The Games of your Life!

Mai © Doha, 2006

Boy.. i haven't blogged for over a month now...so bare with me if my writing got a bit rusty! It's been so hectic lately, a lot has been happening, yet all i can remember are my trips going to and back from work....!!!
I've started volunteering for the Doha Asian Games since mid last month, well ok..maybe putting me down as temporary paid staff is not exactly noble but hey i might as well frame their pay cheque & have it hung on the wall as a souvenir instead!
Truly though, its been a fulfilling experience, and to be honest just being a part of it was enough to make it worthwhile ..
Though my 12 hour shifts were getting to me ( still in recovery), and having a 7 day working week was an insane loop, but i guess it was all made up for by at least;
making new friends (australian/ greeks),
meeting new people (australian/ greeks),
working with interesting backgrounds ( aussies/greeks), lol
networking ;-),
walk in service into any match in the venue,
bumping into athletes...literally arrrrh ;-)

im truly gonna miss;
The crazy Egyptian crackheads ( love u guys ;-p) that got us on the floor every morning..
Our useless morning work/coffee meetings...
Bugging out our competition manager about how we need to sit with everyone to define roles, avoid duplicated work, and flipping try and work as one civilized team just for the last week at least...
The uncivilized, unplanned social gatherings we had in the corridors...
The tasteless al-dana lunches, or its even worse replacements at beniggins....
The morning goodies we got everyday at check ins....
Abusing the facilities after hours..
INspesction times...
The Silly tetra jokes while chasing one another on the radio...

Leaving jokes aside though, the games were a positive proof...not to mention how they were wrapped up beautifully during the closing ceremony and topped up with our victory in football..... Overall, we did a good job, Qatar did a good job...Well done and hats off, our country has come a long way its hard not to feel so proud!

Thank you God

Thank you Allah...Thank you for giving me the Ability to:

Think, Create & Imagine.
Challenge, Reach & Deliver.
Doubt, Trust & Conquer.
Sense, Experience & Endure.
Rebel, Escape & Ignore.
Love, Hate & Adore.
Relate, Accept & Surrender.
Forget, Forgive & Remember.


Thank you God for giving me the ability to Thank you!

Ze Land of Ze Dodo!

Eid in Mauritius was one interesting experience; besides being out of touch with my loved ones over some strange chokes my phone was having :-(, the rest of it was definitely worthwhile . Just got back last night and hated the fact that i had to be up and running from 6 am this morning. I think amongst the other highlights of this trip was definitely the start note and end note of "shopping till dropping" during our Dubai half day stops. These pics, however, might help put the rest of it into some slight perspective ;

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Mai © Mauritius, 2006

1. Accompanied by the dramatic, swinging hand gestures, the accent, the edgy fringe, the high pitched (everyone on the bus wake the hell up) kinda voice and the widest grin: "Welcome to Ze laaAAnd of Ze DodooOo, IT IS ze land of ze dodo... Ze Dead Dodo"
2. With a french hint:"And ofcourse finally, don't forget that mauritius is an island...So,You might find some visito'3s in your '3oom, we call zem Ghekos, or as you people would like to call zem Liza'3ds, Just dial numbe'3 4 and someone will come to take zem away!!!...Past the first night: "you mean someone with a long stick will crack the ceiling, add to the problem and literally take their lives away?!"
3. "What gear number are we on....WHAT gear number are we ON?..OH CRAP" ( a map flying all about, restricted windshield view, the wrong hand on the gear shift , a slipper caught up between the clutch and the break pedal, an abrupt mosquito bite itch,hands waving at eachother...a perfect view for the perverted, over-loaded, slow bus on the lefthand side!!!)
4. Trying to cool off in the ocean: "How did you find this beautiful coral? i was stepping on it."
5. Bullshit or full of Blue shit? we'll never know..
6. Well, Ha-excuse me, Im trying to create me own drink here and have it named after me....so do you mind?

Mai © Mauritius, 2006

Well done :-)

My Life has been so empty without you..:-(
Congradulations on starting your Masters though,You dont know how proud i am of you, keep up the hard work babe :-)

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