Now, hold on a minute...

Needless to say, the last week has been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster for all Egyptians. One that has ended in dividing people sharply into two sides; the one that yearns for the facade of stability we've had for years and the one that wants to keep the protests' momentum going until Mubarak finally leaves. This dissent was at its ugliest yesterday when the former group was actually visibly pissed off at the protesters who were being shot at and saying that they deserved it because they brought it on themselves.
Now, I don't care which side you're on but there should be no country on the face of the planet in this day and age, where protesters who are peacefully expressing their opinions - whether you agree with them or not - are shot at while we all stand by with folded arms and annoyed expressions on our faces. The very thought should be inconceivable and I can't believe that people sitting at home all bundled up in front of their TV sets and computers have the nerve to say "well they had it coming, didn't they?".
Don't even get me started on how gullible we've really turned out to be. I'll admit that Mubarak gave quite the speech to plead with his people for a dignified exist, complete with strategically placed pauses and looks of defeat, but are people really that easy to fool? How did half the population do a complete 180 after a single speech? Is it so easy to forget what's been done over the past 3 decades that your desperation for this "mess" to go away gives you the gall to say that these kids have done enough and they should just go home when they've been forced to shift from exercising their God-given rights to fighting for their survival?
How are people still defending him and claiming that the abhorrent criminal activity that's been taking place in the past 2 days in El-Tahrir must have been devised by all the other bad guys in the government, because you know, he's really an O.K. guy once you really get to know him.
The guy's a Goddamn octogenarian who's been in power for 30 years. I think that means that he's earned enough experience over the past few DECADES to disqualify him from being the good guy surrounded by a few bad seeds leading him astray.

You don't need to be of a certain political inclination to realize that what's happening to the protesters in El Tahrir is wrong. They're Egyptians, they're human beings and they have every right to be there.

What About All the Rest?

I don't know how to say the following without sounding like a complete asshole but I'll try.
I think it's awesome, amazing and mind-blowing that the Children's Cancer Hospital (57357) is enjoying this tremendous amount of support, both moral and financial.
It sort of bugs me though that a great many other hospitals in Egypt that are just as needy (if not more) are not getting nearly as much attention. It seem that somehow, the massive media campaign aimed at promoting the CCH's efforts has made it more well...fashionable to direct donations there compared to other hospital.s
My own personal experience is limited to El-Demerdash (a.k.a. Ain Shams University Hospital), but I don't think I'm being pessimistic in thinking that it's only one among many hospitals that need serious financial support just to stay afloat.
I go to work every day and I see this crumbling establishment trying to pose as a hospital that receives a ridiculous amount of patients each day complaining from every ailment imaginable under the sun.
As awful and life-shattering as cancer is, there are also many other awful diseases out there that need so much to treat or even to diagnose properly. I've witnessed young residents with my own eyes pay for patient's treatments out of their own pockets and let me tell you, their pockets are by no means deep.
It's not just money either. Blood is more commonly unavailable than not and sometimes it can make all the difference.
So is there anyone out there willing and powerful enough to advertise the needs of other heavily pressured hospitals in Egypt so that all those generous Egyptian philanthropists (and for once, I'm not being sarcastic) can be made aware of other places where their help is badly needed?

Essence de Microbus

You know what you really shouldn't take with you on a Microbus on a really, really hot day? Three bags full of raw fish.
You see, I initally thought that there nothing worse than the smell of sweat and stale underwear on a hot crowded microbus but as usual, turns out I was really naive. The low point was just about every miniature traffic jam when whatever breeze was blowing through the windows just stopped leaving you clutching your chest and clawing against the already tattered seat in front of you just waiting for sweet relief, even if it's permanent.
You know what's even worse than simply smelling it all through the ride? Having to maneuver your way through the aforementioned bags while the owner looks on innocently, causing your shoes to pick up the scent and keep you company for the rest of the way home, where you promptly burn them in a sacrificial bonfire while quietly weeping over their young prematurely snuffed out lives.

On a more pleasantly smelling note; HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOU!

Listening to : Sour Girl - STP

The Biggest Trap?

I love it when Doctors/Professors literally spit out their "pearls of wisdom" at us during rounds. Seriously, the stuff I hear coming from these men's mouths is pure comedy gold.

I remember during my OB&GYN round last month, there was this particular doctor who blew me away. We only saw him twice but he had a particularly profound effect on me during one of those times caused by one of his highly entertaining "pearls.

I'm paraphrasing here, of course but the gist of what he told us one time when we were discussing the value of knowing the patient's and her husband's respective ages was:

"See? Her husband's much older than her. He probably needed someone to serve him. That's what these marriages with significant age differences are usually about. You see, the biggest trap a man can fall into is ending up outliving his wife because then there would be no one to take care of him in his old age. I mean, a woman can serve herself when she's old and on her own but a man still needs taking care of! "

So let me get this straight...
A elderly widower's biggest problem would be the absence of a female "servant" rather than a "companion"? His biggest problem would be the inability to shout "JANE! ME HUNGRY! FEED NOW!" at someone? And an elderly female widow needs nothing because any thing's manageable as long as she can cook and clean after herself despite any decrepitude old age might cause?

This is actually as silly as the notion that a widower should get married as soon as possible because he needs someone to take care of the house while a widow shouldn't because she should stay loyal to her husband's memory and think only of her children.

If this is the biggest trap a guy could fall into, the biggest one a girl could fall into is ending getting hitched to a guy retarded enough to think of her as an investment to keep him comfortable in his old age.


Listening to : God is an Astronaut - Radau

Whatever You Say, Dude.

Today, while we were driving home, I saw a guy rush by in his car which had the word "DONGEROUS" conspicuously stuck on its rear end.

I mean, if you're gonna go ahead and try to proclaim what a bad-ass you are in such a pathetic, stupid and desperate method, you should at least make sure that said pathetic, stupid and desperate attempt is spelled correctly.

Pet Peeves that bring out the axe murder in you

I'm not talking about things that simply "annoy" you, I'm talking about things that elicit a strong desire in you to inflict physical injury, a desire that you have to work very, very hard to contain. Then again, my mother says I'm a violent person by nature...(Not because I enjoyed hurting small animals as a child but because I slam doors a little too hard and open jars a little too aggressively. *sigh*Don't ask)

-In a crowded line towards an exit when someone insists on laying their hands on you as if somehow that's going to propel both of you towards the door any faster. What's especially irritating, is the fact that they're really not important enough to be in such a hurry.
Hey there, strange person behind me...hands to yourself or I'm gonna cut ya! O.K now?

-When you're standing on a bus with a heavy book bag , rocking back and forth in rhythm with the lovely elevations and depressions of our streets and someone sitting down asks you to please stand still because your bag is brushing against his/her shoulder and causing a great deal of annoyance. They usually throw in a grimace of disgust for good measure
How about I just knock you unconscious with my big bad bag, so we can both have a nicer bus trip home, sir? Would that make you any more comfortable?

-If I have trouble doing something with my hands and someone actually pushes my hand away forcefully to do it themselves. I'm not a 2 yr old you moron nor are we living in the stone age, anymore where language was kinda scarce. We can c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-e with s-p-e-e-c-h and w-o-r-d-s.
Otherwise, me get very angry of you and me want to smack your face in real bad.

-You can't do (insert anything e.g. be a surgeon) because you're a woman and you'll have a husband and children to keep you busy OR Brilliant statements along the lines of "women are taking all our jobs after graduation, you girls know you'll become housewives eventually". Yes, I'm a girl/woman/chick and being one , I own plenty of high heels. Would you like me to introduce you to their business ends?

-Pimply faced teenagers , wearing a cap glued to their head (that seems to be disintegrating into it's primary components...the cap not their heads...I think) ,who you can hardly see behind their steering wheels and who are always in a hurry to get somewhere. Where the hell are you in such a hurry to? To put out a forest fire? To free Palestine? To save a bunch of orphans from child labour? WHAT!?
If you're a pedestrian, they're fully intent on running you over when you dare to cross the street. If you're a driver , they shine the light in your eyes and insist on somehow passing you because if they're gonna kill themselves in a car accident , then they might as well take you with them!
You just wanna pull 'em them over and just...!#(%()@#....you get what I mean, right?



*Deep Breath*..That felt good.

Le ShobShob

This is a picture of what the slippers we wear to the bathroom at home look like. In what appears to be a disturbing recent trend, these slippers have become a hot fashion accessory...for guys. Look, I have nothing deep to say about this but I just came home an hour ago and everywhere I turned a guy's toes were wiggling next to me. I mean...EWWW. Unless you have cute perfectly pedicured toes (which means you've got worse problems than being a fashion victim, young man), put that sh*t away plz!

My mask of sanity is about to slip.

I don't really know why but I've recently noticed something rather odd about myself. I'm not sure if it's odd or if it's something that everyone does but never speaks of for fear of being accused of insanity by other people who secretly do the very same thing. I've noticed that when I'm in public I tend to imagine these very detailed hypothetical situations and all their possible consequences that usually have an unpleasant or maybe even bloody conclusion. Examples:

• When I'm walking down the steep and very crowded metro stairs, I always wonder what will happen if I slip and fall on the hard cement below, breaking my jaw with blood spraying a metre in front of me. I guess some ppl will try to help, someone will likely steal my wallet and phone from my bag and others will simply try to quickly avoid the sudden crowd and continue to their destinations after taking a small glance at the cause of all the commotion. Most people though will probably just gather around to watch so they could tell their friends and families all about it because we just love to watch horrible things happen to strangers and then use them for small talk.
  
• I would then feel a sudden disgust and imagine what would happen if I pushed someone.
• Sometimes when I'm especially pissed off, I walk around simply looking hostile and daring anyone to say or do something stupid, so that I can take it all out on a stranger I'll never see again but get the satisfaction that I just made the day a little gloomier for someone I don't give a shit about and probably hated on sight.
  
• When getting out of a car or a taxi with a friend, I wonder what might happen if that friend gets a little too enthusiastic about arriving and slams the door in my face while I'm still half way out.
  
• Then I wonder what might happen if I do it.
• When I have close calls, like almost slipping on the stairs or almost getting hit by a vehicle of some sort, I never let it just pass. I have to imagine the possible consequences up to the point where I'm lying in a hospital bed unconsious with my family and friends standing around me and looking sad.
  
• I imagine if they actually will be upset , or how long it'll take my friends to notice that I'm gone and then how long it'll take for them to forget me.
  
• I wonder what will happen if I tell that "acquaintance" talking to me while I'm smiling at her that in reality I can't stand her guts and want to give her a good slap or two on the face because I know she secretly hates me for whatever reason.
  
• Sometimes when I'm out with my friends, walking around with the ever present water bottle in my hand just laughing and having a good time, I look at complete strangers and wonder what might happen if I bang them on the head with said bottle. An outrage I bet! My friends looking horrified at me, me with a twisted sick smile on my face, my victim looking at me speechless and ready to throttle me at the same time
• I often wonder what will happen if I shout an expletive at that smug, arrogant, misogynistic professor in the middle of class just to see the look on his face. He'll probably make sure I never graduate and ruin my future because I'm a worthless kid who decided to let him know that he's an ass.
  
• Right now I'm wondering what kind of impression do I hope to give by quoting American Psycho in the Goddamn title .
  

I choose to believe that this is all a normal part of having an overactive imagintion. Reassurances of this theory are more than welcome

Cinema rant & some WTF news

So I went to see Blood Diamond today. Fantastic movie! I'll write up a review tomorrow if I have time isa.

As usual, my cinematic experience was a little tainted by a few things that just piss me off to no end whenever I go see a movie :

1- To parents who take their kids to movies that are rated (R) : WTF are you thinking? How is it OK for your kids to see a movie full of blood , violence and cursing ? Besides the fact that this movie was way too complex for a 7 yr old to comprehend and I'm awfully sick of hearing a child asking his mommy what the bad guy is saying when he tells someone to "F**k off!" in the movie. Yeah, mommy why don't you tell him what it means?

2- To parents who leave their kids aged 14 and under go to the movies alone : Again, WTF are you thinking? You let a group of children go off to the movies alone , with no supervision, go into whatever movie they want and that's just OK with you guys? At the very least there should be an agreement upon what movie they're seeing. Besides that, you may want a 3-hour break from your kids, but I really resent the fact that each of my friends and I had to turn around 2 times to tell the 10 yr old chatterboxes behind us to keep quiet and stop kicking the chairs. I ended up practically screaming "PLZ SHUTUP"...which worked for about 5 mins. Even my "evil stare" didn't work and when my "evil stare" doesn't work, you know it's a bad situation.

3- To parents with newborns : We're glad you have a new bundle of joy. No really, we are. I just have something to tell you, as shocking as this might be, if you don't go to the movies in the first 12 months of your infant's life, guess what? It doesn't mean you'll die, it doesn't mean you'll disappear and never be heard from again and it doesn't even mean that you're not as good as anyone else. But since it's your bundle of joy, how about you handle it at home instead of involving an entire theatre audience. I know it takes a village to raise a child, but come on!!

4- To the people who insist on answering the phone during the movie because the balance of the very universe itself depends on you taking that call; where were you guys today? I didn't see you....(plz stay hidden..you make so many ppl happy that way).

5- To people who litter in the movie theatre and leave it looking like a hurricane hit it : Ekhsss...you should be slapped on your hands and made to stand in the corner.

Disclaimer: No, I don't hate little kids and I don't eat them when there's a full moon.

Now the latest WTF!? news :

The fatwa I was so displeased with here , was actually a huge misunderstanding....apparently, he only said that a woman can't be a Caliph but she can be a president.
Of course! Now it all makes perfect se...wait a second...

::runs off to look out of the widow::

nope, we haven't been sucked into another dimension....

or been caught in a time warp...

or....oh, forget it...