Posts
Life is not all sunny cool days here, on most days we get scorched by the sun, suffocated by humidity, or blinded by dust; but that has nothing to do with the title of my post and I don't know why I just stated it.
I'm kind of bored of the sun, and the idea of portraying my message of optimism through this ball of fire is not what I feel like doing. If I was going to I'd totally say when it's scorching, grab that suntan oil and go worship the rays, but I'd rather go with something more scarce here such as rain,
Oh and this picture on flickr looked amazing, I had to have it for my blog lol.
So when the weather starts to change suddenly and it starts to pour (**be it the actual weather, or life that is), don't just mope around and stay in bed or indoors and wait it out.
Grab those Wellington Boots (**"إشطاري علي؟" lol am eye-ing the Jimmy Choo for Hunter Boots, I seem to be over the UGGS epidemic) and jump around in those puddles.
Every situation has a silver lining, sometimes it's disguised in layers of tulle and lace, other times it's submerged in pools of water and pouring rain, and most of the times over here it comes with a gust of sand which paints the world a hazy yellow orange hue.
I sometimes wish my brain was similar to that of a toddler's and still grasped that ability to look at everything objectively and find the fun it.
xx
Baroque.
PS. We applaud writers because they have done what we could not, spilled their guts onto paper.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
When it rains, wear your Wellies and jump around the puddles.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
To think this was once my GYM..
Summers are spent abroad like any other Khaleeji running away from the killer heat in search for cooler places. Sometimes I feel we're like migrating birds, that do the exact opposite migration; in the summer as opposed to the winter.
I've tried a new routine for the past 2 years, exchanging my mornings lazing in bed to going out with a personal trainer and hitting the asphalt at the park.
Mornings are spent running by the Serpentine, doing push ups on benches, laying on the grass doing crunches, and just soaking up the green-ess and good vibes reflected off the park.
Between me and my trainer, we have a couple of words between us. She being a South American I tried out and befriended a year ago, who knows what my strengths are and when I nearly am near passing out, has become my daily morning partner. We bond over broken English, as she asks me about life back home, and I quiz her on her new found life in London.
Everyday is different. Sometimes the ducks all do a fly in parade over the pond. Other days the underground passage homeless Guitarist plays that repeated tune, but changes the words around. Sometimes about love, sometimes about something I can't quite catch whilst she makes me power walk under ground across to the park.
It's a peaceful time, I don't feel that lethargic pull the bed has on me as the alarm rings beckoning another morning and the arrival of my personal trainer 30 minutes later. I don't feel as tired as I do when I'm on the treadmill. Crunches become a pleasure as I lay down on the green sometimes sprinkled with dew ground and set my sights on those fluffy clouds and those amazing scattered green canopies of trees.
Life stood still. It was beautiful. It was familiar. It was something that I could go back to everyday with my South American friend and just chill away from all the noisy roads and stresses. It would always be there waiting for me everyday, rain or shine. That peaceful, crispy fresh and clean spot amidst a hustle bustle city.
Makes it all more beautiful, worthwhile and memorable.
Sometimes I wish I could bottle that experience up and uncork it when needed, or at least get somewhere similar right here.
xx
Baroque
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Khaleejesque Qassimi Interview Exclusive
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Net Picks 2
Sunday, November 1, 2009
"Some dance to remember, Others dance to forget"
ballet:vacate
Originally uploaded by brookeshaden
I believe in Music and the fact that Music echoes happiness into one's soul.
Music has the power to lift one's spirits, send a ripple effect of glee through one's hearth and move one's bones. I think the percussion music system- drums, "طيران" and anything that can be hit to produce a sound- is an integral aspect of music that cannot be ignored, but can surely be played alone if needed. I'd take "طق" over normal streamed music any day; that explains the joy I derive from attending local Kuwaiti weddings.
Recently attended a weekend of weddings, "عسى الله يزيد الأفراح انشاء الله" and realized the pull music has one people's moods; people joined in from all walks of life to celebrate those happy occasions in an atmosphere of sheer pleasure drowned by music and singing, which translated into packed full dance floors and clapping hands.
A scene we see regularly but do not appreciate that much; a scene of utter joy.
A scene that is fleeting in my opinion, for when the occasion is over and people start going home, they go back to their normal lives. Some are lucky enough to take that joy with them, others go back to face another kind of music, a rhythm that is not so happy.
Music provides a happy escape, an interesting diversion and a mini-escape.
I once took a course in university about Bollywood movies. I entered the course thinking it would be an easy A, that I'd get to see my fave Bollywood movies and just write about them, never knowing that I would learn something crucial about this billion dollar industry and what keeps it going. Turns out Bollywood movies are not just made for entertainment and that their popularity has not been solely because of the fact that they are amazing get-ups complete with song and dance as well as lavish sets and costumes. Not at all, it's because they create a diversion to the Indian masses.
Bollywood movies paint another world to movie goers; all of whom are mostly lower class masses in India who would rather spend that ticket premium price to escape reality and get drowned in the music, dance, romance, and action. 3 hours that make them forget their problems-their strife and struggles- and instead get immersed in a long adventure away from real life stressors for a short period of time.
Interesting right? The class was one of the best electives I took. Who knew petty diversions could be good for you?
In a society that is taking backward steps into a murky extremist doctrine with everything now being "حرام" in their eyes, Music is being in one of the first lines of attack. It's sad to see such a fun diversion be attacked so, even though it holds the power to keep some people going, and others happy. A healthy way to lift one's mood, and achieve a natural "high", Music should be celebrated not dismissed.
Our ancestors used to sing their hearts out as they pulled at the sails of their ships, as they hoisted the pearl divers, as they herded sheep and camels across an empty desert, and as they rested after a long day of work.
We should be able to be allowed to do the same.
Everyone should be given a chance to dance at their own beat and at their own choice and freedom.
As Lady Gaga chants, "Just dance, it will be okay......"
xx
Baroque
Ps. Blistered to perfection.
