Black Out!

Yesterday morning I went jogging with my younger cousins (Anthony 16, and Loay 14) and my sister Sally (15) – the older ones prefered sleep over exercise!!! I had to drag myself out of bed at 7:25 because Loay and Anthony said they’d be at our door at 7:30! I enjoyed pretending to be a role model of an active healthy lifestyle (yeah right!)

So anyways, Anthony and I were running, while Sally and Loay walked behind! From the very beginning I was feeling very thirsty and when we passed by a supermarket I wanted to go get water, but I didn’t! For no reason at all! I figured I should just wait to get home!!

So we kept on running, and my mouth felt so dry but I ignored it… until we reached the steepest uphill road on the way back to the house! I was so very tired, I tried to push myself to run… Go Lina!! You’re not a quitter!! Yalla run girl!! But then, I started getting dizzy and losing balance… it was like I was swinging in the middle of the street, I tried to direct myself to a parking car just to lean against it… and that’s the last thing I remember before I blacked out!!

When I opened my eyes it was just like I was waking up from a normal sleep where I had so many dreams – vivid dynamic dreams of which I remember nothing! “Lina!!! Lina!!! LINA!!!” I woke up and saw the three faces looking at me, and I saw myself lying in the middle of the street… oh! Not just any part of the street; a wet part where water had been running!! I was still very dizzy and Anthony was giving me his inhaler and insisting “Come on breathe!!” I didn’t know how to use that thing, I puffed like 10 blows in my mouth but I didn’t feel it going though my lungs or anything!! Anyways, they had me sit on the pavement while they asked a gardener in a nearby building for a glass of water, and I was soon feeling back to normal!! Not very normal mind you… that was a very weird experience for me! They told me my lips had turned so white and that it was like I was convulsing…

I figured it was dehydration… I didn’t tell my parents cuz I didn’t want them to worry and because dad always tells me that fast walking is much healthier than running (he was talking about the effect on knees and ankles but I didn’t feel like telling them anyways)…

I did some googling – I had to find out all about what happened to me and I realized that dehydration is a serious issue with running and that I had been very ignorant!!!

I just thought I’d share some of the tips I found for exercising and running in the summer:

The following tips will help ensure that you train successfully and safely through the heat of the summer:

1. Start each workout fully hydrated by making rehydration a priority after the previous day’s run.
2. Drink small amounts all day to maximize absorption.
3. Place water or carbohydrate drinks strategically around your course (or identify places to stop to drink) before long runs.
4. On a hot, humid day, slow down your pace from the outset.

5. Have no more than one beer or glass of wine and no more than one cup of tea or coffee per day (!!) to prevent further dehydration.
6. Run in the morning when heat and pollution levels are at their lowest.
7. Work out indoors or take a day off when the heat or pollution level is dangerously high.

Source: Running Times Magazine

An Affair with books…

Two of my favorite blog buddies; Roba and Farooha, tagged me for this book thingy, and although I’m a bookworm and cannot resist anything related to books, this one turned out to be more difficult than I thought…

Number of books I own: Hmmm… so far I haven’t seen anyone give an answer to that question! I honestly don’t know, but I must say that there was a point in the past when I used to get books from a library rather than buy them… now I buy more books than I can read, I’m addicted and I love it!!

Last book I bought: Story of a City by Abdel Rahman Munif. This is a story of Amman as seen through the eyes of this great writer who has lived in it and experienced it during the 1940’s!

Last book I read: I guess that would be Warm Spring by Sahar Khalifeh. I’m currently reading “Wild Swans” by by Jung Chang.

Five books that mean a lot to me: uffff this is difficult! Does it have to be only five??? I’ll give it a shot…

The Iron Wall by Avi Shlaim: This book made me realize how ridiculous the history we learnt at school was! It made me realize that we don’t know enough about the history of our region and don’t fully comprehend the Arab Israeli conflict, and it made eager to read and understand more!

في بيتنا رجل (A man in our house) By Ihsan Abdul Quddous: I first read this book when I was in 10th grade, and for quite a while afterwards everything else I read fell flat!!

More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell: this is a well-written book that answered a lot of the questions I had and again, motivated me to read more and never give up on finding the answers.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo: I read this book when I was in 5th grade, and probably re-read it over 10 times; the copy I had was so old with brownish yellow pages but I just loved it. I was fascinated by the Gypsy culture! And this was such a rich and moving story!

La Prisonniaire by Malika Oufkir: This is such a powerful and deeply moving true story! Malika – daughter of a high ranked Army general in Morocco – narrates how she grew up in the royal palace since the age of 5 until she was 17, but then spent the following 20 years of her life imprisoned in the Moroccan desert with her mother, 3 sisters and 2 brothers after her father attempt to assassinate the King! The accounts of suffering and yet incredible strength and will to survive while she lost the best years of her life was inspiring!

The book I am reading since long but could not finish: Le Rouge et Le Noir by Stendhal. This book was recommended to me by a very special person… and I’ve been determined to read it in its original language; French! I started it years ago but never got past page 100… uffff it’s difficult! Not even modern French!!! For the first few attempts I borrowed it from the Library of the French Cultural Center, but then I bought my own copy so that I could take my time with it! I’ll finish it one day… you’ll see

Are you a bookworm? Wanna share what some books mean to you? Consider yourself tagged

@ the Mazra3a

One of my favorite places ever is our farm, located on the way to Madaba! Nothing is more peaceful and enjoyable than sleeping over there… cuz it’s so beautiful after sunset, late at night, and in the early morning!! Even though I can’t imagine staying away from city life too long, it’s so wonderfully relaxing and refreshing to just get away once in a while… I love open space, I love the outdoors, and I love running (yes Ziad I enjoy walking but nothing is as liberating as a good run in fresh weather ) It’s also quite healthy I guess not to wake up and go straight to the computer!!!

I don’t think anyone loves the place as much as dad though… I was sitting on the terrace enjoying my coffee at 6:00 in the morning, and he was walking down there examining every single tree, every little bud, every flower bed… he knows every plant by heart, like a father worrying about a child and watching it grow!! I don’t know if any of us have his same passion… but it’s great seeing him relax from all the pressures, and it’s a nice chance for the family to spend more time together

Enjoy the pictures…

Express your love!!!

The other day my friend and I spent a wonderful day downtown – Roba style, with me wanting to eat, drink, check out all the quirks, and chat people up – mostly for an article I’m writing, and my friend trying to look for souvenirs and gifts for this international camp she’s going to!

Here are some pictures from the day…you can check out more, but then take a look at the last one here, uggghhhh I just have to talk about that one!!

PS: I love herbs

On a bookshelf in one of downtown’s main bookstores:

For those of you who can’t read Arabic, it says “The best cell phone messages for all occasions, only for girls”! We were at a bookshop getting postcards when I saw this book!!! I’m sure many people would know what I’m talking about when I tell you about those stupid cheap flirty SMS messages you get on your phone, quite often from unknown numbers and total strangers! Generally speaking, I prefer to make a phone call with my cell phone than send a text message… and I so hate forwards!! Ufff they’re like chain emails sometimes, and some other times you see young people too obsessed with them it gets pathetic!! All the fuss about ringtones and messages is ridiculous… but that’s not the issue! The issue is that, it turns out there’s a whole book of STUPID CHEAP FLIRTY MESSAGES!!!! Some failed poet decided to unleash his talents, and what’s worse; some respectable (!!) publishing house decided it deserved to be published!! But would you blame them?? I’m sure this stuff sells…

Uggggghhhh you should read some of the messages in there… my sister thought they were funny, I thought the whole thing is just pathetic!!!

“طب كده مش حلو، لا عنا تسألوا، ولا رسائل ترسلوا، طب رنوا لي رنّة وافصلوا”

“لو بعت الجوال والسروال واشتغلت زبّال، بدي أشحذ وأرسلك رسالة، وأقول لك كيف الحال”

“البحر فرفشة.. الحمام نعنشة الحب فركشة.. وهذه رسالة حركشة”

“على الحديدة.. ما عندي ولا رسالة جديدة بس أموت فيك، وهذه الكلمة أكيدة”

There are hundreds of those in the book! I wonder what else is out there that we don’t know about like this “handbook of uselessness”… ufffff!!

HELP!!

Gosh I so missed the blogosphere even though it’s only been 4 days!!! The past few days were so busy and loads of fun with my cousin Nura here (the last time she was in Jordan was 8 years ago)…Of course I thought that I can be super woman and do so many fun things and socializing during the day and then stay up all night to finish my writing assignments, read and comment on my favorite blogs, and keep my own updated!!! I mean there are a million things on my mind that I’m dying to write about! I want to write all about the night me and all my cousins spent at Grandma’s in Zarqa… Oh Zarqa; all the memories in my grandparents’ house, all the noise and street pulse and the amazing market place!!! I want to write about “Hashem el Balad” and all the crazy things my friend and I did downtown the other day… I want to tell you all about the gazillion observations I’ve been making this past week!!!

So what’s keeping me??! My body’s dreadful need for rest!!!!! Why can’t I just be satisfied with a couple of hours of sleep??!! Why is it that after a long exhausting day of doing all sorts of things I find myself unwillingly falling asleep??! There is so much ahead of me this summer… my cousins are only gonna be here for two more weeks and we have loads of plans – Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, exploring every little spot of Amman… and then on July 10th I will start an internship all the way till September 29th, and at the same time I will have to be working on the graduation project and get my part of the tasks done on time or else we’re doomed!! And there are so many other things on the agenda that I would just probably write about in due time… bottom line is: I WANT MORE HOURS OUT OF MY DAY!!! Don’t tell me about time management cuz that’s not what I’m talking about… everything would just work if I can cut down on my sleeping hours to like 3 or 4 everyday, I’ve done before but it only worked for a few days before I got burned out!!

I need solid, proven ideas people!!! HELP!!

In the meantime, I’m gonna go try to finish my magazine article and send it before the editor gets to the office

Shu mfakkirni?

I can’t help but wonder why here in Jordan (is it the same in other parts of the Middle East?) males are supposed to sit next to the taxi driver and not in the back seat!!! Why is such an insult to the driver if the guy chooses to sit in the back seat? (Ok I don’t remember seeing a guy actually do it!) “Shu ana choffair 3nd abook??” probably reflects the driver’s attitude (what am I, your dad’s chauffeur??)

It sort of brought to my mind the fact that people here are not service-oriented… we have yet to grasp the concept of customer service and raise the motto that “the customer is always right”! Of course there are signs of positive change in many places around Amman… I love how the operators of Jordan Telecom now respond with an amazing friendly attitude (required by the company for quality assurance purposes, a good thing that came out of privatization and competition I guess )

Still, many people in service-jobs take it too personally when faced with a demanding, irritating, or angry customer… ya 3ammi it has nothing to do with YOU, and it doesn’t compromise your dignity to apologize, and re-apologize, for any inconvenience to the valued customer and offer to compensate in whatever way possible!

I guess patience and cheerfulness is not the general characteristic around here… Oh I love it when I enter a store or restaurant and I am met with someone helpful, nice, and not too-pressuring, I love it when they go the extra mile to give good service and exceed my expectations… it plays a big role in making me go back there again and again!!

On a similar note – There’s something about our culture that gives people in certain jobs an inferiority complex (well, the Freud in me!!!) Many parents still wouldn’t allow their teenage kids – daughters in particular – to get a job in a restaurant or café; “Shu bidhum y2oulu el nas??” (What would people say about us??)

It’s so ironic how all those Jordanians who go study abroad have no problem working in any part time job… washing dishes, serving tables, sweeping floors… and in no way does that label them or disgrace them, but the moment they’re back here, such a thing is unthinkable because family reputation would be at stake!!! (again I don’t want to over-generalize because there are mild symptoms of change)

So Back to the taxi issue… I suppose guys enjoy sitting in the front seat and chatting to the driver! Like Naseem said, taxi drivers should have blogs!! Well why should I fuss about who sits where, right?? Because… I find it very unprofessional, and because I feel it reflects deeper issues in our culture, the attitude problem may be… I don’t know.

We Blog!

Today (or more accurately yesterday – Friday) was our Jordanian Bloggers meet-up… the second I go to; I wasn’t yet a blogger when they had the first two

Like Roba said… the number of bloggers who came was quite impressive! (check out her post for all the pictures). I was really glad to meet Eman -who did a wonderful job initiating interesting discussions- and MMM –the One and Only Subzero Blue – (I have to say they are the nicest couple I’ve ever met), Naseem and Deeb (whose blogs I really enjoy; I feel that young Jordanians abroad have a fresh outlook on Jordan and make you see things you overlook and appreciate the things you tend to take for granted), Jad (who was quieter than he is on his blog), Mira(the shy designer), and Hind (who’s always opening our eyes to the music scene in Jordan). I was so happy to see Roba (who’s just as vibrant as her remarkable blog), Isam(the man behind the scene who’s doing a brilliant job bringing us all together), Nader (who has some fascinating deep ideas if only he’d get all those drafts of his published), Ammar(whose wit and way of seeing things is one of a kind),and my friend Samir who has started blogging recently and is experimenting with a newly discovered writing talent (one that is really interesting and different). I wish Natasha was here! Mariam too! I can’t wait for Linda, Iyas, Ibrahim, and Ameen to come to Jordan so we can have another meet-up!

It’s weird how after months of reading these people’s blogs, you feel like you’ve known them for a long time! And you know what the great thing is; you don’t feel that we are different on the ground from who we appear to be in cyber space… from my perspective at least!

It’s interesting how people with different characters, different ideas, interests, experiences and styles have been brought together by their choice to express themselves openly… I mean, the reason we were all there at Wild Jordan today was simply because we blog! And you know what… it was great! We talked about everything! There was this guy who somehow recognized us there and told us that he’s planning to start a blog… Farooq if you’re reading this I just want to tell you Go for it!! You have something different to talk about and share, so yalla don’t hesitate!

Blogging is truly one of the best things I ever got myself into, and I don’t see myself ever getting out of I’m proud to be part of Jordan Planet!

Me, myself, and Lina

I have been tagged by Farooha to answer these about myself, so there you go…

What is the one word you would use to describe your appearance?

Hmmm… Happy?? Actually, when people first meet me they think I am like 16 or 17, so I’m trying to think what it is about my appearance that gives this impression!!! If anyone who knows me has any idea, be my guest

Favorite body part?

My hair

Least favorite body part?

My hair (on a bad hair day), and well, uh, my tummy!!

Most often complimented on?

I guess my enthusiasm and optimism and positive attitude! Oh and those who think I’m 16 and then find out I’m 22 try to turn it into a compliment!!

Most often criticized for?

My 3aj2a, my procrastination habit, and that I ‘bajamel’ more than I should!!

Your romantic relationship?

wouldn’t know but I’m not the very romantic type!

Your relationship with your parents?

I’m pretty close with mom and I feel comfortable telling her stuff! I wish I could be closer to dad, I adore him, but we just have very different opinions on life (he’s not too excited about me wanting to be a journalist, among other things)

Your feelings about parenting?

First of all, there’s no rush!! But I know I’d be quite liberal and open-minded! Hmmm… actually I have too many ideas and feelings about parenting so I think I’m gonna spare them for an individual post!

Your hobbies?

Reading (books, blogs, newspapers, magazines,… anything interesting, thought-provoking and well-written), writing, investigative reporting, being with people, talking to people, meeting new people, having mind stimulating conversations, observing life and details, organizing and carrying out projects, oh… and running!

Your favorite personality type for a friend?

Smart, talkative (I hate being the only one talking), funny, very open-minded, flexible, full of energy, positive, optimistic, thick-skinned (to a certain extent), non-judgemental…

Favorite personality type for a spouse or lover?

Smart, very open-minded, creative, pragmatic, wonderful conversationalist, has a great sense of humor, full of energy, enthusiasm and has a positive outlook on life…

Favorite type of movie?

Smart twisted drama…

Favorite cuisine?

Chinese, French, and anything with lots of vegetables (yes the health freak in me is at it again!)

Favorite treat?

An early morning swim, a good dance, an evening at our farm…

Favorite gift?

An interesting book

Most sensitive “unusual” erogenous zone?

huh?

Favorite pet?

I miss Tiger (our Rottweiler) so much!! He doesn’t look like a ‘pet’ actually, and didn’t behave like one so my parents got fed up with it after a year and a half and gave it to some good friends with better dog experience!

I tag anyone who feels like answering those and sharing it

Abnormal Habits during Finals ;)

1. I drink no less than 4 mugs of Nescafe per day.

2. There are no more distinct meals… you can say I eat around 8 – 9 snack meals per day.

3. I take four 1-hour naps, and then fall asleep at 11:00 PM!

4. I brush my teeth 6 – 7 times per day!

5. I check my email every hour… it’s like, after every hour away from the PC, I come back for an email check and a quick tour of my favorite blogs!!

6. I hear the newspaper guy the moment he arrives, and then go out to pick it up right away and read it cover-to-cover, all three sections…

7. I remember all those friends I haven’t been in touch with for a while, and send them messages, and I write emails to my overseas friends

8. I flip to the last page of any notebook I’m studying with, and write lists: “things I want to do this holiday”, “books to read this summer”, “movies to watch”, “25 things to do before I’m 25″, “end-of-school-year resolutions”… any suggestions anyone? I don’t want to be missing anything

9. Creativity and imagination are at a peak; business ideas, film-script ideas, ideas to blog about, ideas for crazy projects… I guess there is something good that comes out of exams after all

Fruit Cocktail, & something to read!

One final to go; the big one!! So I got back from today’s exam, went into the kitchen, and decided to treat myself to something yummy and good, & postpone the coffee till later on A few oranges to make fresh juice, two peaches, 2 bananas, a handful of cherries, a couple of ice cubes – toss them in the blender…and tadaaaa: cocktail a la Lina

I came across this very nicely expressed post from the Dumb North African, entitled “What causes Extremism?” I found it interesting, especially after all the comments on my previous post.

The 6 million dollar question: why do some people have a tendency towards religious fundamentalism? Oh, of course we can hyperbole about political oppression, American and Israeli domination, the repression of spirituality in modern society or the cultural bankruptcy of consumerism. But – to me – that’s not an answer: that’s an excuse. The ‘pressures’ of life are upon us all, in different meaures and differing forms, but the pressure is there all the same. Why some, and not all?

I personally think that we’re all turning ‘fundie’ in some way. Although not everyone is a religious zealot, we’re all zealots about ’something’. Casual observation tells me that people are becoming increasingly polarised, increasingly ‘fundamental’ in their beliefes, and the ‘middle’ ground is slowly giving way to a rift that threatens to swallow all those who do not ‘pick a side.’

Continue reading…

Is there such a thing as “neutral”???

Something to ponder…

Time for me to go! I have a suicidal cramming mission ahead