Instagram Husband!
The three teens and the belfie obsession
The other day, I was sitting on the bench facing the lake and talking to a friend. I could not help but notice from afar on the docks three teenagers taking selfies in turns.
They spent around 30+ minutes taking photos of themselves making duck faces, yolo signs and all sort of vain poses and facial expressions.
At one point the selfie session became even more weird: the two teenagers asked their third friend to take a picture of them. They turned their back to the camera, protruded their behinds a bit, and then each girl touched the other girl’s ass while posing for the picture.
It is ridiculous how the teenage girls are very obsessed with their assets: face, hair, ass, tits, legs, you name it!
They forget that one day, they will grow old and their skin will sag. External beauty is like a flower, it will whither slowly but surely.
What values did they develop more than their vanity and narcissism during their formative years?
By the way, is there is anything more vain than the term: “Instagram model“?
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Hot Crazy Matrix – A Man’s Guide to Women
Funny and mostly true per my experience. Just for the laughs, here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwbKYcBdVyk
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Family: other things may change us, but we start and end with family.
A friend of mine has this picture framed in his living room:
This family quote above speaks volume and is the reason why I am inspired to write this article. Continue reading “Family: other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”
The 2016 World Predictions according to Michel Hayek
This is the first time I decide to translate the 2016 predictions of Michel Hayek, a Lebanese psychic, from Arabic to English and post it on my blog.
I don’t have a stance on predictions and I cannot say whether I believe or don’t believe in them. We, humans, have a lot to learn and discover about our full potential and what we can and cannot do. Bottom line: I am open to all the possibilities.
The reason I decided to translate this video is when I saw on the news that Mark Zuckerberg received threats from the ISIS supporters, which reminded me of one of Michel’s predictions for the year 2016 which was aired in December 31, 2015.
Two things to note before I present the translation:
- I am not a professional translator (at least not yet).
- I did not translate everything. I skipped many things including predictions of events that are very local to the Arab region and Lebanon.
Note
Check the 2017 predictions here
Watch the video with the help of an interpreter if you want to know about all of his predictions. Continue reading “The 2016 World Predictions according to Michel Hayek”
Avalon Bellevue Towers: 4 years of time well spent
In this blog post I will be sharing my experience of living in the Avalon Bellevue Towers Community right in downtown Bellevue, Washington for 4 years.
Avalon Bellevue Towers’ slogan is: Time well spent. Let me explain what they mean with that!
The staff and the service
During my 4 years living there, the community and its staff lived up to their word.
The concierge staff was always professional and friendly (hello Ken and Stephen). Apart from greeting them when I enter the building, they took care of the package reception and delivery and other mundane issues.
When it comes to maintenance requests, I can say it was top notch. Mr. Attila Madaras, the maintenance supervisor, was always there in person to fix all kinds of problems in the apartments: from replacing busted light bulbs to repairing a broken appliance. I would place a maintenance request online and within the same day (or max the next day) I would get the issue taken care of.
The leasing office staff was also very friendly (hello Cathy, Michael, Rebecca and Terri). I interacted with them often, not just once a year when I was renewing my lease.
As a positive “side-effect” of the staff’s friendliness, they became like a small family to me.
Note: I don’t want to sound all sensual in my experience, I have to say that I did encounter some misunderstandings with the staff during my stay, but when I communicated my concerns politely, I was met with nothing but good and prompt service. Continue reading “Avalon Bellevue Towers: 4 years of time well spent”
Honey, I want a 3 carat ring for our engagement…what a sham!
We live in a society where in order for a man to show his love to his to a woman, he has to spend money. He has to buy her gifts, diamonds, gold, jewelry and other shiny items.
The only ones who benefit are the advertisers and jewelry shop owners. The message they keep pounding into our feeble minds is: BUY, BUY, BUY!
Have you seen the slogan of Kay the jewelry shop? “Every kiss starts with a K”. They want you to prove your love by spending your hard earned money on metals or carbons, oops, excuse me I meant to say gold and diamond.
When will society mature and realize that this is all an advertising sham, meant to transform what is true, pure and immaterial (such as love) into a commercial endeavor and a shopping spree?
I met many guys who are confused and not sure “Where and which is the PERFECT engagement ring for his fiancé”. Dear Jesus, what bullshit is this?
Or perhaps if you live in the USA, you must have heard girlfriends chatting with each other about this absurd custom (that originated from a clever 1940 advertisement) that the man has to buy an engagement ring that costs THREE TIMES his salary.
Oh man….and don’t even get me started about the marriage industry and all the ridiculous and unnecessary expenses that “modern” society subtly (not to say strong words) enforce on the wed to be couples.
Enough food for though, see you next time.
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Fawaregh – Stuffed sheep sausages
The stuffed sheep sausages, also known as Fawaregh, is an exquisite dish and one of the most traditional in Lebanese cuisine. Actually it is one of my favorites, but unfortunately I don’t get to eat this dish as often anymore, not after my grandma passed away. No one else took her place to regurlaly cook this delicious but tedious to prepare dish. To be perfectly honest, my aunt took it upon her to prepare this dish for me once a year, as a special treat, when I come back to visit her in Lebanon.
In fact, all the pictures below, except for the first one, are taken at her house last year!
So in short, the Fawaregh is simply stuffed sheep intestines and the usual stuffing are: minced meat, rice, chickpeas and spices.
The Fawaregh dish reminds me of the Menudo soup from the Mexican Cuisine. Does it also remind you of another dish from your cuisine? Let me know in the comments below.
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Site seeing in Vancouver, BC
These are some pictures of my one day trip to Vancouver BC in December. The weather was not very great, but anyway I still got to enjoy the City.
Walking around the city
Metta Prayer and other quotes of wisdom – In the memory of Mr. S.N. Goenka
I learned about Mr. S. N. Goenka when I wanted to learn the Vipassana Meditation technique. His teaching method and the meditation technique was the best I learned in my life.
About S. N. Goenka
Some background about Mr. S. N. Goenka, from the Dhamma website:
Over a period of almost 45 years, Mr. Goenka and the teachers appointed by him taught hundreds of thousands of people in courses in India and other countries, East and West. Today, meditation centers established under his guidance are operating in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia.
The technique taught by S.N. Goenka goes back two and a half millennia to the Buddha. The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma – the way to liberation – which is universal. In the same tradition, Mr. Goenka’s approach is totally non-sectarian. For this reason, his teaching has had a profound appeal to people of all backgrounds, of every religion and no religion, and from every part of the world.
Mr Goenka, died on 29 September 2013 (aged 89) in Mumbai, India. Continue reading “Metta Prayer and other quotes of wisdom – In the memory of Mr. S.N. Goenka”
This too shall pass
This is a nice story about the impermanent nature of things in life. I first heard it during my first Vipassana Meditation retreat.
Here’s is the story by Nikhil Gangoli as found on the 1stholistic website:
Seeing the diamond ring the elder brother developed greed and desired the ring for himself. He explained to the younger brother – This packet is obviously a family heirloom and not part of the joint family property. Our father evidently desired the diamond ring to be passed on from generation to generation and stay within the family. Being the elder brother I will take the diamond ring. You had better take the silver one.
The younger brother smiled and agreed.
The younger brother was curious as to why the father had preserved the silver ring, which had very little value. He took out the ring and examined it. One the ring was written the words – “This too will pass”. The younger brother said – “Oh this was the motto of my father – This too will pass. He replaced the ring on his finger.
Time passed. Both brothers went through the ups and downs of life. The elder brother used to get highly delighted when spring came and he was prosperous. He lost his balance and developed greed and attachment. When the good phase went away and winter approached he became highly anxious. He needed to medication and sleeping pills to be able to sleep. When that did not help he completely lost his balance. He needed visits to the psychiatrist and electric shock treatments. This was the brother with the diamond ring.
The younger brother when spring came, enjoyed it but remembered his father’s motto – This too will change. He did not get attached to his circumstances but enjoyed them while they lasted. When spring passed he said to himself – It was inevitably going to pass and now it has done so. So what? Similarly when winter approached and circumstances became bad he did not become agitated but remembered – This too will pass. Thus he was able to preserve his sense of balance through all the ups and downs of life and lived his life happily.
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Adults: No Christmas gifts for you
Tonight is Christmas Eve and everyone is asking me if I finished my Christmas shopping and whether I bought gifts and what not.
I did buy a couple of gifts for kids (through a giving program) and I also donated some of my time to charity during this time of the year to help prepare breakfast for the homeless. So I gladly done my share of giving.
However, this is the first year where I do not buy any gifts for adults: my siblings, relatives and friends. When I tell this to others they feel shocked, as if I committed a grave sin!
So let me explain my philosophy, and I repeat it is pertains to adults and not kids. Kids do not have their own money and any toy or gift will bring joy to their hearts. Continue reading “Adults: No Christmas gifts for you”
No Avocado for you! Come back one year!
I was in Vancouver, BC during a short weekend visit to discover and explore the city. The sun usually sets around 4:30PM this time of year.
I arrived Saturday and I checked in into my hotel room at 4PM, grabbed my umbrella and started walking around.
I wanted to walk in downtown and see much of the streets, the people and various attractions.
I tell you, the city looked vibrant and full of young people. There were lots of Asians as well. For a second I forgot I was in Canada (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
So, basically for me, the biggest “attraction” or the highlight of my exploration on Saturday night was the sheer amount of homeless people asking for money and lying on the streets.
Sleeping tips – Basic Sleep Hygiene
This is a multi-part short article about sleeping tips to help you improve your sleep.
Basic sleep hygiene
Like you have food hygiene principles, there are also a set of sleep hygiene principles that can help you get a good night’s sleep:
- Slow down your mind: do relaxing activities before going to bed, do not keep on working and then abruptly try to go to sleep. Your mind will keep on “rolling” and will take the problems with it. Slow your mind down before going to sleep.
- Don’t feast at night: Unless you want to watch lots of action dreams or nightmares, do not eat heavy meals before going to sleep! You don’t want to make your body busy digesting. You want to have your body rejuvenate itself.
- Avoid bright lights: Don’t stare at bright screens too long before going to sleep (like your phone or tablet). Instead, read a physical book or if you have to, use a dimly lit e-ink based reader like Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite.
- Avoid caffeine at least a couple of hours before going to sleep: to some, drinking caffeine will not help them fall asleep fast or soundly at night.
- Your bedroom is for sleeping only: while you can do other “stuff” in your bedroom, keep unpleasant and distracting activities outside the bedroom essentially. No computers, eating, playing with your electronic devices all night long, etc…
- Organized sleeping time: your body loves order and routine (same like your mind loves patterns). Make a habit to sleep no longer than 10PM each night and learn how to wake up naturally without an alarm.
…and the list goes on, but you get the idea.
Now you may ask “What if I still cannot fall asleep?”
The answer to this is a topic for another blog post in this series. However, if there is something I learned during my quest for better sleep is the fact that if you are in bed, tossing around and around not able to sleep then don’t stress about it! Accept that fact and relax until you eventually lose consciousness and drift into sleep.
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The Allegory of Youth
The following art piece displayed at The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas.
It is called “The Allegory of Youth”, By Domenico Piola.
Allegory of Youth, circa 1680
By Domenico Piola — Genoa, 1627-1703
Oil on canvas
The Suida-Maning Colection, 467.1999
In its undulating rhythms, multi-colored modeling, and softly modulated light, this painting exemplifies Piola’s mature style.
This picture of a beautiful young woman and an aged winged man holding an hourglass and scythe suggests a common Baroque allegory, Time revealing Truth.
In fact, the explicit vanity of the woman, caught plaiting her hair, echoed by the mirror, and the futile gesture of the little boy as well as the frailty of the proffered flower, shift the meaning to the fleeting nature of physical beauty.
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