A new Beginning...

A new beginning…a sunrise is a new beginning, a birthday is a new beginning and even graduation is a new beginning…I simply love them!!
An engagement is a new beginning, and a couple of days ago it was my pre-engagement party which is called an "Erayet fat-ha". It is where we read the first sutra in the Quran as an agreement between both families to let them know each other better.

That night was the best night in my life, it was the beginning of a new era in my life with someone I respect and care about very much. That night meant that this is a start for our lifetime together. We were at my place in Zamalek, my uncles and aunts and of course my parents were there and my fiancée's family and relatives were there too.
We had so much fun, we took millions of pictures and all of them reflect the happiness that was in the air.

Marriage is a very strong bond that is formed not between couples but between the two families. I realized the importance of the engagement. It helps families bond, it helps them know each other better and helps them merge into one family at the end.

The two hearts that are combining in one need a solid ground to stand on before stepping their first steps in the road of life. This solid ground is derived from the loving, caring and supportive family they both have. My family is the most supportive and loving, I love them, appreciate them and appreciate the fact that they are open minded to a new experience and a new life with a person they hardly know.

I am determined that our families know each other more and that my fiancée, Ahmad, gets to be the 6th family member in my cozy loving family

Papy, Mummy, Youssef and Ismail my cosy loving family of 5....and Ahmad the no.6 ...

I love you and thank you for being in my life!!!

Scuba Diving

Scuba diving……This is a hobby I started ever since 2003. It was my first time to explore the treasures of the underwater life when I decided that this was not for me. Scuba diving was not an experience I want to try again. What’s wrong with cats, dogs, birds…etc? Why do I have to dive as deep as 30 meters in order to see fish, dolphins and sharks..? Well here is the answer…I discovered IT IS WORTH THE TRY!!

I pursued my hobby until it became a desire then finally now after 7 years it is a passion. A passion I cannot resist. It is a wondrous adventure that takes you far deeper than 20 or 30 meters. It takes you to where your thoughts can. The minute you enter the water you feel a connection between you and the sea. You feel your heart beats getting quicker, your mouth becomes watery as if you have just tasted the most delicious chocolate fudge.

Scuba diving needs patience and courage. It needs learning too. Learning is a very important step in SCUBA diving because if you do not learn you may jeopardize your own life. You must learn how to set your equipment, how to rapidly take them off, how to orderly enter and exit the water and how to communicate underwater. For me, underwater communication is the most important of them all. You can not speak underwater but you can definitely use sign language. But SCUBA sign language is different as it is universal and it does not change form one language to another.

We dive as a family; me, my brothers, my mum and my dad. I believe this promotes a lot to the fact that scuba diving is a passion to me as it is for the 5 of us. We enjoy it and we believe that his is considered the family holiday where we all gather to have fun in the same way.

During our stay in Marsa Alam which is located 900 km south of Cairo, we live a very organized and healthy holiday. We wake up everyday at 5am have our early morning dive at 6 and breakfast at 7 am. Then at 10 am we go for our morning dive then have lunch at 12 pm then have our 3rd and most probably last dive for the day at around 4 or 5 pm. Finally we have dinner at around 8 pm and go to bed at 9 pm. This is a daily routine for as long as our holiday extends.

To sum up all what has been said, SCUBA is an experience worth trying, it is where I believe I found myself and found my passion. Underwater life is breathtaking and worth the hassle!

Microwave

I was heating my breakfast sandwich in the microwave....toast and cheese...

Clapping and Cheering

This is the sound of the Student Union Carnival members clapping in their first general meeting which was held in order to introduce them to the work and what are they expected to do in the following couple of months.

Water in Cup

I was simply thirsty...

Water in Cup

I was simply thirsty...

Telephone Ringing

This is th esound of the telephone ringing in my grandma's house.
A grandparents' telephone indeed !!!

Nat sound #1:Car Horn

This is the sound of the car horn of my friends car when he was beeping to a guy parking behind him blocking his way out in the AUC parking!!!

This is the sound of the car horn of my friend's car beeping it to a motorcycle that for god knows why parked infont of the AUC Gate 4.
http://www.archive.org/details/CarHorn

Friendship...

It is sometimes complicated and other times it is the sweetest, smoothest and best thing in the world. Friendship. It is sometimes the smile you need to see, the cry you need to listen to and the shoulder you need to lean upon. It is always where you find your comfort, your happiness, your success and peace of mind. My friends have always been my support and where I belong to.

Only a couple of months ago I started realizing that friends are sometimes a burden. But then it is not friendship it is more of a duty one has to fulfill, an obligation on top of your shoulder that stops you from moving and stays there till you finish it.
I realized that it is not worth it!It is not friendship if you are expected to walk around carrying a burden on top of your shoulders, nothing is worth having to wake up in the morning to feel like you are mistreated or mistreating somebody you once thought is the dearest to your heart.
My friends are those who give and do not wait for anything in return who are with me in the thick and thin and especially in the thick!!

My friends are those who stay by my side in my best, Lead me when I am at my worst and follow me in whatever crazy thing I decide to do.

Lately, I have not been a good friend, I have been a lousy one, I do not listen enough and do not hang out like before. But those who hung in there with me are those who really deserve the best friendship I hope I can give. My friends have gone through alot with me but they have to know that they are appreciated and the stronger our friendship is, the longer we will stay best friends and the more they will deserve all the best in their lives.

Aya Moatassem, Tina Guirguis and Rana Khazbak....
Thank you for always being there always and forever.

"Love Shack"

As for the feature story "Love Shack", it was on the world vision report and it was mainly about a Senegal herbalist who believed that he had the ability to form potions and herb combinations to help sustain long term relationships. The name of the feature story had a great role in attracting me to read it and it was such a catchy name.
This piece was very interest. The Nat sound that was accompanying the talk was perfectly fitting and helped in setting the mood fro the program. Having the guy Mohammed himself talking about his experience helped in adding credibility to the feature.
The anchor started off the story with a lead-in and then the reporter was the one who held the interview with the Senegal herbalist. The quality of the sound of the anchor and reporter was very clear and void of any interruptions. However, as soon as the interview started with Mohammed the sound became less clear and his articulation of the English language was not clear either but it added more sense to the story and made it more authentic and credible.


http://www.worldvisionreport.org/Stories/Week-of-February-13-2010/Love-Shack

NPR: "Director Jason Reitman finds his feet "Up In the Air"

After listening to both World Vision Report and NPR I was able to distinguish clear differences in the ways they present their feature stories and how they broadcast them.
To begin with NPR; I listened to the feature story called "Director Jason Reitman finds his feet "Up In the Air" ". It had perfect sound quality; it was constructed by the Anchor who started the lead in and then the interviewer and interviewee and they spent time talking about the new movie and how he reached this idea and how it benefits the community. It was a little bit boring and that was because it was lengthy. The Interviewer's voice was very clear yet I held some concerns against him. He interrupted the interviewee a couple of times and it was quite unprofessional. Also his tone was not very friendly or professional it was more of haughty and arrogant.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120951819

Family Transport!!

Family Transport.....I guess any AUCian is familiar with this name that brings to thought many questions and for me personally many frustrations and outrage. I live in Zamalek and it is "Out of the question" quoting my father to go the new cairo deserted campus by car so unfortunately I must take the bus. It has a fixed route and a fixed schedule yet they are not!!
A couple of days ago I was on my way home and before I get down at the official stop the university had set from the beginning of this lousy service,the driver refused to take me to my stop and he shouted at me with a rude and insolent manner and told me to leave the bus promptly. Contrary to the millions of times I had argued with these drivers, I was very calm with this driver in particular for a reason I do not know till now. I asked him politely to take me there as I am not asking for something extra , all I was asking for was my right. Yet he refused. I decided then to use a new strategy: Ignore him! I sat in a chair, put my earphones back on and continued listening to "Never Let go" and he kept shouting and yelling and asking me to leave and then angrily he closed the bus door and drove me to the official stop while murmuring some words to express his anger and then suddenly he stopped talking and then looked at me and asked me why am I doing that to him and why am I torturing him and I realized that discussion would have been endless and I thank god I did not attempt arguing with him!!

In This I believe....

I believe in myself. I believe in the ability I have to push myself each and everyday to accomplish my dreams. I believe that if I have a goal in life that takes a lot of my energy, time, thought and challenges me to accomplish it to the extent that it makes me look forward to waking up in the morning to do so, then I have all what it takes to be a legend, to leave a mark on somebody's life and to be remembered. I have a dream and this dream is to leave a mark in someone's life. Leaving a mark can be by various ways even as simple as a smile to a homeless beggar in the street. I believe if each person; privileged or not, educated or not, happy, sad, rich, poor, can always do a good deed to somebody else to be remembered with. I believe that giving less than taking, giving in its sense with no expectations of return is enough to feel satisfied. I believe that satisfaction is hard to reach among humans and satisfaction is not easily attained. However, I believe my own satisfaction is derived from other people's happiness, successes and accomplishments.
I believe in myself, this is a phrase I use a lot in the measure of one day and if I am consciously counting it, it might turn out to be the five hundredth time to say it only today. Ability is what I can do; Attitude however determines how well I can do it. This brings me back to the point where I believe in myself. Attitude determines for one how far can they go with what they dream to achieve. Are you ready to go the extra mile? Are you ready to sacrifice simple pleasures of life for what you believe in and dream to reach? My attitude in life drives me out of bed each and every morning to achieve what I believe in; don't you think this is an enough purpose in life? Just believe in yourself. And In this I believe…How about you?