Heute habe ich Post von McDonalds bekommen, dafür (falls die Damen und Herren dies hier lesen sollten) zunächst herzlichen Dank. Aber der Reihe nach ...

Am Mittwoch wollten die Kinder mal wieder zu McDonalds. Also zunächst die schwere Entscheidung welches Geschenk zum HappyMeal, dann die Frage was essen die Erwachsenen, mit großer oder kleiner Pommes, mit Getränk oder ohne, welche Sauce usw. Schließlich war die Bestellung aufgegeben, alles eingepackt und ab damit nach Hause.

Dort angekommen enthielt die Tüte aber nur bedingt das, was auch bestellt wurde. Ich habe mich geärgert und eine e-mail an McDonalds geschrieben. Heute kam die Antwort per Post, eine Entschuldigung und ein paar Gutscheine für den nächsten Besuch. Ich denke damit kann man leben. Beim nächsten Besuch werde ich trotzdem genauer in die Tüte schauen.

Quelle für o.g. Logo: McDonalds

1. Woke up late as usual
2. Went back Ngee Ann school to print church documents. (Its cheaper, compared to outside rate of 1 SGD/paper :P)
3. Traveled to West Coast for lunch, had Fish Meat Been Hoon (NICE!)
4. Traveled to Clementi's Macs to buy Cecilia's lunch, upon request from 'cupcakes' :D
5. Headed off to Dover MRT to meet up with emaline, noel, and 'cupcakes'. We took a feeder bus service to NUH.
6. Visited Cecilia at her ward, also met Patricia at there too.
7. Also went to the garden within the ward's premises, and had a nice chat as a group. Julia also came down to see Cecilia. Pray God she will have  a speedy recovery.
8. After that, we took 197 to Outram Park MRT.
9. Thanks to PIE traffic! We arrived late at Hougang at 8pm, suppose to arrive at 7:40pm instead.
10. We bought macs takeaway for dinner, and we walked to CSC while we eat, afraid that we might be to late for Amplify Friday session.
11. Arrive Amplify Session Hall at 8:20pm, OUCH! (I had a coke in hand, as I sit in between Dominic(Google-Man!) & Danny :)
12. Session was informative and great! (Next time I can counter christian attacking Mother Mary :D)
13. The Praise & Worship session before & after the Session was assume!
14. Fellowship after Session was fun, most remembered was making fun of Jonathan Ong & Clayton Lau, together they are called MUD-CLAY! hehe :P
15. Traveled back home with 'Cupcakes' & Claudia, highlight was Claudia alighted at Clarke Quay (where she was suppose to alight at Chinatown where she stays) after I prompted her to(unintentional).
16. Later she run back into the train before the doors closed, and started yelling and whacking me for nuts, hehe :D I can't be blamed, who asked her so silly to alight without checking the destination stop first :D
17. Claudia later alighted at Chinatown, while Me & 'Cupcakes' switch over to Outram Park.
18. I alighted at Jurong East stop, while 'Cupcakes' alighted later at terminal stop in Boon Lay.
19. THE END! :D

Ein Bekannter von mir hatte eher unfreiwillig ein ähnliches Erlebnis: Ein klassischer Südtirol-Supermarkt-Apfel, den er in einer Obstschale vergessen hatte, sah nach einem halben Jahr noch genauso aus. Nein, das hat sicher nichts mit dem Einlagern von Äpfeln zu tun…

Also ich finde es gruselig.

Und mir soll noch mal einer sagen, dass es ein Zufall ist, dass nach der Wende in Ostdeutschland die Zahl der Allergien rapide zugenommen hat. Ich erinnere mich noch: Mit dem Blumenkohl (oder dem grünen Salat), den man gekauft hatte, kamen tatsächlich Fliegen und allerhand andere Kleintiere mit nach Hause. Einen Blumenkohl musste man deshalb immer wässern. Das war eben so. Ich habe aber nie mitbekommen, dass jemand Allergien hatte….

Hm. Dass nun gleichzeitig auch noch die Zahl der Vitamine im Gemüse nach einer Studie (veröffentlicht bereits 1997 in der Tageszeitung „Welt“) seit 1985 zurückgegangen sein soll, scheint mir auch nicht gerade so vorteilhaft für unsere Ernährung. Mir gefällt daran nicht, dass um alles Mögliche ein Mordsgeschrei gemacht wird, sich aber um die Lebensgrundlagen kaum jemand kümmert.

Falls es noch ein bisschen spannender sein darf: Wenn Ihr wissen wollt, was die deutsche Krebsgesellschaft aktuell noch so zu diversen Stoffen in Lebensmitteln zu sagen hat, dann lest hier. Für weitere Infos in dieser Richtung kann ich vorab schon mal sagen: Wissenschaftler der TU München haben in Pommes und Chips den neuen Stoff Glycidamid gefunden, der eben dummerweise krebserregend ist (veröffentlich im 8/2008 in Ärztezeitung.de).

Girls were conceived to be very vain and conscious with their figures and physical beauty, but lately, the men are catching up. I mean come on, being the best you can be is supposed to be not an issue to both sexes right? Living the healthy lifestyle is very important nowadays, because there are many things that tend to make us sicker, look older such as pollution and the effects of the advancement of modern times.

Let me tell you some stuff I noticed that had changed due to the change also in lifestyle of the modern man.

• Before during my childhood days, I remember shirts that were available were in 3 sizes : small, medium, and large. Of course the ladies had sizes such as 16, 14, 18 etc. but now, there are XXXL sizes of shirts for both men and women.

• Before, I thought the “larger” number of population were mostly men, because in the media, especially in my country, society before branded policemen as big bellied guys, drinking guys and dads. Sadly nowadays, there is no more majority who is overweight and obese. Both sexes are prone to obesity, even the kids are getting wider.

• the boom of fast food restaurants, “instant” food preparations and “ready to eat” are very present now. The “buy one take one” especially in small burger stands I see in the streets, near schools and public places and virtually everywhere the market is.

• the terms “Go Large” “extra rice” “biggie” “upsize” “bottomless” “free refill” are very good advertising for food, and will attract the market instantly.

• although Gyms and fitness centers are sprouting here and there, still there are many inactive persons who doesn't like to exercise.

• here in the Philippines and other parts of the world, the number one cause of death and illnesses people encounter are simply because of poor food choices, lack of exercise and too much stress.

The media has shown to us already the effects of the unhealthy lifestyle some of us do. Magazines, articles, television, Internet and many more forms of information sources has been present, many are aware, yet many did not listen. Kids have already heart problems at a young age, people die here and there just because they think being overweight is socially acceptable and we should not judge. Yes, we should not judge, but we should not let obesity and big tummies ruin our lives.

I have only discussed what I have noticed changed. I will not impose any thing you should be doing because that is not my cup of tea. I am just writing this to create awareness, and with awareness, there is knowledge. What we do to the information is very crucial.

Times are hard, yes? We have to earn money to feed and buy the stuff we want, but aren't we forgetting the most important thing to be taking care of? Our body. It is our most important asset, neglect it now regret it forever.

be open to change and be at the shape you deserve:

http://www.shapeofyourlife.com/open

Ik rookte niet, natuurlijk, maar ik ging toch (net als de meeste mensen) meestal in het rookgedeelte zitten. Gewoon omdat het daar gezelliger was. En als het heel druk was ging er wel eens een roker in het niet-rokersgedeelte zitten. Waar je zat maakte verder niet zoveel uit, want daadwerkelijk roken deed toch bijna niemand.

Maar per een bepaalde datum werden alle McDonalds die ik ken "rookvrij", vele jaren voordat de rest van de horeca in Nederland rookvrij werd (1 juli 2008). En waarom ook niet, voor een bedrijf dat zich toch richt op kinderen.

Ik nam aan dat het een wereldwijde beslissing van dit bedrijf zou zijn, maar bij wat nazoeken op internet blijkt dit niet zo te zijn: het bedrijf is al zeker 15 jaar bezig met de strijd tegen het roken, maar in Duitsland was bijvoorbeeld eind 2006 nog meer dan de helft van McDonalds rokend. En als ik me niet vergis zijn er in Europa nog steeds landen waar je ook nu nog kunt roken in een McDonalds.

Maar het ging er waarschijnlijk net als in de rest van de horeca: met de stinkende asbakjes verdween er ook een deel van de gezelligheid... en daarmee de omzet.

Wat schetst mijn verbazing...

Afgelopen weekend ben ik wezen eten in een recent verbouwde McDonalds. Hier hadden ze een oplossing gebouwd hebben waarmee ze voldoen aan de nieuwste Nederlandse eisen voor "roken op de werkplek", zodat gasten die dat willen weer kunnen roken bij/na/in het eten. Compleet met asbakjes en alles.

Wie volgt?

• Gefühlte Temperatur: Arschkalt
• Heimat-Gebirgsdorf namens T█████ (m. ü. NN: 1000++, Einwohner: 1000-): noch kälter
• DSL: vorhanden (unglaublich!), aber total lahm
• Bruderherzens Rechner: komplett verkonfiguriert (alles geregelt - Ehrensache)
• Gestern Abend bzw. Nacht: mit Kan* schicker Event in einer Burg (!) bei B████. Fazit: wow!
• Fastfood um 05:00 Uhr: toll
• Menschen hier: einfach mehr Stil als in Spiessercity™
• für Merkliste: Stil-Partnerschaft mit Berlin vorschlagen (Alternativen: London, New York, Tokio)
• ich nenne B████ ab sofort StileCity (nein: weder ein Tipp- noch ein Rechtschreibfehler; diese Schreibweise ist vollste Absicht)
• Mittagessen bei Mami: strikt Punkt 12:00 Uhr "morgens" (gähn!), aber definitiv lecker
• Herr März: wird gemästet

---
* Wie üblich: Name von der Redaktion geändert

Pe principiul acesta am zis sa mai mergem si noi odata in barul in care ne petreceam dupa amiezile cand chiulea de la vreo ora la liceu. Vorbesc aici de Colegiul National I.C. Bratianu din Pitesti si de faimosul restaurant, fost Mara, actual VIS. De ce avem noi minunatele idei de a pune nume pompoase la restaurante, de ce nu se putea chema Restaurant Abramburica.

Lucrurile s-au schimbat mult de ultima oara cand am fost si nu in bine. Terasa care odinioara era plina acum este o relicva, ca sa nu mai vorbesc ca baia este sub orice critica.

Am comandat o pizza - Quattro Stagione. A venit cu ea pe o farfurie pe care se pune dulceatza.

Cred ca asta spune totul.

De acum incolo voi evita terasa asta pana la modificarea din nou a numelui si a patronului

Her til aften var jeg inde i byen og kørte på et tidspunkt forbi et pizzaria som de desværre er flest - i hvert fald her i landet :o)

Uden for pizzariaet stod der et skilt med teksten: "Ægte italiensk og ægte mexicansk".

Betyder det så, at de har både en italiener og en mexicaner ansat til at lave mad? Eller er det fordi, pizzariaet udelukkende bruger råvarer direkte importeret fra Italien og Mexico?

Eller er det bare mig, der ikke forstår deres "koncept"?

Die als "Natural Pizza" bezeichnete Bio-Pizza besteht aus Bio-Tomaten, einer Soße aus Bio-Tomaten, einem Mehrkorn-Pizzaboden und Bio-Mozarella zum Überbacken. Sie enthält keine künstlichen Zusatzstoffe und ist für 9,99 $ erhältlich.

Ihr Team von myreform!

Te duci te plimbi, vezi una alta, la un moment dat trebuie sa shi mananci. Cauti un local, gasesti unul mai dragut si cand vezi meniul aproape ca se rupe scaunul cu tine. Zici OK, poate asa e pe aici preturi mari servire ireprosabila. Dupa care stai vreo 15 min sa vina cineva sa te bage in seama, moment in care iti dai seama ca ai luat tzeapa. Dar nu te ridici pentru ca fitzos. Te-ai asezat fii mandru si ramai acolo pe scaun si comanda, mananca si plateste ca oricum toate restaurantele sunt la fel si nu gaseai unul mai bun....

Dificil e prima oara ca apoi ti se ingroasa obrazul si nu mai simti e doar in mintea ta faptul ca exista preturi decente, servicii OK si oameni primitori......

Ich habe schon alle möglichen Kombinationen gesehen, wo alte und neue Dinge kombiniert wurden. Ich habe miterlebt, wie bei Mc Donalds in Deutschland die ersten Apfeltaschen und Zwiebelringe über den Tresen gegangen sind, den Aufstieg von Nordsee zum Global Player habe ich finanziell aktiv unterstützt und auch den Sushi-Boom habe ich mit Begeisterung zur Kenntnis genommen. Als ich meine ersten Döner gegessen habe, da hat mich eigentlich nicht sehr interessiert, was dort drin enthalten ist, Hauptsache es hat beschmeckt und war preiswert. Mit der Zeit, nachdem immer mehr Dönerbuden aus dem Boden schossen, hat man sich einen Lieblingsdönerstand ausgesucht, bei dem man nun seit 20 Jahren Stammkunde ist. Wenn ich heute Frühstücken gehe, dann bekomme ich keine Schrippen für 20 Cent sondern echte Baigels. Das Loch in der Mitte muss ich mitbezahlen, denn schließlich ist dies die Besonderheit des Baigels. Lachsbaigel, Mozarella-Tomate mit Pesto, Schinken, Käse, Frischkäse, getrocknete Tomaten, Salat und ich weiß nicht was noch alles kann zwischen den beiden Bägelhälften Verwendungs finden. Nachdem die Bagels out sind, haben die Wraps versucht das Segment „gesund mit viel Salat“ zu übernehmen, doch ist es nicht richtig gelungen.

Wieso gibt es jede erdenkliche Art von Fastfood, nicht aber einen Fischdöner. Wieso kommen unsere türkischen Freunde nicht mal auf die Idee das Gammelfleisch gegen Gammelfisch auszutauschen? Ich finde meine Idee so gut, dass ich mir nacher das richtige Brot besorgen, etwas Salat dazu machen und mich mit dem Lachsdöner der Welt auf meine eigene Terasse setzen werde. Und liebe Dönerbudeninhaber. Ich will anschließend mäglichst bald den Fischdöner sehen. Ihr könnt Hamburg oder Rostock zum Testmarkt machen. Ich bin sicher es funktioniert auf Dauer.

Management Trainee (MT)
- Pendidikan diutamakan D3 Pariwisata/S1 semua jurusan
- Pria & Wanita usia maks 27 tahun, belum menikah,
pengalaman 1 tahun

Trainee Restaurant (TR)
- Pendidikan SLTA, lampirkan fotocopy rapor kelas 3 SLTA
lengkap.
- Pria & Wanita, usia 18 - 22 th, belum menikah.

PR Store (PR)
- Pendidikan D3/Sederajat, berpengalaman sebagai SPG/SPB
- Pria & Wanita, usia 23-25 th
- Mampu berkomunikasi dengan baikterutama pada anak-anak,
mempunyai kreativitas yangtinggi, dinamis,dan loyal
terhadap perusahaan.

Persyaratan Umum :
- Memiliki minat kerja yang tinggi dibidang restoran cepat
saji.
- Tinggi badan : Pria min 165 cm & wanita 158 cm, dengan
berat badan proporsional (surat dokter), dan berpenampilan
menarik, belum menikah.
- Bertempat tinggal di wilayah Jabodetabek (sesuai KTP)
- Mampu berkomunikasi dengan baik
- Memiliki kepribadian yang kuat, jujur dan dapat bekerja
secara team.
- Tidak sedang kuliah, sanggup kerja shift dan belum
menikah.

Kirim lamaran lengkap Anda disertai dengan
- Pas photo 4 x 6 berwarna & copy KTP.
- Copy Surat Keterangan Catalan Kepolisian (SKCK) dari
Kepolisian.
- Surat pencari kerja dari Disnaker
- Surat keterangan belum pernah menikah dari kelurahan
setempat
- No telepon untuk dihubungi.

Hanya lamaran yang memenuhi syarat yang akan diproses
Lamaran kami terima selambat-lambatnya 2 minggu setelah
iklan ini terbit, dikirim ke :

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION CENTER
PT. Fast Food Indonesia, Tbk
Jl. Daan Mogot No. 163
JAKARTA 11520

=====================================================================

Setting
Es reicht, sich die Adresse des Tiffins anzuschauen um Gewissheit zu haben, dass dieses asiatische Fastfood-Lokal zur Zürcher In-Szene gehört. Liegt ein Restaurant an der Seefeldstrasse, dann kann es nämlich gar nicht anders, als dazu zu gehören. Merken tut man das spätestens dann, wenn man im Restaurant sitzt, eine Wantan-Suppe schlürft und die anderen Besucher mustert. Das ist jetzt nicht negativ gemeint, ganz im Gegenteil! Es muss ja nicht immer alles was Fastfood ist, auch als Fastfood in der Gegenwart der typischen Fastfood-Klientel serviert werden.

Karte
Die Karte besteht hauptsächlich aus südostasiatisch Gerichten (Malaysia, Thailand, etc.). Nudeln, Suppen, Currys und Reis bestimmen das Angebot.

Bedienung
Nicht wahnsinnig aufmerksam, aber auch nicht ignorant. Nicht besonders freundlich, aber auch nicht unfreundlich. Zusammengefasst: Recht ordentlich.

Preis
Die Preise sind sehr fair und hinterlassen beim Bezahlen keinen bitteren Nachgeschmack. Hier kann man sich relativ günstig, genussvoll und in einer angenehmen Atmosphäre verköstigen. Wir hatten zu viert zwei Penang Nua Currys, ein Pad Thai Gai, einen Thai-Salat, drei Singha Bier, zwei Campari Orange, drei Gläser Weisswein und ein kleines Dessert = 138 Franken.

Harrys Tipp
Unbedingt mal hingehen. Am besten an einem Samstagabend vor dem Bar-, Kino-, oder was auch immer besuch. Reservierung ist übrigens nicht nötig. Wenn's gerade keinen Platz hat, kann man die Wartezeit mit einem Drink an der Bar gut überbrücken.

Adresse
Tiffins
Seefeldstrasse 61
8008 Zürich
Tel. 044 382 18 88
www.tiffins.ch

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Das der nette amerikanische Zoll den mir zur Obhut anvertrauten PC fast voellig zerstoert hat, hatte ich ja erwaehnt. So habe ich mich gestern mit Wut im Bauch an den Aufbau gemacht und dem Maedel, sie heisst uebrigens Waltraut, eine Aufbaukur versprochen. Also sozusagen Frischzellen. Aber das ist ja jetzt nicht das Thema.

[caption id="attachment_316" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Double Stack"][/caption]Da einkaufen ja hungrig macht, und ein Wendys auf dem Weg lag, habe ich das dann ausprobiert, Sozusagen als verfruehtes Mittagessen, ich kann ja nicht jeden Tag kochen, schon aus Zeitgreunden nicht. Also einen Double Stack, quadratische statt runde Hamburgerpads. Zwei, eine leckere Sauce und frische Zwiebeln getoppt mit einer eingelegten Gurkenscheibe. Sehr lecker. Das Broetchen etwas weicher als bei MC Donalds, aber der Geschmack insgesammt frischer und, was wohl an den firschen Zwiebelstreifen liegt, peppiger. Dazu, es war ja immerhin mein Mittagessen, einen Chicken Crisp. Das ist in formgebrachtes Haehnchenfleisch frittiert. Ein wenig Salat und Mayonaise. Insgesamt wie das Gegenstueck von Burger King oder dem goldenen M ein Snack, den man sich schenken kann. Obligatorisch eine Coke als Runterspuehlhilfe. Fazit: der Double Stack ist sehr gut und mehr als eine Alternative. Es war bestimmt nicht mein Letzter.

Originally uploaded by orclimber

*I'M NOT SURE IF ANYONE ELSE ON WORDPRESS IS EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM BUT WHENEVER I TRY TO GO TO THE ADMIN SIDE OF MY BLOG IT TAKES FOREVER TO LOAD. THIS TOOK 20 MINUTES. SO APOLOGIES FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO BRUSH UP AND EDITE MY POSTS LATELY, ITS DUE TO THIS REASON*

This is what you see all the way to Cairo and back. Not only are you sardined in the mini-van/bus/car you're travelling, but you're also sardined in the roads.

I went out of the house with makeup on to not look feral, but by the time I arrived to Cairo, mostly all of it was gone, because the drivers on the freeways normally go 130 km/h and the limit is 80km/h, and when I come home I found my face beautifully masked with salty black dust. I'm like somewhat 2 shades darker. Egyptian "Sheer Cover".

Travelling to Cairo from Kafr el Sheikh is so exhausting, I think I loose about 5-10 kg every time I go there, with all the walking, rushing, sun, heat ...I don't know how I managed to come home because every part of my body just felt numb, paralyzed.

It normally takes 2 hours from Kafr el Sheikh to Cairo. Yesterday it only took us 40 minutes faster from a different route -half of the road hardly had tar laid on it and it was in the middle of a sea of green and gold crops, literally in the middle of nowhere, it didn't even have any houses. Was so relieved to see signs of an actual city (Tanta) because I really thought we were lost. Wonder what kind of response they'd get from such a drama series like this :P

We went to Cairo this time to get my hubby's documents certified. Finding the right Ministry office is like finding a needle in a haystack because they're set in such obscure locations dotted around Cairo that even the locals, taxi drivers hardly know where the are yet alone know how to get there.

And on one English-translated (its normally LE 90 per page) document there normally is 5-6 ink stamps, 1 paper stamp stating how much you paid for it along with 5 million scribbles. They've not yet gone electronic yet. Ok, just one or two stamps means usually from one Ministry/Department and the minimum you wait for that is 2-3 hours, the maximum the next day. So imagine 6!

My hubby's gone to Cairo again right now just because of this. And -you have to get the right stamp to start off with, if not, its another day's travelling, which was why it took a month before we actually got married when I first came here last year, just to get all the right papers. Urghhhhhhhh so annoying!!!

There's also the queueing. Everyone rushes and pushes in front of the counter and tries to get served first despite having a ticket. Doesn't matter if you were there first and waiting for hours just for your turn. No courtesy here yet alone customer service. I just feel like getting into a sumo wrestling match with anyone that tries to push in front of me.

Is it me or whenever my hubby gets service in Arabic, the one serving really looks like they don't give a shite and wants him to get out of their face asap. But when I start to talk English and demand things I get their full attention and everything's done quickly like in the Singapore Airlines office when we were booking our tickets. Its different though when you're shopping particularly in Khan al Khalili in Hussein -all the vendors then starts pestering you and start upping the price by 10 knotches until I hit them back with a few Arabic lines. Its really like who can out-do the other.

After booking the ticket we went to Hardees because we don't have one in Australia (this was the last time I'd ever get to munch on any HALAL fast food before heading back, we don't have much at home) just on the other side of Tahrir beside the American University. There you see every face from all over the world. Could even find a few Malay faces. But the food was hardly as delicious and big as advertised. Should have known. I still prefer KFC here of all the fastfood joints. If anyone knows any other in Cairo or Alex, please let me know.

We headed to Khan al Khalili (http://touregypt.net/cairo/cairoislamic.htm) to cheer us up (after the incomplete doco assignment) and also rest our wobbling jelly legs at one of the cafes there, with views of Al Azhar Mosque (http://www.touregypt.net/azhar/al%20azhar.htm) to our left, mammoth tourist buses driving through this really narrow lane (an accident waiting to happen!) and to our right t-junction to more centuries-old bazzars. Just sipping our hot tea away made me wonder how life would have been like here back in the Fatimid era (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimid_caliphate) (http://www.ismaili.net/readknow/cairo_fati.html) when it was built and the only time Egypt had a Shia Islamic rule...with smells of incense smoking the streets from farway travels and maybe the usual fuul and ta'meya (perhaps?!?!), harems, wives peeping through wooden-carved geometric-designed windows, vendors still screaming out their offers, men smoking their shisha's along the coffeeshops, turbanned pupils rushing to Al-Azhar mosque to learn the next hadith or tafsir for their ayah they just learnt (I know very Hollywood), to the likes of just decades before when writers like Naguib Mahfouz ( http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/articles/mahfouz/index.html) would write his pieces (like "The Cairo Trilogy"), taking his inspiration from this particular place before winning his Nobel Prize for literature.

To feel Egypt or Cairo in real not romanticized/bastardized, its best to read Egyptian (Alaa Al Aswany "The Yacoubian Building", "Point Zero" by Nawal el-Sadawi)works than foreign (-like "The Alexandrian Quartet" by Lawrence Durell, Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile").

The Khan just absolutely comes alive and buzzing before Maghrib/sunset and you get so disoriented more by the many labrinth of lanes, lights and more tourists beside you.

Tha haggling was what I enjoyed best here. My husband normally starts off in Arabic and when I know of the price I start haggling from 40% of the original price. Ahhhh the shock horror of the vendor faces every time they hear this. We do eventually settle for a good price. I guess this is pay-back for all the times we were scammed all because I was a English-speaking foreigner here. But just walking pass the stalls whenever a vendor see an Anglo-looking tourist pack go pass all you start to hear is a pelethora of languages spitting out from their mouths -just hearing it is just so entertaining because they sound like they have verbal gibberish diarrhea. What was not so entertaining, even depressing was to see small kids selling small bracelets, books, anything touristic to customers in the coffeeshops just to make a few pounds for their family to manage, when really they should be spending their day getting an education. But then again, just as you see many kids as small as 7 trying to make a living and not going to school, you also get many university graduates with impressive grades/ability but no jobs or in a demeaning job that doesn't make great use of them. Are tourists making Egyptian kids not have a good education/better future? I wonder...

When we were heading home, we caught a taxi and he dropped us right beside Ezbekiyya Gardens to get to the Attaba Metro. In the day it was litted with grubby dozing vendors with discounted-goods stalls of ties, shirts, boxers, books, tissues, at night of streetkids roaming around, causing mischief with passbyers, druggies inside the garden. Who are looking after them at this time of the night? Where are their families? They should be at home. My motherly instincts just make me want to rescue them, take them out of the streets and give them a more enriching, healthy, aspriring life than the one their living in. It really makes me so sad to see them like that.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/01/egypt.diary/index.html
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/08/19/a_bridge_of_dreams_bustles_in_cairo/?page=2
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/732/fe2.htm

To help, please visit: http://www.neareast.org/main/news/article.aspx?id=425

I needed to go to the loo badly and we happened to be at Mazzallat when one of the officers directed to one which happened to be a staff one but somehow everyone uses it. OMG the smell! The smell made me so fainting I really didn't want go and this was a dirty squatting one! I had to rinse the area at least 10 times before I could squat and just prayed my foot didn't slip inside the hole. If in Cairo -go to any Western fastfood joints and malls because they have more clean, sanitable, sitting, water squirting toilets with a few toilet paper leaves to spare. Its like paradise when you need to go. DO NOT USE THE METRO/PUBLIC ONES UNLESS IN DIRE DIRE DIRE EMERGENCIES! You have been warned!

Cairo...Cairo...Cairo...

I'm speechless....

Just signing off, these are some vids that will remind me of Egypt before we fly (this Friday insha'allah!!!). The first one I don't have the translations to what he's singing but he's complaining along the lines of bread and water shortages, making it each day in Egypt (if anyone knows -please reply me), the second was what made me teary the first time I was to leave Egypt.

Enjoy!

http://www.arabicmusictranslation.com/search/label/Sherine%20Ahmed

Sherine Ahmed - "You Didn't Drink from Its Nile"

Our country is safe in our hands
We hold it high as long as we live
We live in it years and years feeling secure

You did not drink from its Nile
Then you tried singing to it
You tried in pride
Don't be sad
You walk in its streets and complain to its
You did not walk in its suburbs fine
You did not grow up in it
And you don't have a picutre on the sand on its beaches

Look within yourself and you'll find it is friends and family of my country
And it would be hard to forget them
Maybe you forget because you in it and don't miss it
And you have never been away from it
But those who have tried to leave say there is nothing in the world like it

I was away longing for it
I forget the world and I come to it
And if I came it would remind me of a million memories that I carry in my heart
Our country is precious to us and will stay in our eyes as long as we love our country it will be in our hands
We are the ones who hold it high and preserve it in our hands
Most beautiful to us and our children no matter what

I was very hungry that day, and I was in the mood for some hamburger. There was a Mickey D’s right across the street. But the street was very busy that day, it was rush hour. No one would stop for me, because they couldn’t. I thought it was a bad idea at first, but then I started to think. “Hey, kid, you gotta make it across the street. I’m really hungry right now. I want a Filet ‘o’ Fish, a double cheeseburger, and a fry, with maybe a drink.” I don’t know if I was thinking in third person, or if my stomach was talking to me, or if I thought my stomach was talking to me, or if it was just my conscience / imagination talking to me.

Anyways, I needed to get over their somehow. So, I started to think of ways. I could walk down the street for about a mile or so, and wait until I find a stoplight, with which I could then press the button, so everyone could stop and wait for me to walk across the street. But, there was one slight problem with that. I was just not in the mood, to walk that far. So, I just decided to go, because I was just to hungry to care. I walked down the street to the nearest streetlight. It actually took me about 42 minutes. Then I crossed the street, which took about 2 minutes, and then I walked all of the way back, which took another 42 minutes. In all, it was over an hour, and I was so happy to get back. The whole time I was thinking about their whole menu, especially the dollar menu, where you can get awesome food for less.

I walked up to the door, and I found out the worst possible thing. It was closed. I was so angry, I could kill someone. But I didn’t, because I woke up. I was very much happier when I found that out. I put some clothes on, and I rode my bike to Taco Bell, where I knew that it would be open.

Fast food, it’s the best thing in today’s world. Even though it can be very fattening at sometimes, you always know it’s a fast and delicious way to get food. You can eat McDonald’s, or Wendy’s, or Burger King, or Taco Bell, for the rest of your life and never get tired of it. You can also eat it at anytime of the day, whenever your craving some, or if your just hungry. That’s how good it is. I mean, who in today’s society cares about health anymore.

When I tell people I ate a lot of "Fast Food" in South America, they usually say:

"With all that cheap delicious food everywhere, you chose to eat burgers?"

I didn't want to

but ...

it was usually the only place I could break the big bills dispensed by ATMs.

note: ATM in Spanish and Portuguese must mean "change AT McDonald's".

http://humor-blogs.com/

Here's a segment about it I found on youtube.  At the end of the LA portion of the segment, there's a quick peice about fast food in Japan...

It's an interesting debate, but no fast food = ALL Good by me.

All Good.

I følge en artikel på Jyllands-Postens website, har byrådet i Los Angeles indført et imidlertidig forbud mod fastfoodrestauranter i den sydlige del af Los Angeles. Det betyder, at der i ét år ikke må opføres nye fastfoodrestauranter i denne del af byen, hvilket selvsagt også kommer til at ramme verdens største kæde af fastfoodrestauranter, McDonald's.

Formålet med dette midlertidige forbud er, at prøve at begrænse det stærkt stigende antal af overvægtige og prøve at forbedre deres spisevaner ved at begrænse adgangen til billig junkfood.

Bør vi indføre et lignende forbud mod McDonald's, Burgerking og andre fastfoodrestauranter her i landet eller skal det være helt op til folk selv at afgøre, hvad de vil spise?