Deepest condolences Dima

My dear friend and our fellow belogger Dima's (Verbal Alchemy) father has passed away ,
my heart is with you my dear,I know how proud of you he was,and how much you loved him..
Its' never easy to deal with this,but I ask you to be the girl he knew and wants you to be.
hold on to all the good times you spent together and remember one thing,he left us a proud dad,and that's because of you.

Watch and support Palestinian Movies and Documentaries

Facebook might be a pain in the ass often,but every once in a while you gotta give it credit . You can watch and support Palestinian movies and documentaries with links for watching online for free by checking/joining this facebook group (Palestinian Film Supporters جمهور الافلام الفلسطينية) or by checking/subscribing to this blog http://palestinianfilmsupporters.blogspot.com/

There are 3 catagories , Movies ,Documentaries ,and International Films Featuring Palestinian Actors!

Plenty to watch ! get to know Palestine a bit more through Palestinian art. Show the love people .

old (really old) schoo laundry day !!

Today i ran out of clean clothes ! i HAD to do laundry ,this new place where i live doesn't have those washers and driers with the coins n all ,and there isn't a laundry mat nearby ,but i decided i'm taking this bike of mine n not coming back till i find one ! after cruising little miserable allies with all the dogs and locals watching the "Falang = foreigner" wandering around i found this small shop , the lady didn't speak ANY English ,and my little Thai didn't help either, after long miming session i came to understand i have two options , either pay 15 Baht per piece ,or 50 Baht per full basket ! of course it didn't make sense !so i knew we didn't exactly "understand" each other .and was left with one option ,old school laundry session ! I bought the soap, and fabric softener(and this will prove to be the smartest thing I've done).

I sat down on this little bench in the yard ,brought this big plastic bucket !! filled it with water ,n started rubbing n scrubbing piece by piece .it wasn't 10 minutes before i got really frustrated with the process ,my arms are stone stiff and my forehead is sweating! and i haven't even started with the bed sheet and pillow cases !! so i thought to myself : how does the washer work ? easy,it spins ,there is no rubbing or scrubbing ,its just spinning . i poured all the soap i have in the bucket ,with the big sheet and pillow cases ,and started just playing with the water spinning clock wise,stop .."teshhhhh" anti clockwise ...stop ..teshhh... but i wasn't happy with the process either ! there is no foaming ,there is no nice smell ! so i figured lets pour some softener ! JACK POTTTTTT ... foam everywhere ,smell is heavenly ,and you know if its foamy then its clean,and if it smells nice then its clean ! and so my laundry is now clean and clean and smells nice . and don't you dare judge me .
I wonder how our moms did it back in the days !(yea I remember that,long long ago)

Spending ,Wealth ,and quality of living (?)

Me and myself are confused , there are habits that i can never ever relate to ! like buying fancy things when you can have the same exact functionality out of a much cheaper one ! even more ; buying things just because you can,not because you need . but maybe because i was never able to "just buy it" and always had to "need to buy it" to do so right ? what do i know i can't claim i know how it feels ! which lead me and myself to this question ; now I -and i assume everyone else- works hard to be successful ,happy and wealthy , I'm not getting into Wealth VS Rich debate ,but lets say you managed to have good stable income ,so what do i do now ?I mean i have enough money to buy fancy stuff ,would i buy it ?what if my sister,my mom,my wife,my kids wanted one of those ? do i tell them no ? or do i do what i find now complete irresponsibility and utter detachment from the real world where thousands can't get 3 meals a day ? but again is it "my" fault ?is it their fault ?should the excess money go to charity only ? 

what is quality of living and what determines it ? see me and myself are really confused . your generous thoughts of wisdom please...

Post is featuring this CHANEL hand bag worth of ... a lot of money !

Dry Thai New year and boring squirrels

Last year i participated in my 1st Songkran festival (images) in Thailand ,which marks the Thai new year ,if you're a foreigner and you couldn't memories "Songkran" you might hear someone calling it "the water festival" .People go out in the streets with big water guns and everybody splashes everybody ,if you're not in one of those big crowded areas and you stayed home,you go outside your house and play with your family ,neighbors ,and anyone who passes by , last year was a blast,except for the part where i got back home by train,and the train is AC-ed ,and i was shivering :/ but i went again on the 3rd day well prepared with a towel ,dry extra clothes and lots of sacks to keep everything dry in my bag .

Yesterday i went out to the market near by,and I found out it was Songkran!I didn't even know its now,I couldn't imagine its been a year already ,but thats fine, the sucky part is that I don't feel like going out and "playing" ,passing by each group of people preparing to splash me I'd tell them not to,wearing my Jordanian-Kashra face of course ,so they didn't,I've been going out and coming back for two days with no single drop of water on me . why is that bad ? because Songkran isn't the only thing that i lost appetite for !

I don't enjoy taking the motorcycle taxi anymore ,I'm not enjoying the wind in my face or the speed or whatever feeling that made me always prefer motorcycle taxis over the many other options i had to wander around the city .

I don't enjoy watching a squirrel looking for food anymore ,as a matter of fact, when i see a squirrel in the balcony looking for food,jumping around on the wires and furniture ,my only thought is "don't get in here cuz then i'll have to chase you out!" ,I used to wake up early to watch squirrels :/

Yesterday i woke up n found one of those long beautiful worms in my room ,usually I'd sit next to it and watch it and enjoy how fascinating these little things can be , maybe take couple of pictures too, didn't do any of that,just picked it up n threw it out .

I just realized today how i enjoy very few things these days !! I'm not sure when this phase started but its not fun.

لماذا تغير طعم التفاح : نص إبن حرام مجهول الأب

 استلمت هذا النص بعنوان "لماذا تغير طعم التفاح" في بريدي الإلكتروني من إحدى الصديقات مع ملاحظة "مين صاحب هاد النص ؟ حسيتو إنتا " .  طبعا مش أنا صاحب النص ، لكن أود أن أفهم هذه الظاهرة العجيبة ، سرقة النصوص و الأعمال الإبداعية و مشاركتها دون الإشارة لصاحبها حتى ، طبعا سؤاله الإذن لمداولتها هذا خارج عن المنطق ! بما أنه على الإنترنت و الإنترنت مشاع ! مش هيك ؟

بناءا عليه ، قررت  أن أنشر هذه النصوص  مجهولة المصدر بهدف لم شمل النصوص بأصحابها لنقول لهم : شكرا ! أو ، استمتعت بما كتبت !

==========

لماذا تغيّر طعمُ التفاح؟

 

 زمان كانت أسماؤنا أحلى... حين النساء أكثر أنوثة، ورائحة الباميا تتسرب من

 شبابيك البيوت، وساعة "الجوفيال" في يد الأب العجوز أغلى أجهزة البيت سعراً

 وأكثرها حداثة، وحبات المطر أكثر اكتنازاً بالماء.

 

 زمان .. حين أخبار الثامنة أقلّ دماً، ومذاق الشمس في أفواهنا أطيب، وطريق

 "المصدار" أقل ازدحاماً بشاحنات الأثاث، وبنات المدارس يخبئن أنوثتهن في صفحات

 دفتر العلوم.

 

 لما كانت غمزة "سميرة توفيق" أكثر مشاهد التلفزيون جرأة، و"مجلس النواب" حلماً

 يداعب اليسار المتشدد، وأجرة الباص قرشين، والصحف تنشر كل أسماء الناجحين

 بالتوجيهي.

 

 عندما كان المزراب يخزّن ماء الشتاء في البراميل، وكُتّاب القصة ينشرون مجموعات

 مشتركة، وحلو العرس يوزع في كؤوس زجاجية هشّة تسمى "مطبقانيات"، والجارة تمدّ

 يدها فجرا من خلف الباب بكوب شاي ساخن للزبّال فيمسح عرقه ويستظلّ بالجدار!

 

 زمان.. عندما كانت "الشونة الشمالية" آخر الدنيا، و"فكر واربح" أهم برامج

 المسابقات، ولم نكن نعرف بعد أن ثمة فاكهة تتطابق بالاسم مع منظف الأحذية

 "الكيوي"، وأننا يوماً ما سنخلع جهاز الهاتف من شروشه ونحمله في جيوبنا!!

 

 كانت "القضامة المالحة" توصف علاجاً للمغص، والأولاد يقبّلون يد الجار صباح

 العيد، والبوط الصيني في مقدمة أحلام الطلبة المتفوقين!

 

 كانت "أخبار الأسبوع" لصاحبها عبد الحفيظ محمد أهم الصحف وأجرأها على الإطلاق،

 و"ألمانيا" بلد الأحلام، وصورة المطربة صباح على ظهر المرآة اليدوية المعلقة

 على الحائط.

 

 حين تصحو على صوت "مازن القبج" أو"سمرا عبد المجيد" وظهرا تسمع "كوثر

 النشاشيبي" ومساء تترقب "ابراهيم السمان"... والتلفزيون يغلق شاشته في موعد

 محدد مثل أي محل أو مطعم!

 

 عندما "مدينة الأهلي للالعاب السياحية" في رأس العين هي وجهة الأثرياء، والسفر

 الى صويلح يحتاج التحضير قبل يومين، والجامعة الأردنية بلا شقيقات!

 

 حين أقلام البك الأحمر هي الوسيلة الوحيدة للحب قبل اختراع الموبايلات، وعندما

 كانت المكتبات تبيع دفاتر خاصة للرسائل اوراقها مزوّقة بالورد،..أما الورد ذاته

 فكان يباع فقط في جبل عمان، الحي الأرستقراطي الباذخ في ذلك الزمان!!

 

 حين جوازات السفر تكتب بخط اليد، والسفر الى الشام بالقطار، وقمصان "النص كم"

 للرجال تعتبرها العائلات المحافظة عيبا وتخدش الحياء!

 

 كانت البيوت تكاد لا تخلو من فرن "ابو ذان وأبو حجر" الحديدي، والأمهات يعجنّ

 الطحين في الفجر ليخبزنه في الصباح، والأغنام تدق بأجراسها أن بائع الحليب صار

 في الحي، والجارة الأرملة تجلس من أول النهار لصق الجدار مهمومة ويدها على

 خدّها!

 

 كان مسلسل "وين الغلط" لدريد ونهاد يجمع الناس مساء، ومباريات "محمد علي كلاي"

 تجمعهم في سهرات الثلاثاء، وكان "نبيل التلّي" أفضل لاعب هجوم في كرة القدم!

 

 كانت الناس تهنئ أو تعزّي بكيس سكّر "أبو خط أحمر" وزن مئة كيلو غرام، والأمهات

 يحممّن الأولاد في اللجن، و"القرشلّة" يحملها الناس لزيارة المرضى!

 

 كان "الانترنت" رجماً بالغيب لم يتوقعه أحذق العرّافين، ولو حدّثتَ أحدا يومها 

 عن

 "العدسات اللاصقة" لاعتبرك مرتدّاً أو زنديقاً تستحق الرجم، أما "الماسنجر" فلو

 حملته للناس لصار لك شيعة وأتباع!!

 

 حين مذاق الأيام أشهى، والبرد يجعل أكفّ التلاميذ حمراء ترتجف فيفركونها

 ببعضها، وعندما "زهير النوباني" في دور "مقبول العقدي" أعتى رمز للشر قبل أن

 يعرف الناس أن في الغيب رجلاً يدعى "جورج بوش"!

 

 كانت لهجات الناس أحلى، وقلوبهم أكبر، وطموحاتهم بسيطة ومسكينة وساذجة!

 

 الموظفون ينامون قبل العاشرة، والحزبيون يلتقون سراً محاطين بهالة من السحر

 والبطولة، والزوجة في يوم الجمعة تخبئ كبدة الدجاجة وقوانصها لتقليها للزوج

 دلالة على تدليله!

 

 الشمس كانت أكثر صرامة في التعامل مع الصائمين، والثلج لم يكن يخلف موعده

 السنوي،

 

 والنمل، حتى النمل، كان يبتهج حين تمرّين...

 

 .... .... كانت الحياة أكثر فقرا وبرداً وجوعاً، لكنها كانت دائما خضراء لأنكِ

 كنتِ هنا

=========================

على من يعرف صاحب هذا النص إبلاغ  أقرب مركز تعليقات و له مكافأة مجزية : مياه مجانية مدى الحياة مقدمة من وزارة الصحة و بدعم من الصديقة اللدودة على الجانب الآخر من النهر . صحتين

تعديل : النص للكاتب ابراهيم جابر ابراهيم و قد نشر المقال في جريدة الغد ، نتقد بجزيل الشكر و العرفان للفائزة بجائزة مسابقة "نص ابن حرام مجهول الأب" الأولى ... ترررررررررلم

Whiper

The A4 conspiracy theory !

Okay here is the deal !

I needed to measure out something ;a rope,I didn't have a ruler, or a meter ,so what do i do ? I started looking for something with known length to compare to it ! I thought of going online and looking for "whats the length of 1 Dollar bill" since i have this 1$ here, but then i thought of something easier ! an A4 paper ! 

So i opened MS WinWord ,went to page settings to figure out whats the dimensions of an A4 paper , its 29.7 cm in length, and 21 in width cm . The question that is really really eating my head, why not 30x21 ?? why the 29.7 !! whats the point ??who are you helping ??or is it meant to complicate my life??

I laid the rope I was measuring down on the paper and measured the 29.7,and then I had to approximate the other 0.3 cm by myself ,folded the paper in half (vertically) so the width is now 10.5 and laid the rest of the rope down and it fit perfectly . had the length been 30 freakin cm I’d have just folded it horizontally right away as it was laying there on the desk with one move instead of rotating the paper and making sure its evenly folded along the TWENTY NINE CENTIMETER SEVENTY MILLIMETER edge .

Who are these people ? must be the free masons !! Controlling the world through weird demonic measures!

Anyway ,the rope was approximately 40 cm  long if you’re still wondering !have you? If so you need to take some basic math lessons .

سلام عليك | Happy Mothers Day

To my readers ,Mama bloggers ( Diana,Kinzi,MommaBean,and UmOmar) ,and all the mothers in the world , wish you all happiness and well being on Mothers Day and every other day ,

To my own mother I'd say this,the quotes i always identified with 

سلام عليك وأنت تعدين نار الصباح

سلام عليك سلام عليك 

 أما آن لي أن أقدم بعض الهدايا إليك 

أما آن لي أن أعود إليك

 لديني لأشرب منك حليب البلاد... 

حليب البلاد... حليب البلاد 

وأبقى صبيا على ساعديك 

وابقي صبيا إلى أبد الآبدين

خذيني، اذا عدت يوما

وشاحا لهدبك

و غطي عظامي بعشب

تعمد من طهر كعبك

و شدي وثاقي

بخصلة شعر

بخيط يلوح في ذيل ثوبك

عساني أصير إلها

إلها أصير 

إذا ما لمست قرارة قلبك

Today's sound track 

يـــامو - أداء فرقة شرق

Who said Jordan is boring ?

A friend of mine is in love with Jordan's nature , back at the university he always talked about different sights and showed us pictures n all , he used to organize small trips of small groups of tourists (mainly) sight seeing and exploring . Recently he and partners and now with profissional French rock climber on the team came together and formed Tropical Desert Trips and expanded a little bit . 

I was really shocked of how much we have in Jordan we don't know about other than Petra and the Dead Sea ! Visit that website ,recommend it to your friends and visitors , they'll be giving the 1st profissional rock climbing Course in Jordan : 

Dear friends

Tropical Desert is starting its 1st Rock Climbing Course with French mountain guide Wilfried Colonna, Elizabeth Abellanosa and local guide Hakim Tamimi. 

CLIMBING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS

Objective of the course: To learn the basic techniques to climb with efficiency and security in equipped artificial & natural walls of one length, as second or lead climber. 

What participants will learn?

1. Climbing equipment knowledge and use: Climbing shoes / Harness / Helmet / Rope / Belaying equipment (8, Grigri, belay device) / Karabiners (basic and sewgate) / Quickdraws / Slings / Chalk / Adequate clothing

2. Movements and progression techniques:

a. Movements: Use of hands, feet, body (centre of gravity); the rule of 3 points; de-climbing.

b. Route finding / planning ahead.

3. The environment / Different climbing style and types:

a. Different types of walls: Boulder, artificial wall, equipped cliffs, mountain climbing.

b. Different type of rock: Limestone, sandstone, granite.

c. Routes and grading system

d. Environment respect.

4. Knots and ropes - Basics

a. Knots: the 8 (2 ways).

b. Different type of rope (static, semi-static, dynamic).

5. Belaying:

a. Belaying a second climber in top rope (from down; from top???).

b. Belaying a lead climber.

c. Different types of bolts

6. First steps to lead climbing / setting up safe belays / abseiling when abandoning route.

7. Security and safety:

a. What not to do.

b. How to keep and take care of the equipment.

Duration of the course: 1 month including 2 half day in artificial wall, 3 days in equipped cliffs outside Amman. Access to the artificial wall free during one month every day after 5 pm. 

Half Day 1: Artificial wall – Amman:

• Explanation and demonstration of points 1 to 5;

• Bouldering

Day 2: kerak – wadi weida

• Review of points 1 to 5;

• Explanation of point 7 (Security and safety). 

• Each participant will climb two easy routes.

Day 3: Fuheis – Hakim’s cliff

• Review of points 1 to 5 + 7;

• Climbing of routes of different difficulties;

Half day 4: Artificial wall – Amman

• Point 6 (First steps to lead climbing / setting up safe belays / abseiling when abandoning route);

Day 5: Ajlun - Thôr Motlagh (Sami’s cliff)

• Review points 6 and 7;

• Climbing routes of different difficulties, as a second or lead climber.

Max number of participants: 8

Last day for Subscription: 29th of March 

Course Starts on Friday 3rd of April

To subscribe call Hakim Tamimi 0795431616

This is a project driven by a really simple but very powerful force, passion ! Please show support and if you have the time you might want to try and go see and do things in Jordan you thought never existed, change Amman's atmosphere and get to know Jordan's wild ,its like nothing you experienced before .

Related post you might find interesting : Amman Underground Balad Tour

أترك لكم اختيار العنوان

أيها العابر في الطائرة
لا تخجل
من صورة التقَطّها من كبد السماء لكبد السماء
لا تخجل
إن لم تميّز يافا أو حيفا
و إن لم تُشر لصديقتك ببنصرك لموضع بيتك
أو لعين الماء التي تقاسمَها أبوك و هدهد ذات ربيع
لا تخجل
إن اختلط عليك سور عكّا
و إن لم يكن لديك حكاية تقصّها عن طبريا
أو الصفد

فأنت لم تذرع بيارة قبلا
و لم تلملم حبّات الزيتون عن الأرض
لتضعها في حِجر جدتك الشابة
لم تسمع أناشيد الحصاد يوما
و لم ترع الغنم

أيها العابر في الطائرة
لا تخجل
إن بكيت في فراشك
على دمعة انسلّت من على وجنتك هناك
و آثرت الهبوط مفضلة الموج عليك
لتزيد ملوحة البحر
تعانق الشاطئ بدلا عنك
تتحسس حبّات الرمل على عجل
و تعود راكبة الجزْر
تبحث عن أخت لها لم تصل بعد
قادمة من بيروت
و أخرى حملتها الريح
من على سفح جبل
لم يعرف البحر يوما
و أخرى أودعَتها طفلة
في الثلاثين
في فم عصفور مهاجر
علّه يمر من هناك

أيها العابر في الطائرة
هناك فوق السحاب
لقد كذبوا حين أخبروك
أن الجنّة تتجه دائما للأعلى
فلا تخجل
إن كفرت بكل الآلهة عندما
نظرت للأسفل و رأيتها ممدة هناك
و لم تعرف من أي ضرع ارتويتَ
قبل أن تولد

------------------------

استوحيت ما كتبت  من هذه الصورة التي أخذها صديق من فوق فلسطين و لم يعرف إن كانت تلك يافا أو حيفا

إهداء ، إلى كل الذين لم يروها ... بعد

Of freedom of speech and Jordan's Parliament

خالد محادين

BAJD - Top 10 annoying things i miss about Jordan

Finally ! blog about Jordan day is here ,its 2 AM March 13th here but hey its still March 12th in Jordan :D ! I'm super excited since its my 1 missed the 1st time,i was a newbie n didn't realize what was going on I LOVE YOU JORDAN.

So,starting with the Top 10 annoying things i miss about Jordan :

• 10 - The too many loud annoying kids in the street playing football 24/7 ,giving you mean looks for interrupting their game when passing by !

• 09 - Everybody asking you "how are you doing?" the moment they see you even though you know they don't wanna hear an answer,and you answering "I'm good" no matter how you feel.and repeating that 1000 0000 0000 times a day.
  

• 08 - Having to kiss guys like 10 times after a long hug ! i even miss shaking hands !ppl here salute in the weirdest way,look (Imagine you'd seen someone you miss so much,you both walk toward each other in a fast pace,hey hey hello hello and when you come close to each other you hit the breaks and do that! I'd take the hand shake!)

• 07- The sound (or noise) of repeated strikes of a wrench on a gas cylinder by the Egyptian worker wandering around small alleys with his little cart .

• 06 - Your friend honking ; disturbing the whole neighborhood at night to let you know he is here (Sorry neighbors !i do miss that) I never thought I'd miss cars horns but i do !

• 05 - Listening to the horrible songs choices in public buses ,boy is that something !and this (Download :D) : إللي عندو ثلاجات...غسالات..مسجلات..ردايات -جمع راديو- ..تلفزيونات.كنبيات غرف نوم ،طوايل -جمع طاولة- مراوح عتيقة للبييييييع

• 04 - Weather talk with random people in random places !
  

• 03 - smoking inside the car (my guilty pleasure,sorry Jordan i know i shouldn't miss that ,I'm changed but I can miss it still eh! )

• 02 - Having Hummus and Falafel everyday you're almost sick of it.

• 01 - The Taxi Driver who keeps talking about anything and everything,who knows one thing about any country in the world even though he never been outside Amman,who have a cousin (Wasta) in every single department in the country, who keeps talking until you get out of the car,and of course,he doesn't have change ! I miss that dude .

Even though these are really really annoying habits and events, but i do miss it so much , moreover ,i think that i love it! this is part of who we are after all ,getting rid of the honking habit isn't bad though,neither is respecting others spaces and not smoking in public places, creating safe children playground sounds good too ! But you can never find a solution for the Hummus Falafel dilemma !hell,who wants that to be solved,i say keep it ! I love Jordan,i love the people of Jordan,When I go back for a visit,like the last time,the 1st thing i'll do when i step out of the plane is to stick my nose out and inhale as much air as i can and savor it !