Little Things That Make a Difference!!!

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. My mind wasn't clear and I simply couldn't write about anything.  

My post today is about small things that make a huge difference - and when I say small things I mean things that might cost little, but are of high value to another person... 

Think about it this way...what does it take, for a hostess to upgrade a newly married couple to business class?...nothing i.e if there is availability... but to the couple who were upgraded it means comfort, loyalty, and even pleasure.

What does it take, for a waiter to give you a free dessert at a restaurant that you visit every other day?...a couple of dollars?...well, guess what... he might as well get them back by getting a generous tip.

What does it take, for you to wake up in the morning...kiss the hand of your mother and tell her that you love her...nada...but it would fill her heart with joy and pride...

In summary...think about the small things that might make a difference. It could be a small message that brings a big smile on the face. It could be a kind word that would change the mood of the recipient and make it a happy one. It could be cheering up for someone who needs a little bit of support. It could be a quick phone call to check on someone's health. It could be a good luck before a presentation.

It could be simply showing the other person that you care, or showing him respect...

It doesn't seem right...Shall I cancel my flight?

The ticket has been bought...
The seat has been reserved...
I will have a wonderful time...
That's what I thought...

It all makes sense to be there...

I have so many things to share...

I miss my caring mother...
Miss sleeping on her lap...
I wonder if she still loves me the most...
Or her favourite, is my brother...

My sister is going to give birth to a lovely daughter...
I can't wait to see her...
I miss the taste of the Lebanese food
Along with some fresh cold water...

At the same time...
My other sister happens to be there...
We'll have Knefeh, Foul
And manakeesh of Jebneh and Thyme...

It is the closing night at Skybar...
I didn't enjoy it last time...
I prefer cruising in the city...
Listening to my favourite song "You've got a fast car"

It all makes sense to be there...

I have so many things to share...

Yet again...it doesn't seem right...
Shall I cancel my flight???

Satisfied with Dissatisfaction???

I have been thinking of what to write today, and got inspired by Dick Fosbury...the athlete who broke the world record in the High Jump ...
Fosbury (rather than calling him Dick) broke the record and got the medal by thinking the opposite of everyone else who were used to jumping over the bar with their body parallel to it...how???...he did that by flipping over the bar, backwards...
It looks a very silly technique, but till date, athletes call this method, the Fosbury Flop.

Something as simple as that changed the whole game, so maybe it is time for some you out there to think the opposite...It is nice from time to time, it kills the routine in you, and makes you younger...can make you famous in some instances, so give it a try.

Thinking the opposite could also mean "Change". Some of us think that change requires boldness...it is a daring decision that you need to take...but some times it is really worth it...

For ladies out there, thinking the opposite could be as simple as changing their hair style, and cutting it short...Think of all the girls who keep their same hair, and wear the same style of clothes...Now think of those who think the opposite, and do things that no one expected...who do you prefer???
It could be as simple as changing your regular drink, and trying something new...or travelling to a new place that you haven't visited...or even eating a type of food that you never thought of eating...

Which brings me to my next thought which is:
As long as you don't try new things, you will always say to your self, I Wish I tried that, I Wish I had done that...
You will always tell yourself I wish I can afford the house of my dreams...but come to think about it...that's why it is called the house of your DREAMS...
So either find a way of getting it, or be satisfied with dissatisfaction...

Reading minds!

Have you ever thought of how the world would have been if everyone can read everyone else's mind?

Like imagine you are sitting with your wife, and a commercial with a sexy girl appears on TV...The girl that you always dreamt of, with her golden hair dangling on the side of her marvellous face...with her cheek bones perfectly carved...with her white teeth shining every time she smiles...ok enough imagination...

But  wooops you would be in big trouble if your wife sitting beside you can read what you are thinking...

And imagine you are being served a Domino's Pizza, and you get to see Kristy and Michael leave the back door of the kitchen.

For those who don't know who these guys are, check the link :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaNuE3DsJHM

Or imagine you are sitting with your boss, during the bonus period...or sitting next to a terrorist in a plane...

How would the world change if you can really read people's minds...?

You can tell when your wife is cheating on you...which makes her think twice about this :) You might end up with an open relationship...everybody wants that right? You can tell if your boss is messing around and decreasing your bonus just to save a bit on the company...although you deserve the full amount... 

But most importantly...You can finally know who farted in the elevator...

Think about it for a couple of minutes...crazy thoughts coming to your mind eh?

(FYI...I don't really fancy blondies, but...it sounded cool in the commercial)

Getting to know my Father...

It was one of these days when I was sitting at home with my mom watching TV, when I decided to turn off the TV, look at mom and ask her this question: "Tell me more about him...Why don't I know anything about him?"
Worried, surprised, staggered, shaken, mom took a deep breath, closed her eyes as if she was trying to gather some thoughts and imaginations. She sat still, and started speaking in a low voice...

He was adventurous she said...spontaneous...a risk taker who is passionate about his work and always seeks for new opportunities...
He was generous...haven't met someone more generous than he is she whispers. He was caring...she said...she said that with a squeaky voice, while I look at her shiny, sparkling eyes, curious to know more about who he really was...

He was a good husband...she finishes...a loving father...who happened to be in the wrong place, in the wrong time in that awful summer...

Imagination...

Watching this girl on TV...You can only tell that she is one hell of a character...makes you want to know who she really is...
So basically she is the girl who everyone likes in the family...she is her aunt's best friend, her father's spoiled girl...yes spoiled girl...everything she asks for she gets...with very little effort.

It doesn't stop there...she is the smartest amongst her friends, still didn't finish her degree, and is on the list of top students in her class...
Her friends look up to her, sociable, elegant and is always the center of attention...
Enjoys her time...her smile doesn't leave her face...and loves to explore new places and activities...

Cooks the best food, washes the dishes, prepares the best desserts...are there more girls like that?

So many more qualities, that you won't understand...which makes me stop and wonder why I am talking about this girl...makes you wonder if this character really exists...

So I stopped wondering, and started talking to myself:: "you know you can't fall for a person who is acting with one of your favorite actors, Nicholas Cage in a movie...she is just an imaginary character...so how about you turn off the TV, and go take a shower because you stink"

So...decided to turn off the TV and take a shower...sigh...

I just can't stop the feeling!!!

"I just can't stop the feeling, don't seem to go away" (from the song Tinie Tempah featuring Labrinth - Frisky)

Just when you think that you will have a great day, you wake up and from a small incident, your mood just goes down...Since then everything doesn't work for you...negative vibes here, there, and everywhere...
Eldest brother @firasghazal in the hospital with an injured foot, taxi driver takes a wrong turn, fedex shipment gets delayed, and laptop crashes...

Positive vibes on the way...
"Oh la la la la, la la la la" (from the song Tinie Tempah featuring Labrinth - Frisky)

How to tell a story...

Have you ever been in a situation where you want to tell a story to your friends...a story that is very interesting according to you...but turn out boring according to the audience? Well I have...Poor me eh?

Let me tell you the reason behind this (it was brought to my attention by someone really close)...It is fairly simple and straight forward...I call it, the ICE approach...
If you do not apply the ICE approach, then you might end up with a boring story.

The ICE approach goes like this: Introduction, Climax, Ending...

Introduction, or your first few words to your story...Make sure to choose the right words here...you either grab their attention, or you lose the interest of the audience...No matter how funny, interesting, appealing the story is according to you, if the Introduction is poor, then don't bother telling it...

After the Intro, comes the Climax...Here, you would have already built the excitement...grabbed the attention, and made sure that everyone is listening to you...If by any chance someone is not listening, make sure to make eye contact with him/her...try to change the tone a bit to make it more exciting.

And then comes the End...This part is as important as the Climax and the Introduction...Make sure to have a proper ending...you might end your story with a summary, or a question...but make sure you show the audience that the story has ended. You do not want to be in a situation where someone from the audience asks you: Are you done?

So for next time, before you tell a story, or before you have a joke to tell...especially in front of an audience you care about, make sure you have a fine intro, an exciting climax, and a proper ending. Last thing you want is a bored audience, a boring story, and a boring outcome...

Make sure you do not end your story like I did above...

Blackberry Messenger Broadcast Messages aka BMBM

Ok that's it...I am fed up with all these broadcast messages on the blackberry messenger...

NO...RIM will not donate $1 for every time you broadcast this message, you will not have a happy day if you broadcast this message, you will not marry a gorgeous, striking, breathtaking princess if you broadcast this message, and RIM will not block you if you do not broadcast this message...

It doesn't end here...Jokes...Jokes are no longer funny on the BBM especially when you receive the same joke 15 different times, from 15 common friends. It is no longer humorous...more like PAINFUL...

Yesterday I received a broadcast message from a very close friend of mine, about a girl who got kidnapped. Please treat her as a sister or a daughter and broadcast this message...Good I was with my brother @hippo_crit who joked about this: Yes, I am going to broadcast this message to all my friends out there...maybe one of my friends kidnapped her by mistake...lemme check.

Don't mean to offend anyone here, but...had to write about it.

My sisters and religion...

Religion...what an interesting topic to write about... What is more interesting is the relation between my sisters and religion.

So I thought about this topic on the plane, back to Dubai from London...after I heard someone saying Ya 3adra sitting next to a lady wearing a Muslim veil.

Here it goes..

Ghada, my eldest sister, a perfect mother of two, Leanne and Jad, married to Fares, a very interesting brother in law who loves cars, cigars, and few drinks in the mountains of Lebanon... Fares happens to be a Druze, same as us...

Nada, comes in second...the most creative in the family...a jewelry designer who has followed her dream to have her own brand...and has achieved that... mother of Anthony, and in a few weeks mother of ummm, ok they still didn't find a name...but she is a baby girl... Nada is married to Elias who runs his own business, and who kicks ass in Backgammon...Guess what, Elias happens to be a Christian...

Nisrine, last but not least...a crazy sister who loves life and food (don't worry she has a great body)... mother of two...Lia and Khalil-Ryan aka Leelo...Nisrine is married to Ali, a Shakespearean, poetic, romantic, silent kind of guy who happens to be a Muslim...

So how does all this work, a family with mixed religions, a muslim, a druze and a christian brother in law...who happen to have very strong bonds-bonds that brothers don't have...bonds that every family would like to have...

It all came to one explanation... an explanation that might sound stupid to some, but might make sense to others...

Each one of these brothers in law, practice religion in his own way...but they have one thing in common...they don't bring religion to their marriage...Ali doesn't say Ya Mohammad...Elias doesn't say Ya 3adra...and Fares doesn't say Ya Seede Salmein...

Intro

Well, it all started while I was in the tube in London...watching everyone reading, writing, playing sudoku, listening to music... Everyone seemed as if they have a lot of time on their hand, which made me think why not have my own time and start writing...

To start with, I am not Shakespeare, so you will not read anything like, Wherefore art though Romeo...or anything sophisticated...just simple plain English...and sometimes-well probably a lot of times-you will find grammar mistakes...Don't you just hate the difference between at, in, on, of...

Anyway, to cut a long story short, this is the intro to my blog...I am not and will not be an active daily blogger, but will write whenever I have time, and whatever I think of...is it off or of?