Category Archives: Random

by - 0 comments

Let’s Just Act Like That Never Happened…

Source

If you had the power to wipe out a memory and replace it with a new one, what would you do with that power? Would you use it on those around you or just on yourself? Both?


Perhaps it can be argued that it is not up to you to decide which memories others should be robbed of. However, when it comes to yourself, maybe there are certain events you’d like to shove out of your mind. We all know the arguments of making mistakes and having no regrets. You learn from them, they shape you, it’s a fact of life, cliche, cliche, bumper sticker, bumper sticker. 


So if you could really act like “that” never happened, what would your “that” (or thats) be? 


Here are a few I thought of:

  • Heartbreak: erasing the memory of literal heartburn so that the good memories of love don’t sting. This would be like when Dr. Dolittle removed that little white piece from the tiger’s brain and he had no pain. 
    • Source










  • Financial decisions: erasing the memory of you deciding not to buy 500 shares of Apple when they were only $30 a piece. 
    • Source



But if you erased such things, what part of you would change and what guarantee is there that it would be for the better? What if that event was the butterfly effect for other positive things in your life? Does erasing heartbreak erase how you feel towards the one who did it? How you feel towards one who still could in the future? What would being a millionaire have changed? (Stop thinking about the Maserati)

Even small events that still poke you like a stepped-on lego on the floor may have some significance. Maybe there is an alternate version of our realities where those events went another way and, thus, our lives went another way.  Or maybe, just maybe, life is exactly what it’s supposed to be and we just have to have faith.

    by - 0 comments

    Message in a Bag

    Another tango dance with some beautiful packaging 
    Pretty Kate Spade Packaging
    Reflective Logo
    brought me to realize two entirely unrelated things:
    1. There are hidden messages all around us – even if they are paid-for slogans that are supposed to incite the very feelings that I am appreciating here
    2. Online shopping would be my demise were I to live in a country that had addresses that didn’t involve using a big politician’s portrait or pothole as a reference point.
    “Live Colorfully”
    The funny thing is – a lot of these so-called hidden messages are not really hidden at all. We’re just too wrapped in our own messy lives or glued to our various screens that we don’t even notice these tokens around us.
    As for the online shopping epiphany – This isn’t really a new realization. It’s just one that I am more and more convinced of every moment I spend on Amazon, Pinterest, Wanelo or any other online black hole that thrives on consumerism. We are all going to need some sort of credit card rehab…or exorcism. Or, you know, we could just go outdoors. 
    More tokens:

    by - 0 comments

    Rewriting Brown Sugar

    It was the day I truly met Lebanon, but little did I know how much Lebanon would be a part of my life.
    Lebanon was as young, naive, confused, sometimes as innocent and sometimes as mischievous as I was and as I grew up… Lebanon grew up with me and along the way it took on all my baggage, my dreams… I felt Lebanon and Lebanon felt me.
    For many people Lebanon was that first friend, the first to talk to us, the first to understand, Lebanon has always been that kind of friend to me. And like any relationship, I watched it grow I’ve watched it change.
    The union of Lebanon to the mainstream was a hard thing to imagine, Lebanon was always this personal, regional thing that belonged to just me. Anyone could get a piece of Lebanon, I knew I was going to have to share and that was hard to get used to.
    Just when you think you know everything there is to know about Lebanon it finds a way to surprise you and remind you why you fell in love in the first place.
    I always thought one day I would outgrow my relationship with Lebanon. I never thought it was a fad like many. But I never thought it would grow and mature. I thought it would be an adolescent memory I’d look back on, like a crush on the captain of the football team, but I realize we have more than that…much more… we have history, a friendship. We listen to each other & we laugh together, we finish each others lyrics, I don’t have to pretend with Lebanon & and Lebanon doesn’t have to pretend with me. My feelings have never been more clear, and I know they will never go away.


    – Replaced “hip-hop” in original text taken from the film “Brown Sugar”
    by - 0 comments

    Snail Mail


    The beautiful thing about having friends spread out all over the place is the snail mail. In the era of the digitalized message, I think people forget how great it can be to receive a handwritten or personalized token that says “I’m here and you’re there but I thought of you today”. I hope this never goes out of style. It would be such a shame to retire an activity that allows you to connect with someone at a specific moment in their life that is in the past when the connection actually occurs. Granted that is true about all forms of communication; however, the ease of sending a text, a tweet, an email or a status update has squashed the very delicacy of a “flashback moment”-that’s what I call them. Those times when you pause for a split second and think “in a few years, I’m going to remember this exact moment in this exact place.”

    To me, snail mail is an invitation to someone else. You get a souvenir of a fleeting experience they’re having. They’re offering to share their frozen moment in time with you.

    Stamped, dated and addressed to you. It’s old and nostalgic. It’s wonderful. When was the last time you sent a letter? A postcard? Received one? Sealed a package?

    by - 0 comments

    My Top 5 Hamra Coffee Shops

    Seeing that I spend most of my time setting up camp in coffee shops around Hamra, I thought I’d list my Top 5 in random order and share my knowledge of these little establishments:
    1. Cafe Younes


    This cozy slice of intellectual heaven is located up the left mafra2 before Roadster if you are going in the direction of the car traffic. I’m starting with how to get there because that’s usually the first thing people have a problem with. Now, Cafe Younes is basically a very good example of what many think Hamra embodies: Its full of foreigners and Lebanese intellectuals (pseudo or not is up to you to decide) who are soaking up some knowledge at one of the nearby universities and spend time reading or discussing Somalia while sipping on a latte. I’m serious. However true this might be, Cafe Younes is home to many studying students and laptop lovers pecking away while they inhale some grub. Which, by the way, is quite good. There are a few good couches, some high stools and tables, a garden style outdoor area complete with iron chairs that are comfortable for about 30min tops- BUT, if you want the good stuff, go upstairs where there’s 4 laptop stations and the best loveseat in town. The loveseat’s in the corner and has two outlet plugs to the left plus 2 armchairs facing it (you’re lucky if you get all 3). You can easily fall asleep there. I have.
    What to order: everything I’ve tried has been awesomesauce but I recommend the Chicken Thyme Club, Maple Syrup Pancakes, or the Halloumi Sandwich. Peach Ginger Tea!
    Warning: it gets really crowded so if you’re anal about noise then don’t go here if you need optimum silence for concentration. They do have free wifi for 2hrs if you ask for a password – it’s alright, a bit slow and gmail needs to reload 64x because of it but you can manage. Every first Wednesday of the month, there’s a Poetry reading at around 8 – it also gets a bit loud since they insist on using microphones to read their masterpieces. There are some good ones and some are just…entertaining. Michael Dennison, a creative writing teacher at AUB, reads his stuff and its got its own pizzazz, if you will.
    Extra tidbit: they just opened a new branch facing AUH near Blue Building-its got the same menu but it’s a bit more dine-oriented and less I’m-going-to-live-here-for-the-next-6-hours.
    2. Gloria Jean’s


    If you take a right before Roadster and turn right at the COOP, then you’ll end up at Gloria’s. This place is pretty roomy but tends to be full during midterm/final exam weeks. It’s quieter than others and they’ve got their fair share of comfy seats. They offer a frequent-flyer-mile punch card so that you eventually get a free cup of joe, I’ve finished two so it does come as a nice bonus at some point. They ask for your name if you’re sticking around so when your order is ready, they yell it out so you can come get it. They have wifi stubs for 2hrs- also not the fastest around but it’ll do if you need to check some stuff.  Their food isn’t for the starving but there’s enough to choose from to get you full plus their cakes are supplied by Sugar Daddy’s: Chocolate chocolate, chocolate vanilla and RED VELVET with that orgasmic frosting (no sexual innuendo intended) so it tastes like you’re eating a gigantic cupcake. The slices are pretty generous for 5000LL.
    What ELSE to order (because the cake should be a no brainer): poppy seed bagel with jalapeno cream cheese, mixed berry chiller
    Mixed Berry Chiller + Red Velvet Cake Slice
    (nom nom nom)
    Warning: if you’re a group of people who want to study and will probably be loud, go somewhere else because Gloria’s is calmer and the others won’t appreciate your normal Arab inside-voices while their inhaling lecture notes.

    Extra tidbit: the zaatar crisps near the cash register are nice to take home and eat with some labneh the next morning!
    Wall Art at Gloria’s

    3. Brisk


    Brisk is located on the main street of Hamra near LaSenza and Crepaway, across from Aldo. Everything they make is fresh and organic; it resembles Pret in London in that its mostly self-serve but also has hot dishes. They also now have a mini-Gloria Jean’s inside so you can hit two birds with one stone if you want their coffee and Brisk’s food. Their wifi is better than others and you don’t need to deal with a sign-in code and I’m pretty sure its unlimited time wise. There’s wooden tables, a tall bar with high chairs, a couple couches and a nice little corner spot in the back. Noise fluctuates depending on how crowded it is and where people are sitting because I think its got some funky acoustics (that or there are just some really loud Americans from time to time).
    What to order: Protein loaded salad or the cold Chicken Cobb Sandwich
    Warning: they can be a bit pricey especially when it comes to beverages (waters for 1500, soft drinks for 3000) but your wallet-conscience is soothed when you remember you’re not hoovering a BigMac

    Extra Tidbit: they have a recycling center for all their packaging and bottles so its environmentally friendly
    Fruit Cups
    4. Caribou Coffee

    This place is a double story coffeehouse on the corner of the main street of Hamra before H&M and one of the 23 Vero Modas. The coffee is not my favorite but, then again, I’m not a huge coffee drinker. Ironic post, I know. To be honest, their paper cups and handwritten scribbles on the glass are what won me over. 
    Paper Cups with Scribbled Answers to “What do you stay awake for?”
    Scribbles on the glass
    During the Christmas season, they had really cute napkins too. Apparently they are open 24/7, which is a rare find in this country. They also have free wifi but I have yet to try it.
    What to Order: I really haven’t gone enough times to give a fair recommendation of what’s a definite choice. I’ll have to get back to you on that; however, the staff is pretty helpful when you’ve got a clueless dumbfounded look on your face.
    Warning: The wooden chairs are stiff enough to keep you conscientiously at work but can be a literal royal pain in the arse after a while. Try to get a couch if you’re in it for the long haul.
    Extra Tidbit: rumor has it, their cheesecake is imported from The Cheesecake Factory in the States. They’re not too bad and go for around 9,000LL a slice.

    5. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
    Festive Paper Cup & Brownie
    If you find yourself at the beginning of the main road, then skedaddle on over to this franchise that comes all the way over from California. It’s before Kababji & Dunkin and across from Chopsticks. The bar is nicely setup and they’ve got really nice gift-sets for those tea-fanatics in your life. They’ve got matching tins with different flavors all packaged together. One that stuck out was “Red Velvet Powder” for baking and such. Is it obvious that I have a weakness for red velvet? Anyway, they’ve also got a frequent-flyer-mile punch card – after 12 coffees, you get a free one. When you’re done ordering you get this pager that looks sort of like a taser; it buzzes when your order is ready to be picked up at the bar. Be careful with those things, they scare the heck out of you. Internet is regular IDM.
    What to Order: Vanilla Latte, I give the brownie a B-
    Warning: It’s a bit of a walk if you’re near AUB or LAU so if you’ve got a lot of luggage with you and don’t feel like making the trip/don’t have time, then get in the car and park closer or go somewhere nearer to you.
    Extra Tidbit: Go for the brown suede seats. Trust me, you sink and they’re the right kind of soft for when you’re trying to concentrate or just chill out. Also open in Zaitunay Bay.

    Just so you don’t start telling me that I left out all these other places in Hamra – I am aware that there a tons of other coffee spots but I’m just focusing on the ones that I frequent so here’s an extra one just for kicks: If you’re not all about boycotting, the best thing about the Starbucks on the main street is that it has 3 levels- top floor is ideal study space and really comfortable but not well lit in some places. The ground floor is your typical Starbucks space and the underground level is very intimate. So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if couples take advantage of the private corners and subdued dimmed lights. But like all Starbucks branches, Internet is not free.




    UPDATE: Gloria’s has discontinued their frequent flyer mile card. And their spiced ginger bagel crisps are awesomesauce.