People in my life ( 1 )

Mr. Wael, Science teacher.

Although this guy wasn't a popular teacher among us students. He is one of the very few teachers who left a mark in my life.
He was a thirty something man back then, heavy smoker, had a thin mustache on his face, always had a green jacket on during the winter days or a white shirt during summer. Not a single day did he walk around school without his beloved friend, a black rectangular hollow stick.

It was this stick that completed the picture he drew for himself as a horror man. But, I tend to believe that deep inside he was a nice guy. I was in no place to discover such aspect.

It was this day that made a BIG difference in my life, I'm not the same person since.It was during my first year at the preparatory school, I was 12 back then.

We were having a quiz in the class. I had my turn, I got all my questions answered and done with it ( it was a one by one oral quiz ). Mr. Wael had strictly instructed everyone in the class to stay attentive and listen to questions carefully. I thought I was too good to listen ( I was the smart kid in class, THE geek ), so I grabbed my autograph book ( used to have one back then, not anymore ) & started reading what's written in it. I was keeping it at a lower level than my desk, as if he won't notice that I'm not listening.

Then, I heard my name being called by Mr. Wael: " Belya, What's that in your hand ? why aren't you listening ". I had no answer, so I just handed my book and headed towards the wall where he pointed. I stood there till the end of the class, facing the wall.

I wished it was over then. It wasn't till the class was over, that he called me out of the class room with him. I received the harshest scolding of my life. He told me, among some other stuff :
" Don't think that being smart relieves you from behaving properly. You might be my favorite student, but this doesn't mean you'll get any special treatment. When you go wrong you'll get what you deserve. "

Ever since, I decided that I won't accept such a scolding that was well deserved then. I always watched my steps, respected my self to be respected by others. I guess I followed through good enough so far.


Thanks alot Mr. Wael.

Memories ( 1 )

This specific memory , just keeps running in my head these days for no particular reason.

This was 9 years ago back in high school. I had a friend, who was considered an outcast at our school, he just didn't blend. He had to be my friend as we were classmates in the same preparatory school.

Well, this guy ( H ) was aggressive and not your typical friendly person, I used to see it as a way to protect himself from the hostile environment surrounding him. I was never faced with this side of him, I always knew how to tame the lion within.

It was this day when one of the know it all students ( T ) called ( H ) a name he truly despises ( to give you a bit of a background, T & H can't withstand each other for a minute ). ( T ) was trying to be funny, I call it stupid.
Then, a high school guys fight started. A totally uneven war, this book worm versus this hulk ( physically yes he was, compared to T ).

It was all a regular seen in any school that has teenagers, until the turning point happened. T's glasses were shattered because of one of H's punches. It only took a small piece of glass to convert T's white shirt into a bloody red one ( if your are in the medical field, you know that the face is rich in blood vessels. Which creates the seen of massive bleeding from minor injuries. To non-medicals it seems fatal ).

So there was the situation. ( H ) suspended, expected and nothing wrong with that. The whole school talking about and having class forums about the incident, at least our class did.

What was strange about the situation, at least to me. Every single student in the school blamed ( H ) for being hostile, aggressive .... etc. the same people who wouldn't point a finger or talk a word out if it was one of the " cool guys " accused of starting a fight in school.

I saw it as every one talked around because of the injury not because of the fight, I think it would have gone unnoticed if no injury was induced. But, it was stupidity as well as misfortune that led to the injury.

So during the class forum, every student put his 2 cents on the issue. Everyone blaming H and not a single one mentioning T's name. When it came down to me, I was already upset because of the incomplete picture people are looking at.

I started my talk, stating that it was T's fault to start with. It takes only a stupid person to go up to a macho man who doesn't like you and call him a name you know for sure he hates hearing. Everyone took me as if I'm defending H, but I was not. I was just setting things straight. Everyone should carry his load of blame and accusation.

I wasn't siding with H , but I was shocked by the double standard. Not a single word would have been talked in this class room that day, had the fight ended with no casualties. It would have taken the regular course, suspension of both students for some time & life goes on.

I was stamped for the remainder of the year, with the name tag H's buddy on my forehead. Which wasn't true...

Now, I don't know how has life treated ( H ) since & ( T ) is gliding down his path. Good luck to bot.



From here I want to say:
( H ) you were stupid on an overall setting, not in this incident only. You made people hate you & I couldn't help you out of that.

( T ) you were not as innocent as people made you believe you are. I don't think you deserve the ideal student award you were rewarded because of this specific incident.

Can't find the right formula.

I'm a person who is concerned about order at my work place, else it's chaos. My work place is a hospital, so I can't accept chaos. People are here to be treated not visit the circus.

I reach that by being strict and tough when mistakes happen.

This left me in a position where my superiors like me & whoever is under my authority doesn't.

The problem is, our field of concern is people's health, so by no means can I go soft on mistakes.

Yet it's not nice to have people shaking when they see you.

I'm looking deep within myself, maybe I can find the right formula one day.

If I didn't ever, I'd rather stick to this formula which always keeps my patient comes first.

Belya's beliefs :)

I tend to believe that :

1) What goes around comes around.
2) Not every smiling face is a happy one.
3) Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
4) Don't judge people if you don't want to be judged.
5) Curiosity killed the cat :)



I just completed an old post . 3ashan 7'atrek ya Gjoe. :D

Your health.

Please please please, Don't hide any information as regards you health from your treating dentist.

A couple of days ago at the hospital, we had a patient who suffered from major complications during receiving his dental treatment. All of this was because he withheld a piece of information about his health, he thought irrelevant.

So, please be frank about your health.

The Favourites Post.

Favorite color: Aqua

Favorite perfume (guys): Tommy ( when going out with friends ), Burberry & the ultimate classic Drakar Noir

Favorite perfume (girls): -------- ( no idea )

Favorite clothes brand in general: Next

Favorite person in the entire world: My mom & my younger brother

Favorite country: I love Egypt but Turkey comes second

Favorite car: BMW ( one day will be in my garage )

Favorite sport: Soccer ( cliche isn't it ). Although I loved Archery when I used to play it.

Favorite sport player: Michael Schumakher. ( a true legend )

Favorite spot in the World: I always dream of the Maldives.

Favorite animal: Horses and eagles.

Favorite movie: That's a long list.

Favorite singer: Fairouz & Asala.

Favorite day in the week: Mondays ( no idea why is that )

Favorite time of the day: The afternoon.

Favorite holiday season: Eids

Favorite number: 5 & 6

Favorite food: My mom's come first. If it wasn't for her I would have been living in Italy long time ago.

Favorite chocolate: Milk chocolate. If you ask me about brands, Aero.

Favorite cartoon: The jungle book.

Favorite blogger: not answering.

Favorite Flavor Ice Cream: Chocolate , chocolate & more chocolate.

Favorite Mobile Brand: I'm used to Nokia.

Favorite name: This is another long list. ( Youssef, Tareq, Osama, Yara, Rana ..... )

Favorite room in my house: My room.

Favorite fruit: Mango

Favorite flower: mosh 3aref.

Favorite Quran Reciter: Mishary Rashed, Al-3agamy & Tawfiq Al-saye3'.

Favorite Website: Masrawy & wikipedia

You've got mail

Today was my first time to watch the brilliant movie " You've Got Mail " as a whole. Every time it's on TV I usually catch the last half.

Anyways, I enjoyed the movie alottttt.

Yet, I was left with some questions afterwards ? ( ridiculous ones basically )

1) Does all men enjoy torturing ( a big word, mosh keda ) the lady that loves them? Referring to Tom Hanks having the advantage of knowing the girl mailing him and choosing how to make use of it and how to meet .........etc. It ended marvelously in the movie.
I don't think all men do, but I can say that a lot of us men enjoy this game (in an innocent way I mean).

2) Is it easy to make a person fall for you, if you want to? Referring to the same situation above.
I believe it's not easy, but it's doable.

3) Are we the same person both in real life as well as the cyber space?
Not necessarily, I know lots of people who are charming in reality and awful when it come to e-connections. I also know others who are the total opposite.


What was this all about ?!!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely have no idea, I just don't feel like sleeping.

Anti-valantine's

I don't believe in celebrating Valentine's day.

This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm single.

I ,as Muslim ,refuse to participate in such thing. If anyone refers to the origins of this day you can see why I stand this position.

It really makes me wonder, why do you have to show your love at a certain day ???

You can make use of every single day to show love & care. People who are truly in love know that love doesn't need to be proven by material gifts. A simple gesture, a word, a rose .......etc can express your feelings. A material gift every now and then won't do any harm either.

Don't keep your love for one day, live love in every moment of your life.

Launching

Here we go...

We've started off our blog for the BUY EGYPT campaign.

It's not yet finalized but we are working on improvements.

For any comments please mail us at: buyegypt@gmail.com

Belya says

Most of us spend most of our lives learning, but I wonder if we ever learn to live .

A neutral mood

Today, I went through 2 of my extreme moods ( joy and happiness & anger and frustration )

Things that made me happy: Listening to Fairouz all the way to Zamalek and back ( as I was on my way to Sa2ya to enjoy Wust el-Balad) , the concert was just great.

Things that made me angry: It took me 1 hour to reach zamalek , another hour to park & an hour to go home :(, I couldn't meet up with my friends & I injured my knee.

So, I just can't be a liar and pretend that I'm full of joy nor be a gloomy one and cry over my day. It was just neutral.

Driving obliquely

Funny as it sounds, yet this remark was noticed by my Dad.
Most drivers in Cairo can't drive in a straight line. I've just noticed it today. I had 2 long journeys through Cairo, during the journeys I followed how people drove their cars.
It's almost impossible to find a sane person driving in a straight line, lazem yemsho bel-warb.

Why Belya ?

It's almost 3 years of blogging and I have just realized that I never explained why I chose the name Belya.
For those of you who are Egyptians, lived in Egypt for a while or even watch Egyptian movies; they know who Belya is. Belya is usually the small child helping the old mechanic, he's always covered with oil and sha7m . He is helping the mechanic and at the same time learning , one day he will be the master of the trade.

That's it, I just want to feel like Belya all the time. Learning and learning till one day I can be the master, but then I'll keep my inner Belya alive .

Still the same person, failed to change. I won't try harder.

I've been working on improving or getting rid of some of my personal flaws, but I seem to fail. I'll just live with them :)

1) Ana mas7oob mn lesany ( couldn't find a suitable description ):

Today, I paid my department a visit after I was done with my exam ( I'm on a vacation because of exams ). One of my supervisors asked me innocently " why are you on vacation ? work needs you here " he was soo friendly and he was joking. My reply was " I'm following your foot prints ". This is the worst answer ever, as he was on a loooong examination vacation besides he isn't regularly available at the department.

2) I'm still the same geek back from school ( to some extent ).

If all that's required is 60 % , I'm only satisfied with a minimum of 80 %. Although I would be happy to get the 60% but I'll never stop blaming myself for not getting my 80% at least.

3) Whatever I feel or want to say is all-over my face. ( I hate/love that )


4) I will tell you my opinion if ask for it. Don't ask if you really don't want to know, I have the guts to tell you that you suck.

5) I give the wrong first impression. You can see me as the most introverted person on Earth or the total opposite. The truth is , I'm equally balanced , it's just about which time of the day we met :)

New year's attitude.

لن أسمح لك أن تهزمني أيها الإحباط

Belya says.

I shall call master, whoever proves he really knows what is it that women want ? :D

My 2008

My 2008 wasn't that full of action, yet some major changes took place ( not necessarily in my life ).
Some of the changes are mentioned here, but I'll mention them again as they took place this year.

As regards my life:

- Finished my year of military service. ( with lots of experiences learned & lots of personal changes )
- Started my M.Sc.
- Fixed a broken friendship ( yes Juka, that's you ).
- Decided to cut a friend loose.
- Gained much weight & lost it. Now I'm in the gaining phase once again.
- I was stuck or pushed into one pre-fixed marriages trial by a mistake, and it didn't work out. ( wrong scenario, wrong timing & the wrong messenger ). Never doing that again, in the near future :D
- I cried, once. ( that's a thing to mention, as I'm not that person. Not that it's wrong to cry, but it's just not me. )
- Built stronger relationships with old friends.
- Traveled out Egypt for the first time in 4 years.
- Seen Cairo like never did before.
- Discovered that I'm considered a credible and trustworthy person by my family and friends ( hdl )


As for my family and friends:

- B had a beautiful baby boy.
- I had a beautiful baby boy.
- My sister in law received her M.Sc. degree.
- S & N headed for the U.S.A. ( can't remember when their marriage was )
- Bd headed for the U.S.A.
- D & K got married and headed for the U.S.A.
- Kh got engaged.
- Mo had beatiful baby girl.
- K recieved his M.Sc. Degree.
- L is pregnant and due soon.


That's 08 for me

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but.................. (2)

Bravo and a chapeau to whoever planned this Gaza thing. It has successfully changed the situation from an Arab-israeli conflict into a pan-Arab conflict or an Arab-Egyptian conflict.

Here are the facts:

1) The Egyptian counselate in Yemen was attacked, the furniture was destroyed, the Egyptian flag was burned & the Palestinian flag was raised. That taking place in Yemen, one of the Arab countries ( Arab countries are well known for their good political security, mabye3meloosh 7aga tanya )

2) The Egyptian embassy in Beirut was under attack with stones and so on.

3) Demonstrations in various Arab capitals trying to reach the Egyptian embassy.

4) In Egypt, the governmental newspapers ( I've read the Ahram ) started a frank vicious attack on the Syrian regime. 3 articles in the Wednesday issue alone.

5) Qatari authorities preventing Egyptians from entering Qatar ( other than those with residency visas ), then denying the decision a couple of hours later.


That's really great.