GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE!

I just had an adventure of a lifetime...

Fourteen hours and twenty minutes was more than enough to spend on a direct flight to New York. I was thinking of the place I should go for lunch with my friends as soon as we land. But fate chose another path...As we were about to land, the captain diverted our plane to Washington D.C. due to bad weather conditions in NY. As we flew over D.C. the captain said that the weather was horrible and that we'll be landing in Baltimore! It took us two extra hours to finally land. It was a relief to see the ground again. To make our situation worse, our plane ran out of fuel. We stayed on board for an additional five hours until they could finally tow us to the gate. I was getting frustrated and exhausted by that time. When we finally got off board, baggage claim took me forever to get my luggage. I couldn't stand waiting in a never ending queue just to inquire about my flight to NYC. I thought that I don't want to get on a plane for the next couple of weeks. So the train it is. But it was too late to go to the Penn Station. I had an expectation that I'd be in New York at 2:00 pm maximum, but instead, I ended up in Baltimore at 10:30 pm. 

I was glad I could manage through such situation. I called up a hotel and got a shuttle to pick me up. As soon as I was awake the next morning, I reserved a train ticket and went straight to NYC. It was great to finally be here. I'm treating myself to some spa treatments and good food! After all, I've been through hell to make it to the big apple! 

Arigato!

That orange color caviar almost killed me last night! I’m not a sushi fan at all, and as much as I’ve tried it, I realized that I couldn’t get over that gross ocean taste of seaweed. Lately, I’ve been to some untypical Japanese restaurants such as Maki and the Sushi Club. Yes, this year was my first time in Maki. I’m a Maki Virgin! I swear, I would tell people that I’ve never been to Maki, and the expression on their faces would be like I’ve told them, I’ve never tasted bananas for instance, because as it seems, in order to fit in the Kuwaiti category, you should’ve been to Maki at least once. I’m not talking about the newly open Maki at the avenues, but the old one that opened a few years ago in Salmiya. Bottom line is, I’m not really into Japanese food. Get me something Italian, homemade, or American Soul Food. These are my top choices. Nothing does it like a good ol’ burger and fries!
Anyway, back to my subject…I called up my friend last night and we were thinking of a place to hang out. I was just craving for Sushi Club’s salad, the one with apple dressing. My poor friend thought that since I suggested the Sushi Club, I would be up for any other Japanese place. So she suggested we go to Shogun at the Palms hotel. I thought, what the heck, all the Japanese places are the same in here…they don’t only serve those typical raw sushi rolls and stuff. We went in there, and I liked the ambience, but other than that…the food for me, personally sucked. I’m a food lover, and I appreciate every single bite of whatever I eat. I said I would give the salad a try, but it was filled with caviar that I should’ve expected a little fish farm to form in my mouth anytime soon. I tried a crunchy sushi roll, and again, I hate seaweed! Why would I even think of putting it in my mouth? My friend loves Japanese food and I’m glad she enjoyed it. But I left depressed and needed some comfort food.
Escaping to my big peanut butter jar was just the solution to my sad experience. I toasted some bread and indulged in my favorite comfort food ever.
This concludes my sushi experiments. I’m taking a solemn vow never to waste space in my stomach anymore for bad food.

TV Evolution

I, once again, applaud Apple for bringing in the greatest unnecessary gadgets into our world! I became a big fan of Apple TV since the day I bought it about 6 months ago. It gave me a totally new experience in viewing my favorite shows and movies. A few weeks earlier, I've found out that an upgrade for the Apple TV software is coming out soon. It provides TV, movie, and music rentals and purchase straight from the Apple TV, without going through the hassle of having to sync whatever I want to view after downloading from my laptop. 

As soon as I downloaded the software, magic begun on my HD TV. I rented Breakfast at Tiffany's from the iTunes Store, and let out a loud sigh of relief and happiness...life couldn't get any better. Again...Thank you Apple, and the brainiacs behind all these super inventions!  

Happy Corny Love Day

To all those who have found love: cherish the one you've got, and treat him/her like everyday is Valentine's day. 

To those, who are single just like me: Life couldn't get better... Happy Independence Day!

The Never Ending Path to Destruction

I love that our country is a democratic place where everyone has the right to express their thoughts and opinions. It even adds some fun to your day when you're debating with someone who has a different opinion than yours as long as you don't hurt each other. I always say live and let live but with the once again raised argument about segregation of both sexes in education facilities, it seems like the Islamic group in our beloved Kuwait are not giving us a chance to breathe... us liberals. 

I've always been against segregation in schools. It seriously never made any sense for me. If I were to graduate from and all-girls school, am I expected to work in an all-girls place? I wonder if the segregation law spreads to work places and public places... Can you imagine how life would be? I would want to have dinner with my girls but we can't go to the "Slider Station" because it's guys' night and girls are not allowed... I guess it's our turn tonight to get take out instead of dining in.

The idea of segregation in the co-ed private schools in Kuwait was raised in the late 90's when I was still in high school. We were all anxious about the fact that we'll be separated from each other. I mean after almost 12 years of practically living together, they'd expect us to attend segregated classes. The Islamic groups in here think that private schools in Kuwait created a destructed society. Well I think the opposite. I've heard and seen the most ridiculous stories ever that came out of government schools, whether they were guys or girls. So don't blame us, the ones who went to private schools looking for the best education system. 

I just hope that one day, the Islamic groups don't take over Kuwait and turn it into a weird place to live in. With all do respect to our religion, we are in the 21st century and deserve to be a more open-minded culture and focus on other important issues that affect our society other than segregation in education.

Upcoming Shows Schedule

So Finally, the WGA's strike is officially over...I'm tired of watching re-runs. Let's just hope that next fall's schedule turns out to be better than this year, and no more strikes go on! For the meantime, here's how it's going to be for some of the shows:

Chuck
No new episodes until fall.


Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.


Dirty Sexy Money
No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.


Gossip Girl
Expected to shoot up to 9 new episodes to air in April/May/June.


Grey's Anatomy
Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May


Heroes
TBD.


House
TBD.


Lost
TBD.


My Name is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.


Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.


Private Practice
TBD.


Pushing Daisies
No new episodes until fall.


Samantha Who?
Three remaining pre-strike episodes could be held until fall (see Dirty Sexy Money).


Ugly Betty
Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

The Storm is Over!

Paging the cast of Grey's Anatomy... you're needed back on set, STAT!

With a tentative agreement between striking writers and Hollywood moguls expected to be announced sometime this week, my moles at Grey's tell me that production on the show is expected to resume in early March. The plan is to shoot four or five episodes to air in April/May.

A similar scenario is expected to play out at two other ABC hits, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. Conversely, freshman shows that have already been given full-season pickups (i.e. Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?) will likely restart production over the summer ahead of a fall relaunch. Expect a similar pattern to play out at CBS, NBC and Fox: Established shows returning in the spring; newer ones held till fall. The fate of heavily serialized shows like Lost, Heroes and 24 remains unclear.

Meanwhile, high-level sources close to the talks tell me that the WGA deal is close to the DGA deal, with a few exceptions — one of which represents a "major breakthrough."

Bottom line: There's a lot more than one measly football game to get excited about today. We're getting our TV shows back! Can I get a hallelujah in the comments section?

Source: TVGuide.com

Lame Minds Strike Again!

Okay, not because F2O is my sister, but seriously I found one of those lazy minds in here who copied a few of my sister's ideas. I'm not standing by F2O just because we're related by blood, but because I stand by creativity, and the ability to execute a highly innovative project instead of imitating others' original ideas. Unfortunately the so-called artist AKA Shimmy has not put in mind that she's been drawing copyrighted characters and symbols. That my dear is plagiarism, and as we learned in school it causes for suspension or immediate expulsion. As for the real world, maybe a monetary reimbursement to the owners of the cartoon characters. 

 

visit : facebook group

and : F2O

Happy Birthday To Me!

This one would definitely make my day! I need some comedy on my 25th birthday!

Don't Talk to Me!

There's this thing that always makes me wonder...if people are in a bad mood, why would they join MSN and have a nickname like "Bad Mood" or "Don't talk to me!" I think it's plain idiotic. 

Ochy Dochy - Take Two!

I guess everyone is psyched that the Axis of Evil Comedy Group is coming to K-Town again. It's totally on the hot list! I went to the first show that was held in the AUK a couple of weeks ago. I've been a fan of Maz since I started watching his clips on youtube.com last summer. He's so hilarious and no matter how much I see the clip over and over again I just crack up. It was really fun to watch them on ShowComedy TV last month. But what really excited me was them going on tour in the Middle East. I was going to go the show in Dubai but unfortunately I couldn't. Then, I've been told that they're coming to Kuwait, but of course it was under the table, in order to avoid the nonsense censorship and most probably banning the comedians.

When the announcement of their upcoming show on December 17th held at the Australian College was announced, all the tickets were sold out within the minute. Why? Because it is now more of a "trend" to go to the show according to some Kuwaiti mentalities. I've been chatting with a colleague at work before all the fuss was made about the Axis of Evil, and he would say, "nope not interested." But when it came to having a show made in Kuwait and that lots of people were going, he was so eager to go just because... let's say, he wants something to talk about for a while. I was surprised when I asked him how the show went (knowing that I went to the earlier one), and he said that he was impressed and happy that he saw a crowd that he knows and I was like "huh?" Dude I was asking about the show, I truly don't care about who went and who didn't.

 

Another situation was that one friend whom I've been nagging her to watch clips of Maz Jobrani told me that he's not funny and none of the other comedians are. LOL I was insulted!

A couple of days earlier she sends me a text message and asks me where could she get the tickets for the 12/17 show. So the gist is that when something's in, everyone has to see it or try it or whatever...you know, just like the Sushi phase.

Anyway, If you guys love to laugh...go watch the show, or simply get on youtube and watch their clips, but I advise you to see them live, because they were all hilarious, and girls...Aron Kader is hotttt!

What?

So I've been at work for a over a month now, and unfortunately things aren't seeming as I expected them to be. I didn't think we'd have the "typical kuwaiti" environment with people backstabbing each other and love lives being built and destructed. Too much drama people! Something that I hopefully won't working with for long. I miss my mellow life, and freelancing. It doesn't mean that I'm a lazy person. On the contrary I love working, but this ain't right for me. The management structure is a failure and no one seems to know what they're doing or what they're supposed to do. I'm giving this company a 2 month span until it's closed down, because seriously, we're not getting anything done. I was more productive freelancing. 

Can you imagine, I've been employed for exactly a month and a half and until this day I've been working on my laptop...yep, they haven't got me a computer yet...and I've been showing my face to work everyday for 9 hours like a fool, hoping that my laptop wouldn't crash any time soon. 

What's next for me if I quit this job? I guess I'd be going back to freelancing, then probably start a business, or get a regular job again...I'm keeping my options open and not limiting myself to anything.

Status: At Work

After two years of freelancing and working from home, I finally started working at a stable job, in an office, with people, a monthly salary, and someone to boss me around. It's really fun for a change. The working hours is the only thing I'm stressing since I get off work at 5:30, which means, the rest of the day is almost over for me.
Everything seems mellow for the meantime. Some of my colleagues just took off to grab some lunch and run a couple of errands. I'm probably not going to do such thing until a few months pass, or maybe a week. Depends on how things go in here. For now, I'm going to have my snack and watch some of my favorite shows.
For all the unemployed people maybe sleeping until this hour, or just having their breakfast, or doing whatever they want to do, trust me, you're not missing anything.

Xposé

For a year now, I've been a member of Facebook©. It's really fun finding some old friends and schoolmates, and keeping in touch. It actually eased the way for some people to contact me in case they've lost my number, or their phone ran out of battery. Or in other cases, students in computer lab classes find the best way to pass a couple of hours of boredom. I thought that Facebook has been taken seriously by people all around unlike Hi5, but unfortunately I ran into some people with the silliest nicknames on earth just like "Kuwaiti Cool" or "Banoota 7laiwa". Lack of self-confidence probably drove those people to choose such nicknames. I decided to open up a fake account in order to see the OTHER SIDE of Facebook, and the things I've seen are just plain shocking.
Using my fake account, I started adding people randomly, and then when I've been noticed, people have started adding me. Regardless of the silly names that are on my list, the pictures that are there are really offensive, and sick. Girls are posing in the sluttiest ways and guys are proud to show off their favorite alcoholic drinks, or their so-called "six pack abs".
Facebook is being misused by a lot of people now. It has 2 most important rules that some people don't abide by.
1. Celebrity names, nicknames, or other fake names are not allowed and will not be approved
2. upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available any content that we deem to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.

Definition of Facebook: "a social utility that connects you with the people around you." Don't abuse it.


source: Facebook

Stop Tormenting!

Of course the word is out in Kuwait now that the iPhone is unlocked for both Wataniya and MTC (aka ZAIN). This beautiful gadget has been on my wish list about a month ago, hoping that I'd be getting it soon. Fortunately, my wish came true and I'll be getting it during the coming week from the US.
I know I could've gotten it in here, but for a ridiculous price like KD400. I got it from the US for not more than KD125.
I saw a listing in the FaceBook market in the Kuwait network, of the iphone, selling it for about KD250. We got some bright business minds in Kuwait, but they're forgetting that everyone else has the Internet and could be doing the same thing. I didn't get bothered by the price as much as I was shocked just looking at the picture that was attached to the listing! As you see above, it's the iPhone with a Windows XP system. Why torment a genuine device by mac with a system that would catch viruses in a blink? If people need phones that read their e-mails and expect a Windows OS, they should get blackberry's or I-Mates. Don't ruin iPhone with windows. This device has been solely made for Mac.

When Drama Gets Out of Hand

Seems like the dose of violence has increased in Arabic sitcoms. This year, a Kuwaiti/Gulf Drama series that air on a couple of channels really cracked me up. It's far away from being realistic. Excessive violence has been added to it, probably, because of the director's request, thinking that it would attract a larger audience. I think that lots of money has been spent on the sets, ridiculous costumes, and tacky furniture. Even if the characters and stories were fictional, they should at least be realistic. One of the actresses on that show cries most of the time on each episode. I guess by the end of taping everyday, she has to use som eye drops. Professional tv reviewers and critics should approve of such shows before being aired, for the sake of the poeple fasting, and the Holy month of Ramadan. I'm glad I got my own shows to watch, including the hilarious Tash ma Tash, Freej, and Bo Qutada o Bo Nabeel.

Happy Ramadan

It's this time of year again....30 days of fasting, and overloading our stomachs after futoor. I'm looking forward to all the Kuwaiti sweets! I hope I don't gain much weight by the end of the month.
Have a great one y'all!

Where There's a Will There's a Way!

I've been struggling for the past couple of weeks trying to figure out a way to purchase TV shows, music, and movies from iTunes online store. I recently found out that I could order iTunes Gift Cards and use them to purchase whatever I need from the store. Finally, I won't be worrying about downloading torrents with several glitches that ruin watching my favorite shows.
For all international customers with no valid US credit cards, you can use the iTunes gift cards instead. It's easy, and it's safe to use. You can order them from Amazon.com, or iTunes store online.

Enjoy your shows!

Bolandism

Bolandism is a social movement that appeared in Kuwait in the beginning of the 21st century. This movement is basically linked to the Kuwaiti "icon", Haleema Boland. Physical traits of this movement include light brown hair with streaks of blonde or the other way around, flashy make up, and huge sparkling accessories. Other traits include and extreme soft and high-toned voice with a special accent, which makes half the letters in a sentence hard to hear.

Followers of Bolandism are generally women and in specific young ladies. Bolandists use their special characteristics to attract guys and have them drooling all over them. Some married women have taken on Bolandism to keep their men to themselves, because research has shown that married men who watch TV a lot compare their wives to the young, plastic celebrities, and then leave their wives for ones who look similar to what they see on the various tv channels.

During the years, the definition of Bolandism has progressed, and nonetheless will continue to change every year according to spring/summer and fall/winter fashions.




Source: McReemy Worldwide Encyclopedia, p. 234, 2007.

Evolution

MTC is changing on Saturday! I expected the change to be better and bigger, but frankly the logo is not really good.