STORIES, STORIES

I'm totally used to naysayers. From as far back as I can remember, people have been going against whatever I believed in. I've been made fun of, I've been laughed at, I've gotten all kinds of comments, I've gotten into so many arguments, I've fought fiercely for my beliefs. Yes, I'm talking about the Backstreet Boys. They ARE REAL MUSICIANS, OKAY? In the past few weeks that I've been helping out my friend Sharifa with the Earth Hour event in Jeddah, I came across the naysayers again. It's been a while; I had to get reacquainted with dealing with them. There were two kinds of people we had to deal with. 1. The genuinely curious. People who really didn't think Earth Hour was good for anything maybe because they didn't know much about it, or they had misconceptions, or they didn't believe it would work, or whatever other reason. Yes, they might have been harsh with their questions and comments, but one could tell that these people were reall...

Earth Hour comes to Jeddah! On March 27, Saturday, from 8:30 to 9:30, if you live in Jeddah, show support by turning off lights and other non-essential electronics. For more information, you can head on to the Earth Hour Jeddah blog by clicking this link . In the meantime, you can check our latest podcast episode (on the same topic) right here. P.S. For other episodes, subscribe to the podcast, which may be found in this link .

Did you say Simba? photo from The Big Picture I've never been to the zoo. Any zoo. Ever. It's on my bucket list, to visit one someday. The truth is, there is only one reason I've always wanted to go to a zoo: to see a hyena. Sure, maybe it's from all that Simba-watching when I was younger. Here are some words that, according to Wikipedia, are associated with (spotted) hyenas: * gluttony * cowardice * cruelty * treachery * greed * deviant sexual behavior * hysterical * unhinged Of course, I only picked the ones that I think the hyenas and I share. I'm such a hyena. *** When my brother A was about 7, his class went on a field trip to the Jeddah zoo (I think it was called Beautiful Creatures, and probably still is). I was 10 at the time. When he came back, he told me he had seen the hyenas and actually heard them laugh, and that there was a growling undertone to it. I have never forgotten that description. Maybe this year is the year.

Sink or swim. Everybody needs friends to go swimming with. To remind them of the things that make them happy despite bad decisions, despite misfortune, despite turn of events. Some friends don't know how to swim, they just stay in the shallow end. Some are excellent swimmers and teach you how to swim or tread water in the deep end. Some sit by the pool and wait for you, or come and sit on the edge so, feet in the water, and chit-chat with you about video games while you enjoy the water on a hot day. Some tell you to pull up your bikini top. Some get competitive in the water and just want to race, and whoever wins or loses doesn't really matter, as long as they had that rush of competition. Friends bring their kids and trust you to look after them while they go change into their swimsuits. Some don't even swim, they just come over in their regular outfits to have a smoke and enjoy the weekend. With you. The stuff you will remember in the future. Swimming pools are a lot like...

It could be anything. Things that (used to) annoy you. Your father's low-brow sense of humor. His wheezing. His fashion style. His anecdotes. Your mother's harsh rhetoric. Her haste. Her gait. Her wardrobe. Her gossip-mongering. Inevitably, my cousin said, we become our parents. Do you make a conscious effort to minimize the mirroring? Does it bother you when you realize you act or react the same way even with all that minimizing? I suppose it's the price we pay for inheriting all their good traits: the bad ones trickle down and settle. Always remember the good. Even if it's much less than the bad. I'm thankful for my father's geeky disposition, that obsession with detail. And my mother's obsession with entertaining guests. That's 2 things. Better than nothing.