Amman
Jordan
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Amer, you crack me up....
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Never thought I'd have to go to the Middle East to see snow this year...
Sunday, December 24, 2006
On My First Day in Amman and Jordan Planet Quiz Night
I arrived in Amman early yesterday morning, though a couple of hours later than expected. It is wonderful to have a change from my routine and relax a lot more than I'm used to. I feel so much better to be back with Omar after such a long time. Long distance relationships are a pain to say the least.
Roba had invited me to the Jordan Planet blogger meet up. I was not sure exactly what to expect. I didn't really know anyone there. I originally discovered Jordan Planet, right after my bf moved back to Amman and I was going to visit. Since he hadn't lived there in many years, he wasn't up to date with what to do and where to go. I began browsing and found Jordan Planet and wrote an email asking for some info. I immediately received a wonderful and very informative reply from Lina (who I unfortunately did not meet yesterday). Slowly I began to discover other interesting and amusing blogs like Mira's, Khalidah's, Roba's, Hal's (Hal, where the hell were you last night?), Moey's, Qwaider's and many others.
This quiz night was a good time overall. The only complaint I have was the dudes at the table next to us made it hard to hear what was going on. Yeah, you know who you are... I have nothing against you guys otherwise and actually think you're cool, but playing the music on the cell phones and overdoing it with the yelling was a bit much. Smart-ass comments are amusing, but there's a point when it's just not funny anymore.
Our table came in second place, after being asked the tie-breaking question. Turns out we need to brush up on our knowledge of history. Or maybe it's because Roba was cheating (ok, you had to be there for this to make sense).
I'll end this with a few pics I took.
Some more pics from the evening available at Qwaider's and Hala's (plus a very thorough description of the evening -- in Arabic)
Amman
Jordan Planet
Roba had invited me to the Jordan Planet blogger meet up. I was not sure exactly what to expect. I didn't really know anyone there. I originally discovered Jordan Planet, right after my bf moved back to Amman and I was going to visit. Since he hadn't lived there in many years, he wasn't up to date with what to do and where to go. I began browsing and found Jordan Planet and wrote an email asking for some info. I immediately received a wonderful and very informative reply from Lina (who I unfortunately did not meet yesterday). Slowly I began to discover other interesting and amusing blogs like Mira's, Khalidah's, Roba's, Hal's (Hal, where the hell were you last night?), Moey's, Qwaider's and many others.
This quiz night was a good time overall. The only complaint I have was the dudes at the table next to us made it hard to hear what was going on. Yeah, you know who you are... I have nothing against you guys otherwise and actually think you're cool, but playing the music on the cell phones and overdoing it with the yelling was a bit much. Smart-ass comments are amusing, but there's a point when it's just not funny anymore.
Our table came in second place, after being asked the tie-breaking question. Turns out we need to brush up on our knowledge of history. Or maybe it's because Roba was cheating (ok, you had to be there for this to make sense).
I'll end this with a few pics I took.
Some more pics from the evening available at Qwaider's and Hala's (plus a very thorough description of the evening -- in Arabic)
Amman
Jordan Planet
Sunday, November 12, 2006
On the fears we face...
While enjoying my Sunday morning coffee and reading blogs and the like, I read a post on Bakkouz's blog about Parthenophobia, the fear virgins or young girls. I have to agree with him. This is a rather strange phobia for a person to have. In my life I have heard of or read about various types of phobias that human beings suffer from. After having done some browsing, and seeing lists of phobias that have been documented throughout the years, I know that many of them are more bizarre than I could have ever imagined.
In my opinion, the weirdest one has got to be:
Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Here are some others I found rather amusing:
Geniophobia - fear of chins
Peladophobia - fear of bald people (I suppose this makes sense if it's a group of skinheads chasing you with baseball bats)
Consecotaleophobia - fear of chopsticks
Nomatophobia - fear of names (So do these people spend their lives walking around calling others "Hey you!"?)
Bibliophobia - fear of books (I suspect that some of my students suffer from this one)
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia - fear of the number 666 (I'm not even sure how to pronounce that one)
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - fear of long words (And then they give it a threatening looking name like this?!!)
Barophobia - fear of gravity (Ok, and how are you supposed to deal with that? Go live in space?)
Phronemophobia - fear of thinking (Not quite sure how one would deal with this either...)
Linonophobia- fear of string
Ithyphallophobia - fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis
Xanthophobia - fear of the colour yellow or the word yellow
Lutraphobia - fear of Otters (huh?!!)
Here is a list of phobias that people suffer from. What phobias do you have?
phobias
In my opinion, the weirdest one has got to be:Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Here are some others I found rather amusing:
Geniophobia - fear of chins
Peladophobia - fear of bald people (I suppose this makes sense if it's a group of skinheads chasing you with baseball bats)
Consecotaleophobia - fear of chopsticks
Nomatophobia - fear of names (So do these people spend their lives walking around calling others "Hey you!"?)
Bibliophobia - fear of books (I suspect that some of my students suffer from this one)
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia - fear of the number 666 (I'm not even sure how to pronounce that one)
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - fear of long words (And then they give it a threatening looking name like this?!!)
Barophobia - fear of gravity (Ok, and how are you supposed to deal with that? Go live in space?)
Phronemophobia - fear of thinking (Not quite sure how one would deal with this either...)
Linonophobia- fear of string
Ithyphallophobia - fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis
Xanthophobia - fear of the colour yellow or the word yellow
Lutraphobia - fear of Otters (huh?!!)
Here is a list of phobias that people suffer from. What phobias do you have?
phobias
Friday, November 10, 2006
Exploding Phone Charger (enough to ruin my day)
I had never thought about this before. I had never even heard of it happening (though apparently it does).
Had you asked me about mobile phones before I moved to Slovenia 10 years ago, I would have just rolled my eyes at you. My friends and I would actually make fun of people we saw talking on their cells. I suppose the fact that phone calls from landlines and pay phones are much cheaper in Canada than they are in Europe had something to do with this. After coming to live here and witnessing the mobile boom in the 90s, I eventually gave in after receiving several complaints that it was impossible to get a hold of me. Since then, using a mobile phone and everything that comes along with it has become daily routine, every day stuff… not really something I think about twice. Well, until now…
I recently purchased a new charger for my mobile. What happened the first time I plugged it in? It exploded! Seriously! There was this loud pop sound and the thing blew up! I couldn’t believe it!
This was on Sunday and unfortunately, the shop where I had purchased the charger was closed. I immediately looked up the manufacturer’s website and wrote them a letter strongly suggesting that they do something about quality control. They still haven’t responded. After taking a more careful look at their packaging, I also noticed that their English and German instructions really don’t make any sense. For example: “Vor dem laden ist die Cebrauchsanweisung zu lessen” Huh? This means absolutley nothing! Millenium, you people suck!
On Monday, I went to the shop with the remnants of the blown up charger. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: I bought this charger here on Friday and when I plugged it in, it exploded.
Guy: That shouldn’t happen.
Me: No shit, Sherlock. Did you accidentally give me a model from the “Suicide Bombers’ Series” or something?
(Guy gives me a perplexed look…)
The guy didn’t give me any hassle to exchange it. I also made him plug the new one in the shop before I agreed to accept it.
Just as a warning to all of you… these things do happen. From now on, I’m always going to have things tested/plugged-in at the shop before I take them home and they blow up in my face!
exploding mobile charger
Had you asked me about mobile phones before I moved to Slovenia 10 years ago, I would have just rolled my eyes at you. My friends and I would actually make fun of people we saw talking on their cells. I suppose the fact that phone calls from landlines and pay phones are much cheaper in Canada than they are in Europe had something to do with this. After coming to live here and witnessing the mobile boom in the 90s, I eventually gave in after receiving several complaints that it was impossible to get a hold of me. Since then, using a mobile phone and everything that comes along with it has become daily routine, every day stuff… not really something I think about twice. Well, until now…
I recently purchased a new charger for my mobile. What happened the first time I plugged it in? It exploded! Seriously! There was this loud pop sound and the thing blew up! I couldn’t believe it!
This was on Sunday and unfortunately, the shop where I had purchased the charger was closed. I immediately looked up the manufacturer’s website and wrote them a letter strongly suggesting that they do something about quality control. They still haven’t responded. After taking a more careful look at their packaging, I also noticed that their English and German instructions really don’t make any sense. For example: “Vor dem laden ist die Cebrauchsanweisung zu lessen” Huh? This means absolutley nothing! Millenium, you people suck!
On Monday, I went to the shop with the remnants of the blown up charger. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: I bought this charger here on Friday and when I plugged it in, it exploded.
Guy: That shouldn’t happen.
Me: No shit, Sherlock. Did you accidentally give me a model from the “Suicide Bombers’ Series” or something?
(Guy gives me a perplexed look…)
The guy didn’t give me any hassle to exchange it. I also made him plug the new one in the shop before I agreed to accept it.
Just as a warning to all of you… these things do happen. From now on, I’m always going to have things tested/plugged-in at the shop before I take them home and they blow up in my face!
exploding mobile charger
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The Autumn View
Kids are off from school this week over here, which means that I also get a vacation by default. If only it were that! My boss at the agency I translate for is on the ball and figured out that I won’t be busy with teaching this week, so my e-mail keeps getting flooded with new documents to be either translated or proofread. Then there’s this freelance job I took on (big mistake) and I have kind of been ignoring it (perhaps hoping that when I wake up in the morning, the work will magically have gotten done). Some vacation!
It’s nice to take a break and enjoy the view…
It was such a beautiful autumn day that Mica had to check it out too!
autumn
cat
It’s nice to take a break and enjoy the view…
It was such a beautiful autumn day that Mica had to check it out too!
autumn
cat
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Five years ago today…
This post is not about politics. It’s not about conspiracy theories. It’s about what I was going through, 5 years ago on this day, at this time.
September 11th 2001 began as any other workday had for me. I woke up, went to the primary school I teach at, taught my classes… It was the beginning of the school year and early on that particular evening, there were going to be the first parent-teacher meetings. After my last class had ended, I had a couple of hours to kill before the meetings. Three coworkers and I decided to go get a coffee and snack at a nearby café to pass the time. It was 3:20pm when one of my colleague’s mobiles rang. It was her daughter, freaking out: “I don’t believe it! America is under attack!”. My first reaction was to look at my co-worker and say “Umm… your daughter has obviously been smoking some strong shit again… She’s probably watching some freaky movie…”
Well, I decided to give my mother a call; I assumed she’d know what was going on since Montreal isn’t that far away from NYC. My mother confirmed the story we had heard and I was suddenly overcome with horror! Julie! Oh my God! Julie! She only lives a few blocks away from the WTC! She works there!
Julie was my classmate and best friend all through high-school. We stuck by each other through everything and anything, shared many fun times, many tears.
After university, I moved to Europe. Julie moved to NYC to attend law school. She had been working as a corporate lawyer for less than a year; it had been her first job. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Julie’s parents still live in Montreal. I immediately told my mom to call her mom to see if everything was ok.
It was time for the meetings. I didn’t know whether my friend was alive or dead and I was shaking.
I was like a zombie during the entire meeting. I can’t remember a damn thing I said to those parents. I don’t even remember which road I took to get home. I remember going into my room, turning on the TV and staring at the images on the screen as tears streamed down my cheeks. Until came the call of relief…
My mother called me back. She had spoken to Julie’s mom. Julie had called her parents to let them know she was still alive. It turns out she had pressed the snooze button a couple of extra times and was running late. So rather than already being at work, she was just leaving her apartment when the first plane hit, and that was what saved her.
She would have to evacuate her apartment, she was covered in soot and was having trouble breathing, but she was still alive!
I am and always will be thankful that Julie was spared.
To all of those who have suffered because of what happened on that day, my thoughts are with you.
9/11
NYC
WTC
September 11th 2001 began as any other workday had for me. I woke up, went to the primary school I teach at, taught my classes… It was the beginning of the school year and early on that particular evening, there were going to be the first parent-teacher meetings. After my last class had ended, I had a couple of hours to kill before the meetings. Three coworkers and I decided to go get a coffee and snack at a nearby café to pass the time. It was 3:20pm when one of my colleague’s mobiles rang. It was her daughter, freaking out: “I don’t believe it! America is under attack!”. My first reaction was to look at my co-worker and say “Umm… your daughter has obviously been smoking some strong shit again… She’s probably watching some freaky movie…”
Well, I decided to give my mother a call; I assumed she’d know what was going on since Montreal isn’t that far away from NYC. My mother confirmed the story we had heard and I was suddenly overcome with horror! Julie! Oh my God! Julie! She only lives a few blocks away from the WTC! She works there!
Julie was my classmate and best friend all through high-school. We stuck by each other through everything and anything, shared many fun times, many tears.
After university, I moved to Europe. Julie moved to NYC to attend law school. She had been working as a corporate lawyer for less than a year; it had been her first job. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Julie’s parents still live in Montreal. I immediately told my mom to call her mom to see if everything was ok.
It was time for the meetings. I didn’t know whether my friend was alive or dead and I was shaking.
I was like a zombie during the entire meeting. I can’t remember a damn thing I said to those parents. I don’t even remember which road I took to get home. I remember going into my room, turning on the TV and staring at the images on the screen as tears streamed down my cheeks. Until came the call of relief…
My mother called me back. She had spoken to Julie’s mom. Julie had called her parents to let them know she was still alive. It turns out she had pressed the snooze button a couple of extra times and was running late. So rather than already being at work, she was just leaving her apartment when the first plane hit, and that was what saved her.
She would have to evacuate her apartment, she was covered in soot and was having trouble breathing, but she was still alive!
I am and always will be thankful that Julie was spared.
To all of those who have suffered because of what happened on that day, my thoughts are with you.
9/11
NYC
WTC
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Pictures from Plitvička jezera (Plitvice Lakes), Croatia
Friday, August 25, 2006
And a few more random scenes in Montréal
St-Joseph's Oratory
View of Montréal at night from 26th floor at La Cité
View from Mount-Royal
A bunny-rabbit I saw in a park in St-Henri
And this is the front wondow of a wonderful little Turkish restaurant called Avesta (on rue Ste-Catherine, just east of Atwater) . What you can see here is a woman making bread. Quite charming. Their spinach börek is quite tasty!
Montreal
Avesta
St-Joseph's Oratory
Bunny Rabbit
Sunday, August 20, 2006
More Scenes and Fun Memories from Summer in Montréal
Back in Ljubljana and I've taken the time to get back into sync with things. It was an enjoyable summer which passed by so fast (as they always do). I am already back to my translation work and I get back to work at the school on Wednesday.
The jet-lag took a while to wear off this time. The trip back was extremely annoying due to the supposed terrorism plot... The line-ups at security checks were insane and as careful as I was with packing, I still managed to completely forget about my lighter and get it confiscated. Obviously the same thing had happened to everyone else as well. Upon arriving at the Zürich airport, the first thing you saw was a huge crowd of people from various flights run to the nearest bar and begin asking each other for a light..And nobody had one! (annoying while it was going on, but now seems like something out of a Seinfeld episode). My flight had been delayed, but luckily so had my connecting one, so I had time for coffee. My friend Marie-Claire had taken the same flight to Zürich and had missed her connecting flight to Rome, so I had some company to go with that coffee.
What a summer! Wonderful moments spent with family and old friends after so many years, while turning on the news, I was constantly reminded that things were not so wonderful everywhere else.
Back to reality.
I'm glad to be back in Ljubljana, though there are so many things I miss about Montréal, but I'll write all about that in another post. Till then, here are some recorded moments from the summer that I haven't written about till now:
Olivia had a get-together at the Copacabana on St-Laurent before going on vacation, so I at least got to see her once while I was there.
Tara & Olivia
Olivia, David, Sam & Dan
Dan & Me
Koala
On 27th July, Carole had a get-together at Shaika Café to celebrate the one year anniversary of her editing, writing, design business : Silvertree Media
Carole & her mom
Carole & Me
Rok & Karl
Pietro & Marie-Claire
Pedro
Marie-Claire & Danny
The Cake: notice the single green leaf, representing one year. Baked by Carole's mom & it was simply delicious!
On Mondays and weekends I got to hang out with my four-year-old nephew André, who is just the sweetest boy you could ever imagine!
More pics of this fine visit to come soon... I have to clean the flat up and other boring stuff like that...Back to reality indeed...
Montreal
The jet-lag took a while to wear off this time. The trip back was extremely annoying due to the supposed terrorism plot... The line-ups at security checks were insane and as careful as I was with packing, I still managed to completely forget about my lighter and get it confiscated. Obviously the same thing had happened to everyone else as well. Upon arriving at the Zürich airport, the first thing you saw was a huge crowd of people from various flights run to the nearest bar and begin asking each other for a light..And nobody had one! (annoying while it was going on, but now seems like something out of a Seinfeld episode). My flight had been delayed, but luckily so had my connecting one, so I had time for coffee. My friend Marie-Claire had taken the same flight to Zürich and had missed her connecting flight to Rome, so I had some company to go with that coffee.
What a summer! Wonderful moments spent with family and old friends after so many years, while turning on the news, I was constantly reminded that things were not so wonderful everywhere else.
Back to reality.
I'm glad to be back in Ljubljana, though there are so many things I miss about Montréal, but I'll write all about that in another post. Till then, here are some recorded moments from the summer that I haven't written about till now:
Olivia had a get-together at the Copacabana on St-Laurent before going on vacation, so I at least got to see her once while I was there.
Tara & Olivia
Olivia, David, Sam & Dan
Dan & Me
Koala
On 27th July, Carole had a get-together at Shaika Café to celebrate the one year anniversary of her editing, writing, design business : Silvertree Media
Carole & her mom
Carole & Me
Rok & Karl
Pietro & Marie-Claire
Pedro
Marie-Claire & Danny
The Cake: notice the single green leaf, representing one year. Baked by Carole's mom & it was simply delicious!
On Mondays and weekends I got to hang out with my four-year-old nephew André, who is just the sweetest boy you could ever imagine!
More pics of this fine visit to come soon... I have to clean the flat up and other boring stuff like that...Back to reality indeed...
Montreal
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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