Tickets to Lana Del Rey @ Byblos International Festival 2013

"Video Games". It was her debut single, her claim to fame. It was the first song I heard and fell in love with for her. Swinging in the backyard, pull up in your fast car, whistling my name...

Throughout the year, I got introduced to more of her music and I especially loved "Born To Die", "Blue Jeans", "Summertime Sadness", and most lately, "Young and Beautiful". Lana Del Rey has definitely made it to the list of my top artists of all time. And, I still can't believe my eyes, she's coming to Lebanon's Byblos International Festival on July 10th, 2013! 

I remember my first Byblos International Festival in 2010, I went with Toastmasters to see the famous local Lebanese Band Mashrou3 Leila. Two years later in 2012, I went with my brother and cousins to see Snow Patrol (a band that I am absolutely in love with, and what a was a perfect night it was!). And now, just when I thought I'd seen the best, Byblos International Festival outdoes themselves again and brings Lana Del Rey (along with a brilliant lineup you can see here!) 

I know I'm a few weeks late in writing this post, but thank my lucky stars I'm not late in getting tickets (for me and two of my very best friends)! The very moment I found out she was coming, I booked! The only difference between this year and last year is that this year I decided to go seated because standing kills! And I'm too old to be standing these days! :-P Ahhh, and as of this moment, exactly one month remains till Lana lands in Lebanon! Can't Wait!

Till then, I leave you with one of her lesser known, but more upbeat songs (which happens to be my song of the week), PARIS:

The Halo Lifts...

There is a concept that has always fascinated me, about souls and angels and our human connections to one another. About how we can feel so close to some people, and about how long it can last until we grow apart. Because no matter how close, we always grow apart in the end, don't we?

I believe in soul friends and soul mates. I believe in angels too. And I believe that sometimes (though rare), you find these blessings in people. Its quite hard to describe these people, because while many will see them as normal human beings like you and I, to others, or to a select one, this person will be seen as something more. I'm not sure which term I can use to coin them, but heaven-sent to say the least...

This person will be your shining light, your protection, your shelter from all harm. This person will be by your side whether you need him/her to or not, whether you're right or you're wrong, looking out for you, your inner voice, your conscience, again, shining a light in the dark, knowing when it is dark (without you having to say a word), and never breaking that promise, that connection. It could be for just a moment, for days, weeks, months, or years, maybe several years. But eventually there will be a separation. And for the life of me I still can't understand why…

I can't tell you that I've changed or that the other person has changed either. Maybe the times have changed, maybe the winds have changed. But the beauty I used to see in some people is gone, just gone…

That halo that I used to see above your head, its been lifted, its no longer there. The light doesn't shine from you anymore. Why? Has it been transferred to another? Can you not have more than one special soul or angel in your life? Because the amount of love we have, can we truly distribute it among others or is it reserved just for one?

In the end, we don't belong to anyone. We are only temporality placed in another's custody for a short or a long period of time. And no rings or words make you another's.

Though it breaks my heart, your halo has lifted. You have taught me and given me all that you could, little or great as it might have been, and I'd like to think I've done the same for you. Because I love you, I love you so much but I just don't like you anymore. And I think you love me but don't like me anymore too. And I think its at that moment, that moment of "love without like", that's the moment the halo lifts…

I think i've found a new soul/angel now...

Lang Leav: Souls & Angels

I recently discovered a brilliant author, Lang Leav. This author has several mini poems if I may call them, and they all speak to the soul. Among my top two for her are "Souls" and "Angels". I thought I'd post them here for you to see if they speak to you too. I also want to write something related in my next post… 

In The MEA Aeroplane Over The Sea

Well, I'm back! Like I said, it was one of the quickest vacations ever, but it was a much needed vacation for me to de-stress from both work and school. And I have to say, mission accomplished! And you know Neutra Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"? Well, I couldn't stop playing it my head as I was flying back home. I even Instagrammed this picture from the MEA plane:

I feel quite pumped and ready to get back to business! In fact, I even went straight to Marketing Class this afternoon! 

Amman to Beirut: 135 Miles, Beirut to Tripoli: 53 Miles, Tripoli to Balamand: 8.5 Miles, Balamand to Tripoli: 8.5 Miles… 205 Miles in 12 hours and now HOME SWEET HOME! (L)

Jordan Day III: Amman

Tonight was my last day in Jordan. Gosh, how quickly these three days have flown! We decided to stay in Amman today, to take a break from the past two days of adventure. We met up at Blue Fig with Mira for brunch, who couldn't stay for long because she had a job interview a couple of hours after that so she had to go get ready (fingers crossed for you, Mira!). Nadine then took me to Taj Mall, which wasn't open when I last visited Jordan in 2010. It's currently Amman's biggest mall, with great shops, diners, and entertainment. We walked around a bit before sitting at Starbucks for a drink…

Later that afternoon, Nadine's mum drove us to town so I could buy some famous Jordanian Za'atar for Mum and some souvenirs for some friends back home. I also got to know some other parts of the city before she drove us back to the house to get ready for my last dinner, an AUB reunion dinner with Nadine, Sari, Mira, Akram, and Yazan. We went to Seven Barrels, a gastro pub with some good food and drinks…

Jordanian hospitality never ceases to amaze me… 

100 Thank You's to a fun-filled adventure of a vacation, especially with Nadine, Sari, and Mira! 

Here's to 9 years of pure friendship & counting!

Jordan Day II: Madaba, Mount Nebo, & Bethany Beyond the Jordan

I woke up early this morning, with aching legs and feet. I guess it's because of all the walking we did in Jerash and Ajlun Castle yesterday. Despite the pain though, I felt excited as ever because today was the day I was looking forward to the most! 

Madaba, located 30km south-west of the capital Amman, is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad Mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-eara mosaic map of the Holy Land. We visited two churches in Madaba, The Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George and The Church Of Saint John The Baptist...

The top three photos are of the former church, with the third being of the Mosaic Map unearthed in 1864, which was once a clear map with 157 captions (in Greek) of all major biblical sites from Lebanon to Egypt. The mosaic was constructed in 560 AD and once contained more than 2 million pieces, only 1/3 of the whole now survives…

The bottom three photos are of the latter church, which was built in 1913. What's special about this church is that it has a lot of underground tunnels and holds The Shrine Of The Beheading Of Saint John The Baptist (Patron Of Madaba And Jordan). It also has The Bell Tower which you can climb...

The Bell Tower of this church is the highest vantage point in Madaba. It's quite a climb, but once you're up there, you can experience a wonderful panorama of Madaba and all its surroundings...

We then stopped for lunch at Haret Jdoudna, a magical village of restaurants, coffee shops and a traditional Jordanian Souk and Crafts Market...

Next up was Mount Nebo, an elevated ridge in Jordan, approximately 817 meters above sea level, mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land that he would never enter. The view from the summit provides a panorama of The Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of The River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day...

Next, we went to Bethany Beyond The Jordan to the place where Jesus was baptized, located on the Jordanian side of The Jordan River...

At the end of the day, we went back up to The Dead Sea Panorama, which boasts a breathtaking view of The Dead Sea. It was a little too sunny to take good pictures, but I set up this tripod to get the three of us at the top of the world! :-)

Jordan Day I: Jerash & Ajlun Castle

On my first Jordanian morning, I woke up at 8:00AM and Nadine made waffles which we gobbled up with a drink of orange juice in under 15 minutes before heading over to Sari's, who was our driver, tour guide, and of course best friend during the trip! The first direction on my Jordanian vacation was compass north, to the ancient city of Jerash, famous for its Roman ruins. We reached our destination in roughly an hour, with The Arch of Hadrian looming in front of us, indicating (especially to Nadine :-P) that we had arrived! I later found out that this arch was built to celebrate Emperor Hadrian's visit to Jerash in 129-130 AD...

When entering, the first thing you see is the Hippodrome, a partially restored Roman-era stadium. At only 245m long and 52m wide, it was the smallest hippodrome in the the Roman Empire... 

I took this cover picture with the background of The Oval Plaza, surrounded by a broad sidewalk and a colonnade of 1st century Ionic columns. This Cardo once lined with the city's major buildings, shops and residences. A complex drainage system lies below the stone paving, and chariot tracks can actually be seen in the stone!

Below is the South Theatre of Jerash, which seats more than 3,000 spectators and serves today as the primary venue in The Jerash Festivals. The brilliant design took all the factors in consideration, such as the sun's brightness and direction. For this reason, the theatre was built in a way so to allow the least amount of sunlight to disturb the audience. And the remarkable acoustics allows a speaker at the centre of the orchestra floor to be heard by the entire auditorium without raising his/her voice!

Daily features include bagpipers in traditional Jordanian military dress such as this friendly one we took a picture with!

Next up was The Temple of Artemis (daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo), built on one of the highest points and dominated the whole city. It's an impressive temple ruin dedicated to the patron goddess of the city. The temple was designed to be earthquake-proof so some of the columns move and you can feel it if you insert your fingers between the section of the columns!

Below is the smaller second North Theater, which was planed to be either a small performance space or a city council chamber. If you looks close enough, you'll see that the group of tourists behind us have their arms outstretched like Nadine and me, what a funny British group they were!

By the time we had finished our tour, we were absolutely famished. So for lunch, we went to The Lebanese House. It's one of the oldest Lebanese food restaurant in Jordan, established in 1977 in Jerash by a Lebanese woman named Antoinette Rami, better known in Jordan as Umm Khalil. The food, especially the mezza, was scrumptious! I even tried the famous Labneh Jerashieh, a thick cheese-like yoghurt which also tasted incredible!

After lunch, Esper (Sari's Nokia GPS, which was surprisingly accurate!) lead us to Ajloun Castle, located on the top of a mountain just outside the small city of Ajloun, a mere 10 miles away from Jerash. It's an Islamic fortress, built during the period of the Crusades. The castle is an interesting maze of passages and levels, and offers a wonderful view of the surrounding area of northwestern Jordan... 

Happy Mother's Day 2013!

If there's one thing I love about March, actually, three things I love about March, it's that March is Mum's ultimate month! See, Mum's birthday is March 1st. Mum is also a teacher and so Teacher's Day is her second March celebration. And of course, Mother's Day is in March, making it Mum's third March celebration. And seeing a triple smile on her face puts a triple smile on my face as well!

After work this afternoon, I stopped by our local flower shop to pick out flowers for Mum. There weren't too many left as the day was half over, but I managed to spot this beautiful pink and white bouquet, which I immediately picked up to take for her. Luckily, she was still out by the time I got home so I set them up in her room for her, which she was pleasantly surprised to find when she got home...

"For all the times you gently picked me up when I fell down, for all the times you tied my shoes, and tucked me into bed, or needed something but put me first instead, for everything we shared, the dreams, the laughter, and the tears, I love you with a "Special Love" that deepens every year…" 

This year, I truly felt the Mother's Day spirit, both offline and online! Today, each time I opened Facebook, my newsfeed was flooded with pictures of friends with their mums and heartfelt greetings. And to see all those posts and all those blessings makes me feel glad to live in a world filled with so much love… so again and again, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Now Is Good

I think I've mentioned this before, about the months of March and April being the months of loss. I've always thought of them as the months that, when the weather gets warmer, the ice melts away (in a figurative meaning), leaving only those who were strong enough to have survived the winter. And I heard the first death note on Saturday...

At the end of our work day, one of the tellers chocked out in sobs. He found out that his father had passed away. Some colleagues rushed over to console him but I just sat there, unable to move. I didn't know what to do, what to say. While most would say "I'm sorry for your loss", I felt like that those words weren't enough. No words were, or ever could be enough to express a loss, especially in that moment. So, while I still wished I'd said something, I couldn't…

Later that afternoon, I was watching a DVD, "Now Is Good". Its about "a girl dying of leukaemia (who) compiles a list of things she'd like to do before passing away". I don't tend to get too emotional during movies but towards the end, it was strong enough to bring tears to my eyes. And it made me wonder, if you knew you was going to die, would you really want to "do things" or would being surrounded by your parents, your little brother, your best friends, and if you're lucky to have him, your boyfriend be enough? Just being with you, day in and day out, with so much love, until one day, you just disappear, you cease to exist...

"Our life is a series of moments. Each one a journey to the end. Let them go. Let them all go…"

After work this afternoon, I went with a group of colleagues to give our condolences. I sat in a seat I always sit in during times like these, I thought the same thoughts I think of during times like these, and I silently prayed for another lost soul I never knew but feel like I did. Because in the end we're all brothers and sisters, we're all one family with the same thoughts and feelings towards what matters most in life...

5 Years, Since You've Been Gone...

Today, its been 5 Years since you've left us. Not a year's gone by in which I haven't thought of you, especially on March 2nd. And even though I didn't write to you last year, you were and always are on my mind and in my heart…

Some days, its hard to believe that it's already been 5 years. Most of my memories of you are frozen in time, and when I think of you, I think of my childhood and the times we've shared together. And your house, mostly I remember your house, the house that helped build me…

I remember the day Dad took me and Fawzi to your house after you had left us. I took countless pictures of your old house, because I thought, well, I thought pictures were the best things I could keep of you. I think it was also in that moment that I subconciously rooted my love for taking pictures of each and every moment, person, and place, because when you look back, it's those snapshots, those moments in time that bring back the sincerest of smiles…

I was going through some of those old photos today, and one of the pictures that stood out to me the most was this one of the desk in the dining room. This old desk, with the old treasures in it's rusted old drawers that I had to pull with all my might to open, the crossword puzzles, the same desk that dad and my uncle used as kids, the desk I used to write and draw on. The desk of creativity, as I should call it. The desk also reminds me of you because it was a source of development, and you loved everything that helped us grow…

Teta, a lot's changed in the last 5 years. Starting with myself, I started working at the bank exactly a year after you had left us. So every work anniversary, I remember you. I also started my MBA. And you, having been a school principle, know the importance you've always placed on education. Fawzi's in his last year of university before he graduates with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. It's Samar's first year of university and Wassim's last year of high school. Tala, like me, is still working. And as for Diala, she finished her Masters in Comparative Literature and she's also married now and has a beautiful baby girl, named Yara. I'm sure you'd be proud of us all...

I also remember you during our rare, but favoured family gatherings. I always remember how your eyes used to light up at having the entire family together, over meals, and over special events. I might have not appreciated it at the time, but now, every time we're together, I understand the importance of family and being together that you oh so treasured…

God, how I miss you and the sweetness of your beautiful soul. I know you're up there, looking down on us, with Jiddo. I pray that you are both doing well and send you all my love…