Skyscrapers!

Mai © Doha, 2006

Believe it or not the building on the far left (Kamco), once used to be the tallest building in Qatar!!!!!

Gimme that juice i said!

The little ones hung out this weekend, it was a true bliss.

Watch out for the next generation, People...

7aram!!!

Photography:anonymous

The Open Plan Family/Living Room!

Miami, 2006

Hmmm?!!?

Tall, Skinny, half shot, extra hot, double foam, Gingerbread Latte Pleeeease!

Hang on..

Mai © Cornwall, 2006

Much to say..

late or early maybe...
bright yet cold..
morning call for prayers...
starting point is unknown...
new day... new hope..
what happens to the old..
glad you somehow made it...
my story is still to be told...

GLOW...

Mai © Doha, 2006

Good Luck Lil sis...

Its my little sister ( yes lil :-)) second week at Uni, almost 3rd now...
going to school at UCL will surely be an experience....Gosh it feels like yesterday when i was waiting in that long line to register for classes...or for what i felt at the time was my first chapter into the real world... and it was...
i cant forget the mounting feeling of hope, excitement, ambitions and dreams....
The nights when i couldnt sleep, visualizing my future while noting down short/long term plans..
The feeling that u are about to change the world...that what u are about to recieve is all u'll need to be equiped for life... the truth is...the reality of this is yours!

Hamdo, I've been meaning to post you a good luck note the first day you started, hope this will still find its place...

A few tips for you sis;

• First year is for mess up...lol easy now.. the truth is, its meant to be a combination of fun hard work and mabye if u really really really had to a bit of the unavoidable slacking.. so in other words, if need to get some things out of your system, the tme is now.....just be smart and dont forget its also the time where u create first impressions and get to prove who you really are...
• Student Unions, waste of time...dont get dragged, pick when to join and who to chill with...
• Potential good freinds, will spot u...thats if u didnt spot them first ;-) they say the best friends you make are those u meet at uni...enjoy :-)
• Get involved...besides your own gain, and this may sound geeky but the faculty will appreciate an active member..and a recognizable face will come in handy one day.. trust me ;-)
• Treasure the simplicity of being a student, nothing replaces a " one day.. we were completley broke..." story..
• Believe you me ;-), Your time in the library will pay off...even if u were a tiny bit distracted by some cuteness sitting across...even more of a reason to go ..jks seriously u'll only realize later on how much u've produced in these library sessions...
• Try and create your own study group where u can....side tracked debates, all nighters, sneaked in pizza, horrible coffee, 2 days unshowered, rammed printers, brainstorming on deadline extension excuses... they are fun!
• Dont take time for granted, allow for a bit of spontaneity (not madness ;-) every now and then ..... but remember the min that passes u by is counted and if it wasnt put to use ( according to your perception) then dont look back, stop the misuse now and make the most of whats left...while you are at it capture every moment you can in any way can...
• Every morning when u walk out of the door just remember to take with you your common sense, confidence, humor and yourself.
• Essentially, you are only gonna carry two things out of Uni with you; the memories and the transferable skills... so enjoy getting the experience and creating your moments at the right time with the right people...

-----------------Bare

Mai © Doha, 2006

Doha from a Different angle!

Places that Still Exist.....



Colourful Skyline

Dead Dusty Hour

Taking a Back Seat

Mai © Doha, 2006

The secret behind Mona Lisa's smile revealed...

Ramadan Kareem II

Finally moved into the new long awatied house....funny that im about to say this... but wala it was on a SHORT notice... well i guess coz its been postposed way too many times, that we didnt actually see it happening as soon as it did...but alhamdilla we did move , its our second day in the house..and im kinda loving my room esp ;-)...though i couldn't sleep the first night at all... havent got acquainted to the room yet i guess...my mom and I are slightly moving away from living out of boxes into living out of kinda descent closets... sounds like a couple of gypsies i know... a lot still needs to be done.. but we are enjoying it and my charm on convincing my mom with getting rid of certian classical pieces (too classical for my liking) is FINALLY working...mmmwahahaha (evil laugh)

Funny how we are all confused, or discombobulated shall i say, in this house at this point..including the helpers... we still dont know where everything belongs to or how our routines should be like or even where our everyday sitting area is...you just see a bunch of 4 crazy looking women running around the house aimlessly....bless!

As for ramadan rituals..not sure how they are to fit in with the move yet...but gosh i still have a few things to complain about... as i already started saying on my previous blog... ramdan comprises of sleep,food, prayers, sleep, food and sleep... two things i can add and that are getting to me by now ..its LACK of good nite sleep and traffic: when u think about it, of course there is gonna be mad traffic... everyone is rushing home afterwork at 1 pm...rejuvenation starts at 8pm and is limited to four/ five hours after that...

Today,I've taken a friend's advice, stayed a bit later at work, avoiding traffic & unnecessary naps...spending a couple of hours blogging, aint in the mood to pick me nose thw thanx...and lets see what happens next...

but for now, i say car, supermarket,TV, food, kerak tea, clearing boxes, Bed....

Ramadan Kareem

I didnt picture ramadan to be this challenging in Doha... at least not more than i thought it was in london...!! before i go on, i need to point out that there are a lot beautiful values and rituals that are still practiced here...
BUT, i cant get over the fact that ramadan is an exceptionally Sleepy month in this town....
People do get up and do their prayers, on time and in full... however there are other times in between that are completely dead! i can't take the long hours of the afternoon till iftar time, Everything is closed, u can barely see a cat in the streets and TV is just filled with sorrow and misery...what can u possibly do to kill time from 1 till 5 that doesnt involve food, public places or anything that doesnt require much thinking....even working hours are cut short to accomodate... not sure if thats a bonus for some of us or not...though my brain has been dead for the past two days... i still think people who dont have much commitments at home, should still be given the option to work overtime if they choose to...
Another hour that kills me, is the one between iftar and Isha....Again i cant stand getting depressed watching anything on TV, to top things up for me im running out of favorite/new TV shows reserves... and surely i dont want to nap...to wake up craving for sweets..
Having said all that, its the 3rd of ramadan, and yes i have snoozed a couple of times after iftar and yes i have watched a bit of TV and yes i have stuffed my face with syryp dripping sweets..hmm!
Though religous practices is set out well and just about right for now, there is still a desperate need for me to get proactive on other levels..
I cant get sucked into this cycle...No way...its time for me to wipe the dust off my camera (a common problem with every other object in our houses here) and cruise this town through its lifeless hours...

My subject is missing...

Now

















Mai © Doha, 2003

& Then....

Mai © London, 2003

Irwin fans may be behind stingray deaths

How weird & disturbing.... i just read this in the telegraph...what a twisted way of thinking some people have... Funny enough and on a different level, i dont see certain political groups far off from this retaliation approach..

The discovery of a dozen dead stingrays on Australian beaches has raised fears that angry fans of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin are taking revenge on the normally placid creatures for his death.
The rays were found with their tails cut off on beaches in Queensland, where Irwin died last week. He was speared in the heart by a stingray barb while filming on the Great Barrier Reef.
Irwin's supporters said he would have been appalled by any harm done to stingrays, which have accounted for only three or four deaths since Australian records began.
"We will not accept and not stand for anyone who's taken a form of retribution. That's the last thing Steve would want," said Michael Hornby, the executive director of Irwin's charity, Wildlife Warriors.
The desire for retaliation has not been confined to the natural world. An online game called Terri Irwin's Revenge depicts Irwin's widow firing darts at stingrays underwater. The aim of the game, which its creators claimed was a tribute to Irwin, is to kill as many stingrays as possible.
A private funeral for Irwin, 44, was held at his Australia Zoo wildlife park at the weekend, with a public memorial service due to be held in a sports stadium in Brisbane next week.

Misplaced...

.......

It just keeps me going...

Photographed By Robert Frank



A number of quotes that I find timeless:

" You never see the hard days in a photo album but they are what get you from one happy snapshot to the other."

"In this town, its not about what's right or wrong, its about what's common and what's not."

"The real loneliness is....living amongst these really kind people asking you to pretend."

" You gave me my first glimpse of a real life and asked me to carry on with a false one... no one can endure that..."

" A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it"

(Anonymous)

M. Gandhi once said:

" First they Ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they Fight you , then you Win.",
" Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do is in harmony."

Paulo Coelho' s inspirational thoughts never fail me:

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.",

"You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow for the unexpected to happen.",

"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.",

"In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own destinies."

"A fall from the third floor hurts as much as a fall from the hundredth. If I have to fall, may it be from a high place."


Last but not least,to close off... my all time favorite words were once infamously said by John Lennon:

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans."