Goodbye Dear

Souza,
It's been 3 days since you're gone now. I've been home most of the time, sitting in bed with my laptop, just like the moment I knew it happened. May be I'm frozen in time or may be it's just depression as my friend says “the bed here is warm and the pillow is wet”.

Shoe printShoe print
I miss you dear more than you can imagine. You didn't just shock me, you realized my worst nightmares: dying on the holy week and from a free fall! You know how I'm afraid of heights, I hike cautiously, I triple check where my foot is going, and it happened to you darling and I'm in complete shock!

The first thing that came to my mind was “why now?”. Your engagement was a few months away, you found love, work had taken a good turn. Why just when everything got into place, you know?
But I know you were done here, you did what you wanted, you found him, you played flute, you found peace, traveled to many places and you had tons of friends.

I used to get angry every time you said you could go anytime because you did all what you wanted, I used to give you suggestions of stuff to want to do, all very interesting to me but not that important to you. I'm sorry for all the years harassment with dreams suggestions.. I didn't tell you what's my latest project, I'm gonna be a rock star sweetie!
Of all the people I know, there's a bunch who takes my dreams and crazy ideas seriously. You were one of those. Even if you weren't convinced, you left me that freedom to be crazy and to fly away and you were always there to catch me after I fall and provide me with that shoulder to cry on.

I don't think anyone I know can take the “I'm bored, can you entertain me” phone call.. since you're the one friend talking for free and “men el alb!” or listening to an irrational fear and calming it down with a rational statement.

We could've met last friday and I was too lazy to get out of bed, I had all eternity you know, I wasn't planning to attend your funeral for the next 25 years and then I would say you were too young to die. I'm not scolding myself hard for it, it happens. I am assured we were OK and it's not seeing each other all the time that means we're good friends, there was love and it remains through time and distance, it's gonna be harder to keep now with the distance you traveled this time.
Each according to his beliefs is comforting himself.. those who say “she's with Christ now”, those who say you're in the purgatory and they are praying to get you to heaven, I personally think you're resting now and getting ready to be reborn and I wonder if we'll meet again physically!

Etnein lamoon w shagaraEtnein lamoon w shagara
I will miss our Azhar park trips, our fast “sporty” walks there.. “we can't stop before 30 mins, the metabolism increases after 20 mins” then we get lemonade from trianon to go and go sit on the grass.. “etnein lamoon w shagara law sama7t” you used to say and I have the photos to prove it! The valentine photoshoot we did there, playing with geomags on the bench and finding the magnet that fell into the grass with another magnet, we ended up constructing DNA! The bride to whom I gave a zaghrouta.. You were never embarrassed from me (although I can be really embarrassing sometimes!) “ Elli ye3raf abouya yerou7 ye2olloh, 7ay2ollohom: Benti, magnouna w 3arefha” -the one who knows my father might go tell him, he'll say: my daughter, i know she's crazy-

The Mobinil Music Awards where you took me to the VIP lounge and all night I was talking about stealing one of those Ousso bigger than life size vector installations, you ended up taking my photo next to one of them and next to Tamer Hosny's car, after all, it could be the one hummer i see and it was fun how small I was next to it. And then me trying to take your photo next to “Vodafone Live Music” banners in SOS.. to “blackmail” you ya beta3et Mobinil and how good heartedly all kidding you even posed next to it. I just checked them out today when I was looking for photos for this post. I would use our famous hand photo though, I know you would never publish a photo of yourself everywhere like that.

SOSSOS
There's a group on facebook now, two groups actually. People are adding photos and someone made a video on YouTube. I check the photos, your profile pictures and I smile, I took this one and that one.. when it came to posing, I was the “official photographer” and it is a great pleasure to see how beautiful you were in my photos, a real pleasure to see the pics as beautiful as you were.

I will always remember “el tofoula el sa3ida”, Harley Davidson beta3 el “Voovoo!”, why you thought I can never inhale the cigarettes' smoke on my chest!
I will remember all the small things you did spontaneously out of big love and that made a more spontaneous person myself. All the Sun and sunflower related things that you used to get to your shamoussa.

When the hassle is over, I will gather all the close friends. We will go to somewhere you like, have vin rosé and remember all our happy moments. You deserve a happy farewell, colorful and lovely. I know you would've dreaded what we did, people dressed in black and crying. I'm sorry I took part in something that sad, but I am so sad myself and I promise I'll make it up to you with a happy farewell.

So, may be in the next month, I'll have sushi for the both of us, the one we were planning for months, I'll get an omelette breakfast at Beanos for you, get some vin rosé and go to Azhar park. I will watch for other people's shadows in my photos, just like you told me. And every time I go to Alex, I'll have grilled calamari at Balba3's and I will buy the chocolate barquettes from Flukiger!

I have been trying to write this for 2 days now, I have been calling close friends and distant friends, people who knew you and others who met you once, I've been spreading it out. I need to document it, I need to document us. I can't let you go in silence, may be because I don't want to go in silence.
This has been to say goodbye and to tell everyone how good a person you are and to share our happy moments and in a way to urge everyone not to stay too long in bed on a Friday morning.

You stood by me all along and even in your death you made me realize so many things like, may be I shouldn't be that afraid from heights, may be I should be there more often and discovering how much I loved you, may be I'm not that heartless moody b**** I thought I was recently!

Drupal says Hello!

Drupal-shamoussa

This blog has been successfully moved to Drupal.
A genius module suggested by a good friend and.. oops.. seamless migration from wordpress!

NKOTB .. back on the block!

nkotb

So, apparently they are back! An album is scheduled for release this summer.

An official website is functional, the insider confirms it.. Wow!

I'm more in shock than excited, I mean I don't know what music they'll be making this time but since I've been listening to Velvet Revolver for the past 3 weeks, I'm not sure how I will take NKOTB again.. I have to admit that the nostalgia is actually gone!

I listened to the track featured on their website "click click click" and I heard a "I don't deserve you girl", now correct me if I'm wrong but the word "girl" was cute when I was 12 and they were in their early twenties.. now hearing it from guys in their mid-late thirties, it's kinda disturbing.. I prefer the word "woman".

Nowadays..

rock-chick.jpg

The depressed people syndicate

- Can I take tomorrow off please?
- Why?
- I'm depressed..
- You're depressed? You're a disgrace to depression! If depressed people saw you they will fire you from their syndicate..
- Huh!
- You're a happy person!

The Rock chick

- I'm thinking about getting an electric guitar, the neck is narrower, it'll be easier to learn.
- If you get one, please move out!
- What?
- You're gonna be too much noise, you're already too much noise without the electric guitar.
(Someone suggests we soundproof the room of some sort)
- Oh, great. Can we soundproof the bathroom too, cause she's too loud in the shower!

The poor pound

- Oh, the poor pound. The dog ate most of it.
- Yeah, the poor pound indeed, it doesn't buy anything nowadays

Morph!

The way it works..

You look better in my photos! Seriously, you do.. All of you!

They might tell you photography is about light, framing, camera, depth of field.. but I will assure you that it's about how you see people. The camera for some reason I haven't found out yet captures people the way I see them.

I check photos I took of some friends compared to their other photos and I see a difference.. they alway look more radiant in mine. As if I can get a soul print of how I perceive them.

My beloved friends.. I'm always happy to be of service .. as long as you call me your "Official Photographer".. nothing less ;)

Frog Prince :-)

Frog Prince

Postcard bought from kukuxumusu in Barcelona for my sister, I found it today while cleaning my room!

In 2000 I must've killed at least 10 frogs in 4 hours trying to extract a heart that was still beating.. and must've killed even more over the course of 5 years studying Pharmacy .. I know what you're thinking: "Monster!"

يا عيني يالالالي

مؤخراً عندي حالة زهق من كل المزيكا. يعني السؤال إللي باسأله لنفسي كل يوم أصبح: أسمع إيه دلوقت؟ أنا ماقدرش أعيش في صمت. علشان أحل المشكلة دي، بقيت أخلي الآي تيونز يلخبط المزيكا و أنا و بختي بقى! بس في الطريق بأرجع أكتشف ليست الأغاني إللي من سنتين.. دايماً بتطلع لي حاجات واحشاني و أنا ناسياهم

إمبارح طلعت لي بالصدفة البحتة "يالالالي - محمد منير" من ألبوم "الفرحة" .. ياااه زمن فات من ساعتها.. أنا بأحب "الفرحة" قوي علشان بيغني فيه للصدفة و الفرحة و الحقيقة و بيقول يا لالالي

أنا سمعتها من هنا و طبعاً رجعتني سنين ورا و فكرتني بناس حلوة قوي مش حشوفهم تاني. أيام الجامعة (وقت في سنة تانية) كنا بنروح أنا و شانتال صاحبتي مع فرير (الأخ) عاطف كل يوم جمعة مركز الجيل عند د. أحمد عبدالله (الله يرحمه). كنا بنقضي ساعتين مع الأطفال إللي بيشتغلوا في المدابغ. عاطف كان بيغني معاهم على جيتاره غالباً أغاني محمد منير و خصوصاً يا لالالي. مرة الأولاد سألوه يني إيه عود القرنفل م بين الفل حطوني يا لالالي.. كنت بأحسها أغنية عاطف قوي علشان هو أسمراني و بيغنيها من قلبه. أنا و شانتال كنا بنعمل أشغال يدوية معاهم، نرسم و نلون. بعد ما نخلص كنا ساعات بنتكلم مع د. أحمد. كان بيبهرني قد إيه شخص مثقف و واعي

بعدين عاطف سافر المنيا و مابقيناش بنعرف نروح وحدنا. و بعدها بكام شهر أو سنة مش فاكرة، المركز أوقف نادي الأولاد إللي كنا بنساعد فيه. و الصيف إللي فات عرفت بالصدفة تماماً إنه توفى

أنا معرفش عنه كتير، بس ممكن أقول ان زياراتي القليلة لمركز الجيل كانت من أصدق لحظات حياتي و إنني لسة فاكرة رشا، كان عندها وقتها 6 سنين و كانت بتيجي مع أخوها الكبير . رشا كان نفسها تروح المدرسة ، كان شكلها مصري قوي و عينيها كانت جميلة.. كان نفسي أكتب عنها أغنية وقتها و لسة نفسي أرجع ألعب جيتار تاني و أروح مركز الجيل و أغني تاني يا لالالي

And 2 years later..

Two years ago, in a long silly post about myself I wrote this: "I want a desk besides the window where I can get some sun, I’ll put an orange flower in a blue vase on that desk."

This is my desk now ..

desk.jpg

The vase is not blue, but it's much cooler, I hand painted it myself and the flower isn't always orange, sometimes it's pink or yellow ..

vase.jpg

أنا و أيوب

 

أيوب دي أغنية لنغم مصري .. هي أصلاً اسمها التوبة (على ما أظن يعني) بس بالنسبة لي هي أيوب.

أول مرة بقى أيوب تشعشع معايا كده كان في يوم ممطر و كانت الدنيا مزحولة و كنت في الزمالك مخلصة خروجتين بعد الشغل و بأتمشى في وسط الزحاليق علشان أقابل محمد عند ديوان و نخرج. كنت وحدي و حسيت ان المزيكا بتشيلني و ان رجليا بتترفع عن الأرض و بأطير

الكلام ده كان من حوالي شهر و من ساعتها و بأسمع أيوب بلا انقطاع .. طالما أنا في الشارع.. يبقى أكيد هي شغالة

 

أيوب دي أغنيتي.. أنا أيوبة! واحد ماشي و بيفكر و سواح و مشتاق.. بتحسسني بكمية حنين لما بأسمعها مش طبيعية.. بأحسه بيتكلم عني في كلامها .. عني أنا و البلد دي .. و المزيكا بتحكي عن الناس.. القانون (الآلة) هو صوت الناس.. صوت القانون ده بيخليني عايزة أحضن الناس في الشارع و أقولهم أنا حاسة بيكم و بأحبكم و مش متضايقة اني هنا خالص .. أيوب بتخليني أحب الناس اللي معرفهمش و بتبدل قرفي من الشارع و المترو لحنية غريبة ناحية البشر المواطنين الزملاء

أيوب لازم تسمعها في الشارع، اتخيل انك سواح.. مش سواح يمكن رحال و بص على الناس. فجأة ممكن تشوفهم كلهم طيبين و حتبقى عايز تحضنهم

الريتم بتاعها ماشي على خطوتي .. بيخليها خطوة راقصة شوية بس مناسب جداً للمشي.. و بعدين تيجي فواصل القانون في النص فتهدى الخطوة شوية و ابتدي ابص على الناس و يرجع يغني تاني و يحكي عن حاجة شبهي و أرجع لخطوتي الراقصة و بعدين يجي القانون تاني و أرجع تاني عايزة أحضن الناس.. لحد ما يوصل للجيتار في الآخر .. الحماس يعلى (مشكلة الحماس ده، لأني بأرمي نفسي قدام العربيات و أنا بأعدي لما أتحمس) و بعدين تيجي الدقيقة 6:23 و أطير .. يعني لو أنا في جنينة في الدقيقة 6:23 .. كنت هأفرد جناحاتي (دراعاتي) و أتنطط و ألف حوالين نفسي.

و ترجع تيمة الأغنية تاني .. على الجيتار المرة دي و أبقى مبسوطة قوي.. يمكن أنا صوتي مش قانون و عمري ما حسيتني مندمجة فعلاً مع الشارع و صوت الناس.. بس لما الجيتار بيلعب نفس لحن الأغنية بأحسه بيديني أنا صوت.. مش بس بأبص على الناس و أعوز أحضنهم.. أنا كمان بأغني معاهم.. بصوتى أنا و زي ما أنا و للحظات بأحس فعلاً إني مندمجة

اسمعوا أيوب .. خدوها معاكم الشارع و بصوا على الناس و حبوهم .. و بس كده خلاص و أشوفكم في الساقية يوم ١٩ فبراير في حفلة نغم مصري

Ayoub


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