Category: Everyday Me

Back Home…

Well I’m back home in Tunis again, with my beloved son and wife; I got back from Manchester yesterday afternoon.

The trip was on Air France, an airlines I used to like back in the 80’s but that sucks more and more these days, especially on flights to and from the Arab world; it’s so tight, seating is not comfortable, the food they serve borders on disgusting, no in-flight entertainment, …etc.

I liked Manchester, not as much as I did London, but still it’s a nice city, that I wouldn’t mind living in. I wish I had more time to visit some sites and museums, but well maybe I’ll get to do that some other time.

I took some photos, not as much as I wished, and a number of them turned out a bit blurred, but I’ll be sharing some of the good ones soon.

I got a number of books that I had on my wishlist from Waterstone’s, enough to get me through a few months of good reading.

I didn’t get to get online much in the past week, just the one time to post the entry about me being in Manchester, the rest of my time was either in the workshop, shopping or hanging out with friends.
Things over here should be back to normal now though.

Manchester… Here I Am…

I haven’t blogged for a few days, and that’s because I’ve been away from home on a trip to Manchester, UK.

I’m here to attend a series of workshops that are being held under the umbrella of the Reachout project.

The programme has been pretty tiring and I haven’t had a chance to really go out and discover Manchester that much yet, but hopefully I will be trying to go out more and see more of the city in the coming days.
I’ll be taking as many photos as possible and sharing them with you once I’m home.

I miss my wife and son enormously and I wish they could’ve been here with me; I can’t help but get that sense again that no matter how great the place is, what’s more important is who you have there to share and enjoy it with.

Everybody in Tunisia told me I had to go to a Manchester United game, but as I’m not really a big football fan, I guess I’ll just pass on that; I’d rather spend more time discovering the city and all it has to offer, especially with the really limited time I have.

The weather here is quite chilly, but not anywhere as cold as I expected, I guess the effects of global warming are hitting everywhere.

Anyway, I’ll get going now, and till next time, cheers…

Eid Mubarak & Happy New Year 2007

Happy Eid to everyone…
I hope it was a great and blessed one for you all…

And Happy New Year 2007…
I wish you all an amazing new year, may it be full of happiness and success for every single one of you and your families…

The year 2006 was a very mixed year for my wife and I, not an easy one, full of change and with its fair share of ups and downs, but I guess what we’ll both remember it for is the greatest thing that has happened to us in our entire lives, the birth of our son Adam, who changed everything to the better, lighted up our lives and brought the beauty out of everything.

For 2007, I haven’t set a list of any personal resolutions, but what I plan is to go on doing my best to make sure my little family is as happy as can be, try to look towards the future and take the necessary steps to get there and to do something not all of us people do, which is to stop and look at myself every once in a while to see if I am leading a right and healthy lifestyle in every single way, and consider ways to fix whatever I might find is wrong.

As for the world, well all I can wish for is that people try to think of one another and understand each other, because that’s the only way to reach peace, prosperity, success for all.

Some Small Design Changes

As you should’ve already noticed, Subzero Blue has undergone some small design changes, the most important of which is the switch to a 1024×768 screen resolution.

I’ve been working on these design changes for a couple of months now, mainly getting used to them myself, trying to work out the best way to use space and organize the different elements of the blog.

There’s still some work to do here and there, but well I thought I’d just go ahead and put up these changes anyway, and then continue tweaking.

Other than the small changes in the design that I will let you discover for yourselves, I have also made the summaries feed a full post feed too. I think a person subscribing to a blog’s feed should be respected just as much as a person who visits the blog itself, if not more.

You’ll also notice some ads scattered here and there, not all of these will stay, some are just for tests, others are temporary placeholders.

I showed the design to a few people over the past month or so to get their feedback, and the reviews were mixed (some loved it, some didn’t like it), so in the end I went with my own instinct about it and put it online.
What do you think?

Cappuccino Or Chocolate?

The following events took place between the hours of 7:00 and 7:05 PM the other day, at a small grocery shop nearby, between me and the guy at the shop:

[…]
Me: Do you have those cappuccino thingies, you know those small instant cappuccino packs?
Guy: Yeah (and he goes to the back of the shop to get some)
Guy: How much do you need?
Me: Four
(he hands me four packs of powdered chocolate)
Me: Isn’t this chocolate?
Guy: No, it’s cappuccino
Me: Well, no it’s chocolate.
Guy: No, it’s cappuccino
Me: Dude, look it says “Chocolate”!!
Guy: No, it’s cappuccino
Me: Man, it’s “Chocoline”, they only make chocolate!! (I’m extra sure of this because I know the company that makes this brand and I’ve even been to their factory a number of times on work, and they’re all about chocolate)
Guy: No, it’s cappuccino
(I look around a bit and spot a pack of cappuccino lying around)
Me: Now that’s cappuccino, but this is chocolate
Guy: ….
Me: Ok, do you have any more of this “real” cappuccino?
Guy: No, that’s the last one
(I look around and find a full box)
Me: There’s a whole box!! Just give me another one and let me get out of here!
Guy: ….

Aaarrrgghhhh…
I don’t know why I even bothered…

Eid Mubarak

This is a bit late, but well better late than never as they say, Eid Mubarak to everyone, I hope you all had a great eid, that God blesses you all and that you’ll all be well and happy for many Ramadans and eids to come.

The way we spent our eid wasn’t much different than usual in the things we did, but very different in how it felt and in the meaning of it.
This year our son Adam was with us, and so it was our little family going out together to visit the close family and wish them a happy eid.
It felt really great and was a very special eid for us.

Having him with us also introduced us to another funny, amusing and weird belief that if a baby goes into someone’s house (for the first time or in the eid, depending on the version), and he/she is not given money, then mice will come out in that household.
Go figure where they came up with that from, but well it’s nice when your son is on the receiving end of it.

Anyway, again, happy eid to you all from our little family 🙂 I wish you all the very best.

Another Year, Another Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan starts tomorrow in Tunisia. It already started today in Saudi Arabia and a number of other Arab countries.
So as usual, we’ve started another Ramadan with the whole crescent appearing/disappearing act.

Ramadan Mubarak to everyone.
May it be a happy and blessed month for you all.

This Ramadan is even more special for us this year because it’s our first as a small family with the addition of Adam. It might not really change much in reality, but it just feels great.

Ramadan is a great time of year, and a great chance for people to get closer to God and to each other. So I hope you all get the chance to make the best out of it.
Let this not be just another Ramadan wasted on excess food and endless lists of useless series.

Fourth Marriage Anniversary

On this day exactly four years ago, Eman and I got married… Yep, today is our fourth marriage anniversary… Four years of bliss and happiness…

We’ve come a long way over the past four years, we’ve gone through many events, we’ve accomplished many things; even though time has flown by and it still feels like we got married yesterday.

This year’s anniversary is extra special because we were given a very precious gift from God, our son Adam, and now we’ve moved on from “couple” to “small family”, and it feels amazing.

To my dear wife: I can’t imagine myself spending my life any other way, nor with any other person than with you. I love you more than words can tell.
Thank you for making my life as beautiful and complete as you have. I hope God helps me to make you the happiest always.