Western Arab

My Macbook

It is here. The macbook has arrived. I am writing this post on my new macbook. Woohoo. I have to admit I feel like a total mac noob, trying to figure out how to set things and use the mac OS in general. But atleast I have a friend to ask how to do things in mac. I just learned that safari has it’s issues on mac and I am using firefox which is what I normally use anyway

Apple sure does do a great job with making their products look nice and function well, but it is still too early to say how much of a mac user I will be. I still plan on installing windows with bootcamp so I can switch in to windows when needed. But I am excited about the new machine! yay yay yay

Workout schedule is way off track, but with reason. I have been busy with family events the past week and have not gone to the gym. Normally this would be a big indicator of intention to quit the workout routine, setting off alarms. But that isn’t the case, I will be back at the gym tomorrow. Further I have started to doing 60 crunches everyday and that has been going on for probably a week, maybe more, so I am still getting something in. This is by no means a replacement to the workout, but an addition, the workout is the main activity. In order to burn calories and burn fat, I need to sweat, and I only do that running on the treadmill. The crunches are just to help shape up a bit.

Which leaves me still in the 200-204lb range. Must break 200 again. Must continue.  Flex!

The macbook, I have walked into the apple store at the town center many times, each time trying to convince myself to get the new macbook, my very own piece of aluminum. I have never owned a mac book or any mac computer. I did have an apple I got from a friend to use for web development testing for macs, but I never really used it. Every time I go in the store, I try out the macbook, and everytime my intial rejection comes when I go to click the CLOSE button on the top right, except it isn’t there. It is on the left! And that just makes me feel everything is backwards. So why am I interested in the macbook?

13" Macbook

I have been wanting to get a new laptop for some time, my old toshiba sits around collecting dust. I work on a desktop I built myself with a nice glossy 24″ LCD monitor. My work is all done here, on this PC I am using right now writing this up. I rarely need a laptop, but it is needed when I travel. What I would like to do is actually use a laptop and dock it at home, so there is no synching to do. One machine to use at home and travel. But I am not sure if I can pull it of. I play my video games on this machine, they require a good video card, which most laptops don’t have. So I think I would still have to work with two machines.

My initial reason for wanting to get the macbook other than apple making it look so pretty and cool in their advertising, was to learn OS X, to learn the apple side of things, including programming. I went back and forth trying to decide. I can either get a Lenovo laptop and install OS X on it as well (illegal) or I can get a macbook and install vista on it as well (legal). Lately I have been leaning towards the macbook, every visit to the apple store I get closer to getting it. I made a trip to the apple store one time with intention of buying it but clearly I backed out of it. But I am almost there, I am almost convinced to spend the $1300 on it, and maybe I will cross over somewhat.

I was actually thinking today, by the end of the year I will be considering a new phone, and I will have to choose between the blackberry storm and the iphone. But if I got the macbook, will I just have to get the iphone? Will I be loyal to apple? I love gadgets!

A random weekend Saturday, which I will sum up with just phrases. Don’t expect this to make any sense. No explanations. No details. Just incomplete sentences. Perhaps I will know what these phrases mean a year from now, perhaps not. They may or may not trigger a memory of today, but that doesn’t matter now. So here they are:

• cow stomach linings
• town center fives and nines
• Las Olas and Las O Not
• 24 hour dunkin donuts

And some memories that came up today. Some fun, some good, some eh. Phrases from these memories:

• Double Tree
• Hooters Pass Thru
• A1A Beach Leak
• Lost Lucky at a Gas Station
• Mohsen Weekend

This is a simple video that asks the question, when shall we become Lebanese? It is right to the point, showing various people from different countries announcing what they are, i.e. I am American in English, or I am French in French, or I am Palestinian in Arabic. Only when it gets to Lebanon, each Lebanese person announces who he is by his religious sect. The small strip of land called Lebanon is divided into about 22 pieces, so when shall we become one?

Sleep

Alright, so sleep is very important and very fulfilling when you can get it, everyone knows that, right???? So why am I not satisfied? Sleep doesn’t come easy, it takes me anywhere from at least an hour to sleep. Even  if exhausted, I can be literrally passing out on my computer desk, but the second I get up and head to bed, that is all over, I am wide awake all over again. So what is the problem, I would seriously pay money to be able to sleep on cue. I know my dad can do it, he is blessed with the talent or gift, I think my uncle too, but he will be asleep before his head reaches the pillow when he wants to sleep. My mom on the other hand is like me or me like her.

So sleep, when I returned from Lebanon last October I was exhuasted. I was up all day long in Lebanon and my flight was at 3:30 am or so Beirut time. That means I did not sleep all day long and all night long, I got some half sleep on the plane back to Germany dozing off and on and hearing all the noise around me, from the loud plane engine to people and kids chatting or making noise. Plus I surely wasn’t going to miss the food they gave because I was sleeping, food on those long flights is your free pass for atleast 30 mins of your flight going by without notice. Now if I can just sleep normally, I would take that. Once in Germany, I had to walk from one terminal to the other, I don’t know how to best describe this, but it was a long ass walk! So another 3 hours waiting for next flight, ofcourse no sleep. And finally the longest flight of the trip, Germany to Florida.

I think I got some half sleep on this flight, atleast my sister was me this time on the flight. The last time I flew back from Lebanon, a crazy Leb woman kept talking to me, and I had to PRETEND I was sleeping, but that didn’t stop her, she kept trying to talk to me to see if I would wake up. She even showed me gold she got for some body, I think it was for a guy, possibly her husband, and only after showing me the gold, did she need to go to the bathroom and leave her bag with gold with me. Great, did she detect honesty on me?

So finally arrived at Miami International. Having filled out my customs form, I thought I was already ready to zoom thru customs. It went smoothly, you would think by the time you go thru the questions and walking to get to baggage claim, that the bags would actually be there. So yes more waiting time for luggage, and because my sister was with me, there were six maybe seven bags, one belonging to me. After retrieving them all, I saw the exit and I was excited, I was finally getting past all the check points, I was going to be FREE. Things don’t always go as planned as the man at the exit gate wanted to know what sweets and nuts I brought with me that I listed on the customs card. Look they need to make this a policy, all Arabs bring back with them sweets and nuts! We used to bring cheese and meat too but you made such a big deal out of that, that we kinda stopped, but when we say sweets, it is so you don’t say wtf is baklawa? wtf is ghoraybeh or senora as the Lebs call it? And nuts are just nuts, a bag of mixed nuts, actually I had probably 12 bags of them, but that is beside the point! So he laughs cause I have nuts and says I must go to door number 13. I wanted to scream, or maybe yell at him, right in front of me was freedom, and he wants to send me to door number 13. Can I bribe him with a bag of nuts??? Door number 13 was another room with x-ray machines, they told me they wanted to scan all the bags so I placed them on the belt and they did, I think they probably scanned me too but I didn’t notice or I didn’t care and just wanted to get out already.

So what does all this have to do with insomnia? Well I ended up going to see my other sister, and stayed over and awake the rest of the day, arrived home around eight and go in bed at 9. What was amazing was that I instantly fell asleep, I had the best sleep I have had in years. So what did it? Was it the exhaustion of being awake for more than 24 hours, I was sooooo satisfied with my sleep, that I didn’t care to count how many hours I was awake to get this sleep, but then it continued for atleast 3 weeks, I would go to bed and SLEEP. It was amazing, sleep around 10 and wake up around 6, I was up in the morning for fajr (dawn) and I wasn’t tired. I was enjoying sleep.

With everything else, good things tend to come to an end. I slowly fell of sleep track again and landed back in insomnia. So what was it about the trip to Lebanon that made me sleep? I can conclude that I think I forgot everything, I was on vacation after five years of working without a vacation. I was able to to forget everything that I left here, mainly responsibility. Worries, bills, internet, video games … everything. Yes in Lebanon where a mob fight broke out over a tailor shortening someone’s pants too much in which the army had to get involved, I forgot all responsibility. But as is life, it slowly made it’s way back to me and took away my sleep. I want my sleep back, give it back to me!!!

Cedar Island Lebanon

I just ran across some new idea that has apparently been floating around for some time, perhaps I am late to hear about Cedar Island, Lebanon.Well what can I say, when the Palm Islands in Dubai were first introduced to me, I thought it was a cool idea. A first of it’s kind. Something the Arab world is making that is unique and new. Something the world will be impressed by. The result perhaps was not what was expected, there are many critics, and with Dubai’s ever ending list of projects, half complete or rushed, the Palm Island plan didn’t do so well, I think.

So here we are, in 2009, discussing a giant man made island to be created on the beautiful Mediterranean coast of Lebanon. A promise of hotels, residence, golf, aquarium, kindergarten, school, hospital, presidential guest house, malls and shopping, and so much more! I don’t think a presidential guest house impresses me or the people of Lebanon, but in a country where things can’t be done without connections, I can see this as a small bribing chip to get a presidential A-OK on the project.

With learning of this project, I also learned of a lot of debate on this project with many flat out opposing this project entirely. While each may have his opinion on why or why not this project is good, from hurting marine life  to being a copy cat of Dubai to Lebanon having beautiful nature unlike Dubai’s desert where an island was needed to attract tourists, where as Lebanon has plenty of natural attractions. I will have to side with those opposing the project, for similar reasons, mainly that Lebanon itself needs major reconstruction and cleaning up. I would much rather a cleaner Lebanon, than this giant island that is supposed to be a clean city island. I would rather reconstruction in Lebanon, with building codes applied, unlike the chaos that occurred during and after the civil war. I say clean up Lebanon and this island isn’t needed.

I flew to Lebanon just last September and what I remember of the beautiful coast of Lebanon is the hideous sight of homes built right up at the very edge of the coast. There were not luxury hotels or residences. They were … the following:

Ugly Coast next to the Beirut Airport Runway

199.5lbs

I finally started working on this site. It has almost been a year with this domain ready, and finally a start. What can I say, better late than never. February 2009. A start. I have been going to the gym routinely for the past few months, atleast three times a week. with one exception that I recall being one week when I was sick. Yes you can get sick in Florida and it does get cold, it was mid 40s at most and can’t be compared to the freezing days of New York City with below zero degree temperatures. I can’t stand the cold weather, even mid 40s. On January 28th, for the first time in a long time, my scale said 200lbs. That is right, I did lose weight, in fact this digital scale never read 200 or less with me on it since I got it four years ago. Even more, four days later the scale read 199.5lbs, the first time below 200!!! This all just means that I am working toward my goal and have made good progress. My overall goal is reaching 185-190lbs, preferably 185. Not that I was ever extremely overweight or obese, but I am still over weight.

The old days without responsibility, allowed for daily workouts, basketball, and hanging out. Being a computer programmer (mainly web programming, not that it matters, just like web stuff more ), means you sit all day as you would expect. And that is why I have taken on working out at least three times a week. That and health issues that arise from lack of movement. For now, it is running on a treadmill for 35 minutes. When I reach my goal, I will incorporate weight lifting like I used to do when I was fit .

What is this site going to be about? Obviously me, what I am thinking, feeling, not feeling, making, working, breaking, repairing, editing, changing … anything. A personal blog like everyone else, I know.