumsticks

15-20 green chillies I bunch of fresh coriander 2-3 pods of garlic I inch of fresh ginger grated. Blend in blender with enough soy sauce to make a smooth past Marinade chicken overnight either barbecue or cook in 350 oven till done. Tell dody I am going to pass through Egypt one day 7 I might need a friend . Just kidding would bre nice to visit the Pyramids.

Love Mom   "

 

Rice, three types of curry. That's the main meal. What's for appetizer ?

posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 1:08:46 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
If you believe, they put a man on the moon.
posted on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 1:07:14 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, July 03, 2006

"Mommy! Ok more info he is thinking 2 dishes of chicken + 1 vegetable (he has coriander and would like to make butter chicken for 1 recipe) work your magic hehe"

I'm begging recipes from Arathi for wednesday's dinner party.


posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 8:20:16 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]


I just find this microlite school in Sharm.

If I survive the Scuba school, I think this microlite flying will be next.
posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 7:09:35 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
http://myspace.com/bangbangband
http://myspace.com/sybris
posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 12:55:13 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
"
The 34-page document, titled "The Bali Project," was found on the computer of Azhari Husin, a Malaysian-born engineer educated in Australia and Britain who became a master bomb maker and was one of the most dangerous terrorists in Southeast Asia until he was killed in a shootout with the police last November.

The document, written in six sections, sheds little new light on those links but corrects some initial speculation about the attack — that the bombs were assembled in the Philippines, for instance, and that the attack was aimed at the Indonesian government, or the Balinese economy.

The author, who the police say they believe was Mr. Azhari himself, begins by asking, "Why Bali?" Because it will have a "global impact," he answers. "Bali is known around the world, better than Indonesia itself," the author writes. "An attack in Bali will be covered by the international media." (NYTimes)

Go read this fascinating article about the content of the Bali Attack project. It is chillingly a quite well thought out attack plan.

And these are the poscript passages on the document

"Meanwhile, the other two suicide bombers reach Jimbaran Beach at 6:50, loiter at a food stall until 7:30, then synchronize their watches again, and begin walking to the outdoor tables on the beach, one 45 yards behind the other. The first man walked into the table area, and the second did the same. Then, the document concludes its choreography.

7:34 — "ALLAH-U AKBAR!!!"

"We tried to minimize the impact on Muslims," the author explains in the final section, which was written after the attack. "Nevertheless, there were still Muslim victims killed and wounded."

The death toll was a relatively low number compared with the first Bali attack. Five of the 20 killed were foreigners: 4 Australians and a Japanese. Fifteen were Indonesians."

The author of above document was shot death in a raid in Indonesia a couple of months ago. Good riddance.


posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 12:15:27 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

What I love about girls that grow beautiful late is that they managed to develop interesting personality during their 'ugly duckling' period and become an interesting person. Many teen beauty queens and popular girls never managed to do that and they became a bore really quickly in their adult life.

The same principle applies in general to people that have been through multiple phase in their life. All of us have been through our 'down' or 'up' period where things were really bad or really good and we tasted the bitterness of defeat and estacy of victory. The most interesting people I've met are these kind of people. They have scars of their personal battles which makes them slow to judge the flaws of others. They have become real; less facade, more truth. You might like them or hate them but you cannot help but respect who they are.

posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 3:09:29 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Sunday, July 02, 2006
posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 4:44:03 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]

A.. it's normal for any 23 year old to be calous and selfish
B.. no, its normal for a 20 year old ot be calous and selfish. by the time we're 23, we start looking at how the world is calous and selfish.
A.. i can see that
by 25 one would find it is futile to try change people to fit our preference. You either take it or leave it.

B.. by 27 most people decide its futile to change the world to fit our preferences, and give up on trying. What happens at 28, Dody?

A..you start doing dangerous sports that can kill you

B.. haha. holy hell, at 23 I'm way ahead of the learning curve then.

A..yup
your parents will hate me
posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 4:41:52 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 4:01:51 PM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [0]
Today I swallowed half of Alex murky water in my first day of diving course. Visibility was zero. My snorkle didn't work properly. But now at least I know how to assemble and disassemble the scuba gear properly.

But the gear had been turned out and there was no return back. In four weeks, I would be CMAS star 1 certified.

Megan was brave (or naive) enough to agree to a last minute shout to leave Cairo for Alex on a Friday afternoon and ended up taking the course. Ziyad was in, reluctantly at first and my original partner in crime, Rafik, was as estatic as Egyptian dude in a Porn store.

We stayed in The Union Hotel (which is well recommended btw. It was the first cheap ass hotel that manage to have a proper hot shower),  on the corniche. The view from hotel was just breathtaking.

We watched Germany beat Argentina in a cafe with the worse service record in Egypt. It took 7 attempts (we ordered then send them backs)  to deliver a normal coffee after one hour. They first attempted with 3 different tries to fulfill Megan's order for Ice Coffee (hmm guys, Ice Coffee doesn't have CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE in it); the order then was reduced to a simple coffee (Americano to be specific) which they manage to bungle yet again and again before coming up with a winner of watered down Turkish coffee masquerading as normal coffee.

We left the pathetic cafe when he game ended and  did the mandatory visit to Abu Assraf, the best fish restaurant in Egypt for a full on pigout fest on all the best things the mother sea can offer.

Today, the first day of the four days long scuba diving course, started with a quick 40 minutes run from the hotel to the Citadel on the Western Side of Alexandria at 7.30. She kicked my ass as my irregular training showed its effect. I did enjoy the envious stares from the early risers in Alexandria, giving  "Fuck you guys, I'm with beauty" smirks as I sweated through the run.

I am sorry to report that foul breakfast in the nearby and supposedly famous Ahmed Muhammed was not up to notch. How in the world can you fuck up  a breakfast? Our foul arrived swimming hapilly in  a generous pool of butter and lord-know-what fatty substance and still manage not to trigger any of my taste buds. The damn thing was really Ph neutral.

Our double espresso at the Brazillian cafe tastes like Turkish coffee too. Goddamnit, this cafe had forgotten that it had been years since the Ottoman rule this country.

If you are interested in diving, take CMAS boys/girls. PADI certification costs twice as much and yet it's still the same thing. CMAS belongs some NPF in Belgium and PADI belongs to a commercial entity in USA. The CMAS * course will take you through 9 dives, with four in confined water and the rest in open water. The CMAS certification in Alexandria only cost 500 LE.

In our first day today, we learn about things about scuba diving  that can kill you or at least generate enormous pain. Oh, would you like some "lung explosion" or "nitro decompression" illness today? Pick your poision.

Breaking your neck on a fast horse gallop or die slowly and painfully in nitro poisoning in diving. I've been acting as if I'm looking for the most spectacular way to die.

Now I need to catch up on sleep.
posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 12:57:21 AM (Egypt Daylight Time, UTC+03:00)  #    Comments [2]