I have been spending much of my free time updating my video blog, or generally uploading videos to my youtube account. This is especially convenient during Ramadan, as I find myself quite useless from lack of energy while fasting, and especially so after a day of working.
Funnily enough, though, I can always talk a little- to the camera- and call that a check-in with my blog. Check out my latest “entry” here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scC_BjRHos
Writing, on the other hand, I am much more precise about and always feel the need to perfect my sentences to… well, to be less obvious and more intellectual-sounding, actually! That can be quite draining, I think you would agree.
Nonetheless, I wanted to check in during this blessed month of Ramadan, and wish all those that I have not already a really pure and rewarding time. The month is already at the midpoint, and I, for one, can already see the end. I know that Eid is going to be quite a highlight this year, insha’Allah, as my parents will be joining us during that time. They have spent much of the summer overseas, and that vacation has extended to most of Ramadan. During this time, I have had two siblings leave our fair city to move on to new academic or work lives. It is for this reason that Eid will be that much more special, as we will be going to see both my older brother and little sister for our holiday. Holidays, after all, are not the same without family (or at least, that is my opinion)
I wish you all a great time this month, and an even better Eid Al-Fitr. Please pray for the betterment of all of us.

I have been away from this blog for a while now, having had a couple weddings to tend to and attend in the meantime, as well welcoming and then saying goodbye to a large amount of my extended family. I have even had to say goodbye to my little sister as she moved to Montreal with her new husband, and will soon have to similarly help move my older brother to his new city… It has all been quite emotionally draining, and I found myself without the will to even think about blogging, much less write something fit for your intellectual eyes.
To that effect, I have decided to try something new and use my newly acquired digital camera’s HD video capabilities to video blog my thoughts. I don’t know how long this will go on, but I think the novelty of it should last a few weeks, at least! I had already been uploading some sample videos testing its capabilities and/or capturing some of my nephew’s coolness, and I even got my first subscriber (it is only one of you guys, but, hey, I love ya and you count!!), so I guess my “youtubing” is a little more than a  flash-in-the-pan, but who knows?
Here is my first official video blog (make sure to click on the HD button below it to see it in full res):

Until later…

Tomorrow, the first wave of arrival will… arrive. Khalto Sanaa and her “kids”, accompanied by Omar Q. This fact is, obviously a happy one to me, and I regret that I will continue working while they are here, although my work times are rather early and will allow for maximum taking advantage of daylight hours for entertainment of any kind.

I will update you soon about our guests and whatever may interest you.

We finally had a very typical summer weekend in a year of cooler-than-usual weather. The sun was out, and it was hot! As per usual for a Teebi Sunday, we had our breakfast today and sat afterward with our tea, chatting while Food network is on, planning for our day (and coffee).
However, as Leith was joining us this morning, we decided to adjourn our coffee session to the outdoors, so that he may play with his toy trucks and shovels in the open. The sun blared down on us, and I actually felt annoyed by the insect life that had come out in full force while I was wishing for the cooler air of a few days past. Meanwhile, the palest among us was having a great time playing with his toys next to the mint plants.
After our little sit we began our gardening for the day, much to the joy of my mother, who even in the presence of back pain likes nothing more than to to tend to the greenery. Because we had the little one with us, we began by picking the ripe strawberries, which were actually quite small due the “organic” upbringing they have had! Leith had his busy play-face on, as I pointed out the ripe fruit to him so that he may yank them and add them to the mound on his truck. His smile at every little berry picked almost made kneeling down in the hot air enjoyable…
Our work was cut out for us as we moved to the main event: finally clearing out the vegetable compartment in our yard of all the weeds and making it ready for the actual plants. The problem is, much of those weeds were quite prickly and allergy-inducing, and there were a lot of them. On a previous weeding expedition, I had devised a way of not having to manually handle the weeds while preserving the dirt on the ground. The weeds seem to have come back with a vengeance with the rain that had fallen in the days that followed, but the technique I used was still good: laying out a meter of plastic crisscross-style tree wrap on the ground and using the shovel to dig out the roots of the weeds and throwing them on it, after which you rock the wrap back and forth as to sieve out the dirt to leave the enemy greens behind. I know it is not ingenious, but I was proud of it, and with more helpers around this time, it was really easy and rather painless. Leith, of course, insisted on helping me at first by holding the shovel with me as I dug out the weeds. I convinced him that using his own small shovel would be much more productive, and he humored me for a few minutes before going back to holding the big shovel with me; and then losing interest in that and helping Tata actually yank out weeds in the periphery and clear out the pine cones and such.
As we finished up and added the topsoil to welcome the tomato plants and seeds we were to inject, Leith gave us the signal to go inside by actually going quiet! This meant that he was both thirsty and tired, and wanted to go to sleep. This would be our excuse to go in and have our lunch. My mother, being who she is, stayed behind to ensure proper plant integration and watering, but I for one was happy to be back inside the cool, but mosquito-filled house.

We celebrated Leith’s birthday today, Sunday, although his true birthday was on June 5th- Friday. Of course, he had already had a mini-party at his other grandparents’ house, with a Dinosaur cake made by his mommy, but now was our turn.
Asma made him a Cars movie cake, his other passion besides dinos, and it looked really good. We made a day of it by barbecuing some kebabs and chicken cutlets, which he enjoys, while also providing him with heaps of his beloved rice! It was a fun little dinner with Leith and our guest star Jowdat, who had shown up today, as well, to celebrate with the most awesome nephew imaginable. Omar S was not there, unfortunately, as he was quite wrapped up in work to make up for his previous day looking at apartments in Montreal with Asma. At any rate, it’s always amusing to watch Leith eat a rice and meat dinner, because he always very… enthusiastic at it, but today he was especially funny with his comments and the “me want this”, etc. I could not really describe it further, and I wish I had filmed the mealtime!!
When we brought in the cake and we sang to him, and he looked at “Lighting McQueen” in cake form, he literally dropped down from excitement. Then the present were brought out and he was speechless, which is unusual for him these days, but only for a moment. Then the typical Leith came out to play and he began to tear into his gifts to see what everybody had gotten him. There were clothes, blocks, a ball-throwing bucket (which terrified him with its arms, as he does not like human-like characteristics in anything he plays with, or eats), as well as an alphabet teaching “computer” from me. He, of course, loved my gift the most, or at least played with it more while here, and was absolutely terrified of the bucket!
I happened to capture the gift-rummaging on grainy video- grainy, because of the low-light conditions, but still quite viewable. Here is a link, for anybody interested:
http://www.vimeo.com/5053270
Until later, I hope all are well!

I sit here wondering what to do, typical of my normal Saturday. I know two things: I am hungry, and I will be made to wait for my meal. Today, we have a cleaning lady, who comes in biweekly, and her shift with us has come to an end. This will mean that I will have to drive her to her home, stomach growling, because we are waiting for dear old Jowdat to show up and have dinner with us…
Jowdat, of course, is Asil’s fiancé, and we have had precious little time spent with him since the departure of my father for Doha. He being quite seemingly shy with us, has not invited himself over as much as I would have expected him to, and I guess he is just now making up for lost time!
These are curious days, as summer is almost officially here, and has unofficially been here for a while as far as I am concerned. Schools are either out or will soon be, and the weather, while cooler than usual at this time of the year, is very warm and inviting. Still, I do not know what to do with all that seasonal opportunity. Of course, it has to do with the fact that, being out of school for a while now, and not having a very manageable work schedule, I have nothing to celebrate. It could also have to do with the fact that we are still awaiting the event taking place next month, and the deluge of family that will precede it- officially signaling a grand vacation for me. I love family, with all the problems that may come with it, and seeing my extended tree will surely be a treat.

I literally have nothing interesting to say at this juncture, but I did want to post something to keep my faculties running- if nothing else…

It has been a little more than three weeks since I have come back from Amman via Doha. It was quite a short visit to Amman at only 4 days long, and it only was possible because my father had a previously scheduled conference to attend there. Yet, because of my knowledge of the city, our apartment, and the fact that I have a good amount of relatives there, the time was pretty well-spent and thus quite enjoyable.

Of course, an important priority while there was to see Jiddo Shaaban. I had seen him since our similarly brief visit to the city in January of 2008 and, having heard of recent health complications that he had endured, I wanted desperately to be reassured that he is doing well. On my second full day, I finally found my opportunity to go there while my father and Khalo Sulaiman were visiting, as I was aprehensive about seeing him by my lonesome. What if he were to have forgotten me, or if I were to have reminded himof my adolescent self with whom he had always found much to criticize (as I was a bit too stubborn for my own good)?

I was needlessly worried. He was ecstatic to see me, if I may say so myself, and his smile never left his face the entirety of my all-to-short visit there. I knew that he would have been happy to see any of the many family members that he had lost touch with in recent history, and that part of his enthusiasm at seeing me was because I was there representing, for better or worse, my mother and his oldest daughter… but as I said goodbye and he drew me close saying, “can’t you stay and eat dinner with me”, I felt a great and personal guilt at withdrawing my presence at a time that it made him happy. As he kissed me for the what seems like the thousandth time on either cheek, I resolved to myself to come back at earlier time the next day.

At noon that next day, a Thursday, I walked from our apartment to the nearest bakery in Suwaifiyah to get some fatayir, in order that we may have that meal that I had rejected the previous day due to my engagement at Khalo’s home, and then took a taxi to his home. At my arrival, he was pleasantly surprised to see me, but rejected my offering saying that he does not eat lunch. I, of course, already knew that about him, but I had hoped that he would go against that habit in my honor… because I am rediculous. This lead to this exchange, which I took with my portable HD camcorder:

Jiddo with stupid me (May 7, 2009) (right-click on it and choose “Save Link As” to have the actual file in your harddrive)

I apologize for my abrasive voice and mannerisms, but this is what would happen when I drop my guard and feel free to be myself with Jiddo. At any rate, I found myself enjoying the sit close to my only remaining grandfather, he whom had known my faults but chose to love me despite them. We sat watching various clips from the arabic movie channels at his disposal from his satelite receiver. I laughed with him at the plots, and the acting of certain female starlets, and we discussed his day and how he had spoken to my mother that morning- or was it the night before? He was extremely jovial throughout, and I felt that I have reconnected with a grandfather that I have not had a meaningful conversation  for more than three years. There was always the distance between us, or the more similarly eloquent elder generation in the room to say more than pleasantries to each other. I left more than an hour later, and only because I had some chores to run and an appointment, of sorts, to meet with my cousins. He was more accepting of my departure this time, though only after I had promised that I would see him before flying out the next day amid his many kisses.

And so I went to see my grandfather for the last time that Friday, accompanied by my father. We had brought him a tin of sweets, and sat briefly with him before leaving for Jumu3a prayer and then the airport. He was in a pleasant, but more reserved mood, he was happy to see me and my father, but would fumble through some questions that my father would ask him about his contact with other family members, and I must admit to being uncomfortable at that. We left on our way not knowing that it would be less than 2 weeks, indeed 12 days, that he would leave us all.

Receiving the news of his death on the night of Wednesday, May the 20th, while here in Mississauga, Canada, I was shocked; cliched though that may sound. I did not expect this news, not because, as one of my cousins would note, he seemed to me to be one who would never die. No, I thought I was realistic about his mortality, but I thought him to be quite in  touch with life at our last meetings. It was a given that my mother would see him in the middle of July, following the 2 family weddings taking place that month, and it would be a happy summer for her. We have all lost a wonderful man, but we cannot let the sadness be all we feel, though it be at first quite unbearable. It was too painful for me to write about it at first, and I knew that it would be therapeutic to say anything in order to finalize it in my head, however simple it is that I write may be.

We have to remember the witty and charming man who had a lot to give, but may not have had the best audience at all times! These are two clips taken by my sister Asma 3 years ago, using her digital camera. The quality is fair, considering the source, and it shows the man as we all, I’m sure, would like to remember him:

“father will come to thee soon” (Aug 2, 2006)

explaining Ahmad Showqi (Aug 8, 2006)

I love you Jiddo. Allah yr7amak, and reward you for the suffering you felt in your lifetime.

Well, here I am waiting for my father and the airport taxi to arrive, having just done my last bit of packing for this trip and the next one back to Canada. I am quite a bit relieved that I was able to fit everything in, and in the order I want, especially since I have a few new items that I have bought here for myself.
I am now looking back at my time here… fondly, mostly, but it does seem to have flown by and I wish it had lingered a little more. As a farewell, we went to Soug Wagif yesterday, and this time I remembered to bring my camera. It was a lot more enjoyable this time because we just let down our guard and lived it through touristic eyes, cameras snapping and quick, anxious glances intact. The photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81702279@N00/sets/72157617656089578/
Of course, I have had to cut a lot of them out, due to flickr’s limits, but the good ones are here…
Well, the taxi has arrived, and I will now have to say goodbye. Write for you soon!

So, here I am, sitting down in the house in Doha on my second Friday here. I am thinking about the time that has passed, and wondering if I had perhaps done too little here. I mean, the main objective was to spend some time with my father and perhaps keep him company for a couple of weeks until he comes back home, but I also had planned to go sightseeing and exploring.
Alas, I have done little of that. Mostly, this is due to the fact that I have little by way of transportation here, as taxis are scarce and costly, and my father, being busy, can hardly chauffeur me during his work schedule and is often too tired in the evenings to go out for more than a short while. I have not considered renting a car, as many obstacles come up with that, not the least of which my father’s general dissatisfaction with that kind of fruitless spending, as well as my utter cluelessness as to the roads and hot spots here.
I have, of course, seen a few landmarks here. In fact, in my first day here, I went by myself to a nice khaleeji-style shopping center called Landmark (that bit of pun-age just crept up on me, I swear!) Aside from that, I visited with my father to Soug Wagef, or the old city market. I have not taken any pictures of it, as this was early on in my stay and I was always forgetting my camera, but here is a photos I found browsing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zitona/2097686933/in/photostream/
This market was a little funny to me. Apparently, this location was the original “downtown” commercial area of Doha, but had since been renovated and redesigned as a faux-antique touristic walkway, complete with the necessary Starbucks and Hagen Daaz locations in its ‘historic’ face. Also, this place could be maybe a little older than half a century- not that old… ah, but it was fun.
I also visited my share of malls here, which are the site of the extravagance of the gulf countries’ lifestyle at its most extreme. I must admit to liking that kind of ambiance perhaps more than I should. The most extravagant was, of course, the Villaggio center, which although unfinished, holds a very unique shopping experience in its colorful design. Basically, it is structure to look as though it an outdoors European market, complete with the appropriate architecture of simulated housing above the stores, the painted “sky” ceiling, and its indoors river of water with Venetian gondolas traveling its length. And, oh yeah, there were shops, too!
Today, though, had to be the best day. We finally went to the Islamic Arts Museum here, and it was amazing. The construction and immaculate upkeep of the exterior of the building as we drove up to it was breathtaking. I won’t say too much, as I have taken pictures (although, I had forgotten my camera again and had to rely on my father’s cell phone to do the honors). The interior was not so bad, too. There were two open floors thus far with artifacts from the Muslim world ranging from the eighth to the early 20th century, and covering locales from India, to Persia, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt. It was truly extensive, and much of what we saw was very well preserved. I almost felt bad taking photos of them, as I almost want to keep it a mystery what we saw there to encourage others to go for themselves. Also, supposedly, it was not permitted to even have a camera in there, but seeing every person and his son with an ultra-expensive SLR camera snapping away not-two-meters away from a guard emboldened me to take my photos and accept my luck in doing so.
As for the photos, I just have to retrieve them from my camera and my father’s Nokia 950- and the latter will take some time. Once that is accomplished, I will post some in my flickr account and comment to them here. Well, that is all for now. I hope all is well with you, my loyal readers!

I am sitting here in the main living room of my father house in Doha, on the morning after the night of my arrival. It was a good plane trip, all things considered, but not a very fun one. I find that traveling alone can be quite lonely, for obvious reasons, although not having to watch out except for your own self has its advantages.
One thing to note for the future, for all the good it does me: Lufthansa economy class seating is quite cramped, and there are no air vents to cool a very hot cabin. Also, sitting next to an inconsiderate German man, I realized just how annoying it is to have one’s arm over the armrest protruding into the next person’s space- I wanted to strangle him, and take his much more desirable aisle seat! The only thing good about the flight is the entertainment screen, with its ample choices of movies and shows.
Arriving in Frankfurt at what was for me the middle of the night (even though it was morning there), I was in a funny mood that only hits me during night shifts. I was very energetic, but grumpy and knew nothing of my next step because my connecting flight had no gate number, as yet. The airport, while big and with a good amount of shops and restaurants, held no interest to me at this hour. All I wanted was a coffee and a place to sit and charge my equipment, but while there was plenty of coffee, there seemed to be no power outlets (inconsequential, I realize in retrospect, because I had no power adapters). Wanting to log on to check my e-mail, I was hit with another disappointment: You have to buy a card, and pay a lot for it, to surf the web here; so I decided to try one of their many internet machines. Guess what? For those you pay even more, 21 euros an hour for something I got for free at Pearson airport in Toronto (on my laptop), and Canadians do not always throw in their services. The woman at the machine next to me was extremely vocal about the injustice of all this! To make this story short, I went on for a minute, and was kicked out of my gmail account inexplicably, and then gave up.
My second plane, a Qatar Airways, had better seating and was a less cramped flight. Air vents were available, making for a cool and comfortable seat, and a perfect sleeping environment. This flight seemed to go on for all of an hour, because I actually slept through most of it (unusual for me) and watched an old favorite movie: Strangers on a Train. For those who don’t know it, this is an early Hitchcock movie that present an interesting setup and plot turns, although it looks as if you were reading it from a book- that is to say, the actor do little than say their lines and move through the scenes, and it is up to the viewer to fill in much of the emotion and subtext (which I was happy to do in my head). It is one of the few movies I would want to see redone because of this, even if I know it would not be done the proper justice.
Anyway, I arrived to little fanfare. The airport was small, but efficient and elegant. The drive home was speedy and comfy in an elegant Mercedes. And the evening was short before my father, tired from his long day, turned in. I hope today that I can do a good amount of exploration in the city, and I have already started my day right with a refreshing shower, egg breakfast and a nice brewed coffee. There aren’t any shops too nearby, so I will have to take a taxi to somewhere, and I hope that I will be able to do this without any issues.

Until later…