Assal Eswed: Black comedy viewing how we view Egypt

I have just seen it today and I already know that I'll have to see it at least one more time.

Assal Eswed hits you with a awfully bad start that shows a really naive Egyptian-American returning to Egypt. Then it starts showing a lot of contradiction that could be spotted easily in any Egyptian's daily life that are now taken for granted. Then the movie tries to project the changes we've witnessed in the past 20 years on the emotions of that man who had a certain image of an Egypt facing reality.

It's an emotional roller coaster that lets you experience a lot of feelings that we have for Egypt, Egyptians and ourselves. Supported with a sensational Omar Khairat soundtrack that helps hear what really Egypt sounds like while the movie is showing what Egypt is now like.

I recommend it and try to tolerate the first half an hour or so..

Knowing and not knowing

There are a few things now that I can say that I know ... I really know. When I look back, at the world I had, the people I met and thought, the little things I have achieved and myself .. those stuff that I thought were figured out and all clear ... well let's just say that they are not that clear anymore.

A friend told me that everyone is improving but I am not, by the way, he means in certain areas .. I am not that bad anywayz ..... back to what he was saying; maybe he's right, I stopped trying for a while now .. really trying, to get the hang of stuff, to know a little more about people, things I didn't know, things I thought I knew and things I never knew existed.

This got me thinking, what do you really know ?? ... well do you know yourself ??? Do you know others ???

"He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened." Lao-Tzu

So in other words, do you think wise or enlightened ?? and the more important question are you really wise or enlightened???
I know I am not, not yet anywayz .. too young, too naive, too ...........

So how do you know that you're wise ??? is it something like love when you just know .. or it's something like knowledge .. when you know that you'll never know ....
Can wisdom be a target ? is that even wise ??? .. a lot of question with no simple answer.

A little bit of everything

"I like being alone at least I convince myself that I am better off that way, I met someone, she changed me and then she left ... We're better off alone. We suffer alone, we die alone" House.

House is my all time favourite TV series. I am addicted to it, to the character, to the way he thinks, deals with stuff and the way he makes it appear at the end.

Right now I am at an important crossroad in my life. College is almost over and my life is about to begin. Of course everything will have to be put on hold due to mandatory military service but that gives me A LOT of time to think of what's to come; to plan, replan and then plan some more.  And that's hell.

I am losing all my interest in what's going on in college, all I care about is getting out with 3.4+ GPA. I know it ain't that good but ... well nothing I am going to say here will make any difference.

When you know that you have all your life ahead of you, one can think all different kinds of stuff. For me everything pops into my head Career choices, research, industry, academia, abroad, local, life, family, marriage, love, settling, money, money, choices choices choices... I don't mind taking them. I already have my life planned but being given such a long time to rethink that plan over and over and over and over .. well you figure it out. One must start to develop doubts, change it just to have new stuff to look forward to instead of that the same picture.

I can't deny that this time gave me the chance to do stuff that I didn't have planned and learn about things I wouldn't have noticed if I knew that my life was starting right after graduation. It also gave me the chance to get the vacation I didn't get for the past 4 years.


The way I see it, planning is good. It keeps you from getting lost and gives you a kind of heads up on what might be. Also everything you have might be considered a blessing or a curse depending on how you tend to see and use it, so it just up to you to either get things right or mess everything up.

Another Random Thought

"The day they met is a miracle to both of them.I could see it his eyes and feel it in his words when he tells the story for hundred time with the same amazement. I couldn't help but want to hear it again.
He knew right a way she was the one for him ...
Right away she interrupts with a joke making all of us burst into laughter forgetting where we were ...
She loved him with all her heart and that's all it took for him to give her his life...
Their love for one another is present for everyone around them to feel even when they are no longer together... 
You can see her in his every word ... in every movement he makes ... You can see her in him as if they were one..."
Being raised to see and feel that, how can I settle for less ????

Music as I hear it: Rascal Flatts - The Day Before You, Bless The Broken Road

(The following are some random thoughts of mine) You might already know that Rascal Flatts is my favourite bands. The thing I like about there music is that it always means something (At to me it does). The thing I'd like to mention here is Appreciating the Journey.

"Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you"

Bless The Broken Road

"Oh, but Heaven knows those years without you
Were shaping my heart for the that day I found you
If you're the reason for all that I've been through
Then I'm thankful for the day before you"

The Day Before You

The thing I find in those word is appreciation of what one's been through to reach the unexpected result God laid before him/her after an underestimated journey.

Also I get that one shouldn't settle for less. I believe in fairness in this world, you get what you've earned and you lose what you've given up. So if you're plan is not to settle for less then you should be out there giving your best for what you think you deserve.

One last thing, don't forget to appreciate the journey cuz that's what you'll have when you're old, memories, and it's up to you to decide whether you want them good or bad.

Faith, and renewing one's faith

Merriam Webster defines faith to be: "a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust" amongst other definitions.
I am sure that there is no need to tell you the importance of having faith in something. People have faith in God, in themselves, in the good in others, in freedom its different forms, and much more things. You use that faith to drive you to doing your best, overcoming difficulties and always moving forward. You always relay on it as the foundation of your life and how you see the world around you. It becomes your ideology, who you are.
As you go through your version of the adventure of living, your faith gets tested by all sort of things. Some events might shake your faith and may even falsify that faith. But, as long as it doesn't break you, you move on.
We use our faith to face what ever the days throw our way. And like any physical tool we use, faith wears out. It wears out by us forgetting the reasons why we believed, why we had faith. And one time you try using that faith, you don't find it there. So, you're trying to help someone, trying to overcome a downturn in your life or even trying to pray, you ask "why am I doing that?" and the answer doesn't seem that important or not even worth it.
The thing is, you took your faith for granted. You didn't let your faith be a part of your recent experiences and the reasons behind your faith became just some worn out words. That what's faith renewal is all about.
Every now and then we all need to remember why we're doing what we're doing, why we believe what we believe. Shout the words out loud, let the world hear them, let the world even criticize them. They can only get stronger after all, if they can stand the blows shot against them.
The reason I am writing this is to remember and tell the world what I am all about, I have faith in God, I have faith in myself, I have faith in the good in my Country, I have faith in everyone's right to have faith in whatever they want to have faith in, I have faith in freedom, I have faith in change, I have faith ...
Please comment and let the world hear what you have faith in, what you're all about.

How I Met You Mother, How I Never Met Your Mother

"The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do. They'll also be the things that happen to you. Now, I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life. You have to take action. And you will! But never forget, that on any day, you could step out the front door, and your whole life could change forever. You see the Universe has a plan kids; and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought, but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working... Making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be.. exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place. At the right time." Ted