randoms

i downloaded almost 200 gb worth of stuff during the nine days i spent at home during the eid break ... well it was just under 190 gb ... the bulk of it was series ... but also some movies ... and some music ... God bless that connection ...

my dad passed a kidney stone while i was there ... he was crippled with pain for two days ... he was throwing up and stuff ... it was awful ... when he finally did pass it ... it was so tiny ... i mean it was the size of an ant's head ... humans think they're so mighty but something so tiny can do that to them ... at least you could see a kidney stone ... you can't see viruses and look at what they can do ... the most amazing part was how the excruciating pain completely disappeared once he had passed the stone ...

i flew to dammam but i took a cab back to riyadh ... one of those cabs you share with three other people ... one guy in the passenger seat and three guys in the back ... they are faster than the bus though somewhat riskier ... anyway ... the driver was an old saudi man ... not less than fifty ... so anyway he was playing fairuz the entire way ... and a lovely selection too ... that's the second time this happens ... when i first came to riyadh the taxi i took from the airport also played fairuz ... now these are hardcore saudis ... bedouins ... but they appreciate fairuz ... something about that voice appeals to all arabs ...

i arrived in riyadh around 10:30 pm last night ... i dropped my stuff off at the apartment and quickly left to the barber to get a shave ... need to look presentable at work the next day ... anyway i always go to the same barbershop ... it's called il rukn il maghribi ... i think that's what it's called ... something il maghribi anyway ... on account of all the barbers who work there are ... yeah you guessed it ... moroccans ... so there is this big fat guy who always comes in ... he is jordanian ... or maybe palestinian ... they call him abu sub7i ... they being the barbers who work there ... he is very popular with them for some reason ... as soon as he comes in they will all start saying abu sub7i ... hala abu sub7i ... abu sub7i this abu sub7i that ... anyway they are always joking back and forth ... and abu sub7i always responds in a funny way ... i often find myself laughing out loud even though i'm not part of the conversation ... but you can't help hearing it since they are shouting back and forth across the room ... so yesterday's gem from abu sub7i was ... 7u6 9arma b7algak w i5ras ... he said that to one of the barbers ... and of course they all started cracking up ... including me ... also my barber taught me a moroccan insult ... i will share it with you ... zamir ... 3ala wazen fa3il ... it means m5annath ...

thanks to facebook i learned that my boss from the previous company i worked at is currently working in riyadh ... with a different company ... we spoke briefly and should be meeting soon ... i'm going to see if he can hook me up with a job at his company ...

it's raining in riyadh these days ... but nothing too serious ... and it's kind of cold ... none of that in dammam ...

saw this on yahoo ... Tupac's song "Changes" is one of 9 entries on the MySpace page for Pope Benedict XVI's album "Alma Mater: Music From The Vatican." ... i wonder if the pope ever saw this album cover by tupac ... blasphemous ...

my mom will not stop with the engagement questions ... though i didn't humor her at all ... at all ... i'd rather be castrated ...

the nets finally won a game ... mabrook ... 1-18 now ... thank God i'm not a nets fan ...

i had some work to do today ... but i didn't do any ... it's my first day back after the vacation ... i figured showing up was enough ...

leave you with a song from one of my favorite bands ... maybe my favorite band period ...

BAS