Eid Al Adha!

Yes! Tomorrow, Friday - 26^th of October, would be the start of another vital Muslim holiday. This is because of the annual celebration of Eid Al Adha or literally called the “Feast of Sacrifice.” But for many expatriates including me, this is just a good break from our work.

Being here for almost 20 months, I am already pretty aware about the National Holidays of Muslim countries particularly in State of Qatar. The first major public holiday is the Eid Al Fitr (3 days) which marked the end of Ramadan and the other one, which is usually celebrated 70 days afterwards, is the Eid Al Adha (4 days). Literally, also called as “Feast of Sacrifice” or Eid Al Adha commemorates the act of Abraham to willingly sacrifice his first son (Ishmael) to God but at the end God interfered and instead a sheep was offered as a sacrifice. Thus in present days, all financially-able Muslims shall sacrifice an animal. This is widely practiced here in Qatar.

the familiar crossed-swords entering old Doha Souq (Market)

Since the Muslim is on religious holiday, Filipino Christians really looked forward for this long break. Some of them goes for swimming or does sand dunes, some dines out and does shopping, some visits their relative and friends, and some just stay from and home and take rest. And me? Maybe I would just visit and go along with my friends whatever their plan is.

Again to our brother Muslims around the world - Eid Mubarak!! May Allah accept all your good deeds..

My Blast from the Past Mobile Phones

Technology has really gone very far. Laptops, tablets, mobile phones, PSP or Xbox, LED or 3D flat TVs, and other electronic gadgets or devices – it is not unusual possessing one of those things. In one way or another, we admit it; they are already part of our lives. Take for instance, the mobile phone or cellular phone. It undergone a lot of changes and enhancement from the time it was first introduced during late 1990s up to this date. It is continuously innovating for perfection. The early mobile phones were first designed for the purpose of mere calling and sending text messages (or SMS – short message service) and nowadays their capabilities and functions are beyond human normal understanding. They are multi-tasking device at its best. Mobile phones or cellular phones are now called smartphones due to multimedia capacities.

Bosch Com 509

 I still remember the time when I used to own my first ever cell phone way back 2001 if I am not mistaken. I searched it in the internet and the model I used to own was a two-liner monochrome graphic-display Bosch Com 509. Actually it was a gift from my eldest sister after my first baccalaureate graduation. It was long, slightly heavy, quite big and bulky – very solid indeed. It has no other functions but for texting and calling only but it has additional features such as calculator and alarm clock. No radio of course. I have lots of unforgettable memories of this hand set because it witnessed some of my few disastrous eye ball (EB) ever when text mates were still very rampant and popular. Good old memories i can't forget.

Nokia 3315

Come year 2002. As a Christmas reward to myself, I asked my elder sister to buy me a new cell phone during her business appointment in Manila. She brought me a Nokia 3315 – successor of the most popular then Nokia 3310. I find it very indestructible, better than from my previous Bosch cp. What made this as a well-liked household hand set are its user-friendly features. Compact and simple, lighter than the 3210/3310, long battery life span, customized monotone ring tone composer, and its snake game feature made this so successful in the market. I also get hooked with the Snake game which I used playing for long hours. That hungry, slimy, and quickie snake which lengthens once it passes by the dot, captured my eagerness to beat the game’s highest score. I used this device until 2006 when I exchanged this to another Nokia model at the Greenhills – a place in Metro Manila famous for inexpensive yet new mobile phones or other electronic devices.

Nokia 6610

 Silver Nokia 6610 is what I got when I swapped it with my old phone. A more vibrant device due to its slimmer and lighter weight, 5-liner text and photo messaging (MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service), polyphonic ringing tone, colored display, and most of all its integrated stereo FM radio-support. Mp3s are not yet supported in this handset however I enjoyed listening to FM radio because of its clear stereo hands-free speaker. Usually, I used to tune in to my favorite FM radio station whenever my group was on night duty in the hospital or sometimes I used to play pre-installed java games during non-toxic duty hours. I used this one for more than two years until I lost it inside a tricycle when the phone slipped out in my pants’ pocket when I was going home from hospital duty. I never recovered it though I tried my best to look for it.

Sony Ericsson W760i

It took me quite some time in replacing my lost cp with a brand new one. My sister temporarily lent me another Nokia phone (but I could not remember the model) and I used it for few months. When I saved enough bucks for me to buy a new cp, I purchased the Sony Ericsson W760i – my faved mobile before the domination of smartphones. I have lots of reasons why I loved this device. First, being a walkman phone. It supports mp3 songs and by using a memory stick micro card, I could transfer mp3 songs from my pc via memory card to cp. Besides, its speaker phone is stereo. It has an integrated motion sensor wherein I could advance to the next track by just shaking the phone while I am holding its walkman button. It worked quite well to me. Second, its metallic rocky silver design looked very classical. It fits very well in my hand because of its curvy edges and slider design. Third, I enjoyed playing Java games like car racing using the motion sensor capability of this phone. Though the screen is not so big, its display is far excellent.

Samsung B7722

 I bought this one at the SM Megamall a week before I left the Philippines. My friends and I helped me to choose this model – Samsung B7722 because of its dual-SIM and popularity of touch screen. It is called as DUOS phone of Samsung. I find this very easy to use, allowing me to switch between the two SIM, either by calling or texting, which is always active at the same time so calling or texting has no hassle. Other features are WiFi support, an FM radio, 3G video calling, internet browsing, multimedia player (mp3 songs and 3gp videos), 5MP camera with flash and micro-SD support. As a smartphone, the whole package is practically satisfying when it comes to simplicity and usability. After using this phone more than a year, someone intentionally took my phone whilst I was sleeping in my room. I was in pretty dead sleep that time I never noticed someone took my phone which I usually put it beside me.

Samsung E1182

And this is my current phone – Samsung E1182. As much as I wanted to own another touch screen handset; however, I realized that at this moment I don’t need much for any smartphone yet. This colored-display phone is also dual-SIM, good enough for sending SMS and calling. The battery life span is incredibly long. One of the cheapest mobile from Samsung, the casing is made up of plastic and the keypad is from rubber. It is very light to carry. The phone is equipped with torch light, alarm clock, calculator, stop watch, and other basic features one finds in a cellular phone. It is very simple and very handy device for basic users.

Sony Xperia S

 Whilst almost everyone are going crazy with the latest and popular smartphones such as the stylish iPhone 5 or the trendy Samsung S3, my dream phone that I have been longing for is the Sony Xperia S. I am looking forward to own this phone before my work contract ends in my current company and definitely before I go back to Philippines.

Based from the Sony website, its video is full HD (High Definition) powered by Sony Mobile Bravia Engine (this makes the Xperia unique among other branded smartphones), with 12 MP camera, and with razor-sharp clarity in 4.3” display size. Other specs are almost similar to iPhone or Samsung series such as the memory, processor, battery life span, internet-support, applications, talking time, and so forth.

* All images were taken from the internet

Rain in the Desert Place

Finally, rain poured in Qatar yesterday! This is the first rain which rarely occurs during transition of season from summer to winter around the state. Since early morning, the sky seems dim then little by little; it continuously turned into gloomy and cloudy with few stroke of lightning and sound of rumbling thunders. And at about noon time, finally a heavy down pours of rain transpired. From a country where extreme heat temperature is normal, rain is considered as a blessings from above. Rain – a normal meteorological phenomenon which is usually taken for granted elsewhere in the world but a huge treat in the desert country like Qatar. Thus when rain comes, almost everybody go outside and enjoy the rare moment.

On the other hand, this event caused consternation especially to us. The rain poured for at least 2 hours so our room was filled with water from the leaks in the ceiling. Also, the front yard was flooded. We have no choice, instead to be upset; I just patiently gazed the Nepalese enjoying their own moments under the heavy rain shower. Here are some of my unusual sights:

closer look of floating slippers and bottles

slipper-swimmers

some enjoying the rain shower

during the rain

after the rain

Here in the state, drainage system is typically taken for granted because of the rare occurrence of heavy rain. Usually, in major highways, streets and public parks, drainage system is absent. Thus any heavy rain fall that lasts for more than an hour causes floods along the way. They (the authorities) just suction the floodwater afterwards. Anyways, experiencing rain amid the desert place is worth enjoying this kind of small pleasures of life. Typically, rain is symbolically meant sorrow or distress to some but for the gulf country like Qatar, rain symbolizes hope. That amidst long time season of scorching extreme heat, rain shall come no matter what.

Recipe 107: Fish Sweet and Sour

Usually, I do this dish once we have generous amount of left-over fried fish from our previous meals. The fish is usually a King Fish type, which is one of the very familiar in Qatar fish market. Unlike other kinds of fish, this one tastes good only once newly fried because if several hours passed King Fish typically hardens and losses its crispiness. So that the left over will not be put into waste, it is better for me to resort to another good menu – the sweet and sour using the left-over fried fish.

This one might be very far from the typical sweet and sour you have tasted in your fave restaurants but this too tastes very acceptable. I have been doing this for several times and so far I am satisfied to this dish.

Ingredients:

Left-over king fish: shred into considerable sizes

1 carrot: sliced into thin pieces

1 green bell pepper: sliced into thin pieces

Ginger: sliced into thin pieces

Cloves of garlic

1 pc Onion: sliced into ring size

2 pinch of Ground black pepper

Tomato paste 250 mg

1 tbsp of Sugar

1 tbsp of white vinegar

Considerable amount of flour dissolved in cold water (for thickening the sauce)

Fried Fish

Fried Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce

   

How to cook:

1.       Refried the fish in the pan (to make it crispy again). Then place it in a separate plate.

2.       Heat another pan. Put cooking oil into the pan and sauté onion, garlic, and ginger until fragrant.

3.       Add the carrots until it turns tender then add the bell pepper.

4.       Pour a substantial amount of water and let it simmer for few minutes. Then add the tomato paste, white vinegar, sugar, ground pepper, and the dissolve flour. Mixed.

5.       Add the pineapple chunks (excluding the syrup) and season to taste.

6.       Pour the sauce into the plate with fish.

7.       Serve hot with rice.

       Enjoy your meal!

Blank

For a month long, vast ideas were lingering inside my mind and I wanted it posted in this blog. But these words were just hanging on and waiting for them to be released and be put into writing. These thoughts were never freed. Imagine those broken and complex unorganized thoughts that it is so huge my entire brain cannot comprehend and it simply freezes once I sit in front of my laptop. The outcome – a blank.

Perhaps, this is just one of the effects of having a cerebrum not trained or may I say not born into depth, fine writing and extemporaneous speaking. Ever since when I was in grade school, good command of English writing and speaking is my utmost weak point. At all times, I struggle in this subject. That is why I actually despised topic reports and essay type of questions in my periodic examinations during my high school years. My words are insufficient to express my point of views on a certain topic. I never known the words before that melancholy is synonymous with sad; omnipotence to power, and profligate to extravagant. Correct grammar is also not my thing. I had also a hard grasp on the effects of the subject to its predicates: the s-verb thing. Every time we had exams such this either in high school or college, I often burn my eyebrows beforehand. After years of study and understanding, the s-verb thing rule was somehow instilled in my brain cells: If the subject is singular, the linking verb or the verb is plural and vice versa.

I admit I envy others who could write good stories or articles. I know few of the good writers either in history or contemporary time, they were born with it. Such talent is in their blood (How blessed they are!). But, how about those some who are ungifted, including myself? My keen interest in writing is only just lately. Maybe few years back. I guess, I was inspired to read and write more by my own weakness for me to learn. By engaging my free time to writing and reading, I assumed I have given myself the best opportunity of developing my weak points. I gained self-confidence in every unfamiliar word I read in the newspapers, online articles or even in the books and I could apply it in my own writing – most especially in this blog, the online blog that I started just this year. This merely expresses my way of thinking about all things. I, being the official member of the semi-introvert-type of person since a kid and who was haply and subconsciously aggravated by the early demise of my loving mother when I was in grade school, writing somehow distances myself of being solitude and concealed. I remembered the times when one of our subject teachers in 4^th-year high school asked us to individually relay a message to each one of our classmates before we part away. Nearly all of them except those I used to be friends with wrote in a piece of paper saying I had a very timid personality – because I rarely talk with them. And I was aware of that thing. For my lifetime, I have been correcting my perplexed attitude towards relationship with others and strangers. Seriously, I need this change put into effect at full liberty - freedom of initiating a conversation with strangers without reluctance, insecurities, and reservation.

With all these weaknesses in my brain and my will of my heart to learn, a blank document is might be a temporary thing. I wish my continuous learning through writing and constant interaction with others will slowly alter my circumstances. In God’s time, I wish for no blank outcomes. By realizing this wish, maybe it’s enough for me to say that I have reached the peak of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.