Azure and the Glass Castle

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a beautiful land ruled over by a kind king. The king loved many things, he loved his people, he loved his land, but what he loved most of all was the beautiful skies above his land. The glorious day sky was like the purest sapphire. The sun was never too hot, and the clouds floated gracefully without a care. The evening sky was however, a most spectacular sight. Millions of stars shone in the night sky, their brilliance making even the brightest gems at the local jewelers look shamefully dull in comparison. The moon was truly the king of the night. The white orb of brilliance caused many of the local poets and minstrels to sing praise to the wondrous majesty of its grace and beauty.

The king so loved the beauty of the sky, he built a castle. This, however, was no ordinary castle, as this castle was made of glass. Glass walls, glass ceilings and even glass furniture. In the day, the light of the sun would shine of the castle, causing it to sparkle like a huge diamond. People from all over the land, and even some of the neighboring lands, would sometimes just sit and gaze at its beauty. The castle was visited by many people from across the lands, and was heralded as a wonder, unlike any the world has ever seen.

After a long and happy life, the king passed away. The kingdom was sad at the loss of such a kind and generous king. However, the king had left behind him his young daughter the princess.

The princesses name was Azure. The king named her that for his love of the color of the day sky, which matched the color of her eyes. The princess was loved by all, for she had learned to love her people and her land as did her father. She was a kind ruler who took pity on the weak and needy. She could usually be found in the kitchens feeding some poor travelers who were hungry, or out visiting the sick farmers offering her sympathy and the royal healers to help them recover.

Azure was a kind women by day, but by night she suffered greatly for while she loved her father the king, she did not share the same feelings towards the castle. She found it very difficult to sleep at night, as the bright light from the moon and stars would keep her awake. Then would come dawn, and the even brighter light of the sun would chase away any hope of sleep for poor Azure.

Night after night she would lay awake, cursing at her misfortune. “Why did he have to build it of glass? Why couldn’t he build it out of stone like everyone else?” She would ask herself each night. And each night, she never got an answer to her question. The moon kept glowing and stars kept twinkling and the sun kept shining.

The princess spent many months in this fashion, and eventually she succumbed to her fatigue and fell ill. She withered like a flower without water, her bright eyes lost their brilliance as the shadows under them grew darker every day. Her cheerful attitude was replaced by a short temper, and fits of rage and bouts of crying.

Her servants, fearing for their mistresses health, fetched the greatest doctors in the land to find a cure for her ailment. Many healers arrived and many cures were tried. Sleeping herbs, soft music, one doctor even told her to spin herself around until she fell dizzy and slept, but that did nothing except to make her feel even more ill than before. They tried covering her eyes with all sorts of fabrics, but the princess's sensitive skin would start to itch horribly should she touch anything but the finest silks, and the finest silks were not thick enough to keep out the light.

Alas, the poor princess feel deeper into her illness, and no doctor could find a cure for her. The kingdom feared for the worst.

One day, a poor merchant passed through the kingdom trying to sell his wares. As he passed by the castle, he saw the withered princess sitting in the garden crying softly to herself. He quietly walked into the garden.

"Pray tell me, what ails you beautiful princess"

"I cannot sleep" she replied weakly

"What horror keeps you awake while your land sleeps?"

"No horror other than this glass castle. I cannot sleep for the light shines too bright"

"Will you listen to the advice of a poor merchant?"

"I have listened to doctors and healers, some of whom were jesters. I see no harm in taking your kind advice"

The merchant smiled and told her his secret remedy.

"T’is not the light that chases away your slumber, but only your attempts to shut it out my princess"

"Jest not with me merchant! Begone!"

"I jest not your highness. Tonight, when you retire to your bed, look into the moon, and allow its light to comfort you. The moon hates you not, t’is only doing what it knows to do."

"I shall try your method merchant, but I do not think it will help"

"I bid you comfort and ease young princess. Farewell"

As he walked away, the princess saw the sun gently setting in the west, and decided it was a good time to try the merchants advice. She did not know whether her illness will allow her another day.

As she lay in her bed, squinting up into the bright moon and silently cursing the foolish merchant and her own foolishness at having believed his so called remedy, she thought back to her father, and to her friends, and to all who loved her. All who have tried to cure her while she was ill, and before she knew it, she was no longer squinting at the moon. Instead, she found the light bearable, even more so, comforting, soothing and relaxing. She looked up at the moon, and she saw another world. a world of peace and happiness. a world of butterflies, and fairies and unicorns. a world where dreams came true, and no one grew old or ill. It was a peaceful place

As the first rays of sun shone over the horizon, and gently nudged the princess awake, she realized she had slept through the entire night. She felt refreshed, and energetic. The moons healing light had vanished her illness overnight.

The kingdom rejoiced at the princesses miraculous recovery, and they sang and danced for many days, and the princess in honor of her loving father ordered that all homes in the kingdom have glass roofs, so that all may enjoy the beauty of the sky as her father did before.

The End of the Road

The start of the road

Looks strangely like the rest of it

I ride in no direction

I arrive at no destination

A jack-knifed semi on the road

Turned over spilling its load

Dead and face down in the dirt

A man wearing a plaid shirt

Looks up at me without a word

Then calmly flips me the bird

A road-side diner, open till late

Rows of cows lined up in wait

They serve them steaks in a frenzied haste

It’s not cannibalism, just an acquired taste

A little girl forces me to a halt

Her wedding dress as white as salt

Aiming at me with a little fling

A diamond strikes me, her wedding ring

I see myself old and wearing a dusty old suit

I flag myself down, with a hand raised in salute

I greet myself with a great big hug

And a knife in my back as I walk away all smug

The end of the road

Looks strangely like the rest of it

Specter

Surrounded by mist

Shrouded by the dark

Floated the specter

Bearing evils mark

In this haunted valley

The alive and the dead

Shirk away at his sight

They cowered and fled

Its touch colder than ice

Its voice the sound of agony

Its gaze a nightmares nightmare

Its presence kills sanity

Born of mans sins

Nourished by our greed

Its age beyond counting

No master does it heed

Doors cannot block it

Nor walls hold it at bay

Arrows cannot pierce it

Nor swords can it slay

Cursed is your fate

Should it ever cross your path

No mercy will it show

No escape from the specters wrath

Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak

My, what an interesting Ramadan and Eid it’s been. Things are slowly settling down. People are getting back into their routines. Schools have yet to re-open, but already you can feel the back to school blues setting in on young childrens faces.

Let me try to summarize my Ramadan for you:

1- Joy

2- Shock

3- Disappointment

4- Fatigue

5- Sadness

I felt joyful that I got to see my brother who lives in the US this Ramadan. I got a chance to spend a little time with young nephew, who has grown up so much.

I felt shock when I first heard about the Pakistan flood. 14 million people displaced. It’s so easy to write the number, but difficult to put it into perspective. Imagine if you may, the population of Jeddah, Dammam, and Riyadh put together, and you still haven’t reached 14 million people. What really shocked me was the slow and sometimes unavailable response by the world. Chile and Haiti got an immediate response, and the disasters there are dwarfed in comparison. Not that I’m downplaying the disasters in Chile and Haiti. People in need are people in need, whether they are Haitian, Chilean or Pakistanis. I’m happy that the response finally came. The King kicked off the Pakistan Relief effort, as did many groups.

I was disappointed to see that even after all these years, Jeddah airport is still the cesspool. Severe lack of order, lack of leadership, lack of discipline, and just a lack of heart on the part of the employees. Flights were delayed because the airport could not handle the influx of travelers trying to get to Makkah and back again. It’s beyond being disappointing, it’s now an official tragedy.

I felt fatigued, as did so many of us. Lack of sleep during the Eid days really took a lot out of me, and the ensuing night/day shift in our sleeping patterns is still taking a toll on me. I’m still trying to reconfigure my internal clock, but it’s more resistant than I expected.

I felt sadness as Ramadan came and went. The few days of Eid were nice, got to see my family and friends, but I always feel a sense of emptiness as these people all go back to their lives. These few wonderful days we share filled with laughter and hugs, just go by so fast. Before I knew it, I was saying good-bye to my brother at the airport. We would have to make do with skype and e-mails and texts.

All in all, it was a good Eid. Just being blessed to have your family and loved ones around you is more than enough. I pray that you all had a wonderful Eid with your families and friends, and May Allah grant you many more in good health and happiness.

My Trip to NYC: Part 1

I recently got this article from a good friend of mine (I don't read Vanity Fair). Written by well known and controversial opinionist Maureen Dowd. She wrote about her trip to Saudi Arabia. So I decided to write my own review about my trip to New York City.


I finally disembark from the long flight arriving into JFK from Geneva. I’m tired, sleepy, grumpy, but I’m excited to finally get to see the city sung about by the likes of Frank Sinatra. New York City here I come!

As soon as I step off the plane, I’m greeted with a warm and loving “Sir, would you step this way please”.

It seems I was randomly chosen by a computer program to be searched. Well, as long as it was random. Out of the 300+ passengers on the flight, I was the only Saudi, Arab even, on the flight, and now I’m the only one being randomly searched. Something tells me this random selection isn’t so random. Nothing makes you feel more welcome into a country than being greeted by the sound of a rubber glove being snapped on and the voice of a man saying “This won’t hurt one bit”.

Six hours and several split personalities later, I exit the airport to meet my friend who has kindly taken it upon himself to show me the sights and sounds of NYC. I look around but can’t seem to find him in the throng of people running around talking to themselves on their Bluetooth headsets and running into trash cans because they were so consumed with typing that ever so important e-mail on their blackberries. I call him up and he tells me he’s waiting for me outside.
As soon as I step outside the doors (after the initial wave of nausea from the extreme pollution) I hear the blaring of a car horn. My friend is waiting for me in a massive GMC Suburban. He’s at least 3 times bigger than I last remember him from my childhood, most of the size concentrated in the waistline. The American mantra, bigger is always better. I pack up my luggage while he waits in driver seat, and hop in and he greets me in a way indicative of how long it has been since we last saw each other.

“Hi”

As he takes me around I ask him to show me the sights of NYC. First stop, Central Park. He stops the car in front of the gate and tells me to call him when I’m done.

“You’re not coming with me?”

“I don’t do so well with walking.” He says as he lovingly pats his belly.

My first impression was that people were so very relaxed here in Central Park. I sit down on a park bench and kind looking old man sits down beside me and he strikes up a conversation with me.

“You ain’t from around here” He said in a matter of fact kind of way.

“No I’m not.” I replied with a smile.

“Could you do me favor please?”

“Of course just name it.”

“When your ship arrives, would you take me with you to your planet?”

“Excuse me?”

“We need to escape from Earth before Planet X crashes into it and we all die”

“Umm. Sure. I have to go.” As I calmly stand up and start to walk away.

“I’ll be here waiting for you!! Just beam me up whenever you can!!” He yells at me as I hurry away.

I find a police officer riding a horse. I stop him and point out the clearly crazy person sitting on the bench waiting for me.

“Excuse me Officer, that man clearly needs some medical help.”

“You ain’t from around here are you?”

“No, I’m not”

“Don’t worry about him. That’s old man Crowbar. He’s harmless.”

“I understand Officer, but he clearly needs some sort of psychiatric help”

“Leave him alone, he won’t bother you. You should be leaving also.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s not safe around here after dark”

“What happens after dark? Vampires? Werewolves?”

He gives me a look of someone who’s finally met a real crazy person, as opposed to the sane man still sitting on the bench talking to his leg.

“They’ll mug you for your shoes around here after dark”

“My shoes?!? Is there a shoe shortage in the U.S.? Are shoes a valuable commodity now? I
heard about the sub-prime mortgages, but the news never mentioned the national shoe crisis.”

“Move along now!”

I thank the ever so helpful officer and continue down the path. As I make my way back to where I would meet my friend, I pass by campers settling in for the night. As I get closer, I notice that they light their campfires in big metal drums (for the obvious safety reasons), and they cover themselves in newspapers (Maybe newspaper conserves heat better than wool).

I get finally reach my friends car, and we make our way back to my hotel. Not the best start to my vacation, but I’m sure tomorrow will be better. I still have a lot to see in NYC.

A Consultants Life for Me

Inspired by the misery of a co-worker of mine :)

Been working on it since two
I squeezed out every ounce of wit
My laptop decided to restart
Unsaved data gone, the little !@#$

What am I to do now
I feel like a shooting gallery duck
I'm gonna pull an all nighter
because of that stupid little !@#$

It's getting late now
My eyes are starting to twitch
My laptop ruined my life
I blame Bill Gates, that little !@#$%

I'll pass this little test
and i'll find the greener grass
So to all the programmers of powerpoint
You can all kiss my !@#

Only Human

He gave me my eyes

To witness all the wonder

I used them for guidance

As i stole and tore asunder

I'm only human

He gave me my ears

To hear the worlds needs

I listened as misery's victim

Cried, as on her she feeds

I'm only human

He gave me my touch

To share the warmth within

I touched what wasn't mine

To feed my desire for sin

I'm only human

He gave me my taste

To enjoy my desire

I ate my fair share

Along with everything i could acquire

I'm only human

He gave me my nose

To smell the flowers he created

I smell the fires of war

Burning unabated

I'm only human

He gave me my mind

To think on my own

He gave me a heart

That wasn't made of stone

To help another human

When they need me the most

Thats why I was put here

To banish the evil ghosts

I'm more than just a human

Religion and Politics

This clip is a must see for everyone.

So it seems a church somewhere in Florida is starting an "International Burn a Quran" Day. The spokesman for this movement is a Pastor by the name of Terry Jones. To quote him:

"We believe that Islam is of the devil, that it's causing billions of people to go to hell, it is a deceptive religion, it is a violent religion and that is proven many, many times,"

He claims that they are doing this to stand up for whats right. Radical times he called it. He also called Islam a:

A religion of oppression.
A religion of the devil.
A religion of deception.
A religion of violence.

He went on to ask, why do you defend it?

Indeed, why do we defend a religion like this. The answer is, we don't. We don't defend whatever religion he's just described, because that's not our religion. Our religion taught us to be peaceful, unprejudiced and above all else honest and kind.

So what is this religion of the devil? This religion of oppression?

This isn't a religion at all. This is called politics, and the day you mix the hypocrisy and deceit of politics into the honesty and beauty of religion, what you get is a horribly deformed baby. the moral compass instilled by the religion starts pointing in every direction except North. Strange interpretations in the form of "what suits me best" start popping up in every situation.

Politics teaches oppression!
Politics teaches deception!
Politics teaches violence!

Religion is clean of all this, and will always be.

So what do we do in this situation? Do we retaliate against this ignorant buffoon by burning Bibles? Or do we boycott Florida oranges just as we did with Denmark and their dairy products?

What we do, is not play into their politics. Our religion is greater than that, no single person or group of people are big enough to tarnish this beautiful religion. We shouldn't help them either. Any act of aggression or violence will further cement their idea about our religion. The only thing we can achieve now is the "Aha, See !! I told you so!!" reaction when we go nuts on them.

By going through with his Quran burning, he benefits us more than anything else. People all over the world will watch his petty attempt to insult 1.5 billion people, and people will look down on him with contempt.

I respect Rick in this clip for calling him out as crazy. Because, that's all he is, a crazy man who wants to be on TV.

Insomniac

Inspiration comes in many forms. Thanks to the person who inspired this one :)
There's a hidden message in this one, see if you can find it.

I look forward to sleep
Caressing, calming rest
After a tiring day of work
Nothing can compare to natures best
Total immersion in the dream world
Simple cure for the stressed
Lights dim, cool breeze
Ease away from the daily quest
Erase all problems of the day
Paradise comes at your request

Dream Sleep

Thanks to my friend for the inspiration on this one also.

The sun shines a ray
On a sleepless man
Once again he's beaten
By the suns evil plan

Begone with you
It's not yet time
Why do you punish me
What was my crime

He only seeks refuge
From his nightly ordeal
His mind still numb
Sleep can only heal

He yells at the sun
He threatens it with doom
It ignores his threats
And rises to his gloom

He opens his eyes
and lets out a tiny scream
Thank God for small favors
It was only a dream

Sleepless Nights

All credit goes to a good friend for inspiring this one.

Sleep I search for thee
Thy kiss is my release
Release from this prison
Prison in my head

My head so very noisy
Noisy with voices concerned
Concerned about my life
Life troubled each day

Each day I wait
Wait for the night
Night that will bring the calm
Calm release from the world

The world so violent
Violent with angry people
People frustrated
Frustrated they can't sleep

Give Me

Give me a second
And I'll give you all my time

Give me a hand
And I'll learn how to climb

Give me a chance
To try and make you mine

Give me a break
For forgiveness is divine

Give me a sign
And I'll follow you through hell

Give me a reason
And there I shall dwell

Give me a clue
As to why I want you

Give me your heart
And I'll give you mine too

Mindless Sheep?

I just had the pleasure of watching a clip on youtube showing a Sheikh talking about what the word Pepsi stands for. In his opinion (or what he considers to be a fact), Pepsi stands for Pay Every Penny Saving Israel.

While my knowledge about Pepsi's business practices and their financial backing of certain countries is pretty low, I seriously doubt the authenticity of this claim.

The first question that comes to my mind when I hear a claim like this is simply "Why?". Pepsi is a mega-corporation. They rely on the sales of their products to create profits. These profits are then used to finance R&D to create other products and as dividends to their shareholders. So, pulling a stunt like this is counter-productive to them. So why risk their business? Just to spite us? What is this, 4th grade? Are legitimate businesses now going to stoop to name calling? Why Israel? Why not the Columbia drug cartel? At least that way they can make some extra profits while they're at it (and make a damn good Pepsi).

He then goes on to explain how a penny is 1/1000 of a dollar. I'm not a genius, but I do know to google something I'm not so sure of before I claim it to the entire world. But, to his credit he does say that he is not sure about all this, and that the information he got was from his young son. Yeah, nothing cements your credibility like citing your source as an 8 year old boy.
Please understand that I'm not bashing this guy, he may have done a lot of good over his lifetime, and I'm not the one to judge him in the end, but in this video, he probably should have just skipped it.

Unfortunately this isn't the first time I've heard of this. Trying to find patterns or subliminal messages in everyday products seems to be a trend in our society. Since I can't convince people of my views, I'll link it to something we all feel passionate about to prove my point. It's shallow and unnecessary. If you have something to claim, do your research and stand up in front of the world and say it out loud. Conspiracy theories are better left to novelists and TV shows.

Just to prove my point, I'll show you that anyone can do this. Just watch:

T.N.T. : Try Not to Touch (Good advice really)
PC : Praise Christ (I bet all you programmers hate yourselves now)
Mac: Make Alcohol Cheaper (Only cool people use Macs)
Sega: Silence Every German Author (most likely a British plan)

See, Anyone can find meaning in everyday stuff (maybe not the T.N.T.).

I beg you society, stop being mindless sheep. If anything, this is actually what they want, and you're playing right into their hands, just like a mindless sheep would.

Gen-X

I saw this article in Arab News today.

As my previous post mentioned, I am now part of the previous generation, but that doesn't change the fact that I understand that each generation has it's own habits, activities and personalities.

My father used to tell me as he was growing up, fathers used to comment on how their children wasted their time reading books and studying and other such nonsense. they felt that their childrens time was much better used learning a skill. Building, repair, trade or anything else that makes money. As time went by, that generation started picking on the next generation, reprimanding them for spending so much time on computers and video games, when they should be spending their time reading and learning.

Now the cycle is repeating again, with this generation being reprimanded for wanting to spend their time in leisure and fun.

What society needs to understand is that as generations grow older, they enforce their personalities and views on society itself. Society changes and adapts to accommodate this generation. In other words, our Grandfathers generation was focused purely on manual skills. Where people with good talents in trade, building, repair, were very successful. In comes the computer generation and the rise of the Microsofts, Apples, Ataris, Nintendos, Segas and any innovator in the technology industry was king. This generation has a peculiar trait to it though. This generation is very social and anti-social at the same time. With the rise of wireless communication and social networking, people are now able to maintain friendships without ever having to see anyone.

Many people will disagree with me and say "Thats not an actual friendship then", but the fact is, thats not up to us anymore. This is their generation and it's their world. Whether we like it or not, the world will accommodate itself to their needs.

So, please, stop fighting them. Stop trying to force your own outdated views on a generation that does not operate based on your rules. Allow them the freedom to express themselves in the way they want to, and I believe that you will find less frustration and less rebelliousness from them, and maybe, just maybe, they might even respect you a little more.

3amo

I've recently come to the realization that I am no longer part of the next generation, but instead I've become one of "them". "Them" being the previous generation. The old guys. This realization coming from the mouth of a 6 year old in the form of a very polite "3amo" (Uncle) during a recent shopping trip.

While I do appreciate the politeness of said 6 year old, I couldn't help but think "Who me??". I must have conveyed my confusion to her via the expression on my face, which I guess was somewhere between sucking a lemon and trying to solve a complex algebra equation in your head. The end result of said expression was to coax her into saying the blasted word a few more times "3amo, 3amo, 3amo".

As grown ups, we enjoy the luxury of education and experience to help us handle such situations, and my education and experience did nothing to stop her from saying it a few more time "3amo, 3amo, 3amo".

Now she was asking for it, so I did what any mature adult would do in my place, I stuck out my tongue at her and walked away. "Yeah, that'll show her" I thought smugly to myself.

As I walked away from her feeling all high and mighty, Something in the back of my mind was trying to tell me something. Was I wrong to do that? Did I hurt her feelings? Maybe I should go back and apolo … BEEP BEEP BEEP !!!

Oh yeah!! thats it !! I forgot to pay for the stuff I picked up.

I turn around and I swear I could just see the letters popping up above that little girls head.
R .. O .. T .. F .. L .. M .. A .. O.

Midnight Sonata

The shrill notes of a lone violin
Pierce through the cold night

The sounds flowing gracefully
Lighting my way with a pale blue light

I follow the sound with my ears
I have no need for my sight

I have no reason to trust it
But it just feels so right

I see a break in the darkness
I see a violinist bathed in bright light

He stops playing and extends his hand
I take his hand and relish in the delight

I awake, and a nurse calms me down
It's the eve of twenty years of that horrible night

She has no idea why I would wake
Perhaps the answer is in that violin on my right

The Ground Shakes

The ground shakes again
He looks up eyes wide open
Visions of his life flash past
On the floor he hugs his knees
And begs the voices to stop

The ground shakes again
The walls start to crack
He's losing control
He grabs his head
And begs the screams to stop

The ground shakes again
The roof is caving in
He runs to the walls
Looking for a way out
And hopes the chaos will stop

The ground shakes again
The world is brilliant
But a darkness surrounds him
He lays down on his back
And prays the torture will stop

The ground shakes for the last time
He is nowhere to be found
Only the sad shell of a human remains
His mind lost to his addictions
And he gets what he wished for

Pharmacy of Love

I walk into the pharmacy
I take a look around
Ointments, Bandages
And stuff sold by the Pound

I walk down an aisle
With one thing in mind
A cure for my illness
A cure I must find

There's a man behind the counter
Who looks at me with a frown
I walk on up to him
And put my money down

"My ailment is strange,
How do I explain,
I feel so empty inside,
And I'm going insane"

"When did this start
If you don't mind the question"
"It was only last week
That I fell into this depression"

"I was sitting at the park
When she walks by.
She's beautiful and graceful,
And she catches my eye"

"I saw her again later
as I walked down the street,
She laughs with her friends
I've never seen anything so sweet"

"My heart stopped right then
And it wouldn't restart.
Now I can't figure
Whats up with this heart"

"Whenever I think of her
It hops into action.
It goes a hundred beats a second
Then back to inaction"

"Do you have a pill
To get this under control,
I can't live like this
It's taking a toll"

"I know your problem,
Your mind is too narrow,
Look down at your chest
Do you see the arrow?"

"You've been hit by Cupid,
This is no disease,
You aren't dying
So put yourself at ease"

"Ask her to meet you in the park,
Find a place that's nice and shady,
Spread your picnic on the ground,
And give this flower to your lady"

"This is Cupids secret sign
That he should take aim.
If all goes well, which I'm sure it will
You and her should be the same"

"There's your cure my young man
Your heart will be stronger.
With her by your side
Your heart will ache no longer"

With many thanks, I turn to leave
When out of the corner of my eye
I glimpse a bow in one hand
While the other hand waves bye