Greatness Is Never a Given..!

on 20/1/09 the whole world watched the inauguration of Barack Obama the new president of the the United States of America,..& the 1st of african origins.

surely i was interested to watch the ceremony , neither coz i like Obama nor coz i have high expectations from him concerning his foreign policy like some ppl do.i do know that the american foreign policy is pragmatic & days will proveto ppl that they were wrong & so optimistic to think that america will deal with the middle east gently just becoz Bush had gone...!!

i was just interested to c sth different,..sth i've never seen in my country & the surrounding ones(& may i wont c it till i die...!).

i wanted to watch the transfer of authority (which i've never witnessed in my life) , the EX-presidentS shaking hands & congratulating the new one (not from the graveyard like here),..the speeches (which i've never had patience to listen to from our president through my whole life),..the oath(which is a fake here) ,.. the gathering of the nation (which doesnt happen for any political reason coz they may go to jail after all if they r more than 5..!) ,..the shared celebrations (which we dont have the opportunity to experience) , the inspiration & the power of dreams (which r lost words in our daily vocabulary ) ....etc.

mayb some1 will say i'm just exaggerating coz i'm impressed by this freakin country-USA- which is not perfect after all .it has many many defects & problems internally & externally,..there r concerns related to some issues such as the election process,the democracy,the discrimination,..etc.

i do agree on the 2nd part it's not perfect & ppl just get impressed by it more than they supposed to,...& i'm not one of those, though i dnt agree to the 1st part coz i'm not exaggerating ,..i'm mentioning facts that evbody knows,...we r waaaay far from them in the democracy to the extent that we cant imagine a day when we can c a peaceful transfer of authority,..or c an EX-president alive,..or a normal man reaching this position ...it's kind of madness if u just think this would happen one day....!!

so after all it was an interesting event to watch,...just as an audience,..coz anyway if this man is different he'll b different to his country & his ppl,...no1 here should expect a better era (mayb it can b worse,..who knows?)...& it's not enough to wait the miracles from outside,...& after all evbody should learn the lesson & remember somthose words which i quote from Obama's inaugural address :
"Greatness is never a given , it must be earned."...!!!!

The White Coated Organism (AKA Dr's) Journey..!

finally it's over ,..the long journey is over,..after 6 years(actually 7,never mind with numbers it's a complicated issue) my sister has finished her final year-the 6th-in medicine (actually not the final officially,but never mind it's a complicated issue) :D
as a matter of fact i was kind of involved in this journey so i'm celebrating her freedom(actually not a total freedom,coz...or never mind this is a complicated issue) by writing down some notes & thoughts concerning this journey..!!

one of the noticeable things that any medical student face is ppl's non-stop inquiries & comments concerning evthing,..& in most case they r so silly & repeated.
so let me mention some of those common comments & questions in a chronological order starting from the 1st year,..so here we go.

-in the 1st year:

*congratulations,but take care it's a loooong journey :s,..is it 6 or 7 years?...do u have a preparatory year?
{here u have to explain the system briefly ,being sure that no1 will get it..!!}

*OMG,u have a skeleton at home ,u study on real corpse ?!! poor girl,...how do u stand all this ...!!!!
{here u just smile & say it's ok trying to get out of this conversation}


-in the 2nd year:

*how's studying?...oh,u study anatomy...do u really deal with real corpses?(again),..i heared that some ppl get shocked & lose their consciousness in such situations,..don't u?!!!!
{here u try not to lose ur temper & say that u've heared this Q millions of times & u can stand the dead ppl coz they dont ask those silly Q's}

*do u have normal vacations like everybody?...i get lost in ur system...!!
{here u have to explain that the 1st four years are normal}


-in the 3rd year:

*sorry,which year is it?..the 2nd or the 3rd? how many years left?!..ur system is weird..!!
{here u explain-for the millionth time-that it's normal NORMAL in the 1st 4 years}

*which specialization would u like to choose?
{here u have to explain that it's early to ask this Q+it's a complicated issue}


-in the 4th year:

*so do u have a summer vacation?..i know some years are merged & u dnt have a summer vacation...!!!
{here u use all ur storage of patience to answer & say that the 1st 4 years are totally N-O-R-M-A-L...NORMAL!}

*oh,tell me,which specialization will u choose?
{again,u just explain that it's early to ask NOW..!}

-in the 5th year:

*is it ur final year?...i got lost in ur system & dunno anymore in which year u r ?

{here u force urself to explain quickly with a fake smile on ur face ..!!}

*(after few month)...r u still in the 5th year?...OMG,..it's a tough way u chose...ur friends in other faculties have just graduated...!!

{here u just find an inner voice saying,..SO WHAT?}

*oh,..u deal with real patients,...do u operate on them?

*haven't u got specialized yet...!!!?...do u have anyth in mind?...what about pediatric,it seems easy,...or ophthalmology ,we all wear glasses (with a silly laugh),..or or or (mentioning all the specializations they've ever heared about including dentistry..!!!!)

{here u have to confirm -for the millionth time-that the specialization is a big issue}

-in the 6th year:

*so how many years left?,..i guess it must b the final year..!!

{here -for the 1st time ever-u can say YES without any addetional explanation}

*so u r getting specialized this year?!!

{here -for the billionth time-u explain that the specialization issue is affected by many factors ,& not just a piece of cake..!}

-after the 6th year:

u think that the Q's are over but unfortunatly u find another flow of Q's

*so r u now an official graduate?

*what r the next steps?

*will u get specialized now?

*what ...how..why..who..which............etc.

& the process continues...!!

so this was shot from the journey of a medical student ,..& after all i just can say congratulations for surviving , may Allah be with u in the next phase & give u the patience to carry on & to answer the silly questions ,....after all it's ur destiny & u chose it ;)

ارحل و عارك فى يديك

Farouk Gowaida's latest poem which is gonna b published on Al Ahram -friday 9/1/09 issue

For Bush

ارحل و عارك فى يديك

Part(1)

part(2)

part(3)

The Soda Behavior..(Personal Traits)!

Being an observer of evth around , i can c some significant common personal traits in most of the egyptians (& mayb most of the arabs,& i say MOST coz i'm totally against generalization in anyth) ,..anyway i thought about writing them down.
i intended to start with one trait i call "The Soda Behavior",& i was encouraged by the current situation we all live!!

"The Soda Behavior" is simply the kind of behavior that appears when the person gets so shaken by incidents or even words that he gets internally stimulated & close to explosion, this happens for a certain period before reaching equilibrium state automatically again.
This is like the case of a soda can or bottle when it gets shaken,..the bubbles goes crazily inside the container till u leave it to settle down or just open it to release the pressure & let it explode...!!

that's how most of the arabs behave in most of the situations they face,..starting from their tiny daily life situations,..ending by the big BIG issues.
whatever the issue is u can c the person so frustrated or excited that u feel he's gonna make extraordinary actions & take courageous moves.u can feel it in his excitement & hear it in his voice.actually u may even feel as if all the enthusiasm in the world is like a super fuel for his soul.
but unfortunately by time u can c all this fading,..the shake effect is vanishing,..the bubbles r settling down,...the internal voice is getting silenced,..evth is going back to the equilibrium state as if nth happened...!!

if u think for few moments u can remember many many situations in which u or any1 else u know were involved & followed this "Soda Behaviour"..!!

u can c it when a person faces corruption or injustice in his society or work , when he gets betrayed by another one , when he is misjudged or ill treated by a higher authority,when his human rights r not granted in his country, when he stands for a humanitarian cause, ...etc.

u can notice the curve of his behavior which reaches the peak when he shouts,curses,take heroic decisions..etc.then u can c the decline with a variable slope- depending on the issue-where he ,after all,ends by forgetting about the issue ,giving up,or getting adapted to it's severity & of course taking NO significant action.

surely this is not the case all the time with evbody,..that's y i mentioned the words "common" & "most" @ the beginning ,..but after all i guess it's so obvious & we frequently c it around & mayb that's one of the reasons for remaining as retarded societies & nations ,coz ppl insist on dealing with each & every issue with this "Soda Behavior"...!!

Gratitude Book..!

the Gratitude Book is sth i've passed by on TV & websites,..it's a way to practice gratitude on daily basis ,...it's a spiritual habit in the 1st place,...!

all u have to do is to:

-bring a small notebook

-spend few minutes each day to write 5 blessings (not necessarily 5,...u can write any no.,...but preferable a fixed no. to make it a habit )

-try to focus on what u write & feel the gratitude for each thing u write-write anyth & evth makes u feel grateful..,even if it seems tiny

-u may write the same blessing from different prespectives -u can make it i a fixed time in the day (once u wake up /or before u sleep)or any time

- if u forget it one day try to write'm down the next day aside with the new 5 i guess it's reasonable,..coz it's a kind of an interpretation for:

لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُم

ْوَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

practicing gratitude on daily basis makes u focus on evth around u to extract the daily 5 ne3am ,...u'll never underestimate a ne3ma,...u'll discover some ne3am u used to take for granted in ur life...!!

i just wanted to share it with u,..so if u find it a good idea,..go buy a small notebook & start ,...& it'd be a good idea to buy 2 & give it as a giftt to some1 to start with u.. :)

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originally written on 27/10/08

Online War..!

Wars in the past used to be just by traditional weapons,...Nowadays,wars take new dimenssions in the world especially after the enormous global technological revolution...!

internet is on the top of the modern weapons used in wars,...& as we r in the middle of a severe war in Gaza-actually the worst in the past few years-we can c the Israeli ppl using this weapon to DECEIVE the world by spreading their LIES everywhere on websites ,webblogs,facebook,youtube,flicker,twitter,...etc.

& since we,arabs,are stuck in our argument ; we r not aware enough of this effective weapon ,..& we dont use it as much as they do to promote our cause , tell the whole world about the Israeli CRIMES in Palestine in the past decades & show every1 who is the real VICTIM...!!


one of the examples they use now is a facebook application to count Qassam rockets hitting Israel & update the user's status automatically HERE ,...they r making a big deal out of small things to make the world believe that they r suffering not TORTURING innocent ppl in Gaza....!!
they also fill their blogs with topics-full of lies or half truth- tagged (Gaza & Israel) to be on the top of the results when any1 searches..!!!
they play their DIRTY game on all the levels & use all the available weapons,...& that's what the war about....!!!

on the other hand i could find some efforts from arab bloggers to blog for Gaza & support the cause online like :
Bent Masreya غزة.. شارك في المعركة اونلاين
Gaza Talk How to resist Online ?

i also can mention a widget by Aljazeera (The Death Toll) which counts the number of dead ppl on both sides & shows the huge difference

so if u r a blooger,programmer, or even just a facebook member ,..if u have sth to do about this,..check the suggested ideas in the previous links & mayb u can write a fair topic in english or any language to talk to the world or make a useful application to support the cause,...who knows mayb it makes a difference more than just talking to ourselves in the same traditional way all the time...& fortunately this is an available & legal weapon but just needs new & effective ideas to make use of it...!!

Magic Moments..!!

The following is a part of paulo coelho's novel "By the river piedra i sat down & wept",...actually i didnt like it that much although it was recommended for me by more than 1 person ,..but those were the 2 pages which got stuck to my mind...!!

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

Every day, God gives us the sun—and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist—that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists—a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.

Joy is sometimes a blessing, but it is often a conquest. Our magic moment helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments—but all of this is transitory; it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.

Pitiful is the person who is afraid of taking risks. Perhaps this person will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps she won't suffer the way people do when they have a dream to follow. But when that person looks back—and at some point everyone looks back—she will hear her heart saying, "What have you done with the miracles that God planted in your days? What have you done with the talents God bestowed on you? You buried yourself in a cave because you were fearful of losing those talents. So this is your heritage: the certainty that you wasted your life"

Pitiful are the people who must realize this. Because when they are finally able to believe in miracles, their life's magic moments will have already passed them by.