Ain't No mOUNtain High

"Ain't no mOuntain high enough...ain't no valley low enoUgh...ain't no rivER wild enough...to keep me from getting to U...", my phone rang for the last time last August 15 @around 2AM. Thats the assigned tone for my bestfriend. That's almost 3 months ago when i talked to him the last time. THe last conversation of almost the everyday talks we had. He bid goodbye and it was for forever.

He was and will always be a wonderful man. Very cheerful, happy, generous, talkative, respectful indeed he lived a great and fruitful life. He will always be remembered that way.

I'm starting to write after almost 3 months of being quiet. I got to keep in touch with his closest cousin and his uncle. During the past months, we used to call one another and sometimes found ourselves weeping over the wonderful memories of him. We terribly missed him.

We share almost same interest in everything, though we are of different roots and background, different professions, different language, and a few year age gap. We love to dine at the Steak Diners, listen to cool music, talk about his and my work, family and friends. We lived in almost 1400km away from each other. BUt we managed to drop each other a call at anytime of the day to just check whether things are going smooth and easy. We love to laugh and to talk about serious matters. WE love coffee for sure (specially turkish coffee). He was awed by one of my great friends...AMeer as if he saw a living legend. He was a dreamer. He loves his work and loved his Indian supervisor. He loves the Filipino man in KUDu Al Mumlaka. He loves to surprise his mom for anything. He loves his dad so dearly and idolized him. He is fascinated with Mamdooh, his brother and loves Mohannad too. He will do anything for his nephew Rayan who would always remind him not to smoke and not to listen to bad music. He cares for his bestfriend Abdul Rahman. We all miss him.

We dreamed together. We planned together for an outing with my wife and children and his. It will never happen anymore. BUt one thing for sure, i will tell my wife and my children someday that I have known an awesome man named Maazen. His story did not end when my cellphone stops ringing his assigned tone. His voice will always be heard. His lessons will always be passed down to generations.

Now i can smile and say "for a lifetime is not too long...to leave us friend".

This is random. I feel better now. I understand that God's ways are always higher than ours.

Y.C.D.I.

Y.C.D.I Four precious words I've heard from a wonderfUl person that I know will keep me on the race for another extra mile.

I got a missed call from AMeer at exactly 11:57pm on my phone. I did not noticed his call for i was deeply engrossed watching one awesome movie. I called him back and we had a little but wonderful chitchat.

Years back, i was telling the same thing to people who are losing hope. I love to help keeping people back on to track. For that i felt like I'm a winner. I don't have to have medals & trophies to be a champion. The "thank you's" were more than enough for me to keep doing it. Until i find myself lost from that track. I felt like i made some few wrong decisions on the way. I felt miserable. I have unlearned a lot of things. Isolated. I have tried to get back. I was up but not as before. The energy, the passion, the motivation, the vision, the determination was'nt the same. I want something to fan the flame in me.

I finally resolved something. Answered a question of long time ago. I was'nt wrong when i decided to leave the job that I love and be in the deserts of Arabia. I did not lost my self, my identity, my passion, but i have found more.

It just took a one phone call from an awesome person to tell me the FOUR PRECIOUS WORDS.....Y.C.D.I....You Can Do It!!! to believe in the unbelievable....to dream the impossible.

Those words keep me out from the shadows of my past successes. I believe I can be more. That I CAN DO IT!!! and that Y.C.D.I. too!

HeAvEn KnoWs

T'was a one fine day. Got some shopping before flying to Riyadh. Relaxed. Jumped from one coffee shop to another.

It was 8:36pm when i received a phone call from one of my friends. I was'nt expecting a shocking news. I was'nt ready. After all I'm enjoying my Jeddah getaway.

The bad news: One of my closest friends died on a car accident. Shocked and speechless. I sat down on the sofa. My mind stopped for few moments. The good times flashed like a scene on a movie i have watched in the past.

I cant cry. I cant believed it. I cant talk.

Tears started to fall from my eyes. I cant contain them. I don't understand. Only heaven knows. I cant ask why.

It took me an hour in such state. Then I started to call some friends to confirm the news. Believing that i could find someone who would tell me that it was just a mistake or a joke. Or that he was just severely injured but still alive. But i was failed. Everyone i talked to on the phone confirmed his untimely death on a car accident.

He is 36 years old with a wife and two kids. We've been good friends and brothers for 3 years now. He loves his job. He is a happy person. He is always a hand when I need a help. We laughed together. We cried. We jogged. All I've got now are the memories of that friendship.

My heart is crushed. I want to write every feeling that I have now. Its almost 4am and I still cant sleep. Tears are falling. Asthma attacks. Feeling cold. Unsure. Really I dont know...........ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS.

But we will be friends forever. In God's hands we know that a lifetime is not too long to leave us.

The GreAT ReWARd

Red SEA. Diving. Beach party. People. Wonderful.

It was an awesome FridAy. It was truly relaxing. Away from work. Far from any stressor.

I woke up at 6am. Excited to go to the Red Sea. Maybe because for almost five years I've never been to the beach. I miss the salty water, the waves, the wind everything about it.

We were at the meeting place at 10 minutes past 8am. Then half an hour drive. Excited. Awed. Anxious about the diving. Then finally right on the seashore of the infamous RED SEA.

The whole thing is not about the Red Sea experience. It's about the great reward for my self. I've heard one motivational speaker once said that one secret of the joy of working is learning how to reward yourself. Knowing the right reason of working is equally important to enjoying it. Many people feel condemned when they reward their selves. Why is it so? Maybe because we learned from the pasts that the reason why we are working is always because of other people. It's to provide for their needs. Only when you are free from these kind of thoughts that you’ll begin to enjoy working.

It is important to know when and how to reward yourself. I treated my self every time I accomplish something. I went to places I’ve never been. I did things I’ve never done. Invigorating. Refreshing.

I had fun today. I celebrated life. I enjoyed swimming with little Souhib. I saw people who are freely enjoying the fruit of their labor with their families.

It’s another “WOW” moment of my life….

---MoOoOoOoOoD, Mediocrity & ME---

I was once a mediocre. Living life inconsistently. Just trying everything without excelling in any of those. I quited that kind of life. I was tired. I'd stopped being just a face in the crowd. I'd like to leave a mark, a legacy, a lesson.

It was once on the pages of a book i read...that if you do something "give your 100% in it" or never do it at all. So i kept that lesson in my life...whenever i do something...I'm giving it my all. My time, my talent and my resources.

A comment on my blog today just reminded me to give my best to this thing that I love to do -writing! I was so flattered to have such comment from a complete stranger. By the way, thanks so much. You don't know how much it mean to me.

Giving my 100% to my blogs means just simply being honest with everything that I'm writing, about my feelings, and my views of the things around me. Everything goes with my mood.

I am now hearing the call for morning prayer, so it means it's a little bit late up here. It's morning. Good dAy!!!

It's Morning

Yesterday was my day off and all I did was sleeping. I was so sick. I hate it when the weather is changing.

I had a lot of complains in my life lately. Maybe it's a perfect time for me to rest, relax and think things over. Yeah....that's what I did overnight after finishing one DVD( I really love the film) and a cup of coffee.

First, leaving is not always the best mean to escape. Sometimes you just have to stay and let things fall on their right places. But im still 90% convinced that i need to leave and face new challenges in a new place with a new work and new people. But who knows, there is still 10% chance of staying. What do u think?

Second, complaining is draining. When I always complain...im beginning to lose my identity, my strenght and my vision. So I'd rather smile and take things easy.

Third, I'm sleepy. It's 8:ooam....It's morning....Good day everyone.

The RoaD

In few days, I'll be alone walking through the road we all used to take. It was the path that made us ONE, that united us with one purpose. Be it be on a warm summer sun or a feEziNg winter nights, t'was our way to a place once we called our own, our haven, the place where we built our bigger dreams....ngorzzzzz.

It has almost been 3 years since we steeped on the sands of this city in the valley. It was fun, new experiences, new people, new environment. It was insane. THe music. THe food. The fun. The pictures. The smiles. The fights. The talks. The lives we've touched and those who touched us. One thing for certain, WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. Some became BETTER and some BITTER.

It was a place, the place where we learned and unlearned some things in our lives. New skills. New vocabulary. New words on our lips. A totally new thing.

It was the 3 wonderful (lack of adjectives to use) years of our lives. We have to move on, fulfill our dreams, satisfy our hearts, learn new things, meet new people, travel the WORLD....Live LIFE...Be REAL.......DON't be afraid.

T.G.I.Friday's & It's mY Bday

Well, never mind how old am I, it's how many people became happy that I was born (any violent reaction?)

When you became mature and learned about the lessons of LIFE....it's not anymore about yourself...but it's more on the satisfaction by knowing that by just being you, and being there, here and everywhere...you are adding happiness to someones life. I'm thinking about LIFE lately...and I realized that it's not just about breathing( bad breath or good breath), eating (kabhsa), sleeping(&snoring), and dying. There is so much more to it. I can't enumerate them all but I can tell u one thing, that you can learn it everyday........It's the "Aha moment".

It was a big yet simple day for me. For the first half of the day, I rested. Then got up, went to the shop and buy something for myself (I surprised my self by giving my self a gift...LOL). After that, me and my bestfriend spent an hour at Starbucks. Then checked out the net for any resto that serve steak. I was disappointed to not find my favorite steak resto nearby. But my disappointment didn't took long time when my other bestfriend (I got 3 of them...BESTFRIENDS) came. He said that he wanna take us to my fav resto....ohhhh...i can't believe I'll be dining on Friday's on a Friday on my BIGday. It just opened 3 weeks ago he exclaimed. Tennessee-New York Steak plus Electric Blue so&so juice.....WOW!

Equation#1, Excellent foods+bestfriends=LIFE

I had a great time...I'm having a wonderful LIFE!!! T.G.I.W.B. (Thank God I Was Born)

BE yourSELF

Be yourself.

After work, me and my friends dropped by at a nearby supermarket to buy something. As we go over some items for [personal effects], one of my friends asked, "why this one cost this much here?", comparing a product in other shop, "do u think that the other shop sells fake items as rumored?". "Well", I said, "fake items are anywhere nowadays." That ended the conversation.

Like this products, we can fake things out. We can pretend to be who we want to be. But in the end, the real us will come out to the surface.

I hate being around [GREAT PRETENDERS]. Because maybe I'm a [what your see is what you get]-person. Why can't we be just who we are? People nowadays try to conform to the majority. Many loses their identity just trying to be accepted. Everybody have the need to belong, to be accepted. But not to a point of giving up who we are. What we do does not define who we are, who we are defines what we do. Our identity makes us unique. We can be who we are and still gain real friends who would love us unconditionally. If there are changes to be made, then be it for the better.

Being real is costly. But it satisfies even to deepest of the soul. BE yourself.

While You Were Sleeping

Someone e-mailed this to me and i thought of sharing it to all of you:

Reasons for sleeping and waking up early.

Evening at 9 - 11pm: is the time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.

Evening at 11pm - 1am: is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 3 - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am rather than no meal at all. Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

Early to BED, early to RISE!!! -That's so simple but not that easy.

Sweet DREAMZ!!! -Having a sweet dream is a lot more complicated that you can ever imagine.

Good night!!! -But not so awesome....

Halyah......I got the best sleeping pattern in my whole life NOW. And much more when i read all the benefits of being on bed early. So don't stay up late.

Have a blessed weekend.....(huh..it's weekend here in KSA btw!!!;p)

Lost: Integrity

I went to the computer shop today for something in my laptop is wrong. I was waiting for a call from the manager of the shop since yesterday coz he promised to call me when the technician specializing on my laptop brand will come. But i never received a call from him yesterday. I got into his shop and found the technician there. He checked my notebook. Then he said to leave it for repair then come for it in the afternoon. Then the manager came and said that the technician did not come yet so he was not able to call me. The technician who never came just spoke to me. Integrity level dropped to zero. Then i said I'll just send my laptop with a friend in the afternoon. A short story of integrity.

Integrity is priceless yet very expensive commodity. When its' lost' its hard to earn it back.

I read a book before that says,"the closer the [public you] to the [private you] is your integrity".
Its a must to keep that in any relationship since what connects you to other people is the real you.

I'm getting too serious here!!!Well since integrity is a foundation for trust, we've got to really work hard to build it. There are many people who can't keep relationship coz they are afraid show who they really are. But I'm thankful to have real friends who knows me and love me unconditionally. People whom i am with that i can be just ME.

Right SIDE of the BeD

If there is the WRONG side of the bed, there must be a RIGHT side of the bed(LoL). I just woke up. New week with new challenges, uncertainties, people and new movies to watch :)

I'm happy today!

Someone told me before that happiness is a decision. One should decide to be happy regardless of the situation. I tried and I failed many times. And today I'm gonna try again. I woke up, brushed my teeth, took a shower and smile in the mirror and decided to be happy the whole day.

There are lot of things that can take that happiness away from us but its a matter of choice when you just want to give it away as easy as that. It's always a choice to enjoy life. We cannot have it all. But when we learn to be thankful in any circumstance, we have learned to live a happy life.

T.G.I.M. (Thank God It's Monday)!!!

My cUp of COFFEE

This is my cup of coffEE...WRITING. But it has been empty for quite a while. I started some blogs, but i have the problem of not continuing it. I wish this would not end like my other blogs.

I have been talking much lately....(kinda drinking from other peoples' cup of coffee...awkkkkkk)!!! And just this day, i literally talked to myself...(not in front of a mirror...just me and me)!!! ANd i made a decision to write (make my own cup of coffee...no TEA...i want coffee...uskOt) rather than to talk. Coz i guess there are more smart readers than intelligent listeners.