The big pause

Thank you for asking about me. It's been  a long while without internet at least in Tripoli - as far as I know.

A brief  tour around the blogs and happy to see that  Khadijateri and PH are well and managed to update too.

Not sure from where to start  so why don't I share with you what I wrote during this long pause in the form of dated messages? It will help me sharpen my online skills again.
Please keep in mind that these missives are old and that a lot has happened since. Ok here we go...

March 3, 2011

Right now things are a bit confusing, and because of this feeling many of us find it difficult to resume a normal enough life. I’ve been going through the motions mechanically but did not succeed. Part of a normal life is to hurry to the office in the morning and currently many are either 'unemployed' depending on where you worked two weeks ago or still employed but not really sure what to do as your heart is not in it.

I tried to have a schedule, wake up early, have family breakfast, check the news, read a bit on line, and catch up with unfinished business.

But now internet communications means are gone and I have no idea when they will be resumed. So I'm writing these notes out of habit as probably no one will be reading them but myself. I feel like Anne Frank writing her diary... just hoping for a prompt and happier ending.

When your normal life is on pause you try to compensate otherwise. To lighten up the mood I'll attempt to take a humorous side on the situation in conforming to the Arab proverb:

 شر البلية ما يضحك

Since this situation might be protracted I thought I’d enumerate to myself the positive points about being on a prolonged ‘vacation’:

1. No need to use deodorant so your armpits have time to rest and recover from all those chemicals
2. No need for hair removal, you can rest your skin and then imagine when all this is over how great it would feel to pamper yourself.
3. No need for sun block, you are not leaving the house anyway so your face can rest and any blemishes can go away naturally you hope
4. You can use those exfoliation creams you bought at discount price and forgot in your drawer with no fear of sun exposure (see no. 3) and so you will be having radiant skin tone soon.
5. If you have missed some days in Ramadan then it’s time to fast them, first you save on food and second you loose some weight which is always a plus
6. You are loosing weight because you don’t have much appetite anyway . So you can look forward to wearing all the hyper fashionable clothes in tiny sizes if anaemia does not strike you first.
7. Read all the books you bought and never had time to open
8. Watch all the DVDs you still did not see.
9. Dedicate time to exercising, I mean you are not going anywhere right? So might as well get those abs back in shape
10. Catch up with old friends when/if you get out of the house
11. Last but not least, if you have not had the time to reconnect with your spiritual self, it may be time to do so ...

All in all it’s an 'ahem' golden opportunity, to get some culture, loose weight, shape up and regain your soul.

I'm not being callous, just trying to feel normal....