Grandpa

I was finally able to clearly communicate with one of the people who live inside of me. He's an old man, an annoying one too.

"You know, I never expected that an old man would be in me, since, you know, I'm a girl and I'm .. younger." I said between pauses, not knowing how exactly I should be talking to this 'person'.

"Of course, you are young and ignorant," he rudely replied. "How do you, foolish girl, think you like Um Kolthoum? Why do you think you hate shopping? Why do you think you hate Justin Bieber? That's me! That's all me!" 

"Well, thank you very much for that, but I'm just wondering if I'm 17, how can you be.. How old did you say you were?"

"I'm as old as the journey of the river. I'm as old as the blaze of the sun," he said dramatically.

I looked at him, utterly clueless..

"It's because of me that you like poetry, by the way," he paused. "Stop staring, you anaemic! OK! OK! I'm 78!" he screamed..

UGH! He's sooo rude! He's going to die soon anyway!

"And you aren't brave enough to say that to my face?"

My God! Of course he can read my mind! He lives IN my mind! I blushed..

"For your information, foolish girl, I was born the day you were born and I will die the day you die. Unlike you, I was born old. I was born 78. I'll always be 78. I'll keep on calling you (foolish girl) until you're 78 just like me, only then can we get along together," he explained.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I said "I don't remember ever hearing you when I was 10 for example."

"Well of course, foolish girl, I was there but I was not loud enough. No one could beat that squeaky voice that kept on screaming BARBIE! BARBIE!"

"Oh! You met her? Oh! I miss her!" I said in a nostalgic tone.

"Yes! I met her. I think I might have killed her." he said and my jaws dropped in a shock.
"I'm just kidding, you foolish girl!"

At this point I was very grateful to meet the 'voice' that made me hate shopping .. aaand Bieber. However, that was quite enough!

"Sooo.. emmm.. it's been a pleasure... emmm.. maybe... emm.. we'd do this again...later.. OH! I forgot to ask.. what's your name?"

"Foolish girl! I'm Yu!"
"Cute name! What's that? Chinese?"
"No! Foolish girl! I'm YOU! YOU! YOOOU!" He pointed at me with all his fingers..
"Ooookeey! You're me! Goodbye Mr. Me! Mr. You! AAAH WHATEVER!"

Then I decided to call him Grandpa.. 

My Dream - 7el.me

Put your dream on a cloud and let dreamers push it forward

That's the kind of sentence my godmother would tell me , if I were in a fairy tale..

But hey! Who doesn't want to live a fairy tale anyway?

Then you should thank 7el.me because now you can actually post your dream on a cloud and let other dreamers push it..

We were always told that step no.1 in achieving a dream is writing it down. I used to write my dreams on a piece of paper. Somehow, this paper used to end up being torn or burnt according to the intensity of the frustration. (I once stuck pins in it! Imagine?)

On 7el.me you cannot burn or tear. Even if you feel frustrated, and you log on to 7el.me and watch those clouds swiftly crossing your screen, you'll definitely feel 're-charged'. This is a place where's it's legal to have a dream and where there's nothing funny about being ambitious. Push some dreams! Get your dreams pushed!


Thank you 7el.me!
And congratulations for qualifying with google Ebda2.. May you always be the home of the dreamers.. and the achievers.

The Thrill

"You're gonna miss that interview.. again! You're 27 years old and all you do is hang out with your buddies and come back home at the break of dawn! Get a life, son! Look at your younger brother, he's got a beautiful family and a great job! Why aren't you like him? Why can't you be like him? Your father and I are sick and tired.."


"Good morning, Mom!" I whispered.. " I'm awake now, I swear. I'm awake."


"Son, you know I say all this for your good.."


Yeah! Right! Good!
What an amazing morning, don't you think? I washed my weary eyes and looked at the mirror.. Mom is right.. 27 years went by with no accomplishment other than being the speediest driver among my friends.


How unusual it is for me to dress formally. How do men wear these suits? I feel like my arms and neck are tied.. I rode the elevator down, counted the steps till I reached my car, oh my beautiful car! Gooood morning baby! My heaven is behind that steering wheel! 


I rode to the office. I was stuck in the morning rush hour so I was 10 minutes late to the interview.. and interviewers are never satisfied with this excuse. I wasn't expecting any more than "Thank you very much. We will call you to inform you in case you're accepted."
In case... Thank you!
I removed my tie and jacket! Oooh! I can breathe now! It was 10am by now which means the streets are nearly empty and I'm feeling very fast and furious-ish. 


There are some rules to get the best thrill..
First, roll down your window. The air is an essential element.
Second, turn off the radio or the music player. All you wanna hear is the howling engine.
Third, clear your mind.. Any foreign unwanted thought can ruin the moment.


I held the wheel firmly.. started the engine and started moving.. Wow! That feeling of the adrenaline is just AMAZING. And it increases as the speed increases. As usual, I hear nothing but the roaring engine.. and the wind!
"Get a life, son!" That little sound interrupted my harmony..
I gotta get rid of that sound.. More speed! More speeeeeeed!


Ah, yes! The wind playing through my shabby hair, just like my mom when I used to lay my head on her lap as a kid... I haven't been good to mom lately..
What's with this conscience court? What's wrong with me?
MORE SPEEEEED!
Now, all the people turned into ghosts with colourfuls halos. I could see all the light in front of me in straight lines meeting at a black point, right there in the middle.


Everything is very... hazy.. Where's the engine's sound? Where's the wind?


I tried to concentrate.. with the noise around me.. I heard feet .. coming closer.. and closer.. A hand wrapped itself around my neck. I heard a language I couldn't understand but I recognised "ambulance" and "alive".. I was trying to concentrate ... but at this point ... it was of no use... 


I'm so sorry Mom! I love you!

Imprinted not Printed

We, Egyptians, were being treated like slaves in the time of racism in the USA. 


<Good start, Enas! Y'know? People usually start off with a joke! Ka2iba!>


I couldn't find a joke to start with. But what do I mean?


During this dark period in the USA, or at least in the beginning, it was illegal to teach a black man how to read and write. In this sense, it is guaranteed that all the coming generations of the black will be illiterate and ignorant so they won't be able to speak up or find a way out of slavery.


In Egypt, it is legal to educate your child. Don't expect a country in the 21st century to have laws against education. However, since they can't do it by law, let's do it the other way. Make school the worst nightmare a child could have. Over-crowded classes, unqualified teachers, boring books, difficult exams.. what else could one wish for?! You graduate from highschool then get into the same whirl in college. If you don't worship your professor, be sure to see a fat F on your report. You have another choice: better education.. that will suck up all the money in your pockets. And since of course 40% of the people can hardly sustain the money for their children's food, you get the picture that you see. This is 'de-educating the masses'. When education deteriorates, EVERYTHING else follows. 


Try not to cry! There's more to come.


It was a fierce psychological war against the black people. Again, to guarantee that they would never rise up, they had to kill the last drop of self-respect and self-acceptance. In plain words, make black people HATE themselves. No blacks were ever to sit down in a bus. No blacks were to use a bathroom for the whites. No blacks were allowed in restaurants for the whites. In some areas and neighborhoods, if a black man enters he would be arrested. We've all heard of all this suffering that made them wonder: 'Are they not just as human as those whites?'


But besides all this, the media played a dirty role. All black people that appeared on TV in movies and etc, were 'fools'. They look terrible. They speak nonsence. They were 'clowns' for the white people to laugh at. It was sending a subliminal message to the blacks: "You are a fool! You are weak!" All the amazing musical talents were hidden. All the amazing novelists were silenced, and so on..


That same psychological war was practised on us. Don't try to convince me that in a period of 20-30 years Egypt had absolutely no successful scenarists and film-makers. 90% of the media presented to the masses was sending the same message. (Egyptian youth are helpless drug addicts who are just looking for a lame love story to waste their time. Adults are so busy complaining about everything. Your life is a piece of crap but what will you weak fellow with the huge belly do? Sit and mourn.)
I might agree, that some movies were trying to show that life to some is unbearable, but you're sending the message to the wrong audience, or maybe in the wrong package.


What's the difference between the blacks in the USA long ago and the Egyptians here? 


When the black people glimpsed a way out of this miserable life, they jumped at the opportunity and fought fiercely. None said: "I'll just be a slave. At least this way, I'm given my food and drink." 
There's a huge direction in Egypt of opposing the revolution. The previous life of slavery is missed. Hmmm..


They never print "slave" on your ID. They imprint it in your mind.


Remember this, the blacks did not get their freedom in one day. They fought and fought for years and years.. but hard work pays. The president of the USA is black!


We can't give up now! Not after all this oppression! If you don't care about the terrible standards of living and education, you should definitely be interested to know that your blood will be shed the moment your presence threatens the throne.. WE CAN'T GIVE UP NOW!