I have decided to embark on a journey of exploration this morning, therefore I am announcing that I am presently looking for a job in the fields of writing, editing, or translation in Arabic, English or Italian.
Should you be interested in hiring me, or if you know another who might be interested, my email address is tutunai@gmail.com, or you can just fill up The Contact form present in the sidebar.
Arranged according to the chronological order of their time of purchase, the waiting list of titles to be understood grows, expands in one direction with each visit to a bookshop.
- Enrico IV – Luigi Pirandello
- War And Peace – Leo Tolstoy
- A Passage to India – E. M. Forster
- Angels and Demons – Dan Brown
- Krondor Fear of The Gods – Fiest
- Orientalism – Edward Said
- The Republic – Plato
- Mansfield Park – Jane Austen
The past few months have been quite hazy and disorderly for my book reading fashion. Rules were broken, time was not properly managed to best benefit the books and my head, and I paid several visits to bookshops. In those months I managed to take in a poetry collection for Nizar Qabbani, the complete works of Al Tayyeb Saleh, The Three Theban Plays of Sophocles, Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges, a Heart of Darkness for Conrad, “Awlad Haretna” for Najib Mahfuz, a story for Taha Hussein, some plays for Wilde in my spare minutes at work, and some random internet readings.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written.
- Oscar Wilde
There was one book only that I shunned: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.
Forse il gran segreto della vita è che non c’ è, veramente, un “gran” segreto della vita! Forse noi tutti, e tanti altri prima di noi, stiamo cercando qualcosa che non esiste, qualcosa che la nostra immaginazione ha inventato ma che non ha nessuna relazione con la realtà .
Sarebbe interessante, molto interessante ma anche triste al tempo stesso, scoprire un giorno che questa idea è vera. Che tempo buttato via! Tutta l’umanità provata in una specie d’immensa delusione. Ma che filosofia!
Ma se questo è proprio un gran segreto oscuro che nessuno deve, o può, scorprire e divulgare, come mai lÂ’ho scoperto io? Eccola la filosofia…
L’ermetismo è stato uno dei più importanti movimenti letterari del ‘900, ma per la sua stessa natura non produsse né capi, né ideologie. Il nome “ermetico” fu applicato al movimento, nel saggio di un critico avverso, Francesco Flora (La poesia ermetica, 1936), per indicare una poesia caratterizzata da una voluta oscurità dovuta ad un procedimento analogico esasperato. Il termine affermatosi finì col denotare una poesia che rifiuta il grande pubblico, è destinata a pochi eletti ed è concepita come rivelazione. L’ermetismo esordì negli anni Venti e si sviluppò negli anni tra il 1935 ed il 1940.
Più che una scuola, fu un modo di intendere la letteratura. Con “ermetico” si indicò un modo apparentemente oscuro di far poesia e quegli scrittori che si mostravano non impegnati e privi di riferimenti alla realtà . Il legame tra gli ermetici è costituito dalla ricerca di una nuova poesia, gli ermetici restarono estranei alla cultura genericamente idealista del tempo e furono accusati di non essere impegnati, e di essere astratti. Si è distinto un ermetismo spirituale e uno intellettuale: il primo ebbe un atteggiamento religioso, il secondo un atteggiamento indifferente. Proprio per queste sue caratteristiche l’ermetismo assunse l’idea di una letteratura intesa come invenzione perpetua.
Da Wikipedia.
Absolutely self-centered. Do not proceed if April 27th in the life of Tololy does not interest you.
I am munching on my lunch which is composed of three pieces of pastry and a slim can of coke, the other one is sprite but it can wait, no veggies today.
The long, long week at the office has finally come to an end. We had a gigantic meeting featuring all sorts of important people, local and imported, doing all sorts of important things and composing bibles while they’re at it. I am thrilled it is over, and quite surprised it was not as wholesome as I had expected it to be.
But the 9cm heels did not allow me my sip of victory. I am fully consumed, I walked and walked and walked for what seemed like eternity from this place to that and with each step I regretted not having my tennis shoes on. But that was out of the question really, they don’t go with my posh formal wear. Alas!
Just when I was heading to get lunch from a nearby bakery, my legs were unable to carry on. I walked funny, a bit too much to the left this step, and another too much to the right. I noticed this because people noticed it too, they stared at me, and that was not comfortable. I keep telling myself I should get rid of the little black pair but I never do. I will do that when summer is officially in town.
Then one of my left hand nails chipped, and I hate it when that happens. It’s fantastic but I wanted to paint them all week long and never managed to recycle my time enough to indulge in that precious pleasure, now one of my nails chipped, and I peeled it out. The remaining nine will have to go as well.
And I have been taking care not to bite the middle finger of my right hand, it had gotten severely damaged because of the sharpness of my teeth and the thing I have for even skin. You see, I do not like uneven skin when passed on my lips so I peel it off. Uh, the gruesome details! Well, my finger looks horrible now. I must’ve been pretty stressed out to have skinned it like this, and I feel bad about that. I am on the look for a band-aid and I assure you all that my finger will be fixed very soon.
And you think you have your long weekend planned and that nothing can ruin it, but you discover that in your official inbox there is an email message relaying a fat chunck of work to be wrapped up particularly in this time. But you sigh, and you know you will squeeze it in. (key: you = me).
You know, it’s amusing what I felt today and what I always feel when in such official gatherings. I feel I am willingly indulging myself in a role tailored to fit someone, I don’t know, older, perhaps? Someone who looks like “it”, someone who does not bite the middle finger of her right hand when she’s stressed, someone who does not think she has lost the keys to the office and freaks out then finds them in another bag in the closet, someone who is not fanatic about even skin, or say, someone who can walk and talk like everything is well after a long hard day in 9cm heels. Have you ever had this feeling? That you want to believe that you are actually in the position you are in, and that it’s really you who’s doing what you’re doing?
I got in this taxi yesterday with two other people who do not speak Arabic and the driver felt it a must to make small talk to me. I generally never appreciate small talk in cars with strangers but it would not have been decent not to respond to this man’s inquisition. Then he went a bit astray and thought me a member of his family, he went on to telling me, for no obvious reason that I can possibly think of, how he successfully reunited a cousin of his with her husband after 40 years of divorce. Why would I ever be interested in knowing that about a stranger woman, from a stranger man, I cannot tell. He told me that all the same, and I felt most uncomfortable so all my smiles were fake.
I hated it when the dearest Italian professor to my heart told me last week that I am beginning to look like a “career woman”. Oh, it was terrible. I dismissed it instantly, I told him I hated it and that I pray I never look like that. He said the nice colors are gone, but I confessed it was only for a couple of days each week. His opinions in my private fashion matter to me greatly, as any other champion of true taste in life should deserve his opinions to count.
The pastries were not that good, they’d been baked in the morning and were wrinkley when I had them. But I was hungry enough to appreciate them and I wondered where Tsuki-San was. He must’ve been out to play, or sleeping as usual. He’s a lazy cat.
A breath-taking spectacle, especially at dawn. You sit there and dangle your feet and you become divine.
Life is strong…
… and sometimes perplexing…
When you climb up to one of those holes,here zoomed in,
This is what you see:
And this,
If this is not beauty, I am lost as to what is.
??? ???? ????? ????? “????” ?? ??? ??????, ?? ? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? � ??????? ???????- ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????.
????? ??? ?? ????? ??????, ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ? ????????, ??? ???? ?????? ????????. ???? ??? “???????” ????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????????. ??? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???????, ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? � ??????- ???? ?? ?? ???????.
?? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ????, ? ??? ??????.
? ???? ???? ????? ?????. ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ? ???? ???????? ? ???? ????????, ???? ? ?????? ??? ???? ????? “????? ??????” ?? ????? ????? ? ????? ?? ???? ?????, ?????? ??? ?? ????? “???????” ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? “?????! ????? ??????? ?????!”.
? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ???. ?????? ?? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ??????? ? ??????? ? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???????, ? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????: ???? ???? ?????. ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ? ??? ?????, ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????, ? ??? ????? ?? ????????, ???????.
?? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ??????????? ?? ???? ?????? ????????. ?? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ??????????? ??? ??? ????? ( ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??????) ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????, ??? ??????? ??????? ? ??? ?????.
????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????, ??? ??????? ? ?????? ? ????? ? ????? ?????? ? ?????, ?? ????? ???? ??????? � ? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??????- ? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ? ??????. ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????????? ?? ???? ???????, ? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????, ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????, ?????.
? ????? ??? ???, ??? ???? ?????? ???????.
I’m sorry, I just can’t stop laughing at this thought. Are you, dear readers, afraid of going to jail? Is that why only one person dared to answer the question about Arab Unity in that first Salon entry? Mmm? Or is this question a bit “off”? Rotten and boring?
Ah. Like I said before, the possibilities are endless. But this makes me laugh, just as I was starting to debate doing politics – the irony of it all!
Among the messages I received last week following the “Say it as it is” post, I found one (From Peter S.) to be particularly in harmony with notions I had had previously but never got to enact. So I am devising a new section through which I hope more reader-to-reader interaction can be attained.
In this section, I only ask a question. You answer it, debate other answers, or look up some additional information. In short, itÂ’s all about you and what you think. The possibilities are endless and I think it should be interesting to observe how conversations grow to promote better understanding.
What do you think happened to that dream we were brought up believing would come true one day : Arab Unity?
I am about to pay tribute to one of the most memorable characters in modern cinema, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. This here is a cannibal, a criminal, a genius, and a devoted lover and manipulator. How teasing.
In The Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal Dr. LecterÂ’s word craft and mental domination made my heart skip a beat, such a perfect canvas of malicious brilliance! Something you cannot overlook, really, it thrusts itself in your mind and forces you to acknowledge its greatness, even if you do not like gore, rather, especially if you do not like gore.
A must it is to note that Sir Anthony Hopkins plays the role of Dr. Lecter in all three movies: The Silence of The Lambs 1991, Hannibal 2001, and Red Dragon 2002. His emergence as the optimum, elitist pick for the role is beyond words. There is no denying he was tailored to embody it, or that, in play, it was tailored to fit none other than him. He happens to be my favorite actor.
That twisted love-hate relationship between Hannibal and Clarice is captivating. She fears him yet she trusts him, and he delivers her at the end of Hannibal by chopping off his hand rather than hers after being chained together; an unforgettable scene for those who watched the movie. The way he talks to her, “Hello, Clarice”, and the way his speech picks speed at times in an intimidating fashion, always calmly, so calm, so dangerous, the thrill of it bites you in the neck.
Words, words, words; you must watch the movies to see Lecter in all his glory and might. But a note on the side, if mutilation and vicious cannibalistic attacks disturb you, stick to those words. I would hate being sued because of my recommending my favorite movie to others, I cannot afford it. (Rated R).
Should you be interested in the screenplay of The Silence of The Lambs or that of Hannibal, find the first here and the second here.
I quote Dr.Lecter, from Hannibal, before offering a piece of cooked human brain (that of Paul Krendler) to a curious child on an airplane:
“As your mother tells you, and my mother certainly told me, it is important, she always used to say, always to try new things.”
In a letter to Clarice: “Your job is to craft my doom, so I am not sure how well I should wish you. But I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun. Ta-ta, “H.”"
“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.”
Curly dry earth
Hugs a rusty old can
And some cracks
Gentle like a smile
It’d be a perfect lie to say I am totally satisfied with my lines of work and the office settings I live in and what not. Those are not the things I am about to put into this entry, however, but I will rather tell you about the war I have to fight every single day at one of the offices.
You see, there’s this person I work with that I do not quite get. I do not understand his motives and his behaviour, and I always seem to fail to comprehend his malice when, as a consequence, I pay the price.
I perfectly understand competition, and I am quite a competitive little person myself – ask anyone, but this sort of twisted scheming I am not used to. It shocked me time and again how this person stabbed me in the back, for no obvious reason but to hinder what progress I would be making.
Then I could not tolerate it any longer.
I am not loud. I think being loud is such a vulgar thing, but there was this one time when I yelled at this “person” for a straight 15 minutes. The look on his face, his mumbling to himself in confusion, and his reaction as a whole were priceless. Since that day on, I have had little or no hassles at the office.
Think not if someone is polite that they lack in voice. Revenge is a sweet dish best served cold, so say some and so pray some.
Not again. Not really. It should be a month soon since the Box moved from Blogspot to its own DotCom, and it seems as though some major sites featuring it, such as toot, are not precisely aware of this fact or are quite skillful at procrastination. There could be a handful of other possibilities, naturally, and I am a person who believes in the benefit a doubt can hold.
As a kind reminder to all concerned, do update your bookmarks and you will live happily ever after. If ever after ever existed, that is. And big, warmish thanks go out to all who got the message “The Box has moved”. Brilliant!
If you happen to have any suggestions, special comments, private opinions or any other messages you would like to get across, do not hesitate to fill in the form below expressing yourself. I would like to learn of what appeals and what doesnÂ’t in the Box, have no inhibitions and say it as it is.
9:50 AM addition: This entry will run through the next two days to grant you more time to post your thoughts. Should you have more than one, at different intervals, don’t be a stranger! Let it be heard.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
- Oscar Wilde
The following piece was submitted on November 30th, 2005 as an assignment on “A childhood memory” during Creative Writing class.
I am not trying to be funny when I state that once in my life I wished for a donkey. I was obsessed with horses ever since I learned of their existence, as I still am. I always put demands forward to my parents to buy me a horse, and they never complied.
Never losing hope, I opted for a donkey. I figured, ” If they do not want to get me a horse because it is expensive, then a donkey will certainly do!”. I think some supernatural power overheard my innermost plans and granted me them.
I was sitting in a minimalist house in a village called Samara in Karak, where my family used to spend the weekends. A regular weekend would end with nothing exceptional taking place, perhaps a lizard here or there, or an injury, that’s about it. Not anything flashy and – it came out of nowhere; a donkey on the loose wandered into the room where I was sitting.
The image that haunts me of that day is surreal. The way the donkey came inside the room, engulfed in light and terribly confused, was dreamlike. I gave the poor creature a name and my father helped me give him basic, yet urgent, medical attention. His leg was severely scratched and he was very thirsty. I was amazed at the quantity of water that a donkey can consume; I had had no prior experience in this field.
Later on in the day, a woman came and claimed the donkey. She said it was hers and had run away in the morning after, in a magical sense again, having liberated itself from the rope that tied it to a fixed spot. I cried.
“Light is Love revealed.
Light is Life manifested.
Light is God fulfilled.”
- Sri Chinmoy
Lead me from the unreal to the Real.
Lead me from darkness unto Light.
Lead me from death to Immortality.
- Mantra of the Upanishads
“When we live in darkness, our human life is a constant want.
When we live in Light, our divine life is a constant achievement.
Light in the physical is beauty.
Light in the vital is capacity.
Light in the mind is glory.
Light in the heart is victory.”
- Sri Chinmoy
I will be unable to monitor the happenings in the Box, and to compose any fresh entries during the two days to come. TololyÂ’s Box will be back online early next week, probably on Sunday April 16th.
In the meantime, you can always flip through The Archives for any entries youÂ’d missed or any others youÂ’d like to enjoy. Have a nice weekend!
The answer is simple; itÂ’s because devoted Jordan Planet commentator Kinzi Jones has written a feature on six female Jordanian bloggers in AprilÂ’s issue: Khalidah, Lina, Natasha, Roba, Salam, and yours truly.
I got my copy just today through my sister, whose office is not located in the desert, unlike mine. The ladies look marvelous, and the written text is a joy to read.
ItÂ’s lovely to see the feminine side of the blogosphere covered in such a way, I say keep the coverage alive. It was particularly interesting to see the unique traits that distinguish each lady-blogger from the other, and to explore some new information about each. On top of all that, meeting Kinzi was a true privilege that I personally am honored to have obtained.
On to my personal reflections on the whole affair, I decided to design a FAQ section to be posted in this entry exclusively treating my appearance in the magazine, and answering the many questions I had to take in today.
Q. Why does the position of your hand on the laptop look so awkward?
A. That’s the “disgusted” way I type. I get slandered for it all the time.
Q. When did you get a laptop?
A. I didnÂ’t. This laptop was brought in for photo shoot purposes only.
Q. What book is that on the table?
A. “The Three Theban Plays” by Sophocles.
Q. Why arenÂ’t you looking at the camera, while all the other ladies are?
A. I wasnÂ’t asked to, and I would like to stress that the pose was not fabricated by me to look any of the following: serious, mean, angelic, or asleep. The photographer took only three shots of me, and was interrupted by the guard at the location prohibiting him from further completing his job because he had not acquired permission to shoot in that location. A terrible surprise for me, naturally, to put things diplomatically. There was supposed to be another appointment set for a proper, look-me-in-the-eye picture, but the proposal was never brought to consummation, hence the IÂ’m-typing-go-away picture we can all enjoy.
Q. Do you like it?
A. Yes. After all, when I type things I generally look at what I am typing and reflect on it, much like in the shot. Come what may, my parents love the poise, and so does my lady-boss. I have to hand it in to the photographer, he really did a good job.
I should bring this entry to an end before my twisted sense of humor gets too exposed, then thereÂ’s no concealing it. A note on the side, I do not own a scanner so I had to take a picture of this page,kindly forgive any imperfections you may find.
Spesso il male di vivere ho incontrato:
era il rivo strozzato che gorgoglia,
era l’incartocciarsi della foglia
riarsa, era il cavallo stramazzato.
Bene non seppi; fuori del prodigio
che schiude la divina Indifferenza:
era la statua nella sonnolenza
del meriggio, e la nuvola, e il falco alto levato.
After testing my muse for inspiration, I was left with this. ThereÂ’s more emotion in it than skillful storytelling, that I know, and it needs more work.
She worshipped him and kept it to herself. Now she wonders if she was mistaken to have met him in the first place; her senior of 15 years. The way he treated her made her feel like a perfect blossom of a lady at 18, his attention to details, his saying the most right things at the right time; that was all too much to take into her little heart without infecting it with infatuation.
Meeting him night and day just to hear those sweet, sweet words and to be with him no matter what his moods were was her religion. Listening to his manly voice over the phone for hours on end, trying to change his crooked ways. She was a kid at heart despite all her attempts at pretending she can cope with mature wordplay and despite her attempts at growing up instantly to match his experience.
The chocolate box, the nice little gifts, and his care. She was too young to realizeÂ…
And she thought he loved her too every time he said sheÂ’s gorgeous, and when he took her in his arms. At any rate, she thought, this would be something to remember. That she, alone, enchanted the heart of a man at 18. Such testimony of her power!
But then he left as he said he would, the six months ended, and she cried so hard that night. She finally realized she had attached herself to this idol, and she woke her friend up and cried to her on the phone: “I love him”. But he was gone and there was no bringing him back.
Never did he promise to stay.
So much pain and pleasure come from experience, and I have decided to share my personal experience with shopping for nose jewelry with my readership. This may not interest many people, but it could help some others make better choices while trying to find the right sparkling object to adorn their nostrils.
Generally speaking, nose bones or nose studs are the commonest. They are probably the only variety we have here in Jordan, which is an upsetting fact. But putting that aside, when shopping for a nose stud, make sure the bar is straight and make sure to know what length you are looking for. If you do not know this exactly, take a sample with you (Your old nose stud, for example). In addition to that, do check if the stud has a small ball at the end of the bar. This ball is very important; it keeps your jewelry from falling right out of your nostril every time you sneeze. But be careful, you donÂ’t want it to be so big so as to cause some real pain when you insert or remove the jewelry. Trust me on this one. I recommend this type if youÂ’d just gotten your piercing, itÂ’s easy to maneuver.
Do not, ever, buy cheap nose jewelry. By cheap I mean jewelry made of God-knows-what metals. Always stick to gold (yellow or white), platinum, silver, or titanium. These metals are the safest; they would not cause you any infections or problems. Remember: you are not rich enough to afford cheap things.
There are also nose screws, which have a straight bar right after the gem and then a curve. Those can be adjusted to fit properly, but they generally come in standard form. I once got some of these and couldnÂ’t really work them so I returned the set to the shop and got a better deal.
The current jewelry I wear is very practical. It is a nose fishtail with a longish bar, and no ball at the end. The way to insert this is a bit tricky and similar to nose screws, you twist the bar into the shape you want ( the shape of the letter L ) and bear in mind the proportions of your nostril. It takes some practice but when it works, it works magic and you donÂ’t feel it. I would recommend this type to more experienced individuals.
And, of course, there are nose rings. The splendid thin, round metals come with a bead or a ball at one end so you would be able to close them. My personal favorite type, but I havenÂ’t as yet found what I am looking for. You should check the gauge of the ring before buying it; thereÂ’s no use buying a ring that is too thick to move freely or one too slim.
Pages that might help the curious:
I am an average person but soon I will be gone.
This is a thought that haunts me night and day. Whatever will happen to me, and the many many likes of me, when the final and ruling word has been spoken in Jordan, separating its people into two distinctive straits?
Try buying a car. Assuming the original price of the vehicle is 6,000 JD, you would be compelled to put in a rough estimate of 9,000 JD for customs. Add around 1,000 for registration and you will be paying 16,000 JD for an item that really costs 6,000. ThatÂ’s almost triple the original value and for some reason I am missing the jest.
Try buying a 32 JD mobile card, and you will be forced to actually pay 37 JD. The extra five are the face of the all-famous-budget-munching-16%-sales tax.
Try buying clothes. Not only do you hardly find something that doesnÂ’t have an opening somewhere (a must-have) or a see-through-me nature, as if nobody in Jordan wants to really wear something, but you will also have to pay a minimum of 20 JD for a pair of pants. Quality not guaranteed, mind you, and you will have to do with more than one pair of pants, wonÂ’t you? Some math, letÂ’s say you want to buy a nice outfit comprised of three pieces: pants, shirt, shoes. And letÂ’s pretend you land yourself a good deal and get each item for around 20 JD, thatÂ’s a total of 60 JD for the wardrobe.
Now imagine you had to live on a 200 JD salary.
Try filling up the car. ThatÂ’s about 50 JD a month if youÂ’re out and about every day. If you donÂ’t have a car, try using taxis to take you places. ThatÂ’s a minimum of 1 JD per drive, by 2-3 drives each day on the length of a month, and you got yourself an amazing 90 JD every month for transportation. And I am not even inflating anything.
Try going out, for a change. You will have to dig in that fat purse of yours (and we know itÂ’s full of business cards) to produce at least 30 JD for a decent lunch for two. Try going out three times a month and youÂ’ll pay for it dearly: 90 JD. Too much? Go to cheaper places, youÂ’ll still invest too much in food and company.
Try it again now. Imagine you had to live on a 200 JD salary.
The most upsetting reactions one gets when making this argument are the suggestions not to “live large”. To those comments I would like to say: hello? When was buying decent clothes, seeing friends, and getting around town to go to work “large”? Or is that just your way of dismissing the problem? It won’t do.
People are entitled to live decently. I would imagine minimum decency requirements include living a normal life, like normal people.
One of the commonest sights to see in the humbler parts of Amman, and in Jordan generally is roadside open-air shops selling food or pottery. The people who set these sorts of shops are usually people who cannot afford to rent a location to showcase their goods, so they opt for the roadside. It is true that this practice is not entirely legal or safe but the truth of the situation has it that it exists, and that I am writing about it all the same.
I took the pictures in this entry on my way back from Salt city just outside Amman the past month, when my mother stopped to examine the roadside merchandise. This roadside vendor specialised in selling raw foods, such as dried figs, honey, raisins, and so on.
As rule of thumb, items sold by the roadside are cheaper than those sold in concrete shops, for obvious reasons. This is an advantage these vendors enjoy but with the laws getting stricter each day I believe they don’t stand much chance to run on forever.
A final note, If you arrive to such a “shop” in an expensive car, you might expect to be charged a bit more on the items you buy. That’s how flexible the roadside market is, and it requires of you to be equally flexible. Bargain, bargain, and then bargain some more.
It’s play time!
Care for , just a suggestion here, a 1000-piece-Cat-Mania-50×70cm puzzle to wear the day away?
I have spent around 15 hours so far on this 10$ passtime, now I am thinking of calling the manufacturers for some compensation of some sort. Do not smile, I don’t mean to entertain you.
A popular saying goes “ The early bird gets the worm”, and is used mainly during morning hour sales and such, and trusted as a bible by most employers.
The wisdom behind having to arouse all your employees at approximately 7 AM, when you do not own a stock market of some sort and when you do not have affairs to conclude in areas differing with yours in time, alludes me.
One can hardly think of ways in which an employee still struggling with removing himself from his dreams can function well and produce in the benefit of the job. Certainly this is not to negate one of lifeÂ’s humblest facts; that there are indeed people who perform well in the morning. But it is also not to neglect another fact that giving people an extra 30 minutes of slumber may boost their productivity to the delight of their managers.
There is no lazier an image than that of a half-sleeping worker exerting obvious effort to concentrate on getting his first task done. No worms, none for the worker, and none for the company.
Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think.
- Ambrose Bierce
Quality management is definitely a positive thing in an organization, it tells employees what to do, when to do it, and how. I think I am in favour of QM, but to a limit.
Just recently, I have come across a person who works in this domain. This person’s life revolves around one word: control. I am not saying this is a bad thing per se, but what I am trying to communicate is that he lives for procedures. He even wrote, in details, the procedure involved in opening a door.
That’s a bit overdoing it, won’t you say?
This is the new Tololy’s Box location, welcome and enjoy your stay. I hope the new features added would make your experience exploring the Box more time-efficient, beneficial, and pleasant.
I would like to thank Mahdy Hassan for the splendid efforts he put into building up the new Box.
This is exciting! Take your time and surf around to see what you can find in the Box, “The Visuals” section is still under construction so forgive the tardiness and, most importantly, don’t forget to update your bookmarks and links.
This is “Mansaf”; the traditional Jordanian dish. It is comprised of, as you can doubtlessly notice, large quantities of “Jameed”-drenched rice, meat, and “Shrak” bread. Shrak is the very thin bread put under the rice and over the dish as a whole to keep it warm. Jameed is a special kind of dried yoghurt, as I mentioned in my former entry, that is generally fist-sized and hard as a rock. It is later broken down and cooked, then served in generous quantities alongside the rice and meat.
I should also note that, in proper Jordanian customs, Mansaf is eaten using one’s hand, and no spoons. This is a bit of culture that is not followed that much anymore in cities, but which is closely observed in villages and such. Another thing to add about eating Mansaf is that it is not normally served in seperate plates, the attendees of the feast usually circle around the large plate and eat from it all at the same time. In any given feast there is more than one Mansaf dish served, here again the number of dishes served marks the family’s/tribe’s significance, power, or riches.
