I was hanging out at the library today just doing some work when I completely lost my way. I ended up reading all about Julius Caesar and how the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire. In retrospect the topics I read about on the way to my final destination were linked in quite a peculiar fashion. It all started like this:
I look up from my book to see Ainsley Harriott's pretty face staring back at me from this medical journal with the headline "Ainsley Harriott talks about cooking, life and arthritis".. or something of the sort. So my mind wanders to a comment a friend of mine made as we stumbled onto Ready, Steady, Cook! when channel surfing on a hangover sunday about how Mr. Harriott is a former member of the Harlem GlobeTrotters. Lo and behold, I'm onto google in a flash to confirm the truth behind the rumor, so I type in his name and a Wikipedia link comes up. Nope, nothing remotely having to do with basketball.. he's been in the cooking business his whole life, apparently.
Hmm, so who WERE the members of the GlobeTrotters? Using Wikipedia again, I searched for that and came up with an article listing their history and members over the years.. interesting. Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain was one, eh?
While searching for that, one of the results was about Harlem, New York.. so I decide to click on it and read about the history of the area. It's quite informative, teaching me about the physical borders of the area as well as the years in which the African American populations started moving there and how throughout the years it gained notoriety as a hotbed for criminal activity. The article mentioned Hell's Kitchen as another area of New York, so I click on that and read about it.
From there the idea pops into my head to look up The Hells Angels (without the apostrophe in Hells I learn) which brings up a mention of the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont in 1969 when the gang were used for security and ended up stabbing a fan to death. Always wanted to know what happened that night, so I decide to read more about it by reading up on the Rolling Stones. After a quick whiz through their history in which it highlights quite the rift between Jagger and Richards, I decide to read more about Keith Richards' drug problems.
While reading about that, the article comes across two pieces of jewellery that he wears, one being a handcuffs bracelet that reminds him of how much he doesn't want to go to jail again, and a ring that looks like a skull with no jaw which apparently is a Totenkopf ring. What's that now?
On we go as I click on Totenkopf to read that its a german word that means "Death's Head" and is a military insignia associated with the Nazi SS. Hmm, click on that then and as I read the introductory paragraph the SS is described as the Nazi party's "praetorian guard".
Praetorian.. hmm.. so I click on that, which leads me to read about the Praetorian guard and their role in the Roman Empire and how they've become synonymous with intrigue, conspiracy, disloyalty and assassination. From there it lists the Roman Emperors and how the guard had affected their reign (whether by assassinating, deposing or assisting them) and from there I read about a few of the famous ones such as Nero, Caligula, Commodus etc.. There was actually an emperor called Philip the Arab who ruled for 5 years before being killed. Alllllriiiighhhttt.
You can see where this is leading, I hope? I spent the next hour and a half reading about the life and death of Julius Caesar, followed by the first Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus (real name being Octavian) who old Julius had written down as his heir in his will and who was actually his nephew and not his son.
Wikipedia is fantastic. I literally had to pull myself away otherwise who knows what I'd be reading about right now.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Monday, August 8, 2005
Bahraini in London
Well, I'm here.
Its strange when you see it on the news (and you know that you're going to go there and be there for a month), but it never actually sinks in until you get there and ride the tube and buses every single day. I'm quite the public transport fanatic, so I don't really care much about the threats of terrorism and what-not. If given the choice of free cab rides to wherever I wanted to go or a tube/bus travelcard for a month then I'm afraid the famous London Black Cab Company will have to do without my patron.
It was strange at first, normaly blank-faced commuters wore nervous expressions. Their eyes were shiftier than usual, and they scoped any suspicious passenger for signs of trouble. You could almost see the question arising in their minds as they examine the different pieces of luggage on the carriage.. "is that big enough to hold an explosive device?".. it was strange, to tell you the truth, and the more I thought about it myself the more I got worried. What would an explosion feel like? What were the odds? Should I stop using public transport? (BLASPHEMY! *slaps himself across the face* Get a hold of yourself man!).
Now that I've been here for a while I've gotten more used to seeing policemen and women scattered across the tube network's stations and platforms. I've realized that initial paranoia about how I would be percieved when bestrode those tunnel-travelling engines was unnecessary and excessive. Aside from a few wary glances I haven't felt labelled or singled out when travelling back and forth, which goes to show how well this metropolitan city has dealt with such dark times. "Goddamnit, we're going to continue with our lives whether you like it or not you dirtbags" is the general vibe you get from the city's residents.. and what better way to relay that specific point across than by carrying on like nothing's happened?
As for the rest of everything else, the hospital is nice and modern, the staff are very professional and I'm getting a good kickstart to my final year of studying by realizing that I have much work to do before I'm up to scratch. I'm just glad that the Picaddilly line is finally back in service.. I've missed riding that diagonal, navy blue bugger.
Its strange when you see it on the news (and you know that you're going to go there and be there for a month), but it never actually sinks in until you get there and ride the tube and buses every single day. I'm quite the public transport fanatic, so I don't really care much about the threats of terrorism and what-not. If given the choice of free cab rides to wherever I wanted to go or a tube/bus travelcard for a month then I'm afraid the famous London Black Cab Company will have to do without my patron.
It was strange at first, normaly blank-faced commuters wore nervous expressions. Their eyes were shiftier than usual, and they scoped any suspicious passenger for signs of trouble. You could almost see the question arising in their minds as they examine the different pieces of luggage on the carriage.. "is that big enough to hold an explosive device?".. it was strange, to tell you the truth, and the more I thought about it myself the more I got worried. What would an explosion feel like? What were the odds? Should I stop using public transport? (BLASPHEMY! *slaps himself across the face* Get a hold of yourself man!).
Now that I've been here for a while I've gotten more used to seeing policemen and women scattered across the tube network's stations and platforms. I've realized that initial paranoia about how I would be percieved when bestrode those tunnel-travelling engines was unnecessary and excessive. Aside from a few wary glances I haven't felt labelled or singled out when travelling back and forth, which goes to show how well this metropolitan city has dealt with such dark times. "Goddamnit, we're going to continue with our lives whether you like it or not you dirtbags" is the general vibe you get from the city's residents.. and what better way to relay that specific point across than by carrying on like nothing's happened?
As for the rest of everything else, the hospital is nice and modern, the staff are very professional and I'm getting a good kickstart to my final year of studying by realizing that I have much work to do before I'm up to scratch. I'm just glad that the Picaddilly line is finally back in service.. I've missed riding that diagonal, navy blue bugger.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Reflection
Since I'm leaving Bahrain in a few short days to start an elective at a hospital in London, I thought I'd write a post about 10 things I've learned, achieved and experienced over the last few weeks:
1. Bahrain to Dublin, direct, three times a week starting December 2nd.. the best bit of news I've ever heard from Gulf Air.
2. Golf can be a very entertaining game if you persist with it (and manage to bag a free membership to the club for a week).
3. The heat.. the godawful heat. Not to mention the sporadic waves of uber-humidity.
4. Meeting new people who you expect to figure prominently in your life from now on can be quite a gratifying and enjoyable experience. Its been a pleasure, gentlemen.
5. You can get very fat, very fast in this country if you don't stick to your gym plans. So much for all the weight I managed to lose during exam time.
6. I've become more emotionally volatile when it comes to things I'm passionate about. In an effort to maintain a more characteristic cool, I will now try to take criticism more calmly.
7. Bahrain is growing at an unbelievable rate. A few months abroad and you're dumbstruck at the amount of roads and buildings constructed in the short span of time you were away.
8. It takes me approximately 5 weeks of doing absolutely nothing to recharge my batteries. All the physical and mental effects of a gruelling cross country commute-filled academic year have slowly been washed away.
9. I've realized that within less than a year I will be entrusted with the lives of people, and that no matter how worried that makes me feel I'm reassured by the fact that internally I have the confidence to cope with whatever fate throws my way.
10. I never knew one person could make me so happy. I never thought I'd be so head over heels. I love you sweetness.
See you in five months, Bahrain. Don't go changing too much on me now.
1. Bahrain to Dublin, direct, three times a week starting December 2nd.. the best bit of news I've ever heard from Gulf Air.
2. Golf can be a very entertaining game if you persist with it (and manage to bag a free membership to the club for a week).
3. The heat.. the godawful heat. Not to mention the sporadic waves of uber-humidity.
4. Meeting new people who you expect to figure prominently in your life from now on can be quite a gratifying and enjoyable experience. Its been a pleasure, gentlemen.
5. You can get very fat, very fast in this country if you don't stick to your gym plans. So much for all the weight I managed to lose during exam time.
6. I've become more emotionally volatile when it comes to things I'm passionate about. In an effort to maintain a more characteristic cool, I will now try to take criticism more calmly.
7. Bahrain is growing at an unbelievable rate. A few months abroad and you're dumbstruck at the amount of roads and buildings constructed in the short span of time you were away.
8. It takes me approximately 5 weeks of doing absolutely nothing to recharge my batteries. All the physical and mental effects of a gruelling cross country commute-filled academic year have slowly been washed away.
9. I've realized that within less than a year I will be entrusted with the lives of people, and that no matter how worried that makes me feel I'm reassured by the fact that internally I have the confidence to cope with whatever fate throws my way.
10. I never knew one person could make me so happy. I never thought I'd be so head over heels. I love you sweetness.
See you in five months, Bahrain. Don't go changing too much on me now.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
The Elusive Idea
The Million Dollar idea. That one project that can net me a load of cash to set me up for further investments and wealth. I've been dwelling on this for the last couple of days. I have no money to my name, I have no assets I can sell, I have no investors to back any plans and most importantly.. I have no idea.
The focus has been on a cheap and creative way to provide a service that the Bahraini people require. A friend of mine has launched FeedMe, an online food ordering service (check it out!) and is slowly but surely building up a solid customer base. It caters to Bahraini (and Arabic, in general) people's love of food by providing another way to get the good stuff delivered to your doorstep. Integrating the Internet was meant to speed up the process for office workers with no time to pick up a phone, but it has also proven to be a hit with the younger generation (particularly teenagers), since ordering off a website is infinitely cooler than doing it the old-fashioned way. If you're reading this Fady then I expect a decent amount of free food vouchers delivered to my mailbox in return for all of this free advertising.
So I've been trying to come up with something similar, even simpler. Something that requires little start-up cash and yields instantaneous returns. The problem is, the market is quite small which means that to get the profits I'm looking for I have two options:
1. Target a large demographic and have a cheap and affordable service.
2. Provide the service to a niche market and charge a lot of money.
I'm also not in Bahrain for a good 8 months of the year, so running and propagating the service is also an issue. This is why the idea has to be spectacular, something that only needs to be introduced for the customers to flock to it. I have no time to start small and utilize word of mouth publicity.. I need instant impact. Its a get-rich-quick scheme/dream. I want to do the least amount of work possible and get the most out of it.
We were given a talk once about how doctors are notorious for their poor money-management and investment skills. Most medical practitioners earn a decent wage and could be much wealthier and have more free time to dedicate to their families/pro-bono work/social lives if only they invested wisely. Maybe in the future when I've got some greenback to my name I'll actually sit down and think up a proper way to start a profitable business. Until then, I'm just going to keep dreaming about my Million Dollar Idea.
The focus has been on a cheap and creative way to provide a service that the Bahraini people require. A friend of mine has launched FeedMe, an online food ordering service (check it out!) and is slowly but surely building up a solid customer base. It caters to Bahraini (and Arabic, in general) people's love of food by providing another way to get the good stuff delivered to your doorstep. Integrating the Internet was meant to speed up the process for office workers with no time to pick up a phone, but it has also proven to be a hit with the younger generation (particularly teenagers), since ordering off a website is infinitely cooler than doing it the old-fashioned way. If you're reading this Fady then I expect a decent amount of free food vouchers delivered to my mailbox in return for all of this free advertising.
So I've been trying to come up with something similar, even simpler. Something that requires little start-up cash and yields instantaneous returns. The problem is, the market is quite small which means that to get the profits I'm looking for I have two options:
1. Target a large demographic and have a cheap and affordable service.
2. Provide the service to a niche market and charge a lot of money.
I'm also not in Bahrain for a good 8 months of the year, so running and propagating the service is also an issue. This is why the idea has to be spectacular, something that only needs to be introduced for the customers to flock to it. I have no time to start small and utilize word of mouth publicity.. I need instant impact. Its a get-rich-quick scheme/dream. I want to do the least amount of work possible and get the most out of it.
We were given a talk once about how doctors are notorious for their poor money-management and investment skills. Most medical practitioners earn a decent wage and could be much wealthier and have more free time to dedicate to their families/pro-bono work/social lives if only they invested wisely. Maybe in the future when I've got some greenback to my name I'll actually sit down and think up a proper way to start a profitable business. Until then, I'm just going to keep dreaming about my Million Dollar Idea.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
A Strange Dream
You'll all be pleased to know that I passed my exams and am officially in my final year of study. Before the results were released I had frequent dreams about them, not particularly about failing.. just ABOUT the exams in general.
Anyway, ever since the results came out and all was confirmed, the dreams ceased.. except for last night. I had a very strange dream that I thought I'd share with everyone. Quite random, so I thought it would be fitting to post it onto my "Random Blog":
**Begin Dream**
I'm sitting at home and I check my college email to discover that the results for the multiple choice exam have just been released. Hello.. what's this? What exam? I thought the results were all published? Anyway, I got a mark of 0 out of 20. Disastrous, since it means that I'll have to resit Pharmacology (of course, pharmacology was a subject I did 3 years ago but nothing makes sense in this dream, so read on). But how could I have gotten none of the questions right, I could've sworn I did better.. even though I don't remember taking the fucking paper! So I'm enraged at this point, I pick up the phone (some crazy Washington-Kremlin Red Hotline looking thing) and call the exams officer. I inquire about the result, about how I could've failed so miserably and how if I had gotten 2 questions right then I would've made it through.. so the guy tells me this:
"You see, you answered two questions correctly.. except we had Mario (from the Nintendo videogame, Super Mario Bros.) take five penalties in a shootout. Mario had to make at least the same number of penalties as your correct questions for you to pass, but unfortunately he missed all of his kicks."
So this is where I completely lose it. What the hell does a fat, Italian plumber videogame character have to do with my grades? Why does he decide if I pass or fail, and since when has this system been standard practice?
**End Dream**
I was quite agitated, which I believe is the reason I woke up without finding out the answers to all of my questions. A possible explanation is my being completely hooked on the Zelda videogame (which I completed yesterday after a week of vigorous, life-interrupting videogaming.. a period of time in which my girlfriend learned many new things about the way my childish mind prioritizes tasks sometimes).. but what does Link (the hero in Zelda) have to do with Mario? And yes, I've had football on the brain.. which could explain the penalty shootout.. but don't I always have football on my mind?
So many unanswered questions that are destined to remain as such.
Anyway, ever since the results came out and all was confirmed, the dreams ceased.. except for last night. I had a very strange dream that I thought I'd share with everyone. Quite random, so I thought it would be fitting to post it onto my "Random Blog":
**Begin Dream**
I'm sitting at home and I check my college email to discover that the results for the multiple choice exam have just been released. Hello.. what's this? What exam? I thought the results were all published? Anyway, I got a mark of 0 out of 20. Disastrous, since it means that I'll have to resit Pharmacology (of course, pharmacology was a subject I did 3 years ago but nothing makes sense in this dream, so read on). But how could I have gotten none of the questions right, I could've sworn I did better.. even though I don't remember taking the fucking paper! So I'm enraged at this point, I pick up the phone (some crazy Washington-Kremlin Red Hotline looking thing) and call the exams officer. I inquire about the result, about how I could've failed so miserably and how if I had gotten 2 questions right then I would've made it through.. so the guy tells me this:
"You see, you answered two questions correctly.. except we had Mario (from the Nintendo videogame, Super Mario Bros.) take five penalties in a shootout. Mario had to make at least the same number of penalties as your correct questions for you to pass, but unfortunately he missed all of his kicks."
So this is where I completely lose it. What the hell does a fat, Italian plumber videogame character have to do with my grades? Why does he decide if I pass or fail, and since when has this system been standard practice?
**End Dream**
I was quite agitated, which I believe is the reason I woke up without finding out the answers to all of my questions. A possible explanation is my being completely hooked on the Zelda videogame (which I completed yesterday after a week of vigorous, life-interrupting videogaming.. a period of time in which my girlfriend learned many new things about the way my childish mind prioritizes tasks sometimes).. but what does Link (the hero in Zelda) have to do with Mario? And yes, I've had football on the brain.. which could explain the penalty shootout.. but don't I always have football on my mind?
So many unanswered questions that are destined to remain as such.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Nostalgia
Spending time back home never fails to send me on trips down memory lane.
Its been five years since I've graduated from high school. That's half a decade. That equates to slightly less than 1/4 of my entire life (21.7% to be anally exact). A lot has happened since then, and it almost seems like living in Bahrain was an entire lifetime ago. I bet this is amusing the over 30s of you out there, that a relative youngin has the nerve to go on about how old he feels.. to that I say: isn't it time to empty out that colostomy bag?
Alright, I'm sorry. That was harsh. I'm actually quite excited about growing up, becoming more mature and knowledgeable is quite gratifying. It's funny looking back at the past five years and realizing how dumb I was.. and I'll probably look back on this five years from now and realize how stupid I am at the moment, its kind of a depressingly never-ending kind of thing.
Getting back on topic: Its things like fishing through my bookcase and taking a look at all the novels I used to read back in high school. Its opening a drawer still stuffed with old IB notes that haven't been touched in five years. Its catching up with old friends, running into people you haven't seen in such a long time and realizing that most of them have jobs and some even have children (yeah, one guy in my class is actually a father now). Its visiting your high school for the first time in five years only to realize that things are not quite as you left them. Its seeing all those kids graduating (June is graduation season, of course) and reading through this year's yearbook, all that stuff about how old they feel and how they've just accomplished something tremendous and thinking.. that used to be me. Its remembering the old days with your buddies, all the things we used to get up to and all the childishness of days past. Its hanging out with my parents and realizing how different our relationship has become, how its become a horizontal one of friendship, rather than a vertical heirarchy of authority. Its seeing my siblings growing older and wiser, becoming interesting people that make me want to spend time with them, changed from the kids who's silliness I tried to avoid. Its thinking about things like domestic and foreign politics, personal finances, career decisions, future aspirations, religious beliefs.. just.. serious stuff.. things that have replaced the peaceful, innocent, oblivious contents of my childhood cranium. Its things like having to renew my driving license and getting a new 5-year UK visa because the old 5-year one expires next month. Its looking at old photos of senior year and seeing the difference. Its starting to think about what happens after I'm done studying. Its looking at myself in the mirror and spotting a few stray grey hairs (for fuck's sake, that's just unnecessary.. I'm only 22 and a half).
I think I lost my way there, I set out to write about random nostalgic moments I've experienced since I got back but ended up ranting about growing older. I guess they're inextricably linked, the older you get the more nostalgic you become.
I just read an article about this Haitian man living in Cuba who's 120 years old. Apparently he doesn't remember the first 40 years of his life. Amazing.
Its been five years since I've graduated from high school. That's half a decade. That equates to slightly less than 1/4 of my entire life (21.7% to be anally exact). A lot has happened since then, and it almost seems like living in Bahrain was an entire lifetime ago. I bet this is amusing the over 30s of you out there, that a relative youngin has the nerve to go on about how old he feels.. to that I say: isn't it time to empty out that colostomy bag?
Alright, I'm sorry. That was harsh. I'm actually quite excited about growing up, becoming more mature and knowledgeable is quite gratifying. It's funny looking back at the past five years and realizing how dumb I was.. and I'll probably look back on this five years from now and realize how stupid I am at the moment, its kind of a depressingly never-ending kind of thing.
Getting back on topic: Its things like fishing through my bookcase and taking a look at all the novels I used to read back in high school. Its opening a drawer still stuffed with old IB notes that haven't been touched in five years. Its catching up with old friends, running into people you haven't seen in such a long time and realizing that most of them have jobs and some even have children (yeah, one guy in my class is actually a father now). Its visiting your high school for the first time in five years only to realize that things are not quite as you left them. Its seeing all those kids graduating (June is graduation season, of course) and reading through this year's yearbook, all that stuff about how old they feel and how they've just accomplished something tremendous and thinking.. that used to be me. Its remembering the old days with your buddies, all the things we used to get up to and all the childishness of days past. Its hanging out with my parents and realizing how different our relationship has become, how its become a horizontal one of friendship, rather than a vertical heirarchy of authority. Its seeing my siblings growing older and wiser, becoming interesting people that make me want to spend time with them, changed from the kids who's silliness I tried to avoid. Its thinking about things like domestic and foreign politics, personal finances, career decisions, future aspirations, religious beliefs.. just.. serious stuff.. things that have replaced the peaceful, innocent, oblivious contents of my childhood cranium. Its things like having to renew my driving license and getting a new 5-year UK visa because the old 5-year one expires next month. Its looking at old photos of senior year and seeing the difference. Its starting to think about what happens after I'm done studying. Its looking at myself in the mirror and spotting a few stray grey hairs (for fuck's sake, that's just unnecessary.. I'm only 22 and a half).
I think I lost my way there, I set out to write about random nostalgic moments I've experienced since I got back but ended up ranting about growing older. I guess they're inextricably linked, the older you get the more nostalgic you become.
I just read an article about this Haitian man living in Cuba who's 120 years old. Apparently he doesn't remember the first 40 years of his life. Amazing.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Balls: Curve or Straight?
Before your mind beings to wander, I'd like to state that the content of this post is quite innocuous.
I went bowling with a few friends yesterday and I discovered an interesting new fact.
Let me give you some background info: See, the thing is.. I've been bowling in Bahrain since I was 15. That's 7 years. I had a phase between 15 and 16 where I used to bowl every other day at Bushihri (old school bowling place which I believe has been unfortunately shut down recently). Obviously I'm out of shape these days since for the last 5 years I've been abroad and haven't bowled much on the occasions that I did come back. I would say I'm a decent player, averaging 135 per round on a good day.
Okay, so I've got some experience when it comes down to it, right? I even know how to calculate spare and strike scores! How come I've never heard about the curve and straight variations of the ball until yesterday?
Apparently, the curve ball is the one the professionals play with. You roll it down the lane and it looks like its going to take out 2 or 3 pins max, but then it takes a wicked curve and heads towards the middle, resulting in a strike most of the time. I've known that the method existed, but I never knew it had its own seperate ball. The balls provided for the masses placed on the racks are all straight balls, and I've been using those for the last 7 years.
No wonder all my finger-breaking attempts at generating that curve from a straight ball have proved so painfully unsuccessful.
I went bowling with a few friends yesterday and I discovered an interesting new fact.
Let me give you some background info: See, the thing is.. I've been bowling in Bahrain since I was 15. That's 7 years. I had a phase between 15 and 16 where I used to bowl every other day at Bushihri (old school bowling place which I believe has been unfortunately shut down recently). Obviously I'm out of shape these days since for the last 5 years I've been abroad and haven't bowled much on the occasions that I did come back. I would say I'm a decent player, averaging 135 per round on a good day.
Okay, so I've got some experience when it comes down to it, right? I even know how to calculate spare and strike scores! How come I've never heard about the curve and straight variations of the ball until yesterday?
Apparently, the curve ball is the one the professionals play with. You roll it down the lane and it looks like its going to take out 2 or 3 pins max, but then it takes a wicked curve and heads towards the middle, resulting in a strike most of the time. I've known that the method existed, but I never knew it had its own seperate ball. The balls provided for the masses placed on the racks are all straight balls, and I've been using those for the last 7 years.
No wonder all my finger-breaking attempts at generating that curve from a straight ball have proved so painfully unsuccessful.
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