Saturday, January 27, 2007

Being a regular .. or too much of a regular ?

I like going out, trying new places, having hot steamy drinks and chocolate rich cookies in winter time. And sometimes, when I get so comfortable with a place, I rank it as a favorite, and I become a regular customer there . It feels good to be a regular at some place, because you make sure that, the staff will welcome you, take care of you , finds you a table , and pamper you with their service , and it also feels good to feel familiar with the place and the other regular customers around . But, when does regular get to be too much?

This evening, I was out with a good friend of mine. It's been a while sine we met, just the two of us, and exchanged latest news on all levels. I just love my meetings with her, because no matter how long it was since our last meeting, no ice ever builds up, and we easily go into conversation. So, today we hit one of our favorite coffee bars, asked for our coffees, and then had a seat and started chatting.

The staff has been joyful and helpful , and we usually smile back , and act nice , yet , the idea of joking and exchanging conversation does not appeal to me very much , I like to keep things semi-formal ,not too stiff , and not too friendly, just friendly and nice but in a formal way.

Anyway, so we decided to change our table into another more comfy table that others were occupying and just left, so we moved and waited for someone to come and pick up the latter group mugs, but no one came, I guess because no one noticed the table exchange. So I thought, I'd go and ask someone to come and pick them up (it's not very pleasant to be sitting with others leftovers, even if it was coffee mugs!). So I went and asked for some of the staff's help, and there were they all standing, grinning, and trying to be "overly cute" joking with me saying "Why don't you pick it up?" . At that moment, I was not sure how should I react, to frown or smile yellowish-ly , but I was not very comfortable with that remark . I simply turned on my heels and headed back to my table with no more words. After a minute, one of the staff came to our table to pick up the mugs, apologizing and saying they were just kidding, and they always joke with their regular customers. I couldn't help it to let him know that this kind of joking was neither pleasant nor funny. He apologized again, and after a short while , we were sent complimentary coffee ,on the house.

That coffee bar is still one of my favorites, for many reasons, regardless this tiny situation. But, was I right in showing my annoyance? Is it okay when people of the staff cut that line and start acting like old friends? Well, the only thing I know, their apology gesture was kind, I would still go there, but maybe I should shift towards more formal way in conversing!

Friday, January 26, 2007

Shooting star .. self journal

Too many things are taking place lately at my work, lots of work load, and I am still trying to squeeze it all in those 8 hours, without any success, to end up working for 10 and 12 hrs sometimes.

I almost forgot how does it feel to be free of all work obligations, and to be at home , wearing something comfy , a PJ or a training suite , with soft slippers in my feet , wearing my glasses on instead of those annoying contact lenses scrunching my eyeballs warping my hands around my big hot mug of green tea , seeking serenity and warmth . And enjoying that soft track for Corrine Bailey Rae singing in the background :

"Just like a star across my sky,
Just like an angel off the page,
You have appeared to my life,
Feel like I'll never be the same,
Just like a song in my heart,
Just like oil on my hands,
Honour to love you ….."





And no, I am far far far away from falling for any "star". My star is still wondering somewhere in that endless glamorous space. I simply happen to find the song soothing and romantic , and the words seem are easy to murmur ..

This does look like another self journal post, though I just cannot resist it. It's been a long tiring energy consuming week, and the hardest is yet to come...


And Corrine is still singing:


"I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
I wonder why it is,
I wont let my guard down,
To anyone but you
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind.. "



Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Morning race ... RUN !!!!!!

You open your eyes slowly, letting the sunshine penetrate into you. You're feeling extra comfy this morning. And while you are still enjoying the warmth while tucked in under those warm sheets, stretching your arm to the table next to your bed, grabbing your mobile to check on time, and then as if a bee has just stung you, you jump out of your bed, you are LATE!!!!!!!!!

So, you have over slept, snoozed your mobile's alarm several times , and when you finally decided to wake up , its just late , you have about 20 minutes to get dressed , have breakfast , and then 5 minutes to fly to work . You discover that you can, go to toilet, iron and slip into your cloths, do your hair, grab your breakfast, and brush your teeth in 20 minutes. And then you run to the garage storming out with your car.
Great !!! traffic today is working against you , everybody seems to be taking a pleasant "drive" this morning , doing some sight-seeing in their way to work , and not going over 30km/hr. and you are trying to by pass them , but it is a bit hard . Your first traffic light, and the line of cars is WAY too long , and you start thinking that they should find a solution for this annoying daily jam on that traffic , and you start day dreaming that your car will convert to a grindizer , and start jumping between cars or flying in the sky to reach work , and you smile with frustration at the thought.
You have less than 5 minutes left! So traffic light is green, Thanks God!! and you think that your way will be open above that bridge , and you'll sprint between cars , to be stopped by big trucks this time , where the hell did they came from !!!! Aren't those huge vehicles supposed to stay parked until evening time! So, you are slowed down again , day dreaming again , about having a huge car with rubber side contours to push other cars from your way , just like that car game you used to play in the entertainment park when you were a kid. Back to reality and start trying to maneuver your way to by pass those monstrous vehicles , and racing with time .

And you finally there, one minute late, its an achievement!!! To be at work after 25 minutes from your wake up time and still manage not to look as if you jumped out of bed to your desk .

Time to relax, have your morning Nescafe, and making another promise to yourself, you will never wake up late .. again !

Monday, January 15, 2007

5 Things that you may (not) be very interested to know about me ..

I have been away from blogging and blogs for a while now, I am not able to read my favorite , regular blogs , nor check on them . you will have to excuse me guys for that , I really miss reading it all and catching up with every blog, but I might still need more time . add to that , I haven't been posting anything for sometime. It happens I guess .

So, I've been tagged twice, first time by Summer and second time by Tamara , to tell five things about me that you do not know ..

Hmmm.. this should be easy , since technically , no one reads for me knows me personally , well , okay , some might know me from work , and some might be my friends in real life , but the majority , do not know me in person . So, let's see:

1.
I am intimidated by public speaking, especially in front of a group that is over 6 people of total strangers! I fear it to the maximum limits! I once had this workshop, the group consisted of 20 people and the workshop lasted for 2 days, one exercise was to stand in front of the U-shaped table and explain something on the white board. I was fine, until I realized that I'll be speaking in a loud voice in front of twenty something people whom I've just met! And, I'll spare you the details of my utter embarrassment, or I might just share it in another post one day!

2. Everybody seemed to mention the food and fruits they hate, and my share of that would be Eggplants and Guava, still, I like Baba ghanouj and Guava juice! And since we are still on food, I eat "7elbeh" and I do not find it gross! I bit many people will find this weird , most people I know hates it !

3. When I become passionate about something or someone, I just become "passionate" and I give it all my energies and resources, because I end up believing in this something or someone, but the bad part about that is, I am never patient enough to wait for results, I always unconsciously demand or expect fast results, whether at work on in my life, and I have to admit, that one should be patient and sometimes I lack this asset.

4. I am a hopeless case when it comes to singing a song with the its right words ! I can mumble my lips with what seems like its words, I could get a couple of words right, but the actual lyrics, never. And I'd end up making up a word to fit in instead of the real one, and sometimes a whole line ..


5. I over analyze things, and I am "the mother of assumptions" as a dear friend of mine calls me. There are things or situations that I would go over and over and over in my mind to an exhausting limit (makes me sound paranoid .. eah!) I assume all the time, and the annoying part is that; I believe my assumptions! And adjust myself to them before even the situation happens, very bad.. Yeah I know..

So, here I have shared a piece of my personality, not very cute, but true. And look at that , I thought I had nothing to write about , and I ended up with a medium sized post !

I will leave the tagging chain end here on this part though :) .. But whomever feels like sharing their "private 5 things", is always welcome to write them down.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Mumbles and inside wonders

How often do we mean the things we say?

How often do we mean it when we say to a friend or a close one that I'll be there for you in anytime and in any situation and we are THERE for them when they need us?

How often do we think that old flames of affection for people whom we've grown fond of will remain and stay the same or even ignite as time passes?

How often do we mean it when we say to someone we miss them, and when they say it back, do they really mean it? Then why is it we don't hear from them, unless if we picked the phone and dialed their numbers?

And how come "love" is a word that can be thrown on someone's ear, that in a matter of years it vanishes as if it never been pointed to our hearts , and they are strangers in the street?

And how many times we thought of a person as a friend, that we'll depend on his/her unquestioned and ongoing support and love, to find that years will steal those precious friendship senses of the relation, leave it all formal and dry?

How often we build dreams and wishes on imaginary basis, and then fall into our delusional illusions , to be shaken up later from those dreams and fall into the street of real life?

How often our sweetest memories of different intervals of life shape up our relations to some people , and as we think it will remain and sustain it forever , we get smacked by the one and only truth that nothing remains the same , even the best of relations ?

Is it that we love our past more than present? Is it that we "imagine" that those were a better days and yesterday is a day we lost and can never get back? Then why do we run for our future? Because it will be a past one day?

Who does even care …