One Crazy Kabocha

List of Things to Do

2009-07-14T16:25:30Z

I'm finally done! I know I've been neglecting to post during the whole internship, but I just couldn't find the time and energy at the end of the day. But I can now, because I drank my mother's tea, and I feel a sudden surge of hyperness.

We went to the HR people today, and he idiots decided to go OUTSIDE the contract, and extended it to Thursday. We told him we specifically wrote 14 on our contracts, and the dude said that we don't have to come until the end of the week to get the certificate and evaluate the internship program. Then we had to talk to the person who arranged our internships, and he's still figuring out who's going to right our letters to university. Basically, the whole day was a load of surprises, in which we only got to do more assignments, but not get what we really want so that we can get on with our lives and graduate.

On the bright side, I can now make a list of things I need to do before uni starts. Things like:

- Shopping for Eid.

- Get a computer desk

- Get pillows and bed sheets

- Get a nice carpet

- Get a nice bathroom mat

- Unpack and find places for my CDs

- Shop for university

- Attempt to dip into the pool just once before leaving AD

And... that's it. I guess. So many things, and so much time to do them. I hope it doesn't pass by quickly.

Not All Gloom and Doom

2009-07-02T16:06:37Z

Yesterday, cha0tic_silence and I were talking about this unfortunate accident, and what the reporters did to investigate the speeding on that road. One of the positive is that you get to see what happens behind the scene. It's good to know the truth, investigate, find out what happens. Then there's the negative point, where you encounter some tragedy (like this one). It does get depressing sometimes, but there are always other incidents that brighten the journalism experience.

This entry is dedicated to cha0tic_silence.

The other day, my friend L and I were sent to the mall to vox pop, asking people about their opinions on a ministry announcement. Vox popping is not my favorite part of the job, but once you get into it, it's amazing how random people can surprise you. That day, I was bold enough to approach a local couple. I decided to talk to the woman first, because I thought it inappropriate to go up to her husband and just start blabbing. So I did just that, but then I was interrupted by her husband. "Don't talk to her, she doesn't understand you. She's deaf."

I felt a moment of "Oh. No." L described it a little better when she said that her heart sank a little. But the man went on saying that whatever we had to say, he could just tell it to he. We told him, and then waited for him to communicate through sign language. It was my first time seeing this happen in front of me. There was more communicating, and interviewing, and we found out that they were recently married.

Once we left them, my other friend H said, "Is there such a man out there?"

I told my aunt about the incident, and she asked me if the girl was pretty. I told her that even though she had make up, she was pretty. What was beautiful about her though was that you can see the innocence on her face.

Done with the Biggest Step

2009-07-01T16:33:24Z

The mess started right after I posted my entry. Movers and maintenance men arrived at the same time, and Dad had to deal with them all. And while he dealt with them, we had to scatter into different rooms, so that the furniture could be picked. Something I found very sweet was that we ended up eating breakfast in the very room we all slept in the first day we moved to that house (my room). Except this time, we are all allowed to drink tea, and Reem was with us.

I had to get ready and leave for work, so I don't really know what my family did. By the time I saw them again, they were all burnt out. Both houses were a mess. The movers were slow. There were more stuff than we originally thought. A lot of the new furnitures are missing. The list goes on.

It was a long process. My mom and the helpers started cleaning the house again today morning, and there are still things to be done. I've started unpacking my books, but I'm too tired. Tomorrow I have to start unpacking my clothes.

But so far, everything's okay. Except for the missing stuff. I had to get ready without a mirror today...

It's Over When I Wake Up

2009-06-30T03:53:54Z

If only it worked that way...

Even though it's irrelevent, I just have to point out that it's now 7:30 a.m. I am really, really tired, because yesterday, I had to wake up early, and go for a whole day trip to Dubai and Sharjah with my friend L (and it was loads of fun until we got back to the office). Then I went to the new house to check out my newly furnished-yet without-matress-or-study-table- room. And the other rooms. By the time I came back home, it was 8. I started packing whatever I could.

And it was during this time that I discovered my phone was not with me. So we called, looked, tried to remember. When I called my phone again, a dude answered. Apparently, I left it at the reception. So he found it, took it to the lost and found, and was almost walking out when he heard the phone ring. So he ran back to see if it was the owner. So he took my phone with him. Which I am really uncomfortable with. Thank God, there aren't any pictures or anything, but still. Now, we agreed on meeting up at the reception today. This is the second reason why I couldn't sleep.

The clothes were easy. My books were already packed. But the big problem was the anime/series collection of CDs. I haven't organized it for a while (despite my dad's repeatative advice to do so), and doing it NOW was really too late. I tried for a while, but then got fed up, and went through the old CDs and got rid of them, while putting the rest in one pile. But then, hidden CDs kept appearing every where. I know that I have a problem of not keeping my CDs in one place, but I realized how bad it is yesterday- because whenever I thought I was done, I turn to see another stack.

It's like a nightmare, but more subtle. And real. @_@

In between all that though, was Reem yelling, crying, touching clothes and CDs, dancing, and generally in want of attention. Only when I was DONE, was she tired enough to sit down and watch T.V. Oddly, that's why I love her...

So yes, now I'm awake again, and I packed a little more stuff. And I really, really don't want to go to work. Oh, and I won't have access to the internet while I'm at home, because my Dad has yet to put up the modem/router thingy. I don't mind though. I'm just looking forward to the weekend, where I get to set up my shelves. =D

All the Right Signs to Do It

2009-06-21T16:46:35Z

So I've recently been encouraged to write a comment column about an issue I care about: abuse. It's not an easy issue to talk about in this country, which pisses me off a little. One of the reasons it's all "hushed up" is because it's "taboo". Like hell it is. These days, the word taboo card is pulled up just because some people feel uncomfortable talking about it. Just because you're uncomfortable doesn't mean it's taboo. It is not taboo-worthy if you can't come up with things to say about the subject. Just because it was not popular in your day, doesn't mean it has to remain unpopular, or unimportant now.

I talked to my Mom about it today, and though she was concerned that it was a "strong" issue, she didn't attempt to dissuade me. I told her about how the famous child abuse case was tried in court- as criminal charges as if two men got into a fight, and the one who started is the one who's being convicted. No specific child law protection. And I wish they could even use that for cases of women being abused, but of course, you don't hear much of that either.

The U.A.E wants to play at the international level? Don't hide things under "taboo". It's time to grow up a little. A much recent article mentioned that social workers are trying to gather statistics domestic abuse. Good for them, but I think you're smart enough to know that not much is being done about it anyway, so why not work on that in the mean time?

Whee

2009-06-08T15:37:54Z

There are lots of things happening this summer, I can't decide what to write on, so I'll try and summarize. Just one thing to make clear though: NO WEDDINGS.

The Big Move:

But we are moving to our new house at "the end of the month." Or so my parents tell me, even though the packing is sloth-like slow. Also, I kept asking if they called the cleaning people, because the last time I went there, thick dust covered everything. And they still didn't call. If they still didn't get the house clean, we can't move in the furniture. I also need my shelves up so I could put my books. We need internet cables installed, etc. So... I think the parents are going a little ahead of themselves. But, I can't wait to move to my room! According to my Mom, I have the best wallpaper out of all the rooms. *happy*

The Big (slightly small) Job:

I also can't wait to graduate. Because I really, really want to work at The National. Sure, there are days where we don't do anything. And I really mean nothing. Just sit around and wait on a story. Other days, some reporters have me do the hateful job of calling random people to ask for a quick interview. And then I have to call again to confirm stuff, or ask more questions. Though I've come to hate that part of the job, I understand how important it is to go through it. I also really enjoy the thanks I get after I try my best. They really know how to appreciate people.

Also, somehow, I think they see me as the Emirati correspondant in the office. Because I'm Emirati, they seem to think I "know people". As in, other Emiratis. And, okay, I know some Emiratis, but most are friends. And most I've lost touch with (and I had to get in touch with them again, which made my day). So some of my tasks consist of trying to get Emirati quotes. This really showed me the disadvantage I've put myself in, since I rarely mingle with the local community at uni. So yeah. Need to get a network of Emiratis, and later leech quotes off them. But also, I've been encouraged to write an article by my supervising reporter, and I started on it. So far, it's really slow, but later today, another reporter I worked with offered me to work on another story. Not sure if it's individually, or with him. Oh, and both stories focus on Emiratis. XD

Still, I'm really enjoying the opportunity. (<--- check out the name on the byline. XD)

The Big Problem with Reem:

Reem.. oh Reem. It's amazing how her tears are always ready for when we don't give her something, don't listen to her; basically denying her what she wants. And it's not that my parents aren't taking a strict stance against this- they are. But the kid is unbelievably stubborn. She's not even testing her limit, just...goes ahead and does it. She's still a sweetheart though. Learning new words like "Kaaban" (broken), and "Taaban" (tired, LOL). It's her bad moods that everyone dreads...

Quite a Chunk for Day 1

2009-06-01T18:28:17Z

I don't know how describe it, other than the day was long, but time passed by really fast.

But the day started quite painfully, for me. First of all, I couldn't sleep well last night, with thoughts of GN and TN, and if I made the right choice, etc. Woke up at 6:30 still thinking about it. Then there were three hours of trying to push down the dread I was feeling (and talking to L, who kept insisting I should breathe into my belly, which wasn't working),

I spent the first ten minutes in a state of confusion once I got there. I was practically quaking in my heels as I walked into the swooshing doors, turned into a corner, and there was only the double glass doors, then the HUGE room cluttered with desks. And only a small group of people were sitting there. I felt like an intruder, disturbing some process I shouldn't. I thought of asking the person on the first desk, but chickened out, and went into the first office. When I asked where can I find the person I'm supposed to be meeting, he said to go ahead inside and find the reception. The reception did not really exist. All I saw were desks. So I went back out, hovered by the entrance a bit, then got the guts to ask the first person sitting on one of the desks. Who turned out to be a really nice person.

There was a bit of a mix up, but eventually, after 30 minutes of sitting and reading today's newspaper (which did wonders to my nerves),and catching up with my friend Hibz, who also went through moments of stupidity once she walked into the building, we were asked to go with a reporter to a press conference and see her in action. The event didn't differ much from normal AUS events, except that were exposed to other rules now-- the people we shouldn't piss off, coming up with questions that wouldn't offend anyone. I was pretty nervous about what I would find when the Q & A session started, but some reporters asked really good questions.

The rest of the day, we worked a little on the statistic part of the story, then sat in on one of the editors' meeting (and it was so much fun), then we were assigned to separate reporters, and we'll be working with them for the time being. So far, I really like it. At times though, I felt quite lost, and a little intimidating at the thought of writing something. TN has a different style of writing than what I'm used to, so what if I mess up in that?

So far, I'm learning a lot, so maybe in time, I can adapt to that too.

Another Call, Now I'm Happy

2009-05-31T17:59:03Z

So after my call with Gulf News, I've been in a state of doubt. Basically, what if they don't know that I intern there? What will they make me do?

Later in the day, I got another call from an unknown number. It's the National, telling me that I'm in their internship program. Which shocked me so much, I couldn't speak. The guy then ventured to ask "if it was good news," and I told him it was. I told him that I had a previous offer though, but I would like to have a look around, and he agreed. When I suggested that I could start tomorrow, he was surprised, but agreed to let me. It was so professional, he told me where I would work, and who I would report to, and that if I needed anything, I could contact him. The whole thing almost made me collapse, because then I came to the realization that I have to juggle and choose between TWO options.

All my friends went through this before the semester ended, and all of them managed to make a choice, but when you have a choice to make on the day before you work.. it's a little stressful. I called some friends, and one of them stayed on the line with me until I sent an email to my adviser, asking if I could switch, and explaining to him about what made me uneasy with GN. And he told me to go for the National, since it was my first choice. So I sent a message to GN, and I'm still waiting for them to reply. My stomach is in knots, just waiting for that reply, so that my guilt would diminish.

I talked to my friend again, and she made an excellent point: an editor's life will go on, and they won't give a second thought about an intern. It made me feel better. But... I want a reply, dammit!

The thought of working at the National is slightly comforting. I sense a sleepless night coming on.

Called the Editor, Now I'm Worried

2009-05-31T10:48:11Z

Just as the title says, I called, and... well, working there isn't as promising anymore. For one, the editor has no idea when she wants to meet up. "I might be engaged, or something," she said. Well, can't you arrange for someone else to meet me then? I'm sure that the first meeting will take less than 5 minutes or something. God, I wish I was back in ADCO. Those people were fun.

In the end, we managed to arrange a meeting time, and I asked where the office is. Turns out it's in the most horrible part of AD. Yay me...

I'm getting nervous now that I'll be starting tomorrow. And the hesitation in the editor's voice is making me uneasy.

Stress Free an' Lovin' It!

2009-05-23T12:16:39Z

And why shouldn't I?

In just four days I realized how long the semester was. The stress, the break downs, the old senile woman-- it's good to take a break from all that. The only thing I miss is spending time with my friends, and going crazy. Still, Reem is already a handful. The nice thing about having kids is that you are never bored when they're around. They really do the darnedest things. Of course, the behavior still counts. Luckily, Reem is a good girl. She may be insanely hyperactive sometimes, but nothing like we saw in Hamad when he was a kid.

Other than taking care of Reem, I'm also glad I have more time to read! I've even gone to Kinokuniya on the way back to AD. And reading a lot got me thinking of my writing. I haven't written anything since the semester I took creative writing class. I missed it so much this semester. I think the feature writing course sort of replaced it, but it wasn't the same, obviously. Speaking of creative writing, I got an email from the university's literary journal club a couple of weeks ago. When I was taking creative writing, my professor would urge us to send our stuff to the literary journal, Realms. So I did send some stuff, mostly the writing exercises I did for class. So back to the email, I was one of the people congratulated for the release of the 2009 publication. I took it as a sign that my stuff will be in it. I'll have to make sure of that when it's distributed around campus next semester. So yes, I have this desire to start writing again. I was thinking about it throughout the semester, but I didn't have time, so I jotted down some of the ideas I had instead to focus on when I had time.

So much time, so little to do. It feels good not to worry.

Ah~ Finals. It's in the Air

2009-05-18T09:13:54Z

You can tell how students are suffering when finals roll around. The library full of people, the students frantically running from lab to lab to print stuff. And the crazy idea of distributing Red Bull in the dorms so that "students could study better." Like it gives brain power or something.

StarD saw a girl walking down the dorm hallway with her eyes closed. When the poor girl reached her door, she only leaned against it until she found the strength to open it. But the upside about finals is being done with classes and professors, and you never have to think about them again.

For me, it was Peggy's broadcast. We had a final project due yesterday, and I worked on it the day before. Twice, because, while I saved once, I didn't after I finished trimming the clips. The project took so much of my time, I didn't have time to go over my 8 a.m. final. I went over some slides that night, when a class mate of mine came over, and took the camera.

Now, I'm very apprehensive around this certain class mate, because she's loud. She's nice if she wants to be, but she's loud. And has a temper. And starred in a student movie where she played the shooter- she was scary. So when she asked my help, I couldn't refuse. I lent her my camera at 10, and she came back at 7 a.m. to drop off the camera so I could transfer and convert the files. The thing smelled like smoke, and there were brown crumbs of something falling off it.

This I had to do after my final. I saved her stuff on to my protable hard disk, then I tried putting my project in, but it wouldn't work. I couldn't think of what to do, so I took the hard disk to the Mac lab, where I'm supposed to meet the classmate. I hooked up my hard disk, and after a few moments, there was a spark, a popping noise, and smoke wifting from one of the ports. It was like seeing my life flash behind my eyes. I took it to another lab to see if my stuff (and the girl's) are still there, and it was. I went back, and the classmate and I decided to back up the files on her laptop.

I left her to do that while I searched for a DVD to save my project in. I went to the library stationary shop, and they didn't have it. I decided to go ALL the way to the dorms, and get it from my room. It was burning hot, and by the time I reached the mini-mart beside the dorm, I decided to buy it, since I didn't think I could make it out of my room at that point. Then I went BACK to the library to save my project. While I went through my Sahara trip, my friend L lost her project and had to redo it. My other classmate managed to make my disk work without exploding, and everyone was in a tried frenzy. By the time the project had to be given in, each student vowed to never take a course like that again.

Intern ship News

2009-05-08T16:13:45Z

I have been resisting for such a long time. When I thought of just trying it out... I have succumbed.

* * *

So, at last it's become a sure thing that I'll be interning at Gulf News. The upside of all this is I'll be in AD the whole summer. God, it'll be the longest time I've spent here since freshmen year.

Also, there are two more weeks before the semester is over, which is unbelievable, given the amount of work we have to hand in this coming week.

Let the Good Times Bowl

2009-05-03T10:31:11Z

It's has been such a long time since I went out with the family. Last time I actually went out was to watch a movie with Nasser, but nothing since then. So yesterday, my grandparents, my Mom, Aunt and Uncle, my two brothers and I went to Bowling City, where my Aunt reserved the VIP room, with four lanes, and tables all to ourselves. Now I haven't bowled since I was a kid, and it was the fake ones at the arcades. So technically, yesterday was my first time. And it was so much fun.

For the first hour, we were all robotically bowling, until the food came in. But even then, it would be just a couple of bites, and then we'd bowl again.

I saw another side of Hamad I haven't seen before. It was like seeing an aerobics instructor, or a ballerina, leaping backwards and forwards, and then down on his knees to let his ball go. It would have been funny if he wasn't the second best out of all of us. There was also an incident where Nasser tossed his bowling ball backwards, almost knocking Hamad over.

Towards the end, we paired up, and which led to more chaotic moments, with my Mom fouling, and Hamad begging her to "watch her feet." Then there were miraculous moments where my Aunt and Mom got strickes.

I think bowling might be one of my favorite things to do. It's so relaxing (even though the goof brothers were very competitive). The way the ball would smoothly go across the lane and hit the pins. It's like a masterpiece. I told my mom that we should end up doing this as a family bonding activity.

Intern ship:

Now that the semester is coming to an end, all the juniors are worrying about getting internships for the summer- since we can't graduate without it even though we get no credits for it. Anyway, I was hoping to intern at The National, because the quality of news is much better, but so far, no one replied. So I contacted Gulf News, and they replied, and approved. It's not The National, with it's neat format and ineteresting at least I'll be doing something this summer.

[Review] The Mortal Instruments

2009-04-20T19:25:28Z

I've started this series in March, and practically hugged the last installment of the series when it came in April.

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare:

- City of Bones
- City of Ashes
- City of Glass

On a night out behind her mother's back, Clary Fray notices a group of attractive people stalking around the night club she's in. Deciding to snoop around, she realizes that the group aren't exactly friends, but consist of the hunters, more specifically Shadow hunters, and the hunted, a demon who was about to feed. Suddenly aware that there are more things within the world she lives in than she realized, Clary is thrust forcibly into the Shadow hunter world when her mother is kidnapped by an ex-Shadow hunter. Demons, fearies, werewolves, vampires- and a complicated relationship with the young shadow hunter Jace, Clary may have found her calling.

Okay, I admit, I was smitten with the first book, despite some editing problems. It's a very interesting world, and I love the idea of it. The second was not bad, but didn't have the same flare as the first. The third was... well, my expectations were a bit high, and it didn't meet it. I still enjoyed it though. I'd recommend it for the sake of the story though. Cassandra Clare sort of dangerously plays with relationship boundaries between Jace and Clary (I will not mention why), and I think it was just interesting to read how far she can go. And apparently she's well known for her Harry Potter fanfics on the net.

Her next trilogy is a prequel to this series, and while I'm sure she'll create one heck of a story, I just hope she minds the quality of her writing- it's not bad. But she could do better with a bit of editing cliches out, redundancies, and spell checking, it would be great. But the covers look awesome (and yes, that is what trapped me).

In Other News:

My computer is completely gone. All my stuff are unrecoverable. I kind of got over it after my friend told me she lost all her songs on her ipod.

Can I Collapse Now?

2009-04-16T11:56:47Z

I have reached the point of exhaustion, to the point of feeling emotionally numb. I don't really care about anything any more. I know I always complain about how I hate weddings, but I do. Especially the recent ones. Now, the family weddings are either in freakin' Qatar, or in Al Ain, but the timing sucks. The Qatar wedding may have happened during my break, but I couldn't enjoy it. And the recent one is in Al Ain, but I have tons of things I have to do. Two weeks now, I've been dragged all over Dubai to find some good dresses, and we made stupid, stupid mistakes. Our wedding dresses didn't exactly come out the way we wanted them. And I am waaay behind in my school work.

I've been having dreams of doing and finishing up all my work, only to wake up in the morning and realize I did nothing. I hate my Dad's car now. I'm sick of traveling between cities in a car-- so sick of it, that I'm actually looking forward to coming back by bus next week. I just want to get rid of the social burden now.

Broadcast Woe

2009-04-07T18:10:27Z

A month and a half left, and I'm running out of energy already. These 2 weeks have been hell, but the end product made it worth it. I'm actually happy with all my courses- except for Broadcast. I hate broadcast.

Hate it.

This is the course that has an old woman teaching it, and while I was sympathetic towards her and gave her the benefit of the doubt, I'm now doubting that if she ever was a journalist (like she claims to be, with her 10 years of experience). She doesn't know how to edit, doesn't know how to work a camera, and in class, she confuses the hell out of us. Never mind that she takes about 20 minutes to understand what we're saying when trying to explain the news we've gathered around uni.

The semester is almost at an end, and we are still working on our first video (each). And the senile woman still believes that we can do four more. FOUR! UGH! Even though we barely made it for the last one.

Her ambition for us is phenomenal. She's jumping ahead of herself just so she could get stories from us for her "news program," which is a good idea. But a real news program sets a TEAM with the reporter, not the reporter doing the whole damn thing all alone. She has no sense of time or reality at ALL.

And there's been other stuff too: she's condescending. Although she means nothing by it, it's still insulting to see that she's come to an Arab country, and doesn't bother to understand or know anything about it. And she's the CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT. How could a person with NO experience be placed as the chair? How?!

At some point yesterday, I contemplated taking off my headscarf and hanging her with it. Yes, it's mean and vicious, but I can't be sane around her any more.

It doesn't help that from what I heard about last semester, she gave the marks without grading anything. Just thinking about what grade she might grace on us this semester is mentally exhausting. After this, I'm staying away from broadcast it's professor!

Always Look Up: A Bug Story

2009-03-15T14:33:39Z

This Friday, while my parents were away, as always, it fell on me to make sure no one gets hurt. Mostly, that someone is Reem, and while it is nerve wrecking to see her almost missing that corner of the wall just at the last minute, it's always a pleasure to watch her. So while we were dancing to a song, just outside my room, I saw something brown drop between me and Reem. Something from the A.C ceiling vent. At first I dismissed it as water. But the color disturbed me, so I looked down on the carpet, so see a huge, pinky-sized cockroach.

Now, if it were me, I would have fled the scene at that moment. But Reem was there, and maternal/sisterly instincts forbade me from leaving her behind- especially since I was more worried about her than me. So my plan was to make a quick grab for the baby, and make a run for it. Except the damn insect read my mind. And it made straight for Reem.

That's when I lost my calm state of mind, and screamed. Which scared Reem enough to come to me, just before the stupid bug latched on one of her baby feet (and she never saw the bug). The rest was easy- I grabbed her, and ran to my room.

Fifteen minutes later, I told my Mom, who laughed at me despite my emphasis that her baby was the one being attacked. And my other close friends also found it hilarious.

Before this incident, there have been mysterious appearances of cockroaches all over the house. I always knew it was from the A.C vents, but at the time, I thought it was my imagination on overdrive.

[Review] The Gargoyle

2009-03-12T13:21:45Z

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Driving home one night, stoned and drunk, the hero of this tale gets distracted by “a flaming arrow” coming his way. Losing his grip of the car, he drives off the road, and plunges down to suffer horribly in flames. Now going through his rehab, we learn that our hero was beautiful, handsome, and though he is intelligent, his job was far from glamorous but financially sustaining. After the accident, he is aware that there is nothing to live for, and his burned body only serves as the exterior vessel of how ugly his soul is. So while the nurses and doctors go on curing him, our hero plans his suicide. That is, until a woman, Marianne, visits him from the psychiatric ward one day and claims that they were lovers in Medieval Germany. Rational as always, the hero doesn’t believe it, but curious about the beautiful sculptor, he leads her on as she tells him love stories from all over the world, and of a burned mercenary and a young nun.

One of the things I loved about this book is how the character deals with the tragedy that befalls him. He narrates with dark humor, and with the edgy descriptions that Murakami readers identify with. The other narrator is Marianne, and although I looked forward to her part the most, at first I worried that I couldn’t differentiate her voice from the main protagonist, but I got used to it later. The characters are wonderfully realistic (not necessarily lovable in personality), even the minor characters; each of them with roles and are not wasted in the story.

Davidson molded together two styles of writing- the traditional, in which everything is connected and ties up in a perfect knot, and Japanese, that leaves the complex parts of the plot for the readers to interpret. After reading this book, it will leave you with a sense of wonder, and it will take a while to wipe out all the connections you made in your mind.

This book is actually very hard to describe without spoiling the whole story, so I’ll only say that I highly recommend it.

Side note: Finally managed to control image alignment. Yay!

An Hour with Philippa Gregory

2009-03-07T11:00:50Z

Not alone, thank goodness. Because if it was a one on one, I think I would have been tongue-tied. And I would have fainted. As ridiculous as it may sound, but I've never met a published author before (and my professors don't count). Unfortunately, I've never read her books, and that I've only found out what books she authored ten minutes before entering the lecture hall. I've heard about her books, just never put two and two together.

And I was late. So if it was a one on one, I think I might have been fired. But after scrambling to find a seat, I struggled to catch on and hang to her every word like the rest of the audience. Except the audience were not exactly hanging as much as they were shaking with laughter. Because Gregory got them laughing every five minutes with her flippant, classy British humor. I remember thinking I wish I had her for a history teacher. She knew her history, of course, since she uses facts to write her fiction, but her commentaries on them were hilarious.

When she was talking about how she found the story of Mary Boleyn, and decided to write about it, she predicted that she would win the Romantic Story of the year, adding that she did. We applauded her for that, and when we ceased, she thanked us. "But I'm not going to stop talking."

She proceeded to give us a history lesson on the characters she chose to write about, and it was really fascinating. The whole time after that, I was floating around the fair. The only disappointment was missing Margaret Atwood's debate. At least she sent over boxes of autographed stickers, something to contend ourselves with missing the debate and her lack of appearance.

Anticipation to Bad Luck

2009-02-26T08:44:32Z

My first plan to the Literary Fair and it falls through already. I was supposed to go to Peter James' session, but changed my mind because of transportation and lack of company. My friend, and the only one of the bunch who's interested in the Fair, has rehearsals.

Now, the pit of my stomach is twisting at the thoughts of what I'm going to miss. Then again, I've never read James' books (but I will!), so I'm not sure how good of an author he is. Still, his topic was what drew me to buy the ticket: "Criminally Accurate- The Facts and the Fiction". Screams of cop and mystery novels.

Since this plan fell through, I'll probably spend the rest of the evening reading Cassandra Clare's City of Bones. It's such a long time since I actually did nothing but read. So far, it's really good. Love the characters, and the potential of the story. And since I'm getting into it, that means another commitment to a trilogy. Yay!

Another Venting Session

2009-02-24T18:09:35Z

Yes, I am ruthlessly exhaustive when I am angry. I must say it over and over again until I'm satisified. This is a followup to the whole Literary Fair thing. I've been visiting different news blogs, and while I am so happy that there are people who understand that culture/religion is an actual barriar, those who don't piss me off. I've attempted to explain the whole core and focus of cultural/religion, but my attempt has been interpretted as an excuse to ban the stupid, stupid book. And another comment added that now "no gay or lesbian author or artist" will be able to attend the Fair. Um.. okay..

1) I doubt there will be security guards asking each person coming about their sexuality.

2) The book was not freakin' banned. And the U.A.E is not the first to ban books, so what's the fuss?

3) To think that we're the intolerable ones? Intolerability lies within OUR circle, and does not extend to you're beliefs. So leave us alone and go excercise your meaning of freedom of expression. All this talk about intolerablility makes me think that culture/religion is an intolerable subject to the other side.

4) Culture/religion is not an excuse, but a way of life. It could mean a group of people's identity, their values, their beliefs, their expectations. For another party from a different environment to accuse and point finger at culture/religion being a lame excuse, fine. It's not easy to extract the two in this part of the world, but if you wanna take a stab at it, go ahead.

5) Sometimes it's laughable to read that some people think that some parts of the Gulf is oppressed and in need to be liberated. The oppression comes from forced ideas and accusations, where ignorant thoughts stifle the other party's meaning.

6) Bendell, the alleged banned author who is not banned, will not be the first or last person to use a homosexual character. Authors whose books have been displayed in the local bookstore in the UAE have also used minor homosexuals, and did not draw this much attention (P.S I Love You? Sarah Waters' books? Murakami? American Gods?).Thus, her book may someday be displayed in the romantic comedy section. When it gets published. Although at this point, I think every Emirati may be holding something against her for using this as a publicity stunt.

GOD.

Comment pages are irritating, but very addicting. The things I read just makes me so depressed. I need something to make me laugh and restore some faith in human intelligence.

The Ones that Need Saving

2009-02-23T18:11:39Z

I've been making plans to attend the first Literary Festival since I read about it last year. I've bought the tickets. I got my clothes to stay for two weeks and skip a weekend with my family. I bullied my friends into going with me. I thought I'd get through this hellish week and the weekend would be me meeting my heroes.

And then I hear that Margaret Atwood pulls out. Why? Because of a book that would not be launched at the festival, because of it's reference to homosexuality. Now, I'm neutral when it comes to that, and some people are too. I'll admit that others are not okay with it. Religion and culture do not condone it. But that doesn't mean we're close minded. And that doesn't mean that the Emirates banned every gay book left and right. I read some books that had themes about sexuality, and while I was surprised that it was at my local bookstore, I was glad that they're not keeping a close eye on them. But the thing is- people don't understand that culture and religion is the core to lifestyles in this part of the world.

So when the whole misunderstanding was cleared up, and Atwood regretted pulling out (and when she did, other authors wanted to pull out too), it was decided that a debate would be held to talk about the freedom of expression and censorship. While that is an interesting subject, I couldn't help but feel that, since the authors are fighting for one freedom of expression (the rejected author), it's blocking out another (freedom of expressing sensitivity, of governing a country, of having opposing ideas). I dunno, it's just an idea I've been juggling with. I understand why Atwood feels so strongly about censorship. But I don't think the West understands where we come from in terms of culture, religion, or the individuality that's developed in the younger generation. It's always this part of the world that a campaign is needed to enlighten us on these things. Like we've never talked about it in school. It's... frustrating.

Besides. I don't see that much of a ban on expressions, since, according to my mother, Dubai's disco scene dress more slutty than anywhere else in the world.

Youtube Rage

2009-02-06T18:02:13Z

As much as I enjoy being on youtube, it's unforunate that the negative comments ranges from useless, or insulting, to absolutely ignorant.

I was just downloading some epsiodes of Little Mosque on the Prairies, and I scrolled down to read the comments. As expected, two users were battling it out about religion differences. I skimmed through most of it, but than teh "women oppression" caught my eye. As usual, the head scarf arguement was pulled in, and labelled opressive. God, I hate it when they pick that card. I had to reply, because, like an itch, you can't resist it. I had to explain to the poor dud that not all Muslim women wear head scarves, but that most choose to wear it, or that it's cultural. And that just because we don't stick to the Western understanding of feminism doesn't mean it doesn't exist in Islam.

The Muslim comments weren't any better. I chanced upon some of their comments about "progressive Muslims" and how they are "straying" and think they are better than the Prophet (P.B.U.H). Basically, that Muslims should not "progress". Umm... then what are you doing on Youtube? If you can't enlighten, get off.

Okay... maybe I should get my head out of that gutter. I should stick to replying to game trailers or something.

The Lost Contact

2009-02-02T16:46:46Z

It's the second week of uni, and I'm drowning in papers. As much as I keep reading, I can't seem to reach that last page. Despite that, I'm still happy with my courses.

Especially the news writing course, even though I was hyperventilating up until the deadline. I was supposed to cover a charity campaign to support Gaza. While I knew what was going on around uni, I still needed to confirm, verify and ask questions, and for that, I needed a source. I knew that the only people I could contact is the Palestinian club, so I sent them an email before the weekend. And I waited for their reply, but none came back. So on the weekend, I contacted the Syrian club, because they were also involved in the campaign, and STILL nothing.

By then I was cursing and swearing and questioning the logic of having email accounts that aren't used. I mean, what if people who wanted to donate had questions?

Anyway, before the weekend, I asked a friend of mine, who has a wide net of connections around uni, to look for some way to contact the club, and on the deadline, she got me the number of the president of the club. Calling the dude and talking to him was a little awkward, but I got the information I wanted. At the end of the day, I got the results of my assignment, which made me a very happy woman. =D
So far, it's a good start.

My next assignment is a speech, and I'm trying to figure out how to do it. I've been looking around for a voice recorder, but no luck so far.

I Want More Off Days!!

2009-01-29T18:41:55Z

Back from Qatar, and what do I find in my e-mail? An assignment. Already.

And now, I've finally met with all my professors (actually, just one, since the rest I've already had before). So far, this is what I have.

News Writing Part 2:

Basically, we don't even attend class. We're now freelancers and reporting news around uni. I wasn't even back on Sunday, but by the end of the week, I received two assignments. I just realized that, while I know how go about writing, gathering the information is a bit problematic when no one replies to your e-mail...

Feature Writing:

So I'm back with my Editing for News professor, and she's tougher now that she has more students. But I'm still looking forward to this class. Last semester, we had to write a feature article, and I wasn't exactly happy with the outcome. So I'm looking forward ti improving and learning more here. At least now we can write our own stuff through out the semester instead of cleaning after other writers. But the amount of reading in this course is daunting.

Intercultural Communication:

I'm taking this with the Feature Writing professor. At first I was freaking out about not knowing anyone in that class, but it turns out some of them were with me in other classes before. Again, while this course is completely different from all my writing courses, I feel like I'll have fun with the discussions in this class.

Women in Film:

Yes! A fun course that is also a little demanding. I've been doing a few reading for this course, and it was really an eye opener.

Broadcast for Journalism:

I've been dreading this course since I registered for it. Mostly because I've heard some worrying comments about the professors. So when all my friends attended the class on Monday when I couldn't, I asked one of them how she was. The reply: "She's old. She's deaf. She might day on us any day now."

Yes, that is mean. But when I met her on Wednesday, I couldn't help liking her despite her elderly confusion. On that day, she took us to the studio (the same one we toiled in last semester) and made us take turns with the teleprompter, being floor managers, camera persons and anchorwomen. The only role I dreaded was being an anchor and reading the teleprompter. It was surprisingly fun though. Most of the concentration was focused on reading, so I didn't notice anything else. The professor seems to have high expectations for us though...

Hmmm, not much of a rant, but since I know who I'm dealing with, I'm not that worried. But the amount of reading is already piling up! Ugh >_<.