Read MoreBefore coming here, I’ve always had an impression that Middle East is but an island of desert, physically sand-y, unpleasing at all. I was wrong. There’s this beautiful myth about how all these prime resources/blessings in this part of the world came.
An Arab Creation Myth
by Paolo CoelhoIn The Book of the Ghost, Alejandro Dolina links the history of sand with one of the creation myths of the Arab people.
According to this myth, as soon as the world had been made, one of the angels pointed out to the Almighty that he had forgotten to put any sand on Earth, a grave omission, given that human beings would be deprived for ever of being able to walk along the seashore, massaging their weary feet and being in direct contact with the ground.
Worse, river beds would always be rough and rocky, architects would be unable to make use of this indispensable material, and the footprints of lovers would be invisible. Eager to remedy this oversight, God despatched the Archangel Gabriel with a huge bag of sand so that he could spread it wherever it was needed.
Gabriel created the beaches and the riverbeds, then made his way back to Heaven, carrying with him the surplus sand, but the Enemy – always watchful, always keen to spoil the Almighty’s work – made a hole in the bag, which burst, spilling all its contents. This happened in a place now known as Arabia, and nearly the whole region was transformed into a vast desert.
Distraught, Gabriel went to ask the Lord’s forgiveness for having allowed the Enemy to creep up on him unawares. And God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to recompense the Arab people for his messenger’s unwitting mistake.
He created for them a heaven full of stars, such as exists nowhere else in the world, so that they would always be gazing skywards.
He created the turban which, beneath the desert sun, is of far more value than a crown.
He created the tent, so that people could move from place to place and thus always have new landscapes around them, without any of the irritating duties involved in the upkeep of a palace.
He taught the people to forge the best steel for swords. He created the camel. He developed the finest breed of horses.
And he gave them something more precious than all these things together, he gave them the word, the true gold of the Arabs. While other peoples were shaping metals and gemstones, the Arab people were learning to shape the word.
There the poet became priest, judge, doctor and chief of the Bedouin. His verses have the power to provoke joy, sadness, yearning. They can unleash vengeance and war, bring together lovers or reproduce the songs of the birds.
And Alejandro Dolina concludes:
‘God’s mistakes, like those of great artists or of true lovers, unleash so many happy compensations that sometimes it is almost worth wishing they would happen.’
From Freakonomics today, for not-so, workaholics, and used to be workaholic (that’s me, believe me I am now just one of the used-to-bes):
“The general rule that we tell students is that people should work until the pleasure of earnings from the last hour of work falls below the hardship imposed by that marginal hour.
In many cases, though, we unfortunately can’t make choices about that marginal hour.
Our 63-year-old friend, a specialist in pediatric oncology, was — so I thought — a workaholic. Nonetheless, he wanted to cut back a little, perhaps from 100 percent to 75 percent work time (which meant from 60+ to 45 hours per week), because the money was less important than before and he wanted more leisure.”
I say, “Ouch!” Goodnight, everyone.
There was a time when I fancy the ice cream sandwich (imagine an ice cream as the sandwich spread). In one summer during highschool, I patiently waited for the man selling dirty ice cream (I don’t know what’s with it but I think it tastes better if it’s the ‘dirty’ one for that part) for my merienda. But when I went to Manila for college, I rarely bought one for the fear/thought that the street ice cream in the metro is actually dirty. But last year I almost wanted to try that one from the ice cream man, side-by-side the taho, stationed near Makati Medical Center. I miss that area + my friends who used to walk with me there (you know who you are!).
Well, I discovered last weekend another yummy that’s ruining my long overdue plan of losing weight: nacho ice cream. Wow, it’s like the high end version of the ice cream sandwich that I liked so much. This carton pack contains four crunchy and caramel-y nacho ice creams. I almost finished all in one-sitting. Don’t be surprised, it’s a real yum-o.
Photo source.
I have a confession to make. In the Philippines I have never tasted any freshly picked cherry. I only got to bite the one on top of a smoothie, black forest cake and oh well, the bottled cherries I used in the chilled mango cake.
It’s been more than 5 months since I came here, and still I never appreciated any of the fruits in the market. Probably it’s my loyalty to Philippine brands that’s keeping me. That’s why even I met more than 100 varieties of mangoes during last month’s festival, I still long for the manggang kalabaw back home.
But finally, I met my match. My first munch of Lebanese cherries hit me! It tasted like duhat (blackberry), it’s lightly sweet and perfect when quite chilled and a little sprinkling of iodized salt makes it yummier. I am now starting to enjoy the fruit scene in UAE.
Read MoreIn yesterday’s issue of New York Times, a summary of the points to consider before the marriage was featured by a known op-ed columnist. These points are shared by Father Pat Connor, a 79-year old Catholic priest born in Australia. For 40 years, he has been giving a lecture — “Whom Not to Marry” — to high school seniors, mostly girls because they’re more interested.
It’s important to do it before they fall seriously in love, because then it will be too late. Infatuation trumps judgment.
Interesting points/questions shared to the high school teeners. It’s a cool generation, ey?
(a) Never marry a man who has no friends. This usually means that he will be incapable of the intimacy that marriage demands. Since, as the Hebrew Scriptures say, ‘Iron shapes iron and friend shapes friend,’ what are his friends like? What do your friends and family members think of him? Sometimes, your friends can’t render an impartial judgment because they are envious that you are beating them in the race to the altar. Envy beclouds judgment.
(b) Does he use money responsibly? Is he stingy?
(c) Is he overly attached to his mother and her mythical apron strings?
(d) Does he have a sense of humor? More marriages are killed by silence than by violence. The strong, silent type can be charming but ultimately destructive. In all your dealings with one another, speak the truth to one another in love that you may grow up.
(e) Don’t marry a problem character thinking you will change him. He’s a heavy drinker, or some other kind of addict, but if he marries a good woman, he’ll settle down. People are the same after marriage as before, only more so.
(f) Take a good, unsentimental look at his family — you’ll learn a lot about him and his attitude towards women.
(g) Does he possess those character traits that add up to a good human being — the willingness to forgive, praise, be courteous? Or is he inclined to be a fibber, to fits of rage, to be a control freak, to be envious of you, to be secretive?
After the talk, the girls claimed, “But you’ve eliminated everyone! Life is unfair.”
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