STORIES, STORIES

Our dads are the original hipsters . My dad's totally one of the Beastie Boys. In this picture with my hipster brother Waleed. Why my dad's a hipster: * He owns an acoustic guitar, and it's not a brand name. * He plays obscure, hippie music. * He wears huge glasses and indie shirts. * He reads non-mainstream books (even for his time/generation). * He makes paintings like this: Me and my brother Waleed in the picture. (I was also dressed in hippie baby clothes.)

GeekFest Jeddah Beta was covered by local publications* after it successfully happened last month. While it's always exciting to get recognition via local papers, that excitement is matched by disappointment at the state of journalism in this city. Wouldn't it be nice if - facts were checked before publication - spelling of names were accurate - proper credit was given (especially to photographers and copy editors/writers!) - publications had good, functioning online versions In this Arab News article , for instance, attendees to the event were referred to as "dorks". "GeekFest is their "little get-together "organized the world over - a celebration of the geek packs, nerd camps and those pledging their loyalties somewhere-in-between (gerd, perhaps?)." The quotation marks, were they meant to mock the event? Gerd, as in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease? Okay, maybe I'm just nit-picking now and being butt-hurt in the way that the...

Every morning on my way to work, I am greeted for a few seconds by this billboard on Tahlia Street: And every single time, it brings a looney smile to my face. Like, once this collection is over and they replace that billboard, I'll be back to my old cranky, don't-fuck-with-me face at 8am.  Some things go through my mind during those few minutes after I've glimpsed Adrien Brody's mug. "Does anyone else on Tahlia Street appreciate Adrien Brody?" "What's going on behind those eyebrows, yo?" "Maybe I should deck myself in Lacoste. Maybe then the chances of me meeting Adrien Brody and him being completely charmed by my explosive personality will soar to the high heavens. Like, we will probably meet at some swanky dinner party where his glam circle of Hollywood socialites twitter around with fake smiles and conversations, and he stands at a corner being all quiet with his awkward face and questioning eyebrows because he fe...

I was telling Dee today when she offered to give me Gucci Flora that although I loved the fragrance, I wouldn't want it now because it so reminded me of the experiences I had years ago when I used to wear it a lot. Experiences I didn't really want to relive, you know? It's amazing how fragrances do that. D&G Light Blue reminds me of university and my daily commute to classes that I would eventually fail. Liz Claiborne's Curve reminds me of my sister getting married and the feelings of loss I had when she moved out. DKNY (the tall building bottle!) reminds me of clubbing and parties and sneaking back home at 5am. Escada Ibiza (the first one) reminds me of road trips with brothers, friends and cousins during winter seasons. Burberry Sheer (Pink) reminds me of being in love. Gucci Flora reminds me of manic depression, bipolar disorder and all those triggers. All fragrances that I love. They get so attached to major events in my life, some of them really...

When you're wide awake Say it for goodness' sake: It's gonna be a great day. ... and it won't be long ... I get a lot of flack for my taste in mainstream music, but maybe more so for my being so vocal about the ones I like - the Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, the Beatles. It's the price I pay for having so many hipster* friends. * Hipsters = people who only listen to obscure musicians and therefore have superior taste in music (because obscure music equals excellent music) Funny enough, it takes one mainstream Paul McCartney song for me to get past judgmental friends and accept them for who they are because after all, it's gonna be a great day and there really is no need for negative vibes. I'm learning to play this song. My guitar skills are so messy - I acquired them at a time when I had more interest in fitting in a very musical (teenage) social circle than actually enjoying my interest in music, and so right now, I'm un...

Here's a success story from GeekFest Jeddah. I met a couple people through the event who play Magic: The Gathering!   I inherited my deck from Ghaidaa when she skipped town a few months ago. On the one hand, I was overjoyed at the fact that she saved me some moolah (I had been planning on getting my own deck), but at the same time, her leaving meant that I wouldn't be able to play as often as we used to. I COULD play with other people, but she's really the only other person I know dedicated enough to not only make time for it, but also to play it properly. #TogetherForeveralone My ass got kicked a few times (okay, a lot) by both Hassan and Tareq, BUT MARK MY WORDS, FOREVERALONE GODS, I shall get better at this and become the valedictorian of a fantasy card game. Even though I'm not nearly geeky enough to accomplish this. I clearly spent more time taking Instagram photos than actually planning my strategy. Such a hipster geek-wannabe win.