STORIES, STORIES

Just like everyone else, the first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone. (Don't lie.) Most of the messages I read are conversations started by friends and family, and they usually open by calling me a (nick)name. Here are some common/amusing/recent ones that I've been called: Tocinoface Because most of my conversations with Sera always comes back to our love for tocino. Wanker I don't think Sheri has ever used my real name. Punk I get called this a lot even though I'm certainly no punk.  Bebi   An inside joke that evolved into a meme. It's really "baby" but in an Arabic accent. Princess  In a sarcastic way. Always. Usually my family - brothers, cousins, who say things like "Hey, Princess, you done being useless?" Mr. Chris My 10-year-old students assigned me this nickname. I don't even remember the story of this name, but I remember it was hilarious. Madame President / Roslin Only b...

Ah, man. Rich people, am I rite? I envy people with a lot of money. I always wonder what it's like to have shit tons of money at my disposal, and by shit tons of money, I mean cash. I mean like swim-in-paper. Like throw-that-shit-around kind of cash. To not have to wonder if I could afford something, you know?  I understand when people envy the wealthy. I mean, who doesn't want to burn paper, am I rite? But I don't  understand people who think having lots of money is something to be proud of. People who want to be seen with the wealthy. People who brag about having friends with lots of money. People who, when they talk about who they look up to, or who they admire, have to say how much  they have.  Now don't get me wrong. I don't hate the rich. In fact, I admire the ones who got there by working hard. Now THAT'S something to be proud of. Working hard for that paper. Being smart about it. I'd like to be seen with hard-working, smart people, ...

I can't sit still for a 2-hour movie anymore. We've evolved (?) into a generation of TV show audiences; we can only sit still for about 45 minutes at a time, and it's getting more and more difficult for TV people to keep us entertained. That could also be because we are armchair directors and producers, and we like to shout at the TV in prediction of what's going to happen next. Can I get a A-MEN? Here are my top 6 awesomest shows of all time. Battlestar Galactica   Or, as Anas likes to call it when he makes fun of me (as everyone does), Starwar Balactica. For some reason, the mere fact that the title of the show is a combination of the words battle, star, and galactic is enough to turn them off. The truth is, this show is less about space and more about humans, their behavior, their (questionable) morals, and everything in between. I love the re-imagined series for its great writing, and for being a very intelligent show.  Doctor Who I love...

I was really saddened to read the blog posts of my favorite blogger ever Dooce and her husband Blurb , mainly because for a long time, I looked up to them as a couple who could manage their relationship even when the dark cloud of depression hovers over it. They've always been quite upfront about the challenges that a couple faces when one partner has depression or bipolar disorder, and I like to think it has helped a lot of people who are in the same situation feel less alone in their struggle.  Being in a serious relationship is one tough motherfucker, but being in a serious relationship with someone who has a mental disorder is the Marsellus Wallace of relationships - triple the hard work, triple the toughness. At some point during the course of the relationship, someone won't be able to cope. While that's true, really, for anyone, there's always that added, aforementioned cloud.  If you're in one such relationship, probably the best and most imp...

Here's a new word: Sapiosexual. Sapiosexual is a recently constructed word (neologism) that has come into common usage, particularly on social networking sites where people are self-identifying as sapiosexual. It is a concatenation of the Latin root sapio  - from sapiens  meaning wise or intelligent (itself derived from sapere  which means to taste, or rather, to discern), and the Latin root sexualis  as it pertains to sexual preferences.  I got this HERE , lightly edited because I'm on a roll.  Man, they have words for EVERYTHING, now.  Does this not remind you of that Dead Prez track ? (Spoiler: NSFW!)

It's a new year, friends! When "change" becomes our favorite key word. There have been many changes around here, the most notable one being the religious police's very assertive presence in the city. The general mood here is mostly "No, we're not going out, we don't want to risk getting caught by the religious police", if you are wanting to know. For many years, we've enjoyed a pretty lax and "open" Jeddah, but that has obviously changed. Whether or not it's just another one of those fear-mongering projects that we are sadly accustomed to doesn't matter, because really, isn't this part of the package you sign up for when you move to Saudi Arabia?  But. Moving on to some pretty good changes.  Regular BSG friend of this blog,  Hakeem , is gearing up to start Veggiesaur Dawn , where he will be building and monitoring his own fitness goals while at the same time being part of a community that could "spot"...

I'm still reeling from the completion of my 365 photo project ; I never really thought I could do it until I ACTUALLY DID IT. So let's take a moment for me to gloat over this. - gloating - K, I'm done. And now, back to our regular scheduled programming and so on. So I get this on the Twitters yesterday: About 7 years ago (SEVEN!), I gave Squeek one of the most important things to me (at the time), my now 13-year-old Yamaha acoustic that I got as a graduation gift from my Baba, so that he might have it fixed. This guitar was responsible for catapulting me into the bawss spot, so you can understand my attachment to it. This tweet is an excellent example of how shaky my friendship is with Squeek. VERY SHAKY INDEED. In other news, the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah has featured me as Artist of the Month on their page. They post some of the pictures I published on this blog for the 365 photo project. So you know what that means. BADGE UNLOCKED.