For those who hate winter...

It’s official: It’s harder to get over winter than to get over an ex!

However, I have put down a list of things to do during the coming three months of rain and cold (the list is written exclusively for those who do not ski and do not enjoy snow, rain or any activity that revolves around that!)….

1- Spend Quality Time

Indulge in deep talks with friends and family members, visit your aunts and your old school friends, talk for hours over a hot chocolate or while enjoying red wine. Three months of catching-up would be perfect and you will perhaps discover new friends with whom you will share next summer’s joys!

2- Catch-up on some reading

I love reading but I always pick a day at the beach or a sunset drink over my book. Winter time is the only time where I am faithful to my “minimum of 2 books per month” quota!

3- Watch series

I am continuingSuits this month and will finally start The Game of Thrones this winter. Research your interest between the top-hit series and go buy/rent them!

4- Discover winter drinks

Hot chocolate, Starbucks signature seasonal drinks, flavored tea, red wine, hot chocolate with red wine, hot red wine, etc… The “winter drinks” list just keeps getting longer and longer and you only have three months to try all the items out!

5- Go out!

Put the UGGs on if you have to but just go out. It is gloomy outside and staying in won’t make you feel any better.

6- Bake…

Because there is nothing warmer and more fulfilling than the smell of baked bread and cakes!

7- Prepare that summer body

With all the drinking and the baking, you definitely will need some burning! Exercise… it will keep you warm, help you shred the winter calories and will help you get that summer body ready in time!

8- Watch movies, plays, concerts, attend workshops or crafting classes

Keep your eyes on the road this winter!

I’m fairly good when it comes to driving, and extremely bad at parking (I should definitely work on my parking skills!). but living in a country where no traffic law is truly applicable, I learned to move around without developing major (or minor) driving awareness. And so, thinking I am a fairly good driver, I had my second accident (like real accident) a month ago (my first accident being cause by speed driving when I was 20, over 10 years back!). I went out of the car in complete shock. My car was in no driving condition. I stood there silent. I had put down my phone just 10 seconds before the accident because, like everyone else, I think I can multitask when driving. At least I was not on the phone or chatting so I did not have to deal with all the guilt that would come with it…

That accident made me promise myself never to use my phone when driving. No emergency can make me use it ever again. But it also made me look around and see all the basic mistakes I make and the people around me make… and I think that I really don’t want to lose another acquaintance, friend or family member to a road accident we can all avoid by following simple steps.

1- Use your seat belt – It won’t wrinkle your suit/dress and I promise you’ll still breathe!

2- Don’t drink and drive – this is not discussable!

3- Don’t use your phone and drive – short conversations are okay over Bluetooth or earphones;

4- Pull aside when sleepy – the safest place to pull aside is in front of a bank or pharmacy; there are always security guards there and cameras rolling and you can inform them you are too tired to drive and need a nap before continuing your way;

5- Take a taxi when tired… or call UBER – and yes, Taxis are overpriced in Lebanon but whatever the price is, your life is worth a whole lot more!

6- Children under 12 years should go in the back seat – I don’t care if they scream for motion dizziness or nausea, hand them a plastic bag to throw-up in!

7- Children under 5 years should go in their car seats – I don’t care if they like it or not, scream or cry or hit you! And I definitely don’t care if the car seat is hard to move from a car to another. I am a mother myself and my son was in a car seat all the time until he was 5 years old. And when we used to live abroad, we used to ship it to Beirut with us! Nothing is hard when it comes to child safety please!

8- Children should not learn how to drive in traffic – I really can’t see anyone’s logic behind it… If your child is interested in hitting the roads, maybe you can give him driving and road awareness courses, teach him to read the road signs and road lights, play a game of letting him tell you when to move and when to stop (from the comfort of his back seat) when driving (all alone in the front seat, with your seatbelts on!)….

9- Continuously check your car – wheels, mechanics, everything!

10- Riding bikes are the latest trend and …. who doesn’t love bikes! However, our roads are not safe enough for cars and hence, they are dangerous for bike riders! At least wear your helmet (preferably your full outfit), let your passsenger also wear his, and remember that your 10-year old brother cannot be a passenger on your ride. 

Last but not least: don’t speed! Speeding will ruin your car anyway with all the bad roads we have!

Let's hug a person infected with HIV today...

Two weeks ago, I had a chat with an acquaintance who was telling me of a “weird” event in Hamra Street. He said he was having coffee and a guy was on the road holding a card saying: “I have HIV. Give me hug”. People were roaming around, some hugging him and some were not. When I asked this same person what he did, he said: I stayed away of course, what if he had HIV?! “shuallah jabirné in3idé”.

(I believe all that was happening was part of a campaign for World’s Aids Day but I would not find anything online. Please share the link if you find anything!)

The person in question was a guy I had met. His answer made me lose all interest in him because it reflects a lack of culture, knowledge and a lot of rudeness. I would hug a person who has HIV. I would hug him, be friends with him, go out, hang out. I would hug a person who has AIDS as well.

Am I not scared for my health? Those who know me enough would know how much I am. For God’s sake…. I run an HIV test every time I visit my dentist (okay I hope my dentist doesn’t read this!). But this does not mean I do not have enough common sense, knowledge, education and above all humanism that pushes me to refuse the stereotyping and the social refusal people suffering with HIV and AIDS face on daily basis.

They CAN work, go out, have friends. And we NEED to know more about them, their case and how to deal with it in 2016.

So let’s have together a recap about the Red Ribbon day!

What is the World’s aids day?

The world’s Aids day is held on December 1^st of each year to remember all 35 million + people living with HIV worldwide, raise awareness about the infection and commemorate those who have lost their life in the battle.  Since 1998, people worldwide wear a red ribbon in support on this day whereas many Red Ribbon sales events are held and the money would go directly for the support of the cause or of those infected.

What’s the difference between HIV and Aids?

As defined on healthline.com, “HIV is a virus that may cause an infection, but AIDS is a condition or a syndrome. Being infected with HIV can lead to the development of AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS develops when HIV has caused serious damage to the immune system.”

How is HIV transmitted?

HIV is spread through: Blood transfusion, semen and pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid, breast milk, infected needles/syringes/any other infected object (ask your beautician, dentist or doctor about the safety measurements they use to sterilize everything. It can also be transmitted during pregnancy (the risk is of 30% but can be reduced to 4% with the right medicine) or from inter-contact between wounds and broken skin.

HIV is not transmitted by air, water, mosquitoes or other insects, saliva and tears and sweat (that is not mixed with the blood of an HIV infected person), shaking hands, hugging, sharing toilets, sharing cutlery or dished or drinking glasses or any other social body to body contact (talking face to face, cheeks kissing,etc).

How can you be protected from HIV?

It’s quite easy!!! Be safe in your sexual relations (by using protection) and avoid everything mentioned in the section here-above with persons testes HIV positive!

What are the common myths about HIV?

- Whomever has HIV will die within a year;

- You can tell if someone has HIV by looking to their face;

- Straight people can’t have HIV;

- HIV-positive people can’t have children;

- HIV always leads to Aids;

- If two partners have HIV, there is no need for further protection;

And above all, the biggest misconception is the reason of my post today:

HIV can be spread through casual contact with an HIV infected person.

Stay safe!

November: With great beard comes great responsibility!

While many men grow their beards and moustaches during November to be trendy, “in”, and join the overall movement, No-Shave November is initially a movement that targets both men and women and invites them to drop all hair removal activities for a full month, to show support for the cancer-ill people who lose their hair during chemo treatment and, in parallel, raise money from abstinence of grooming and donate it to raise awareness and educate about cancer prevention and aid those fighting the disease.

Yes, you read it right (as yucky as it might be), women also are invited to join the no-shave movement during November – and this is one cause I will proudly not take part of, honestly!

So for all of you men out there (women, I will not encourage you to support this case!) here are some easy steps on how no-shave November should be done:

1- Shave clean at the beginning of November (it’s never too late to start now though!)

2- Grow a beard throughout the month (the ladies will dig that beard!)

3- Get a piggy-bank and insert all money you would weekly spend on grooming or shaving in-there

4- On the last few days, shave your beard into a unique moustache (you will look silly!)

5- Donate the piggy-bank gathered amount (and a little more if you wish) to any cancer center you see fit!

Don’t forget to take some pictures and spread the word!

بات لنا رئيس

Facts:

I don’t talk politics.

I don’t write politics.

I joke about every politician out there.

I annoy everyone who supports any political party in particular.

My own parents do not understand who I support politically.

My own friends do not know who I vote for (or even if I vote or not).

Why?

Not because I am ashamed of my political colors, of course! But because, just like religion, I believe politics is something personal. I listen to all, get affected by none, and at the end of the day support and vote for whomever I see fit!

Exception of the day:

I will talk about Presidency...

Today I vote for Michel Aoun.

I vote for him as a Lebanese President.

Not as a member of a political party. 

Not as a Christian.

Not as a leader of a certain idealistic politically related dream.

I vote for him as my (and our) hope of change in this country; a country I learned to love endlessly without being taught to, a country I believe in and refuse to leave, a country that has been bleeding for years and years now…

Let’s put politics aside….

Today, on October 31^st of the year 2016, we have a new President.

We have a President who, for once, was elected internally. You may say he was agreed upon and not elected. And I’ll say it might be true. But at least it was an all-internal decision. That deserves a clap and some points.

Today we have a President who comes from a normal, non-political Lebanese family. His father was a butcher. He worked to reach where he is today. And that of course deserves another clap and some extra points.

Today we have a President who made his dreams as a young man come true; A military man who dreamt, failed, tried and fought until he reached. Aside from politics and debates on how he reached and how he led his political life, I admire this man. I admire his will. I admire that at 81 years he still stood still and made his dream come true. It gives me hope, courage, strength. It makes me believe that dreams DO come true if you fight hard enough for them. And this deserves a clap and some more points and a big bow in respect.

Actually, we have tried every single political family out there for years and years, and no one is satisfied. Because they (the politicians) fail to satisfy us.

So I say let’s give that man a fair chance.

Today, let’s open a new book and start judging. He wanted to be elected President to show us change. Let’s be fair then and watch the change. Let’s cut the insults (not the joke! I’m sure he can take jokes, who can’t?!)

After all, like an old famous saying goes:

عند الإمتحان، يكرّم المرء أو يُهان

Men might get Breast Cancer too!

October is Breast Cancer awareness month (Did anyone not know this?)

And though I wouldn’t like to turn my blog page into a copy of every article about subjects you can simply google (yes, google is an official verb now) around, I still found it critical and important to highlight the subject in a brief manner for those who do not like to research and read long articles!

- 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime (if it’s not you, then it will be one of your family members or friends – Sorry!)

- When caught early, Breast Cancer has a survival rate of over 95%! (thus the big “fuss” about #PinkOctober)

- Breast Cancer does not run in the family!

- Exercising and healthy dieting reduce the risk of Breast Cancer (One extra point for exercising!)

- Women can still have children after Breast Cancer treatment.

Last but not least:

- Men can have Breast Cancer too! Though they don’t have breasts, men do have the breast tissue and this is where Breast Cancer grows and develops!

How to get checked?

I couldn’t find a better, more innovative and more supportive video than the one shared earlier this month by Jebran Atallah! I came across it by pure chance and took the approval from Jebran to share it with you all:

Watch it here!

Yes, I am a sapiosexual.

“What do you like about me?”, he asked.

“Your brains”, I replied.

Yes, I am what modern dictionaries define as a sapiosexual. I find someone else’s mind being their most attractive attribute. 

This mainly applies to my relationships with men in general; I can deal with girlfriends who are not brainy and intellectuals (though I can only count two or three of those in my entourage), but when it comes to men, being a brainy is a total turn on (not that the physical doesn’t matter equally!).

Being blonde (mistashe’ra to be more specific), being always on the run to take care of what I look like (hair, nails, outfit), having my full focus on creating healthier life and eating habits as well as a steady exercising routine, people often mistake me to what society defines as a “blonde girl”. Men, women, family, colleagues, friends and acquaintances tend to think I am silly, shallow and superficial… well until they catch me in the middle of a debate, reading a book or simply interested in thought-provoking and stimulating happenings.

My perfect date? Take me to an Art Gallery or a Museum followed by a dinner and you got half of my attention and all of my interest to think a step further into getting to know you!

When I was younger, my friends were always interested in the hot guy who would go partying all night long. I was an still am interested in the fairly looking guy who knows how to enjoy a party and a chill-out evening every now and then (a boring brainy wouldn’t win with me neither). I always wanted someone like me -not that I am perfect in any way- but I wanted someone who would combine everything: someone who would enjoy fast food, partying till dawn, a day out chilling and doing nothing, a beach day, a silly activity, karting, bungee jumping, silly movies, sitcoms, etc. BUT someone who would also enjoy good food, reading (an actual book – magazines and online articles don’t really count!), hiking and nature discovery, traveling, art galleries, museums, someone I could spend an afternoon at the library with, etc…

I always wanted someone who would be mentally challenging for me. Someone “better” in order to turn me into a better version of myself. Some would say I am far from being a womanizer by admitting this but what can I do? I am only driven by men with brains, men who would challenge me in their conversations, men who would push me to go home and research about a certain subject, men who keep a book next to bed, men who know the proper use of vocabulary and who -above all- know their spelling (their, there and they're are not the same!), men with confidence, men with education (damn it, it’s sexy!)…