Let's wrap this one up folks!

As promised, this will be my final post for this year, and also a review on how 2008 was for me.

Personally 2008 wasn't one of the better years for me. Similar to 2007, only with a varied timeline and a few differences in the actual happenings, but for the most bit it did not live up to what I had in mind for it. Unlike 2007 though, I remember starting 2008 at a major high. This time last year, I would say that I can't be fazed. One year down the line, I will say that I was wrong.

The first half of 2008 did live up to some of the expectations that I had for it. I was doing well academically, personally and professionally. So was she. I managed to land my first paid job, even though it was a mere 20 day stint, it was still something that I really enjoyed doing, and did it with all my heart. It's something that I'd love to do on a regular basis. During the first half of this year I moved from strength to strength and I had it all planned out. I was motivated, dedicated and ridiculously energetic.

Professionally, 2008 was my first real exposure to a working environment. It's not that I haven't ever worked before. All the time I spent at Make A Wish and ERAD & UNOPS was not wasted time. But this was the first time I was working to better my career. And even though it was a learning experience I can, Alhamdulillah, safely say that I only had good experiences. I hope and pray that 2009 continues my run.

In 2008 I've also actively returned to blogging. I've made it a point to post regularly, and I started a few things that keep this blog alive like TWS and BOM. I'm glad I'm keeping the promise that I made when I started blogging, and 2008 has been the more successful of the two years that this blog has been on the internet.

The last third of 2008 wasn't all that it was spruced up to be though. In fact, it all started at one instantaneous moment, and I guess it was something that I wasn't prepared for and wasn't something that I expected. I lost a loved one to circumstances that were.. are.. beyond my control. I guess if 2008 taught me anything it's that I have a fear of not being able to control the happenings of my life, and letting others affect it. If I could change it I would, but the fact that there's nothing I can do to affect it, sorta leaves you with this helpless feeling. It's like doing great at work, but not getting the credit that you deserve.

4 months since, I can safely say that my thought processes have changed beyond what I'd like them to be. I'm not as confident about myself as I was, and that to me is a major blow. I want to regain it, and over time I know I will InshAllah.

I met T this year after lessay 5 - 8 years. T, I want to thank you for being a great friend and.. I dunno. Thanks again. I may not be as much of a friend to you, as you are to me, but as a new years resolution I'll try and change that (sooner or later you'll stop missing Irfan :P ).

Sana left for University this year - I met her today - and I guess I realized that I really do miss her a lot. She's my best friend. No one functions with me the way she does. She's a rare person and I'm glad I met her. Well whaddya know, Anish did something right after all.

I want to appreciate the fact that Barry and I have also become best friends. If at all MAHE did anything right, it was putting the both of us in the same section, and I'm glad I met you buddy. Although, I have to apologize, I can't take you with me to Boston (Harvard). That travel companion position is reserved. (Guitar Hero tomorrow again?)

One of my closest friends, Hussein Ali, got married this month. I've been with him for a while now and I know that no one deserves it any more than he does, and I pray that he get's everything that he wants and that he lives up to everything that his parents want him to. Hussein I know you're never going to read this, but for the record, you're a great friend. Even though we've not met/spoken as much in the last 2 months, you're a great guy, and I'm glad I invited you for my 18th birthday.

As for you. I really don't know what to say. I guess at the end of it all, I've said everything that I've wanted to, and so have you. It was one hell of a ride. 2 and a half of the best years of my life, however short they both may be. I guess at the end of it all, I know that Allah will guide us to what is best for us and our futures. Both mine and yours. Whether they're separated now, or maybe at some point in the future, joined again. Unfortunately, he can only guide us, but the decision is still made by us. For now, I'm going to stick with mine. I am moving on. But I'm never giving up. Because that's what I would have done last year. And that's what I'll do now.

Do me a favour though. What was the name of that song? The one you made me listen to that night? I think it was by She Wants Revenge, but I'm not sure. Either way, be safe.

This time last year, I expected the following year to be just great. In some ways it was. I got much closer to some people, some GOOD people. A Muslim is defined by the company he keeps. And I think I keep good company. In some ways 2008 blew.

At the end of it, I've learned that we as people have very limited control over our lives, even though we claim to be in total control. We're not. Our lives are deeply affected by the actions of others, both in positives and in negatives. The difference is you only tend to notice the negatives because they make your life that much harder. I'm not bitter about it, it's just something that I've noticed. People tend to remember only the bad, and forget the good.

InshAllah, InshAllah, InshAllah, 2009 will bring a change for me, my life and those in it.

This is a story from the Prophet's (SAW) time. It's not the exact words or translation, but it's the same meaning. A man came up to the Prophet (SAW) once and asked him, "I have a camel. Every night when I travel, should I leave it up to Allah to protect it, or should I tie it up and then pray to Allah?" The Prophet (SAW) responded, "Tie the camel down and then pray to Allah." What it means is that you can't leave everything up to Allah and hope for him to fix things. There are things that you have to do yourself, and only once you've done them can you ask Allah to help you.

InshAllah, he will. InshAllah 2009 will be everything that I want it to be.


This is your writer, signing off after a long, eventful and tumultuous 2008. See you guys again in 2009.


Muhammed Ali Jamadar


_

The Ballads of M: I can't think of a title for this..

This is something I've done in the past, and I can say without doubt that it's because I am naive and immature. But being another young adult with only a laptop and internet connection at his disposal, I know that this is my little bit in trying to help. I'd love to do more, and maybe one day I can and will be able to do more. Till then, I'm not going to stop writing.

Today, Israeli warplanes launched multiple aerial attacks across Palestinian lands and killed at least 155 people, wounding another 310.

I know that a LOT of people have Yahoo! as their homepage, but I wonder why I don't see that much of a reaction? I mean, apparently we're still human beings right? When India was attacked and a similar number of people were killed at the Taj and the Trident, remember the buzz? The Media attention? The public outcry? The political pressure on Pakistan to control their people?

I'm not saying that, what happened in India was a small deal, not at ALL. What I'm trying to say is that why is it that people who were SO shocked about the death and murder in India, why those SAME people don't have the same reactions to the terrorist actions of the Israeli army in Palestine? Whether it was a 20 year old waving an AK-47 or it was an Israeli pilot in an F-16, murder is MURDER.

When a few Israelis were killed at the Narmin house in India and a baby ( "Baby Moshe" ) was orphaned, HOW many TV hours were dedicated to them? HOW many news channels aired their plight repeatedly? Again, I'm not saying that an Israeli's life is worthless (although I'm sure a lot of people would), but WHY not the same outcry when SO many MORE people are slaughtered in Palestine?

Where are the NDTV specials? Where is CNN's live covering? Where are the BBC? I'm not even gonna mention FOX news.

It is DISGUSTING to mention that the populace of this world has come to ignore the deaths of certain communities only because, it is now so common to hear of their deaths. Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghanis and even the Chechnyans earlier on.

It is DISGUSTING that the superpowers sit back and allow Israel to do as they see fit, but will threaten Pakistan with military action when India was attacked.

It is DISGUSTING that your average bloke can power up his TV or laptop and read the deaths of a hundred Palestinians and go, "Oh well," and then go on checking the football scores.

It is DISGUSTING that we sit here in our comfortable lives and care about the deaths that happened in India, or the 9/11 attacks or the London Tube attacks only because we know people there and because it "affects" us in a manner of speaking. But when we hear about the other deaths that don't affect us, we can read, comprehend and then continue to ignore.

It is DISGUSTING how people can care when supposedly superior races of humans are killed but then turn away when a supposedly inferior race is slaughtered in broad daylight.

It is DISGUSTING how some countries will defend the perpetrators of mass genocide.

How can an American or an Israeli now sit back and wonder why they really are hated so much. I don't hate every American or Israeli, because I don't want to stereotype. And because I know there are good people on all sides of a war. I know there are bad people in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan too.

But believe you me, it's not easy convincing yourself to remain focused, and not to hate.

M


_

Could it be..?

Around mid-October, I heard this rumour and remember laughing it off as unlikely. I mean who would go through such lengths so as to block video hosting, P2P networks and torrents. At that point it seemed unlikely and, to be entirely frank, extremely risque. Can you imagine internet censorship to THAT degree?

Last week, there was a story spreading round (I mentioned even) that a ship had dropped anchor on a deep sea cable, severing lines and subsequently disrupting internet activity in the UAE. Now we all read and acknowledged said event, and understood why a lot of our internet based softwares and websites were acting up. I mentioned that even blogger was slow. By yesterday, all my internet speeds were back up to par.

With one small difference.

YouTube, the web's premier video hosting website, is no longer accessible. NO, it's not 'blocked' but you can no longer connect to their server. So all you end up seeing is a page that reads, "The connection to the server was reset while attempting to contact it." For a while I figured it was just the internet acting up. 5 days and regular internet later I wonder.. Could it be?

Limewire, one of the world's popular P2P networks, refuses to connect. Neither do any of my torrent files. Weird I thought. Internet was fine, so then why do these things refuse to connect. Allowing Etisalat the benefit of the doubt I rang them up to ask them if the internet issues were solved. A nice Pinoy lady responded in the affirmative. Internet was (supposedly) back to normal.

Total brain racking time! What is going on? YouTube, Limewire and torrents STILL not working. Somewhere inside me the conspiracy theorist woke up. I fired up a VPN to check something out.

Guess what I found....

YouTube, Limewire and torrents working JUST fine when the VPN was fired up, but not even connecting when I'm running my regular lines.

From this I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. If anyone has the same problems, or, is not having the same problems, do let me know.

Cheers!

M


_

9 days till..

In 9 days we'll be done with this year and onto the next. I'll recap on this year closer to the end.

University is lame. The classes are lame, the students are lame and the timings are lame. But it's nice to have friends there at the very least. This semester wasn't all that, academically. The three week break that I took to India turned out to be one of the lesser smart things that I've done. I missed 3 tests, 4 assignments and another 3 quizzes. You KNOW that's not going to turn out good. This time I do have a legitimate excuse, but it's still just that, an excuse.

The interwebz is still messed up here in the UAE. A cable in the ocean was cut when an anchor dropped down on it and so we have some Frenchies with robot submarines trying to fix 'em. I called up Etisalat and they were nice enough to inform me that they had absolutely no idea when it would be fixed. I asked for a ballpark estimate. "I zhon't know," replied the Egyptian call center guy. "Maybe vun day maybe two days maybe niikist eeyar.."

.......nice..

Oh well, it's really hard to even BLOG, as everything takes a decent amount of time to load up, and considering I've got Zemanta installed, it takes that much longer. 52KBps wasn't this bad, was it?


Oh well. Back to the days of morse code..


M


_

100 things everyone ought to do..

tole this off T who, well, stole this off another blogger. Hmm. I really should stop ripping him off...

Or not.

100 things that everyone should do.

Those in bold = done
Those in italics = really really wanna do

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a preying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child [LNZA =) ]
16. Had food poisoning (could you imagine it if THIS was in italics..)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (yes. it's true. I DO want it)
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (How about ONLY killed?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

So that was my version of the same. Hope you liked it!


M


_

19/12/2008

Come this day I'm finally legal to do all those things that I will never do. It's an odd achievement really. It's like going through 8 years of medical school and then not become a doctor. I got a lot of messages, wall posts on Facebook all saying, "OMG ur lyk legal n shit so u cn lyk do all dat abuv 21 sht. daym man dat's so kewl.."

After I spent some time deciphering what that meant, it was funny to see that turning 21 for me was no different than turning 19, 20 or when I turn 22. I mean yeah, 18 was a big deal, driver's license and stuff but beyond that I couldn't really care.

This birthday is an odd(er) one because it's the first time I'm celebrating it 'by myself.' I haven't celebrated it that way since I turned 18 and had a party where she showed up. It's odd.

My most memorable birthday ever was my [edit] 20th, [edit] when they (read: she) threw me a surprise party with this big ass custom made card, (which I realize now that I did not blog about it then) and cake and friends and stuff. This birthday was quieter but I must appreciate BARRY (moron :P) for buying me something that I've wanted for some time now. Him, Mareena, Alistan and Ritesh pitched in for it (And I think there are more, just not sure who). They bought me a paintball marker. Specifically a PCS US-5 Field Marker (Equipment -> Ordinance -> US-5 Field Marker). It's olive green (one of my favourite colours) and I love it.

In other news, Sana should be back in town on the 22nd, and for some reason my parents keep asking me about it. While I think it's cool, I think it's also kind of unnerving when your parents seem more excited than you do to meet your best friend.

I'd like to throw out an apology to all my readers for not updating in the last week or so. I blame Twitter. I mean that thing is ADDICTIVE and so much more easier to update than a webpage. But still, now that I'm over the initial twittering shock, I will hopefully spend more time on my blog and resume posting at a more regular pace.

Also, this weeks TWS will be slighly delayed due to crappy internet over here in the UAE. It's been off its mark all day and for some reason Youtube isn't working so I'm kinda stuck as I had a nice little video that I was gonna post. So watch out for it, it should be out within the next 2 days.

The other day I fired up blogger and everything and I had a great something to talk about. I logged in and went straight to the create a post page and was sitting there and got distracted for the slightest of seconds. Moment I turned back to the screen, I had this mental gap in my memory and had completely forgotten what it was that I was going to blog about. Darn it. That's the second time that's happened in one week. Age. It's getting to me.

With that, I'll leave you guys until I remember something to blog about. Cheerio!


M


_

Long time coming..

How can this not make you smile?



At least SOMEONE got to do it..


M


_

Clackity Clack..

It's been a while since I updated here so here's my stuff..

December's been eventful lately, to say the least.. Both good and bad things. I normally enjoy my Decembers. They're a lot more relaxed than all the other months. Work slows down as all companies start packing up their yearly fiscals and stuff. Schools slow down as everyone buckles up to study for the end semester papers, so while we still attend University, it's not as hectic anymore.

In October, a then friend of mine made a post that was quite.. vague. Now, that post just seems ridiculously contradictory. It did then too, but now it just reeks of it. So, when earlier this month I discovered some secrets that put a lot of that into perspective, I was pleasantly shocked and the struggle was to keep it in me and not blurt it out. Methinks I actually did a half decent job about it. I didn't post it here or any place. Didn't mention it to anyone either, although I did mention it on my twitter.

Last night I finally did it. I didn't want to do it earlier because the other person was in a state of duress and I did not want to spit it out then. Last night I guess my patience cracked and I did it quite bluntly. Not too happy with the way I did it, but it's irrelevant eventually . I wanted to do it in a better way, admittedly I was quite brash about it.

I almost began writing another hate post last night but I'm glad I calmed down some and did not. That would not have been very mature or fit for the moment. Sure it might have blown off a little steam, but I'm still equally mad now only difference is I'm physically calm.

There are things in life that you take for granted. Amongst them is the untruth that people will stand by what they say.

Nay. They won't. They'll stand by it when it's convenient for them to do so. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

The event from last August that led up to my reaction last night proved one thing. Some people are full of shit. They say things and take stands, NOT because it's what's ethical, but simply because it's what makes them look that way. It's all about image. It's all about how a third person, who doesn't know you, conceives you. A dear friend of mine described it perfectly. A Conforming Non-Conformist. Every alternate person that is trying not to blend in with the remainder. By actively trying to NOT to conform with one group, you're conforming to another, albeit smaller, group.

I swore to myself some time ago, that I would not let myself show any emotional outbursts on this blog, simply because I wanted to refine my experience as a blogger. I'm glad I did not break that promise last night, as I'd probably have woken up this morning, read it and felt disgust at myself. So that's good.

I do, however, want to explain my last post. I understand that it might seem vague or, dare I say it, emo. But I guess at its end there was a thought in my head that I wanted to post. Or express rather. I know you very well. You know that. And I've often wondered, that when your anger, rage, bitterness, everything, when it all subsides. When you're no longer bound to the prejudiced judgment that you're normally hardwired to. As in, when your thoughts have finally calmed and have truly become unbiased, and you become who you try to hide from the world. Now this moment may be miniscule in time and space. But it exists. At that point, it may be RIGHT after you get off the phone, or just before you close your eyes to fall asleep. Or maybe even when you open a book, switch on your pc, open a closet. Anything. No matter HOW small it may be. At that single flashpoint.

What DO you say?

Another thing that really shocked me is that how some people walk scot free for something so heinous. Simply because they're fathers know all the right people.

M


_

The Ballads of M: I wonder..

When no one's listening. When no one's there to see.

I wonder what you tell yourself.

Not your reactions no. When everything inside dies, and it's all quiet.

I wonder what you tell yourself.



M


_

The Weekly Stupids V1P11: I believe in Judgement Day..

The Terminator movies did this to me....


M


PS. This weeks TWS courtesy of XKCD Webcomics.

_

R.I.P.

In today's early hours my family and I were informed that one of my aunts, my father's eldest sister, passed away. She suffered a heart attack.

I regret that I wasn't able to visit her house when I was in India.

I'm going to miss her. My father already does. Please pray for him and her.


M

December December =)

Without a doubt, my most favourite month of the year.

Not only is it that my birthday falls in this month, but it's also arguably some of the best weather that you can get here in the UAE. Sure rain and mud isn't all that attractive but it's much more pleasant than 45 degrees Celsius of heat and 50% humidity.. Either way, some way or the other I always enjoy this month more than any other in the year.

Anyway, as I fired up firefox I had some things that I wanted to blog about but for some reason, now that I'm actually here I can't remember..



......darn it..


Hmm so much for that..

Ok so I guess I'll just leave you all with the thought that I really love December. Birthday, weather, other people's birthdays etc etc., more lovely weather, lovely ambiance everything..


xx

M


_

The Ballads of M: Pfffft..

Time, space and actions are condensed into a white speck.

It's atom's weight is still too much for the consequences to bear.


M


_

The Weekly Stupids V1P10 - My Spam...

I meant to do this one a long time ago, but it's only now that I'm finally getting around to it.


Here is a screenshot of my junk email folder.. 'nuff said




Don't you guys love spam?


M




_

Zack & Miri Make a Porno..

My brother is SO gonna talk to me about this one..... (And I'm SO watching this movie)



I LOVE THE MOVIES

xD



M




_

The Weekly Stupids V1P9: Bloooooooooood. BHLOOOOD..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA





BHLOOODDDDD!!! BULOOOOOOOOODDDDAH!!!! NOTH FUNNEEEEE!!! BLOOOOOD!!

xD


M




_

I can SO relate to Marten and Dora..

Totally... Story of my life..

Although we normally went, 'Hmm. Hmm Hmm Hmm..'

:)



M




_

Brabus Rocket. Yes. I touched one.

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that the one thing I'd want to own is a Brabus Rocket. This car has been a dream vehicle for quite some time.....

So when I see it outside my University, I make my first ever vlog..




(Did I mention I'm not an awesome vlogger yet?)

To be brutally honest, this particular model had the trim of a regular CLS 350. Theoretically, the Rocket is supposed to be a Brabus version of the CLS 65 AMG. Although, I guess, it is possible for someone to buy the regular 350 and have it transformed into the Rocket anyway, so it doesn't matter. Although I personally prefer the trim and the rims of AMG.

What I'm also going to do is add another video of the Rocket with it's proper trim as it was tested on, 'Fifth Gear.' Here I guess you'll see a much better version of what I humbly tried to do..






On the right is a picture of the Rocket being used as a police vehicle in the Vatican, making it the fastest police vehicle on the planet..







<3


M




_

Oooooooooh cool! Zemanta is wicked!

Image by via CrunchBaseOnce again, I shamelessly rip off another something off of T's blog. This time it's this wicked little software called Zemanta.

Zemanta is essentially a post enhancer, where it adds relevant links, pictures, tags, etc. to your blog post making it way cooler. I probably won't use the tags, but I'm going to look into using the pictures and the links in future posts.

I'm still experimenting with what this nifty little add-on can do, so expect a world of test posts in the near future.

<3


M




_

Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down

I was going through my tags just a few minutes ago and was looking at how frequent each one was. When I saw that my Music tag was the least I thought to myself, 'Post a song that's really been on your head lately..' You know, to balance things out a little..

I jumped onto the 'tube and after thinking only a little, I decided I'd do Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional. It's been on my mind a lot lately, and the song has great meaning to me and someone else. I've loved this song for a long time and this version that I found is one that I particularly enjoyed.

And, above that, GFWMG is celebrating it's 150th post! Great co-incidence and an even better way to celebrate it.

Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down [Live at Abbey Road]



:)


M




_

The Weekly Stupids V1P8 - The Return of the Stupids

The long awaited return of the hotly anticipated, 'The Weekly Stupids" has now come to a halt as today we resume the largely well-liked weekly post.

HOWEVER, this is underway, only with a slight change of plan.

Subsequent to the Americans growing some gray cells and putting Obama in charge, The Weekly Stupids will now, instead of showcasing American stupidity, showcase all kinds of stupidity, from all races and corners of the world. It will also include regular humour, but I'll try and narrow it down to vlogs or something TWS worthy..

Going through the 'tube the other day, and came across this. I personally am NOT racist in any form, but I do enjoy racist jokes. Anything that can help transcend racial boundaries in a light hearted manner is cool with me.

Either way, this shit cracked me up.

(Warning: Strong Language)

Keeping your refrigerator stocked will get you many women.




xD



M




_

You're not alone..

"We're not alone,

There is more to this I know,

You can make it out,

You will live to tell."


- You're Not Alone, Saosin




M




_

Meme a Meme..

I don't normally do meme's but T does them all the time so, nyeh, why not..

Where is your cell phone? On my wallet, which is on the study.
Where is your significant other? Will let you know asap.
You hair colour? Black
Your mum? Watching the telly downstairs..
Dad? Probably the same thing as mum..
One favourite thing? A certain type of weather.. Light rain in the early morning or the wee hours of the night.. :)
Your dream last night? Not a clue.
Your dream goal? Be successful, make those close to me proud of me, and be everything and more for my family..
The room you're in? Mine.. (currently)
Your hobby? Anything video gamey.
Your fear? Losing.. Anything...
Where do you want to be in six years? A nice place in life :)
Where were you last night? In bed early..
What you're not? Obnoxious.
One of your wish list items? A Brabus Rocket.
Where you grew up? Dubai, UAE
The last thing you did? Played Gears Of War 2.. It's friggin' BRILLIANT!
What are you wearing? Grey T-Shirt with a nice drawing of a stick man waving. And chaddis.
Your TV? Downstairs
Your pets? None atm, but come February I will be getting a cat or two.
Your computer? A nice little Toshiba..
Your mood? Calm. Not pensive though..
Missing someone? :)
Your car? Car? Who me? I'm poor, no car..
Something you're not wearing? Tightie Whities.. It's been awhile.
Favourite drink? Water
Your summer? Good first half, not so much the second..
Love someone? :)
Your favourite colour? Blood red / maroon
When was the last time you laughed? A bunch of times today. I like to keep things on the uppity up..
When was the last time you cried? ??


Boo!

xx


M




_

Repo: The Genetic Opera

The lovely Miss Sana Syed showed this to me and, believe you me, I can not WAIT to feast my eyes on this...





:D


xx


M




_

The Ballads of M: I'm a J. On occasion.

You know what I realized? I'm not very.. arty. I can't write a poem with deep meanings. I can't paint a beautiful picture, rich with subtext. I can't quote famous artists and renaissance - era philosophers. I can't write a small paragraph on infinity or time and space. I can't woo a person with my deep thought and intellect. What does that make me? I've always thought I had the ability to express myself in a very detailed, well - worded and thoughtful manner, but there are times when I think of myself as a machine that only spits out what it's been programmed to read.

I recently did a test during one of my lectures back at University. It was during the only class that I actually enjoy, MGT 204: Legal Environments in Business. The test was about ethics and protocol and was used to define where your approach to life is logical and based on facts or emotional with hasty judgments.

There were 9 questions, each with 2 choices, and you had to pick one. Based on what you picked for those 9 questions, you were awarded either a 'J' grade or a 'C' grade. The questions were interesting and some of them tore at your conscience. Questions like, is it worse to be unfair or partial? Or, if you were ordered to do something by a superior that you knew would hurt a co-worker, would you do it? Or, is it worse to be honest and hurt someone, or lie to them and protect their feelings?

I answered all 9 questions. My score:

J: 8
C: 1

By an overwhelming majority, I was a J. What's a J? A J is a person who acts according to facts and has his moral and ethical priorities well defined. While a J keeps these priorities in mind, he will always look at the greater good or the bigger picture before making a decision. A J is someone who knows that if by doing the right thing, he or she will hurt someone, he or she will accept that eventuality and go ahead with it, prepared to face the consequences of his or her action.

Some of these questions really rattled my conscience and I had to pick carefully. Some of these questions I realized, as I picked the J answer, that it would be emotionally a hard thing to do for me, but that's what needs to be done. Because that's what was right. So I wasn't surprised when it turned out that I was... am.. a J.

However, the one question in which I got a 'C' grade apparently rendered a whole different interpretation. The question was:

What is worse?

1. Stealing something of value from someone for no reason.
2. Breaking a promise that you made to a friend.

The moment I saw this question on the screen, I knew right away that I was going to pick the second option. As it turned out, the second option was the 'C' grade.

After the test was over, the professor asked to see me in her office, and that's where she told me that the test was really a test to map out a person's thought patterns. Each answer holds a different interpretation based on the results of all the other answers. When she saw my results, she wanted to talk to me and show me the interpretation. What looked like a simple test, turned out to have a very complex answer matrix. While the test was barely a page long, the answer matrix was a 380 page book, listing out all possible combinations and their interpretations. According to my professor, while I believe in logic and fairness and have that sense of deciphering a situation into what's right and what's wrong, because I picked this option, it proved that there is an overwhelming part of my subconscious that picks emotionally, but it rarely overpowers my ability to keep my focus. The only time that it will overpower my logical decision making is when I know that I will overtly hurt a person or his or her feelings.

She said the weird thing about my answer key is that it contradicts the very base of a 'J' personality. Someone with this answer key is defined as, 'an individual who can compartmentalize emotions from situations but still allows them to be a minor contributing factor in his decision making process, hereby rendering himself unpredictable on occasion. His understanding of the ethics of a situation is what drives him or her to make a logical decision, yet, have the least ethical or moral collateral damage.'

So I'm a J. Sometimes.

I guess, at the end of it all, while I regret that the artistic side to me and my personality is as lively as a cadaver, I can take solace in the truth that when faced with an issue, at the very least I won't be unfair and emotional. I might not be artistic, but my strength lies in my ability to understand and decipher.

And well, to be quite honest, the one artistic capability that I do have is something that I am very grateful for.


xx


M




_

The Catch Up Part 1: Pune (And India in general..)

Now that I'm back I'm gonna write a few updates on stuff that I've been wanting to write about but couldn't due to the lack of continuos internet.

Part 1 is about my trip to India (minus the actual flight there)

For someone who was VERY adamant that he does not want to go and would not enjoy himself, I should try and get my foot out of my mouth, because I had an absolute BLAST.

We flew in at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Bombay and within the hour left for Pune, my home city. Now that I'm a bit older than the last time I went I guess I appreciated Pune a lot more.

Pune (pronounce 'poo-nay') was anexxed to British India in 1817 where it served as a cantonment. A cantonment theoretically means a temporary or semi-permanent military quarters. Now, because of this there's a lot of older, many centurion, buildings and places in Pune. In fact, in the area that I have a house in, Pudumjee Park, you have a lot of ex - military people living there. My immediate locality has over 10 to 15 structures that are easily over 80 years old, some of them even crossing a hundred. Mansions like, 'Emily Villa,' and , 'Faith Mansion' are some of the bigger ones and are barely a stone's throw from my window.

After the brits left, Pune was no longer a cantonment, however it remained a military city and over time became one of the largest military cities in India. Pune is home to the NDA, or, the National Defence Academy. Basically, soldier-school. You wanna join the military, navy or air-force and become an officer? Go to Pune. Wanna join Military Intelligence? Go to Pune. Pune is also home to the AFMC or the Armed Forces Medical College, so it trains doctors for all three branches. The College also has a nursing branch. The College of Military Engineering is in Pune along with Defence Institute of Advanced Technology and the Armament Research and Developement Authority.

I started this swell little idea where I took pictures of all the old buildings I could find. I got the idea when I stumbled across a really old building, with it's own yard and everything. Outside there was a nice little sign that read, 'Private Propoerty: Keep Off!' . I did not, and proceeded to walk right in. Turns out, that the building (which looked like a large cottage with a driveway) was a Counselling Center for Medical Mission Sisters. It belonged (and was donated by) a Mr. and Mrs. Mothiwala. I found their name on a nice little plaque on the wall. Right at the driveway was an old hobo who'd made that part of the structure his (current?) home. As I continued to explore the center, I found a VERY old motorbike, easily two to three times my current age. And, I was quite surprised to see a friendly little cat that walked right up to my feet and started rolling around next to them. Needless to say, I took pictures of everything. When I reached to the side, I found that the locks were missing and the windows were open. I went up close and saw that there were clothes drying inside. Soon, after which I heard sounds and saw a few people walk past. My initial reaction was, 'OH SHIT THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL LIVING HERE!' . After I calmed down a little, I checked further. The people inside were just more hobos. The building was clearly abandoned, and now, runover by hobos.

The structure was so rustic and old, yet so beautiful that it inspired me to take pictures of it. However a Sony Ericsson K850i wasn't the best tool for the job, but I went ahead either way. Here was where I decided to document all the old things in the city. Unfortunately I wasn't able to because of a time constraint. But I still will talk about the places I visited.

Pune is home to India's Military's Southern Command. So, needless to say, there's still a lot of military presence in Pune. Inside the old cantonment limits, everything is governed by a municipal arm of the military. You have Officers' Messes, Troop Bunkers, War Memorials, arsenals, and anything else military. A part of Pune's called 'Camp' and that's basically where majority of the military is based. It's still civilian soil so, hundreds of people live in it and thousands pass through it every day. Still, seeing a tank sitting on the soil next to the road or seeing an APC lumber by filled with troops is an almost everyday occurrence in that part.

I also visited the synagogue in Pune again. This time I had more kahunas than the last time so I actually went further in and into the 'gogue. Easily over 75 years old, the place was covered with dust and there was a wall which was primarily a large shelf. On it were hundreds or thousands of old, dusty books. It looked right out of any, 'Exorcist' church, only it was a synagogue. Outside, there was a big yard and in the back there were actually 2 crypts. Unfortunately for me the crypts had locks on them and so I couldn't exactly see what (or, more correctly, who) was inside.

Pune is also a major educational hub in India. Boasting over two hundred educational institutes and nine major Universities, it is a city of choice for many people within India and even to those who fly in from abroad. Fergusson College, Bharatiya Vidyapeet, SYMBIOSIS, University of Pune, Wadia University, Institute of Armament Technology etc.

Pune is awesome.


So that was Pune. Spent some time in Bombay and some time in Mahableshwar too. The latter is a hill station not far from Pune. Nice little spot to go to for awesome weather and brilliant scenery.

Besides all the cool places, I did other stuff as well in terms of going around, checking out the local scenes etc etc. so YEAH I had a great time.


So THAT was my update of Pune and my trip to India. Next Catch Up should be up before this week is over, and if we're lucky, all of them should be up :)


xx


M




_

Argh. Argh. Argh. And just so I'm clear: Argh.

There's just one more day until the big elections in the US of A, and ideally I'd love to be sitting in my bedroom and watching live updates and cheering on the Dems. Unfortunately, I'm still here and I'll only be back in Dubai on the 7th. Shit.

Secondly, I love it when people make slips they don't realize. Iz ozzum.

I've come down with something terrible since my last post. It's an allergic reaction that has resulted in a full chest (of phlegm thengyooverymuch), sore throat, blocked sinuses, severe ear pain, runny eyes (and nose) and a LOT of cough, headaches and all around discomfort. My asthma's also acted up and I'm having a tough time breathing. Argh. I'd love to get bed rest, but being the last few days in India, we're all packing to get ready to go to Bombay and meeting people and stuff. Either way, this is the worst health I've been in, in a while, and I can't wait to get better.

Still I can't get around the fact that I won't be able to follow the elections live. When we leave to Bombay tomorrow, odds are I won't be able to get online until I hit Dubai.

BUT, I had a really good time here surprisingly enough. Pune, Bombay, Mahableshwar. All'o'that.

Either way, this is M signing off (I think) until I (probably) land in Dubai.




Oh. I just remembered. My laptop's in for servicing in Dubai and I still haven't got the call that it's completed.



Poop.



Oh well. Desktop.



Meh.


xx


M




_

India India! (In other news: NEVER FLY CATHAY PACIFIC)

Well, here I am!

I've finally missed a week's update of The Weekly Stupids but blame me not. Rather blame the lack of a decent internet connection in the area that I currently reside in. I'm pretty sure that once I'm done with this post it'll be another few days before I can check my email again. At least I was able to keep me updated for some time, thanks to Twitter!

People, I feel like I must deliver a message of Public interest:

Never. EVER. Fly Cathay Pacific.

Lemme tell you what happened. So we're scheduled to take off at 11:30 pm. To beat the rush we checked in way earlier at around 3:00 pm so that not only could we show up to the airport later, we could grab dinner with a guest too. So we does all that. When we finally get to the airport, turns out that our flight CX 750 had been delayed by almost an hour. It's now scheduled departure time is 12:20 am.

No biggie we thought, another hour's wait isn't all that bad. So we waited. And waited. 11:45pm, waiting and no announcements on our plane. 12:00 am, still waiting. Gate empty and no aircraft or officials. Finally at 12:20 am, with no plane in sight and no Cathay officials to answer our questions, I got fed up enough to go talk to the airport officials, who were nice enough to inform me that CX 750 never really left Mumbai for Dubai in the first place and that our flight had been canceled. Cathay Pacific officials however decided it would be a good idea for them to sit on their asses and not tell us.

Scrambled about a bit and got the contact details for one of the officials. Masroor called up and gave him hell repeatedly. When we finally met them we told him that we needed to fly out the same day to catch a meeting *coughweddingcough*. After much bickering, the Cathay fellow was able to send Masroor and Mum on an EK flight at 9 in the morning, and check the maid and I in for a 6pm flight the next day. That's not too bad I thought.

The next day I show up at the airport at 2:30pm (once again to beat the smelly rush). Cathay Pacific however had something else in mind. It turns out that showing up early has absolutely not meaning to them and they made me wait until 5:00pm until they finally processed me and my passport/boarding pass etc, along with all the other passengers that showed up 5 minutes prior to that. Fuckers.

Moving on, our flight was delayed still and we only took off at 7:30pm. The flight itself, wasn't too bad.

When we landed, I rushed out as usual got us through passport control and was one of the first at the baggage claim. I now expected to wait a little bit before I got my stuff, because our bags had been forwarded first, and so our stuff would be right at the back, so I expected to wait.

3 hours later, when the conveyor belt finally stopped and the airport official announced, 'No more bags,' somewhere in my mind I blew a fuse. I did not receive ANY of the 3 bags that were supposed to be there. And not only me, about another 20 odd passengers as well.

For the next 1 hour, no Cathay Pacific official showed his or her face. Needless to say we were all tired, hungry, and VERY pissed off. When an official did show up, he got hell and a half from all the passengers. Many even demanded refunds. After much bickering, swearing, yelling and the like, they took down all our details and told us that they'd have our bags in by the next day.

Which they eventually did. At least they kept THAT part of their word.


Whoo and now the wedding's over and I'm officially on vacation. I checked my email after 3 days and my reader was nuts! The wedding was actually a lot of fun and I'm actually having a good time.

@Taq:

I tried replying to your message but wasn't able to get through for some reason. Weird. It let me reply to others but for some reason denied me when I tried to reply to you.

@Lhjunkie:

LOL!



xx


M




_

Right!

FINALLY got myself to sit down and put up another update. It's been awhile since I blogged, and I whole - heartedly blame GITEX for that. I've got a swell job working for the ESL at it's stall, where it's tied up with the organizers to create a gaming tournament. I've also made decent contacts and am looking into getting part time jobs in other places. More on that later.

I love people who contradict themselves. It's hilarious. I also love irony, have I mentioned that anytime?

I am traveling to India on the night of the 23rd, to attend a first cousin's wedding. Joy.

Is it just me or do I not update my twitter as much as other folks do.

The next 2 weeks might see a pause in regular updates due to my impending journey, however I should be able to update from India. We're tech - savvy there too, so it really shouldn't be a problem. I'd prefer to do it at a laptop though, but hey, beggars, choosers and all that.

I won some Gears of War 2 merchandise at GITEX today. The guys who own the stall that has GOW2 set up were so.. (looking for the right word here).. amused?.. that I'd be there for a few hours everyday, that they gave me a whole bunch of stuff. Should go along nicely with my bag. Barry got the same stuff too. He didn't deserve it though. He's not even a 360 fan! GOW 2 comes out November 7th if I remember correctly, so give maybe a week to when it releases in Virgin over here. I'm gonna be right there with some pesos to get my copy. Unless I'm getting it as a present, then that would be some money saved.

Three songs. 'Stop and Stare' by One Republic and, 'Glycerine' by BUSH and 'Replacement Killers,' by The Chemical Brothers, refuse to leave my brain waves. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they're play at or around our stall all day. Which means I listen to them, collectively, for about 10 hours a day. That can't be good, right?

For some reason I've been quite busy lately. Not including the current time I spend at GITEX. Even for a good 2 weeks prior to GITEX, I've been swamped with University assignments and deadlines. It's like all our modules decided that the best deadlines were the ones that are within a day or two of each other. So we ended up having more than 4 deadlines in the past 2 weeks. Busy busy busy busy busy.

There are times that I wish Manipal University was more... cerebral. In fact, there are a lot of times where I think that. In fact, it's all the time. Walking down our nauseating corridors watching (smelling?) my peers around me. Some of them good, most of them not. I shudder at the thought of having to call some of these people as my peers. Damn.

I'm doing fine, thanks for asking!

*At this point I hear howling laughter from my brother's room. And it's still going on....*

Now I want to watch something funny. Hmm.....

*And there it is again...*



xx


M




_

The Weekly Stupids V1P7 - Equal Opportunity

(Sorry for the late update)


Now, while this may not necessarily showcase stupidity (I actually think it's kinda cool and want to try it out myself), it's nice to see that in America you can get a job no matter how well you're displaced. That's one way to throw a positive light on obesity...

Fat Kids ARE useful...



I want to be the kid who gets launched..


xx


M




)

The Ballads of M. Yaaaaaaaaay!

"After much deep and profound brain things inside my head, I've decided.." [end Madagascar rip - off] to start another weekly article that I will take out possibly every Tuesday. It's a little place for me to obsess about stuff that, while may not be important to others at all, might just bother me somewhat and is a nice little way for me to get it off my chest.

I guess I already had a 'Personal' label for that, but those can also be friend, family, University, work related stuff. To a certain extent, 'Rant' could also do the same. But some of my posts, like this one, can't be categorized all too well. I mean yeah, they're rants, and yeah, they're personal too, but they're also thought invoking. And more than just posting about it, I want people to read it and begin thinking about it themselves.

So maybe, this little thing will push me into a little more serious tone of writing my thoughts on opinions on (possibly) non-important matters that bother me. I call it:

The Ballads of M.


I don't know. I'll give it a shot. Maybe it'll work, maybe not. Orrite, on a more realistic note, I may NOT update EVERY Tuesday or on Tuesdays at all, but I'll see how far I can keep it up. If I can, then yay! If not, then maybe I'll figure something else out to make me a better writer.

Cheers!


xx


M




_

Hmm...

Ok, so I've known a few people through other people. I hear stories and whatnot. And sometimes, these stories beg the question, 'What are they doing with their lives?'

I mean, I'm currently 20 years old. Give it another 2 months and I'll hit 21. I'll be at the beginning of my professional development. And even I think that I'm not doing nearly enough to make sure that my future is carved in a very wealthy stone... (at the very least). And even if I were to look around I see people who like to have a good time, but still have their priorities well set enough to know when to knock back a few drinks and when to crack open a few books. So it's not like I don't know people who put in efforts while at the same time like to relax a lot.

But sometimes, there are those few that I hear about who never attend classes, fail semesters, and that doesn't seem to bother them one bit. You know? If you're gonna be a drop out, at least make sure that you've actually dropped out. Don't let your parents $$$$ go to waste. YOU may want to have a blast now, but I'm certain your parents don't think of you as a waste of money, so stop taking that for granted.

People who make their folks pay for University but don't attend anyway and spend their time bumming around should be shot. Or crucified. Or anally raped with a blowtorch. Or all three in reverse succession.



M




_

GOBAMAGO!!!!

Everyone's heard of LOLcats. From one of their branches, I present:

LOLPolitics...


I scoured the website to bring you some of their funniest shit. Most of 'em are anti-McCain, but there are a few that were just WAY cool..

:D

[Forgive the terrible formatting.. Wasn't able to outsmart Blogger's not so great picture upload thing... :( ]







































































































































xx



M




_

I love MSN... (sometimes) .. & Comic Timing.. (all the time)

LOLZMORF!!!!!!!


Moe says (2:00 PM):
Was it all uncomfortable and shit?
MaWreeNa says (1:59 PM):
no things are good now :)
MaWreeNa says (1:59 PM):
VERY good
Moe says (2:00 PM):
YAAAAY!
Moe says (2:00 PM):
You made out, a LOT, huh?
MaWreeNa says (2:00 PM):
NO
Moe says (2:01 PM):
xD
Moe says (2:01 PM):
(That was funny.. and it's going on to my blog.. :D)
MaWreeNa says (2:01 PM):
i swear
MaWreeNa says (2:01 PM):
we didnt make out. we were at the airport. airport got LOTS of cops



xx



M




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The Weekly Stupids V1P6 - I wouldn't pay for her...

Whooo Friday and right on time! Haven't missed one so far *crosses fingers*

Today's TWS is brought to you by Lhjunkie. This was her recommendation and is our FIRST guest feature on this weekly strip.

One of the worst, 'The Price Is Right,' players ever!



_________


xD



M



_

Yowza!

The last 7 days have been CRAZY!


Ok so exactly one week ago (last Tuesday) was Eid. And that is normally pretty insane around the J household. Either way it's all over and done with and the collections are, well, collected. Last Thursday I got out and played some Paintball so that was fun!

Apart from this session, I had not touched my laptop for over 2 days. That would be the single largest amount of time I've spent away from all things internet WHILE having a laptop in my possession. We had a project/assignment to give in today, and that effectively took up all my laptop time. I, however, made sure that it did NOT interfere with GOW ( For the 21st time :D ), GTA IV, FIFA 2009 and Virtua Tennis 3 time. So now we know where my priorities lie. Oh, and I can't wait to get my hands on GOW2 and Resident Evil 5.

* at this point I was called out of my room to assemble Zayd's new toy. It's his birthday today so he got this huge contraption in which you drop a marble and it goes here and there and a roll here and a zip there. It's neat. Theoretically. It doesn't fit for shit. We're returning it tomorrow. Oh, and we also got 6 Goldfish. Zayd promptly named all of them "Fishy."

SO, we finished the project that we started. 2 of my college buddies spent the night and we elbow greased it all the way. The assignment was to build a newspaper from scratch. We managed a 12 page broadsheet in 2 days. We were given more about 3 weeks. Not bad eh?

I'd been wanting this bag for some time. Yesterday I got is as an Eid present from her. Yaay! Thank you so much :)

I'm just about as good in paintball as I remembered myself to be. Joy! Although I made a blunder and shot Hussein from point blank range using a hair triggered Inspire Nano marker. Blamed meself, but then did some research and it turns out that a lot of people have complained about the trigger of the marker. Either way, Hussein wasn't hurt so t'was all good in the end. Oh, and I made up my mind about which marker I AM going to purchase and it's this one. It's one of the most basic ones and is cheaper but, it's also the most popular as it can be easily upgraded. And I prefer it due it's trigger. Not a speedball gun, but makes great for woodball. I also have 2 barrels in mind. Let's see. Need the moolah first.

Uzma left University for good now and joined the American University in the Emirates. She's next door, but has evening classes. Poor lass.

That's that for now. For some reason as I posted a mental note in my cranium to write this post I always remember having more to write about. Can't seem to remember it now though.

Oh well.


M




_

List of Celebrities supporting Barack Obama

A quick list of some celebrities supporting BO and his campaign. They're hyperlinked to whatever page I could find which would be relevant. Meh.

1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Halle Berry
3. Robert De Niro
4. Matt Damon
5. George Clooney
6. Kal Penn
7. Al Gore
8. Bill Clinton
9. Hillary Clinton
10. John Edwards
11. Scarlet Johannsen
12. Caroline Kennedy
13. Ed Norton
14. Will Smith
15. Rob Reiner
16. Laurence Fishburne
17. Warren Buffet
    
18. Sharon Stone
    (around this point I got bored of looking for links... so.. Just read..)
    
19. Stephen Colbert
    
20. Jessica Biel
21. Pete Wentz
22. Chris Rock
23. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
24. The Black Eyed Peas
25. Jamie Foxx
26. Kanye West
27. Ashley Judd
28. Jennifer Lopez
29. Anne Hathaway
30. Charlize Theron
31. Ron Meyer
32. Jessica Alba
33. Michael Jordan
34. Morgan Freeman
35. Eddie Murphy
36. Jon Bon Jovi
37. Goo Goo Dolls
38. Danny Devito
39. Steven Speilberg
40. Tom Hanks
41. Denzel Washington [DUH!]
42. Tauqeer Jamadar
    
43. Ben Stiller
44. Barbara Streisand
45. Brad Grey
46. Richard Cook
47. Jennifer Garner [ ;-) ]

While this list is not conclusive it's merely a reminder to showcase Obama's popularity with the folks of the US of A.

Suck on THAT McCain.



M




_

The Weekly Stupids V1P5 - Stupid Gameshow Answers

So I found this User on Youtube who collects, archives and broadcasts videos of very stupid game show answers. So to help ME save time this Friday, I'm gonna post this weeks TWS as one of his videos..

Stupid Game Show Answers - Best of the Worst



lol


(Sorry for the cheap post this time, I'm kinda clogged up with University. I've got 2 drafts in and they'll be up in the next 2 days I promise!)


M




_

BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT! GFWMG goes official BO - backing!

So I've always been rooting for Obama, ever since his name cropped up on the American political scene. I've listened to a lot of his stuff and it surprises me as to why I didn't write anything about him or his campaign earlier. Either way, I was inspired to write this post after watching Barack Obama's speech at Denver, Colorado, today where he positively destroyed the Republican campaign and the $700bn bailout plan that they backed.

My brother was very skeptical (surprise surprise) about Obama's chances at winning the election this year. He was all, 'oh they wouldn't let him on, republican corporate backing, race etc etc' but even HE said it tonight. HE said that McCain just lost (yes. LOST) the elections. Obama has always been known to have a silver tongue but today at Colorado he positively sealed his campaign.

The Lower House rejected the $700bn bailout plan 228-205, resulting in urgent warnings from President Bush (and congressional leaders) that the economy could cannonball into recession. Well, I don't blame him he did f*** up the economy. Only 5 weeks now till election day and the Republicans had about two thirds of their party rejecting the very bill that they backed. The Bush Administration piled on the pleas to the lawmakers to let it pass, but still, no cigar. No one is going to take such a huge risk to the economy and with only 5 weeks till election day.

The man on the street says, 'why should our money be given to the big corporations?' McCain has promised, I believe, around $700,000 worth of tax cuts to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and, in his words, 'not a dime of relief for the average American. So why should the American people suffer?'

Damn. BO is gonna be a bad-ass President. Let's just hope that the American people make the RIGHT choice this time around. Third time's a charm I says!

_______


Come what may, this post is to announce that GFWMG is now OFFICIALLY (from my end) a blog supporting Obama-Biden '08. While I don't have their official backing, they have mine. I'll do whatever I can to help their campaign. Albeit I'm halfway across the world, but hey you never know!

I have 2 widgets on the sidebar that should keep us all updated on a decently-regular basis. They're official widgets from Obama for America so I'm guessing they've got stuff. Henceforth, I will be posting any new developements of and about BO's campaign on this here blog.

WATCH THIS SPACE!


Obama - Biden '08



M




_